Bosco had covered half of the distance to the guy before he turned,
peering out with dark eyes beneath the shadowy peak of his cap, casting
half of his face into darkness. He shot off like a rocket, giving the young
officer no choice but to give chase.
He didn't even glance back to know Yokas had turned back to fetch the squad car. She always did when he was in pursuit. He was a hell of a lot faster than her, and she knew it as well as he did.
Why do they always run? he thought with a smile as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. They know I'm gonna chase 'em. It only makes them look guilty anyway.
The man ran into an alley after exiting the park, only just managing to avoid a collision with a group of pedestrians, who Bosco ran around with ease, following the guy into the side access to an apartment building.
He stopped immediately. Where had the guy gone? He had definitely come down here... Bosco had seen him, and it was very rare that his eyes lied to him. But he had been right behind him... he shouldn't have been able to dodge Bosco so easily.
Removing his gun from its holster in precaution, he moved steadily down the alley, eyes scanning the area around him in case the guy felt the need to jump him from some hidden alcove or doorway.
Where are you? Bosco thought slowly, trying to think through things logically.
He heard the tyres of a car come to a halt at the mouth of the alley, and reflected on the closed in walls of the alley were the flashing lights of the vehicle.
Lowering his gun, and cursing quietly, he re-holstered his weapon, and whirled back to see Yokas stepping half out of the car.
"Where is he?" she asked, looking over Bosco's shoulder down the alley, then turning her eyes this way and that in search of the man in question.
"I lost' im," Bosco grumbled unhappily, stepping out of the alley, and moving around to the other side of the car, hearing his partner call in that they had lost sight of the suspected gang member, and that all units should keep an eye out.
He sat himself heavily in the passenger seat, glaring out of the front window. He hated losing.
* * *
Jimmy slumped back into the armchair in the station on King & Arthur, and let out a deep sigh, feeling his breathing coming more easily to him now, after rescuing the young girl from the fire. Not long after getting her out, the child's mother had rushed over, apparently having only just returned from grocery shopping, and had thanked him heartily, swearing she would repay the debt. He had insisted it was no problem, and it was all in a day's work, without trying to belittle the value of her daughter's life, and had moved on.
He was glad that it was over... for now. He was ready to go if another call came in, but his body was protesting right now, and he just needed to sit back and take it all in for a while.
Kim and Bobby were out on call... thank god. He didn't need any of Kim's complaining right now, no matter how much he treasured his ex-wife. He hated her moaning. She always seemed to find something at fault with anything. Her coffee was too cold, the sun was too bright, it was too cold... anything.
The other guys from his engine were back as well, bustling about their business, pretty much ignoring Jimmy altogether, moving around him as though he were not there at all.
The radio was playing, as well as the television, but Jimmy shut them both out, content to simply sit here. He suddenly wondered if he would be able to sneak away and be with his son for a while.
Don't be stupid, he told himself, you're needed here.
He wanted to see Joey. He hadn't seen him in at least two days. He loved his son so much it hurt sometimes, and it pained him that he and Kim hadn't been able to work out their differences so that he and Joey could spend more time together. Jimmy wanted to watch his son grow into the amazing young man he knew in his heart Joey was going to be, without a doubt.
Joey was fantastic. He had such an innocent outlook on things, it was sometimes depressing to hear what he had to think, and realise how much it contradicted with how terrible the world really was. Jimmy hoped his son never had to find that out for himself.
Without even realising, he was up and walking, humming along to a tune in his head that no one but him could hear. He was moving down the stairs, and was outside the station before he even noticed he was cold. Why had he come out here?
Some women were walking down the road, but he didn't even notice how they looked, what colour their hair was, or whether or not they had noticed him or not. What was wrong with him? He was a little off today, it seemed. Things were passing him by, and he wasn't even aware. Since that fire, he had been... it seemed as though he was switched off somehow. His mind was wandering madly, and his thoughts were chaotic, all colliding with one another until they all started to culminate into one headache-provoking mess.
Giving a quiet groan, and crossing his arms, he heard the rush and the alarm from upstairs. Another call.
Here we go again.
* * *
"What a day," Kim sighed, leaning back as far as she could manage without slumping right out of her seat in the passenger side of the bus. It had pretty much been non-stop since their shift had started at three. There were at least another six hours to get through yet, she realised with a frown.
"Hectic, huh?" Bobby agreed, nodding, and turning the wheel to steer the bus. "You hungry?"
"No thanks. I could go for some coffee though," Kim replied, looking briefly to her partner, subconsciously running the end of her ponytail through her fingers over and over again.
"Okay, no problem," Bobby murmured with a smile, parking the bus carefully, and stepping out without another word.
Kim watched her partner go, raising a single eyebrow for a moment, resting her elbow on the ledge of the window beside her where she sat. She saw Bobby disappear into a store, and turned her eyes elsewhere, watching the cars go by, trying to see the people inside. There were quite a variety of people driving around. Old people; young people; couples; singles; punks; businessmen... all kinds of people.
She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back on what had happened so far. It had all pretty much started with that dead man in the alley with Sully and Davis. After that they had been called to the fire in the apartment building, where Jimmy had bolted inside without thinking, risking his own life like the idiot he was. She had watched him charge inside, and had had to come to terms with the fact that her son could have lost his father in those few minutes. That had been pretty damn scary.
After that, they had had to transport some people from the building to Mercy hospital, and it had taken up nearly half an hour. Now they were here. And now that she thought about it, it seemed like they hadn't done a lot, but what they had done had taken time, and now she was tired already. Not a good sign, considering the shift wasn't even half way through yet, and she felt like collapsing to the floor of the bus, or taking a nap on the gurney in the back.
"Wake up, Kim," she murmured to herself, shaking her head slowly back and forth.
Bobby climbed back into the bus, handing her a cup of hot steaming coffee, and the scent soon filled her nostrils, making her smile. This was what she enjoyed. Just sitting back and relaxing after knowing you had done good, with a good friend and a decent cup of coffee in your hands to warm you up.
She appreciated the chance to take a rest every now and then in a shift, and it seemed as though it was going to be a pretty long and quiet rest... right up until she thought about it, and a call came in about an attack on the corner of West-105th.
She groaned, and glanced at Bobby with a frown. He shrugged, sipped his coffee quickly, and set it on the dash, then brought the bus to life, steering it out into the street.
* * *
"I could've got that guy, Faith."
She looked over at the sound of her name, glad she had parked the car so she could close her eyes and turn her head to the roof of the squad, long enough to think about seriously clipping Bosco around the head hard with her hand for constantly whining.
"I should've got him."
She turned her head to him, tucking a disobedient strand of hair away neatly, before saying, "Bos', don't worry about it. We put a notice out to all other units, and they'll keep an eye out."
At that exact moment, her radio crackled into life, and she listened patiently to what was said.
"Attention all units, positive ID on possible gang member spotted harassing youths in park. Suspect is Wayne Thomson."
Faith reached up and activated her radio. "5-5-David, Ten-Four central."
Bosco glanced sideways at her, and sighed lazily. "If I catch up with him again I'm gonna kick his ass."
"What? For givin' you the slip? Bos', how many guys have you lost since you've worked this job?"
Bosco turned his head to her. "Less than the amount I've caught, that's how many."
She rolled her eyes, and stared out of the window, watching a young couple walk past, hand in hand. She watched them go, without even realising she was lost in her own little world when Bosco slapped her on the arm lightly, to catch her attention.
"What?" she asked, snapping back to reality.
"Earth to Faith, we got a call. Disturbance on West-105th, let's go."
* * *
Bobby held up his hands as the gun whirled in his direction, the barrel aimed squarely at his chest, and his dark eyes settled on Kim in the arms of the man with the weapon, his heart racing. He glanced down momentarily at the other man, lying concussed on the sidewalk, blood down one side of his face from a blow that had obviously knocked him out cold.
"Alright, just let her go, man," Bobby eased, trying to take a step forward. A crowd stood all around, forming a rather large and imposing circle around the two paramedics, the injured man, and the gun-wielding attacker. He had still been here when Kim and Bobby had arrived, holding a rather large metal pole of some kind. Bobby and Kim had tried to calm him down, resulting in the guy grabbing the latter and holding her at gunpoint. He was rambling incoherently now, and the female paramedic looked surprisingly calm.
"The cops will be here any minute," Bobby warned, trying not to make it sound like he was threatening the man. He didn't want to be responsible for his partner getting shot, or worse, killed.
The man shouted something madly about cops, something Bobby didn't register. He saw flashing lights from down the road, and resisted the urge to turn his head in that direction. Maybe this guy hadn't noticed yet. Bobby doubted he could see anything from beneath the low peak of his baseball cap anyway.
A path opened in the crowd, rather begrudgingly, and Bobby noticed two police officers moving through it, drawing their guns immediately and taking aim without a second thought.
Bosco and Yokas.
Bobby tilted his head slightly, eyes never leaving the man holding Kim. He hoped this guy had enough sense to realise that he wasn't going to get anywhere with the cops having arrived now. More were on their way, no doubt. At least someone had had enough common sense to actually call the cops in the first place.
"Look, Faith, it's our friend from the park," Bosco said to Yokas without turning his head away from his point of focus, gun trained on the man ahead of him.
"I'm not goin' to jail," the man wailed. He didn't really seem to realise what he was doing. He looked a little dazed.
"Well, you're going the wrong way about it there," Yokas told him steadily, taking a step forward, standing behind Bosco about three feet, her own weapon raised at the ready.
The man said nothing, simply looked this way and that, and Bobby could see clearly now that his hands were shaking. This guy was a mess.
"Kim, you okay?" Yokas asked, eyes turning on the woman.
She nodded, but said nothing. Her hands held onto the arm of the man gripping her.
"Wayne," Bosco began, moving forward a fraction, considering the man seriously and with a certain level of caution, "put down the gun. You know as well as I do that you're not getting out of here any other way than in a squad car."
"Come any closer, and I'll shoot her," the man said in a rush, eyes darting to each of the members of the emergency services in turn.
"Okay," Bosco agreed, lowering his gun a little.
Bobby watched, wondering what was going through the male cop's head. Bobby rarely saw what went on in these situations, and he wasn't sure he really wanted to. He just wanted to grab Kim and get out of here. He wasn't about to admit it to anyone, but he was terrified.
The man on the floor stirred and groaned.
Yokas looked down at the wounded man, and then to Bosco, who had turned his head back to his partner. Bosco looked to the man he had called Wayne.
"The paramedic needs to help this man. He doesn't look too good. I'm guessing you had something to do with that, right, Wayne?"
The shadowed eyes snapped in Bosco's direction, and he stared for a moment. He seemed to be considering the policeman's intentions. After a while he nodded.
"Are you going to let Bobby here treat him?" Bosco ventured, tilting his head a little in inquiry.
Wayne stood there for another moment, before nodding swiftly.
Bobby carefully moved backwards, and then knelt at the side of the wounded man, dragging his paramedic's bag over to him. A few members of the nearby public had started to close in on the scene, and he looked back to them and shook his head, waving a hand to shoo them away. Reluctantly, they obeyed.
Bobby checked the man over as the conversation went on before him, finding that he had a steady rhythm, and it just seemed like he had a concussion. Still, he needed to get to a hospital.
The next thing he knew, a shot rang out, filling the New York air, drowning out everything but the screams of the public, who soon began to scatter in a panic. Their screams continued even after they had started to run.
Bobby looked up, thankful that no one had actually been hit. It seemed that Wayne had only become aggravated by the nagging police, and had fired a warning shot. Kim looked a little more frightened now. Bobby threw her a look that showed his promise to get her out of this alive.
"Put down the guns," Wayne said in a shaky voice, pointing his own weapon at them, "and kick them over here."
Bosco glanced to Yokas, who was already placing her gun on the floor. Bosco followed suit, shoving it with his shoe so that it skidded across the sidewalk over to Wayne. Yokas' gun came behind it.
"Now what, Wayne?" Bosco asked him, holding his arms out to show he was unarmed, and basically unthreatening. "We just wait here until a half a dozen squad cars fill this street? You know it's gonna happen, Wayne, and so do I."
Wayne shook his head. "I can't get arrested."
"Well, doesn't seem like you've got a lot of choice in the matter," Bosco said to him, lowering his arms. His eyes never left Wayne. "The only choice you've got is whether a charge of murder goes on top of what you've already done." Bosco was starting to sound more and more irritated by the minute, and Yokas reached forward, and mumbled something quietly to him. He ignored her. "Let the paramedic go... she didn't do anything to you, Wayne. Leave her out of this. Do you really want her to get hurt?"
Kim looked down at Bobby, and seemed a little scared of Bosco's tactic. She wasn't the only one.
But still, Wayne seemed to be in agreement. He shook his head slowly, looking a little shaken. It appeared that Bosco's words were sinking in and making sense to the man.
"So whadda ya' say you let her go, huh?"
Wayne stared at Bosco, and for a moment, Bobby thought he saw his grip on Kim loosen... just for a moment. But then he hesitated, and his gaze became hard.
"But they won't let me out of here without her."
Bosco shook his head, and his face was as though set in stone. "They're not gonna let you leave with her, and you know it. They'd kill you first, Wayne."
An insane smile crossed Wayne's face, and Bobby felt a rush of terror sweep through his body, even as he squeezed the trigger.
He didn't even glance back to know Yokas had turned back to fetch the squad car. She always did when he was in pursuit. He was a hell of a lot faster than her, and she knew it as well as he did.
Why do they always run? he thought with a smile as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. They know I'm gonna chase 'em. It only makes them look guilty anyway.
The man ran into an alley after exiting the park, only just managing to avoid a collision with a group of pedestrians, who Bosco ran around with ease, following the guy into the side access to an apartment building.
He stopped immediately. Where had the guy gone? He had definitely come down here... Bosco had seen him, and it was very rare that his eyes lied to him. But he had been right behind him... he shouldn't have been able to dodge Bosco so easily.
Removing his gun from its holster in precaution, he moved steadily down the alley, eyes scanning the area around him in case the guy felt the need to jump him from some hidden alcove or doorway.
Where are you? Bosco thought slowly, trying to think through things logically.
He heard the tyres of a car come to a halt at the mouth of the alley, and reflected on the closed in walls of the alley were the flashing lights of the vehicle.
Lowering his gun, and cursing quietly, he re-holstered his weapon, and whirled back to see Yokas stepping half out of the car.
"Where is he?" she asked, looking over Bosco's shoulder down the alley, then turning her eyes this way and that in search of the man in question.
"I lost' im," Bosco grumbled unhappily, stepping out of the alley, and moving around to the other side of the car, hearing his partner call in that they had lost sight of the suspected gang member, and that all units should keep an eye out.
He sat himself heavily in the passenger seat, glaring out of the front window. He hated losing.
* * *
Jimmy slumped back into the armchair in the station on King & Arthur, and let out a deep sigh, feeling his breathing coming more easily to him now, after rescuing the young girl from the fire. Not long after getting her out, the child's mother had rushed over, apparently having only just returned from grocery shopping, and had thanked him heartily, swearing she would repay the debt. He had insisted it was no problem, and it was all in a day's work, without trying to belittle the value of her daughter's life, and had moved on.
He was glad that it was over... for now. He was ready to go if another call came in, but his body was protesting right now, and he just needed to sit back and take it all in for a while.
Kim and Bobby were out on call... thank god. He didn't need any of Kim's complaining right now, no matter how much he treasured his ex-wife. He hated her moaning. She always seemed to find something at fault with anything. Her coffee was too cold, the sun was too bright, it was too cold... anything.
The other guys from his engine were back as well, bustling about their business, pretty much ignoring Jimmy altogether, moving around him as though he were not there at all.
The radio was playing, as well as the television, but Jimmy shut them both out, content to simply sit here. He suddenly wondered if he would be able to sneak away and be with his son for a while.
Don't be stupid, he told himself, you're needed here.
He wanted to see Joey. He hadn't seen him in at least two days. He loved his son so much it hurt sometimes, and it pained him that he and Kim hadn't been able to work out their differences so that he and Joey could spend more time together. Jimmy wanted to watch his son grow into the amazing young man he knew in his heart Joey was going to be, without a doubt.
Joey was fantastic. He had such an innocent outlook on things, it was sometimes depressing to hear what he had to think, and realise how much it contradicted with how terrible the world really was. Jimmy hoped his son never had to find that out for himself.
Without even realising, he was up and walking, humming along to a tune in his head that no one but him could hear. He was moving down the stairs, and was outside the station before he even noticed he was cold. Why had he come out here?
Some women were walking down the road, but he didn't even notice how they looked, what colour their hair was, or whether or not they had noticed him or not. What was wrong with him? He was a little off today, it seemed. Things were passing him by, and he wasn't even aware. Since that fire, he had been... it seemed as though he was switched off somehow. His mind was wandering madly, and his thoughts were chaotic, all colliding with one another until they all started to culminate into one headache-provoking mess.
Giving a quiet groan, and crossing his arms, he heard the rush and the alarm from upstairs. Another call.
Here we go again.
* * *
"What a day," Kim sighed, leaning back as far as she could manage without slumping right out of her seat in the passenger side of the bus. It had pretty much been non-stop since their shift had started at three. There were at least another six hours to get through yet, she realised with a frown.
"Hectic, huh?" Bobby agreed, nodding, and turning the wheel to steer the bus. "You hungry?"
"No thanks. I could go for some coffee though," Kim replied, looking briefly to her partner, subconsciously running the end of her ponytail through her fingers over and over again.
"Okay, no problem," Bobby murmured with a smile, parking the bus carefully, and stepping out without another word.
Kim watched her partner go, raising a single eyebrow for a moment, resting her elbow on the ledge of the window beside her where she sat. She saw Bobby disappear into a store, and turned her eyes elsewhere, watching the cars go by, trying to see the people inside. There were quite a variety of people driving around. Old people; young people; couples; singles; punks; businessmen... all kinds of people.
She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back on what had happened so far. It had all pretty much started with that dead man in the alley with Sully and Davis. After that they had been called to the fire in the apartment building, where Jimmy had bolted inside without thinking, risking his own life like the idiot he was. She had watched him charge inside, and had had to come to terms with the fact that her son could have lost his father in those few minutes. That had been pretty damn scary.
After that, they had had to transport some people from the building to Mercy hospital, and it had taken up nearly half an hour. Now they were here. And now that she thought about it, it seemed like they hadn't done a lot, but what they had done had taken time, and now she was tired already. Not a good sign, considering the shift wasn't even half way through yet, and she felt like collapsing to the floor of the bus, or taking a nap on the gurney in the back.
"Wake up, Kim," she murmured to herself, shaking her head slowly back and forth.
Bobby climbed back into the bus, handing her a cup of hot steaming coffee, and the scent soon filled her nostrils, making her smile. This was what she enjoyed. Just sitting back and relaxing after knowing you had done good, with a good friend and a decent cup of coffee in your hands to warm you up.
She appreciated the chance to take a rest every now and then in a shift, and it seemed as though it was going to be a pretty long and quiet rest... right up until she thought about it, and a call came in about an attack on the corner of West-105th.
She groaned, and glanced at Bobby with a frown. He shrugged, sipped his coffee quickly, and set it on the dash, then brought the bus to life, steering it out into the street.
* * *
"I could've got that guy, Faith."
She looked over at the sound of her name, glad she had parked the car so she could close her eyes and turn her head to the roof of the squad, long enough to think about seriously clipping Bosco around the head hard with her hand for constantly whining.
"I should've got him."
She turned her head to him, tucking a disobedient strand of hair away neatly, before saying, "Bos', don't worry about it. We put a notice out to all other units, and they'll keep an eye out."
At that exact moment, her radio crackled into life, and she listened patiently to what was said.
"Attention all units, positive ID on possible gang member spotted harassing youths in park. Suspect is Wayne Thomson."
Faith reached up and activated her radio. "5-5-David, Ten-Four central."
Bosco glanced sideways at her, and sighed lazily. "If I catch up with him again I'm gonna kick his ass."
"What? For givin' you the slip? Bos', how many guys have you lost since you've worked this job?"
Bosco turned his head to her. "Less than the amount I've caught, that's how many."
She rolled her eyes, and stared out of the window, watching a young couple walk past, hand in hand. She watched them go, without even realising she was lost in her own little world when Bosco slapped her on the arm lightly, to catch her attention.
"What?" she asked, snapping back to reality.
"Earth to Faith, we got a call. Disturbance on West-105th, let's go."
* * *
Bobby held up his hands as the gun whirled in his direction, the barrel aimed squarely at his chest, and his dark eyes settled on Kim in the arms of the man with the weapon, his heart racing. He glanced down momentarily at the other man, lying concussed on the sidewalk, blood down one side of his face from a blow that had obviously knocked him out cold.
"Alright, just let her go, man," Bobby eased, trying to take a step forward. A crowd stood all around, forming a rather large and imposing circle around the two paramedics, the injured man, and the gun-wielding attacker. He had still been here when Kim and Bobby had arrived, holding a rather large metal pole of some kind. Bobby and Kim had tried to calm him down, resulting in the guy grabbing the latter and holding her at gunpoint. He was rambling incoherently now, and the female paramedic looked surprisingly calm.
"The cops will be here any minute," Bobby warned, trying not to make it sound like he was threatening the man. He didn't want to be responsible for his partner getting shot, or worse, killed.
The man shouted something madly about cops, something Bobby didn't register. He saw flashing lights from down the road, and resisted the urge to turn his head in that direction. Maybe this guy hadn't noticed yet. Bobby doubted he could see anything from beneath the low peak of his baseball cap anyway.
A path opened in the crowd, rather begrudgingly, and Bobby noticed two police officers moving through it, drawing their guns immediately and taking aim without a second thought.
Bosco and Yokas.
Bobby tilted his head slightly, eyes never leaving the man holding Kim. He hoped this guy had enough sense to realise that he wasn't going to get anywhere with the cops having arrived now. More were on their way, no doubt. At least someone had had enough common sense to actually call the cops in the first place.
"Look, Faith, it's our friend from the park," Bosco said to Yokas without turning his head away from his point of focus, gun trained on the man ahead of him.
"I'm not goin' to jail," the man wailed. He didn't really seem to realise what he was doing. He looked a little dazed.
"Well, you're going the wrong way about it there," Yokas told him steadily, taking a step forward, standing behind Bosco about three feet, her own weapon raised at the ready.
The man said nothing, simply looked this way and that, and Bobby could see clearly now that his hands were shaking. This guy was a mess.
"Kim, you okay?" Yokas asked, eyes turning on the woman.
She nodded, but said nothing. Her hands held onto the arm of the man gripping her.
"Wayne," Bosco began, moving forward a fraction, considering the man seriously and with a certain level of caution, "put down the gun. You know as well as I do that you're not getting out of here any other way than in a squad car."
"Come any closer, and I'll shoot her," the man said in a rush, eyes darting to each of the members of the emergency services in turn.
"Okay," Bosco agreed, lowering his gun a little.
Bobby watched, wondering what was going through the male cop's head. Bobby rarely saw what went on in these situations, and he wasn't sure he really wanted to. He just wanted to grab Kim and get out of here. He wasn't about to admit it to anyone, but he was terrified.
The man on the floor stirred and groaned.
Yokas looked down at the wounded man, and then to Bosco, who had turned his head back to his partner. Bosco looked to the man he had called Wayne.
"The paramedic needs to help this man. He doesn't look too good. I'm guessing you had something to do with that, right, Wayne?"
The shadowed eyes snapped in Bosco's direction, and he stared for a moment. He seemed to be considering the policeman's intentions. After a while he nodded.
"Are you going to let Bobby here treat him?" Bosco ventured, tilting his head a little in inquiry.
Wayne stood there for another moment, before nodding swiftly.
Bobby carefully moved backwards, and then knelt at the side of the wounded man, dragging his paramedic's bag over to him. A few members of the nearby public had started to close in on the scene, and he looked back to them and shook his head, waving a hand to shoo them away. Reluctantly, they obeyed.
Bobby checked the man over as the conversation went on before him, finding that he had a steady rhythm, and it just seemed like he had a concussion. Still, he needed to get to a hospital.
The next thing he knew, a shot rang out, filling the New York air, drowning out everything but the screams of the public, who soon began to scatter in a panic. Their screams continued even after they had started to run.
Bobby looked up, thankful that no one had actually been hit. It seemed that Wayne had only become aggravated by the nagging police, and had fired a warning shot. Kim looked a little more frightened now. Bobby threw her a look that showed his promise to get her out of this alive.
"Put down the guns," Wayne said in a shaky voice, pointing his own weapon at them, "and kick them over here."
Bosco glanced to Yokas, who was already placing her gun on the floor. Bosco followed suit, shoving it with his shoe so that it skidded across the sidewalk over to Wayne. Yokas' gun came behind it.
"Now what, Wayne?" Bosco asked him, holding his arms out to show he was unarmed, and basically unthreatening. "We just wait here until a half a dozen squad cars fill this street? You know it's gonna happen, Wayne, and so do I."
Wayne shook his head. "I can't get arrested."
"Well, doesn't seem like you've got a lot of choice in the matter," Bosco said to him, lowering his arms. His eyes never left Wayne. "The only choice you've got is whether a charge of murder goes on top of what you've already done." Bosco was starting to sound more and more irritated by the minute, and Yokas reached forward, and mumbled something quietly to him. He ignored her. "Let the paramedic go... she didn't do anything to you, Wayne. Leave her out of this. Do you really want her to get hurt?"
Kim looked down at Bobby, and seemed a little scared of Bosco's tactic. She wasn't the only one.
But still, Wayne seemed to be in agreement. He shook his head slowly, looking a little shaken. It appeared that Bosco's words were sinking in and making sense to the man.
"So whadda ya' say you let her go, huh?"
Wayne stared at Bosco, and for a moment, Bobby thought he saw his grip on Kim loosen... just for a moment. But then he hesitated, and his gaze became hard.
"But they won't let me out of here without her."
Bosco shook his head, and his face was as though set in stone. "They're not gonna let you leave with her, and you know it. They'd kill you first, Wayne."
An insane smile crossed Wayne's face, and Bobby felt a rush of terror sweep through his body, even as he squeezed the trigger.
