I knew I had blown it when I noticed Cruz arrive at the bar. Awe shit Bosco. Awe shit. She sat across from me as if 'we' had never changed a small pout on her lips. How she figured out what I was up to, was beyond my knowledge, all I knew was that I was busted. We were over as soon as she lied about the notebooks and the truth was, I knew it. Why did I have to tell Faith to get the gun, why dam nit? Why? As Cruz raced out of the bar I pleaded for her to stop. If she cared at all about me, she would have. Let's just say, she didn't look back once.
That was right when reality slapped me in the face. I prayed that Faith never went to Noble's place. If she did, we were both in deep shit and I was bringing her down with me, subconsciously. Faith didn't deserve it, not Faith my real partner. She was too good for me, too good of a cop, too good of a friend. It wasn't time to stress about my relationship with Cruz, I had to do something. I chased after her and raced to Noble's place hoping to god I would arrive before her by a small short cut I made.
As I stood near Noble's door I listened for any sign of life, hoping and praying, no-one stood behind the door. There was too much at stake, friendship, love, and our lives. I knew if Faith had the gun, she wasn't going to give it to Cruz without my consent. I knew Cruz as well, if Faith didn't give her the gun within her patients time, someone wasn't going to walk out of that hotel room alive. So I did the only thing I could think to do, I budged the door ajar with my foot and luckily it opened, "Faith?" I yelled in waiting for a response. Please, Faith, don't tell me you are in there. Please don't ever give up your meal break for me! Please god!
"I'm back here Bosco!" Faith's voice echoed in my ears. I cursed as I walked in quickly, too my surprise, Noble arrived right behind me. As I headed down the hall towards the living room where Cruz and Faith stood face to face, my stomach did a summersault. Cruz held her gun at her side, she looked over to me and then to Noble, her eyes scanning us all. Cruz's gun was out and I knew why. I wasn't as stupid as she thought I was. Cruz started yelling for Noble to get out but I objecting stopped her sternly.
"No, Noble's staying here. That's it Cruz, we're locking him up." I told her after looking to Faith, then back to Cruz, my eyes locking with hers for a matter of seconds. Don't do this. I knew she wasn't going to back down, and I could tell, by the amused look on her face, she was having fun.
"No-one is getting locked up here!" Cruz yelled back at me as Noble shrieked in confusion.
After another moment of bickering I thought long and hard what to say. If any of us were still standing by the end of the night, I knew perfectly well, I was going to have to break her. So I did the worst thing I could, "It won't concern you." Well by the look on her darkened face, I knew she was ticked. She was starting to become more insane by the minute. She was in a rage.
"It won't concern me?" Cruz whispered in a cut edge tone. "That son of a bitch Beuford killed my sister! Let me tell you a little something about doing the write thing, anti crime, there's a problem, we fix it, nobody asks how," She paused slightly, "And we don't tell them." She hissed like a snake.
The rest of her twisted words were beyond my ears, I was too busy, too busy watching where she was swinging her gun. For a moment I swore she would shoot me, right then and there, shoot me in my cold blood. But then I realized how weak she was, she couldn't shoot me and that was the damn truth. Maybe she'll shoot herself, was the main thought. Her finger gripped the trigger as she swung the gun around from my chest to hers, like there was a connection at all between the two of us. I knew there was. It was that minute I realized how similar the two of us were, lonely and just trying to do the right thing. I had always said for the time I knew her, I'd never be like her, I would never cut corners and plot a little scheme on people to get there asses in the slammer. Those days, were over. And then I finally realized, I would, and I did the day I let her cover up for Noble. I had known about it way before the notebooks, Faith knew. She told me. A part of me didn't believe her, but the other, knew it was true. I had hid it so deep in the back of my brain and let Cruz brainwash me. Well that was over.
Cruz was going crazy; I was watching her break before my very eyes. I had expected tears to fall, and her to fall to the floor hysterical. That was my definition of breaking down. But I was watching her break in a whole new way. She was not longer sane; when she held that gun I knew to hell, she wasn't going to hesitate to use it.
Unholstering my gun in my belt, I could tell she saw me, watching her, waiting for something to happen. My expression had fallen solemn and miserable. Things didn't have to be this way! We could have worked something out, Cruz! Don't do this! I knew what she was going to do, what this all was going to come down to. It was a race, a race to survive. I then looked to Faith after Cruz screamed at her once again to give her Noble's gun. Faith, just give her the damn gun! I thought, I didn't say it, I thought it, and I sure as hell should have told her then and there to hand the gun over to Cruz if you didn't want to have a bullet lodged in your flesh.
The race had begun when Faith had lifted Noble's gun, securely in the handkerchief, offering it to Cruz, ever so threatening. My heart stopped and I held my breath; I was beginning to fight back my tears of horror. I knew what Faith was going to do, I knew her for what, eight years? She was going to turn her gun on Cruz and I just stood there, like a moron, ready to watch from the stands. I then looked to Cruz sadly. She knew what Faith was going to do as well, I could tell by the look in her narrowed eyes. Do something you jackass or are you just going to stand here like a moron and watch your two 'friends' fall to death. I wasn't sure what to label Cruz anymore, there relationship was already twisted as it is and I wasn't going to go out and called her my 'lover,' those days were over as sad enough as it was for me to realize it. Faith was my best friend, my true partner; I couldn't let her die for me. This was my entire fault; everything up to this moment was to blame on me.
That's when it happened, Faith swung Noble's gun around aiming at Cruz, Cruz followed with hers raised to Faith. This is it Bosco. My gun instinctively rose defensively. Maybe if I shoot something, they will get scared, back down, maybe? Wrong Bosco, I could tell by the look in Cruz and Faith's eyes that neither one was ready to back down. This was a fight to the death.
"Nooooo!" I heard myself scream. It echoed in my ears as my last plead. I was beginning them, nearly at my knees crying for them to stop. Don't do this! You two idiots! Don't do this! Faith's gun went off a second after, along with mine, and Cruz's. I don't know why I pulled the trigger, hell; I don't even know where I was aiming. I had been turning from Faith to Cruz; this was a 50/50 chance that it hit one of them. I cursed not even a second later realizing what I had done. I had ended the race.
