Revenge
Chapter 22
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was dark and Lucas and Tommy waited until everyone seemed to be asleep. True to her word, Missy hadn't said anything to anyone about what they'd seen earlier.
"Tommy," whispered Lucas in the darkness of the room.
"Yeah," Tommy whispered back.
"Whatta you think?"
"You think your Mom and Dad are asleep yet?" Tommy asked looking over at the clock on Lucas' dresser.
"Yeah," Lucas said.
The boys got up as quietly as they could, but Bailey heard them and started to pace, thinking that the boys wanted to play.
"Bailey!" Lucas shouted in a whisper. "Quiet. You got me in enough trouble tonight," he told the dog, who cocked his head and perked his ears up.
Lucas was thinking about when he had to relay to his father about how he'd gotten the bruise on his chest. His father joked that the bruise looked like a tattoo. And then his mother was brushing the dog and found grease in his fur and chips of blue around his collar and tags. Lucas explained that Bailey had gotten under the car in the old garage and he'd had to pull him out. "That's the color of the car in there. I hope he didn't scratch it up too bad," Lucas had explained.
Bailey was getting so excited at their moving around that Lucas decided it would be easier to take Bailey with them. They could tie him to the tree outside the old house rather then leave him here to bark and wake up his parents.
The boys finished gathering everything, making sure they had everything on their checklist; jackets, flashlights, slingshots - they could pick up some rocks on their way over for ammunition. Satisfied that they had everything, they quietly crept up the hallway and out the back door.
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Faith was taking her meal break with Sully and Davis. Carlos and Kim had met up with them.
"So, have you had any luck at all yet?" Kim asked in between sips of her soda.
"No. I'm really starting to get frustrated," Faith admitted, pushing her plate of food away.
Sully looked at his friend and saw the tiredness in her eyes. "Have you taken a break at all?"
She just looked at him and changed the subject. "I'm gonna head over to 143rd and Arthur to see if I can talk to Mazie. Maybe she can talk to her pimp and see if he's heard anything."
"Faith," Sully started, intending to bring her back to the question he'd originally asked.
"Sully. I can't. Okay? I just can't. Not until I find him. Who knows, he could be hurt out there, waiting for someone to come after him. He'd never stop looking for me," Faith said, standing up and throwing $10 on the table to cover her meal and portion of the tip. She turned and walked out the door toward her RMP, unaware of the eyes that followed her. Not the eyes of her co-workers, but the eyes of Bosco's captor.
Bosco hadn't awakened in quite some time. He was still alive. His pulse was still strong enough - at least as far as Richards could determine. He'd decided to take advantage of the cover of darkness and get some more supplies. He was running low on food in the house and he wanted to hear what the word was on the missing NYPD police officer. He'd made sure that Boscorelli was secured in case he did awaken, and he placed a gag on his mouth in case he tried to call for help.
Now, he sat at the counter of the diner and watched the television while he was listening to Faith and her co-workers. It seemed like they flashed the picture of Boscorelli and the information every commercial break. He watched as they showed the same make of car that he had stashed in his garage - away from prying eyes.
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Lucas and Tommy had crept silently toward the house. There were no lights on in the house and they peeked through the same window. They could see what they thought was a person lying on the bed, but it wasn't moving and they couldn't tell if it was a person or just stuff thrown on the bed.
"I dare you to go inside," Tommy said to his friend.
"What?!" Lucas said, almost too loud.
"I double dare you," Tommy said with a grin.
"No way. What if that guy is in there?" Lucas reasoned.
"There's no one in there. Bailey's been barking for the last ten minutes and no one's moved in there. That old guy sure wouldn't want to put up with a dog barking outside of his house," Tommy explained to him. "But, if you're too scared...," he went on.
"I'm not scared," Lucas said defiantly. "You go in with me," he counter-dared.
"Someone's gotta be the lookout," Tommy explained sensibly.
"Yeah, right. I think you're the one that's chicken. Afraid of an old, haunted house," Lucas teased.
"Okay. We'll go in together," Tommy suddenly answered bravely. The two boys shined their flashlights around the rooms of the house and made a little noise to see if anyone stirred. Satisfied that the house was empty, they jiggled the old, weathered lock on the back door and were surprised when it finally gave and the door was ajar. Despite Bailey's barking, the two boys snuck inside, as quiet as they could be. They quietly walked through the house exploring and were in the doorway to the bedroom when they heard the back door open slowly.
Both boys gasped and looked at each other, fear evident in their eyes. Lucas was the first to move, pushing Tommy into the bedroom ahead of him. "Hide under the bed," he whispered. Both boys crossed the room to the bed and started to get to their knees to crawl under. Both froze in their tracks when they saw the man lying on the bed, tied up with a cloth rag stuck in his mouth and a dark stain that looked like blood on his side.
The sound of bags being set down in the kitchen brought them back to reality and both scurried under the bed as they heard the footsteps coming down the hall. They looked out from under the bed and saw only the work boots of the man in the doorway.
"Awake yet, Officer Boscorelli?" the man called out. Not getting an answer, the man made a disgusted noise and crossed over to the bed. Both boys held their breath and cringed close to each other as the man stopped alongside the bed.
The bed above them shook as the man must have shaken the one on the bed in an attempt to wake him up. "Everything been quiet around here, I assume" the man said, half laughing.
Richards felt for a pulse and was rewarded with one. He watched Bosco's chest rise and fall slowly, satisfied that he was still alive.
"Well, let me tell you. NYPD's finest are leaving no stone unturned in looking for you. Too bad they have no idea where to look," the man chuckled, walking back out and up the hallway toward the kitchen. A few minutes later the boys smelled food cooking on the stove.
"What're we gonna do?" Tommy mouthed to Lucas without sound.
"I don't know," Lucas mouthed back. In the silence that followed, Lucas realized that he didn't hear Bailey barking anymore. He hoped that the man hadn't found him and hurt him. "I don't hear Bailey," Lucas told his friend.
"Maybe he went for help. You know, like Lassie," Tommy told him.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Bailey fell silent when the man walked up the driveway, knowing that his boy was inside the house. He watched as the man walked up the steps and opened the back door, a low growl escaping the dog's throat. He pulled at his leash and it finally broke free. He ran to the house and was unable to find a way in. He ran around the house, whimpering, sensing the danger that the boys were in.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*
Faith pulled into the parking spot outside of the Precinct and waked into the House. She stopped at the desk to see if there'd been any developments. "Thanks, Lieu," she said to the Lieutenant at the desk after he updated her. "I'll be in the office going through more reports," she told him.
"You still think there's something in there," he stated, knowing that it was useless to argue with her about going home to get some rest.
Faith paused for a moment and then said, "Yeah, Lieu. I do. Maybe it's just a gut feeling, but I can't ignore it."
Lieutenant Swersky nodded and watched as Faith walked down the hallway and around the corner.
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TBC...
Chapter 22
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was dark and Lucas and Tommy waited until everyone seemed to be asleep. True to her word, Missy hadn't said anything to anyone about what they'd seen earlier.
"Tommy," whispered Lucas in the darkness of the room.
"Yeah," Tommy whispered back.
"Whatta you think?"
"You think your Mom and Dad are asleep yet?" Tommy asked looking over at the clock on Lucas' dresser.
"Yeah," Lucas said.
The boys got up as quietly as they could, but Bailey heard them and started to pace, thinking that the boys wanted to play.
"Bailey!" Lucas shouted in a whisper. "Quiet. You got me in enough trouble tonight," he told the dog, who cocked his head and perked his ears up.
Lucas was thinking about when he had to relay to his father about how he'd gotten the bruise on his chest. His father joked that the bruise looked like a tattoo. And then his mother was brushing the dog and found grease in his fur and chips of blue around his collar and tags. Lucas explained that Bailey had gotten under the car in the old garage and he'd had to pull him out. "That's the color of the car in there. I hope he didn't scratch it up too bad," Lucas had explained.
Bailey was getting so excited at their moving around that Lucas decided it would be easier to take Bailey with them. They could tie him to the tree outside the old house rather then leave him here to bark and wake up his parents.
The boys finished gathering everything, making sure they had everything on their checklist; jackets, flashlights, slingshots - they could pick up some rocks on their way over for ammunition. Satisfied that they had everything, they quietly crept up the hallway and out the back door.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Faith was taking her meal break with Sully and Davis. Carlos and Kim had met up with them.
"So, have you had any luck at all yet?" Kim asked in between sips of her soda.
"No. I'm really starting to get frustrated," Faith admitted, pushing her plate of food away.
Sully looked at his friend and saw the tiredness in her eyes. "Have you taken a break at all?"
She just looked at him and changed the subject. "I'm gonna head over to 143rd and Arthur to see if I can talk to Mazie. Maybe she can talk to her pimp and see if he's heard anything."
"Faith," Sully started, intending to bring her back to the question he'd originally asked.
"Sully. I can't. Okay? I just can't. Not until I find him. Who knows, he could be hurt out there, waiting for someone to come after him. He'd never stop looking for me," Faith said, standing up and throwing $10 on the table to cover her meal and portion of the tip. She turned and walked out the door toward her RMP, unaware of the eyes that followed her. Not the eyes of her co-workers, but the eyes of Bosco's captor.
Bosco hadn't awakened in quite some time. He was still alive. His pulse was still strong enough - at least as far as Richards could determine. He'd decided to take advantage of the cover of darkness and get some more supplies. He was running low on food in the house and he wanted to hear what the word was on the missing NYPD police officer. He'd made sure that Boscorelli was secured in case he did awaken, and he placed a gag on his mouth in case he tried to call for help.
Now, he sat at the counter of the diner and watched the television while he was listening to Faith and her co-workers. It seemed like they flashed the picture of Boscorelli and the information every commercial break. He watched as they showed the same make of car that he had stashed in his garage - away from prying eyes.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Lucas and Tommy had crept silently toward the house. There were no lights on in the house and they peeked through the same window. They could see what they thought was a person lying on the bed, but it wasn't moving and they couldn't tell if it was a person or just stuff thrown on the bed.
"I dare you to go inside," Tommy said to his friend.
"What?!" Lucas said, almost too loud.
"I double dare you," Tommy said with a grin.
"No way. What if that guy is in there?" Lucas reasoned.
"There's no one in there. Bailey's been barking for the last ten minutes and no one's moved in there. That old guy sure wouldn't want to put up with a dog barking outside of his house," Tommy explained to him. "But, if you're too scared...," he went on.
"I'm not scared," Lucas said defiantly. "You go in with me," he counter-dared.
"Someone's gotta be the lookout," Tommy explained sensibly.
"Yeah, right. I think you're the one that's chicken. Afraid of an old, haunted house," Lucas teased.
"Okay. We'll go in together," Tommy suddenly answered bravely. The two boys shined their flashlights around the rooms of the house and made a little noise to see if anyone stirred. Satisfied that the house was empty, they jiggled the old, weathered lock on the back door and were surprised when it finally gave and the door was ajar. Despite Bailey's barking, the two boys snuck inside, as quiet as they could be. They quietly walked through the house exploring and were in the doorway to the bedroom when they heard the back door open slowly.
Both boys gasped and looked at each other, fear evident in their eyes. Lucas was the first to move, pushing Tommy into the bedroom ahead of him. "Hide under the bed," he whispered. Both boys crossed the room to the bed and started to get to their knees to crawl under. Both froze in their tracks when they saw the man lying on the bed, tied up with a cloth rag stuck in his mouth and a dark stain that looked like blood on his side.
The sound of bags being set down in the kitchen brought them back to reality and both scurried under the bed as they heard the footsteps coming down the hall. They looked out from under the bed and saw only the work boots of the man in the doorway.
"Awake yet, Officer Boscorelli?" the man called out. Not getting an answer, the man made a disgusted noise and crossed over to the bed. Both boys held their breath and cringed close to each other as the man stopped alongside the bed.
The bed above them shook as the man must have shaken the one on the bed in an attempt to wake him up. "Everything been quiet around here, I assume" the man said, half laughing.
Richards felt for a pulse and was rewarded with one. He watched Bosco's chest rise and fall slowly, satisfied that he was still alive.
"Well, let me tell you. NYPD's finest are leaving no stone unturned in looking for you. Too bad they have no idea where to look," the man chuckled, walking back out and up the hallway toward the kitchen. A few minutes later the boys smelled food cooking on the stove.
"What're we gonna do?" Tommy mouthed to Lucas without sound.
"I don't know," Lucas mouthed back. In the silence that followed, Lucas realized that he didn't hear Bailey barking anymore. He hoped that the man hadn't found him and hurt him. "I don't hear Bailey," Lucas told his friend.
"Maybe he went for help. You know, like Lassie," Tommy told him.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Bailey fell silent when the man walked up the driveway, knowing that his boy was inside the house. He watched as the man walked up the steps and opened the back door, a low growl escaping the dog's throat. He pulled at his leash and it finally broke free. He ran to the house and was unable to find a way in. He ran around the house, whimpering, sensing the danger that the boys were in.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*
Faith pulled into the parking spot outside of the Precinct and waked into the House. She stopped at the desk to see if there'd been any developments. "Thanks, Lieu," she said to the Lieutenant at the desk after he updated her. "I'll be in the office going through more reports," she told him.
"You still think there's something in there," he stated, knowing that it was useless to argue with her about going home to get some rest.
Faith paused for a moment and then said, "Yeah, Lieu. I do. Maybe it's just a gut feeling, but I can't ignore it."
Lieutenant Swersky nodded and watched as Faith walked down the hallway and around the corner.
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TBC...