Revenge
Chapter 31
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kim and Carlos made their way across the street with Lucas, who was crying from the pain and fear that he was feeling.
Lucas' parents raced to his side and the medics let them see for themselves that their boy was alive before gently pushing them aside and tending to his wounds. They took advantage of the time the parents were seeing Lucas to gather themselves together. Kim was shaking and it took a moment to get her emotions under control again.
"Lucas, you're okay now. I promise, you're safe. Just try to relax. We're gonna get you fixed up and get you something for the pain," Carlos told the boy as they gathered vital signs and began treating him. It appeared that he had a through-and-through gunshot wound to his arm. There wasn't profuse bleeding, so it must have avoided any arteries, but they dressed and immobilized it in case there were any breaks in the arm from the bullet striking it on the way through. They put his leg in a traction splint and started IVs and administered oxygen. After stabilizing the boy, they turned him over to another unit that was standing by, deciding that they would stay and take care of Bosco when he was released.
After handing the boy's care off to the other medic team, Kim and Carlos were surrounded by the crew from the firehouse and some of the police officers. She leaned against their ambulance and looked past the officers and firefighters. She locked eyes with Rose Boscorelli and stood up. Walking through the crowd, leaving Carlos behind to tell them what it was like in there, she walked over to where the three were standing. Lieutenant Swerky, Ty and Sully followed her over to them.
"He's alive," she said first to the three of them. Rose began to cry with relief, leaning against Mikey. Trisha took a deep breath and smiled. "I knew it," she said. "I felt him still here," she added, touching her chest to indicate her heart.
"How bad is he?" Trisha asked then.
"It's bad. I won't lie. The guy wouldn't let me help him and he got real mad when I was checking him, so I had to stop. He's got at least two gunshot wounds and one of them looks a couple of days old. He's got bruises and abrasions and I'm pretty sure he's got an infection - probably from the old wound. He's not conscious," she said, not wanting to worry them more, but not wanting to let them think everything was fine when it wasn't.
"Thank you," Rose told Kim.
"Kim, what's it like in there?" Ty asked her as Sully and Swersky listened.
"It's a house. They're in the bedroom where the window's broken. I don't know how much longer he's gonna last. He's lost a lot of blood and he's in shock. I don't even know if he knew we were there. It looks like he threw himself over the kid when the guy started shooting again and got hit the second time. The guy must've beat the crap out of him," she said.
"Where is he? On a chair, bed, on the floor?" Swersky asked as the ESU Commander came over.
"He's on the floor. Faith was in the room with him, but I don't know if he split them up or not. I gave Faith something," Kim said, looking up at the officers.
"What? What d'you mean?" Sully asked.
"I gave her the biggest IV needle I could. If she can stab him with it and catch him off guard, maybe she can get the gun away. I couldn't think of anything else. I though about the morphine we carry, but that has to go into a vein to get enough of it into him to knock him out," Kim told them.
Ty and Sully looked at Kim and smiled. "Well, it might work," Sully said.
"Yeah, that's IF she can get it into him without getting shot herself," Kim reminded them.
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"You have to know that this is wrong, Paul," Faith said, trying to use a casual tone. "But it's not too late. You can end this now without anyone else getting hurt. No one else needs to get hurt," she said, not looking away from him.
"It is too late. It was too late all those years ago. When you and your partner," he said with a sneer, looking at Bosco, "ran down my family. All I had in the world."
"No. You know as well as I do that it was NOT Bosco's fault. I know you didn't mean for that to happen. People make mistakes. Unfortunately, they're mistakes that can't be fixed," Faith told him. "Don't make another mistake. Don't make another family go through what you had to go through," she said, hoping to play on the feelings of loss he'd been feeling for all these years.
"I never meant for it to happen," he said, tears filling his eyes. "I was late so I was rushing. I didn't hear the sirens."
"Of course you never meant for it to happen. Bosco and I have had to live with the what-ifs all these years too. What if that guy we were chasing never ran, or waited a few more minutes to run. We would have missed each other completely. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry that you lost your family. I can only imagine what you're going through. But this isn't right. You know that as well as I do," she said, thinking that maybe she was making some progress.
Bosco moaned and opened his eyes for a moment. "Faith?" he whispered. Faith tightened her grip on his arm.
"It's okay, Bos. Just hold on," she said, looking down at him.
"I knew you'd come. Tell Trish..," he said, before fading again.
"You can tell her yourself, Partner," she said, looking back at Peterson.
She thought she was making progress with him, but she could actually see the hardness come back into his eyes and she knew that she was losing him again. He was going back into his own world. The world where he did nothing wrong and Bosco and Faith killed his family. "I've gotta get him back into reality again," she told herself, trying to figure out how to do just that.
She stood up slowly, so as not to cause him to think she was going to attack him. "Paul. Please. Let me get him some help. Then we'll figure out a way to get you out of this. I promise. I'll stay here and help you get out of this. We'll figure it out together," she offered, holding a hand out to him.
He looked at her hand and saw the blood of her partner on it. He knew there was no way he was going to get out of it. "No. It's too late," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a lighter. "Smoke doesn't hurt. You'll just go to sleep," he said, lighting it.
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TBC...
Chapter 31
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kim and Carlos made their way across the street with Lucas, who was crying from the pain and fear that he was feeling.
Lucas' parents raced to his side and the medics let them see for themselves that their boy was alive before gently pushing them aside and tending to his wounds. They took advantage of the time the parents were seeing Lucas to gather themselves together. Kim was shaking and it took a moment to get her emotions under control again.
"Lucas, you're okay now. I promise, you're safe. Just try to relax. We're gonna get you fixed up and get you something for the pain," Carlos told the boy as they gathered vital signs and began treating him. It appeared that he had a through-and-through gunshot wound to his arm. There wasn't profuse bleeding, so it must have avoided any arteries, but they dressed and immobilized it in case there were any breaks in the arm from the bullet striking it on the way through. They put his leg in a traction splint and started IVs and administered oxygen. After stabilizing the boy, they turned him over to another unit that was standing by, deciding that they would stay and take care of Bosco when he was released.
After handing the boy's care off to the other medic team, Kim and Carlos were surrounded by the crew from the firehouse and some of the police officers. She leaned against their ambulance and looked past the officers and firefighters. She locked eyes with Rose Boscorelli and stood up. Walking through the crowd, leaving Carlos behind to tell them what it was like in there, she walked over to where the three were standing. Lieutenant Swerky, Ty and Sully followed her over to them.
"He's alive," she said first to the three of them. Rose began to cry with relief, leaning against Mikey. Trisha took a deep breath and smiled. "I knew it," she said. "I felt him still here," she added, touching her chest to indicate her heart.
"How bad is he?" Trisha asked then.
"It's bad. I won't lie. The guy wouldn't let me help him and he got real mad when I was checking him, so I had to stop. He's got at least two gunshot wounds and one of them looks a couple of days old. He's got bruises and abrasions and I'm pretty sure he's got an infection - probably from the old wound. He's not conscious," she said, not wanting to worry them more, but not wanting to let them think everything was fine when it wasn't.
"Thank you," Rose told Kim.
"Kim, what's it like in there?" Ty asked her as Sully and Swersky listened.
"It's a house. They're in the bedroom where the window's broken. I don't know how much longer he's gonna last. He's lost a lot of blood and he's in shock. I don't even know if he knew we were there. It looks like he threw himself over the kid when the guy started shooting again and got hit the second time. The guy must've beat the crap out of him," she said.
"Where is he? On a chair, bed, on the floor?" Swersky asked as the ESU Commander came over.
"He's on the floor. Faith was in the room with him, but I don't know if he split them up or not. I gave Faith something," Kim said, looking up at the officers.
"What? What d'you mean?" Sully asked.
"I gave her the biggest IV needle I could. If she can stab him with it and catch him off guard, maybe she can get the gun away. I couldn't think of anything else. I though about the morphine we carry, but that has to go into a vein to get enough of it into him to knock him out," Kim told them.
Ty and Sully looked at Kim and smiled. "Well, it might work," Sully said.
"Yeah, that's IF she can get it into him without getting shot herself," Kim reminded them.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
"You have to know that this is wrong, Paul," Faith said, trying to use a casual tone. "But it's not too late. You can end this now without anyone else getting hurt. No one else needs to get hurt," she said, not looking away from him.
"It is too late. It was too late all those years ago. When you and your partner," he said with a sneer, looking at Bosco, "ran down my family. All I had in the world."
"No. You know as well as I do that it was NOT Bosco's fault. I know you didn't mean for that to happen. People make mistakes. Unfortunately, they're mistakes that can't be fixed," Faith told him. "Don't make another mistake. Don't make another family go through what you had to go through," she said, hoping to play on the feelings of loss he'd been feeling for all these years.
"I never meant for it to happen," he said, tears filling his eyes. "I was late so I was rushing. I didn't hear the sirens."
"Of course you never meant for it to happen. Bosco and I have had to live with the what-ifs all these years too. What if that guy we were chasing never ran, or waited a few more minutes to run. We would have missed each other completely. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry that you lost your family. I can only imagine what you're going through. But this isn't right. You know that as well as I do," she said, thinking that maybe she was making some progress.
Bosco moaned and opened his eyes for a moment. "Faith?" he whispered. Faith tightened her grip on his arm.
"It's okay, Bos. Just hold on," she said, looking down at him.
"I knew you'd come. Tell Trish..," he said, before fading again.
"You can tell her yourself, Partner," she said, looking back at Peterson.
She thought she was making progress with him, but she could actually see the hardness come back into his eyes and she knew that she was losing him again. He was going back into his own world. The world where he did nothing wrong and Bosco and Faith killed his family. "I've gotta get him back into reality again," she told herself, trying to figure out how to do just that.
She stood up slowly, so as not to cause him to think she was going to attack him. "Paul. Please. Let me get him some help. Then we'll figure out a way to get you out of this. I promise. I'll stay here and help you get out of this. We'll figure it out together," she offered, holding a hand out to him.
He looked at her hand and saw the blood of her partner on it. He knew there was no way he was going to get out of it. "No. It's too late," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a lighter. "Smoke doesn't hurt. You'll just go to sleep," he said, lighting it.
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TBC...