Bobby Caffey walked down the road, hood covering his head and hands
in his pockets, eyes casually glancing about in consideration of the crowds
around him in every direction. His mind played back over the last few days,
and he remembered his call from Sully this morning, requesting that he
visit Boscorelli... just to check up on him, see how he was doing with the
disappearance of his partner.
He didn't really want to be in the path of Bosco right now, in a time like this, but Sully was a friend, and Bobby never was one to disappoint a friend, no matter who they were. That was just the kind of guy he was. Favours here and there never did any harm.
He yawned, having only been up a couple of hours, and let out a sigh. He had allowed himself to lie in this morning, until about ten, and now felt refreshed for it. Bobby had stopped by his local bagel place and had the usual, accompanied by a mug of steaming coffee.
Bobby rounded a corner, and saw Bosco's apartment building down the street, finding his pace quicken. The storm raged on overhead, the frequent rumbles of loud thunder shaking through Bobby's body it seemed, the flashing lighting up everything all around for quite some distance. There seemed to be nothing the rain couldn't soak today.
Eyes glancing about as he reached the steps leading up to the lobby, Bobby noted the absence of one blue and white Mustang, furrowing his brow.
Maybe it's parked around the corner, Bobby reasoned, and entered the building, pulling the drenched hood off of his head, and pressing the button for the elevator, waiting for quite a while, humming beneath his breath... some song he had heard on the radio upon waking. It had been in his mind since then.
When the elevator failed to show in sufficient time, Bobby settled for jogging up the steps. It was a good work out... or so he told himself to compensate for the exhausting climb. When he reached the floor he was after, he pushed out onto the landing, heading for the correct apartment.
He knocked on the door loudly three times, taking to whistling the tune quietly, waiting for a response.
"Why does everything want me to wait today?" he mused aloud upon receiving no reply. He tried again, and then again.
His hand dug about in his deep coat pocket, before he retrieved his cell phone, and rang the phone inside, hearing the ringing from out on the landing. After the second attempt, both times reaching the answering machine, Bobby closed the phone, and bit his lip.
"Not good," he mumbled, looking about as a neighbour curiously poked their head out of their door.
"Hi," Bobby greeted in a friendly manner, and jabbed with his thumb at Bosco's door. "Have you seen the guy who lives here today?"
"What? You mean the stubborn cop who thinks he knows it all?" the woman squeaked in a high-pitched voice that made Bobby grimace. "Yeah, sure. He left about an hour ago. Looked like he was on a mission or somethin'. I kept my nose out of it."
"Yeah, I bet," Bobby muttered quietly, noticing thankfully the woman did not hear, and nodded pensively. "Okay, thanks."
The woman nodded her acknowledgement, and shuffled back into her apartment, leaving Bobby standing in the hall, worrying for a little while, before he decided to call Sully.
The phone rang for a little while, before someone picked it up, and said, "Hello?"
"Hey, Sully, it's me, Bobby," he responded, one hand on his hip as he looked this way and that up the corridor, and then moved to the stairwell, starting the descent once again.
"Bobby, did you manage to reach Bosco?"
Bobby paused, and then replied simply, "No. I tried his apartment three times, rang his phone, and his car's gone."
"Crap," came the immediate response, as if on reflex, before Sully continued by saying, "Okay. Hey, would you mind swinging by the bridge from yesterday? He might be there."
Bobby sighed discreetly, yawning again, and agreed. "Sure. I'll give it a shot. I'll let you know what I find."
"Thanks, Bobby, you know I appreciate it."
Sully hung up, and Bobby was left in the silence of the stairwell, accompanied only by the sound of his own footsteps, and the falling rain from outside.
* * *
Bosco had sat in his car for nearly twenty minutes before deciding to step out into the mild shelter the rear of the bus garage provided. The sporadic solitary people that walked past him gave him odd looks, as though he were waiting to peddle drugs or something, but he ignored them, let them pass him right by.
He glanced at his watch; seeing that whoever he was waiting for was late... he should have expected that. A little bit of a cliché, but he didn't have a choice. At least, that was what he had been informed. He didn't want to be responsible for the death of his partner, especially when he knew he could do something to stop it.
There was the soft rumble of a car pulling up, and his eyes darted this way and that in search of it. He saw an old black Chevy, and frowned. Three men got out of the vehicle, and started moving in his direction.
Bosco had to fight the urge to pull out his gun there and then and order them to take him to Faith. But he knew better than that... didn't he?
Just don't, he told himself sternly, let them take you to her, just calm down.
It was difficult to do as his mind told him, but he took a deep breath, felt the rain drip off his hair, and forced the temptation down, just as the first man arrived before him, recognition settling in instantly within Bosco.
It was the guy who had thrown him off the bridge, looking rather smug too. The urge flared up inside of him again, and his right fist clenched. He tried to hide it, but the look he knew was in his eyes probably gave it away.
The man laughed for a moment, and then swung at him quickly, knocking him right off balance and to the ground, stunning him.
A kick in the side winded him, and made his whole body throb from the bruising he had gained in the car crash. He groaned loudly, and felt himself pulled off the ground.
* * *
Ty pulled the soaked hat off of his head as soon as he stepped into the locker room, and exhaled loudly, eyes looking around for his partner. As if on some silent cue, the man entered the room just behind him, startling him slightly.
"What's up?" Ty inquired upon seeing the expression on Sully's face.
"Get ready," Sully said quickly and nonchalantly, grabbing his coat from his locker, "roll call started a little early."
"Why? What happened?" Ty asked, immediately setting about getting changed into his uniform.
"Bosco's gone missing. Somebody called in about a deserted car on Lexington... we're gonna check it out."
Ty pulled his shirt on, doing up the buttons quickly, and found himself asking, "What kind of car?"
Sully simply looked at him, and sighed.
"Was it a Mustang?" Ty queried, completing his changing process, and shutting his locker, snatching his coat at the last moment. "Sully, was it a Mustang?"
"Blue and white," Sully said in response, and led the way out of the room. "We'll head over there, see what we can find out."
"How long has the car been there?"
"We don't know. Bobby went by Bosco's house, and then Third Avenue Bridge, and couldn't find anything." Sully shook his head, nodding to the officer on reception, and then walked out of the station.
Ty walked behind obediently, jogging after Sully to the car, cursing the bad weather.
* * *
Sully pulled the car up on the corner they had been told about when the call had come in, and saw the Mustang almost at once. It stood out a little in its surroundings, a blue and white sports car simply sitting unattended near to a bus garage. No wonder someone had called it in to the station.
Sully donned his hat, and stepped out of the car, moving immediately over to the vehicle that belonged -without a doubt- to Bosco. What the hell was it doing here? And where on Earth was its owner?
"Officer?" called a feminine voice, and Sully and Davis turned to see a young lady walking up to them. She didn't seem too well off, and looked at first glance to be quite startled. "I... I was the one who called in about the car."
"Thanks," Sully responded, and nodded once. "Did you see the man who was driving it? About five-foot-ten, brown hair, late twenties?"
She nodded vehemently after a moment of hesitation, face showing a full selection of emotions, ranging from confusion to fear.
"What did you see?" Davis asked of the young woman, looking her in the eye, cocking his head to do so. His hands were shoved protectively in his pockets, and the rain ran generously from off of his police cap.
The woman's hair hung limply beside her face, darkened with water, and her light eyes darted this way and that as though she were afraid someone would hear her, as she said, "I don't usually watch people..." she began, and swallowed visibly, continuing not long after, "but this guy just seemed so lost, like he didn't really know what he was doing here. He got out of the car after sitting there for a while... and waited over there." She paused, eyes downcast, hands wringing, as she persisted, "And then these three guys pulled up in a car, and came over to him."
She stopped, and looked them in the eye each in turn. Davis and Sully glanced to one another, and the former raised an eyebrow. Sully found his eyes looking about for a moment, before he asked, "What did the men do? Did they say anything, or...?"
The young woman shook her head, and shifted on her feet, before she told them, "They started... they hit him a couple of times, and then dragged him off to the car. They shoved him in the trunk. I didn't see anything else... they just drove off in a hurry." She looked to Sully, and appeared quite distressed. "I didn't know what else to do. I just called about the car, and waited 'til you got here. I was afraid to do anything else."
Davis nodded, reaching out with a hand gently, and touching her on the shoulder supportively. "It's okay." He paused, and then asked, "Did you see the car? Can you describe it?"
"Not really. It was black... kinda old."
Sully turned back, mind racing, forcing his eyes to leave the sight of the lonely Mustang, as he queried, "How old?"
"I dunno," she responded after a second, "looked a little like one of those Chevy-type cars. You know?"
"Yeah, I know," Sully agreed, and then sighed. "Okay, we're gonna have to ask you to come to the station with us, ma'am, is that okay?"
The nod was instantaneous, as though she were afraid to agree to anything else. Perhaps she felt protected with the police. She had no need to worry... too many midnight movies on cable, Sully supposed.
Davis led the woman over to the squad, leaving Sully to pause in the rain for a while, before following, reminding himself subconsciously to let the detectives know what they had learned. They would want to come and scout out the area, see what they could find.
Sully climbed into the car with a frown.
* * *
You're an idiot, was pretty much all that went through Bosco's head for the first half of the journey, before he started trying to kick the trunk open with his feet, his hands taped behind his back. He knew better than to try and cry out for help... not that it would have done any good to attempt it. No one would have heard him anyway.
He managed to make more than one dent in the trunk, before the car stopped rather swiftly, making him cease in his endeavour, and listen carefully. The engine wasn't running anymore, and the men had got out of the car.
Rain started falling into the trunk as soon as it was opened, and Bosco had to turn his head away from it, closing his eyes for a moment before feeling someone grab the front of his clothing roughly, and pull him right out.
The last thing he remembered was hitting the ground on the other side.
He didn't really want to be in the path of Bosco right now, in a time like this, but Sully was a friend, and Bobby never was one to disappoint a friend, no matter who they were. That was just the kind of guy he was. Favours here and there never did any harm.
He yawned, having only been up a couple of hours, and let out a sigh. He had allowed himself to lie in this morning, until about ten, and now felt refreshed for it. Bobby had stopped by his local bagel place and had the usual, accompanied by a mug of steaming coffee.
Bobby rounded a corner, and saw Bosco's apartment building down the street, finding his pace quicken. The storm raged on overhead, the frequent rumbles of loud thunder shaking through Bobby's body it seemed, the flashing lighting up everything all around for quite some distance. There seemed to be nothing the rain couldn't soak today.
Eyes glancing about as he reached the steps leading up to the lobby, Bobby noted the absence of one blue and white Mustang, furrowing his brow.
Maybe it's parked around the corner, Bobby reasoned, and entered the building, pulling the drenched hood off of his head, and pressing the button for the elevator, waiting for quite a while, humming beneath his breath... some song he had heard on the radio upon waking. It had been in his mind since then.
When the elevator failed to show in sufficient time, Bobby settled for jogging up the steps. It was a good work out... or so he told himself to compensate for the exhausting climb. When he reached the floor he was after, he pushed out onto the landing, heading for the correct apartment.
He knocked on the door loudly three times, taking to whistling the tune quietly, waiting for a response.
"Why does everything want me to wait today?" he mused aloud upon receiving no reply. He tried again, and then again.
His hand dug about in his deep coat pocket, before he retrieved his cell phone, and rang the phone inside, hearing the ringing from out on the landing. After the second attempt, both times reaching the answering machine, Bobby closed the phone, and bit his lip.
"Not good," he mumbled, looking about as a neighbour curiously poked their head out of their door.
"Hi," Bobby greeted in a friendly manner, and jabbed with his thumb at Bosco's door. "Have you seen the guy who lives here today?"
"What? You mean the stubborn cop who thinks he knows it all?" the woman squeaked in a high-pitched voice that made Bobby grimace. "Yeah, sure. He left about an hour ago. Looked like he was on a mission or somethin'. I kept my nose out of it."
"Yeah, I bet," Bobby muttered quietly, noticing thankfully the woman did not hear, and nodded pensively. "Okay, thanks."
The woman nodded her acknowledgement, and shuffled back into her apartment, leaving Bobby standing in the hall, worrying for a little while, before he decided to call Sully.
The phone rang for a little while, before someone picked it up, and said, "Hello?"
"Hey, Sully, it's me, Bobby," he responded, one hand on his hip as he looked this way and that up the corridor, and then moved to the stairwell, starting the descent once again.
"Bobby, did you manage to reach Bosco?"
Bobby paused, and then replied simply, "No. I tried his apartment three times, rang his phone, and his car's gone."
"Crap," came the immediate response, as if on reflex, before Sully continued by saying, "Okay. Hey, would you mind swinging by the bridge from yesterday? He might be there."
Bobby sighed discreetly, yawning again, and agreed. "Sure. I'll give it a shot. I'll let you know what I find."
"Thanks, Bobby, you know I appreciate it."
Sully hung up, and Bobby was left in the silence of the stairwell, accompanied only by the sound of his own footsteps, and the falling rain from outside.
* * *
Bosco had sat in his car for nearly twenty minutes before deciding to step out into the mild shelter the rear of the bus garage provided. The sporadic solitary people that walked past him gave him odd looks, as though he were waiting to peddle drugs or something, but he ignored them, let them pass him right by.
He glanced at his watch; seeing that whoever he was waiting for was late... he should have expected that. A little bit of a cliché, but he didn't have a choice. At least, that was what he had been informed. He didn't want to be responsible for the death of his partner, especially when he knew he could do something to stop it.
There was the soft rumble of a car pulling up, and his eyes darted this way and that in search of it. He saw an old black Chevy, and frowned. Three men got out of the vehicle, and started moving in his direction.
Bosco had to fight the urge to pull out his gun there and then and order them to take him to Faith. But he knew better than that... didn't he?
Just don't, he told himself sternly, let them take you to her, just calm down.
It was difficult to do as his mind told him, but he took a deep breath, felt the rain drip off his hair, and forced the temptation down, just as the first man arrived before him, recognition settling in instantly within Bosco.
It was the guy who had thrown him off the bridge, looking rather smug too. The urge flared up inside of him again, and his right fist clenched. He tried to hide it, but the look he knew was in his eyes probably gave it away.
The man laughed for a moment, and then swung at him quickly, knocking him right off balance and to the ground, stunning him.
A kick in the side winded him, and made his whole body throb from the bruising he had gained in the car crash. He groaned loudly, and felt himself pulled off the ground.
* * *
Ty pulled the soaked hat off of his head as soon as he stepped into the locker room, and exhaled loudly, eyes looking around for his partner. As if on some silent cue, the man entered the room just behind him, startling him slightly.
"What's up?" Ty inquired upon seeing the expression on Sully's face.
"Get ready," Sully said quickly and nonchalantly, grabbing his coat from his locker, "roll call started a little early."
"Why? What happened?" Ty asked, immediately setting about getting changed into his uniform.
"Bosco's gone missing. Somebody called in about a deserted car on Lexington... we're gonna check it out."
Ty pulled his shirt on, doing up the buttons quickly, and found himself asking, "What kind of car?"
Sully simply looked at him, and sighed.
"Was it a Mustang?" Ty queried, completing his changing process, and shutting his locker, snatching his coat at the last moment. "Sully, was it a Mustang?"
"Blue and white," Sully said in response, and led the way out of the room. "We'll head over there, see what we can find out."
"How long has the car been there?"
"We don't know. Bobby went by Bosco's house, and then Third Avenue Bridge, and couldn't find anything." Sully shook his head, nodding to the officer on reception, and then walked out of the station.
Ty walked behind obediently, jogging after Sully to the car, cursing the bad weather.
* * *
Sully pulled the car up on the corner they had been told about when the call had come in, and saw the Mustang almost at once. It stood out a little in its surroundings, a blue and white sports car simply sitting unattended near to a bus garage. No wonder someone had called it in to the station.
Sully donned his hat, and stepped out of the car, moving immediately over to the vehicle that belonged -without a doubt- to Bosco. What the hell was it doing here? And where on Earth was its owner?
"Officer?" called a feminine voice, and Sully and Davis turned to see a young lady walking up to them. She didn't seem too well off, and looked at first glance to be quite startled. "I... I was the one who called in about the car."
"Thanks," Sully responded, and nodded once. "Did you see the man who was driving it? About five-foot-ten, brown hair, late twenties?"
She nodded vehemently after a moment of hesitation, face showing a full selection of emotions, ranging from confusion to fear.
"What did you see?" Davis asked of the young woman, looking her in the eye, cocking his head to do so. His hands were shoved protectively in his pockets, and the rain ran generously from off of his police cap.
The woman's hair hung limply beside her face, darkened with water, and her light eyes darted this way and that as though she were afraid someone would hear her, as she said, "I don't usually watch people..." she began, and swallowed visibly, continuing not long after, "but this guy just seemed so lost, like he didn't really know what he was doing here. He got out of the car after sitting there for a while... and waited over there." She paused, eyes downcast, hands wringing, as she persisted, "And then these three guys pulled up in a car, and came over to him."
She stopped, and looked them in the eye each in turn. Davis and Sully glanced to one another, and the former raised an eyebrow. Sully found his eyes looking about for a moment, before he asked, "What did the men do? Did they say anything, or...?"
The young woman shook her head, and shifted on her feet, before she told them, "They started... they hit him a couple of times, and then dragged him off to the car. They shoved him in the trunk. I didn't see anything else... they just drove off in a hurry." She looked to Sully, and appeared quite distressed. "I didn't know what else to do. I just called about the car, and waited 'til you got here. I was afraid to do anything else."
Davis nodded, reaching out with a hand gently, and touching her on the shoulder supportively. "It's okay." He paused, and then asked, "Did you see the car? Can you describe it?"
"Not really. It was black... kinda old."
Sully turned back, mind racing, forcing his eyes to leave the sight of the lonely Mustang, as he queried, "How old?"
"I dunno," she responded after a second, "looked a little like one of those Chevy-type cars. You know?"
"Yeah, I know," Sully agreed, and then sighed. "Okay, we're gonna have to ask you to come to the station with us, ma'am, is that okay?"
The nod was instantaneous, as though she were afraid to agree to anything else. Perhaps she felt protected with the police. She had no need to worry... too many midnight movies on cable, Sully supposed.
Davis led the woman over to the squad, leaving Sully to pause in the rain for a while, before following, reminding himself subconsciously to let the detectives know what they had learned. They would want to come and scout out the area, see what they could find.
Sully climbed into the car with a frown.
* * *
You're an idiot, was pretty much all that went through Bosco's head for the first half of the journey, before he started trying to kick the trunk open with his feet, his hands taped behind his back. He knew better than to try and cry out for help... not that it would have done any good to attempt it. No one would have heard him anyway.
He managed to make more than one dent in the trunk, before the car stopped rather swiftly, making him cease in his endeavour, and listen carefully. The engine wasn't running anymore, and the men had got out of the car.
Rain started falling into the trunk as soon as it was opened, and Bosco had to turn his head away from it, closing his eyes for a moment before feeling someone grab the front of his clothing roughly, and pull him right out.
The last thing he remembered was hitting the ground on the other side.