Chain of Darkness
Chapter Eight--
**********
Bosco crawled into his bed, exhausted. The events of the day slowly played back through his mind as he lay there staring at the ceiling.
The looks on the faces of his fellow officers. The feeling of dread in his stomach. The terrible smell of burning gasoline. The gruesome sight of the coroner, extracting the remains of the body from the destroyed truck.
He recalled the way the Captain had addressed his men, his expression displayed obvious frustration and the tone of his voice was strong and brusque.
He remembered Faith, clearly disturbed, as they had returned to their RMP. His own uneasy feelings were churning inside him and they'd driven for a while in silence before Faith had started talking; speculating about what exactly was going on. He could tell she was getting scared. She was almost never scared, but this time there was a good reason to be. Three cops from their precinct had died in the last week. Three different times, three very different ways.
The idea of a serial killer had loomed over their conversation, but neither of them had wanted to accept that explanation as a possibility and the topic had been dropped and changed to a lighter subject. They had ended up joking around about silly things, each trying hard to stop thinking about it, if only for a moment.
His thoughts continued to whirl about in his mind, and a growing fear crept through his body.
It was late before he had cleared his mind enough to fall into a troubled sleep.
**********
He had been waiting in the 55th precinct parking lot, hidden in the shadows. The faces of the officers as they filed out of the main building were solemn, but a few of them were laughing and joking around about something. Apparently, his work hadn't affected them. Yet.
He smiled deviously, hardly containing his exhilaration. They were laughing now, but he'd make sure that before he was finished they would be quaking with fear. His plan had just begun, and the worst was yet to come.
Yes, he would make sure that they were afraid.
**********
"I don't believe it." Bosco groaned. "Why do we always get the stupid calls?"
They had just gotten in their third call from a fender-bender. The slick ice on the roads was causing people to lose control of their cars and slide into each other. None of the accidents had been in the least bit serious, and the only things for them to do were make sure everyone was all right and have the owners exchange insurance numbers. Frankly, it was very boring.
"Bosco, I'd much rather get the 'stupid' calls. At least no one is getting hurt."
He rolled his eyes, "I know, I know, but you have to admit that you like a little action, am I right?" He grinned and winked at her.
"After this week, action is the last thing we need." She murmured as she pulled the RMP up behind the small crash.
The two cars had been pushed to the side of the road, allowing traffic to drive by without any trouble. A couple of men stood to the side and appeared to be arguing. The taller of the two was gesturing forcefully with his hands and yelling.
"Great…" Bosco muttered. He got out of the car and walked over to them but they didn't seem to notice the cops and kept yelling at each other.
"Hey! Want to tell us what's going on?"
"Yeah, this jerk smashed up my new car!" The taller one's face was turning red with anger.
"Oh, com'on, it's icy—It's not like I did it on purpose!"
"Okay, okay, let's not get all worked up about this." Faith pulled out a paper and pen. "Now, lemme get your names."
The short man glared at his antagonist. "George Kendall. With two L's," he pointed out and watched as Bosco walked around the cars, assessing the damage.
"Okay, and you sir?"
The taller man's right hand slid into his pocket. "Jeff Anders, and I want you to put down that he totaled my car."
"What! I didn't total it! Look, it's just a fender-bender!"
"You stupid idiot! You smashed my brand-new car and you want to get away with only paying for a fender-bender!" his voice was shrill and he lunged at George, shoving him hard against his own car. George got up quickly and moved to hit him back, but the other man had anticipated this and grabbed his shoulders to block the attack. The two men now began a full-fledged fight, punching and pulling on each other.
"Hey! That's enough!" Bosco pushed his way in between the two struggling men, trying to separate them. They ignored him, and continued to go for the other, their faces nearly purple with rage.
Faith moved in to help, but pulled back, startled, when her eye caught a flash of metal. A scream caught in her throat and she watched in horror as a very angry Jeff Anders pulled a small knife from his pocket. Bosco, who was oblivious to the blade, was directly in between the men, still attempting to push the two apart.
Anders raised the knife and blindly thrust it at his adversary. The blade stabbed into Bosco's upper-arm and disappeared, pushing through his thick winter jacket.
Bosco groaned and cursed loudly, half-falling back a few steps as his hand went up to his injured shoulder. Anders took advantage of George, who had stopped to stare in disbelief, and proceeded to knock him down to the ground. His hands found George's neck and squeezed it roughly, trying to cut off his air supply.
Pulling out her nightstick, Faith ran up right behind Anders and gave a vicious swing at his back. He arched in pain and fell to the side, leaving George flat on his back, gasping for breath.
"You alright?" she yelled at him as he struggled to breathe regularly. He nodded a yes and tried to sit up. Anders was out cold, lying a few feet from Bosco. Taking out her handcuffs, she roughly caught up his limp hands and cuffed them together.
She moved quickly over to her partner who had sunk to the ground and was leaning up against one of the cars. He was holding his left arm close to his chest and grimacing in pain, the knife hilt sticking out a few inches.
"Oh my god, Bosco. Are you okay?"
He swallowed hard. "Um, yeah…I think so. This thing hurts like hell." The pain in his shoulder was starting to get stronger as his body slowly came out of shock. Faith knelt down beside him and grabbed her radio, called in for backup and a bus, and then began to ease his jacket off his uninjured arm.
"Stop," he moaned, "that kills!" Blood had seeped all the way through his jacket and a large, dark stain was forming.
"No, I need to get this off and put some pressure on it. I'm sorry." She got his right arm out of the jacket and leaned in, tugging it around to his other side. "Okay, I'm gonna have to pull it out, you ready?"
"I guess—Just do it fast." He turned his head so he couldn't see. Faith hesitated a moment before she forced herself to reach for and grasp the handle of the knife. As soon as she touched it, her partner cried out in pain. To save him any more agony, she yanked it out quickly and gasped at how deep it had been in his arm. Bosco doubled over, and groaning loudly he clutched his shoulder tightly.
"I'm sorry, Bosco! I'm so sorry!" She took his jacket off the rest of the way and placed her hand over the wound, pushing it down firmly. "I need to put pressure on it." He let out another groan, and clenched his teeth together.
"Okay, okay, enough…I don't think it's too bad." He pushed her hand away and after he took a good look at the gash, wrapped his own fingers around it. "Think it just caught the side of my arm."
"Yeah, well, the paramedics will be the judges of that. You just sit tight." She turned around when she heard sirens in the distance and got up to take care of the two men.
Bosco watched as she cuffed George and hauled a very disoriented Anders into the back seat of the cruiser. The paramedics pulled up, and Doc and Carlos jumped out, carrying their medical bag.
"What happened to you, Bosco?" Doc knelt down and pulled on some latex gloves.
"Aw, it's nothin', that stupid jerk over there pulled a knife on me."
As they began to work on him, Bosco leaned his head back against the car and closed his eyes
Here he was, sitting against a smashed-up car, holding his cut and bloodied arm, and all over a stupid fender-bender. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
**********
TBC... If you like it so far and want me to go on...review! Thanx :)
Chapter Eight--
**********
Bosco crawled into his bed, exhausted. The events of the day slowly played back through his mind as he lay there staring at the ceiling.
The looks on the faces of his fellow officers. The feeling of dread in his stomach. The terrible smell of burning gasoline. The gruesome sight of the coroner, extracting the remains of the body from the destroyed truck.
He recalled the way the Captain had addressed his men, his expression displayed obvious frustration and the tone of his voice was strong and brusque.
He remembered Faith, clearly disturbed, as they had returned to their RMP. His own uneasy feelings were churning inside him and they'd driven for a while in silence before Faith had started talking; speculating about what exactly was going on. He could tell she was getting scared. She was almost never scared, but this time there was a good reason to be. Three cops from their precinct had died in the last week. Three different times, three very different ways.
The idea of a serial killer had loomed over their conversation, but neither of them had wanted to accept that explanation as a possibility and the topic had been dropped and changed to a lighter subject. They had ended up joking around about silly things, each trying hard to stop thinking about it, if only for a moment.
His thoughts continued to whirl about in his mind, and a growing fear crept through his body.
It was late before he had cleared his mind enough to fall into a troubled sleep.
**********
He had been waiting in the 55th precinct parking lot, hidden in the shadows. The faces of the officers as they filed out of the main building were solemn, but a few of them were laughing and joking around about something. Apparently, his work hadn't affected them. Yet.
He smiled deviously, hardly containing his exhilaration. They were laughing now, but he'd make sure that before he was finished they would be quaking with fear. His plan had just begun, and the worst was yet to come.
Yes, he would make sure that they were afraid.
**********
"I don't believe it." Bosco groaned. "Why do we always get the stupid calls?"
They had just gotten in their third call from a fender-bender. The slick ice on the roads was causing people to lose control of their cars and slide into each other. None of the accidents had been in the least bit serious, and the only things for them to do were make sure everyone was all right and have the owners exchange insurance numbers. Frankly, it was very boring.
"Bosco, I'd much rather get the 'stupid' calls. At least no one is getting hurt."
He rolled his eyes, "I know, I know, but you have to admit that you like a little action, am I right?" He grinned and winked at her.
"After this week, action is the last thing we need." She murmured as she pulled the RMP up behind the small crash.
The two cars had been pushed to the side of the road, allowing traffic to drive by without any trouble. A couple of men stood to the side and appeared to be arguing. The taller of the two was gesturing forcefully with his hands and yelling.
"Great…" Bosco muttered. He got out of the car and walked over to them but they didn't seem to notice the cops and kept yelling at each other.
"Hey! Want to tell us what's going on?"
"Yeah, this jerk smashed up my new car!" The taller one's face was turning red with anger.
"Oh, com'on, it's icy—It's not like I did it on purpose!"
"Okay, okay, let's not get all worked up about this." Faith pulled out a paper and pen. "Now, lemme get your names."
The short man glared at his antagonist. "George Kendall. With two L's," he pointed out and watched as Bosco walked around the cars, assessing the damage.
"Okay, and you sir?"
The taller man's right hand slid into his pocket. "Jeff Anders, and I want you to put down that he totaled my car."
"What! I didn't total it! Look, it's just a fender-bender!"
"You stupid idiot! You smashed my brand-new car and you want to get away with only paying for a fender-bender!" his voice was shrill and he lunged at George, shoving him hard against his own car. George got up quickly and moved to hit him back, but the other man had anticipated this and grabbed his shoulders to block the attack. The two men now began a full-fledged fight, punching and pulling on each other.
"Hey! That's enough!" Bosco pushed his way in between the two struggling men, trying to separate them. They ignored him, and continued to go for the other, their faces nearly purple with rage.
Faith moved in to help, but pulled back, startled, when her eye caught a flash of metal. A scream caught in her throat and she watched in horror as a very angry Jeff Anders pulled a small knife from his pocket. Bosco, who was oblivious to the blade, was directly in between the men, still attempting to push the two apart.
Anders raised the knife and blindly thrust it at his adversary. The blade stabbed into Bosco's upper-arm and disappeared, pushing through his thick winter jacket.
Bosco groaned and cursed loudly, half-falling back a few steps as his hand went up to his injured shoulder. Anders took advantage of George, who had stopped to stare in disbelief, and proceeded to knock him down to the ground. His hands found George's neck and squeezed it roughly, trying to cut off his air supply.
Pulling out her nightstick, Faith ran up right behind Anders and gave a vicious swing at his back. He arched in pain and fell to the side, leaving George flat on his back, gasping for breath.
"You alright?" she yelled at him as he struggled to breathe regularly. He nodded a yes and tried to sit up. Anders was out cold, lying a few feet from Bosco. Taking out her handcuffs, she roughly caught up his limp hands and cuffed them together.
She moved quickly over to her partner who had sunk to the ground and was leaning up against one of the cars. He was holding his left arm close to his chest and grimacing in pain, the knife hilt sticking out a few inches.
"Oh my god, Bosco. Are you okay?"
He swallowed hard. "Um, yeah…I think so. This thing hurts like hell." The pain in his shoulder was starting to get stronger as his body slowly came out of shock. Faith knelt down beside him and grabbed her radio, called in for backup and a bus, and then began to ease his jacket off his uninjured arm.
"Stop," he moaned, "that kills!" Blood had seeped all the way through his jacket and a large, dark stain was forming.
"No, I need to get this off and put some pressure on it. I'm sorry." She got his right arm out of the jacket and leaned in, tugging it around to his other side. "Okay, I'm gonna have to pull it out, you ready?"
"I guess—Just do it fast." He turned his head so he couldn't see. Faith hesitated a moment before she forced herself to reach for and grasp the handle of the knife. As soon as she touched it, her partner cried out in pain. To save him any more agony, she yanked it out quickly and gasped at how deep it had been in his arm. Bosco doubled over, and groaning loudly he clutched his shoulder tightly.
"I'm sorry, Bosco! I'm so sorry!" She took his jacket off the rest of the way and placed her hand over the wound, pushing it down firmly. "I need to put pressure on it." He let out another groan, and clenched his teeth together.
"Okay, okay, enough…I don't think it's too bad." He pushed her hand away and after he took a good look at the gash, wrapped his own fingers around it. "Think it just caught the side of my arm."
"Yeah, well, the paramedics will be the judges of that. You just sit tight." She turned around when she heard sirens in the distance and got up to take care of the two men.
Bosco watched as she cuffed George and hauled a very disoriented Anders into the back seat of the cruiser. The paramedics pulled up, and Doc and Carlos jumped out, carrying their medical bag.
"What happened to you, Bosco?" Doc knelt down and pulled on some latex gloves.
"Aw, it's nothin', that stupid jerk over there pulled a knife on me."
As they began to work on him, Bosco leaned his head back against the car and closed his eyes
Here he was, sitting against a smashed-up car, holding his cut and bloodied arm, and all over a stupid fender-bender. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
**********
TBC... If you like it so far and want me to go on...review! Thanx :)