Title: Deliver Us From Evil (Sequel to Punish the Children) (13/?)
Author: Lynne Facella
Category: Drama/Angst
Rating: PG-13
Email: lynne1919@aol.com
Spoilers: Through current season 4
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero. I wish they were mine but unfortunately they're not.
Summary: An enemy returns, endangering the lives of Ty, Sully, Bosco and Faith.
Notes: As always, thanks so much for your comments. I very much appreciate them.
******
"Carlos?" Doc exited the firehouse and zippered up his jacket. It was starting to get pretty chilly. He looked around and finally spotted Carlos, leaning back against a parked RMP and staring off into the distance. He paused for a moment, unsure if he should approach him, but finally decided to. "What are you doing over here?"
"I told you. I just needed some air."
Doc nodded. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Doc," Carlos answered with a sigh. He knew that Doc just meant well, but he had come out here for a reason. He didn't see why everyone had to be following him around all the time.
"You want to talk about it?"
Carlos shook his head. "There really isn't much to talk about, Doc. I told you how I'm feeling about all this. I just hope they find them, you know?"
Doc nodded. "I do know. I'm worried too. I've known them all for a long time, especially Sully. We go back a lot of years."
"Yeah I know," Carlos replied. It still wasn't the same though. He and Ty had started out as just roommates, but their friendship had really grown. Ty had turned out to be someone he could really trust and now...he didn't even want to think of what Ty and the others might be going through.
"Why don't you come back upstairs with me?" Doc asked, patting Carlos' shoulder. "Have something to eat. It'll make you feel better."
"I'll be up soon..." Carlos couldn't even think of eating and he didn't really want to be sociable either. Right now he just wanted to be left alone.
******
"Have you chosen your contestants?" They heard his booming voice from way down the hall. Waters was coming. This was it. Bosco turned towards Faith and gently traced the contour of her cheek with his fingers, as he gazed back at her, engraining every detail of her face into his memory. Then he drew her into his arms and kissed her... a tender lingering kiss... "I love you, Faith."
For a few brief moments, she forgot her illness and lost herself in the warmth of his lips, fully aware that they might never be together like this again. "I love you too," she whispered.
"You hang in there for me, okay?" His eyes filled with emotion as he gazed back at her. He hated leaving her like this, but he knew it was ultimately the only real chance he had to protect her. "We'll be back soon and we'll get you out of here and to a doctor. Everything will be alright."
"I know it will be." She smiled at him then, a sincere, genuine smile, knowing it was something that he needed to see. She knew how much he cared about her and how much he needed to believe she would be okay...Just as she needed to believe he would be alright as well...
******
"Guess this is it," Ty stated as Seth's footsteps came closer.
"You be careful out there, Ty...just...be careful," Sully's voice broke slightly as he stared back at his partner, knowing all too well he might never see him again.
"I will, Sul...you too..."
Sully nodded and then pulled Ty into an embrace, holding him tightly. His thoughts went to Ty's father and he wished to God he could have found some way to protect the man's son. "Take care of yourself."
Ty nodded. "I will, Sul...I..."
"Aww ain't that the sweetest thing?" Seth interrupted, smiling smugly at them from outside the bars of the cell. "Looks like this little prison has turned into the love shack."
"Shut the hell up." Ty pulled away from Sully and turned to glare at Seth.
"So have you made your decision?" Seth asked, ignoring Ty's outburst. "Or do I get to choose for you?"
"We've made our decision, jag-off," Bosco stated. He got up off the bed and walked over to stand with Ty. "Davis and I will play your little game."
Seth nodded, a satisfied look on his face. "Just as I suspected. The strong, young bucks will try to outrun the great white hunter."
"Oh we're gonna do a lot more than try," said Bosco. "This is one case where the hunter will become the hunted."
"You can always hope," Seth chuckled. "But I wouldn't bet the farm on it." He beckoned for two gunmen who were standing behind him in the shadows to come forward.
"Bosco?" Faith called out, her eyes expressing everything that she couldn't say at that moment. "Please take care of yourself."
"I'll be back, Faith," he stated with a note of certainty in his voice. "I love you."
"I love you too, Bos."
Seth put his hand over his chest in dramatic fashion. "And I love you both! This is so touching. Such love and warmth... Too bad you won't be seeing each other again, but those are the breaks." He then glanced at Faith with an expression of distaste on his face. She certainly wasn't very appealing to him now looking as sick as she did. She was pale with dark circles under her eyes and limp, stringy hair. It was just his luck that she was the one who would be sick. He really wished it had been one of her male companions.
Seth reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, which he then handed to Ty. "You're cuffing us?" Ty asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding. You're not giving us any kind of a chance at all."
"Oh, calm down," Seth said. "This is just until we get you out to where the game begins. I'm not taking any chances with you two. Now cuff Officer Big-Mouth over there."
Ty reluctantly fastened the handcuffs to Bosco's wrists and then Seth roughly grabbed Ty and cuffed him as Faith and Sully watched helplessly.
"Okay, let's get moving," Seth said, waving his gun at the men. Bosco and Ty each cast one last look at his partner and then they were led away, leaving Faith and Sully behind and very much alone.
******
Emily lay on her bed, with tear tracks on her cheeks, as she stared unseeingly at her bedroom wall. She heard the light knocking on her door, but ignored it, trying to force the sound out of her mind. The knocking persisted though and she heard the door creak open. "Emily? Come on Em...I know you're awake."
'Go away, daddy,' she pleaded mentally as she squeezed her eyes closed. Any other time she would have wanted to talk to him, would have welcomed him in fact, but not now. He couldn't help her with this. Every bad thing she had ever said or done to her mother seemed to be coming back at her now in waves. She just couldn't get it out of her head.
Fred sighed to himself. He just didn't know how to help her. Hell, he didn't know how to help himself or Charlie either. There had been so many bad feelings between he and Faith, but he had always sort of assumed they'd resolve everything one day. If not with a reconciliation, at least with the chance of a better understanding between them. Now...well now he didn't know what was going to happen.
"I'm taking your brother out to get some ice cream...try to get his mind off this for a little while. Do you want to come along?"
'Just leave...' she begged inwardly as she concentrated on her breathing...long, even breaths. Please make him believe she was asleep so he'd just go away.
"Okay, Em..." Fred said as he started out of her room. "We'll bring you back something..."
She heard the door close and buried her head into her pillow as a fresh round of sobs escaped her. As if ice cream could help...nothing would ever help unless their mother came back to them safe and sound.
******
"You doing alright?" Sully asked quietly as he stood by Faith's bedside. He hated this. Although he understood in his head why Bosco and Ty were the rational choice in Waters' bizarre hunt, he still felt in his heart that he should be with Ty. They had been partners for over four years and worked together like clockwork. He also felt that Bosco should be with Faith...she needed him...hell they obviously needed each other. None of this was the way it was supposed to be.
"Fine," Faith replied, unsuccessfully trying to stifle another intense spell of coughing.
Sully sighed. They both knew she wasn't fine, but he didn't suppose there was anything he could do about it right now. Hopefully it was some sort of a viral infection that would just run its course and then she would start to recover. He couldn't even let himself think it was anything worse than that. As it was, his stomach was tied up in knots over whatever the hell Seth had planned for Bosco and Ty. They had only been gone for a half hour and already his imagination was working overtime, imagining the worst.
"I wish we knew what was going on," Faith said quietly, voicing Sully's thoughts.
"Yeah, me too...guess we just have to hope for the best," Sully replied gruffly.
Faith nodded. Hope for the best... That was going to be a lot easier said than done.
******
Ty shivered against a sharp gust of wind as they continued making their way through the thick brush. Seth had been leading them deeper and deeper into the woods and Ty had lost all sense of direction. He hoped Bosco was managing to keep it together a little bit more than he was. Hopefully his Army Ranger training would come in handy. Finally Seth stopped and turned around to face Ty and Bosco. "Here's where the game will begin."
"Any particular reason?" Bosco asked. He knew Seth had been trying to get them disoriented and he hated to admit it had worked. Because of the handcuffs and the close watch being kept on them by Seth's armed men, it had been virtually impossible to mark any kind of a path. One thing was for sure...this was one vast island. He wondered about Seth's own survival skills, what kind of training he had. Bosco knew his own skills were good, but the lack of a weapon was the thing that put he and Ty at a distinct disadvantage. He would put himself up against anyone in one-on-one combat, but there was no defense against a sniper who picked his victims off from a distance. Bosco had already experienced that first hand the day Seth had shot him at Krista's memorial service. There was just so much they didn't know right now.
"Because I said so," Seth smirked.
"Great reason," Ty stated as he nibbled on his lower lip. The underlying tone of nervousness in Ty's voice caused Seth's smile to widen. The younger officer already seemed to have lost some of his bravado. Maybe this was going to be even easier than he had anticipated.
"I'm going to give you a one hour head start," Seth said, beckoning for his men to remove the cuffs from Ty and Bosco. "Then I'll be coming after you."
"We get no weapons?" Bosco asked as he rubbed his wrists.
"That's right," Seth replied with a nod. "You're prey. You should be able to get by with your own cunning and initiative. If you're not worthy well...you deserve whatever happens to you..."
Ty was starting to feel sick to his stomach. As much as he wanted to get this guy, he wasn't feeling too optimistic about their chances right now. Running around in the woods while some maniac tried to shoot them wasn't exactly his idea of a good time.
"Yeah we know," Bosco stated confidently, allowing just a trace of a smile to touch the corners of his lips. Damned if he was going to give this freak even the slightest inkling that he was nervous.
Seth nodded. Bosco talked a good game, but when Seth had him cornered with no hope of escape, he wouldn't be so cocky. He'd have Bosco begging for mercy.
"Alright then gentlemen. On your mark, get set. Go!"
Author: Lynne Facella
Category: Drama/Angst
Rating: PG-13
Email: lynne1919@aol.com
Spoilers: Through current season 4
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero. I wish they were mine but unfortunately they're not.
Summary: An enemy returns, endangering the lives of Ty, Sully, Bosco and Faith.
Notes: As always, thanks so much for your comments. I very much appreciate them.
******
"Carlos?" Doc exited the firehouse and zippered up his jacket. It was starting to get pretty chilly. He looked around and finally spotted Carlos, leaning back against a parked RMP and staring off into the distance. He paused for a moment, unsure if he should approach him, but finally decided to. "What are you doing over here?"
"I told you. I just needed some air."
Doc nodded. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Doc," Carlos answered with a sigh. He knew that Doc just meant well, but he had come out here for a reason. He didn't see why everyone had to be following him around all the time.
"You want to talk about it?"
Carlos shook his head. "There really isn't much to talk about, Doc. I told you how I'm feeling about all this. I just hope they find them, you know?"
Doc nodded. "I do know. I'm worried too. I've known them all for a long time, especially Sully. We go back a lot of years."
"Yeah I know," Carlos replied. It still wasn't the same though. He and Ty had started out as just roommates, but their friendship had really grown. Ty had turned out to be someone he could really trust and now...he didn't even want to think of what Ty and the others might be going through.
"Why don't you come back upstairs with me?" Doc asked, patting Carlos' shoulder. "Have something to eat. It'll make you feel better."
"I'll be up soon..." Carlos couldn't even think of eating and he didn't really want to be sociable either. Right now he just wanted to be left alone.
******
"Have you chosen your contestants?" They heard his booming voice from way down the hall. Waters was coming. This was it. Bosco turned towards Faith and gently traced the contour of her cheek with his fingers, as he gazed back at her, engraining every detail of her face into his memory. Then he drew her into his arms and kissed her... a tender lingering kiss... "I love you, Faith."
For a few brief moments, she forgot her illness and lost herself in the warmth of his lips, fully aware that they might never be together like this again. "I love you too," she whispered.
"You hang in there for me, okay?" His eyes filled with emotion as he gazed back at her. He hated leaving her like this, but he knew it was ultimately the only real chance he had to protect her. "We'll be back soon and we'll get you out of here and to a doctor. Everything will be alright."
"I know it will be." She smiled at him then, a sincere, genuine smile, knowing it was something that he needed to see. She knew how much he cared about her and how much he needed to believe she would be okay...Just as she needed to believe he would be alright as well...
******
"Guess this is it," Ty stated as Seth's footsteps came closer.
"You be careful out there, Ty...just...be careful," Sully's voice broke slightly as he stared back at his partner, knowing all too well he might never see him again.
"I will, Sul...you too..."
Sully nodded and then pulled Ty into an embrace, holding him tightly. His thoughts went to Ty's father and he wished to God he could have found some way to protect the man's son. "Take care of yourself."
Ty nodded. "I will, Sul...I..."
"Aww ain't that the sweetest thing?" Seth interrupted, smiling smugly at them from outside the bars of the cell. "Looks like this little prison has turned into the love shack."
"Shut the hell up." Ty pulled away from Sully and turned to glare at Seth.
"So have you made your decision?" Seth asked, ignoring Ty's outburst. "Or do I get to choose for you?"
"We've made our decision, jag-off," Bosco stated. He got up off the bed and walked over to stand with Ty. "Davis and I will play your little game."
Seth nodded, a satisfied look on his face. "Just as I suspected. The strong, young bucks will try to outrun the great white hunter."
"Oh we're gonna do a lot more than try," said Bosco. "This is one case where the hunter will become the hunted."
"You can always hope," Seth chuckled. "But I wouldn't bet the farm on it." He beckoned for two gunmen who were standing behind him in the shadows to come forward.
"Bosco?" Faith called out, her eyes expressing everything that she couldn't say at that moment. "Please take care of yourself."
"I'll be back, Faith," he stated with a note of certainty in his voice. "I love you."
"I love you too, Bos."
Seth put his hand over his chest in dramatic fashion. "And I love you both! This is so touching. Such love and warmth... Too bad you won't be seeing each other again, but those are the breaks." He then glanced at Faith with an expression of distaste on his face. She certainly wasn't very appealing to him now looking as sick as she did. She was pale with dark circles under her eyes and limp, stringy hair. It was just his luck that she was the one who would be sick. He really wished it had been one of her male companions.
Seth reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, which he then handed to Ty. "You're cuffing us?" Ty asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding. You're not giving us any kind of a chance at all."
"Oh, calm down," Seth said. "This is just until we get you out to where the game begins. I'm not taking any chances with you two. Now cuff Officer Big-Mouth over there."
Ty reluctantly fastened the handcuffs to Bosco's wrists and then Seth roughly grabbed Ty and cuffed him as Faith and Sully watched helplessly.
"Okay, let's get moving," Seth said, waving his gun at the men. Bosco and Ty each cast one last look at his partner and then they were led away, leaving Faith and Sully behind and very much alone.
******
Emily lay on her bed, with tear tracks on her cheeks, as she stared unseeingly at her bedroom wall. She heard the light knocking on her door, but ignored it, trying to force the sound out of her mind. The knocking persisted though and she heard the door creak open. "Emily? Come on Em...I know you're awake."
'Go away, daddy,' she pleaded mentally as she squeezed her eyes closed. Any other time she would have wanted to talk to him, would have welcomed him in fact, but not now. He couldn't help her with this. Every bad thing she had ever said or done to her mother seemed to be coming back at her now in waves. She just couldn't get it out of her head.
Fred sighed to himself. He just didn't know how to help her. Hell, he didn't know how to help himself or Charlie either. There had been so many bad feelings between he and Faith, but he had always sort of assumed they'd resolve everything one day. If not with a reconciliation, at least with the chance of a better understanding between them. Now...well now he didn't know what was going to happen.
"I'm taking your brother out to get some ice cream...try to get his mind off this for a little while. Do you want to come along?"
'Just leave...' she begged inwardly as she concentrated on her breathing...long, even breaths. Please make him believe she was asleep so he'd just go away.
"Okay, Em..." Fred said as he started out of her room. "We'll bring you back something..."
She heard the door close and buried her head into her pillow as a fresh round of sobs escaped her. As if ice cream could help...nothing would ever help unless their mother came back to them safe and sound.
******
"You doing alright?" Sully asked quietly as he stood by Faith's bedside. He hated this. Although he understood in his head why Bosco and Ty were the rational choice in Waters' bizarre hunt, he still felt in his heart that he should be with Ty. They had been partners for over four years and worked together like clockwork. He also felt that Bosco should be with Faith...she needed him...hell they obviously needed each other. None of this was the way it was supposed to be.
"Fine," Faith replied, unsuccessfully trying to stifle another intense spell of coughing.
Sully sighed. They both knew she wasn't fine, but he didn't suppose there was anything he could do about it right now. Hopefully it was some sort of a viral infection that would just run its course and then she would start to recover. He couldn't even let himself think it was anything worse than that. As it was, his stomach was tied up in knots over whatever the hell Seth had planned for Bosco and Ty. They had only been gone for a half hour and already his imagination was working overtime, imagining the worst.
"I wish we knew what was going on," Faith said quietly, voicing Sully's thoughts.
"Yeah, me too...guess we just have to hope for the best," Sully replied gruffly.
Faith nodded. Hope for the best... That was going to be a lot easier said than done.
******
Ty shivered against a sharp gust of wind as they continued making their way through the thick brush. Seth had been leading them deeper and deeper into the woods and Ty had lost all sense of direction. He hoped Bosco was managing to keep it together a little bit more than he was. Hopefully his Army Ranger training would come in handy. Finally Seth stopped and turned around to face Ty and Bosco. "Here's where the game will begin."
"Any particular reason?" Bosco asked. He knew Seth had been trying to get them disoriented and he hated to admit it had worked. Because of the handcuffs and the close watch being kept on them by Seth's armed men, it had been virtually impossible to mark any kind of a path. One thing was for sure...this was one vast island. He wondered about Seth's own survival skills, what kind of training he had. Bosco knew his own skills were good, but the lack of a weapon was the thing that put he and Ty at a distinct disadvantage. He would put himself up against anyone in one-on-one combat, but there was no defense against a sniper who picked his victims off from a distance. Bosco had already experienced that first hand the day Seth had shot him at Krista's memorial service. There was just so much they didn't know right now.
"Because I said so," Seth smirked.
"Great reason," Ty stated as he nibbled on his lower lip. The underlying tone of nervousness in Ty's voice caused Seth's smile to widen. The younger officer already seemed to have lost some of his bravado. Maybe this was going to be even easier than he had anticipated.
"I'm going to give you a one hour head start," Seth said, beckoning for his men to remove the cuffs from Ty and Bosco. "Then I'll be coming after you."
"We get no weapons?" Bosco asked as he rubbed his wrists.
"That's right," Seth replied with a nod. "You're prey. You should be able to get by with your own cunning and initiative. If you're not worthy well...you deserve whatever happens to you..."
Ty was starting to feel sick to his stomach. As much as he wanted to get this guy, he wasn't feeling too optimistic about their chances right now. Running around in the woods while some maniac tried to shoot them wasn't exactly his idea of a good time.
"Yeah we know," Bosco stated confidently, allowing just a trace of a smile to touch the corners of his lips. Damned if he was going to give this freak even the slightest inkling that he was nervous.
Seth nodded. Bosco talked a good game, but when Seth had him cornered with no hope of escape, he wouldn't be so cocky. He'd have Bosco begging for mercy.
"Alright then gentlemen. On your mark, get set. Go!"