Helping Hand
Chapter 14
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faith listened on the radio that was at the front desk as the multiple units arrived at and handled the large gang fight that had broken out at King and 198th. It had taken the responding officers about an hour to get everything under control and there had been a few injuries to members of the NYPD in the process. Faith had been taking the calls from officers at the hospital calling in to report that they or their partners were at Mercy getting treatment for the various injuries received - thankfully, none life-threatening or requiring hospitalization.
Her phone rang again and she answered, "55th Precinct. Officer Yokas."
Bosco hesitated for a moment, forgetting that she'd be answering the phone.
"55th Precinct. Can I help you?" Faith repeated into the phone.
"Um, yeah. Faith, it's Bosco. I'm over at Mercy. Has Swersky been looking for me yet?" Bosco finally was able to get out.
"Bosco? Did you get hurt?" Faith asked.
"Nothing major. Just the usual bumps and bruises," he said and she could hear the smirk in his voice. He'd always worn his wounds as a badge of honor and she smiled as she remembered. "Has Lieu been looking for me? He was supposed to call me to pick him up when he was done at Headquarters, but I was tied up at this gang fight," he asked again.
"Oh, yeah. He called a little while ago, but he knew you were tied up, so I grabbed an RMP and went over to pick him up. So, you're all set," she told him.
"Alright. We'll, if anyone's looking for me, I'm just waiting for this jag-off to get a medical clearance and then I'll be bringing in two for booking," he told her.
"Alright. See you in a bit," she said, hanging up the phone, her hand remaining on the phone for a moment.
She looked up to see the Lieutenant walking by and reported what Bosco had said. "What happened to him?" the Lieutenant asked.
"Nothing major, Lieu. At least that's what he said," Faith told him.
"Yeah. Nothing major. The last time he said that, he ended up unconscious in the locker room from a concussion that no one knew about because he never got checked out at the hospital," Swersky reminder her.
"Yeah. I remember that. But, he was making sense and everything.... Come to think of it, maybe that means he does have a head injury," she joked, getting a chuckle from the Lieutenant as she shuddered at the memory of walking into the locker room and finding him sprawled out on the floor by his locker.
"Just the same, have him report to me when he gets back," he said, walking off toward his office.
"Yes, Sir," she replied and went back to work.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Another half hour sent by and Faith heard the familiar sound of Bosco parading a prisoner into the booking area bringing a smile to her face. It had been a long time since she'd heard her partner's "gentle" urging of a prisoner. "Hmm," she thought to herself, noticing that she still referred to Bosco as her partner. Truth was, she hadn't decided if she could even go back out on the street, let alone be partnered with Bosco again. She wasn't sure she could trust him again.
"Move it, Jag-off!" she heard, immediately followed by the sound of the door to the cell slamming shut. "Now just sit down across from each other, because if I have to come in there and separate the two of you, you'll find yourselves back in the hospital before you know what hit you!"
"Yo! Officer Boscorelli...," started one of the prisoners as she heard Bosco stomp heavily down the stairs behind the desk.
"Save it, Jag-off. I've heard enough out of your mouth to last me a lifetime. Just sit there and shut up!" he finished, roughly slapping his paperwork on the desk. Faith glanced up to see him rubbing his head as if he had a headache. She noticed the bruise on the side of his head, near his temple.
"What the hell happened to you?! You look like crap," she said, concern for the bruise that seemed to be getting more purple right before her eyes. She noticed the tired look to his face, his brow furrowed.
"Well, it's good to know that my looks reflect the way I feel, because I feel like crap," Bosco replied jovially despite his pounding headache.
"Did you get looked at?" Faith asked him, leaning around to get a better look. "And is that stitches?" she added.
"I'm fine. Yes, I got looked at and yes, I got a couple stitches," he said as if he were being mothered.
"Oh, okay," Faith said, noting the look on his face from her concern. Some things never change - he hated being fussed over. "Swersky wanted you to check in with him when you got back," she told him.
"Okay. Just let me get these two idiots into the system first," he said. He started the paperwork while standing at the desk and was able to catch sight of Faith while he wrote.
"So, how is it being back?" Bosco asked casually, not looking up from his papers.
"Uh, it's kinda weird actually," she said, her hands resting on what she was working on as she turned toward Bosco. "I feel like I've been gone forever. There's new faces in the records room," she said with surprise on her face. "I had to actually introduce myself and show my ID when I went down there earlier."
"Yeah. Did you see that Marlie that's down there?" Bosco said, acting like his old self with her. He caught himself and glanced up at her to see the smile on her face.
"She's young enough to be your daughter, Bos," she teased him.
"She's older than she looks," he said in defense.
"So, you've already been out with her?" Faith asked.
"No, but I'm working on it. I'm wearing her down," he joked back.
Faith was just about to tease him with something else when they were interrupted by the sound of gunfire outside the building. They each instinctively reached for their weapons and dropped down low. As quickly as they heard the shots and dropped toward the floor, they heard another burst of gunfire and the sound of glass breaking as the shots broke through the front door and windows of the Precinct. Bosco quickly scooted around the desk so that he was behind it with Faith, somewhat protected from the bullets being launched through the front of the building.
At the same time, Faith reached up and grabbed the phone. She pushed the speed dial button for the dispatcher and began to inform the dispatcher that the 55th was under attack and to send help from the neighboring Precincts and those from the 55th that were still out on patrol. A split-second later, the sound of the dispatcher's voice spilled over all the radios in the station giving the information that Faith had phoned in and dispatching units from all over to respond.
"We've gotta get to better cover," Bosco said, turning toward Faith and seeing the look on her face. It wasn't until then that he felt the burning pain in his shoulder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 14
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faith listened on the radio that was at the front desk as the multiple units arrived at and handled the large gang fight that had broken out at King and 198th. It had taken the responding officers about an hour to get everything under control and there had been a few injuries to members of the NYPD in the process. Faith had been taking the calls from officers at the hospital calling in to report that they or their partners were at Mercy getting treatment for the various injuries received - thankfully, none life-threatening or requiring hospitalization.
Her phone rang again and she answered, "55th Precinct. Officer Yokas."
Bosco hesitated for a moment, forgetting that she'd be answering the phone.
"55th Precinct. Can I help you?" Faith repeated into the phone.
"Um, yeah. Faith, it's Bosco. I'm over at Mercy. Has Swersky been looking for me yet?" Bosco finally was able to get out.
"Bosco? Did you get hurt?" Faith asked.
"Nothing major. Just the usual bumps and bruises," he said and she could hear the smirk in his voice. He'd always worn his wounds as a badge of honor and she smiled as she remembered. "Has Lieu been looking for me? He was supposed to call me to pick him up when he was done at Headquarters, but I was tied up at this gang fight," he asked again.
"Oh, yeah. He called a little while ago, but he knew you were tied up, so I grabbed an RMP and went over to pick him up. So, you're all set," she told him.
"Alright. We'll, if anyone's looking for me, I'm just waiting for this jag-off to get a medical clearance and then I'll be bringing in two for booking," he told her.
"Alright. See you in a bit," she said, hanging up the phone, her hand remaining on the phone for a moment.
She looked up to see the Lieutenant walking by and reported what Bosco had said. "What happened to him?" the Lieutenant asked.
"Nothing major, Lieu. At least that's what he said," Faith told him.
"Yeah. Nothing major. The last time he said that, he ended up unconscious in the locker room from a concussion that no one knew about because he never got checked out at the hospital," Swersky reminder her.
"Yeah. I remember that. But, he was making sense and everything.... Come to think of it, maybe that means he does have a head injury," she joked, getting a chuckle from the Lieutenant as she shuddered at the memory of walking into the locker room and finding him sprawled out on the floor by his locker.
"Just the same, have him report to me when he gets back," he said, walking off toward his office.
"Yes, Sir," she replied and went back to work.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Another half hour sent by and Faith heard the familiar sound of Bosco parading a prisoner into the booking area bringing a smile to her face. It had been a long time since she'd heard her partner's "gentle" urging of a prisoner. "Hmm," she thought to herself, noticing that she still referred to Bosco as her partner. Truth was, she hadn't decided if she could even go back out on the street, let alone be partnered with Bosco again. She wasn't sure she could trust him again.
"Move it, Jag-off!" she heard, immediately followed by the sound of the door to the cell slamming shut. "Now just sit down across from each other, because if I have to come in there and separate the two of you, you'll find yourselves back in the hospital before you know what hit you!"
"Yo! Officer Boscorelli...," started one of the prisoners as she heard Bosco stomp heavily down the stairs behind the desk.
"Save it, Jag-off. I've heard enough out of your mouth to last me a lifetime. Just sit there and shut up!" he finished, roughly slapping his paperwork on the desk. Faith glanced up to see him rubbing his head as if he had a headache. She noticed the bruise on the side of his head, near his temple.
"What the hell happened to you?! You look like crap," she said, concern for the bruise that seemed to be getting more purple right before her eyes. She noticed the tired look to his face, his brow furrowed.
"Well, it's good to know that my looks reflect the way I feel, because I feel like crap," Bosco replied jovially despite his pounding headache.
"Did you get looked at?" Faith asked him, leaning around to get a better look. "And is that stitches?" she added.
"I'm fine. Yes, I got looked at and yes, I got a couple stitches," he said as if he were being mothered.
"Oh, okay," Faith said, noting the look on his face from her concern. Some things never change - he hated being fussed over. "Swersky wanted you to check in with him when you got back," she told him.
"Okay. Just let me get these two idiots into the system first," he said. He started the paperwork while standing at the desk and was able to catch sight of Faith while he wrote.
"So, how is it being back?" Bosco asked casually, not looking up from his papers.
"Uh, it's kinda weird actually," she said, her hands resting on what she was working on as she turned toward Bosco. "I feel like I've been gone forever. There's new faces in the records room," she said with surprise on her face. "I had to actually introduce myself and show my ID when I went down there earlier."
"Yeah. Did you see that Marlie that's down there?" Bosco said, acting like his old self with her. He caught himself and glanced up at her to see the smile on her face.
"She's young enough to be your daughter, Bos," she teased him.
"She's older than she looks," he said in defense.
"So, you've already been out with her?" Faith asked.
"No, but I'm working on it. I'm wearing her down," he joked back.
Faith was just about to tease him with something else when they were interrupted by the sound of gunfire outside the building. They each instinctively reached for their weapons and dropped down low. As quickly as they heard the shots and dropped toward the floor, they heard another burst of gunfire and the sound of glass breaking as the shots broke through the front door and windows of the Precinct. Bosco quickly scooted around the desk so that he was behind it with Faith, somewhat protected from the bullets being launched through the front of the building.
At the same time, Faith reached up and grabbed the phone. She pushed the speed dial button for the dispatcher and began to inform the dispatcher that the 55th was under attack and to send help from the neighboring Precincts and those from the 55th that were still out on patrol. A split-second later, the sound of the dispatcher's voice spilled over all the radios in the station giving the information that Faith had phoned in and dispatching units from all over to respond.
"We've gotta get to better cover," Bosco said, turning toward Faith and seeing the look on her face. It wasn't until then that he felt the burning pain in his shoulder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...