Swersy looked with disgust at the two in front of him. "You know I'm going to throw the book at you two. I'll make sure you never see the world as free people again. You are charged with the murder of Drew Paul, the attempted murder of Maurice Boscorelli, assault against an officer with a deadly weapon, tampering with evidence, perjury, and every other thing I can possibly can.
"Sully," he turned his gaze to the officer. "We don't want to make any mistakes here, so let's go over the checklist again."
"Ok."
The Lieu listed them one by one, and Sully nodded to each one. "Did you Mirandize them?"
Sully thought hard for a moment, then shook his head. "Nope, that wasn't exactly high on my priority list at the time. Sorry."
"Ok, well, that means I get the pleasure. Sergeant Cruz, Officer Thomas, you are both under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you by a court of law…"
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"Ok, guys, keep working on that temp, don't let it climb." Roberts was relentless. I'm not gonna let this one go…I'm not gonna let this monster take one more person. So help me God…
**Flashback**
- Here, it's not gonna hurt. It's gonna make you feel good." A teenaged Roberts handed the tablet to his brother.
"What is it?" he asked suspiciously.
"Just a little Ecstasy. Nothing too strong. You'll feel great, I promise." Roberts pulled a similar pill out of a small plastic bag in his pocket. "Here, I'll take one too. See?" he put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it with a gulp of beer.
**End of Flashback**
He shook the thoughts out of his head. Too painful.
"Doctor, his vitals are getting worse. Temp and BP's rising, heart rate increasing in irregularity. I'm afraid if this keeps up much longer, there'll be serious neurological damage, and he might die."
The words brought another flood of memories back. Emergency room…doctors working…saying things that he could not understand.
**Flashback**
-He can't live much longer like this, Doctor." Roberts watched from the corner as they worked over his little brother. "It's all my fault," he moaned, sobbing, still high. "I gave him the wrong one, it's all my fault. It looked just like the other one. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."
"It's the only way to save his life. We have to do it," the doctor said.
"But doctor, the drugs could interact with the ones already in his system and kill him."
"It's the only way. We have to get him relaxed. He is spreading the drugs much faster through his bloodstream by moving around so much, the convulsions are going to kill him. He needs a muscle relaxant." Roberts didn't realize he spoke the doctor's words aloud.
His brother had died. It had been too late. He had spent his entire life repenting and making up for the emptiness he felt in his soul. I have to save him…
"What?" the head nurse asked in surprise.
"You heard me. I'm not going to repeat myself. Just do it. Now."
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Faith watched. There was a prayer running through her head, over and over and over…
Please let him live…he's a good person, he doesn't deserve it to end like this…
She watched as the nurse injected Bosco with a drug. Watched as he kept struggling feebly, then fell limply back against the sheets. "No…" she whispered.
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TBC….R&R!!
