Sorry that I took longer than expected with this little part. I had to think about exactly where I wanted to take it and thought that you guys might appreciate quality over quantity ;) You'll have to let me know if you consider this 'quality'!
Thanks so much, Sarah! You are my savior, girl, and you know it!! I can't do any of this (and wouldn't want to try) without you.
Thanks so much to everyone that has graced me with your wonderfully inspiring reviews. I love you guys for it and I can't tell you what a difference it makes to a writer to receive such wonderful feedback.
Anyway, I won't babble on any longer, here's part B!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
-A Fine Balance-
Chapter 10 B
Three groups of four men simultaneously exited their respective vehicles; eight of them dressed in typical ESU gear while the other four presented themselves in meticulous suits. They slowly approached the vehicle where the two shell-shocked officers were stationed.
No words were spoken as the eight uniformed, heavily-armed men, stalked towards the building in question with skilled stealth, not once letting their focus deviate and therefore paying no attention to Bosco and Faith.
"Officer Yokas," the tallest of the suited man greeted Faith while removing his sunglasses with a gloved hand while extending the other one forward.
"Sergeant Fitzgerald!" she exclaimed while returning the handshake, surprised to see her supervising officer from her rookie year.
"You involved in this hostage situation?" he asked, his eyes drifting back and forth from her to Bosco.
"Um, yes. Sergeant, this is my partner, Officer Boscorelli."
The Sergeant smiled and nodded his greeting to Bosco, whose eyes only raised from the ground for a brief second to recognize his presence.
"His mother is the hostage, sir," Faith quickly inserted, warning the experienced cop that they would have to address the situation sensitively around her partner.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry to hear that, Officer Boscorelli," he replied, his voice suddenly dripping with sympathy, "but I have an outstanding team that will do everything within their power to make sure you mother comes out of this as unscathed as possible."
Bosco nodded, smirking slightly, remembering the sensitivity classes he had to take and realizing that this guy had just pretty much given him a textbook statement of assurance. He grimaced at the words 'as unscathed as possible', noting that there was a distinct possibility that his mother could be quite 'scathed', as the guy had put it, but the longer they waited, the smaller the 'possibility' of such a positive outcome.
Bosco slowly turned around, squinting into the bright light to watch the members of Sergeant Fitzgerald's team crouching up to their positions, stalking towards the building like panthers ready to pounce on their prey.
Another one of the suited men tapped Sergeant Fitzgerald on the shoulder. "We gotta get up there," he stated, motioning to the scene.
The Sergeant nodded before returning his attention back to Faith, "We're going to go get stationed up closer, you guys stay right here."
"No!" a firm voice came from the frail figure that was staring intently ahead.
The Sergeant jumped slightly at the surprise response from the obviously disturbed officer who had his back turned to him.
"I want to come with you."
"Bosco…" Faith started.
"No, Faith, stop." He turned to face Faith, his eyes clearer than they had been, but his voice slightly unsteady, "I want to be there. I need to be there."
Faith sighed, affected by the pleading look in her partner's eyes, his despair evident in his features.
"Well, if you're coming, you're coming now. We gotta move," stated the Sergeant in a business-like fashion, no longer trying to comfort Bosco with his tone of voice.
"Fine, let's go," Bosco replied, slightly relieved that the officer hadn't argued him on the matter.
He quickly stumbled to the side of the truck to retrieve his crutches, and then with every last ounce of strength he could muster, tried to block out the radiating pain as he tried to keep up with the suits ahead of him.
Faith jogged up behind, ready to catch him if his body was to fail him. She could see his arms shaking with every forced step, and briefly wondered if he was indeed going to make it to his destination.
Finally, the suits came to a stop when they approached a large, unmarked van. Sergeant Fitzgerald talked briefly with one of the men who had a headpiece on, and then spoke quietly with his other companions, gesturing to various buildings and landmarks around them as he spoke.
Bosco let out a shaky sigh, letting his arm and stomach muscles relax from their previously contracted state. He could feel sweat beading on his forehead from the exertion and a sudden surge of nausea spread through his entire body in vicious waves.
He swallowed and then lifted his gaze to the building in front of him. He could see Sully and Davis - as well as another officer that he wasn't too familiar with - pressed against the back of the bar, their bodies appearing to be frozen in a 'ready' state, rigid and stiff in the freezing weather.
***********************
"Oh, thank GOD!" Sully whispered loudly when he caught sight of the helmeted, long-gunned officers.
Davis felt his heart leap when he followed Sully eyes. He could see men dressed in black, starkly contrasting the blinding whiteness of the snow, making their way into and behind several different structures and barriers that surrounded them.
"Sul," Davis whispered while watching one of the armed men slip behind a dumpster across the narrow street.
"Yeah," Sully answered, similarly not letting his gaze drift from the subtle activity taking place around them.
"You think she's alive? I mean, it's been like a week. Who holds someone hostage without even contacting anyone for a week?"
Sully didn't really answer, but rather let out a long, tension-gorged sigh that was accentuated by a swirling cloud of white that streamed from his mouth out into the sub-zero air.
"Yeah," Davis whispered somewhat to himself, "that's what I thought."
*******************
"Sergeant, we can't get a clear view of anything in the building from our locations. Requesting permission to approach the scene."
Bosco's eyes widened. "No!" he half-yelled, half-pleaded, "You can't DO that! This is my MOTHER! You send your guys into that apartment! Chances are that lunatic will shoot anything in sight, which means he's going to shoot HER!"
Sergeant Fitzgerald clenched his jaw, angry with himself for allowing someone so emotionally involved to be a part of his operation.
"Officer Boscorelli, I deal with these situations everyday. You are going to have to trust me, and my team for that matter, to do OUR JOBS. There are other officers involved in this too, and we can't risk their lives any further."
Bosco shook his head, anger merging into his veins, and suddenly he wanted to punch the guy.
"Bosco, you are going to have to let them do their jobs," Faith tried to intervene, recognizing the look of Bosco reaching his 'breaking point', and fearing that he would use his crutches in ways for which they were not intended.
"I've DONE THIS, Faith! I know what's going to happen and I can't LET IT happen. Please," he turned his attention back to the Sergeant, whose impatience was becoming more and more evident with every passing second, "send someone up there to talk to this guy, ask him what he wants. Don't have people barging in there with guns and scare him into shooting everything, or EVERYONE, in sight!" Bosco's voice was starting to waver from sheer emotion; a desperate look occupying his face as he begged the Sergeant to spare his mother's life.
"I'm not going to send one of my men up there to get killed while trying to 'talk' to this psychotic lunatic! Don't make me regret bringing you along, Boscorelli."
"I'll do it."
"Bosco, no…"
"No, Faith, I HAVE to do this. This is my Ma, Faith." Bosco's eyes flooded with unshed tears as he explained his reasoning to his scared partner.
"You?!" the Sergeant stated incredulously. "You can't do this, nor do you have the training to do this!"
"Yes, I do!" Bosco quickly threw back at the mocking Officer. "I trained for ESU with Hobart. I went through all the compulsory training exercises. I am more than capable of doing this."
"Even if that were true," Sergeant Fitzgerald shook his head while smiling slightly, "look at you! You can barely stand! What makes you think you can go up there and be at the top of your game… That is, if you even HAVE a game?!"
"You will NOT regret letting me do this, sir," Bosco leaned in closer to his superior. "I swear to you I will NOT let you down. Please, Sergeant, this means too much to me to screw up."
Bosco stared long and hard at the tall man, a determined look molding his features as he tried to ooze confidence despite the nervous wrenching of his stomach.
"Fine," the Sergeant finally stated after a few pensive moments. "Go grab a vest and gun from the van. And, Boscorelli?" he asked, spinning to make eye contact with the significantly smaller, but impressively determined officer. "DON'T make me regret this."
Bosco nodded, and ignoring all the pain that was begging him to stop, spun around to approach the rear of the van to retrieve the needed items.
Faith stood motionless, shocked at what had just occurred in front of her. Finally her voice returned and she moved forward to approach her partner who was already struggling to pull the heavy Kevlar vest over his shoulders.
"Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" she shot at him, her eyes wide with disbelief as she fought the urge to slap Bosco across the face.
"No, in fact, I've never been more 'in' it," he replied, avoiding eye contact as he checked the clip in the gun he had been assigned.
"You can't even walk up a flight of stairs without taking a break! What if this guy attacks you? What are you going to do then, Bosco? What good are you to your mother if you can't even protect yourself?"
"Faith, this is the only time I am going to ask you to do this for me - TRUST ME!"
"You just collapsed to the ground not even five minutes ago and now you're going to…"
"Please," Bosco interrupted her, his voice soft and pleading as he locked eyes with Faith, "Just trust me."
Faith shook her head, her eyes watering with tears of frustration as she realized that no good could possibly come of this, and there was nothing she could do to talk Bosco out of doing what he had set his mind to.
"Just be careful?" she half-asked, half-stated, once she had given in to the inevitable.
Bosco nodded reassuringly to her before he abruptly shoved the gun into its holster beneath his jacket and gingerly made his way towards Sergeant Fitzgerald, who was talking to the other men in suits.
"I'm ready."
TBC.
Thanks so much, Sarah! You are my savior, girl, and you know it!! I can't do any of this (and wouldn't want to try) without you.
Thanks so much to everyone that has graced me with your wonderfully inspiring reviews. I love you guys for it and I can't tell you what a difference it makes to a writer to receive such wonderful feedback.
Anyway, I won't babble on any longer, here's part B!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
-A Fine Balance-
Chapter 10 B
Three groups of four men simultaneously exited their respective vehicles; eight of them dressed in typical ESU gear while the other four presented themselves in meticulous suits. They slowly approached the vehicle where the two shell-shocked officers were stationed.
No words were spoken as the eight uniformed, heavily-armed men, stalked towards the building in question with skilled stealth, not once letting their focus deviate and therefore paying no attention to Bosco and Faith.
"Officer Yokas," the tallest of the suited man greeted Faith while removing his sunglasses with a gloved hand while extending the other one forward.
"Sergeant Fitzgerald!" she exclaimed while returning the handshake, surprised to see her supervising officer from her rookie year.
"You involved in this hostage situation?" he asked, his eyes drifting back and forth from her to Bosco.
"Um, yes. Sergeant, this is my partner, Officer Boscorelli."
The Sergeant smiled and nodded his greeting to Bosco, whose eyes only raised from the ground for a brief second to recognize his presence.
"His mother is the hostage, sir," Faith quickly inserted, warning the experienced cop that they would have to address the situation sensitively around her partner.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry to hear that, Officer Boscorelli," he replied, his voice suddenly dripping with sympathy, "but I have an outstanding team that will do everything within their power to make sure you mother comes out of this as unscathed as possible."
Bosco nodded, smirking slightly, remembering the sensitivity classes he had to take and realizing that this guy had just pretty much given him a textbook statement of assurance. He grimaced at the words 'as unscathed as possible', noting that there was a distinct possibility that his mother could be quite 'scathed', as the guy had put it, but the longer they waited, the smaller the 'possibility' of such a positive outcome.
Bosco slowly turned around, squinting into the bright light to watch the members of Sergeant Fitzgerald's team crouching up to their positions, stalking towards the building like panthers ready to pounce on their prey.
Another one of the suited men tapped Sergeant Fitzgerald on the shoulder. "We gotta get up there," he stated, motioning to the scene.
The Sergeant nodded before returning his attention back to Faith, "We're going to go get stationed up closer, you guys stay right here."
"No!" a firm voice came from the frail figure that was staring intently ahead.
The Sergeant jumped slightly at the surprise response from the obviously disturbed officer who had his back turned to him.
"I want to come with you."
"Bosco…" Faith started.
"No, Faith, stop." He turned to face Faith, his eyes clearer than they had been, but his voice slightly unsteady, "I want to be there. I need to be there."
Faith sighed, affected by the pleading look in her partner's eyes, his despair evident in his features.
"Well, if you're coming, you're coming now. We gotta move," stated the Sergeant in a business-like fashion, no longer trying to comfort Bosco with his tone of voice.
"Fine, let's go," Bosco replied, slightly relieved that the officer hadn't argued him on the matter.
He quickly stumbled to the side of the truck to retrieve his crutches, and then with every last ounce of strength he could muster, tried to block out the radiating pain as he tried to keep up with the suits ahead of him.
Faith jogged up behind, ready to catch him if his body was to fail him. She could see his arms shaking with every forced step, and briefly wondered if he was indeed going to make it to his destination.
Finally, the suits came to a stop when they approached a large, unmarked van. Sergeant Fitzgerald talked briefly with one of the men who had a headpiece on, and then spoke quietly with his other companions, gesturing to various buildings and landmarks around them as he spoke.
Bosco let out a shaky sigh, letting his arm and stomach muscles relax from their previously contracted state. He could feel sweat beading on his forehead from the exertion and a sudden surge of nausea spread through his entire body in vicious waves.
He swallowed and then lifted his gaze to the building in front of him. He could see Sully and Davis - as well as another officer that he wasn't too familiar with - pressed against the back of the bar, their bodies appearing to be frozen in a 'ready' state, rigid and stiff in the freezing weather.
***********************
"Oh, thank GOD!" Sully whispered loudly when he caught sight of the helmeted, long-gunned officers.
Davis felt his heart leap when he followed Sully eyes. He could see men dressed in black, starkly contrasting the blinding whiteness of the snow, making their way into and behind several different structures and barriers that surrounded them.
"Sul," Davis whispered while watching one of the armed men slip behind a dumpster across the narrow street.
"Yeah," Sully answered, similarly not letting his gaze drift from the subtle activity taking place around them.
"You think she's alive? I mean, it's been like a week. Who holds someone hostage without even contacting anyone for a week?"
Sully didn't really answer, but rather let out a long, tension-gorged sigh that was accentuated by a swirling cloud of white that streamed from his mouth out into the sub-zero air.
"Yeah," Davis whispered somewhat to himself, "that's what I thought."
*******************
"Sergeant, we can't get a clear view of anything in the building from our locations. Requesting permission to approach the scene."
Bosco's eyes widened. "No!" he half-yelled, half-pleaded, "You can't DO that! This is my MOTHER! You send your guys into that apartment! Chances are that lunatic will shoot anything in sight, which means he's going to shoot HER!"
Sergeant Fitzgerald clenched his jaw, angry with himself for allowing someone so emotionally involved to be a part of his operation.
"Officer Boscorelli, I deal with these situations everyday. You are going to have to trust me, and my team for that matter, to do OUR JOBS. There are other officers involved in this too, and we can't risk their lives any further."
Bosco shook his head, anger merging into his veins, and suddenly he wanted to punch the guy.
"Bosco, you are going to have to let them do their jobs," Faith tried to intervene, recognizing the look of Bosco reaching his 'breaking point', and fearing that he would use his crutches in ways for which they were not intended.
"I've DONE THIS, Faith! I know what's going to happen and I can't LET IT happen. Please," he turned his attention back to the Sergeant, whose impatience was becoming more and more evident with every passing second, "send someone up there to talk to this guy, ask him what he wants. Don't have people barging in there with guns and scare him into shooting everything, or EVERYONE, in sight!" Bosco's voice was starting to waver from sheer emotion; a desperate look occupying his face as he begged the Sergeant to spare his mother's life.
"I'm not going to send one of my men up there to get killed while trying to 'talk' to this psychotic lunatic! Don't make me regret bringing you along, Boscorelli."
"I'll do it."
"Bosco, no…"
"No, Faith, I HAVE to do this. This is my Ma, Faith." Bosco's eyes flooded with unshed tears as he explained his reasoning to his scared partner.
"You?!" the Sergeant stated incredulously. "You can't do this, nor do you have the training to do this!"
"Yes, I do!" Bosco quickly threw back at the mocking Officer. "I trained for ESU with Hobart. I went through all the compulsory training exercises. I am more than capable of doing this."
"Even if that were true," Sergeant Fitzgerald shook his head while smiling slightly, "look at you! You can barely stand! What makes you think you can go up there and be at the top of your game… That is, if you even HAVE a game?!"
"You will NOT regret letting me do this, sir," Bosco leaned in closer to his superior. "I swear to you I will NOT let you down. Please, Sergeant, this means too much to me to screw up."
Bosco stared long and hard at the tall man, a determined look molding his features as he tried to ooze confidence despite the nervous wrenching of his stomach.
"Fine," the Sergeant finally stated after a few pensive moments. "Go grab a vest and gun from the van. And, Boscorelli?" he asked, spinning to make eye contact with the significantly smaller, but impressively determined officer. "DON'T make me regret this."
Bosco nodded, and ignoring all the pain that was begging him to stop, spun around to approach the rear of the van to retrieve the needed items.
Faith stood motionless, shocked at what had just occurred in front of her. Finally her voice returned and she moved forward to approach her partner who was already struggling to pull the heavy Kevlar vest over his shoulders.
"Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" she shot at him, her eyes wide with disbelief as she fought the urge to slap Bosco across the face.
"No, in fact, I've never been more 'in' it," he replied, avoiding eye contact as he checked the clip in the gun he had been assigned.
"You can't even walk up a flight of stairs without taking a break! What if this guy attacks you? What are you going to do then, Bosco? What good are you to your mother if you can't even protect yourself?"
"Faith, this is the only time I am going to ask you to do this for me - TRUST ME!"
"You just collapsed to the ground not even five minutes ago and now you're going to…"
"Please," Bosco interrupted her, his voice soft and pleading as he locked eyes with Faith, "Just trust me."
Faith shook her head, her eyes watering with tears of frustration as she realized that no good could possibly come of this, and there was nothing she could do to talk Bosco out of doing what he had set his mind to.
"Just be careful?" she half-asked, half-stated, once she had given in to the inevitable.
Bosco nodded reassuringly to her before he abruptly shoved the gun into its holster beneath his jacket and gingerly made his way towards Sergeant Fitzgerald, who was talking to the other men in suits.
"I'm ready."
TBC.
