More suspense anyone?

Forgot to throw a disclaimer. Nobody but those characters I create are mine.

A/N: I only get a chance to write usually late at night, after Third Watch. The chapters will be short until semester ends. I don't usually start writing a chapter until midnight most nights. I crave your indulgence for the necessary brevity of the next few chapters.

Also, some parts of the cruiser description and their "slang" comes from my experience with a local department that I had the privilege of riding along with on several occasions. It may not be NYPD-accurate, but I've seen it used by other departments.

Faith blew some of the steam away from the paper cup in her hand and took a sip of the wonderfully hot coffee. In the driver's seat, Bosco stared out the window at the passing traffic. For a day with such bad weather, there hadn't been an accident call yet. Maybe people were being careful for once. It would be a change.

'Any idea who our DOA is?'

'I really don't care. He's just another dead guy.'

'You don't even have a guess? He might be somebody you know.'

Bosco made a face. 'If somebody I know is dumb enough to be walking alone through that part of the neighbourhood, they deserve to get knocked around a little.'

'Come on, Bosco. He was more than "knocked around a little." The man had a knife in his back.'

'So he got jumped. I don't even know why we're talking about this. What difference does it make? A skel's a skel, dead or not.'

'So you don't care that an innocent guy was killed?'

'Look, if he's stupid enough to be wandering around the streets at night, I don't really give a damn what happens to him. Most people know better.'

Faith rolled her eyes. 'Most people would have some sort of sympathy for a guy who gets a knife in the back.'

'Yeah, well, I'm not most people.'

'No, you're better than most people.'

'What?' Bosco shifted in his seat to look at her. 'There's one big difference between me and the rest of the world. This shiny piece of work right here. It means "most people" are naturally beneath me.'

'That's not what being a cop is about, Bos, and you know it.'

'Yeah, but so what? I get so sick of punks thinking they've got the upper hand on me, even when they get tossed into lockup.'

'People are more than just something for you to arrest, Bos.'

Bosco sipped his coffee. 'Right.'

The cruiser cell phone rang, saving Faith the effort of replying. Bosco grabbed the phone its mount on the dashboard and snapped, 'Five-five David.' He listened for a moment, then his face went white. 'Are you sure?'

'Bosco?'

'Yeah, thanks. I'll be right there.' He replaced the phone with far more care than he had picked it up with. 'Dammit.' He muttered softly, staring at the keypad on the phone.

'Bosco?'

'That was Swersky. He wants me to come down and ID the stiff.'

'Are you going to?'

Her partner turned the key and sat back for a moment, listening to the engine. 'Yeah. Might as well.'

'Did he say who they thought the guy was?'

'No.' Bosco replied curtly, keeping his attention focussed pointedly on the road.

'Bosco.'

'Can we not talk about it?'

Faith silently relented, glancing down at the coffee cup in her hand. She didn't feel thirsty anymore.

The silence in the viewing room was enough to make her ears hurt. Bosco stared at the glass as the medical examiner appeared in the other room. He tensed up as the sheet covering the body was pulled back, and Faith put a hand on his shoulder. Lieutenant Swersky stood by the door, arms folded, a grim, expectant expression on his face.

Bosco stared at the face on the cold steel table in the other room, giving no indication about how he was feeling or what he was thinking. With a voice that was steadier than he felt inside, he said, 'That's him.'

'That's who?'

A muscle in his cheek twitched. 'That's one of Mikey's old pals. Keith Staples.' He turned to look at Swersky. 'Where's Mikey?'

'We don't know. Haven't heard from him since he got out.'

'I need to find him.'

'Bosco, wait, you don't think this has anything to do with your brother, do you?'

Bosco paused for half a second in the corridor outside the viewing room. 'You're damn right I do. Mikey's known that guy in there for years. Drug pals, the two of them. If Staples is down and out, how long do you think it'll take before they get to Mikey too?'

Faith had to break into a jog to keep up with her partner. 'How do you know this is drug-related?'

'With one of Mikey's friends involved, it's about drugs.' Bosco looked at her over the roof of the RMP. 'Are you coming or not?'

She sighed. 'Somebody's got to keep you out of trouble.'