I've been doing this job for a lot of years and I've seen a lot. I've seen a lot of officers come and go. There was a time when a rookie would show up and I'd be able to tell if he or she would make it. Over the last ten years or so, I've come to realize that it's not so easy anymore.
For instance, I would have bet against Faith Yokas. She just didn't strike me as police officer material. So, as you might guess, it was a special honor when I told her she'd been promoted to detective. Another is Ty Davis. He's nothing like his father. The day he arrived, I'd given him less than a month and he'd be headed for law school. He surprised me. Now I can see that putting him with Sullivan was probably the best thing for him. Back then I figured working with Sullivan would send him back to law school sooner. Last week I set him up as a training officer for a new officer. I guess I was wrong about Ty too.
Boscorelli...there's another story altogether. He's another one who I didn't figure would last the first year. Today thirteen years later, he's still what I'd call a mystery. He's tested my patience more times than any other officer. It's not that he's a bad cop because he isn't. Actually at times, he's a damn good cop. Still, he has his moments.
The partnership of Yokas and Boscorelli left me with more doubts. Here was a wife and mother of two partnered with the attitude-filled former Ranger bachelor. Being alike doesn't necessarily make for better partners but one or two things in common sure can't hurt. Bosco and Faith were like fire and ice...black and white...day and night.
A year or so ago when Faith asked for a new partner...I should have pressed harder for answers. I should have questioned Bosco about it...beyond a ten second conversation on the steps. When I got the call that one of ours had been shot, my first thought had been Bosco. Finding out it was Faith...the mother of two children, my heart ached. Then to hear the story from Bosco...I was angry...I was beyond angry. More than anything, I was disappointed. Disappointed in Bosco for the situation he'd put himself and Faith in. If it'd been anyone else, it would have been a very ugly scene. But Bosco...as disappointed as I was in him, he was far more disappointed in himself. There was something in his eyes that night at Mercy. Something I hadn't seen before.
Like I said, Bosco is a mystery. By that I mean that I don't understand a lot about him. Bottom line is he strikes me as someone who has something to prove. It's the 'who' that I haven't been able to figure out...until recently that is. In one way, I think he has something to prove to himself. That's why he was so upset at the hospital...that Faith had been shot. That's why he agreed to tell me the truth about what happened both that night and the months leading up to it. You see, Bosco feels like a failure and what happened was eating him up inside.
Less than a year later when Faith asked me about putting her and Bosco back together, it'd been a surprise. Turns out so was Faith. The more we talked about it, the more surprised I became. I had no idea he two of them were speaking to one another much less discussing being partners again. What didn't surprise me was that Bosco hadn't mentioned a word about being partners with Faith. Later, when Bosco came in and announced he had to go...just like that...I saw flashes of that same defeated person I'd seen the night Faith was shot. It didn't matter what happened to him as long as Faith was okay.
When the trouble started with his brother, I started to se a different side of Bosco...a side I hadn't seen over the past decade. For the first time I met a member of his family and then I crossed paths directly and indirectly with all of them. I noticed a protective nature about him when it comes to family. I caught a glimpse of it when he found out about the lawyer his father had hired for his brother. He'd all but shown him the door. I saw it again when he all but vetoed any deals between Mikey and the department. There was more than just a big brother/little brother relationship going on. I don't remember an exact conversation but I heard it from someone that his parents were divorced. .I'm guessing he took on the role of man of the house at an early age which would explain his actions regarding his little brother.
I stood at his hospital room doorway watching him with his mother. She'd been almost a constant since this all began. It's there that I realized what's missing from this picture...what's been missing since this nightmare began...his father. The strange thing with his father not being there is that no one seems to notice or care. This along with everything else gives me the answer I spoke of earlier. The 'who' is actually two people...himself and his father. Here's a guy who shares a common factor as do most sons. He seeks his father's approval. He wants his father to be proud of what he's done in his life. Being a cop on the streets of New York City is certainly worthy of a father's approval, at least in my book. I'm not so sure that's the case this time.
On the other hand, I sense there's a part of Bosco that completely despises his father. So, how do you reconcile those two issues? I sense this question might explain a lot. This is a conflict that I suspect lives inside Boscorelli. A conflict he fights daily...a conflict that he can't win. He can't have it both ways.
At the moment, I'm living with another conflict. I have my own despise for Anthony Boscorelli and I don't recall ever actually met the man. I don't understand how a father wouldn't be at his son's bedside especially given the grave condition Bosco was in after the shooting. I remember when my kids had their tonsils out. I was at the hospital with each one trying to calm their fears with promises of ice cream afterwards. Having your tonsils removed is a routine surgery yet I was there. Bosco's been in the hospital for weeks now and yet his father has yet to appear. I can't begin to explain what I feel for this man but it's something I've never felt before. In fact, the very idea that I could feel this way about another human being makes me sick to my stomach.
I guess if you take a long hard look, you can see a pattern, one more thing that doesn't seem to make sense. There seems to be a lacking of male role models in Bosco's life. I'm guessing his relationship with his father has been stressful for a long time. I've watched his mother sit by his bedside ever since she was physically able. I get the feeling she's sat by her children's bedside a lot over the years. She may not be mother of the year but she genuinely seems to care about her children. She's a tough lady. She's been through a lot as of late. First losing a son in such a violent manner, then to become injured herself at her son's wake. Then, barely out of surgery, she learned of the near fatal shooting of her surviving child. I'm not sure how much one person is supposed to be able to handle. Like I said, she seems like a strong person. Funny, I never gave much thought to the idea that Bosco got his strength from his mother.
If I think about it, his mother isn't the only one. There's Faith Yokas. I'd say she's been an influence on him as well...a positive one, not that she's been successful every time but then I doubt his mother can make that claim either. The pattern seemed to miss a link with Sgt. Cruz. Her influence on him was less than positive but then the relationship between Boscorelli and Sgt. Cruz...I suspect it went deeper than being partners...partners in the conventional sort of way anyway. Boscorelli had worked with several partners over the years but Yokas was different. Most of the others were male. This pattern in his life...he seems to trust women while having a tough time trusting other men. Sullivan and Davis might be a few exceptions. Cruz was an exception on the other side of the argument although this ability to trust women might have played a part in his involvement with Sgt. Cruz. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Had Cruz been a man I don't think things would have went as far as they did...the police matters that is. Had Sgt Cruz been a man, I don't think Bosco would have had the trust that he had in Cruz.
As I stand outside his hospital room once more, I have to believe that he'll get through this. I know he's facing an uphill battle. It goes beyond just a battle to live...to walk again...to talk again...to take his life back. Beyond the physical aspect is the realization that he'll never completely take his life back. A big part of his life was laid to rest. No matter what Bosco is able to accomplish physically, he'll never talk to his brother again. What concerns me is that even if he wins the battle he's raged against the doctors, he still has to deal with the loss of his brother. I know Bosco is strong willed. I know that better than almost anyone because I've seen it...I've battled against it. But, I still worry about things like what happens to the cop I've watched over the years now that he's been on the other side of he gunshots? What happens to the partnership that lasted 13 years longer than anyone thought? What happens to the man who should have been at his son's bedside? What happens to the son who did all he could to protect his mother and brother?
I'd like to think that I might be an exception to the positive influence of women on Bosco's life. Over the years Boscorelli has given me plenty of times to rethink his career as a police officer...whether or not he has what it takes...whether or not he's on the right side of the law. I was there when Boscorelli showed up for his first roll call. I was also there the numerous times he showed up late. I was there when he punched a bank robber suspect. I was also there when he went into a bank robbery dressed as a paramedic. I was there when he was accused of beating the man who'd hurt his mother. I was there when he went round after round with Sgt. Christopher. I was there when he searched for the niece of a Chicago doctor. I was there when he worked through the night searching for the killer of a New York City paramedic.
I wasn't there when the shooters entered the hospital and I wasn't there when Bosco stepped in front of four bullets. But I didn't need to be there to know that Boscorelli is one hell of a good man. Like I said, I'm not very good at judging who'll make a good cop and who won't. But if I've learned anything, it's that you don't bet against Boscorelli.