It was already getting dark and the crew of Squad 55 was anxiously awaiting the temporary replacements for Kim and Jimmy. Alex had called the hospital earlier to get any news on Joey, but so far there were no news.
"I'm wondering if they send us some greenhorns again…," Lombardo sighed.
"Yeah, with egg shells still behind their ears," Walsh added.
"Have we ever been that young too?" DK wondered and laughed.
"Nah…," Joe said and shook his head.
"Excuse me…" they heard a voice by the stairs and gathered to see who it was.
Walsh couldn't believe his eyes.
"Charly?" His face lit up and he went to hug her.
"Hey, Billy," she returned and smiled.
"What are you doing here?" he wanted to know.
The woman got out some papers.
"I was assigned here, heard you were one firefighter short."
A second woman came up the stairs, carrying some papers as well.
"Excuse me, where can I find Lieutenant Johnson?" she asked.
Joe, DK and the others were looking from Billy, to Charly, to the other woman and back to Billy.
Johnson must have heard his name as he came out of his office and joined his crew.
"I'm Johnson," he introduced himself.
"Sir, I'm Sidney Edwards, temporary assigned here, I'm a medic," the second woman told him.
"And I'm Charlene Converse, firefighter."
Billy Walsh looked like a proud uncle or father when he heard that. It seemed the two of them had a history.
Johnson ran his eyes over the papers.
"Well, welcome to the 55," he said and introduced the squad members.
A well known voice came over the speakers and interfered with the introduction.
"Boy 55-3, boy stuck in construction pipe, 3725 Amsterdam…"
Alex put down her coffee mug and addressed Edwards.
"That's us! Let's go!"
Boscorelli and Yokas entered the station house, the handcuffed Clark Wilson between them.
While Bosco headed straight for the stairs to lock the alleged rapist up, Faith stopped at the front desk.
"Boss, we have a collar for rape," she informed her superior, grabbed some papers and began to fill them out.
Swersky looked at her. He knew her well enough to sense something was not quite right.
"You are not okay with it?" he guessed.
Yokas didn't really know what to tell him, if she should tell her superior about her doubts at all. She felt his eyes on her, so Faith decided to tell him.
"Can you tell why you doubt it?" Swersky wanted to know after she had finished.
"Woman's intuition I guess," she shrugged.
"If you have doubts, talk to the woman again," the Lieutenant suggested.
"Will do, boss. Thanks."
"Anytime," he returned and watcher Yokas get upstairs to meet with her partner.
When he turned again, his eyes fell on Officers Gusler and Greene from 55-John. He signed them to approach the front desk.
"Did you talk to that Bruce guy?" he asked them, referring to the jealous boyfriend.
"Yeah," Alsandra Greene confirmed.
"He said it's all the other way around, that he split up with her and she's the one acting all crazy on him, blah, blah."
"You don't believe him?"
"I don't know, Lieu. He did have some points in what he said. But it's all "he said, she said"."
Swersky looked from Greene to Gusler. The young officer always had been tense around authorities, but there seemed to be something else this time.
"Is there anything else, Officer?" the Lieutenant addressed Gusler.
Steven nervously looked at his partner, then back to his boss.
"Sir…He threatened Miss Thomas…I think."
"You think?" Swersky echoed.
"Yes, Sir. He didn't use those words, though. But I think he will do something to her."
Lieutenant Swersky didn't show, but his alarm bells were already set off.
"Thanks," he said and dismissed the crew of 55-John, who returned to duty on the street.
As soon as they were out of sight, Swersky got out the file on the Thomas case and dialed her number.
