It's Going To Be a Long Day -Page 2 -by Phyllis

“Shh.” Was all he said. They both knew what they were listening to-voices from inside the deli. Either Bosco had shifted onto his mike key or had keyed the mike himself. Sully had not seen him move, but they were hearing voices of the people inside.

“Bosco must be alive. He’s keyed his radio so we’ll know and can hear what’s going on inside.” The hope in her voice tore Sully up. It was more likely Bosco had settled onto the key as his body went slack with his last breath. But Sully could not bring himself to say that to Faith. Let her hope for a miracle. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

A third cruiser pulled up and Sully sent them around the back to backup Candy.

From the radios, they could just hear an argument.

“Ray, you’ve got to stop this. Stop it now. Give me the gun and let’s go outside. Mom….”

“Do NOT bring Mom into this. Mom doesn’t care! As far as she concerned, she only has one son-you-the college boy. You’re all she can talk about.” Mimicking his mother, Ray says, “ Why can’t you be more like your brother? James got a full scholarship to college. James makes good grades. James is such a good boy-never gets into trouble. Why can’t you be more like James?” Rays’ voice cracked with the last statement. “I’m not you. I’m not good in school. I’m not strong like you. I joined a gang. After you left, I didn’t have much of a choice. You were gone. You couldn’t protect me anymore.”

“Ray, please. You can’t do this. You cannot get away with this. Hell, the cops were here before you even get started. I didn’t come home to be a party to a robbery. Or to watch my little brother get shot.” The officers outside listened carefully to the exchange between the brothers. “ I don’t want to be part of this. Mom was worried and she called me to come see if I could help you. She was obviously right to be worried .”

“Hey, you are both so right. Ask anyone. I’m worthless. So, why don’t you just leave? Go home and tell Mom that you tried. Better yet go back to college. I didn’t ask you to come. And I didn’t want your help!”

“No. You don’t, but Mom does. Whether you believe it or not, Mom’s worried about you. That incident in September at the music store, was that because of the gang? Did they put you up to it?”

“It was a little shoplifting. That’s all. “

Sully jotted down the information that would help identify the gunman. He passed the notepad to Davis. “Get on a landline and call the station. See if they can put a name to this information.” Davis nodded and headed behind the ambulance to find a phone. Sully turned back to the store. He could just make out vague shapes of people as the sun dropped behind the buildings, but not make out who was who.

Ray’s voice came on again. “Can’t you keep that kid quiet? He’s sniffling is making driving me crazy.” There was a muffled answer from a woman. It sounded like it came from across the store. Sully looked at Faith. She shook her head. Neither of them could make out what she had said.

Ten minutes later Davis came back. “They say his name is Ray Gentry. He’s sixteen, has one prior for shoplifting. Brother James-two years older. No priors. They live over on Chandler. They’re sending a squad over a find the mother. Charges were dropped on the shoplifting because the mother intervened. The older brother was away at college at the time.”

“Yeah. From the conversation, the older one had no idea what the kid had in mind. It may have been a spur of the moment thing.”

“Just me and Bosco’s luck to show up when we did. Five minutes either way and the punk would have been gone.” Faith said.

“OK. We know what we’ve got in there. Let’s see if we can get him out.” Sully looked at the two other officers and they nodded in agreement.

Sully looked at the front of the store. He still could not see anything on the inside. He wondered if the lights were an automatic turn on type.

“Hey! In the store! This is Officer John Sullivan. Can you hear me?” The chatter inside stopped; even the crying could not be heard. “We just want to end this as peacefully as possible. Can we talk to the person in charge?” No answer. Sully could hear some shuffling noises, but no one answered him. “Whoever is in charge, we need to talk-find out what you want. I’m going to call on the phone. Please pick up.”

The radio got quiet for a minute as Sully dialed the number. He could hear the phone ringing inside the store. After three rings, he could hear muffled voices. Then Ray’s voice –louder-said “You! Pick it up!”

“Hello?” Sully recognized the voice of Jamie Murphy, the owners’ grandson.

“Jamie. It’s Sully. How’s it going in there? Everyone OK in there?”

“Well, everyone inside the doorway is, so far.”

“Yeah, speaking of, can you tell if Bosco is alive?”

There was a pause, and then Jamie came back. “Sorry, Sully. I can’t tell from here.”

“Right. Can I talk to Ray?” Sully ran his hand over his face, wiping away the sweat to cool off-it didn’t work. Jamie’s voice was heard saying, “He wants to talk to you.” Sully thought he must have been holding the phone out to Ray, because both voices were away from the receiver.

“No, I don’t want to talk to him. Ask him what he wants.”

“Jamie.” Sully said.

“Still here.”

“Sorry to put you in the middle. Tell him that this will go a lot easier for all of us if I talk to him direct. It will go a lot faster and with less confusion.” Sully waited as Jamie conveyed the message to Ray. After a few moments, Rays voice was heard. “OK, so talk.”

“Ray, they call me Sully. Listen, we both want the same thing-you and your brother and all those people out of there. Safely out of there-with no more bloodshed. Am I right?”

A reluctant “Yeah ” was heard over the phone. “OK, then. What’s it going to take to get you to come out? Short of all the cops leaving?”

Ray chuckled “You must be reading my mind.” Sully heard a small crack in the kid’s voice. This kid was in way over his head. “ Sully, I don’t see anyway out of here with everything intact.”

“Come on, don’t be thinking like that. We can work this out. How about, as good faith, you send those people out? We won’t come in. We can wait until you’re ready. How about it Ray? You don’t want to hurt anyone else.”

“Man, I am so screwed. I shot two cops. I’m as good as dead. Dead, man.” Sully could hear the fear in the kid’s voice. Ray was losing his composure.

“Ray! Ray! Listen to me. Do not assume the worst. The female officer is not injured. You need to maintain control. You’re in charge in there. So, you have to remain calm. Why don’t you let those people come out. That will go a long way with the DA. A show of compassion-they love that stuff.” Sully heard other voices in the background. Ray’s brother was trying to talk to him, telling him to give up before he got killed.

“Shut up, James. I can’t talk to both of you at once.” Ray was becoming agitated again. “Sully?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“You can have one-my brother. I want him out of here. Now.” In the background, Sully could hear James’ protesting. “Now, Sully.”

“I don’t know Ray. I mean, James is family. It’s not like a real hostage. How about someone else. The woman and her kids-how about them? You said the crying was making you nuts.”

“No. I need James out of here. James can come out. And, I ‘ll have him bring out the cop also.”

Sully clenched the phone. If Bosco were alive, they would need to get him medical attention soon, if he was going to stay that way. But if he was dead…Sully shook that thought out of his head.

“Ray. I really do think that’s a great idea, but the city will not allow negotiations for officers in hostage situations. How about the woman and her kids. Your brother, also. How will work for you?”

Ray did not want to let the woman go, but decided to allow her and the kids to leave. As long as James left, too. “OK, Sully, You can have the woman and the kids and my brother comes out with them.”

James protested again. “I’m not leaving here without you.”

“Yes, you are. And you want to know how I know that? Because, those four are going with you. That is the only way they get to leave now. You go and take them with you.”

James looked at the young woman and her three kids. Finally, he turned and looked at the door and Bosco. “If I’m leaving, they go out first. And I want to take the him with me” pointing to the downed officer.

Ray nodded in agreement.

Sully looked at Yokas. Her eyes locked with Sully’s. It just might be that they could get her partner the help that he needed.

James stepped over to the woman and helped her up. She gathered the three children close around her. “I’m going pick up the officer. You hold the door until I have him, than go outside. OK?” She nodded that she understood.

Movement at the door let everyone know that it was happening. A young blond woman pulled the door back from Bosco. James stepped to the door and rolled Bosco onto his side. It was then that the radios went silent again. Sully was surprised when he saw James. He must be six foot six at least. He reached under Bosco and lifted him as easily as he would a three-year-old child. James put his back against the door and let the woman and children leave the deli first. Davis was standing to the left of the door and called to the group as they came out. The young woman picked up the youngest child and hurried the other two in his direction. Davis scooped up the other two children and took the group around the corner, out of harm’s way. James came out with Bosco and headed straight to the ambulance. Bobby and Kim were already bringing the stretcher toward him. Faith got to James first, but could not bring herself to touch her partner, fearing the worst. James gently laid Bosco on the stretcher, and then stepped back out of the way of the paramedics. Sully came up behind the taller man and placed his hand on James’ arm.

“James, I have to detent you until the investigation is complete. We all heard what was being said inside and know that you were not a part of it, but we have hold you since you were with Ray when he went it in. Do you understand?” Sully cuffed him even as he nodded an acknowledgement

From the corner of his eye, Sully could see the paramedics working on Bosco, as we pushed the stretcher around to the back of the ambulance.

Kim felt for a pulse. She smiled as she turned to Faith. “I’ve got a pulse. He’s alive, Faith.” Yokas felt weak from the relief. Bobby and Kim started checking to see what damage had been done to the hotheaded young officer.

Bobby checked the vitals, while Kim started a visual check of the injury.

“ Blood pressure is 120/80. Pulse is fast-110 and thready. I got 26 breaths per minute.” Bobby looked at Bosco’s head where he hit the sidewalk. “He took a good whack to his head when he fell.” Bobby used a penlight to check the pupils. “His pupils are responsive but, unequal. He may have a concussion.”

Kim had cut away the uniform blouse and was removing the vest when she said to Bobby “ I have an exit wound in the top of his shoulder. It looks like it may have hit his collarbone and ricocheted upward. His clavicle is broken.“ Lifting the vest and removing it completely, she searched for an entrance wound. “There’s no entry wound in front. Bobby, pull him up and let me look at his back.” Gently, Bobby reached across Bosco and lifted his shoulder. “OK. I still have no entry. No. Wait. I’ve got some blood here.” Kim moved Bosco’s arm away from his body. She found what she was looking for. “Got it. I have an entry wound between the fifth and sixth ribs. It looks like it went straight up from there to the shoulder. He must have been stretched out when he got hit. That’s why your vest stopped it, Faith.”

Kim turned back to Yokas, who was standing at the foot of the stretcher. She had her right hand lying on her partner’s ankle. She had removed his weapon belt while the paramedics were examining him, which she now had slung over her left shoulder. Her left wrist was looped through the belt, holding it tight on her shoulder. The concern for her partner was clearly written on her face. As Kim stanched the bleeding, she talked to Faith. “I don’t think there’s any internal bleeding. His breathing seems ok. It’s a little fast, but that’s probably due to shock because of blood loss and /or the bump on his head. His lung seems fine. Except for the possible concussion, he’s in pretty good shape. Considering all he’s been through, he’s good.” Faith seemed unconvinced. “Faith, I’m very serious. I’ll go out on a limb and say that he’s going to be fine. Trust me.”

Bobby looked at Kim. “He’s stable, Kim. Let’s load him up and get him to the hospital.” Kim nodded. They lifted the stretcher into the ambulance. Faith called to Sully and indicated that she was going with the bus. Sully watched as Faith got in the back of the ambulance and they drove away.

Sully had loaded James in a squad around the corner and left Davis with him. Then he went back to the phone and Ray. “Ray, you still there?” There was no answer at first. Then he heard someone pickup the receiver.

Ray’s voice screamed into the phone “Man, what’s the deal? I told you that James had nothing to do with this. It was all me. You can’t arrest him.” Sully could almost feel sorry for the kid. Almost.

“He’s not under arrest. But I have to detain him because he was with you. As soon as I can talk to the detectives, he’ll be released. James is not going to be in trouble. That’s my promise to you. You hear me, Ray?”

“Yeah, I hear you. “

“Now, can we work on getting the rest of the people out of there? That includes you, Ray. I want to get everyone out with no one else getting hurt.”

“I don’t want to let anyone else go. I just….” There was a pause. Then Ray continued. “I just want to go home. To go back to yesterday. This is not the way it was suppose to go. I never meant to shoot anybody. The stupid thing just went off. “ Ray took a ragged breath. “How is he? The guy I shot. I didn’t …” his voice faded off at that point.

Sully spoke into the receiver. “Officer Boscorelli is alive. The paramedics say he’ll be ok. So, it’s not as bad as you think. Give up the gun and come out. No one wants to hurt you. And we don’t want anyone else to get hurt. What do you say? Can we end this now?”

“Sully. I’m really scared. I don’t want to get shot, but I don’t want to go to jail, either.”