A few moments later, Doc and Carlos came through the front door with their medical equipment draped over their shoulders. They drew up short at the sight of broken tables, glass, chairs, and bodies. Sully waved them in and began to point out patients. “We’ve got two down here and two more on the other side of that pool table.”
Doc assessed the situation. “You check those two. I’ll go on the back.” Carlos started unloading equipment and knelt down by the man Davis had dropped a few minutes earlier.
As Doc headed to the back, two officers came in the front. “Officer Sullivan?” Sully looked up. “We have your transportation outside.”
“OK. Let’s load them up. We’ve got four being looked at the paramedics. That leaves…” Sully paused. Glancing around the room, he did a quick count. “That leaves seven for you to take. We’ve got three here, two back there and two more over there with Whitney.”
As the men were gathered up and escorted out, Doc finished with the man he was working on. “Sully, this one can go. He’s fine, just a small cut on his head. Head wounds tend to bleed a lot. They look worse than they are.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Sully pulled the man to his feet and told Davis to put him in their car. He turned back to Doc. “Do you need some help with these three?” Doc shook his head. “I’ll have one of the wagon officers go with you. I’ll call ahead to the hospital also and have security waiting. Once they’re patched up, we’ll arrange to pick them up.”
Sully headed outside to join Davis. “Craig, go with Doc and Carlos, just in case.” The younger officer nodded and went back into the bar to assist the paramedics.
Back at the station, Bosco was working in lockup. It was his least favorite duty to pull. There was too much paperwork-forms to fill out, photos to catalog, and fingerprints to file. After the paper work, was the task of keeping the prisoners confined up until they were transported downtown where they were arraigned. The most excitement routinely, was a happy drunk. Bosco didn’t to see drunks come in. You never knew when they might go from happy to belligerent to sick. The last thing he wanted to do on his first day back was clean up after some alcoholic, puking up his dinner. But at least he was out of the house and away from Nicole and his mother. For the past eight weeks, he had been waited on, pampered and coddled by both of them. At first, he was enjoying the attention, but after a couple of weeks, even he had had enough. He hadn’t been allowed to do anything for himself. The last straw was when he told Nicole he was going for a drive in the Mustang and she had insisted that she drive. That was when he knew he had to get back to work and back to normal. He made an appointment with the department shrink the next day and begin to double up on his physical therapy. Bosco knew he wasn’t 100 percent, but was close enough that one or two weeks more would not make too much difference in his performance.
It had been a quiet day until Sully and Davis’ rowdies had arrived. Bosco began processing them and placing the men in holding cells. A request had gone out to central for transportation downtown where they could be arraigned and than bailed out. Most of the men had sobered somewhat and were quiet, though three were still a bit belligerent. Bosco and the rest of the officers ignored them as they tossed out snide comments and complaints.
Most of the rowdies were fingerprinted and had mug shots taken by the time Sully and Davis showed up with the eighth prisoner. Sully and Davis had placed their guns in lockers outside of the holding cells as protocol prescribed. Davis fingerprinted the man after his picture was made, then took him to the cells. Another rookie, Matheson, was turnkey for the shift. That meant that he had the duty of unlocking the cells during prisoner movement. He was talking to Davis about the ballgame as he unlocked the cell. He had his head turned slightly, so he didn’t see the three burly men tensed at the door of the cell. As the door swung open, they charged forward, taking both officers and the man between them down. One man grabbed the keys, out of the lock and started unlocking doors.
Bosco stepped back as Sully rushed forward. Turning, Bosco saw what happening and, leaning across the desk, slammed his hand down on the panic button. As well as alerting the station to the trouble in lockup, it also locked all the doors to the outer areas. It effectively sealed everyone in the room with no way out. The only way to open the door was with a key from the outside. The Captain and the duty sergeant carried the only keys that would open the doors. Bosco charged in behind Sullivan and started swinging.
Motion momentarily stopped as the alarm sounded throughout the station. Then every officer without a charge in front of them headed for lock up. Yokas and Whitney were working on their report. Faith knew what that sound was and she knew where her partner was. Whitney looked at Faith, confusion on his face. Faith jumped up and yelled over her shoulder, “Trouble in lock up!” She was halfway across the squad room before Whitney was standing.
Sully grabbed the still cuffed prisoner and tossed him into the closest cell. He bent down to check on Davis and Matheson. “You two ok?”
Davis started to nod his head. Motion behind Sully drew his attention. “Look out!”
Sully ducked and felt the wind as a chair sailed over his head and crashed into the bars of the cell door. Wood splinters rained down on Davis and Matheson. Both rookies shook the splinters off. They looked at each other and jumped up in unison as if a mental agreement had been made in that short glance.
Sully had turned and punched the chair thrower in the face. The man staggered back two steps before going down, out cold. Sully turned back to see Davis and Matheson reaching into a pile of bodies on the floor. They each came up with non-uniformed forms. Davis punched his man in the stomach and then booted the breathless man through an open cell door. Out of the twenty-three prisoners in lock up, only eight decided to stay put in their cells. Fifteen made the decision to fight-not a good choice. There were only three officers on duty in lock up normally. Tonight, Sully and Davis made it five. Three to one odds were not good, but even if they did overpower the police, there was no way out of the room. Apparently, no one had thought of that as the men fought each other and the five police officers.
Outside the locked doors, the rest of the station watched the fighting while waiting for a key to open the locked doors. Captain Elchisak and Faith arrived at the same time. The captain pushed his way through with Faith right behind him. They could see bodies all over the room. Most were still fighting, some were not moving. Captain Elchisak was inserting the key when Faith spotted Bosco on the far end of the room. She watched helplessly as one of the biggest men picked up her much slighter built partner and lifted him off the ground. She heard the key turn and the lock disengage a moment before she saw Bosco, feet dangling twelve inches off the ground, being slammed against the wall where an old gun locker was anchored to the wall. She could almost imagine hearing his ribs crack with the impact. She was first through the door. She stopped halfway across the room when Bosco brought both hands, clutched together, down on the bigger man’s neck. He hit the man twice more, quickly, and the man’s knees started to buckle. Bosco slid down the wall. Landing on his feet, he brought his knee up into his assailant’s stomach, doubling the semi-conscious man over. Bosco’s eyes flared as he drew back his arm. Faith ran forward, but stopped short, as he lowered his arm and grabbed the man’s collar to drag him to a cell. Yokas grabbed the man from the other side and helped her partner.
“You ok?” She watched as Bosco cuffed the man to a bar in the cell. He was breathing hard and looked a little pale and sweaty, but he nodded his head.
“I’m fine.” He looked over his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get this mess cleaned up.”
The influx of police officers quickly turned the tide on the men fighting. The mayhem stopped as fast as it began. Luckily for the five officers in lock up at the start of the fight, most of the men were more interested in fighting than escaping. They didn’t even care who they were fighting. Paramedics were called over from across the street to patch everyone up. Though Bosco was the only one not bleeding, no one was seriously injured. Most of the injuries consisted of cuts and bruises. Matheson had a cut on his arm that would require stitches and he told Bobby he would get it attended to as soon as they had the mess cleaned up. Central division had sent several wagons and officers over to collect the prisoners and transport them downtown to be booked on assault charges in addition to their original charges. Things quieted down quickly as the fifteen pugilists were escorted out to the waiting vehicles. The remaining eight men were held for the next transportation to keep them separate from the others downtown.
Matheson left to go to the hospital and get his arm stitched up. Sully, sporting a swollen lip and black eye, and Davis, who had received another cut over his eye, were still hanging around downstairs when Faith came up to them looking for Bosco.
Ty said “Last I saw of him, was when we loaded up the last prisoners outside.”
“Thanks, Ty.” Faith turned and headed for the back door that lead out to the alleyway.
Sully turned to his young partner “Well, shifts almost over. Why don’t you go up and get started on the reports? I’ll be there in a minute.” Davis was too weary to argue, so he turned and left without protest. Sully watched as Davis headed out the door. He then turned and followed Yokas outside.
Faith found Bosco down the alleyway off the back door exit. He was sitting on the edge of a supply dock, holding his left arm. “Hey, what’s going on?” Bosco jumped up as she approached. “You alright?’
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He released his arm and looked around nervously. Then he looked down at the ground. He seemed to be having a hard time making eye contact with Faith.
Faith studied him for a minute, chewing on her upper lip, and then reached for his right arm. “Come on. We’re going across the street and get you checked out.”
Bosco raised his arm up and away from her grasp. “No, we are not. There’s nothing wrong with me, other than a little bruising. I don’t need a paramedic to tell me that.”
Faith lowered her hand. “Well, I do.”
Bosco leaned back on the dock. “Too bad, cause I’m not going over there. Bobby looked at earlier.”
“Yeah? When? When you reported in for work?” She crossed her arms and glared at the stubborn jerk she called partner. She could be just as stubborn as him “You’re going, if I have to get the Captain involved.”
“No. I’m not.” Bosco sat his jaw and stared back at her.
Sully walked up in time to hear Bosco. He looked at both of them and couldn’t help but compare them to a couple of kids having a staring contest to see who would blink first. “Come on, Faith. Bosco says he’s ok. Just drop it.” Faith continued to watch her partner. She saw Sully reach out and clasp Bosco’s left shoulder.
Bosco gasped and jerked away. “Son of a bi……” Bosco grimaced. He paced around holding his arm close to his side.
Faith knew why Sully had done what he did, but she couldn’t help but glare at him as she once again reached out to her partner. “Bos, please. Do it for me. Just let Bobby check you out. I’ll rest easier.”
Bosco straighten up and turned up the alleyway. “Alright. But I’m telling you, it’s just a bruise.”
The three walked out of the alley and crossed the street to the fire station. They saw Bobby and Kim restocking the ambulance as they approached. Bobby looked up as they entered and grinned as he saw Bosco wave off Faith. “She wouldn’t believe me when I told her that it’s only a bruise.”
Bobby was still smiling. “See. You should have let us check you out over there and saved yourself the trip. “ Bobby sat Bosco down at the back of the ambulance and had him remove his uniform blouse. As he started a visual exam, he said loudly to Bosco. “I told you she’d ask.”
Bosco rolled his eyes. He knew that Bobby was right. But his response was a “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. “ He wished that he had been checked at the station and avoided this. He was pretty sure that he had only bruised his back when he hit the wall. He was positive that he didn’t want to find out it was something else. The last thing he wanted was to be put back on medical leave.
Kim had brought out the trauma box and sat it down by Bobby. She checked Bosco’s blood pressure while Bobby examined his back. “Man, you are going to have a butte of a bruise tomorrow. Whatever you hit, you caught it just to the inside of your shoulder blade.” Bobby probed the area gingerly. He checked the bone to see if it might be chipped or cracked. “Any trouble moving your arm in any direction?”
“Nah,” he said as he rotated his arm. “See? Full range of motion. The arm and shoulder are healed. Doctor told me that I’m back to 90 percent strength. And I’m getting stronger each day.” He turned toward Bobby, but saw that he was looking at Faith. He turned quickly and saw Faith lower her arms. Bosco just shook his head. “Ok, Faith.” To Bobby, he said “Just to ease her mind, you want to check my ribs?” He turned his eyes on his partner. “That’s what you want, right?” Bosco heard Kim chuckle behind him.
“It would greatly relieve my mind.” Faith stood her ground. Bosco was trying to shame her into backing off, but she was not having any of it and returned his look. This staring contest continued for a minute, then Bosco turned back to Bobby. He raised his arms in surrender.
“Why don’t you take a couple of deep breaths?” Bosco did as asked as everyone looked on. “Any pain or discomfort?” Bobby asked.
Bosco shook his head. “Nope.”
“Well, I’m convinced. Kim, how about you?” Bobby turned to his partner.
Kim nodded as she folded her arms across he chest. “That about does it as far as I’m concerned. Seems good to me.”
Everyone turned to Faith. “Ok. So I’m a concerned partner.” Sully cleared this throat-loudly. “ Ok! Ok! So I’m a mother hen. I just want to be sure he’s not injured himself any further. I need him back in the squad.” She looked around for support and got back blank looks. She threw up her arms and turned to leave.
Bosco felt bad. He knew she had only made him get checked because she was concerned. He grabbed his shirt and went after her. He caught her in a couple of steps and saw her brush at her eyes. “Hey, come on. Don’t do that. I wasn’t trying to make fun of your concern.” Bosco looked her in the eyes. “I’ve been babied enough the last two months. I’m just a little tired of it. I know that I’m all right. And I need you to accept that I know what I’m talking about. Ok?” His eyes pleaded to her to understand. “I need a partner, not another sitter.”
Faith looked into Bosco’ eyes for a moment, studying him. Finally, she looked away. “Ok. I believe you. I’m sorry I made such a big deal of it. But when that guy slammed you against the wall, I thought he broke you in half. He was so big. It was gruesome to watch.”
“Yeah, well, just because I’m slight, it doesn’t mean that I’m fragile. So, are we ok now?” Faith smiled and nodded. Sensing that her guard was down, Bosco grabbed her and bent her back from the waist. And in his worst Irish brogue said, “Alright, then. How’s about a little kiss, darling?” And, with that, he gave Faith a kiss on the cheek.
Faith pushed her partner away as she stood ramrod straight. Her face was bright red. Bosco’s smirk did nothing to cool her off. “You asshole! Ahhh! Why do I put up with you? Every time I think you’re finally going to grow up and act mature, you go running off at the mouth and get yourself in trouble.”
Sully roared at the exchange, while Bobby and Kim gaped, wide-eyed, at the pair. Yokas looked mad enough to hit him. She clenched her fist to stop the shaking. She was so furious she considered hurting him.
Bosco reached for Faith again, but she stepped back. “Oh, come on. You know you love me. That’s why you want me back. Just admit it, Faith, You can’t live without me!” This last statement was shouted at her retreating back as she went back across the street to change and head home. She never slowed up, as she displayed a universally understood hand gesture.
Bosco turned back to the others. He spread his arms wide and, smiling like the lunatic Sully sometimes thought of him as, he said to them “See! That just proved it. If she didn’t love me, she’d just ignore me. “ With that, he also headed for the station and home.
Sully turned to Bobby and Kim. “Hey, what can I say? They make for cheap entertainment.” Sully made for the door, but turned back. “Appreciate the help. Thanks guys.”
Bobby and Kim watched him leave, and then turned toward each other. Kim shook her head slowly. “I hope we aren’t ever that weird.” She looked at Bobby. She could see his chin quivering. “On second thought, I just hope we never get that public.” And they both burst out laughing with that.
