"Last Exit to Brooklyn"

Author:carmen_085

Disclaimer: I don't own any Third Watch characters. I do own all original characters appearing in this story

Summary: After a terrible tragedy changes his life, Bosco goes undercover to find redemption and justice in the most unlikely of places

Chapter 1

"Go tell that long tongue liar

Go and tell that midnight rider

Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter

Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down"

-February 2001-

Inhaling a deep breath of steaming coffee, Faith leaned against the hood of her RMP. It was late February in New York and the sun was just about to set. Temperatures had been above normal for the past few days as it was clear that everyone was enjoying the early start of spring. Allowing her shoulders to slump slightly, Faith rolled her neck from side to side. For the past few weeks she had been incredibly stressed. Two weeks ago Fred had found out about the abortion when she accused him of falling off the wagon. Initially she thought that they may not make it, but her and Fred had since made amends and were moving on together. Then there was Bosco. Taking another sip of coffee Faith winced slightly remembering the events of the past few days. When Bosco discovered that his mother's boyfriend beat her up, he was unstoppable in his quest for vengeance. A wave of nausea washed over Faith as she remembered the hate in her partner's eyes that night. Even now she was still extremely unsettled by the whole situation. Bosco was someone that she trusted; he was her friend and confidant. The angry, hateful person that beat that man in the factory was someone she didn't know.

Darkness began to envelope the 55 as streetlights flickered to a dim, dirty glow. Retreating to the comfort of the RMP, Faith was soothed by the familiar sensations around her. The worn seat hugged her body in all the right places as the smell of grease from her fast food dinner filled her nose. Things had been unusually quiet without Bosco around, although, she had to admit that she was beginning to miss him. It was unnerving to be out here alone when she was so used to him watching her back. Sighing, Faith reasoned that she only had two more days before things were back to normal. Absent-mindedly she played with the hem of her jacket as she wondered whether or not Bosco was feeling the same way or if he was happy to have a break from her. Lately, with all the problems she faced with Fred, she worried that she had become somewhat of a burden to him. Every day was a new problem that he didn't need to hear about but always listened to with the same unwavering support. Yeah, Bosco was an asshole sometimes but whether she wanted to admit it or not she depended on him as her partner and as her friend.

"55-David take a call of domestic disturbance at 25672 Lexington Ave at East 96th street, Apartment 2B." The scratchy sound of the dispatcher's voice broke her thoughts abruptly as she let out a groan. She didn't even like dealing with domestics on a good day let alone on a night when she was riding solo. Starting the RMP, she reasoned that she would get there and check it out. If things were bad she would call for back up before even going in; there was no need to take any unnecessary risks.

Twenty minutes later 55-David pulled up to a rundown building on the outer fringes of the precinct. The area was relatively deserted, although, she was able to spot another RMP down the street. Maybe someone was already at the job and she wouldn't have to deal with it. Reaching for her radio, Faith's hopes rose a bit "Central, any other units dispatched to this job?" A slight crackling silence followed as her practiced instincts began cataloguing the environment around her.

"Negative 55-David." Her heart dropped a bit as she slowly swung the car door open. Taking a slow, steady look around she couldn't help but to feel a slithering sense of uneasiness creep down her spine. It was too quiet. Casting a glance at the RMP down the street, she could not find it's occupants anywhere in sight. Perhaps they were on another job in the area. Not putting much more thought into it, Faith apprehensively swung open the broken apartment door before stepping inside. The smell of dirty human beings was instantly all around her. It sounds callous, but there is no other way to label a smell that can only otherwise be described as a mix of dirty socks, corn chips, and a week's worth of body odor all rolled into one. Dirty humans…that's the only way to describe it.

Taking a few steps forward, Faith almost always tried to take as many mental notes as possible whenever she got to a job. You never know what may be useful later on. Being careful where she stepped, she noticed the ornate tile pattern on the floor. This was common in many of the older buildings in New York. Cautiously, she began to ascend the stairs, making sure that each step could support her weight before continuing on. Sometimes these calls were like navigating through an obstacle course. Once she reached the first landing she drew her gun as the sounds angry voices began to drift down from the floor above. The lights on the second floor flickered erratically casting eerie shadows in every corner. Apartment 2B was at the end of the hallway around the corner. As Faith inched closer, she was careful to remain against the wall so that no one could jump her from behind. The doorway to the apartment was partly open as she could see one man kneeling on the floor while another stood over him. Sliding into the corner opposite the doorway, Faith made herself nearly invisible in the shadows. She wanted to get an idea what was going on here before charging on in.

Slowly, Faith pulled her gun to her chest as her heart began pounding loudly against the cool metal of the Glock's barrel. Reaching her arm around the back of her body, she silently switched her radio off. In the dim light of the apartment, she could make out a black man in sweats and a ski cap kneeling on the floor. While he was undoubtedly in a rather compromising position, he didn't seem to be fazed by his current situation. In fact, the upward sneer of his lips suggested an indignant attitude and lack of fear.

Suddenly, a booming voice came from inside the apartment. "Where's the money?"

"I told y'all I gave you everything." Rolling his eyes the man on the floor seemed almost annoyed by his current predicament.

"Kenny, where's the money? I'm not going to ask you again." A dark figure suddenly came into partial view before disappearing again abruptly.

"Is you threatenin' me? Cause I don't play that shit. I'll go on down y'all precinct and blow the lid off your shit!" In one swift motion the dark figure came into full view as he slammed the barrel of his pistol into the other man's forehead. In that moment, Faith's entire world crumbled into a heap of lies and betrayal.

It was a cop. Brian Jackson. She knew him; she had worked on the third watch with him for a few years now. They weren't close but she was definitely acquainted with him and his partner Scott Geidel. Faith's hands around her gun began to shake as the reality of what she had just witnessed began to sink in. Two cops…two cops from her precinct were taking a payoff from a drug dealer. To say that the whole situation was shocking could have been the understatement of the year.

Jackson cocked the hammer of the gun back as he pressed the barrel into his victim's forehead. Surprisingly, the other man did not appear very upset. He continued to stare down Jackson with the same defiant sneer. "Do it. I dare you to do it." His word came out threatening and confident, sure that his captor would not have the will to follow through. Then, just as the tensions in the room reached a peak, Geidel appeared next to his partner.

"Hey, Jackson, let's just calm down and not do anything stupid." Geidel placed a hand on Jackson's stiff arm trying to get him to back down. Jackson's shoulders slumped a bit, as he reluctantly replaced his firearm back into the holster.

"Yeah that's right you pussy ass bitch. Can't make your own money so you gots to steal mine…" Before he could continue, Jackson was on the floor pummeling the defiant man with his fists. Somewhere in the melee a stack of hundred dollar bills fell out from underneath the dealer's sweatshirt onto the floor. Immediately upon, seeing this Jackson ceased beating the man and grabbed the money. Riffling a finger through, he estimated at least ten thousand dollars.

"You lied to me Kenny." Shaking his head, a look of disgust crossed the cop's face. To an outsider it would appear as if his best friend had just made the ultimate betrayal. "I don't like liars, Kenny." Pacing back and forth, Jackson appeared to be thinking things over.

In the hallway, Faith tried her best to control herself. Drawing in another ragged breath, her pounding heart begged for more oxygen while her terrified brain prevented her from making a sound. She couldn't believe that this was happening. "You know what, Kenny, just get out of here." The man on the floor slowly rose to his knees. Taking a few steps toward the door, he abruptly turned toward Jackson.

"Gimme my money back." This guy had balls; Faith would give him that, but, God was he stupid. For a moment Kenny and Jackson were locked in an intense stare. Kenny, perhaps, wondering if he had pushed it too far this time; Jackson, on the other hand, wondering how far he should take it.

Eyes narrowed, Jackson gave Kenny a slight nod before handing the stack of cash back to him. Kenny had barely taken one step toward the door when Jackson's voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"You know on second thought…." Pulling his gun in one swift motion, Faith barely had time to react before the bone chilling crack of the Glock filled her senses. Blood instantly spurted from Kenny's chest as he stumbled back into the apartment eventually falling near Jackson's feet. Gasping for air, he stared up at the man who had just murdered him. Faith watched in shock as his body convulsed with agony before becoming limp. The stack of cash still clenched tightly in his hand now fell into the growing pool of blood.

Faith's brain struggled to keep up with what was going on around her. This was so far beyond anything that she ever could have imagined. In the span of less than ten minutes she had not only discovered that two of her colleagues were dirty but also witnessed them commit murder. She needed to get out of there before they saw her. Sliding against the wall, Faith turned the corner and quietly began to descend the stairs. In the darkness, however, she neglected to see the broken step. In the blink of an eye, she was tumbling down the stairs.

Upstairs, Jackson and Geidel were hustling to pack up all the money and drugs in sight when a sudden commotion came from the hallway. Drawing his gun, Jackson lept over Kenny's lifeless body and into the hallway.

The terror that filled Faith at that moment was unreal. Scrambling to her feet, she hurried down to the door. Leaning against, the banister upstairs, Jackson barely made out a wisp of blonde hair before the front door slammed shut. Someone had been there in the hallway. They had seen him kill Kenny. Running back into the apartment, Jackson carefully parted the dirty broken blinds on the street side windows. Nothing. The street was quiet. Craning his neck, he could barely make out an RMP speeding through the stop sign at the end of the street. Although nothing about this overtly grabbed his attention, a sense of trouble began to fill the room.

"55-George to Central." Across the room, Geidel looked at his partner with mild concern.

"Go ahead, George."

"Are there any active jobs in the area of Lexington and East 96th street?" Jackson knew that it was a long shot, but if another cop had seen him commit murder he wanted to know about it.

"There is a call of domestic disturbance at 25672 Lexington Ave." A mix of anger and fear slowly began to build inside of him as he hesitantly asked his next question. "Any units dispatched to that call, Central?"

"55-David currently the only unit responding." Jackson's heart skipped a beat. Yokas, it was Faith Yokas in the hallway.

**

Faith pulled her RMP into the precinct a little after eleven. Needless to say, she was still a wreck over everything that had happened. She could only now hope that neither Jackson nor Geidel had seen her. If they had, she would surely fall to the same fate as Kenny. Gathering up her stuff, she paused for a moment when she saw 55-George pull into the station. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched Geidel and Jackson walk into the house somewhat nonchalantly. Although she was terrified of what they may do to her; Faith was sick at the thought of them getting away with it.

A knock at the window nearly caused her to jump right out of the car. Faith breathed a slight sigh of relief when she saw Davis outside her window. Rolling the window down, she offered her coworker a strained smile. "Hey, Faith, sorry to scare you."

Shaking her head she replied, "No, I'm ok Ty." Starting toward the house, he expected her to follow and was surprised when he turned and saw her still sitting in the RMP.

"Are you coming?" Faith once again appeared lost in thought as Davis mistook her inattention for yearned to have Bosco back. "What? Are you wishing Bosco was back?"

Faith brain was on overload but she managed a small laugh for Davis, " No…No I've been enjoying the quiet." What a lie. She missed Bosco and she needed him right now more than ever. Reluctantly getting out of the car, she nearly tripped over her own two feet when she saw Jackson and Geidel leaving the house. Over his shoulder, Jackson threw a glance in her direction before continuing on with his partner. There wasn't anything particularly unsettling or menacing about it, just an acknowledgement of her presence. He probably had no idea why she was staring at him like such an idiot right now. Shaking it off, Faith knew that she had to get the hell out of there before she made herself look like a fool.

**

Bosco lived about two subway stops away from her in the northwest corner of the precinct. After the shift, Faith returned home only to find everyone sound asleep. Laying down on the couch for a short time, she eventually realized that her efforts were useless. She needed to talk to someone about what had happened. Grabbing her coat and keys, she headed out in the cold New York night. Normally, she would take the 6 Train but tonight she wanted to walk. She needed time to decide what to say. Part of Faith just wanted to blurt everything out; it would be such a relief. Another part of her knew that she should be careful how she phrased things. Bosco wasn't always the most tactful and she didn't want him to go blurting something out to the wrong person. Hugging her jacket to her body, Faith watched as her reflections floated from one darkened store window to the next. She looked tired and afraid.

Rounding the corner, she let herself into the front door with the key that Bosco had given her. As she walked up the stairs her heart was pounding; it was now or never. Raising a hand, Faith knocked loudly on Bosco's door. She leaned in toward the doorframe listening carefully for any sounds. Silence. Raising a hand she knocked again. "Bosco, It's Faith." Still, she heard nothing but silence. Backing away from the door a little, Faith couldn't help but to feel somewhat betrayed. Although he had no idea she was coming over, she nonetheless expected him to be there. It was unreasonable, she realized that, but he was always there for her. Feeling dejected, she turned and descended the stairs all the while keeping an eye on apartment 4B hoping that the door would suddenly open. Sighing, Faith realized that she would have to deal with this alone.

Above Lyrics are from Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down"