Tolerance Book I (Chicago PD/Med FF) by Frances51163

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Four: IEDs

Once appraised of Jays' concerns Voight had discussed the matter with the Assistant Director. Murphy had reluctantly pointed out that they did not have the manpower to take any precautions on the off-chance the Gilberts might be in danger. Voight had known protection was unlikely. Relaying this to his worried Detective however had not been easy. For his part the young Detective was hoping he was on the wrong track. As Kevin had pointed out they had not been followed to the Gilbert residence so he would have to hope Wells was unaware of the family. In the office the Unit had been assigned Jay looked at his Sergeant and decided he had better tackle another unpleasant topic.

"Sarge did Murphy agree about a mole here in Headquarters?"
"No. He's confident there isn't a leak here."
"So where does that leave us?" Adam interjected with a frown.
"Mouse is doing some digging," Voight reminded.
"Murphy agree to that?" Al asked doubtfully.
"He doesn't need to know about it unless something turns up."
"He isn't going to be happy us going behind his back," Kevin looked up from the papers he was reading, "even if there is proof of someone helping Wells."
"He's loyal to his people," Voight shrugged, "can't hold that against him."
"Guess not," Antonio conceded with a sigh, "maybe nothing will show up."
"I hope something does," Jay drew all eyes in his direction, "it could be a way to get false information to Wells."
"Such as?" Adam queried with interest.
"Not sure yet," Jay replied vaguely, he wanted to make some progress that much he knew.

                      -------------------------

That evening the Unit along with Burke dined on copious amounts of Chinese takeout in the rental residence. The meal was a rowdy affair with teasing and jovial banter as the men made an unspoken conscious effort to alleviate the tension bred by the ongoing investigation. Burke looked at the men around the table as he finally abandoned his Sweet and Sour Chicken dish after demolishing most of it.

"That was lovely but my wife won't recognise me if I keep eating takeout."
"You volunteering to cook?" Kevin asked eagerly as he pushed his dish away.
"Afraid the only thing I can cook is an Irish Breakfast."
"That can't be good for your waistline," Antonio commented with a smirk in between bites of his Egg Roll.
"True but I don't make it every day," Burke explained as he took a sip of water before becoming serious, "ye reckon Wells is going to keep going until he's stopped?"
"You don't?" Adam tossed back in surprise before anyone else could reply.
"I don't know what to think.  Never dealt with someone like Wells before."
"But you've dealt with bombs," Kevin countered.
"In Afghanistan it's a different set of circumstances."
"Haven't you aided other investigations since you came home?" Antonio checked.
"A couple but not like this one. Wells and whoever is working with him is a totally different type of Bomber than I am used to."
"Hell I would have thought all Bombers are the same .... nuts," Adam offered succinctly.
"Guess they have to be kinda nuts to blow people up," Burke admitted, "but Wells is way more methodical than anyone else I've come across."
"He clearly has an agenda," Voight nodded in concurrence, "but at the moment we don't know what it is."
"When you briefed me you said the only link between the victims was a music connection," Burke recalled, "there must be something else. The music link is a bit tenuous."
"Are we all agreed that Wells has some military experience?" Jay looked at his companions thoughtfully.
"Definitely," Burke replied as the others murmured their agreement.
"What if he has a musical connection with the military?"
"What?" Adam eyed his friend.
"We haven't really found any other link between the victims besides music," Jay offered quietly, "and let's face it in some cases the link to music is very slight ...,"
"What are you getting at Halstead?" Voight questioned curiously.
"Maybe we've been looking at this from the wrong angle. What if Wells has a history with a military band or something?"
"Musicians aren't going to be trained in explosives," Kevin pointed out.
"What if he wound up in a band after working on explosives?" Jay suggested.
"Now that could happen," Burke acknowledged.
"But you met him," Antonio hated to pour water on the idea but continued, "you'd have seen if he had any serious injuries."
"He wasn't limping or anything," Jay conceded.
"Doesn't mean he doesn't have injuries," Burke argued knowingly, "he could hide burns once his walking wasn't affected. There are a lot of blast injuries that can be kept from prying eyes."
"You speaking from experience?" Adam asked with his usual lack of tact.
"Ruzek ....,," Voight began to scold his subordinate but was interrupted.
"It's okay," Burke assured with a smile, "luckily not personal experience but I have a few friends who got pretty messed up over the years. One guy has no way of hiding what happened to him but the other two suffered severe shrapnel wounds and burns.  If you met them you wouldn't know the scars they carry."
"So why can't the first guy you mentioned hide his injuries?" Adam wondered aloud and promptly received a non too gentle kick in the shin from Kevin on one side and a death glare from Jay on his other side.
"He lost his legs," Burke answered without rancour, he didn't blame the Detective for being curious.
"Damn."
"Would someone be able to get into a military band after being injured on duty? Al brought the conversation back on track.
"They'd have to have musical ability I assume," Burke shrugged, he was not familiar with the criteria for a military band, "they'd have undergone military training at the very least to qualify.  I don't have any useful contacts to check things out I'm afraid."
"It's okay," Voight stated, "I know a guy who can help."
"It's still a bit of a flimsy connection," Antonio decided to play Devils' advocate.
"Hell I might be wrong," Jay looked around the room, "but unless there's something we've overlooked music is the only link.  It's definitely a loose one though."
"And none of the victims know each other?" Burke checked.
"Well not the victims from different incidents," Kevin replied.
"I wish we knew what made him escalate the attacks," Antonio voiced one of their main concerns.
"It may have been his plan all along," Al proferred his opinion, "he's clearly following an agenda."

"And it's likely his next target will be either the same size or bigger than the last one," Jay noted grimly, after a brief silence as the men contemplated the unenviable task they faced, before turning to the Bomb Disposal Technician, "how dangerous was it to put the bomb in the SUV? Was Wells in danger? Or his partner?"
"There's an element of risk in dealing with any form of explosives," Burke explained, "that risk increases exponentially the bigger the IED or bomb."
"Aren't bombs the same as IEDs? Adam raised a brow.
"The damage can be the same but improvised explosive devices, or IEDs as they're known, are made from components which do not necessarily include military grade components."
"But some military grade components were used in some of the attacks," Antonio observed.
"But none of the attacks involved full military grade components," Kevin reminded
"So Wells and his partner have access to some military stock but not enough to make a full explosive device," Voight stated.
"Surely the military would miss any stock taken," Antonio commented.
"Maybe he's only taking small amounts to slip under the radar," Kevin offered.
"It would still be missed," Antonio scoffed as he noted Jay and Burke exchange a look, "what is it?"
"You're faith in the military might be a bit skewed," Burke eventually answered with a shrug, "at the end of the day Soldiers are human and make mistakes."
"Well thanks for sharing," Adam complained with mock chagrin, "I'll sleep a lot better knowing that!"

tbc