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

Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Eight: Progress

For three days Headquarters had buzzed as all Agents were on deck, scrambling to find any information that might lead them to the missing Detectives' whereabouts. During the night and early morning hours Mouse constantly monitored Murphys' office through the covert surveillance cameras but no one had attempted to enter the office when the investigation team had departed late each night. A sweep of the entire floor had only identified the one listening device in the brass lamp on the Assistant Directors' desk. That made their task easier. There was a delicate balance to maintain to ensure no red flags were raised so as much as possible conversations were carried out as if no bug was in place. It was necessary to make their target believe that his or her
spying had not been detected. The men made plans each night in their hotel of what would be discussed the following day and each was becoming quite adept at speaking in sentences leaving out words to create the necessary illusion that the listening device in place was faulty. Voights' patience was being sorely tested however as the third day since Jay had been taken drew to a close. They had headed for the hotel after nine, when the other Agents also headed off after a long day. The only consolation, as Burke had pointed out in the Break Room that afternoon, was that while Wells had Jay he was unlikely to be concentrating on another target. What was meant to be an encouraging comment however fell flat when Adam succinctly reminded the Bomb Technician that if Wells wasn't busy planning another attack it meant he was with Jay all of the time. The worried Detective hadn't needed to elaborate further on what that probably entailed.

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Three days had passed but for the missing Detective time had ceased to exist. All he knew was when Wells entered the room it meant pain for him. Although he had been thirsty he had refused most offers of water, not wishing to be drugged again. As he rubbed his aching forehead with his free hand Jay knew he couldn't keep refusing water. Dehydration could be fatal. As an Army Ranger that lesson in survival had been drummed into him and the blistering Afghan sun had driven it home. The fact that he was injured was not helping. He could feel the fever invading his body. He figured Wells had been gone for several hours this time. The space between visits seemed to be getting longer. Unbeknownst to Jay he had come to the same conclusion as Burke. If his Captor was with him he couldn't be out setting off another bomb. That was the hope anyway. And that hope depended on the dead man in the hotel being the sole accomplice Wells had. The injured man shivered in the cool room, wishing his Captor hadn't cut off his jumper. He wondered if his friends had identified the dead man yet. Realising that he had nothing to lose Jay decided that it was time to get some answers the next time Wells paid him a visit. Decision made a calmness settled over the pale man. He longed to give into the weakness threatening to overwhelm him but fought against the enticing darkness. It might bring him momentary relief from the torment he was in but there was no way to fully escape what was happening. As he inadvertently moved his injured shoulder a groan escaped. He wondered, not for the first time, if he would ever understand the cruelty people could impart. Although Afghanistan had been nightmarish on so many levels there was something more excruciating about deliberate cruelty carried out on a personal level as opposed to basic warfare. Yes warfare gave rise to some catastrophic injuries for many Soldiers but they weren't inflicted as a personal vendetta. In general there was a major difference between the pain suffered in battle and the pain suffered at the hands of someone who had a personal grudge against you. Sighing in frustration Jay wondered why he was thinking of Afghanistan at this time. Shaking his head he mentally chided himself. He knew exactly why his Ranger life was rearing its' ugly head. Jay had never divulged to anyone in civilian life that he had been held captive and tortured by the Taliban for two days when a Sniper mission had gone FUBAR, Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition. The torture at the time was hard to deal with but Jay knew his uniform was the real target and somehow that knowledge helped make it bearable to deal with the injuries brutally inflicted. Dealing with Wells however meant he had no such facet to give him strength. This was clearly personal for the older man. Jay just wished he knew why.