Mouse Returns

Memories

Everyone gathered back at the district to share all the information they had gained. Halstead stood and crossed his arms over his chest, clearly emotional and angry over the news. He shared the pod video he had found and the news that others had been killed or missing as well.

"Well this goes beyond our jurisdiction. I need to call my contact with the Feds. It's looking more and more like a serial killer targeting your old unit Jay. Reach out to your CI's. Jay, do you have any contacts still in the military you could reach out to? Start reaching out to the other victims' families to see if we can find some common denominator." Everyone rushed into motion on the phones and computers. Hailey squeezed Jay's arm before going to her desk. Jay put more pictures and names up on the board of his old unit full of anger.

"Jay, the feds want to talk to you." Voight opened his door with the phone in his hand. Jay sighed and went into Voights office and shut the door. Voight put the phone on speaker as they both sat on opposite sides of Hank's desk.

"Hey Jay, it's Erin. Long time no see." A familiar voice came over the phone. A fleeting half smile came across Jay's face.

"I wish it was under different circumstances. But at least I know if you're involved, it will be taken seriously." Jay spoke to the girl who left him with a ring in his pocket and broke his heart. Still, he knew she was a damn good investigator.

"We actually just started linking these murders before Hank called. We knew they were all ranger related but were just starting to work with the military to find the nexus. Hank tells me James was in your old unit?" Erin started, getting right to business. "What about Michael Burke, Justin Taylor and Ryan Webber?"

"They were all in my unit on my last tour of Afghanistan. They were all survivors of a convoy that got bombed. We lost almost half the unit on that trip." Jay confirmed as he stood and started pacing the small office, arms crossed over his chest.

"I really hate to ask this of you Jay but I need to know what happened on that convoy. I think it may be the key to figuring out who's doing this and where Mouse is." Erin suggested. Jay started to pace again and rubbed the back of his neck with agitation.

"I don't know if I can do that Erin. I've tried so hard to block out that day." He stopped and leaned on the desk, biting his lower lip.

"I know, Jay. If I didn't think it was important, I wouldn't ask. Please, can you try." Erin pleaded while Voight watched the indecision on Jay's face. With a sigh Jay nodded and sat back in the chair.

"We had 5 trucks and we left the compound to get supplies from the airport. We've done that trip a dozen times and never had any issues. There was only one way to go, one road. Everywhere else had too much scrub or hills." Jay took another deep breath before continuing and rubbed his hands together. Voight stood and moved around the desk to sit in the other chair next to Jay. It was very rare for Jay to talk about any of his experiences overseas. "We came to what used to be a small town that had been bombed and abandoned. All the buildings were falling apart. Mouse and I were in the lead truck. We were halfway through the town when we hit a roadside bomb. The truck flipped on its side but that's when the gunners started to shoot at the convoy."

Jay leaned forward in the chair and held his head in his hands before continuing. "I dislocated my shoulder when the truck rolled but we had to get out of there. I kicked the back window out and pulled Mouse out. His ankle was broken but I had to get him out of there. I managed to pull him into one of the building shells and he covered me with his rifle while I went back to pull the others out of the truck."

It took several shaky breaths before Jay could continue. Voight squeezed his shoulder. "Just as I was crouching to climb back into the truck they bombed it with an RPG. I was thrown back from the blast and smashed my head. Mouse dragged himself out from the building and managed to pull me inside. Everyone else in that truck died. The rest of the unit ended up killing them all off but we lost half our men in the fight." Jay finished and rocked slightly in his chair, holding his head.