Mouse Returns

Last straw

"Alright, I know we all want to find Jay and Greg but we need to be prepared for a marathon, not a sprint. Upton and Burgess, you two go have a four hour rest. Ruzek and Atwater already had their nap earlier today. I need everyone on top of their game when we are ready to get this guy. No arguments." Voight shut down the immediate response to push through their exhaustion until they had Jay back.

With a sigh both ladies went into the locker room where cots had been set up. Federal Agents had taken over the break room and were liaising with the military getting background information on Barrick. Erin hung up the phone and went into the bullpen.

"Sarg, I got a bit more from the military." Erin put a piece of paper up on the board. "Here is a list of everyone in the unit, survivors and those who didn't make it. Thomas tried to join the military when he turned 19 but didn't make it through boot camp. He did not pass the psyc evaluation. He did continue in the reserves though so he is trained in weapons and combat. He moved into the civilian position with records and worked there ever since. Over time he gained access to more classified information including who was part of the convoy his brother died in. He never married, and has no children. His sister was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 years ago and Thomas took a leave of absence to take care of her and he didn't go back when she passed away. I believe that's what triggered him, he's acting on his festering anger that his brother didn't make it home. When his sister died he was left alone. Parents died in a car accident when he was 12, an aunt raised them."

"We need to do a deed search to see if he or anyone in his family owns property. Ruzek, do a social media sweep of him and his sister. Maybe a family friend. Atwater, call the aunt, see what she says. We need to find this guy, now." Voight directed and put Jay's picture up next to Mouse's on the board.

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Jay and Mouse woke the next day to banging and whistling. Jay opened his eyes to see Tommy making eggs over a small camp stove. Coffee was brewing next to a small sink. Jay sat up and drank more from the water bottle in his cell and took the chance to really look around the building. It was built like a bomb shelter. Metal walls and no windows. The only light was from several electric lanterns around the room. Other than the few chairs there was no other furniture. A small counter and sink were along the wall with the door which was solid metal. Tommy scooped eggs and toast onto two plates and slid the plates with plastic spoons through a gap at the bottom of the door to Jay and Mouse's cells without saying a word. Then he took his eggs and coffee outside. Jay hurried to his feet and pushed on the door hoping to find a weak spot but the door was built solid. He tried to bear weight on his leg that had been hit by the bat to side kick the door but sharp pain rocketed through his knee. He sat down with a sigh and picked up the plate.

"I tried all that already." Mouse said with a mouth full of toast. "He's feeding us so we'll live longer and he can beat us up more, you know."

"Hang in there Mouse, we'll find a way out of this unless Voight finds us first." Jay sighed and turned to the food. He knew he needed to keep his strength up if he found a way to fight his way out. He had a chance to look at his arm which was clearly broken and horribly bruised. His ribs were bruised as well. He was afraid of what his face looked like when he would have a chance to look in a mirror, he could feel the swelling in his eye and lip.

It was long after they finished their breakfast that Tommy came back in. He took their dishes and washed them in the small sink. When he was done he took his time drying and putting the dishes away as tension built. Jay knew he was performing such mundane tasks as a form of psychological torture since they all knew what was coming. Finally, he turned and looked at them both. After a moment he went up to Mouse's cell and unlocked the thick padlock holding the door shut.

"You first." Tommy half carried Mouse to the chair in the center of the room. His shirt was torn and bloody at the back and Jay felt his anger rising even more. Once seated, Tommy tied Mouse to the chair and sat across from him. "Tell me about the convoy where you left my brother to die."

Mouse kept his head down and retold the story over and over. His pain and exhaustion were clear in his tone. He left out the part where Jay had tried to go back and rescue his brother instead saying they left them to die.

"Enough!" Jay finally broke after listening so many times. "I don't know what you think you want to hear but we've told you what happened a dozen times! There was nothing we could have done to save your brother! Trust me, I've gone through that day a million times in my head trying to figure out if there is something I could have done differently and there isn't!"

Tommy turned to glare at Jay for a moment. Then he untied Mouse from the chair and dragged him to the corner. He punched Mouse who fell limply to the ground. Jay got ready to fight as Tommy pulled out an expandable baton and extended it. Tommy opened the cell and immediately lunged at Jay with the baton. Jay was able to block the first shot with his unbroken forearm but Tommy immediately followed up driving a knee into the knee that had been taken out with the bat. Jay tried to fight back but Tommy was strong and uninjured. Tommy drove Jay into the concrete wall before sliding around behind Jay with an arm around his throat. He dragged Jay into the room and forced him down into the chair. Tommy used a tie strap to hold Jay to the chair, pinning his arms to his side.

"Now, tell me about the convoy where you left my brother to die." Tommy was breathing heavily and he rolled the expandable baton in his hands. Jay glared at him breathing hard with rockets of pain roaring through his knee and arm. Tommy got up and kicked the unconscious Mouse in the ribs.

"Alright! Stop!" Jay could take beatings himself but watching his friend get hurt drove him to his breaking point. Jay went through the story again, altering the story slightly as Mouse had where they had left the others in the truck without trying to save them. It killed Jay to leave that part out but Tommy didn't believe they had tried to save him anyways.

"So you finally admit you left my brother to die?" Tommy said when Jay was done.

"I know that's what you want to hear whether it was the truth or not." Jay bit out before he could stop himself.

"Enough of this! You're lying!" Tommy roared. He pulled Jay out of the chair, leaving the tie strap to keep his arms pinned to his chest and dragged Jay out of the room. They went through a doorway and down a narrow set of stairs into a dirt walled cellar. Tommy loosened the tie strap and forced Jay's hands above his head and hooked the ropes on a meat hook attached to a beam in the ceiling. Tommy picked up a thick leather belt from a nail on one of the support beams. Next to it was a large homemade shrapnel bomb.

"That's here just in case someone does manage to track you here. We'll all go down in a blaze of glory." And with that he raised his arm to whip Jay with the belt across the back.