Tolerance Book III

Chapter Fifty-Three: Constructing A Tale

Surveillance Van

Al had been switching from watching Jay on the screen and watching his oldest friend. What he saw on the Sergeants' features mirrored guilt and he decided that needed to be dealt with right then and there so he spoke up softly but firmly.

"He played us all with that complaint. It was his way of getting the Kid into the bank ....,"
"I should have known! The complaint meant Halstead was after getting under his skin and that's why I figured it would be advantageous to send him in ......,"
"We all should have known," Al corrected as he shrugged before pointing out an uncomfortable fact, "but hindsight isn't an ally. We deal with what we know at any given time. The right decision was made at the time in letting the Kid go in."
"Somehow right about now I don't think Halstead would agree with you!"
"No point in dwelling on what's done," Parker decided to cut in, "we need to work out why Billings is so interested in Jay. It may actually be only a recent thing. There's no certainty it's related to something in the past."
"Recent as in when he met Halstead on the investigation?" Voight asked curiously.
"It's possible."
"Let's face it everything is on the table," Al put in, they had no solid clues to follow to source answers to their multiple questions.
"You reckon Billings will kill a Hostage if Halstead doesn't play ball?" Voight looked at the Psychologist, he had come to value the younger mans' opinion.
"Yes. Yes I do."
"Damn!"

With his background the moustached Detective knew something the others hadn't considered yet. Jay was bound by military protocol not to divulge details of missions, no matter how much time had elapsed since same but also more importantly he could not to do so under any circumstances. The former Sniper wondered if Billings knew that. No doubt Jay was also wrestling with that formal restraint as he weighed his options.

Bank

Will looked over at his one and only sibling and marvelled at how he could appear so calm in the face of such pressure. The redhead wanted to speak up and tackle the arrogantly taunting Billings but knew that would not accomplish anything good and could in fact create even more pressure for Jay. Being an unwilling audience to his brothers' psychological torment was igniting his anger to an almost unmanageable level but, with great effort, he refrained from lashing out. Conor was also fighting his own battle to remain silent. He knew what was coming for Jay was going to expose him in a way he would never wish to be seen. The added pressure of having Will and Conor witness such vulnerability would only compound matters. In truth he had often wondered about what exactly his friend had endured in Afghanistan but knew his curiosity would never be quenched by asking questions. It had become clear early on in his acquaintance with the former Ranger that his time in the service was not up for discussion and the Surgeon respected that. Although he had hoped one day to gain some insight into the younger mans' experiences he certainly did not expect or wish to obtain such knowledge in the present foreboding circumstances.

Jay eyed Billings as the man once again checked his watch. Time was obviously a factor now in whatever he intended to do. He was still trying to work out how to respond to the grim ultimatum when the older man spoke up, quietly but firmly.

"I've given you enough time Detective. What's your decision? Tell a story or watch a Hostage die?"
"Doesn't seem like I have a choice."
"Your answer?" Billings pressed, impatience infusing his tone.
"I'll tell you what you want to hear."
"Figured you'd do the right thing," Billings glanced over at Milton, who like the others had been listening avidly to the exchange between the two men, "you night avoid a bullet after all."

The Bank Manager, to his credit, did not flinch at the ominous words and Jay couldn't help but admire the man. This was definitely not how he had intended to spend his day. A life and death situation would not have entered his mind when he headed into work that morning,