Tolerance Book III

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Past and Present Collide

Bank

As Conor readied the needle and thread wishing he could sterilize both he recalled his first day at Med. After being involved in a subway accident he had sustained an arm injury that required stitching. With the hospital inundated with Victims from the derailment he had taken it upon himself to stitch the wound. Before carrying out the procedure however he had numbed the area with a shot of lidocaine. Jay would not have such a pain free experience. The Surgeon knew from past experience however that his friend had a high pain threshold and clung to that as he threaded the needle. As a medical professional he was adept at being cool and calm under pressure, in fact the very nature of his occupation as a Cardiothoracic Surgeon demanded such qualities. There had been no training in Medical School however for treating a friend he thought wrily.

Jay knew Conor was struggling with the task ahead even if his outward demeanour was calm. To that end he caught his friends' gaze when Billings looked over at the seated Hostages and sent a reassuring wink as words were out of the question. This would not be the first time he had received stitches without a local anaesthetic and he wished he could tell his friend that. Although not a pleasant experience he knew he could bear it. The headache residing in his skull was at least receding so he decided to be grateful for that. While Conor was a worry Will was even more of a concern. His older sibling was not known for his calm demeanour. In fact Jay had to admit he still wondered at times how he had become a Doctor. Not that he doubted his clinical abilities. Will had always known from a young age that he wanted to go into medicine and to that end had studied and worked long hours to get through Medical School and Jay was proud of his brothers' achievements. It was his personality however which did not seem to marry with the occupation so well. Of course medical professionals came in all types but in general they tended to be able to put their personal feelings aside to get a job done irrespective of whether it was stitching a wound arising from an accident or treating a broken leg purposefully inflicted. Feelings tended to cloud judgement and Patients needed their various ailments taken care of rather than dealing with a Doctors' concern or anger. Oh the redhead could be quite dispassionate carrying out a procedure but on occasion his fiery nature tended to come to the fore without any attempt to dampen it and that was what worried the injured man now. Jay knew full well he could handle the stitching without a problem but the question that gnawed at his gut was could his brother also do so? That he couldn't talk to Will or give him some sign that he really was going to be alright frustrated the auburn haired man. He also needed to communicate with his team. He was trying to think of a way around the problem when Conor once again addressed their Captor and provided an opportunity to communicate with the redhead, albeit silently, and also his team.

"I need him sitting on a chair," the Surgeon stated gesturing towards the nearest seat as he helped the Detective to stand without waiting for sanction.
"Okay but be quick."
"This is going to hurt," Conor cautioned needlessly, more for Billings' sake than his friends for he too had grasped Billings' intentions and understood instinctively what Jay wanted him to do.
"Figured," Jay acknowledged.
"Oh and just to make this interesting," Billings put in coldly as he addressed the Detective, "every time you make a sound one of the Hostages will pay the price."

Conor and Will were immediately taken aback by the taunting words. Not primarily because of the threat to the Hostages, which in itself was a concern, but the fact such a caveat was eerily reminiscent of the torment Halstead Senior had inflicted on his youngest son. The redhead had been watching Jay as the words were uttered and although brief he had witnessed such a stricken look flicker across his features before stoicism camouflaged same that it physically pained him. This could not be happening! His little brother didn't deserve to be reminded of a nightmare he had somehow managed against all odds to survive yet he was being forced, yet again, to confront it.