Tolerance Book III

Chapter Seventy-Four: A Futile Task

Surveillance Van

As Jay was navigating the discussion with his deadly companion Mouse was busy immersing himself in the latest task required by Voight.  Central Park had of course featured in his initial search  criteria but the sheer size of the land mass upon which New Yorks' sixth biggest public park resided was such that it would require extensive manpower and hours to thoroughly search and therefore he had concentrated search efforts elsewhere with the gruff Sergeants' approval.  Now however it seemed Central Park would in fact have to be checked.  The Park extended between 59th and 110th Streets and between Fifth and Eighth Avenues.  Although the general absence of members of the public at night would aid a search the darkness would hinder same.  The IT Specialist knew there would be plenty of places to remain concealed under the dark skies as the number of personnel assigned to the job would not be enough.  He hadn't needed Kevin to inform him of Murphys' statement on the practicalities involved.  He was well aware of budget restrictions in place in any major investigations.  With that in mind he was determined to find some shortcuts in the search parameters for the world famous public park.

Central Park

Jay had reluctantly decided to listen to whatever his companion imparted and had to hope he could gauge the mans' true intentions.  With that in mind he urged Billings to speak.

"You have my attention.  Who is in danger?"
"I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking," the older man stated smugly, "you noticed the two cameras.  What you can't tell from here is that they have been disabled.  In fact several cameras have been."
"And?" Jay realized his assumption the Killer had been trying to set him up for something had been erroneous as there were no eyes on them.
"Well it seems the Security Guards were rather lapse and somehow got themselves tied up ..... literally."
"Where is the security building?" the Detective actually knew but the question would be expected.
"You didn't ask if they were hurt."
"I assume they're tied up to stop them leaving their posts."
"Quite right.  Of course being tied up means they can't escape any danger."
"A bomb?"
"You really are getting good at reading me."
"You haven't told me where the building is."
"No I haven't," Billings rose to his feet, "wouldn't want to make it too easy on you."
"So you're just assuming I'll leave you walk away?" Jay stood up and eyed the other man intently.
"I'm assuming you're going to try to save innocent people," Billings corrected with a confident tone.
"You going to give me any other information?"
"I've been quite generous," Billings decided, the finality of his tone clearly indicating he was not willing to divulge further details.
"So what's to stop me taking you down now?"
"Nothing ...... apart that is from the fact  within the next ten minutes the bomb will be detonated.  You have a choice Detective.  You can either waste time tackling me or you can find the Security Guards in time."

Jay  checked his watch.  He knew the Killer could be lying.  He also knew however he couldn't take the chance the Security Guards weren't really in trouble.  His instincts were to believe the deadly threat but it went against his law enforcement background to let the evil man simply walk away.

Security Van

Mouse had encountered little difficulty in hacking into the surveillance cameras covering Central Park which, to his surprise, were maintained and operated by the Central Park Conservancy rather than law enforcement.   With such a vast expanse of land to cover there were numerous cameras in place.  The sprawling public park had strategically placed cameras throughout but same covered public areas only so as not to infringe on Visitors' privacy.  The IT Specialist had decided to concentrate his efforts on finding any anomalies in the surveillance system.  It took a while but eventually he identified four cameras which were not working.  After assessing the security measures in place he had learnt that the footage was recorded in real time.  Having four cameras out of commission in such a large area did not necessarily signify anything untoward in itself but a quick system check had revealed that no reports had been made about the faulty cameras.  That set off a red flag and told Mouse that perhaps he had found a lead.  Standing up quickly he set out in search of Voight.  It didn't take him long to find the other man standing nursing a coffee by the table set up in front of the Communications Van.