Tolerance Book III

Chapter Eighty-One: The Devils' Company

HS Headquarters

In the now crammed two desk office the Internal Affairs' Agents had been allotted the tension had continued to rise as Manetti tried unsuccessfully to finagle a way out of the predicament he found himself in.  That it was of his own making did not even enter his mind.  O'Sullivan eyed the man sitting across from him with a mixture of fury, sadness and disgust.  He had suspected the man wasn't reliable but had no idea he was actually corrupt. There was a big difference between being prejudiced against Suspects and actively seeking to harm them.  Rubbing his temple distractedly he glanced at Voights' grim features and could only imagine what was going through the tough Sergeants' mind. O'Sullivan was relieved he wasn't the focus of the mans' ire.

"Manetti you don't have a choice in this," Murphy informed the man firmly, "now who did you speak to about Halstead?"
"It's none of .....," the unrepentant Agent attempted to argue but a slammed palm on his desk stalled any further words as he gulped, for the first time the severity of his  predicament seemingly dawning on him.
"Manetti," Voight rubbed his throbbing hand, "every minute wasted in here is another minute my Detective is in danger! I want answers and I want them now!"
"Tell them what they want to know," O'Sullivan instructed his colleague.
"I did nothing wrong."
"Who?" Al prompted with a trace of menace, his renowned patience severely tested.
"Thompson. He's the Director, he has a right to know what's happening!"
"Hell!" Parker shook his head.
"Why are you so eager to hang Halstead out to dry?" Voight demanded.
"I haven't done ....,"
"You haven't done your job," Al interrupted, he wasn't willing to listen to any more weak excuses,"now what was your angle?"
"I think I know," O'Sullivan offered quietly, drawing surprised looks his way.

Brooklyn

The discussion with Billings was reigniting old emotions for Jay, ones he wanted to remain buried.  The casual disregard the man had for his Victims' suffering was all too reminiscent of his Old Man. The callousness exuding from the Killer was impossible to miss.  Parker would have a clinical term for Billings but Jay knew at the end of the day a title did not absolve someone of their crimes.  Whether a Sociopath or a Psychopath the older man personified evil.  Sitting in the presence of such a person caused the young mans' gut to twist.  Memories of standing petrified before his father awaiting for punishment for some perceived infraction rushed to the forefront of his mind.  There was a similarity between the two men that only now was making itself painfully known to him. That his late father had not killed anyone did not alter the bleak realization that both men chose willingly to embrace their dark side.  It wasn't that every Killer he had ever encountered reminded him of his father.  There were those who murdered for monetary gain or material gain and then there were those who inflicted pain and took lives for the sole purpose of relishing in the joy of said acts.  The latter group of course could not all be placed in one category.  There were few however who derived such enjoyment as many Serial Killers did.

For a brief moment, in an attempt to halt the onslaught of repressed images assailing him, he considered rushing the man and fighting him for the gun.  Rational thinking however resumed as his hard earned childhood lessons and Ranger training kicked in and he reverted to calm reasoning.  Jay knew the older man would not give up the handgun without a struggle and one or both of them could wind up seriously or gravely injured.  It wasn't his own safety which guided the Detectives' restraint but the knowledge, gleaned from the clock watching, that his foe apparently had something else planned and that might entail danger to more innocent Civilians.  He hated being in the mans' presence but knew, for the time being at least, he would have to tolerate him no matter how disquieting it was.  Taking a deep breath Jay posed another question as he gestured to their plush surroundings.

"Why come here?"
"Reminiscing of times past," Billings replied sombrely, his voice tainted with a note of seeming regret.
"You lived here?"
"It was one of my favourite residences."
"Sucks to be so rich huh?" Jay half scoffed, he wasn't being careless with his words for he had decided to try to irritate the man in the hope he might accidentally let something slip about his plans.
"Actually people who don't have several residences always forget that all the jobs that come with a dwelling are multiplied when one has several and ....,"
"As if you fixed the plumbing yourself," the Detective countered shaking his head, "if you can afford all those places you can afford to pay people to do the work involved in maintaining them."
"Says the man who only owns one apartment!"
"One apartment is all I need," Jay shrugged dismissively, he refused to be baited about the other mans' knowledge of his background, they had suspected he had researched him after all.
"But if you won the lottery you'd buy something better."
"Not sure I would.  So what happened here? You forgot to pay your Mortgage?"
"Now that's not being very tactful Detective," Billings scolded mildly as he sent another glance towards the timepiece.
"You said I could ask questions. Did I come close to the truth?" Jay asked unrepentantly.
"You have no idea what you're talking about!"