Tolerance Book III

Chapter Ninety-Six: Pressure

Central Park

"You're looking rather weary," Billings commented as he approached the bench with his head down but remained standing as he held a newspaper in his hands apparently engrossed in an article.
"Been a while since I had a decent nights' sleep," the Detective responded truthfully, "I'm here alone so you don't need to worry."
"I'm not worried!" the Killer scoffed even as his eyes continued to roam their surroundings.
"So take a seat."
"Don't feel like it."
"Up to you," Jay shrugged, he was letting the Killer know he was no longer going to be meek.
"You will come with me."
"Not unless you ask."
"Why Detective Halstead I do believe you're trying to assert control. Have you forgotten there are Civilians around?" the older man reminded with an unvoiced threat.
"No I haven't," Jay remained in place, "you won't create a scene here."
"Why are you so sure?"
"Because .... Billings .... if you do I'll take you out here and now," the green eyed man stated with absolute certainty.
"I'm bigger and stronger than ....,"
"Size never mattered to me. There are ways to compensate when an opponent is ..... what's the word .... oh yeah ..... overweight."
"Halstead!"

In the surveillance van, disguised as a telephone repair vehicle, parked twenty feet away outside on the road the Unit members exchanged amused looks despite their concern. Jay had said he was going to be on the attack from the start and he was true to his word. With the surveillance gadgets approved by Fielding Jay was now wearing his usual watch but it was fitted with a state of the art listening device. Mouse had even placed a discreet bug on the back of the bench which if anyone noticed resembled a real creature. Technological advances in listening devices were truly amazing.

Voight and Al shared a look as they listened to the young Detective riling the Killer. It was the agreed upon strategy to avoid a repeat of past meetings between the pair during which Halstead was very much at the Killers' beck and call. Parker had agreed with the auburn haired mans' assessment that Billings was rattled now so it was the right time to change tactics. The Psychologist would be joining the team later after his stint at the hospital. It was their intention to stay as close to Jay as possible given the volatile nature of the unknown territory he was now entering into.

"He knows what he's doing," the moustached man reassured calmly.
"It never gets any easier."
"Don't think it's meant to."
"That's a great comfort!" Voight rolled his eyes.
"Schucks you keep me around to tell you the truth not to sugarcoat things."
"Thanks for clarifying," the Sergeant shook his head ruefully as he checked the time then raised his voice to everyone, "surprised Billings hasn't got them moving."
"Maybe he's trying to gauge Jays' new behaviour," Kevin suggested.
"Bound to be suspicious," Antonio put in.
"Jay knows his Foes," the IT Specialist murmured as he fiddled with a few dials on the control panel, "he can always read their tells."
"You've never been undercover with him," Adam frowned.
"He got up close and personal with the enemy during our tour."
"Thought Snipers worked from a distance," Kevin commented.
"He wasn't always a Sniper. Sometimes he went out on patrol with the rest of us," Mouse confirmed then realized he had probably said too much, "anyway I'm just saying this situation is nothing new for him."
"He's used to dealing with bad guys," the Italian-American put in, "he knows what he's doing."
"He's doing his job," Al observed softly, "so let's do ours."

The older Detective knew they were all worried about how the strategy put forward by Jay would play out but focusing on what was happening in the park was a priority so they didn't miss anything.

From his vantage point on the cold metal bench the green eyed man had a good view of the area. He had already picked out the likely exit they would take. That is if Billings capitulated. Telling the man he needed to be asked to go with him rather than told wasn't just a ploy to irritate the Killer but a way of measuring how far he could push him before he retaliated. That response would tell him the way to move forward. He hoped anyway. Despite the confidence Murphy and Parker had in his profiling abilities he was keenly aware that he was not trained for such encounters. That Fielding had approved this mission also placed more pressure on Jay exponentially. The Acting Assistant Director was basically putting his faith in his predecessors' assessment and by proxy placing more responsibility on the Detectives' shoulders to bring the investigation to a quick and satisfactory conclusion. Any mis-step or miscalculation by Jay would have far reaching ramifications. Not least of those ramifications was for Fieldings' career as Jay was aware an 'acting' position could either make or break an Agents' career. That the newly appointed man had not alluded to what was at risk for him personally had engendered respect in the young Detective. He was accustomed to high levels of pressure, both professionally and personally, but never had so many different factors relied on his successful completion of a job. From jobs to lives the risk to all was interconnected if he failed. One wrong decision on his part could derail the whole case and cause a domino effect. Letting the silence linger while the older man considered the ultimatum thrown down he reminded himself failure was not an option and steeled himself for whatever lay ahead.