Tolerance Book III

Chapter One Hundred And Six: Haven

Waterfall

It had taken Jay much longer than it normally would have to walk the 5km distance but the reward was more than worth the pain and discomfort the journey caused.  The sound of the powerful waters reached him before he saw the haven.  Hidden behind a cluster of thick trunks of  ancient trees the waters cascaded down the time smoothened rock face colliding in a white frothy pool at the bottom.  Birds sang high up on branches.  The sunlight only peaked through in patches as the thick foliage provided a shelter from not only the suns' glare but also  the burgeoning heat of the unusually warm autumn day.  Spying a large rock by the turbulent waters' edge  Jay strolled over and sat down gratefully before letting the small backpack slip from his shoulder to the ground.  His ribs ached from exertion, his bruised extremities  announced their displeasure at the exercise but taking in the beauty of nature at its' finest the pale man let out a sigh of relief.  Here, for a while at least, he could simply be. 

Carefully taking off his sling the Detective held his broken wrist close to his heart.  The sling was too confining, too constricting and all too easily reminded him of being vulnerable like he had been in the hidden room with Billings.  Sighing in defeat at the Killers'  unwanted intrusion on his thoughts Jay wondered if he would ever banish the mans' depraved acts from his mind.  In reality he knew it was highly unlikely.  He just needed to store them away in yet another corner of his already  overstocked mind!

Hotel

The mood around the table had somewhat dampened upon learning of Jays' departure but Voight decided to tackle the issue head on as soon as Billy had finished his meal and taken his leave to get supplies ready for the fishing trip.   Looking at the concerned features around the table he spoke frankly without holding anything back.

"We all gave Halstead our word if he agreed to come here we'd give him space ...,"
"But ..," Adam unwisely interrupted before a death glare silenced him.
"There are no 'buts'," the gruff man stated firmly, "if we don't handle this right we could very well lose him."
"The Kid needs to know we listen to him," Al added sincerely, "Will has constantly, intentionally or otherwise, let him down.  We need to show him we won't.  If he wants to talk he knows we're here. He just needs time to sort through things in his own way at his own pace."
"And we have to let him," Voight reiterated with a stern  look at Adam.
"Sarge," the Detective nodded his acceptance, he knew he couldn't let his worry negate the promise made.

"You really think we could lose him Sarge?" Antonio asked reluctantly, it didn't bear thinking about.
"Considering everything he's been through since the attack at Med I couldn't blame him," Voight conceded without answering directly.
"Hell I'd have packed my bags long before Billings!" Kevin scoffed in disgust.
"Me too," Adam confessed softly as he shoved away his half full plate, his usual voracious  appetite disappearing.
"We also have another worry," Al got everyones' attention with his solemn expression.
"What?" Voight frowned.
"He's now brought down two prolific Killers  ....,"
"So?" Kevin pressed.
"He's not even a qualified Profiler," the older Detective noted, "he's bound to have attracted attention."
"From the higher ups?" Antonio checked.
"Yes and also from other agencies."
"Damn," Adam cursed, they all knew about the previous job offer from Murphy but had assumed the subject was dealt with and behind them.
"Does Jay realize?" Mouse wondered, normally he wouldn't have voiced the query but his old friend had a lot on his plate.
"Don't think it's even on his radar," Al answered honestly.
"But?"Antonio saw something lurking in the older mans' eyes.
"If he's approached and it's presented the right way Halstead might feel he has an obligation to ...,"
"Hey now ....," Kevin began to argue but was himself cut off.
"What Al means," Voight interjected, "is if the Kid is made to believe he could save lives he'd probably say yes."
'No 'probably' about it," the Italian-American pointed out grimly, this was not good.
"Surely they wouldn't blackmail him like that?"Adam objected doubtfully.
"It wouldn't be blackmail," the Sergeant countered softly then continued candidly, "just like it wasn't blackmail when he agreed to go under with Petrocelli."
"Sarge I wasn't implying you blackmailed Jay," Adam quickly corrected.
"No but in essence the discussion was basically along similar lines. Do this and you'll save lives."
"Then we're all guilty of blackmail," Al decided.
"This isn't resolving anything," it was the IT Specialist who surprisingly put an end to the pointless ruminating about future possibilities, "right now we should be concentrating on being here for Jay."
"You're right," Voight accepted without rancour, "we give him the space he wants but keep reminding him we're here whenever he needs someone to talk to."
"Sounds like a plan," Kevin sighed knowing they all wanted to be there for the struggling man and knowing standing back would not be easy.