Tolerance Book III

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine: Unexpected Development

Antonellis' Italian Restaurant

After three days a number of areas had been ruled out but only provisionally.  By the very nature of being homeless people tended to move around as circumstances dictated. That meant a location already checked could not be fully ruled out as a future location for the missing man.   As usual Mouse had worked his magic and produced several images of what Thomas Carson would now look like. Thanks to Jays' suggestion both cleancut and dushevalled images had been produced.  After all if he was in fact surviving on the streets life would have taken a visible toll on him.   Now as the Unit, sans Voight,  sat around two tables pushed together laden with all sorts of Italian offerings to eat the men discussed their lack of progress to date.

"Hate cases like this," Antonio declared around a mouthful of his pepperoni pizza.
"In other words you hate all cases," Al stated sarcasttically as he sliced through his chicken paramesan hungrily.
"They never show the real drudge work on TV shows," Kevin noted.
"Well we don't like doing it so Viewers wouldn't like watching it," the Italian-American put in ruefully.
"True," Kevin conceded with a shrug.
"Wouldn't it be great if Thomas really is out there?" Adam looked around the group.
"So you don't believe he is?" Antonio eyed the brown haired man.
"Do you?"
"I think there's a chance and sometimes that's all you have to go on."

"Where are we on checking Carson Seniors' background and the families?" Al looked over at the IT Specialist who for once had left his laptop behind, at Jays' insistence, and was enjoying his Chicken Marsala.
"There's no record of any medical visits for anyone except Mrs. Carson."
"Which we expected with her cancer treatment," Jay put in.
"Problem is if one of the kids was treated at a walk in Clinic it would be easy enough to give a false name," Mouse hated knowing there was information that was not within his reach.
"We know," Al commented as he sprinkled a piece of chicken with salt, "guess we need to go back to the source."
"That might be a problem," Jay suggested, "Carson Senior isn't going to volunteer anything new."
"You think he's holding back something?" Adam queried, the fact they were on the case at the behest of the family seemed at odds with that possibility.
"I doubt it.  He wouldn't be so eager to get proactive for the anniversary if he was."
"Why did Crowley want to speak to Sarge?" Adam booked across at his former Partner.
"Don't know," Al shrugged dismissively, he wasn't prone to questioning his oldest friend so when the call came down when the pair had been together he had merely returned to his desk.
"If we need to know we'll be told," Kevin shook his head at the question knowing Voight would not appreciate speculation.
"Maybe she's upset over resources being used on the search," the brown haired man mused as ever not taking the que to drop it.
"She put us om the case," Antonio countered in between bites of chicken, "she can't complain when we follow up on all angles."
"She could if she wanted to," Jay sighed heavily as he pushed away his still half full plate.
"Why do you say that?" Adam paused mid bite in curiosity.
"There's no actual proof the Kid got away ....,"
"Hell there's no actual proof he didn't," Kevin contested.
"The fact he didn't return home lends more credence to the likelihood he was killed," Jay expounded softly, his gut was still telling him the teen had survived but his gut wasn't ever going to be classed as proof.
"Hell Halstead your gut is good enough for me," Al put in knowingly, he knew their youngest Detective too well.
"It's good enough for all of us," Mouse added resolutely earning nods around the tables.
"Besides we're covering all angles," Kevin offered.
"There's still plenty of ground to cover," the Italian-American pointed out, it was too soon to give up not that anyone would contemplate that option.

"So what's happening in the Porter case?" Al decided to change the topic.
"It's not a case," Jay insisted before continuing,  "nothing new. He couldn't shed any light on why someone would frame him.  He reckons it's a case of mistaken identity."
"That would be one hell of a mistake!" Kevin shook his head, it was bad enough to kill someone but to kill someone mistakenly was a whole new level of stupid as far as he was concerned.
"Seems amateurish," Jay conceded as he sipped some coffee.
"You believe Porter?" Al checked.
"I do.  He seems genuinely at a loss as to why all this is happening."
"So what's your next step?" Antonio wondered as he finally put down his cutlery, he was stuffed!
"Go back to the gym where we had Willians under surveillance."
"You think there's something illegal going on there?" Adam asked as he pushed hus empty plate away as he checked the other plates, "everyone finished?"
"Yeah," Kevins' response was accompanied by nods.
"Great!  Dessert time!"
"I'll explode if I eat anything else," Antonio grumbled patting his stomach.
"Thought we agreed you should be on a diet," Kevin cheekily grinned at the brown haired man.
"Hey now no one said I needed to go on a diet!" Adan protested indignatly as the Waiter cane over and began collecting plates.
"It was implied," Al put in unrepentantly then addressed the Waiter, "we'd like a dessert menu please."
"Sure," the lean man walked away with the plates.
"I guess I'm lucky," the moustached man declared smugly.
"Why?" Adam frowned missing the headshakes from the others.
"I've always been ..... svelte ... I can eat anything and not put on the pounds."
"You shouldn't have asked," Jay chuckled.
"You have to have a dessert," Adam decided after throwing the veteran Detective a mock glare, "they have great apple pie."
"Sold," Jay acquiesced easily, he liked apple pie.
"And Jay won't be wearing it either," Al noted of the green eyed mans' lean frame.
"Okay, okay I get it. I'm not thin. I'll survive anyway."