Tolerance Book I (Chicago PD/Med FF) by Frances51163

Chapter Forty-Three: Close Call

The following morning found an exhausted Jay sitting in the food court in Union Station. He was seated in a chair at the edge of the eating area where he had a good view of Kellys Cajun Grill and the other diners.  A large paper cup of coca cola along with a large carton of fries from another vendor lay on the table in front of him untouched.  He pulled his red baseball cap further down over his black hair as he settled back in the chair to wait. He had told his father to be there for eleven but knew he would not be on time.   He'd need to get back some control so would intentionally arrive late.  It didn't matter as the Detective was still the one pulling the strings.  His father just didn't know it yet.  It was fifteen after eleven when the old man finally turned up.  Not a surprise.  What was a surprise however were the two men with him.  Jay had assumed the old man would come alone.  After all it was a public place so he couldn't do anything to his son then and there.  Watching the cause of his nightmares walking up to the Cajun Grill and buying a coffee as his two companions spread out searching the area Jay frowned.  Taking off the cap he casually picked up the tourist book he had bought as he took a large drink of soda through his straw as the tall brown haired man stood in front of him for a moment. Looking up at the man who held him as he was being beaten by three others caused anger to burn within him but Jay kept his features neutral and returned the look disinterestedly as the man moved away.  Five minutes later the two men returned to his father and a heated discussion ensued if the hand gesturing was anything to go by.  The men waited for ten minutes before deciding to leave.

Throwing the red baseball cap away Jay plucked a blue one from his rucksack after turning his reversible black jacket inside out. Now dressed in faded blue jeans and a blue jacket he began to walk through the marble corridor to Adam Street and froze.  Antonio, Adam and Kevin were running in through the crowd with full gear.  Shaking himself he forced his feet forward towards the exit keeping his head buried in a tourist map.  He momentarily thought of telling them where his father was but quickly put aside the notion.  He would deal with this himself. Luckily when he reached the pavement he could still see his target so he followed the trio from a safe distance.  This had been his objective in the first place.  To find out where the old man was staying.  In a relatively short time he saw the men walking into a halfway house.  Giving them time to go their room he made short work of bribing the Desk Clerk to obtain the room numbers. Walking away from the rundown building Jay wondered just what exactly his father had gotten involved in.  From the argument at the Cajun Grill it was clear his companions were not subordinates.  The two men with him were clearly on an equal footing and that worried him. The Unit, and he had to admit himself, had assumed the old man hired the three men to attack Jay especially in light of what the captured Burton had told them.  But then again Burton had also said his father had approached him alone and met the others elsewhere.  Even more questions were being thrown up and his aching head had enough to deal with already.  Heading back towards Union Station to go to his hotel Jay watched as the Unit came out, Hank in the lead, all looking furious.  He felt a knot in his stomach.  He was causing all this stress.  Crossing the road he sighed as the team passed by wishing he could flag them down and just go home.  Truth was he missed home, his own bed.  And wasn't that a funny thing considering how many nights he spent at the precinct on a case or undercover when any bed was just a place to lie down not to really let go and sleep.

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Back at the 21st everyone was in low spirits.  They were getting nowhere fast.  The call from Union Station had seemed the first break they had but by the time they got there their quarry was gone.

"Hey guys I think I have something," Mouse couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice causing everyone to look his way.
"Well what is it?" Adam asked impatiently.
"Ye know I've been going through the footage from Union Station?"
"Yeah."
"I found him!"
"You already told us that," Al shook his head, they had all seen Halstead Senior with the two men.
"No. I mean not ......," Mouse tried to stay still on the seat, "I know we found the old man but I think I've found Jay!"
"What?!" Adam was the first to reach Jays' desk.
"Where?" Antonio demanded walking over to look at the monitor as the others followed suit, even Hank.
"Look it's him," Mouse prodded the screen eagerly with his finger and they all watched the man change his clothes and walk away from the table.
"Can you zoom in?" Hank checked.
"Sure," the IT Specialist quickly let his fingers roam the keyboard and within moments they were looking at a close up image of the man in question frozen in time.
"Black hair and dark eyes," Hank spoke mildly.
"It's him," Mouse insisted.
"Yes Boss," Adam had been eyeing the figure intensely as Mouse zoomed out and pressed play again, "it's him. He's lost weight but that's him."
"So why didn't he come forward when we were there?" Kevin asked.
"Reckon he's doing what he thinks is the right thing," Antonio sighed, "trying to keep us safe."
"Damn Kid," Al rubbed a hand down his face as he looked at his old friend, "he has lost weight. Not that he could afford to lose any.  Probably been sick since that dip in Lake Michigan."
"Would explain why he only surfaced now," Hank nodded, "but he obviously isn't feeling 100% because he should have known we would have been alerted to his old mans' presence."
"You're right."
"So the Kid set up the meet to track the son of a bi**h? Antonio looked at the others.
"Yeah," Hank concurred to nods of agreement.
"So who's going to tell Will?" Mouse looked arround as the men moved away from the desk.
"Figure you can after all you found him," Hank decided as he walked into his office and closed the door after signalling for Al to follow him.
"That's not fair."
"Nope it's not," Adam agreed, "which is why I'm going to do it with you."
"You will?"
"I will," Adam assured solemnly, he knew his friends' brother was going out of his mind with worry so this was the least he could do.

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Arriving back at the hotel Jay quickly slid the locks closed then went to look out the window at the gray skies.  He was only halfway back when he realized what he had done. Cursing his stupidity he slapped his forehead with his palm angrily and then cursed again at the resulting pain.  Will had told him once that the inside of the skull was full of jagged edges rather than being a smooth surface so when the brain hit them it really hurt a lot.  Well actually Will had put it in medical terminology but the outcome was the same. Pain.  Damn concussion! Between that and everything else he wasn't thinking straight and that was bad. Very bad.  He had to go through his options again but first he needed to sleep.  Going to the rucksack he retrieved the painkillers Jimmy had insisted he take with him and shook three from the bottle.  Swallowing them with a gulp of water he poured a large glass of milk and made himself drink it to ensure his stomach didn't reject the medication.  Undressing he closed the curtains in the dull daylight and lay down on the bed placing a wet facecloth on his forehead willing the strong tablets to knock him out.  He just needed a break.  A respite from the world he found himself in.
Then he would take the time to think things through properly.

tbc