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

Chapter Eighty-Eight: Accepted

For Jay the next couple of weeks went by quickly. He was kept busy dealing with various shipments of guns and drugs. The loss of his old friend hurt deeply but he made a conscious effort not to dwell on it. Being undercover was similar to being at war. In war Soldiers saved their grief for after for in war there was no time for tears. Undercover work necessitated the same practice. Lives were at stake. Petrocelli was currently pushing sales of a new drug which was being grabbed up by eager customers as soon as it hit the streets. Although he had made some casual queries to Jimmy and Paul about the source of the drugs he had yet to ascertain where it was being manufactured and he had read of five deaths in the paper related to the new hot commodity amongst drug users, Bright Glow. This of course was one of the main reasons they had been after Petrocelli. The man was not concerned about quality as much as quantity and even though it was well known amongst drug users that quality was not assured the low prices charged drew them in despite the inherent risks. The dictum of 'it won't happen to me' applied to people in all walks of life especially those in need of a fix and because of that people like Petrocelli thrived and made a fortune. The young Detective had found himself under scrutiny from Brown on several occasion whereas Jimmy and Paul seemed happy enough with his presence. The latter of course probably had a lot to do with the fact that Jay willingly did the bulk of the physical work. So much so that usually he fell into an exhausted sleep without any problem which was an aid in not dwelling on Johnnys' brutal demise.  On a cool Tuesday morning Jay once again frequented Mollys Diner with Jimmy and Paul.  The pair seemed a bit subdued since they left the house but when asked if anything was up the pair merely shook their heads without offering any information.  Jay had decided not to question things any further for now.  As it was he was due to update one of his colleagues this morning and he hoped the Unit had been able to glean some information on Petrocellis' dealings via the bugs he had planted in the warehouse at an opportune moment.  So far he had not been privy to anything other than the deliveries.  After placing his usual order for pancakes Jay headed into the restroom but as he was about to greet Al, who had just walked out of a cubicle, the door opened behind him and Paul entered.

"If you don't hurry Jimmy will eat your breakfast for you," the henchman teased as he quickly went over to a urinal and did his business.
"He'll pay for another order if he does," Jay walked into a cubicle and closed the door behind him without a second glance at Al who washed his hands and then took out his cell as if it had vibrated.
"You get him to pay and I'll buy you breakfast tomorrow."
"It's not going to happen," Jay shouted from behind the door as he flushed the toilet and then walked out as Al was just exiting cursing that he had a meeting to get to at ten.
"What's that guys' problem?" Paul wondered as he looked at the young man.
"Guess he's late or something."
"So maybe we should let Jimmy eat your pancakes. I'd like to see you persuade him to pay for another order," Paul suggested as he held the door open for the other man to follow him.
"Wouldn't want to set him up," Jay trailed the older man back towards what had become their 'usual' table feeling relieved that Al had already left but his relief was short lived as Hank entered and walked over to the counter taking a seat close by.
"Took ye long enough," Jimmy groused around a mouthful of hashbrown, "was considering trying those pancakes."
"You could have ordered them," Jay reminded.
"Yeah but I didn't want the Waitress to think I was a glutton."
"Since when did you care what anyone thought?" Paul demanded as he cut into a fried egg after sprinkling it liberally with salt.
"So what's the plan for today?" Jay checked as he wondered what drove the Sergeant down to the diner, this was not a usual occurrence.
"Boss wants us to go to L.A. with him. You ever been there?"
"A couple of times. Never got to Santa Monica Pier though. Always wanted to go there."
"Well we're going to be there for a while so you just might get to see it."
"How long is a while?"
"You got somewhere else you gotta be?" Jimmy checked with a frown.
"Just curious."
"Curious can get you killed. Just do what you're told."
"Sure," Jay shrugged as he took a bite of pancake wondering what his listening Superior would make of this.

Back at the 21st a short time later the Unit was discussing the new development Hank had just informed them of. None of the men were happy about Jay going out of state.

"So what do we do Sarge?" Antonio finally asked.
"We can't let him go by himself. It's too dangerous," Adam cut in worriedly.
"We know Petrocelli has dealings in L.A. but usually Brown handles the work there," Al put in.
"Well Jay didn't give any signal he was in trouble," the seasoned Sergeant mused aloud, "and we still don't know if Petrocelli has any military targets in mind besides his sons' Recruitment Officer."
"So he stays in?" Adam asked in surprise, not really happy with the idea.
"Yes. For now. Mouse says they're booked out of O'Hare on a flight at 1400."
"I'm going Sarge," Adam got up and met his Superiors' gaze.
"We're all going."
"Not our jurisdiction," Al looked across at his old friend, knowing he was well aware of the situation.
"No but I happen to know the head of the Task Force there and like us he's been after Petrocelli for a long time."
"Also we have an ace to play," Antonio looked around at the others.
"We do," Hank gave a nod of confirmation as he began walking towards his office, "we have a man on the inside. No one has ever been able to do that before. I want everyone ready in an hour. Mouse you made the bookings?"
"Yes Sarge."
"Okay. Bring whatever ye need. I don't know how long this is going to take," Hank closed his door as the men scattered to get ready.

After spending time on numerous calls, some less contentious than others, the Sergeant headed down to Med to give Will an update in person.  He knew the information he relayed would not be welcomed and was glad Adam had offered, on his own initiative, to accompany him.  The drive to the hospital had been a silent one as Hank thought of the multitude of things that could go wrong with the operation and Adam thought of Wills' likely reaction.   As it turned out the redheads' response upon being told was a voiceless one. He simply stared in shock at the two visitors, seemingly speechless.  Standing in an empty cubicle with the door closed Adam looked from Will to the ever present Surgeon and back again. It was like waiting for a timebomb to explode the Detective decided ruefully, only this timebomb was one he had willingly walked into.  Looking at the stone faced Sergeant beside him he knew the older man was just as worried about Jay as the rest of them but he wouldn't show it now.

"Will this may be our only chance of stopping Petrocelli," Adam broke the silence finally.
"You promised me ye would look after him," Will glared at the Sergeant.
"We will."
"Letting him go to L.A. when he's in no condition to is not looking after him!"
"He didn't look too bad when I saw him," Adam tried to appease the elder Halstead sibling.
"Well that's okay then," Will stated sarcastically then sighed in defeat knowing the trip to L.A. was happening whether or not he liked it so decided to give the pair some news himself, "if Jay is going to L.A. so am I."

Adam looked at the redheaded timebomb before him to the one now triggered beside him.  Sharing a look of 'what the hell?!' with Conor the Detective reminded himself to take a breath. For a moment he had forgotten that necessity.  Things were about to get ugly and the medical professionals had never seen the Sergeant when he was angry.  That was about to be rectified!

tbc