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

Chapter Ninety-Three: Into the Unknown

The cold starless night seemed to enhance the air of dread which had settled on Jays' shoulders as he walked briskly towards the house along the short driveway.  He had seen Jimmy and Paul pull up further down the street.  He knew right now Adam and Antonio would be reporting back to Voight and they would be scrambling to work out who owned the house he was about to break into.  They had no record of Billings having more than one address so this must be his brothers' house.  Jay had been under the impression that the Sergeant had in fact been sent overseas as a means of putting him out of harms way but Petrocelli had told him the man was under surveillance and in the car the older man had not seemed doubtful about his presence in this very house.  Running through the various options in his head as he neared the residence the Detective eyed the burglar alarm, its' flashing light going from right to left perpetually chasing itself.  The one thing in Jays' favour was that Billings was a military man so he should be able to deal with the unexpected scenario without too much drama. The brother of course was an unknown factor in all this.  Jay however had a feeling things were not as they seemed. Problem was he had no idea how to prove this other than to break in and supposedly kill the Recruiter. Standing to the left of the two panel oak door he leaned back against the wall so that the men in the car could see him checking his weapon as he prepared to go in and complete the task he was given.  He noted that Brown now sat in the drivers' seat.  His cool gaze radiating the hatred he seemed to have for most people.  Jay sighed.  He was willing to bet this has been Browns' idea.  The man should be careful the Detective realized for in his eagerness to prove the young man could not be trusted he was in danger of embarrassing Petrocelli. Not a wise move but the mans' attempt to prove his point in relation to Jay may lead to his downfall.  Not that Jay was worried about that. He had come to the slow realization that Brown was probably the one who killed Johnny and therefore his demise would be just.

Further down the road Adam and Antonio, as Jay had foreseen, had frantically informed their Sergeant of the situation.  Mouse and Hillman had sent fingers flying effortlessly across keyboards and come back with the identity of the owner of the house.  Telling his Sergeant and Moretti anxiously Mouse had relayed his bemusement.  The Sergeant had asked him to triple check but the IT Specialist said he had.  Moretti cursed.  This was not good at all.  It did not bode anything good for the Undercover Detective.   Arnie Phillips had just returned from a coffee run and looked around at the concerned faces of everyone gathered getting a sinking feeling.

"What happened?"
"Petrocelli and Brown had Jay drive them to a house," Al explained ominously.
"Is he alright?"
"As far as we know," Kevin nodded but there was no relief in his statement.
"What am I missing?" Phillips finally demanded as he divested himself of the cardboard trays of drinks.
"The house they drove to belongs to Petrocelli," Moretti explained solemnly, "it looks like they're up to something. Antonio said Jay went into the house alone.  The place is in darkness."
"Well this might be our chance to bug the house while they're all out," Kevin suggested after a moments silence.
"You and Al take Mouse and Hillman," the Sergeant instructed looking at Moretti for approval which was given by way of a nod, "and get that whole place rigged up. Be quick."
"Yes Sarge," Kevin said grabbing his jacket as Mouse and Hillman quickly grabbed bags they had already packed for just this situation.

"I don't like it," Moretti looked across at the Sergeant as he motioned him to follow him into his office, "we should have had ears in the place earlier."
"Too risky.  Brown is being very wary of Jay.  Like I told you yesterday when Adam met Jay in the diner he said Brown is showing more interest in him than Petrocelli.  The son appears to have opened Petrocellis' door but his watchdog is not going to be easily convinced that the new man can be trusted."
"We need to get Bright Glow off the street but I don't think this is going to be wrapped up any time soon," Moretti sighed unhappily as he sat down behind his cluttered desk, back to the large window.
"We both know there is never an exact time frame for these operations," Hank reminded as he sat down before his old friend, "is there something else you're worried about?"
"Petrocelli always seems to be one step ahead.  I'm beginning to think we have a leak."
"I vouch for my men. I trust them with my life."
"I don't think the leak is on your side," Moretti spoke softly, an infinite sadness seeming to engulf him,
"One of your men?"
"Maybe."
"Pete I've known you too long.  You have some idea," Hank threaded carefully, knowing any betrayal was hard but a friends' betrayal hurt to the core.
"I'm not sure who it is."
"But you suspect someone?" Hank was staying calm but his priority was his Detectives' safety.
"You've heard me speak of Tom Franklin?"
"Yeah. Head of the Narcotics Division, your Brother-in-Law."
"Couple of months back he comes to me with a business proposition," Moretti stood up and turned to look at the city lights twinkling through the raindrops falling down the glass pane, "he's always had his fingers in something.  He was always legit though, or so I thought anyway."
"'Was'?" Hank looked at his friends' sombre reflection.
"A month ago my sister realized their kids' college fund had been wiped out.  At first she thought it was a clerical error in the bank.  It wasn't.  She tried speaking to Tom but he wouldn't discuss the matter so she came to me."
"You think he's giving Petrocelli information?" Hank rose and walked around the table to stand on the other side of the window.
"I have no proof that would stand up in Court."
"Pete this isn't the time to hold back.  I have a man undercover!  I need to know if he's in danger?"
"I don't think so. Not from Tom anyway."
"You don't think so," Hank erupted angrily and stepped closer to his friend, "Pete if you had any doubts about Jays' safety you should have informed me of them before we came out here.  What the hell were you thinking?"
"I was thinking it was time Petrocelli was stopped.  I was thinking it was time to get Bright Glow off the street but most of all I was thinking with you on board, with your man undercover, we might finally succeed!"
"Presumably the financial situation has changed," Hank regained his composure and voiced his thoughts, "you wouldn't be worried unless Franklin had a sudden influx of funds."
"No I wouldn't," Moretti concurred reluctantly as he wearily turned away from the outside world running a hand down his face, "and before you ask yes there were other occasions when he was flush but he said it was from his business ventures and at the time I had no reason to believe otherwise."

"He's the Head of the Narcotics Division.  How the hell does he have time for business ventures?"
"They were all only small deals.  A few times he bought up stock from small places going out of business and sold the products to their competitors."
"What was his proposition to you?"
"Come on board in a deal involving fifty cars .....,"
"That's not a small deal."
"No it's not," Moretti agreed around a sigh, "and that's when I started asking questions."
"What did you find out?"
"Nothing concrete but he does have Browns' number on his cell."
"That tells us he's in with Petrocelli but what does he know about our operation?"
"I don't honestly know.  He hasn't been told anything officially but .....," the upset man stopped speaking.
"What?" Hank was trying to reign in his temper.
"He's my Brother-in-Law, everyone knows we're related," Moretti glanced outside to the open plan office area and again went silent.
"He's been coming in and out of here without questions being asked," Hank stated knowingly.

The Sergeant shook his head at the mess.  Things had just become even more complicated. Maybe it was time to pull Jay out and cut their losses.  A shout caught their attention and Phillips yelled across to one of the other men before opening the office door.

"Jay just set off the alarm in the house. Unfortunately a patrol car was in the area and Petrocelli and Brown took off. Jay was arrested and is being brought down to the 14th. Dirk is headed down there now," Phillips referred to the man who had run out of the office at his yell.

Hank gave his old friend a harsh glance.

"From now on we do things my way all the way!"
"Sure Hank," Moretti nodded in appeasement knowing there was much more to be said but for now they had an emergency to deal with.

tbc