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

Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Three: More Casualties

Silence reigned for a few minutes as Parker helped himself to some coffee and Jay tried to think of a polite way to avoid a conversation.

"So how are you doing?"
"Fine," the Detective automatically replied without meeting his companions' gaze.
"You do know that I don't need to be a Psychologist to know that's a lie "
"Look Doc I'm not sure what you want but ....,"
"I don't 'want' anything," Parker paused as a frown formed on his features, "actually that's not quite true.  I do want something. I want to know why you seem to be taking on Wells' guilt. He's acting on his own volition after all."
"I never said ... ,"
"You didn't have to," the Psychologist again interrupted, "you seem to have the weight of the world on your shoulders."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"You're acting like you know me yet you don't use the others' first names. You know me just as long as you know them," Jay decided he might as well get an answer to at least one thing that had been vexing him.
"I didn't realise I was doing that," the older man conceded with chagrin, "guess it's because I have a brother named Jay and in some ways you remind me of him."
"Oh."
"Of course I can call you Detective no problem."
"No, no it's okay," Jay quickly reassured, feeling embarrassed now for bringing the matter up.
"So are you going to act as bait?"
"What?" Jay was startled by the sudden change in conversation.
"For Wells.  Something tells me even your Sergeant couldn't stop you if you set your mind to it."
"Voight's a hard man to ignore."
"I figured that," Parker responded to the evasive answer, "Wells would be taking a huge risk anyway if he tried to draw you away from a crime scene again."
"You don't believe he'll try that," Jay spoke knowingly as he eyed the other man seriously, "so what do you think he'll do?"

"That's something we all need to discuss," a gruff voice spoke from the doorway.
"Just coming Sarge," Jay nodded to the Psychologist and led the way back to the living room.

                      ----------------------

Three days later Jay and the rest of the Unit stood amidst the ruins of a concert arena in Brooklyn.  They had been given a five minute warning, courtesy of a phone call to Jay, before a bomb went off.  There was not enough time in that five minutes to ensure the venue was evacuated.  The only positive thing was that it was a Thursday afternoon and the place had been relatively quiet.  That however was no consolation to the four victims who now resided in bodybags awaiting removal to the County Morgue. A smell of smoke still permeated the air as the fire crews began tidying up their equipment.  Most of the blast damage had been confined to the staging area. 

"So music might be a connection after all," Murphy approached the men with a hassled looking man at his side, "Mr. Sampson here tells me Vegas played here last week."
"How about the dance troupe?" Voight checked.
"As I informed Mr. Murphy the Sierra Dancers did perform here before, but it was last year some time."
"Might just be a coincidence," Adam put in eyeing the devastation.
"One hell of a big one though," Al voiced his disbelief, "it has to mean something to Wells."
"I need a full list of your personnel," Murphy instructed Sampson and motioned a uniformed Officer over, "Davis here will accompany you to your office to get the necessary records but after that all access will be closed until Forensics have finished up."
'Of course," the thin, balding man nodded distractedly as he headed off.
"So music again plays a part," Al commented.
"But he's killed people here who have no tangible connection to music," Jay gestured to the bodybags ten feet away, "two Janitors, a Carpenter and a Security Guard.  It's very random."
"And the other two attacks were more specific," Antonio guessed where his friend was going, "if we accept the troupe was the intended target in Central Park."

"Ye heard him on the phone," Voight recalled, "he said four people would die."
"How could he be so sure of the number without some inside information?" Adam questioned
"We're missing something," Jay sighed unhappily, "a bomb makes it very hard to quantify targets unless you're very sure of their whereabouts."
"You think he specifically chose those four people?" Murphy asked Jay rather than Parker, a fact not unnoticed by the Unit.
"Maybe he had access to Personnel Records and knew how many would be on today.  He would have known there was no concert scheduled for tonight so the arena would be largely empty.  Just their bad luck they were working today."
"So it could have been anyone who was the target?" Antonio checked.
"Maybe," Jay replied noncommitedly, "we need to find out how they died."
"They were blown up," Adam spoke before realising how callous he sounded with a grimace, "I mean it's obvious how they died.  We saw the bodies."
"What are you thinking Jay?" Al asked perceptively.
"The bomb hadn't gone off when Wells phoned yet he was confident four would be killed .....,"
"So?"
"He knew ..... because they were already dead," the young Detective theorized looking at the remains of the stage before them, "the blast was confined to this area.  How else could he be sure the victims were near the stage when the bomb went off?"
"So he killed them and then blew them up?" Murphy asked doubtfully.
"It's just a hunch."
"We'll know soon enough," Voight confirmed, "the ME should have preliminary results by this evening."
"For now I think we should regroup," Murphy stated, "I've scheduled a Briefing for three."
"We'll meet you back at Headquarters," Voight glanced at his watch, "in the meantime we're going to check out a nice restaurant that was recommended to me."
"Great I'm starving!" Adam rubbed his hands together, breakfast had been a long time ago.
"Sarge?" Jay looked from his Superior to Murphy and back again.
"Yes."
"Shouldn't we head back and go over what we have before the Briefing?"
"We will," Voight assured without rancour at being questioned, "but we need to eat also."
"Detective your Sergeant is right. There is plenty of time before the Briefing.  We can debrief you on the phone call beforehand."
"Not sure that will be any help," Jay admitted, "ye heard the whole thing."
"Come on," Antonio placed a hand on the younger mans' shoulder, "sooner we get some food the sooner we get back to work."
"But ....,"
"It wasn't a request Kid," Voight spoke with his usual sterness which negated any further arguments.

                         --------------------

The Chinese restaurant, Dim Sum Palace, located on 46th Street near the Theatre District in Manhattan was busy when the group arrived but they were soon seated at a large round table near the back. Although he had not been hungry Jay had ordered the Vegetarian Sweet & Sour Soup as the others ordered mains.  By unvoiced agreement the other men had not badgered their friend understanding that the mornings' events had stolen his appetite.

"So has anyone come up with an idea on how to deal with Wells?" Kevin asked as he eyed his Peking Pork Chop hungrily.
"Seems to me he's after letting us know what he wants," Jay observed before tasting the soup.
"We already discussed this," Voight decided to pre-empt what he knew was coming.
"That was before four more people were killed."
"You being bait is not an option," Adam put in forcibly as he sprinkled salt over his Crispy Garlic Chicken.
"It's the only option," Jay insisted quietly but assertively, "we have nothing to go on."
"The ME might come up with something, " Antonio tried to be optimistic.
"Doubt it "
"We've only been here a short time," Al pointed out.
"And already the bodies are piling up."
"That's on Wells," Kevin reminded around a nouthful of hot chicken.
"He needs to be stopped," Jay looked at his friends, "him focusing on me can be used to our advantage "
"Not going to happen," Voight spoke resolutely, he knew his young Detective was willing to put his life on the line but he was not.
"So why are we here?" Antonio voiced the question on all their minds, stopping for meal breaks was not a regular occurance in such an active case
"I wanted to be sure we're all prepared for this afternoon," Voight explained as he wiped some stray sauce from his lips.
"What do you mean?" Adams' fork paused on its' path as he frowned.
"The debriefing," Jay answered with a sigh as he stirred the soup before him, "they're going to ask why Wells phoned me."
"But we've been over this!" Adam put down his fork, his appetite gone.
"Hell man they know you have no ties to Wells," Kevin insisted.
"They're just doing their job," Jay offered mildly, "can't blame them for that.  He phoned Headquarters and asked for me personally."
"And with more bodies comes more pressure to get results," Al reminded them unnecessarily as he sipped some water.
"Didn't think Murphy was the type to bend under pressure," Antonio mused.
"He's not," Voight stated confidently before continuing seriously, "but sometimes you have to play politics to get things done.  We've all learnt that on this  job."
"Yeah well no one is throwing Jay to the wolves," Adam promised fervently.

tbc

Authors' Note:

For the purpose of my story I have used the 46th Street address and menu for Dim Sum Palace with indoor dining but in our real Covid world I understand the restaurant now operates out of 56th Street and does online deliveries.