Tolerance Book II

Chapter Thirty-Two: Selfless

Jay staggered back as a huge volume of displaced water cascaded down on him.  In the time it had taken to confirm his suspicion that he was dealing with an explosive device and checked to make sure no boats had ventured close to the pier he realized that he might in fact have been killed in the blast as he tossed the lethal package into the waters below.  Sirens wailed as he looked out at the dinghy in the distance which had stopped dead in the water so his nemesis could watch events unfold.  Cursing under his breath as he gingerly put a hand up to his bleeding forehead he turned as rushed footsteps heralded the fact that help had arrived.  Voight, Adam and Mouse reached him first, wearing expressions of immense relief.  That the trio were with him meant Voight was letting Lyle know of their presence.  He just hoped he would not expect the remainder of the Unit to be sharing Jays' accommodation.  They had only decided the previous night that it was time to show some of their cards since they already suspected Lyle would not believe Jay had travelled alone.  It  was a delicate balancing act which had to be orchestrated to convince Lyle that indeed Jay had not travelled solo but also that only the three men now with him now had made the journey.

"What the hell was that?!" Adam demanded venting his anger freely, for a moment he thought their friend was dead.
"Beats me," Jay looked at his companions with a sigh, "he intended to kill me this time ....,"
"You're sure of that?" Voight questioned with a raised eyebrow as he scanned the younger man for other injuries besides the obvious head wound.
"It was too close to be just a scare.  Something's changed."
"So what does that mean?" Mouse asked as he passed a clean cloth handkerchief to his former Lieutenant.
"Wish I knew," Jay admitted softly, he was at a loss.

Voight looked at the smaller man trying to hide his concern, knowing it would be unappreciated.  Looking around he saw uniformed Officers holding curious onlookers back.

"What exactly happened?" Mouse finally asked as they had been unable to see the source of the explosion from their surveillance point.
"IED in a knapsack."
"And?"
"And what?"
"You just picked it up and threw it in the ocean?" Voight wasn't sure if his Detective was being deliberately obtuse or if the open wound on his forehead foretold of yet another concussion.
"Yeah."
"Well we all know you made sure no one would be hurt before you tossed it,"  Adam felt the need to talk since his friend was not forthcoming.
"Question is how did it get there?" Mouse knew without a doubt that the ex-Ranger would not have missed it during his surveillance as he walked to the end of the pier which meant it had been put in place after his arrival.
"Did ye see anything?"
"Unfortunately the cameras couldn't cover all of the pier," Mouse bowed his head guiltily.
"Not your fault, we were trying to be unobtrusive," Jay insisted, eager to set the other mans' mind at ease.
"Must have been a boat under the pier," Voight concluded after considering the matter.
"So Lyle still has someone aiding him," Adam stated unhappily.
"Probably a one off," Jay offered, he didn't think Lyle would be letting anyone close again after his siblings' demise.
"Well for now Halstead you need to get checked out," Voight raised a hand to forestall any protests, "I don't want any arguments. I have to go down to Headquarters.  We'll talk when I get back."

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Intercontinental Hotel

It was a solemn group that sat around Jays' spacious room two hours later.   Al, Antonio and Kevin, in new disguises, had joined Jay, Adam and Mouse on their return from the hospital.  The medical verdict had been that the injured man avoided a concussion and only needed ten stitches to close the head wound.  Jay hadn't been happy by the newcomers' arrival but Al had pointed out with new disguises in place Lyle, on the off-chance he was still around, would not recognise them.

"So you reckon he's gone?" Adam pounced on the older mans' words.
"What do you think Jay?" Al ignored his former partner and instead addressed the quiet man looking out the window.
"He's gone," the young Detective eventually replied before turning around to face the room, "but he's not gone for good."
"What does that mean?" Adam queried impatiently.
"It means we haven't seen the last of  King," Al concurred with the assessment.