Tolerance Book II

Chapter Forty: Demise

Downtown

As Adam watched his friend advance towards the vehicle he had to fight the urge to go after him. Voights' acquiescence to the present plan was given reluctantly and the Detective knew it was only granted because there was a possibility of hostages inside the bus, even if no proof of same had been forthcoming.  That fact rankled with Adam.  It was all too hypothetical to have Jay risking his life on the off-chance of hostages yet he knew if his friend did nothing and innocents died it would eat him up alive.  As it was Jay was already carrying unfounded guilt in relation to all those who had already died at the whim of King.  The unsettling fact that the deranged man was purposefully killing people to get Jays' attention as a part of a sick macabre game had ensured that his friend would assume the guilt arising out of the ensuing deaths.

Within two feet of the bus Jay slowed his steps, anicipating some response from whoever was inside.  Harris had not been allowed to approach the vehicle at all.  The experienced Negotiators' one attempt had resulted in three well placed bullets at his feet from a previously hidden rifle barrel which had been camouflaged by a blackened window.  He eyed the rooftops trying to find the elder King siblings' location but could not discern any sign of his quarry.  He was about to raise his voice when the door before him opened slightly and a familiar voice surprised him.

"That's far enough," Lyle King instructed from out of sight.
"You wanted to talk to me," the Detective hid his shock, the mans' presence inside the bus negated their theory.
"Figured we could catch up."
"So why here?"
"Well first of all ......,"

Back at the alley Voight and the others could all hear Kings' voice even though they could not decipher the words that were being exchanged.  Everyone wore surprised and confused expressions.

"What the hell?!" Kevin cursed.
"He wants to end it here?" Antonio stated doubtfully, they had discounted that possibility.
"No way is he getting out of this," Mouse noted grimly.
"Maybe he's going for a big sendoff," Voight suggested with dread colouring his tone.
"In that case ...," Al began urgently only to be blown off his feet as a blast of air assaulted the group and bits of metal and thick dust began to rain down on them .....

Chicago Med - 4 Hours Later

Will had thought his day had been bad. He had been wrong.  Seeing the massive explosion destroy the bus was the beginning of it really going bad.  Kelly and Boden had immediately responded to tbeir pagers and hastily headed for the scene after assuring the Medics they would give them an update as soon as possible.  The pair had arrived on scene in the Chiefs' SUV and by that stage the casualties were already en route to various hospitals. Several Police Officers had caught shrapnel in the resulting carnage but the Intelligence Unit had been the hardest hit since their position had been closest to the doomed vehicle and thetefore borne the brunt of the blast. Kelly had done some quick checking with the emergency personnel and subsequently notified Conor that Jay was unconscious with unknown injuries and the other Unit members had injuries but were all ambulatory.
Will rubbed his neck to ease the tiredness as he recalled his first look at his brother as he was wheeled in.  It still caused his gut to twist.  Seeing Jay so still just wasn't natural.  As Conor had quickly begun an assessment of the insensate man Natalie had tugged the redhead away with a gentle reminder that his brother would want his friends looked after by him.  Reluctantly leaving his sibling in his friends' care Will and Natalie had made quick work of examinations and arranging tests. Amazingly the men had all escaped without serious injuries.  Now as he stood at the door to the Waiting Room he saw the fear and worry he himself felt reflected back at him.  With a sigh he entered.

"How is he Doc?" Adam didn't waste any time on greetings as he rubbed his aching forehead, mindful of his burgeoning black eye.
"Conor says although he hasn't come around yet he doesn't appear to have sustained any life threatening injuries," the tall man sank down heavily onto a chair beside Voight as he gave the good news.
"How can that be?" Antonio questioned as he cradled his newly splinted sprained left wrist wearily.
"He was right beside the damn thing when it blew," Al noted in disbelief from where he sat leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed, he hated concussions.
"Luck of the Irish," Adam grinned widely, the relief flowing through him was overwhelming.
"Hell maybe you're right," Will agreed with a grin of his own, he was just damn glad his baby brother was still breathing.
"So what injuries does he have?" Mouse checked, unwilling to escape into the light banter.
"We'll assess his concussion level when he comes around, be a miracle if he didn't have one.  Apart from that his right knee was badly dislocated as well as his right ankle," Will lost his good humour as he gave a rundown, "he sustained three broken ribs on the right side ...,"
"Ah hell!" Adam voiced everyones' disgust as that information was imparted, trying to use crutches while dealing with broken ribs would be next to impossible.
"What else?" Al urged softly.
"His back has extensive bruising developing but there's no long lasting damage.  Moving around is going to be extremely uncomfortable for a while. That's it."
"That's more than enough," Voight finally spoke gruffly then rose to his feet, "I'm going back to the site.  Get some rest.  I want someone with Halstead 24/7. Everyone meets at 07:00 here."
"We're with you Sarge," Kevin spoke determinedly as he rose slowly with Antonio at his side.
"Don't bother arguing Hank," Al decreed resolutely as he finally opened his eyes and stood up.
"I'm going to stay here," Adam put in.
"Me too," Mouse added, Jay would be their priority.
"Okay," Voight nodded curtly and after saluting Will led the others out.