Tolerance Book II

Chapter Sixty-Two: Sitting Ducks

Keenly eyeing the soft brown carpet underfoot Jay checked for the originating source of his scrutiny,  a minuscule trace of sawdust resting on the carpet around the Sergeants' thick wooden desk leg. It was only his astute observation skills which had identified the anomaly in the first place for the dusty residue was barely visible unless one was looking for something out of place.  His impromptu visual inspection did not reveal where the fibe particles had originated from.  Ignoring Voights' soft words of concern when he grunted in pain and lowered himself down onto his knees the ex-Ranger put his head under the open drawer and cursed his find.  The underneath of the drawer had been filed away, hence the light coating of refined wood.  Clearly King had weakened the strength of the drawer presumably so the combined weight of the M67s would eventually cause the base to fail resulting in the devices falling.   That however would not guarantee a massive explosion. Straightening up the Detective tried unsuccessfully to hide a groan as his healing leg  loudly complained when he worked his way back upright again.

"What are we dealing with?" Voight enquired, refraining from reiterating his concern for the obviously pained man.
"The base of the drawer has been weakened .....,"
"Would landing on the carpet stop the grenades from detonating?" Parker cut in hopefully.
"It might," Jay opted for honesty given the dire nature of the situation, "but there's no guarantee."
"What's worrying you?" Voight asked astutely.
"King would have no way to calculate when the base would collapse.  It's too uncontrolled for him."
"I can't argue about that."
"He must have another plan in mind."

The ex-Ranger contemplated  the  situation.  Despite the apparently brief detonation manoeuvre seen in movies Jay was well aware there were a number of steps to be carried out in using a hand grenade.  One had to pull the pin, remove the safety clip and release the safety lever before throwing the device.  Clearly since no one in the office was in any rush to meet their end no one was about to complete those steps.  This accordingly meant King was going to rely on another method for unleashing the carnage promised by the deadly weapons.

Out in the open plan office Al was also considering what King might do. The only certainty was that a deadly outcome was his objective.  He would definitely not expect Jay to outsmart him on this occasion, despite his previous allusion to another 'game'.   Of course that realization gave rise to more questions.  Why was their nemesis seemingly intent on killing Jay for definite this time?  Previously although his young friend had been placed in mortal peril King had left some wiggle room for him to survive.  On this occasion however even the most prolific and ambitious Gambler in Vegas wouldn't have taken odds on Jay making it out of this scenario alive.  The fact that Voight and the two New Yorkers would also die would only he regarded as collateral damage by King.   Although pragmatic to a fault the seasoned Detective felt his gut twist at the unwelcome acceptance that their nemesis seemed to have finally contrived the perfect end game.

"Hey man are you okay?" Adam checked in concern as he walked over to stand beside his old partner after seeing a stricken look cross his features.
"I'm good," the older man shrugged off his rare melancholy, "we anywhere with finding out how King got in?"
"No," Adam reluctantly replied casting a look towards the IT Specialist who was once again studiously concentrating on his monitor, "Mouse is blaming himself."
"You tell him he shouldn't?"
"Course."
"Something tells me until we get Jay and the others out of this he won't be convinced."
"You have an idea?" Adam latched onto the positive words like a lifeline.

Voights' Office

"So Halstead, tell us what you're thinking," the Sergeants' quiet directive brought Jay out of his musings.
"King is playing for keeps this time," the Detective reluctantly opined, "he wants a big .....,"
".... bang," Murphy cut in before continuing with a trace of sarcasm evident, "with all due respect Detective with fifteen hand grenades the threat is kinda implied."
"Murphy give him a ......," Voight was unimpressed with the Assistant Directors' impatience and intended to call him out for it but was interrupted.
"Sarge it's okay.  This isn't an easy situation to be in and ...,"
"For any of us," Voight sent a scathing glare Murphys' way.
"What were you going to say Jay?" Parker decided to get the conversation back on track.
"I was going to say King wants a big send off for me."
"Hell we're just along for the ride," Murphy noted ruefully, agreeing with the young mans' assessment.
"I'm sorry I ....,"
"Halstead I wasn't having a go at you. This is all down to King, we all know that."
"So suggestions?" the Psychologist tried to sound unfazed but like his old friend he was feeling the strain.
"What's to stop us walking out?" Voight asked curiously, sometimes after all the most obvious solution was the simplest one.
"Too risky.  We need to figure out how he's going to activate them," Jay shook his head and looked outside the office where he could see the Al and the others, bar Adam, milling about, "give me a couple of minutes and I'll be back."
"You decide to stay out there no one will blame you," Murphy spoke in genuine contrition, angry at himself for his show of impatience, "you can give instructions from out there."
"Good idea Halstead," Voight agreed wholeheartedly as Parker nodded his approval.
"I'll be back," Jay didn't even address the suggestion as he slowly headed for the door, he'd never leave the three alone to deal with the threat.
"Hell he thinks he's the Terminator," Murphy groaned in mock despair  earning a chuckle from the others despite the grave circumstances they faced.