Tolerance Book II

Chapter Sixty-Six: A New Plan

Voight Residence

Sitting comfortably in the front room on either side of the fireplace with their hot drinks the Sergeant got down to business.

"You agree about meeting King?"
"Definitely."
"We'll discuss it with Parker in the morning but for now how do think he'll react if you approach him?"
"How am I going to approach him?" Jay asked his own question instead of answering.
"We can either do it publicly by drawing him out as a challenge or else try contacting him through the grapevine."
"There's not much of a grapevine," the Detective countered that option, it had become clear during the investigation King wasn't dealing with people who had a propensity for talking.
"So we put something in the paper ...,"
"Like we did when I was supposed to be dying in hospital?"
"Yeah but hopefully with a better outcome," Voight commented ruefully, that operation had been a bust in the end.
"Maybe we should just keep it simple," Jay spoke thoughtfully.
"You have something in mind?" Voight always narvelled at the younger mans' ability to come up with ideas without procrastinating.
"I could let him know I want to meet him .....,"
"How exactly?"
"He knows I'll have to go back to Med .... we know he has eyes on us. If I go there by myself and wait in Reception he'll approach me .....,"
"Why are you so sure?" Voight asked as he drained the last drops of chocolate appreciatively from his mug.
"Because curiosity will get the better of him."
"Might work.  Like I said we'll go through it with Parker in the morning."

The Sergeant refrained from giving approval there and then. He was anxious to get the Psychologists' valued opinion.  The others no doubt would also have plenty to say but ultimately the seasoned Lawman knew the decision how to proceed was his and his alone.   He just hoped this time they could finally reel King in.

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The following morning when everyone had arrived Voight put the idea to Parker and was rewarded with a chorus of questions from the men gathered in the kitchen before the Psychologist snd Profiler could respond.

"I want to hear what Parker has to say," the Sergeant put up his hands demanding silence from his stool at the counter.
"Might work.  King's going to be frustrated Jay's still alive.  The last two incidents were definitely meant to take him out.  King wouldn't have expected him to work out about the hand grenades .....,"
"Why not?" Kevin risked Voights' wrath but he was curious.
"It was too small a thing," Murphy provided the answer as he munched on an apple, he had discussed that very matter with his fellow New Yorker before they left their hotel, "the print was only slightly smaller and on only one grenade. He would have been slightly more obvious if he wanted to be sure Jay would survive."
"You're forgetting it was Voights' office he targetted," the injured Detective decided to remind everyone, he had not been the only one in danger.
"Hate to say it ....," Antonio began but Al cut in.
"..... the others were collateral damage."
"Schucks I think my ego is hurt," Murphy complained sending the moustached man a wink, he fully agreed with his reasoning and besides they had already discussed this.

"Are we any closer to working out how King breached security?" Parker looked at Voight.
"The explosion probably destroyed any hope of tracing how he did it," the Sergeant reluctantly admitted.
"I had everything backed up but I hadn't made any headway," Mouse put in guiltily.
"King has had a lot of luck," Kevin attempted to alleviate the other mans' unnecessary apportionment of blame.
"About time that changed," Antonio intoned gravely.
"About King," Kevin returned to the main subject, "would he agree to meet Jay one on one?"
"Highly likely," Parker nodded, "he's probably frustrated Jay has managed to outwit him twice recently and that ....,"
"I didn't really outwit him," the Detective in question objected from his familiar chair at the kitchen table.
"You're still alive " Antonio opposite him disagreed as he eyed his friends' weary countenance.
"Well the point is King will regard it as being outwitted," Murphy put in, "which won't make him very amicable."
"As if he was such a nice guy before!!" Adams' muffled voice scoffed from where he had his head in the open refrigerator.
"You know what I mean," the HS man rolled his eyes.
"Why would he want to meet Jay," Mouse scratched his forehead thoughtfully, "he can hardly do anything to him in public and that's the only place a meeting could happen?"
"Is it?" Jays' quiet query belied his displeasure at his friends' imperious statement.
"Yes it is," Kevin decided to add his opinion, although the injured man had removed the white bandage around his head leaving in place only a dressing over the scalp stitches his pale complexion still marked him as clearly unwell, "you're not taking on King alone."
"He won't be," Voight assured sending a stern look around the men to ward off any further comments, he understood their worry over the injured man but knew too many issuing ultimatums would only cause their youngest to be even more stubborn where his safety was concerned.
"As for the question of why King would want to meet Jay," Parker addressed the IT Specialists' valid query, "he'll want to show Jay he's not bothered by his latest failures.  That he's still very much in control."
"But if Jay instigates a meeting isn't that claiming control?" Adam had decided long ago being a Profiler or Psychologist would be way above his paygrade, it was just too complex.
"Not necessarily.  He'll convince himself that Jay is desperate.  Someone like King does not accept losing easily.   He knows on some level Jay outsmarted him but he'll push that aside.  The capacity he has for evil is matched by his capacity for arrogance."