Tolerance Book II

Chapter Seventy-Eight:

Even as Jay limped along the hallway wondering what the door he approached led into he kept his senses on alert.  Any minute now King could appear.  His refusal to do so yet was a blatant ploy at unsettling the Detective.  It was a ploy that would not work.  Jay was not one to become overly stressed by situations where he had no control.  That was a tool he had learnt in his troubled childhood.  He definitely detested not being in control but that did not in any way influence his actions.  If King had truly researched his prey, as he had intimated on numerous occasions he had, he would know the young man was not prone to rash decisions no matter what the circumstances.  There were numerous questions vying for answers as he finally arrived at the slightly open door. Knowing hesitation would not change whatever he would face he raised a hand and pushed the door inward until he had a full view of a large white kitchen gleaming in the sun cascading through a large window on the far wall.  Every appliance, cabinet, chair and counter was white.  Whether made of marble, high end wood finishing or leather it was clear the owner had a penchant for light and airy surroundings.  The pastel colours upstairs were in keeping with the bright residence.  Frowning he moved forward slightly disappointed King hadn't been waiting for him.  Deciding he was thirsty he went over to the double fridge and upon opening it found every shelf fully stocked.  Several bottles of distilled water caught his eye but instead of retrieving one he closed the fridge and opened the nearest overhead cabinet.  As per the fridge the cabinet was full.  Retrieving a tall glass he made short work of filling it from the silver tap, the only deviance from white in the design.  Glass in hand he walked over to the window hoping to get a clue as to his surroundings.  What greeted him caused his breath to catch in his throat.  The window did not overlook any significant landmark.  In fact it did not overlook any land at all!  The whole view before the surprised Detective consisted of choppy gray waters, the white puffy clouds overhead only slightly marring the light blue skies.  Shaking his head he turned his back to the outside world and looked around at his environment more keenly as he leant against the marble countertop and sipped some of the refreshing liquid.  He had suspected he was in a disused hotel after noting the opulence upstairs but the kitchen he now stood in made that assumption obsolete.  For all its' grandeur it was not an industrial kitchen.  The sole oven a testament in itself to that.  The island in the spacious domain was surrounded by only four leather bedecked bar stools. To his left Jay eyed the small round glass table set in the corner before a white leather adorned booth that might hold four grown adults at a push. There was no abundance of kitchen utensils on display that would be part and parcel of running a busy hotel kitchen and the cooking space was devoid of the room needed to cater for a large influx of guests.  Shaking his head minutely at his wrong assumption Jay finished the remainder of his half full glass and rested it in the white porcelain sink.  Although he had been scrutinising the kitchen the Detective had been keeping a surreptitious eye on the hallway yet still his nemesis remained out of sight.  He was weary of the mans' games.  Deciding there was only one option left he headed slowly out of the kitchen but not before he had retrieved a knife from the wooden chopping block beside the kettle.  He knew his actions were more likely than not being observed but reasoned King would expect him to retrieve any weapon at his disposal so opted to do what was expected of him.  Eying the hallway he stifled a groan.  His injuries were not willing to give him any respite as he limped forward unsure of what the double doors would reveal.

Chicago Med

For the past ten minutes Will had been pacing up and down in front of Conor in the Break Room.  After speaking to the Unit and Goodwin the pair were at a loose end since they had been given a few days' mandatory leave in light of their experience.  Neither man really wanted time off but at the same time it would be difficult to concentrate on work, not because of their unexpected roles as hostages but because of the uncertainty surrounding Jays' welfare.  The Surgeon suspected the latter issue was the real reason they had been told to go home but didn't divulge that.  Right now his friend was beside himself with worry and he needed to somehow alleviate that.