Tolerance Book II

Chapter Ninety: More Death

RCMP Local Bureau

Two days later nothing new had come to light.  As was his pattern King had managed to disappear without a trace, leaving frustration in his wake.  The men from Chicago and New York respectively sat at the back of a large, high ceilinged conference room which was filled to the brim with Royal Canadian Mounted Police personnel as they were briefed on the latest crime committed by the Serial Killer.  Murphy and Voight exchanged knowing glances as the Speaker, one Harry Jacobs Bureau Director, went over the circumstances which led to King crossing into Canadian territory.  Jay sat in between Al and Adam and shifted uncomfortably in his chair as eyes turned in his direction when his unwilling sojourn on the island was mentioned.  Up until then it had been interesting watching the Canadians' reaction to Kings' prolific crime spree in the States.  The looks of horror and disbelief attested to their unfamiliarity with someone of the Killers' ilk.  He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  The Unit although new to someone of Kings' malevolence had encountered evil in many forms over the years.  Their present quarry had taken matters to a whole new level but they were not novices in handling murder investigations with multiple Victims.  It was becoming obvious during this briefing however that many of their Canadian counterparts were inexperienced in dealing with a case of such magnitude.  The young Detective sighed internally.  Inexperience could lead to mistakes which could turn catastrophic when dealing with King.  Turning to Al he noted the concerned features and was about to ask what was wrong when he heard his name being called.

"Yes?" Jay replied hastily realizing that Jacobs was talking to him, and apparently had been trying to get his attention.
"Would you like to fill us in on what you know about King?" the short, stout man asked in a tone which implied only one suitable response.
"Oh boy," Al muttered rolling his eyes, no one put his young friend in the spotlight and the veteran Detective began to count from one in his head waiting for the inevitable.
"Guy has a death wish," Adam softly voiced his belief, sending Jay a wink in solidarity as he too waited.
"Jacobs," Voights' gravelly voice intervened before Jay could  respond, "Detective Halstead is not here to be debriefed.  You have all of the pertinent information.  Any questions you have can be asked after this, one on one."
"Now that was tame," Al stated sotto voco, he had half expected a bloodbath to ensue.
"But ...," Jacobs began to protest, ignoring the glare from Marks beside him.
"This isn't up for discussion," Voight informed the sputtering man, he may not hold any rank of authority in Canada but everyone in the packed room recognised his power all the same.
"For now let's focus on what we're going to do to reign King in," Marks spoke firmly and veered the conversation onward sending an apologetic look Jays' way.

Two hours later most of those gathered began to file out of the room eventually leaving only Marks with the Americans.  Jacobs had surprisingly left without tackling Voight, to Marks' relief.  The man was known for ruffling feathers. Although he had only spent a small amount of time with the injured Detective he had instinctively known being the centre of attention would not be welcomed hence he had stepped in when he could.  Now eyeing the tired looking man he issued a genuine apology.

"I'm sorry about Jacobs.  He tends to go full speed ahead with no regard for who gets caught in his wake."
"I gathered that," Jay admitted with a smile to show he bore no ill feelings, "we have a few like him back home.  Enough to make your hair fall out!"
"Hell that's rich coming from you!" Kevin noted as Antonio and himself joined the pair.
"What do you mean?" Marks enquired as his companion rolled his eyes in exasperation knowing what was coming.
"Our Sergeant should be bald by all counts," Antonio elaborated with a wide grin, "this guy tends to cause him a lot of  ...... shall we say concern.  We have bets on whether Sarg will be bald or gray haired first."
"Really Dawson?" a hoarse voice asked from behind the small
group causing the Italian-American to wince.
"Ah well Sarge ....,"
"Normally it's Ruzek who has foot in mouth disease," Al deadpanned from beside his old friend.
"Hey I resent that!" the aforementioned man protested indignantly as he walked over.
"Boys," Jay looked at his friends appreciating their teasing more than ever, he'd wondered for a while if he'd ever enjoy it again, "it's good to be back."
"You've been back a couple of days," Adam pointed out needlessly, earning a head shake from the moustached Detective.
"Doesn't matter," Antonio jumped in readily, "always good to hear you missed me."
"'Us'" Adam corrected then continued smugly, "he missed us but mainly me."
"You keep telling yourself that," Voight instructed wrily before becoming serious and addressing the amused lone Canadian, "Jacobs going to cause trouble?"
"Not intentionally but he probably will.  He doesn't make decisions without treble checking all the angles."
"He a career guy?" Kevin guessed.
"Yep.  He plans to get to the top without any mishaps to blot his career.  That means he's extremely cautious."
"Well he's going to learn pretty quickly that a manhunt of this size is fluid and there isn't a whole lot of time to make decisions," Al put in succinctly.
"Figured that," the younger man nodded in understanding, "I've worked on three Serial Killer investigations.  King is definitely worse than any of them but I know the ropes and will help as much as I can."
"Won't Jacobs resent that?" Jay, as ever, was the first to realise the man might be putting his own future in jeopardy.
"I'll be doing my job," Marks shrugged, "he can't complain about that."
"Well if you catch any grief let me know," Voight directed firmly, "I've dealt with people like Jacobs before."