Jay staggered back as a huge volume of displaced water cascaded down on him. In the time it had taken to confirm his suspicion that he was dealing with an explosive device and checked to make sure no boats had ventured close to the pier he realized that he might in fact have been killed in the blast as he tossed the lethal package into the waters below. Sirens wailed as he looked out at the dinghy in the distance which had stopped dead in the water so his nemesis could watch events unfold. Cursing under his breath as he gingerly put a hand up to his bleeding forehead he turned as rushed footsteps heralded the fact that help had arrived. Voight, Adam and Mouse reached him first, wearing expressions of immense relief. That the trio were with him meant Voight was letting Lyle know of their presence. He just hoped he would not expect the remainder of the Unit to be sharing Jays' accommodation. They had only decided the previous night that it was time to show some of their cards since they already suspected Lyle would not believe Jay had travelled alone. It was a delicate balancing act which had to be orchestrated to convince Lyle that indeed Jay had not travelled solo but also that only the three men now with him now had made the journey.
"What the hell was that?!" Adam demanded venting his anger freely, for a moment he thought their friend was dead.
"Beats me," Jay looked at his companions with a sigh, "he intended to kill me this time ....,"
"You're sure of that?" Voight questioned with a raised eyebrow as he scanned the younger man for other injuries besides the obvious head wound.
"It was too close to be just a scare. Something's changed."
"So what does that mean?" Mouse asked as he passed a clean cloth handkerchief to his former Lieutenant.
"Wish I knew," Jay admitted softly, he was at a loss.
Voight looked at the smaller man trying to hide his concern, knowing it would be unappreciated. Looking around he saw uniformed Officers holding curious onlookers back.
"What exactly happened?" Mouse finally asked as they had been unable to see the source of the explosion from their surveillance point.
"IED in a knapsack."
"And?"
"And what?"
"You just picked it up and threw it in the ocean?" Voight wasn't sure if his Detective was being deliberately obtuse or if the open wound on his forehead foretold of yet another concussion.
"Yeah."
"Well we all know you made sure no one would be hurt before you tossed it," Adam felt the need to talk since his friend was not forthcoming.
"Question is how did it get there?" Mouse knew without a doubt that the ex-Ranger would not have missed it during his surveillance as he walked to the end of the pier which meant it had been put in place after his arrival.
"Did ye see anything?"
"Unfortunately the cameras couldn't cover all of the pier," Mouse bowed his head guiltily.
"Not your fault, we were trying to be unobtrusive," Jay insisted, eager to set the other mans' mind at ease.
"Must have been a boat under the pier," Voight concluded after considering the matter.
"So Lyle still has someone aiding him," Adam stated unhappily.
"Probably a one off," Jay offered, he didn't think Lyle would be letting anyone close again after his siblings' demise.
"Well for now Halstead you need to get checked out," Voight raised a hand to forestall any protests, "I don't want any arguments. I have to go down to Headquarters. We'll talk when I get back."
----------------------------
Intercontinental Hotel
It was a solemn group that sat around Jays' spacious room two hours later. Al, Antonio and Kevin, in new disguises, had joined Jay, Adam and Mouse on their return from the hospital. The medical verdict had been that the injured man avoided a concussion and only needed ten stitches to close the head wound. Jay hadn't been happy by the newcomers' arrival but Al had pointed out with new disguises in place Lyle, on the off-chance he was still around, would not recognise them.
"So you reckon he's gone?" Adam pounced on the older mans' words.
"What do you think Jay?" Al ignored his former partner and instead addressed the quiet man looking out the window.
"He's gone," the young Detective eventually replied before turning around to face the room, "but he's not gone for good."
"What does that mean?" Adam queried impatiently.
"It means we haven't seen the last of King," Al concurred with the assessment.
-------‐---------------
Fifty ninutes later Voight sat in his rented black SUV in the dimly lit underground car park as Al sat in beside him. The fury flowing through his veins was yearning for a release but the experienced Sergeant wasn't about to let it out on his friend.
"I take it the meeting didn't go well," Al broke the ice after a few minutes of silence.
"That's one way of looking at it," the tense man observed thinking back to the long meeting with LAPD and Homeland Security officials.
"How long do we have?"
"A week at most .... it's not enough."
"You know it's more than enough, " Al countered with a frown, "Lyle is gone to ground."
"We don't know that for certain," Voight argued.
"He intended to kill the Kid this time," Al sighed heavily before turning his knowing gaze on his companion, "so what's this really about Hank. You're no fool. You don't really think Lyle is still here."
"How do I tell him?" the Sergeant eventually revealed his concern.
"He already knows," Al stated with quiet confidence, he knew exactly what his friend was referring to.
"What part? That Lyle's gone to ground or I let him down ..... again?"
"Hell man you didn't leave him down. You never have. The Kid knows we're doing everything we can."
"But it's not enough."
"Sometimes having people back you is all you need. He's strong, hell we've all seen how strong he is. He'll deal with this and we'll be with him every step of the way."
"We're headed back home," Voight acknowledged wishing things had been resolved.
-----------------------------
Homecoming
It was a subdued group that deboarded at O'Hare International at five before six the following Friday morning. As the men headed for the baggage carousel surreptitious glances were exchanged between all but one. Jay was in a world of his own as he followed Adam and Antonio, flanked by the others. To say he had a lot on his mind would have been a gross understatement. The very fact that he was back in Chicago did not sit well with him but as Voight had adamantly pointed out he couldn't avoid going home just in case Lyle showed up.
Luckily they did not have to wait long to retrieve their luggage and Jay was just thinking it would be great to get back to his place for some alone time when he saw two familiar faces. Eyeing his companions unhappily the young man conveyed his displeasure without voicing a word.
"Hey man Conor asked when we were getting back," Adam quickly defended, "didn't think they'd show up!"
"You're a hell of a Detective," Jay groused, unwilling to let his friend off the hook so easily.
"Maybe they'll take us to breakfast," Mouse tried to lighten the mood as his stomach grumbled.
"Hey guys!" Will greeted with a wide smile, way too cheery for the early hour.
"You going somewhere?" Jay asked icily.
"No," the redhead frowned, "figured we could catch up."
"You figured wrong."
"Look Jay we just got off shift," Conor interjected, "it was my suggestion."
"I'm going home and I mean by myself. I'll give you a call."
"When?" Will demanded as his sibling stepped around him after nodding to his friends and began walking away.
"When I call," the younger man tossed back over his shoulder without breaking stride.
"Hell!"
"Will you didn't really think he'd be glad to see you," Voight commented.
"And he didn't fall for Conors' excuse either," Al advised as his eyes followed his young friends' back.
"Okay so I wanted to see him," Will conceded in defeat, "can you blame me?"
"Nope," the Sergeant looked at his watch, "come on let's get some breakfast. You're buying Doc."
"I am?"
-----------------------
As Jay settled back into his apartment he thought back to the many conversations he had had with Voight and the others about the likelihood of Lyle going to ground for good. Like himself, with the exception of Adam, everyone agreed they had not seen the last of the killer. His arguments against returning to Chicago had been robustly rebuffed and in the end he had acquiesced knowing that Voight had been right. He couldn't live his life on a 'what if' basis. Of course the core issue that gnawed at the tired man was why had the Kings fixated on him? If he was prone to feeling self pity he'd think he attracted bad luck.
Shaking his head to ward off such bleak thoughts he took a sip of 7UP and considered what he was going to do about his more immediate problem, a Will sized problem. It rankled him that his brother actually thought it was okay to turn up at the airport. He had been away on work, not a damned vacation! Despite his numerous requests and many conversations the older man still insisted on treating him like a kid. One would think after all this time the redhead would have learnt to respect his boundaries. Truth was if he hadn't left the airport when he did Jay wasn't sure he wouldn't have said something he'd regret so a quick departure had been a necessity. At least Big Brother hadn't asked how his injury was, not that he gave him a chance to. With a pent up sigh he rose and tossed the now empty soda can into the kitchen bin expertly, despite the distance and awkward angle. He smiled ruefully knowing his friends would have teased him if they had witnessed the feat. At least his aim was still good, whatever about anything else. Since boarding the aircraft at LAX his mind had conjured up various scenarios that Lyle might instigate but he couldn't say with any certainty what the mans' next move would be and that was not a good thing.
Unbidden Murphy and Parkers' offer came to mind as he sat down wearily again. While it was not something he wanted he realized that it might make things easier for everyone else if he was not around. Used to putting his own wishes last it never occurred to him how his departure would hurt his friends. His concern was protecting them. They had already sacrificed so much for him it wasn't fair they should have to face more trouble when Lyle came calling. And that was the problem. It wasn't if Lyle came calling it was when. A knock on the door broke through his thoughts and he rose slowly hoping Will hadn't decided to visit because he was in no mood for a fight.
"Thought you were going to leave me standing out here," Voight commented wrily as he brushed past the surprised Detective and stepped into the apartment without preamble.
"Sarge?"
"You should be in bed."
"Sarge?" Jay repeated watching as his boss took a seat in the comfortable armchair he had just vacated.
"Figure we need to talk Kid."
"What's up?" the younger man sat down on the couch, eyeing the Sergeant worriedly.
"No need to be concerned," Voight quickly assured noting the tensed jaw muscles, "just wanted to make sure we're on the same page."
"About?"
"Well for one thing I had an interesting chat with Murphy before we left New York."
"Oh?"
"I know about Parkers' suggestion," Voight didn't beat around the bush, it wasn't his way.
"Look Sarge ....,"
"Halstead I know the way your mind works. You're figuring if you leave town, the Unit, and take up a Profilers' position you'll be saving us from harm ...,"
"It's not that .....,"
"Now this is you so I'm fairly certain you don't actually want to leave," Voight ignored the interruption and spoke perceptively, "but again being you you're willing to put everyone else before yourself. Am I missing anything?"
"It's not that simple," Jay insisted.
"Nope, life is rarely simple but in leaving you're going to do the one thing you're trying to avoid. Hurt the team."
The Detective eyed his companion seriously. Deep down he wasn't surprised that the older man had worked out his intentions but he hadn't expected him to do so as quickly as he had. Hell he had only made the decision himself a few minutes earlier!
tbc