Chapter 35

Hello friends, I am on a writing spree so you have two back to back chapters today. Hope they are worth it and interest you. Looking forward to hearing back from you guys. Enjoy for now. :)

After Voight's call Hailey had tried to call Jay several times but in vain, his phone was unreachable. They hadn't spoken the previous night as they had been busy the entire day and were extremely tired. Instead they had shared a few texts and decided to talk the following day. And now, Jay was not reachable nor did anyone know where he was.

Hailey was really worried by now, she couldn't help but think something had happened to him. This was what she detested the most about their jobs, anything could happen and for a good while no one would know what has actually happening. She tried his number a few more times but received the same response. Moreover, it was her first day back at the bureau, she had to pull herself together. She tried her best to concentrate on her work hoped that Jay was fine and all this was just a misunderstanding.

It was evening already and time for Hailey to head back home. She had half a mind to call Voight and find out what was happening, but she refrained herself and decided to wait a little longer. She had dinner in silence and dearly expected a call either from Voight or her boyfriend.

The team in Chicago were equally tensed and it was just a matter of time before anyone voiced their opinion and suggested that perhaps Jay had been kidnapped. But no one dared to say anything until Voight got the ball rolling. Suddenly Kim spoke up from her desk, "Sarge, I have received a video from an unknown address and it doesn't look good."

The team immediately huddled around her desk, all eyes glued to the screen. She pressed the play button and they all saw Jay, not how they had expected to see him. He was tied to a metal rod and his face showed signs of recent bruises. He was barely managing to remain conscious. Suddenly two masked men appeared from the side and began hitting him with baseball bats.

The team was beyond furious. Voight stared at the screen as though he was going to shoot it. Kim didn't quite know whether she should cry or blast the screen with a baseball bat. Ruzek and Atwater were ready to leave, catch these pricks and shoot them in the face. Vanessa was displaying an anger no one had ever known existed in her. To sum it up, the team knew what was going on and were well aware that this could escalate really fast.

"Pause the video Kim," Voight ordered and she did.

None of them could look at each other for a long moment. Then Voight spoke, "Not a word about this to anyone. Not even to Hailey."

The team exchanged perplexed glances but Voight continued, "We'll keep it off the books for as long as possible. Am I clear?"

The team nodded in agreement and got to work. Voight went to his office and debated whether he should loop in Hailey or not, because he knew if she found out about this and saw the video as well, she wouldn't be able to keep it together and she might do something that could harm her. Voight knew she had a strong tendency to go off the books and do things and he wanted to avoid that at all costs, he didn't want her to become like him. His phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts, it was Hailey. He answered knowing he had a second to make a choice, "What's up Hailey?"

"Sarge, did you find out anything about Jay?" she enquired.

"Hailey, listen to m"—

"Sarge, you're going to tell me the truth," she said firmly.

Voight knew by now that she wasn't going to back down. So he chose his words carefully, "Jay is missing."

"What?" she asked, a part of her knowing that this was something that might have happened.

"He's missing Hailey," Voight said.

"What does that mean Sarge?"

"It means that we are trying to locate him Hailey," Voight answered.

"Does that mean you know where he is?" she asked, hoping to hear a yes for an answer.

"No," Voight said blankly.

Hailey exhaled loud enough for him to hear it. He continued, knowing exactly what was going on in her mind, "Hailey, you cannot come here."

The moment he said this aloud Hailey realised she had been going over every way of how she could do just this. Voight went on, "You know I'm right about this."

Hailey knew, "I know, but"—

"There is no but Hailey. You have to let us handle this," he said firmly.

"Sarge… I can't just"—

"Hailey, you have to. And we don't need unnecessary complications. The last time both of you barely made it out of that situation."

This confirmed that he knew about them. How did this man know everything? Hailey knew nothing she would say would change Voight's mind so she concluded with, "Sarge, you have to find him."

"And we will," he said with a large reassurance.

Voight went back to the bullpen and announced, "We have got to find Jay, and fast."

"Who was it Sarge?" asked Ruzek.

"That was Hailey, I have kept her at bay. She doesn't know anything more than that, that Jay's missing. So, do we have any new leads?"

"Nothing so far Sarge," Kim said disheartened.

"Alright, keep digging," Voight said.

"Sarge, we still haven't watched the full video," suggested Vanessa.

Voight looked at his team and they agreed. They had to do this to know if there were any clues. They gathered and the video resumed, gruesome as ever. Jay was being beaten and there was nothing anybody could do apart from watch. The offenders were threatening him and cursing. The beating stopped and Jay tried to speak, "The sun rises in the east… and sets in th- the west."

The team approached, wondering if that was a clue. He continued, "Sets in the west."

"What the hell are you blabbering?" screamed one of the offenders.

"I think he's lost it, dude," said the other one.

The offenders approached the camera and one of them screamed, "You see this. We have your guy, give us what we want or we kill him."

"Who the hell are these guys?" urged Voight.

"We can't get a facial recognition because they are wearing masks," Kim said.

The offender continued, "You have two hours to give us what we want. Call on this number."

A number was displayed on the screen. Voight started, "These guys have planned everything meticulously. We have to be careful."

"Trace that number Kim," suggested Vanessa.

The phone was switched off and it probably was a burner. Atwater said, "Replay that part where Halstead was saying something."

They did.

"What is he saying, do any of you know what Jay is trying to refer to?" asked Voight frustrated.

No one seemed to know anything. Ruzek spoke up finally, "I think we should loop in Hailey now. She might know something."

Voight thought about it a long moment then concluded it was their best shot at the moment. They called Hailey and she picked up the call immediately. Kim started, "Hailey, I think we have a clue but can't decipher it."

"What is it?" Hailey asked, hopeful for the first time.

"Jay was saying something like 'the sun rises in the east and sets in the west'," Kim continued.

Hailey heard her and was as blank as the rest of them. What the hell did these words mean? She asked instead, "Is there a recording? Can I listen to it?"

Kim looked at Voight and he nodded. Kim played the clip from the precise point and Hailey strained her ears to listen to her boyfriend. He was indeed saying that sentence which at the moment didn't make sense to anyone. She spoke, "I don't know what it means. But give me some time, I'll try to figure it out."

They nodded when Hailey had another request, "Could you please forward me the audio?"

At that the team looked at Voight and he for once didn't have an immediate answer. Even if they did send only the audio, she would be able to hear everything else as well. In that moment Voight realised, there was no point in hiding anything from her. As it is, they didn't have time. Any clue they could get would only help them find Jay faster. Voight nodded to Kim and in a flash the video clip reached Hailey. She said she would call back soon and hung up.

She found out only in this moment that there was actually a video and not merely an audio. She played it and she wished she hadn't. Tears were streaming down her face immediately and she couldn't bear to see him like this. She who knew his every nuance, his every move, his every part couldn't see him in such a broken state. No wonder Voight had made it clear from the start itself that she couldn't get involved in this come what may. How the hell had this happened? And who the hell was behind this?

Hailey was racking her brain over that single sentence in all the ways she possibly could. She was scared, frustrated, angry. But all that could be dealt with later, she had to find Jay first. It took her a good while to even figure out the play was on which word. It was something to do with either east or west. But what the hell was it? She thought and thought and thought more. Suddenly something clicked in her head. She looked up, terror written all over her face. This couldn't be happening. This really couldn't be happening. She grabbed her phone and dialled the unit.

Here comes the end of the chapter. Have left you all on a cliffhanger, but it's going to be worth it. Hope you enjoyed this one. Thank you for reading. :)