Chapter Six

The Who and the Why

After gently placing his superior officer on a gurney, letting the doctors take care of him, Kevin Atwater needed something else to occupy his mind with. Since he was back at Gaffney Medical Center, he decided to be of some use to the unit. He waited as Kim came up to him, coming from the nurse's station. She looked somber, her eyes filled with concern as she walked up to her colleague and friend.

"Are you okay," he asked kindly.

She nodded and forced a faint smile on her lips while she nodded. "Yeah," she whispered. "I just never realized how dire Voight's condition was. I mean, he was sitting up, looking almost like his normal self."

"Boss is tough as nails, you should know that after all these years," Kevin replied softly, trying to lighten the mood. "Imagine how we all felt when you went missing, got shot and all that crap. We were worried sick about you-," he smiled fondly at her. "Voight was furious someone managed to snatch you. I swear, he looked like he was ready to kill somebody."

"I know and I should be ashamed for say this but I hope that Roy Walton got what he deserved. I only wish I could have gotten some closure. My gut tells me he is dead but he might as well be lurking out there somewhere."

"He's dead," Kevin reasoned. "Something happened that night that drew the attention of Agent North and the FBI. You didn't see the strained look on Hailey's face; the way she closed in on herself right after you'd been found. And, Voight was gone for several hours that night."

Kim looked her colleague deep into the eyes, a mixed expression of hurt and confusion on her beautiful face. "I asked Hailey if they'd caught him and she said he got away," she recalled. "She's my friend, she wouldn't lie to me while looking straight into my face – or would she?"

He shrugged. "I guess we'll never know what happened that night until one of them are ready to talk about it."

"And you're okay with that?" she questioned skeptically.

"I don't know, Kim," Kevin replied sincerely. "But it is what it is. Walton shot you in cold blood. He tried to murder you. He murdered his colleague without a hint of remorse. Sometimes real justice is not called justice, it's called retaliation."

Kim's mood darkened at the words spoken by her friend. "I am not sure whether I should be relieved or upset right now," she said in a subdued voice.

"Don't look back, Kim," Kevin reasoned. "Leave it in the past. Let's focus on our current case. Shall we see if we can interview some more victims?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's see. Hailey and Jay interviewed Brady Thompson and Adrian Knopf. How about we talk to the doctors and see if some of the others are up for a chat? I don't know about you but I'd be interested to hear what Thomas Jefferson has got so say."

Kim smiled and shook her head. "He's not the former president of the United States," she teased lightly.

"Doesn't matter, as long as I can say that I interviewed Jefferson."

OOOOOO

Sharon Goodwin dared a peak through the half-drawn curtain to a cubicle in the ICU. She was early for work today and had wanted to check in on Voight before she started her day. "How's he doing?" she asked carefully.

Will Halstead ran a hand through his ginger hair with a slight grimace on his face. "You know, my brother is stubborn but his boss is-," he shook his head.

Sharon laughed. "I believe that, in this particular case, it's a good thing," she offered lightly before turning somber. "But how is he really?"

"Well, vitals don't lie," Will threw his hands in the air. "His system is overtaxed. He's been given a cocktail of good drugs which we believe can be able to help the body – not break it down further."

She turned to the doctor next to her with a solemn expression. "I heard about the woman from the group that died an hour ago."

"Doctor Scott thought a contributive factor was an underlying genetic deficiency in combination with her sustained injuries," he explained. "But it is unsettling never the less."

She nodded.

"Look, Miss Goodwin, I am not entirely up to speed. I just got here. Have you heard anything about the others?" he asked.

The head of patient services sighed, looking like she'd aged several years in just a moment. "A younger man, a Mr. Adrian Lewis, is in critical condition. It has been touch-and-go ever since he was brought out of the elevator. He had water in his lungs, his clothes were all wet, it looked like he had been submerged in water before he was brought here."

Will cursed under his breath. He had forgotten to ask his brother if they knew what the connection was between the victims and why they'd been treated differently by whoever brought them over. He only knew that it seemed to have some crazy connection to Dante's Divine Comedy.

"Will?" Goodwin called softly.

He realized he'd zoned out there for a minute. "Sorry, I forgot to ask what the connection were between the victims."

"But you have a fairly good idea?" she asked him curiously.

He nodded darkly as he looked her in the eye. "It's connected to a cult. Some crazy case Intelligence has been working on for a while. Reminds me – I'll never want to trade places with my brother."

OOOOOO

"Amanda Ross, Philippe Esconvilla, Brady Thompson-," Ruzek paused with unease as a picture of his boss appeared in the pile of papers in his hand. He shuddered involuntarily as he put the picture on the whiteboard with the rest of them. "Hank Voight, Aston Knopf, Adrian Lewis, Thomas Jefferson."

"Don't forget Le Ann James and Barry Costa," Hailey added, mentioning the two people from the group that hadn't made it.

"And that makes a total of nine people," Jay mused. "That's one for each sin."

"Okay, stop that. Its creepy as it is," Kim offered.

"I am just saying – it's not a coincidence," Jay reasoned. "Sarge was definitely on to something. There is a connection to the Dark Demon Cult. We just have to find it."

"I think it's time we pay our charismatic charlatan Joseph Morgan a little visit," Hailey suggested.

"The man is too far gone to face reality," Adam piped up. "He's probably going to like chatting with you. He might even try to convince you it is your fault everything played out the way it did."

"He's a master manipulator, I'd give him that," Hailey concurred. "But he's not the first one I have had to deal with."

Jay nodded at Kevin. "How did it go with Dale Rogers? Did you find anything that can tie him to the cult?"

"I am still working on that. I have a few vague theories but nothing solid yet," he reported.

Jay nodded towards Kim as he saw her put down the phone. He arched an eyebrow at her, silently asking if she'd got something.

"While you two head over to lock-up, I am heading over to Gaffney. "Your brother just called – told me to tell you to check your phone once in a while – she blinked at him.

Jay retrieved his phone from his pocket and noticed that his sound was off. He had several missed calls.

"Anyway, apparently the lab has made some kind of breakthrough. I going to see what that means exactly," Kim informed.

"You need some company?" Adam asked.

"What?" Kevin protested lightly. "Are you going to leave me all alone with this Dale Rogers character research?"

"I have absolute faith in your abilities, brother," he replied cheekily and blinked at him.

OOOOOO

Joseph Morgan laughed gleefully as he took in the faces of the two detectives opposite him. "You are fools," he said. "I have taught my people well. They no longer need my guidance to carry out their duties. Whatever they have planned, I am proud of them."

Jay glared at the man. Even now, clad in the orange prison garb, Morgan had an aura around him. He looked cocky and confident in a way a normal inmate wouldn't.

"I am particularly proud to hear that they managed to grab your leader right in front of your noses," he laughed with slight menace. "Is he still alive?"

Hailey's eyes darkened as she took a step forward but Jay put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"You don't deny it was you?" Jay demanded curiously.

"A shame," Morgan said, ignoring Jay's question, while his dark eyes studied the two younger people for a moment. "I kind of like Voight. There is darkness in him – and it's just as deep within you, Detective Upton."

"What do you really want?" Hailey asked, her voice low and cold.

"You are already giving me what I want," he said softly. "You should let out all your anger, embrace the true evil and live like you were supposed to live."

Jay stepped into Hailey's path. "Okay, he's not worth it. Let's get out of here."

They walked out of the room, the door closing behind them. Hailey's face was contorted in what looked like a mixture of rage and frustration as she banged her fist into the wall, making a slight dent. "Bastard is so full of shit," she growled, her voice low.

"Hails," Jay said softly. "Calm down a little, this kind of reaction doesn't help anyone. This is what he wants you to feel. He's manipulating you."

She took a deep breath. "Yeah, you're right," she admitted sadly. "Jay, I am sorry."

He broke into a faint smile and gently squeezed her shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he assured her.

"He's right, you know, and that's what bother me," she let on as they began to walk toward the entrance, gently knocking at the door to the guard's office to check out their guns.

"Sign here, please," the middle-aged woman said.

They both scribbled down their signatures, said their thanks and holstered their pieces.

"What's he being right about?" Jay asked as they exited the building.

"There is darkness within me," Hailey replied dejectedly.

Jay pursed his lips. "And you think there isn't any in me? I have been to some terrible places, handled situations wrong, misread people, seen things overseas that will forever haunt me. Being in the military, being in the police force – there are bound to be dark days, bad times. I like to think that, as long as you still have your moral code to guide you - as long as you still remember what is right and what is wrong - you're going to be all right."

"Sometimes, Jay, I am not sure I know what is right and what is wrong. I never told you about this, because I thought you'd be disappointed in me, but when Darius Walker killed my CI, I saw red. I went to his enemies, I rattled on him. I am the one who got him killed, Jay."

He tensed momentarily at the revelation yet he offered her a faint smile as they got into the car. He started the engine, pulled into gear and looked at her. "Ten percent of the officers does ninety percent of the work," he quoted enigmatically. "When Voight formed the Intelligence unit, he claimed our team belonged to those ten percent and that we had to do what others weren't willing to do in order to save the city. We have proved it over and over again. When I first met him, I thought he was a hard-ass, stubborn, demanding, infuriating, dirty old cop. I questioned Antonio's sanity when he wanted to stay in the unit. I questioned Erin for always having his back. I couldn't understand why Olinsky protected him. Over the years I have learned to respect and love the guy as some sort of father figure. We are not always in agreement but I can't picture Intelligence without him, despite all his shortcomings. And, I'll say to you what he said to Anna – it's you and me – Hailey. You don't have to worry, you're stuck with me for the rest of your life; if you'll have me that long," he teased.

She broke into a genuine grin, her eyes twinkling with mirth. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me Jay," she said. "And I mean it."

"Good, now that that has been sorted, let's get back to business," he suggested softly.

OOOOOO

To be continued