Okey dokey. Next chapter. Thanks for reading peeps. I am still sad and freaked out that there will be no more Jay Halstead soon. Harrumph.
Previously:
"What incident Jay?"
Jay didn't seem to hear Hailey's question at first but then looked at her and with no emotion said, "When Turner and I were captured."
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The silence was like an explosion it was so sudden. No one moved, no one breathed. Jay's words hung in the air like a fart no one wanted to acknowledge. The discomfort was palpable.
Al and Hank knew the story. Jay had told them the whole fucked up affair in the break room. They had encouraged him to tell the team but when they left the room the kid was still on the fence about it. For someone who held his private life close to the vest, this was miles outside his comfort zone.
Jay looked at all of them and then up at the ceiling like he was trying to make a decision. When he made it, he looked at all of them again. His eyes were full of sorrow and resignation. He was going to do something rare for him, he was going to let everyone in. His reasoning was more than likely to protect the team. If people were going after him someone might get caught in the crossfire and they had a right to know the backstory.
The kid focused back on Turner's picture when he started to speak. His voice was emotionless, like he was giving a debrief but still moments of emotion broke through in a crack of the voice or a pause held too long. He never took his eyes off Turner's picture.
"We were doing recon on a village. We split up Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta. Two at each position. I had Turner with me, he was new to my unit. We had check-ins every 30 mikes. Three hours into the op, I didn't initiate check in. The rest of the unit converged on our position and we were gone. Later they found out the intel on the village was bogus. The need for recon was a trap.
"I woke up… … chained nna…chained to a wall some time later. Turner was chained to the opposite wall scared shitless. I couldn't alleviate his fear. I tried but…I had to be his CO. I told him since there were two of us, they would more than likely use us against the other. I told him that no matter what they did to me, he couldn't say anything. And that no matter what they did to him I couldn't say anything. It was our job. We took an oath. I told him to remember his training and go to his happy place.
That he could do it, I had faith in him." A brief smile touched his lips. "He did really well. I was proud of him." He paused then, still staring at the picture of Turner on the board.
"It was hard to keep track of the days. The cell was cold. It was hard to sleep with our injuries. Being unconscious was a respite." He cleared his throat, "they used all the standard methods of torture and…other stuff…"
That there was a 'standard method of torture' turned their stomachs. 'Other stuff' was lost in the shuffle. Al having served, and maybe Hank through Al, were the only ones who might know what those standards were.
"A couple weeks or so in Turner died. I think he had pneumonia from the waterboarding. He couldn't stop coughing…stopped answering me when I talked to him, just coughed. Then one day he just stopped…no more coughing, no more labored breathing…I kind of lost it when they took him away so they got a little more brutal after that."
Jay stopped talking for a long time, eyes still on the picture in the lower left corner, guilt twitching through the sorrow. Al and Hank exchanged a look. Hank couldn't help wandering back to Jay's voice when he said, 'other stuff.' He kind of wanted the kid to start talking again before his imagination kicked in.
He cleared his throat. "So I got rescued. Don't really remember it."
His face said he did remember it but no one was about to ask since it looked like being rescued was almost as painful as being captured.
"They got me 24 days after we were taken. Turner had died four days before they got there. He had been dumped outside of a remote camp. They had burned his body.
"Mouse and I are the only two left. The other guys have all 'committed suicide.' We're all flagged in the Army data base. It looks a little hinky when five of six guys left from an op all commit suicide in a six week period."
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They go about their business. Working 'Jay's' case as well as a few others that came in. They all kept a close eye on Jay who was crashing on Hailey's couch until this was all over.
The following Saturday they finally catch a break. Jay spent a half hour in the break talking on a SAT phone to someone in the military. In the middle of the call Trudy came up, knocked on the door and handed Jay two photos that had been faxed over. She left without saying a word to any of them.
They let Jay sit in the break room for about ten minutes after he ended the call. Whatever information he received wasn't good. When he joined them again he was a little ashen and looked like he was shaken to the core. He headed directly to the whiteboard and paused for a second to catch his breath.
"So, we are looking for…" He took the photos and put them on the whiteboard. When he turned to fill them in, there was a sadness in his eyes, "Jeffrey Turner and Carter Turner. Jeffrey…" He blew out a breath, "Jeffrey is Jackson's twin brother, Carter is their cousin. CID is verifying how they got information on the op but these are definitely the guys we need to find…hopefully before they get to me."
That made them all blanch. They were all thinking something along those lines this week but to hear Jay state it so matter of factly was a little jarring. It brought the truth of the matter front and center and Jay's nonchalance was a little disconcerting.
Later that afternoon they were called to the scene of a triple murder. Adam and Kevin stayed behind to dig up whatever info they could on the Turner's; LKA's, properties owned or rented, bank records, everything. Al stayed to work his military contacts to see if there was information being held back.
An hour later while gathering intel at the crime scene, Jay got a call from Maggie informing him Will had been admitted. They were not sure what was wrong with him, just that he collapsed at work. Hank could tell Jay wanted to just run, get to his brother, but stopped him in his tracks.
"We haven't located the Turner's yet. I'm not taking any chances, it could be a trap. The timing..."
"Voight it was Maggie!"
He put his hand on Jay's shoulder, "Okay kid. Let me check then you can go."
A phone call was placed to Maggie while Jay paced around in a tight circle, winding himself up to run as soon as he got the go ahead.
"Maggie, how's Will?"
"Not good. We're thinking allergy or extreme case of food poison. We're still assessing."
"Thanks Maggie." He lifted his chin to Jay, "Go. Hailey go with him."
Jay gave a brisk nod and sprinted to his truck desperate to get to his brother, Hailey on hot his heels.
They never made it to the hospital. Thirty minutes after they left Platt called with the address of an accident involving Jay's truck. It was a street they've taken a 100 times to med, a short cut used by first responders that led directly to the ER. When they arrived Hailey was sitting on the curb holding gauze to her bleeding forehead.
"I didn't see anything Sarge. I was out…I didn't see…they took him…"
He gave her shoulder a squeeze, "We'll get him…"
She put her head down, not believing a statement he likely didn't believe himself.
"The Uni's were here within two minutes. So whoever did it had it well thought out. One witness saw a van drive away but that was all they saw."
Hailey forced the paramedics to clear her at the scene and rode back to the district with Voight. By the time they arrived Adam and Kevin had pulled up everything from the traffic pods.
The accident, in all its glory was captured on a number of of them. The car, followed by a van, t-boned Jay's truck. The car backed up and they dragged a bloody, unconscious Jay out of the truck, threw him into the van and left, barely sparing a glance at an unconscious Hailey.
Two men wearing all black - the Turner's. Their faces were covered with balaclava's to protect their identities but they already knew who they were.
"We lost them after they entered the south entrance of parking structure on Parker. There are security cameras but all had been disabled, same for the pods in a four block radius around the garage. We don't know what car they left in or what time they left. The van was on the third floor. It was reported stolen yesterday. Plates were also stolen."
"So we've got nothing? No direction?"
"We've got nothing."
They all sat at their desks stunned. Finally Hailey got up and walked out, "I'm going to see Will."
"Kim go with her. Adam, Kevin, you get anywhere before you started with the pods?"
"Still running searches boss."
"Al, you get anything from your contacts?"
"Ya, Jackson's twin was regular Army infantry. Their cousin was an Army clerk." Al took a deep breath. "He handled the AAR's for that op."
"AAR's?"
"After Action Report. After every op an AAR is filed by every member of the unit. They are checked and double checked for inconsistencies. When all is found to be kosher, they are filed with any injury reports, death certs, etcetera."
"Got it."
"So Carter was the clerk…they still in? AWOL?"
"Carter was honorably discharged eight months ago. Jeffrey got a BCD…" Al looked at Adam when he looked confused, "Bad Conduct Discharge five months ago…"
Adam gave a quick nod. "Got it."
"…his BCD was converted to a Psych Medical Discharge three months ago."
Al had a little more information to share, "Jeffrey and Carter looked to be lifers but then Carter was transferred and given a promotion with more responsibilities a little over a year ago."
Adam shook his head, "Let me guess, he had access to the AAR's."
Al didn't acknowledge the question. The answer would play out in the details he was sharing.
"No one outside the brass and the unit would know the details of the op. Common knowledge on base would be limited to Jackson being killed and Jay being injured but they wouldn't know how. Once Carter saw that AAR they had everything they wanted to know about Jackson's death."
Kevin piped up, "Okay boss, here we go…LKA for Carter was Indianapolis. He broke his lease a little over three months ago, but then nothing. It's like he vanished into thin air. Jeffrey is here in Chicago, 2390 Rowena Court. He's collecting from the VA."
"Okay. Let's hit it."
X
They were all back in the bullpen two hours later. Given the state of the apartment, it hadn't been used for at least a month if not longer. Not bothering to be disappointed, pissed or afraid, they were back at it the second they hit their desks; hassling CI's, checking for properties and scouring bank records. The Turner's were somewhere in the city and they were going to find them.
Kim and Hailey had came back twenty minutes after the rest of the unit. Will would be fine but he had been poisoned.
The Turner's plan worked - hurting Will drew Jay out. Knowing he was an ex-Ranger they knew a regular snatch and grab wouldn't work. Given how smoothly they were able to spring their trap, they must have been watching Jay for weeks which was unnerving in and of itself.
After five excruciating hours of putting their noses to the grindstone while trying not to think about what might be happening to Jay, the unit finally got a break.
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Whump coming in the next chapter. Thanks for all the love peeps! Stay safe!