CHAPTER 11

Hi,

This chapter is dedicated to reading-lover-191, Katie and all the others who reviewed this as gueests. You guys are my primary source of motivation. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Also, I have a feeling that my grammar is kind of all over the place, so sorry for that.

Enjoy reading!

Disclaimer : I do not own Chicago PD.

Will Halstead knew sooner or later he had to deal with his father... about his brother , who was MIA right now. He just didn't know how.

No matter how many times and variations he practiced his speech like a contender for a marriage proposal, there just wasn't a right way that wouldn't piss off Pat Halstead. He had a heart condition which didn't help the situation and Will wondered if he should have had an ambo ready because no matter how many fights his father and Jay had, no matter how many years they went by without talking to each other after their mother's death, they were still very much father and son. They were alike in so many ways, arrogant, stubborn and hell bent on doing things their way that the two had a hard time living under one roof. So when his father opened the door to his lackluster knock and gestured him inside he had yet to wrap his head around how to say it.

Pat Halstead offered his son a drink and sat beside him.

" If you are wondering about the god damn tablets you make me drink everyday, then I took them properly, does that make you feel better?" He said to his son who looked pale and detached. "or do you have some med school exam, you always look like this when you have exams around the corner !"

Will looked at his father offended. " I ace my exams" he protested though he couldn't deny how he looked before an exam. " and FYI, I'm an attending at ER, its been a long time since I passed all my med school exams"

" oh! don't I know that" Pat Halstead grunted as he stood up to go sit in front of the TV, dismissing his sons displeased remarks.

Will decided to shut up considering the situation.

"so, what brought you here?" he asked the question dreaded by Will and for what felt like ages he didn't say anything. Finally he decided to go with the good news first.

"Dad, Jay is alive"

His dad looked like he thought Will was going crazy.

"say what?" he asked switching off the TV.

Pat Halsted switching off his favorite TV program to listen to his son alerted Will how much he was concerned about Jay, not that he would ever admit to care about his prodigal son who enlisted amidst his protest. When Jay casually mentioned he was going back on a short mission, he didn't even bother to comment.

But when he was met with his older son's disheveled appearance and the words that came out of him about his younger son made no sense, Pat Halstead shed his mask. He turned at his son from where he sat and waited for Will to explain what he said...which didn't happen within the normal duration of his patience.

"I swear Will, if you don't explain what you just..."

"Dad, I want to stress this point before I go in to any explaining,' Jay-is-alive" .

Pat was going to loose it. He shot out of his beloved couch and stood up in front of his son who had yet to make eye contact with him. " Will, you better make some sense withing the next minuet" he threatened.

"Jay made me his next of kin before he left" Will started. "because he didn't want you to have a heart attack at the news if he died". Maybe that came out a little harsh! Will observed as his father's expressions became totally unreadable. Whether it was because of his denial that Jay would ever care about him or it was because he was hurt that he wasn't Jay's next of Kin was lot to Will.

"that's why I was notified of this and not you" Will said as he handed over the letter of notification of Jay's MIA status to his father. Pat read it with shaky hands.

"Dad, I can't explain to you everything but the situation Jay got himself to this time, is overly ..I mean bazillion times more complicated than his last time." Will said as he recalled when Jay went MIA during his Afghan tour, it was his father who handed him the notification letter, with the exact similar expression on his face right now.

"I'm in contact with the intelligence team, they are on it too, but this secret is something you cannot share with any one. Only me and the intelligence know that Jay is alive, the army is not involved in how I found that out. I'm sorry I cannot go in to detail and I'm sorry I was late to inform you but I wanted to be sure of what was happening before I tell you". Will tried his best to hold down his emotions and not cry in front of his father who never encouraged boys to cry. But his walls broke down when he felt his father squeeze his shoulder in reassurance.

"If you are sure your brother is alive, then that's enough for me. I'm not gonna pry for information. I appreciate what ever trouble you went through with intelligence to get this news about Jay. I sincerely hoped his Afghan tour would be the last time he gave me the scares though" Will heard his father say. "but don't worry, Jay is too stubborn to die!"

Will's muffled sobs turned in to something between a full cry and a restrained laugh while he tried to mentally grasp both the facts that his father openly accepted his care for Jay and also understood what Will was going through.

Maybe Will was the one meant to have the heart attack.

The small window in the cell door opened and a few things fell to the floor. Jay woke up from his slumber to the noise. He was trying to get the maximum possible amount of sleep before he had to play vigilante. He knew how physically strenuous and mentally challenging what he was about to do will be. Although he was sure everything fell within his known capabilities, he had doubts considering how sun deprived he was, solely depending on soaked burgers and water for nutrition. Jay carefully moved Erin's head from his lap on to the floor and walked to the door.

" be ready in an hour". who ever was outside the door grumbled to him as he picked up the bags and Jay merely gave a 'hm' in acknowledgement, how was he to know what an hour was when they had stripped him off of his watch. Although Jay wanted to snap something at the man that would drive him berserk, he restrained himself reminding that for some part, his vigilante plan depended on these people for it to work, and he didn't feel like pissing them off right now.

Erin herself was up by now. She kept her eyes on Jay and observed how Jay's eye were curious looking in to different bags. He pulled out a black pair of sweat pants, a black hoodie and a black mask as the last piece of clothing. Jay silently undressed himself and dressed up in black. " at least they're the right size" he exclaimed. Erin was silently observing, how his solemn eyes avoided her. She then noticed something else.

"where is your ring?" she asked. "the one your mom gave, the lucky charm, you never take it off"

Jay looked down at his hand. " I gave it to Harvey before he escaped. Partly as his proof of my existence, in case he had to prove god-knows-what...I don't know, and partly because giving him my lucky charm was the only thing I could do for him right then."

Erin didn't say anything in return because she didn't know what to say to make him feel better. Instead she removed her own ring, walked to him and pushed it on his finger in place of the missing one. A little too tight but Jay couldn't care less as he looked at her in awe.

"are we engaging? Jay smirked.

"fat chance! we need to try and survive living together first" Erin bantered. " anyways, this is my lucky charm, Camille gave it to me before she passed away, its yours now" she said.

The mark made by his old ring was not visible now, covered by Erin's ring. She gave his hand a slight kiss before she let it go which translated in Jay's head as 'this-is-all-I-could-do-for-you'. Before she got overwhelmed with emotions Erin went back and sat on her spot on the cold stone floor.

Jay went back to checking the bags and Erin saw how his look changed in to a pained stare as he looked in to the other bag. A bag with the same old soaked burgers and water bottle, packaging removed to conceal any indication as to where they were brought from. Jay remembered how much Harvey resented the burgers having to eat the same thing for about two weeks in a raw. Jay wondered about Harvey, is he dead? was the last burger he ate with Jay really his last meal? It was safe to assume so considering nothing had changed since his escape from the cell plus that gun shot Erin heard...A chill ran down his spine and images of how Mandel, Harvey's twin was shot trying to cover up for him while he struggled to disable the bombs, played in front of his eyes.

The depressing memories had a profound impact on him. He felt his palms become sweaty and his vision become blurry. A familiar daze enveloped him, and suddenly he found himself lost in more memories. He heard a single gun shot and brain matter splintered all over him. His buddy Benson sat in front of him, strapped to a chair, with only half of his head on his shoulders. He heard Mouse shouting from background, swearing all kinds of filth at the rebels.

" If you don't answer my questions, next he will go. He is too loud to live". Some one said pointing the gun at Mouse. Then they were on the lead Humvee guarding a special convoy; were they in Afghanistan? Yeah they were, he realized as he found him, Mouse and Benson sitting inside their vehicle. He heard the blasters and the heat came up from under them. The Humvee they were in flew in the air and landed upside down. Why was his mind going back wards. He felt someone shake him and Jay found himself in current reality, the reality where he was stuck in a prison cell with Erin and she was tugging his pants.

"Jay are you okay?" she asked worried.

Jay did not answer for ten long seconds. Was he okay? he had to ask himself. He knew what happened to him. His flashbacks were coming to him which meant his PTSD is back in play. Jay thought he was over with it but the situation must have pulled the triggers.

He wanted to share with Erin how he was in the same situation in Afghanistan, he wanted to tell her how him, Mouse and Benson was captured and tortured by the rebels. He wanted to tell her how the rebels desperate for intel put a gun in front of Benson's face and threatened Jay to answer their questions, and he would have answered if he could. But the lives of many others depended on the intel the rebels were seeking. So he couldn't, because the lives they were protecting were more important than the three of them combined. He remembered how Benson nodded in agreement at him when he decided to keep his silence. In a matter of seconds Benson's' brain matter had ended up all over Jay. The rebels had finally shot him and ended the torture he was going through. Luckily before the same fate was received by Mouse they were rescued by his team. But no one could ever rescue what Jay lost that day. He lost a part of him that day. Is Erin going to be Benson this time? Jay wondered.

No matter how much he wanted to share these with Erin he just could not bring up the courage. He had long buried them down in the deepest closets of his mind. To explain those dark memories to someone else meant going through all the pain they endured back again, mentally and physically. Why did he get the flash backs again just before he was to play a big game? It was the last thing he wanted in a very long list of things he would rather avoid. Was the stress finally catching up to him? what if he zone out on the roof of the lab with the bomb strapped to his back?

Erin was looking at him puzzled, he had never zoned out like that before.

" just some memories" he told her easing the tension, "Bad memories".

Erin looked at him sympathetically and Jay was glad she accepted his explanation.

"what's in it" she asked changing the subject.

"food" Jay said dropping the bag at her feet and sitting next to her.

" then why are you upset about it?" Erin asked stretching her hands in to the bag to pull out two burgers. "because there are no fries?" she asked quizzically, her eyebrows dancing.

" really, you want fries? is it lost to you that you are officially abducted?" Jay retorted at her. Erin laughed and Jay basked in it, taking in and cherishing her careless laughter one last time keeping it in the safest place of his memory. if these were his last moments with her, then...

"just trying to lighten up the mood" she said looking further in to the bag. "but seriously, there are no fries!"

Al entered the bull pen at 4.30a.m. to witness most of his team members already sitting and waiting for Mouse who had called them in the wee hours of the morning to witness something that cannot wait till the sun has dawned. Intelligence team had so far failed at connecting the dots by keeping eyes on every variable in the investigation. All efforts had proven futile so far. Voight's facial recognition man couldn't do a thing about the too dark video. But Al came with news. He was able to contact his old ally in army with much difficulty to reveal him some news.

"what's up with them?" Al asked as he observed Hank and Antonio in an argument inside Voight's room.

"The usual" Ruzek said yawning. "Split about what to do"

" Antonio wants to inform the officials and Voight doesn't think so" Atwater explained.

"sorry" Apologized Mouse as he entered the bull pen hurriedly, his personal laptop safely hugged to his chest.

"there was a swarm of military people on the road, got checked many times, and the reason is right here" Mouse said while powering up his laptop wasting no time. Behind him Antonio and Voight joined seemingly abandoned their argument.

"I was monitoring the lab's camera feed last night, I mean this morning, I mean about an hour ago." Mouse tried to clarify. Staying up all night for two days had messed up with his sense of morning and nights.

"Then some one else hacked in to the system and that whoever cleverly changed the live stream in to a recording".

Every one exchanged glances. This thing was getting more and more complicated with every passing hour.

"There can't be many who could do that, I mean, its a military system, right? asked Ruzek.

"Yes, so being the hacker I am, I cut through it and got to the actual camera feed. You won't believe what I saw". he said as he fast forwarded the video.

" If hacking in to a military system could be done by only a few people, then there should be even less amount or not at all who could do what this guy is doing" Mouse said pointing his finger to a dark silhouette in the video.

" Look at this guy defying gravity. He climbs up on to the roof through a smoke pipe, then jumps across like a cat, to the next building which is a good 10 feet away. Then we'll get this camera feed for better viewing". Mouse said as he changed the video to another one." He crawls stealthily, then he removes a roof sheet with a screw driver. Do you see how he knows exactly which one to remove? this is definitely an insider job. Then he take a look at his watch, doesn't think twice to go in, a few minuets later he comes out, fixes this machine at the edge of the roof tile. I think its a mobile hydraulic lift, the kind you can carry in had, and some thing comes out, something cylindrical..."

"What on earth is that" Al wondered.

but he was cut through."Wait, is that what I'm thinking it is" Antonio asked.

"probably yes" Voight answered, faint fear attached to his voice.

"Oh boy, we are so screwed" Ruzek exclaimed" is that really the part of the weapon the lab was holding?"

"Wait till you see the last part" Mouse beamed enthusiastically. In all his hacking career he had never hacked in to anything this exciting.

Antonio slapped the back of Mouse's head. "This is some serious shit and you are happy?"

"wait till you see the last part" Mouse repeated as if to prove his enthusiasm was justifiable. The silhouette easily lifted the heavy looking cylinder, strapped it to his back and crawled like a spider, his head ducked low but as fast and weightless as a fly while carrying the heavy cylindrical thing.

"What the hell," Atwater sing sang. This guy is crazy, he must have something really important at stake to agree to do this kind of stunt". he said.

"or he is paid enough" Al gave his opinion.

"that's insane, what kind of money is worth risking his life AND getting caught by military for treason, god bless the patriot act". Ruzek deadpanned.

"Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one." Antonio said admiring the moves of the silhouette on the lab's roof.

"doesn't matter how good he is" protested Ruzek." If this is an insider job, which it sure is, then he is going against his own people, bloody traitor"

"This guy knows his way around. Look, he then waits at the edge of the second roof without moving to the other roof, then comes what, the toxic waste removal tank truck with its load. See how accurate he is, he jumps on to the moving truck, with that weight on his shoulders and balances himself like a freaking gymnast. " Mouse paused his commentary to change the camera feed so to get a better angle.

" here, he inserts the cylinder through the tank hole, someone must be inside it to grab it,then he also jumps in. Anfew seconds after the hacker swiftly swaps the camera feed. I've got to meet that guy"

"What was that flip, the strange crawl, he has a certain style to how he balanced himself on that angled roof right?

Antonio asked more interested in how this silhouette did what it did rather than what happened. In his mind the silhouette was performing a miracle.

"Oh that, that's Capoeira plus parkour" Mouse answered without missing a beat.

"Capi - what" Ruzek goof balled.

"C-a-p-o-e-i-r-a" Mouse spelled it out for him. " Its brazillian jiu jitsu, I know because we were taught when we were stationed at Brazil for a special training. Jay went so crazy with it that he ate, drank walked danced even slept in capoeira style, we laughed at him, until he outperformed our trainer within two months, what a badass he was!"

What fell next was silence, every one was running their heads through what mouse just said, first because it was about JAY, then because strange as it is, the new information made an uneasy connection between what was happening in the video feed and their MIA friend, who this whole investigation was wrapped around.

"Oh no, no" Antonio said in realization, hoping the others were on to it too. He was proven right as Al crunched the bridge of his nose and Voight commanded for a closer look at the person.

Mouse was now frantically hitting on his key board and after few attempts he hit the key board in frustration. "Its no use, he is too careful, no angle is clear, he knows where the cameras are, not to mention the black hoodie he is wearing".

Ruzek glues his eyes at the screen. " The height is about right, and the guy's build and the way he carries himself is just like..."

"If my gut is right, which it usually always is, this is..." Antonio paused unable to get himself to say it.

"No no no, that's not possible, " Atwater sat on a chair to support himself, he was feeling weak with the new revelation and Ruzek wondered if he should take back what he called this guy just a few minuets ago...a bloody traitor! or should he not? If this guy was Jay Halstead, then what the hell was at play? Was he a whole different person than the Jay Halstead they knew. Was Jay the real culprit here?

"I got some news from my Pal at the pentagon which is not comforting!" Al hesitated knowing full well he was only going to add fuel to the developing uneasiness with his news. "Reed is currently in hospital recovering from a concussion which according to Reed, was given to him by Jay Halstead"

Everyone gasped...literally everyone.

"According to Reed, he was on a back ally in Chicago after running some errands when Jay attacked him from nowhere. But That's just what he says right?" Al asked from the astonished faces glaring at him.

"Could Jay even do that? I mean this Reed guy is about 6,4" right?" Ruzek asked.

Antonio raised an eyebrow. He was Jay's instructor at the Boxing gym so he knew better. "Yes he can" he replied."I have no doubt whether he could, but the real question is whether he would "

"or whether he did it at all?...as in why is Reed lying and if so, who actually gave him that concussion?" Voight added.

Ruzek smacked his forehead in frustration and looked away from the screen that Mouse had paused with an image of the dark silhouette looking sid eways at the camera.

A small beep sound disturbed the team.

"guys, the CI's truck just started moving" Mouse said moving his chair to the other table and all eyes moved to Mouse's other laptop on his work desk. Mouse tapped a few keys ."It's definitely moving, guess where it started its journey"

Voight raised an eyebrow in anticipation of Mouse's answer.

"The toxic waste management facility which is only a few miles away from the lab"

"looks like the tank truck loaded the piece of weapon to the CI's truck before it entered the facility" Voight said analyzing the situation. "Now, where the CI truck ends its journey is where the weapon will end up. We can't let them have the full weapon, so gear up, get the big guns, we are following my CI".

In few seconds, the team was dressing up and loading their vehicles. Al saw how Antonio was trying and failing to fasten the latch of his bullet proof vest, it wasn't latching properly under his sweaty and shaking hands fueled by the storm in his head, Jay was his brother after all, he brought him to the unit. Al came from behind and started fastening his vest. Antonio's hands fell in defeat.

"Al, do you think its Jay?" he asked while Al roamed around him.

"most definitely, yes"

"Do you think he is ..."Antonio trailed off, he didn't know what to think of what he saw.

"what does your gut say" Al questioned back.

Antonio seemed to ponder this for a moment. "I think that he is in deep trouble than we could ever imagine, but him putting himself out there like that, in that dangerous situation is just...so like Jay, like he did when he had a bounty on him, what ever the crazy thing he did I think he did it to make something right"

"Then I guess we'll have to just trust our boy" Al said in his signature calm voice. "I know Jay, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever about him, you shouldn't too"

"Thanks Al" Antonio hugged Al tightly, comforted by his reassurance like he wanted someone to say it loud for him.

"Listen up" Voight said gathering up his team who made a half circle around him quickly. "This is something close to all of us" Voight addressed everyone's situation knowing what Jay meant to his team. " So far, we operated under the assumption that there is zero chance of Chicago blowing up, but hell, we don't even know what that weapon could do! But we don't have that luxury any more. So Al and I decided its time we inform the authorities. Since we don't know whom to trust, we decided to skip some levels and contact Al's friend in Pentagon. Al trust him fully so the risk is minimum. Also I'm hoping this will give us a ending to Erin's case too. I hope we will find her at the end of this." Voight paused to breath so he could hold down the burning emotions when he thought about Erin." What ever inquiry that follows this case, I will take full responsibility". Voight could hear the collective sounds of displeasure from his team members.

"Boss, we agreed, we are all in this together" Ruzek said, rolling his eyes in the process.

"I know, I know" Voight agreed raising his hands in surrender. " Also, about Jay..." He took a second too long to gather up his thoughts.

"I know what we saw in that camera feed was...confusing to say the least, but I haven't a shred of doubt about Jay. I always knew Jay to have his own conviction about things. I trust that what ever he is doing out there he has a pretty convincing justification for it. This mission is not just for our city, its for Jay too, for one of our own. So lets do this, and good luck"!

A few seconds later three vehicles sped out of Chicago police department's district 21. While the sun was starting to rise, they sped past the red lights, their hearts pounding faster and burning for Jay and Erin.

P.S. Next chapter is 'action' packed.

P.s. Just saying, I stumbled upon 'Yuri on Ice' and I can't get enough of it.