Knowing what she knows. Knowing what she has to tell him, Hailey doesn't attempt small-talk on the way to Jay's apartment.
Instead, she occasionally casts glances towards him as he stares out the window, looking exhausted and like he wants to shut his eyes and sleep so badly but each time he does, he opens the window slightly, the icy air instantly making the car colder and his eyes stay open a little longer.
The ramifications are clear. Whatever happened this time had more of an effect on him than the last time. Making it even harder to tell him.
Ten minutes later, and Jay's sat opposite Hailey in his small apartment. The apartment nowhere near as comfortable as Hailey's which given Hailey's studio isn't pristine, or that homely says a lot.
Hailey's about to tell him, trying to find the right moment when Jay tenses, sets the mug of coffee he'd been holding down on the table and says, flatly but with anger underlying the action.
"Didn't work again, did it?"
He doesn't need to clarify the 'it' of course he doesn't and Hailey doesn't need to respond but she does, anyway.
"Voight's gonna put Tech on blast later today."
"What if there's nothing wrong with the wire and something else entirely? What if we're at a dead end and all we got is me being drugged? Flynn disappearing off the face of the earth, or is he? Is he the one who brought me in? He wasn't around last night again. Neither was Hunt."
"There was a guy at the rear exit after I left," Hailey responds, "I tried to stay to see if you were there, but maybe you'd already been taken from there. I got no idea who the person was. We can check the hospital footage from reception and the entrances. I'll make sure someone checks today. This isn't the end, Jay, we'll find out what's going on with the wire. Ruzek's going into one of the bars with the deliveries next week. We'll find out what's happening."
Jay shakes his head and stands up, picking up the coffee mug as he does and walking back over to the kettle, turning it on and putting more instant coffee granules in the mug.
"And what if we don't?" he spits out, "What if I'm out of luck? What if the kid, Morgan, was my cue to leave this job and I'm the last person who should be undercover? What if all this is something I'm doing wrong?"
Hailey stands up and walks over to Jay, to his side, "Jay, none of this is down to you, it's pure bad luc-."
He pours the boiling water into the mug, stirs the liquid and steps past her without looking at her.
"With one common denominator."
"Jay, we will get to the bottom of it. We will resolve it. I think someone should check out and talk with Steven Flynn. Everything we heard from Healey supports the idea he's good or if not good, he's not the worst. We'll keep checking to see if there's any trace of Anthony Hunt. We'll keep digging."
Jay still doesn't look at her, instead he mutters, "Ok, I'm okay. I'll call in and say I'll be late if Barnet doesn't beat me to it that is, you can go Hailey."
She turns away and almost does. She has her hand on the door to leave but then she turns, sees the way he's just staring into nothing and she lets go of the door.
"I hear that you're okay, Jay, I do. Dr Kravitz said to stay for a little while though, so I'm going to. We don't have to say anything, I'll keep making coffee and when it's time to make calls, I'll go or go do them quietly elsewhere. Till then I'll stay."
She sits down opposite Jay again, sees the minute nod of his head. Hopes somewhere in his head, there's comfort in knowing he's not alone. Just like it's comfort for her being here with him despite everything.
Jay's too tired to argue and perhaps her being here will give his brain enough stimulus to mean he won't fall asleep or his eyes won't betray him and try to shut.
He makes some decisions in the time he's staring into space. One that he won't drink when next time not even if he sees Hailey prepare the drink. Jay trusts her; he does, but who's to say there isn't some sneaky way it still gets through to Jay.
He won't drink water again either. Even if that means he has to pretend. Even if it means he goes to take a drink but this time doesn't swallow.
Even if the fact he does this means he has to live through everything. More appropriately, relive everything. He knows enough, can remember from last night and more because it's crystal clear each time he does shut his eyes what he talked about last night.
He knows because while he pushed the memories far down for a while, it's always been there waiting to pull him under again. Biding the time it takes for him to fall into that pit of despair once more. And as long as he's got enough awareness, at least it means he won't fall deep, right?
He's not sure if it's funny or really fucking depressing that he almost believes it. Always the hope that dies last, isn't it?
Burgess and Dawson knock on the door of the Flynn home in Edgewater.
The snow's falling again, there's a feel of Christmas to the street they're on. Lights bedecked on roofs and wreaths on the front door of most of the houses except for the Flynn's which isn't surprising given they're childless now and even if they weren't, David was grown-up, no kids so no grandchildren to fuss over.
Kev and Adam are checking out the footage from the hospital while Kim and Antonio have come to speak to Flynn. Or that's the plan, except there's no sign of anyone and no answer at the door. Antonio peers in through the window, but sees no sign of life.
Places like Edgewater are close-knit, familial places. They don't have to wait too long till a neighbor appears from next door. A slightly older than middle-aged woman with glasses and a smile on her face.
"Helen left town the week before Thanksgiving week. I thought Steve had gone with her. She's gone to see family. But I saw him a few days later in Helen's car. He left with a suitcase and I've seen nothing of him since. Could be he left to go with Helen."
"He said nothing to you? Nor Helen?"
The woman shakes her head, "No which is odd cause Helen's very open with me, asks me to water the plants but her leaving happened so quickly," the woman frowns, "They aren't in trouble are they? They've had such a terrible time, but I thought they'd be okay, but you don't know what happens behind closed doors, right?"
"Ma'am, do you have any way to contact Mrs Flynn?" Kim asks, ignoring the questions.
"Cheryl Adams, and yeah, I do. I got a number. I could try her but she takes a long time to respond trust me but sure, give me your details and if I see anything or hear anything, I'll call you."
Kim nods gratefully, trotting down the steps from the Flynn's porch and over to Mrs Adam's porch where she hands over a card to her and the woman takes it from her promising she'll let Kim know if she has news.
Kim rejoins Antonio in the car.
"So, Helen Flynn leaves town and Steven Flynn either follows her or goes to ground, into hiding," Antonio says.
"Right around the same time Anthony Hunt vanishes after he reappears and after Jay had spoken to him," Kim adds.
"Feels like something and yet we still got a lot of nothing," Antonio exhales as he starts the engine.
"We gotta hope we get something from the CCTV at the hospital."
"Yeah," Kim says, her tone flat, resigned already somehow to the prospect of a step forward followed soon by a step backward if the patterns in this case continue.
It's almost time for Hailey to go to the bar and she could do with going back to her place for a shower and a change of clothes.
She knows Kim and Antonio will have been to the Flynn's by now and she hopes for a glimmer of light. Some fresh information or failing that that CCTV will do its job for once.
She stays with Jay till the time comes to go. Takes a shower and finds a fresh towel placed on top of the little stand in the bathroom, underneath the towel is a flannel shirt. Too big for her but as she holds the shirt up and sniffs the material, it's clean and that's all that matters.
Hailey smiles at Jay's thoughtfulness, his presence of mind and maybe for his part some level of gratitude expressed to Hailey for the distraction. The excuse to stay alert instead of succumbing to the need for sleep.
She feels a thousand times more human as she steps out of the bathroom and makes her way into the living area where Jay's looking at his cell.
"Thanks for the loan of the shirt," she says as she sits down in front of him,
Jay looks up, and she sees a hint of a smile on his face as he looks at her.
"It fits you okay, better than I thought," then as if he's said too much somehow rather than merely loaning her a shirt, he raises the phone and gestures toward it changing the subject quickly, "I messaged Barnet saying I wouldn't be in till later. He's not responded yet."
"You should rest," Hailey suggests.
Jay doesn't reply, instead makes a non-committal sounding noise and raises his hand to rub his neck, frowning as he does and pulling his hand away, raising his eyebrows at the slight amount of blood that's on his fingertips.
"Huh."
Hailey's up and stood behind him, looking at the cut that's not big enough to be dangerous or a threat to Jay's life perhaps, but minor cuts can often smart the most.
"You've got no idea how the cut happened?"
Jay shakes his head, "No, I guess I could've caught my neck on the van or something and didn't realize. It's fine."
"If you have some needle and cotton, I could sew it up for you," Hailey suggests.
Jay turns to look at her, a genuine smile on his face, "You really are a little MacGyver aren't you, Hailey?"
Hailey rolls her eyes, "No, but I'm pretty confident with some needle and thread and I've sewn some cuts before in my time, Jay."
"Oh?"
"That's for another time, I can sew it up if you think it could bleed again easily but as long as you remember not to scratch, it'll heal okay."
"I'll be good, thanks Hailey," Jay replies, his tone genuine, his demeanor brighter than in hours.
"Ok, well I'll get you another coffee and then I'll head to the bar," she picks up Jay's mug and walks over to the kitchen area, flicking the kettle on as a message alert sounds on Jay's phone.
"Well, this is unexpected" Jay stands up and joins Hailey in the kitchen by the counter and shows her the screen.
You did excellent work last night, Foster. We're getting somewhere. How about we go again? This afternoon. 2.30pm. Needless to say, don't show up for work.
One of the first things Kevin realized he should get a handle on doing this job and quick was patience, perseverance too.
This case has been a salutary lesson in the need for both. From the malfunctions in Jay's wire to the constant one step forward followed by steps upon more steps backward, it's a test of resolve and not losing focus despite the setbacks.
He's been scanning the CCTV footage from the hospital for the last hour, still nothing. Well, that's a lie, there is something. That something being Jay leaning against the nothing.
The 'nothing' that's a fully functioning, fully mobile human being except there's not a thing that can identify them. They keep their head down during the time they're at reception and they're dressed all in black, a hat and snood/balaclava covering their face so all you can see is a little of their eyes.
Kev's zoomed in but the quality of the image gets exponentially worse the more he zooms. Maybe tech can do a better job so he fires off an email asking them to try. Wishing they still had Mouse here to do it for them, to give Kev and all of them the answers they need now, not in several hours or more.
There's no sign of how Jay and the other person got to the hospital. They'd been smart enough not to park nearby or even be dropped off in the sight of CCTV footage. It's frustrating but unsurprising. Whoever the person is, they're smart.
Adam's behind him on another computer, silent except for the periodic sound of him tapping the keyboard fast and sometimes murmuring a frustrated 'No,' followed by an occasional, very occasional, 'yes, come on."
He's been silent for a few minutes when suddenly he smacks the desk hard and Kev doesn't even flinch. Par for the course with Ruz.
"What you got?" Kev asks as he turns around in his chair.
Adam beckons him closer, "Kim said the neighbor told her and Antonio that Flynn came back in his wife's car a week or so ago so I ran a check on Helen Flynn's vehicle. Nothing at first, till I checked our records and patrol had a report to attend a vehicle on fire. Want me to tell you where the vehicle was found and when it was reported on fire?"
Kevin gives him a 'DUH' kind of look and Adam grins.
"Ok, sorry, man. They reported the fire in the early hours of Wednesday 22nd November. As for where," Adam brings up a map and points to the screen, "4 blocks from where Hailey found Jay after she got the message from the burner phone."
Kevin stands up, leans in closer and exchanges a glance with Adam, slapping his shoulder as he does.
"Flynn. We need to tell Voight."
Adam nods and stands up, ready to follow Kevin, but Voight appears in front of them before they can move and barks impatiently at them.
"Tell Voight what? Doesn't matter, you can tell me on the way back to the bullpen. We just got a call from Upton. Halstead's got another meeting. This afternoon. We need eyes on the place this time, now tell Voight what?"
Hailey recalls the conversation with Jay back at his apartment as she stands behind the bar. The concern she'd expressed. The concern that Jay had scarcely bothered to hide.
The testing of Jay's wire equipment and the device seeming to work perfectly.
Voight had been concerned too - mirroring theirs and had given Jay the get-out. Knowing Jay well enough that he wouldn't back away, wouldn't say no despite the risks.
She'd left Jay, reluctantly. He's due at the bar any moment, but everything feels different this time. Marcie not being here for one.
No message at all to Paula to say she wasn't showing up. No acknowledgement or mention of her in the brief time Barnet had spent in the bar just after Hailey had opened up.
And there's something beyond all this niggling at Hailey, something about everything she's learned particularly in the last day or so that feels like if she can stop it niggling and make it come to the fore more, the reveal will be something gigantic or at least gigantic compared to everything else so far.
Then Jay arrives, and she pushes the thoughts away, tries to transmit confidence his way and quell her nerves enough, being the normal Paula as Jay plays the regular Ryan as she gives him his usual drink.
The Ryan that's exhibiting signs of stress but ever the former military man tries to keep below the surface. Ryan and Jay are just different versions of the same side of one coin.
The door opens in the corner ten minutes early and Jay lifts the glass, swallows and places a bill on the bar, tapping the surface gently and smiling at Hailey as he slides off the stool.
Hailey watches him go till he's through the door. 3rd time lucky with the wire, she hopes. If not, what the hell do they do next?
She looks down at the glass ready to pick it up, wash it but despite Jay looking like he'd taken a sip when the door had opened and Barnet had been watching him. It's untouched, as full as it had been when she'd placed the glass on the bar in front of him. It fills Hailey both with hope and fear.
The realization of that and the memory of watching Jay as he walked towards the door is what turns the niggle into something so blindingly obvious. To the point she wants to kick herself that it hadn't crossed her mind before.
She reaches down for her jacket shoved into one shelf in the corner under the bar feeling for her own cell not the UC one, pulls it out and thanks her foresight, the instinct that had told her to bring it and then she rounds the bar, heading toward Terry.
"Terry, look after the bar for 5 for me?"
"Sure thing, Paula." she hears as she walks through the entrance out onto the sidewalk and far enough away even though it's freezing that prying eyes., if there are any, won't easily be able to find her.
Price offers Jay water, but he says no and they don't argue, instead, Jay observes them sharing a long glance and sees a nod and a smirk on Barnet's face as he looks at Price.
Jay pretending he'd had the drink Hailey had prepared for him was enough to convince Barnet from a distance then. That's the straightforward part.
Jay's good at undercover but he's no Oscar worthy actor, and he has to do enough to prove that he's under the influence of GHB assuming that's what the tox screens will confirm had happened to him.
It's easier than he thinks to feign a loss of balance, to feign confusion. He feels Price's hand on his shoulder, then his neck and what he realizes is the familiar sharp pain around the area where the cut is.
"That's right, Ryan, we got you. Right Pete? We got you, Foster."
Jay sits on the chair, Price behind him and Barnet looming in front of him.
"You were very candid with us yesterday, Foster. Told us a lot about the torture. About the pain and the sensation of drowning. About the beatings and the little girl you shot dead. Tell us more. We can help you. Tell us more."
The hysteria he can recall feeling at one point is easier to summon than he thought it would be. The fear is as familiar as breathing in and out. Luckily for Jay, he can recall his army training from years ago. How to withstand torture, how to pretend you're one thing on the surface while your legs kick frantically away from anyone's view underneath.
Whatever way you look at this, what these men are doing. What Jay's about to comply with: it's just an extension of the torture he's endured before.
It doesn't matter if ultimately Jay gets these men and justice for those lost already. The surface has been scratched and there's no way Jay can know if he can ever put what was hiding underneath away again.
Jay hopes he stays sane long enough to see justice happen, that's all.
He inhales and exhales and laughs.
"The pain oh yeah. The worst day was.. it was a Tuesday."
Kim answers Hailey's call explaining that Ruzek and Olinsky have eyes on the bar not that Hailey can see them from where she's stood and that Atwater and Dawson are following up leads on the burned-out car and searching pod footage again from where and when Jay had been found by Hailey.
Somehow it's no surprise to Hailey with the news about Helen Flynn's car. That it's likely Flynn who's been Jay's protector/savior in this so far. Even though all this still feels too simple, even though they've taken so long to get to this point.
Hailey pushes the negative thinking to the back of her mind though and she's grateful for Kim recognizing that she needs to discuss something else.
Just because you find something of interest doesn't mean you back off from everything else, you pursue everything else even more doggedly because you flick one domino soon enough the others will follow. In theory.
"Anyway, aren't you working? What do you need? Is Jay okay?"
"I am. I think Jay is. Do we know if the wire's working? Though don't answer yet because depending on what you can find, I think I'll know."
"Ok, I'm listening. Go."
"Right. I need you to bring up the autopsy reports for at least two victims."
Hailey can hear Kim tapping away at her keyboard and half a minute later, she speaks.
"Gotcha. Give me a sec, ok, I opened up Flynn's and Stapleton's," she pauses before adding, "Also Farmer's. What am I looking for?"
"Record of a minor cut on the back of their neck. A small one, maybe an inch or even half an inch wide. Could have been healing or fresh, a reopened wound."
Hailey listens as she hears Kim muttering as she scans the first report.
"Ok, right, Eddie Stapleton? Second to last page, slight abrasion or reopened cut back of his neck. Half an inch in width is mentioned. I'm looking at Craig Farmer's now."
"Thanks," Hailey murmurs, shivering slightly as a gust of wind sweeps by her.
"Ok, Craig Farmer. A reopened cut: half an inch in width on the back of his neck. Now I'm checking David Flynn's."
Hailey almost forgets to breathe in the seconds before Kim speaks again.
"Bingo. David Flynn. A cut on the back of his neck too, half an inch in width. You got a pattern Hailey but what does it mean, what are you thinking?"
Hailey straightens, her mind running nineteen to the dozen, the implications not crystal clear but a firm theory forming in her mind.
"Jay has a cut, a reopened one, half an inch in width on the back of his neck. Let's imagine that some kind of device would be the perfect thing to cause interference, to make sure that if someone knew something was happening to them and tried to record what happened to them, it would never work and all we have to go on has been a tiny cut."
"Why not just something within the room itself?"
"These guys, Kim? You really think they'd pass up on the opportunity to inflict even the slightest bit more pain on their victims?"
"Yeah, I guess. And if you're right, it doesn't matter how good the wire is, nothing would ever work with guys as security conscious and suspicious of anyone and everything as Price and Barnet."
"Yep," Hailey agrees.
"Holy shit," Kim exclaims then calms immediately, "Ok, Hailey, you need to get back in there. I'll let Olinsky and Ruzek know, and I'll let Voight and the others know here too. This is big."
Big but terrifying is all Hailey can think. Big, but where and how do you protect Jay from people capable of all of this? How do you even start?
Again, I know some of it is artistic licence but I do try stay close to what I read/research otherwise. I want us to get to know more about Hailey in this story as well as Jay so more to come there. Hope you enjoyed. As always, would love to know your thoughts, in the meantime and till next time, stay safe and take care xxx (UPDATE: 27/6: Work was crazy this last week so no time to work on story except a little bit - anyway actively writing on it today and hope to have next chapter up on Sunday 28/6 at some point) x