Chapter 4- But…
"Good morning, ladies." Kim and Hailey nodded before looking around the corner towards Jay's apartment door. The time between calling in the bomb threat and the unit arriving, Kim and Hailey took on the pleasant task of waking up neighbors and politely asking them to evacuate their residences. Obviously, they received terrified responses, especially at such an early hour in the morning, but eventually, it was just Intelligence guarding the building. What surprised the two women the most was that the ticking thing on the other side of the door hadn't gone off. One would think it have initiated on radio frequency chatter or timer expiration. But even now, an hour after they discovered it, nothing had changed. Just the soft but terrifying sounds of ticking.
"What've we got," Dwyer inquired?
"Just something that sounds like a bomb countdown. We pressed ears to the door and discovered it. The apartment key is in the lock on the chance that's what'll make it go off." Sergeant Dwyer nodded before gearing up and approaching the door. He ever so gently placed a device on the door to scan the contents on the other side. The device beeped after a few seconds, confirming their scary assumption.
"Definitely some type of device and I'd say it's got a motion sensor on it. Everyone stay back. Is there another way into the apartment?"
"There's a fire escape around the back." The bomb tech cautiously stepped away before heading for the freezing outdoors. In reality, the whole process took five minutes, but for those crouched down, hiding the hallway, it might as well been a lifetime. They all didn't speak, but were thinking in unison. The latest development proved more and more that this event had nothing to do with Intelligence but instead, was intended on ending Jay's life. Hailey's mind wandered a million miles in minutes, trying to figure out where they overlooked things or ignored altogether. While the team was still piecing together the who and why, this guy was cruising right along, his destructive plan moving ahead without any obstacles. She realized that Jay's past was about as mysterious as its' owner and they all really didn't know too much about him. Especially his military service, she mentally concluded the list of what she did knew about that time was far shorter than what she didn't know. War is an intense, highly emotional being that is sure to push it's players to the absolute limit. For some, they can handle that challenge. Others, it is the reason they are different when they come home. Then she wondered why this person even set up the bomb in the first place. He saw Jay get hit and still decided to show up at Jay's place and set up the device. Perhaps the shooting was just the first step. Maybe Jay coming home afterwards was the ultimate endgame: give a brush with death only to kill him in his own home. Or maybe it was designed to harm her or whoever came to check up on things while Jay was away: inflict harm on people Jay cared for while he was unable to help them. Hailey shook her head at that one. Whatever the motive, this person was out for something and she could only hope they'd figure it out before it was too late and the worst case became reality.
"Hey, you ok," Kim asked, Hailey's head snapping back into reality.
"Yeah, just anxious that's all." Kim gave her a quick smile before Hailey rose and began pacing. She made about five laps up and down the hall when Dwyer broke the radio silence.
"All clear guys. Front door is unlocked." They sprung to their feet and were at the doorway in seconds. Dwyer laughed at them as they peered their heads through the doorway, no one wanting to make that first step over the threshold.
"It's all clear guys. C'mon. You're going to want to see this." He ushered them to the countertop in the kitchen and waited till they all had a look at the device. It was a large, grey brick encased in wiring and tubing. The digital read on the front read all zeros. It was a surreal sight to behold as they all stood in Jay's kitchen
"Military grade C4 with a motion sensor on it. You guys were right to suspect the lock being the initiator, but it's very similar to the truck door device in that it needed a certain angle and movement for it to go off."
"So the ticking…" Adam interrupted.
"Just a scare tactic. There wasn't a timer on this at all. The digital display was just for decoration. It wasn't connected to the bomb nor was it ever going to play a role in it going off."
"Get forensics to check it out. I want a full workup on that," Voight demanded before they all split in various directions, each looking for clues or hints regarding the attacker. Hailey went into pilot mode, focusing only on getting stuff for Jay. She knew that if she looked around for too long, things were going to get emotional and personal. Jay didn't need her being a grieving friend. He needed someone who could find whoever was terrorizing his life. She was the first to leave the apartment and stood out in the hall till everyone joined her.
"Do we have to tell him," Hailey asked? She got weird looks before they answered.
"Yeah, it's his place and he'd want to know."
"But why let him know, there isn't a whole lot he can do now."
"It's his place and he has a right to know." Voight settled that by locking the place back up and heading for the exit, the rest soon following behind. They all silently left and returned to their vehicles. Adam offered to give Hailey a ride to the hospital and she was too tired and drained to protest. The ride back was relatively silent. Adam would try and bring up funny things in order to calm and comfort her. She'd play along for a bit, but always return to silence and staring out the window. It was when they pulled up to the curb that they got down to the heart of everything.
"So, I've been meaning to ask…"
"Don't! Don't you dare. Nothing happened." It took everything in Hailey to not reached over and slap Adam, hard. He waited till her glare left him before continuing.
"It's ok if you want to end…this. I get it. I've been there before." She slowly turned back to face Adam, not sure how to respond.
"This was all for fun, remember? It was a fling that became a long term thing. But, it's pretty obvious you both have feelings for each other and who am I to hold you back." Hailey just kept staring, not sure if this was a dream or exhaustion induced fantasy. Lacking in words, she simply nodded before looking up towards the hospital housing her injured partner. It was a rather awkward moment between them, but one that Hailey was secretly glad happened. Life has a funny way of playing things out in one's favor. Sure, the circumstances may not always be how you wanted them. But in the end, she was given her green light and she couldn't be more happier and relieved. She reached down to collect the overnight bag before placing a hand on the handle. She paused for a moment to make eye contact with Adam before speaking.
"I'm sorry," was all she could get out. He returned with an understanding head nod.
"Don't be. Go update him and I'll see you in the morning." He waited till she got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk before driving away, getting one of those 'last looks' as she grew smaller in the rearview mirror.
…
Time finally caught up with her as she rode the elevator for the ICU floor. She glanced down at her phone to read one thirty-seven AM. She rubbed her eyes, realizing she'd been awake and functioning for almost two days. Had she'd realized all that would transpire when she last fell asleep, she probably would've caught a few more Zs before getting up. The elevator doors silently opened and Hailey tip toed out, doing her best to not alert the residents on the floor of her presence. She stood at Jay's door and stared for a second, half asleep and half coming up with a reason for her being there. Both brothers were sound asleep by now, Will curled up in a ball on the recliner while Jay was in bed resting on his right side. With him positioned that way, Hailey got a good view of the aftermath of the shooting and lengthy surgery. It was twenty-four hours post-op and the parts of his face that weren't hidden under dressings wore varying shades of blue and black. Furthermore, his cheek and lower jaw were red and inflamed, displaying the swelling from the extensively worked on areas of Jay's face. Hailey closed her eyes, reminding herself that he was still there under everything. The current situation they all found themselves in was temporary, the person and soul they all knew was permanent and existing; no need to fret or worry over things that'll only get better. She looked down at the bag in her hand as she quietly rapped on the glass door, hoping to awake Will but keep Jay asleep. The first round got nothing, the second attempt stirred Jay enough for him to roll back onto his back and gaze aimlessly around. Will detected the sounds of a moving body and slowly sat up, looking over towards the door to Hailey holding up a bag.
"Go back to sleep, Jay. It's just Hailey." Jay was too drugged up to do more than nod his head. He was snoring by the time Will slid the door open.
"Hey, thanks for this," Will whispered as he ushered her into the room. She fixed her eyes on Jay for a couple of moments before acknowledging Will's comment.
"Yeah, Platt said he might need this." Will smirked at her daydreaming.
"He's doing well so far. Other than the pain and sensitivity, things are looking good. The swelling and bruising will go down in a week or so. From there it's about bones healing in their correct places. He should be released in a couple of days." Hailey kept staring while he spoke, using the words to calm the growing anxiety in her head.
"That was the scariest thing I've ever gone through." Will looked over at her, nodding as she spoke.
"In this line of work, you see the cruelest, inhumane things humans can do to each other. You're on the scene of the worst day on someone's life and sometimes you have to be the one to deliver news that changes people's lives forever. But to see something like that happen to someone you know and work alongside with is…I don't know; like a whole new level of awful. I guess. I just…I'm ready for the sounds and images to leave my head." Will patted her shoulder, snapping her back into real time.
"You want to stay here tonight? Platt isn't coming back tonight and I'm sure he would like the company." Hailey nodded, Will taking the bag out of her hands as she collapsed onto the chair on Jay's left side. Will dimmed the lights in the room before returning to the most uncomfortable sleeping position. Hailey rolled onto her side and gazed at the sound asleep body in the bed, each breath alleviating her dread. The previous night was the worst one of her life. Now staring at Jay on the other side of it all, Hailey concluded this was the 'but' of the story. He may have fallen but, there was no way he wasn't going to overcome this. She found herself smiling as her need for sleep finally won.
…
The trio's restful nights sleep was cut short by Hailey's phone ringing on the table a few hours later. Jay was the first to stir, looking around the room before finding a blonde head draped over the arm of a chair. His drug-incapacitated self didn't recall her coming in during the night and was a little startled by her unknown presence. It's not that he didn't want her there, but he wasn't ready for her to see him in that state. Of course, it was the drugs messing with his mind and soon he was up and pulling IVs and leads off in an effort to free himself from the bed. Will rolled over in his sleep and muttered something as Jay ever so gently pressed his feet to the floor. He wobbled and shuffled his way to the light illuminating on Hailey's side of the room and reached for the phone. He read three missed calls from Kim before the phone rang for the fourth time. With the inability to talk, Jay placed the phone on the arm of the chair and carefully shook Hailey's arm, receiving a jolted awakening for his efforts. They both stared at each other with surprised faces before Jay pointed to the phone, returning to rest on the edge of the bed as she answered.
"Yeah," Hailey whispered before yawning.
"Sorry, I figured you were sleeping, but we may have identified the attacker. It's looking like it's someone from Jay's military past and were tracking down his LKA. Voight wants you to stay with Jay till we all get there to update you guys. How's he doing?" Hailey glanced over to a floating, exhausted Jay before answering.
"He's good, still pretty out of it, but looking good considering. He actually handed me the phone."
"That's great! Tell him I'm sorry I woke him up and we're all thinking of him."
"Will do. Thanks, Kim." Hailey remembered to put her phone on silent before helping Jay back into bed. It was a total guessing game figuring out how to reconnect everything, but eventually Jay was situation in his normal spot. The whole time, his face was red with embarrassment. This wasn't how a partnership was supposed to go, but yet, here they found themselves. He was supposed to be the protective, tough one and somehow their roles reversed within a few hours. He didn't like that people were seeing him as weak or vulnerable. Hailey picked up on this fairly quickly, trying her best to act like tucking in your macho, well orchestrated partner was totally cool.
"If the roles were reversed, you'd be doing the exact same thing," she commented as she turned back for the chair. Jay nodded after a moment, giving her one of those 'thank you' expressions. She returned with a 'you're welcome' nod and the two were falling back to sleep, Hailey watching Jay's eyelids slowly droop closed before following suit.
…
His name was Jason Briggs, a former Army Ranger that resided with Jay on the same base but with a different unit. During their six month overlap of tours, Jason was deemed as wild, a highly intense person who had a liking to pushing things right up to the ethical limit. Prior to Jay's interaction with him, Jason had built a repertoire for roughing civilians up and acting on impulse rather than training and common sense. However, the stories were just that: legends talked about round a campfire and bottles of beer. When Jay first met him, he found it hard to believe the person in front of him committed the acts that proceeded him. He was a thin, taunt, quiet kid that was like a sponge; keenly listening to words spoken by commanders and seasoned soldiers. At first, Jay envied the kid, wishing he was as doe-eyed and naive as Jason. However, as the months ticked off, that innocent persona began to unravel. It began with standing up to his peers, questioning their tactics during a fire fight. People chalked it up to processing the loss of fellow soldiers, but Jay always had a feeling this was the first slip-up. From there, he began playing pranks on people at the base. Innocent incidents of hiding people's clothes transpired into recording personal phone calls and blasting them over the base's speakers, revealing highly personal information between people and their loved ones. When Voight phoned Mouse for information on Jason, the initial response was a groan followed by a long pause. Mouse told of a time when Jason would sneak ketamine into rations when no one was looking, laughing as people started getting groggy or throwing up from the massive amounts of the drug in their system. Jay warned their superiors of Jason's behavior, forewarning that he'd snowball into something criminal and got nothing, told to relax and let the kid live a little.
Unfortunately, Jay's gut feeling came to fruition. While I won't go into the details, the event included a mother and her young children and a tragic death. As Mouse retold the terrible day, you could detect the shake in his voice of the horrible crime. Those on the other end of the phone call ranged from tearful to full anger, questioning why things were allowed to get that out of control. The day was the final straw for Jay. Along with the two strikes against Jason, Jay's testimony was the large final nail in the coffin. Jason was swiftly dishonorable discharged and stripped of any benefits and pension from the military. Mouse recalled when they ushered Jason out of the base. He was irate, channeling all his rage towards Jay, threatening to make him pay one day. But as the days, weeks, and years rolled along, Jason's threat was forgotten. While they wouldn't forget him and his actions, he slipped through the cracks of life. Mouse had no idea what happened after his discharge and was certain Jay didn't know anything either. Time became an enemy in a way. It allowed everyone to relax, shrug off the words spoken that day. Obviously, time played in favor of Jason's revenge game plan.
At first, Intelligence didn't believe their luck. The print found on the bomb by the crime lab was pristine and on the center of the display screen. They initially assumed that someone planted the print on the device to steer them away from the true criminal. But after learning of Jason's past and capabilities, it became all but certain this was their guy. Why he left such a blatant clue remained unanswered, but this was the first big break in the case and had to be pursued, even if it fell right into the creep's plan. They were all busying themselves looking for Jason's LKA when Adam hung the phone up, clearing his throat before speaking.
"That was Dr. Charles. I reached out to him hoping he could give us some psychological insight into this guy and he actually found Jason's medical file. After he was discharged, Jason was admitted to a long-term psych hold for the treatment of schizophrenia and ASPD, or antisocial personality disorder. ASPD explains his lack of a moral compass. As the disease progresses, one's ability to detect right from wrong, ethical to unethical blurs into a delusional mindset. The schizophrenia explains why the event that got him kicked out of military. It was a psychotic break that unleashed his inability to properly view life around him. He showed the early signs for these diseases prior to being enlisted but was chalked up to being a teenager that would mellow out over time. Obviously, his time in the service only worsened his condition. He developed a pattern of getting the proper treatment and medication before going off the drugs and relapsing, getting worse with each cycle. He's been in and out of prison for anything from assault to home invasion and theft. He signed himself out of the psych ward at Cook County Hospital two weeks ago AMA and his last known address was a halfway house in Pilsen." They all were silent after Adam's report, everyone glancing over at the empty desk where their friend and teammate would be residing at this point. His desk was a memorial of sorts. The papers, trinkets, and zip-up hoodie sitting on the back of the chair showed a life once existed there. It was crazy to think how quickly and drastically a day and a half could change everything. Thirty-six hours ago, they never would've imagined their next case would encompass him and that he wouldn't be here to help them out. It was in this moment that they all concurred to give Jason their best effort. This guy was making things personal and they were more than willing to return the gesture.
"Hit it," Voight commanded after a time. Everyone sprung to their feet, readying themselves for their enemy's next move. He may have outwitted them for a time, but there was no way he'd outlast them.
…
"What," the unenthusiastic, middle aged woman barked on the other end of the glass wall, a cigarette waving in between two fingers. Antonio pressed his badge against the glass wall and re-explained their presence.
"We're looking for one of your residents, Jason Briggs." Atwater held up a photo of Jason, getting beady eyes as the woman put her glasses on the tip of her nose.
"This was his last know address. When did you see him last?"
"May I remind you people it's early in the morning at a halfway house. This can't wait till later on?" It took everything in Antonio to not let the land lady have it.
"Ma'am, this guy is a suspect in an attack involving a Chicago police officer and we need to know where he is, now. Either you tell us or we can arrest you for obstructioning the investigation." That one made her eyes perk up. She pushed the cigarette butt into her ash tray before glancing at the image a second time.
"Oh yeah, he's been here. But I haven't seen him in a couple of days. Real nice kid, keeps to himself mostly." Atwater rolled his eyes.
"We need to access his room. And yes, we have a warrant." Antonio smacked it against the window, making the land lady jump.
"Alright, alright, hang on a second." She slowly shuffled out from behind the glass wall before shuffling down the hall, griping and huffing the entire way. The whole way, Adam made a 'hurry up' motion with his hands, getting a humorous glare from Kim. Eventually, they all gathered outside the room's door, guns draw just in case.
"A littler overkill," the lady muttered as she unlocked the door and turned the knob. They ignored her remarks as they slowly, yet methodically filed into the apartment. Kim found a light switch and switched it on, wishing she hadn't after viewing what the light revealed.
For starters, you couldn't see the walls, ceiling, or floors. Everything was covered in varying amounts of photos, maps, words, and utter gibberish and drawings. You could tell where Jason was somewhat sane and where the disease was in full gear. Words became a random assembling of letters, some appearing to be in another language. The images he drew varied but all fell under one category: revengeful death. Photos were mostly of Jay with a few of the other members of Intelligence. It appeared the last year of Jay's life was photographed and documented by Jason. Everything from images of him on the job to hand written notes pertaining the Jay's coffee order, there was very little left out. Adam found a shoebox with small items that they assumed belonged to Jay. There were random socks and shoe laces, toothbrush and used tissues. It was spine numbing realizing this guy stalked Jay and somehow found a way into his apartment without him knowing, a terrifying feat. As they all numbly documented the nightmarish discoveries, it was clear Jason's revenge became an obsession, a stalking if you will. They all tried to not think too deeply in an effort to not freak out or puke. This guy was unknowingly following every step of Jay's life and no one, not even Jay, picked up this guy's scent. It was like living in a horror movie.
Kim was the first to leave the place, reasoning that she couldn't stay in 'revenge headquarters' for too long. Adam followed behind her after a few minutes with Antonio and Atwater in tow. They all stood outside, waiting for Voight to lock the place back up. He did a once over of the apartment a final time before departing. He needed to grasp the mindset of this animal and the only way was to study the guy's pattern. He sat on a chair in the kitchen and gazed up at the ceiling, shaking his head at the photos of Jay standing near his bedroom window in just a towel…and some had less than that. This wasn't a person who committed this crime, but a demon. Someone who had entirely lost touch with the world, whose only reason for living was complete and utter destruction. Very out of character, he felt the tears forming, brushing away a stray tear. He didn't completely know what all Jay went through over there, but if this was one piece in the bigger puzzle, he feared for his detective. Were there others like Jason? Were eerie scenes like this common over there? How many other threats on Jay's life were yet to be found? Voight stood after awhile and marched out of the place. He felt the lock click against his hand before storming down the hall and practically throwing the key back at the land lady. He reunited with his worried, uncertain detectives and officers and spoke what they weren't looking forward to next.
"Let's go tell him. He needs to know about…all that." They reluctantly nodded, not eager to share the creepiest news ever.
My hope is that Adam has the decency to eventually step aside for Upstead. The writing is on the wall. It's going to happen at some point. I hope you guys enjoyed the tiny Upstead moment in this chapter. It was an appetizer for what's to come. Also, we finally see who the attacker is and we love a good scary twist to things. Thank you for reading!