Tolerance Book II

Chapter Fourteen: A New Theory

Four Seasons Hotel Downtown

When Conor had initially been informed of the Surgeon' conference in New York he had known Will would ask him to check in on his younger sibling. If he was honest with himself he also wanted to allay some of his own fears. After Adam had notified Will of his brothers' disappearance it had taken Natalie, Dr. Charles and himself to stop the senior Halstead from catching the red eye to the Big Apple. Frequent updates from Adam and Voight had managed to convince Will not to travel but the longer the investigation went on the more Will worried. Sitting by the window of his plush hotel room on Barclay Street the Surgeon eyed the cell in his hand. He was now the one Will was awaiting an update from and once again Conor had a delicate balance to maintain between appeasing Will and not betraying Jays' trust. He sighed heavily thinking back to his first glimpse of the Detective earlier at the HS Headquarters. To say he looked washed out would be a gross understatement. After Jay had been found Voight had telephoned and told him the list of injuries his friend had sustained. He had been so relieved they had located the missing man that initially he had not queried why the Sergeant was relaying the information to him and not Will. Once the older man had elaborated on what the Detective had gone through however it had become obvious why he was the one who received the call. Such news should be delivered to the elder sibling in person. Torture meant emotional as well as physical injuries. That Jay had been exposed to mindless violence on a regular basis throughout his childhood did not provide a safety net in his adult years when dealing with further violence. Prior to leaving Chicago Conor had informed Voight of his impending trip. He had been unsure how a suggested visit to Jay would be received but the Sergeant had readily supported the idea. A knock on the door stopped his musings.

Adam and Antonio had been sent on a mission to catch up with the new arrival prior to the planned meal that night. VThe 5 star hotel set in Tribeca amidst the tree lined streets of West Village, which was close to the chic restaurants and shops of SoHo and the skyscrapers of Wall Street, screamed luxury. They tended to forget Conor was from a wealthy family due to his down to earth personality. The ride up in the elevator had been a quiet one, the opulence of their surroundings contriving an almost reverent silence. Tapping the door firmly with his knuckles Adam looked across at his companion.

"You agree with Sarge?"
"About Jay?" Antonio checked.
"Yeah," Adam nodded, "you really think he'll listen to Rhodes?"
"Doubt it."
"Sarge must know the chances are slim of Jay going home."
"He does," Antonio stated emphatically as the door opened, "but he has to try."
"Hi guys. Come on in," Conor greeted the two Detectives, curious about the visit even though Adam had phoned ahead.
"Man this place must cost a bomb," the brown haired Detective looked around the expansive, light toned living area enclosed by tall floor to ceiling windows on two sides.
"Forgive him Doc," Antonio rolled his eyes in a long suffering gesture, "he's just a bit jealous you're the one living the high life and not him."
"Guess it is nice," Conor shrugged in depreciation as he motioned to a large sofa, "take a seat."
"Thanks," the Italian American sank down into the soft embrace and had to agree, this place definitely cost a fortune.
"So what's up?" the Surgeon didn't bother wasting any more time on niceties.
"As I told you over the phone Sarge wants you to try to persuade Jay to go back with you," Adam had opted to remain standing and looked out the window at the iconic downtown buildings, "he's pushing himself too hard."
"Not like Voight to get someone else to do the dirty work for him," Conor voiced his surprise that the Sergeant wasn't there in person making the request.
"He's tied up all day," Antonio explained, "he wanted you to know the state of play before we all meet up."
"Voight gave me a full rundown of Jays' injuries," the black haired man explained, "I'm surprised he's not on sick leave .......,"
"Hah!" Adam scoffed at the notion.
"Doc this is Jay we're talking about," Antonio reminded incredulously, "him being sick or hurt isn't going to deter him from going after Wells."
"Voight has told me some of what this guy has done. Sounds like he's really out to hurt Jay."
"Which leads us back to the reason we're here," Antonio noted succinctly, "so what do you say Doc?"
"I'll talk to him," Conor acquiesced easily, "but I doubt he'll listen to me."