Tolerance Book II

Chapter Thirty-One: The Pier

LAX

After an uneventful six and a quarter hour flight Jay deboarded last from the aircraft.  He automatically reverted to what he tended to do when travelling solo.  Avoiding the crush of passengers eager to get carry on bags and reach the exit appealed to him.  He remained seated until the last couple of passengers passed by and then made short work of retrieving his black gearbag. After a quick, but genuine, thank you to the hard working Flight Attendants he stepped onto the gangway wondering what exactly he was heading into.  He had seen each of his friends pass by at various intervals in the reflection of the window.  They would be heading to the same hotel, another stipulation Voight would not waiver on, but there would be no verbal contact unless in an emergency. They had already designated places in the hotel where Jay could leave notes for them.  Mouse had no trouble accessing the specifications of the building so the Unit had familiarised itself with every nook and cranny of the large building.  Reaching the baggage claim area he waited patiently for his small suitcase.  Normally he would only travel with a gearbag if going on a short trip but as he was supposed to have resigned they figured the suitcase was advisable.  His argument that he had not arrived in New York with a suitcase did not sway the others, who were in full mother hen mode, and they reasoned he would have accumulated some additional items since arriving in the Big Apple.  Sighing as the suitcase came into view he wished he felt at ease with the way things were going.  The ever present truth that they had been on the back foot ever since day one continued to rankle him.

Intercontinental Hotel Downtown L.A.

After booking into his standard room with floor to ceiling windows and a minibar the young Detective could understand why some people enjoyed hotel living.  After unpacking he debated going down to the in-house restaurant or ordering Room Service.  In the end the decision making was interrupted when the room phone rang.  Knowing it could only be one person he picked up the receiver with a feeling of relief.  Finally things might start to happen.

"You made good time," the chiding voice noted.
"So when do you want to meet?"
"I understand you're after resigning so your time is your own."
"How did you know that?" Jay played along.
"I have eyes and ears everywhere."
"I believe you."
"I'll be in contact when I'm ready," Lyle declared before ending the call.

Jay looked at the receiver in frustration. So much for making headway.

                      ----------------------

Two floors below Al was on a video call with Kevin and Voight, Adam and Mouse.  The latter trio had just checked into The Wayfarer on Flower Street, another downtown hotel.

"Everything go alright?" the Sergeant checked.
"No problems," Al confirmed, "no sighting of Lyle though."
"So what's the plan going forward?" Antonio asked, rubbing his lense free brown eyes tiredly.
"Jay will have to go with his gut," Voight stated succinctly.
"Don't ye think it's strange Lyle gave up the meeting location?" Kevin looked at his monitor.
"We discussed this before we left New York," Al reminded, referring to their final meeting with Murphy, Parker and Burke.
"Yeah but we didn't come up with a reason for the advance notice."
"Presumably it will be Tuesday or Wednesday," Antonio commented, "the carousel is closed fully then."
"Unless Lyle opts for the early morning hours," Voight suggested another possibility.
"I'm not convinced Lyle will believe Jay is out here on his own," Antonio finally voiced the very real concern they all shared, "even if he had handed in his badge the warning about the three bombs was made known to us all so we would be expected to be proactive."
"Maybe Lyle is just toying with us," Al proffered pragmatically, it was hardly a new concept.
"So he expects us to be here?" Kevin checked with a frown.
"We always knew that was a possibility," Voight observed unhappily, "but for now we take every precaution. Have no verbal or physical contact with Halstead.  We discussed this. Lyle is  likely to find out about myself, Ruzek and Mouse.  Ye just maintain cover."
"Wish we knew why he chose the carousel," Kevin admitted.
"For now just make sure any messages Halstead leaves are collected ASAP."
"No problem Sarge," Antonio quickly assured, with three of them in the hotel they had a good chance of finding a note promptly after it was left.
"Good thing Mouse got the Building Plans," Kevin acknowledged around a yawn.
"We'll catch up at 0800," Voight decided, they were all weary, "but in the meantime I expect to be kept up to date on any developments."
"Sarge," Antonio nodded before he cut the connection as he was the first one due to take a supposedly leisurely swim in the hotels' heated pool, one of the communication points.