Tolerance Book III

Chapter Two: Waiting

RCMP Bureau

Time seemed to stand still for those anxiously awaiting news of their friend and colleague even though the clocks still moved forward.  After three hours everyone was beginning to feel the tension ratcheting up.  The Psychologist and Profiler had been expecting this.  By the very nature of their work LEOs in general were not prone to forced inaction.  It went against the very essence of their chosen purpose.  Murphy had already asked him to try to derail any attempts to go to Capilano and Parker had agreed but informed his fellow New Yorker that ultimately Voight would be the deciding factor on any change in plans.  With the prospect of Jay meeting King came numerous considerations not least of which how long to give the young Detective to reel their quarry in.  Although it had not been a certainty that King would take the bait when Jay hadn't phoned within half an hour of leaving they all knew a showdown was taking place.  The passage of time merely served as a reminder of the risky nature of the all too volatile situation.  The harsh reality was they all knew that a public setting would not deter the Killer if he was determined to kill Jay.  Indeed Parker had bluntly informed the Detective that if this was the end for King external factors such as Tourists would not hinder King in his objective if it was in fact to take Jay out once and for all.  Jay had accepted the information easily.  It was clear his welfare was not a concern to him.  The men, by unspoken agreement, had all drifted into the conference room as time elapsed and still no word was received from the youngest Halstead.  Voight caught Als' eye across the room.  Both men understood the risk in granting such unprecedented lack of protection to Jay but the unique nature of the case had warranted it.  That however would be no consolation if things went south and with each minute that passed it seemed more likely that very scenario was going to materialize.  Already there were rumblings of discontent at staying confined to the bureau.  Surprisingly Adam was not the most vocal one about the issue.  The Sergeant turned his gaze to Adam momentarily and noted he was still looking chagrined.  Voight had little sympathy for the younger man.  By informing Will of his siblings' whereabouts he had not only broken protocol but also broken Jays' trust and Voight had sternly pointed that out.   He knew well enough however that there was no malice intended in the disclosure and that was the only reason he had not formally disciplined him.  Voight wasn't sure what Jay would do when he found out but that was the least of their worries now.

"This can't be good," Antonio stated grimly as the wall clock signalled the passing of another hour.
"We knew it could take time," Al put in with his usual succinct assessment of the situation.
"A lot of things can take time," Mouse noted unhappily, he was still getting over the fact his former Lieutenant had been given a green light to meet up with a Serial Killer without backup of any kind.
"How long more are we going to wait?" Kevin finally voiced the question on everyones' mind.
"Halstead needs time to do his job," Voight eventually replied, "we need to trust him."
"Hell it's nothing to do with trust, we all trust him.  King on the other hand .....," Antonio shook his head as his words trailed off.
"We wait," Voight stated immediately and decisively, knowing any hesitance on his part would only give rise to more queries.

As the veteran Sergeant looked at the men under his supervision he could see the strain etched across their features.  He had no doubt he too bore the same appearance.  For now though he had to give their youngest Detective a chance to finally end this.  Voight figured that of all of his men Halstead was the one who most deserved to catch the Killer and end his deadly reign.  The risks of such an endeavour however weighed heavily on him.  If King did actually harm the Detective, or worse, Voight knew it would signal the end of his career in law enforcement for he would exact revenge without a shred of remorse.  Since he had returned to Canada the hope was that the Killer had finally decided to end his lethal spree and would let himself be brought in.  That option of course was not guaranteed and the older man knew right now his Detective was probably in the middle of the biggest negotiation in his life.  He just wished he was there to stand beside him as he faced his nemesis.  Although outwardly he was sticking to the plan agreed with Halstead inside he too was anxiously waiting for some action.  A part of him wanted to grant permission there and then to descend on Capilano but he practised restraint, for now.  That resolve would be sorely tested if they didn't hear something soon however!
   
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