Chapter Text
Jay hung up the phone and walked over to the huge whiteboard where numerous photos and notes of the CPD’s current case were presented.
“I finally got the ID of our victim,” he said and pointed at the photo in the middle of the board. “Name’s Andrew Cooper, 45, last known address is Jackson Street.”
“Maybe we find some answers there.” Hailey scribbled the address onto the board.
“It’s a multi-story building next to the closed diner,” Kevin said, typing on his keyboard and keeping his gaze fixed on the screen. “Cooper’s last work was with a company called Salidos, down South. They sell car supplies, nothing spectacular.”
Jay exchanged a look with Hank. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. His boss seemed to read his mind.
“Alright, Ruzek and Bur- wait, where’s Burgess?”
It was only now that Jay realized Kim hadn’t returned. She had left the scene earlier after a phone call. Immediately, his stomach did an unpleasant flip as his mind played out all kinds of scenarios, one worse that the other.
“She, uhm, texted me, guess I missed it,” Adam mumbled, then cleared his throat. “Sorry, Sarge, should’ve told you. Makayla’s’s sick, Kim’s at the doctors with her right now. Might take another hour or so.”
If Voight disapproved of this news, he didn’t let it show.
“Alright then. Adam, you and Jay then, go check out that neighborhood. Kevin, I need more info on Cooper’s family. Hailey, you’re with me, we’ll check out that company. Wouldn’t be the first time some small business sells more than just spare parts in the back.”
Jay needed a moment until the words sunk in. Surely Hank had made a mistake.
“Sarge, why don’t I –“
He looked over at Hailey, expecting her to support him, but his words got stuck in his throat when she clearly avoided his gaze.
“Got a problem, Halstead?”
Of course it wasn’t a rule that he and Hailey got to team up all the time. But lately, they’d always been together; they were a great team, always a little better together than when they were separated. Hank knew that.
But Hailey still didn’t look at him, and Jay shook his head.
“No, boss.”
He didn’t mind teaming up with Adam, but something about that decision didn’t sit right with him. He needed to talk to Hailey about it, he thought. Things had been going so well lately – maybe a little too well. Maybe he had pushed things too far, too soon; she’d reciprocated his love confession, sure, and it had been honest and true, but still…
“You coming, Jay?”
Adam had already fetched his jacket and headed for the door, and Jay quickly followed.
As they sat in the car, Jay decided to go through the scarce information they had on Andrew Cooper, but it didn’t take more than five minutes. At this point of their investigation, the man was still a mystery. Beside him, Adam was humming softly to himself. He seemed so relaxed that Jay couldn’t resist asking a question that had been on his mind for a while now.
“So, you and Kim… how are things with you two?”
Everyone knew about their on-and-off relationship, but currently Jay had no idea where they were standing. So much had happened in such a short time – the pregnancy, the loss of the baby, the adoption.
Adam narrowed his eyes, but kept his gaze stoically on the traffic ahead.
“Things are good,” he said vaguely.
“Good?” Jay pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s it?”
“What did you expect, Jay?”
“I don’t know, to be honest. I just felt like… I don’t know… like something’s changed between you two and I don’t know if it’s changed for the better or worse.”
“We’re good now. Isn’t that enough?” Adam glanced sideways at Jay. “I’m not nagging you about Hailey, am I?”
Jay shrugged.
“Do what you must.”
After having kept it a secret in the beginning of their relationship, he and Hailey now didn’t hide it anymore. What they had just felt too natural, after all. A soft touch that lasted a few seconds longer than it normally would, a quick stroke of her back when he stood beside her, a playful nudge in the side that she didn’t do for anyone else – it all came as easily as breathing now. They never overdid it, they were careful that way. They kissed in the tea kitchen when no one was looking, they held hands sometimes while driving to a scene, and maybe they’d once accidentally ended up in the same shower… Jay cleared his throat and skimmed through Cooper’s thin file again. This was so not the time.
They arrived at the address after another ten minutes. Jay and Adam got out of the car and first checked out the building from outside. Jay counted ten rows of windows. The building must have been from the sixties and Jay had a notion that not much had changed ever since. The white paint on the wall had taken on a greyish hue, some windowsills were broken, and the lower part of the wall was covered in graffiti that no one had bothered to paint over.
He grabbed his face mask and pulled it over his nose and mouth.
“Let’s go.”
Cooper’s apartment turned out to be on the fifth floor. The two men exchanged a look and Jay grinned.
“Race you upstairs?”
“My pleasure.”
They were both slightly out of breath when they finally made it to the fifth floor. The hallway looked just as shabby here as the whole house had seemed on the outside. Behind one door, music was playing. The familiar scent of marihuana, mixed with a stench of burnt pizza, filled Jay’s nose.
The second door to the right was covered in yellow and black tape. Cooper’s apartment had already been searched, but so far, nothing suspicious had come up.
Adam nodded at the first door on the left.
“Let’s get it over with.”
He knocked on the door, one hand resting loosely on his holster.
“Chicago PD, open up!” They could hear footsteps behind the door, but no one opened, so Adam knocked again. Jay prepared himself for a forced entry. “Chicago PD, open the door!”
An elderly woman opened the door a little.
“Can I see some ID?”
Adam flashed his badge.
“Officer Ruzek, CPD. That is my partner, Detective Halstead, may we –“
In that moment, Jay caught movement from the corner of his eye. A door was slammed shut and a figure hurried towards the stairs on the West part of the building. Jay reacted instinctively and sprinted after the man. He could hear Adam cursing, but didn’t know how far behind he was. He caught another glimpse of the figure who vanished down the stairs, Jay called out, “Chicago PD, stop!”, almost stumbled on a loose floorboard, and –
Boom.
The world shook around him, he lost his footing, the impact drove the air right out of his lungs and he just managed to bring his arms up to protect his head before everything faded to blackness.