Eye of the Tiger
By: Rhuben
Summary-There's a reason why everyone thinks Antonio is a good cop. There's a reason why he's respected. He has the eye of the tiger. Nothing's going to stop him from making sure his city is safe for his kids. [Set at the beginning of Thirty Balloons.]
A/N: Last quote from Jay and last two quotes from Antonio are from the Chicago PD episode Thirty Balloons.
Wham!
Antonio Dawson watched as Jay Halsted slammed his boxing glove covered fists into the punching bag in front of him. The chain creaked as the bag spun and swayed.
"Good, you're doing a great job," Antonio called out to his friend as he slowly unraveled the black tape around his fingers. He flexed each digit as he did so before he lifted his arm to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "Keep your combos going."
True to his word, he had met fellow detective Jay Halstead at the gym to teach him the fine art of boxing. Jay had great promise, but Antonio really just wanted to give him the time to clear his mind. He could see that Jay needed it and in their line of business, they needed to be all in to their work, no distractions.
Antonio shifted his gaze from Jay to the bench as it vibrated underneath him. He watched as the face plate to his phone lit up and the little text message icon appeared, blinking. Antonio reached for his phone and unlocked it before opening the message.
Diego: Have a good day at work, dad. Be safe. :)
Antonio smiled as he typed back a response.
Antonio: You too, bud. Have a good day at school. :)
Antonio took his job as a cop very seriously. Whether he was fresh out of the academy, patrolling the streets, or working in the Intelligence Unit he did everything by the book and to the best of his ability. There was no room for mistakes. Not when his kids' futures were on the line.
His world was rocked when he heard from his wife that Diego was taken. He couldn't even let it sink into his mind; the words sounded so foreign to him, but they got a big reaction from him. A combination of fear, worry, anger, anguish, sadness, and guilt crashed over him so quickly, he didn't know what to do. He could barely form any words. His mind was blank.
It was the worst feeling in the world.
But, he had to be strong. He had to be confident in knowing he could get Diego back. He had to show his wife, his daughter, and his sister that he'd do anything in his power to make sure that their family would be whole again and that Diego wouldn't have a scratch on him.
Without his fellow detectives in his unit, he didn't know what would happen. They dropped everything the minute they found out and did everything they could to help. Without Detective Lindsay's quick thinking, he didn't know where Diego would be now.
He didn't want to think about it. He just wanted his son, his daughter, his wife to be safe. There were too many calls he had to take in his line of duty that left a family in shambles. He never thought it'd happen to him, and while he hoped and prayed for a safe return of his son, there was the all too real outcome that things could go wrong.
Don't think like that, Antonio thought, giving a sharp shake of his head, sucking in a breath of air. Diego's safe. He's home. He's ok. He had to keep reminding himself that.
Diego was safe.
That didn't stop him from keeping an eye out for his kids ever since. If they wanted to go play in the front yard, he'd sit and watch them, and sometimes join in. He'd do more things with them; helping them with homework, tried to learn some of the video games they were playing, even helped them with their chores. And sometimes, late at night, he would just watch them sleep.
Just to be sure.
He was sure they were annoyed by it, if it not wierded out about it. It just gave him a peace of mind. If he could have one eye on them at all times, he'd be ok. They were, after all, his best features of being a cop. At least that's what he was often told. Even when he was a kid, he was told that he had "cops' eyes." El ojo del tigre.
The eye of the tiger.
He sure showed his tiger stripes when he heard news about Diego. He didn't care who he hurt or who was in his way, he was going to get his kid back whether they liked it or not. Even if it meant trading Pulpo for his son, allowing the man to go back to his life of drugs. At the same time, he was stuck. If it wasn't for this man, his partner wouldn't have been shot in front of his eyes, only to die when he was out on duty.
He didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. That was not going to happen with his son.
"Keep your feet grounded," Antonio called out, shifting his eyes towards Jay's feet. "Don't move around so much while you're throwin' punches." He then reached into his bag for his water bottle, pulling up the cap with a pop.
As he squirted a stream of water into his mouth, he looked around the gym at the other men looking to lift weights and to buff up. The gym was where he liked to clear his head and truth be told, he needed to.
He was not one to bring his work home with him, but after what happened with Willhite, and Diego, he just couldn't shake it. He had nightmares about how things could've turned out. It was throwing off his game. He was sure Voight was starting to notice as well. So he blocked it out as best as he could, but even he couldn't control what he dreamt of.
If there was anyone who could understand what he was going through, it was Jay. It wasn't the same circumstances, but they had both lost a close friend. If he allowed himself to think back to it, Antonio could put himself back into that hallway. He could feel the slanted step under his feet, he could hear the crackle of the radio by his ear, and he could see the look of worry cross Willhite's face mere seconds before the shot rang out.
One man caused too much pain in his life in too short of a time. He wasn't going to let anyone else feel that pain. Even if it took the rest of his life, Antonio would make sure his streets were safe.
Antonio blinked when he felt a wave of water rush over his wrist. He looked down, slowly swallowing the now warm water he didn't realize he held in his mouth. He was crushing his water bottler with a fist so tight, his hand was shaking. His finger tips were, veins in his wrist popping.
He let out a sigh and set his water bottle down, pulling a towel out from his bag before dropping it on the ground, using his foot to wipe up the spilled water. He then went back to removing the tape around his hand.
"You ok?" Jay asked.
Antonio looked up at him, nodding his head. "So, when are we going to spar?" he asked.
"Never, I don't like that look in your eye," Jay replied, between gasps of air as he paused in driving his fists into the punching bag that swung back and forth in front of him.
Antonio looked Jay up and down as he paused in removing the tape from his hands. He then looked Jay in the eyes, the corner of his lips curling up into a smile.
"Good." His eyebrows twitched upwards as he let out a small laugh, reaching for his water bottle a second time. "Nah, man you're doing great. Just keep dropping your left on your right cross and you'll be fine."
As Jay walked over to his bag, starting to remove the tape on his hands, chest heaving as he breathed, Antonio lifted his hand, running it down his right bicep, over the tattoo of his son.
They'd both be fine.
THE END
A/N: This, in a way, is a sequel to my Jay Halstead one-shot, Stories in Our Lives. Re-watching the episodes before the new one airs, I got to thinking about how Antonio acted when he got the news of his son being kidnapped and the way he acted in the following episode.
-Rhuben