It had been two weeks and neither Jay nor Caitlin had brought up what had happened on the beach that night and it was as if nothing had happened between them. Caitlin knew she had promised Antonio no more secrets but she feared that if she told him, the atmosphere at work would soon degenerate and it surely wasn't needed.
They were in the car heading back to the district, after having delivered some sad news to a family. It was almost 10PM and they were both exhausted.
"To all units, possible robbery taking place at Sam's Meat Company 1041 W Carroll Ave".
Jay looked at Caitlin. "We're a block away. Let's finish the night on a good tone".
She nodded. "Central this is Lincoln 42, we're a block away, we'll check it out and let you know if we need back-up".
"Copy that Lincoln 42".
Caitlin's phone buzzed.
"Where are you"? asked Antonio's message.
"One last call to check out and we'll be back".
"OK. Meet us at Molly's. Love you"!
"Love you too".
She looked at Jay. "They're all heading out to Molly's".
"Ok, this should be quick".
Within 5 minutes they pulled up in front of the building and quietly got out and put their bullet-proof vests. They headed towards the door. It was dark out. Caitlin took out her flashlight and had a look at the door.
"Door's open but no sign of forced entry".
"Maybe it's the owner who was seen coming in. Doing some late order or administrative work".
"Probably. Let's go check it out. If you're right we'll be out of here in no time".
Jay entered first as Caitlin covered him. "Chicago PD, anyone here"?
He walked into the room where the meat was cut and carved and tried to turn on the light. "Clear. Lights not working".
"Ugh, I hate to smell of fresh and dried out blood", she said as she joined him.
"Chicago PD, is anyone here"? reiterated Jay.
There was still no answer. They kept moving in slowly but all they saw were knives, cleavers, bone saws and machinery.
"This is really eerie. Great place to shoot a horror movie if you ask me".
Jay looked at her. "Very reassuring".
They passed a row of piled up boxes that seemed cleared but when Jay passed the last row a shadow appeared at his side and he felt the muzzle of a gun on his temple. "You move you die".
Caitlin aimed her gun. "Chicago PD, drop your weapon now"!
She heard the sound of a hammer being pulled down behind her. She turned around to see two other armed men. Where the hell had they come from? They had thoroughly checked the room before continuing on their search. She quickly looked at the door that was wide open. They must have come from outside. She tried to take her radio to call in for backup as Jay stayed as immobile as can be.
One of the guys aiming her looked at her. "Hand over your gun, radio and phone. Now! Or he's dead"!
Caitlin looked at Jay who was still in a very delicate situation. They looked at each other for a brief instant trying to assess the situation but when he shook his head lightly, she understood that by trying something it would only lead to one of them, or both getting killed.
She handed over her gun and radio.
"I said your phone too".
One of them moved in closer and checked her pockets and found it.
He walked over to Jay and grabbed all his things as well.
"OK now move", said the guy with the gun on Cat.
He led them, along with his two partners in crime, down a corridor towards the end of the building. He stopped in front of the cold room and opened the windowless door.
"Get in".
Caitlin already felt the cold and checked the temperature on the digital controller. It was at 35.6°F. That was way too cold.
Neither one of them budged.
The guy pushed Caitlin inside the room, then Jay. He looked at the other two guys. "You get their car keys, we need to get rid of the car. And, you take care of the door"!
Jay handed over the car keys and tried to pin the guy down on the floor but the 'boss' was faster. "I won't hesitate to shoot"! he said as his gun aimed at Caitlin. Jay let the guy go and he grabbed the car keys. During that time the third guy was kicking at the inside door handle and broke it off.
The two men still inside the cold room headed towards the door. "I ain't letting no cops meddle in my business"! The door closed and Caitlin ran for it. She tried to push it open but it was too late and with the door handle broken, there was no way, they could open it from the inside.
"Fuck"! she screamed out. She looked at Jay. "What are we going to do? We have no radio, no phones, no guns"!
"First of all, we keep moving, that's the only way we're going to keep our body temperature up. Based on the temperature, our clothes and our stature, I'd say we have a half an hour before the first effects of hypothermia settle in".
Cat looked at him.
"Cat, you've got to move. I'm serious", he said as he walked over to her. "When we don't show up at Molly's they'll send someone or maybe even the district will pick up on it. We haven't reported back in nor asked for backup. Now come on".
She started to do as he did and walk around the room. It was freezing and her mouth and throat were burning from the cold inhalation.
At Molly's the party was in full throttle. The place was massively packed, more than usual. Antonio was talking with Casey, while the other members of the team were talking to some of the others. Hank was at the bar drinking and talking with Dr. Charles as well as Hermann. Everyone was so caught up in their conversations and good time that they didn't see how time was flying by.
Al came hastily inside and went straight to Hank.
"We may have a situation", said Al.
"How so"?
"Trudy just called me. Jay and Caitlin haven't made it back to the district since their last assignment and they're not responding to radio or phone calls".
Hank stood and took his phone out of his pocket. "Damn phone! It's out again. When did they call in the assignment"?
"At ten and they were a block away. It was for a probable burglary in progress".
Hank looked at his watch. It was 11.
Antonio looked up from his conversation with Matt and saw that both Al and Hank had a worried look on their faces. Hank walked over to Antonio and whispered in his ear, upon hearing what Hank was saying, Antonio stood immediately with a look of fear in his eyes. He headed for the door where Al was waiting while Hank got the rest of the team.
When they were all outside near the cars, Al's phone rang. "Hang on, I'll put you on speaker". He put the speaker on. "Ok go ahead Trudy".
"A patrol unit headed over to Sam's Meat. No sign of forced entry, they looked at the entire room from the outside windows and there's no one inside. The car is not there either. No sign of Halstead or Voight".
"What about GPS location on the car"? asked Hank.
"We're doing it as we speak. OK, got a location. It's 3980 W Jackson Blvd".
"Thanks Trudy, we're heading over there. Have an ambulance ready on standby".
Antonio paced the floor. "That's almost 5 miles out from the original call and in the opposite location of the district. I don't like the sound of that".
Hank looked at him. "You're not the only one. Let's go"!
Caitlin's pace started to slow down. She was shivering, she was tired. She was starting to stumble because she was physically exhausted. She finally sat down on the floor.
Jay walked up to her. "You've got to keep moving Cat".
"I can't Jay. I'm physically unable to walk another step. I don't have an ounce of energy left in me. I'm ok, keep walking".
He yelled at her. "Get up on your feet Cat! I mean it! I'm not going to walk and watch you give up and deteriorate in front of me"!
"I'm not giving up. I just need to rest for a few minutes".
Jay headed for the door and tried to kick it open but it was useless. The hinges were too sturdy.
He came up behind Cat and sat down on the floor position each one of his legs on either side of hers. He put his arms around her and pulled her in closer to him.
"What are you doing"? she asked slightly panicked.
"Trying to keep you warm while you recuperate".
The team arrived on site and found the unmarked car on an empty lot. They slowly walked over to it. Hank looked inside it along with Adam. They opened the respective doors at the same time. After a couple of seconds they turned their attention to the group.
"Keys are on the driver seat. No signs of blood", said Hank as he headed towards the trunk. He hesitated for a moment. The last time he had opened a trunk in a similar situation, he had found Justin shot and unconscious in it and that hadn't turned out well. What were they going to find in the trunk?
He looked at Adam. "Pop the trunk"!
Al slowly opened it as Antonio and Kim aimed their gun towards it.
They all looked inside and saw the radios, guns and phones.
Kim looked around the car with her flashlight. "I've got three different footprints leaving the vehicle and they are big sized shoes. If Caitlin was here, she wasn't walking". She looked closer to the prints. "None of these are boots, they all are sneakers".
Hank looked at the prints. They were all going directly in one direction, they hadn't regrouped in the backseat area, nor the trunk. It meant that whatever was in the trunk had been put there before they had abandoned the car here. "They were never here".
"If they were never here and aren't there either, where are they"? asked Adam.
"Let's go back to their last known location, Sam's Meat. We're missing something", said Hank.
Antonio got in the car with Hank and drove out first. Hank called Trudy.
"Did the patrolmen enter the building"?
"No. Door was locked. They'd need a warrant Hank and you know that".
"I don't give a rat's ass about a warrant"!
He looked at Antonio. "Step on it"!