Ivy is their inside man, woman actually, and once they received her social security number and ran her name in the system, they found her birth certificate, following a death certificate for her mother and a lack of one for her father, which means he's still alive, which means the lifelong lie of her being a foster child meant that her dad was in on all of this. It's a red flag. And that flag only reddens when they run the name of her father they got off her birth certificate and his DMV photo pops up, it resembles the sketch taped onto the whiteboard. It's an older version of their primary subject. It's the two-colored eyes that seals the deal which led Jin to shouting that he found something when his eyes take in the address on the primary suspect's driver's license.
They have an address. They have a name. It's time to suit up. It's time to save Erin and Rixton. It's time to end all of this. Halstead and Voight don't bother listening to what Ivy has to say the second they heard Jin's words; they're running out of the interrogation room and are briefed in a matter of seconds. It's the first time a semblance of relief is felt around the room but that relief is short lived when Atwater clears his voice, "Uh guys," he waits for everyone to face him before he points up at the clock, "It's time." Checking the watch on his wrist, Jay realizes it's her official fourth day, down to the minute, down to the second. There is no time to waste. They head down to the garage and manage to suit up in a matter of seconds.
Halstead is adjusting the straps on his Kevlar vest when he notices his brother zipping up his coat in his peripheral vision. What is he even doing down here? Will tucks his hands in his pockets and rocks forwards and backwards on the soles of his feet as he waits, waits for what? No, he's not going, no, he's not coming with them, no, absolutely not, hell no, he cannot come with them.
"No," Jay shouts, at a pitch that is louder than anyone has ever heard him reach; it catches everyone off guard because they were suiting up and loading their weapons in silence when he chose to break it, "you're staying here! I can't worry about you out there. You'll distract me. I can't watch your back out there when I have Erin to find, when I need to be focused on her right now!"
Will knows his brother makes no final decisions so he turns to his brother's boss, following that chain of command. He crosses his arms over his chest, standing confidently in the room as the rest of the team finishes suiting up, "Voight, let me come, you might need me."
"…need you for what?" Quickly Hank checked the clip in his gun to ensure it's loaded.
"I'm a doctor," Will exclaimed as the team all started rushing to their vehicles; Will follows behind them as he continues, "Erin may need medical attention. I'm the best person for that."
There is no time to argue, to convince any of them differently. Voight knew Will had a point and he knew Jay would agree if Will was anyone else but his brother. Hank nods for him to get in the backseat, "You stay in the car. When we get there, you crouch down to the floor and you do not get out until I call you. No one else, just me. You follow my orders." Hank gets in the driver's seat and doesn't bother buckling his seatbelt, he simply hits the lights and he's off. All of them are off. They decided not to utilize the sirens out of fear that it'll alert Ash to their approach. They needed the element of surprise; it was their greatest weapon.
Halstead rides in a separate car from his brother. He was hesitant to let him join them and if he had more time, he would have argued against Voight allowing Will to come along. He was a doctor, yes and it could be beneficial to him being already there, but he wasn't a cop, he didn't have any law enforcement training and he wouldn't forgive himself if his brother died while he was rescuing his wife. And he knew Erin, she wouldn't forgive herself either. She carries a lot of weight, a lot of burden, a lot of guilt for things she is not responsible for, for things outside of her control. Jay couldn't afford to argue against his brother joining them because he couldn't waste another second.
"I know you're worried but your brother will be safe and we're going to find Erin."
"…are we going to find her alive though?"
That question nobody could answer. Every second was vital, every minute was excruciating and the address they are currently heading towards wasn't close enough for him to feel strongly about his wife's chances of survival. He knew she would put up a fight, that nature was in her, it was engrained in her very being but she was human and realistically, he knew she could only last for so long, but he hoped it was long enough for them to get to her and take the fight off her back.
Jay found himself zoning out, highway hypnosis, as he weaved in and out of lanes, following behind the truck that carried his brother. He could vaguely hear Upton in his ear but he didn't pay attention to whatever she was saying. His mind wouldn't focus on anything outside of his thoughts, his mind wouldn't even entertain the thought of focusing on someone outside of Erin. It was a battle he wasn't going to win especially since he was putting up no fight. His eyes focused on the road but his thoughts were elsewhere, they were with Erin, they were in a memory, one that he wouldn't have chosen if he had the option but for right now when part of his brain has to focus on the road and the other part has to focus on blocking out Upton's voice and the sounds of city traffic, he didn't have the power or the energy to dictate which memory would come to him in his time of need. He was just grateful that Erin was in this particular memory. He remembered the exact floral design of the sundress she was wearing, how it framed her hips, how it fell just above her knee, how the sandals she wore with it, she'd complain about being uncomfortable yet it didn't stop her from wearing them every single time she pulled that sundress out of her closet. He remembered her standing in front of the mirror, swooping her hair up into a loose bun to get the tendrils off her neck in preparation for the summer heat awaiting them outside. He remembered the smell of her shampoo when he kissed the back of her head, he remembered the soft pat against his chest when she warned him not to ruin the eloquently designed sloppy bun on her head and he remembered her disappearing out of their bedroom and minutes later, he recalls hearing his name being called and the way her voice sounded around the syllable of his name had him rushing out of the room.
It has been years since she last saw it, the sketch of Ash, the one she described from memory when she was only eleven years old. Erin reached her hand out and the tip of her finger begins to trace the sketched jawline on the photo. She knows he's aged since then; she knows he probably looks different but right now, looking at this picture, this is him, this will always be him. This will always be the age in which she remembered him. When she had nightmares, she always pictured him coming to her looking exactly how she saw him when she was a kid. No matter what stage of her life she was in, no matter how many years had passed, she always envisioned Ash at the age in this drawing with the same expression sketched onto the page. This is the man that killed her mom, this is the man that haunts her nightmares, that led to her dropping weight, that led to her trying to fight against sleep and that led to her growing up without a mother.
Jay enters the room after she called his name and when he noticed what was held in her hand, he called out hers, "Erin," he snatches the sketch from her, "you don't need to be looking at that." She doesn't move. She doesn't turn around to face him. And she says nothing to even acknowledge that he even spoke to her or heard what he said. She stands still, hands still held out in the way they were when she held the image of the sketch. She's frozen in place. The only thing moving is her chest as it rises and falls. Her gaze remains unfocused; she isn't blinking. Her shoulders are stiff. And everything about her just looks so still, so paralyzed.
"Erin," he sets the photo face down on the table and reaches his hand out to circle around her wrist but for the first time in however long she remained frozen, she moves, and it's away from him. If he wasn't so worried about her right now, he'd admit that it hurt. A lot.
Her eyes were now focused, zeroed in on the back of that sketch as if she can see through it. She swallows and reaches her hand out for it but changes her mind in seconds, "What is that doing here?" She hadn't seen that picture in years. She hadn't seen it since the day they had her describe his appearance while the sketch artist drew it.
"What do you mean?"
She whips around to face him, eyes now focused and zeroed in on him, "Don't play stupid Jay, what the hell is the sketch of Ash even doing here? Why is it in my home?"
He couldn't lie to her. He would never lie to her. So, he admits the truth without any pushback, "We all got copies of it. Each member of the team."
"Why?" She asks immediately.
"…because I need to know who to look out for, I need a stark reminder of the face I need to keep an eye out for, especially if we're together, it's the only way I can protect you."
Erin couldn't fault him for that, but still… "how long have you had it? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you keep it away from me? I-I-I hate that picture."
"I know," his hands circle around her upper arms and he brings her towards his chest, "and I'm sorry, I should have made sure you were okay with me having it. I just got it last night. I sat it down on the table because I got a little distracted," he simply winked at her because she remembers the cause of his distraction; the second he came home, she called for him from their bedroom and in his rush to get to her enticing tone, he slammed the photo down along with his keys and other possessions he had in his hand at the time and raced off to his bedroom. He didn't think to get up and do something with it when they finished making love and he had her in his arms, "I'm sorry Er," he brushes his lips over hers but her lips don't move, they don't mold into his at all so he moves back, "I didn't mean to trigger you. I should have been more responsible with it. It's no excuse and I'm sorry though. It'll never happen again. I'll hide it somewhere."
He makes a move to grab it but she stops him with her hand overlapping his. His head turned to face hers and he finds her biting her bottom lip and shaking it, "No, wait," she pauses until he relinquishes the photo, "I shouldn't have reacted like that."
"You have every right to react like that. Anybody with a heart would understand that."
"Yeah, but it's been years."
"…so what? You have a right to feel how you feel."
"He just has this grip on me. And it's so tight that sometimes I feel like I'm choking. I don't know how to escape it but I think looking at this photo may be a start."
"Erin-"
"It's okay Jay," she reassures him with a small nod of the head, "as long as I have you right by my side, I'll be fine. I'll always be fine as long as I have you."
"…then that's good," he leans forward, and this time when he pecks her lips, she meets him halfway, sealing her own against his to make up for the last kiss he tried to give her, "because you'll always have me," he whispered against her lips, "No one, especially not no damn Ash is going to stop that. I won't let it. If anyone tries to hurt you, they'd have to come through me first."
For only a moment she lost consciousness, for just a split second she was trapped in a memory, but her body being in survival mode snapped her out of it. She was in pain. A lot of it. And she knows she would be in more if not for the adrenaline coursing through every crevice of her body. She rolled her head to the side, the dirt dragging along her forehead as she stared up at the window she just fell from, and she finds herself surprised when she doesn't see Ash in the window; she's also surprised she doesn't hear him taunting her. Erin pushes herself up to her knees and looks down to see blood spreading at the corner of her nursing scrubs. It's a gunshot, through and through, it entered the back of her shoulder and exited the front of it. Erin pushed herself up to her feet and suddenly felt a sharp pain, an immediate sting at the site of the tear. Erin tried to run forward but the pain in her ankle sent her falling down, -it's fucking sprained. Of course.
Erin knew her ankle was swelling. She knew the unexpected landing was going to leave her hurting but she didn't expect it to hurt like this. Erin stepped forward; spotting Ash's car parked on the dirt road. She limped forward, biting onto her bottom lip until it splits because the pain in her ankle and her shoulder is immense. Adrenaline continues to build up and she needs more of it to kick in so it can take away from the pain coursing through her. She gets to his car and unsurprisingly finds the door locked. Erin bends her arm and hits her elbow against the window until the glass shattered, then reaches inside to unlock the door and let herself in.
She reaches her hands beneath the steering column, feeling around in an effort to pop the column so she can hotwire the car. It's an older model. Those are a bit easier to hotwire than the newer ones. However just as the column is broken and popped off, just as she finds the wiring harness connector, she hears gunshots ring out followed by the sound of air leaving the tires. Shit. She looks up through the windshield to see Ash back in the upstairs window, gun held out and prepared to fire. He needed to slow her down enough to capture her and finish his ritual. But, the second he aims it at her, smiling in hopes of watching the bullet fly through the windshield, he releases the trigger to hear no loud bang signaling the exit of the bullet. The clip is empty. He's out.
Ash disappears once again and she knows this time he's coming; he's going downstairs to come outside and finish her off completely. Erin needed to hurry. She threw the car door open and clung to the door handle when she jumped out of the car. She took off, running towards the forest as fast as her sprained ankle and bleeding shoulder would allow her. She saw no path just rough terrain.
Erin ran over rocks and fallen branches as she scampered a course that was so narrow her body was getting caught and scraped by twigs. She found herself losing breath, the panic of the whole situation sending her blood pressure skyrocketing. Her heart was racing because she knew at this point Ash had to be out of his house and he was most likely in the woods with her, hunting her down like the predator he is. She doesn't know where she is. And that makes this so much scarier. She doesn't know the direction she's going. And that makes this much more intense. All she knows is she needs to keep running, keep going forward until she can find help.
Her body fell forward and for just a split moment, no more than a second, her vision blurred. It's so much wrong with her that the cause of it is unknown. Her palms on the dirt ground twisted into fists and when dirt and grass are caught between them, she propels it forward in an effort to channel her frustration into something quiet rather than a cry or a scream. It was dark; the only source of light coming from the moon barely glowing above her head. She pushed herself up, back onto her feet, wobbling a bit and forced to lean her hand on the bark of a nearby tree to steady herself. She wasn't going to give in without a fight. She didn't care if the odds were against her. Erin pushed herself forward, trying her best to run and navigate through the dark forest with the poorly lit sky offering barely any help above her.
It almost seemed as if she was running in circles, confusing her already tired mind. She couldn't tell which direction she was going but all she knew was that she needed to keep moving as fast as her body would allow. If she stopped, there was a higher chance he'd find her. He was old. She was injured. They're on somewhat equal playing fields right now. Her heart was beating so fast, if she wasn't a nurse, she'd think it would potentially beat out of her chest. She desperately needed a break and if she didn't take one willingly, her body was going to force it. Erin fell against the nearest tree and blew out a huff of breath. Lack of food, nutrition and protein meant a lack of energy, stamina and endurance. She was running on empty right now and the adrenaline coursing through her body had no fat to latch onto to make it last longer.
The sun was gone, daylight was absent and she was stuck in the middle of nowhere being hunted by a serial killer. Erin kept her breaths low in order to listen out for any sounds of him approaching, she paid attention to the shadows, to the sounds of nature to ensure he wasn't nearby. She focused on evening out her breaths as she decided to utilize this time to inspect the damage done to her shoulder. If she didn't think it before, she'd be thinking it right now; this nurse's uniform is definitely going into the trash after all of this is over, preferably after she soaks it in gasoline and throws a lit match on it. Her face twisted in pain as she pulled the collar of her scrubs down. Her ankle was still a problem but this shoulder injury takes precedence.
Even though it was dark, she could still make out the sight of blood gushing out of the bullet wound and it's funny how this works, but the second her eyes take in the entrance wound and the exit wound, the pain of it suddenly fully registers, forcing her to press the back of her hand against her mouth to suppress the inevitable grunts of pain. Injuries hurt more when you see them; she doesn't know if there is any science behind that but it feels pretty true right about now. Maybe it aligns with that whole saying of what you don't know won't hurt you; she didn't know the wound was as bad, a shoulder wound sounds pretty insignificant in comparison to other areas the bullet could have landed but at the end of the day, it's a bullet wound. Is there really such a thing as a safe place to get shot? Surviving a shot is random and an act of luck. She's seen patients die from one bullet wound and patients survive from multiple bullets wounds. She's seen patients survive a shot to the head but die from a shot to the chest. No matter how insignificant she wants to think a shoulder wound is, she has to remind herself that a shoulder is home to the subclavian artery which feeds the brachial artery which is a main artery in the arm. It also feeds the brachial plexus which is a huge nerve bundle that controls the function of the arm. She's not blind to nerve injuries. She's been battling one since she was eleven years old.
Based on the fact she hasn't bled out; she doubts she was hit in the artery. But she's no doctor and she's losing a lot of blood and getting a bit pale so she's not the best judge of this. The blood continued to pour out and at this rate, she'd die from blood loss if she didn't apply pressure to it soon. She's also in the middle of a forest with an open wound and if she didn't cover it, she'd risk it getting infected. This was too much on one person's plate. She needs to stop thinking about the things that can go wrong like her wound getting infected, developing sepsis, possibly losing her arm if she misdiagnosed where the bullet hit. Stop thinking Erin, she mentally scolds herself because it's only making her heart race and a fast heartrate will lead to her losing more blood.
Erin knew she needed to apply pressure to the injury. She didn't have anything to bandage over it or tie around it. And if she rested any longer, he'd be guaranteed to find her. Erin released the collar of her shirt and took a deep breath to calm her racing heart so it doesn't pump her blood faster. She pushed herself off the tree and continued on her way, picking up speed with every step she took forward. If she continued straight, he would easily be able to catch up to her but if she threw in a random turn every once in a while, it was a chance she'd end up going in circles.
Erin stumbles through the unpaved pathway, stumbling over bushes, sticks and roots as the darkened sky above her skewed her vision. She makes a sharp turn and ran a bit further before turning again. If she wasn't already lost, she'd be tempted to panic but right now she needs to keep her head clear and her mood calm. She needed to keep going to buy Intelligence time to find her, to get here and help her. She doesn't even know if that's a reach, they hadn't been able to find Ash in decades, what makes her think they even know Ivy is involved since Rixton never told them, what makes her think they know her location or that they're on their way? Hope is all she has right now, other than that, there is nothing else. She has nothing else.
A dry root poking out above the ground that she didn't see in time traps her foot and she goes tumbling down, landing on her hands in order to reduce the fall and impact it would have had on her face. She didn't have time to assess herself or her injuries, she pushed herself back to her feet and took off. She ran because her life depended on it. She ran because she knew that if she didn't, he'd find her and he wouldn't be so gentle this time.
She could feel twigs and branches scrape against her face but the pain in her ankle and shoulder were too great for her to focus on the minor scratches. Adrenaline coursing through her was so strong that it kept her moving, it kept her pushing through. If she didn't keep going, she'd fear that her wave of adrenaline would come crashing down. She couldn't afford that right now. She may not even survive it. Erin didn't know where she was going, but every once in a while, she'd see flashes of light, headlights, she deemed buzzing by in a blur. It's a road. Ash's nearest neighbors were probably miles away; he lives in the middle of nowhere and while the distant headlights seem far away, she had no choice but to run towards it. She needed help. She couldn't give up now.
Erin knows if she doesn't treat the wound on her shoulder soon, she may pass out due to blood loss. It's gushing out, miles a minute, especially with the adrenaline coursing through her at the time. The pain in her shoulder is so strong it overwhelms her and distracts her from the pain shooting up her leg as a result of the sprain in her ankle. Her heavy breaths were masked by the sound of crunching leaves beneath her feet. It was no way for her to stay completely quiet because to stop stepping on leaves meant she had to slow down and watch each step she took, she only hoped that he had the same problem so if he got too close, she'd hear him too.
She doesn't stop despite her body practically begging, pleading for her to slow down, to take another breath. She needs to keep moving in whatever direction she felt tempted to move. Erin reaches out to catch herself on a nearby branch when another root in the ground nearly takes her down again. Her breaths are uneven and erratic and if she didn't contain that right now, she'd be on the verge of a panic attack. Her hands shook at her sides and of course in this exact moment, a sharp pain shoots across her injured one. She swiftly brings it to her chest to cradle it, biting down on her bottom lip to get herself through the initial jolt of pain, knowing the numbness will soon come next. Erin leaned against the tree connected to the branch that helped catch her before she fell and she forced herself to take another breath, utilizing this break to look around her rather than to tend to her wounded areas.
As her breathing evened out, she noticed far along in the distance is lights most likely belonging to a car as it traveled down the road. It meant she was close to the main road and if she managed to get there, she'd be able to follow it until she got to another house or a store. She may even be able to wave down a car if one happens to pass again when she gets there. It's a longshot but it's her best shot. She pushes herself up straight on her unsteady feet and then moves forward. It's over a mile away and if she wasn't so hurt, the regular morning jogs she'd have with Jay would have been to her advantage but right now, it was pointless, she was walking on a sprained ankle and if she wasn't careful, it could lead to an unstable ankle joint which could lead to chronic inflammation or arthritis in her ankle or even degenerative changes in the joint. She's a nurse; she knows too much and sometimes that's not a good thing. She needs to get out of her head so she chooses to focus on the future, focus on endless vacations, sitting on the beach with her husband, sipping a margarita with a little umbrella inside. She smiles as she thinks of that, hoping that one day it'll come to fruition. She envisions more vacations as she pushes through the pain all over her body; it's so much her nerves are in a frenzy. The wiring in her brain doesn't know which pain to remind her of first; it rotates between her hand, her shoulder, her ankle and even the minor scratches she received from the branches and the twigs.
Erin keeps her eyes focused ahead, knowing that there is a paved street about a mile out and if she keeps going, then she'd get help, she'd get away. She notices more cars and finds herself surprised to see a line of them on the street at once when one car would pass every once in a while. This area was secluded, she's more surprised to see a car driving than she is to see the road empty. She knows that by the time she gets to that street those cars will be gone, but that hope she had earlier, she still has and it makes her have absolute confidence that another car will come when she reaches the main road and if not, she'll push herself to walk further, to walk as many miles as she has to in order to find help. Erin licked her dry lips and continued to waver forward, stumbling as she went because her body was losing more and more blood. She thought of Jay, picturing his face and smiling when she thinks of the last time she saw him. It wasn't under the best of circumstances but she'd take that over nothing. She continues to smile, even knowing that Ash is in hunting mode and is on the prowl to find her, she continues to smile because she sees him, she sees Jay, standing right there in front of her, stretching his hand out and waving for her to come closer. She trusts him so she does. There is nothing there to stop her from going to him.
The sirens were never cut on because they didn't want to alert Ash to their approach. And about two miles away, they cut off their cruiser lights to have that element of surprise. Only their headlights provided them with enough light to see where they were going. Each car turns onto the dirt road, the wheels of the SUVs rolling to a stop outside of the secluded home, their trucks surround the house to ensure there can be no escape once they have Ash cornered. His car was parked outside, the one that resembles the car that was caught on surveillance. That could mean they're all still here, it could also mean he has another source of transportation and ditched this car because it was spotted on camera. They cut off their engines the second their vehicles are placed in park. Jay jumps out first and rushes over to the truck holding his boss, his brother-in-law and his brother. He throws the backdoor open, his eyes wide and panicked as he met his brother's gaze, "You stay in the car. You do not get out for anything and you do not make a sound and I mean that Will. You stay put and you crouch down as far as you can go. Lock the doors the second sarg and Justin get out. Do I make myself clear?"
He's already made this agreement with Voight but it doesn't stop him from making it with his brother. Silently Will nods his head and then he clears his voice to speak, "Go, go get her, I'll be fine. I'll stay right here. You have my word. Jay go ahead, go get your girl."
That's all he needs to hear. He slams the door shut. And he doesn't even bother waiting for everyone else, even as he rushes to the front door, hearing Voight whisper his name to call him back to discuss a game plan, he ignores him. Erin's time is up. If she's still alive, it wouldn't be for long. There is no available time to even think about a plan. Jay walks up the porch, gun drawn, Kevlar vest secure around his chest and shoulders and when he notices the front door cracked open, he simply pushes it to open wider. He glances over his shoulder at his team, noticing half of them are running around the house, possibly to a backdoor that could be used as an escape, leaving him, Justin, Voight and Ruzek to enter the front of the house, separating the second they're inside with Halstead and Voight searching the bottom level and Ruzek and Justin venturing to the top.
"It's clear," Jay says in defeat, "She's not down here! She's not in any of these rooms," he cleared the first two rooms he came across while Hank cleared the others. He hopes his boss has better luck but when he hears the callout for clear, his shoulders sag as he fears what that may mean. Hopefully everyone else has better luck.
"Dad," Justin shouts, voice raising multiple octaves and if Ash were near, he'd have heard him, "Get up here now and bring Will!"
His request for Will can only mean one thing, someone is hurt or worse, someone is dead and as Jay rushes out of the house to get his brother, fear overwhelms him, terror fills his veins and absolute horror consumes his spirit when Voight radios in that Erin is nowhere to be found. She's nowhere in the house. That means medical attention is for Kenny. And that also means that Ash may possibly be dumping her body right at this moment. They were too late. It's an hour after the official start of day four, Erin and Ash are nowhere to be found and Kenny is hurt.
Halstead's back hits the nearest wall and he slides down it. He doesn't care if it knocks down photos along the way. He draws his knees up and rests his forehead against them. No, he thinks to himself, no, he thinks again before the chant starts, -no, no, no, no, no! Jay pulled at his hair, hard enough to actually rip out some strands. He promised her he'd protect her. He gave her his word and he failed her. Ash had actually won; he'd come out as the victor in all of this. He managed to complete his ritual and now he was gone…and so was Erin.