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Jess hadn't slept much. The morning sun was weak, but it was there. Just like she was this morning. She had made it through the night.
Sometime around 3 am Adam had dozed off. He had stayed on the couch talking with her, distracting her from the shadows that pressed in. His hair fell across his forehead and he shifted in his sleep.
Jess had fallen asleep after him. She had curled her feet up on the couch, resting against Adam's side. Feeling his solid presence, she had slept. But now the night had passed and she shouldn't be here. She quietly rose from the couch, careful not to wake Adam.
Her bag was where she had dropped it by the door when she came in last night. She glanced at the clock on his microwave as she picked up her bag. Adam was going to be going to work on less than three hours sleep. She winced. She never should have come here. Never should have let herself remember the concern in his eyes when he had run into her at the precinct. Never should have let the memory of the way he held her through her nightmares draw her back here. Never should have brought her problems to pour out on him.
Adam stirred again and Jess quickly grabbed her bag and let herself out.
She made it down to the street and started walking.
She just had to make it through today. And then tonight. And tomorrow. Her hands started shaking. She stuffed them in her pockets. She couldn't run to Adam, practically a stranger and her brother's coworker, every night.
She took a shaky breath. She thought of the bottle she had turned over to Adam last night.
She pulled out her cell phone and called Danny.
#
Hank Voight stood in the doorway of his office, surveying his team. Dawson, Lindsey, Atwater, Burgess. They were busy on their computers, on the phone, discussing leads on open cases with one another.
His jaw tightened as he looked at the rest of the team. Ruzek, Halstead, and Mouse. They looked like the living dead.
Mouse typed into his computer, head bobbing frenetically to some rhythm only he could hear as he looked between screens. He tossed his second empty Starbucks cup into the trash and reached for the third one on his desk. Beneath his desk, Voight could see his foot bouncing, out of sync with the song that his head moved to.
Halstead had purple circles under both eyes. He blinked twice and shook his head before slamming his finger down on the delete key. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. Giving his head a hard shake, he checked his cell phone again and tossed it down in frustration, earning him a look from Lindsey.
Ruzek's eyes drifted shut. Voight counted four breaths before he opened them again and picked his pen back up to try again at the paperwork. Ruzek's eyelids fell and his head nodded forward.
Voight fought for control. He lost. "You, you, and you," he barked, stabbing his finger in the direction of Halstead, Mouse, and Ruzek. He waited for them to file into his office. They stood in front of his desk. Well, Halstead and Ruzek stood. Mouse bounced lightly on his toes.
"Well?" Voight asked.
Mouse tapped a hand against his leg, drumming out a beat.
"Are you on something, Mouse?" he snapped.
"Nope, no, sir," Mouse reassured him. Without being very reassuring at all. "Just caffeine, Sargent. Caffeine and four, no, thr-nope two hours sleep. Two hours sir. And caffeine. I had some caffeine."
Voight grunted. He turned to his two detectives. "And you two? Does this have anything to do with what happened the other day, Halstead?"
"It was a late night," Jay said.
"Because I told you, you tell me if you need help. If your sister needs help."
Ruzek snapped awake at that. He glanced at Jay. Halstead may have missed the quick look, but Voight didn't. "You got something to say, Ruzek?" he asked.
"Just that I'm here for Halstead. If he needs anything."
It was Jay's turn to snap to attention. "You mean if my sister needs anything?" he said. "Right? You'll what, Ruzek? Comfort her?"
Mouse frowned, training his eyes on Ruzek.
"Ok, that's enough," Voight said, stopping them before he had two ex-Rangers ready to tear Ruzek to pieces in his office. "Get some of Mouse's caffeine and do your work, Ruzek," he said, dismissing him.
"And you two," he said. "Get through today and don't come in like this again. Got it?"
Two nods and Voight let them go.
"Hey, Hank?" Erin said, sticking her head into his office. "We caught a case."
#
Jay ducked under the crime scene tape and flashed his badge at the patrolman securing the perimeter. He headed toward the rest of the team where the responding officer was about to fill Voight in on the details.
"I got a call about a suspicious vehicle," the officer said. "When I got here, there were two bodies in the grass." He pointed to where the CSI techs were taking pictures of the bodies, half hidden in the overgrown grass of the vacant lot.
Voight jerked his chin toward the bodies and Olinsky and Burgess nodded, heading that way.
Ruzek followed Jay toward the vehicle that had been reported as suspicious. Pulling on gloves, they opened the doors and started a search of the silver Toyota.
"Halstead," Ruzek called.
Jay circled the car to see what Ruzek had. Ruzek knelt down and opened a duffel bag on the floor in the back.
"I have a CI who deals," Ruzek said. He picked up one of the bottles. "These are his."
Jay nodded. "Jump on it. Find him." He stood to continue the search, but Ruzek stopped him.
"Jay," he said. "He supplies your sister."
There was a heartbeat where Jay didn't respond. Where Ruzek met his eyes and they both realized what Ruzek was saying. Where they thought of the bodies dead in the grass.
He turned and sprinted toward the bodies. Not Jess. That's all he could think. Not Jess.
He shoved a tech out of his way. He heard footsteps running behind him, but didn't turn. The only thing that mattered was seeing who was laying dead at the other end of the lot.
Burgess rose from where she was kneeling when she saw Jay barreling toward her. She looked over his shoulder, her brows knitting as Ruzek caught up and they skidded to a stop.
Jay took in the two young men on the ground.
Men. Not Jess.
He heard Ruzek let out a breath and double over to plant his hands on his knees. "It's not her," he said, sounding like he was reassuring himself.
Jay wheeled away from the sight of the bodies. He raked his hands through his hair, closing his eyes. Not Jess. It was a reminder now, not a frantic plea. It wasn't Jess on the ground.
"Adam?" Burgess was asking.
With a look, Olinsky signaled Voight over. Erin jogged over with him.
Ruzek straightened up, though his breathing hadn't fully returned to normal. "My CI, Danny Green deals here. His stash is in the car." He looked over at Jay. "Halstead's sister is a customer."
Jay heard Erin suck in a breath and felt her hand land on his arm. She squeezed him reassuringly. "I'll call Mouse and have him find her."
"I'll see if she's answering," Jay said.
Of course she wasn't answering. "Let's go," Jay called to Erin. He dialed Will, hoping he had heard from Jess.
"Her phone is at your dad's," Erin called, running toward the car. "No one's answering at the house."
"Will hasn't heard from her."
Jay didn't give Erin the option of the driver's seat. He started the car and flipped the lights and siren on.
He gunned it, gravel spitting up behind the tires. As he pulled out on the road, he was aware of Voight's truck and Dawson and Ruzek's car following behind him. He didn't wait for them.
"Keep calling her," he instructed Erin, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
The 300's tires squealed as Jay swung around a corner, fishtailing before getting the car straightened out. They crossed 39th Street, crossing into Canaryville, and Jay pushed the accelerator farther.
The small two story house was surrounded by the three unmarked cars. Jay barreled out of his, sprinting toward the front door.
It was locked. He pounded on the door. "Jess!" he yelled.
No answer.
A car came screeching to a halt in the middle of the street. Mouse hurtled out the driver's side door.
Jay didn't call again for Jess. He lifted a boot and gave a powerful kick. The door gave. One more kick and he was in.
He pulled his gun from its holster and headed straight for the stairs.
#