Once the kids were settled in Voight's office things grew serious and a bit tense.
"We've got two kids to look after, and we will do exactly that. We'd be remiss if we didn't use them to our advantage. I've made arrangements for you, Burgess." Hank then turned to look at Adam, "and you along with the kids to stay in a safe house. You'll all lay low for a bit. My hope is that their parents will be looking for them and eventually they'll find their way to us. Now, ideally we find them first. I don't want this to go on longer than it needs to."
Kim shook her head in what could only be described as confusion, "Wait...what?" She was baffled, "...you can't be serious."
"I am." Voight stuffed his hands under his arms, "Its not ideal but it's our best chance. We get DFACS involved we lose what little leverage we have. More importantly once those kids are in the system, they'll be just another file on some overworked social workers desk. I'm guessing you don't want that for them."
"Absolutely not." Kim stood up to her full height, "...what you're saying isn't much better. You'll be using them as bait. Thats just a little unethical' now isn't it?"
"We've got to play the hand we've been dealt, and that's exactly what this is." Voight explained, "I'm just trying to win a poker game."
"Sarge, this isn't a poker game. It's their lives." Kim pointed to his office, they were able to Harleigh sitting at Voight's desk her attention focused on the iPad. Kim was getting worked up, she couldn't believe he was being so callous.
"Kim...we need to trust Voight." Upton chimed in, "you're too close to them, biased even."
The room grew quiet as Kim processed what Upton had just said, "Biased? No. I'm not biased. I just don't think using children as bait, is the right move. It's wrong." Kim couldn't believe that Upton was being so flippant about it, she didn't seem to care that they were talking about innocent children.
"Sometimes we've got to make the difficult choice, Burgess." Upton knew she had put her foot in it, "At least the kids will be in good hands with you. I'm not so sure about Adam." Upton joked but it was obvious that the joke missed the mark and only added to the tension in room.
"Well, when you're sergeant of the unit you can make that call. Last I checked I'm still in charge." Voight bit back, "Having said that, I agree with you Burgess. I don't like the idea of using them as 'bait' but it's our best option, we need to find their parents. When we find them we need to flip them. Once we find them, we will let them know the kids are safe and being cared for. We will get them to talk and hopefully, close this monster of a case." It had been one dead end after the other and it seemed it would never be solved. This was their best chance and there was no way Voight would allow it to slip through their fingers.
"Then what?" Burgess questioned him, "What happens to Harleigh and Diesel when we close the case?"
"I don't know." Voight told her, "What I do know is that we will make sure those kids are in good hands. I promise you that, I will make sure those kids are safe."
"I will hold you to that boss." Kim's tone was harsh, harsher than she had ever been when speaking with Voight and it surprised her a little. She was willing to go toe to toe with Voight over this, those two kids had managed to worm their way into her heart and it frightened her.
She pushed past Voight and went into his office, closing the door behind her.
"Boss, a minute?" Adam asked him, he couldn't do this. He wanted no part of a safe house, he felt his anxiety level skyrocket. He was sick to his stomach at the thought of going, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to keep his demons at bay if they were in such close quarters for an extended period of time.
"What's up?" Hank made his way to the break room, Adam on his heels.
"How long?" Adam asked.
"I don't know." Voight grabbed a coffee mug and prepared himself a cup, he glanced over his shoulder back at Adam, "You want a cup?" He waited a few seconds for Adam to respond with a shrug of his shoulders and Voight took it as no, "I'm hopeful that it'll just be a few days. That the parents have already discovered their kids are missing and it's just a matter of time before they reach out to the police."
"Do I need to go? Harleigh, the kid hates me. I don't think my presence will go over well." Adam explained, "They both love Kim. She's the one they need. They don't need me."
"Burgess needs you. She needs someone to have her six." Hank explained, "besides weren't you the one chomping at the bit for 'real police work', well, here you go. Here's your police work."
Adam's shoulders slumped and he stared at his feet, "Careful what you wish for, huh?" He knew there was no use arguing over it, he was going to the safe house. "Can I at least grab some shit from my house?"
"No." Voight told him.
"Boss, I've got nothing. Not even a fucking toothbrush." Adam huffed.
"Make a list. Atwater will pick up whatever you need and he'll get it to you at the house." Voight was very matter of fact about it, he dumped the contents of two sugar packets in his mug and gave it a quick stir, "Get to work on that list. Your ride will be here shortly."
"Copy that."
"Is my mommy coming now?" Harleigh asked Kim.
Kim stroked Harleigh's head, "Not yet sweetie. We are going to stay together a little bit longer, my boss found a house for us to stay in."
"Why? I gots a house already." Harleigh countered, "mommy will come back soon, she always does. Daddy too. They'll come home. I have to go there to that house. Not a new one." Her bottom lip quivered, "she won't know how to find us. Diesel will be so sad. He's just a baby."
Kim felt for the kid, "I know, it's all a bit scary isn't it?"
"Not for me. I'm not scared, Diesel is.." Harleigh was quick to respond, "He's scared, he doesn't like when mommy isn't here. He wants mommy, back." She confessed, she grabbed a hold of Kim's hand, "Diesel really misses mommy."
"I bet he does" Kim picked Harleigh up and sat down in the chair with Harleigh in her lap, "We will have fun and when we find your mommy and daddy you will have to tell them about all the fun we had." Kim was well aware of what the little girl was trying to do, she didn't want anyone to know she was scared, and was using her brother to express her fears.
"Can we paint? I love painting. I'm good at it."
Kim smiled, "We can paint. I will make sure they get us lots of paint, paper, and paintbrushes. Is there anything else you want?"
"Candy." Harleigh's mood shifted and her sadness of just mere seconds ago was gone.
"I think that can be arranged." Kim told her.
Adam needed to catch his breath, he excused himself and headed downstairs. He had wanted to do something other than paperwork, but he didn't want this.
He didn't want to spend the foreseeable future in a safe house with Kim and a couple of kids.
He could only hope intelligence did their job, and ended this as soon as possible.
