Chapter 2

The alarm buzzed shrilly. After a less-than-good-night's sleep, Hailey rolled over to shut it off. Didn't I just get to sleep? She groaned. And why don't I smell my favorite morning beverage? Jay always woke up early and had a mug waiting for her when she got up.

Then reality penetrated her foggy brain. It was like a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped on her. Right. Jay's not here. Now something else to get used to – making my own coffee.

She sighed and sat up, still hugging Jay's pillow. The frustration and sense of despair suddenly overcame her and she began beating the pillow. Not so much about the coffee, but the whole situation. Jay's off playing soldier and I'm left here to play cop. Without my partner, my backup.

Had the pillow been a living, breathing entity, Hailey would have been arrested for assault. Then she hurled it across the room where is knocked a small lamp off the end of the dresser.

Now Hailey felt utterly drained. She leaned over the side of the bed with head in hands. What the hell is wrong with me? I can't survive eight months with this crappy attitude. She rubbed her eyes and ran her hands through her tangled hair. Finally, she stood, peeled off the tee shirt and went into the bathroom. She turned on the hot water full blast in the shower and stepped in.

When she came out, she nudged the broken pieces of the lamp under the dresser to be dealt with later. Never really liked that stupid lamp anyway.

Twenty minutes later, she was in the car headed for a Starbucks drive-through for her first cup of joe. It felt like too much effort to make coffee at home for one person. The cheerful clerk handed her a large cup through the window. "Here you go. Have a great day!" Hailey managed a weak smile. "Thanks. You, too." No need to inflict my sour mood on this woman who's only doing her job.

She pulled to the edge of the lot and parked. I'll feel better when this caffeine gets in my system. She took two big gulps and savored the hot liquid. If Jay was here, she could close her eyes and lean her head back for a moment. He would keep watch for any nefarious goings-on while they chatted and sipped.

Nope, don't have that luxury anymore. Also, no calloused hand holding hers across the console. No hand resting on her thigh, giving a gentle squeeze when they arrived at the District.

She took another swallow and her phone rang. A case already? She dug the phone out of her jacket pocket. To her great surprise and relief, it was Jay.

"Jay!" she shouted into the phone.

"We just landed an hour ago, Hails. There was a bad storm and we had to circle the airport for a couple hours until it cleared."

"Were you able to sleep on the flight?"

"Some. But I missed a certain person trying to steal all the covers," he said quietly.

"Yeah? Well, I missed a certain person who always makes the coffee. In fact, I'm sitting here at Starbucks right now. Can you imagine?" She heard him sigh.

"I know. But it won't be forever. I'll be back before you know it and we'll do all the things we said we would."

Tears were welling up in Hailey's eyes. "Promise?"

"Promise. I gotta go. Apparently, they're already prepping for a mission tonight."

"So soon?" Hailey could barely get the words out. Her throat was threatening to close up.

"Yeah. A lot of bad actors down here. Time is critical. You know how it is."

Raised voices were heard in the background. "What's happening?" she asked, suddenly afraid for him.

Jay looked over his shoulder. "Looks like another group of recruits coming in. They look kinda rough. As in no clue how to be a soldier." There was a pause. "Hailey, I'll call or text whenever I can. But if you don't hear from me for a day or two, don't assume something's wrong it's . . ."

"Radio silence. Yeah, I understand. Doesn't mean I like it." Now she was getting a ping that a text was waiting. "Jay, I have an incoming text. It might be the District."

"Sure. I love you, Hailey."

"I love you, too."

"And Hailey, whatever you do, don't let Voight drag you down into his shit," warned Jay.

"Don't worry. I'll quit before I go down that road again," she said with conviction.

After they disconnected, Jay reflected that this was the first time he'd ever been able to fill out one specific line on any Army paperwork:

Spouse – Hailey A. Upton

It brought a smile to his face.

At the District

Voight was already in his office when Hailey arrived. He motioned her in. "Have a seat."

"I just talked to Jay. He made it to La Paz."

"Good," said Voight thoughtfully. He was silent as he studied her. "Hailey, he will come back. You just have to keep the faith."

She nodded. "I know." Might as well get down to business. "What did you want to discuss?"

"For starters, I want you to take over orienting and training Torres. What's your assessment of him so far?"

"He's a bit undisciplined at the moment, but he has good instincts. We just need to hone those instincts."

"Okay. Let's do that. We'll hone him into the kind of Intelligence officer we need." Voight's phone rang so Hailey went out to her desk and sat down. Of course, instead of seeing Jay across from her, there was only his empty chair.

Suck it up, Upton. There's work to be done.

Ten minutes later, Torres came in. He glanced at Hailey. "Morning," he said as he sat down at Olinsky's old desk.

"Morning," she said. She looked back to her screen, then back to the young officer once more.

"Torres, you know you can sit at Jay's desk while he's gone. In fact, it would be easier. I won't have to keep turning around to talk to you."

He seemed to be processing that. "Okay. If you're sure. I know I'm the low man on the totem pole here. Didn't want to assume anything."

Hailey chuckled. "Yeah, because we all know what happens when you assume."