A steady stream of air passed between her pursed lips and onto the skin of her balled fists, the breath doing little to warm her chilled digits as the bitter Chicago wind whipped around her. She didn't make a habit of standing outside for any longer than absolutely necessary when the harsher weather hit yet here she was, the cold seeping deep into her bones despite the mid-afternoon sunshine and layers of clothing as she paced up down Navy Pier.

Pulling the sleeve on her left forearm back slightly, she checked her watch and rolled her eyes.

'Of course she's running late.'

A wry smile graced her lips. She couldn't recall a single instance in the five years she's known Samantha Miller that the woman had ever been on time for a meeting. The two had crossed paths when a case Sam was working on had bought her to the East Coast. When the case was closed, the two had kept in touch; something about strong women in a man's world needing to stick together. She was pulled from her thoughts when she spotted the woman in question striding along the pier, hands buried deep in the pockets of her expensive-looking black pea coat, the collar turned up against the frigid air.

"Katie, I'm so sorry I'm late."

Sam pulled Kate into a short hug, holding her at arms length when she pulled away to look her over, chocolate eyes tracking from her face to her shoes and back again.

"You've lost weight again."

Kate rolled her eyes, smiling at her friend's bluntness.

"I'm fine, just busy tying up the loose ends on my New York cases." She tipped her head towards the lone coffee cart at the other end of the pier. "You got time for a coffee?"

"Always got time for coffee. So, how's life in Chi-town treating you so far? You been down to the 21st yet?"

They stopped in front of the small caffeine street vendor and placed their orders, grasping the cardboard cups in both hands when their drinks were dispensed, enjoying the heat the hot liquid provided.

"Not yet, I was going to stop by later today." Kate took a sip of her coffee as the two women strolled along the pier side by side. "Listen, I appreciate you putting a word in for me here. I know it's not something you make a habit of doing." Sam shook her head, dark brown curls bouncing as she did so.

"Don't mention it. I spent a bit of time with Hank and the Intelligence Team last year and I think you'd be a perfect fit…though it might just take him a minute to realise it."

They stopped at the edge of the old wooden pier, both resting their forearms on the metal railing and looking out over the deep blue waters of Lake Michigan. Kate always felt at peace near the water. She attributed it to spending a lot of her childhood on the coast, having been born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. Whenever she went back home to visit her mother, she would always detour by the Maltby Lakes and just spend some time enjoying the silence. When she moved to New York to join the NYPD Intelligence Unit, she immediately missed the lack of quiet; they didn't call it the 'City that Never Sleeps' for nothing. Now, five years later, Kate took the opportunity to spend as much time in the quiet as she could. Being a cop didn't lend itself all that well to a tranquil lifestyle so she took the moments when they presented themselves.

"Well, his reputation certainly precedes him. Any words of wisdom?"

Sam laughed at her friend's assessment. Hank Voight was notoriously insubordinate, played by his own rules and was every commander's worst nightmare. Whilst almost impossible to manage, the bottom line was that he got the job done and put bad people behind bars, despite his sometimes questionable methods.

She turned to the woman next to her and graced her with a rare genuine smile.

"You just be exactly as you are Kate Meadows. Do the job right and you'll be just fine."

Kate returned the smile and drained the rest of her rapidly cooling coffee, ditching the cup into a nearby trash can.

"So, as much as I love seeing you, you going to cut to the chase? What's going on?"

Sam dropped her eyes to the cup between her hands, fingers tracing the lip of the plastic lid idly.

"Eduardo Guterra."

The two words made Kate's blood run cold. Eduardo Guterra was the younger brother of drug kingpin and child sex trafficking ringleader Luis Guterra; the very man who had bought Sam and Kate together five years ago.

"As you know, when we put big brother Luis behind bars, Eduardo vanished into thin air. We had units looking for him for at least six months after we closed the case but he went so far underground we knew we wouldn't find him without some help from the inside." Sam pulled out her cellphone and swiped an image onto the screen, turning the device so that Kate could see.

He looked older and his jet black hair was longer than when she had last seen him but there was no mistaking the cold, harrowing eyes of Eduardo Guterra.

"This was taken 3 days ago in Laredo."

"He's back in the US?"

Sam nodded, shutting the screen off and pocketing her phone.

"Hmm-mmm. Intel says he's been laying low in Mexico since we scooped up his brother."

"Why's he resurfacing now?" Kate couldn't help the confusion that passed across her face. She couldn't understand why he would take such a big risk after working hard to fly under the radar for so long.

"We think he's been working with some of his brother's old contacts, moving product from Mexico and into the US through Texas." Sam turned her back on the water, resting against the railing and stuffing both hands back into her coat pocket. "We've got eight dead bodies, all with traces of bad coke in their systems. One in Miami, one in Atlanta, four in Houston, one in Indianapolis and one in Chicago. The body in Atlanta was a sixteen year old boy."

"Fuck." Kate breathed, her chin dropping to her chest as she squeezed her eyes shut. "God I wish we'd buried that bastard when we had the chance." She raised her head to look back out over the water. "You let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"We've got Narcotics and Vice on it but I'll let you know if we need reinforcements." Sam placed her hand on Kate's bicep and gave it a squeeze. She knew that Kate was just as haunted by the fact that they hadn't put Eduardo away as much as she was.

"Anyway, I gotta run. Let me know how it goes with Voight and I'll keep you posted on Guterra. It was good to see you Katie."

"You too Sam."

Just as the Deputy Superintendent was walking away, Kate called out to her and she spun to face the younger woman.

"What's the deal with you and Voight anyway? I heard you two…you know, got close." A coy smirk graced Kate's mouth, her eyebrows rising slightly as she asked the question. Sam's short burst of laughter rang out in the small distance between them and she took a couple of steps back towards Kate.

"It's impossible not to want to get close to a man like Voight. He's the epitome of forbidden fruit. But believe me when I say he's not relationship material."

"So you did do the nasty!?" Kate grinned as something that resembled a blush rose high into Sam Miller's cheeks.

"Drinks in a dive bar in Cicero was about as nasty as it got for me and Voight." She winked, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Goodbye Katherine."

With that, she turned on her heel and strode off down the pier, shoes clacking on the wood as she went. Kate's mind whirred with what Sam had told her. If Guterra was back in the game and, if he was anything like his brother, it was only a matter of time before someone tracked him down and put him away for good. The Guterra brothers were both arrogant enough to believe that they were smarter than the people who were trained to hunted them down. What they had so far failed to realise is that arrogance also bred cockiness which, in turn, led to mistakes. Guterra would eventually drop a crumb significant enough for Sam or one of her team to nail him once and for all.

Checking her watch, Kate made her way back towards her car. She was scheduled to drop into the 21st district in thirty minutes to meet the Intelligence team before her first shift in the morning. It wasn't like she hadn't transferred to a different department before. Prior to her most recent assignment with NYPD Intelligence, she had spent two years with the Boston Narcotics department straight out of the academy and a further three years with Boston Vice. She then transferred to the NYPD to join their Intelligence unit, making a name for herself as one of the best detectives to have ever worn an NYPD badge. Jailing Luis Guterra helped cement her reputation but, despite the kudos she received for that particular arrest, all she that occupied her mind was the fact that his little brother had gotten away and was out doing God knows what.

Getting into her black Jeep Cherokee, she took North Lake Shore Drive south towards Grant Park, turning onto East Jackson Drive and easing through the midday traffic. Within twenty minutes, she was pulling up outside the 21st District and sliding the car into park. Kate slid out of the driver's seat and pulled her coat tighter around her body in an effort to ward off the chill. She'd lived on the East Coast for almost her entire life and yet the cold weather never got any easier to tolerate. Kate had considered transferring out west to the LAPD or perhaps the nice, dry climate of Nevada a time or two but she knew it he novelty of the heat would soon wear off.

Chicago hadn't been an obvious choice but Kate knew getting away from New York was the right decision. She took the steps up into the building, the chill dissipating when the heavy doors swung closed behind her. At the front desk was a tall woman with shoulder length grey hair and a stern face, dressed in a white shirt with a sergeant insignia stitched into the arm. As Kate approached, the woman lifted her brown eyes to study her, straightening up from the computer screen.

"Hi Sergeant…" Kate took a quick look at the name badge on the woman's shirt. "Platt. I'm Detective Kate Meadows."

Sergeant Trudy Platt's eyes tracked up and down, assessing Kate with a cool gaze.

"I know who you are. Deputy Superintendent Miller said you'd be stopping by." Her tone was as icy as as her gaze and Kate was slightly taken aback by the frosty reception. Kate refused to drop her eyes away from Platt's and they entered into a battle of wills, hazel versus brown. Their silent impasse was broken by the arrival of the Intelligence team who had entered the precinct en masse behind her, geared up in black tactical vests.

"Sergeant Voight, you have a visitor." Platt's voice was loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the reception area, including the handful of patrol officers who were stood to the side of the desk and now watching on with curiosity.

Kate turned around and was faced with seven figures, six of whom would shortly be her peers and one who would be her boss. They all considered her with guarded looks and she already knew that she had her work cut out for her. She'd been part of teams herself who had given newbies a hard time when they entered the fold but, personally, she tried to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

"Can I help you?" The gravelled, husky voice took her by surprise but her training gave her the luxury of being able to hide it well.

"Detective Kate Meadows. You must be Sergeant Voight." She squared her body up to the man who had come to a stop before her. The rest of the team made their way upstairs, casting looks at her over their shoulders before they disappeared behind a set of iron gates. Voight was about 5'10", cropped brown hair that was greying from the temples upwards and brown eyes that considered her carefully. He had the jaw line of a Greek God and Kate suddenly recalled Sam Miller's warning about 'forbidden fruit', deciding that it probably held some weight but she stuffed the thought to the back of her mind as quickly as it had appeared.

She extended her hand out in front of her body, straightening her spine and lifting her chin. Kate was 5'7" with shoulder length bronde hair that fell in soft waves around her face and bright hazel eyes. She was an attractive woman and naturally drew attention when she entered a room but she always felt the need to make sure she had presence for reasons other than her looks. Kate could have sworn she saw the corner of his mouth twitch as though trying to stifle a smirk and, after silently considering her for a few more painful seconds, he eventually removed his hands from where they were tucked in his vest and took her hand into his own, giving it a brisk shake. His skin was surprisingly soft against her own but their touch disconnected almost as quickly as it started and they both dropped their hands to their sides.

"How do you know Sam Miller?"

"We worked on a couple of cases together when I was with the NYPD."

He hummed in the back of his throat, the only acknowledgement he gave of her answer.

Together they made their way up the stairs towards the Intelligence bullpen. He placed his hand on the scanner and the iron gates opened with a metallic thud, allowing them inside. They were silent on their ascent and he only spoke again when they reached the open office and he addressed the team.

"Alright, listen up. This is Detective Kate Meadows, new transfer in from NYPD Intelligence." Six pairs of eyes landed on her and she suddenly felt a pang of nervousness. Whilst she didn't need the acceptance of her co-workers to do a good job, it was basic human nature to want to be liked and it certainly helped in getting cases closed when everyone was on the same page.

"Dawson, Halstead, Olinsky, Atwater, Lindsay and Ruzek." He pointed them all out as he rolled through their names at lightening speed, getting the pleasantries out of the way as quickly as he could. "Meadows will be formally joining the team tomorrow." He turned towards her and, under the gaze of the team, addressed Kate directly. "Ground rules. Number one: This is my unit. I take the heat. I take the bullets. Number two: you tell me the truth so that I can lie for you. Number three: no office relationships." Her eyes never left his as he spoke, her stare doing little to prevent him from taking a further step into her space. He was close enough now that she could feel his body heat and faintly smell his cologne. "You break any of the above Meadows, you'll be out faster than your feet can touch the ground, Deputy Superintendent's buddy or not."

"Won't be a problem, Sarg."

With a nod, he strode over towards his office, only pausing to throw a parting comment over his shoulder. "Get here for 8am sharp." The office door slammed closed and, through the blinds, she could see him strip off his leather jacket and hang it on a rack in the corner before dropping down into a chair behind a heavy wooden desk.

"Well, he's certainly a ray of fucking sunshine."

The four men in the room all snickered at her comment and the woman he pointed out as Lindsay smirked knowingly.

"Don't worry about him, he'll come around. He's not a fan of having people inserted into the team…" Lindsay said in a rough voice, not too dissimilar to the man in question. Lindsay approached Kate and shook her hand warmly. "Previous bad experience." She said by way of explanation. "Erin Lindsay. Nice to meet you Kate."

"Thanks, you too. Maybe I'll bring him a doughnut for breakfast in the morning. You know, cop food as a peace offering."

"That's a sure-fire way to generate a Voight-style conniption." Ruzek laughed, approaching the two women. He followed Erin's lead and introduced himself. "Adam Ruzek. Detective extraordinaire." The team rolled their eyes, obviously used to the man's showboating and gregarious personality.

Antonio, Kevin and Jay all joined in the conversation, asking general questions about Kate's background. The chatter was soon interrupted by Voight who had swung open his office door and strode out, jacket in hand.

"We got a hit on the red Mustang. Halstead, Atwater, you two head out to the warehouse on West 60th. O, Dawson, Ruzek, I want you tailing Janowicz. Do not let him out of your sight. Lindsay, you're with me." He brushed past Kate without a word as the others grabbed their coats and made to follow him, bidding her a goodbye as they went.

Kate also followed the team down the steps, stopping briefly to pick up her new badge from Sergeant Platt who was busy dressing down a couple of young patrol officers, and made her way out on to the sidewalk. Drawing in a lungful of cold air, she released it slowly, enjoying how the slight burn low in her throat helped to release the band of anxiety in her chest.

'You can do this Katie.'

Getting back in to the Jeep, she headed back to her new apartment on North Lakeview Avenue to continue unpacking and mentally prepare herself for what she was sure was going to be a long day tomorrow.