"Did you really have to be that hard on her right off the bat?"

Erin Lindsay cast a sideways glance at her father figure from the passenger seat, watching his profile as he guided the car through the early afternoon Chicago traffic. Hank Voight was a man who liked things his way. He didn't try to hide it. In fact, it was something he leaned into more often than not. He felt it made him a better cop. He learned to trust his instincts, regardless of what those around him thought about his methods. And his instinct was telling him that Kate Meadows was one to be watched.

"Look, if she can't take the heat, she can get out of my damn kitchen."

He heard Erin huff, crossing her arms over her chest at his response.

"You don't even know her. Don't you think you should at least give her a chance?"

"What do you think I'm doing? I didn't send her packing did I?" He knew his tone was condescending but he couldn't quite bring himself to care.

Erin scoffed at his response. "Yeah, because Miller asked you to."

"I trust Sam Miller." He said simply, stopping the conversation dead. He had already read through Katherine Grace Meadows' file. Twice, in fact. He knew she was born in September 1988 to Philip and Grace Meadows. He knew she had an older brother called Matthew who was a neurosurgeon at New York Pres. He knew her parents divorced when she was eight and he knew that she graduated top of her class from Harvard. But instead of taking the offer to work at one of Boston's most prestigious law firms, she chose to enrol into the Boston Police Academy. What he couldn't work out was why? Why would the daughter of a white-collar, upper-middle class family decide to throw all of that to the wind and become a cop?

It irritated him to no end that he hadn't worked out that part of the puzzle yet and it made him nervous having a member of his team that he didn't have a complete read on. Hank wasn't a fan of surprises when it came to his team and this woman was almost certainly going to cause him a headache in some way, shape or form if he didn't figure it out.

He bought the car to a stop outside of a shady looking bar, turning off the engine but making no move to get out.

"Got a lead from a CI that Janowicz's business partner would be here this afternoon to meet with Rusev's crew." He could see Erin's forehead crinkle in confusion.

"In the middle of the day?"

Hank hiked his shoulders slightly, not taking his eyes off the front door of the bar across the street.

"What? You think dodgy deals only ever go down at nighttime?" He asked, amusement clear in his voice.

Erin once again rolled her eyes but also turned her head to watch the front of the bar.

"So, if we can catch the business partner bang to rights, we can use that as leverage to get him to roll on Janowicz." Erin said, following Hank's train of thought perfectly.

"You got it." He waited beat before continuing. "We catch him with a trunk load of smack and the very real prospect of life without parole, he's going to sing like a canary."

They weren't waiting for too long before they saw a white male fitting Janowicz's business partner's description pull up in a blacked out SUV outside of the bar. For all intents and purposes, he looked like a 'normal' business man. Dressed in a sharp suit with slicked back blonde hair, you wouldn't have guessed for one second this guy was peddling drugs for the Russian mob. Perhaps that's why they hired him.

"Here we go." Hank muttered, sitting up a little straighter with his eyes trained on the scene before him. The man disappeared into the bar and Hank pulled the radio up to his mouth.

"We got a visual on the business partner. Halstead, Atwater, any movement at the warehouse?" "Negative. Nothing so far boss." Came Atwater's voice over the two-way.

"Alright, keep your eyes peeled. How are we looking on Janowicz?"

The radio beeped and Dawson responded in a slightly hushed voice.

"Target stopped at a restaurant on North Halstead. Alinea."

"Don't lose him Antonio." Hank pressed. He knew they needed to keep Janowicz under the thumb until they rolled this guy.

"Understood." Antonio closed the radio connection and they were once again sat in silence. Erin and Hank weren't waiting for too much longer when the blonde man re-appeared, this time carrying a large duffle bag over his shoulder. He approached the rear of the car and carefully placed the bag into the trunk before getting back into the drivers seat.

"Got you, you asshole."

Hank turned the key in the ignition, the engine springing to life as he pulled into the flow of traffic a few cars behind the SUV. Hank followed discreetly for about twenty minutes until the SUV pulled into an abandoned warehouse, the location of the trade off planned for later today. He rolled the car to a stop at the curb close to where Halstead and Atwater were parked, watching over the warehouse.

All four of them quietly got out of their cars and reconvened under the cover of a nearby concrete wall.

"Alright, we need this guy alive. Without him, Janowicz walks."

His three subordinates nodded in understanding. Together they slowly approached the warehouse and watched as the man got out of the car and made his way to the trunk. Before the man could retrieve the bag, he was halted in his tracks when he felt cold metal press against the back of his neck.

"Chicago PD. Put your hands where I can see them."

Hank pressed the barrel of his gun even harder into the soft base of man's skull as Halstead reached around to give the guy a pat down, making sure he wasn't armed.

"What is this?!" The man squeaked in a somewhat high-pitched tone, shrinking away from the tip of Hank's gun.

Hank stayed silent, nodding to Erin to open the bag whilst Atwater stood a few feet behind, weapon trained on the man before him. Just as Erin unzipped the black duffle bag, the blonde started talking, stuttering excuses and lies as his future in an orange jumpsuit began to crystallise before his very eyes.

Erin gave a low whistle as she flicked open the top of the bag and over two dozen clear packages crammed to bursting point with heroin came into view.

"Hmm. Well, that's at least a life sentence without parole right there." Hank mused, his tone light and almost conversational. "How do you think you'll fair in a maximum security for the next 40- odd years?"

"Please, please! He made me do it, he said he'd kill my wife and son if I said no!" The man was almost in tears and Hank could see that his body was trembling in fear. Grasping the man by the shoulder, he spun him around so that he was facing him. The terror in the man's blue eyes was evident. But Hank knew he was lying. He and Janowicz were business partners and the evidence the team had unearthed proved that he wasn't under any kind of duress. It was amazing how quickly people were thrown under the bus when the time came for a choice to be made. Survival instinct; me or him.

Placing the barrel of his gun to the man's forehead, he bought his face close so that the man had no choice but to look him right in the eye.

"I know you're lying to me. But it's Janowicz I want so I'm prepared to cut you a deal. But you gotta give me your partner."

The man nodded, sweat beading on his forehead and upper lip despite the cold Chicago weather.

And thus the plan was set. Janowicz would be drawn to the warehouse under the assumption that the deal was going ahead but the CPD Intelligence team would be lying in wait.

Anatoly Janowicz was a rotund man of about 50 with a shiny bald head and cold brown eyes.

Dressed immaculately in what Hank would assume to be an expensive suit, he stepped out of a black Cadillac with two hulking bodyguards in tow. The team had positioned themselves across the warehouse, ensuring that once Janowicz was in, they had him trapped.

"Luka!" Janowicz called in greeting as he pulled the blonde man into his arms, placing a kiss on each cheek. Hank had to give it to the guy, he played his part well.

When Hank gave the order to move in, gun fire echoed throughout the warehouse and bullets zipped overhead almost in slow motion. Halstead and Ruzek had neutralised both bodyguards as Dawson placed Janowicz under arrest, slapping his wrists in cuffs as the Russian made promises that he would end all of their lives, including Luka's, in the most painful way possible.

When backup arrived and the suspects were on their way into custody, the team made their way back to the 21st and begin filing the paperwork of another successful case cleared.

Hank had not long dropped down into the chair at his desk when a knock came at his door. Looking up to the doorway, he saw Erin stood there, silently asking permission to enter. He waved her in with a request to shut the door behind her.

"Good work today." He praised. Erin knew that was the best she was going to get out of him and let it slide, a small smile gracing her face as she took a seat opposite him.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Erin finally spoke. "How did you know Lukas would roll on Janowicz so easily?" She was always curious about how Hank got from A to B when it came to piecing together information on a case. This had become sort of like a ritual for them over the years when they successfully cleared a case. She would ask her questions and he would impart his knowledge. Part daughter, part protege.

He leaned back in his chair, fingers interlacing across his mid-section as he considered her for a few moments before replying.

"Honestly? I didn't know for sure. Everybody will react differently when put in a 'fight or flight' situation. Lukas could very well have told me to go to hell and taken the fall for Janowicz." He shifted slightly, rubbing a hand across his forehead and letting out a sigh. "This job is a game of probability. You take all of the information you have available and you make a judgement call. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You just gotta make sure you're prepared for all eventualities."

Hank held Erin's gaze, silently asking her if she understood what he was trying to say. And she did. She knew that if Lukas hadn't have rolled on Janowicz as easily as he did today, Hank would have taken him off somewhere and made sure that he got the outcome he needed by any means necessary.

Nodding at her superior, she gave him a tight smile and stood up, bidding him a goodnight before leaving his office. Hank let out a long breath, pinching the bridge of his nose for a few seconds in a bid to fend off the oncoming headache he could feel growing behind his eyes. He knew Erin didn't always agree with his methods but he hoped that she understood he was coming at this from a place of good intention. Hank Voight wasn't a perfect man by any stretch but he liked to think that he was always working towards the greater good.

When he opened his eyes again, they fell on a manilla folder sat on the edge of his desk. Kate Meadows' file. His eyes drifted to the now empty bullpen. She would be here tomorrow; a new, unknown entity that he was going to need to watch like a damn hawk.

'Sam wouldn't have suggested her if she wasn't good.' His brain supplied and he relaxed slightly at the thought.

Pulling the file to the middle of the desk, he flicked on the desk lamp and picked up his glasses, placing them on the bridge of his nose and flipped the front page over. He was greeted with her most recent NPYD picture paper clipped to the top right corner of the page and he considered the image for a few moments. Her hair was a little shorter than it was today and her skin tone was a little darker, suggesting it had probably been taken in the summer but she was instantly recognisable. She was attractive, that he couldn't deny. In the picture, her eyes appeared to be a light shade of brown but he could tell you with certainty that they were in fact a beautiful hazel. Her gaze hadn't faltered when he stared her down and he couldn't help but be drawn in by the band of gold around her iris that burst out into flecks of green. It irritated him that he remembered her eye colour in such minute detail; he eventually blamed the detective in him and moved on to read the front page of her file.

Full Name: Katherine Grace Meadows
Date of Birth: 16 September 1988
Gender: Female
Parents: Philip & Grace Meadows
Siblings: Brother, Matthew Philip Meadows (b. 22 June 1985) Place of Birth: New Haven, CT
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 155 lbs
Hair: Light brown
Eyes: Hazel
Education: Harvard University (GPA: 3.8)
Work History:
2010 - 2011: Boston Police Academy [Cadet]
2011 - 2013: Boston PD, Narcotics [Officer]
2013 - 2016: Boston PD, Vice [Detective]
2016 - 2021: New York PD, Intelligence [Detective]
Notable Arrests:
Manuel Lopez [Drug Cartel - 2012]
Luis Guterra [Drug Cartel/ Sex Trafficking - 2016] Tyrone Jenkins [Serial Killer - 2019]
Tate Hudson [Drug Ring - 2021]

He noted the first entry on the line of notable arrests; she took down Manny Lopez after just a year on the job.

'Barely more than a rookie.' He mused.

Hank knew talent when he saw it and, begrudgingly, he admitted to himself that Kate would likely be a valuable asset to the CPD Intelligence team. She had made detective after just three years on the job, that was practically unheard of. But there was something about her that he couldn't work out from the details in the file; why did she turn down a promising legal career to become a cop? Why did she leave the cutting edge of the NYPD to take a job here? It puzzled him more than he cared to admit.

Flipping the file closed with a sigh, he dropped it into the drawer of his desk and closed it with a thump. Resting his elbows on the hard wood, he braced his chin on his knuckles. Hank knew he

had no choice but to ride this one out until she proved herself as worthy or proved herself as a liability. Either way, she would be part of his team for the foreseeable future; he just hoped Sam Miller was right when she said he wouldn't regret taking a change on Katherine Meadows.