Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Kate groaned and rolled towards the incessant noise that had roused her from sleep, reaching over to snooze the alarm on her bedside table. Cracking open one eye, she lifted her head from the pillow and tried to focus on the numbers illuminated on the screen of her phone.

5:41am.

Tossing the sheets from her body with a sigh, Kate threw her legs over the side of the bed and sat for a few seconds, stretching her stiff neck and shoulders before getting to her feet. She had at least an hour and a half before she needed to leave for work so she took the opportunity to get in a run, hoping the brisk morning air would help get her synapses firing. Pulling on some thermal workout gear, she popped in her headphones and left her apartment, tracking what was becoming her standard 5k route almost on autopilot.

As she was nearing the end of her run, her mind drifted to her new team and, more specifically, her new boss. Kate knew she had a stellar reputation in the world of intelligence but she had also been around the block enough to know that your past wins didn't count for shit when you started somewhere new. You had to earn the trust and respect of your team the hard way.

Sam had told her that Voight didn't take too kindly to having team members foisted on him and Kate struggled to understand why he would have such a huge problem with it. Sure, it wasn't ideal when you had to get new people up to speed and adjust to another dynamic but detectives were reassigned to different units all the time. Kate could only assume that there was an underlying reason for him to be so averse to team members who weren't handpicked.

Coming to a stop outside of her apartment, she braced her hands on her knees and drew in big lungfuls of icy air. The dawn was still yet to break so she made her way inside to take a shower and get ready to head into work. As she moved through her sparsely furnished apartment, she stripped off her sweaty workout gear and stepped into her bathroom, turning on the shower. Kate paused in front of the bathroom mirror, spending a moment taking in her reflection. Her cheeks were flushed with exertion, a few tendrils of hair that had escaped her hair tie were sticking to her forehead. She was watching the vein in her neck pulse steadily under the skin as her heartbeat worked to return to its normal rhythm when her eyes were drawn to the scar near her left shoulder, just below the collarbone.

Running her fingertips over the slightly raised skin, she traced the spot where a bullet had pierced her skin barely six months ago. The day she had very nearly lost her life. Pulling herself back to the present before she could get too deep in the memories, she stepped under the hot spray and let the water ease her tight muscles, feeling herself relax with every passing second.

By 7:20am, she was dressed and ready to go, taking one last sip of her morning coffee before tugging on her thick, faux-fur lined coat and heading towards the door. Kate had opted for a pair of black jeans, a grey long-sleeved henley and black boots, Glock 19 holstered securely on her right hip. She was stepping into the 21st district precinct at 7:50am, just as the sun was starting to peak over the top of the high-rise Chicago buildings.

Kate took the same path Voight had taken her on yesterday, punching in the code Sergeant Platt had given her yesterday and the metal gates popped open a few seconds after she placed her hand on the glass. Taking the remaining steps at a jog, she eventually found herself in the Intelligence bullpen. The team, minus Voight, had already arrived and were going about making their first cups of coffee. They greeted her with warm smiles and Kate immediately felt the tension in her chest ease at the welcome.

"Morning Kate. Let me show you where the coffee is." Antonio approached her with a genuine smile and nodded to the small kitchen area where Adam and Jay were pouring their own cups.

"Hey, here she is! Well, at least she came back after yesterday's warm welcome." Adam joked, his handsome face bright with mischief.

"From what I know of Voight, that was the equivalent of a warm cuddle and a kiss on the forehead!"

Jay snorted into his cup at her dry comment and Adam drew his shoulders up into an acquiescing shrug, guessing she was probably right.

Once they all had their hands filled with hot cups of caffeine, they returned to the bullpen and the team gave Kate the down-low on what they were currently working on, which desk was hers and what the plans were for the morning.

"Well, we closed a case last night, Russian mob drug bust, so it's paperwork and catching up with CIs until we catch another one." Antonio perched himself on the front of his desk, crossing his legs casually at the ankle as he rested his weight on the wood. Just as he had finished his sentence, at 7:59am, Voight made an appearance with a good morning to the team. He had barely made it to the centre of the room when he addressed the room at large.

"I got a call this morning from the Chief down at firehouse 51. Nightclub downtown went up in smoke last night, killed two people with another dozen in critical condition. A detonation device was found in the basement."

"Another one? Jesus Christ. What's wrong with these assholes?" Olinsky grumbled, flinging a banana peel into the trashcan near his desk as the team muttered agreements.

"OFI are at the scene now. Ruzek, Atwater, I want you two to head over to Chicago Med and see if you can get a statement from the victims. I wanna know everything they saw before that nightclub went up in flames. Dawson, Halstead, you get over to 51, see if you can get any info on the type of trigger or accelerants used. O, see what you can dig up on the owner." His eyes eventually landed on Kate. "Lindsay, Meadows, you're with me. Let's hit it."

The team disbanded at Voight's request and Kate followed suit, grabbing her jacket and heading out to Voight's unmarked car. When the three of them were in the car and Voight began weaving in and out of the morning rush hour traffic, Erin eventually spoke up from the passenger seat.

"So where are we headed?"

"Place called PRYSM on North Kingsbury Street. Fire department got the call early hours of this morning." Kate could see in the rear view mirror that Hank had his eyes fixed on the road in front of him.

"Yeah, I know it. You think it has anything to do with the serial arsonist we had a few months' back?" Erin asked.

"We won't know for sure until we get a look at the device."

"If it's a remote trigger device, we might be able to pin down the point of detonation if it was wirelessly executed."

Kate hadn't actually meant to talk out loud. She wasn't an arson specialist by any stretch, nor was she a specialist in detonation devices but her time with Vice had taught her a thing or two about remote detonation. Her eyes met with Hank's in the rear view mirror and she saw him nod almost imperceptibly at her comment. They soon pulled up outside what was left of PRYSM nightclub. The once sleek exterior was now coated black from the smoke damage and the front doors were cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape. OFI personnel were milling around and two local PD officers were standing watch out front, ensuring no-one without permission passed through.

Hank badged the two officers who nodded and let the three of them pass into the building. Once inside, they were greeted by a petite lady with short black hair and olive skin who introduced herself as Lieutenant Wendy Seager.

"Voight, CPD Intelligence. This is Detective Lindsay and Detective Meadows." He gestured to both of the women behind him in turn. "Got a call from Chief Boden, one of his guys said this wasn't accidental."

Seager shook her head and motioned for them to follow her downstairs to a what appeared to be a basement level.

"From what we can tell, the device was rigged, left somewhere unlikely to be found and then triggered from a cell phone app." It was evident that this was the room the fire had started in. Every inch of floor, wall and ceiling was charcoaled, nothing appeared to be salvageable. "We've seen this kind of thing before, particularly when the arsonist wants to be able to witness their handiwork from somewhere nearby but not actually be inside when the blaze starts."

Hank, Erin and Kate all meandered around the room, searching for any clues that might help them understand why someone would want to burn down a nightclub.

"Have you spoken to the owner yet?" Erin asked, crouching near what appeared to be the remains of a wall electricity socket.

"Owner is…" Seager flipped through a few pages on her notepad. "Mr Jackson Lane. He was here when the fire started and questioned by local PD."

"Alright, we'll need to get a list of everyone who had access to the basement yesterday." Wendy nodded at Voight and left the three of them alone to get started on the list he'd asked for.

"You think the owner had something to do with it?" Erin looked from Hank to Kate and back again as she asked her question, already knowing the answer before either of them responded.

"Only one way to find out." Voight's tone dropped into the realms of downright terrifying and Kate struggled not to gawk at him, already beginning to understand why Voight was both revered and feared in equal measure. Instead she tore her eyes away from him and poked what was left of the remote detonator with the toe of her boot. When the device rolled over, she noticed that there was something protruding out from one side.

"Looks like there's a memory card or something still in this device." Hank and Erin stood behind her as she took a pair of latex gloves from her coat pocket and picked up the remains of the little chunk of plastic. She gently teased the strip out of the slot and held it up for her colleagues to see.

"What do you think that is?" Erin's tone was curious as she bent closer to Kate to get a better look.

"I think it's a SIM card. I'm guessing the device needed internet access to detonate."

"You think you can pull anything from it?" This time it was Hank who had gotten up close to look at the new piece of evidence and Kate was immediately acutely aware of his proximity as the scent of leather and aftershave surrounded her. She shook her head slightly and refocused on the task at hand.

'Now is most certainly not the time to mull over how great your boss smells Katherine.'

"Not sure but I can definitely try. Might be able to get a cell phone number and trace it back to where it was bought. Only trouble is it's likely to be a burner and, if they paid with cash, it's a non-starter. But we'll see if anything pops." She placed the card along with the device itself into a clear plastic evidence bag and labelled it up before removing the gloves.

"You're good with tech?" Hank asked, eyeing her cautiously.

"It's not my area of expertise but I've worked with some of the best hackers in the world, you pick up a thing or two." Kate shrugged, failing to notice the grin on Erin's face as she watched the scene unfold before her. Knowing Hank as well as she did, Erin was sure he was just biding his time until Kate fell on her face and he had an excuse to fire her but, so far, new girl was proving to be on her game.

They eventually finished up at the crime scene, taking a list of names from Wendy Seager before heading over to Jackson Lane's penthouse apartment. When Hank hammered on the high-gloss black door, it didn't take long for the nightclub owner to swing the door open.

"Jackson Lane?" Voight asked, his eyes never leaving Lane's face.

"That's right. Can I help you?"

Jackson Lane was your typical playboy promotor. Dark hair cut into a high fade around the back and sides, the longer tresses on top tousled to messy perfection. He had bright blue eyes under well-manicured eyebrows with designer stubble that framed a strong jawline. He was about 6'2", towering over both Erin and Kate and his muscled frame filled the entire doorway.

"Sergeant Voight of the CPD Intelligence Unit. This is Detective Lindsay and Detective Meadows."

Lane rolled his eyes and sighed, leaning one thick forearm against the doorway and using his body to keep the door from opening completely.

"I've already given my statement to the Officers on the scene this morning." Whilst he was at least head and shoulders taller than Voight and a good thirty pounds of pure muscle heavier, it didn't deter Hank from taking a step forward and getting into Lane's face.

"There are two people lying in the morgue right now. Two people who died in your nightclub."

Lane didn't strike Kate as the kind of business owner who was all that worried about the fact his property had gone up in smoke merely hours earlier, killing and injuring a number of patrons in the process.

Before Lane could respond, Kate stepped between the two men and approached Lane, all doe eyes and coy smiles. "We appreciate that Mr Lane but we'd just like to cover all the bases. I'm sure you understand." Lane's eyes landed on her and he immediately fell back into the promotor character, flashing her a brilliant smile that showcased a mouthful of perfect white teeth.

"Of course Detective…Meadows was it?" She nodded, playing along and followed the man into the apartment when he eventually pushed the door open for them.

Kate's eyes scanned the room, taking in the bright open plan space. It was a classic luxury bachelor pad, all white marble and black fixtures. She milled around whilst Hank and Erin questioned Lane on his whereabouts the night before, and whether he knew of anyone who would want to cause him any problems.

She moved to stand next to a beautiful black Steinway that was situated near the window, listening to Hank and Erin ask all of the usual questions. Kate liked to think she got a good read on people; her instincts were rarely wrong when it came to being a good judge of character and she was almost certain that Jackson Lane was not a man to be trusted. Something about him set alarm bells ringing.

"Well, if you think of anything else that might help us find who did this, you give us a call. Thank you for your time Mr Lane." Erin took his large hand in her smaller one, shaking it briefly before moving to leave.

"My pleasure Detective and, please, it's Jackson." Kate almost laughed at the barely concealed look of disgust on Erin's face as the three of them left the penthouse. Kate reached the elevator first and jabbed her finger into the button to call the cart to take them back down to the lobby. Once they were inside, Erin finally spoke up.

"I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. Slime-ball."

"Thought you were going to wipe your hand off on your jeans back there for a minute." Kate winked at Erin, the other woman snorting in amusement.

The three headed back to the 21st and caught up with Alvin who had been running checks on the man in question.

"Jackson Lane. Thirty two. Born and raised in Los Angeles but moved to Chicago five years ago. Owner of PRSYM nightclub for the last three." Olinsky's desk was covered in sheets of paper as he leafed through the stacks to find whatever he was looking for.

"You run any financials on him?" Kate asked, watching as Olinsky continued to rummage around. He pointed at her with one finger, eventually finding the sheet he was looking for.

"Sure did. Turns out he's at least a half million dollars in the red." Olinsky confirmed.

"Well that's half a million reasons to set fire to his property and make a decent insurance claim." Kate mused. "Those financials enough to get a warrant for his phone?"

"You think he's stupid enough to do the dirty himself?" Erin asked.

Kate hiked her shoulders. "Doesn't strike me as the sharpest tool in the shed." She pulled out the plastic bag containing the pieces of detonator and the SIM card, holding the bag up as proof of his sloppiness. "Let me have a go at tracking this, see if anything comes up."

Hank and Erin both nodded and Kate dropped the bag onto her desk, firing up her computer and getting to work. She was barely an hour into her analysis when the rest of the team returned and Voight updated them all on what they had found at the scene and what Olinsky had uncovered.

"So it's an insurance job?" Ruzek sounded slightly deflated. "How disappointing."

"Not everyone is a criminal mastermind kid." Olinsky deadpanned, strolling past Ruzek's desk with a fresh cup of coffee and a banana in hand.

"Well the idiot who set the device is even more of a moron than the Adonis in the penthouse." Kate said, standing from her desk and drawing the attention of the room. "SIM was purchased by one Joshua Kellerman. Eighteen years old. Two priors, one for juvenile theft and the other for arson. Fuckwit bought it with a credit card at an off-licence on the corner of Halstead and Adams." She took the printed mug shot of Josh Kellerman and tacked it to the whiteboard. The kid looked barely old enough to drive a car.

"So now we know the who and the why, we just need evidence to tie Lane and Kellerman together." Voight looked over to Kate. "Good work Meadows."

Kate nodded, heading back to her desk to continue digging around for information on both Kellerman and Lane. Over the next few hours, the team unearthed a connection between the young man and the promotor. Apparently Josh Kellerman was the kid brother of Todd Kellerman, a Nevada-based card counter who was in deep with some dangerous Los Angeles cartels. When Kellerman borrowed, and subsequently lost the cartel's money in a few bad hands of poker, he turned to his old school buddy Jackson Lane to bail him out. But rather than cut and run, Kellerman landed himself in more hot water and lost Lane's money as well. Feeling much less generous now he was nearly a million dollars out of pocket, Lane put the squeeze on Kellerman to get his money back so Todd offered up his little brother to set fire to the club for an insurance payout.

"Halstead, get that warrant written up. I want to scoop both of these assholes up by the end of shift. Good work everybody." With a parting comment of praise, Voight headed into his office and shut the door behind him. The final take down was Kate's favourite part of the job, slapping the cuffs of the wrists of bad guys and watching the light behind their eyes dim as they realise they're going to be spending time behind bars was a high she chased like no other.

She watched on with satisfaction as Jackson Lane was dragged from his apartment, face stony as he was read his miranda rights and escorted to the station. However, when she watched the little blond kid shrink back into his oversized hoodie, fear shining as clear as day in his blue eyes, she didn't feel the same pang of satisfaction. Joshua Kellerman was going to do some serious time and, at only eighteen years old, he'd be lucky if he saw thirty on the outside.

"He'll likely do half the sentence if he behaves himself."

Kate turned to find Voight standing at her shoulder, hands stuffed into the front of his vest as they both watched as the young man was carted off in a squad car. Kate sighed, nodding before turning to face her superior.

"Kid didn't stand a chance." Her comment caused Voight's head to tilt to one side as he considered her for a moment.

"Maybe not. But we all have choices to make Meadows. Kid knew right from wrong."

Kate nodded in agreement. "He did. But you know as well as I do that those lines get blurred from time to time Voight." She watched carefully for his reaction. She expected him to become stony, maybe even dress her down for speaking to a superior in that way. But his face relaxed into a gentle smile, his eyes crinkling lightly.

"I do."

He turned on his heel and made his way back to the car, leaving her alone to consider his words as she struggled to figure out the enigma that is Hank Voight.