The week of Thanksgiving found the Intelligence team busier than ever. Kate was in her second month with the CPD and, in that time, they had closed more than half a dozen cases. Tuesday afternoon found Adam and Kevin huddled together around Adam's desk, both staring at the computer screen with their brows furrowed. Voight was stood in front of the white board, obviously deep in thought as he considered the pieces of information pieces of information the team were trying to hang together.
Kate silently made her way behind the two as she came back from making herself a coffee, curious to see what had caught the rapt attention of the two officers. On the screen she could see that they were watching a badly lit, slightly better than amateur sex tape starring a brunette with breasts far too large for her slender frame and man who's face wasn't in the shot at all.
"You know you'll go blind watching that stuff, right?"
They both jumped a foot in the air at the sound of her voice behind them and she couldn't help but snicker at their reactions. Ruzek looked like a little boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar, a cute blush rising high onto his cheeks and Atwater rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"It's not what you think." Kevin muttered and Kate rolled her eyes.
"What's not what she thinks?" Hank asked, moving across the room towards his detectives to see what was going on.
He caught sight of the screen and raised a questioning eyebrow towards the two men. Just as Ruzek was about to explain exactly what they were watching and why, the woman in the video gave an exaggerated moan; a sound reserved only for truly terrible porn movies. Atwater struggled to find the volume button on the computer, fumbling with the buttons and Kate eventually succumbed to the amusement, snorting at the discomfort of her colleagues.
"Come on guys, anyone would think you've never seen bad porn before."
Ruzek and Atwater gawked at her, their mouths slightly open at her comment. Even Voight went as far as to raise an amused eyebrow.
"How'd you know it's bad po-"
"Shut it Ruzek. Care to explain to the class why you're watching that in the middle of shift?" Kate rolled her eyes, taking a sip of coffee.
Ruzek cleared his throat and shifted in his seat before answering.
"Ok, so we know that the killer is targeting attractive professionals...prostitutes, strippers and the like. We also know that he's got a thing for tall brunettes with big..." he coughed. "...assets." He gestured to the screen.
"That's him?" Kate took another look at the action on the screen. The man wasn't in shot at all, the camera focused solely on the woman writhing beneath him.
"We think so. Erin's CI said he goes by the name Darius Leto." Kate could see that the pornstar tagged in the video was one Darius Leto. A bit further down the page, she could see that he was affiliated with an adult film production company.
"Says that he works for 'Pearl Necklace Productions'." She pointed to the logo on the screen. "How original. Any idea who owns it?"
Both men shook their heads as a negative.
"Ok, see what you can dig up on Leto and find out everything you can about the production company." Hank nodded to the three of them before disappearing off towards his office, no doubt to update the rest of the team and call them back to base so that they could plan their next move.
After a few hours' of work, they discovered that Darius Leto was the sole proprietor of Pearl Necklace Productions who occasionally engaged in scenes with women who fit his preferred profile. No prior convictions but he had been arrested a handful of times for assault towards the women he was dating, usually under the guise of rough sex. Going from knocking your girlfriend around to killing random women was a significant graduation but not one that was unheard of.
"I think the only way we're going to draw this guy out is if we plant someone on the inside." Antonio said from his desk. The rest of the team nodded in agreement. "We get someone who fits the profile of his usual type and see if he takes the bait."
All eyes in the room settled on Kate who was perched on the front of her desk, arms folded and legs crossed casually at the ankle. She was one of only two women in the room and, out of her and Erin, she was the one who fit the killer's preference the closest. Kate's eyes settled on Hank who looked like he was internally debating whether he was okay with the unspoken suggestion.
She made the decision for him. "Alright." She hiked her shoulders and straightened her spine. "Let's set it up."
"Wait, I don't think she should go in alone." Adam piped up, his face a picture of concern. Kate cocked her head to the side, considering him for a moment. Adam had made a pass at her one
evening at Molly's shortly after she joined the team. Kate had gently reminded him of Voight's third rule, socked him on the shoulder and told him he was a sweet guy; they hadn't mentioned it since.
Kate wasn't all that fond of rules, particularly those that try and govern people's personal lives but she understood all too well that in-house relationships could make things very messy.
"He's right. I think we should send in someone with her...maybe as a boyfriend or handler." Antonio agreed, the rest of the team nodding.
"Alright." Hank agreed. "Any volunteers?" "I'll do it!"
Ruzek, Halsted, Dawson and Atwater all said at the same time. Olinsky groaned out loud at the eagerness of the young bucks in the team, their desire to hang off the arm of a gorgeous woman all too plain.
"I don't think so. Any of you boys in a strip joint surrounded by naked women is a recipe for disaster." Olinsky said dryly. "Who's going to be watching Meadows whilst you're watching God knows what?"
"You want in Al?" Hank said, eyeing his long-time friend with interest.
"Unfortunately, I'm...uhh, known to the establishment in question." Kate and Erin burst into laughter as the rest of the team gawped at Olinsky with surprise.
"Al, you old dog!" Ruzek said in awe, generating another chuckle from the team. "How about you, Boss?"
Kate's question silenced the room and all eyes turned to Voight who was fighting to keep his expression neutral. He did, however, raise a solitary eyebrow at her suggestion.
"You up for the challenge?" Her eyes glittered with mischief and he knew full well that she was goading him. Hank rarely engaged in undercover assignments anymore, instead preferring to delegate the duty to one of the younger officers in the team. But the challenge in her tone had him straightening his own spine and smirking in response.
"Sure. You and me Meadows." Hank said finally, ignoring the shocked looks he received from the team. Perhaps going undercover with Meadows would give him the missing pieces of the puzzle he was still looking for. "Erin, call your CI and get a meeting set up for tomorrow night. Everyone else, get home, get rested. We've got a long night tomorrow."
With that, he retreated back into his office and the rest of the team began packing up their things. Just as Adam was putting on his coat, Kate caught his arm and drew his attention.
"Thanks for having my back Ruzek. I appreciate it." She gave him a warm smile before turning away and heading out in the cold.
When she got back to her apartment, she took a long hot shower and considered her upcoming assignment. The plan was to go into a strip club with an offer to film a porn movie with a potential killer. Brilliant. What could possibly go wrong?! Sighing, she took out her razor and set about preparing her body for what would no doubt be a long ass day.
Back at the precinct, Erin knocked lightly on the door to Hank's office, taking the proffered seat when he granted her entry. It was just the two of them left and she wanted to update him on the meet.
"So I just got off the phone with my CI. Meeting is all set for tomorrow night. 10pm." He nodded. "Good work."
She watched him carefully. "You know, I can't remember the last time you went undercover...let alone undercover at a strip club." Erin left the statement hanging between them, eyes trained on her mentor and father figure.
"Al was right, the boys could get distracted. We don't know what this guy is capable of."
She laughed lightly at his feeble excuse. "They could have women draped naked across them doing an Irish jig and they wouldn't take their eyes off the ball for one second whilst on the job... you know that as well as I do. What's really going on Hank?"
He smiled gently at the woman before him. He had trained her well. Truth was, he couldn't give her an honest answer because he wasn't sure of the reason himself and he told her as such.
She nodded, not quite understanding but appreciating his honestly nonetheless. "I'll see you tomorrow Hank." With that, she stood and left him alone in his office.
The team reconvened the next day and by 9pm, they were all getting prepared for the meeting with Leto. Halstead, Ruzek and Atwater would be posing as patrons in the strip club, Olinsky and Dawson would be waiting outside with Erin, ready to breach when the order came. Hank had changed out of his standard jeans and plaid button up into a well-tailored dark charcoal suit, complete with a black shirt and black dress shoes. When he walked into the bullpen, he received a number of wolf-whistles and cat calls from his team and he rolled his eyes at their antics.
"Who are you and what have you done with our Sergeant?" Ruzek called, waggling his eyebrows comically.
Pointedly ignoring their juvenile behaviour, he stood in the middle of the bullpen in his usual stance; hands in his pockets and legs shoulder width apart. "We almost ready to go?"
Erin and Kate were both absent and he assumed that the former was helping Kate get ready. He wasn't waiting long when Erin came into the room, a look of triumph on her face and, when Kate followed close behind her, he understood why.
Kate was wearing a tiny silk dress of deep navy that skimmed her curvaceous hips in a way that made Hank's heart stutter in his chest. The fabric stopped high on her thighs and her tanned skin seemed to shimmer under the harsh bullpen lights. Her arms were totally covered by long sleeves and the neckline plunged into a deep V between her breasts, drawing all eyes to her décolletage. Her feet were incased in nude coloured court shoes and she was clutching a similar coloured bag under one arm. Her hair was styled into waves around her shoulders, the blonde highlights popping against the creamy brown.
He couldn't take his eyes off her even if he wanted to. She looked incredible.
"Breathe."
Hank's head snapped to the side to find Alvin at his shoulder, a knowing look in his eyes. It was enough for Hank to get himself under control and he set about checking his concealed weapon to make sure everything was in place in an effort to keep his hands busy.
Every fibre of Kate's being was telling her to shrink away from the looks her colleagues were giving her. Whilst she knew she was an attractive woman, she wasn't the most confident when it came to her looks; she thought she was too tall, too masculine, too flawed. Any situation where she had all eyes on her made her deeply uncomfortable, it was one of the reasons she enjoyed Intelligence so much; you were almost always in the shadows. But she knew she needed to bury all of that and get into character or it was both her and Hank's lives on the line if she wasn't convincing.
Looking over at the man in question, she couldn't help but rake her eyes up and down his form appreciatively. She wasn't blind, she knew Hank was a good looking man. On the occasion where she followed him up a flight of stairs, she could tell he had a fantastic ass underneath the well- fitting denim. Or the way that his shirts stretched across his frame, giving just a hint of a surprisingly muscular back. And not forgetting the fact that he always smelt incredible. But right now, in that suit, he was all of that magnified by a thousand.
"Remember, even if he doesn't make a move, do what you can to get some DNA that we can compare to the sample taken from the last victim." Erin's voice pulled her back to herself and Kate knew she had to focus.
"Roger that."
They spent a few more minutes going through the plan and making sure Hank's mic and earpiece were working before heading out to the car. The drive to the nightclub was almost silent, both caught up in their own heads, no doubt trying to plan for every eventuality that might face them that evening.
Hank pulled the car to a stop a few yards down the street, the neon lights from the strip club lighting up the concrete in shades of fluorescent pink. He turned the engine off and turned his body towards Kate.
"If anything goes sideways, you get your ass out of there. This isn't the time to play hero, Meadows. We can take a run at this guy from another angle. Understand?"
She nodded and they both exited the car, coming together on the sidewalk as they made their way to the front doors. Just as they approached the burly bouncer, Kate interlaced her fingers with Hank's, glueing herself to his side as she did so. If he was surprised, he showed no outward sign. Instead, he gripped her hand and gave it one tight squeeze before giving their fake names to the bouncer who permitted their entry.
Once inside, Kate immediately scanned the room for Jay, Adam and Kevin, the latter being found immediately as he towered over most of the other people in the dimly lit room. There were a number of poles off to one side of the large room, all of which had a scantily clad woman gyrating up and down it for the viewing pleasure of the men watching on. There was a square dance floor in the middle of the room where various couples were dancing up close with one another and a number of booths lined along the wall.
Hank and Kate went to the bar and asked to speak with Darius Leto.
"Is he expecting you?" The bartender asked, his eyes roaming over the pair suspiciously. "Yeah, he is." Hank said, gravelly voice barely heard over the thumping baseline.
The bartender dipped his head in the direction of the booths and Kate spotted Leto immediately. He had a voluptuous brunette draped across his lap, fake breasts pushed up into his face as she danced for him. Hank and Kate shared a look before moving towards Leto, stopping just in his line of sight so that they caught his attention without interrupting.
"Ahh, you must be Jessica." He said, eyes immediately drifting to Kate's cleavage. She could feel Hank stiffen at her side as Leto made a show of licking his lips at the sight of her.
"That's right. And this is Richard."
Leto and Hank shared a look, the former doing nothing more than jutting his chin in acknowledgement.
"Hey listen, whilst Ruby finishes up here, why don't you take your man for a dance. Show me how you move."
Kate nodded, smiling at Leto before grasping Hank's hand once again, this time drawing him towards the dance floor.
"C'mon baby." She purred, throwing what she hoped was a sultry look at Hank over her shoulder, taking her lower lip between her teeth.
He followed her without hesitation, taking her lead as they weaved in between other couples already on the floor. Kate ran her hands up and over Hank's well-muscled arms, eventually wrapping her hands around his neck as she pulled him close, her lips brushing his earlobe.
"You can dance can't you Sarg?" She asked, a smile tugging at her lips despite the tense situation.
He didn't dignify her question with a response, acutely aware that the team were listening to every word. Instead, he took hold of her hips and pulled her body flush to his own so that they were pressed together from knee to chest, their lips a breath apart as they stared into each others' eyes. Kate began to move her hips in time with the music, feeling Hank's body match her patterns almost instinctively. They moved together for a few moments until Kate caught sight of Leto out of the corner of her eye.
"I don't think he's impressed. You ready to put on a show?"
With that, she turned in Hank's arms and rotated her hips backwards into his own, dropping her head back onto his shoulder as she did so. She felt Hank's breath puff against the shell of her ear, his fingertips digging into the skin of her hips and it took every ounce of control she had not to moan at the feel of him. Walking her fingers up his arm, Kate ran her hand up behind Hank's head, carding her fingers through the short tresses at the nape of his neck whilst the other hand traced a path across her own damp skin, down her neck and the valley between her breasts.
Kate opened her eyes slightly to covertly watch Leto who had dismissed the brunette called Ruby and was watching the two of them intently. It was working.
Hank was moving on autopilot, thankful that Kate was capable enough on the dance floor to make them look good without much effort on his part. But the way her ass was winding circles against him was causing his head to become dangerously foggy as the blood reserved for his brain was diverting off to other parts of his anatomy. He felt her take hold of both his hands, placing his palms on the outside of her thighs, encouraging him to take control. And he did. Hank slowly dragged his fingers up the smooth skin of her thighs until he reached the hem of her dress and then he went a little further, hiking the fabric with his questing hands.
Before he could enjoy the feel of her skin any further, they were interrupted by a tap on Hank's shoulder. Darius Leto had obviously seen enough.
"Your girl can move." He addressed Hank but his eyes never strayed from Kate's face. "Say goodbye mama." He extended his hand towards her, waiting for her to do as he asked. Kate took a half-step away from Hank, putting a couple of inches of space between their bodies, turning in his arms and grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket. Without breaking eye contact, she leaned up and pecked him gently on the lips. The kiss lasted merely a few seconds but it was long enough for Kate to register how soft and pliant his lips were under her own.
"See you soon baby." She winked at him coyly and took Leto's hand, following him as he guided her through a door at the back of the room. Hank stood frozen on the dance floor, suddenly feeling stifled by the crowd around him as he watched her go. Once her form disappeared through the door and at the heavy oak shut behind them, Hank turned and made his way to the bar, dropping down on a stool and ordering a whiskey.
'Now we wait.'
