"Jesus, it's hotter than Satan's asshole."
Kate pulled off her sunglasses, squinting in the early afternoon sun as she used the hem of her t-shirt to wipe away the sweat in her eyes. They were in the midst of a midwestern heat wave, the mercury creeping closer to the hundred degree mark and the asphalt felt sticky under their shoes.
Kevin snorted in amusement at her crass comment.
"You not put out last night or somethin'?"
Spinning her head in her partner's direction, she sent him a sharp look that had him lifting his palms in surrender.
"Well why else would we be out doin' knock an' talks in this heat when e'ryone else is back in the air conditioned district? You musta upset him or somethin'."
Kate rolled her eyes, returning the sunglasses to her face as they continued down the sidewalk to the next property on their list. There had been a recent spat of robberies and home invasions in the area and the two of them had been tasked with speaking to all of the neighbours in a four block radius to see if they had seen or heard anything suspicious.
"Guess it was just our turn, Kev."
Kate spotted a small convenience store at the corner of an intersection up ahead, batting Kevin's bicep with the back of her hand, she got his attention and pointed.
"I'm gonna stop and get some water…maybe see if they've got an ice-cream or something."
"You know I'm down!"
Jogging across the street, Kate pushed open the heavy glass door, the cool air washing over her heated skin as they moved out of the blazing heat.
"Uhhh, that's so good!" She groaned, snagging a couple of bottles of water from the nearby fridge before heading over to the chest freezer, sliding the glass back and dunking her head into the icy box.
"How can I help you today officers?"
The man behind the register was probably about her Mom's age with kind eyes and a genial smile.
"We're just looking to cool off before we get back on the beat, sir." Kate replied with a laugh, eyes scanning the ice creams in the trays below.
"Hey, what options we dealin' with in there?"
Kevin approached from behind but couldn't get a clear line of sight into the freezer.
"Okay, we got Kool Pops, we got Italian Sorbet, we got Vanilla, we got Rocky-"
Before Kate was able to finish her inventory of the freezer, the door swung open with a bang and three individuals in ski-masks appeared in the doorway, all of them armed as they took aim at Kevin, Kate and the shop owner.
"Open the register now!"
Although they had masks covering their faces, they were all wearing short sleeved t-shirts and Kate immediately started taking mental images of their appearances.
Tallest about 6'2", others maybe 5'11" or six feet tops. All white males. One with a tribal tattoo on his right bicep.
"Hey you! Put your hands where I can see them!"
The man with the tattoo waved his gun in Kate's face who slowly pulled her head from the freezer, her hands palm up as she turned around.
"Take it easy."
"Shut up!"
The shop owner wasn't keen to part with the cash and a struggle ensued despite Kevin and Kate pleading with the man to give them what they asked for. The bright flash of a muzzle and the subsequent pop made Kate flinch, the man behind the counter crumbling to the floor.
"Fuck man! You shot him!"
One of the offenders had lowered his weapon as he watched in horror at what his friend had done. The shooter with the tattoo was evidently the leader of the group, hopping up onto the counter, grabbing fistfuls of notes and shoving them into a bag. Once the register was empty, he zipped it closed and swung it over his shoulder, backing towards the door.
And then they were gone.
"Kev, call it in. Get an ambulance here now."
"5021 David, we got shots fired at…" Kevin had darted out of the store to chase the offenders or at least try to get a look at their getaway vehicle when Kate vaulted over the counter dropping to her knees next to the owner who was bleeding heavily onto the off-white linoleum underneath him.
"Ok, I got you. Just hang in there, alright?"
Placing her hands over the bullet hole in the middle of his chest, Kate pushed down to try and staunch the flow of blood, earning a pained yelp from the wounded man.
"I know, I know it hurts. Can you tell me your name, sir?"
"Ph-Philip."
With that single, two-syllable word, the man on the floor began to morph into someone she hadn't seen in nearly fourteen years. His hair became wavy, the silver strands darkening and his eyes changed from bright blue to familiar hazel.
Suddenly Kate wasn't plugging the bullet hole in the chest of a shop owner, she was plugging the bullet hole in the chest of her father.
"Kate, you good?"
Kate's eyes darted upwards to meet Kevin's distressed face and it was only then did she realise that she had tears streaking down her own face.
Dropping her head down to wipe her cheek on the shoulder of her shirt, she turned her attention back to Philip who was slowly losing consciousness with each passing second.
"I've got you Philip, just stay with me, okay? The ambulance will be here any second."
He was hanging on by a thread by the time the ambulance and the rest of the Intelligence Unit arrived on the scene. The paramedics took over from Kate who briefly explained that he had one GSW to the chest from close range before stepping back, her hands and forearms covered in crimson.
"What happened?"
Hank had appeared in front of her, taking in her dazed look with concern.
"We…uh…we stopped to get some water…"
Stepping forward, Hank took her by both elbows, drawing her attention to his face.
"Hey, take a breath."
With a jerky nod, Kate inhaled deeply but immediately wished that she hadn't. The metallic scent of blood had her stomach roiling and she wrenched free from Hank's hands, darting out of the store and emptying the contents of her stomach into a nearby planter.
A cool cloth appeared on the back of her neck and she turned to find Kim hovering over her, pressing a damp piece of scratchy blue centrefeed to her heated skin.
"You okay?"
Kate nodded weakly, using a shaky arm to lower herself to the concrete as she took a minute to steady herself. Kim handed her a bottle of water and Kate thanked her with a grateful look. Kim waited next to her without a word until Kate finally pushed herself to her feet and the two women moved back into the store so Kate could give her update.
"…three guys. All white. Prolly about six feet. They left in an older-style black Prius about twenty minutes ago heading east. I caught a partial plate and looked like it had a bumper sticker on the back but I didn't get a good look."
Kevin was already briefing the rest of the team on what happened so Kate simply waited until he was done before adding a final comment.
"One of the guys, the guy that shot the owner, he had a tribal tattoo on his right bicep. I only caught a glimpse but I'd recognise it if I saw it again."
"Alright good. Halstead, Upton, you two canvass the area, see if there are any witnesses who saw the offenders fleeing the scene. Al, get down to med and get an update on the owner. If he makes it, I want you to find out if he had reason to believe he'd be a target for a robbery. Ruzek, Burgess, you two pull any footage you can get your hands on."
Hank paused for breath before turning to Kate and Kevin.
"You two get back to the district, see if you can get a hit on that partial plate."
Kate nodded, noticing how Hank was giving her a look that clearly said they would talk about this later before he turned on his heel and left.
By early evening, the team had a number of leads on the three criminals and it turned out they weren't the same crew who had been responsible for the other robberies in the area.
"This was just a robbery gone bad. These guys aren't anywhere near as slick as our other crew." Jay said, separating the two cases out into two different white boards.
Kevin and Kate had managed to pull traffic camera footage of the car speeding down a nearby highway, the partial plate matching what Kevin had seen as they fled the scene. The vehicle was registered to a Nathan Redmond, a petty thief who had a charming rap sheet to match. Placing a hand on Kevin's desk, Kate pointed at the screen when Kevin scrolled down to a mug shot of he offender, the image displaying a tribal design etched into his right bicep.
"Yep, tribal tat. That's definitely our guy."
"Alright, let's hit it."
The team geared up downstairs and made their way to Redmond's last known address, Ruzek and Olinsky covering the back while the rest of them breached from the front. After Jay had knocked down the door with the battering ram, Kate was the first across the threshold with her weapon raised, eyes darting around the room, surveying the surroundings.
Nathan Redmond was sat on his couch when the sudden noise startled him, springing to his feet and reaching for his gun. He had one hand on the grip when Kate fired one shot with clinical precision. The bullet pierced the soft underside of his wrist, shattering the bones as it passed through and exited the other side, rendering his arm useless. He pulled the injury towards his body with a cry, dropping to his knees as Kate moved forward, holding him at gunpoint.
Adam, Jay, Hayley and Kim disappeared to clear the rest of the house while Hank, Alvin and Kevin stood behind Kate, watching as she approached Redmond, only stopping when the barrel of her gun was pressed flush to his forehead.
"Give me a reason."
Redmond's mouth quirked into a smug grin and it took all of Kate's self-control not to squeeze the trigger. But when he pursed his lips and spat a mouthful of saliva at Kate's vest, her resolve snapped and she smashed the butt of her gun down onto Redmond's nose, the bone cracking under the force.
"Hey, hey, easy partner."
Kevin grasped Kate by the shoulders, gently drawing her backwards while Alvin stepped forward to place Redmond under arrest.
Hank watched as Kevin walked Kate to the other side of the room and, whilst she allowed him to physically move her, her eyes never once moved from Redmond's face. He could feel the rage emanating off her in waves and he mused, not for the first time, that Kate Meadows was as sexy as hell when she was angry.
Stepping forward, Hank grasped a fistful of Redmond's blonde locks, yanking his head backwards at an awkward angle so that he could meet his eyes, blood trickling from both nostrils.
"You know the number of people at Stateville who owe me a favour? You think about putting your filthy hands on any member of my team again, I'll make sure your new cellmate has a thing for blondes."
Shoving Redmond backwards, Hank jerked his head towards the door and Alvin escorted Redmond out of the house and into a waiting squad car. The team followed shortly after and they headed back to the precinct en mass, all of them pleased to have swiftly closed one of their two active cases.
Kate was heading back to her desk to finish up the paperwork with a steaming mug of coffee when Hank beckoned her into his office. Closing the door behind her, Kate dropped herself into one of the chairs opposite Hank's desk, the warm ceramic clasped between her palms. They were silent for a few moments before Hank eventually spoke.
"We're going to have to get a bit creative with the report to explain the busted nose."
Kate sighed, the prospect of the mountains of paperwork making her head throb.
"Sarg, I was out of line. I let my temper get the better of me. I'll fess up in the report, take whatever IAD throw at me."
"No you won't. We'll come up with a story and you'll stick to it."
His tone brooked no argument and, knowing it wasn't worth the effort, she nodded in assent and took a sip of coffee, waiting for him to continue.
"Wanna talk about what happened at the store?"
Kate lifted her focus from the patch of carpet next to his desk to his face, meeting his eyes for the first time since entering his office. Worry was etched into every line on his face and a pang of guilt hit Kate squarely in the chest knowing that, once again, the source of his concern.
Getting to her feet, Kate put the cooling mug on the table and extended a hand to him from across the desk. He looked confused for a moment before he reached out and took her fingers in his own, letting her tug him to his feet and lead him over to the black couch under the window. They sat down side by side, thighs touching and fingers still interlaced. Kate used her free hand to trace patterns over the back of Hank's hand for a few seconds before she spoke.
"My dad was a college professor at the University of New Haven. God, he was so smart. I remember him telling me when I was young that he had an offer to work for NASA just after I was born but he turned it down so that he could stay in Connecticut with me and Matt."
She paused for breath, encouraged by the gentle, soothing motion of Hank's thumb running over her skin.
"I was just about to start my Junior year at Harvard when I got a call to say my dad had been shot at a gas station three blocks from his campus."
His thumb paused at her admission, his heart sinking at her tangible grief even after so many years. A single tear tracked down her cheek and she let out a sharp, humourless laugh.
"He'd just stopped to get gas when two thugs took the owner at gunpoint, demanding cash from the register. The owner was a woman and, when the offender got rough, my dad stepped in. And they shot him. He bled out before the ambulance got there."
"God Kate, I'm so sorry honey."
Hank separated their hands and instead wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his body in an effort to provide her with some comfort.
"It's the reason I became a cop." She admitted quietly, her fingers toying with a button on his shirt absentmindedly. "They never caught who did it."
"You take a look when you graduated the academy?"
He felt her nod against his chest.
"First thing I did when got to Boston PD. I was detailed to Narcotics but I had his murder running as a side project for nearly two years…case went cold."
Kate fell silent, her chest feeling slightly less heavy now that she had shared this part of herself with him. Tilting her head up, the two locked eyes.
"I don't like to burden you with this stuff. What with New York and now this. I feel like I'm just a wreck these days…"
He cut her off with a gentle kiss, his lips barely brushing hers before pulling back.
"You are everything but a burden to me."
After a beat, Kate nodded, lifting a palm to cup his cheek.
They spent a few more minutes basking in the contentment of being close to one another before heading back out into the bullpen and resuming the search for the original robbery crew. The team worked late into the evening with little success and eventually Hank dismissed them home to get some sleep. He passed Kate's desk, dropping a kiss to her forehead with a mumbled request to head on home as he needed to tie up some work before leaving. With a nod, Kate gathered up her things and left, leaving Hank and Alvin alone in the bullpen.
"Scotch?"
Alvin lifted his tired eyes from his computer screen to the meet the equally exhausted eyes of his best friend from across the room. Pushing back from his desk, he got to his feet and followed Hank into his office, settling onto the couch with a groan.
Filling up two glasses with a generous measure, Hank passed one across to Alvin before taking a seat in the chair Kate had previously occupied, pulling it off to one side slightly so he could face his friend and colleague.
"So." Alvin swirled the amber liquid around in the tumbler. "She tell you what happened today?"
Hank gazed out of the window, the city lights glittering against the dark sky. Taking a large mouthful of scotch, he turned his eyes to Alvin's face.
"She lost her dad to botched robbery."
"Shit. They ever find who did it?"
Hank shook his, his fingers tapping against the glass in his hand rhythmically.
"Homicide never found the killer so she worked it for a couple of years back when she was with Boston PD. Not sure if she's revisited it since but the case gotta be nearly fifteen years old, Al. Chances are slim to none at this point."
Al nodded and the two of them drank silently for a few more moments.
"You know, the way she looks at you." Alvin shook his head, a half-smile on his face. "I'm happy you found her, Hank."
Hank met Alvin's eyes once again.
"I know it hasn't been easy navigating the…dynamics. But she's good for you. Hang on to her."
Giving his friend a rare smile, Hank drained the rest of his drink and placed the glass back onto his desk.
"You know, you've always been smarter than you look Alvin."
