"Upton, Halstead. My office. Now."
Kate lifted her eyes from her computer screen to watch Hailey and Jay trudge into Hank's office, both of them wearing matching sheepish expressions. When the door clicked shut behind them, Kate refocused on running the partial plate they'd managed to pull from a surveillance camera near their latest crime scene. They were in the midst of yet another case involving the trafficking of young women and the team were actively chasing down leads that might take them to the location of the next delivery.
She had just typed in the last three digits of the license plate for what felt like the millionth time in the last hour when Kate heard Adam's roll his chair up behind her, coming to a stop when the back bumped against Kate's desk.
"Whaddaya think that's all about?" He asked, eyes darting over to Hank's office.
"Unfortunately I don't have a direct line to his cerebral cortex Adam but I would hazard a guess that he's having the 'I know you're sleeping together' conversation…yet again."
Kate couldn't help but smirk. She knew with absolute certainty that Hank would be dying on the inside at having to address two more of his subordinates' sex lives.
"Well, unless Kev and Al aren't telling us something, it should be the last time he's gotta have that specific conversation."
An unladylike snort was Kate's only response to Adam's parting quip before he shuffled back to his own desk. Hailey and Jay were in Hank's office for barely sixty seconds before the pair resurfaced, both of them slightly red-faced as a result of what was probably an incredibly uncomfortable minute for all three parties involved.
When the latest search came up empty, Kate huffed and got to her feet, snagging her mug from the corner of her desk and heading into the kitchen to get a fresh cup of coffee. It was already after eight in the evening and she had a horrible, sinking feeling that they were running out of time. Flicking the machine on, Kate propped her hip against the counter and folded her arms across her chest. None of the cases the Intelligence Unit worked were easy but human trafficking cases were right up there with the most difficult to stomach for every single person in that bullpen. It took a special kind of evil to trade human beings as sex slaves and, even after so many years of dealing with cases like this, Kate still couldn't wrap her head around how anyone could do it.
"This is all your fault, you know that?"
Casting a look over her shoulder, Kate smiled at the sight of Hank leaning casually against the doorframe, an exasperated look on his face as he eyed her from across the room. Filling her mug with coffee, she added a generous drop of cream before turning to face him, hot ceramic cupped between both hands.
"What's my fault?"
"If you hadn't seduced me, I wouldn't be talking to half of my unit about their love lives."
Kate hid a grin behind her mug as she took a sip of the steaming liquid.
"I don't think their relationships were borne out of my desire to get you naked." She said sarcastically, stifling a laugh when he cast a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure nobody was within earshot.
"That's not the point!" He griped, pushing away from the doorframe to slowly stalk towards her, the predatory manner making Kate feel suddenly hot. "If you hadn't made me break my own damn rule, I could have kicked the whole lot of them out on their asses."
Hank came to a stop a few inches in front of her, recrossing his arms over his chest. Since the start of the summer, Hank had swapped out his usual button-downs for short-sleeved t-shirts and, for Kate, it was both a delight and a distraction. The navy blue t-shirt he'd chosen today was a prime example of Kate's dilemma when it came to his wardrobe choices. The sight of his well-muscled biceps and forearms on full display had her pulse racing and her core aching, not ideal when you're trying focus on taking down a sex trafficking scumbag.
Running her eyes over his upper body, she simply nodded and hiked one shoulder before responding.
"Hmm, that sounds like a you problem to me. Maybe you should have thought twice before bedding one of your subordinates…Sarg."
He visibly stiffened at the use of his rank, his spine straightening at the coy grin spreading across her face. She was toying with him and, given that they were on the clock and in the presence of the rest of the unit, there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
With a rumbling growl he took a step closer, making sure his body concealed them from prying eyes and leaned in close.
"I tore the rulebook into a million pieces when I decided to bed you, honey…" Looping a finger in one of her belt loops, he tugged her forwards so that he could touch his lips to hers briefly. "…best decision I ever made."
"You bet your ass it was."
With a grin and a wink, Kate brushed past him and headed back into the bullpen, leaving Hank alone in the kitchen with a smirk on his face. Kate had barely taken her seat when Hailey called out to say that she had a lead, drawing the attention of the team.
"We got something. The man we're looking for is Scott Havers." She tacked a mugshot of a rotund, bald man in his late fifties to the whiteboard. "The victim's family confirmed that this was the guy they saw outside of their house four days before their daughter went missing."
"Alright. Meadows, I want an emergency warrant for this prick's phone. If he's setting up a meet, I want to know in the next thirty minutes. Ruzek, Burgess, get out to his LKA and see if there's anything there that will help lead us to him."
Kate scooped up the phone to put a call in to Judge Warren who signed off their warrant as soon as she mentioned the words 'trafficking' and 'confirmed ID'. Filling out the appropriate paperwork, Kate had the signed warrant on Hank's desk within ten minutes of him asking. He looked up at the sound of paper being slapped on wood and raised an eyebrow at the speed of her work.
"Warren is usually a pain in the ass when it comes to late night warrants. How'd you get him to sign so quickly?" He asked, leaning back in his chair, one elbow propped on the armrest.
"He may or may not have asked me on a date when I first came to town." Kate almost laughed as a dark look passed over Hank's face.
"Oh, is that so?"
Kate hummed in response, placing her palms flat on the wood in front of her.
"That a problem, Sarg?"
He looked her up and down, eyes darting from her face to the scooped neck of her t-shirt where the very tops of her breasts were now on display.
"Anything involving you and a man who isn't me is a problem for me." He growled, his eyes flashing with barely concealed lust. This time, Kate couldn't stop the chuckle that vibrated in her chest, a little more than slightly pleased that he found the thought of her with anyone but him completely abhorrent.
"You've got nothing to worry about. These days I only get hot for Intelligence Sergeants with a questionable reputation."
With that parting comment, Kate turned on her heel and headed back out in the bullpen to call the OCD Lab and get a dump of Havers' phone. By the time Kim and Adam came back with Havers' laptop in hand, Kate was already trawling through a mountain of coded text messages back and forth between Havers and his 'associates', the content making her feel slightly queasy.
Most of the content seemed to be the bidding war but four texts stood out from the rest in that they were single word texts sent exactly ten seconds apart.
Serotinal. Mine. Tree. Hillock.
Kate repeated the four words over and over in her mind. They didn't seem to have any logical connection but something was telling her that this was it. This was the key to cracking this thing.
'Serotinal.' Her eyes darted to the calendar on her desk, taking a note of the date. Today was August 31st - the last day of summer.
'That's obviously our when. The exchange is happening tonight.'
'Mine. As in possession or belonging? It would make sense given the nature of the transaction but was Havers referring to himself or the buyer?'
'Tree. Maybe a park? Perhaps the location was one of the many parks in Chicago? No. Park's too open, carries too much risk of being spotted.'
Her mind was working overtime as she tried to piece it all together and, when she read the last word one more time, the penny suddenly dropped.
"The exchange is going down in an hour at the quarry in Elmhurst."
Every set of eyes in the room landed on her as she stood from her desk, heading towards the printer to pick up the four sheets of paper containing the texts from Havers. Pinning them to the whiteboard, she pointed to them one by one.
"'Serotinal' means the last day of summer which is today. 'Mine' is another word for quarry. Elm is a type of 'tree' and 'Hillock' is an old British word for hurst. Elmhurst."
The team were silent for a few seconds before Adam eventually piped up.
"How the hell do you know what 'hillock' means?"
Kate stared at him with an incredulous expression.
"That's what you took from the last thirty seconds?! Jesus Adam. I took some British History classes at Harvard, alright?"
"Of course you did." Adam shook his head with a grin, once again impressed by his colleague's sharp intellect.
"How'd you know the meeting is in an hour?" Jay asked, eyes scanning the texts for a clue that he might have missed.
"Texts were sent exactly ten seconds apart. It's the best assumption I could make."
Kate looked around the room, waiting for someone to challenge her theory but it never came. Hank was stood in the doorway to his office, something akin to a proud look on his face as he took the reins.
"Ok, we go in quick and quiet. This will be our one shot to take these bastards down so let's get it right."
The eight of them moved down to the garage, donning their tactical vests and gearing up with an assortment of weapons in addition to their usual side arms. Kate's vest was on the chrome metal table in front of her has she went through the process of checking the barrel of her glock, making sure her magazine clips were fully loaded and secured in her belt before holstering the weapon on her right hip. Lifting her vest from the table, she pulled the velcro apart and dropped the protective gear over her head, fastening the straps around her waist and over her shoulders.
She was so caught up in her own head that the feeling of two hands on her shoulders made her flinch. Alvin had noticed that she hadn't fully secured the velcro straps on her shoulders and moved forwards to make sure they were fastened correctly.
"Thanks Al." Kate muttered, standing still as he pulled the fabric apart only to push the pieces back together again, this time feeling much more secure on her body.
"Be safe, kid."
He gave her shoulder a pat before moving off to stand with the others who were waiting for their orders. Gathering them into a small circle, Hank tucked his hands into the front of his vest and laid out the plan. There were only two routes in and out of the quarry so Adam and Kim would cover one with Alvin and Hank covering the other, leaving Jay, Hailey, Kevin and Kate to move in and make the arrests.
The four of them were in position when ten o'clock came and went and when another ten minutes rolled by with no sign of movement, Kate was beginning to wonder if she had gotten it all completely wrong.
"Chill partner, I can feel you vibratin' from over here. They'll show." Kevin whispered and Kate took a deep breath, doing her best to calm her increasing heart rate. Sure enough, the headlights of the van Kate had been trying to track down all day appeared at the end of the path, moving slowly towards them as the wheels turned up dust and gravel.
They waited for another few moments before moving in a two by two cover formation down the path, taking cover behind a row of wilting shrubs. The sound of a door opening and closing could be heard in the silence as the four stood perfectly still, waiting for the right moment to move in.
"Wait until we have a confirmed visual on the girls."
"Copy that Sarg." Hailey whispered in return, turning her radio down.
"…wasn't sure you would show Scott."
Kate listened as she heard Havers laugh low, sending an uncomfortable shiver down her spine and she noticed that Hailey also shuddered at the sound.
"With this precious cargo? Of course I'd show."
Jay poked his head around the bush they were crouched behind to get a look and see if he could get a visual on any victims but a single fist in the air told them to hold tight for a few more moments.
The metal clanging of a van door being opened was shortly followed by the sound of at least one woman crying. This time when Jay took a look, he gave the signal to move in. The four of them approached silently and Kate could already see the tiny bodies of five young women all lined up along the side of the van, very obviously terrified.
"Chicago PD! Stay where you are!"
Havers, his associate and the three potential buyers all scattered at Jay's shout, the former disappearing into the brush behind him as fast as his feet would carry him.
"Hailey, the girls! I'm going after Havers." With that, Jay darted off in the direction that Scott Havers had vanished a few seconds previously.
Kevin and Kate shared a look before the two of them took off after the associate and the buyers but they'd barely gotten a few feet off the path when Havers' associate began firing shots at them from behind a large boulder, forcing them to duck behind a nearby car.
"Motherfu-"
Kate moved out of cover to fire two shots towards the man, one of the bullets taking a large chunk out of the stone next to his head and she heard him curse at the near miss.
"Put your gun down! Next time I won't miss!"
When the man moved out from behind the boulder, Kevin and Kate stood shoulder to shoulder, weapons and flashlights trained on the offender, casting a blinding light over his form.
He was a Latino man in his late twenties with scruffy black hair and he was shielding dark eyes. Suddenly, his beige t-shirt became a green jacket and, in the space of a few seconds, she was back in Manhattan watching as Mohammad Al-Khalili detonated an explosive strapped to his chest in the middle of the street.
Kate's breathing became shallow and her heart began to race, the familiar band of anxiety wrapping around her chest. Her throat constricted to the point that she thought she was going to asphyxiate there and then. In her peripheral vision, she could see Kevin casting sideways glances at her as he negotiated with the suspect but it was like she had fallen into a silent movie, she could see his lips moving but there was no sound aside from her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
Kate's panicked eyes dropped from the suspect to the gun in her hands, noticing with an almost morbid fascination how it forcibly trembled in her grasp. And then it was over. Adam and Kim had appeared behind the man, placing him under arrest and forcing him to his knees as they slapped the bracelets on him.
"…you good? Kate?"
Kate flinched violently as Kevin placed his hand on her arm but the contact wasn't enough to completely pull her from the clutches of yet another panic attack. The only thing Kate could think about was that she could have gotten her partner killed if Kim and Adam hadn't arrived in time.
"Kevin…" she whispered. "…God, I-I'm so sorry. I dunno what happened."
He moved forwards and took her weapon from her hand, placing it on the hood of the car before taking her by the shoulders and looking her over.
"It's okay, you're okay."
Kate clutched the front of his vest in her fists, closing her eyes as she sucked in lungfuls of air, trying to calm her racing heart. She could vaguely hear Hank and Alvin arrive, the two of them talking to the rest of the unit in hushed tones but Kate could only focus on the feel of Kevin's firm grip on her shoulders.
"Atwater?"
Kate couldn't bring herself to open her eyes but she could feel him at her elbow.
"I think she's having a panic attack, Sarg."
She felt him rest his palm on her waist over her vest, the other hand covering hers where she still had Kevin's vest in a vice-like grip as though he was the only thing holding her together.
"Meadows? Kate, I need you to look at me."
Instinctually she obeyed his command, eyes snapping open to meet the concerned faces of both her partner and her boss, the two men standing side by side as they worked to coax her out of her anxious spiral.
"What happened?"
"It…it was like he was there…I just…I fr-froze and, oh God, I could have gotten you killed Kevin!"
She turned her tearstained face towards her partner who shook his head, silently telling her not to worry as he gave her shoulder a firm but gentle squeeze. Hank gently prised Kate's fist open, forcing her to release her grip on Kevin's vest as he turned her towards his own body, pulling her close. As soon as she was in his arms, the floodgates opened and silent sobs wracked her frame, her tears soaking the skin of his neck.
"Alright, alright, I got you."
The two stood like that for a few minutes, Hank holding Kate close to him as she desperately tried to regain control of herself. When the tears eventually ceased and her breathing had returned to near-normal, Hank gently held her at arms length, gaze focused on her red and puffy eyes, worry etched into every line on his handsome face.
"How long has this been going on?"
Kate refused to meet his gaze, fixing her eyes on the badge pinned to his chest.
"Ever since New York."
"Jesus, Kate."
She could hear the frustration seep into his tone, despite his valiant attempt to reign in his temper.
"I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner but…"
"Yeah, you should have. Somebody could have been seriously hurt!"
He wanted to shake her for being so stubborn but he knew that he couldn't make her feel any worse than she already did at this moment. With a deep breath, he counted to three before cupping her face in his hands, drawing her eyes to his.
"We'll talk about this later."
"I'm sorry-"
He cut her off with a gentle shush, swiping his thumbs across her cheeks once more before dropping one hand to her wrist and the other to rest on her lower back, guiding her across the clearing towards Alvin and Kevin who were the only two members of the unit remaining.
Kate kept her head down, shame and embarrassment making her skin prickle uncomfortably. She couldn't bring herself to meet Kevin's eyes and was eternally thankful when Hank gestured for her to get into the passenger side of his SUV rather than Kevin's Hellcat.
They rode to the district in near silence, the tension hanging heavy between them. When Hank pulled into the parking lot, he turned off the engine and the two sat in silence, Hank waiting for her to speak.
Kate was motionless, staring unblinking at the dashboard but she eventually spoke in a quiet voice.
"After the incident in New York, I started seeing Al-Khalili all over the place. At the store, at the gym. The only place I felt completely safe was at home."
"Honey, why didn't you tell me?"
Hank placed his arm on the back of her seat, turning his body so that he could face her.
"I guess I didn't want to admit that I wasn't okay. Plus I didn't want to give you yet another thing to worry about."
Hank leaned towards her, reaching over to grasp her hand in his own and intertwining their fingers.
"I worry so much because I love you. I want you safe and happy…those things are paramount to me, you understand? It's okay to not be okay, Kate. The kind of trauma you experienced…I mean, it wasn't just the explosion itself but then going undercover with Rabbani and donating a kidney to your brother. Sweetheart, I'd be even more surprised if you weren't having some trouble getting your head on straight."
For the first time since getting in the car, Kate lifted her eyes away from the dashboard to meet his and Hank's heart clenched in his chest at the vulnerability he saw shining back at him.
"I need you to talk to me about things like this, Kate."
She hesitated for a beat before responding, her voice quiet and fragile.
"But I don't want you to leave me."
He looked at her incredulously, the fingertips of the hand resting on the back of her chair brushing against the back of her neck gently.
"Why would you think that?"
"This isn't my first rodeo with PTSD, Hank. Men don't want damaged women. I mean, Jake would sleep in the spare room when the nightmares got bad…"
"Listen to me." Hank cut her off, cupping the back of her head firmly so that she had no choice but to look at him. "You are not damaged. We've all been dealt a hand in life and, from what I can see, you've played yours beautifully. But, from now on, I'm going to be right here next to you. You don't have to go through these things alone…I love you, Kate."
Closing the distance between them, he sealed his lips over hers softly and Kate took comfort in the familiar taste and feel of him.
When they broke apart, Hank rested his forehead against hers for a moment, both of them taking comfort in the closeness. Placing a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose, Hank squeezed her hand once more before they got out of the car and headed into the district. Kate was dreading having to face the unit, knowing all of them had witnessed her very public meltdown but, within a few seconds of being in the bullpen, she knew she needn't have worried. None of them looked at her with pity or anger as she had expected. Instead, she was met with understanding and compassion from each of them.
She was given a free pass on the paperwork and headed back to her apartment, pouring herself a glass of scotch before taking a long, hot shower, letting the water and the alcohol ease her tense mind and body. She was almost asleep when she felt Hank slide in behind her, wrapping her in his arms and gently pulling her backwards into his warm body.
"Thank you for being there today." She muttered into the darkness.
"I've done the same for every other person in my unit at least once over the years. We all carry the weight of what we do for a living, Kate. Lean on your team, lean on me. As your boss or your…"
He tailed off, brain searching for the right word but coming up empty.
"My person?"
Pressing his lips to her bare shoulder, he tucked his face into her hair and held her close.
"Yeah, your person."
