To be the most honest, I'm not in love with the way this turned out. With everything going on it's been had to write, and this was a tough one. I hope everyone is staying safe.
"We got the warrant!" Kevin announced and shouted out Landon's apartment address to the unit.
Jay was awake instantly. Hank had relegated him to the couch in the breakroom in lieu of going home for real sleep. It was the only compromise he'd agree to, knowing full well there was no chance of him sleeping in his own bed without his partner beside him. "I'm coming," he stated to nobody in particular as he grabbed his coat off the back of his chair.
"Vest up," Hank instructed as his unit mobilized, "We don't know what is waiting for us at this prick's house."
"Landon Vanak, Chicago PD," Atwater bellowed, breaking down the front door to Landon's apartment. The door splintered and the unit entered, Ruzek and Olinsky leading into the empty space.
"Clear," Ruzek called, lowering his weapon after he surveyed the bathroom, "Dude is in the wind, again."
Voight stalked through the empty apartment, frustration growing with every step he took. "I've seen this kid. He's got no fucking balls." He glanced around at his team who was dispersed within the apartment.
The sound of breaking glass echoed through the apartment, all members of the squad turning to the back, weapons drawn. "He's headed out the back!" Ruzek bellowed, immediately in pursuit.
Jay took off after Ruzek, his brain on autopilot. This was Landon. Landon was the one who lured Erin to Charlie. He might know something. His feet pounded into the pavement as he and Ruzek sprinted down the alley after the scrawny offender. "Stop running, man!" Ruzek shouted after Landon, heeding Jay's gesture to veer left, "Only going to get worse if you run!"
Landon sprinted into the street and was about to make a sharp right turn when Jay tackled him to the ground. "Where's Erin?" Jay shouted, putting his hands on Landon's arms while he was face down in the street, "Where is Erin?"
"I-I-I swear man, I don't know!" Landon squeaked, "I swear!"
"Hey, Halstead," Al pulled Jay off, "You good?"
Jay shook his head and laced his fingers behind his neck, still trying to catch his breath. "Put him in the fucking cage."
"It was all Charlie. He blackmailed me. Said he'd kill my mom if I didn't listen," Landon tried as Atwater cuffed him, "Erin helped me out. I-I didn't know Charlie was going to kidnap her, he just said he wanted to get her some place quiet to talk!"
Erin let out a low moan as she came to, the dark reality setting in yet again. Her skin burned where Charlie's hands had been and her stomach ached from the force of his foot. "Did you learn your lesson?" Charlie's deep voice boomed, rattling off the concrete walls as he stepped toward Erin.
She grunted, her vision darkening as she attempted to lift herself from her sprawled position on the floor, the pain radiating from her stomach making the task incredibly difficult, not to mention the complication of her bound wrists and ankles. "If I take the gag out, you need to promise to be nice," he sing songed, taking another step closer to Erin.
Immediately she recoiled, the sight of his calloused hands causing bile to rise in her throat. "C'mon now," he cooed menacingly, gently removing the gag from her lips. Charlie raised a glass of water which she drank gratefully.
Erin let out a dry cough after the water was finished. "You gonna tell me why I'm here?" she rasped, wincing as she adjusted her body and her stomach protested the movement, "You've got my attention."
Charlie smiled and reached a hand out. He snickered as Erin flinched again, "Oh, Erin. I'm here because soon, it's going to be all over. And if it's going to end, I wanted it to be with you."
"What are you talking about?" she replied, her skin crawling as Charlie stroked her bruised cheek, "What's all over?"
"A deal I had went south," he shrugged, "I was working with some dirty cops, and they folded. Was only a matter of time til the feds would find me, lock me up for good. But I thought if I could see you one last time, well maybe I could convince you to plead my case."
"By kidnapping me?" Erin could have laughed, "You think drugging me, tying me up and assaulting me is the best way for you to get what you want?"
Charlie tightened his grip on the side of Erin's face, "What I want is for my debts to be paid to those dirty cops. They'll kill me if I don't hold up my end of the bargain, which means taking down your precious sergeant. And what better way to get to him then to use you?"
For a moment, Erin saw red. Suddenly, she was thirteen again, just meeting this suave, older man for the first time, overwhelmed by how he made her feel so grown up, as mature as the streets had made her out to be. He was teaching her about how to evade the cops and steal booze out of the local liquor stores. He was encouraging her to try her first cigarette, her first beer, her first shot. He was touching her. He wasn't gentle. He manipulated the young, unknowing child into some of the most gut wrenching moments of her life, darkening her heart and leaving her feeling utterly used.
Then she was fourteen, completely dependent on a man she once thought made her unlike the other kids on the street. She feared those hands, his smell, his presence, at the same time loving it, yearning for it. Those hands, that smell, meant that she'd get what he'd gotten her hooked on. She was keeping the lights on at home because Charlie was keeping the lights on, and she knew at fourteen that without him, she would be dead. Every stranger on the block he'd force her to be with, all the times she'd woken up not knowing where she was or why she was there came rushing back as Charlie talked through his grand plan to lure Hank to Erin so his debts could be paid, and so that Erin would be his alibi.
"You owe me, Erin," Charlie reminded her, pulling her from her memories. "I looked out for you. I took care of you."
Her captor's face blurred as tears filled her eyes. She was fifteen now, broken, tired, helpless. She was feisty and sassy on the outside but on the inside her soul ached, desperate for a family that had been denied to her. Craving the stability and love that only real parents could provide. The chill of the basement floor was eerily reminiscent of the bathroom in Charlie's old apartment where she'd tried to detox by herself while he was out of town on "business". She had cried and shook from the pain of withdrawal but mostly the pain of being completely alone.
When Charlie had returned that night he fixed her up, providing the same relief he always did, accompanied by his hands in places she didn't want, his mouth on hers. It had been the last straw. She'd called for help, the only person in the world she knew she could trust.
Hank.
He brought her into his home. He held her while she detoxed on his bathroom floor, making sure she wasn't alone this time. He convinced his wife that the closed off teenager who appeared broken beyond repair was worth fighting for. He taught her how to drive a car and what it meant to be loved, to be a part of a family. He took care of her. Hank helped her turn the corner. He made sure she graduated high school, helped her study for the police exam, always looked out for her when she was on patrol. He took the child that Charlie had manipulated and turned her into the woman she was today. The woman that knew she was deserving of more.
Knowing that she was capable of being loved, deserving of love, that is what led her to Jay.
Jay.
God, she wished it was his hands on her face instead of Charlie's.
Erin shook her head, the tears behind her eyes begging to fall as the traumatic memories of all Charlie had done washed over her. "You'll have to kill me before you get to Hank," she managed, "He was the one who took care of me. Not you."
"It's late. Why don't you go home and get some rest, and we'll regroup first thing in the morning?" Al suggested, putting a fatherly hand on Jay's tensed shoulder as he hunched over his desk, trying to pick up anything on the pods around where Erin had been taken.
The commissioner had gotten wind of Erin's kidnapping and when Landon was brought in, she saw to it that he was immediately moved to an interrogation room rather than the cage. Voight had been beside himself and had left the district, enraged that the one link he had to his daughter was being stifled by the law.
"It's fine," Jay waved his hand, "I just-I can't go home."
Al nodded in understanding, "I get it. I really do. But you gotta take care of yourself if you're going to get Erin back. We all need to. Running around on no sleep and no food isn't going to help us find her any quicker, especially since that prick has lawyered up."
Jay was quiet as Al's words sunk in. "C'mon, I'll give you a lift," Al encouraged, "Tomorrow is a new day."
"Another day she'll have been missing," Jay replied dryly, taking his coat from the chair and casting a glance to his partner's empty desk.
It was a good thing that Al had given him a ride, because when he pulled up in front of his building Jay barely registered that they had moved. "Thanks uh, for the ride," he managed, fumbling with the car door, "I'll talk to you tomorrow?"
"Try to get some sleep," Al advised, "Don't lose hope."
Jay nodded and watched as Al drove off before entering the apartment building. He trudged down the hall to his apartment, his and Erin's apartment, their apartment and turned the key, overwhelmed with the hopes that he'd open the door to find her curled up on the couch.
It was his favorite way to come home after a long day. Whenever he'd have to finish paperwork or had a veteran's support meeting or met the guys at Molly's for a drink and Erin went home before him, she was always on the couch. No matter how late, she was there. Sometimes she'd still be awake, nursing a cup of lukewarm tea while watching SportsCenter or the late night news or reading a book. He would always feel so guilty that she stayed up waiting for him, but so grateful that he could just sink beside her and feel the stress of the day get a little lighter.
Most of the time though, she'd be asleep. It would always be obvious that she had been waiting for him, the valiant effort evident in two mugs of tea she'd consumed in trying to stay awake. The lights would be on in the kitchen so he could see her curled up on the couch, her features soft and serene in the low light. He'd forgo neatness for the evening to avoid waking her from her peaceful slumber, leaving his boots in the hall and coat on the kitchen counter. He would ever so carefully hook his arms beneath her knees and shoulders to carry her to their bed, doing his best to be as gentle as possible.
Sometimes, he was careful enough that she'd sleep through the movement completely, absolutely exhausted by the events of their day. Other times she would fully wake up and he'd apologize profusely for waking her. Those were the nights that she'd join him in the post-work shower, allowing the suds to wash away all they'd gone through.
But his favorite nights were when he would just barely wake her up in the process. He'd kiss her nose as she stirred against his chest, whispering for her to go back to sleep, and that he'd be to bed in a moment. He'd settle her under the covers before sliding in himself, and she would always cuddle closer, foregoing any of her pillows in favor of him.
This time, the apartment was dark. When he flipped on the lights, it was like their living room had frozen in time from the morning Erin had been taken. The couch bore one of her sweatshirts that she had shed the night before as they shuffled to the bedroom, discarding clothes as they went. Her selection of boots was in a pile yet again, evident of her searching for the perfect pair to go with Jay's shirt.
The mugs of coffee sat on the kitchen counter as well, both unfinished, almost glued to the counter after nearly three days. Jay dropped his keys and his eye caught the chipped mug. That was the mug Erin had that morning.
That did it.
Jay sank to the kitchen floor, his back to the wall. He covered his face with his hands, no longer able to keep the twisted sob within his throat. He let out a painful cry as the weight of the past few days hit him like a truck. The love of his life, his partner, his back up, his best friend, his girlfriend, was missing, and he just missed her.
Her smell, her smile, her eyes, Jay missed it all. He missed the banter in the morning and the way she'd rib him about his driving. He missed watching her stand up to Hank and boss the other team members around. He missed her spirit, her attitude, everything.
Jay sat against the wall for what felt like hours before finally, the tears ran out and he fell into a dreamless sleep.
Next one will be longer and better, promise!