"Last day." My inner thoughts ceased at the sound of his voice, the tip of my pen on the paper where I was writing the last piece of information tying me to New York. I had barely registered him approaching, a sturdy oak desk located near the middle of the room. "I hope New York has treated you well, even if our pizza is thin like crackers."

"Last day, last file." I mused, finally looking up to meet his gaze. I figured out how I wanted to word my last paragraph before slapping the file on the top of the pile. I then reached back to pull on the black dress jacket that had been hanging from the back of the chair for the past hour. "You're never going to let that one go, are you?"

"No." He gave me his best devilish smile as I searched around the desk to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything before leaving the building. "I will, however, keep letting it slide after all the cases you've managed to help us solve in the last couple of weeks." We made our way through the hall leading towards the elevators. "You know for someone who has never worked for the FBI before, you really do have a knack for grabbing the bull by the horns and knocking them right out of the park. "You sure you don't want to work for the FBI?"

"Tempting." My words came out sarcastically as I leaned over to push the call button to the elevator. "I'm pretty sure this girl is never going to be a city girl, and will always love working in Chicago." I had to laugh internally at his expression, the one he was giving me right now told me he wasn't used to being told no. I was pretty sure I had gotten that same expression from Special Agent Isabella Castillo, although she was more modest about it. "Now, if you're ever in town that's a completely different story. I'm good for showing you what pizza is really supposed to taste like."

"Likewise." He smirked back, knowing what I was getting at. Who knew our first disagreement was also the running joke between us. "Who knows. Maybe it will be us helping you out next time."

"I look forward to that possibility." Just as I said that I wondered just how much out of his comfort zone he would be transitioning from New York to Chicago, even just for a short period of time. The metal doors scraped open, cutting our conversation short and yet the grinding metal sound reminded me of some kind of background music you'd hear in the background of a thriller movie."See you around, OA."

"See you around Chicago." He mentioned with a friendly wave as I pushed the down button with my index finger, the interaction cutting off with a gravitational pull back down to the main level.

"I've heard through the grapevine you've done some amazing work." Sliding my ID towards the older gentleman behind the desk, he took it and locked it up in the drawer. "You're always welcome back."

"I'm pretty sure you're not the only one." I couldn't help but give a small smile as I paused for a moment to reflect on how good it felt to have so many people wanting me to stay. It made me feel like I had done a good job. However, I knew my work was back in Chicago. "Thank you."

"You take care now." He called to me as I made my way out the door. As I came out of the building, a taxi idled while waiting for me to come out.

"Hailey?" The taxi driver inquired through the open passenger side window. I nodded once before I felt comfortable hopping into the back seat. "I'm John. Where are you headed tonight?"

"Marriott by JFK airport."

"You got it." Making a left turn out of the parking lot, I took one last gaze at the towering building with which I had a love-hate relationship. I knew I had messed up with Voight. It was the reason I had been sent here in the first place. "I take it you're not from around here?"

"Chicago."

"Ah, the windy city." He gave a little laugh as we drove through the dark streets of New York. "I've never been. I've heard it's a beautiful area to live in. I keep hoping one day I'll be able to take off and visit but it never happens. I may have to wait a little while longer the way things in the world are going."

"Well, one day I hope you do."

"What's your favorite part about living in Chicago?"

"I would have to say the food is the best part of me." I thought back to the pizza Jay had promised when I got back home, which was something I was really looking forward to. I had eaten more takeout than I would have liked to admit, even more than what I ate back in Chicago. "And the people."

"Never a bad thing being a people person. It's one reason why I'm a taxi driver. I love talking to people from all walks of life." He signaled another turn. The car in front of us seemed to be taking its sweet time but that didn't seem to bother him. He probably saw this happening all the time. "Each person that steps in here has their own story. Sometimes it's a good one, sometimes it's bad and sometimes it's a little of both. I bet you can relate."

"A bit, yes." I felt drained all of a sudden before I realized this was probably the first time I had really taken the time to sit down without a gun or some kind of paperwork in my hand. "Are you originally from New York?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Born and raised in Queens. Lived here my whole life." He peered through the rearview mirror, his dark brown eyes glancing curiously into the backseat then shifted back o to the road. "Long day?"

"You could say that."

"Well, lucky for you, we're about ten minutes away from the hotel." He peered through the mirror again, a gentle smile forming as the light from the passing posts crossed over his face. "You promise me you'll get some sleep when you get there."

"I will definitely try my best." Although, how things were going, I wasn't sure I would be able to relax enough. Tomorrow I was headed back to the airport, which meant I was feeling both anxious and excited to be getting back to Chicago.

"Good. Someone as intelligent as you should never be carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders

t be carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders " He seemed to accept my answer, the taxi cab falling quiet as we pulled down one long stretch of road. My thoughts turned to what my conversation with Voight would be like. Would the voice of praise from Special Agent Castillo and her team be enough to show him I was trying to change?

My gaze shifted towards the red lights flashing through the trees as an airplane rumbled over us and took off into the sky. On the right, we began passing by a lot of two-story homes and shifted to just the road as the hotel loomed in the distance one way and the airport just beyond that.

"Here you are." He parked smoothly in front of the building, just in front of the valet parking sign.."It was really nice meeting you, Hailey."

"It was nice meeting you, John." Glancing over at the meter, I slipped him a little extra and was met with a cooler breeze than when I had been over at the Federal building. My heels clicked against the asphalt as I made my way into the hotel, finally falling to a muted tapping as I crossed from a carpeted waiting area to the elevators.

Just before I hit the second floor, I dug my card out of the front pocket of my jacket. The elevator doors opened smoother than the ones at work. My head snapped up, gazing around at an empty hallway. It was pretty late, so I didn't imagine many people would be up at this hour, and if they were, they were probably hanging out in their rooms.

Walking a few feet down the hall, I stopped in front of room 206 and ran the card through the reader. The do not disturb sign swung back and forth as I opened up my room, a blast of cool air hitting me as I stepped through the door.