Chapter 3
Present Day
The guy in front tipped the boat just enough so water started to flood in and as he righted himself and saluted the camera, the smooth sounds of the titanic soundtrack floating through the background Jay couldn't help but laugh. His two friends quickly followed suit and the final one to go under, the one that had to represent him gave such a bemused look of resignation right before he slipped beneath the waves that he instantly understood the comparison- just as he did with the first man being Mouse and the second Tess. It was such a perfect analogy of the trio's relationship that he saved the video to his camera roll so he'd be able to watch it later.
"Tess send another TikTok?" Kev asked, looking over with a smile from his spot behind the wheel.
"Yeah. I'll send it to you."
She'd taken to sending them throughout the day, memes too, pretty much anything that amused her and since he reserved opening them for in private, which occasionally included while enroute to or from a scene his partner had come to be just as fond of them as he had. And had been sworn to secrecy to the fact that Jay sometimes, alright most of the time allowed himself to be dragged into participating in some of the different trends, mostly the physical ones that involved helping her to complete some ridiculous acrobatic feat. Strangely though, except not, his phone never dinged, even when he checked the ringer. He'd just look and see the notifications, sometimes three, sometimes seven, once thirteen.
He loved every one. Loved anything and everything that made him feel like Tess was still the same woman he'd always known, that she still loved him the way she always had. And as bad as it sounded, and God he knew it sounded bad, coming home to find her crying over him had helped. He and Kev had been in the area, well an area near her area but his partner hadn't minded when he'd asked to stop and pick up some flowers. He'd grown used to the request, and to making pit stops so Jay could drop them off, though when he'd popped in last week he hadn't expected to find her laying in bed crying as she listened to Leanne Rimes 'I Need You'. On repeat.
While high.
She'd always loved the song, so much that he'd made it a point to dance with her to it every Valentines Day but still to find her crying over how much she loved him, how much she'd missed him and how happy she was to back with him… Well, he'd had to make another stop to buy his partner his own little bouquet for making him wait nearly thirty minutes so Jay could kiss away all her tears and get her laughing again.
One of the things he had always loved about Tess was her strength, her resilience, but he'd also loved the way she'd relied on him. And maybe it wasn't fair but he still wanted that, wanted to be needed. Cause if she needed him… maybe she wouldn't leave again.
"Look at you looking all in love."
"Shut up."
"What? I'm just saying it's nice seeing you so happy."
"Uh-huh." Kevin grinned and even though Jay rolled his eyes he couldn't help but match it, though it soon turned into a smirk. "And what about you? How're things going with Vanessa?"
"I don't know what you talking about- we're just friends."
"Right. Just friends."
Kev smiled but shook his head so Jay let it drop, silence filling the car once more. It was Vanessa who'd learned that Till had half a dozen parking tickets in front of the same little strip mall in the neighborhood where they'd been snatching kids so Voight had sent the four of them to check it out. Why he hadn't sent just Hailey and Vanessa, or Kim and Adam and left him with Tess he didn't know, except that his Sergeant probably wanted to see what she was like without him around. And maybe to make sure Jay was still going to follow his orders when she was. And he would. So long as those orders didn't contradict hers.
His gut still tightened whenever he thought about having her around his team but he was starting to get used to it, and as his eyes slid back towards Kevin he knew it was a good thing to get used to. An easy thing.
"What about everything else?" Jay asked slowly, not sure if this was a conversation his friend wanted to have right now. "How're you holding up?
Kev sighed and shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road as he made the next left. "IA wants to speak with me."
"Again? Why?"
"To make sure there's nothing about my story I want to change."
"That's bullshit."
Worse than bullshit.
Jay didn't have quite the same view on Internal Affairs as the rest of his team did, hell the entire rest of the force but then he knew from experience that just because someone fought on the front lines didn't mean they did so honourably. It was important to have people who could hold them responsible but that wasn't what this was- Internal Affairs wasn't protecting Kevin or stopping him from doing harm, they were trying to let harm continue. And for what? Some screwed up sense of loyalty? Of duty?
"Do you think…" He trailed off, unsure how to broach the topic but Kevin had already heard him.
"I'm sure if I wanted to recant-"
"That's not even close to what I was going to ask."
His partner paused, one brow raised and now it was Jay's turn to sigh. "Look, I know it wasn't my call to make but if it means anything you made the same one I would have. And I know it's harder for you, more than I'm ever going to know, I just… Do you think they'd be doing this if I was the one who made the report? Or Adam or-"
"Or someone white?"
He nodded slowly, watching as his friend looked him over, something he couldn't quite identify building in his gaze. Race wasn't something they'd ever really talked about and for Jay it wasn't something he even had to think about but for Kevin… it was his whole life. Every aspect of it. It was one thing to be black, another to be blue but to be both? Sometimes he didn't know how the man did it.
"Honestly?" Jay nodded again, watching as that look grew but whatever Kev saw when he looked at him must've been enough because he relaxed, the tension in his shoulders easing as he gave another shrug. "If it had been a regular beat cop, maybe not. But Doyle's family? Man, they'd take down anyone they had to."
The way Kevin's head shook showed Jay just how much fighting them was weighing on him, and his own fists clenched in response. "They're not taking you down. Not a chance. You know that right? You know we all got your back?"
Finally his partner smiled, though the worry in his eyes didn't lessen by much. "Yeah, I know. And I appreciate it. And I appreciate you looking out."
"Anytime."
They shared another look but thankfully they didn't need to sit in the heaviness that had filled the car much longer, just the amount of time it took Kevin to make the last right into the lot. They were only just behind Hailey and Vanessa, the two women already stepping out of their car as they pulled up and parked alongside them.
"Hey."
"Hey."
He raised a single brow at Kev as he and Vanessa greeted each other, warmly, and for the briefest second looked at Hailey but though he knew she noticed she didn't meet his stare, and instead gave the building in front of them her attention.
"It looks like the signs on the door and windows were scraped off- recently. This must've been where they brought the families whenever they wanted things to look official."
"How we going in?"
She still didn't look at him but Vanessa did, waving a small lock-picking pack at him and Kevin with a grin. Jay had to shove the ache in his heart back, back, back, back, no longer able to even try glancing Hailey's way as they finally slipped inside, not even when he swore he felt a flicker of guilt coming from her. He just moved deeper into the room and began to look around, not that there wasn't much to see. It was a small space, three empty desks and a small office at the back that Kevin was already checking out but based on the fact that the drawers of the desks and filing cabinets had been left open he didn't think they were going to find anything. If it weren't for Tess his blood would've been boiling right now, and if he thought too long about how this could've played out without her it started to. Whoever these pricks were, they were good- they hadn't even left behind pens. Nothing that could have DNA or fingerprints.
"I got nothing. No paperwork, no files, not even a damn post-it." Kev looked just as frustrated as he came out from the office and they shared a hard look.
"This is ridiculous." Vanessa muttered angrily. "We need to get something on these assholes fast."
Just then Jay's phone buzzed in his pocket and the second it did he knew they had. With a quick tug he had it in his hand, the tightness in his chest easing as he stared at the screen.
6470 North Olympia Ave. Voight, Kim and Adam are already on their way. Kick some ass.
"We got it. Let's go."
"Hit it."
"Chicago PD!"
His foot slammed into the polished, ornate wooden door with a fierce fury, satisfaction rushing through him as it splintered and swung open. His long strides carried him quickly into the house, his unit moving as one on either side of him; with their heavy black vests and automatic weapons they were out of place in the elegant home but Jay liked the idea of messing this place up. Everything was pristine, practically dripping with the smell of money but there wasn't a thing in here that was worth more than those kids and none of the glitz or glamour covered that up. And none of the makeup or pretty clothes that Alice Brenson dressed herself in could cover the bitterness on her face as they stormed down upon her where she sat frozen on her sofa, stunned by their sudden arrival.
"Where are the kids?" He demanded, and though he slipped his gun back into his holster he couldn't stop his finger from twitching as he did- it wasn't often he wished their suspects were armed but this was one scenario where he might not have minded.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"We know Alice. We know everything. Now tell me where they are or I'm not going to be the one who asks you next."
The colour drained from her cheeks at the mention of her birth name, the haughtiness fading fast as she slid her eyes over the rest of his team but for a moment it still seemed like she would refuse. But even as she sneered defeat crested in her eyes and she sank back against the couch, waving her hand towards the room behind them.
"They're sleeping. Try not to scare them- it's annoying when they cry."
Arresting Alice felt good.
But it never felt good enough.
The pit that had formed in his stomach the minute they'd started this case still remained, as did the anger that had built right alongside it and that combined with the frustration of making no strides meant that Jay was wound tight, enough that he gave Alice over to Adam to deposit in one of the interrogation rooms lest he get too rough with her. It was tempting after her attitude at the house, her indifference, and especially after watching Hailey and Kim hand the children off to Platt to be looked after until the real Child Protective Services could arrive. They seemed unharmed, mostly confused, and desperately wanting their parents- it was hard not to imagine what they might've gone through, what they would have gone through but then he caught sight of Tess, the casual yet professional air about her as she straightened from where she'd been leaning against his desk and just like that he started to feel better.
He got that picture again, of her sitting behind one of them, working beside them, and felt his heart stutter. He liked that picture.
He really liked it.
"What else you got?"
He also liked that his Sergeant was starting to understand how she operated.
Tess looked like she did too, like she was holding back a smile as she dipped her chin to the older man. "Alice has a younger sister- Marcie Brenson, now going by Katherine Hault. She lives a few blocks south from her sister and judging by their cell histories Brian was spending most of his time there."
"They were dating?"
She and Kim shared a look of disgust and a quick glance around the room showed everyone mirroring it. Everyone in here had made some dumb choices in the name of love, him especially but nothing like this. Nothing that intentionally hurt other people, hurt children. He found himself stepping closer to Tess as she continued sharing what she'd learned, using her presence to push back the anger that tried to rise, the images past and present, coming back to the moment when he heard Adam laugh, something about Caminetto and a falafel.
"They're on their way back now. Kot says there's enough evidence that they'll both be going away for a long time, so hopefully their sisterly bond is strong."
Thank fuck.
Thank Tess.
They would've been fucked without her. Alice, Marcie, the kids- they wouldn't have found any of them. The sisters would have continued, would have stolen who knew how many more. But… what about the ones that had already been sold? Tess was good, she was really good but time hadn't been on their side on this one. The first kid had been taken almost two years ago. How much could someone take in such a long time, at such a young age?
They were so young.
"What about the rest of the kids? How many were you able to find?"
"All of them."
Tess gave a little half shrug, like she wasn't bothered by the incredulous way everyone was staring at her and he didn't know if that was true, couldn't tell by looking at her anyway but he knew that she must. Knew in that way that he knew her but right now he couldn't focus on that because she was still talking and he still, and only a little less desperately needed to hear what she was saying.
"In an… I'm not going to say positive because it's equally as disturbing but in a surprising turn of events none of the kids were sold to traffickers, or from what I've been able to tell anyone with even remotely peddy vibes."
He heard her, heard Adam mumbling behind him as he repeated her but it hardly registered, his mind too busy trying to make sense of her words.
None of the kids had been hurt.
None of them had been touched.
They were… safe?
"So then what happened to them?"
Voight's voice boomed through the suddenly silent room but Tess didn't flinch and once again he felt pride welling up inside him, even as her response had his mind reeling.
"They were sold to rich white families who wanted a black child without the aggravation of going through the adoption process."
That… that was awful.
Sick and twisted in the kind of way that made his skin scrawl but… it was better. So much better than what it could have been. So much better than what he'd been imagining, the little white shoe lost amongst the reeds that was never far from his mind when they worked a case like this. Wasn't ever that far to be honest, nothing a quick thought couldn't pull up with perfect clarity. This was awful, but it was better.
But maybe that was a matter of opinion.
"You got enough on them?"
Jay found himself sharing a concerned look with Adam at the thinly veiled rage in Kevin's voice, the pot that was so close boiling over. But it wouldn't. Not right now.
Not with Tess.
"I do. And if any of them try to wriggle their way out… well let's just say there'll be a lot of skeletons tumbling out of closets." Her voice wasn't breezy but it was light, confident in the way that made his teammates' shoulders loosen as he gave her his and as she shot a wink at Voight even his Sergeant's lips twitched into a smile. "Hypothetically, of course."
That was his girl. Always there to save the day.
The tension in the room lifted, not completely but Jay managed to ignore the pang in his chest as he forced his eyes to skip over Hailey and focused instead on Adam's grin; it was big and broad, with the same surprise and admiration that was on Kevin's and Kim's and even Vanessa's faces. His own pride was rising high as he looked back at Tess and-
There.
It wasn't anything he could see, not a furrow of her brow or a flicker in her eyes but there was something.
For the briefest second, he swore that there was something.
Even as she continued talking, her face so perfectly relaxed as she readied herself to leave, so perfectly gracious as she accepted Voight's thanks, something that was given rarely, there was something. Some feeling he had that Tess… she wasn't okay. His conviction started to waver as he watched her say goodbye to Kim, he wasn't the only one who noticed the genuine light in the way the women looked at each other, a connection that hadn't been there when he'd left but then he felt it again. That sense that something was off. Something was wrong. No one else could see it, though as he pulled his eyes away from her retreating back and scanned the room he realized that Voight could see it in him and that made him feel worse.
What if he was imagining this? Projecting his own guilt onto her? He didn't want to be the reason his sergeant hesitated around her, didn't want to break the tenuous trust that was being built.
But… what if he wasn't?
