"Someone's done well for them self," Kev muses with a nod towards their surroundings as he joins Hailey on the sidewalk on the tree-lined avenue just over 20 miles away from the 21st.

Hailey looks around her, "Yeah," she agrees.

"Then again, maybe it's what you deserve when someone tries to kill you and you get away from a relationship like that." Atwater continues as they walk to the immaculate 2 storey home and its front door with a welcome mat in front of it and wellington boots, all of a different size from adult to kid sized either side of it.

The door opens, Kayleigh Alexander greets them and beckons Kev and Hailey in. She'd been instantly agreeable to them coming over within an hour of Hailey's call.

She's petite. Long black hair, tied in a ponytail and wearing jeans and a sweater. Two small dogs follow her around while she holds a baby in her arms.

"Be with you in a sec, just finished feeding this little monster, going to put him in his basket and I'll come talk, take a seat anywhere," she gestures vaguely to the sizeable living room.

All around the house are signs of a happy, normal suburban family life. No hint of Kayleigh's past.

It reminds Hailey of the Flynn's home. Albeit bigger, albeit more rooted in the current rather than memories of happier times a long time ago.

"Okay, well I think we have a few minutes at least, or usually," Kayleigh walks back into the room, "Sit, sit, can I get you both a drink?"

"No thank you," Hailey replies as Kev echoes her, "Thank you for agreeing to see us so soon," she adds as they both sit and Kayleigh does too in the armchair closest to them.

"I always wondered if someone would come talk to me again. Kind of hoped that the silence meant that he was better. That prison did him good. Makes me sad, how war can change someone."

"Mrs Alexander, how did you know Peter Barnet?" Hailey asks.

Kayleigh takes a breath, gathering herself, "He was the guy everyone wanted to know in school. 5 years older than me. Handsome, charismatic. We started dating when I was seventeen and he was twenty-two. He was so sweet, he had all these dreams. He wanted to be a paramedic, then a firefighter, instead he was a realtor and then 9/11 happened and he settled on being a soldier. We were all so proud. He went on 3 tours. The first couple, it took a week for him to be okay again when he came back."

She shuts her eyes to slow down. To feel more in control of her emotions then slowly opens them, her gaze settling on Hailey and Kevin.

"He said the night before he left on the 3rd tour that it would be his last, he'd set up a business. We'd have kids. He was never violent until he came home that 3rd time. It only happened 3 times, the first 2 times were bad, but they were okay. I was 8 weeks pregnant the final time, didn't even know till afterward when I wasn't pregnant anymore. He could've killed me as well as the baby, he almost did. It wasn't the Peter I knew. Iraq changed him and I've never known what happened, he would shut down each time I tried to talk to him."

Hailey and Kevin exchange a glance.

"Mrs Alexander, you spoke up in his defense. Gave a testimony at his trial? Why?" Hailey asks.

"Iraq killed Pete, or at least the Pete I knew. It wasn't Pete's fault that they had no actual mechanism in place for dealing with trauma. Dealing with seeing his friends die. The things he saw every day? You try that and see if you come back the same so yeah I spoke for him cause I didn't want his entire life ruined. Look at me, I'm okay. I got a wonderful life and yeah, I get that there was no alternative to prison but the fact that you people are here tells me there was no rehabilitation."

"Are you still in contact with him?" Kevin this time.

Kayleigh frowns, "No. For both our sanity I decided not to," she hesitates, looks ready to say something but shuts her eyes once more and glances at the clock on the wall, "Listen, that's all I know and my husband will be home soon. I'd rather not have him worry or bring back the past before I have the chance to speak to him."

"That's okay Mrs Alexander," Kevin responds offering a warm smile as he and Hailey stand up and follow her as she takes them to the front door, opening it and smiling though it never reaches her eyes.

"Be there in a sec," Hailey whispers to Kevin as he catches her eye and murmurs, "Got it." leaving Hailey alone on the porch with Kayleigh in the doorway.

"I know it's a lot to talk about Mrs Alexander, if you feel you want to talk about anything you weren't ready to today, here's my card."

Kayleigh takes the card and holds it as though it's made of precious metal, stares at it and then slowly lifts her eyes up to meet Hailey's.

"It's just a lot. A lot I've buried so deep and it's hard or harder than I thought to bring it back up and I don't know what's useful and what's not."

"When you're ready, let me be the one to decide that, call me anytime," Hailey leans forward, laying her hand gently on top of Kayleigh's before turning away.

She's halfway down the drive back to the car when she hears, "Thank you Detective."

Hailey has the strongest feeling it's only a matter of time before she hears from her again.

Sleep comes at a price for Jay again that night. Babur and Tabssum once more. No sign of Morgan this time, but in her place, other memories.

Memories he's always buried so deep that the return of them? It shakes him. Leaves him trembling even hours after he'd woken up breathless, distressed.

His throat's sore and it occurs to him that perhaps the sound he thought was in his nightmare was reality, a scream of pain, anguish, horror that something he'd warded off for as long as he has chose right now to return.

He's in his car, the heater turned on high as winter feels like it's starting to settle in the city and in his bones. The greyness of the early morning matching his mood.

At least when Upton comes, he can simply hear what he needs to and get out of here. There's not enough between them in reality for him to linger, for her to dig deeper or anything. Even if he'd felt slightly differently before, the last nights of sleep have left him feeling exposed, bruised and he's unwilling to share it more than he has to.

As he hears a vehicle approaching and peers toward it, seeing not 1 but 2 people, it's pretty much par for the course where his luck's concerned these days, he figures. Wearily, he drags himself from his car and shuts the door, nodding toward his colleagues.

Olinsky watching him with an assessing stare. It's not much better when he glances at Upton, she's much the same. Those eyes staring intensely at him. He doesn't waver under the scrutiny. Of course, that's all internal.

"You look beat, kid," Al comments bluntly.

"I'm okay."

Hailey fixes him with a disbelieving stare that she somehow controls and brings down from withering to mere quiet disbelief. Jay's oblivious or a better actor than she thought as he bats away any semblance of concern he could be sensing from them.

"So, Brian Townsend's autopsy?"

Al settles backward, leaning against Hailey's car as Hailey passes the file to Jay, telling him what he'll find.

"It was an overdose, or at least they determined it was a cardiac arrest because of an overdose."

"Oxy?" Jay questions without looking up, his gaze focused on the contents of the file.

"Among other drugs, fentanyl and some coke to be precise."

Jay looks up from the file, grim-faced, "That all?"

"Page 4," Al mutters from behind Hailey and Jay's fingers flick immediately to read it.

Hailey doesn't count, but she estimates it takes 2 or 3 seconds for Jay to find it.

"Holy shit, unknown adhesive substance found near his eyelids and abrasions on his wrists but no sign of restraints found near the body?"

Jay shuts the file and drops it onto the bonnet of his car, raking his hands through his hair, then scratching at his beard.

"I thought it was certain but didn't know if we'd find anything conclusive. Marcie, she has no clue."

"Jay?" Hailey's voice pulls him from where he'd got lost for a second and he jerks his head toward her, attention back on what Hailey's telling him.

"Yeah, sorry," he mutters vaguely.

"Atwater and I, we went to interview Kayleigh Alexander, the ex-girlfriend that Barnet almost killed."

"And?"

"Best testimonial I've heard for someone given he tried to kill her. Said he wasn't a monster, a little lost before 9/11 and then he found a purpose and was fine at first. 3rd tour messed with his head."

"We knew that already though, right?" Jay looks between Hailey and Al, expression confused in part, the rest unreadable.

"Yeah mostly, but it's a little different when you hear her say it aloud. There was something she wasn't telling us. I don't know if she was afraid or something else, she has my number."

"Anything else? We got any more on Price or the lawyer and whoever hired the lawyer to save Brian Townsend's ass over and over?" Jay queries.

"Nothing and the lawyer is conveniently on vacation. We're still looking at Price," Al replies, then adds, "But anything else? Oh yeah, this new gadget, something tech passed onto us. Cracked like the last cell but with a little camera so you don't have to try anything else and that little more secure," Al moves next to Jay, places the cracked iPhone that's not quite a normal iPhone on the bonnet and turns it on its side, showing the volume button, "Press it 3 times quickly in succession and it records, to stop it press the home key.".

Jay's eyebrows arch upwards, "Since when did CPD go James Bond?" He tries it though and grins in approval when it works.

"Keep the old one for now as a backup," Hailey puts in as Jay nods his understanding.

"How about you, Jay? No sense they made you?" Al asks.

"No. One minute Barnet's talking about how they can make me forget everything. You heard right? And the next he makes threats but I feel like that's what they do to everyone, test their resolve, their nerve. It's Marcie who concerns me, I visited her. I don't know if I'm paranoid. She seemed off. Something I noticed about her early on, as if someone was prompting her and that couldn't be the case this time and she seemed okay, you know not as bad as she'd been," Jay blows out a breath, "I think I'm just tired."

Al and Hailey exchange a surprised glance at the admission. It's Al who chooses the words carefully, his tone gentle but careful not to patronize.

"We could put a tail on her or you could pull out, Jay, if you're concerned at any point or we can send someone in, take the load off you a little."

Jay scoffs, "And throw everything down the drain? No, it's fine and I feel like I'm so close."

Just like that, the moment's gone except Al isn't one to give up. He knows Jay better, has the respect of Jay and he couldn't care less if Jay is pissed at him for persisting.

"Okay gotcha, but Halstead, keep in touch. More than you are or as much as you safely can, this case is heavy on you and it's heavier when it's you alone not letting anyone else in."

The intensity of Al's stare is enough to get Jay's attention, to get his agreement even if it's just with a look, which is all he gets.

"Good enough," he says lightly and then he turns away, walking back toward the car, Jay watching him till he slides in and the door shuts.

"Ok, I'll be even less subtle than Olinsky, you holding up? You still solid, Jay?"

Jay huffs, stepping away, leaving Hailey in his wake, cursing silently that she pushed him too far before he opens the car door, bends his head into it and leans forward rather than slides into it, shuts the door again and returns to her side, handing her the coffee cup.

Hailey almost laughs.

"There's your answer, I saw Al and didn't want him to think I forgot him even though I had no idea he was coming and I almost forgot anyway, so it's probably cold by now." he explains quietly.

"It's the thought that counts Jay, "Hailey leans into him slightly whispering, "This our thing now?"

"I bought you coffee twice, it's hardly a thing Upton."

"No other partner ever bought me coffee more than once, and certainly not exactly the right order ever." she pulls the top off and breathes in the smell.

"You just needed better partners."

It's good to see Jay smile, see the lines of stress recede slightly for a moment.

"Seriously though Jay, you're still solid, right? Talking to Kayleigh Alexander, the things she said, the toll Iraq took on Barnet. I know you're not as okay as you want anyone to believe and I know I'm stepping where I shouldn't, I'm just concerned, after all where else am I going to find such a solid coffee buying partner?"

Jay half smiles, "It's okay and yeah, I'm solid. And yes, I promise I'll say if that changes."

Jay doesn't add that it's a big 'IF' that'll he recognizes it in time because in others it comes from nowhere, like a bomb and nightmares may be hard, some memories may have reemerged but none of its new at least.

"Okay," Hailey finishes her drink and then hands him the cup gesturing toward Al in the car who's done an expert job so far at pretending he's not watching though Hailey and Jay know he is.

She moves away before he calls her name.

"Hailey, when this is all over, remind me to tell you about Babur and Tabssum?"

She takes the steps back to his side and lightly rests her hand on his arm, "Later is fine, but if you need to sooner, that's okay too, Jay."

Jay watches her till she's gone, watches the car leave and returns the slight wave from them both. If he shuts his eyes, he can still feel the light touch and the fleeting comfort it gave him. The absence of regret that he even mentioned Babur and Tabssum where normally he'd be cursing himself for going there.

He can almost reach and touch another feeling altogether, that could blindside him if he isn't careful and could distract him in a way he hadn't even expected.

Someone cares and not only her of course, he's aware Al's the same, they all are in Intelligence, hell even Platt too but Hailey's different and if he wasn't so immersed, if Ryan Foster wasn't in the way, maybe it'd feel better as nothing more than a friend he can lean on.

Just now it feels strange though. Inconvenient.

It's Inconvenient as well that he doesn't quite want to let it go.

Marcie's there and it's almost as though the talk never happened. He didn't see her, and the days haven't rolled by.

He can see immediately she's back on it. On Oxy. She's dropped a bottle twice tonight, and she keeps starting sentences and not finishing them.

She may as well not be here, isn't really except in body. He comes close to blowing everything, wanting to shake her out of the stupor she's in. Yell to her that Brian was murdered.

Tell her what he suspects she already knows. Dig deeper to whatever is behind all of this or whoever. Who's behind the ruination of multiple lives that you can use Afghanistan and Iraq as excuses for as much as you like, but there's a hand to this that isn't anything to do with all of that.

It's closer to home.

He hears Marcie clearing her throat as he scoops up broken glass again with the dustpan and brush and straightens as Barnet points to him and jerks his head for Jay to follow him.

"There it is," he thinks he hears her say, and he wants to question it but he feels the dustpan and brush be taken away from him and a gentle push from Marcie.

He's not checked the cell since earlier and he has to hope whatever comes next, whether he's been made or if it's something else entirely that it doesn't fail him.

As he reaches Barnet's side, the man urges him to go ahead and as Jay steps into the corridor, he can see the door to the cellar is open.

"It's time, Ryan, you checked out, you're in," Barnet says at his back, "if you want to that is, but understand there's no going back the moment you walk down those stairs, the moment I shut the door behind us, everything changes."

Jay blinks, not needing to fake the apprehension Ryan would feel because Jay himself feels it. All these weeks of uncertainty so close to the next step at last.

"What have I got to lose?" He manages as he nears the door and steps through it seeing the staircase.

"Exactly, Ryan, exactly."

The door shuts behind Jay and he steps down the dozen stairs down into the cellar, there's another door in front of him and in front of it are kegs of beer and lager, enough to fulfil the illusion of a cellar.

"Open it, Ryan," instructs Barnet, his breath close enough against Jay's ear for him to feel the heat of it.

The door is heavy as Jay opens it and sees a table with chairs around it, a video screen over it on the wall. There's yet another door to the far left of the room but after Jay's quick scan of the room, he turns his attention to the others, feels a hand drop on his shoulder but Barnet is sitting now.

Price, then.

"Gentlemen, this is Specialist Ryan Foster, an expert marksman from the 3rd Battalion 75th Army Rangers Regiment."

There's a low hum of muttered welcomes.

Jay's not played poker in years but as he looks from face to face and lingers on the face of one very alive Anthony Hunt, then looks to his right, sees the flicker of recognition on the final face, he hopes, he prays he's somehow managed to recall everything he learned and knew back in those days.

Because honestly, what the hell?

Dun-dun-duh! Safe to say we're about to dive headlong into some stuff and yeah. I'm always in danger of revealing more than I intended so I'll shut up. Do let me know what you think, thanks for reading and take care and stay safe xx