Hailey was walking up the stairs towards the bullpen that morning, Jay following in her footsteps casting an eye on the mail having been passed on by Trudy Platt. He suddenly collided into her as she had stopped any form of movement. There, casually making conversation with Voight at his office's doorway, she was looking at Agent Zidan from the New York Federal Investigation Bureau. He was ordinarily smartly dressed in his traditional suit, hands resting in his pockets. She noticed his missing FBI large winter jacket was engulfing and disposed on her chair which made her assume Voight had already provided him with a tour of the precinct.
Her sudden lack of movement right at the top of the stairs had indeed, resulted in Jay instinctively holding her from behind as he noticed she was too preoccupied to even register the unexpected contact with him. Intrigued by what she was intently watching, he did not even have the time to evaluate what was going on as she took him by surprise and broke out of her reverie to exclaim,
"OA!" She started hurrying up towards him with a huge smile adorning her beautiful features, one Jay was currently missing.
"Chicago!" He responded as a smile also broke onto his face, matching her eager tone and taking her petite frame in his arms when she reached him.
Voight stood there proudly, being attentive to their exchange, the inter-agency training program having paid-off like he had been hopeful it would for Hailey. And then some he had to say. She was undoubtedly one of the best police he had ever dealt with thus he had held no desire in witnessing or participating in letting her throw all that away. He had bet on her as well as keeping up the faith but he had sent her there with definite knowledge it was make-or-break for her career.
Fortunately, she had come back a few weeks ago in higher spirits, the assignment having initiated a fresh and positive outlook on how to handle the negative repercussions and collateral damages of the job. Eventually, she had also began to understand and appreciate his initiative. Her rich and vibrant persona had become more visible, having made new friends while still missing Chicago and what it had to offer fondly.
That's when his eyes turned towards Jay marching towards his desk, disoriented and wary to see Hailey being so animated and friendly towards someone she had known only a few weeks by now. Obviously, she had been bragging about New York a lot: the cases, the technology, this OA guy along with every other member of the team. He had been able to imagine how invigorating this whole experience had been for her. But hearing about it and witnessing how carefree and comfortable she was around this guy was different.
He reckoned New York had changed her. In the best way. Or maybe it was to say her escapade had mended her. Having her back as the excited, driven and upright Hailey who first joined Intelligence was a relief of burden. He was only keeping his fingers crossed for New York not to have changed everything.
"It's so good to see you again. What are you doing here?" Her eyes were full of questioning as she ended up directing her inquiry towards her Sergeant.
He put his forefinger in the air, asking for one moment as the rest of the team was coming up one after the other, immediately taking their position at their respective desks as they guessed - by the look of the tall and classy guy the girls had already made out to be OA - an announcement was to come.
Indeed, Voight came about to disclose,
"Listen up everybody. This is Special Agent Zidan from New York and Upton's recent partner during the inter-agency training program. It was his request to join us on our next case as his partner is still undercover. Upton made quite an impression on him so he wanted to see for himself how we rule here in Chicago. Give him a warm welcome people. If you want to add anything…" Voight finished by looking at OA, leaving him the floor.
Staying true to himself, as relaxed and confident as ever, he managed to simply confirm,
"Yeah, I'm OA. Obviously, I've heard a lot of great things about you so I'm excited to be walking on unknown territory and to be kicking some ass in your company!" He clapped his hands together, making the rest of the team chuckle as they gathered around him to greet him and go into raptures over his height.
Overall, they all came across as enthusiast at having him join their shenanigans for a brief period of time. It was always welcomed to have new faces shake things up a bit to offer a brand-new perspective on the city and tasks at hand. The only person not showing interest or excitement was Jay as Hailey wondered what had suddenly gotten into him. He seemed perfectly alright a few minutes ago. From his point of view, he was trying to pinpoint why he despised the fact that this overall cool guy was not sitting well with him, even more so when he had not given him a chance yet.
She approached him worried, putting a hand on his arm while asking,
"Are you okay, Jay?"
"Yeah, yeah. Introduce me to your friend, will ya?" He lied through gritted teeth but she did not pick up on it. Instead, her broad smile could not seem to be contained as she got a hold of his arm and walked them over to the rest of the group having now sat down at the round table to chitchat in the coffee room.
"And this OA, is my partner Jay." Jay extended his hand and OA shook it firmly, replying,
"Oh I see. So nice to meet you man." Jay offered a curtesy smile and a nod to feel like he was silently reciprocating the feeling.
"Little Chicago here couldn't shut up about you all these weeks." He watched Hailey's eyes widen as she looked down and OA felt great pride in having the ability to embarrass her. Jay granted a small smile at the thought of being omnipresent in Hailey's professional stint miles away from here but reverted back to his broody mood after registering the nickname he got going on for her.
"Well, she hasn't shut up about you either since returning from New York." His tone which he had hoped to be playful came across as sour and an uncomfortable silence creeped in into the team as Hailey stared at him with objection, her light blue eyes turning dark at the asshole vibe he was throwing off. He also knew that was a lie. She had expanded on the greatness of the whole experiment, not particularly specifying what a wonderful asset he was.
As an understatement, Hailey went from excited to fuming. There was nothing she desired more than to put him on the spot right there and ask him what his problem was but out of respect for OA's first time with the team, she refrained from doing so. The last thing she wanted was to create unnecessary drama. Noticing Hailey's tension coming to surface, Rojas felt the need to have her back and intervene,
"Jay hasn't been able to shut up about Hailey either so I guess it goes around full circle." Her obvious attempt to lighten the mood did not fall flat as the whole group, grateful for her sneaky but truthful remark, cracked up at her joke.
Jay, on the other hand, avoided her furrowed brow and menacing eyes altogether. If OA perceived any sign of discomfort, he was smart enough to never mention it.
"So OA, what do you think of Chicago?" Kim inquired, curious as to what he had gotten to see so far.
"Not much unfortunately. I flew in early this morning and the precinct sums up my Chicago experience so far." He laughed a little before pursuing on giving his opinion on their work space,
"Don't get me wrong, everything is much simpler than what I'm used to in New York and technology-wise, you're undoubtedly far behind. But it is pretty cosy and you seem like a pretty tight family, where everyone has each other's back. I gotta admit this sentiment here is pretty unique." They all looked at each other proudly, grateful this was what was coming off that bullpen, rightfully so.
Jay internally rolled his eyes as Hailey playfully punched OA to state,
"Still had to brag about the Big Apple and all your modern tech, huh?" He put his hands in the air to plead guilty. Just as she was proud of belonging here, he was also pleased with everything he had accomplished in New York.
Thankfully for Jay, Voight barged in to put him out of his misery with a murder case emergency in Lake View. They rallied back to their desks as OA stuck Hailey like a leech and resumed to half-sit on the corner of her desk. Out of annoyance at a habit he was usually the one taking on, Jay threw his jacket on his desk irritably and caught Hailey's disapproval look while OA was still oblivious to his out-of-character behavior.
"A woman found her parents dead at their own house while they were supposed to have breakfast there this morning. We'll debrief after visiting the scene but I've been told it could be assimilated to a previous case we've not been able to solve so keep your eyes open. Let's move!" Voight encouraged the team, assigning everyone their missions out of common curtesy for the temporary recruit. Otherwise, they pretty much knew what to do.
"OA, time to dip in your toes. You'll ride with Jay and Hailey." He ordered as everyone dispersed to focus on the tasks at hand.
Just when Jay did not think his day could get any worse…
He noticed Hailey trying her best to minimize any type of eye contact with him and he presumed she was also stopping herself from putting him in his place not to make OA ill at ease. Instead, the latter was making fun of her minimalist desk and outdated computer and he had to bear witness to their cosy exchange.
The perspective of having him being included in their partnership - even if temporarily - was clearly nowhere near enchanting to him.
Everything had been going great since she had returned. She had been more serene, more open and they had both admitted to missing each other like crazy while she was away. Not having her close by had been excruciating as he had not mentally prepared for her absence sucking the living life out of him. Nonetheless, distance had paradoxically brought them even closer emotionally, if feasible.
Presently feeling childish, immature and threatened was new territory for Jay. All these mixed negative emotions were bringing out his worst traits. Resenting a decent guy for no tangible reason except feeling scared of his bond with his partner was beneath him.
In his defense, building a solid partnership with Hailey had not been an easy walk in the park considering their respective history. It had taken time for them to connect as well as to put that unbreakable trust and silent communicating skills in place. It would crush him to witness her partnership with OA being an effortless thing and overruling their established one.
And that's when Jay allowed himself to expose what was bothering him into unmistakable words… He was jealous!
"Sarge!" Hailey yelled, standing in front of the board entitled "Multi Homicide?" positioned near the stairs, ready to update him on the case.
As Voight joined them, she signaled for OA to take her place as she was leaving him the honors of commencing the debriefing of what they had previously observed so everyone knew where they stood.
"Alright, take me from the top." Voight said standing by Vanessa's desk, legs spread and arms crossed, his signature pose.
They were all tightly regrouped around the desks closer to the stairs except for Jay who had reclaimed his appointed place on Hailey's desk.
"Well, the woman calling this morning was Amelia Stone. Like we mentioned earlier, she was supposed to have breakfast this morning with her parents which they confirmed last night but when she arrived on site, they didn't answer the door so she let herself in and discovered Carlton and Maggie Stone dead in their bed. " He paused to attach the pictures of the two victims on the board - not dwelling on the outdated method - before resuming,
"They were shot in the heart and lying lifeless in their bed, hands intertwined."
"Cute." The irony in Voight's statement was perceptible as the MO rang a bell.
"The shooter was not an amateur," OA pursued, "The two shots were precise, clean and the room was immaculate. No breaking and entering were noted. It was planned, controlled and from the looks of it, the victims died on the spot. Just a clean execution." He finished by stepping aside, knowing another member of the team would take over from him.
"This takes us back to that case from a few months back: The Martins'. Same MO, bullets in their hearts, hands intertwined and no sign of struggle." Hailey informed them, her turn to take the stage and pin up the filed photos of Madison and Harry Martin.
"Okay. Do we have any lead on who is responsible for these quadruple murders?" Voight rhetorically asked, aware Ruzek was coming up with a concrete theory.
"Yeah, a lead which we had initially failed to confirm due to our lack of evidence is now on the run again. This woman," Adam approached the "Suspect" side of the board, laying a brief hand on Hailey's shoulder in the switching place process, a discreet and revealing common sign of perfect unrehearsed coordination.
"Natalia Bradford, 48 years old, therapist." He simply said, pointing to a coquette and middle-class woman whom you would think butter would not melt in her mouth. OA scanned the room to see the team racking their brains at what they had formerly missed regarding this suspect when he had no idea why she was even in the picture in the first place.
Sensing his puzzled look, Kevin stepped in to clarify,
"Her husband left her a few years ago for a much younger female companion who happened to be carrying his child. Turns out his body was found in a dumpster with a bullet in his heart days before the arrival of their child. His partner was devastated and kept on accusing the ex-wife of being unable to move on. Natalia had a solid alibi and had acted extremely cocky in the interview room, rather unfazed by the pictures of her dead ex-husband. We had been unable to trace back to the shooter so it was a dead end, unsolved case. She has been walking free ever since."
OA nodded, silently sorting out all pieces of the puzzle in his head. He could not help but wonder out loud,
"What does this have to do with the two other couples, though?"
"Our two couples were actually patients of hers," Jay responded, catching the eyes of anybody but him. "Ironically, she is a couple's therapist. They were following therapy with her after having to deal with one of the spouse having been unfaithful. Amelia confirmed that but clarified by saying her mother had been willing to forgive and things were looking up for the Stones." Vanessa cut in to add,
"I called Jack Martin, the other couple's son who also corroborated Amelia's remarks. It was apparently Madison straying and imagine that, they were also on the path of rebuilding their relationship. I guess there's a pattern here."
"So what's the theory over here guys?" Voight drove them into a corner and Kim concluded,
"My guess is her marriage breakdown made her lose touch with reality. Incapable of accepting her husband's betrayal and his moving on, she killed him. And now she is eliminating couples that have been through the same ordeal, a precept of killing two birds with one stone: eliminating the unfaithful person and the other one she considers weak for forgiving."
By the supporting look each of them was sporting, they were all on the same wavelength towards this plausible approach. Voight nodded but threw in his two cents,
"Regardless, she can't have been working alone. The problem is we still have no physical evidence."
"That's for sure. I'm thinking about discreet and clever hitmen she might have hired." OA completed the thought process.
"There's only one way to find out. We're onto her, we have nothing but this lead. I think it's useless bringing her in for questioning, I have a feeling we won't get anything out of her. And if she is our murders' commander, I want her to feel like she has walked away from this one once again."
"How do you want to play this then, Sarge?" Jay raised the question lingering in everybody's minds.
"We have to go undercover." He replied straightforwardly before looking back and forth between OA and Hailey.
Following his gaze, Jay was beginning to sense what was coming up and had to meditate on what the universe had against him today. Lost in his own thoughts, he almost did not catch Voight's directive adding to his own worst nightmare,
"Zidan and Upton, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you're going undercover."
They shrugged, smiling at each other before proceeding to high-five, apparently all too content to be sharing one more experience together.
Jay was starting to think Voight was the devil. Well, by the smirk he was throwing at him, it was now official. On the way to his office, he stopped by Jay's ear to rub it in his face,
"Can you handle this, Jay?" Jay perked up and pretended to appear covered with confusion, in all adequacy with Voight's recent announcement.
"Okay." Voight declared after being met with silence.
In his dictionary, "okay" actually held different meanings. For one, he would keep a close eye on him. Nothing usually slipped through Voight's net which meant he was aware of Hailey and Jay's connection. He had also firsthand bore witness to Jay's dumb look he would carry around whenever he was in love. Which he had currently done every time Hailey was nearby. However, actions spoke louder than words. Jay had inaudibly confirmed he was alright with this so screwing this operation out of possessiveness or whatever personal reason behind it would be intolerable.
Jay had been waiting for years for the opportunity to play an undercover married pair with Hailey and when that same opportunity was finally served up on a platter, OA had to be taking all the space in the picture. Where was his chance to speak up? Voight had not even invited those against this union to "speak now or forever hold your peace."
There it was again. That childish and unrecognizable side of himself. His desperate need to go undercover with Hailey was bringing out the traits of the difficult child he had gained since this morning. He craved to know how it would feel, for a short amount of time, to be married to her. For her to belong to him. Maybe even hold her hand. Share made-up stories and use their cover to shower her with compliments and love.
But he ought to forget about that. From now on, Hailey was taken.