A City At War

by DianneRose2016

Jay is finally back on the job after being shot and it couldn't have come at a better time. Something is building within Chicago and it is going to take all of Jay's skills and knowledge to stop it before millions die. Along the way, the team has to adjust to changes that are coming to the unit, including losing one of their own and gaining a new member.

1. Chapter 1

Warnings: sexual content, violence, swearing and nightmares.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 1

Jay stood in front of his bathroom mirror and took in his newest scar. It was two scars, the one, a bullet hole right next to his heart and the other, a long scar that went down the center of his chest. Dr. Marcel had to perform emergency surgery on his left lung and heart, it required him to break his chest plate to get to his injuries. That was three months ago and Jay still got little twinges of pain in his chest when he moved the wrong way. With his chest plate completely in half it had taken a long time for the bone to mend and heal itself back together. Jay had spent six weeks in the hospital, the first two he was in a medically induced coma before he was even allowed to be woken up. He could still remember how terrible Will looked when he first woke up. It was clear that he had been sitting beside his bed every waking hour that he could. When he was finally allowed to leave the hospital a month later it was into the custody of Will and his apartment. Jay had just been cleared to live on his own and get back to work.

The past three months had been hard on Jay. There was a lot of pain, a lot of moments where he just wanted to be left alone to his misery. It was in those moments that Will and Hailey refused to let him. They were always there for him and there to help him. Jay didn't even want to think about all the times that Will had to help him in the shower. They had both been his strength when he didn't have it. Now he was finally cleared to get back to work and Jay couldn't wait to get back to normal. He was cleared for full duty, but Jay knew that Voight was going to be keeping him on a short leash right now. Not that he could blame him. After they had lost Al, and then everything with Adam and Dawson, it was no surprise that Voight was going to be very careful with his return to work. They had almost lost him to a bullet and to Angela. Somehow, Jay didn't want to know how Angela had kept her mouth shut about what he had said regarding Marcus. Jay knew Voight had done something, but he was going to be letting it go. He didn't want to know what he had done or said. He was just thankful that he had a boss willing to do whatever it took to protect his team.

Jay wrapped his hand around his dog tags. He had started wearing them when he got released from the hospital. Al used to wear the bullet that almost killed him around his neck. Jay had no interest in doing that, but wearing his tags again made him feel more at peace. He had tried so hard to forget about everything that had happened over there and it wasn't working. Now he was going to try and live by remembering their sacrifice that allowed him to go home. On the back of the one tag had lines scratched into it, sixty-eight, each one for someone that died during his tours that he knew. The odds of him surviving his injuries were less than five percent, but he pulled through and made a full recovery. Jay felt like every single one of those sixty-eight soldiers were looking down on him, watching his back one more time. So now he was wearing it, carrying them with him through every door.

Jay threw a black long sleeved shirt on and grabbed his black hoodie sweater before putting on his leather coat. With winter hitting Chicago it was cold as hell and Jay was under strict instructions to be careful with getting sick right now. His lung was healed, but he was still vulnerable to getting pneumonia. Jay had received a text from Hailey letting him know they were gearing up to do a raid on a house for a suspect they had been chasing that had killed a young woman. He quickly made his way to his truck and headed for the location, putting on his gear as he drove.

Jay pulled up to the location and got out of his truck with a smile on his face. The others were getting out of their cars and when they saw Jay they all smiled and came over to him.

"Hey man, you back?" Adam asked, going to give Jay a bro hug, one he easily returned.

"Got cleared."

"It's good to have you back." Kim said, giving Jay a quick hug.

"Ya man, it's good to see ya." Kevin said, giving Jay a quick bro hug.

"You good partner?" Hailey asked warmly, moving to stand beside him.

"I'm good."

"It's good to have you back bro." Voight said, opening his arms for a hug. Jay was slightly surprised, but he easily hugged his boss back.

"It's good to be back."

"You sure, you're ready?" Voight asked.

"I've been cleared by every doctor and the brass. I'm ready Sarg."

"Alright, well, take the front." Voight said with a smile.

Jay gave Hailey a warm smile as they made their way over to the house. As they all approached the walkway to the home a dog came running from the side of the house barking and growling at them. Rojas instantly pulled her gun out and pointed it at the dog.

"Whoa, don't shoot." Jay said.

"It's obviously aggressive." Rojas argued.

"I'll stun it." Kim said, as she went to pull out her stun gun.

The dog continued to bark at them, but it sat down and Jay had a feeling. The dog was clearly a stray or had been abused. It was a German Shepherd though, but it was thin, very thin and losing its hair from being malnourished. He caught the collar and tags on the dog and instantly shot his hand out to grab Hailey to keep her from moving forward as she took a step.

"Everyone back up." Jay ordered.

Hailey turned to look at her partner, but didn't need to be told twice. She took a few steps back so she was next to him. Voight doing the same, trusting in Jay's fool proof gut.

"Why?" Rojas asked, not bothering with moving or lowering her gun.

"He sat. We gotta call the bomb squad." Jay said.

"What? Jay that makes no sense man." Adam said.

"He's probably guarding his home or something." Kim argued.

"His collar. It's military, same as his dog tags. Military K9s are trained to sit when they detect explosives. He's keeping us back." Jay explained.

"There's nothing in this case that suggests any explosives." Kevin stated.

"Just because you seem to think it's a military dog, doesn't mean it is. It's obviously a stray and aggressive, we need to get it out of the way so we can do our job." Rojas said, not impressed by this at all.

"You confident with that? Then go open the door." Jay argued back.

"I'll trust my instincts over yours any day." Rojas said with a bite to her voice.

"Rojas back up, that's an order." Voight said. "Everyone back up. Adam, call the bomb squad." Voight said.

"Are you serious?" Rojas asked, not impressed.

"I'll trust Jay's instincts over yours every time." He simply said.

"Put your guns away, Kim put the stunner away." Jay said, as he put his away and bent down.

The others did the same except for Rojas, who just lowered it as she backed up.

"Kommen Sie." Jay said, ordering the dog to come.

The dog slowly made its way over to Jay, they all noticed that it was injured and not moving very well.

"What language was that?" Adam asked.

"German. Military teaches their K9s in german, they learn faster from it and it's an added protection so no one can order the dog to do what they want." Jay explained.

The dog made its way over to Jay and he could tell it was scared.

"It's ok." Jay put his hand out and the dog gave it a sniff as it got close enough.

"Bomb unit is on the way." Adam said.

The others watched as the dog got close enough to Jay so he could pet him. The dog sniffed at the middle of Jay's chest and Jay knew what he was smelling.

"They still smell eh?" Jay said warmly. He pulled out his dog tags and let them hang in front of his coat.

The dog moved and placed himself against Jay's chest rubbing its nose against the tags. Jay ran his hand over the dog's body and noticed all of the scars on him.

"He could smell your tags?" Hailey asked, bending down to be closer to the dog.

"He can. The smell tends to seep into the metal. Some K9s are so good at scent tracking that they can track you from your dog tags alone." Jay moved and unzipped his jacket so he could bring the dog closer to his chest to try and help warm him up. "It's too cold out here for you. What's your name eh?" Jay grabbed the dog tag and saw that they had red wrapped around it instead of the traditional black. "Raider, suiting. You're a red tag, I'm sorry boy." Jay stroked the dog's head as he snuggled more into Jay's chest.

"Red tag?" Voight asked.

"It means he was discharged for having PPTSD."

"PPTSD?" Kevin asked confused.

"Puppy PTSD."

"Oh come on, that can't be a thing." Rojas said skeptically.

"Dogs are naturally protective of people. They get sent into war and watch people being killed, blown up, mutilated right in front of them. Some of them are the people they are trained to keep safe, their team, their handlers, women, children. They see it day after day the worst that humanity has to offer. Plus they get hurt themselves. There comes a point where they can't do it anymore. They give off false positives just because they are unsure and too scared to let anyone go further. They need to be discharged where they may recover with enough love and support or they don't and their handler is there for them while they learn how to live just a normal dog life."

"I've never thought of it like that before. That's terrible." Kim said sadly.

"Ya man that's rough." Kevin added.

"You said false positives. Maybe he's giving one off now." Adam suggested.

"Maybe. But would you bet your life on it?" Jay challenged.

"We wait for the bomb squad. They can clear the house. I'm not about to risk any of your lives." Voight ordered.

"He's freezing. I got a blanket in my car." Hailey said, as she got up.

"He looks injured. Where is his handler?" Kevin asked.

"No address on the tags just military ID. I'll see who he belongs to." Jay pulled out his cell phone and called Mouse.

Hailey came back over to them and wrapped the dog in the blanket. She also had a little bit of her breakfast left, just a bagel, but she figured it was better than nothing.

"He can eat right?" Hailey asked Jay.

"Ya, but small pieces for now. He's been starved." Jay said, just as Mouse answered.

"Who's been starved?" Mouse asked.

"Hey man. A dog. I got a military ID, can you run it and see who owns him?"

"Ya go ahead."

Jay gave him the number and he could hear Mouse clicking away at the keys. "When you due back Stateside?" Jay asked.

"Three weeks. I'm counting down man. How are you feeling?" Mouse had been terrified when he got the call from Will that Jay had been shot and it hit his heart. He knew what the odds of him surviving were and they were not good. He was relieved to hear that he was going to make a full recovery.

"I'm good. First day back. You still thinking about taking time off?"

"Yup, got it approved. I'm off for two months when I get back for vacation. I can't wait."

"That's awesome man. It'll be good to have you back for a bit." Jay had really missed Mouse and he was looking forward to being able to hang out without having to worry about him being called out.

"Got the name. Michael Waters, he died in a car crash two years ago. The dog then went to his older brother Jackson. That's the last transaction on the pup."

"Thanks man. I'll take it from there. Be safe and I'll see you when you get Stateside."

"See you soon man. Be safe."

"See ya brother."

Jay ended the call and spoke. "He belonged to Michael Waters, but he died two years ago in a car crash. He should be with Jackson Waters, Michael's older brother."

"We can run the name and see where he is. If nothing else this is animal cruelty. He's starving and covered in scars." Hailey said.

"Some are from overseas. You've seen a lot of action, eh boy?" Jay moved the blanket slightly so he could see some of the scars. "Couple of bullet wounds, a stab wound, and most of the rest are from shrapnel. I'm sorry, it's the worst pain in the world getting blown up I know." Raider whined and tucked his head under Jay's chin.

"What are some of the others, they look like bite wounds." Hailey said.

"From fights with other dogs. They are newer though, he got them Stateside. Probably since he's been a stray." Jay answered.

"Man, no wonder he's got puppy PTSD." Kevin said.

The bomb squad pulled up and came over to them.

"Sergeant Voight, what do you got?" Sergeant Miller asked.

"Not sure. We were just here to make an arrest on a case, but the dog came around and indicted explosives. Thought it would be best to call you in and play it safe."

"We'll take a look and see. Sometimes the K9 can smell the residue still."

"Appreciate it."

The bomb squad geared up and headed for the house. Raider tried to pull away to stop them, but Jay held onto him as he spoke.

"Hey it's ok. They're EOD. Bleibe Raider."

"How many languages do you speak?" Kim asked.

"Fluently, three. I can give commands in German."

"Damn." Kevin said.

"Once we're done here, Jay you and Hailey check out this Jackson and get the dog to a vet." Voight ordered.

"Seriously? We should just call animal control and they can handle the dog. They can put him down and we can get on with our case." Rojas said.

"Wow, that's really kind and compassionate." Kim said outraged by Rojas' coldness.

"The dog has PTSD, that makes him unstable and potentially dangerous. He could attack anyone. Not to mention how injured and malnourished he is. It would be less cruel to let him die." Rojas stated.

"Him having PTSD doesn't make him unstable and dangerous. It means he has a hard time being around violence and sleeping at night. He just needs someone to care for him and get him healthy again. He doesn't need to be put down." Jay said insulted by Rojas' comments.

"He has PTSD, assuming I even believe that is a real thing with a dog. Someone who has PTSD is dangerous and should be hospitalized or locked away."

"And if he was a person? What, it should be the same?" Jay asked, calmly. But Hailey and Voight both could tell he was getting pissed off.

"He's not, but yes. People with PTSD, especially ex-military, should be kept in one location so they can't be a danger to others. Think about it, if it was a cop, would you really want to be standing next to someone with PTSD and feel safe enough to do this job? There's a reason why cops can't have PTSD, you could never trust them not to get stuck in some flashback or episode and they shoot you in the back. They're unstable and have no place on this job or in society around people. I'll never trust anyone with PTSD much less a cop. I'll never follow them ever. You're ex-military you must agree with me." Rojas said.

"Rojas, stop talking." Hailey said with a deadly edge in her voice.

"Come on, let's get you in my truck and start getting you warmed up." Jay said to Raider.

They could all tell he was pissed and he needed to walk away before he did something he would regret. Jay picked up Raider and carried him over to his truck. Hailey got up and went and stood right in front of Rojas. Voight knew this was going to be bad. That there might not be any coming back from it with Rojas. They all knew Jay has PTSD, Voight suspected it a few years back, but it was confirmed a couple of years ago with the whole Camilla situation. Still, he was confident in Jay and trusted him the most in this unit. He was the one he picked to take over the unit when the time came. He knew there would still be moments where Jay's PTSD would surface, but he knew that Hailey made an excellent second and would be there for Jay to get him through and handle the unit until he was ready again. Those two together, they were going to take the unit to a whole level that Voight could only dream of. The Upper Brass had already been talking about Jay and what they were hoping for from him in the future. Something Voight needed to speak to Jay about and see what they would need to do to make sure everyone was ready for that future.

"You are going to get your shit out of my house today. We are not friends, I will never ride with you. I vouched for you, even when Jay told me not to. Said you would never be a team player, said he could feel it. I've always listened to his gut, but I thought maybe this time he was wrong. Turns out he was right. You are an officer, me and him, we're detectives. We out rank you. So you will do as you are told by either of us and you will not speak out of turn. Or we will report you for insubordination. Do I make myself clear officer?" Hailey said with a deadly edge to her voice.

"Yes Ma'am." Rojas said with a tightness to her voice.

Hailey turned and headed over to Jay who had placed Raider in the back of his truck and was feeding him small pieces of the bagel.

"What the hell was that?" Rojas asked pissed for the way she was just spoken to.

"That was you being kicked out of this unit." Voight said.

"What? Why because I have a problem with a cop with PTSD like the whole CPD does?" Rojas said.

"Not everyone in the CPS has a problem with a cop who has PTSD. There are veterans in the force that have it and they are still able to do their job better than other cops. As long as there are no issues, then the brass don't care." Voight said.

"PTSD is a brain injury. That makes them brain damaged. You want some cop standing beside you that has brain damage?" Rojas argued.

"I'd rather stand next to a cop with PTSD than you. You can catch a ride back with patrol, Platt will have you reassigned. Go." Voight ordered.

Voight walked away leaving Rojas even more confused.

"What the fuck is going on?" She asked Kevin.

"You said the wrong thing to the wrong person."

"It's not like Halstead has PTSD, I didn't say anything that others haven't already."

The other three looked at each other and didn't say anything.

"Holy shit. He does have PTSD. How the hell is he even a cop?" Rojas asked shocked and pissed off that she had been working beside someone that had PTSD.

"We didn't say he did." Kim instantly said.

"You didn't have to. I could see it on your faces. Does the Upper Brass know?"

"We don't know and you can't say anything. It's not your place. Jay is good, he's solid always has been and always will be. You got burned that's on you and no one else. Now I suggest you get out of here before Voight has to tell you again because I promise you, it will get worse." Adam said.

"I'll talk to em. But Ruz is right, you should head out." Kevin said.

"Fine." Rojas said, before she turned around and headed towards one of the patrol cars that came with the bomb squad.

"Hey, you ok?" Hailey asked Jay when she got over to his truck.

"I'll get over it."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea she felt that way. She's wrong."

"Except she thinks exactly like the Upper Brass does. When I first joined the Police Academy, there was a Commander, he told me to lie in the interview when asked about my medical discharge. I was to tell them the minimum and not release my PTSD to them because then I would be rejected. So I did and another Vet that was with me, he didn't lie and they tossed him. Said his mind was a risk of becoming unstable. Even though his PTSD could be cured and mine can't be."

"You did the right thing. It's no one's business whether you have it or not as long as you are stable and not a risk. Which you are. And you don't know that yours can't be cured eventually. It takes time Jay."

"No it can't be. I have chronic PTSD, what happened to me over there, it basically rewired my brain. I'm never going to not have PTSD. I'm always going to have nightmares and the triggers. All I can do is manage it." Jay said, as he was petting Raider, who had laid down under the warm blanket.

"And that's ok Jay. You know I don't care about any of that. You know I'll always be there for you to help you through any of the nightmares or triggers. I'll always be here for you to talk about what happened over there. You've mentioned a few things here and there, but we've never actually talked about it."

"I don't like talking about it." Jay said softly.

"I know, but sometimes you have to or it'll always bother you." Hailey said softly back as she placed her hand on his arm.

"Maybe one day."

"How is he?" Hailey asked, changing the topic for Jay.

"I think he'll be ok after some rest and a bit of love. I'll take him to the vet Will uses and get him checked out to make sure he's going to be ok. Then, I don't know."

"You should take him home. He obviously trusts you and I think it would be good for you to have him. Dogs can be really good for Vets."

"I'm not sure how Voight would appreciate me having to leave during the day to take care of a dog."

"You never know. He might not care. It's up to you, I'm just saying I think he would be good for you. And you would be really good for him."

Voight came over to them after he spoke with the bomb squad Sergeant. He looked at Raider and saw him lying under the blanket in Jay's back seat. He took notice of the way Jay was petting him, it was like an almost instant connection between the two of them. Voight had seen his fair share of vets over the years on the job and one thing that they had all said was that the PTSD could completely destroy you, whether it was small or large. Voight knew Jay was closer to the large side of that scale, from the few vets he spoke with that were in Jay's situation, they all expressed how their service dog really helped them get through the day and more importantly the night when their PTSD took on a whole new life. Raider needed someone like Jay to take care of him. But Voight had a strong feeling that Jay needed Raider even more.

"Alright, the bomb squad has finished going through the house. Turns out they found ten pipe bombs in the kitchen and a load of other explosive materials throughout the house." Voight said.

"So Raider was right, we were walking into a bad spot." Hailey said.

"Good boy." Jay said lovingly to Raider.

"Miller said we could have set them off just from kicking in the door. Highly unstable. This pup deserves a real treat." Voight said.

"I'll get ya a burger and some fries on the way to the vet." Jay said.

"See, this is why I trust your instincts." Hailey said proudly.

"We'll handle things here, you two take care of this one and go arrest his owner." Voight ordered.

"Sarg, I can go alone. You got a lot going on here. We still have a suspect in the wind who may or may not have more dirty bombs." Jay said.

"I know, and we'll get him. I just got you back so for a little while you are not going anywhere alone. You've been kidnapped twice in this unit, I'm not about to make it a third time. Take Hailey and get this one taken care of. When you are done come back to the district and we'll work the case." Voight said before he turned to leave, not giving Jay a chance to say anything else.

"Come on, he's got enough going on. We will take care of Raider. You drive and I'll run Jackson's name." Hailey said warmly.

"Alright. Let's go find you a burger and some fries eh boy?"

Raider gave a small bark and Jay closed the door and then got into his truck and headed off for the vet's office. He wanted to make sure Raider was ok and then he would make the quick stop the grab him some food. He was still unsure if he was going to keep Raider or not. He did like the idea of having a dog around. He got used to being around Kohl when he stayed with Will. He just wasn't sure how it would work with him being at work. He knew Raider was at least a couple of years old, he had to be a year old before he could graduate military dog school and then he's seen combat. So Jay knew he wasn't too young, but he didn't look too old either. He would need to be around Raider for him to gain his trust and to take proper care of him so he could be healthy again. It was a big ask having to leave work and not be able to be out all night on stake outs. He also didn't know if it was fair to Raider for him to be gone all the time either. He would have to work weekends, nights, days, he would only be able to come by and feed him before having to go back to work. It wouldn't be fair for him to have to be alone all the time. Jay had to think about it and see what the Vet said first.

Hailey pulled up the info on Jackson Waters as Jay made his way to the vet's. It didn't take long before it came up.

"Ok Jackson Waters, forty years old has a record for domestic abuse, drunk and disorderly and assault charges. Ok this is interesting, assault charges were filed after Waters got into a fight with a good samaritan who reported Waters to the Humane Society for animal abuse. The good samaritan claimed to have seen Waters leaving an old abandoned factory where dog fighting was known to take place there. The Humane Society checked it out, but when they arrived Waters didn't have a dog."

"So he was using Raider in the dog fighting ring and when he was about to get busted, he just leaves him somewhere." Jay said, pissed off.

"Probably. Do you know how long Raider was with Michael?"

"No, the vet will be able to tell us how old he is. Military K9s start when they are a year old in combat."

"So we know he has been out for at least two years and the vet should be able to tell us roughly how old his scars are. From all of that we should be able to figure out a rough idea of how long he served."

"Exactly. He doesn't seem that old to me. I'd be surprised if he was older than five years."

"It's hard to tell he's so thin and injured."

"Ya I know." Jay said softly and Hailey knew this was bothering him a great deal. Jay had a big heart for kids and animals. This went against everything about him.

"I'm sure he's going to be ok Jay. He just needs some rest and care."

"I hope so."

They arrived at the vet's office and Jay parked out front. They both got out and Jay picked up Raider once again and they headed in. Hailey opened the door for Jay and once inside the Vet assistant instantly came around the desk to check on Raider.

"Oh my God, where did you find him?"

"He was at a suspect's house. He's ex-military. My brother, Will Halstead, brings his dog here. I was hoping you could check him over." Jay said.

"Of course, come on back."

They followed the assistant into one of the rooms in the back. Jay placed Raider down on the table and his whole body was trembling. It was clear he did not like being here. Jay held onto Raider and tried to offer him some comfort.

"I'm going to let Dr. Williams know that you are here."

She turned and headed out of the room. Raider whined and Jay held him against his chest.

"It's ok boy. He's going to make sure you are ok and then you'll be able to get out of here."

Hailey went and started to pet Raider as well to try and help give him some comfort. It was only a minute later when Dr. Williams came in with his assistant, Vicky.

"You must be Detective Halstead. Your brother speaks very highly of you." Dr. Williams said.

"He's told me good things about you." Jay said.

"Who do we have here?" He asked, as he went and placed his hand under Radier's nose so he could smell him.

"This is Raider, ex-military K9. He found us at a suspect's house. As you can see he's in rough shape. I'm hoping you could give us more information on him."

"Let's see what we can find. Do you know anything else about him, where he's been?" Dr. Williams said, as he put on some gloves to start his exam.

"His handler died two years ago in a car crash. Raider has red tags, so he was discharged for PTSD. After his handler died he was given to the older brother. The brother we suspect had been using Raider in a dog fighting ring and when the heat got too hot he left him somewhere. That's all we know right now." Jay answered.

Dr. Williams shook his head as he took in Raider's condition. He looked at all of the scars and his injured right front leg. He got Raider to stand up and he took his height before picking him up and placing him on a scale before sitting him back onto the table.

"He's twenty-eight inches in height and he's only fifty pounds."

"Twenty-eight? That's tall for a German." Jay said.

"He's not a German Shepherd, he's a King German Shepherd. You can tell by the way his hips sit. Normally a German Shepherd has that slant, I'm sure you've seen from being on the job. His hips reflect that of a King German Shepherd, they are more equal to his back. It means he won't have the hip problems later on. It also means he's extremely underweight. A healthy male King Shepherd should weigh between a hundred and thirty, a hundred and fifty pounds."

"Whoa. So he's severely malnourished." Hailey said shocked.

"He's been neglected and starved for close to two years. The scars from bite marks go back just shy of two years, so the dog fighting started fairly quickly once his handler was dead. Other scars I'm seeing them going back two and three years ago." Dr. Williams said, as he looked at Raider's teeth.

"Age?" Jay asked.

"Best guess, he's four."

"He only got a year of combat in him." Jay said more to himself.

"It was one hell of a year from the look of his scars. Old bullet and stab wounds, and then the obvious scaring from the shrapnel. He was in a very rough area. I've seen it once before in an ex-military K9 for top Tier One teams. They have the dog do more of the surveillance of buildings, it tends to result in them being hurt more often."

"What's the difference between a normal German Shepherd and a King?" Hailey asked.

"Size mostly and the King is more powerful due to its size. The King's hips are not slanted so they don't have the hip problems that normal German's do. Their coat is also either straight and coarse or long and wavy. They also come in different colors as well. From what I can see of what is left of his coat, he has some red to him. They also tend to have a very good and social temperament. They rarely bark unless instructed to and loves being around children and other animals. They also love to work much like German Shepherds. They are a very good dog."

"How is he looking?" Jay asked.

"I'm going to need to take some blood and do an X-Ray for his whole body to make sure nothing is broken or not healed properly. If the X-Ray comes back as clean then I'll wrap his leg and we can wait for the test results to see if he needs any antibiotics. So far, I think he just needs food, water and rest for him to recover."

"Do you want me to call the Humane Society?" Vicky asked.

"What will they do?" Hailey asked.

"Well, I think it's obvious to say that there is no owner. So we will need to hand him over to the Humane Society. They will take him and see if they can place him in a temporary foster home or find someone to adopt him. The problem is it won't be that simple. He has PTSD which will make people nervous to have him around other animals or children. Plus with the dog fighting they can argue that he is vicious. In all likelihood, they will put him down and let him be out of his misery." Dr. Williams said.

"What? They can't do that to him. He's not dangerous, he's just been through shit and got stuck with an asshole for an owner. You said so yourself he probably just needs food and rest to recover. He's still a healthy dog in that sense. They can't just kill him because he's a little broken." Jay said, he was beyond pissed. He knew it was only a dog, but this dog had served this country. He had been through hell and survived. He was a little bit broken right now, but he could get better. He just needed someone that would be patient with him and show him love.

"Unfortunately the Humane Society is already overloaded with dogs, they don't have much space. They simply don't have the time that is needed to put in the extra care for a dog like he will need. Unless you know someone that will take ownership of him, I have to call the Humane Society." Dr. Williams said.

"I'll take him. He can live with me. I'm not gonna let him be put down. If he was sick and going to be in unbearable pain for the rest of his life, then ok. But he's got a shot at being healthy and happy one day. He's young, he's got a lot of years left in him. So I'll take him." Jay said.

"Your brother said you were a good man. I'll run the blood work and get him started on an I.V to help give him some nutrients back and run the X-Rays. It's going to be roughly an hour before I have everything, why don't you both come back and then you can pick him up?" Dr. Williams offered.

"Alright, we'll go deal with his previous owner then we'll be back." Hailey said.

"Is there anything he should be eating?" Jay asked.

"King Shepherds do best on natural food, nothing with artificial flavors or additives. Other than that they have a great stomach."

"Thanks, we'll be back soon." Jay said, before he went and gave Raider a hug. "I'll be back soon ok?" Raider cuddled for a moment and then Jay moved back and they headed out.

It was a few minutes later when Hailey broke the silence between them.

"It's good that you are going to take him. It's not right that he could be put down because he needs extra care."

"I can't let that happen to him. I'll figure it out. Maybe once he's more healthy I could take him to Will's so he can hang out with Kohl during the day."

"That would be good. Then they both won't be alone and Raider can be social again. Have you ever been around a King Shepherd before?"

"No, it's mostly German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois. They tend to be the go-to for breeds because of how smart and aggressive they can be."

"So then how did he get in?"

"King Shepherds are just as good as a German Shepherd. They probably used him in more of an attack capacity because of how big he would be at full health. Tier One teams, like Rangers, Delta Force and Seals, they have to do raids on caves, holes in the ground, abandoned villages and warehouses. If it's dangerous we'll let the K9 go off leash and tell it to attack. They'll run in and start looking for anyone to attack and that provides the distraction we need to go in without being noticed and start taking them out."

"So the scars on him aren't unusual for a military K9 then."

"No they are. We had a K9 in our unit, most Ranger units did because of where we had to go all the time. Rosco, he was five years old when I first met him and he didn't have a single scar on him. We all as a unit took care of him. We treated him like he was one of us and not just some tool we could use. Most handlers treat their dog like a child. There's a bond that is unbreakable between them. Even in a dangerous situation the dog was protected. When we had to let Rosco go in first, his handler always went to him before anything else. It's how you are supposed to operate. For whatever reason. Michael didn't do that."

"But why wouldn't he then? I'm assuming he went through the training with him." Hailey always liked this side of Jay. The side that taught you something. Would she ever need this in the field? No, but it was still nice to learn more about how he would have operated during his time in the military.

"You do have to go through the training with them and they start at a young age so they can be properly trained and bond with their new handler. I'm not sure why he would have treated him differently. It's possible he didn't want to be a K9 handler, but it was the only way he would be able to be in a Tier One team. He shouldn't have been allowed, but there's not really a screening process for it either."

"He just got stuck with a shitty handler. Well now he has you and me." Hailey said with a warm smile.

"Ya he does." Jay said with a smile back.

"Not the first day back you were expecting."

"No, but it's not bad. An easy day to get back into the swing of things. Let's radio for a patrol unit, they can take him back so we can get back to the Vets."

Hailey called it in as they pulled up to the old house. They got out of Jay's truck and headed over to the door, both of them with their hand on their gun just in case. Jay banged on the door and after a moment it opened to reveal Jackson Waters.

"What do you want?" He demanded.

"I'm Detective Halstead, this is my partner Detective Upton. Where's your dog?" Jay started.

"Don't got a dog." He sneered.

"Really? According to military records you inherited your brother's K9 after his death. So where is he?" Jay demanded.

"He died." Waters lied, and just as he went to close the door Jay slammed his hand into it, forcing it back.

"That's interesting, considering we just found him. Turn around, you're under arrest." Jay said, as he walked into the house.

"I ain't done nothing wrong."

Jay grabbed him and slammed him into the wall so he could grab his arms and cuff him. As he did that Hailey spoke.

"Jackson Waters, you are under arrest for animal cruelty and abuse. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney if you cannot afford one, one will be provided to you. Do you understand your rights?"

"I haven't done anything!" Waters screamed as he tried to fight the cuffs.

Jay slammed him into the wall as he spoke. "Do you understand your rights?"

"Yes." Waters growled out.

Jay grabbed him and dragged him outside and over to the waiting patrol car. He put him into the back as Hailey spoke to the officers.

"He's under arrest for animal cruelty and abuse. Put him in a holding cell for Intelligence and we'll handle him once we get back to the station."

"Yes Ma'am." The male officer said.

With that handled they got back into Jay's truck and headed off to a pet store. Jay figured he would pick up some of the things he would need for Raider now so when they did get him from the vet's they could head back to the station, after making a quick stop for a burger and fries for the pup. They arrived at the pet store and they both headed in. Jay went over to the dog section and started to look for what he needed. He looked at the collars and leashes first.

"You gonna change his collar?" Hailey asked.

"His will be soaked in the scent of his blood, and anywhere he's been. Smell can trigger a dog's PTSD. It's better to get it off of him and give him new tags. I'll keep his old ones in my closet."

"What about your tags, will they bother him?"

"No, mine won't have any memory associated with the scent. They just smell like overseas. He seems to like them. Dogs are trained to trust people who have military tags so if something is wrong they find the first person with the tags they can for help."

"Ok so to him your tags represent safety. He can trust you because he's trained to trust anyone with tags."

"Exactly." Jay picked out a black collar and a simple black leash for now. He knew he would need a different leash once Raider was full size again. For now it would work.

Next he grabbed a food and water dish before he picked out a few toys and chews for him. Next was a dog bed that would be big enough for when he was full size and then they made their way over to the food section.

"Dr. Williams said more natural food right?" Hailey asked, as she took it all in.

"Ya we used to use Merrick for our K9."

Jay found it on the shelf and was glad to see they had lamb. He picked up a bag and placed it into the cart before he grabbed a few of the treat options it had as well.

"Lamb?" Haiely asked.

"It's easier on a dog's stomach at first. Once he's eating normally I'll switch him to a blend of protein."

"See you already sound like a dog owner." Hailey said with a smile.

"I only know this because the handler in my unit was anal about everything Rosco ate." Jay said as they headed for the cash.

Once he was checked out, Jay placed the items in his truck and they were on their way back to the vet.

"What happened to Rosco?" Hailey asked gently.

"They both died in an IED explosion. It had been pouring rain and the hills were covered in mud. Rosco indicated and we all stopped, but Matt slipped and Rosco was attached to his hip. They both went down and hit the IED on our last tour." Jay said with a thick voice.

Hailey reached over and placed her hand over his for a second. "I'm sorry."

Jay took in a shaky breath before he spoke. "There were seven of us in my unit. Mouse and me were the only ones to make it out alive that tour. Barely."

"What you said about Raider being a little broken right now. You're not broken Jay, you just have scars. You can't see yourself as broken, because it's the farthest thing from you."

"I'm trying, it's not easy." Jay admitted softly.

"I know it's not. But you're doing great. I know being shot brought up some memories for you. I can't imagine what you are going through, but you know that I will always be there for you. You can't scare me away."

"You shouldn't have to deal with it though. It's bad enough Will has to."

"We don't see it as having to do anything though Jay. We're here for you because we want to be. We don't have to be. We're always going to be on your side no matter what, just like you are with us. How many times has me or Will had a bad day and you are right there with us? We all have demons that we face, yours are just different. Don't ever think for a second that we're here for you out of some obligation, because we're not." Hailey said warmly.

Jay just gave a nod and Hailey knew he needed time to process that. Jay was so used to having to keep everything bottled up inside of him. He was constantly battling his inner demons everyday and Hailey knew some days were just too hard for him. It's why she made sure after a hard case that they did their thing and hung out. It always seemed to help Jay and her. Now after being partners for two years they were finally at the point where Jay didn't have his walls up around her. He could just be himself and allow himself to feel around her outside of work. It was those moments that she cherished the most. She didn't need him to be strong all the time and once he understood that he stopped hiding and she found out just how amazing he truly was.

They pulled into the drive thru and Jay looked over at his partner. "Bacon cheeseburger?" He asked with a smirk.

"You know it." Hailey smiled back.

Jay gave a playful shake of his head. His partner could eat any man under the table. "What did Rojas not feed you today?"

"Nope. Only you bring me food and coffee. Adam didn't even when we were dating."

"I'll have to have a talk with him so he doesn't screw things up with Burgess again."

"Welcome, can I take your order?" The voice box said.

"Ya, can I get a bacon cheeseburger meal with coke, extra mayo on the burger. A cheese burger plain, a small fry and a grilled chicken wrap on whole grain with an orange juice please."

Jay could hear Hailey laugh slightly as he moved his car up.

"All I want is a greasy fucking burger or pizza." Jay complained.

"How much longer do you have to eat totally healthy?"

Jay had been on a strict diet of healthy food since his heart surgery to prevent any unwanted complications with his blood flow and cholesterol. Something he was not too happy about. He didn't tend to eat junk food, but with his new diet he had to avoid the more rich proteins like beef and he couldn't eat pizza or pasta. He was on a rabbit diet essentially. He was not happy with it nor was he happy that because he had to eat so healthy, he wasn't able to regain the weight and muscle loss he had from being injured without the proper protein intake to turn it into muscle. It wasn't like he still didn't have muscles, he did. Just not as much as he did before all of this.

"Will said in two weeks I'll get my blood checked and if everything is in the normal range I'll be good to go. I told him he owes me an extra large meat pizza."

"So only two more weeks and then you can get back to normal. It's the last thing for you. I know you have been itching to get back into the gym every other day."

"I love running, but I need to be able to work out my frustrations and stress. The gym is the only place that really works for me. I haven't even been able to spar just yet either."

"When you are cleared to, you should start training me. We talked about it before but we haven't gotten around to doing it. I'm not a bad fighter, but it would be nice to learn some more techniques."

"Ya for sure. I should be good to go in two weeks and then we can get you in the gym training. I can show you some different defence moves first."

When Hailey had mentioned it after being kidnapped last year Jay was all for it. He didn't ever want to be in that position again and if Hailey knew of ways to get away from that situation it would ease both of their fears. But then everything with Kelton, Dawson and Adam got in the way and they hadn't had the chance to truly commit to it. Now would be the perfect time. Jay grabbed their order once he pulled up to the window after paying. He handed it over to Hailey who got the food out. They ate as they made the drive to the Vet's office.

"How is Kim doing? I didn't get a chance to ask earlier." Jay asked.

"She's doing good. First trimester is over and she seems very happy with that. She's been so sick like I've told you. Her sister has been a huge help and Adam seems to be getting things figured out. He didn't know what to do at first and he didn't seem to be really happy with having a baby right now. But he's adjusting and being there for her the best he can. It's a little weird for them I think, because they aren't technically together. I don't think they ever expected to have a child this way."

"At least they are friends though, and they care about each other. They'll figure out how to make it work and Adam will finally realise how much he loves her."

"Ya I think they'll work it out. If nothing else, they both will make great parents even if they aren't together. I gotta plan a baby shower for her in three months, I could use your help."

"Me? What am I gonna help with?" He knew nothing about baby showers.

"Mostly carrying things and helping to decorate. I'll tell you what to do and you can do it." Hailey said with a big smile.

"Fair enough. I'm assuming Platt is going to help too."

"Oh ya she's got a lot of ideas for it. I think she is more excited then they are for the baby."

"That doesn't surprise me."

Jay could remember all of the times that he woke up in the hospital to see Platt sitting there in a chair bedside his bed. She was a constant in the weeks he spent there, she always knew when to say something and when he just needed the silent company. She also always brought him different books and police reports to look through. Normally she would bring magazines but she knew that Jay wasn't the type for it. So she brought him different police reports and cases that she was helping with to see what his thoughts were. She always told him about the different cases going on at the station to keep his mind busy. Jay couldn't begin to express how much it meant to him.

They arrived back at the vet and headed inside. Vicky gave them a warm smile as she spoke.

"Come on back, Dr. Williams is just finishing up."

They followed her back to the room and walked in. The second Raider saw Jay his tail began to wag and he whined. Jay immediately went over to Raider and gave him a hug as he spoke.

"Hey boy, how you doing?"

"He's doing very well. His x-rays came back clean. I'm just wrapping his sprained ankle right now. It'll be sore for a few days and then he'll start to feel better. He doesn't have any infections and I gave him a booster shot just to be on the safe side. So you might find that he is more tired, just let him sleep."

"So he's good he just needs rest and food?" Hailey asked.

"That's all, by some miracle. When you feed him, because he's been starved you have to go slow. A handful of food every couple of hours, except for overnight. Do that for a week and then you can start feeding him the amount of food recommended on the dog food for medium size dogs. Do that four times a day plus treats for two weeks, then go up to the large breed and finally extra large. Once you get him up to the extra large breed you can go down to three times a day."

"Sounds good." Jay said.

"I gave him an IV while you were gone to help get some nutrients and liquid into him as well. Just let him rest, don't over exert him. Call me if there are any problems."

"I will. I appreciate it Doc." Jay said, as he shook the man's hand.

"Thank-you so much." Hailey added.

"It's no problem. Good luck Raider." Dr. Williams said warmly.

Jay picked up Raider and they headed out. He gently placed him down on the backseat of his truck. He pulled out the new collar and tag he had made from the bag and held it out for Raider to sniff.

"How about some new jewelry eh? Get that smelly one off ya."

Raider's tail began to wag and Jay took that as a yes. He very carefully got the old collar off and placed the new one on. He made sure to give Raider lots of praise and love as he held still for him.

"Now that has to feel better, eh?" Jay said, once it was on.

"Looks good." Hailey said.

"Alright, how about some food? I promised you a burger and fries." Jay grabbed the take out bag and pulled out the burger. He then broke it up into smaller pieces and fed it to Raider. Once that was done, he did the same for the fries before all of the food was gone.

"Well he liked that." Hailey said warmly.

"Let's head back to the district and hope Voight doesn't blow a fuse." Jay said. He made sure Raider was good before he closed the door.

"He won't. It'll be fine and what were you supposed to do? Let Raider be put to sleep? He'll understand." Hailey said, as they got in.

"I hope so."

They made the drive back to the station and once there Jay picked up Raider to carry inside. They walked into the front of the district and Platt's eyes instantly lit up at seeing Raider. She came around the desk as she spoke.

"And who is this beauty?" She began to pet Raider as Jay spoke.

"This is Raider. I'm here too ya know?" Jay teased.

"Ya ya ya, you were shot, almost died and now you're back. Where did you find him?"

Both Jay and Hailey gave a small chuckle as Hailey spoke. "He found us at a suspect's house. He warned us that there were explosives inside, saved the team. He's ex-military, we just got back from the vet. He's going to be ok with some love and care."

"Patrol brought his previous owner in on animal cruelty charges. He was using him in a dog fighting ring and then dumped him when the heat got too hot." Jay added.

"People are despicable. Where is he going to end up?" Platt asked.

"I'm taking him home with me. He's a good dog just needs some love."

"Good. If you need anything for him or for the prick downstairs just let me know."

"Thanks Sarg."

Platt gave Raider a little bit more love before she stepped back and allowed them to head upstairs. Once they arrived up in the bullpen they noticed that everyone was there, minus Rojas. Voight was standing by the board and was the first one to speak.

"How is he?"

"He's going to be ok. Sprained ankle, malnourished and dehydrated. But no diseases or infections. He just needs rest and food." Jay answered.

"That's good. He looks so bad I thought something might be seriously wrong with him." Kim said.

"He'll be ok. Turns out he's a King German Shepherd so he is very underweight. The vet has him on an eating plan to help build him back up again." Hailey said, making her way over to her desk.

Jay followed and placed Raider down on the floor, but he stayed right by Jay. "Sarg, I'm sorry about bringing him here, but I didn't know where else to take him. The vet was going to call the Humane Society, but he said there was a good chance they would have to put him down because of the PTSD and his condition." Jay started, but was cut off by Voight holding up a hand.

"I figured he would be coming back here when I told you and Hailey to bring him to the vet. You gonna keep him?"

"Ya, I'll figure out someone that can be there with him so he can eat and not be alone all day. I'll make it work."

"Don't bother, just bring him here." Voight said, before he turned and headed into his office. He came back with a dog bed and placed it down behind Jay's desk against the wall.

He then bent down and patted it as he spoke to Raider. "Here you go Raider, a new bed."

Raider looked up at Jay and with a nod he headed over to the bed slowly and began to sniff it. Voight slowly moved back to allow Raider some space and after a moment Raider laid down on him.

"Good boy." Voight said.

"Sarg, are you sure?" Jay asked, he didn't want to put anyone out.

"He's just a dog Jay. It'll be good for him to be around people and when he's feeling better he would be good for the victims and their family that we have to interview. You said so yourself that he's not dangerous or aggressive."

"No he's not." Jay agreed.

"Well then he's fine. He needs a home, we have room for a house dog in this family." Voight said.

"Thanks Sarg." Jay said warmly.

"Platt is totally going to steal him when we are gone." Kim said.

"Probably." Adam agreed.

"What do we got on Waters?" Voight asked.

"We picked him up, patrol brought him to holding. He's got multiple arrests and even was suspected to be involved in a dog fighting ring. We think he was using Raider to fight and when the heat got too much he dropped him off somewhere and left. We'll go in and see what we can discover about this dog fighting ring and shut it down." Jay answered.

"What do we got on Moore?" Hailey asked.

"Bomb techs went through the whole house and found multiple bombs and chemicals. They cleared it out, but there was nothing in the house to suggest where he would be or what he is doing with the stuff." Kevin answered.

"And originally he was just a murder suspect?" Jay asked.

"Ya, we had connected him to our vic, Jessica Davenport. Twenty-five, a waitress at a local bar, no kids, single, you average twenty-five year old. She was murdered three days ago by strangulation with a rope. We didn't find the rope, but the M.E was able to get a hair off her body that matched Moore." Kim answered.

"There is nothing in his social media that would suggest he was making bombs. Nothing to even tie them together except for the hair left on the body." Adam added.

"Family?" Hailey asked.

"No one has seen or heard from Moore in weeks." Kevin answered.

Jay went over to the board to take a closer look. He saw that on the bottom of her foot the ME had taken a picture of a puncture wound.

"Is that from a needle?" Jay asked, pointing to the image.

"ME believes so, but there was nothing in her system by the time she was found. Whatever it was caused the small rash on her foot." Voight answered.

"They still got her blood at the crime lab?" Jay asked.

"Ya they had some samples left. Why?" Hailey said.

"They need to test for sarin." Jay headed over to his computer and started to pull something up.

"As in the gas?" Adam asked confused.

"It's a nerve agent that is commonly used in active war zones. It was used in world war two as a gas for the gas chambers, but in the past couple of decades it's been used in a syringe to inject someone during extreme methods of interrogation overseas. Terrorists will use it as a way to torture someone, but also try to gather classified intel. The injection site causes your skin to have a purple colored rash to it. It's normally injected in your arm, but in some cases they will use spring loaded syringes and have it rigged into the floor so when you walk over it, the needle injects the sarin into your foot. Most people won't even notice it until they start to feel the effects." Jay explained.

Hailey was already on the phone calling the lab to check the blood.

"But it would kill her eventually, so why the strangulation?" Kevin asked.

"Impatient maybe." Kim suggested.

"Here look." Jay started and Voight came over to look over his shoulder as he continued. "Three other cases with the same needle mark have been found. All of them had the puncture wound and the purple rash with negative tox screens. One was beaten to death, another stabbed and the last one was a hanging. All women, all in the age range of twenty-three to twenty-five. All of them had one single piece of evidence linking them to their suspected killer, a piece of fiber, hair, a single fingerprint. All suspects have never been found and when their homes were raided, explosives were discovered. The first house, injured five officers and killed one in the blast. All family and friends had said they were great guys and couldn't believe they would hurt anyone. There was no physical or psychological evidence that suggested they would have explosives."

"That's our case." Adam said.

"Techs are going to run her blood now." Hailey said once she ended the call.

"Who worked the cases?" Voight asked.

"Three different parts of the city. I remember because the second case came in when I was just starting out. I was in the warrant squad at the house and the lead detective, Detective Welsh, asked me if I had ever seen a purple rash before. I told him about sarin from overseas, but I guess he didn't run with it. There's no notes about testing the blood for it. The first detective was Detective Anderson and then Detective Whittle for the third case."

"Ok, so these cases are obviously connected and if they never found any of their suspects, they must be dead." Hailey said.

"Probably. Our killer framed them and then killed em. Left explosives all throughout their home so we would be busy tracking down their next target and not focused on the case." Voight said.

"Giving him enough time to sneak away until the heat dies down and then he comes back to do it all over again." Kevin added.

"We have a serial killer." Jay said, looking at Voight.

"With a long waiting period. When was the first case? Voight asked.

"Fifteen years ago, then ten, five, and now. So he's going five years apart. If he sticks to pattern, he'll go under again." Jay answered.

"And the odds of us finding him go down." Kim said.

"Ok, but if it is sarin, then he couldn't have picked it up at some store. He had to order it from some black site or steal it." Adam said.

"He couldn't have stolen it. Most sarins only have a shelf life under a few weeks. It evaporates, even in an airtight container. Plus the only places that would have any on hand for testing is the CDC. Not even the military has any, they are focused on finding ways to fight against the white phosphorus weapons that are being used. You can make it though. You'd have to have some understanding of chemistry and how chemicals react to each other, but it's not too hard. Terrorists figure it out and how to adapt it to cause the nerve agent to last longer and kill you slower or faster depending on what they need it for." Jay explained.

"Sarin though, that has to hold some meaning to him. There has to be a connection to the chemical weapon for him to be using it. What areas overseas tend to be the ones to use it?" Hailey asked Jay.

"Fifteen years ago it was Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Over the years though everyone but Iraq changed over to white phosphorus because it was naturally being grown there. Iraq likes the sarin, they can use it as a gas, aerosol or inject it. It lets them cause the most damage when they need it and dogs can't detect it, because it's odorless. They would make these devices like landmines that if you stepped on it, it would release the Sarin gas into the air, killing you almost instantly. It's the deadliest nerve agent."

"You've come across it?" Voight asked. He knew that Jay had been to Afghanistan, but he didn't know where else he might have been during his years in the military.

"Ah, ya… ya um… it's classified, but I was in Iraq for a mission. It's nasty stuff. Even getting it on your skin and you could die. You need to wear gas masks to filter the chemicals out. It's heavier than air though, so if it is released if you go to higher ground you'll be fine. There's an antidote, but it needs to be taken pretty fast from exposure to avoid dying or permanent complications. The CDC usually keeps them, but again it won't be much. Sarin isn't a chemical weapon that we face over here."

"Alright, we prepare just in case. Jay, get on the phone with the CDC and see about getting some antidotes just in case. Kev, see if we have the proper gas masks to filter out the sarin. The rest of us, let's find a connection between our victims. We need to find this guy before he goes underground and we lose him." Voight said.

They all got to work on trying to figure out what the nexus was. Jay was able to secure three antidotes for sarin that was going to be delivered to them. The CDC was going to make more just in case an attack happened. Jay had a feeling though that this wasn't their suspect's first time. He had to have done more in earlier days. Jay pulled up a search for old case files, but he didn't find anything that showed a purple rash with a puncture mark. He then switched gears and called Will.

"Hey Jay, what's up?"

"Hey, got a favor. You can pull up old medical files that came into the ER right?"

"I could ya, what are you looking for?" Will asked, moving over to one of the computers.

"We have four victims over fifteen years with a needle mark with a purple rash around it. Still waiting for confirmation from the crime lab, but I think sarin was injected into them. I've checked our database and nothing else is popping, but if this guy is using sarin he had to start somewhere. Can you check and see if you had anyone showing signs of sarin exposure in the ER?"

"Ya, you thinking he was practicing on others to see how they reacted?"

"Ya or a disposal method even."

"Alright, what symptoms am I looking for?"

"Most early signs would reflect a cold or the flu, so look for more advanced symptoms. Unknown and sudden paralysis, convulsions and respiratory distress, they would have died unless given the antidote."

"Alright hang on, I'll check. How's your first day back?"

"Interesting. It's a long story I'll tell you later, but I have a dog now."

"A dog? Ok, how did that happen?"

"He was at a suspect's house, he's an ex-military K9. He alerted us that there were explosives in the house. He's a mess though. Took him to the vet, and he's a hundred pounds underweight, he's covered in scars, his hair is falling out. He's in rough shape and he was released for having puppy PTSD."

"Oh man. Poor guy. He gonna be ok?"

"The vet said he would be. I took him to Dr. Williams. He seemed confident that he just needed some food and rest."

"What's his name?"

"Raider. He's four, only did a year of service and he's got multiple bullet wounds, stab wounds and was hit by an IED. He was being used by his dead handler's brother in a dog fighting ring before he was left somewhere on his own."

"Bastard. It's good that Dr. Williams said he would be ok. I'm glad you are keeping him. Is he aggressive?"

"No he's a sweetheart. He's a King German Shepherd, so he's gonna be big when he's healthy, but he's really sweet."

"Wow, he's gonna be huge. Well if you want, you can drop him off at my place when you have to be at work. Kohl can keep him company and I'll be there when I'm off shift."

"I appreciate it, but Voight is letting me have him here as a house dog."

"Wow, that's nice of him. Good you need a dog."

"Why's that?" Jay asked slightly defensive.

"We can talk about it tonight when I come see the little guy. I got a list for you, I'll text it to you, but from what I can see over the past twenty years, there's ten files that match what you are looking for. Autopsy came back as inconclusive, their hearts stopped, but they have no reason why. Nothing over the past fifteen years though, these were in the first five years and back then we didn't run a tox screen for sarin."

"So he was perfecting things and when he did, he started in on the killing."

"Sounds like it. Five years though in between seems like a long time."

"Ya that is weird. There could be more victims out there that we don't know about. Thanks for the info man, I'll catch ya tonight, I'll text ya when I'm off."

"Sounds good. Be careful and remember to watch your breathing. Jay, you cannot come into contact with sarin of any kind. Your lungs and heart can't handle it. Even the slightest bit will have a drastic effect on you. You'll go from having days to having a few hours before it kills you. If you need to go into a building with sarin, the best way you can protect yourself is by injecting the antidote into your thigh. It will give you some added protection to start fighting it off. Your heart and lungs can't handle it and you might never be able to. You're also more at risk from last time." Will warned with worry in his voice.

"I'll be careful, we're gonna have the proper protection gear. I'll text if something happens."

"Alright, be safe. I love ya baby brother." Will said with a smile.

"I love you too."

Jay ended the call and Hailey was looking up at him.

"Ten people twenty years ago over a five year period died from unknown causes suffering symptoms of advanced sarin poisoning. Nothing in the past fifteen years."

"Ok, so he perfected his method and didn't need to test it out anymore. Crime lab got back to me, they found trace amounts of sarin in our Vic's blood."

"This is gonna be bad. We can't trace sarin because it's man made, but we can trace the chemicals he would need to make it."

Hailey grabbed a pen as she spoke. "Ok, what would he need?" She knew without a doubt that Jay would have a list of at least some of the chemicals that would go into it.

"Ah some of the chemicals are Isopropyl, phosphinic ester and methylphosphonofluoridate. There are others, but those are the main ones. He would need a gas mask, heating plates, beakers, chemistry equipment and his electricity bill would be higher. He would have to have his ventilation system running at all times to clean the vapors out of the air."

"Ok, I'm on it." Hailey began to type away to see what she could find.

Jay got up and went over to Voight's office.

"Hey Sarg, we got something."

"What is it?" Voight asked, giving Jay his full attention.

"Lab came back with traces of sarin in our Vic's blood. I called Will, he found ten possible cases of sarin death twenty years ago in a five year period, then it goes dark."

"He was perfecting his method, trying to get the right compound down."

"Hailey is running the chemicals used to make the base for sarin and the equipment he would need. I'm gonna go through the old case files and see if there is anything that was missed. I was wondering if it would be alright if I asked Platt to handle Waters' interrogation."

"You don't want to do it?" Voight asked surprised that Jay was going to pass it off.

"I would love nothing more than to drill this son of a bitch. But we got a guy using sarin to kill people with. We have no idea how many victims are out there that we don't know about. He's the priority, before he does something that kills a lot more than one person at a time."

Voight gave a nod. "Ask Platt to gather the information and then we can get someone to do the bust."

"Thanks Sarg."

Jay turned to leave, but Voight spoke again, stopping him. "Jay, how bad is this stuff?"

Jay walked inside the office and closed the door behind him. "Last time I came across it, I was nineteen, it was my first Ranger mission. We were sent into Iraq to destroy a chemical factory that was making chemical weapons for the taliban. They must have gotten word though that we were coming. We were just making our way into this small village when the sarin gas was released. We didn't have our gas masks on yet. We were able to get em on, but by the time we realised there was gas in the air it had been a few minutes of us exposed to it. People in the village had started to drop, kids who were playing on the ground just died almost instantly from it. We were able to get to the factory and take them out and destroy the sarin that was left. Everyone in the village died, a hundred and twenty, most of them women and children. We were on the flight home when we started to realise that something was wrong. We were all sick, it started off with cold and flu symptoms, but then it got harder to breathe. The altitude was making it worse so we had to do an emergency landing in Germany. We were all rushed to the hospital on base there. Seven of us with sarin poisoning. By the time we got there though, we were already showing serious symptoms. I had stopped breathing, my throat was swelling up. They had to do a trach." Jay pointed to the scar close to the bottom of his neck.

"Jesus." Voight said. He had seen the scar, but it could have come from anything. To hear at nineteen that Jay had been close to death at such a young age. When he thought about what he was doing at nineteen, it was not off fighting a war or going on deadly operations in the middle east.

"That was from only a minute or two of being exposed to it from the vapors coming up from the ground. Sarin is the worst nerve agent for a reason. Even exposure to your skin can kill you. If this guy wants to kill millions, he could pour it into the water system and kill everyone that drinks the water, washes their hands, showers, rinses their food off. Half of the city will be dead before we even figure it out. I know you like to keep things close to the chest, but we might have to loop in the Feds if this gets bigger. We don't have the means of disposing of this stuff."

"Let's see what we find out and if we have to we'll alert everyone. I'll call Fifty-One and let them know what is going on so they can be properly prepared in case there is a fire. We need a nexus." Voight said.

"I'll let Platt know about Waters and then I'll start to see what I can find."

"I'll call Boden and let him know." Voight picked up his phone and Jay headed out.

He went down to the front desk and pulled Platt aside.

"Can I get a favor Sarg?" Jay asked.

"Maybe." Platt said, not looking to do anything until she finds out what it is.

"Jackson Waters, the guy we had patrol bring in for animal cruelty. We know he's been to dog fights, we need all the information we can get out of him. I was going to do it, but we have a serious problem going on upstairs with a case that involves sarin. Do you think you could interrogate him and get the information out of him?"

"Oh, it will be my pleasure. You want me to send someone in once I get it?" Platt was all too happy to go after this son of a bitch.

"Ya, but keep me updated please."

"For sure. You guys need any extra help up there?"

"Not yet, but we'll let you know if we need the added backup. Not sure how close Voight wants to play this."

"Ok, let me know. Be safe."

"Will do. Thanks Sarg."

Jay was about to head up the stairs when someone walked in with a CDC coat. Jay went over to him and shook the man's hand after introducing himself. Jay brought him into the office right in the front.

"Thanks for coming so fast." Jay said.

"It's not a problem, here are the three antidotes. They are spring loaded like I said, all you have to do is inject them directly into your thigh, like an epinephrine. Now, if anyone is pregnant they need to avoid any contact or exposure to sarin, it will kill the baby and fetus." The CDC rep said, as he handed the case over to Jay.

"Understood. And you are making more?"

"We are and will be distributing them all around the hospitals, firehouses for ambulances and firefighters along with every police station in the city. It might be extreme, but we'd rather be on the side of caution right now. The antidotes don't cost much to produce and they can easily be altered later on for other chemical toxins. We're taking this very seriously. When you find the lab, inform us immediately so we can dispose of it properly."

"I will. I appreciate all of your help with this." Jay shook the man's hand once more before they headed out.

Jay made his way back up to the bullpen and saw that Voight was already filling them in on the Sarin traces that were found.

"Jay, what do you got?" Voight asked.

"Ok so Platt is going to interrogate Waters and work that case, she'll keep us updated." He started.

"Good, we can't let a dog fighting ring go." Kim said.

"Now more importantly. As we now know for sure sarin was found in our latest vic. Exposure to sarin, even a small trace of it on your skin can risk your life. Treatment has to be done right away, so if you get it on you, you have to do decontamination and get your clothes off right away, before they even set up. This is not something you play around with. Thousands have been killed and tens of thousands have almost died from exposure. Do you understand?" Jay said with a tone that none of them had ever heard before on him. They were going to call it his military tone, because there was no room for negotiations.

"What do we need to know?" Kevin asked on their behalf.

"We get a lead, we have to wear gas masks, gloves, no exposed skin. Hailey, keep your hair up in a bun so vapors don't soak in. We need to wear hats and hoods as well. Kim, because you are pregnant, you can't be around it at all. Even if it doesn't harm you, it will kill the baby. You can't be around it or even the suspect when he is brought in. He'll have to go through decontamination as well before he can even be transported."

"Copy that. I'll stay around here and help where I can." Kim said with understanding.

"Where's Rojas?" Jay asked. He figured she was out doing something for the case, but she should have been back by now.

"She's no longer in this unit. Forget about her and continue." Voight said.

"Um… alright. The CDC is not taking this lightly. These are so far isolated attacks and are directed towards one person at a time. However, if sarin is released into the water supply, millions will die. They are making thousands of antidotes and they are going to be distributed to every hospital, fire house, ambulance and police station. We have the only three antidotes that the CDC had."

"Ok, so not enough for all of us." Adam said.

"No and because of the situation, in full disclosure I've been exposed once before. I stopped breathing, I had to have a trachea and was in a coma hooked up to a respirator for two weeks. Due to that and my recent injuries to my lung and heart, I am at a higher risk."

"How high?" Hailey asked, now more worried than ever.

"On average a person has days before they die from untreated exposure. I have less than a handful of hours."

"Ok, so you can't be anywhere around it." Hailey said with an order to her voice, even though technically Jay out ranked her in seniority both on the job and in the unit.

"I can be around it, but I have to inject the antidote, whether I may need it or not to prevent the risk of being sick from the exposure. So technically we have two antidotes right now until the CDC makes more within the upcoming hours."

"Or we have three and you stay behind with Kim." Adam said, not liking that Jay seemed to have made that decision for himself and not the whole team.

"I can't. I'm the only one outside of the CDC that is trained to handle a chemical weapon. When we find his lab, I will need to secure the sarin into a special lock box that I keep in my truck. That will secure the sarin until the CDC gets it back to their headquarters and properly disposes of it."

"Can't you show one of us how to do it?" Kevin asked.

"No. It's an eight week course that covers how to even pick it up without it leaking or having vapours being released from it. You tilt it the wrong way and you risk it being released. You can only do that by picking it up and knowing how heavy it is to know how to turn it. I can't teach that to you in the short time frame that we have."

"And we can't just leave it where it is until the CDC shows up?" Adam asked.

"No because of the risk of the vapours getting outside through a crack in the window, walls, through the ceiling, out a vent. It's not that simple. There's a reason the protocols for it are so strict. I'm the only one that can do it until the CDC arrives." Jay explained.

"So we have two antidotes. The CDC is making more and then we will receive additional ones. It's not that big of a deal. For now, Jay you hold onto them for if and when we need em. Kev, where are we on the gas masks?" Voight said.

Voight was picking up some tension within the group, but he was hoping it was just due to the stress of this situation and then working with Jay back in the folds again.

"SWAT has what we need. I gotta get over there to pick em up. The Sergeant over there said they were good for any type of chemical weapons."

"Good, go pick them up. Does everyone have what they need for protection gear?" Voight asked.

They all gave a nod and Voight was happy with that. With the safety part done it was time to get back to the case.

"Where are we on the nexus?" Voight asked.

So far, we have nothing connecting these victims together. They didn't go to school together, no extracurricular activities, not even the same church. They all grew up in different parts of the city with different lives." Kim answered.

"I'm running the chemical and equipment list that Jay gave me, but so far it's a long list of possibles Sarg." Hailey said.

"Keep working it, when we get a suspect we can cross check the list. We gotta find a nexus between them. Jay, run the names that you got from Will, see if they were connected somehow. The clock is ticking on this. Let's find this prick before he disappears again for another five years." Voight ordered.

They all gave a nod and Jay headed over to his desk. He placed the case down and followed Voight into his office.

"Sarg, I know this isn't the right time for it, but what happened with Rojas?" Jay asked in a soft voice.

Voight answered as he leaned against his desk. "I know we all have personal lives that go on outside of these walls. Sometimes those personal lives make working in this team a little messy. We've had disagreements before with team members and it gets worked out. But what Rojas had to say, that was not something that we could ever go back on. I won't tolerate anyone speaking that way to anyone within this unit. She crossed a line on something she can never go back on."

"I'm sorry. I know she was doing well on the team while I was gone." Jay hated that because of his issues that they had lost a team member.

"Hey, this ain't on you. I won't tolerate anyone with that viewpoint in my unit. I know a lot of good police that are vets just like you. I respect the hell out of em. I won't have someone with that type of opinion in my unit. Don't worry about it. We'll find someone else. When this case is over me and you got a lot we gotta talk about. For now let's focus on this case and stop this bastard before something worse happens."

"Ya."

Jay went to turn around and walk back out, but before he stepped through the door he saw Rojas and Commander Crawford walk into the bullpen.

"Sarg." Jay said with a warning.

Voight pushed off his desk to look over Jay's shoulder and saw Rojas and Crawford walking towards him.

"Give us a minute." Voight said.

Jay gave a nod and headed over to his door. Everyone watched as Crawford and Rojas walked into Voight's office and he closed the door.

"Well that doesn't look good." Hailey said to her partner.

"Whatever is going to happen, we can't change. All we can do is focus on finding this guy." Jay said.

"Copy that." Hailey agreed.

They all focused on their work and did their best to ignore what was going on in the office. Voight walked over to his chair as he spoke.

"Commander, what can I do for you?"

"It has come to my attention that you removed Officer Rojas from your unit."

"I did. It's my unit and my decision on who is a member of my unit."

"And normally I would agree, unless she was removed due to unfair reasons. You removed her based on an argument that took place between her and another team member. An argument about PTSD in police officers."

"That argument caused a rift between multiple team members as well as broke trust within the unit. She was way out of line and insubordinate. That is why she was kicked from the team."

"I was kicked off the team because I shared my opinion on cops working with PTSD and Halstead has it. Which he didn't report when he was in the police academy of having it." Rojas argued.

"Halstead doesn't have PTSD. He has friends that do and it offended him of what you said about them having brain damage and shouldn't be allowed to be in society." Voight argued. He was not going to let Rojas destroy Jay, not after everything he had worked hard to accomplish.

"Ruzek and the others told me to my face today that he does have it. Now unless they are all lying, he has PTSD which is against the CPD policy. I could easily petition to have him removed from the force and up on charges for falsifying personal information." Rojas threatened.

"You even think about trying to blacken his career and I will end you. I have enough therapists that will back up that he doesn't have anything wrong with him. It will be you facing slander and discrimination charges." Voight said right back with a deadly calm.

"Ok, everyone calm down. All Officer Rojas wants is to be back in the unit. She feels she was wrongfully let go and she wants to be made whole again, that's all." Crawford said, trying to calm everyone down.

"And I want my partner back." Rojas added.

"Upton was your temporary partner until Halstead returned from medical leave. You'll be partnered with Burgess. That is assuming you can follow orders that Halstead gives out. He is second in command within this unit. He will take over one day." Voight said.

"You're going to let him run the unit? He can't be trusted." Rojas said.

"That's your opinion and it doesn't matter what it is. It's my decision on who takes over this unit, that person is now and always will be Halstead. If you can't handle that, then you know where the door is."

"That is true, it is up to Sergeant Voight who steps into the roll when he is not here. You will have to obey Detective Halstead when he is in charge. You will have to treat him like you would every superior officer. If you can't do that, I am happy to place you in another unit." Crawford said.

They could tell that Rojas was not happy at all about this. She wanted her spot back on the team, but she did not want to have anything to do with Jay.

"I'll go to a different unit. For now." Rojas said and it was clear to everyone that she was not finished.

Voight wasn't worried though. There was nothing someone like Rojas could do to him or to Halstead. He would be able to crush her easily. Rojas turned and headed out of the room and out of the bullpen. Crawford turned to Voight and it was clear he was not happy.

"Look, I don't care who is on your team. I don't care what problems they may have. I know Halstead is a solid cop and I have thrown my support for him to be promoted, you know that. But there are other Commanders that will not tolerate a cop with PTSD. I know it's not on record, but she could try and find proof. She could find someone that hates Halstead and have them lie about seeing him having problems with PTSD. She is not done." Crawford warned.

"I'll handle her. Is everything ready for Halstead?"

"It's all been approved, assuming he passes. Have you spoken to him about it?"

"Not yet. It's his first day and now we have a killer using sarin. Once it's closed I'll talk to him."

"Sarin? In gas form?" Crawford asked, now very worried.

"No, he seems to be injecting it into his victim. We have four confirmed cases of the same M.O, crime lab confirmed sarin in our latest vic. Halstead also found ten possible victims from twenty years ago that died in the ER. We can't confirm if they were poisoned or not. CDC gave us the only antidotes that they had, three, they are making more and distributing them all over the city to hospitals and first responders."

"This is bad. Hank, they could release it as a gas all over the city, put it in the water. How close are you to making an arrest?"

"We aren't yet. The CDC has been made aware, I don't want to release anything and cause a city wide panic. So far these attacks have been isolated incidents all five years apart. If we get any indication that he is changing his MO then I'll make the calls."

"Keep me updated and let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

"I will. I appreciate your support behind Halstead."

"Like I said, he's a good cop and there is a lot he can do for this unit and the CPD. I want to push the CPD forward and Halstead could do that."

"I think so too. I appreciate it." Voight said as he held his hand out, which Crawford easily shook.

They both made their way out of the office and Crawford headed out of the bullpen.

"What was that about Sarg?" Adam asked.

"We'll discuss it later."

That was all Voight said before he went back into his office.

"Ok." Adam said clearly not happy about getting an answer.

"Let's just focus on getting this case solved." Jay said, trying to keep everyone on track.

Jay spent the next hour going through the list of patients that had died twenty years ago, but he couldn't connect them to each other or to a place. The problem was, it had been twenty years so it's not like there was any camera footage or an online footprint that he could use to track where they were. He was coming up empty. They all were.

"We got anything?" Voight asked, coming out of his office.

"Everyone that died twenty years ago, they don't connect to each other or a place that I can find. But it's been twenty years." Jay answered.

"I still can't find a nexus between any of our victims." Kim said.

"And no one has seen any of the four men that have seemed to disappear." Adam added.

"Ok hold up, I got something weird. So when I was looking into possible locations for Moore, I pulled his employment history. Now everything seems normal, but the last five years he has his employer name on record as 87593. That was until a month ago when he was placed as unemployed." Kevin said.

Jay immediately began to type on his computer and started to look up the other men.

"That's weird for an employer. Do you think he was faking it?" Kim asked.

"No idea. I've never seen that before." Kevin said.

"It's military. That's the connection." Jay said, he hit print to print off the photos of the other men that were being framed.

"If it was military, it should say that though." Adam said confused.

"Not if you are a civilian worker overseas. We got this all wrong." Jay began as he placed the photos of all four men on the board. "I just checked, they all were civilian workers overseas. All did a five year stint, which is regulation, and then died the month they were home. Anyone care to guess why?"

The four men were all middle eastern.

"Ok, it's not about the women, it's about these men. They were the real target, but why?" Hailey said, picking up on what Jay was getting to.

"So we've been operating on the women being the targets and the men were easy to frame, but what if it's the other way around? What if these men were the targets and in order to take them out the women were killed so they could be framed and placed on the run. This allows him to kill them without anyone ever suspecting him. And if they go missing, they aren't missing, but on the run. No one would be looking for them once the heat of the case died down." Jay said.

"It's almost the perfect murder." Adam said.

"Ok so these men are connected somehow, maybe they worked on the same base or they knew each other in the neighborhood. Why kill them? Why plant explosives in their homes?" Kevin asked.

"Unless they weren't planted. Their location code has them working in Iraq and Afghanistan. Moore and Ramsey were in Iraq, their native country and Donaldson and Jefferson in Afghanistan, their native country. All were born in the States, and never travelled overseas, not until they were eighteen and became civilian workers for the military." Jay said.

"It's possible they were working as spies and the explosives were part of some plan that they had. Our killer got to them first and took em out. But why not go to the authorities? Sarin is not a simple killing method." Voight said.

"He would have to have thought about this for a while to have to make it and figure out how to make it." Hailey said.

"But he wouldn't have had to make it. Our suspect kills once every five years. Every civilian worker that is located overseas works for five years in that location before coming back Stateside for a month before they can again go back over to that same location or a new one. If our suspect is working at a base in Iraq he could smuggle it out and bring it back to the States." Jay explained.

"Are you serious?" Adam asked shocked.

"Why would a base have sarin though?" Kim asked.

"It's still used in Iraq so the bases keep some in a lab to run tests on and create antidotes for the different variations. If our suspect was working on an Iraq base in the right position he could remove it and carry it on the plane. All he would have had to do is stick it in a glass water bottle and walk right through security with it. It's completely odorless and colorless, it would appear and read as water even if it was tested for anything. Sarin isn't on a normal test strip. They'd have no reason to look twice."

"What jobs are on a base for civilians?" Voight asked.

"More than you think. Cooks, cleaners, medical staff, mechanics, lab techs, photographers, journalists, liaisons, scientists. Most of the bases are run by civilians because the soldiers are out on missions. Only Upper Brass tends to stay on base the most. Getting a job is a long process. You have to have degrees for specific positions, you need a clear medical history, no criminal record, no ties to anyone associated with a criminal organization or terrorist cell." Jay answered.

"Which might be why they applied at eighteen. They would have been cleared." Hailey said.

"And if they were spies for a cell, they would have worked low level positions. Cleaning or cooking, any position that would allow them to overhear conversations without anyone thinking twice about it." Jay said.

"There must be a list somewhere, how do we get out hands on it?" Kevin asked.

"I'll make a call and see if we can get a list of people who were on the base in between the killings." Jay said.

"Do that. The rest of you, dig in deeper to these four guys. We need to know if they were in fact connected to a terrorist cell or our suspect just thought they were. We need a motive for all of this." Voight said.

They all gave a nod and Jay headed over to use his phone. He didn't know if he would be able to get the information, but he was hoping that someone would allow him to have it. After a few transfers and a long time on hold, Jay was finally able to get Commander Jacobs to agree to see him in person. Jay got up and went over to Voight's office.

"Hey Sarg. Commander Jacobs is willing to release the information, but only in person. We'll need to go to the Navy base to speak with him and see the documents."

"Let's go." Voight got up and they headed out of his office.

"Jay and I have to speak with a Commander on base. We'll be back hopefully with some suspects. Keep working the angles and call if you get something." Voight ordered.

Jay bent down and gave Raider some attention as he spoke. "I'll be back soon. You stay here and rest up boy."

Raider wagged his tail and Hailey spoke. "I got him. He needs to eat again soon too."

"It's in the kitchen. If he has to go out, he should be trained to bark three times." Jay said as he stood up.

"Got it. Be safe." Hailey said.

"Always."

Jay grabbed his coat and headed out for his truck with Voight. They would be taking Jay's truck so he could drive. He was the one that had experience with military bases, so Voight was going to be following his lead on this. They were both hoping that they would finally get some real suspects out of this and be able to catch this guy before he disappeared once again.