Author Note: Would like to dedicate this chapter to gtalov3r who has been an avid reader and I know loves a good cliffhanger lol ;-)
Hope you enjoy, please leave a review.
Chapter 27 – Go Time.
Lexi's phone vibrating on her night stand woke her up. She sat up in the darkened room and checked her cell phone, nothing on it. She was confused for a second still in the remnants of sleep, then she remembered the burner phone in her top draw. She retrieved the phone quietly and read the message she had received.
Cam: Go time. Pick you up in 10 minutes.
Lexi looked over at Jay who slept beside her, he had his back to her. The message nor the glare from the phone screen seemed to have disturbed him. It was time to end this, she would get justice for Shay, or revenge whatever way you looked at it, it was time to make Calvin pay.
She gently got out of bed and went to her closet, she opened the door quietly and took out the packed bag she had prepared when Cam had instructed her to do so.
She took the bag to the bathroom and dressed quickly. Leaving the bathroom, carrying her bag, she checked Jay was still sleeping. She watched him for a second, she wanted to wake him and tell him she loved him. That the hard part would be over soon, they could start the happy life he spoke about, in Chicago or wherever else he wanted to go. She would follow him to the ends of the earth if that's what he wanted.
"I love you" she whispered before leaving the room and silently descending the stairs.
Lexi unlocked the door and stepped out on to the dark car park of Molly's, her own and Jay's car were the only ones there. It was coming up to five in the morning, so the street was deserted, there was no vehicle or foot traffic. She turned and locked the door again behind her then began walking to the main road. Cam would be there to pick her up any minute.
Lexi looked left and then right down the road, she didn't know what direction Cam would come from. She couldn't see any vehicles or headlights approaching her. "Lexi" she turned at the sound of Jay's voice, he stood in the doorway of her apartment wearing only his boxer shorts, his face still showing signs of sleep. "What's going on?"
"Go back to bed Jay" Lexi pleaded turning to look at him. "Please"
Jay walked to her barefoot on the cold concrete. "You don't have to do this alone" he told her holding her by her shoulders. "I've done the things you're about to do…" She knew he meant whilst he was a ranger, he had mentioned some of the things he had been ordered to do whilst he was serving his country. He knew she was going to make Calvin suffer, she wasn't going to let him off easy. "…and I know that you have to do it, but please let me help you"
Lexi shook her head and stepped back from him "No Jay, plausible deniability." She reminded him "I'm not letting you get caught up in this"
"I'm not letting you do this alone" he said beginning to walk back towards her apartment to get dressed.
"No Jay" Lexi called after him "you're not doing this, I won't let you"
He heard her bag hit the floor, he turned and watched her as she marched towards his car taking something out of her pocket. "Lexi don't please" he begged seeing she held a pocket knife in her hand.
She didn't break her stride or slow down, she crouched by his car and plunged the 3-inch blade in to the front passenger tyre. "I can't risk you following me Jay" she told him pulling the blade out and listening to the air hiss out.
"Lex this is crazy" he told her as he watched her do the same to her own car tyre.
"I know" She said walking to stand in front of him "and I'm sorry but I can't risk you, I won't risk you being implicated in all of this"
"I'm only implicated if we get caught and if you're that worried about being caught maybe you shouldn't be this either"
Lexi wasn't worried about being caught, but why risk Jay if she didn't have too? Lexi took her phone from her pocket and handed it to him "you can help me by sending me messages and replying to yourself, make it look like it's me"
Jay shook his head "No, I'm coming with you"
They both looked up as they heard a vehicle pull up at the curb. Jay tried looking in to the white panel van, but the windows had been blacked out. "I have to go" she turned to walk away.
Jay grabbed her arm stopping her. "Please wait"
Lexi stopped walking and turned to face him she kissed him quickly, he kissed her back putting his hand on the side of her face and another around her waist pulling him in to her. Lexi broke their kiss and tried to pull away from him, he held her tightly. "Jay let me go"
"No Lexi please, don't do this"
She had to get away from him, she had to go, she had to finish this once and for all, she had to do it her way and without getting Jay in to trouble. "I love you" she told him softly "And I'm so sorry for this, I hope you can forgive me for all of it" she said before punching him in the gut where he had had his spleen surgery. Jay doubled over in pain, coughing at the blow, she hadn't held back, she had punched him with all her might. Jay leant on her for support, Lexi helped lower him to the floor, she put her cell phone on the floor beside him "I'm sorry" she said again and then turned on her heels and walked away.
Lexi didn't stop walking as she passed her bag, she bent to pick it up and continued to walk to the van as she listened to Jay splutter and cough trying to catch his breath, she knew if she stopped, she would go back to him and help him. She got in to the van and Cam was pulling away before Lexi had even closed the door.
Jay raced up the stairs of the district to the Intelligence floor. Ruzek, Atwater, Dawson, Olinsky and Burgess were in attendance, Voight in his office.
"Where's the fire?" Adam asked watching Jay race past him towards Voight's office.
"Lexi's gone" Jay explained striding across the office.
"What do you mean gone?" Adam asked.
Jay heard everyone get up from their desks and follow him to crowd round Voight's office door. "Where is she?" Jay demanded bursting in to Hank's office without knocking.
"Watch your tone" Hank warned standing and walking around his desk to stand in front of Jay. "Lexi is fine" Hank said walking around Jay out of his office so everyone could hear him.
"Sarge" Jay began walking to stand in front of him, face to face, he needed Hank to see he was worried about her no amount of words would stop that. "I'm freaking out here, she slashed my tyres and she sucker punched me to get away, she is not fine"
Hank smirked a little, he was proud of Lexi for doing what needed to be done. "She's fine, you don't need to look for her, you don't need to worry about her"
"Voight, please" Jay needed to know for himself that she was okay. "Please, I'm going out of my mind here" Jay pleaded.
Hank eyed him for a second then sighed deeply "Come with me" Hank turned and walked back in to his office, Jay following closely behind him. "Close the door"
Jay did as he was instructed closing the door, he watched Hank take a small burner cell phone from his top draw. Hank pushed a few buttons and then held the phone to his ear. "Yeah, it's me" Hank spoke in to the receiver. "I need to speak to her…it will just take a minute" Hank handed the phone to Jay.
Jay put it to his ear and waited, he could hear shuffling like the phone was being passed to someone else. "Hello?" Lexi's voice came through the phone, she sounded annoyed, like she wasn't impressed about being interrupted.
"Lex" Jay said exhaling audibly, relieved at hearing her voice.
"Shit Jay" Lexi said, her tone relaxed "I'm so sorry"
"Where are you?"
"I can't tell you that. I promise I'll explain everything when I'm back."
"Back?" Jay questioned "Lexi, where…"
Lexi interrupted his questioning "I can't talk right now. I have to go. I'm sorry, I'll see you in a couple days. I love you" the line went dead.
Jay handed the phone back to Voight telling him "I want to help her"
Hank took the phone back "what exactly do you think she needs help with?" Voight questioned placing the phone back in to the top draw of his desk.
"Come on Hank, I'm not stupid" Jay said a little angry at Hank for letting her do this alone. Jay had figured out she must have Calvin somewhere, extracting her revenge. "I can help her. She shouldn't be doing this by herself"
"Leave it alone Jay" Voight advised him "She asked me to keep you away, she doesn't want anything coming back on you, or the unit. Leave it be, that's an order"
"Screw your orders" Jay spat at him "I'm not going to sit here and let her do this alone"
Voight raised his voice walking around his desk to stand in front of Jay. "That's exactly what you're going to do!"
Jay stood a little taller, he wasn't backing down. "You can tell me where she is, or I can go looking myself, your call"
Voight sighed pissed at Jay's attitude. "I know you think you're helping her right now but you're not. I'm telling you to leave it be"
Jay stepped closer to Hank, standing nose to nose. "Tell me where she is"
Hank knew Jay wasn't going to accept defeat, it wouldn't matter what orders Hank gave him, what threats he made, Jay would try to find Lexi and in turn he would cause more trouble. "Twenty-four hours" Voight began his negotiation "give her twenty-four hours, if she's not back by then I'll take you to her"
Jay thought for a second, would Hank take him to her or was he just trying to buy some time to get Jay to back off? "Twenty-four hours, starting now" Jay compromised looking down at his watch to check the time. It would be the longest twenty-four hours of his life.
It had been twenty-four hours, twenty-seven if you counted the two hours it had taken Hank to drive himself and Jay to where Lexi supposedly was. Jay still didn't quite believe Hank was taking him to her, he thought he was stalling but he would let it play out.
Hank drove down a thin dirt track, lined with trees. The road was bumpy, the track hadn't been driven on for a long time. A clearing opened revealing a dilapidated house. The white paint faded to yellow and peeling off, the timber frame rotting and crumbling. Hank pulled the car to a stop and they both exited the vehicle looking up at the house. They were greeted with silence. They were far from any major roads; the sound of their engine had scared away any woodland creatures that may have been around moments before.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Jay asked looking over the bonnet of the car at Voight.
"Yes" Voight told him looking as confused as Jay felt approaching the house.
Hank tried the door handle to find it wasn't locked. The wood creaked as Hank pushed his weight against it, forcing the door open, it clearly hadn't been opened in a long while.
"This is bullshit" Jay said from behind him "she isn't here. No one is here, no one has been here in decades"
Hank turned to look at him looking pissed, Lexi had lied to him. "You're right" Hank took the burner cell from his pocket and dialled the only saved number.
Jay stepped closer to him to try to listen to the other side of the call prompting Hank to put the phone on loud speaker. The phone rang for so long Jay thought the call would be sent to voicemail just as Lexi answered sounding out of breath. "You came looking for me, right?" she asked without a greeting.
"Where are you?" Hank and Jay demanded simultaneously.
"Stop looking" Lexi informed them. "You won't find me."
"This wasn't part of the deal" Hank reminder her angrily.
"Neither was taking Jay to look for me" she shot back.
"Lexi…" Jay started sounding just as pissed as Hank had.
Lexi interrupted him "Go home." She advised "I'll be back tomorrow, you can both be pissed at me then" Lexi ended the call.
Jay kicked the dirt road and growled deep in his throat, she was so stubborn. "What now?" Jay asked looking at Hank.
"You heard her, we go home" Hank walked back to the car.
Jay sat on Lexi's sofa in silence, drinking a bottle of beer from her fridge. He stared at her cell phone that sat on the coffee table in front of him.
He had done what she had asked, he had sent her messages and replied to himself using her phone as if it were her replying.
After he and Hank had returned from their wasted trip of looking for her, Jay had returned to her apartment. He had stayed there both nights since she had left, he wanted to be there when she arrived home.
His mind was working overtime thinking about all the things she was doing. How the things she was doing were making her feel? He knew she wouldn't make Calvin's death easy or slow, but he didn't know how she would feel doing the things she needed to do in order to make that a reality.
Calvin deserved a slow, painful death, he agreed with that whole heartedly, but he didn't know if Lexi could handle being the one to deliver that. He couldn't decide if he was more worried about her well-being or more pissed at her for not letting him go with her.
Jay heard a noise at the bottom of the stairs, he listened for a second trying to decipher if it was Lexi coming home or someone leaning against the door in Molly's. People tended to lean against the door that led to her apartment to take phone calls, it was a quiet spot out of the way of the main bar area.
He heard another bump and was certain it was someone on the stairs. "Lex" he called out standing up from the sofa.
"Jay" he heard Lexi call back "help me."