Casey had just gotten home, it was dark but he didn't turn on the lights yet. Acting on memory of where everything was, he went to the kitchen to get a drink. He finally stopped to turn on the light in the kitchen, and was halfway to the fridge when he heard the floor creak behind him. He turned around and started to say, "Sev-"
And felt somebody punch him in the face. He staggered back but was still standing, he saw a blurry image of somebody standing in front of him, even though he couldn't see too well, he knew he'd never seen the man before and had no idea what he was doing in the house. The man grabbed him by the head and knocked him down, Casey let out a pained groan as the back of his head hit the linoleum. Then the man grabbed him by the head again and slammed his head back against the floor. Casey screamed in pain this time and felt tears running out of his eyes. He remembered his skull fracture on the job years ago, and started to worry about the damage this guy was going to do. Even though he was in too much pain to barely even move, he made a decision he would not struggle, he would not try and fight, he didn't want to die, and he hoped by lying where he was on the floor, the man would stop trying to bash his head in.
He heard a sound, it sounded like something being ripped or torn up, then he felt the man roughly grab his wrists and felt something wrap around them. Slowly he realized they'd been taped together, so now he really couldn't do anything to defend himself. Then he felt something smack him in the mouth and he realized the man had torn off another piece of tape to silence him.
His vision started to clear up and he got a better look at the man. He knew he had never seen him anywhere before. So why was he doing this to him?
And then he saw the knife. And though he'd resolved himself not to react, he couldn't resolve himself not to show any fear. He felt his eyes widen, he couldn't stop it.
The man raised the knife and held it in front of Casey's eyes, and he crouched down and told him, "You try and fight me, I'll kill you, you got that?"
Casey wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of a nod, he tried not to be responsive at all, but he heard the muffled sounds he was making against the gag of duct tape. His brain couldn't even comprehend if he was trying to say something or scream. The man made a quick move, and Casey felt paralyzed as he felt the cold tip of the knife against the delicate skin on his neck. Despite all his instincts that told him showing any acknowledgment of fear or pain would only make it worse for him, Casey found himself squeezing his eyes shut and felt himself starting to tremble as he felt the blade moving. He felt a sharp jab against his skin, and it forced a small sob out of him he couldn't restrain. He felt something wet and knew he was bleeding, it took him a few seconds to realize it wasn't a serious wound.
The man rose to his full height and Casey felt his eyes widen again in terror as he saw the man reaching for his belt and start to undo it.
Oh God, Casey thought to himself, this cannot be happening.
Then the man reached over for the light switch, and flipped it, casting the whole room into darkness.
Then the nightmare really began.
Casey opened his eyes and tried to force the memory aside. He looked at himself as he stood before the new mirror in his room, in the suit he was going to wear to court.
"You're gonna sit around in that all day until they call you?" Kelly asked as he poked his head in.
Casey turned to Severide, who merely added, "Hey, you give me the word, I'll tell my mom I can't make it."
"I meant what I said last night, Severide, I need to do this on my own," Matt told him.
"You don't have to prove anything, Casey," Kelly said.
"Yes I do, to myself."
Casey moved to step out the door, Severide moved to the side. Casey took one step, then turned and hugged Severide.
"Thank you though, for helping me get through this," he said.
He felt Severide's strong arms crushing against his back and the Squad lieutenant replied, "Hey, what're friends for? You'll do great today, I know you will."
Severide let go of Casey and told him, "Sorry, buddy, but I gotta get going, I'll see you tonight."
"Thanks," Matt responded. "See you then."
Casey felt the man grab him and flip him over on his stomach, and he cringed as he felt the man's hands on him. He inhaled the nauseating smell of cheap cigarettes and booze that was emanating from the man and choked against the tape. He was grateful at least for the darkness, the man wouldn't get any satisfaction from the tears rolling down his face as he felt the man all but rip his jeans open and jerk them and his underwear down to his thighs. Then he felt the man on top of him and he wanted to shrivel up and die. He screamed against the tape when the pain first started, and it felt like it went on forever. Casey thought the pain alone would be enough to kill him, and if it didn't, he could feel the bleeding start, that would probably be enough to do it. He buried his face against the floor and sobbed against his gag as he felt the attack draw to a close, and only wondered what would happen now that the man seemed to be done with him. He didn't know if he'd blacked out for a while or not, but it was with a horror he had never known that he realized the assault had not ended but was happening again.
The lights came on and Matt tried to scream. He felt the man get off of him, then heard a crash and glass breaking, and heard the man fall down. His whole body felt like jelly after being pinned to the floor for he didn't know how long, but he managed to move around partially so he was able to see who had caused that.
Severide.
Casey felt both relief and horror, thankful the attack was over, horrified that Kelly saw him like this, he screamed against the tape and couldn't stop himself.
"Oh my God, Casey!" Kelly exclaimed as he stepped over the man and came over to him.
Severide picked up the knife off the floor and used it to cut Casey's wrists free. With his free hand, he took out his phone and called 911. Casey screamed and shook his head, not wanting the cops to be brought into this, but Kelly didn't notice it. Casey screamed even louder to try and warn Severide that the man was getting back up and moving towards him. The man kicked Kelly in the back of the head and he fell on the floor and his phone got tossed clear across the room. As Severide and the other man started fighting, Casey took advantage of his freshly liberated hands and ripped the tape off his mouth, then hurriedly pulled his underwear and jeans back up, hoping to God that Severide hadn't gotten a good enough look at him before that point.
The phone! Casey scrambled across the floor, grabbed the phone shakily with both hands. He could hear the 911 dispatcher talking, and he disconnected the call. No cops, there would be no cops, no cops, no EMS, no doctors, he couldn't live with anyone else knowing what happened here tonight.
Casey opened his eyes and looked across the street at the courthouse. Was he really doing this? Was he really going to go in there and tell a hundred people what had happened to him?
He hung his head low and took a couple of breaths.
Yes. He was.
He opened the door and stepped out of his truck and headed across the street. That's when he noticed something, or rather someone standing between two of the parked cars outside the courthouse.
"Herrmann?"
"Hey lieutenant!" Herrmann called as he walked over to meet him. "You ready?"
"What's going on, Herrmann? Why are you here..." Casey turned and saw another familiar face. "Chief?"
"I told you we would respect your wishes and stay out of the courtroom today," Wallace told him. "But we are going to be seeing you through the doors anyway."
Casey looked past Boden and saw Otis, Cruz, Mouch, Capp and Tony all standing by the curb. Matt turned back to the others and was at a loss for words.
"We're behind you all the way, Casey," Christopher told him, "now go in there and take no prisoners."
"How did you know I would actually show up?" he asked.
Herrmann clapped him on the back, looked him straight in the eyes and said simply, "Leaders lead from the front, right?"
Casey slowly nodded, then he turned to the others, and walked up the sidewalk to the courthouse, with seven of the most important people in his life marching right behind him. They neared the entrance, Casey stopped, turned around, faced the others, they saluted him, then turned and left. Casey sucked in one more breath and stepped into the building.
"Chief Boden once told me a hero isn't someone who's unafraid. It's someone who's scared to death and does the right thing anyway."
Casey knew it was going to be hell, and probably wouldn't even be worth it. But if things were ever going to get better for other victims, somebody had to be brave enough to step forward and get the ball rolling, and he was a leader, he couldn't back down, he couldn't, and he wouldn't, no matter how much he wanted to. He would lead from the front, no matter what the outcome.
He looked around and very quickly he spotted Peter Stone in the hallway.
"Matt," Peter said as he came up to him, "are you ready?"
He thought about it for a second.
"Yeah, I am, let's go."
Court had been out for the day for two hours by the time Casey finally returned home. He stepped inside, closed the door, and called out for Severide, noting that his car was parked out front.
Kelly came out of the kitchen looking anxious. "I've been trying to call you for hours! How did it go?"
Casey took off his jacket and answered, "It was...very interesting. We all sat around for almost an hour...and he never showed up."
"What?" Kelly asked.
"Cardoza, he didn't appear," Casey shook his head. "His lawyer swears he has no idea where he is, the judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest."
Kelly stood there with his mouth open and a dumbstruck look on his face for several seconds before he finally asked, "Well, isn't this good news? I mean doesn't this prove he's guilty? An innocent person shows up to trial."
"It proves he's guilty of failure to appear, past that, I don't know," Casey replied as he sat down at the dining room table.
"Maybe he decided he would be convicted and he skipped bail," Severide thought.
"All I know is it saved me the trouble of testifying today, but when and if they find him, then we'll be called again," Casey said as he stood up.
"Well, it's after 7, where've you been all this time?" Kelly asked.
"Just...walking around," Casey answered, "I needed to clear my head after all this."
"I was worried, man."
"Sorry," Casey said. "I just...how ironic is this? I'm the one who didn't want to do this, I didn't want to go to court, and he's the one that doesn't show up."
"See, you worried for nothing," Kelly said. "I asked you to trust me."
"I know."
Casey latched onto Severide and hugged him fiercely.
"I couldn't have survived this if you weren't here," he said, feeling his eyes sting as tears started to build up.
Severide patted him on the back and told him, "It's alright. We'll get through this."
Casey inhaled, and crinkled his nose and pulled back from Kelly. "What's that smell?"
"Oh, I'm cooking dinner," Severide told him.
Casey turned on his heel and asked, "Where's the fire extinguisher?"
"Stop," Severide playfully slapped his side, "I thought you'd be back sooner, I've had it on low so it didn't burn."
"So how'd it go with your mom?" Casey asked as they headed to the kitchen.
"Oh, I was going to tell you about that. Not to take away from what happened to you at court today, but no sooner do I get my mom on her plane, I get a call. Benny is at 51 and he's looking for me."
Casey turned towards him, "Benny?"
"I know, right?" Severide said as he picked up two pot holders. "He tells me he and his buddies decided to get a head start on their ice fishing this year...and he stopped by to drop off some crappie fish he caught."
"Crappy fish?" Casey asked.
"Shay loved it," Kelly said as he took a foil covered pan out of the oven and put it on top of the stove.
Casey peeled back the foil and let the onslaught of steam escape before venturing for a closer look.
"Looks interesting," he said.
Casey woke up with his face buried in a pillow he was hugging with both arms, and realized he was on the couch in the living room. He slowly looked around and saw light starting to come in through the windows. He tried sitting up, and saw Severide coming in from the kitchen.
"What time is it?" he croaked out.
"Morning, sleeping beauty," Kelly said teasingly. "How're you feeling?"
"Hung over," Matt answered, "what'd we do last night?"
"After dinner? We drank a couple cases of beer, cleared out half of the stuff in the fridge, and you fell asleep after Michael Myers killed about 20 people."
Casey grunted, "I don't remember that." He got to his feet, unsteadily at first, then found his equilibrium, and grumbled, "I need a shower, and an Alka-Seltzer the size of a hockey puck."
There was a knock at the door that got both of their attention.
"Who's that?" Casey asked.
"You expecting anyone?" Kelly asked.
Casey shook his head. "You?"
"Nope."
They went to the door to see what was going on. Casey was definitely not expecting to see the person standing on the other side.
"Voight!"
"How're you doing, Matt?" the Intelligence sergeant asked. As usual, Voight had a completely unreadable expression on his face and it was impossible to tell if he'd been up for hours or just clocked in for the day, though there did appear to be some hint of concern for the firefighter in his eyes when Casey looked at him.
"I'll get back to you later on that, what're you doing here?" he asked.
Voight showed himself in and said, "I need to ask you two a couple questions, and I want you to know up front this is just routine, just a formality I need to cross off, it's not personal."
"What is it?" Kelly asked.
"Where were you two last night?" Hank asked.
"Here," Casey said. "Why?"
"All night?"
"Yeah."
"Doing what?"
"We had dinner, then we watched TV," Kelly answered slightly defensively.
"Hm," Voight grunted, "What was on?"
"A 'Halloween' marathon."
"Till when?"
"All night," Severide answered.
Voight looked at Casey, "And you were up all night for it?"
"No, Casey fell asleep after two of them," Kelly said.
"And you?"
"I saw a couple more, finally fell asleep about 4 AM."
"And you're sure that Casey never got up and left?" Voight asked.
"He couldn't, he slept on the couch," Kelly answered. "I slept in the chair."
"Hm, cozy," Voight remarked. "Well, it's good enough for me, I just had to check."
"Hank, what's this about?" Casey asked.
Voight looked at him. "Harris Cardoza, he didn't appear at court yesterday."
"I know, the judge issued a warrant for his arrest," Casey said.
"Uh huh, well that's probably irrelevant now. Patrolmen responded to a disturbance call from Cardoza's residence last night...he wasn't there, but there was a large amount of blood on the floor. They tested the blood, matched it to Cardoza. Crime scene techs figure there had to be..." Voight shrugged his shoulders, "eight pints in all. Figure a guy Cardoza's size would have about 12 pints in him."
Kelly and Casey turned and looked at each other.
"Like I said, I just had to rule you out," Voight said. "Seems maybe one of his other victims got word about his arrest, saw his picture, put two and two together, and took advantage of his being released on bail. Which effectively takes care of your problem for you as well, Casey. I'll see you round."
Voight showed himself out and left the two lieutenants standing in the middle of the room in a stupor. Severide turned to Casey to say something, but saw there was a blank look on his face.
"Casey, you okay?"
Casey's knees buckled and he collapsed, Severide caught him just before he hit the floor.
"Casey!"
Severide eased Casey on the floor and laid him flat on his back. Casey's eyes started to open and he looked up at Severide, "What happened?"
"You fainted, are you alright?" Kelly asked as he helped Casey back to his feet.
Casey looked at Kelly for a few seconds, then said more as a question than not, "It's...over?"
"Sounds like it."
Casey said again, "It's over?"
"Yeah."
Casey's mouth hung open for a second, then he all but jumped on Severide and let out a loud triumphant yell and exclaimed in disbelief, "It's over!"
Severide felt Casey's body go limp against him and he helped Casey down before he fell down again. Casey knelt on the floor and Severide could see tears in his eyes. Casey simultaneously sobbed and laughed as he wrapped his arms around Severide's neck as he kept repeating, "It's over, it's over, it's over, thank God it's over."
Kelly hugged his best friend in return and said, "I told you it'd be alright."
Casey leaned against him and cried, this time it was in relief. Kelly felt his own eyes tearing up and buried his face in Casey's shoulder, Matt would never know what it meant to Severide to hear him so happy, and he would never know what it had taken for that to be possible. He heard Casey switch to a hysterical, almost shrieking laugh and felt something choking him, he pulled back and realized it was Matt grabbing two fistfuls of Severide's shirt and using it as leverage to shake him. Severide laughed as the two of them toppled over and fell flat on the floor, and they stayed there, laughing like a couple of idiots, until neither of them could breathe.
A/N: This could very easily have been the end of the story, but there will be one more chapter.
