He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long steadying breath, this wasn't the news he wanted to hear. He wouldn't spit on Denny Woods if the man was on fire but right now, he felt for the man.
He had just joined a very exclusive club, he was a bereaved father, his daughter had succumbed to her injuries. She had fought hard for just over a week, but her body had been ravaged by infection.
Hank pushed back from his desk, "Alvin.." he poked his head outside his office, "a minute."
Al pushed his sleeves up and joined his boss, "Something up? Ruzek finally get what we need?"
"No. I just got off the phone with Trudy, Woods' kid coded this morning. They pronounced her just about an hour ago. We need to circle the wagons." Hank ran his hand over his head, "Fuck...she was a good kid."
"Seems what they say is true, only the good die young. Justin, my Lexi, and now her...yet us old bastards live to see another day." Al lamented.
"The world is fucked up." Hank sighed. "Get Ruzek in here."
His anger bubbled just below the surface, her hand still held a hint of warmth as he cradled it in his, her hand was dainty her nails painted with a bright pink polish. Her palm was soft, a stark comparison to his calloused one. He had given her everything he had, made sure she had every opportunity he had missed out on. She had the best of everything, she wanted for nothing.
He had done everything he was supposed to do and then some, but it was all for naught.
Chicago still took her from him.
The city he had vowed to protect had stolen his most prized possession.
The city robbed him of his soul, when his precious princess took her last breath she took his soul as well.
The tears ran unchecked down his cheeks, he climbed into the bed with his little girl and pulled her into his arms one last time. He had lost everything he had held dear, he was left with nothing but a shattered heart and a rage that burned inside him like a raging inferno, it was like nothing he'd ever felt before.
"Dead?" Adam croaked, "Fuck.." he held his head in his hands, "Now what?"
"Now what?" Voight scoffed, "Nothing's changed. The goal remains the same. He's weak, distracted. It just might be in our best interest to push the envelope a bit." Their attempts just after the shooting didn't provide the results they had hoped for.
"Fuck.." Adam groaned, this felt wrong. He felt like a shark circling its prey and it went against his nature. "He hasn't even buried his kid yet..." he let the rest of his sentence remain unsaid, he was still trying to wrap his head around it all.
"Do you think he'd back off you? Fuck no, he would go even harder at you. He doesn't care, Adam" Hank used his first name, "he's not going to drop this. It fucking sucks. I know that. I know what he's feeling it's awful. I wouldn't wish this on anyone but he's not like us. Not like you and me. He doesn't feel empathy. We need to finish him, before he brings this entire unit down. You invited him in, you brought this down on all of us. You need to finish it."
Adam's head bobbed up and down, "Yeah. Okay." He stood up, "Tell me what you want me to do."
They gathered in the bullpen, the vibe in the room was strange and Kim had felt the hair on the back of her neck rise and goosebumps spread across her skin. It was a strange feeling, one she couldn't quite make sense of. She chalked it up to yet another long day, they'd been on the go for a good chunk of the day.
They had a new case dropped in their laps and while it was a nice change of pace it had them chasing their tails. It was a white collar crime ring and their goal at the moment was familiarizing themselves with all of the players. It lacked excitement for sure, but it was just as exhausting as any other case.
When Voight ordered them in for a debriefing of some sort before they all left for the night it took the wind out of her sails a bit, she had been so close to home she could taste it. She had hopes of a long soak in the tub with a good book, a glass of wine and hopefully sleeping for the next week though she'd settle for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.
"What do you think he wants?"Kevin asked as he nudged her with his shoulder, "You up for grabbing some grub once we are set free?"
"I don't have a clue" Kim leaned into him, allowing him to take on her weight, "Thanks but no thanks. I've got a hot date" she smirked.
"Oh really?"
"Yep" Kim teased, "With my tub, a good book, and a bottle of wine." She laughed, "I just want to relax tonight. It's long over due."
"Alright. You know where to find me..and Ruzek" Kevin smirked, he cowered a bit under her icy glare, "Me. Just me. Sorry, Burgess."
"Just let it go, please." Kim begged.
"Fine." Kevin held his hands up in defeat, "for now.." he muttered under his breath.
"We received sad news today, unfortunately Woods' daughter died this morning. She fought hard but came up short. We are all aware of the scene Denny caused, we know he blames us. Nothing we can do about that but I want you to remain vigilant and avoid Denny Woods at all cost. We've got a new case on the books that needs to be our focus, we can't control that other shit. Watch each other's backs and let this blow over without incident."
"Shit..Sarge..." Antonio sighed, "I..." he stammered, he couldn't help but take on responsibility for her death, he had been with her. "I had her.."
"Stop right there." Hank ordered, "This isn't on you. You had her, she was safe. She decided to run, this isn't on you."
"Still feel like shit"
Al wrapped an arm around his neck, "Of course you do, you're a good man, and even better father. This isn't your fault."
Adam fired off the text as he made his way to the locker room, he was feeling it from all sides lately. He was wearing his guilt like a heavy coat, a coat he couldn't take off. He was feeling particularly shitty for going after a man whose daughter had just died, knowing this was their best chance to bring him down did little to ease the burden. He did find some solace in the fact that he was troubled by this, it showed he was different than Woods. His humanity still remained intact, whereas Woods' was devoid of it.
That alone was the only reason Adam could live with himself, had the roles been switched Woods would bury Adam without so much as a second glance.
"Yo Ruz!"
Adam spun on his heels at the sound of his name, "Watkins...hey" he shook the other man's hand, "How's it going?"
"Good. Good." Watkins replied, "You should come hang out, were headed off to shoot a few rounds of pool. That new place just a few blocks over."
Adam had known Ken Watkins since his days at the academy, they had been partnered up and remained so until Olinsky plucked Adam and dropped him in IU.
"I don't know..." Adam shrugged.
"You to good to hang with us lowly patrol officers?" Ken teased, "Hit me up if you change your mind, the women are plentiful if that helps at all."
"Good to know."
Halstead handed him a beer, "Ruzek bail on us again?" He leaned against the bannister, "He too good to hang out?"
He had noticed a shift in Ruzek. He and Adam had always been close or at least he had thought they were but over the last few months that wasn't the case. Within the last week or so he had barely uttered a word to him outside of work. He always had an excuse for why he couldn't hit up Molly's with them.
It was strange as hell.
"Nah.."Kevin shook him off, "I think he and Burgess are dealing with some shit. I'll kick your ass if you mention it though."
Jay finished his beer, "Whatever man, he's been weird lately."
"When the fuck isn't Ruzek weird?" He laughed, "I'm just hoping he and Burgess can get their shit together."
He was tired of sitting at home, he needed to blow off some steam and grab a few beers. He really didn't want to hang out with Halstead and Atwater so Watkins was a solid back up plan.
More than anything he wanted to just forget about it all for one night.
"Woah! Look what the fucking cat dragged in, it's Adam fucking Ruzek" Ken jumped up from the table in the corner of the pool hall, "Glad you could make it brother. You know the boys, right?" He pointed out the guys at the table.
"What's up fellas." Adam greeted them, he recognized a couple from the academy and he knew one guy from the few times he'd been called up to assist intelligence, "I do. How's it going Gibby?"
"It's going. Same shit, different day" Gibby replied, he couldn't remember the last time someone had called him by his first name. He wasn't sure he'd even respond to his name at this point. He'd been called 'Gibby' since his freshman year of high school. It wasn't easy being named August Gibson, he was quite content with the abbreviated version of his surname, anything was better than fucking August.
"Isn't it always." Adam laughed.
Watkins clapped his hands together, "Enough bullshitting. Let's get our drunk on. Whose ready to play some pool? Perhaps a gentlemen's wager? A Hundo?"
"I'm in." Gibby pulled a bill from his wallet.
"Fuck it..I'm in too." Adam tossed a hundred on the table, "Keep the beer flowing."