So, in order to incorporate all the ideas for this chapter, I ended up turning it into more of a preparation for the showdown than the actual showdown itself. I'd like to give my thanks to Miss Savvy xoxo, linstead4ever, MerryLittleMess and a couple guest reviewers. I did my best to incorporate as much of your ideas as possible, but for some of them I had to tweak it a bit, so it would fit in better. I hope you all still enjoy the chapter.

Chapter Seventeen: Worlds Collide & Hearts Get Broken

(War of Change – Thousand Foot Crutch)

Burgess and Roman entered the Intelligence unit's space. Lindsay was talking to Voight in his office. Dawson and Atwater were on their computers comparing possible locations for the Cobalts gang that Valerie might be targeting. Nadia was on the phone with a Guns & Gangs detective trying to figure out the same thing. Olinsky and Ruzek were currently on their way back to the precinct with Lee.

"Alright," Voight announced as he left his office, Lindsay at his heels. "As soon as Alvin and Ruzek get back I want to have a location. I want them to only have time to suit up before we are leaving. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded.

"Dawson, you will be riding with Lindsay and Ruzek. Alvin and I will take Lee. Roman and Burgess, I want you to ride with Atwater in one of Intelligence's vehicles. I don't want anyone getting antsy because of your patrol car. We will go in a straight line, driving close, driving fast. Alvin and I will take the lead. I want Dawson, Lindsay and Ruzek to take the back."

Everyone nodded once more, showing their understanding.

"Our first priority," Voight continued. "Is to limit the collateral. Get any civilians out as soon as possible. Once they are out of the way, I really don't care what you have to do." He turned to Lindsay with a meaningful stare. "Just get Halstead."

"We want to locate Jay as soon as possible," Lindsay added. "He needs to know that we are there. We still don't know what exactly is happening, but-"

"We know the where," Nadia exclaimed. All eyes turned to her. "I just got off the phone with a detective from Guns & Gangs. They said that one of their CI's just recently reported that all the main leaders of the Colbalts were meeting up at one of their known hangouts tonight; a popular nightclub owned by their 'head honcho', Isiah Horran. The night club is called The Spire."

"If I were Valerie, that's where I'd strike," Dawson admitted.

Voight nodded. "I want an address."

"On it boss," the secretary responded.

"While we're waiting for Alvin and Ruzek, I want Atwater searching up this Isiah Horran. Dawson I want a list of all the members of the Colbalts that are supposed to be in attendance. Get Nadia to lend you a hand."

The two detectives nodded, returning their attention to their computers.

Burgess and Roman stepped forward. "What would you have us doing?" The female patrol officer asked.

"I want full blueprints for The Spire. I don't care what you have to do to get them. I want to know everything about that place by the time Alvin and Ruzek get back. Is that clear?"

The two cops nodded. "We'll get right on that," Roman promised, before leading his partner off to go do as instructed.

Lindsay turned to her father-figure. "We can't wait. We should be leaving now."

Voight shook his head. "We need to know what we're getting into. We're no good to Jay if we're rushing in half-cocked. Besides, Lee is our best chance for talking Valerie down and getting Jay back safely. You know that."

"We still need to let Jay know in advance," she protested. "There's no way that he'll hold off long enough to arrive at The Spire. He'll pull the plug long before they get him to the destination."

"Erin," Voight muttered sadly. "We have no way to get a hold of him. Otherwise, we would've done that by now. All we can do now is trust in your partner's faith in you. He'll give us long enough."

"How do you know that that's true?"

Voight sighed. "Because it has to be."

"I just... I don't understand." Lee repeated for what was surely the one-hundredth time. "I don't even know if I can help you. I thought I knew my fiance, but...this?"

Alvin sighed as he lead the grieving man up the stairs to Intelligence. "You're our best shot at talking her down. She just needs to know that you still care about her."

Lee nodded as he and the two detectives got to the top of the stairs.

"Alright," Voight announced. "They're back. I guess it's time to share your findings," he joked, but there was no humour in his voice.

"Isiah Harron has been the leader of the Colbalts for over twenty years," Atwater began. "He's held onto this position for so long by having anyone he even slightly suspects of wishing to overthrow him executed. Of course, none of the murders have traced back to him. Nothing that sticks ever has."

"I've got a list of Colbalts invited to the meeting," Dawson continued. "There's twelve of them, only Harron's mot trusted men. One of them is his right hand, a man who goes by the name Patience, although Guns & Gangs assured us that it's more of an ironic nickname because the bastard's a giant powder keg waiting to go off. Still, Patience is the only one of his lieutenants that Horran really trusts."

"We've got the blueprints for you here," Roman added, handing out the sheets to Voight. "We've also had a copy of these sent to each of your phones. Just in case."

"I called up Jasmine, your bomb tech friend," Nadia informed Olinsky. "She says she'll meet us at the scene."

"Good," Voight concluded briefly. "Now, let's go downstairs and suit up."

"We'll get him back Erin," Dawson promised as he drove like a madman behind the two other Intelligence vehicles through the busy streets of Chicago.

The woman nodded, but said nothing.

Ruzek poked him head up from the back seat. "We have the location of the big endgame. Come on. This is good news!" He exclaimed, in hopes of lifting his friend's spirits.

Erin just frowned. "Not if Jay blows himself up first, it's not."

"Wow. You can really kill the mood," the youngest detective grumbled, leaning back in his seat.

"Give it a rest," Dawson moaned. The other two sighed in defeat, a wordless surrender to Dawson's request. As they continued to drive, Erin's phone began to ring. The two men gave her confused looks.

"Who the hell is calling you right now?" Ruzek wondered.

Erin shrugged. "It's an unknown number."

"Probably a damn telemarketer," Ruzek groaned. "Trust me, you did not win a trip to the Bahamas. Just let it ring."

"Answer it," Dawson decided. "It can't hurt. Besides, you never know. It could be important to the case."

Erin shrugged, agreeing it couldn't hurt and answering the phone. "Lindsay," she greeted. She paused. There was no response, just some noises of something shuffling. "Hello?" There was the sound of a door opening and pairs of footsteps.

"Get him up," came a female voice. Erin raised an eyebrow. She pulled the phone away from her face and motioned for the boys to be silent as she put it on speaker. "It's time to go, my friend." Then there was more shuffling and the clinking of chains.

"Get off of me!" An all too familiar voice protested, followed by more shuffling noises.

Dawson's eyes shot open with recognition. He glanced over to Erin. That's Jay, He mouthed. Erin and Ruzek both nodded in agreement. The former quickly put her phone on mute, so Jay's captures couldn't here them talk. She put the phone in the cup holder and grabbed Dawson's cell phone, dialling the precinct as fast as she could.

"This is Detective Lindsay," She announced. "I need you to get Ranger to put a trace on the phone that's currently on the line with mine. I want a location as soon as he's got one."

"Of course," Nadia replied.

Meanwhile, Ruzek had called Voight and informed him as to what was going on. Within a matter of moments, both of the other two Intelligence cars had been patched into the radio of the one that held Dawson, Erin and Ruzek. They could all hear the call now.

A loud grunt was heard through the phone, followed by more grunts and noises that were probably the sound of something smashing into Jay's flesh, possibly a fist or a foot.

"I said," Valerie sang eerily. "It's time to go."

Jay's laughter flooded through the phone. "My team's going to stop you. You have to know that. There's no way they haven't figured out your stupid plan for revenge."

"Silly Jay. Even you haven't figured it out."

"What are you talking about? You told me you were going after the Colbalts, the gang that killed your brother and shot Lee."

"I am, but that's not all. You just don't get it." Valerie let out a big sigh. Leisurely footsteps could be heard. Valerie had began to pace. "It's...It's more than that. It's about keeping my promises and setting things right. How can I set my affairs in order if I end it on a lie?"

"A lie?" Jay sounded confused. So was the rest of his unit. "You mean your child?"

The pacing stopped. "No. No Jay. Your friends have surely explained it all to everyone by know. Essa, Courtney..." A pause. "Leland."

Lee sat in the back seat of Voight and Olinsky's vehicle. He let out a strangled gasp, his fiance's crimes finally sinking in, finally becoming real to him.

"So," Jay wondered. "What's this huge lie? What do you have left to set right? What promise have you-" He trailed off. A brief silence followed. "It's about Essa. Isn't it?"

Valerie let out a short breath. Erin could almost imagine the smug smile spread across her face. "You are so observant. I'm sure you're a great detective. It's a shame I can't just let you go, but I have to stay true to my promise to Essa."

"You're a real piece of work," Jay growled. "You know that right?"

Valerie laughed sadly. "I wasn't always."

"Dammit Valerie. It's not too late. You can still fix this. Nothing's been done that can't be undone. Just let me go, undone this vest. Let's walk out of here."

"I can't," she whispered so quietly that it was barely audible. "I've lost too much. My baby, my little Ryan..." she sucked in a sharp breath to hold back tears. "...I can't bring him back."

"Exactly!" Jay pointed out. "So why do this? You can't fix what's happened!"

"I'm doing this because I can't fixed what happened...because I can't go home again."

Lee squirmed in the back seat of Voight's car. "Let me talk to her. Let me tell her that I forgive her."

Voight shook his head. "If we're hearing this, it's likely that Jay stole one of their phones and called us. If you start talking you'll give away that we can hear them and track them. Right now, it's better to have this call than having you talk to her."

Lee sighed in defeat. He shook his head and bit his lip, trying to imagine a version of this story that didn't end poorly for his fiance.

"I can't..." Valerie continued in a horrifyingly sad voice. "I can't look at that house the same way. The walls...The rooms...The feeling...I've...I've ruined my family. I was once again unable to protect those that I loved. I lost my baby. Just like I lost my brother, just like I almost lost Lee."

The sadness disappeared from her voice. "No," she stated surely. "I won't be defenceless again. I won't let this gang get away with what they've done to me. I will set everything right, and once I'm done..." Another pause. "I will see my Ryans again."

Lee gasped. "No. No. No! You have to let me talk to her! She means to kill herself!" Voight shot the man a dangerous look, which made him calm down, but did not stop the tears that were pouring down his face. "Please. You can't take her from me too."

Voight paused, letting Lee's last sentence register. "Hansen Kane," he mumbled. He cursed under his breath. "This case has come full circle. She wants to set things right."

"She means to take down the Colbalts and keep her promise to Essa," Erin continued. "She's going to kill Jay just like Hansen."

"But...we already knew that," Ruzek pointed out. "Didn't we?"

The cops all fell silent as Valerie spoke up again. "Ripper, Dante. I wish I could say It's been a pleasure working with the two of you."

One of the two men chuckled. "Well it's been fun on our side."

"Don't worry," the other assured her. "We'll finish our end and then we'll get far away from this place."

"Thank you," Valerie said politely. "I hope the money I gave you was sufficient for all you've done for me."

"It's more than enough," One of the men promised.

There was a lot of shuffling. "Good luck," said one man.

"You too," came Valerie's voice.

"Valerie," Jay was practically pleading now. "You tell them to take me out that door and I will let go. I will end all three of you right here."

Erin flinched. "Don't you dare," she murmured.

Valerie laughed. "No you won't. You pretend to be some big noble hero, but deep down, you just want to buy your friends more time. No. I think I have a little longer until you finally realize that no one is coming to save you. Take him away."

Then, a door clicked and all that could be heard was the shuffling of feet and the clinking of chains.

"Ranger," Erin growled over the phone. "I need a location."

"Give me a second," the hacker mumbled. "Whose ever phone he used to call you has..." he paused. "Let's just say it's going to talk me a minute."

"She didn't follow them," Atwater pointed out.

"They're splitting up," Roman concluded.

Erin cursed. "Valerie's going to deal with the gang..."

"And the other two are going to kill Jay in a way that keeps her promise to Essa," Olinsky finished. "They're going to blow him up."

Voight cursed. "And just like that. It's all my fault again," he mumbled so quietly only Olinsky could hear him. He sighed and raised his voice. "We'll follow Jay. This is my problem, I'll finish it."

"You can't," Erin pointed out. "Hank, you two have Lee and we don't exactly have time to pull over and switch him to another car. Dawson, Ruzek and I will get Jay. I promise."

Voight shook his head. "Erin. You're injured. All three of you in that van have been to the hospital because of this case. It's important that this doesn't fail Erin. We have to give Halstead his best chance."

"You think I don't know that?!" Erin cried. "Hank. I will not fail this."

"Erin..."

"Dammit Hank! I'm not going to let the man I love die!"

There was a tense moment of silence. No one said anything. Dawson smiled, while Hank and Olinsky sighed. The four youngest all had their jaws drop, but they didn't say anything.

Voight sighed, ending the silence. "Fine. Atwater, you stay with me."

"Thank you," Erin whispered, her heart pounding so loud she could barely hear Voight agree to let her go after Jay.

"Alright!" Ranger announced. "I've got a location, but it appears to be moving. They're probably in a car. I've sent the signal to your phone."

"Okay then," Voight sighed. "We're going to drop out of the connection and focus on our new game plan for The Spire. You'll call if anything goes south." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

Erin simply nodded. Then, her partner's location appeared on Dawson's phone. "Dammit. He's on the other side of the city."

"Erin?" The voice was weak, but it was there and to Erin, that was all that mattered. "Erin? Are you still there?"

She took the phone of mute. "Yeah, Dawson, Ruzek and I are on our way to your location now. We heard the whole conversation. Jay, hold on. We have your location and we are coming."

Jay breathed heavily. "I know," he whispered. "Look, guys. I'm in the back of some sort of...I don't know, transport truck, like one of those bank security cars...I can't remember what they're called...The back is isolated from the front, by a shut door, so they can't hear me, but I don't have any windows. I don't know where I'm going."

"We do," Dawson pointed out. "You're going to a field on the outskirts of town."

"That's where Hansen Kane died all those years ago," Erin whispered.

"She really is keeping her promise to Essa."

"Son of a..." Ruzek gasped. "Guys...There's a festival at that field today. There'll be at least a hundred people there."

"What?" Jay's voice was stretched so thin it sounded as if he was unable to breathe.

"Jay. It's okay. It's-"

"How far you Erin? Are you closer than five minutes?"

She shook her head. "We...We...We're almost there."

Jay laughed. "No you're not. You're a lot farther than that aren't you?"

"Jay," Antonio growled, half angry, half unbearably sad.. "I swear to god, we are coming. Don't you dare-"

"Dare what? Dare save a hundred lives?" Jay said. "We've already had this conversation. I'm not worth a hundred lives."

"We are going to come get you Jay," Erin sobbed. "We are on our way right now. I can see your location on the phone." She stared at the small dot in horror. They were so far away. "I can see you," she whispered.

"Erin," Jay choked. "Erin, you'd do the same thing if you were in my position, and you know it."

"Of course I would, but that's not the situation we're in. We're talking about your life and...and I need you to keep your life. You don't need me to keep mine."

Jay laughed. "What're you talking about? Of course I need you. That's what makes this so hard Erin...because if you care about me even a tenth of how much I care about you...this will kill you."

Erin was sobbing uncontrollably now. "So don't do this."

"Every one of those hundred people is loved by someone Erin. I can't put myself over them."

"Then put me over them. I can live with that. I really can. What I can't live without...is you."

"You'll be fine," Jay whispered. "Intelligence...Intelligence will take care of you. I won't be the first person we've lost recently. You'll survive this. You'll survive me."

"Jay," Ruzek's voice was shattering with his own sadness. "Please. Please don't do this man."

"I'm sorry Adam. I really am."

"Then don't kill yourself. If you're sorry don't let go of that button."

"You know I can't do that," Jay said solemnly. "I wish I could, but I can't."

"There's nothing we can say is there?" Antonio asked sadly, tears running down his cheeks too. "We could tell you how hard we've looked for you, how many times we've yelled, argued, cried, how many people we've beaten up...but it doesn't change a thing does it? You still have to be a cop. You still have to a good soldier."

Jay laughed. "I can't help it."

Erin squeezed her eyes shut. Her cheeks were soaked with tears. She wanted scream at her foolish, noble partner. She wanted to beg him not to leave her, but it all seemed so pointless. She didn't want to let him go. She couldn't, but she had to...and there was nothing she, or anyone, could do about it.

"Maybe one day," she whispered, for it was all she could think to say. She could almost see him smiling his silly smile back at her. They were having dinner. Everything was fine. Everything was perfect. Everything was...crashing down around her. She stared at Antonio's phone as Jay replied. They were so damn far.

"Oh," Jay teased. "Oh definitely."

Erin doubled over in her seat. Antonio pressed on the gas pedal even harder. Adam was wiping away tears and staring out the window. They could hear Jay banging on the door between where he was and where Dante and Ripper were.

"Hey!" he was calling. "Hey!"

The door swung open. There was yelling, shuffling, smashing. Erin could hardly hear through the sounds of her own merciless sobs. Then. Then the sound came. It was a loud crash and a yell, maybe two, maybe three.

Erin threw her a face into her hands. Single word tore threw her body like a shockwave. It came out her mouth as a blood curdling cry.

"Jay!"

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't kill me. It's going to be okay. I have a plan. Did I mention don't kill me? I really didn't want to, or mean to, end this chapter on such a cliff hanger, but this chapter is already definitively the longest on I've written so I had to end it. By the way, don't worry if your idea wasn't really in this chapter. Some of the ideas won't appear until later.

Anywho, I really hope you liked this chapter (I made made myself cry while writing it). I'm proud of it...aside from the cliff hanger. I'm so sorry. I will see you next Sunday with the next chapter. I Dare You To Move is wrapping up my friends, please stay with me. Keep your reviews coming so I can make the ending as perfect as possible for you all.

Next Chapter:

Chapter Eighteen: Did They Seem To Real To You?