Chapter Five

Next Phase

Will Halstead sighed as he walked through the remains of the newly renovated apartment building he'd purchased and shook his head dejectedly.

"I am sorry, Will," Dylan said regretfully. "I really am."

Will shook his head again. "Not your fault."

"If I had known what they were capable of," Dylan insisted.

Halstead held up his hands. "Just, leave it, okay."

Dylan ran a hand through his short, cropped hair and shook his head. "I am sorry, man."

He nodded, licking dry lips as he took in the devastation around him; the smoking pyres, broken glass and charcoaled wood. "I heard you the first time."

"What are you going to do?" Dylan asked carefully. "I mean, I'll help you if you want to rebuild it. I know a few guys-,"

Will held up his hand to stop his colleague. "I don't even know if the insurance covers any of it. With my luck, I guess I am back to being broke."

"It was arson," Dylan said darkly.

"Speaking of that," Will replied thoughtfully. "Are you sure they won't come after you too?"

OOOOOO

Voight's back was slightly arched yet slouched back into a reclining position, propped up by several pillows, as Kim and Adam entered the room.

"Looking good, boss," Ruzek said kindly.

He looked up from the folders spread across his lap with a mix of annoyance and mild amusement as the couple came to stand next to him. He narrowed his eyes at Kim's jovial sly half-smile and then arched a curious eyebrow at the package in her hands.

"I hope it's not from the bakery," Voight remarked with a careful smirk.

"Not the bakery," Kim assured him, meaning Escano's shell company. "I realize this might sound a little crazy, sarge, but when I was confined to my hospital bed after the shooting, I appreciated you being there for me. I remembered the donuts you brought me and I guess – I don't know – I wanted to return the favor."

A genuine smile tugged at the corner of the older man's lips for a moment, a slip in the normally stoic façade. "They were good?" he asked.

"Yes-," Adam began but caught himself. "-I mean, I've heard rumors they were delicious."

Kim fought to keep her face neutral for a moment, even Voight did because the look on Adam's face was pretty priceless.

When they'd all sobered up and gotten back to business, Voight gestured at the folders. "I have to say it's a pretty interesting read," he said. "The detective did a thorough job."

"If she knew they are in your lap, boss, instead of being locked up somewhere she'd get a heart-attack."

He nodded with a smirk. "Sometimes it's best to hide things in plain sight."

Kim and Adam shared a small smile as their superior carefully placed all the papers back into the folder and handed it over.

Kim gently stuffed it inside her jacket and crossed her arms over her chest. "We'll have them locked away."

"Are you sure we shouldn't just hand them over to Deputy Superintendent Miller?" Adam asked.

"We don't know if the leak is at the 23rd precinct or at the headquarters," Voight reasoned. "I don't want to throw away a credible undercover operation unless I have to. It's better we keep it for the time being until we have all the facts on the table."

"Sarge, you don't believe Miller is involved in this, do you?" Adam asked carefully.

He shook his head. "Not really no. I trust her."

"Look, Platt wanted to have a word with you. Apparently, there's a new lieutenant being assigned to our patch. She said you knew the guy," Kim informed him.

Voight made a face. "Did he have a name?"

"Patrick O'Neal," Adam volunteered. "We're going to report to him now as the new chief of organized crimes."

Voight huffed. "O'Neal," he echoed, his voice raw and subdued. "I never saw that one coming."

At curious looks directed at him he shrugged. "Long story. Anyway, tell Trudy to get her ass over here when you get back."

OOOOOO

"I strongly recommend-," Crocket began to argue.

"Point taken, Doctor Marcel," Joanna said between clenched teeth. "Unfortunately, I can't follow your advice. Please don't tell Dylan I am leaving. I don't want to worry him."

"I thought he was your friend?" Crocket said.

"He is and that's why I don't want him involved in all this. It's my mess and my responsibility to get out of it."

"Get me my release papers, please," she said coldly as a tattooed guy appeared at the door.

Jo turned to the man in question and gave him a smile. "Tony," she said warmly. "What took you so long?"

He looked the doctor suspiciously and Marcel felt his eyes bore into his back as he withdrew back out in the corridor.

"He's not a threat," she said. "Now, the others are waiting so help me get out of here."

"Interesting name," the man pointed out. "Joanna Chantini."

"Ever heard about aliases?" she asked sourly. "My name is Milena Jovanovic."

"The boss wonders why you'd want to befriend a doctor all of a sudden?" Tony said curiously, with a hint of menace in his calm voice.

"It's a good thing I did. His daughter needed help, remember?"

"So, you did it for him?" he pushed suspiciously.

"Not entirely," she admitted coldly. "I wanted something normal in my life for a change. The only people I've met recently are low lives who wants nothing else than to get dope or money."

He chuckled. "I've always liked your humor, Milena," he croaked. "You didn't tell the guy something about the business, I hope? It would be such a shame if I have to put a bullet through his skull."

"About that," she replied coldly. "Why did Nikola Curloka send two thugs after me? He could have killed me."

Tony hushed. "Later. Let's get you out of here first."

"Where is Stefan?" she asked curiously.

"He believes in the rumors that you are a cop," Tony deadpanned. "I guess the boss wants to see you one last time; look you in the eyes. You know, one last time before he puts a bullet in your brain."

Just outside the room, slightly pout out and pissed off by the way Jo had talked to him, Crocket snatched up the form for release and decided to bring it back to her himself. It didn't take him long to fetch it so he was surprised to see Jo already dressed and ready to leave when he appeared at the door.

She glared at him as the tattooed guy grabbed her bag and slung it over his shoulder. Jo sighed and let out a faint moan of pain as her quick movement pulled at her stitches. She skimmed through the papers, wrote something down and then signed it with her name; careful not to show anything she wrote to her friend.

Without a word she handed over the paper to the surgeon and leaned into tattooed Tony's strong arms.

Crocket narrowed his eyes at her as he took the papers out of her hand and watched the odd couple make its way down the corridor. There was something wrong. He just wasn't sure what it was – until he glanced at the papers and saw what was written on the backside.

He had to find Dylan straight away.

"Doctor Marcel!" Sharon Goodwin called as she neared him from behind.

He turned around with a frown.

"I need to see you in my office," she said seriously.

"It'll have to wait-," he trailed off as he realized he was talking to his boss. "I mean, I really have to do something first."

"I am afraid this can't wait," she replied seriously.

OOOOOO

Sergeant Platt appeared in the doorway, hands on her hips, as she glared at Voight from a slight distance. "I was told to get my ass over here?" she said sharply, not the least amused.

He shrugged casually, then grimaced as the movement pulled on his sutures.

She walked up to her friend and longtime colleague within the police force. "Are you okay?" she asked in concern, her tone friendlier.

"I'll always be okay," he replied somewhat nonchalantly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Really?" she replied. "I had my doubts when they hauled you off to surgery."

"The only thing that is certain in life is that you're going to die," he answered. "Most of us just don't know when."

"So, you would have been okay with it?" Trudy pushed. "If that's so, why can't you let Anna Avalos go?"

There was a fierce spark behind his dark brown eyes for a moment. "Because I was responsible-,"

She huffed. "Responsible my ass. The way I saw it she was a grown woman who could take care of herself. She chose to do what she did. No one forced her to slice that creeps' genitals and no one forced her to shoot you."

He sighed and glanced down at his hands for a moment as if trying to gather his thoughts.

"But she did force Upton to return fire in order to protect her superior officer," Platt added sourly. "What the hell, Hank? Why couldn't you let her slip away? Get out of our jurisdiction? We already had everything we needed to take down Los Temidos."

"Because I recognized something in her," he responded, his voice chillier than before.

Platt smirked and shook her head. "Lindsay," she stated. "You and Camile did good with her. She grew up to be a little less messy than she was. Unfortunately, you can't save them all. More importantly, you can't save them from themselves."

It was his time to huff. "A lost case, huh? I bet there are many people saying the same thing about me."

Trudy broke into a smug smile. "You really are a lost cause," she pointed out. "Now, why am I here?"

"You are going to drive me home," he deadpanned.

OOOOOO

To be continued