Chapter Eleven

Setbacks

Adam ushered Doctor Halstead through the door and up the stairs into the master bedroom.

Kim sat on the bed, gently wiping her boss's forehead with a cold cloth. Voight was dressed in jeans and a light blue shirt that had been unbuttoned to reveal glistening skin.

Will pursed his lips, he didn't like what he was seeing.

Kim moved aside to give the doctor some space and watched him examine the older man's incision. He then put his palm to Voight's forehead.

"I am fine, stop fuzzing," Voight drawled.

Kim and Adam looked at Will expectantly, a worried look passing between them.

The doctor looked from Voight to the officers and then back again as he began to speak. "Post operative fever is common but should be no real cause for concern," he offered seriously.

"See?" Voight said as he opened his eyes.

Will fixed him with a glare. "Hank, without rest you won't be able to recuperate. You can't continue to work like nothing happened. I'll have to report this to-"

The doctor paused as the police sergeant quickly locked his fingers around his wrist, preventing him from leaving the bedside.

"Listen to me," Voight began seriously. "You can't tell anyone and you can't report this to Med."

Will shook his head and opened his mouth to protest.

"Let me finish," Voight said and swallowed, his mouth dry. "Everything comes with a prize. If you declare me unfit for duty, that's it. Intelligence is out of the game – we can't help you or your friend."

Will frowned. "I don't understand," he said.

"The terms of the Deputy Superintendent for allowing your brother to help out - using the resources of the whole team - was that I lead the investigation from now on."

Adam and Kim shared a curious somewhat condemning look.

"Sarge?" Adam spoke up.

"This is a joint operation with the DEA. It was initiated by Superintendent Kelton and entrusted to Captain Bolton. Now, Miller is afraid she doesn't know who the mole is or if he/she is even in our organization but until we find out, the only way to disrupt the current chain of command is to place me in the middle of it. The others won't accept a detective in charge of that."

"If you're out – Intelligence is out," Ruzek deduced darkly.

Voight rolled his eyes. "Politics, opinions, you know how it is," he said.

"Thankfully, we don't," Kim said. "However, we can imagine."

Will sat back and pursed his lips. He needed Intelligence on this case. "Okay, I'll go and grab some antibiotics and a saline drip. Hopefully it will take care of the inflammation in your body. After that's gone through your system you don't get out of bed until late tomorrow morning. I'll set it up and then I'll return again before my dayshift."

"Thanks," Voight said appreciatively.

"It's only a quick fix, it doesn't work in the long run. You need to take time to recuperate," Will said. "I am serious, Hank."

He nodded. "Point taken."

Adam and Kim shared a look as the doctor turned to leave.

"Sarge, I don't get it? Didn't we zero in on the mole?" Ruzek asked confused.

"I don't want to show my hand to anyone," Voight rasped wearily. "Detective Chantini's life is hanging by a thread as it is. While Will means well he might just blow the entire operation without realizing it if he shares that information with Doctor Scott where others can hear it."

"We might be wrong," Kim cautioned as she stole a glance at Adam. "What if it isn't Detective Romano?"

"Even Chapman is onboard on that one," Voight said. "If the buy is on tonight, we're going to take them down. I have a signed warrant to bust into every single house, storage and gulfstream Curkola owns if it come to that. The question is if that's enough to save Detective Chantini. Jay and Hailey are going to-," he trailed off, unable to keep his eyelids open.

Adam scratched the back of his head in frustration. "Okay," he said to Kim. "You go home to Mack. I'll stay here tonight."

"You will both go home," Hank whispered.

"With all due respect, sarge. It is not optional," Adam replied. "I am not comfortable to leave you alone in this state."

OOOOOO

Flavio watched from a slight distance as Doctor Scott walked out of the 23rd precinct accompanied with an older man dressed in a lieutenant's uniform. He was just about to report his findings as Angelo walked up from behind, having taken the long way, circling towards him, careful not to be spotted by anyone and even more careful to avoid any cameras in the area.

"It's his father," Angelo said matter-of-factly.

Flavio's eyebrows rose into his hairline. "And you knew that all along, didn't you?" he said sourly.

"I am kind of stationed at the same precinct," his brother pointed out. "I wouldn't worry too much about the lieutenant. He's pretty harmless. Can be a bit persistent sometimes but he's not really entrusted with anything juicy."

"So, he wouldn't know about his son's connection to Milena?" Flavio asked skeptically.

Angelo shrugged. "Even if he knew something, he would most likely dismiss her as some criminal junky who he wants nowhere near his son. Rumors has it the two of them might not see eye to eye on certain things within the force."

Flavio pursed his lips.

"The deal is on tonight. No one has mentioned anything out of the ordinary. DEA is still in the dark about the mole," Angelo trailed off and chuckled. "Bolton was pretty furious."

"So, you're saying Milena really is who she says she is? A girl from nowhere in Serbia?" Flavio pushed skeptically.

"No. The woman's real name is Joanna Chantini. She's a first-grade detective working for the organized crime division-," he paused as he saw his brother tense, "-but I wouldn't worry too much about her. She's going to be collateral damage before the night is over. Whatever intel she has managed to dig up about Curkola's operations will be lost forever."

"Unless she gave it to Doctor Scott," Flavio reasoned.

"You can't kill a respected doctor with a spotless record who happens to be related to a well-known police lieutenant without repercussions," his brother pointed out. "Unless you really want to blow the entire operation."

Flavio's lips curled upwards. "Yours or mine?" he asked.

"The way I see it you lose either way," Angelo quipped.

"Technically, I am dead. You are not," Flavio reminded him. When his brother didn't take the bait, his smile faltered and he began to worry. "You're troubled by something."

"The Intelligence Unit has joined the operation," the detective said.

Flavio shrugged. "So what?" he asked, like it didn't matter to him.

"So what?" his brother echoed. "Voight and his team just busted the entire Los Temidos organization. I thought Escano was untouchable. Do you know how many people who's tried to-," he didn't finish the sentence, instead he ran a hand through his slick black hair, realizing it was a lost cause. "I've got to go back. Make sure to be there when it goes down tonight."

OOOOOO

"Once again I am proud to finally be able to present you news about the Chicago Police Department's latest bust," the news reporter said. She was standing outside the 21st precinct, the cameraman was zooming in on the van which was going to take some of the men at the top of Los Temidos to an unknown location until the trials.

Deputy Superintendent Samantha Miller cursed lightly under her breath. They had to change vehicle several times during the transportation now that the media had gotten so close. The risk of a breakout had increased tenfold, not to mention the risk of an assassination attempt. She wasn't overly concerned but she would keep a watchful eye on the transport.

"It was only a few days ago that the elite unit, called Intelligence, managed to shatter the troublesome drug smuggling operation run by an organization called Los Temidos," the reporter reminded the viewers. "Now, I know that you are just as curious as I am when it comes to the identity of those heroic detectives and officers but due to their safety, we cannot expose them to public knowledge. However, it is sufficient to say that this unit has been successfully working under the radar with troublesome cases of unimaginable horrors for almost ten years in its present constellation."

Miller's eyes darkened at the light tone of the reporter. It was just typical media to leave out a few things along the way. She imagined that Voight would grit his teeth if he heard this. All the people he'd lost, one way or another - to death, to addiction and other departments and organizations along the way - wasn't likely to have been easily forgotten by anyone who knew them.

She sighed as she gazed towards the flatscreen across the room. While Intelligence was a highly respected unit it also harbored conflicted feelings amongst the ranking members of the police department. The way Voight lead his team and operated was a constant topic of discussion, there were concerns that his methods could no longer be applied. Sam was one in favor of his leadership and she had argued that he had respected the changes within the department and played by the book recently. One of the senior captains had snorted at that, a bemused look on his face as he reminded her about the thickness of Voight's personal file.

While he was a decorated officer, he was also a red-flagged officer. Deputy Superintendent Fox, who held the same position as she did in another aera of the city, carefully indicated that when Voight was reeled in, he could be a brilliant officer but mostly he was a little too rough around the edges to fit into the modern police society. The former superintendent had leaned forward in his chair and nodded at her, saying that he trusted she could make the sergeant an offer he couldn't refuse and that he welcomed Voight amongst those currently gathered in the room as a lieutenant and senior advisor. Because when it all came down to it, Sergeant Voight knew the streets, knew how it worked and would be an asset to their strategical meetings.

Samantha recalled that day partly with dread. "As I understand it, he's been offered a promotion before and turned it down. What makes you so sure he would accept it now?" she had asked.

"No reason," the former superintendent had said with a shrug. "However, a lot has happened since then. He's lost a few good people. He's just busted the Los Temidos and he almost managed to get himself killed in the process."

Sam still didn't look convinced.

"Look, Hank is getting old, he's bound to be pulled off the streets sometime. We can make life difficult for him. Right now, he needs to be recertified for duty – physically and mentally. Can he shoot by the way? Who knows? His CI did put a bullet in him."

"With respect, sir," Miller reasoned kindly, looking at the superintendent. "What if he doesn't want to work here?"

"It's not a question about what he wants," Deputy Superintendent Fox replied sternly as the superintendent remained quiet. "However, when having the opportunity to choose between pension and a slow-paced life with no insight in police matters and a strategical posting within the department, I do trust Voight to make the right decision."

She sighed and shook her head sadly. Sam knew Voight; knew what kind of man he was. He didn't want anything but his unit to run and he wanted it just the way it was."

"I take it you know what they call this place?" she said. "To the men and women on patrol and up through the ranks of detectives and sergeants this place is known to be an 'Ivory tower.'"

The superintendent leaned forward in his chair, hands on the table, a look of annoyance on his face. "Unfortunately, someone has to decide which direction this ship should sail. It is easy to say we are separated from the real world, that we don't know what really happens on the streets and that we don't really care. I wish they'd come up with some constructive criticism once in a while and not just rubbish."

No one said anything after that and the meeting ended. Sam pursed her lips as she watched the others began to file out of the room.

OOOOOO

To be continued

AN: My sincere apologies to those who are reading this and knows a thing or two about medicine. I did try to google about post operative fever and all that stuff but I doubt the search engine attended medical school either.