"You sure this is a good idea?"

Before Kate could provide an answer to Jay's uneasy, and admittedly very valid question, they both winced in unison as the two sparring police officers tumbled aggressively to the padded mat with a loud thwack and a muffled grunt of pain, neither of them prepared to release the vice-like grip they had on the other.

"Nope."

"Then why are we here?" He asked after a beat, inquisitive green eyes leaving the grappling rookies in favour of scanning Kate's face, his brow pinched in confusion.

"Because I think it's our best shot at keeping Anna safe."

Neither she nor Hank had gotten much sleep the night they had returned home to find Anna waiting in their back yard but, after a short discussion with the unit the next morning, they all agreed that utilising Anna to infiltrate Los Temidos was their most efficient course of action. But one thing Hank had been adamant about was not sending her in alone and, despite Anna's firm refusal for help, for him it was a non-negotiable condition of their handler/ informant relationship.

"Voight's been pretty cagey about the whole thing." Jay commented lightly, eyes drifting back towards the mats where one of the police officers had the other in some kind of submission hold, both of them sweaty and gasping for breath.

"Honestly Jay, I think he looks at her and sees flashes of Justin." Kate said with a quiet sigh, folding her arms across her chest.

While she hadn't met her step-son, she had heard enough from both Erin and Hank to know that Anna's nonchalant, misguided arrogance was very reminiscent of a young Justin Voight and naturally the startling similarities had her husband on edge.

"You worried about him?"

Kate huffed out short, barely perceptible laugh.

"I'm always worried about him."

She glanced up at Jay who hiked a shoulder and dipped his head in understanding, his mind immediately drifting to Hailey but a pained cry startled them both into turning their attention back to the mat where the two police officers were both still locked in battle.

"Hey, let him up, you're gonna gouge his damn eye out." Kate called, her warning going unheeded but the momentary lapse in concentration gave Dante Torres the opportunity to wriggle out of the punishing submission hold and drive a series of sharp elbows into his opponent's ribs before rolling swiftly to his feet, breathing heavily as he glanced between Kate and the grounded officer.

"It's anything goes Tuesday." He said by way of explanation, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards into a wry smile.

"Duly noted." Kate replied with a laugh. "Think you can spare a minute?"

Enticing Dante Torres into the Intelligence Unit was the easiest conversation Kate had ever had to have, the young rookie eager to get some hands-on experience despite the assignment being particularly high risk. When they arrived back at the district with Torres in tow, Kate introduced him to the rest of the unit before he was swiftly summoned into Hank's office, the door closing behind him with a quiet click. She leaned her weight against a nearby desk and watched apprehensively through the glass for a few moments, taking note of how Dante stood stiffly with both hands clasped behind his back, spine rigid as Hank considered him carefully from where he was casually reclined in his chair.

"This what you look like when you drop Alexis at daycare? Nose pressed up against the glass looking all nervous and forlorn?"

Kate's mouth quirked up into a grin as she felt Trudy come to a stop at her side, both of them now watching Torres and Hank exchange words through the horizontal gaps in the blinds. Ever since she had suggested Torres as an ally for Anna, an anxious knot had formed in her chest as she agonised over whether or not he was just too inexperienced for a case like this. He had never been in a situation where he needed to rely on instinct alone to get out alive. Hell, she wasn't even sure if he had any instincts yet. The only thing she knew for sure is that he had held enough C4 in his hands to level a five-block radius and he had handled himself like a seasoned pro.

"I'm terrified I'm gonna get him killed Trudy." Kate mumbled quietly, just loud enough for the Desk Sergeant to hear. "But something tells me he's got what it takes to be a good cop. A great one even."

"Kid's gonna need work, no doubt about it." Trudy said with a slight shrug. "But trust your gut…it won't lead you far wrong."

Kate watched as Hank pushed to his feet, slowly rounding his desk so that he was face to face with Torres, the two of them exchanging quiet words that she couldn't quite make out until finally Hank opened the door and moved out into the bullpen with Torres following close behind him.

"Alright, listen up." He called, the unit instantly abandoning their tasks to give him their undivided attention. "Anna's got a meet with Paco Gutierrez tonight at a stash house in Little Village but our target…" he paused for a beat, jerking a finger towards the whiteboard where a second mugshot was tacked alongside the A4 picture of Gutierrez."…is Luis Cortes."

Through information garnered from Anna's illegal cloning of Cortes' phone they had learned that he'd been stealing product from some of Los Temidos' most prominent members, leaving a slew of dead bodies in his wake.

"Torres will be going under with her as a potential buyer while Anna gets Cortes to cop to jacking dope from right under El Leon's nose."

"What if he doesn't take the bait?" Jay asked from where he was perched on the edge of his desk, arms folded across his chest.

"Look, I don't give a damn about the drugs." Hank replied with a shake of his head. "And doing a dime at Stateville for peddling a few kilos of smack isn't going to be enough of an incentive to get him to flip on El Leon."

They were all experienced enough to know that jail time for men like Luis Cortes would be a walk in the park compared to the fate that would undoubtedly await him if his deceit became public knowledge but the pinched look of confusion on Torres' face told her that the young officer wasn't quite as jaded as the rest of them yet.

"If we have him on tape admitting to turning Los Temidos over and that tape somehow winds up in the wrong hands…" Kate supplied slowly, watching the realisation dawn over Torres' face, his deep brown eyes becoming wide.

"So he's just a means to an end." Torres said quietly, swallowing thickly when Kate confirmed his question with an almost imperceptible nod.

When the bullpen fell silent, Hank utilised the lull in conversation to distribute preparation instructions to the unit, dispatching Hailey and Jay out to Little Village to keep an eye on the stash house while Adam and Kevin were tasked with bringing Torres up to speed on his cover story. With Erin in DC testifying in a federal case, there were one light and her inherent task of cracking off warrants fell to Kim who dipped her chin into a nod, gathered up the case file and followed the others down the stairs to their makeshift 'war room' leaving Hank and Kate alone.

"So, you got a special assignment for me Sarg?" Kate asked with a coquettish grin and a raised eyebrow after a few long moments of silence waiting to be allocated her own tasks.

"We-uh…we need an ASA on board."

Hank's careful and measured tone was a far cry from the confident commands he had given to the rest of the unit and, while it was standard process to enlist a State's Attorney for a case like this, Kate was taken aback by the tentativeness of his statement until she was suddenly transported back to the night a certain AUSA had stormed into his office unannounced and demanding information.

"Let me guess, it's gotta be Valdez?" She groaned, idly wondering if this was the commensurate atonement for her on-going interactions with Elliot Stabler.

"She's got a vested interest in Los Temidos and…you know I promised I'd let her know when we had enough to build a case." He explained gently, wincing slightly when Kate threw her head back and released a tight whine if displeasure that vibrated low in her throat. "Look, I was planning to ask Erin but I can make the call myself if you don't want to do it?"

"Hank, the very last thing I need today is to watch her soak her panties at the sound of your voice." She grumbled testily, all too aware that she was probably being entirely unfair questioning the professionalism of a woman whom she knew very little about but watching Valdez squirm with arousal was more than enough for Kate to bite the proverbial bullet and deal with her husband's ex lover herself.

"But, rest assured, I'll be cashing in on this favour at a later date." She warned, jabbing an index finger in his direction before she pushed away from the desk to drop down into her chair, gesturing for him to hand over his cell so that she could take a note of Valdez' number.

Her eyes tracked his movements as he ambled across the bullpen to take a seat on the edge of her desk before handing over his phone, his mouth tugging up into an amused smirk as he watched her punch in the numbers with an unnecessary amount of force.

"So, did you give Torres the ground rules speech?" Kate asked wryly, peering up at him through thick lashes with the handset pressed to her ear. "No bullets, no lies and no sex."

"I seem to recall you breaking the no sex rule pretty fast." Hank husked in reply, his voice laced with desire. "…and the no bullets rule, come to think of it." He added, cocking an eyebrow in silent challenge.

Kate rolled her eyes at his gentle jibe, leaning towards him to pat his thigh with feigned sympathy.

"One out of three ain't bad, right?" She remarked with a wink, suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to tease him. "Anyway, I'm sure he was paying way more attention than I did." She commented lightly, her fingers tracing over the inner seam of his jeans just above his knee.

"Why's that?" He hummed distractedly, torn between propriety and simply enjoying the familiar sensation of her delicate touch.

"Well, he probably wasn't imagining you naked for a start." She commented coyly, dropping her eyes to his mouth as she tugged her lower lip between her teeth, watching the sliver of skin at the base of his throat flush pink with a combination of lust and pride. Truth be told, she had been imagining him naked from the second she set eyes on him in the district foyer, all geared up with his fists shoved in the front of his vest but, for now, she decided that smidgeon of information would remain her little secret.

"Wait, you were imagining me naked?" He growled, his eyes sparkling with mirth as an adorably boyish grin tugged at his lips, the dimples on his cheeks becoming evermore prominent but Kate was saved from further interrogation when the call finally connected.

"Valdez? It's Kate Voight from Intelligence."

Hank couldn't contain the loud snort of amusement at the not so subtle use of her married name but he loitered just a little longer, partly to eavesdrop on their conversation and partly because he was very much enjoying her continued ministrations. Kate kept the call brief, giving Valdez the salient points but, unsurprisingly, the AUSA wasn't satisfied with a perfunctory overview and demanded she receive a full run-down of the case in person from the Intelligence Sergeant himself.

"Unfortunately Sergeant Voight's indisposed but, uh…" Hank's eyebrows rocketed into his hairline when Kate's palm slipped up and over his thigh, her lips tugging into a mischievous grin as her wandering fingers tracked along the placket of denim covering his zipper. "I can assure you I've got it in hand." She finished, shooting him a saucy wink as she cupped the slight bulge in his jeans in a firm yet gentle grip, forcing Hank to bite back a pleasured groan at the unexpected albeit very welcome contact.

She killed the call with a cursory farewell, her eyes locked on his as she returned the phone to its cradle, slowly pushing to her feet with one hand braced against the smooth wood of the desk and the other still in his lap.

"There. All done." She whispered, their lips a hairsbreadth apart as she leaned in close, barely containing a grin when he twitched beneath her fingers.

"Wasn't so bad, was it?" He remarked dryly, naturally gravitating towards her as she closed the distance between them but Kate eased back just before he was able to make contact.

"Don't push your luck honey." She warned, giving him a faux stern look that had his eyes flashing with lust but it was the firm squeeze she gave his rapidly swelling cock that had a deep growl vibrating low in his chest, her mouth tugging into a sultry grin at the sound before she finally touched her lips to his in a slow kiss.

Despite her merciless teasing, he graciously agreed to make himself scarce so that Kate could use his office to spend ninety painful minutes bringing the Assistant US Attorney up to speed on everything they had gathered thus far on Los Temidos.

"So Anna Avalos' entire family has been connected to Los Temidos in some way or another and you trust her?" Valdez queried with a raised eyebrow, casting Kate a disbelieving glance and she flicked through the case file Kate had handed to her on arrival.

"All CIs have an ulterior motive. Money. Freedom. Revenge." Kate replied with a casual hike of one shoulder, cradling her now-tepid mug of coffee between her hands. "And she's holding hers very close to the vest."

"Yeah, and that makes her as unpredictable as hell." Valdez muttered, dark eyes flashing as she scanned the file one last time before turning her attention to Kate. "You think she's the key to this thing?"

It was a question Kate had been asking herself ever since Anna Avalos turned up in their backyard demanding blind trust and offering very little in return but there was just something about her that made all of them willing to throw caution to the wind and trust their instincts.

"Los Temidos is like a salamander. You cut a limb off, it'll just regrow and you're back to where you started." Easing down onto the edge of Hank's desk, Kate drew the rapidly cooling ceramic to her lips, taking a long sip before she continued. "The only way we're gonna stop them is from the inside out and, right now, her relationship with Cortes is our only way in."

The two women shared a knowing look before Kate drained the rest of her coffee and placed the mug down on the desk with a quiet thud, folding her arms across her chest.

"Besides, it's not as though Hank hasn't handled volatile CIs in the past."

At the mention of the Intelligence Sergeant Valdez shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, a faint blush staining her olive cheeks, trying to avoid meeting Kate's eyes.

"Listen, uh, a few years ago, Hank and I-"

"He already told me." Kate interrupted quickly, desperate to avoid what she was sure would have been an excruciating and entirely unnecessary review of the AUSA's brief encounter with her husband.

"He did?" She balked, her voice oddly tight.

"We don't have secrets." Kate said simply, watching as Valdez's spine straightened almost imperceptibly, bristling at the implication that she would dare make assumptions about another's marital life.

"Look, am I thrilled at the fact the two of you had a fling?" Kate continued just as Valdez opened her mouth to argue. "I suspect you already know the answer to that." She inwardly smirked when Valdez's open jaw closed with a click and she once again squirmed under Kate's steady gaze, evidently regretting her decision to broach the topic in the first place. "But we all have pasts, Valdez. You tryin' to tell me you've never crossed paths with a one night stand?" She asked pointedly, making it abundantly clear that she knew the dalliance between the attorney and her husband was nothing more than a solitary night of passion.

At least from his point of view.

If Kate was in Valdez's shoes, she wasn't sure if she'd be handling it with half as much grace as AUSA was currently displaying. Nobody wanted to be the one to catch unreciprocated feelings and Kate was suddenly hit with a pang of guilt for being unnecessarily hostile towards a woman who had done nothing but fall for a man who was surprisingly easy to love despite his somewhat colourful reputation.

"I get it." She muttered gently, her eyes softening when Valdez finally found the courage to meet her gaze. "He's a beautiful disaster…you can't help but want to get close."

After a few beats of silence Valdez dipped her chin into a subtle nod, giving Kate a tight smile that she returned, this time with a little more warmth.

"I didn't even know he got married." Valdez commented lightly, her eyes dropping to Kate's folded arms where her engagement and wedding rings were glittering in the late morning sun filtering through the blinds.

With a wry smile of her own, Kate figured Valdez was either lying to make polite conversation or she'd been living under a damn rock for the last few years. Everybody had heard about the young detective that swooped in from the east coast and knocked Hank Voight off of his feet and, if they hadn't, it didn't take long for the gossips at the Ivory Tower to clue them in.

"A year ago in September." Kate replied, plucking one of the pictures from Hank's desk, handing the small silver frame over to Valdez who gently cradled the photo of the two of them on their wedding day with a giggling Alexis wedged between them.

"She's beautiful." Valdez whispered after a few moments before she carefully handed the picture back, acknowledging Kate's quiet thanks with yet another nod and a slight quirk of her lips that never reached her eyes.

Gathering up her things, Valdez agreed to provide as much support as they needed to close the Los Temidos case and Kate, in turn, promised to update her of any pertinent information as and when they had it. She was already about to step over the threshold into the empty bullpen when Valdez paused and turned back towards Kate who was still perched on the edge of Hank's desk with their wedding picture in hand.

"He's a good man." Valdez said quietly, her voice laced with what could only be described as bittersweet resignation, as though getting a glimpse of Hank as a husband and a father had finally given her the closure she'd been searching for. Not waiting for a response, Anna gave Kate one final nod before she slipped out of the room, her heels clicking on the tiles until she descended the stairs and disappeared from view.

"Yeah, I know." Kate sighed into an empty room, briefly glancing down at the picture still in her hands, swiping the pad of her thumb over the glass before she returned it to its rightful place and went in search of the rest of the unit who were hunkered down in the basement finalising the plans for Luis Cortes's arrest.

With a team in place, warrants signed and an attorney on board, the only thing left was for Anna to hold up her end of the deal but they had been geared up and waiting for almost half an hour before she eventually sauntered in clad in her usual beanie and baggy sweatpants, pointedly ignoring everyone else in favour of making a beeline for Hank.

"Location's changed."

"What?" He growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously when Anna came to a stop in front of him. "You can't just change the location of a meet thirty minutes after we were due to be there."

"Well it's not like I changed the details." She argued with a huff and a roll of her eyes, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her oversized puffer coat. "Luis is going to a party in Pilsen, I managed to convince him to take me along so you're welcome."

Kate lifted an eyebrow at Anna's unsurprising display of attitude, watching with bated breath as the two stared one another down, waiting to see who would blink or explode first. But after a few long moments of silence, Hank simply tucked his hands into the arms of his vest and began quizzing Anna on the details of the new location, the unit scrabbling to adjust as much of the plan as they could at such short notice. Within the hour, Hank, Kate and Kevin were sitting shoulder to shoulder in the back of a surveillance van watching Anna and Torres follow Cortes up the crowded steps an into house that practically vibrated with the intensity of the music coming from within.

"Girl's got a damn attitude the size of Wrigley Field." Kevin groused from where he was perched at Kate's elbow, his hulking frame hunched over in the cramped space so that he could get a good look at the screen delaying the footage recorded from Anna's button camera.

"Kinda reminds me of Erin and Justin." Hank muttered somewhat fondly, both Kate and Kevin's heads swivelling in his direction wearing matching expressions of comic disbelief.

"You let Erin talk to you like that?" Kate scoffed, struggling to believe that he had let either of his children talk to him with such blatant disrespect.

"She was fifteen and hated the world…and I was surprisingly tolerant." Hank replied with a shrug, his chest physically aching at the memory of the tiny brunette flinging herself into his arms the moment she realised that she wouldn't have to turn tricks for her mother's rent money anymore.

"Not surprising at all." Kate said softly, waiting for Kevin to turn his attention back to the screen before she surreptitiously reached over to give his fingers a comforting squeeze.

"That I was tolerant or that Erin hated the world?" He asked wryly, shooting Kevin a mock glare when he snorted in amusement at Kate's pithy response of "both". The two partners shared a quiet chuckle at their sergeant's expense but the moment of levity was short-lived when Kevin's phone chirruped with an incoming text that drew a sharp curse from the usually mild-mannered officer.

"You good?" Kate asked, her eyes flicking between the phone and his face, the brightness of the screen making the lines on his face appear even more profound in the darkness of the van.

"Mia Williams." He muttered by way of explanation, purposefully keeping his voice low enough that Hank wouldn't hear but what Kevin had failed to realise was that Hank Voight has the hearing capabilities of a gazelle.

"Dante Williams' kid sister?" Hank asked, his brow pinching in confusion.

"I been keepin' an eye on the family."

Kevin had been working Dante Williams as an off-book CI against Hank's direct orders when the young man had been fatally wounded in a drug bust gone wrong but, thanks to Hank's quick thinking and Kate's creative writing, nobody outside of the surveillance van knew of the truth. That being said, she knew that the burden of guilt still hung heavy on her partner's shoulders.

"Look Kev, it wasn't your fault-" Kate began but she was cut short by Kevin's sharp tone, each word dripping with self-loathing.

"He was my CI and he got killed on my watch. You know how that feels?" He shot back at her, both brows lifted in challenge. Kate knew how hard he had taken losing Dante Williams but she also knew he wasn't naive enough to think he was the only cop to have gotten close to an informant.

"My first CI when I came to New York was a prostitute out in Brooklyn." She said gently, turning her attention back to the screen in front of her. "She had a young son and was just doin' what she needed to do to put food in his belly."

She could feel the heat of their gaze on either side of her head but she kept her eyes forwards, watching as Cortes rolled up a hundred dollar bill before hunching over a glass coffee table filled with half a dozen lines of white powder, releasing a long groan of relief when he eventually slumped back in the chair.

"She worked for me for almost two years, helping me build a case against her pimp who was trafficking runaways. All she needed was one more payday until she had enough to get them out."

"She didn't make it." Kevin supplied after a pregnant pause, his tone much softer than before and, when Kate shook her head in response, he suddenly felt like the world's biggest prick.

"Found her body washed up in the Hudson about a week or so after I lost contact with her. Worst part is I found her kid in her apartment…he'd been by himself all that time, livin' off of boxes of cereal and stale bread."

"Christ Kate. How old was he?" This time it was Hank who spoke, instinctively inching closer until whatever minuscule gap they previously had between them disappeared completely and they were pressed tight together from shoulder to knee.

"Three." She whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "He recognised me from the few times she'd bought him along to a meet and, when Child Services came to collect him…" She tapered off, lost in the memory of how the case worker had to peel the hysterical child away from her chest. "I've never heard a kid scream like that before in my life."

They fell into a sombre silence, listening intently to Luis brag about an assortment of unsavoury accomplishments ranging from bedding high-profile women to putting a beat-down on his own mother but, as of yet, they hadn't been able to get him to confess to ripping off Los Temidos.

"You have any idea what happened to him?" Kevin asked when Cortes stopped talking in favour of sticking is tongue down some young woman's throat, the wet slurping sounds that followed making Kate want to gag.

"He got adopted by a family out in Queens." She replied, a soft smile appearing on her face. "Last I heard he was the top scorer in his second grade soccer team."

Casting a glance at Kevin out of the corner of her eye, she patted his knee in silent reassurance that, even in the worst of circumstances, sometimes things worked out.

"…seem just a little too keen ese."

"Whoa, whoa, what happened?" Kate blurted, shifting to the edge of her seat as she watched Cortes do the same, shoving the semi-naked woman who had been in his lap away unceremoniously as he glared at Torres from across the coke-filled table.

"How do I know you're not a cop, huh?"

Despite the grainy quality of the video footage, Kate could pinpoint the exact moment that Cortes went from mildly suspicious to outright paranoid, his dark eyes narrowing and his lips pulling in to a terrifying sneer.

"It's your call." Hank muttered, casting a glance at Kate as she watched the scene unfold before her with rapt attention.

If she pulled Torres out too soon, not only would his cover be blown but their entire case would be dead in the water. They needed to get Luis Cortes on tape but Kate wouldn't let it be at the expense of Torres' safety.

"He's a smart kid…he'll call it if he nee-"

"…hey bro, chill!"

In the time it had taken for Kate to mull over her options, Luis Cortes had surged to his feet and pulled a Glock 25 from the waistband of his jeans, levelling the cold steel at a still-seated Torres who lifted both palms into the air in surrender.

"Shit!" Kate hissed, immediately yanking the door of the van back at the sound of panic in Torres' voice and setting off towards the house at a sprint with Kevin hot on her heels. She vaguely heard Hank give the order to move in over the radio but her only concern was getting to Torres as fast as possible.

"Chicago PD, nobody move!" She yelled over the steady thrum of the music, making a beeline towards the back room where she'd seen Cortes lead Anna and Torres a few hours earlier and, when she arrived, Cortes was now bearing down on a terrified-looking Torres, the barrel of the gun pressed so tightly against his forehead that it left an indentation in his skin when Cortes finally acquiesced to Kate's request to drop the weapon.

In an effort to preserve Torres' cover, Kate hauled the young rookie off the couch by the collar, shoving him face-first against a nearby wall with both hands pinned behind his back.

"Jorges Rodrigo, you're under arrest for the possession and distribution of an illegal substance-"

"What the hell!?" Torres complained, grunting in pain when Kate cuffed his wrists together none too gently before proceeding to pull a roll of bills and half a dozen bags of cocaine from his jacket pocket. "And you accuse me and being a cop!?" He sneered at Cortes, squirming in Kate's grasp as she yanked him away from the wall and frogmarched him through a sea of people and out onto the sidewalk, quietly murmuring a demand to keep his mouth shut before she bundled him into the back of Hank's SUV.

She stood alone in the darkness for a few long moments, her back against cool metal of the car as she closed her eyes and drew in slow, measured breaths, willing away the panic that had exploded in her chest when Cortes had pulled a weapon seemingly out of thin air.

"Where'd you get the powder?"

Hank was standing a few feet in front of her when she opened her eyes, his fists tucked into his vest and a curious look on his face.

"Evidence locker." She muttered, eyes scanning the vicinity to make sure they weren't overheard. "I had a feeling he'd need something to prove himself if Cortes got skittish and it was all I could get at short notice."

He jerked his head into a nod, both of them watching as the unit filed out of the house one by one with a handful of low-level dealers in cuffs, diligently following his orders to make the arrests look like a drug bust to salvage what was left of their case.

"Hank, did I move too fast?" She whispered, narrowing her eyes as Hailey and Jay escorted a visibly irate Anna back to his RAM, her wrists bound in silver bracelets as Cortes watched on from the front stoop of the house.

"You made a call." He said simply, giving her bicep a comforting squeeze before rounding the car and sliding into the driver's seat.

They were silent on the way back to the district aside from the soft reassurance to Torres that he had done a great job but, by the time they arrived, Anna was pacing around like a caged lion, her dark eyes restless until they settled on Kate's form emerging from the car.

"Why'd you do that?" She yelled, wasting little time in getting in Kate's face. "I could've got him to talk-"

"He was waving a gun in the face of a cop! My unarmed rookie who was trying to keep your ungrateful ass alive." Kate hissed, hazel orbs flashing with anger. "Look, whatever beef you've got with Los Temidos is gonna make your kid an orphan. That what you want?"

At the mention of her young son, Anna's mocha skin became unusually ashen, her lower lip quivering slightly as she considered Kate's stark yet poignant question yet she stood her ground when Kate took a half-step forwards, the two women locking eyes as they went toe to toe.

"There's nothing in this life I want more than to see my kid grow but, if you wanna die, that's on you." Kate uttered quietly. "Get your fucking head on straight before you get somebody else killed."

With a final disapproving glare, she clapped Torres on the shoulder to gently guide him up the stairs towards the bullpen, the rest of the unit following suit without a backwards glance, leaving Hank to deal with his impulsive, fiery informant.

"This ends now." He said turning to face her after a few beats of silence. "If you don't start being honest with me, it's over, you understand? I can't work with you like this."

Anna continued to glare up at him for a few moments before she suddenly exhaled a long, slow breath, her eyes drifting closed and shoulders slumping forwards in defeat. The arrogance and bravado that she draped around herself like a protective cape lifted for just a few seconds, revealing a glimpse of the fractured young woman beneath but, as quickly as it came it disappeared, her spine straightening as she pulled the armour back into place and jerked her chin into a nod of understanding.

Considering herself dismissed, Anna turned on her heel and made her way towards the exit but she paused just shy of disappearing into the night, hesitating beneath the garage doors.

"Hey Voight?" She called, peering at him from over her shoulder with a wry smile. "I kinda like your wife."

Hank huffed out an amused laugh in response, rocking back onto his heels as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Yeah, me too."