Hey guys, happy Tuesday!
I want to apologize for the delay, it's been busy at work and it will be for the next couple of weeks. I'll try my best to keep updating.
Thank you so much for your support and patience.
Happy reading!
Xoxo,
Nina
In the middle of the night, one of the alerts in her phone went off so loud she almost jumped. She grabbed the device from her nightstand and looked at the screen, squinting her eyes due to the contrast between its shining and the darkness in her room.
Reading his name made her heart skip a beat, but the message Kim read was not the one she was hoping for.
My undercover phone went off. Saldivar is ready to meet with us tomorrow in the afternoon. I'll attach the details.
The message was totally professional and it wasn't sent only to her, Voight and Lindsay were also included in that conversation, as the standard procedure required to do. Shortly after Erin replied.
Thanks Ruzek. We can all go over this tomorrow morning and set clear objectives for this encounter. I have a lot of faith in you two, and something tells me we're gonna get him this time.
Erin's confidence totally boosted Kim's mood. She also believed in this team and now more than ever, she needed to close this case. Hank wrote next, telling ya to be at the district early in the morning and he set a conference call with Lindsay, leaving nothing else for
Kim to say, just a simple agreement.
Perfect. I'll be there. Good night everyone.
The atmosphere in the bullpen was tense, although the brunette wasn't sure if the tension was real or if it was all her perception, because she was the one who was feeling awkward as hell.
Her conversation with Jay was like a bucket of ice cold water down her spine, because once again she knew that he had an excellent point and yet she couldn't find the way to properly interact with Adam when it wasn't work related. It's not like he was avoiding her either, no. On the contrary, he was making an effort to get close to her at every chance he got but she would either walk away, not look at him or come up with an excuse to do something else.
When Voight finally called them into his office she was grateful, now all the focus was going to go to Saldivar and not her lack of dialogue with Adam.
"Good morning everyone." Lindsay's husky voice echoed through the speaker. "How are we feeling for today?"
"Good morning, Erin. We're good. How are you?" Voight answered.
"All good. Excited that we're close to getting Jones."
"I'm glad you mentioned that, Erin." Hank added. "Today I got a call letting me know that a body was found. I'm going to have the team check it out, but everything seems to point to Jones as the author of this homicide. If we can manage to get him for both things, then he's facing a long time in prison."
"Ruzek, did the text mention anything about who would be there today?" Erin asked.
"No. Just the time and place, but I'm guessing Saldivar will be the one present."
"We need to find a way to get him to bring Jones." Kim said, thinking out loud . "We need to make them think that we want to work with them, not only buy." The plan started to craft itself naturally in her mind and just as the ideas popped in her head the words came out of her mouth. "We check the product today, we show them we have the funds and we ask to be in with them."
"Jones will never let anyone else handle that type of negotiation, it just doesn't fit his profile. If we match his price then this might be the fastest way to get to him." Lindsay completed Kim's thoughts and Hank smiled as he stood looking at the speaker on his desk, being fully proud of his girls.
"That sounds good. You think you can get that done?" The Sargeant looked at Kim and Adam and they both nodded.
"Yes, Sarge. I don't think it'll be a problem." Ruzek answered.
"Great. You two go get ready, we'll meet again before you leave. In the meantime I'll have Upton and Torres check out the crime scene and see if we can link Jones to that. Halstead, Atwater, Platt and myself will be backing you up in case you need anything."
"Perfect, boss." Adam nodded
"Good. I'll go get ready." Kim was the last to answer and after she got the ok from her current sergeant she left the room.
Apart from having things that she needed to get done, she was really trying to keep her interactions with Adam down to a minimum, but her efforts were worthless.
In less than an hour they were both in the roll up waiting for Voight to come and give them the final instructions.
"Are you both ready?" Hank asked with a serious face, getting a nod from both of them. "Upton and Torres just finished checking the scene and there are many elements that match Jones' m.o." He looked both of them straight into their eyes. "We really need to try to get that bigger exchange with him and bring him in. If we have him for the drugs it will be much easier to pin the rest of the crimes back to him and then we will have Aaron Jones locked up for good."
"We'll go for it, Sarge." Kim said confidently.
"I trust both of you to get it done." He checked their wiring to make sure everything was in the correct place. "Remember we'll have eyes on you, so you can ask for backup if you need it. Your mics are off now, turn them on when you get there."
"You've got it boss."
"Your car is ready in the back."
"Great." Adam straightened his clothes after responding, and gallantly extended his hand out for Kim to walk to the car first.
This time the attire was more casual. Kim made sure that she was somewhat sexy looking, having Saldivar eating from her hand could come in handy and she wanted to make sure they would have that resource available, but James' attention wasn't the only thing she got.
"With all due respect Angie, you're looking very good." He thought of using another word but if he was reading the situation right, it wasn't the best moment to be flirting with her so openly.
"Thanks, just trying to keep Saldivar interested."
"He'll be interested alright." He continued driving and looking forward, Kim was giving him nothing and he couldn't take the silence anymore. "I talked to Tori last night."
That seemed to catch her attention, making her face turn to him out of its own volition.
There were a million things she wanted to know about that conversation but fear was pulling her back, like always.
"I, um, I don't think it's the right time to bring this up."
"You do know that trying to solve this is not going to interfere with my abilities out on the field, right?" A part of him knew that maybe he was pushing too hard, but he really needed to have this conversation with her once and for all.
"Adam, I know what an amazing cop you are. I just don't want to talk about your girlfriend before going undercover."
"She's…" He wanted to let Kim know that she wasn't his girlfriend anymore but the brunette didn't let him finish.
"Can we please just focus on Saldivar?"
"Fine."
Adam was getting pissed. As much as he respected Kim and her wishes, he needed to get real with her and he didn't know just how much of this situation he could handle. So for now, he decided to go along and just do their jobs.
"Good."
The rest of the drive was quiet, very quiet. Kim refused to engage in any type of conversation that wasn't work related and Adam just complied. When they were getting closer to the warehouse, they both turned on their wires and cams, knowing that whatever they found today could be potentially very useful to solve the case.
"Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. It's a pleasure to see you again." James said as soon as the doors to the sports car opened and they both got out of it.
"Mr. Saldivar, I'm sorry we're late." Kim apologized for the five minute tardiness.
"Angie, please. The wait was worth every second." He took her hand and kissed the back of it, making Adam clear his throat. "No disrespect, Benjamin."
"Hey," he shook his head and lifted his hands up in complete defeat. "I understand, why do you think we were late?" He let out a confident smirk that made Kim blush, even though nothing of what he had implied happened.
Although she wasn't going to admit it, she loved the character he was portraying. That tough, sexy, possessive, protective and totally in love guy. The way he moved, the way he dressed, how good those shades looked on him. Kim was trying her best to convince herself that all those aspects of Benjamin Anderson were a simple character, but deep inside she knew that those were Adam's qualities blending in. Those things that enamored her the first time she met him.
"So, are we gonna get this party started or what?"
James laughed, while Kim rolled her eyes at his comment.
"Sure, follow me."
Saldivar started to walk deeper into the warehouse until he was standing in front of a metal back door, guarded by two men holding shotguns to their chests. "Don't be intimidated by them, I'm sure you understand this is just a precaution." The older man said very politely, getting a nod from both Adam and Kim.
"Of course, you never know who you're dealing with." Adam added.
"Exactly." Saldivar opened the door. "Please, come in." He stood to the side and extended his arm out inviting them to go into the room. Kim walked first and Adam was fighting the urge to hit the guy in the face after he noticed how he stared at her ass.
"Can I?" Burgess asked as she pointed to a silver briefcase that was set over a wooden table. After getting a nod from Saldivar she walked over to the table and just before opening the briefcase, she looked at Adam. "Babe, could you get me the gloves, please?" Ruzek took a pair of latex gloves out of his pocket and handed them to her. "I'm sure you understand, this is just a precaution." She looked seductively at Saldivar imitating his words, letting him know who was really in control. James just smiled and looked at Adam.
"You have one of a kind, Ben."
Adam said nothing, his only answer was an arrogant smirk.
Meanwhile Kim was inspecting the product expertly. She knew exactly what she was looking for, she had been at the lab a million times and there were no doubts in her head that these were the drugs they were after.
"What do you think, darlin'?"
Why? Why did he have to use that word? It sparked a million memories and she felt how her knees were getting weak at the sound of that nickname slipping out of his lips. If they hadn't been under Saldivar's careful watch, she would have probably given him a hard and killer look, but she didn't, instead she looked at him with a sweet smile; that's probably why Adam had chosen that moment to say it.
"I think we might have ourselves a new deal."
"That good?"
"It looks like it, and you know my eye never fails."
"I know. That's why you married me." He totally took advantage of the situation and dipped his head closer to her face to peck her lips. He felt like taking risks today, and when he felt her response he knew that wasn't Angie. That was all Kim. "Should we?" Kim nodded.
"You see James, we're looking to invest. Really invest."
"What do you mean?"
"We want in with your source." Adam said without much ado.
"Well, it's not that easy."
"James." Her velvety voice made him turn his head immediately. "If you're worried about the funds, we have a duffel bag in our car you're more than welcome to check to know that we are serious about this." She got closer to him and ran her hand up his arm. "We're really looking forward to expanding our business, with our reach and your product we could be unstoppable."
"What do you say?" Adam finally intervened.
"It sounds amazing, but it's not my decision to make. I'd have to contact my source and see if he's up to it."
"Well we would live to meet with him, have a chat and let him decide. I assure you this will not disappoint you." Adam's persuasion game, along with Kim's hand moving over his back was making Saldivar soften.
"I'll tell you what. Let me give him a call to see what he says."
"That sounds perfect." Kim replied with a smile. "Should we wait for you to contact us, like last time?"
"No, let me call him right now." He took out his phone and quickly made the call. When both cops heard the name Aaron coming out of James' mouth they felt like they were about to touch the sky.
Jones wasn't making it easy at all, it took a lot of negotiation on Saldivar's part, but when he hung up he looked at them with a proud smile.
"We'll contact you with the details, but my sources would like to listen to your offer."
"That's amazing news." Adam said as he put his hand out to Saldivar in an attempt to seal the deal. "We're still taking this today." He added looking at the briefcase.
"Of course."
"Come with us to the car so we can give you the money?" Burgess asked.
"Yes." James went to close the briefcase and took it, not risking them running away with it. "So, how are you planning on celebrating this deal?"
His question made her want to vomit, it was so obvious the thoughts running through his head, but she took advantage of that.
"We'll wait till we talk to your source to celebrate, and who knows, maybe you can celebrate with us too." She gave him a little wink and got in the car leaving Adam in the back to make the money transaction and leave.
Once he was in the car and getting away from the warehouse, she broke the silence.
"We got them."
"We sure did."
