Happy Thursday everyone!
Thank you for all the comments, I'm really glad you're enjoying this story.
Here's a little update!
Happy reading!
Xoxo,
Nina
Adam was running impatient, he was checking the time every five minutes while trying to concentrate on the case.
"You alright dawg?" Kevin asked softly when the bullpen was empty enough.
"Yeah, why?"
"Um, I don't know. Maybe because you've been staring at your phone and then at Burgess's desk for the past forty five minutes."
"No, I haven't." Atwater rolled his eyes and Adam sighed. "Ok, maybe I'm curious why she isn't here yet."
"Go on." Ruzek looked at his friend and then at the staff room, nudging his head towards the door. He stood up grabbing his mug from the desk and Kevin followed.
"Are you gonna tell me what's the big mystery now?"
"She went out with Jay last night."
"Ok, so?"
"If she's this late and she isn't here, that probably means that…"
A chuckle interrupted his explanation. "Why are you laughing, man?"
"Are you being serious right now? Bro, you sound like a teenager that doesn't know any better."
"I…"
"You're out of your mind. That's what you are. If Kim really went out with Jay last night it doesn't mean anything else than two friends hanging out. You do realize that maybe the way she found out about you and Victoria wasn't necessarily the best, right? Maybe she needed someone to talk to."
"I screwed up, didn't I?"
"Yup." Atwater replied with an all knowing look on his face.
"I can always count on you to be honest." Adam rolled his eyes at his friend.
"You asked." He took the mug filled with coffee that Adam handed to him. "So, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know."
"Can I tell you what I think?" Kevin asked politely.
"You're gonna do it anyway."
"First of all, stop acting all crazy. You finally have her here, do what you've been meaning to do all this time. Talk to her."
"Yeah, I have to be honest with her."
"And that was going to be my second point. Honesty."
"I know."
"You gotta be honest with yourself, bro. Only then you will be able to be honest with her and Tori, too." Ruzek gave him a hard look. "Don't look at me like that, you know I'm right." Kevin took a sip from his mug and stared at his friend who offered no answers. "Come on, let's get to work, maybe that will help you clear your head."
It was close to ten in the morning when Adam finally felt his muscles relax.
"Good morning. I'm sorry I'm late, I have a very good excuse, though." Kim said quickly as she rushed to her desk leaving a box on it.
"Cookies?" Jay asked, making Adam want to hurl. He really couldn't believe where this bond had magically appeared from. And when Kim smiled at Halstead's question, he really felt he was going to be sick.
"That's part of the reason. I drove past this bakery and remembered how much I loved it, so I made a quick pit stop and brought cookies for all of us. Hoping it would ease my tardiness."
"It sure did." Atwater replied, as he got up from his desk to hug Kim and open the cardboard box.
"So, what took you so long?" The blue eyed detective asked the question everyone wanted the answer for.
"Ok, so… I had an early meeting with Lindsay." At the mention of her boss, the rest of the team knew that Kim was bearing important information about the case, and in a matter of seconds all the chairs were turned to face her. "The team in DC is carefully analyzing all their data and comparing it and trying to find links with what we're finding here."
"Yeah." Torres commented. "Did they find anything?"
"We think so." Burgess turned on her computer while still talking to the team. "The docks kept coming up in every conversation and statement we got. At first we all assumed the obvious."
"Yeah, where they were making the exchanges." Adam pitched in.
"Exactly. That was until the name 'Fair Lady' popped up again." Kim replied. "We crossed check that name a million times back in DC and it never made much sense. That was until we cross referenced it with the docks here." She paused for a moment. "I just sent you guys a file. The 'Fair Lady' is a ship."
Ruzek moved his chair back to his desk to scroll through the file Burgess had just sent. "The party ship by the docks?" He asked while looking at the pictures.
"That same one." Everyone looked at her trying to put the pieces together. "I know it's weird but we looked it up this morning and they're hosting this big event tomorrow evening. Our IT team back in DC was able to hack the guest list and many of the names there are a match to the aliases that are part of this investigation."
"We need to tell Voight about this." Hailey was the one who spoke.
"I already know." His distinct voice echoed in the bullpen taking everyone by surprise. They had no idea how long he had been standing there.
"So what kind of event is this anyway?" Torres asked.
"We're not really sure." Burgess took the reins of the conversation again. "But my guess is that this is where everything is cooked. The drugs, the girls, everything." She finished off her theory with a shrug.
"We need eyes in that ship." Hank said firmly.
"I can go. I haven't been very present in the interrogations during this case. I think I'm the least likely to be made." Ruzek volunteered quickly.
"Ok." Their sergeant agreed. "But according to what we've been looking at, this is a formal event."
"Suit and tie?" Adam questioned.
"Suit, tie and a date."
"I can go with him." The blonde detective looked at her boss.
"Thanks Hailey, but I was actually thinking about you, Kim."
"What?" Kim asked, surprised.
"Yeah. You know the case like the back of your hand and you haven't been here in a long time. The logic Ruzek used applies to you as well. So tomorrow night I want the both of you on that boat."
"Yes sir." Adam answered quickly as he swirled on his chair to look at Kim with what she could describe as a charming smile. Why was he looking at her like that?
"Ok then, it's settled. Both of you step into my office so we can go over the logistics."
They both nodded and followed their sergeant.
The day was pretty packed. Everyone in the bullpen had a specific task to accomplish in order to be ready for the party the following night.
Voight had arranged for a car to be assigned to Kim while she stayed in Chicago, and for another one for them to take to the event in the 'Fair Lady'. It wasn't uncommon for this type of gatherings to be held in that boat, and although the party was a benefit gala, it was a well known fact that it was widely used as a cover to cook illegal businesses like the ones Aaron Jones was involved in.
Adam and Kim were going to play another one of the wealthy couples that attended to those parties and try to find any information that could help them catch Jones and his people redhanded ideally, or anything else that they could use to crack the case and put a final stop to the horrible things that this guy was capable of.
Everyone was starting to leave and Kim watched them go in frustration. She touched the screen of her phone to check the time and sighed when she realized it was almost six and there was no way on Earth she would be done going through the files any time soon, but she couldn't complain. Her rank came with responsibilities and she felt there was some extra weight on her shoulders with this case. She knew Erin believed in her, but solving this case was the best opportunity to prove herself, not to anyone in particular, but to know that she was really capable of doing anything she set her mind to.
After looking around the bullpen and finding no one else, Kim pulled out her phone from her pocket and tried calling Erin with no success, so she left her a voice note instead.
"Hey, I guess you're busy. Um, I'm still in the district. I need to go over some files so everything's ready for tomorrow. I'm gonna have to cancel our date again." She giggled. "Anyway, tell me when we can reschedule. Take care."
Burgess left her phone on her desk, facing down, before placing her elbows on the same surface and covering her face with her hands.
"A date, huh?"
He shut his eyes and scrunched up his nose immediately after the words escaped his mouth. He felt like a total asshole because he knew he had no right to say that, but he couldn't stop himself from pronouncing that question. Adam was grateful Kim had her back at him, because he really didn't want her to see the embarrassment in his face.
The truth was, he was perfectly aware that he was dating Tori and that Kim could do anything she wanted to, but the idea of Kim and Jay going on another date had his blood boiling.
Kim let out a soft chuckle and looked at him over her right shoulder.
"Something like that." She replied, turning her chair around to face him. "Erin. We were supposed to have dinner tonight." Adam looked at her a bit confused. "Over a video call, ofcourse." She closed her eyes with an all knowing look on her face, earning a playful smile from him. "But now I have plans with this very charming box full of files to go over. I really want to go over this before tomorrow night." The brunette paused for a second, until the silence became too awkward and she had to speak again. "How about you? What are you still doing here?"
"I had to finish some paperwork." Kim laughed and Adam smiled again, not only because he remembered how much he used to love looking at her smile and hearing her laughter, but also because he knew she still remembered those little details about him.
"Some habits die hard, right?" She asked before turning to face her computer again. Her comment was not only based on the pending papers he had to complete, and a part of her was afraid he had picked that up.
"You can say that again." He looked down. There was so much he wanted to say to her but had no idea how to start. "Anyway… I managed to get up to date."
Kim laughed. "Well that sounds like a miracle. You've got yourself a well deserved rest Ruzek."
"I guess so."
"Have a good night Adam, and be ready for tomorrow."
"Oh, I will be." His answer was cocky and full of confidence, just like the Adam she remembered would speak. But when she heard his steps walk away from her with no good night wishes to her, she felt her heart sink. This was the sign she needed to understand that there was nothing she needed to say to him. What they had was in the past, and it was clearly over to him.
She needed to forget. She needed to concentrate on her work, finish what she went there to do and go back to DC and get on with her life just like Adam did.
