Present Day

Jay ducked just in time to avoid the bullet that clipped the shelving unit he was crouched behind, sharing a grateful but worried look with Kevin when he realized the other man had grabbed hold of the back of his vest like he'd yank him further out of range. He'd known this case was going to go sideways. Not quite as bad as it was but considering the overdoses they were investigating were linked to the Triad who Tess had already had a run-in with a couple months ago he'd figured things were bound to get messy. But there hadn't been anything he could do about it. Not aside from sharing his concerns with Voight, which he had, but his Sergeant had been adamant they could handle it themselves. He'd said that she wasn't the only one who had connections with the organization and that was true. He still remembered the case they'd worked five years ago with Walter Ng, a Triad lieutenant who'd gone from running illegal card games and massage parlours to using his nephew to smuggle in fentanyl from Canada. Mostly because that had been when Mouse told him that he wanted to re-enlist but he had a good memory of all their cases, especially because the fentanyl they'd picked up had been a molecule off from the real stuff and had almost derailed everything. But even once they'd finally caught them activating it Ng had let his nephew take the fall rather than pay the price himself.

He understood why Voight had reached out to him now, he'd been the one to get Ng to back off last time, even after their case against him had fallen through. That was what Voight did, what he was known for. But either Ng had double crossed him or his boss Ang Feng was fed up with them getting into his business because he'd come after them.

Or more accurately he'd led them into a trap.

This warehouse was supposed to have been where the 'rogue' gang members were cooking up their heroin but not only had they seen no sign of an operation when they breached they'd only had a second to realize that before coming under fire. And he'd been in a lot of ambushes before so Jay knew this was a bad one. They weren't surrounded, yet, but they were pinned, badly, and they were all cut off from each other. And while the men shooting at them seemed to have unlimited firepower they did not.

Risking another bullet he took a peak around the shelving unit again to check on the rest of the team, cursing silently when he saw all their hard but very concerned faces.

This was really fucking bad.

"This is 5021, where the hell is our backup?!" Voight shouted into his radio, looking especially tense, probably because he'd come in on their rear and was the furthest from danger.

And for a good leader that was the last place you wanted to be.

"5021, additional units are on their way but they're still six minutes out. What's your status?"

The crackle of their radios as dispatch replied was almost drowned out by the gunfire but he still heard it and another backward glance showed everyone else had too.

Right now their status was barely holding on but in six minutes they were going to be fucked.

In six minutes they were going to be dead.

"You know a Hail Mary would come in real handy right now!" Adam yelled out and Jay knew that was directed at him but he didn't know what to say. He had no tricks up his sleeve, but thankfully someone else answered him.

"No Mary's here but can I interest you in Hail Tess?"

Thank god.

"Thank goddess." She replied and even though they were still being shot at Jay couldn't help but chuckle.

He'd known there was no way she and Cas didn't know what was going on but that didn't mean she was near enough to do anything. At least herself, she had her own connections but he could hear the roar of her engine in the background and it made his breath come easier.

"I'm still two minutes out but babe if you, Hailey and Kim look in the left pocket of your vests you'll find some toys I left for you."

"Why just them?"

"When did you put these in here?"

"What is it?"

He distantly heard Adam, Kim and Hailey's questions but he was more focused on fishing out the little metal ball in said pocket, though he let out another huff at her answer.

"Well a) I figured one per partner was enough and honestly I didn't trust the rest of you not to play with them, b) a while ago, and c) there are miniature explosives."

"Like the ones you used at Cam's?"

"Kind of, but these ones actually go boom."

He shared a hasty grin with Kevin before making some hand gestures at Kim and Hailey then motioned for his partner to switch places with him, deciding it was best for he and Hailey to throw theirs from the sides. That way Kim could throw hers right down the middle and in the ensuing chaos they could take out anyone who broke from their cover.

"We're going to talk about that later." He heard Voight mumble but this time he was too focused to risk glancing back at him, though from the sounds of it he wasn't actually that annoyed. "Alright, once you toss them we'll make our push-"

"No!"

Everyone froze at Tess's sharp command, thank fuck before any of them activated the little devices but Jay was less concerned about that and more concentrated on the steadiness in her voice. The one he immediately recognized. The one that said she had a plan and he wasn't going to like it.

"Tess-"

"You toss them and then you hold. You hear me?"

"Okay."

"No."

Fuck.

This time he did risk glancing back at his boss but Jay couldn't see him anymore and what he saw of his team made it clear that they were very torn on whose orders to follow.

"Hank-"

"We need to-"

"Fucking lemon drops!"

That made absolutely no sense to him but over the gunshots, which were getting closer the less they returned fire he heard his Sergeant suck in a deep, stunned breath.

"You toss them and then you hold. Now!"

Instantly he darted left, dropping into a slide just in time to miss the spray of bullets that came his way, whipping the little metal ball as hard as he could across the concrete floor. Five seconds later the explosion shattered a couple cargo crates some triad members had been using for cover, killing them and sending the others scattering. Right into the path of Kim and Hailey's. They'd both thrown theirs a second after him but they'd clearly underestimated their heft because both went high, detonating mid-air which just added to the chaos. There was a moment where Jay wondered if Voight had been right because all his instincts and training told him the sudden stillness was the perfect time to push but he was glad they hadn't. Because just a second later a hole was blown through one of the warehouse walls, courtesy of Tess's SUV.

It really was a tank.

And if they hadn't listened to her it would have run them over. Or put those of them not caught under her wheels on the wrong side of the line she'd just drawn.

The little bombs she'd given them were strong but not enough to have taken out all their attackers and yet when her car came to a stop no more shots were fired. Not a single one. Of course his heart still jumped into his throat when he watched Tess calmly step out, slowly creeping forward as she walked around to the passenger side, extra grateful for her intervention when he saw what awaited her. He hadn't known how many men they were up against, it had gone down too fast for them to get a head count so all he'd known was that they were outnumbered but this… This wasn't just an ambush.

This was a hit.

And whoever had orchestrated it, whether it was Ng or Ang or someone else… They hadn't intended for any of them to walk away.

And Tess knew it.

He could hear it in her slow, steady footsteps, see it in the rigid way she held herself and even though her back was to them he could picture the rage that would be on her face. Jay wished he could see it, wanted, needed to know if it matched what was in his memory or if it was stronger. Darker. He could make out the face of the man who stepped forward to meet her but as calm as he appeared he got the distinct impression he didn't want to be there. That made sense. What didn't was that he looked like he didn't want Tess there either. Something passed between them before he caught her chin dip and it instantly made his heart stop, some horrible understanding washing over him. He moved at the same time she did, one step forward in the same second she took hers but then he was jerking back, and being jerked back by Kevin's fist once again in his vest. The deafening silence got even louder, the ring of a single shot echoing through the large space, the exact opposite of the clang of a dropped gun. But not hers.

His brain was still struggling to comprehend that she was holding one but he was still able to follow the barrel to the man she'd shot. The man she'd killed with a bullet to his head. The one who'd dropped his.

The one that looked like it had been pointing directly at him.

His eyes found hers next and what he saw in her gaze made his heart drop into the black pit that was now his stomach. Guilt, because she knew she was scaring him. And resolve. Because as much as she didn't want to hurt him she was going to do what he did not want her to.

She was going to go with them.

There was comfort too though it was harder for him to feel, but he still respected it. He had to because even though there were at least a dozen guns pointed at her no one else fired. They didn't dare to. When she took another step forward they backed up, right back out the way they'd come until it was just her and that man who looked like he would've done anything to avoid this. Tess met his stare one more time, silently asking him to trust her, to forgive her. And then she followed him out. The second she was out of his sight he rushed forward but he didn't get far; his body stopped him right at that line and much as he wanted to he didn't cross it.

"What're you doing?" Adam demanded, his friend did cross it, but he stopped when he realized he wouldn't. "Jay! We gotta go get her."

"She can handle herself." He found himself saying hoarsely but just because he believed it didn't mean that a part of him didn't hate himself for it.

Whatever was about to happen, whatever price she was going to pay, she was doing it on their behalf.

But what were they doing for her?