Jay expressed his dissatisfaction by emitting a groan while attempting to stand up, his visual perception being impaired due to blurriness in his vision. He observed Erin being taken away in a van, rendering it impossible to discern the license plate. Simultaneously, Voight also groaned as he stood up.
"This is frustrating," Voight muttered while observing the swiftly departing van, struggling to catch a glimpse of its license plate, but to no avail. Jay, regaining his composure, inquired, "What course of action do you suggest, Voight?"
"Contact the remaining individuals and arrange for a rendezvous at the district immediately," Voight replied. Jay acknowledged the instruction and proceeded to contact Antonio, while Voight made his way towards his truck with Jay closely trailing behind. After several rings, Antonio answered the phone call.
"Hello?" Antonio's voice displayed concern as Jay could discern from the other end. "Hey, Tony, have everyone meet Voight and me at the district promptly," Jay conveyed.
Antonio inquired about their well-being, his voice resonating with worry. "We will provide an explanation once we arrive," Jay responded before ending the call and entering the passenger side of the vehicle.
Voight did not wait for Jay to buckle up; he pulled out of Erin's apartment building parking lot and turned on the lights to ensure they would arrive at the district in a timely manner. 'I should have asked you to stay in the apartment with her,' Voight said as he drove.
Jay nodded, holding onto the handle. 'So, did the prisoner officer mention anything about anyone escaping?' he asked, hopeful that Voight had obtained some useful information that Antonio and he had missed.
'I inquired, and initially they provided the same response as you and Antonio. However, I managed to convince them to divulge the truth,' Voight explained, causing Jay to sigh in relief. He knew that Voight had a way of extracting the answers that they needed.
'What did they tell you?' Jay asked as they drove past other cars. 'They informed me that Charlie had actually escaped a year or two ago, just before he was scheduled to be released,' Voight replied, as he pulled into the district and parked the car.
Jay expressed his confusion as to why anyone would have allowed Charlie to be released. However, he was aware that Erin had made a deal for him to be out in a year. So, he wondered why Charlie would choose to escape when he had only a short amount of time left in prison.
Jay stepped out of the truck once Voight had parked it, and both of them hurriedly entered the station, disregarding Platt, who began inquiring if everything was alright.
Upon reaching the bullpen, the two men observed that everyone was present and waiting for them. "So, what happened?" Antonio questioned, leaning against his desk and noticing the dry blood on both Jay and Voight's foreheads.
Voight and Jay approached the front of the bullpen and faced everyone. "Voight, Jay, what happened? Why are you bleeding?" Al asked with concern, gazing at the two individuals.
Voight sighed and massaged his forehead as he initiated an explanation of the events. He recounted, 'Jay and I proceeded to Erin's apartment to investigate her escape. We informed her that she could assist us under the condition that she remained in our presence or in the company of any of you, in case we were unavailable.'
He continued, 'However, before Erin had the chance to respond, a loud noise from the outside interrupted us. Both Jay and I instinctively went outside to investigate.' Jay concurred with a nod and added, 'Unfortunately, as we temporarily lost our vision due to a blinding flash, we were unexpectedly struck from behind, resulting in our incapacitation.'
Antonio, displaying a concerned expression, responded with a combination of a frown and a nod. He inquired, 'What transpired subsequently? Where is Erin?' Upon realizing that the brunette was not present, the second-in-command questioned, 'Did Erin willingly accompany the assailant?'
Atwater, visibly anxious, directed his attention towards Jay and Voight as he questioned, 'Did she willingly choose to go with this individual? Could the person she was conversing with have potentially coerced her by threatening you and Jay?' To this, Voight replied, 'It is possible that she voluntarily went with him, driven by the possible threats made against Jay and me by the person on the other end of the call.'
Jay nodded and experienced a surge of anger, but he understood that Erin required them to maintain composure. 'That sounds like Erin,' Ruzek said, 'she would go to any lengths to ensure our safety.'
Atwater, feeling concerned and furious that someone would want to harm Erin, asked, 'So what is our next course of action?'"
Voight replied, 'We will continue searching for leads, and I want everyone to keep questioning your confidential informants and inquire about Charlie.'
Voight was about to head to his office when Crowley, accompanied by Platt, approached the bullpen. 'I apologize, Sergeant, but she insisted on joining us,' Platt explained. Voight nodded and led Crowley to his office, while Jay observed before returning to his desk to search for leads."
Once Crowley walked into his office, Voight closed the door and found her arms crossed. 'I would like to know what happened,' she demanded. 'And why wasn't I notified about Lindsey's attack and kidnapping?' She directed a stern gaze at Voight.
Voight glared at the woman. "If you were aware, you would remove me and my team from the case, but I will not allow that to happen," he stated.
Crowley looked at Voight and reminded him of his obligations. "However, you are aware that you should step aside, and indeed, your team will be taken off the case," she said.
The gray haired man was about to respond, but Crowley interrupted him. "Considering your close relationship with Lindsay, I will assign a team to search for her," she declared.
Voight raised his voice in protest. "You cannot do that. Lindsay is my adopted daughter, and my team is the best-equipped to find her," he argued. He refused to allow an amateur to locate his detective.
Crowley glared back at Voight after his outburst. "I understand what you're going through, Voight, but you are aware that you won't be able to-" she began, but Voight cut her off. "Please leave my office immediately," he ordered, walking over to open the door for the woman's exit.
"Dawson, please assist Crowley in exiting this location and ensure that Platt keeps her away," Voight instructed Antonio, who acknowledged the command and stood up. "This way, Crowley," he directed, leading the woman with a dark complexion out of the bull pen.
Jay glanced up from his computer. "Let me guess, she was attempting to remove us from the case?" he inquired, to which Voight affirmed, "Indeed, because we are too close to Erin."
"Do not worry, boss, we will not go anywhere," Ruzek assured, and Atwater concurred. "We cannot trust any other unit to search for Lindsey," Atwater added.
Voight nodded in appreciation at the two. "Thank you," he expressed, grateful to have everyone on his team.
He turned his attention to Burgess and Roman. "I want the both of you to remain up here and offer your assistance as best you can," he instructed, receiving affirmations from both of them. "We can provide help to the best of our abilities, sir," Roman affirmed.
Voight nodded and said, 'Thank you,' to the younger officers. 'Let us get started and continue searching. Inform me if you discover anything,' he instructed.
'Sir, what about Erin's mother?' Nadia inquired, raising her head from the paperwork she was working on with Mouse.
Voight and Jay exchanged glances. 'Nadia may have a valid point,' Jay remarked, aware of Bunny's knowledge. 'She might know who would take Erin or even be aware of Charlie's whereabouts.'
Voight nodded and turned his attention to Nadia. 'Good job. How about you accompany Jay and me to speak with Erin's mother?' he suggested, recognizing that it would be a valuable opportunity for Nadia to begin experiencing what it means to be part of the team.
Nadia smiled and nodded. 'I would like to go,' she responded, rising from her seat and following Voight and Jay out of the bullpen to talk to Bunny.
(Please let me know how everything is :) and yes in my book Nadia and Justin is alive i just can't have them be dead in my book :))