The coffee shop that Kalinda had selected for the morning meetup, or maybe it was a date, was different to the one Hank had previously chosen. It was a place he hadn't been to before, so he had no idea if it was good or not. In any event, the important thing was the company he would have, not the coffee.
When he walked in, Hank found the place mostly full, but not completely. He was greeted with very welcome warm air and the pleasant smell of fresh coffee. Kalinda was already at a table, he saw, facing towards the entrance. She smiled when she saw him. To Hank, she looked as stunning as ever, albeit with the continued use of the hair style he disliked. Today she had a black leather jacket on, currently opened as a concession to the shop's warmth, with some kind of red top on underneath. No doubt there were leather boots too, but he couldn't see under the table.
"Morning. Never been here before," was Hank's opener when he approached the table.
"Good morning," Kalinda said, looking a bit uncertain. Hank got the impression that she had been caught in two minds over whether to get up and greet him with a kiss, deciding against it. He would have liked it if the decision had gone the other way, but he took off his coat and sat down while she continued talking.
"Neither have I. My friend recommend it. Apparently she comes here to grab breakfast sometimes. I've already ordered coffee for us. Hope I was right to order what you got last time we did this?"
"That works," Hank said with a smile, consciously reminding himself to do that more when he talked to her on a personal level. Sadly, it just didn't come naturally to him. "Did you enjoy your night last night?"
"I did. Had a few drinks and some laughs. Best of all, I got a lead on an apartment that a friend of a friend owns. It's vacant and on the rental market right now. He said he'd instruct the real estate agent he's using to show it to me tonight, and to make sure I have first refusal on it. I was wondering if you would come and view it with me? Having a man's eye cast over can't be a bad idea."
He realised that she probably wanted him to look over the plumbing, electrics, and check for any other defects to make sure she wasn't moving into a shit tip with a layer of new paint over it to make it look good for a casual inspection. That was a wise move on her part, and one he could help with.
"Can do. I don't have anything planned tonight. Dinner afterwards?"
Kalinda smiled broadly, and her eyes gleamed. It was a beautiful sight. "You're a smooth operator, Mr Voight."
Hank said nothing, but he couldn't quite stop a hint of a smile breaking out.
"Look at your face!" she cried, laughing. "A quick way to talk yourself into a dinner date. Like I said, smoothly done."
"Is that a yes?" he asked, playing it cool. That he could do well.
"It's a yes. Of course."
"Good," Hank said, feeling pleased with himself as their coffee arrived.
Later, in the bullpen, an occasion had arisen for Hank to order the house of a suspect in their current case to be searched on suspicion of possessing illegal firearms. It was possible, in fact likely, that the suspect would be armed and dangerous. Before selecting who he was going to assign to the task, Hank caught himself hesitating for a moment when considering sending Kalinda.
Quickly, he reprimanded himself. He couldn't do that, and also she would not want him to if she realised he was doing it. At work, he was the sergeant and she was one of his detectives. Not just one of them, but the most experienced on his team. He had to be actively looking to have her involved in these situations, not to try and keep her away from them.
"KR, you and me?" Atwater suggested.
Hank appreciated that, and he could see that Kalinda did too. It showed acceptance and trust in a new colleague, which was an important bridge to cross for both parties.
"Yes," she said, looking at Hank to see if he was going to make the suggestion his order.
"The two of you, and Hailey and I will come as well," he decided. With Adam out on a call, that left Dante and Kim to remain at the 21st.
"Kev, Kalinda, go around the back. Hailey, with me to the front door," Hank ordered, speaking into his radio for the benefit of Kevin and Kalinda, who were in a car parked a little further up the street.
"Copy that. Moving now," Kalinda said via the radio, in her ever delightful accent. Hank didn't dwell on that thought.
Hailey had travelled in the car with Hank. They both got out, and he looked at her for a moment. She looked like she was on auto pilot – not what he needed or expected from an experienced detective on an elite unit. Her demeanour annoyed him instantly.
"Hey! You with me?" he demanded.
She looked at him, and in that moment Hank realised she had checked out. She was mentally done with Intelligence. "Need to talk to you when we get back. Right now, I'm with you. Let's get this search warrant done."
"That conversation going to be what I think it is?" Hank asked, meaning her putting her resignation in.
"Yeah," she said simply, and with that they walked up to the house. Hank told himself to worry about the staffing problem later. Right now, there was work to do.
Kevin and Kalinda followed Hailey and Hank up the short driveway, then disappeared along the side of the house. Hank stepped up to the front door and banged on it with his fist.
"Chicago PD!" he called out.
"Get off my property!" a man's voice called out from inside.
"Open the door! You've got three seconds, or it's coming in!" Hank shouted back. He didn't bother with theatrically counting out loud. That was for movies. Instead, he made ready to kick the door in. But it didn't go that far. Within a couple of seconds, the door opened.
"You'd better have a warrant," said the man who had opened the door, in a hostile tone He stood in the doorway, blocking entry.
"Sure do," Hank said, shoving a copy into the guy's chest as he barged his way into the house, gun at the ready. There was no telling if there were other people in the place, possibly armed.
"Is anyone else here?" Hailey was demanding.
"No. Only me."
Hank stepped into a living room, finding it a shit hole, but a shit hole empty of people or weapons.
"Get his ass on the couch. Make sure he stays there," Hank ordered Hailey as he proceeded to the back of the house. He found the rear door, handily with a key in the lock, and opened it for Kevin and Kalinda to enter. No one had tried to flee out of the back of the house.
"Hailey's got one in the living room. He claims no one else is here. Kev, start searching down here. Kalinda, upstairs. I'll follow you."
Kalinda didn't say anything, she simply carried out the order. Hank followed her up the stairs, both with their guns at the ready, and Kalinda announced the police presence, ordering anyone upstairs to present themselves with their hands up.
Nobody responded, so Hank covered Kalinda while she cleared the rooms one by one. She was new to Intelligence, but her previous job on the vice desk in Milwaukee had involved this kind of work so she was adept at the task she needed to carry out.
"All clear," she announced a couple of minutes later.
"Nicely done," Hank said, thinking that when it had been necessary he had been able to treat her as a member of the team and nothing more. That told him that maybe dating her didn't need to be an issue, despite what regulations stated. Yes, he decided, things could stay they way they were for now.
"Thank you. You know, my previous job was a lot of paperwork and timewasting. It was frustrating, feeling like accomplishing nothing. What we do feels a lot more like useful police work. I'm glad I took the job."
Hank nodded an acknowledgement, keeping his professional mode engaged. "Let's go see what Hailey's friend has to say for himself, then we can toss this place."
"Right," Kalinda said, and set off down the stairs.
As Hank followed, he allowed himself a moment to enjoy the view: jeans somewhat tight around her ass, leather boots, leather jacket, leather gloves. To put it mildly, it made him look forward to spending the evening with her.
A/N: Hailey looks set to leave Intelligence. What do you think Hank might do about this latest staffing issue?
At work, Hank is just about able to keep things professional with Kalinda. But in the next chapter they will be on personal time when they view an apartment. How will their evening go?