There were contrasting emotions for Hank the next morning as he sat in his office, enjoying his first coffee of the shift. Thinking back to the previous night made him feel very happy. It had been a really nice time out with Erin and Kalinda, followed by a pleasant end to their evening over coffee, then a good night's sleep and some early morning sex. What more could anyone want? However, it was now time to officially inform the Intelligence team that he was leaving, and that was a big counterbalance to the happiness.
Just get it done, he told himself. As soon as he finished the coffee, he went for it.
"Okay, listen up," he said as he walked out into the bullpen. The team were at their desks, stopping work immediately upon his command. He had a quick passing thought about Kalinda looking sexy in her reading glasses. But then when didn't she look sexy? With everyone's attention on him, it was time to make the announcement.
"This is something I didn't plan on having to tell you any time soon. Unfortunately my hand has been forced by people further up the chain, who have been gunning for my job. Yesterday, I offered my resignation to Deputy-Superintendent Miller, and it was accepted. I'll be finishing up two weeks from now."
"Resigned? Why?" Kalinda asked, making a good job of acting like she didn't already know.
"Like I said, there are people gunning for my job. Miller came to see me out of the respect we have for each other because she didn't want to see me kicked out on my ass when there was another option."
"They've forced you out. Sons of bitches," Atwater said.
"Can't disagree with that sentiment, but don't worry, I'll be fine. By jumping before I was pushed, I'll be taking advantage of the mayor's new scheme and taking my full pension. I'll also be starting up a private detective service, so I'm confident we'll all see each other down the road." The sadness hit him hard in that moment, although he did his best not to show it.
Adam Ruzek stood up and offered his hand to Hank. "It won't be the same here without you, boss. Thank you for everything you've done for me."
That meant a lot to Hank. He nodded and shook the offered hand. "You'll be fine. All of you will be fine. Me leaving doesn't change the fact that you're all very good cops, and very good people. I'm proud of you all." He even took in Hailey as he looked around the room. Their personal relationship was broken, but the compliment still held true for her as well as the others. He noted the sombre looks around the room. The atmosphere was as if someone had died. They needed to snap out of that. "Right, that's it. Heads back in the game," he ordered.
Returning to his office, Hank quietly breathed a sigh of relief. That was the hardest part done, at least until the time came to walk out of the bullpen for the final time. That was going to be extremely tough. Look to the future beyond Intelligence, he told himself. There were a lot of positives ahead of him – with Kalinda, with Erin, and with the new venture he was soon to launch.
That evening, Hank was back to having his house to himself for the first time in a while. Kalinda had gone for a drink after work with everyone else from Intelligence. Hank had no doubt that he was the topic of much discussion. It was perfectly understandable that Kalinda had gone out with them instead of seeing him. She was still working on fitting in with her new team, which was even more important now that he wasn't going to be leading it. He only hoped she was having a good time and forming some friendships.
Erin had also been invited out, to the house of a friend she had made at the gym she was now using. Hank was also pleased by that turn of events. Erin was trying to rebuild her life back in Chicago. New friends, assuming she could find some good ones, would help a lot with that.
After eating dinner, Hank was faced with deciding what to do with his evening. A show about the best baseball moments of all time was on, so he settled down in front of that. Within minutes, he found himself not really watching it. He was missing Kalinda. He wanted her company, and he wanted sex. Their relationship had given him a fresh appetite for sex that he wouldn't have thought he would be capable of only a few weeks earlier.
An idea came to him. He hadn't gotten far through looking at Kalinda's Instagram account that morning before she had arrived to pick him up. He could go back and look at the rest of her posts. Or, he suddenly thought, he could make his own account. He had never used social media, mainly for the reason that he'd had nobody to interact with on it. Now, that was no longer the case.
Then an even better idea came to him. He could make an account for the private detective service. While he wasn't a social media user, he did understand its importance. Any business ought to have accounts on all of the major platforms. A website would need to be designed too. He would ask Erin to take charge of that, but he could start by creating the Instagram account. At least, he would give it a shot.
What to call it? Or, what to call the private detective service? That was a better question. So far, it didn't have a name. His own name being a part of it seemed logical. A lot of people in the law enforcement world knew the name Hank Voight, and new him to be a man who got things done. Voight Detective Services, then. Seeing no need to overcomplicate things, that was the name decided. Simple, but efffective.
Next, he downloaded the Instagram app onto his phone, hoping that he could make an account without needing to go onto a computer. He soon discovered, thankfully, that he could.
Within minutes, the account was created. Hank was pleasantly surprised that even he was able to do it so quickly, although for now he didn't have a company logo to use on the profile. Erin could take care of that in time.
The first thing Hank did with his new account was look up Kalinda. Pleasure before business, he thought with a smile. He could remember that her account was 'KRai212', so he found it easily.
There was a new post since the last time he had looked at Kalinda's account. She had posted some pictures of her new apartment, with the caption: 'Feeling on top of the world in Chicago'. He knew the new apartment and new job were not the main reasons for that – he was. In turn, that made him happy.
Scrolling further down, Hank very much enjoyed looking at the pictures of his lover. God damn, she was gorgeous. It was nice to see some of the places she had been and the good times she'd had. The pictures went further and further back in time, yet Kalinda didn't seem to look much younger. It was as if she had hit forty or so and stopped aging. What a genetic blessing she had been given by her parents.
By the time he reached the bottom of her extensive list of posts, Hank had two major takeaways from what he had seen. Number one, she had removed all trace of her ex. There had been no sign of her with a partner in so much as a single picture. That showed there was some real acrimony between them. And second, there were a lot of posts from Kalinda's time as a scuba instructor. Some were taken underwater, but most taken in or around the pool, showing her enjoying teaching or posing with happy clients.
"She really loved doing that," he said to himself. If only she had agreed to come and work for him, she would have been able to start instructing again because her work hours would have been flexible enough. Maybe in time she would reconsider, although she was going to have to wait for another opportunity. With himself, Erin and Kim on-board, and with Jay pencilled in as next in line, Kalinda had slipped down the pecking order in his professional life in a way that she never would in his personal life.
The more he thought about the company, the more he wanted to start getting it setup. He would formally found the company the following morning, he decided, with himself and Erin as directors. Kim and possibly Jay would be employees only, when they officially joined. All of them would need private detective licenses, which was something else to get taken care of as soon as possible. The most important thing of all was to start trying to attract business.
Closing the Instagram app, he told himself that making a list of acquaintances and potential clients was a more productive use of his time. Over the next hour or so, he did exactly that, enjoying the work along with a couple of bottles of beer.
The sound of the front door opening disturbed him, although he was pretty much done anyway.
"Hey!" Erin called out. "God, get me in the warm. Even with the heat on, that Uber was freezing."
Hank could hear her taking her coat off and hanging it up. "It's ten degrees out there, so yeah, freezing covers it. Want some coffee?"
"No, but I would kill for some tea!"
"That would be illegal," he said as he got up.
Erin met him in the doorway as he left the room. "I like it that you're cracking jokes. Even terrible ones. Can I get a hug?"
"Sure, but you don't need to ask me. You brought the cold in with you," he said, embracing her. He could feel the cold coming off her, and all she had done was get out of an Uber and walk into the house.
"What have you done with your evening?" she asked once the hug was over.
They walked into the kitchen and Hank set about fixing her one of her fruity teas. "I've been busy. First off, I chose the name for our new company. We're Voight Detective Services."
Erin considered that for a few seconds. "Makes sense. Your name is known in Chicago. Voight Detective Services is a simple and effective company name. It'll tell people exactly who we are and what we offer."
"That's what I thought. I've made a list of people to call to try and drum up some business. I'll start making calls soon. Also, I made an Instagram account for us."
Erin couldn't help laughing. "You did what?"
"That's right, laugh it up. I made an Instagram account. It was quite easy, actually. Doing it made me think that we need accounts on all of the social media platforms, and we need a website. Can I put you in charge of that stuff?"
"No problem," she said, relenting on teasing him. Hank handed her the cup of tea now that it was ready. "Thank you. So, I'll look for a marketing company to help us with getting a website designed, and I'll create the social media accounts. Are you happy for me to come up with a logo, business cards and all that stuff?"
"Yeah, you can handle all of that. Just show me before you finalise anything," Hank said as they went back into the living room. They sat together on the couch.
"Once we're in business we'll have a receptionist. We can make running the social media accounts one of their duties. We'll have detective work keeping us busy."
Hank nodded, appreciating how she had things planned out. "You've got a handle on this already. Now that we're doing this, I'm wishing we had done it years ago."
"Same. Then I might not have ended up leaving," Erin said regretfully. "Still, we're doing it now and I can't wait to get started. Voight Detective Services is going to be big in Chicago. I mean, you, me, Kim and Jay. What better people could anyone hope to hire?"
"You're right," Hank said. The company wasn't even founded yet, but he already felt a lot of pride towards it. He couldn't wait to officially get started, but before that could happen there was still his two week notice period at Intelligence to get through.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the previous chapter. I learned that fluffy chapters are in demand, so I'll keep that in mind moving forwards.
No Kalinda in this chapter, but leaving Intelligence and starting the private detective service is an important part of Hank's healing process, and therefore needs to be covered in detail.
