Chapter 11

"Platt's on in two! Everyone! Adam!" Kim yells, and everyone slowly takes a seat in front of the TV to watch the Sergeant's interview. 

"Antonio, come on," she shouts excitedly at him while handing out bags of crisps to everyone. 

"We're not staying. I'm gonna do the paperwork at home," he replies, angry with his daughter, and continues to pack his things. 

"Emma, you too. Come sit here," she now yells at the girl who's collecting the desks and throwing away the trash. 

"Why are you doing this?" she asks her, irritated that she doesn't sit with them as time goes by. 

"What am I doing?" Emma asks, crumpling some papers. 

"You always clean," she tells her, and everyone agrees. 

"Is that an undercover thing?" Jay asks, who remembers her revelation the other day at Molly's. 

"Nah, I learned it way before that. It's a foster child's habit. If you want to survive, you learn to keep things tight," she tells them, and everyone stays still looking at her. It's the first time she reveals something like this about her past, and no one knows what to say about what they heard. Jay's gaze softens when he realizes how much his partner has lived through, and he has no idea. 

"Be quiet now. Platt's on TV," she says with a smile and changes the subject of the conversation. 

But as they hear Platt speak, a strange sound is suddenly heard, and after a while, the entire studio explodes. Everyone reacts quickly and burst into action.

"All right, we've got the initial report from Bomb and Arson. It was a single device. The cardboard box in Sheri's office. IED, nails, glass. We're lucky no one was standing closer," Jay says.

"Sheri was pronounced at Med. Her injuries were too substantial. Two others are in critical condition, but they're both suspected to pull through. There were a dozen more victims, but as of right now, it looks like Sheri and Betty are our only fatalities," Antonio informs them as he climbs the stairs. 

"That bomb has been planted in Sheri's office. She had to be the target," Kevin says. 

"She was getting threats too. We recovered four emails, all sent from an anonymous email account. Bounced around about a half dozen IPs. They're all death threats. 'Burn, bitch, burn. Your days are numbered. You will burn'" 

"That sort of a thing," Voight says. 

"All right, so what do we know about Sheri," Voight asks, and Jay says what they know about her. 

"We're trying to track the package. The cameras at the entrance of the building only captured a man from behind. It's not much, but given that and what Sheri gave us, I pulled these pod photos. Could be the same guy if he ditches the jacket and the hat. This guy exits the newsroom at 8:42 a.m. Half an hour later, a pod picks him up across the street. It's eight minutes after the bombing, and he's still there. Like, he stayed," Emma says after Jay. 

"He matches Sheri's description," Antonio points out. 

"Yeah, but it's not enough for visual recognition," Emma says. 

"Okay, let's release it to the media. It's a person of interest. Set up a tip line," Antonio suggests. 

"Are we sure that's the plan? We got two pictures of a guy in the vicinity. That's it. That can go wrong a thousand ways if the public has it," Jay says reluctantly. 

"I still have Sheri's blood on me. Someone's going to know who this guy is," Antonio tells him, but Jay continues to look at him anxiously. 

"I'll get on the packs with news affairs and have them release it," Voight tells them. Emma looks at Jay, who seems nervous, but when he looks towards her, he smiles. They don't have to say anything. Now they have begun to communicate without words.

"Guys, I've got something. I interviewed the guard who was working at the front desk in the newsroom. He says everyone has to sign in to get inside. He only remembers one delivery from this morning, and he was on the phone when the guy came in, but he swears he was white and he had a beard," Kim says. 

"This guy's stopped by security before he delivered the bomb?" Jay asks. 

"This guy signed his name in the in-out book. Eric Mitchel, he's a journalist at a local entertainment magazine. 35, white, beard," Kim says again. 

"Bring him in," Voight speaks for the first time and the leave.

"What?" Emma asks Jay while they wait in the car. 

"I didn't say anything," he replies. 

"You're thinking," she tells him again and looks at him, smiling. How did she figure it out? The truth is, he can't stop thinking about what she told them this morning. A foster child? Survival? And then his mind goes into her near-panic attack because of a fight. What was it that triggered it? What did it remind her of? 

"I think I have an idea of what you're thinking," Emma tells him again when she doesn't get an answer. Jay still looks at her in shock. How can she be able to read him so well? 

"I saw how you looked at me this morning," she explains. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just don't know. It was sudden," he tells her sheepishly. 

"Yeah, maybe it was. You know Halstead, you're not the only one with secrets," she playfully tells him and then shows him the suspect's car.

They all get out of the car and follow him slowly. But when they approach him, he opens his mailbox, and then a new bomb goes off. Emma bumps into Jay, who stabilizes her immediately. 

"Are you okay?" he asks her, looking at her from top to bottom, checking on her. 

"Yeah, I'm good," she reassures him. 

"All right, call it in," he yells at her as he runs towards the wounded man. His military instincts kicking in. 

"5021 Henry. Emergency. We have an explosion," she says on her radio. 

"We've got to get him cover-up," Ruzek says, looking at the body and running towards his car. 

"We need an ambulance, CFD, and Bomb and Arson. There could be multiple devices. Make sure the bock off a two-block radius" Emma's voice is still heard on the radio. 

"The entire blast hit him head-on. He's gone," Jay tells her as he approaches him. 

"Partner, are you all right?" Emma whispers to Jay as Kim removes a civilian from the scene. Jay immediately understands what she means by that question. The bomb can bring back memories. He feels warmth in him with this movement. She understands him and cares about him. 

"I'm fine," he reassures her, and they look around for something suspicious.

Hours later, they ended up to Mark Tremon. He had the same characteristics as the first victim, a connection to him, and to their surprise, he was a former military man. Emma, upon hearing this latest information, became more concerned about her partner. They were all sitting at their desk, waiting for Voight and Dawson to question him inside. The interrogation didn't go as they hoped, and an angry Voight came out asking for new information. But Emma was too busy looking at Jay, who expressed his second thoughts about the man who had been in the army and was now in the spotlight.

"Guys, we need to evacuate. Now" Platt says, running up the stairs. 

"Why?" Voight asks her. 

"There's a bomb down in the lobby. Go out through the garage and meet at the front of the district," she tells them, and the anxiety in her voice doesn't go unnoticed. 

"Okay. Everyone, let's go," Voight tells them, and they pulled on their coats. A few minutes later, Dwyer from Bomb and Arson came over to give them an update. The device has been defused, they have done a sweep for any secondary devices, and then they were able to get inside. It was dark, but that didn't stop them. They continued their job. The evidence they've gathered pointed to a new suspect associated with Sheri. George Lehr.

"Sarge, I think I have a way in with Lehr. It's a bit unorthodox, but we'll see his emails without his knowing," Emma tells Voight the next morning. 

And like that, they had to hand off the case to the CFD, asking for their help.