Chapter 6

"So, how are you finding Chicago? Bet it's different from New York," Adam asks Emma, sipping on his beer, wanting to know more about the girl in front of him.

The whole team except Jay were at Molly's drinking to celebrate another case they managed to close. Even Voight with Olinsky and Platt were sitting at a table. In the last few weeks, they had been confronted with various cases that worked favorably for Emma as it brought her closer to the rest of the team, who had now begun to see and treat her as part of their family. But her behavior was what had won them all over. The smile she had even on the difficult days was contagious enough to make her colleagues smile too, and the way she spoke to the victims was admirable. She always showed understanding and compassion towards everyone to such an extent that everyone thought she couldn't hold a grudge against anyone.

Yet Jay still kept his walls high enough. He kept all his feelings to himself. But she could admit that their relationship had got better since the first time they met. They had never fought before since he had worked undercover, and when they had a different opinion, they were able to express it without raising tensions, something which Emma was quite grateful for. She knew he was hiding something, not just from her but also from the rest of their team. But no matter how many times he was asked, the answer was always the same: "Everything is fine." Her little research, however, helped her understand more about his behavior but she hadn't found a way to convince him to talk to someone or even admit that he needed help.

"It's very different, but it's nothing new. Before I left for New York I used to live here," she reminds them, looking for a moment at Herrmann serving his colleagues. This move does not go unnoticed by her colleagues. 

"And why did you leave then?" Kim asks. 

"I just wanted a fresh start," she replies somewhat vaguely, relieved to see her boss coming towards them, and the conversation stops without any further questions. But her relief disappears as soon as she sees Hank's troubled eyes, and her stomach is tied in knots.

"Emma, can you come with me for a while? We have a problem," he tells her, confirming the bad feeling she felt when she saw him.

"What happened boss, don't you want us?" Adam jokes, continuing his beer. Her mind goes straight to Jay. She called him before, but he didn't pick up.

"Don't worry Ruzek. I'd love to avoid that, but I don't think we're so lucky. Emma, let's go," he replies without saying details about what happened, and without waiting for an answer, he heads to the door. Emma quickly grabs her jacket and follows in his footsteps, sending a smile to the others. 

"It's going to be okay," she tells them before she leaves.

"Is she always smiling?" Kevin asks, and everyone nods.

"Boss, what happened? Is something wrong with Jay?" she asks him as soon as they get out, and the cold air of Chicago hits them in the face.

"Halstead? How do you know he's involved?" so indeed, something had happened.

"Just a hunch. What's going on?"

"There were shots fired. We have a victim, a girl with two gunshot wounds. She died at the scene. Halstead was there for some reason. He called me a while ago, asked for help," he explains. 

Emma tries to process all the information leaving a breath of relief when she realizes Jay is fine. But she frowns as soon as she hears the situation he's in and can't help but worry when she finds out that her partner asked Voight for help. Things must be much worse than they thought.

"He sent me the address. He was at a party. Emma, do you have any idea what Jay might have done there?" he asks her, bringing her back to reality while showing her the address on his phone.

"No, boss. I have no idea why he was there. I don't remember him mentioning anything. Although he was a little bit off these days."

"I wish he was like these only for the last few days. But we both know the truth. Well, I'm going to have to go to the district first and then go where Halstead is. The patrol officers are already there, and from what I heard, things are bad. Can you come with me?" he asks her. 

She couldn't understand why he wanted her to accompany him. Inside the bar were all Jay's friends, people, who had known him for years, but she only knew him for a month. Voight must have understood her question and justified his choice by even softening his gaze.

"Listen, I wouldn't ask you to come with me if I didn't think you could help. And I don't mean with the case. I mean with Jay. He's been through a lot lately, and I don't know exactly where he's going, but you seem to understand more. I don't care what you are or how you feel about each other, but I know that from all of those who are in there, you can help him," he doesn't have to tell her anything else, and she tells him she's going to follow him.

Throughout the ride, and while she waited for him at the station to sort out the necessary paperwork, she couldn't forget what he told her outside Molly's. "I don't care what you are or how you feel about each other." What are they? Partners and friends. Although about the last part, she doubted that Jay believed the same thing. What did they feel? What did she feel? She knew she cared about Jay. She wanted her partner to be okay. But why did she feel like she had to protect him?

By the time they arrived at the scene, it was already dawn. They could see officers all over the perimeter, with Jay standing and watching them. 

"Hey, what's going on?" their boss's hoarse voice makes him turn around. 

"Female victim. Two GSWs," he says, although they already know what happened. Emma can feel the change in Voight's mood, and while a few hours ago he seemed worried, now he is angry. 

"No Jay. What's going on, meaning what the hell are you doing here?" Voight asks again. 

"Alright, so I was here working a CI" A CI? Why didn't he tell her anything? Why did he go without someone having his back? 

"What CI?" 

"Camilla Vega" at the sound of her name Emma's head turns abruptly towards Jay, and she can't contain her words.

"The girl from the kidnapping case?Luis' sister?" She can't hide her concern, and she's sure the two men next to her understand how she feels straight away. But she doesn't care right now. After all, she's never been good at hiding her feelings when it comes to others. 

The rest of the conversation between Voight and Jay doesn't reach her ears since she's too busy with her thoughts. It is only when Voight addresses her that she looks up and sees Halstead leave. 

"Hey, work the body, I'll talk to Homicide" 

Later Jay spoke to Camilla or, as he called his CI, and learned the girl's name. Maggie. While Adam and Kevin went to speak to the medical examiner about Maggie's body, and they found that she had a glow in the dark club stamp for a place called Echo on the top of her hand.

"I talked to the bouncer from the club Echo. He says Maggie comes in all the time. He remembers because he's always yelling at her. Girl's a hundred pounds. Walks to the dank-ass club through the filthy-ass hood solo. There are his words. Now, I couldn't ger leaving, but I did get her arriving. It's a little weird. This is her walking up to the club," Adam informs them, pointing to the relevant photo from the footage of a security camera. 

"Tracked her backward from there, to where she got out of the cab. Now the cabby says she got on the Wilson red line", he continues. 

"There is an 'L' stop a block away from the Echo. Why get off early and take a cab?" Dawson asks.