Chapter 9

A few days had passed since Emma went to Jay's house, and they could admit that things were getting better. In the district, everything was relatively quiet compared to the usual doom. No major cases had emerged yet, leaving them mostly on paperwork and some arrests for drug possession or illegal weapons. Nothing important. Nothing prepared them for what was about to happen.

"Emma, let me introduce you to my brother. Will, this is my partner Emma" Jay says as they walk into Molly's and track down his redheaded brother. 

"Nice to meet you," Emma says with a smile on her face while offering him her hand for a handshake. Will accepts it and turns to Jay. 

"She's really sunshine." At the sound of those words, Jay's eyes go wide, while Will lets a laugh escape from him, watching his brother's reaction. Emma laughs too, but she can't ignore the flutter she feels inside her when she realizes that Jay talked about her to his brother. She turns to him and raises one of her eyebrows. 

"What, Platt calls you that all the time, so I thought this was going to last a long time," Jay says, raising his hands.

"So, Will you're here for Trudy's birthday too?" Jay asks immediately, wanting to change the topic, and looks to the back of the bar. Herrmann tries to assemble the karaoke machine while yelling at Otis about some tangled wires. 

"The truth is I'm waiting for Natalie, but now that I've learned there's a chance I'll hear Platt sing, we'll definitely sit here," Will jokes. 

"Nice," Jay replies, sitting next to him while showing Emma the vacancy that exists. She's sitting near them, too. She can only feel a little insecurity being between them in the perhaps only time they have to speak alone. Jay senses her anxiety and smiles slightly at her, reassuring her. 

"Well, Emma, Jay told me you lived in New York," Will says. 

"Oh, yes. Not for long, though. About three years," she replies.

Jay didn't know that either. Turns out he didn't know much about her. He looks at her carefully, wanting to know more, since he's sure Will will keep asking questions. 

"You know, it's been a few years since I got back. I've been living there for quite a while," Will says again. 

"Really? Did you work in a hospital?" she asks him, and Jay bursts into laughter. 

"Yes Will tell her. Did you work in a hospital?" She liked to see this side of him. Most carefree. 

"Shut up, Jay. I am a former plastic surgeon," Will says somewhat abstractly while Jay continues to laugh softly. This time Will is the one who wants to change the subject. 

"What about you? Were you at a police station?" he asks her. 

"Actually, I was on the SVU," Emma replies, and he looks straight at Jay, who gets serious. 

"Olivia Benson?" Will asks Jay, and he nods. They don't say anything, but Emma realizes something is going on between them. 

"How did you end up there?" 

"Through a case, I was working undercover after the academy" But before her voice could say more, the voice behind her makes her turn. 

"Hey, kiddo! What are you doing here?" Christopher says, squeezing her in his arms. 

"I wouldn't lose Trudy's party," she replies, and the two of them keep talking, while Will looks at Jay curiously. 

"Do they know each other?" 

"You know what I know. Apparently, it's a long story," Jay replies.

A little later, the place is filled with people, and everyone sees Platt dancing and singing. 

"You are next, Antonio. How about a little Sinatra?" Emma asks him while they watch the song choices together. 

"That's grandpa music. I'll find something," he replies to her surprise. 

"Seriously?" she asks him, unable to believe what he said. 

"Yeah," 

"You understand the majesty of the Chairman of the Board, right Jay?" she turns around and asks Jay, who sits on the other side. He doesn't listen to what she says to him at first, lost in his thoughts. She gently hits him in the arm. 

"Jay" 

"I wouldn't mind hearing a little Summer Wind," Jay admits and laughs. 

"Are you going to sing?" he asks her after a while. 

"No, I don't sing," she replies and drinks some of her tea. 

"You're lying," he replies with a laugh, but before she can tell him anything, he leaves to get another beer. How does he know?

The next morning they had de-escalation training, and they were all in the district even though it was Saturday. Something no one's happy about. Especially, those who drank more yesterday than they should have. 

"You're late," Platt said to Ruzek as he entered the garage. 

"I know. I'll do the make-up test. I was looking for Kev," he says. 

"Any luck at his house?" asks Voight, who understands the anxiety in Adam's voice. 

"No, mail's untouched, his bed's still made. But his car's not there, so it looks like he never came home," Adam replies. 

"And he's a no-show for this," Kim adds. "Let's track him down. Trudy pings his direct connect phone" Voight says. 

"Last night, he said he had to take care of something in Bucktown. He ever mentions anything like that to you?" Adam asks Kim. 

"No," 

"Anything about Jordan and Vanessa?" Voight asks. "

No. I mean, last time I heard, they were doing great," Kim replies. 

"Hey, I think I got him. The phone's pinging from Rosewood. 4458 North 14th Street," Trudy says, and everyone goes towards her. 

"That's a long way from Bucktown," Kim observes.

They found Kevin's car out in front of a house registered to a Joe Baker. Inside the house, they found Kevin's badge, along with a small puddle of blood. 

"I just talked to Mattison at the lab. The blood in Baker's living room is a match to Atwater" Trudy's voice is heard after hours, making everyone look towards her. They knew the blood had to be his. All the evidence they found at the house had prepared them for it. But still, the medical confirmation made everyone shudder. It takes a few seconds to realize what they heard, and they look at each other. 

"Sarge, we've got something" Emma's voice brings them back, and everyone stands around her looking at her computer screen. 

"This just got posted," she says and plays the video. One man appears to hit another while at the back, Atwater sits on the floor tied up. 

"There's Kevin in the background. This video was posted anonymously. Screen name 'Venganza'" Emma says. 

"Means revenge" Antonio explains. 

"This profile's fake. It was created just to post this" Emma says. 

"All right, we know we've got at least two offenders. One guy is filming, and one guy doing the beating," Jay observes. 

"Let's get some OCD techs on this right away. I want someone we can trust," Voight tells them. "I got a guy," Jay says and leaves in a hurry. 

"Good use him. Al, Antonio. You shake down every Latino gang, drug crew associated with Joe Baker. Voight tells them, and they leave. 

"Spencer, freeze on that fist," Emma paused the video, and they were able to get a good look at the tattoo one of the offenders had. 

"It's a Mexican flag, gangster style," Emma explains. 

"All right, see if it pops with any of our knowns" 

"Look at the windows. Stained glass," Trudy says. 

"Yeah. Church?" Adam asks. 

"Could be. Good news. He's alive," Platt says. 

"Yeah, and he's going to stay that way," Voight says and disappears into his office.

"Sarge, according to Halstead's guy at OCD, the Facebook post is a dead end. The IP address is encrypted. I had more luck digging into Joe Baker, and found a connection between him and Atwater. That is Ronnie Cartwright," Emma tells Voight, giving him the file she found. They're both looking at the picture of a dead boy. 

"Five years ago, Ronnie robbed a 7-Eleven in West Lawn. He killed the clerk, the whole thing is caught on video, and Ronnie's on the lam..." 

"Atwater made the arrest," Voight continues. 

"Yeah. Atwater was conducting a canvas, sees Ronnie coming out of the housing projects. Ronnie runs. Atwater corners him. Ronnie pulls a gun. Good-buy Ronnie. Atwater went through the Round Table. IPRA, IAD, you name it. It was ruled a good shoot," Emma says. 

"Okay. I'll bite. What's this got to do with Joe Baker?" Voight asks. 

"Everything" 

"Hey, we found Michelle, the girl that messaged Atwater last night. She's Joe Baker's sister," Adam says behind them. 

"Bring her in now," Voight says without a second thought.

Hours later, Kevin managed to contact them, pretending to be someone who needs his money and arranging a trade with them. It was a great relief for everyone to hear that he was alive. But the exchange didn't go their way. Billy quickly pulled out a gun threatening Adam, causing Antonio to shoot him, and killing him. Something Adam wasn't happy about at all after he turned to him shouting. 

Quickly the two of them started fighting, and Kim was trying to separate them, while Voight and Olinsky looked at them carefully, in case they had to intervene. In the meantime, Jay was busy looking at his partner, who stood next to him. Her eyes were staring into the void, while her breathing was beginning to lose the steady rhythm she had a while ago. Her arms were wrapped around her body. She wasn't with them for a few minutes. It looked like she was caught in some memory caused by the voices of the two men. Jay could tell what was happening to her. He had found himself in a similar situation more times than he would have liked to admit. But he couldn't figure out what the cause of her panic really was. 

"Emms? Hey, everything's fine," he whispers as soon as he approaches her discreetly. He doesn't want people to know what's going on, even though they're too busy with the fight. 

"Emms? Can you hear me?" this time, he manages to bring her back. She shakes her head right and then looks him in the eyes. 

"Yeah, yeah. I am good. Sorry. I got distracted. It's all right," she tells him, smiling to reassure him. 

She goes towards the rest of the unit, and Voight informs them of their next move as if nothing happened. Jay stands still for a while, trying to figure out what happened to his partner.

They managed to find the church a short time later. Kevin was fine. Wounded, but fine. Something that made everyone happy. 

"Molly's tonight?" asks Emma after hours of leaving the station. Everyone agrees as they want to banish the stress of the day. But Jay looks at his partner strangely. A few hours ago she was about to have a panic attack, and now she was smiling, even suggesting they go out. Jay doesn't say anything after all, and he goes to his car.