explosion (jay halstead / one chicago)

chapter 33

jay's pov

"Tell me you got something." Antonio groaned when Adam walked into the bullpen. I looked up from the files I was going through to follow their conversation, but Adam just shook his head. "This case sucks," he complained. "No one knows anything. No one has seen anything. There is literally no way to get to his crew. It's like they don't even exist."

I placed my elbows on the desk and buried my head in my hands. He was right. I had known this would be a hard one from the moment I saw the pictures of Sienna and Marcus on the investigation board. It wasn't just that the case was personal for me, I also remembered how much time and effort it had taken to get a foot in the door the first time around. Marcus and Sienna knew how to cover their tracks well, and to be honest it didn't surprise me that they exposed and killed that cop from Narcotics.

They were probably aware that they were still and even more now under observation, meaning they remained careful and tried their best to stay in the shadows. We had been working the case for over a week, and we didn't get anywhere. There were no suspicious movements, no phone calls, no anything. Our CIs wouldn't talk because either they had no information, or they were scared for their lives. I couldn't blame them. Wherever we looked, we were running into dead ends, and we were getting tired of it.

"Alright." Voight walked out of his office. It was obvious that despite all professionalism and patience, he could tell the mood of the whole unit was at a low. "They're smart," he said, pointing at the pictures of Sienna and Marcus on the board, the ones which I had been staring at for so long now that I wasn't sure if they sparked any emotions anymore. "We need to be smarter."

I got up and leaned against my desk, curious about what Voight was going to suggest. "We won't get anywhere by observing them, at least not anytime soon," he continued. Everyone nodded in agreement. "But they killed a cop. We need answers." I studied Voight and I noticed that look in his eyes, the one he always gets when an officer is injured or killed on duty. The one that tells you to not get in his way, no matter the circumstances.

"We need someone new undercover with that crew," he proposed. "That's our best play." I shook my head vigorously. "With all due respect, Sarge – that won't work. They won't get involved with anyone they don't know, especially now." So much about not getting in Voight's way. My sergeant gave me a challenging look. "Do you have a better idea?" he questioned. I took a deep breath. "I'll do it."

"Jay." I turned and made eye contact with Erin who seemed genuinely concerned. I knew she had every reason to object to this. When she didn't say anything more and just studied me with a shocked and meaningful expression of scepticism, I glanced back at Voight. "Halstead," his face was dangerously serious. "You won't." I took a step towards him, letting my eyes dart to the pictures on the investigation board and then back to Voight while everyone stood in silence for a moment. "Sarge," I looked at him pleadingly, "it's the best of a lot of very bad options."

A lot of meaningful stares and a bit less of arguing later, Voight finally agreed to let me go undercover. I made my way to the kitchen area and got myself a cup of coffee before sitting down. I knew this wasn't a good idea, but I also knew Sienna and Marcus, and I meant it when I said it was our best option – quite possibly, it was our only option, too. I didn't know how it would feel to see Sienna again, and I didn't know how it would work out. But after all, I owed it to that dead cop to try.

Through the glass window I watched Erin rush into Voight's office, and I heard her shut the door loudly. "So, we're gonna let him do this?" she asked, sounding upset and accusing. I wasn't essentially eavesdropping, but it was hard to overhear a heated conversation in Voight's office when you were hanging out in the kitchen. "He said he can handle it," Voight answered calmly.