002 ╱ get my cigarettes
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CASSANDRA SITS beside Erin as the two women scroll through information on Erin's computer, while the males stand together in the break-room grabbing some coffee.

"I'm just saying: Jay, you got a target on your head and you don't seem all that phased." Adam voices while walking out from the break room towards their desks.

"Overseas, my unit and I, we always had a bounty on us." Jay responds not fazed by the looming threat hanging over his head.

"Most gangs only pay 10 G for a cop. If you're really worth 100, I should take you out myself. Pay off my mortgage." Antonio voices smirking at Jay─ who's now taking a seat at his desk.

"Try it." Jay warns with a chuckle, "Coke dealer one time put a million dollar tag on me and Voight." Olinsky states, "What?" Jay quizzes in disbelief.

"How'd you handle that?" Adam questions shocked, "Well, you dust yourself. Never go home the same way twice. Run red lights. If a car follows you through one, you chamber a round and you handle business." Olinsky explains.

"All right." Adam nods, "Right?" Olinsky responds.

"This is Billy Fagan," Voight states entering the bullpen placing a photograph on the crime board capturing the team's attention.

"Small time hood had ties to a local outfit. I've run into him a couple of times," Voight explains while fiddling with another photograph before placing it on the said crime board.

"This is Billy Fagan seven hours ago. Organized crime found a dollar bill pinned to his chest. They looked into the serbians, the cartels, coming up empty." Voight states.

Erin and Cassandra share a look with another before Erin sighs, "We taking this from organized crime because he was your poker buddy?" Erin questions receiving a look of disbelief off the man stood in-front of her and Cassandra.

"Start reaching out to your C. I.'s." Voight demands looking at all of the others before looking back at Cassandra and Erin annoyed.

"You two got a sec?" Voight questions making Cassandra and Erin share yet again another look before following Voight into his office closing the door so the others don't hear their conversation.

"If either of you got something to say to me, don't air it out in the bullpen." Voight warns, "Sounds good." Erin and Cassandra simultaneously say nodding their heads.

"You two don't have to like what I did. But you do have to follow orders, or you can put in for a transfer." Voight utters.

"For the last 10 years, you've told me I.A. is a bunch of rats who hide behind their badge instead of standing in front of it." Erin voices.

"Same thing you told me all those times we spent talking on the phone." Cassandra speaks up looking at the man.

"And I meant it. Cops who go after other cops are the lowest. I never did that. I played a game with them to get my job back. A game I won, I might add." Voight smugly states.

"You know, I remember the day you and Camille took me in. It was November 13th. I was 15. Cassie was the same age as me. And in our house, we were supposed to trust each other. So, I've told you everything. Good, bad, ugly. Illegal. I have laid all of it out." Erin voices letting Cassandra continue feeling the anger radiating from her.

"You should've told us. Because both of us would've told you." Cassandra mutters.

"Cassidy. Erin." Voight begins to speak only for a knock on the door to interrupt their conversation, "Come on in." Voight says nodding at the person at the door─ that being Antonio.

"You know a Nick Marcello?" Antonio inquires looking at Voight, "Yeah, why?" Voight wonders, "They just found his body." Antonio reveals shocking Voight, Cassandra and Erin.

"Let's go." Voight suggests gently pushing the two women outside of his office so he go to the crime scene regarding one of his old friends.

✹

AFTER RECEIVING a phone call from Voight to meet him and Antonio at an address to search for a possible offender.

"Brent Norelli: assault, armed robbery," Voight mutters showing the team a photo of the man on his mobile phone.

"Even did six months at the Cook County psych ward. Norelli inherited this lumber yard from his old man, but it's just a front. He just broke off from the outfit old-timers, but he's already making plays for some of their rackets," Voight explains before nodding at the rest of the team crowded around him, "Let's go." He orders.

Antonio leads the team into the building with Cassandra close behind him backing him up incase of possible gunfire towards them─ or worse.

The team follows behind them with their guns raised high looking around their surroundings for possible threats.

"Chicago Police! Freeze!" All of them shout announcing their arrival to the crew on the machinery ahead of them.

"Get on your knees. Get down!" Atwater demands shoving one of the crew members onto the ground.

"Watch out." Cassandra voices warning Jay gesturing upstairs where someone is standing with their hands raised in surrender.

"Chicago Police! On your knees, hands up!" Jay and Cassandra simultaneously exclaim together aiming both of their guns at the man.

"10 years worth of oxy." Antonio whistles looking at the spilt cardboard box on the ground beside him─ one of the workers knocked over during the shouting.

Voight walks forwards to one of the men shoving him against one of the nearby ladders choking him.

"Where's Norelli?" Voight questions demanding an answer.

"He's in the store room." the unnamed male states pointing towards the store room area.

Voight shoves him into the ground making said unwanted man grunt from the impact.

Erin, Cassandra and Antonio stand on one side and Jay, Kevin and Voight stand on the other.

Voight nods gesturing for Antonio to make their arrival known, "Chicago Police!" Antonio shouts just as gunfire from inside the store room is fired at them.

Cassandra immediately protects herself from any incoming bullets while the others grunt and groan around her stunned.

Antonio shoots through some of the bullet holes hitting the offender─ Brent Norelli in the chest.

Atwater breaks down the door as the others rush inside the room shoving the gun away from Brent, "Don't move! Drop it! Drop it now!" Jay orders loudly.

Cassandra steps on the AK gun making sure that Brent can't use it on any of them, "Nice vest." Atwater snarls slamming Brent onto the ground before handcuffing him roughly.

✹

ONCE THE team arrives back at the district, Hank and Antonio interrogate Brent in one of the interview rooms while the rest of them look into Norelli's possible alibi─ which comes back accurate.

"One blast of double ought buckshot killed both Fagan and Marcello. No shells were found at either murder. Crime scene estimates the killer's height based on blood splatter to be 5'10", which narrows it down." Jay explains getting off the phone.

"There was no forced entry to any of the doors or windows in Marcello's building. There's a fire escape in the back, but it doesn't lead to the roof. You'd have to climb up from there, which is not an easy feat. But it's the only way that somebody could've come and gone unnoticed." Cassandra explains sitting beside Erin.

"How long have you been doing this?" Olinsky questions gaining Voight's attention.

"All right, and how many shotgun murders have we seen before these?" Olinsky quizzes adding the his previous question, "Two." Voight shrugs in response.

"All right, so... it's gotta be a pro." Olinsky firmly believes, "Or a redneck." Atwater voices as a suggestion.

"Pro redneck. I'm calling it." Jay exclaims raising his hand in the air receiving looks from everyone in the bullpen.

Adam quickly rushes out explaining that one of his C.I's has something that could help them─ returning twenty minutes later.

"All right, all right. I did financial forensics on our two shotgun victims." Adam voices walking into the bullpen from the staircase.

"He farmed it out, I guarantee it." Kevin voices receiving a glare from Adam in response.

"Ahem. Fagan and Marcello were partners in a shell company. Maxwell Investments. They loan money out at astronomical..." Adam explains being cut off mid explanation.

"Loan sharks." Olinsky voices interrupting Adam's speech, "I was gonna get to that. Thank you, Alvin," Adam states clearing his throat before continuing.

"Their latest client just signed over his dry cleaning business a week ago. One Dale Hansen. Owned Fine Choice cleaners. Two locations, one on North Broadway, a second on West Belmont," Adam states quickly looking over at Olinsky.

"Is that fast enough for you, Al?" Adam then quizzes receiving a nod and a cheers up from Alvin─ who's sipping on his coffee.

"All right, you and Halstead go pay this dry cleaner a visit. I got someone else I want to talk to." Voight demands looking at Antonio.

"Hank─ Erin and I know you and Nick Marcello were friends." Cassandra voices gaining Hank's attention, "Let me guess. You both got an opinion about that, too." Hank utters.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. It was always a lot of laughs when him and Tricia would come over for dinner." Cassandra states remembering back to those times where it would be Hank, Erin, Justin and the others having dinner together.

"Hmm." Hank hums, "He was a real nice guy. And I liked him. And I'm sure Erin did too." Cassandra gently says walking away from Hank entering the break room to make herself a cup of coffee.

✹

OLINSKY AND Cassandra arrive at another shotgun victim's crime scene taking in the scene.

"Yeah. George Washington strikes again." Olinsky voices looking at the one dollar billed taped to the victims chest.

Cassandra quickly whips out her gun hearing a pounding coming from the trunk of the vehicle beside her.

"Did you check the car?" Cassandra questions loudly, "Uh..." one of the uniformed cops responds clearly showing signs that they didn't check the vehicle.

"Okay." Olinsky mumbles checking underneath the car incase someone's hiding underneath it, "Open the trunk." Cassandra orders as the same cop presses the trunk button inside of the car.

"Get out of there." Olinsky demands as the trunk of the car opens, "Don't shoot!" A young girl screams frightened seeing Cassandra's gun aimed at her.

"It's all right. It's all right. We're the police." Cassandra softly voices putting her gun back into her hip holster, "Call an ambulance." Olinsky demands receiving nods from the officers beyond them.

"It's okay." Cassandra murmurs helping the girl out of the car and waiting for the ambulance to arrive so they can make sure she doesn't have any serious injuries.

After being cleared by the paramedics, Cassandra takes the girl─ Collette to the district and into the break room to ask her some questions, "It's okay, take your time." Cassandra says with a soft smile.

"Me and dad got out of the car. It's like he came out of nowhere. Wearing a hoodie." Collette slowly explains, "Did you get a look at him?" Cassandra quizzes.

"White. Dark hair, clean shaven. And his eyes. There was nothing behind them. He just had this blank look," Collette shakily explains.

"And... he just turned the shotgun on my dad, and... right in front of me." Collette mumbles shakily.

"I'm sorry." Cassandra quietly says, "Who would do that? A human being wouldn't do that." Collette whimpers staring ahead at the wooden table.

"Colette? Colette?" Cassandra asks gently placing her hand on the table gaining the blonde girl's attention.

"Yeah?" Collette responds, "How did you end up in the trunk?" Cassandra questions.

"He turned the gun on me. That same dead look in his eyes. And I said, please don't kill me. So, he nodded at the trunk and said get in." Collette shakily murmurs.

"I'm sorry." Cassandra gently says standing up from the table ready to take her out to Adam─ to fill out a sketch.

"Hey, Ruzek?" Cassandra quizzes gaining the male's attention, "Yeah." Adam responds looking at the blonde woman, "Colette saw the shooter, so we're gonna need a sketch." Cassandra explains.

"From the new composite software that just came out?" Adam asks nervously, "Correct." Cassandra nods, "Yeah, all right, yeah." Adam replies nodding his head.

"I'm gonna be right over here if you need me." Cassandra softly voices motioning towards her desk receiving a mod from Collette in understanding.

✹

THE NEXT day, Cassandra sits at her desk going through paperwork, "Oh. Thanks Nads." Cassandra says after Nadia placed a full coffee cup on her desk.

"Anytime." Nadia responds smiling at the blonde, "Guys?" Adam voices entering the bullpen from working with the police officer and Collette downstairs all night.

"Does this mean anything to you?" Adam quizzes putting the sketch on the crime board capturing Jay and Antonio's attention immediately.

"That's the kid from the hospital. That's Dale Hansen's son." Jay states making everyone begin researching the boy.

Erin walks up to the board tapping a photograph of the kid on it, "Nate Hansen was enrolled at the Union Hill Military Academy in Arizona. His TAC officer says he was first in his class but three days ago, he disappeared. That was the day after his mother overdosed." Erin explains.

"I just checked with the school's armory. They're missing a Browning gold 10-gauge, along with a box of shells." Antonio states.

"Let's grab this kid up." Voight orders snapping everyone into motion rushing out to their vehicles.

Arriving at the kid's house, Cassandra gets out of Erin's car since she caught a ride with the brunette.

The team gather just outside the entrance of the house watching their surroundings before Voight motions for them to go towards the house more.

Cassandra, Erin and some of the others walk up to the front door guns raised.

"Chicago PD!" Atwater shouts ready to knock in the door only for the daughter to answer hands raised.

"My brother's not here." The daughter─ Lauren states, "Get back, get back." Adam demands rushing inside the house.

Voight, Jay and Antonio stay downstairs talking to Dale and his daughter Lauren while the others search around the house in-case Nate's hiding somewhere.

"We're all clear, guys. No Nate, no weapons." Erin states walking beside Cassandra towards where Voight is standing.

"If you had nothing to do with it, how did Nate know who to target?" Voight questions.

"The three of them─ Marcello, Fagan, and Valeo showed up one night. When I said I'd go to the cops, they threatened my life," Dale explains.

"My kids. Nate saw them do this. He saw me cower and beg. The look on his face. It's my fault." Dale cries.

"If you find Nate, please don't hurt him." Lauren pleads, "That's up to him." Alvin responds.

"Is there anyone else who leaned on you, your son might be gunning for?" Voight quizzes, "Uh... There was a boss who I paid money to a few times. Enrietto." Dale responds.

"Don Enrietto?" Voight confirms quickly leaving Erin, Adam and some of the others at the Hansen household.

Cassandra joins Voight, Alvin and Jay in Olinsky's vehicle speeding towards Enrietto's house knowing the man is being targeted.

"All right. I know Enrietto, I'll make the first play..." Voight states just as a gunshot is heard from inside the house.

"Severide. Halstead. You two cover the back!" Voight demands immediately making Jay and Cassandra rush into the backyard looking inside any place that Nate might be hiding.

Cassandra gasps hearing a shotgun cock behind her and Jay, "Okay." Jay whispers throwing his gun in the bushes beside him alongside Cassandra's.

"Think about what you're doing." Cassandra says looking at Nate─ who slowly backs away from them sprinting away from them.

Cassandra immediately runs out after him knowing exactly where she put her gun leaving Jay searching through the bushes for his─ before catching up with the fast blonde.

"Offender fleeing southbound on foot. Dark hoodie." Cassandra states into the radio running after Nate's sprinting figure.

"Stop, police!" Jay exclaims just as Cassandra misses being hit by a car and Jay jumping over the bonnet following directly behind the fast blonde.

Cassandra ignores Erin and Kevin arriving in her vehicle sprinting past the car with Jay hot on her heels.

"Cassie! Jay!" Erin exclaims watching the blonde jump over the fence with no complications immediately sprinting after Nate still, "Nate, stop!" Erin shouts from behind Cassandra and Jay.

Nate leads them onto the train tracks where a train horn is heard coming from the tunnels Nate's running into.

"Nate, stop!" Cassandra orders loudly before quickly jumping out of the way of the train with Erin, Jay and Kevin standing beside her.

After the train passes them, they carefully walk along the tracks keeping an eye out for Nate.

"When I was on patrol, a guy got mugged. Chased a robber into one of these. Took the body patrol about three days to find all those parts." Kevin voices.

"How about you tell that story when we were not walking on the tracks?" Erin suggests.

Cassandra stops suddenly capturing Jay's attention immediately holding a finger to his lips signalling for the others to be quiet.

Jay walks up right beside Cassandra's looking up the ladder Cassandra's stood next to.

"Check this out." Jay voices just as Cassandra places her gun in the holster on her hip and begins climbing up the ladder noticing that the ladder leads them out into the street.

Cassandra raises her gun once again in search of Nate alongside Jay─ who walks beside her and Erin and Kevin go the opposite way.

Antonio and Adam meet up with them while Jay looks at Cassandra making sure she's alright considering she absolutely sprinted after Nate minutes prior.

"We got a ping on Hansen's phone. It's right around here somewhere." Adam explains.

"Where?" Erin inquires looking at the tracking app on Adam's phone, "I don't know, this thing says right here." Adam responds.

"Police!" A woman cries out from around the corner immediately making Cassandra rush over to her, "What happened?" Cassandra asks.

"A kid. He had a gun." The same woman cries out clearly panicked, "A white kid in a Navy hoodie?" Cassandra questions receiving a nod off the sniffling woman.

"Okay." Cassandra softly voices, "Hey, he dumped his phone." Jay states picking up Nate's mobile from the side of the road.

"He took my car." The woman mumbles looking at Cassandra traumatised, "What kind of car?" Erin asks standing beside Cassandra.

Sirens wailing surrounding them looking for Nate as Cassandra stands with the woman alongside Adam making sure she's okay after a fright.

"It's not good enough. I want every blue 2005 Ford Escort on any highway coming out of Chicago to..." Antonio voices over the phone.

Cassandra quickly answers a phone call immediately looking up at the others.

"Guys? White male with a shotgun just stormed into Chicago Med." Cassandra announces, "That's where Hansen's mother is." Antonio states.

Arriving at the hospital, Cassandra takes off running up the stairs wanting to get up the floor Nate's mother's on before someone shoots the kid.

Not realising that Jay's directly behind her with Erin, "Wait, wait, wait. Hey, put your guns down." Cassandra demands rushing towards Mrs Hansen's hospital room.

"Put them down. Put your guns down!" Jay demands making the other deputies place their guns down.

"I'm doing this with you." Cassandra states putting her hands up along with Jay doing the same thing to show that they're unarmed.

"Stay back!" Nate exclaims aiming the shotgun at them still, "Nate. Listen to me, okay?" Jay demands placing his gun on the floor below him as does Cassandra.

"I was in the army. Third battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. My name is Jay and that's Cassidy. And I know exactly what you're feeling right now." Jay explains.

"Please. Listen to him." Mrs Hansen tearfully begs, "You were trained to protect. And that's what you did. But it's over, okay?" Cassandra states looking at the seventeen year old kid.

"So Cassidy and I need you to just put your gun down. And I promise you, you're gonna walk out of here." Jay utters.

"Nate, you're 17. They can't charge you as an adult, all right? You could still make a deal." Cassandra voices.

"They won't shoot me?" Nate inquires, "Buddy, they got to shoot me and Cassidy first." Jay firmly says.

Nate blinks away his tears unloading the shotgun making it's shells his the floor below them, "Here, sir. Mam." Nate whimpers handing Jay the shotgun.

Cassandra immediately gives it to Erin at the door while Jay and herself wait to arrest the boy sobbing while holding his mother's hand.

"Okay, come on." Jay voices having Cassandra step forward grabbing out a pair of handcuffs.

"All right. I need you to put your hands behind your back." Cassandra demands handcuffing the sobbing teenager.

Before escorting him out of his mother's hospital room leaving the recovering mother hysterically crying after watching her son get arrested.

✹

ONCE BACK at the station, Voight and Olinsky escort Nate into one of the interview rooms.

While Jay and Cassandra stand inside the other room with the two way glass with Lauren hearing the explanation of why he did all of this.

"He used to get in so much trouble. He was always fighting with mom and dad until they sent him to that school. And then that place made him into this." Lauren explains looking at her brother through the glass.

"He's gonna be held on no bail until he's arraigned." Jay states, "Nate said you won't charge him as an adult." Lauren responds shocked.

"It's premeditated murder. The state's attorney will try to take a run at it." Cassandra explains, "So you both lied to him?" Lauren wonders.

"To get the gun out of his hand so he didn't kill somebody else? Including my partner? Hell, yes, I did." Cassandra firmly responds looking at the stunned girl.

✹

CASSANDRA WALKS into her apartment sighing due to being exhausted hearing her phone buzzing in her pocket seeing missed phone calls on her phone from someone she never wants to hear from ever again.

"Leave me alone, Miles." Cassandra demands answering the phone call after the fourth ring, "Oh. Come on, pretty. You know you miss me." Miles taunts.

"I really, really don't. Lose my number." Cassandra mutters ending the phone call before slamming the phone on her countertop sighing in annoyance.

Cassandra looks around the empty apartment quickly grabbing her keys and walking out wanting to go to the bar down the road from her place.

"Cass?" Jay questions seeing the blonde entering, "Jay. Hi." Cassandra flatly mutters ordering a glass of whiskey and sculling it without a thought motioning for another one seeing the bartender glare at her since she's sitting next to the man.

Cassandra laughs taking notice of the looks said bartender is sending her, "Ah. You're sleeping with her." Cassandra smiles.

"What? No." Jay denies, "Jeez. You're a horrible liar." Cassandra responds taking a sip of the whiskey in her glass.

"We played Scrabble, like, once at her apartment." Jay explains, "Oh? Shut up." Cassandra laughs.

"That's it." Jay smiles liking this side of the blonde since he barely knows her.

"The way she's currently glaring at me. You must be good at Scrabble." Cassandra states laughing.

Jay shrugs before looking at the blonde again scared to ask her the next question that's on his mind.

"What's up?" Cassandra questions, "I need a place to crash until the bounty blows over." Jay responds.

"I think you're in luck. Olinsky's got room in his garage." Cassandra playfully gasps.

"Come on." Jay chuckles, "Come on, what?" Cassandra inquires smiling.

"I know we barely know one another. But can I crash with you?" Jay questions.

"Hmm. I dunno. Are you gonna try to play Scrabble with me, too?" Cassandra inquires smirking.

"I will be the perfect gentleman, as usual." Jay responds, "Uh huh." Cassandra hums taking another sip of her alcoholic beverage, "Can I or not?" Jay quizzes.

"Of course. We'll work something out." Cassandra responds with a nod agreeing that he can crash with her for a while.

Cassandra yet again takes a sip of her whiskey before frowning seeing someone looking around the bar curiously from the entrance before pulling a gun from their pocket aiming directly at Jay.

"Oh my god! Jay!" Cassandra shrieks immediately pushing Jay to the ground before grabbing out her gun and firing back at the shooter who's fled out of the door.

"Maddie!" Jay shouts rushing towards the now shot in the neck bartender.

─────── ∘°❉°∘ ───────
TO BE CONTINUED...

𝖊𝖑𝖘 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖘 ⛧
this is a long one!
jay's moving in
with cassidy 👀

hope you enjoyed!

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