⋆° დ ༄ RISKY BUSINESS
chapter eight. different mistakes.

Maxine pours herself a cup of coffee, adding 5 sugar to it, after getting ready for the day when she hears a knock at the door.

The detective takes a sip of her coffee, enjoying her peace for a second when there was another knock and she sighs. "It's 730 in the morning" she groans.

*knock knock*

"I'm coming!" She shouts. Maxine walks over to the door and opens it to find Mickey holding two coffees. "Oh"

"I forgot how charming you were in the morning" Mickey sasses, holding out one of the coffees towards her.

Maxine looks at her ex boyfriend confused, then grabs the coffee, "five—"

"—sugar and a hint of vanilla"

"You remembered"

"Only the important stuff"

"Thanks"she says, letting him into her apartment, "what are you doing here?"

"Voight called. Says we have a scene in Chinatown."

"I'm aware"

"—And since I was in the neighborhood, I thought I'd give you a lift"

"In the neighborhood, huh?"

Mickey clears his throat, "yeah. And I'm already here , so . . ."

"Um, sure. I'll meet you downstairs"

"Okay" he says before walking away.

🪩🪩🪩

Erin, Maxine, Jay, Mickey and Antonio wait outside of the building where the scene is for their sergeant, who had just arrived.

"Let's do this" Hank says, walking inside the building, with the others following behind, "Triad Casino"

"Lot of money rolls through here" Jay says, as the detectives look around the illegal gambling room.

"You feeling lucky?" Maxine questions. As they all walk down the hall to a smaller separate room, they see five gunshot victims and Jay says, "Luckier than them"

Antonio kneels down next to one of the victims and says, "Over here" then he stands up as everyone looks at the small boy in shock, "They killed the damn errand boy, too"

~~~

Antonio sighs and says, "Surgical" as they watch over the surveillance footage, "They were startled by the kid"

"Weapons, uniforms..." Hank says.

"Military for sure" Mickey states, which Jay agrees too, "These guys are pros"

"I want a copy of this in the intelligence office before we get back"

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine leans on the front of her desk, while Erin finishes taping up some photos onto the board, when Hank and Antonio walk onto the unit and Bishop says, "Alright, this is an illegal triad gambling den. One of two dozen that Vice thinks they operate in the area. Problem is they tend to shut down and pop up somewhere else quickly"

"Well, who's their competition?" Hank asks.

"The Cermack Crew" Mickey says, "They got a lockdown on the illegal lotto in the neighborhood. They take the nickels and dimes and the Triads take the bigger cash"

"This Cermak crew looking for a bigger piece?" Antonio asks.

"Yeah, they could be"

"Right, it's a start" Hank says then looks behind him, "Where's Olinsky and Ruzek?"

"Coming in from the cold" Antonio says.

~~~

Maxine sits on one of the benches in the locker room while Adam gets dressed into a patrol uniform and she shakes her head, "I told you not to get too cocky, Adam. And now look what happened"

"I know. I know" he says, putting on his belt.

"Olinsky of all people overheard you talking with your buddies from the academy and now you're stuck doing patrol work. Good going"

"I know. I messed up"

Maxine stands up from the bench to go help her best friend put on his vest and says, "well, at least you'll know what patrol officers have to go through"

"You're not helping"

"Adam, listen to me. I love you, okay. With all my heart." Maxine says, and Adam turns around, "but this is what you get"

"Yeah yeah. I love you too"

Maxine holds out her pinky, Adam following in suit, "always"

"And forever. Now you're gonna do great. I believe in you and ya know, try not to have so much fun with Platt, alright?" Maxine says, making them both laugh.

The best friend duo leave the locker room when they see Atwater and Olinsky. "There he is" Al says, "look at you, all sharp" and Atwater walks away to the locker room, "where are your shades?"

"How long?" Adam questions.

"We'll play it by ear"

Maxine pats Adam's shoulder and says, "don't worry, Al. I gave him a pep talk"

"It wasn't a very good one" he mumbles. Maxine scoffs and says, "just get down there patrolman Ruzek" making him fake laugh before dragging his feet down to the lobby.

~~~

Maxine sits at her desk, doing some paperwork when Jay slides his chair over and says, "Hey"

Maxine looks over at her partner and says, "Hey, what's up?"

"Just wanted to see you were still up for going to the blackhawks game on friday"

"Yeah, definitely" Maxine smiles, as Atwater walks onto the bullpen from getting changed into his plainclothes.

"Okay! Party people, listen up" Jin says, walking onto the unit, "I went back seven days and downloaded all in progress and service calls in close proximity to the Chinatown quad. We got three calls on suspicious vehicles. I ran the plates. Legit, legit, but the third came back a ghost. I put that plate into our lookout database and just got a text back with its location. 236 west 21st. Right back in chinatown" then the tech wiz mimics gun noises at Jay.

"That's another Triad gambling den. It looks like a karaoke bar from the outside, but they're playing pai-gow once you go in" Jay states.

"Alright, let's go" Voight says.

🪩🪩🪩

After getting back from the 'Karaoke bar", that Voight had Halstead check out. The Intelligence unit meets downstairs in the roll up.

"Hey, you okay?" Maxine asks her partner as they walk down the stairs to the rollup. Jay shrugs and says, "Yeah, why?"

"Because you had a gun to your head"

"I'm good" Jay smirks, holding out his fist. Maxine smiles, giving her partner a fist bump as they walk over to the table where the rest of the team is.

"They were cops?" Jin questions, then throws a folder onto a table. Hank picks up the first photo and asks, "This the guy you saw?"

"Yeah. He had his gun in the Triad's mouth" Jay answers. Antonio looks up at the sergeant and asks, "You know him?"

Hank nods his head and says, "It's Jimmy Shi. We were partners when I first came up. Me and Jimmy worked the gang unit together with Alvin, years before Bishop came to us. The Ivory tower recognized he'd be better served working undercover in Chinatown"

"Yeah, perfect place for him" Al says.

"He's got his own vice squad now. All Chinese cops"

"All I can tell you is he was dressed like the guys in the video and he was looking awfully cranked" Jay says.

"So, why don't we put a tail on him and see what's what?" Erin suggests.

"Cause it ain't him" Hank quickly says.

"How do you know?"

"Because I do. He's police"

Erin shrugs and says, "You're the boss" then grabs her phone from her pocket and walks away.

🪩🪩🪩

"So, partners, huh?" Maxine questions her sergeant, as they wait for Shi and his squad to leave a building, "before you and I were?"

"Yep"

"Sounds like there's more to the story"

"I'll tell you what. Sometime when there's a campfire and you're no longer a cop, I might tell it" Hank says, then after moments of silence he says, "What's going on with you and Halstead?"

Maxine shakes her head and says, "Not this again"

"You wanna play house more than you want to work Intelligence, just say the word"

"Nothing is gonna happen there"

"Good. There's Shi"

Maxine puts her hand out to stop Hank from getting out of the car and says, "we're here. Let's just see where they go. If it's nothing then you talk to him"

"Fall back. We're gonna put a tail on Jimmy" Hank says over the walkie.

A few minutes later, after tailing Jimmy and a member of his team, they watch as they get suited up and walk into a building. All dressed in black with ski masks.

"Everyone move in" Hank says over the walkie.

The team meets up down the street from the building with their guns and long guns drawn when Hank says, "Antonio. You, Onlinsky, Jacobs and Atwater take the front. We'll take the back"

Al, Antonio, Mickey and Kevin climb the stairs with their guns drawn, while Hank, Erin, Maxine and Jay go through the back where they hear shouting.

"Chicago PD! No one move" Antonio shouts.

"Drop your weapons. Slowly! Do it! Get that weapon down!" Hank orders and the men slowly and hesitantly do as told, "Kick it away! Get down on your knees!" then he and the team start handcuffing them.

As they walk down the front stairs with Shi and his team he asks, "What the hell are you doing here, Voight?"

"You're under arrest. We got you for this robbery and three others." Hank answers.

"Robbery? We're here as part of six month operation to take down the triad leadership"

Hank takes off Shi's ski mask and pushes him against the wall and says, "Yeah? Then why are you skulled up, Jimmy, huh?"

"I've been working this Chinatown detail for 11 years. They know my face. We were gonna shake down the employees of that place to get the names on the triad. Now, at least put us in the cars, would you please"

🪩🪩🪩

"What are you now, Voight, Internal Affairs?" Shi questions Voight, where everyone is back at the rollup.

"We caught a robbery-homicide case and Intelligence pursued it. The gang in that video looked a hell of a lot like you"

"I'm not dirty!"

"Jimmy"

"We were partners. Partners! And did I ever look sideways at you? At Alvin? Not once. Not when they came asking about Browning!" Shi says, making Erin and Maxine give each other a look, "Not ever"

Jay rushes down the stairs and says, "A call just went over the radio. There was another robbery. They hit the pool hall Jimmy and Rick were stopped at earlier. Four masked suspects with rifles"

Hank looks back at his old partner who throws his arms up in the air in frustration.

🪩🪩🪩

"Witness says the crew came through, took the money, and could've got away without any bloodshed" Maxine says, walking over to her team at the latest crime scene at the pool hall, "But apparently that's not their style"

"We saw you and Rick come in by yourselves" Hank says to Jimmy.

"Yeah. We got a CI inside here. He gave us the CBA address where you arrested us. He's the one with the new coin slot in his head" Jimmy says, walking past his CI laying face down in his own pool of blood on the pool table to walk outside.

"When you came out, you radioed your crew, told them to meet up?"

"That's right"

"They're on your radios, bro" Hank says, making Shi sigh.

🪩🪩🪩

As Intelligence makes their way onto the unit, they see a woman sitting at Jules' desk and Hank narrows his eyebrows and asks, "May I help you?"

The woman stands up from the desk and says, "Sergeant Voight, hi. I'm Mia Sumner"

"Uh-huh"

"You haven't been informed. Terrific"

"Informed of what?" Hank asks, as everyone heads to their desks.

"I'm a detective assigned to your intelligence team"

"Like hell you are." Hank scoffs, "No offense.."

"Sumner"

"Yeah, no offense, Sumner but I choose my own team" Hank says, walking to his office where his desk phone starts ringing.

"I'm sure, sir. But..."

Once Hank closes his office door, Jay and Maxine look at each other with confused expressions.

A couple minutes later, Hank leaves his office and says, "Everyone, this is detective..." going to stand next to her.

"Sumner" she says.

"Right. She's gonna temporarily join intelligence. Jin"

"Yeah, Sarg"

"Take detective Sumner here down to your office and show her, uh..." Hank says, guiding the detective towards the tech wiz, "I don't care what you show her"

"Yeah, sure. This way detective" Jin says, showing Sumner down to his office.

"So. We got a four man robbery crew impersonating Jimmy's vice unit, freelancers, probably ex military, listening in on their radio calls and hitting vulnerable casinos as soon as they know Jimmy's left."

"That's right, so we should use that against them." Antonio says, then turns to look at Shi, "Jimmy, why don't we have you and your team bait a fake count house with Olinsky and me acting as the bankers"

"That's it. You guys radio amongst each other, you got 200,000 from some new den and they're in the process of banding it"

"Once we're inside we put out a fraudulent '10-1, officer needs assistance' call. Then you guys radio in, aborting your surveillance to respond to the call"

"And then we wait" Jimmy says.

"Yeah, with a sticky net. We tie this crew to the other robberies, we put 'em away forever"

~~~

As the intelligence team, plus Jimmy's team vest up for the take down, getting their guns ready and loaded. Maxine watches as Erin goes over to Al, knowing that she's gonna ask him about the whole browning thing.

Jay looks over at his partner who stares off into space and says, "Hey. What do you think about going out for a drink after this is over?"

Maxine looks up at Jay, giving him a tight lip smile and says, "Yeah, sure"

🪩🪩🪩

After getting the dirtbags who framed Jimmy and his team. Maxine walks into Molly's , looking around for Jay, when she spots him over at a table with Al, Mickey and Antonio.

"Hey guys" she says, sitting next to Antonio. Jay smiles seeing his partner as everyone says, "Hey" in unison.

Jay then slides a glass full of beer across to the brunette and says, "Here"

Maxine smiles and says, "Thanks" while Mickey rolls his eyes.

"Hey" Al says, as Adam walks over to them, "The magnificent mile detail is looking for patrolmen, so I recommended you to Sergeant Castellaw over there"

"Alright. Whatever you think is best, man" Adam says, making the group look at Al who chuckles.

"I'm just messing with you, man. You know"

Adam chuckles and says, "This guy"

"And I heard you did good today"

"You did, did you?"

"So, what'd you learn?" Al questions, as Maxine takes a sip of her beer, proud of her best friend. Adam leans on the table and says, "I learned that things can jump off no matter what you're wearing."

"Yeah" Al nods his head, "Alright. So you come ready to work tomorrow. But next time I hear you big talkin' to any of your academy mates, you're not gonna get a third chance"

"Never again, boss. Never again"

Erin then walks in and Mickey asks, "Everything okay?"

"Ask me that after I've had a drink" Erin says, taking the extra beer on the table and takes a sip of it.

Everyone takes a shot glass from the middle of the table and raises them up in the air and Antonio says, "First rule of a gunfight, bring a gun. Second rule, bring friends with guns" making everyone chuckle, "Here's to having friends in Chicago" then they clink glasses and toss the shot glasses back, "I learned it from an old sergeant back in patrol"

"Another round? I'm buying" Adam offers.

"If you're buying" Al states.

Adam laughs and walks away. Maxine gets up, placing her hand on Jays back and asks, "you want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks"

Maxine smiles and follows after her best friend over to the bar and says, "good job today, A. I'm proud of you"

Adam wraps his arm around Maxines neck and says, "Thanks Maxie"

~~~

A couple hours later, Jay heads out of Molly's when he hears, "Yo Jay, wait up"

"What's up, Mick?"

"What are you doin', man?" He asks, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets. Jay scoffs and says, "what are you talking about?"

"What's going on with you and Max?"

"Nothing"

"Oh really? You don't think I know the way she looks at you. It's the same way she used to look at me"

"There's nothing going on. We're just partners"

"And it better stay that way"

Jay narrows his eyes at his friend and says, "what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"We've been through a lot together. Rangers and all. We've seen things that can never be unseen. I've talked to you about Max. Lay a hand on her, make her upset in anyway. I swear, I'll end you"

"You can threaten me all you want, Mickey. I would never let anybody, including myself, hurt her." Jay says and gets closer to the detective, "and if you ever come at me like this again, you'll regret it" then he walks away.

authors note;

JERRY JERRY JERRY!!!!
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