⋆° დ ༄ RISKY BUSINESS
chapter ten. at least it's justice.

"Yo. Did you guys catch the game last night?" Jay asks, walking onto the unit and taking his jacket off, "18 seconds into overtime, Kane scored with a black hander. The guys on fire this season"

Maxine and Al look at each other. Max goes to walk over to Jay who says, "What's with you two?" as Voight opens his office door where he and commander Perry are talking and says. "Halstead"

Jay walks into the sergeant's office and Max heads into the break room to get a coffee. A couple minutes later, Jay walks out, grabbing his coat and Bishop races to grab his arm and says, "Jay.."

"I'm the one who tried to stop that freak. Now I'm the target"

"I know" she says, then hands him a card, "Take this. It's the number for Dan Hanes. He is the best Police union rep there is. You call him. And then you tell me how you wanna handle this"

Jay shakes his head and says, "This is unbelievable"

"Jay, listen to me. I am on your side, okay? I am always on your side"

"Yeah" the detective says, before walking away.

~~~

After discovering a torso from the trunk of a car, the team is back on the unit doing some research when Erin says, "Hey. The torso recovered from the trunk had an artificial hip. So I asked Jin to trace the serial number and match it to the patient's name"

"Doing it that way is actually faster than a DNA test" Jin states, "Only takes me a couple hours instead of a couple weeks"

"It's a good thing you're back to doing your day job instead of personal favors" Hank says, then walks to his office, "Keep hittin' the bushes"

Adam hangs up his desk phone and says, "So you think Halstead did it or what?" Maxine turns towards her best friend and glares at him, "Maxie, come on. It's a question. You never know around here sometimes"

"Just shut up about it. He didn't do it"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Al questions. Adam sighs and says, "Nothing"

~~~

Mickey walks into the locker room to see Maxine washing her hands and he says, "this whole Halstead thing is crazy, huh?"

"Yup"

Mickey clears his throat and says, "so, about our conversation last night . . ."

"What about it?"

"I just wanted to say thank you for trying to talk things out with me. It was nice, instead of all the fighting we do"

Maxine throws away the paper towels in her hand and says, "yup"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just—look, mick. I love you, okay? I will always have a place for you in my heart. But we are not the same people we were 11 years ago. Things change, people change"

"But why?"

"I know you hate change. It's just the way life is sometimes"

Mickey cups his ex-girlfriend's face, guiding his thumbs along her cheeks, "Max, I still love you, okay? I want to try us again. I miss you, so damn much. God, has life been miserable without you."

"Mick, please—"

"I know I fucked up, okay? I get that. But I'm here now. Trying to win you back. Because I know you still feel the same way. You have too. The love we share. That doesn't just go away"

"I know" she whispered.

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After Hank tells Al to do a drive by on a suspect. He gathers the rest of the team, and they head out to an apartment building of a guy, nicknamed, Nick the DJ.

Antonio slams his fist on the door and shouts, "Djurovic! This is CPD"

Erin slams her fist on the door and shouts, "Chicago PD!" then they hear a woman scream and they take out their guns. Mickey kicks open the door and they go to clear the apartment to see Djurovic with three women with cake all over them.

Maxine and Erin look at each other, trying not to laugh. Djurovic removes some of the cake from his eyes, then quickly gets up, pushing one of the girls towards Lindsay and runs out to the balcony, trying to jump over it, when the dogs leash he's wearing gets stuck on the ledge, tightening itself around his neck.

"You wanna run, Nicky?" Antonio asks, as Djurovic struggles to breathe, as Maxine, Erin, Al, Mickey and Adam join Antonio out on the balcony.

"Hey, you kind of find yourself into an erotic asphyxiation situation here, bud" Adam states, "Do we pull him up?"

"Nah, just let him hang there" Antonio says.

"You have an idea, Al?"

"I think I might" Olinsky states.

A couple minutes later, Erin, Al and Adam go outside to move the trampoline underneath Djurovic, while Maxine and Mickey stay with Antonio.

"Let 'er rip" Erin calls out. Antonio takes out his knife and cuts the leash, making the man fall through the trampoline.

"Well, that didn't work" Al states, as he, Erin and Adam move the trampoline from on top of the suspect.

🪩🪩🪩

"I'm gonna sue you, I'm gonna sue the city, I'm gonna sue your mother for having you. I'm gonna sue your father for even thinking about do..."

"Shut up!" Antonio tells Djurovic in interrogation, "You're facing 20 years for murder. And it all hinged on Dr. Elliot's testimony. That sounds like motive to hack him up to me"

"Am I shedding tears for that doctor? Nah. But do you think I'd be throwing a going away party, if i wasn't actually...going away?"

"So you're saying you're guilty of the murder they got on you"

"Got to admit, now that the doc's dead. I'm suddenly feeling not guilty"

"If you didn't kill Elliot, you're the luckiest defendant in Illinois criminal history"

"Recognize him?" Hank asks Kelly Severide in the viewing room.

"That's not the guy who ran"

"You sure, Kelly?" Maxine asks.

"Yeah. Positive"

Erin walks in and sighs, saying, "Well, time of death on the torso was determined to be 48 hours ago. The same time Djurovic was visiting his mother in a nursing home in Milwaukee. They got him signed in and on camera. Maybe he farmed out the hit"

"No, it doesn't make sense. I mean, he's the one criminals farm this sort of thing out to" Hank says, before he and Maxine walk away. Erin looks at Kelly and asks, "You mind coming to take a look at a couple of mug shots?"

"Sure"

As they walk back to the bullpen, Sumner says, "Recently paroled ex cons Dr. Elliot testified against" as she, Al, Maxine and Mickey look at the board of convicts.

"Recognize anybody?" Erin asks. Kelly points to a picture and says, "That guy. That's the guy that we pulled out of the car"

"Tony Jonston. Member of the Northsiders" Maxine says.

"I take it. You know 'em"

"They're a hardcore white supremacist gang that formed in Stateville prison" Antonio adds.

"Yeah. Jonston did time for multiple rapes. He was released on appeal two weeks ago. Owns a salvage yard over on west lake"

🪩🪩🪩

Adam slams his fist on the metal door at the salvage yard and shouts, "Chicago PD!"

"Antonio, get the gauge" Hank says.

"Got it" Sumner says, walking towards the door and shooting at the door handle. Ruzek slams into it with his shoulder and groans, "Didn't work"

"It's got a gate bolt" she says, before shooting off the hinges. Adam slams into the door again, this time it opens and the intelligence team quickly and quietly enter the building with their guns drawn to clear it out. And instead of finding nothing, they find a body in a tub of acid.

~~~

"So Tony Jonston didn't accidently slip into that tub" Mickey informs the team, "ME found strangulation marks on his neck, or what was left of it"

"What about his phone?" Erin asks.

"Two dozen calls to his lawyer in the last 24 hours. She's gotta know something" Antonio says.

"Alright, take Sumner. Go see Jonston's mouthpiece, see what you can dig up" Hank says, then as Erin goes to leave with Mia he says, "Wait, hold up. Antonio you go with her"

"What's wrong with me and Sumner?" Erin questions, "Say it"

"I think it's better partners are male-female"

Erin and Mia look at each other and says, "let's go"

"Erin"

"Kiss my ass" Erin says, walking away, making the team smirk. Adam walks over to his best friend and says, "you're not mad at me, right?"

"No why?"

"Because of the whole Halstead comment earlier"

"I'm not mad at you. You can be an ass though"

Adam chuckles, "okay, I'll take it"

🪩🪩🪩

After getting a name, Jacob Sims, they find him at a gunshow and go to arrest him but before they could, a shootout happens, ultimately losing him in the crowd of people.

Back at the unit, Hank leaves his office and says, "The Rosemont police officer who was shot, died on the way to the hospital. Wife. two kids. We lost that guy. So we go down whatever dark hole we have to, to find him" then he walks back into his office.

Erin walks over to her friend who looks lost in space and says, "Hey, Max. You okay?"

Maxine nods her head and says, "Yeah. I just wish there was more I can do to help Halstead"

Erin pats her shoulder and says, "I know"

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine takes out her phone to see Adam calling and says, "Hey. What's up?" As she walks towards Jays apartment.

"Um, I did something bad"

"What happened?"

"Well, I was at Molly's with Burgess because today was her first time firing her gun and as I walked her back to her car. We kind of, um . . . Kissed"

"Adam" Maxine says, slight disappointment in her voice.

"I know. I know. It was a horrible mistake"

"But you don't regret the mistake"

"Not really"

"Adam, you know I love you and I'd do anything for you. But you can not for the life of you keep a relationship"

"Look who's talking"

"Alright, smart ass. I'll be over later. I gotta go"

"Okay. Bye"

Jay opens his door to find his partner standing there with a bottle of whiskey and says, "Hey"

"Hey" she smiles, "Thought you could use a drinking buddy"

"Yeah" Jay says, moving to the side to let his partner in, who hands him the bottle.

"So, I..um, called a couple times" Max says, taking off her jacket. Jay closes his door and says, "I know. Sorry."

"You okay?"

"Not great" Jay says, walking into his kitchen to fill up two glasses of the alcohol and hands Maxine a glass, "Can I run something by you?"

"Always" she says, taking a sip of the amber liquid. Jay takes the file from his couch and says, "Phil Rodiger, gives his statement and he says that his son never came home that night. But I know he did"

Maxine takes the file from her partner and looks over it.

🪩🪩🪩

While the intelligence team is looking for Jacob Sims at a warehouse that they had gotten a tip from, from one of Sumner's CI's. Maxine stays with Jay, helping him with the Lonnie Rodiger homicide.

Jay leaves the bar with Phil and puts him in the back of the car and Jay says, "Thanks for sticking with me"

Maxine gives her partner a fist bump and says, "I got your back. No matter what"

🪩🪩🪩

"I never wanted to believe my son was capable of such a thing" Phil Rodiger says in interrogation, "I found some pictures on his computer, boys, the same age as the Corson kid. I confronted him"

"How did you kill Lonnie?" Maxine questions.

"We fought. I picked up a belt then...and I kept choking him" Phil says, crying.

"And then you dropped his body in the park" Maxine states and Phil nods his head. Max leaves the interrogation room to meet up with her partner in the hall and says, "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just glad it's over" Jay says, as they walk back to the bullpen.

"Hey. Good to have you back" Antonio says. Hank walks over to Jay, handing him his gun and badge back and says, "these are yours"

"You all going for a drink?" Ruzek asks, taking a couple aspirin.

"Nah. I got some place I gotta be" Jay says, heading for the stairs. Jin walks up onto the unit and pats Jays back and says, "Hey. I never doubted you for a second, bro"

Maxine walks over to Adam, who was sitting at his desk and says, "how you feeling?"

"I'm alright. Sore"

Maxine sits on the edge of Adam's desk and says, "When Erin called. Told me you were shot. I was scared, man. I thought I lost you for a second"

Adam places his hand on her knee and says, "you could never get rid of me that easily"

Maxine smiles and says, "good"

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine scrolls through the channels on her tv, taking a sip of her beer when she hears a knock at her door. The detective shuts her tv off, setting her beer on a coaster and goes to look through her peephole and opens the door to reveal her partner.

"Hey"

"Hey" he says, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah" She says, stepping to the side to let him in, "You okay?"

Jay shakes his head and says, "Can I stay on your couch for the night?"

"Yeah, of course"

Jay takes off his jacket, placing it on the back of the couch and says, "Do you have any more beer?"

Max goes to her kitchen to grab Jay a beer and screws off the top and hands it to him and says, "Talk to me" sitting next to him on the couch.

"Do you know how close I came to killing Lonnie the night I found out he killed Ben?" Jay asks and max shakes her head no, "Pretty close. But I knew I couldn't. Not if I wanted to get justice for him" Maxine then puts her hand on his shoulder for support, "But his own father"

"I guess he finally realized how sick his son actually was"

"You're the only one that actually believed me"

"Of course I did. I trust you with my life, Jay"

Jay gives Maxine a tight lip smile, putting his hand on hers and says, "Thank you. I needed to hear that"

Jay and Max stare at each other, for what seems like a lifetime. Taking a moment to take in each other's presence.

Jay places his hand on Maxines face, cupping her left cheek and says, "you're so beautiful"

Maxine smiles, "so kiss me"

"I can't"

"But you want to" Max says and Jay nods his head, "so why can't you?"

"Because I want to keep you as pure as possible" he says, moving some of her hair out of her face. Maxine smirks, "oh is that it?" Making Jay nod his head, "and why is that?"

Jay leans in closer to the brunette. Maxine clears her throat, feeling butterfly's in her stomach.

"Because once this starts. You're mine." Jay says, tracing his thumb across her plump lips, "and there's nothing pure about what I'll do to you"

Maxine raises an eyebrow, "you don't think I can handle it?"

"You wanna test me right now, angel?" Jay questions, causing Maxine to bite her lip.

authors note;

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