⋆° დ ༄ RISKY BUSINESS
chapter thirty nine. life is fluid.

"Good morning ladies" Antonio says, walking onto the unit, holding a file, Hank tailing behind him, "this is benji keyes. Known on the street as benji bones. Priors for possession with intent to distribute, concealed weapon, and has been ID'd as a street captain for his brother"

"Derek Keyes" Hank says, taping a couple pictures on the whiteboard, "number one on chicagos most wanted. Narcotics estimates that over half the city's heroin comes from Keyes. Been after him for years. Every time they'd send in undercovers, they hit a wall"

"CI of mine gave up a Location on benji bones. We grab him, he'll lead us to Derek"

"This can't be a typical grab. Cause if Derek finds out we're onto him, he'll dive deeper underground. So we gotta snatch benji bones without anybody knowing. That means everybody gets blacked out"

"Sarg" Jay gets up from his desk, "curious...have you..."

"No"

"We traded a few texts a couple weeks back. You think I should reach out?"

"She made her choice" Hank said, before walking away. Jay looks over at Maxine's desk and sighs.

Adam walks into the locker room, his phone to his ear and gets his best friend's voicemail again.

"This is Maxine—"

Adam grows frustrated and hangs up the phone, putting it back in his pocket.

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine leaves her apartment, holstering her gun when she sees Jay leaning against her car, and she sighs. "What are you doing here?"

"You know Voight put you on three weeks furlough, right? In case you change your mind about transferring" Jay said, pushing himself off the car and over to his former partner, "which ends tomorrow"

"What do you want, Jay?"

"I want to hear you say it"

"Say what?"

Jay scoffs and snatches the sunglasses from Maxines face, to see bruising on her face. "What the hell happened to your face?"

Maxine looked down at the cement sidewalk, crossing her arms over each other, "nothing"

"Did your boyfriend do that to you?"

"Nothing happened, Jay. I don't even have a boyfriend anymore"

Jay takes Maxine's chin in his hand and examines her face. Maxine snatches her face away, "what do you want?"

"Say that you're no longer my partner, that you're throwing it all away. Look me in the eye. Tell me it's over"

Maxine squints her eyes in anger, "you done?"

"I don't know who you are, but tell Maxine she made me a better cop, a better person, if you ever see her again" Jay says before walking away.

🪩🪩🪩

Adam enters the rollup with an evidence bag full of money and says, "Alright, a hundred grand in small bills from the 1505 fund, baby" then he tosses it over to Jay.

"I look like Mr. Uptown or what?" Jay says, as Mouse puts a camera in his shirt.

"Oh, you look the part" Ruzek says.

"Yo, Adam. How come I ain't heard nothing about a bachelor party yet?" Kevin says, putting something together. Adam walks over to his friend and says, "Burgess and I haven't even set a date yet, Kev"

"That's because you need a party. A party's the most important part"

"Nothings important without Max" Adam sighs. Kev puts a hand on his friends shoulder, "she'll come around"

"Okay, here we go" Voight says, walking into the room with Antonio not far behind, "Benji just confirmed the location of the meet. He's gonna intro Halstead to Derek as a potential buyer who can expand his market into the northside. We get a deal on camera, we'll move in"

"Where's the meet?" Jay asks.

"Main terminal at Midway"

"That's a lot of moving parts. Planes, trains, vehicles and a no fly zone over the airport" Dawson adds.

"Hey, it's Derek Keyes. We'll make it work" Jay says.

"That's right, let's do it" Hank says, as the team follows him out to their cars.

🪩🪩🪩

Dawson, Ruzek and Atwater are in one vehicle watching the camera visual on a tablet, while Hank and Al are in another vehicle listening only to audio.

"Is that camera up and running yet?" Voight questions, over the radio.

"Yeah. Sir, we got the audio-visual up and running" Ruzek answers.

The team watches and listens as someone in a dark green hoodie passes an envelope to Benji and they hear a faint, 'who was that' from Jay.

"Sarg, you want us to follow that guy?" Adam asks, still over the radio.

"No. Stay with Halstead"

Meanwhile, Jay and Benji walk through the airport, past security and down another hallway when Jay stops and says, "Yo, this wasn't the plan"

"Listen, you wanna meet Derek, it could be now or never"

"Alright, I'm rolling with this" Jay says, more to the camera so the team could hear him clearly, then he follows Benji to the back of the airport, where a couple smaller, private planes are stored.

After ten minutes of Derek, Benji and Jay conversing, the team hears a gunshot.

"Shots fired. Shots fired" Ruzek yelled into the radio and the team raced out of their cars and through the airport, only to be stopped by security.

"Hey, hey stop right there!" One of the security officers yelled, drawing his weapon at the intelligence team.

"Listen, listen, we're CPD Intelligence. We got a guy behind this checkpoint" Adam says, showing his shield to the security guards.

"We gotta get through now" Voight shouts, "now!"

"Let them through" The guy says and the team races down the hall to the back, where Jay just was to see Benji dead on the floor and no sign of Derek or Jay.

"Central. CPD Intelligence" Dawson says, over the radio, "We got a DOA and an officer has been abducted"

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine sits at the dining room table at her dads and takes a sip of her coffee. Bob Ruzek sits down next to her and says, "how you doin' kid?" And Maxine shrugs, "what happened to your face?"

"Just work"

"You're not doing that fight club again are you?" Bob asked and Maxine looks down, "Maxine Amelia, look at me" and she does, "I thought I told you not to do that anymore"

"I'm just having a hard time right now"

"Then you should've asked me for help. Not let yourself get hurt on purpose"

"I'm sorry dad" she said, tears gathering in her eyes. Bob places his hand on her, "what's going on?"

Before Maxine could say anything, she bent over in pain, clutching her stomach.

"Max, are you okay?"

Maxine shakes her head, "somethings wrong" then she races off to the bathroom.

🪩🪩🪩

"Sarg, this came from my CI. I'll take the hit" Dawson says, meeting you with Hank and Al at the stairs.

"Where we at with the SUV?" Voight questions and Antonio sighs. "We've got all available patrol units searching. Problem is, there's no plates"

"What about the TSA badges they used to get pass security"

"The badges were stolen from several employees yesterday" Kevin says, "TSA didn't report them missing until this morning"

"Keyes shot and killed his own brother. What do you think he's gonna do to Halstead?" Adam says and Voight walks away.

~~~

Antonio pops in the CD, that Voight had received of Jay being tazed and beat up. When Antonio stops the video, a burner phone rings and Hank picks it up, "Voight"

"Your boy is good. He won't talk. You should be proud"

"What do you want?" Voight questions.

"I want all of Intelligences CI files, in exchange for your detective. Bring the CI files to the corner of 29th and california. Send a lone female officer. No cameras, no wires, no weapons. Just a girl with a file box. You'll make this drop tomorrow at nine a.m. or detective Halstead winds up fertilizing some cornfield in Indiana. We understand each other, Sergeant?" Derek Keyes demands then hangs up.

"What did he want?" Al asks. Hank sighs and says, "Halsteads life for our CI files"

"Well, it's easy right? We hand over the files, right?" Ruzek says, stating the obvious.

"There's over 100 CI's in our database" Dawson says, "A couple dozen are mine. Half got wives and kids. I'm not gonna have their blood on my hands if their names get leaked"

"So, you'd rather protect them and bury Jay?"

"Of course not!" Antonio says in a huff.

Antonio stands up from his desk and Adam gets closer, as Al intervenes, coming between the two and says, "Whoa, whoa, calm down guys"

"Well, we're not gonna let it get that far. Grab Mouse, start creating false files" Voight tells Dawson, walking towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Dawson asks.

"For a drive"

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine sits on the edge of her bathtub looking at the negative pregnancy test and sighs in relief. Then puts her hand in her stomach that was still twisting in knots.

*ring ring ring*

She goes to pick up her phone from the counter to see Alvin's contact and raises an eyebrow, "Al, hey. What's up?"

"Hey, I know you're on the outs, and you got a lot on your plate. But I figured you'd want to know. Jays been kidnapped"

Maxines heart falls to her stomach.

🪩🪩🪩

"Alright, where we at with the CI files?" Voight asks, walking onto the unit from the back staircase.

"All set. Bogus CI numbers and criminal histories" Antonio says, opening a black case to show Hank, "we used photographs of inmates from Detroit and Indiana. No way Keyes can tell they're fake just by looking at them"

"No more waiting Sarg. It's 8 am. We got one hour till the drop" Kevin says, his hands resting on his hips. Voight thinks for a second and turns around, "okay, call burgess. Tell her to come in"

"What for?" Adam questions.

"Keyes requested a female officer deliver the files"

Adam shakes his head, "no, you find somebody else"

"You have a funny way of saying, yes sir." Voight said, walking closer to the officer.

"There's no way that I'm losing a partner and my fiancé in the same day"

"I said get burgess"

Dawson walks over to the two to try and defuse the situation, "hey. I'll pull up rivera from patrol"

"I'll do it" a voice says. The team turns around to see Maxine walking onto the unit.

"Get her out of here" Voight says, walking towards his office.

"Can we talk?"

"You're the one that wanted to transfer, remember?" Voight says, turning around then walks back towards the detective, "you made it clear where you wanted to be"

"You're the one that betrayed me!" She said, her voice getting louder, "or don't you remember that? Cause I'll be glad to tell everyone." And she and Hank just have a stare off, "that's what I thought. It's not even about me right now. This is about getting Jay back. This guy wants a female courier and you and I both know it should be me"

"You here as a cop or to save your boyfriend?"

"I'm here to save my partner"

Voight just stares at the brunette then looks at Dawson then walks off towards his office. Maxine follows him, looking at the horrified look on Adam's face, then nods at Al.

"You know, I keep thinking. This never would've happened if I had another pair of eyes at midway. Your eyes" Voight says, leaning on the edge of his desk, "then I'm not watching Halstead being tortured like an animal"

"I wouldn't have left if you hadn't betrayed me"

"So you left to spite me?"

Maxine crosses her arms over each other, "you're my father, Hank. You knew for 15 years that I was your daughter. I have worked with you for 10 of those. I felt like you were holding me back. You have no idea what that kind of betrayal is like!"

"You don't think I know?"

"No I don't. My transfer papers haven't even gone through yet. So just let me do the drop. Get Jay back"

Voight just stares at her for a second, "gear up"

~~~

Maxine puts the black case with all the fake CI files in the trunk of the undercover car when Al walks over to her, "hey"

"Hey"

Al hands her a small knife and says, "it's ceramic. It's not much but you know, at least you won't be going in naked and it won't set off any detectors if they wand you"

"Thanks Al" she says, putting it behind her jeans. As max closes the trunk, Adam walks over to her and asks, "what happened to your face?"

"Nothing. I'm fine"

Adam scoffs, "Maxie—"

"Let's just do our jobs, okay?" Then she walks away.

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine pulls the car over to the side in a secluded area and gets out, going over to the trunk to grab the black case and sets it on the ground. She turns around to see a black SVU approaching.

"Alright. Targets on scene. Stay cool" Voight says, over the walkie.

A man gets out to search Maxine, he nods his head to tell the others she was clean.

"You got what Derek wants?" The driver asks.

"That's all the intelligence CI files. Where's Jay?" Max asks, placing her hands on her hips.

"Let's say you hand over those files, we verify them, then we'll cut your boy loose"

Maxine shakes her head, "that wasn't the deal. Derek said the files for our guy. He said a straight trade"

The passenger holds his gun out the window and cocks the hammer back.

"Hey, we got a gun. Passenger side. We got a gun" Adam says over the walkie.

"Hold steady until I say" Hank says.

"If I don't see jay alive right now, I'm walking with the box" Max threatens. The passenger raises an eyebrow, "guess you're going for a ride"

Maxine bends down to pick up the box and gets into the back of the SVU.

"Should we go in?" Adam asks.

"Negative. There's no Halstead"

"Copy. We'll pursue"

"No, I said we hold back"

🪩🪩🪩

"What do we got mouse?" Hank asks, walking into the tech room.

"Alright, I was able to pick up the SVU on several plate readers but because the vehicle is moving, the updates are coming in five minutes behind" mouse said, typing in his computer.

"What about Air one?"

"They positively ID'd the SVU on Mouse's intel, but the signal got lost under the Wabash L train" Kevin answers.

"Look, it's not gonna be long before Derek figures out the files I made are fake"

Voight scratches his chin with his thumb when he gets a call and walks away. "This is a call from stateville Correctional facility. Will you accept?"

"Yes I will" Voight says waiting for the call to go through, "tell me you got something Eddie"

"Turns out there's a guy in the next block, name is Tyrell Chase"

Voight looks over his shoulder at Mouse and Kevin, "Con named Tyrell Chase"

"Screws tell me that he used to be a street captain for Keyes, till he got popped for murder. Now he's doing life. Supposedly, one of Keyes' men comes by every few months. Drops a couple grand in his canteen account. Payoff money."

"Thanks Eddie" Hank says before hanging up.

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine walks into the mansion following behind the guys from inside the SVU, and takes a look around, carrying the fake CI case files.

"Boss, we got a guest. She wouldn't hand over the files unless she saw her boy"

"Welcome" Keyes says.

🪩🪩🪩

"Tyrell Chase. Visitors list includes his mother, sister, and a guy listed as his cousin" mouse says, typing on the computer, "a Kris Dunning"

"He was at Midway" Kevin points out.

"Okay, so he did three years for aggravated assault. He skipped out on parole, went off the..."

"Mouse, do a deed search. See if he owns any property" Voight rushes him and mouse starts typing. "Nothing"

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine opens up the black case and says, "we held up our end"

Keyes makes a couple lines of coke and looks over at one of his guys, "go get him"

Derek does one of the lines and looks over at the detective, "you sure you don't wanna do a little bump? Put you in a better mood"

"I'm good"

Maxine looks behind her to see one of the guys bringing Jay in, who was badly beaten and shoved him onto the couch. She walks over to him and carefully takes off the duct tape from his mouth, "Jay. You're gonna be okay"

"Max?"

"Come on, we're getting you out of here"

"Hold up" Kris says, pointing his gun at them, "ain't no way either one of you is walking out of here. Not until these files check out" then he walks over to the black case, closes it and walks off.

🪩🪩🪩

"You got his mothers name? Cross reference it with his mothers name" Voight says.

Mouse starts typing, "Kris Dunning. His mother is Jill Dunning. Alright, Jill Dunning says here she owns a '96 four door beige compact. She had a house in Englewood foreclosed a couple years back. Hold on" then he clicks on something, "she bought a house in Hyde park for over 2 million dollars, less than a year ago. It sounds a little rags to riches, don't it?

"Text me the address" Voight says walking away.

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine sits on the edge of the couch, while jay lays his head on the back of it, her leg shaking uncontrollably, "I just got to ask, how did you think this was gonna play out? You kidnap a chicago police officer. It just doesn't seem like a smart business move"

"I got what I asked for, didn't I?" Derek says, leaning back in his chair, "and what do you know about my business?"

Maxine stands up, walking towards Keyes, "well, if you're worried about a rat in your organization, it's already too late"

"Derek, you're not gonna like this" Kris says, walking into the room with a file in hand.

"What?"

"Been through a dozen of these so far. Not finding much that lines up. Like this guy..he's doing time in Michigan. But his photo doesn't match his name. And this one, he's on parole in Indiana for a DUI, when the report says he's supposed to be some heavy hitter with the cartels"

Derek looks over at Maxine in anger, "so what, you thought you could bring me a box full of lies?"

"Look, I brought the box they gave me. If you want, I'll make a call"

Keyes stands up, "I'm done making calls" then points at Halstead, "do him first, and make her watch"

Maxine goes to grab Jay to help him up as Derek grabs him to bring him away. Kris grabs a hold of Maxines arm and she takes the knife that Al gave her and turns around to stab Kris in his side, which gives Jay the distraction he needed to get out of Derek's hold and slam him into the bookshelf.

The intelligence team storms into the home with their long guns drawn.

Maxine stabs Kris over and over and over again as they fall into the glass table. They struggle, while Derek takes punches to Jays face.

Maxine takes the knife, as Kris is chocking her and puts it through his neck, blood pouring everywhere. She pushes him off her and stands up to grab his gun as Jay trips Derek Keyes and she shoots him in the shoulder.

"Don't move. You're under arrest." Maxine said, and notices Derek looking at the gun on his desk, "do it, I dare you"

The team stands outside of Keyes' office, hearing gunshots. They point their long guns at the door, when it opens to reveal Maxine, holding the bloody gun.

"Max, you okay?" Antonio asks and she nods her head. Maxine hands the gun over to Voight, who walks into the room with Antonio.

~~~

Maxine walks over to the ambulance where Jay was, sitting on the back of it. "You okay?"

"I'm just glad it was you that they sent in"

Maxine tried so hard not to cry, looking at Jay's bruised and bloody face. "I, um, gotta go wash this off"

"Yeah"

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine walks into Voights office, who was sitting at his desk and slides a piece of paper over to her, "sign this. It's your statement from the scene. Gotta kick it up to Fischer. That you acted in self defense"

"I did what I had to, to get Jay back"

"I know"

Maxine signs the paper and says, "you were right about leaving to spite you. I couldn't deal with this reality"

"I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did and I'm sorry I never told you. Thought I was protecting you"

"Yeah. Um, if it was okay with you, I'd like to stay here. I can't leave these guys"

"On one condition"

"What's that?"

"You help me get Erin back"

🪩🪩🪩

Maverick opens the door to find Maxine and his eyes grew shocked, "Maxine? What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk?"

"You wanna talk now? What about all the times I wanted to talk in the last two months?"

Maxine sighed, "Please...I'm sorry"

Authors note;

SEASON THREE BABY 😭😭🫶🏼🫶🏼
any predictions on what's gonna happen this season???