⋆° დ ༄ UNTIL THERE WAS US
chapter thirteen. a night owl.

Sam walks into district 21 about to head up to intelligence when she hears Platt say, "hey, Mrs Chuckles"

Sam smiles and heads over to Trudys desk and says, "hey Trudy, what's up?"

"First thing. How's the shoulder?"

"It's fine" Sam says, clearing her throat.

"Can I give you some advice?" Platt says and Sam nods her head, "don't say you're fine, if you're not. It doesn't help you or anybody who loves you okay?"

"Sure Sarg"

"You got a letter" Sergeant Platt says, handing the brunette an envelope.

"Thanks" Sam says, grabbing the envelope and heading up to the unit, opening the letter and reading it.

Detective Miller,

If you want to know what happened to your mother, I can tell you the truth. Meet me on the corner of 15th and Walbash tomorrow night.

Sam's eyes widen as she goes over to her desk, taking her coat off and sits down at her desk.

"Marijuana?" Jay asks, as he and Mouse walk onto the unit.

"It's medical marijuana and as you know, it's perfectly legal in Chicago as of six months ago" Mouse says, as Jay takes off his jacket and places it on the back of his chair and kisses his fiancée on her cheek.

"I'm not so sure man"

"You said you wanted to move up in the world. Earn some extra cash for your family so you can live more comfortably, so the kids can have a better life than you and Sam did right? Well, it's a high paid gig. The owners totally legit. She has an MBA from Northwestern"

"What are you going on about Mouse?" Sam asks, stuffing the note into her desk drawer.

"There's a security job at a medical marijuana dispenser and Jay said he wanted some extra cash-" Mouse suddenly stops when he sees his friend waving his arms in the air to stop him from talking.

"Wait, you're thinking about a second job? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause I don't want you to have to worry about it"

"But you know you can talk to me about anything" Sam says, not taking her own advice and standing up to meet everyone at the white board.

"I know. I'm sorry" Jay says, then glares at Mouse before joining the team, "who's this? What do we got?"

"Here's somebody you never thought would get mixed up in drugs" Antonio says, taping a picture onto the board, "Adam Ames, 61 years old. He's got no criminal record, not even an overdue library book. He's married with three adult children. He's a respected professor at central chicago university, where he teaches social ethics whatever that's about"

"I'm guessing it's not about running 10 kilos of heroin into Canada" Erin states.

"Yeah, and it's not like he had financial problems" Jay says, reading over Ames' file, "the guy lives in river forest"

"The professor could be getting played" Kevin suggests.

"I mean, remember that guy that got killed bringing bullets in from Canada? Turned out his nephew, put the load in the truck. Remember that?" Adam says.

"Alright, we're not gonna charge Ames yet, but just hold him. We'll see if we can scare out the big fish" Voight says.

"The way the trap was built, I got a good idea who did it." Al states.

"Good. Lean on the trap guy"

🌙🌙🌙

Sam, Erin and Kim walk into the Ames residence following after Mrs Ames into the den who says, "We've been trying to reach him. We didn't know what had happened. I mean, there's obviously been some kind of mistake"

"Ma'am, If there's been a mistake, it looks like your husband made it" Sam says.

"He said he was going to Canada" Kim questions.

"He teaches a seminar at Windsor university" Mrs Ames says.

"Have you noticed any unusual behavior lately?" Erin asks. Claire scoffs and says, "my husband hasn't changed in 30 years and trust me, he is not a criminal"

"Do you work, Mrs Ames?" Erin asks, looking around the very nice house.

"I volunteer"

"It's just a very nice house on a professor's salary"

"The money comes from my side of the family. This is a mistake. You have the wrong man"

"Mom, I just got your message" a female voice says, walking into the den.

"Pearl, these are police officers"

"Why is my dad in jail?"

"Because we found 10 kilos of heroin in his car" Sam states.

"That is crazy. There's no way that could ever happen."

"Well, either your dads mixed up with the wrong people or he's the unluckiest man in the world" Erin says.

"You've got the wrong person." Pearl says, "Have you called the lawyer?"

"I just found out"

"Mom, what are you doing? Call the lawyer"

"Does anyone else ever use his car?" Burgess asks.

"Like maybe his daughter?"

"Pearl stop it" Mrs Ames demands.

"Mom, they're accusing Dad of smuggling drugs. And, no, he never lets anyone use his car. I have my own car. You wanna see if there's anything in there?" Pearl says, then walks away.

Mrs Ames sighs and says, "im sorry.  Now, I do need to call the lawyer"

🌙🌙🌙

Sam, Jay, Erin, Kim, Adam and Kevin roll up to the home of Johnny Zakarian.

"We'll take the back" Sam says as she, Erin and Kim walked to the back of the house while the three males take the front.

After clearing the home and heading down to the basement where the boys found a male body all burned up, Erin calls out, "In here"

Jay walks into the other room where the girls are to see the body of a little boy, then he looks at his fiancée who looks away from the body.

~~~

"Alright, two things we know" Sylvie Brett says after looking over the burned body with Kim, Sam, Erin and Voight, "the corpse is male, and he was burned alive. It's because of the fists. Heat contracts live muscles"

"We think it's Johnny Zakarian." Sam says, "he's a match for height and weight description"

"So, Johnny didn't just put the trap in the professor's car, he arranged the heroin. Someone got pissed when we seized it. Alright, have forensics make a positive ID"

~~~

Sam, Erin and Kim walked down the stairs from looking through the bathroom when Erin says, "looks like Zakarian has a girlfriend. Natalie Minos. Found her pill."

"Alright, find Zakarian's girlfriend. Maybe she can connect him to the professor."

"Sergeant, we got a lady outside, says her sons gone missing" a uniform officer says, "said he was outside selling candy or something"

"I'll talk to her" Sam says, as the group notices candy bars on the ground.

"saw something he wasn't supposed to see" Al comments.

Before Sam heads outside, Jay catches her arm and says, "baby, are you sure you want to do this?"

Sam takes a deep breath and says, "Yeah. I'm sure"

Sam heads outside to the lady that patrol had pointed out to her who says her son is missing.

"Can somebody tell me what's going on?" The blonde asks.

"You live around here?" Sam asks.

"Down the block. My son is missing"

"What's his name?"

"Michael. Michael Perry. He left this morning to sell candy bars for his hockey team"

Sam lifts up the crime scene tape for the Ms Perry to walk under and asks, "can you describe him?"

"He's nine. Light brown hair."

Sam sighs and says, "Ms Perry, we found a body in the house. Matches your sons description"

"No" Ms Perry starts crying, "no!"

"I'm sorry" Sam says, bringing the women into a hug, not caring if her shoulder hurts, "I'm so sorry"

🌙🌙🌙

After talking with Natalie Minos and finding out a name of a new suspect, Gregor Toros who then killed himself at a construction site. The team is back on the unit surrounding the whiteboard.

"Alright, thank you" Sam says, hanging up her phone as Adam tapes a picture of Toros onto the board, "Immigration says Gregor Toros immigrated from Armenia 5 years ago. So did Johnny Zakarian. They were from the same village"

"Well, I don't speak Armenian, but one of the guys from the construction yard told us yesterday that his last words were, 'I die with honor'"

"You know, back in Vice, we took down an Armenian gang in Rogers park. It was mostly numbers and prostitution. Guys who would just come over, didn't trust cops, extremely violent. Somebody picked up where they left off." Antonio says.

"How did Mr Rogers get mixed up with the Armenian thugs?" Atwater questions.

"You know what, I drilled into Ames' financials. There's nothing out of whack on the credit card. The trust, the house, both in his wife's name. Uh, the only thing that Ames actually has is a pension from the university which he had transferred over to an LLC entity." Mouse says.

"Did he use his pension to buy 10 keys of heroin?" Jay asks.

"No. The only payment that came out of his account, though, is for an apartment. It's 324 East 8th street, it's in the south loop"

"Get a telephonic search warrant and hit the professors apartment" Hank tells Erin, Sam and Kim.

🌙🌙🌙

Back at the Ames residence, Kim, Erin and Sam question the wife about the apartment.

Kim holds up a tablet and says, "so, this apartment was rented to an LLC owned business your husband."

"I don't know what to tell you" Claire Ames says, folding her arms over her chest.

"So you know nothing about the apartment"

"I've never even been to that part of the city"

"Is there a chance he was renting it to you?" Kim asks Pearl.

"No...I wish"

"Mrs Ames. Is it possible that your husband might have been having an affair?" Erin asks.

"A few hours ago I would've thought it was impossible that my husband was a drug smuggler. So what do I know?" Claire says then looks at her daughter, "come girl. The lawyer said we shouldn't talk to the police."

As Mrs Ames, Lindsay and Burgess walk away. Pearl stops Sam and says, "I just wanna say I am so sorry for the way I acted before."

"I know this isn't easy"

"Is there anyway I can see him?

Sam sighs and says, "look, we're...we're still in the process of interviews. Your dad is caught up in a lie, and a lot of people are getting hurt. And he's the only one who can fix this."

"Yeah, it's just...he's my dad. And he's the best person I know."

"Look, Pearl, when we get to the bottom of this thing and we tie this off. I promise you can see him, okay?

"Okay"

🌙🌙🌙

After searching through Ames secret apartment and finding out he was sending graphic letters to many male inmates, the intelligence team is back at the bullpen looking through the letters.

"We've established that the professor had a secret life. He was communicating with at least 11 convicts over the course of four years" Antonio says.

"They all follow the same pattern" Jay says, "he promises to help them get back on their feet once they're released, he offers them a place to stay, all with one giant string attached. He wants companionship"

"Yeah, well, quid pro quo, baby" Al comments.

"Alright, well, Ames was living dangerously, got in over his head, one of the convicts used him, forced him to be a drug mule." Adam says.

"Forced?" Hank questions, "you sure about that?"

"We found something interesting" Erin says, walking onto the unit with Kevin, holding a letter, "we've been focusing on the convict Ames was most recently writing to, a guy named Peter Walker. The tone of these letters is different. He's very tender. And Peter even sent photos."

"Peter walkers a small time con man. He got popped for ripping off old folks. Did three years in statesville, only got released two weeks ago. Patrol officer gave me an address at 324 East 8th street" Kevin adds.

"Well, that's Ames apartment." Mouse says.

"Right. And his cellmate two years ago was Johnny Zakarian."

"Find Peter Walker" Voight says.

~~~

"Detective" a patrolman says, as Jay, Sam, Kevin, Erin, Kim and Al walk down the stairs, "the owner of Pure Green Medical is waiting for you"

"Really?" Kevin asks, "playing for the bad guys now?"

"I don't know yet. Even if I do take it, it's just to help bring in some extra cash for my family" Jay says, smiling at his fiancée, before they kiss, "besides Olinsky would just volunteer"

"Bring me some edibles" Al says walking past the group, followed by Kevin, Kim and Erin.

"Are you sure you're okay with this, because if you're not then.."

"Jay, it's fine, okay? I get it. I'm coming into the meeting with you though, just to see what she's about. If that's okay" Sam says.

"Yeah of course" Jay smiles.

Jay and Sam walked into the small office to see a female sitting and waiting when Jay says, "hi"

"Jay" the lady says, standing up who is beautiful, "Brianna Logan. pleasure"

Jay shakes Briannas hand and says, "likewise. Oh, this is my fiancée, Sam"

"Nice to meet you" Sam says, shaking Briannas hand.

"You too. I don't know what Mouse has told you"

"He said you used to be a lawyer, and now you own a pot shop." Jay states.

"Well, I like to tell people that I entered a budding industry with growth potential" Brianna chuckles.

"I bet that always gets a laugh" Sam says.

"Usually a smile" Brianna says and the two detectives stay quiet, "uh, so Mouse did my security system, and recommended you, Jay for security detail. I like ex cops, um, ex military, preferably ones that don't scare the customers away. We're an all cash business. The feds still won't let us open bank accounts"

"If this were, like six months ago, I'd be putting you in handcuffs" Jay says.

"Times change"

"So they say"

"Well, if you're interested, I could use your help tonight." Brianna says, and Jay looks at his fiancée for confirmation, "I have 35 résumés on my desk"

"He'll take it" Sam says.

"Great" Brianna smiles, shaking both Sam and Jays hand, "I'll see you tonight"

Sam and Jay leave the office when the brunette says, "just be careful please"

Jay puts his arm around Sam's neck and says, "always"

~~~

After finding Peter Walker, the group brings him back to the district and puts him in the cage so Sam and Jay can question him.

"When you met Adam Ames, you must have thought you won the lottery, huh?" Sam asks.

"Look, he gave me a place to stay. But that business about drugs in his car. I had nothing to do with that, okay? I mean, I thought he was giving a lecture in Canada." Walker says.

"Really? Cause Ames said you had a price on your head." Sam says.

"I just needed a bit of cash to get back on my feet."

"So the threat on your life was just a ruse to shake down Ames?" Jay asks.

"I thought he was gonna get the money from his bank account. It's not a crime to ask for money"

"No. You know who else was looking for some extra cash?" Sam asks, her blood boiling as she takes out Michael Perry's school ID card to show walker, "this kid. Michael Perry. All he was doing was trying to sell candy for his hockey team. He knocked on Johnny Zakarian's door. Wrong place. Wrong time" Sam then shows Walker a picture of Michaels dead body, with blood pooled around him, "took one to the back of the head, execution style. He was nine years old."

"Look at the picture man" Jay demands as Walker refuses too.

"I had to tell his mother that her little boy was dead, now she will never forgive herself for letting him leave the house on his own. If you had a shred of decency or a heart, you would tell us who put the drugs in the professors trunk"

"Sorry can't help you" Walker says, sitting down on the bench.

"You know we know that you and Johnny Zakarian were cellmates right?" Jay asks, "your cellie is dead. And the man that you're in a relationship with? He's facing serious jail time. You are our only connection."

"If you had any proof you wouldn't be asking me questions. And let me clarify my relationship. I let him cuddle, but that was it.

"Hmm" Sam scoffs, "you must be real proud of the way you played him"

"What happens to the people who burned down Johnny Zakarian find you?" Jay asks, "because we will toss you back on the street wrapped in a bow"

"That ought to give you a hint." Sam says, as the two leave a jay locks up the cage and they head back onto the unit.

"So, you get anything off of Walker?" Voight asks.

"That guy is a sleaze bag, but he's no copping to anything" Jay says, putting his coat on the back of his chair, followed by Sam.

"All we know so far is a professor that we know likes convicts, and 10 keys of unclaimed heroin" Erin says, walking up to the white board, "states attorney is not gonna be happy"

"Sergeant you need to hear this" a patrolman says, walking onto the unit with Claire Ames.

"Please I need help"

"Mrs Ames" Erin says.

"They've taken my daughter. They took Pearl"

"Who took her" Sam asks.

"I don't know. Someone called. They said my husband owed them 100,000 dollars and if I didn't pay them..." Mrs Ames says, showing the team a picture of Pearl with a gun to her head, "they also said they would kill her if I went to the police"

~~~

Sam unlocks the cage and Hank walks in holding up his phone with the picture of Pearl with a gun to her head and asks, "Who's holding her?"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

Adam and Kevin walked into the basement holding Walker's brother, Marco who's a drug addict.

"Marco!"

"Peter. What's going on? They pulled me out of bed" Marco states.

"Marco don't worry"

"Wait, Why are you here? What's this about?"

"Look, it's got nothing to do with you, okay? Don't say anything"

"Peter, help me!" Marco yells as Kevin and Adam bring him back upstairs.

"My brothers got nothing to do with this" Peter states.

"I know. I know. I mean, that poor kid, though. He can't stay out of trouble. Two strikes against him, right? You know what I got here?" Hank says, un zipping the bag Adam had given him and takes out one of the kilos of heroin that was found in Adam Ames trunk, "strike three"

"No, no, no. You can't do this."

"I'll tell you what I can do. I can put this back in evidence, or I can put it in the back of your brothers truck. And when we find it there that's a one way ticket to statesville."

Peter looks at Sam for help but the brunette says, "hey don't look at me. I gave you a chance"

"Right so, last chance. Who took the girl?" Hank demands.

"Johnny Zakarian has this friend, Gregor. He took me to meet his boss, this guy that supplied the drugs."

"Give me a name" Hank says.

"Gasper. Scary dude, okay? I met him at a construction site. And that photo you showed me? The girls in his trailer"

🌙🌙🌙

"I got three guards. Hostage is in the trailer" Erin says, as she, Sam, voight, Dawson and Al scoop out the construction sight, along with Adam, Kevin, Jay and Antonio on the other side of the yard

"sarg, gasper cut off the call." Kim says over the radio.

"We go in now. Let's go" Voight orders.

As they walk through the construction vehicles, Erin yells out, "gun! Drop your weapon!" Then she shoots the armed man.

Then two more armed men approach them, as Hank shoots at them, killing 'em.

Once they get to the trailer, they throw in two smoke bombs and when they enter Antonio points his gun at the male suspect and Erin and Sam go over to Pearl to untie her.

"It's gonna be okay" Sam tells the crying her, "it's okay"

🌙🌙🌙

"How much trouble is he in?" Pearl questions, as her and Sam stand on the other side of interrogation looking through the two way mirror at Adam Ames.

"Transporting that much heroin is a class 6 felony. He's a cooperating witness, so that'll be taken into consideration. But a little boy died because of what your father did. He's gonna have to pay the price" Sam says, putting her hand in her front pocket.

"My father always said we had to take responsibility for our actions. Can I see him?"

Sam nods her head and says, "he knows that you know"

Sam leads Pearl to interrogation and opens the door. Adam stands up and says, "Pearl. I am so sorry"

Pearl tears up and walks towards her dad and they hug. Which makes Sam tear up a little bit, wishing she had some sort of relationship with her dad, but everything happens for a reason right?

🌙🌙🌙

After dropping the kids off with Adam, who's been dying to babysit them. Sam heads over to 15th and Walbash to meet this mysterious person who knows about the night her mom died.

Once Sam parks on the side of the curb, she gets out and takes her ringing phone from her back pocket and sees that it's Jay and answers it, "hey babe. You got the munchies yet?"

"Not yet"

"Gracie is crying. But I'll see you when you get home okay?"

"Okay. I love you"

"I love you too" Sam says before hanging up her phone and stuffing it back into her pocket.

As Sam waits patiently on the corner of 15th and Walbash shivering, a male figure approaches her and says, "Sam"

"Mr. Lancaster?"

to be continued...