────── LONELY HEART

chapter six

vi. Mouse Traps

THE SCENT OF FRENCH VANILLA AND RASPBERRIES ALWAYS SEEMED TO LINGER AROUND MARLOWE'S DESK, her sweet perfume mixing with the coffee she always picked up before she entered the precinct in the mornings. It was a homey fragrance, inviting and warm especially in the autumn season.

It was chilly in Chicago, in the mid-forties, with rain possible that evening.

Marlowe was content, typing away on her keyboard when she heard footsteps stomping up the main staircase next to her desk. Her eyes glanced away from the screen as a wax paper bag was slid across the surface of her desk, the object bouncing into the side of her arm. She met Jay's gaze, his forced smile not reaching his eyes like his genuine grin usually would. Inside the small packaging was two chocolate croissants, Marlowe thanking him softly before she glanced back up at him.

"So, I've got a question," He told her, leaning his legs against the desk.

Raising her eyebrows, Marlowe turned her chair in his direction, "I might have an answer."

"Did you happen to say anything in your report about the bar fight? You, Hailey, Atwater, and Ruzek were the only four to know."

She shook her head, "No, I didn't mention it. Something come up about it?"

Jay nodded, his shoulders falling as he sighed, "I got a meeting with IAD later about it."

Marlowe watched Jay stalk over to his desk, picking open the pastry bag again as she did so. He roughly pulled his chair out and messily threw his jacket over the back of it before plopping down in the seat. Without another word, Marlowe began eating the pastries he had brought her and went back to work.

Hailey sauntered up the stairs a few minutes later looking rather bothered, running a hand through her tangled blonde hair as she entered Marlowe's peripheral sight. Raising her eyebrows, the brunette silently questioned her and only earned a silent nod in the direction of the break room as a response. Marlowe shoved the remainder of the first croissant in her mouth as she stood up from her seat, walking down the middle aisle behind Hailey.

"What's going on?" Marlowe asked once they were alone, pulling herself up on the counter by the coffee machine.

Hailey glanced over her shoulder, peering through the open blinds covering the glass paneled wall. She was looking at Jay, who was preoccupied looking through the files on his desk, but there was obvious worry written on her face.

"Hailey," She broke through the blonde's thoughts, "What is it?"

"I'm worried about, Jay," Hailey told her, leaning her hip against the counter next to her and pretending to sort through the mugs left in the dish rack, "Has he seemed... off to you since everything with Luis?"

Marlowe had to admit that in the days following Luis's death, Jay had been more sensitive and tense. His mind seemed to wander in the middle of conversations and the smallest noises seemed to get under his skin. A few days before, Marlowe had a bad habit of clicking the top of her pen while she was reading, something that had already been established in her time working upstairs, but Jay had snapped after only a few seconds of her doing it. Jay was going through some things silently and stubbornly, falling further and further into a well that he may not be able to pull himself out of.

Marlowe nodded, "Something happen this morning?"

"I may have suggested that he talk to someone after everything," Hailey confessed, "He didn't take it too well. Told me he didn't need a babysitter."

"Sounds like him..." Marlowe sighed, glancing through the window at Jay's back.

"Any way he might listen to you?"

She laughed, "Fat chance, Hailey."

The blonde glanced at the side of Marlowe's face, following her gaze all the way back to Jay's form hunched over his desk. Hailey's lips twitched upwards slightly, turning to begin brewing a pot of fresh coffee.

"You care about him," Hailey's words caused Marlowe's head to turn quickly back in her direction.

Marlowe's brows furrowed, "I thought that much was obvious?"

It was not what she had meant, but Hailey only hummed and let the conversation go.

Voight had been called to a crime scene at a local hotel involving Congressman Scott Graynor, a big advocate for the city's police and a good friend to Hank Voight himself. It looked like a cozy night gone wrong, the escort that he had been with the night before found shot and fallen through a pane of glass onto the balcony. Voight sent back information with some of the patrol officers on scene including an SD card of photos, bags of evidence, and ballistics.

Marlowe had volunteered to run ballistics, seeing if the same weapon had been used in any other crimes across the city. When Voight returned, the program was still running, and she was in the process of pouring herself another cup of coffee. Hank entered the room behind her, with Jay and Hailey in tow. Marlowe poured the remainder of the pot into Voight's outstretched mug, earning a muttered thanks in return.

"How's Graynor?" She asked him.

"Adamant he didn't do it," Voight responded, looking back at the other two loitering around the small table in the corner, "Do we have an ID on our victim?"

Hailey shook her head, "Victim's a Jane Doe. Prints weren't in the system. No cell phone. Only thing they found in her purse was a fake driver's license. The name on it was Yasmine Molt."

"We'll run it," Jay told him, "We'll see if anything hits."

Hank nodded, looking back at Marlowe before heading back towards the bullpen, "Anything on the gun?"

"It's unregistered with a suppresser attached," Marlowe answered, the three of them trailing behind him through the room, "The serial number was also scratched away. And the only fingerprint they lifted off it belonged to Graynor."

"GSR on his hands?"

Jay shook his head, "Negative, but you know what? He could have washed up before patrol got there."

"Sixteen round mag, assuming it was full, at least two bullets were fired."

Marlowe went back to her desk as they stopped near the threshold of the adjacent corridor, Hank getting ready to further question Graynor.

He nodded, "Yeah, the victim was only shot once. Did you find the other bullet?"

Hailey and Jay shook their heads, "No shell casings either."

Voight looked to Marlowe, "Continue to run ballistics. Who knows, maybe it will connect to another crime."

"On it," She responded, turning back to the screen.

Hank disappeared in the direction of the interrogation rooms while Hailey and Jay went back to work at their own desks.

"Anyone know what's up with this Graynor dude?" Jay asked, glancing between the two of them.

"My dad knows him," Marlowe shrugged, still staring at the screen in front of her while she took a sip of her coffee, "He voted against a major construction project in the Fifty-Third Ward. It was a huge thing for that part of the city, and Graynor got all kinds of backlash on social media. His tires were slashed, he was threatened... Every builder, union rep, and alderman in this city would love to see him fail."

Jay blinked a couple times.

"Yeah," She chuckled softly, "Welcome to the lovely world of politics."

BETWEEN EXAMINING SECURITY FOOTAGE FROM THE HOTEL AND TRACKING A MYSTERIOUS GPS CHIP FOUND IN THEIR DEAD GIRL'S ARM, Marlowe's desk was swamped with reports and information. Anywhere from receipts from the hotel bar, to a list of possible suspects, to coded data found on the GPS chip, she had it on the growing pile on the end of her desk.

"M.E. found a GPS chip in Jane Doe's arm. Like something you put in a prized pet," Kim told the team, "Unfortunately, we can't track it."

They all looked to the updated sections of the board, some of their handwritings clashing with some of the other's in size and legibility.

Adam shook his head, "Someone was tracking her."

"Yeah, probably the pimp," Kevin agreed.

"Hell of a pimp," Marlowe scoffed, fighting to organize her mess into folders for the others to look into, "They'd have to be pretty familiar with that kind of tech."

Jay hung up the office phone at his desk before standing up to join the four of them at the front of the room, "Hey, tox report came back. Graynor was right, about the drugs anyways. They found Ketamine and Oxy in his blood."

Marlowe raised her brows, a slow whistle leaving her lips.

"Well, that explains the blacking out," Kim suppressed a laugh from Marlowe's response.

Kevin nodded, turning his head to look at Jay, "Yeah, but now the question is: did he drug himself? Or was he drugged?"

"I don't know, even if he took the drugs himself, it still doesn't make sense," Kim argued, "This shooting was premeditated. The gun had a silencer. The odds of someone doing a murder in that state of mind?"

"Slim to none," Marlowe answered.

Jay perched himself at the end of her desk, narrowly avoiding an avalanche of folders falling into the floor after bumping them with his hip, "Yeah, I agree. Either Graynor is the dumbest criminal ever or somebody set him up."

Antonio had come upstairs to grab Kim to talk to Bill Mahoney, a Union representative that was very vocal about his disliking toward Graynor. They returned an hour later empty handed after Mahoney's alibi checked out, Marlowe calling Chicago Med and confirming Mahoney had been there for the birth of his niece the night prior.

She had finally sorted out the catastrophe that had been her space, finally adding her own section to the board and passing out all the miscellaneous documents to the others.

"Mahoney checks out," Marlowe told them after hanging up the phone, "Maggie said he was at Med from ten PM to three AM."

Antonio nodded, arms crossed as he stood at the end of her desk, "Which brings us back to Graynor."

"I don't know," Kim sounded skeptical, "Whether or not you agree with his politics, he's clean. Northwestern. Served in the marines. Active in his church. Married seventeen years with two kids."

"Yeah, 'cause church-going men never cheat on their wives," Antonio rebutted

Marlowe pursed her lips and everted her eyes to Voight, who stood next to Alvin at his desk.

"All right, what about our Jane Doe?" Hank asked, "We find anything new?"

"I talked to a pimp CI," Antonio informed him, "He couldn't ID her, but he said there are lots of Eastern European girls working the Gold Coast hotels."

Alvin spoke up, "Which jibes with Graynor's story. He said the girl had an accent."

There was something at least, Marlowe sighed, though it was a small detail.

"The gun that killed our Jane Doe just showed up in another shooting, a woman, late thirties," Hailey announced from her desk across the room, spinning her chair around to look at them, "Someone found her in a car last night two blocks from the Bainbridge."

Voight's eyebrows rose, causing his forehead to wrinkle up slightly, "She going to make it?"

The blonde nodded, "She just got out of surgery. She's in stable condition."

Their sergeant pulled Alvin to go to Med with him, leaving the others to alternate between late meals and continuing to dig deeper into their case. Marlowe volunteered to be one of the last ones to take break so she could finish some of the tasks she had listed out on an orange sticky note pressed to the top of one of her computer monitors. Inventory was one of her least favorite things she had come to learn, especially when it came to the small devices her cohorts would borrow and never return.

At one point the office was empty aside from her, the pink glow from the setting sun disappearing and replaced by a thick navy blanket in the sky, Marlowe's cell phone began to ring in her back pocket. Jumbling the marker she hand in on hand and the stack of photos carried under the opposite arm, Marlowe pulled the device out without checking the caller ID, figuring it was either Voight with another task for her or Hailey asking if she was ready for her break yet.

"Romero," Marlowe answered, continuing her adjustments to the board.

But there was no response on the other line, just breathing.

Looking around the room cautiously, peering into the adjacent corridors to make sure Adam was not trying to pull some dumb prank, she spoke again, "Hello?"

The breathing on the other end seemed to only deepen and strain, causing Marlowe to abruptly hang up. Her eyebrows knitting together, she checked her call log to find a number registered out of Port Washington, Wisconsin. Chopping it up to being either spam or a wrong number, she blocked the number, but still felt uneasy as she remained alone in the bullpen.

The sound of the back door in the hallway leading past the break room slamming open and shut made her jump, a black line now crossing through the neighboring notes on the board from where she hand been writing. Delicately, she reached her right hand back to the holster fastened to the hip of her jeans, watching over her shoulder for somebody to appear from the hallway.

"Why so tense, M?" Jay's laugh made her posture relax, him and Hailey coming into view.

The pair stopped across the room from her, glancing back and forth between Marlowe's face and where her hand had been hovering over her gun.

She shook her head, "Nothing... Nothing just got spooked is all."

Jay looked at her skeptically as he passed by her, placing a white plastic bag with a large Styrofoam container inside of it down on the end of her desk, earning a curious gaze from the brunette.

"Selfless Marlowe would turn into hungry Marlowe before too much longer," He stated simply, turning on his heel to return to his area.

Her bottom lip jutted out slightly, impressed by the sentiment, "Smart man."

She thanked him, promising to eat as soon as she straightened up her mistake on the board.

Jay had gotten her a burger from the diner he and Hailey had stopped at for their late dinner, loaded with pickles and cheese like Marlowe always got them, with a side of fries. Happy with her meal, she carried it into the breakroom where she grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and took a seat at the table.

Marlowe was scrolling through her phone, almost done with her food, when she heard Voight's distinct voice enter the office. She perked up; mouth still full of food as she peered through the cracks in the blinds to see him talking to Jay. Voight waved slightly at her as he passed by the doorway of the break room, Alvin, Kim, and Antonio following him down the hallway.

"What was that about?" She asked Jay, who had come to stand in the threshold of the room.

Shrugging, he responded, "Wants the two of us to look at some footage in Bainbridge around the time Sasha was killed."

"Sasha?" Marlowe asked, "We got an ID?"

"Yeah. Turns out that our second victim is the mother of our first," Jay filled her in, "Irina is her name."

Marlowe frowned, wiping her lips off with a napkin, "Damn..."

She joined him at his desk after putting the reminder of her meal in the refrigerator, rolling Adam's unoccupied desk chair over so she could watch the monitor with Jay.

Twenty minutes of switching in between feeds of different places around the hotel, Jay and Marlowe watch Irina's movements all the way up to the gas station she had told Hank and Alvin she had stopped at. Marlowe leaned closer to the screen, balancing her chin atop her fist as she watched a man approach the driver's side of the dark colored car the woman had been driving.

"Jay," She muttered, "Go get the others. That's our guy!"

As he stood from his chair, Marlowe took control of the mouse to rewind the footage for when he returned with the rest of the team. Jay reclaimed his spot, with Voight, Kim, Antonio, and Alvin standing around them to look at the screen.

"All right, we pulled this from a security camera two blocks away from the Bainbridge," Jay told them, pointing at the car on the screen, "That's Irina in her rental car. Look at the time stamp. Ten twenty-two."

Hank hummed.

Antonio nodded, "It's around the same time Sasha was killed."

"Yeah, but first our guy tries taking out Irina," Marlowe continued, referring to the man approaching the car with a gun in his hand, "So he shoots her before walking over to the hotel to kill Sasha."

Voight pointed at the screen, "All right, blow that image up, see if we get a hit on facial rec of our bald friend."

"Got it," Marlowe responded, reaching over Jay to pause the video and zoom in on the best angle of their assailant.

"If not, get the picture out on the streets," He concluded, "I want to find this son of a bitch."

Hailey reentered the room from the interrogation corridor, stuffing her cell phone into the pocket of her jacket, "Hey, so I just talked to Robbery-Homicide. There's a ring of Eastern European women that have been active in the Viagra Triangle over the last six months."

Antonio nodded, aware of the events, "Yeah, my pimp CI said the same thing."

"But they're not hookers. They're identity thieves," Hailey continued, leaning against the end of Jay's desk closest to Marlowe, "They target wealthy men in high-end hotels. Drug them, clone their credit cards, steal watches, loose cash, whatever they can grab."

Marlowe raised her brows, "Wow..."

Hailey nodded, "The scam is run by the Odessa mob."

"Even more wow..."

"That makes sense. Sasha and her friend were recruited from a village not far from there," Hank nodded before turning to look at Marlowe, "Hey, you run Graynor's credit cards yet?"

Taking a moment to think, Marlowe let out a long hum as she looked around the disarray atop Jay's desk for the blue folder she had handed him earlier. Like he knew what she was searching for, he pulled the cardstock envelope out from one of the side drawers and handed it to her.

"All four were maxed out," She told Voight, looking down at the card records placed on the inside of the folder, "and starting yesterday, all the charges originated in Eastern Europe."

Voight nodded, turning away from the desk, and heading towards the stairs, his team knowing he was on his way to bug Trudy to let him into lock-up.

Scott Graynor was free to go.

MARLOWE ENTERED THE TWENTY-FIRST DISTRICT WITH HER USUAL CUP OF COFFEE IN HAND THE NEXT MORNING. Throwing a quick greeting Platt's direction, she headed to the stairs and punched the code to the upstairs gate in. A tired sigh left her lips as she slowly trailed up the stairs, taking a short sip of her drink as she ascended the rest of the staircase.

An unfamiliar voice reached her ears as she came closer to the top of the stairs, stopping at the landing to find Voight talking casually to a younger-looking guy. No one else was in the bullpen, just the two of them.

"Romero," Hank greeted with a soft smile, "Thought you'd be here this early."

"Um, good morning?" She responded, confusion lingering in her voice as she looked over the unfamiliar man once more as she rounded her desk to place her belongings down.

The stranger was attractive to say the least, standing about the same height as Adam and almost as broad as Kevin. He had dark brown eyes and very short chestnut hair, his face was angular and had sharp features. His beard was neatly trimmed into a short stubble and he wore a very fitting dark grey flannel and causal jeans. The man seemed to scuff his boots nervously against the linoleum under her skeptical gaze.

"This is Roger Goff," Voight motioned to the man next to him, "Your new partner."

Roger gave Marlowe an awkward wave.

Marlowe gave Voight a confused look, "Partner?"

"I told you I was looking for a tech assistant and a part-time officer," He nodded, "And since I plan on keeping you a permanent member of the team, why not make it more official?"

She smiled at Hank's words and approached to two from behind her desk, sticking her hand out to Roger to shake, "Marlowe Romero, but you probably already knew that."

"I did," Roger's voice and laugh were deep, but kind as he shook her hand, "I look forward to working with you."

Marlowe was not the only one that seemed to warm up to the team's new addition quickly, Adam and Kevin seemed to welcome Roger with open arms. They teased him that Marlowe still had the best first day greeting, having brought in pastries from one of the best bakeries in the city. Roger jokingly apologized, promising the others a possible breakfast treat in the near future.

The good mood was shattered by Kim revealing to Voight that she had discussed their case on the Odessa mob with her boyfriend Matt Miller, the federal prosecutor, who was also currently investigating the Odessa mob. To say Hank was frustrated that Kim spoke about their case to Matt was an understatement, the discussion bound to compromise one of the two cases.

"This is interesting," Roger pondered aloud, staring intently at hist screen at his desk set up on the other side of Alvin.

Adam was the first out of his seat, leaning over the desk to get a better look of the surveillance footage, "Well I'll be damned."

"What is it?" Marlowe asked, pushing her chair back from her desk.

"Our little friend, Luke Ivey, the security guy at the hotel," Adam glanced at Kevin, who was still seated in his area, "With our bald suspect and Sasha."

Kevin scoffed, "He'll say the weed made him forget."

"He's gonna wish he forgot," Adam answered before turning back to Roger, "Should bring this up to Voight."

Roger glanced in the direction of their sergeant's office where Kim was still sitting in the seat before the desk. Hank looked furious, obviously lecturing her about talking to Matt about their case.

"Should I interrupt...?" Roger looked hesitant, looking between the others and Voight's closed office door.

Marlowe shrugged, sitting on the end of the desk, "It'd save Kim from the scolding of a lifetime."

"I'll do it, just print those screenshots out," Adam volunteered, patting Roger on the shoulder, "Good work."

The newest member seemed to be relieved that he did not have to interrupt Voight's lecture, happily sending the photos to the printer for Adam to put together.

"Voight make you nervous?" Marlowe half teased.

"Not nervous," Roger defended, "Only slightly intimidated."

The brunette laughed, patting his shoulder, "You'll fit in just fine."

After Adam brought their liar of a security guard, he and Kevin were sent to pick him up. Marlowe took the small amount of free time to show Roger around and how their inventory worked,

"You said there's just a random storage room with all kinds of boards and old equipment?" He asked as they walked back up the stairs.

Marlowe nodded, "Yeah it's where all the 'useless' stuff the guys before me had invested some spare funding in. It all just got in the way."

"Why couldn't we turn that into some kind of office for us?" Roger suggested, "An expansion to the office of sorts? There'd be more room for them to work in the bullpen and we'd have a lab for all of our computers, those 'useless' boards, and such."

"The office is getting overcrowded... I like the way you think, Goff," She grinned, "We'll bring it up to Voight when this is all over."

As they entered the office, they found Adam, Voight, and Kevin sitting around the desks. Marlowe noted the look of frustration on Adam's face from where he stood, hands placed on his hips while he listened to the other two talk.

Marlowe came to a stop next to him, "Who pissed in your cereal?"

"Our bald friend, that's who," He answered.

"I take it you guys got Ivey?" Roger asked, glancing between Kevin and Adam.

Hank hummed, "Actually the ME has him."

Marlowe's expression fell into a more serious one, "He's dead?"

"Executed in front of his own computer," Kevin nodded.

"I spoke to a neighbor," Adam informed them, "She said she heard a gunshot. Looked out the window, saw a white, bald guy get into a black Mercedes. She couldn't get the plates though."

"You show her the surveillance photo?" Voight asked.

"Yeah, she says she's pretty positive it was him."

"So our guy gets nervous. Dumps his inside man at the hotel. Makes sense," Hank paused to check his beeping cell phone, grunting in annoyance, "Burgess... I got a meeting with the FBI."

Marlowe pursed her lips.

Kevin was confused, "The Feds helping us out?"

"I said I had a meeting," Voight turned back in the direction of the stairs, "I didn't say anything about getting any help."

Roger looked at the other three as their boss walked out of sight, "This could get ugly couldn't it?"

"More than it already is?" Adam asked, tossing his jacket over the back of his chair, "Yeah, it could get way worse."

CHICAGO MED'S EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT WAS BUSY AS ALWAYS, Marlowe entering through the sliding glass doors purposefully to avoid the crowd having gathered in the visitor's check-in. Her hands were in the pockets of her trousers as she strolled further into the room, the shield pinned to her waistband of her slacks obvious because of her shirt being tucked in. She narrowly avoided a stray gurney being pulled out of one of the rooms, taking a long stride to her left so the paramedics that had brought it in could get by.

While Marlowe was called the Med, Antonio had taken Jay and Hailey to the Ukrainian Village to circulate the photo of Sasha and their male suspect.

Kim had called her in to assist talking to Irina in the hospital and judging from her tone over the phone Marlowe assumed the meeting with the FBI did not go so well. She did not ask any questions about the talk yet, saving that for after their victim hopefully identified their killer and Sasha's friend seen in earlier surveillance footage Roger and Adam had found.

"I see your playing dodge 'em in my ED," An amused laugh came from behind her.

"Last time I checked this was Sharon Goodwin's ED," Marlowe snickered, turning to face the redheaded doctor.

Will was stood at one of the computers behind the nurse's station, leaning against the counter as she passed by him, "Point taken."

"Got any interesting cases today Doc?" She teased, resting against the other side of the desk.

The older Halstead gave her a look, "I find it interesting you're not one of my cases today, Marlowe."

"Yet," Marlowe pointed out, "Shifts not over yet."

"Comforting."

A dark-blonde woman, a few inches short of Marlowe's height, wearing turquoise scrubs approached the pair with a tablet in her hands. She had a sweet face, with deep set, bright hazel eyes full of character. The woman's features were sharp, accented with minimal makeup and a pearly white smile. The embroidery on her scrubs read: 'Nurse Marigold Atwell' but there were golden foil stickers placed close together on a turquoise tag on the stethoscope hung around her shoulders saying 'Goldie'.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting," Marigold gave them both a smile before handing Will the device she had held in her hands, "The lab results for your patient in room three."

Will gave the blonde a warm smile, nodding to her, "Thanks Goldie."

"No problem," Continuing to smile, Nurse Atwell turned to Marlowe, "Good to see you're just visiting and not sitting in one of our rooms to be treated."

Marlowe gave the pair before her an annoyed look, "I'm not here that often."

Will and Goldie shared a knowing look, both raising their eyebrows and smirking.

"Well, it was nice seeing you two up until the danger-prone jokes, so I'm going to go interview our victim," Marlowe dismissed herself, stepping back from the nurse's station.

Marigold laughed and waved, watching Marlowe turn around, "She's oblivious to how much of a frequent flyer she's been isn't she?"

"Yes, she is," Will chuckled, watching Marlowe disappear around the corner to the recovery wing.

Marlowe met Kim outside of the room Irina was resting in, a patrol guard stationed at the door for precautions. By the look on Burgess's face, Marlowe could tell the meeting with Voight and the FBI did not go over like she had hoped. As if she knew there was about to be question's rolling off Marlowe's tongue, Kim just shook her head.

"Alright," Marlowe nodded, pursing her lips and glancing through the open curtains of the room, the dark-haired woman sat up in a hospital bed with one arm in a sling, "How is she?"

"Grieving still, tired..."

"As expected, I see..."

Both women turned to walk into the room, Marlowe knocking on the doorframe as they passed through the open threshold.

"Hi, Irina," She greeted in a kind voice, "I'm officer Romero and this is officer Burgess."

The older woman only nodded at them, giving them a soft smile.

"Um," Kim hummed, looking down at the tablet held in her hands, "do you mind taking a look at this? It's from the night that Sasha was killed."

Irina nodded and Kim went to her bedside, holding up the device for her to watch so that Irina did not have to move her injured arm. Footage from the bar starring Graynor and Sasha began to play on the screen, making painful sobs begin to fall from Irina's lips. She stared at the screen sadly, hand over her mouth as she watched the last few hours of her daughter's life through a screen.

"She was so beautiful," The mother whispered sadly.

Kim nodded in understanding, "We're so sorry to make you watch it."

"Um..." Kim paused, pulling one of the rolling stools closer to her so she could sit down, "You told Sergeant Voight that Sasha came to Chicago with a friend."

Irina nodded, "Yes, Olene Zelenko."

"Olene..." Marlowe muttered, now stood behind Kim and writing down the name in her field notebook, "Hey, Irina, would you happen to see Olene anywhere in that video?"

Irina nodded, pointing at a brunette on the screen wearing a tight, mauve dress, "There, that's Olene."

"Okay," Kim told her, taking the tablet back into her lap and marking the timestamp on the footage, "Thank you. That's very helpful."

Irina looked between Marlowe and Kim with teary, red eyes, "Are you going to rescue her?"

"We're going to try our best," Marlowe explained, with a sympathetic smile, "We're going to show this photo to hotel workers."

Kim nodded in agreement, "Hopefully, someone's seen her, can help us find her. And then once we find Olene, hopefully she can help us find the man that killed Sasha."

"Thank you," Irina told them in a hoarse voice, fighting to hold back another onset of sobbing.

Kim and Marlowe both nodded again, wearing weary smiles and compassionate eyes.

They took their information back to Sergeant Platt, who made Marlowe quickly make up a flyer for her to present patrol with. After quickly typing up her best "missing" poster, she delivered it back to Trudy to make copies. She and Kim stayed with Platt behind the desk as on duty patrol began to gather in the lobby for briefing.

"Her name's Olene Zelenko. She's being held captive by the Odessa mob. She's doing ID thefts at various high-end hotels on the Gold Coast so let's get these photos out there," Trudy told them, holding up the flyer with Olene's picture on it, "Now." 

"Thanks, Trudy," Both officers stated, Marlowe being the first to step off the raised platform behind the desk.

Trudy called Kim back, lowering her voice, "Hey, um... I heard about your issue with your new beau."

"Oh, it's not an issue," Kim told her nonchalantly.

Marlowe did not want to stick around to hear the two talk about the festering issue that Matt was certainly upset about. Kim wanted to swallow the fact that the case could be of potential conflict between her relationship and her unit, Hank Voight not being the biggest fan of the Feds. Instead, Marlowe made her way back upstairs with her lips sealed shut.

She grabbed a snack in the break room, peeling open a pack of frozen peaches and taking a seat at the table placed in the corner of the room. A prolonged sigh left her lips, glancing out the neighboring window at the grey sky rolling over the bustling city of Chicago.

They had a lot of work to do, she knew, which meant that it was most likely going to be another late night in the office.

THE SUN HAD ALMOST FINISHED SETTING OVER CHICAGO WHEN HAILEY GOT A BREAK. Marlowe glanced up as Hailey exited Voight's office, having informed him and Al that the manager of the Langston hotel had just spotted Olene with a middle-aged businessman. The blonde waved her to come along, whistling to get a dazed Antonio's attention. Antonio's head snapped up from where it had been resting against his hand, looking about the room confused.

"Let's go, Toni," Marlowe chuckled as she grabbed her jacket, "I'll get you a coffee after we're done."

"Might need to make it two," He grumbled, following the two of them out of the office.

They arrived at the Langston Hotel and met the manager, telling him to show them in Olene's direction. The middle-aged man nodded, straightening out his tie and grabbing the master key card from a lock box behind the front desk. They took the elevator up to the fourth floor, stepping off while the manager continued answering their questions.

"She showed up about an hour ago with two other girls," He told them, leading them down the hallway, "A man was there too, watching."

Antonio held his phone up to show the manager a picture of their suspect, "Is it him?"

"No, somebody else," He shook his head, "This guy had way more hair."

"When did she come up here?" Hailey asked.

He hummed, "Mm, about 20 minutes ago. Room 2603."

The manager paused for a moment, handing Marlowe the key card.

"Thanks," She murmured, taking lead down the hallway.

The trio stopped right outside the white painted door of 2603, Marlowe waiting to get a nod from both of her teammates before swiping the card. She pushed the door open with force, walking in with Hailey and Antonio close behind.

"Olene Zelenko," Hailey announced their entrance, "Chicago PD."

The young brunette girl stood up from the bed, the businessman the manager had described passed out across the sheets next to her. Marlowe raised her eyebrows as Antonio leaned over to check his pulse, nodding to assure that he was alright.

"Please, don't arrest me," Olene begged, looking between the three of them, "They make me do this."

Hailey shook her head, "No, no, no. It's okay. Hey, we're here to help."

"Thank you," She sighed, "Thank God. He took our passports. We have to do what he says. Bring him money."

Marlowe frowned, taking her phone out of her back pocket and bringing up a picture of their suspect, "Olene, can you tell us who this is?"

"Yes," She looked fearful as she glanced at the screen, "But I can't say anything. He will hurt my family. He tells us that all the time."

"What's his name, Olene?" Hailey asked, "Tell us his name, and he won't hurt another soul, I promise."

Olene took her time examining each of their serious faces, seeing no deception whatsoever, "Yuri. Yuri Remnoff. He's a monster..."

Marlowe forwarded their findings back to Jay at the office who told her he would get right on a background on Yuri. The three of them hung around the hotel room, Marlowe making herself comfortable in an ottoman in the corner of the room while Olene paced the middle of the floor. Antonio sat on the chest at the end of the queen-sized bed and Hailey remained standing, both of them also watching the younger girl become more and more nervous as time ticked by.

"So tell me. I give you his name, so what happens now?" Olene asked them in a panicked voice, "I just want to go home."

"We know," Antonio answered in a calm tone, "And we're gonna help you."

She shook her head, "We need to leave. Now! The man who watches me, Alex, he will be here very soon to check on me."

"Okay, we need to find Yuri and all the other girls that are working for him too," Hailey told her.

"And to do that," Olene turned to look over her shoulder as Marlowe spoke, "We need your help."

"If you give me a gun, I will shoot him," Olene spat.

Antonio shook his head, "I know how you feel. But that's not what we meant."

"He deserves to die for what he did to Sasha," Marlowe did not disagree with what Olene was saying, "To all of us."

"We just need to know where he is," Antonio continued.

Olene looked lost, "I don't know. Alex, he takes us to Yuri whenever we get the credit card information."

"And where's that?" Marlowe asked, her brows raising again.

"The location changes all the time," Olene told them, "He keeps moving."

"So, you'll see Yuri tonight?" Antonio questioned.

"Yes."

Antonio stood back up from his seat, not breaking eye contact with Olene, "If you're okay with this, take the credit cards, meet up with Alex, like everything is normal."

"You want me to go back there with those horrible men?" She was outraged, "No!"

"We'll be following you," He reassured her.

"We're gonna be there the whole time," Hailey added, "We're not gonna let anything happen to you."

Marlowe slowly got to her feet as well, standing on the other side of Hailey so she could face Olene, "You're our only hope right now, Olene, to take down these monsters."

Olene glanced up at the ceiling, holding back the tears gathered in her eyes, "...Okay."

NIGHT HAD FALLEN OVER CHICAGO and Marlowe was only upright due to the amount of caffeine fueling her. She and Roger sat in a dark, unmarked car awaiting the arrival of Alex and his escorts. Roger seemed just as anxious as Marlowe was, taking a slow sip of the coffee left in his cup with his eyes still focused on the dimly lit street.

They were sat opposite of Antonio and Hailey's car, further down the street, while Voight and Alvin were hidden in a nearby alley.

"That's them," Marlowe pointed out the black SUV that had just pulled up to the curb, a man stepping out of the driver's side.

"Let's go, ladies," The man's voice came through on the wire Olene was wearing, Marlowe watching as he rushed the girls out of the back of the vehicle. Another man left the passenger's side.

"Don't touch me," One of the girls seethed, trying to remove the other man's rough grip from her arm.

"Relax, pretty girl," He purred, "Quicker we get this done, quicker you're home," They approached the door where the man uttered the password to the guard, "Pospishay..."

The radio in Marlowe's lap beeped before Hailey's voice filled the car, "They're walking towards the front door."

"We have visual too," Marlowe confirmed, placing the radio back down in her lap.

"All right, copy," Voight responded.

Marlowe sat back in her seat and watched two men exit the building the group had approached. She chewed on the nail of her right thumb, watching the men converse and the girls stand off to the side nervously.

Roger crossed his arms over his chest, "This is weird... Where's Yuri?"

"Where's Yuri?" The deliverer asked.

One of the new men answered, "He's not coming."

"Why?"

"He's hiding," Was his simple response, "The police are looking for him. So he told me to come instead."

Marlowe sighed, "Great..."

"Back in the car," Alex told the girls angrily, the three of them scurrying back towards the SUV as quickly and carefully as they could in their heels.

"What does this mean?" Roger asked Marlowe, glancing between her profile and the sight across from them.

She shook her head, frustrated, "We're probably going to pull back... Yuri's been tipped."

"Do we know by who?"

"Probably the Feds..."

The radio beeped again, this time's Voight's rough voice coming through, "All right, everybody listen up. Stand down."

Marlowe gave Roger a knowing look.

"What about Olene and the girls?" Hailey asked.

Voight responded directly, "Keep her in play for now."

"Sarge, they're scared!" She argued.

"She's got a point," Roger sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Voight responded, firmly dismissing Hailey's concerns, "Just stay with the driver. You and Antonio hold the main eye, find their location. But unless she's in danger, we are not moving in, understand?"

"Yeah, copy that..."

"Romero, you copy that?"

Marlowe picked up her radio again, holding down the response button, "Yeah, we copy."

"Alright, Hailey and Antonio, you keep on the driver, Marlowe and Roger follow us back to the twenty-first," Voight ordered.

She didn't care to respond, swallowing every impulse telling her to intervene Olene's captures getting away, and slowly pulled the car away from the curb and into a nearby parking lot so they could turn around and head back to the office. Roger did not say a word on the ride back to the precinct, only finished off his drink and turned the radio up to listen to the local news. Marlowe kept her right hand on the wheel as she drove through backstreets in Chicago to their destination, head propped up with her left anchored on the doorframe of the driver's side.

Almost immediately upon arriving back at her desk, Marlowe dumped her coat in her chair before sauntering towards the breakroom with Roger on her heels. Adam and Kevin gave them both a quick greeting, seeming to be engrossed in their work at their desks, but could sense the frustration radiating off the pair.

Half an hour later, Hailey called saying they had lost their driver.

Marlowe looked up from her computer screen as footsteps began up the main stairwell, Kim stomping into view.

"So we lost him?" She asked in a disbelieving voice.

Kevin pulled the receiver of his desk phone away from his ear, "Yeah, he's in the damn wind."

Voight appeared in the doorway of his office, motioning Kim to come forwards, "Burgess, come on in here."

"What happened?" Kim asked on her way in, "I thought Yuri was supposed to meet up with the girls after they got the credit cards."

The others could only hear Hank's muffled reply after he had closed the door behind them, his back facing the glass window of the door as he undoubtably scolded Kim for looping Matt and the FBI in on their case. Marlowe, Kevin, Adam, and Roger all looked between one another and shook their heads, going back to their own business.

"Because I know!" Voight's voice had risen, causing their heads to snap back up in the direction of his office, "I have been spelling it out for you, but you still don't get it, do you? The Feds don't care about our humble little murder case. Not even a little. They never will!"

"Yeesh..." Roger grumbled, placing a file at the end of Marlowe's desk, glancing back at Hank and Kim in the office.

Adam looked the most concerned, looking over his shoulder to make sure Kim was alright.

Looking at the watch on her wrist, Marlowe sighed.

She did not know how many more hours she had left in her that night.

JAY WAS ALREADY SEATED AT HIS DESK WHEN MARLOWE STALKED IN THE NEXT MORNING, his peripheral vison catching the brightness of her red puffy jacket and drawing his attention to her. She looked tired, holding two steaming hot cups of coffee in her hands as she rounded her desk, shrugging off her jacket and tossing her matching toboggan in her purse before slipping into her bottom drawer.

"You desperate for energy this morning?" Jay asked her, chuckling as he leaned back slightly in his seat.

"I've had one already this morning," She laughed, holding up a hand to pause the scolding she knew she was about to receive from him, "But one of these just has three sugars. Not my forte I'm afraid."

A smirk continued to tug at his lips as Marlowe approached his desk with only one of the cups in her hand, "How thoughtful of you."

She shrugged, handing the beverage over to him, "Don't tell my new partner, he might get jealous."

"It'll be our little secret," Jay welcomed the warm cup, holding it between both his hands to warm them up in comparison to the slight chill that hung in the air of the office.

"Did Kim already leave with Voight and Al?" Marlowe asked him, looking over at Burgess's desk where her bag was sitting atop her paperwork.

Jay nodded, taking a careful drink of his coffee, "Yeah, she met Matt 'for a quick breakfast and an important talk' about an hour ago."

"It just sucks, you know?" Marlowe sighed, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her dark jeans, "She really likes the guy."

"Dude screwed us over, including her, though."

"Dumb Feds..."

Jay laughed at her comment, Marlowe just chuckling before she turned on her heel and walked back to her desk.

A comfortable silence fell over them, Marlowe occasionally humming aloud as she walked between her desk and the printer. A few times she passed Jay's desk singing softly to herself before dipping into the breakroom for a bottle of water or a quick snack before returning to her seat. He would shoot her amused smiles every now and again, which would pause Marlowe's singing momentarily until she lost herself in thought once more.

Jay glanced down at his phone screen as the device buzzed against his desktop, a message from Hailey popping up.

"Hey," He interrupted her soft rendition of 'Away From The Sun', "Roger's got something from Voight and Al. They want us all to meet downstairs."

Marlowe nodded and took one last sip from her water bottle, leaving her desk to follow Jay to the back stairwell. Jay held the door open for her, earning a pat on the chest in silent thanks as Marlowe still continued to mutter the lyrics to her previous song under her breath, occasionally getting louder upon hearing Jay snicker from behind her.

"I was wondering what that racket was," Adam laughed as she and Jay entered the basement of the precinct.

The only members of the team that were missing was Roger, Hank, and Alvin.

Marlowe rolled her eyes, joining everyone around the table, "Still better than you at karaoke nights."

"Hey, no, no, no," He argued, "I kill 'Dream On' each time I get up on that stage."

"You kill my love for that song with every unbearable note you hit."

"Ouch..." Kevin muttered, withholding a laugh.

Antonio shook his head, laughing at the two before tossing Marlowe and Jay their police vests, "Vest up you two."

Marlowe began undoing the Velcro straps as she looked around the table, "We heading out?"

"Roger pinged a location on Yuri after Matt called him," Kim's answered, but her eyes were focused on the floor, "They're on their way with an address."

Marlowe hummed, pulling her vest down over her head and beginning to strap it tightly into place around her with Hailey's help. She then moved to help Jay finish securing the back of his vest.

The door from the main floor opened and slammed shut, a series of footsteps coming down the wooden stairs on the other side of the wall.

"Okay, we got lucky, guys," Voight's voice reached them before he rounded the corner with Alvin and Roger trailing behind him, "Traced a series of calls. Found our boy Yuri's hideout."

He pointed at a spot on the map that was laid out across the table, "He's holed up at 4821 Briscoe. It's a small house, looks like he's there alone."

The team all nodded in understanding, "Upton, Halstead, Goff, stake out the flophouse where the girls are being held. We get word we got Yuri, move in. Get Olene and the other girls out of there. Bust everyone else."

Jay nodded, "Copy that."

"All right let's vest up," Voight ordered, the rest of them disbanding.

"Hey," Marlowe tugged at the sleeve of Roger's jacket and pointed at Jay's back as they walked towards the back door to disperse into their vehicles, "If he's too bossy, let me know okay?"

Roger blinked, "He's bossy? Seemed alright with me yesterday."

"He didn't get to be 'in charge' of the newbie yesterday," Marlowe was only teasing, beginning to stray away from him to follow Antonio to his car, "Just stick close to Hailey."

"I heard that!" Jay shouted from the driver's seat in his truck, peering out the open window.

"Good luck," Marlowe laughed, leaving Roger slightly more nervous than he had been before.

But she left him in good hands.

When they arrived at Yuri's supposed location, walking across the street with quick strides and motioning any civilians to go in the other direction, Marlowe kept to Adam's side as they approached the townhouse. She, Adam, Kevin, Antonio, and Kim all shared a look before quickly jogging towards the front gates.

Kevin held the battering ran tightly in his hands as Adam held the gate open for him and Antonio came to a stop on the front stoop. Marlowe joined Kim at the neighboring gate that led down a narrow alleyway, pulling it open and drawing her gun from the holster attached to her hip. They all shared a nod that told the others they were ready.

Kevin swung the battering ram back, "Chicago PD!"

But before Kevin could bust the door in, a shot rang out, startling them all. Kim and Marlowe both ducked out of the way as the bullet ricocheted off of the metal post closest to Kim. Marlowe looked up to find Yuri fleeing down the alleyway, his back turned towards them.

"You all right?" Adam yelled in concern, "Marlowe? Kim?"

"Yeah, we're good!" Marlowe yelled back, raising her gun out in front of her and began running down the alleyway before Kim darted right after her.

"He's on the move!"

Adam rushed to follow them, calling in the shots on his radio while Antonio and Kevin took to the other side of the building.

"5021 Ida Ten One. Shots fired at the police. Offender fleeing eastbound on the south alley."

"Copy that, 5021 Ida."

Marlowe pressed forwards and tried lengthening her stride to catch up to Yuri as she clambered up a few stairs and out onto the street. She raised her gun, finger ghosting over the trigger just as Yuri turned around to shoot another bullet in their direction.

As the next shot rang through the air, Kim had slipped on a slick patch of asphalt and crashed into Marlowe's side. Kim slid onto the backstreet, falling onto her side as Marlowe was sent staggering to the side into a collection of trash bins.

"You good?" Adam yelled, helping Kim to her feet and looking over to Marlowe who was regaining her footing.

"I'm good, good. Go!" Kim yelled at him, pushing him to run after Yuri.

The three of them rushed after Yuri, Adam gaining a slight lead on Marlowe and Kim. They narrowly missed a slim opening between two buildings, Adam catching a glimpse of Yuri rushing around the corner. Kim ducked in first, Adam taking up the back of the line as they continued in their chase.

"He's headed for the back!" Marlowe yelled, pointing up a set of steep stairs.

Adam branched off from Kim and Marlowe, hoping to cur Yuri off on the other side as Marlowe and Kim followed in the offender's footsteps.

They came out underneath a bridge of railway tracks, Marlowe and Kim breifly loosing sight of him until they heard yelling from atop the platform leading to the tracks.

Marlowe pointed at the bald man struggling to get through the gates, "Up there!"

"Chicago PD!" Marlowe and Kim yelled; guns raised in Yuri's direction as he was forced to descend the stairs once he figured out, he was trapped.

They darted to the bottom of the stairs, yelling at a few civilians to move and get out of the way as Yuri raised his weapon again in their direction.

"Police!" Adam yelled from the side of the stairs, shooting twice and sending Yuri down the remainder of the stairs until he came to rest on the next platform.

Marlowe huffed, looking impressed, "Nice job, Adam."

"All in a day's work."

"YES, BROOKE, I'M GOING TO STOP BY TO SEE CODY IN THE MORNING," Marlowe muttered into her phone pressed between her chin and shoulder, trying to juggle her older sister's nagging in her ear as she pushed her cart through the middle of the market, "I'm sure he won't mind that you'll be missing one weekend in like two years, you earned your promotion at the bank. Its fine to celebrate it."

A beep suddenly intercepted their call, making Marlowe pull the screen back so she could see the new incoming call. Kim's name and photo blinked over Brooklyn's.

"Hold on a second," Marlowe pushed her cart down the next isle and picked up Kim's phone call, "Yes, ma'am?"

"Hey," Kim's voice seemed to crack as she tried to prolong the 'y', "You busy?"

"Just getting some groceries," Marlowe furrowed her brows as she tossed a box of pasta in with the rest of her items, "You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," She sniffled, "Rough day?"

"Did you talk to Matt?"

Kim paused, "Yeah... it's not good."

"Well, say no more," Marlowe turned her cart around and started in the direction of the check out, "Let me get out of this store and I'll be over, yeah?"

"Mar, you don't have to-"

"Kim, I know how much breakups suck," She laughed, standing in line for check out, "Give me twenty and I'll be over with Chinese and booze. Call Hailey too, she'll want to join in on the pity party."

Kim's laugh gave Marlowe some relief as she replied, "Okay... I'll see you in a few."

Marlowe hung up before telling Brooklyn she had to go and ended that phone call. As she promised, Marlowe left the store and went straight to the corner liquor shop to purchase a couple bottles of wine after placing a hefty order into the nearby Chinese restaurant for takeout.

She was celebrated by Kim and Hailey as she entered the apartment, doing a small dance as she held up the bags of food and alcohol.

"I could hurt him," Marlowe offered after they had settled next to each other on the couch, each having a plate loaded with food and a glass full of wine.

Kim gave her a pointed look while she sipped on her drink, "Mar..."

"I'm aiming to maim, not kill," She defended herself, "Be proud of me."

"We are," Hailey laughed, her mouth full of food, "We love you for your antics."

Kim nodded in agreement, a smirk slowly pulling her lips upwards, "You know, Marlowe, food is some people's love language."

"I'd agree," Marlowe hummed, trying to suck her fork full of noodles into her mouth, "I brought you two food, didn't I?"

As usual, her friend's comment had gone completely over her head, making Kim look towards Hailey for help. The blonde held her hands up in defeat, taking a drink of her wine. Marlowe continued began flipping through the channels on Kim's television, settling for some cheesy crime drama and pulling a borrowed fleece blanket further up over her lap.

The three of them refrained talking anymore about boys, and instead focused on getting wine drunk and gorging on the remainder of the Chinese food while laughing hysterically at the police dramas on the television.

season five, episode eight

Marlowe's outfit inspirations for this episode

Long time, no see. So here's a pretty long update.

Oh, & get ready to see more of Nurse Marigold "Goldie" Atwell.

published ── 11.14.20