"I will drop you!"

Chapter Fifteen: The Weight Of the World
2x03: The Weigh Station

*Trigger Warning *

She sees the guy get driving off in an SUV and proceeds to keep shooting at him as the car drives off.

"Lincoln 5021 emergency. I need backup at 4292 South Emerald Street." she says into her radio she tucks her gun away walking back into the bar.

"Jay?"

" Hey, come here."

" Was anybody hit?" she asks.

"Bexs, I need more towels. I need more towels" Becklean hops over the bar looking at the other bartender.

" Give me towels, now." she says to the blonde who shakily hands her some.

"Yeah, here." She hands them to Jay who presses them to her neck. They waited for an ambulance andone arrived with Sylvie Brett in it. She explains how they can take over and Jay sends a look to Becklean who is pissed beyond belief.

" We'll get him." he says as she just growls, kicking a seat in front of her.

//

Jay was wiping his hands as they walked into the precinct Becklean barely had time to shower, she changed her clothes. They walked over to the desk Jay taking a seat at his.

"So you knew the victim?"

" Maddie Callahan. She worked there." Jay says simply.

" No I.D. on the shooter?" He turns to Erin.

" No, patrol's going door to door in the neighborhood looking for witnesses."

" That was the hospital. Your friend's in ICU, but she's alive." Antonio walks over to Jay's desk.

" Thanks."

Becklean looks guilty and sad he pats her on the back " Hey, it's not your fault." Antonio turns to Voight. " Someone needs to talk to Bembenek."

" Oh, Olinsky's already on that." he says sitting back against Kevin's desk.

" A black Arcadia was found abandoned in Englewood. It matches the description of the getaway vehicle, but there's no prints. They torched it."

"White male just checked into a South Side clinic about a half hour ago, two bullet wounds."

" All right, Lindsay, Antonio, get on it." Becklean grabs her coat along with Jay as Voight stops them.

"No, no, no, Becklean, you are in protective custody until this dies down." Becklean kisses her teeth.

"They shot Maddie, the bartender. They nearly killed me and Jay." she yells.

"You got a target on your back. You're not going anywhere till that target's removed."

" So I am under house arrest?" Becklean asks as Burgess and Roman come upstairs.

" You wanted to see us, Sergeant?"

"West doesnt leave your sight until I say so. And she stays here at the 21st."

" You got it." Roman replies as Becklean really wants to punch something.

" They don't have to stay up here to keep an eye on us. Im not fucking twelve! You... you gotta be kidding me!" Becklean's voice was cold and her gaze was harsh as she glared at Voight the room was silent anticipating her next move.

" Keep an eye on her." he says as she throws her coat down kicking her desk.

Everyone was out trying to find the shooter or clear Becklean's name, Voight and Kev went to the shooter's house a man by the name of Karl Forsman of course he starts running and Kev tackles him down he scoops him up only Karl Decides to spit on Voight's shoe, they take him back to the precinct where Kev puts Karl in the cage. Voight punches Karl in the gut. He falls and begins gasping

"Did you grow up Catholic, Karl? I mean, most poles are Catholic, right? Remember hearing about purgatory?" He pulls Karl by the ear to look at him. "if you weren't paying attention, it's... it's a way station between heaven and hell. It's like this place." He slaps him in the forehead. " Heaven, for you, is upstairs. Cup of coffee, comfortable chair, we talk. You tell me why you opened up on two cops, put a girl in the hospital with a hole in her neck, clinging to life. Hell... It's a place we call the silos. About a 15-minute drive from here." Voight raises his hand and Karl whimpers and flinches. He slaps him on the forehead, "Where do you want to go?"

" Okay. Okay. Got it. Uh, Detective West?" she looks at Nadia. "Sergeant Voight is on his way up with the suspect. Um, he asked that on his way to the interview room, you wait in his office for them to pass by."

" Which suspect?"

" Uh... Maybe it's better that you don't know, right?" Burgess cuts Nadia off as Becklean rises from Her seat.

"Is it the shooter?"

" Let's head in Voight's office, Becklean." Roman says as Becklean snaps her head at him with a glare.

" First of all, it's Detective. Second of all, let's not me and you get off on the wrong foot."

" I'm all for that. But if you can join me in Voight's office, Detective, that'd be great." Becklean just humphs walking over to Voight's office, they hear a door slam and grunting as Voight brings in Karl.

"That's him, that's..." Becklean starts trying to shove her way past Roman and Burgess.

"hey, whoa, whoa, whoa."

" Sarge, give me five minutes. Gimme five minutes!" she yells as Roman and Burgess shove her back into the office.

"Is that what we're going to do, throw? Because you're not walking past me until I get an "all clear. You got that?" Roman gets into Becklean's face and she does the same.

"You ever get in my face like that again and I will drop you, Do you got that?" she asks as he just gulps. she walks back into Voights office , Voight takes Karl to Interrogation and they find out that Bembenak had an entire hit list in case he went to jail. Steve the attorney on his trial was next his sixteen year old daughter was killed. Everyone was back in the bullpen.

"Doubling up on squad cars in front of all the homes of the people involved in the Bembenek trial. There's judges, lawyers, clerks."

"Bembenek anticipated that. That's why he's going after their family members." O says as Becklean just rubs her temples, Jay could sense her tension and brings her a cup of coffee, she takes a sip, before looking over at him, she simply mouth's a thank you and he nods, she still couldn't figure out how he knew how she liked her coffee, but she wasn't complaining.

" Two taps to the head without an eye witness. That was a professional hit." Antonio speaks up.

"And we have no idea how many people are on this list?" Erin asks as Keb and Antonio shake their heads.

" No." Jay replies he walks over to Nadia asking her something as Becklean furrows her brows, if there was anyone she wished would get tapped from this case was Oliver but he didnt work on it.

"Hey, everyone, this is, uh, Sheriff Charlene Radigan. She helped me secure phone recordings Bembenek made on a Cook county land line."

" Most of the calls are in Polish. Inmates switch to their native tongues all the time when they try to cover up what they're talking about." Charlene explains.

" So we're going to need a translator. Forsman kid flipped, right? You think he'd... you think he'd do it?"

" He'll paint my house if I want him to. It's in here." Voight says leading Charlene away

" Remember, this Saturday, F.O.P. picnic. Corn dogs" she points to Ruzek as she walks out.

"Corn dogs." he replies with a fake cheesy grin. He clears his throat before looking at Burgess.

"Gotta get a cup of coffee."

" Yeah. I'm gonna get some coffee too." She says the two are walking off as Becklean just rolls her eyes.

//

"Command staff has put together a task force to try and reach out to every aunt, uncle, cousin of anyone involved in the Bembenek trial... Although there's only so much they can do."

" Hey, that was Chicago Med. Maddie's heading into surgery, so they're going to let me know." Nadia says to Jay who was leaned up against Becklean's desk

" She'll pull through." Erin replies as Becklean shakes her head.

" I never should have been there." she says as Erin sends her a look.

" Don't do that to yourself."

Voight comes up the stairs. " Hey, Ruzek and Atwater, I need a cell phone rigged up right now."

"What's going on?" Becklean asks as Voight is walking back out of the room.

" Sit tight."

" I'm tired of sitting."

" Sit tight." He says as she groans.

Becklean was able to watch from the interrogation view room.

"You're never going to be able to trace a call from him. He goes from one drop phone to another. I don't know why you're bothering."

" You know what, how about I do my job, you do yours? How about that?" Ruzek sasses he hands JP the phone and he takes the line rings.

" Hello. JP?"

" What's up, Shostak? I have something you may want."Becklean enters the interrogation room at this point.

" I want a lot of things."

" West."

"My understanding is you turned down this contract." Shostak replies.

" And I heard they offered you a lot more money than me. I want half."

" Or what?"

" Or I let her go. And you better think quick. The dilaudid I pumped into her is going to wear off soon."

" 1/3rd."

" Okay. I'll take care of it, I'll bring you a photo for proof."

" No, no, no, no, no. Just because I'm talking to you doesn't mean I trust you. I want to see her alive." Becklean Does a thumbs up and mouth's Do it.

" Deal."

" Highway between Cermak and Kedzie. 30 minutes." The phone hangs up and Becklean walks out of the room and everyone else is behind her.

" There's too many risks."

" There's always risks." Becklean starts pulling off her gun and badge.

"Bexs you'd be in the car with a hitman." Erin speaks up.

" Who's retired, and who we made a deal with."

"Because that changes everything." Jay sases.

"We don't know how many people Bembenek wants dead!" she shoves a chair out of her way walking over to the board. "She was sixteen, isn't this enough?" she slaps her hand on the board.

Voight, I will sign whatever I have to sign saying I went on my own free will, that I wasn't ordered. That'll release the city from all liability. I don't have any beneficiaries anyway. I signed that form the day I graduated from the academy, right before they pinned a badge on my chest. You think I like this? I need to do this because If I don't then why wear that badge everyday, Why get up and come to work if I am not willing to risk my life for others."

//

Downstairs in the ammo room Becklean was tucking a tranq gun into her boot along with a knife hse kept in a sheath on the inside of her belt.

"Here. Ratchets on the cuffs have been shaved down. So one tug, they'll come off." Antonio hands the cuffs to her, walking off, she sits there finishing getting ready as Jay and Erin just watch her intently having been hoovering since she said she was gonna do this.

"Okay."

"Be smart, right?" Erin puts a cuff around her wrist.

" Of course. Otherwise you'll kill me." Becklean sasses.

Kev pulls into the garage with one of their undercover cars.

"All right, I want four tracking devices on this thing." O says as Ruzek is popping the hood.

" I'm on it." Kevin replies.

" All right, Burgess and Roman, you stay close, but not too close, in case we need to call in patrol. Ruzek, you're with Antonio, Atwater with Olinsky. You two are with me." Voight looks at Erin and Jay, they nod before he turns to JP. " Let me tell you something, JP."

"You don't need to say it. As long as you plan on coming through for my kid, we're straight."

" We got ten minutes."

" All right, let's hit it." Voight orders as Becklean is loading into the car she pretends to be out of it after all he did say he used dilaudid. They pull up into a abandoned lot and wait for a while as Jp's phone rings.

" Yeah?" he answers before moving to the passenger side and taking Becklean out. He places her back in and is told by shostak to take her to an abandoned Storefront on the street while trying to get there, Shotstak calls and Tells JP to check his text, he sees a photo and Becklean looks over at him.

"What is it?" she asks as she looks at her before reaching for the gun in the glove in the box. Becklean had her hand on her gun and he stopped her.

" Do it! Get your hand off it!" She raises her hand in the air in defense as JP starts high tailing it out of there trying to lose the entire Intelligence Unit. they lose them on the tracks and now they are in the wind Becklean has her hands up in defense.

"Gimme your phone." She pulls her phone out of her pocket and he tosses it out of the window. " Gimme your gun." She hesitates and he presses the gun to her temple. " Do it!" she reaches by her ankle grabbing her gun before he takes it tucking it away in the waistband of his jeans.

"I thought you didn't kill cops."

" Yeah. Things change." he mutters as she kisses her teeth, she figures she is gonna have to fight like hell she just wasn't prepared to do it this early on. They arrive at the abandoned storefront and park.

"Don't you move." He threatens climbing out and opens her side of the door. " Get out of the car. Stand here. Stand here." he shoves her up against the side of the car. " Put these on." He hands the zip ties to her and she looks at him. " Do it. Put 'em on." She puts them on tightening the zip ties with her mouth as he stands there gun aimed at her a phone rings and he looks around before kicking over a bucket and picking up the phone he flicks it open putting it to his ear.

" Yeah?.... All right. Come here. Come on." he shoves Becklean into the street as a few cars honk a woman is unloading bikes from her car, he aims the gun at her.

"Hey! Hey. Give me the key." She just shakes terrified by the gun and hands the keys to JP who shoves Becklean into the passenger seat.

"Quit shoving me." she mutters as he growls at her climbing into the front seat and speeding off.

"I'm in a gold minivan." he now has the phone on speaker.

"Westbury Field." Shostak replies. He hangs up their phone and the drive is quiet, they make it to Westbury Field and JP gets out first he opens the passenger door.

"Get out of the car. Get out of the car." He pulls Becklean by her shirt out of the car, " Get up against the car."

"You really think you're going to walk away from this?"

"Shut up. He's got my son. You or him, not even close." He pulls out the phone typing on the keypad as Becklean sighs before lunging at him and knocking the gun out of his hands she wraps her arms around his throat as he falls to the ground and she wraps her legs around his throat, she grabs the gun standing up and popping the zip ties off her wrist by squeezing her hands together.

"Get up. Get up! Get against the car. Don't let him kill my kid." JP begs.

She begins dialing Voights number. " Voight, I'm at 103rd and central near Sag channel. I got a car approaching 500 yards from the north. It's a red Mustang. I think it's Shostak."

" Stand down! Get out of there!" he yells as Becklean hangs up the phone she presses the gun to the back of his head.

"You're going to act like everything is normal, like you're in complete control."

" Yeah. Uh-huh."

" That's how we get your son back. All right. Let's go. Come on." Becklean puts her arms behind her back gun pressed to Jp's abdomen, Shostak pulls up, he looks at the duo before he begins Backing the car out of the lot.

" Where's he going?"

" What's he doing?" they watch as Voight follows after Shostack and climb intot he char chasing after them, Voight manages to flip Shotstak's car and Becklen and JP arrive in in time to see Erin, Jay and Voight holding up Shostack Jay hands Becklean cuffs.

"What's up, Shostak?" She asks to drag him away and no one stops her, no one dares to step into her way, she was scary enough as is. Add in the fact that she had been shot at in the last twenty four hours, and shoved around she was pissed.

//

Back at the precinct.

"In about two minutes I got to meet Commander Perry so he can brief command staff. You know, no one out there really knows how we operate... how we put ourselves in harm's way. If they did, our hands would be tied. And the worst of the worst that we hunt down would go free. So when I say this stays in house, this stays in house so we can keep operating the way we do. West, what you did today..." he pats her shoulder giving it a squeeze, "What you did for this city... well, no one will ever know. But this family knows." he kisses her head before walking off, as everyone else just looks at her, they each hug her as Antonio walks up.

" Cheers to that. I'm going to Molly's and getting drunk. Anyone want to join?" he says as a chorus of Yes's is heard behind him everyone walking out.

Erin went to her mom's wedding only for her mom to treat her like shit and she shows up dressed really pretty to the Precinct where becklean is at her desk doing paperwork she nods for her to come into Voight's office with her and she of course follows her sister, the two sitting down in the seats infront of his desk.

"Do you remember a couple of months before I came to live with you, I borrowed 200 bucks?"

" Vaguely."

" That was so I could buy junk for my mom. Yeah, she... she showed back up, and she was in withdrawal real bad. But I couldn't get her a fix until the morning, like... like right before school. So, I got it to her, and right when she injected it, she puked all over me. Mm. And the city had shut the water off by then, so I couldn't take a shower. And I went to school like that. Ugh, just reeked of booze and vomit. And the teacher pulled me aside 'cause she thought that I had a drinking problem. And I copped to it to protect my mom. Um, anyway, I just uh, wanted to say thanks for taking me in. You're my family." she turns to becklean grabbing her hand. "You two are my family."

"The two of you are about the best thing ever happened to me. And I mean that." he explains simply as the trio have their moment together.

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