Listen to Her || A Chicago P.D. Fanfiction

31- Case 12

A/N: The episode being used for this chapter is called 'An Honest Woman'.

3 weeks later, Wednesday, 7:40 a.m.
"If it's slow at work today, do you think maybe we can leave early?" Danielle asks Hank in a hopeful tone, watching him make her some tea since she didn't want coffee like he's made for himself. "You and me or the Unit as a whole?" He asks with a small smile as he takes the mug with tea and sets it down in front of her. "As a Unit I guess, that way us four can go catch that movie Antonio is saying is really good." She answers with a small smile. "I'll think about it." He answers, both sipping on their drinks. Yesterday, a Tuesday, was Danielle's night to stay with Hank, and they had been up late watching TV before going to bed, finding each other comfortable and warm which caused them to oversleep. "Was worth a shot to ask." She says with a small smile, taking another sip of tea. He takes in all of her that's being praised by the sunlight that's coming in through the dining room window, just admiring his girlfriend in all of her glory. "Wait here." He tells her softly, watching her nod a bit after taking another sip. He sets his mug down and walks down the hallway, getting to his basement door. He walks down the steps and makes his way to the safe, opening it up, grabbing a few large bills. He wants to make sure his girl is taken care of, even though she's staying with him, Antonio, and Al. She's got her phone bill to pay, car insurance, she and the Unit boys have mandatory shooting range visits coming up, there's a fundraiser going on at each district, Trudy is having a potluck and asked Danielle to make some food; he just wants to make sure she has enough money to pay for everything, being that the past couple of weeks have been slow. Minor robbery and drug cases that were very underpaid to the Sargent and his team. Just as he's about to take the bills out of his safe, he hears footsteps, footsteps too heavy to belong to his girl. He leaves the money in the safe and closes it's door, softly spinning the dial so it locks as he turns to find two men standing there looking at him. The taller man of the two has a crowbar, the slightly short one has a gun.
'Why is it so cold? We have the heater on. There's like a draft coming from somewhere.' Danielle thinks to herself as she walks to set her mug in the sink, the floor creaking beneath her shoes. "You know whose house you're in right now?" Hank asks calmly. "We know exactly whose house we're in. Now open that box back up." The shorter one answers. "Why don't you come and get it?" Hank asks. The taller man is about to hit his stomach with the end of the crowbar but Hank grabs the metal prying device and shoulders the man, the 61 year old now having the crowbar as a weapon. When the tall man is on the floor, he looks at the shorter man who points the gun at Hank who knocks it out the short guy's hand, backing the shorter guy against one wall, pressing the metal rod against his throat. Once the panic sets into the short guy, Voight digs one thumb into the guy's eyeball, causing the offender to scream in pain. The tall guy recovers and grabs Hank's arms from behind, pulling him away. Voight is able to elbow the tall guy three times, causing him to groan out in pain. The short guy gets up from the floor with the crowbar, using it like a baseball bat to hit Voight's stomach twice, the tall guy shoving the Sargent to the floor. When Hank tries to get back up, the tall guy kicks him, watching their target groan and stay down. The noise catches Danielle's attention, a feeling of anxiety growing in her stomach as she goes to where her boyfriend disappeared, finding the back door wide open, cold wind blowing into the home. She leaves it open, seeing he's not outside. "Hank?" She asks softly, something stopping her right outside of the doorway to the basement. "No....No, no, no." Hank says very softly, about to grab onto the tall guy's leg to try and distract him, but the man punches him. "Get the girl." The tall man tells his partner, and that's all the Sargent hears before he goes unconscious. Danielle suddenly becomes aware of what's happening, the two intruders looking at her shoes from where they're standing. She runs back towards the front of the house, trying to get to the kitchen counter where she left her phone, both hers and Hank's guns, radios, and badges set to be worn. As soon as she's about to reach for her gun, the short man tackles her, knocking the wind out of her system. About to face him, he uses his gun to hit the back of her head, rendering her unconscious.
~15 minutes later~
Al walks up into the office, noticing that Danielle isn't here yet, nor is his best friend. 'Must've had some fun last night.' He thinks with a very slight smirk. "Hey, Al, some guy from H.Q. called. Voight skipped a com stat meeting. I tried but it went straight to voicemail." Mouse softly tells Al who's walking to the break room. "Weird. I'll try him." Olinsky says, pulling out his cellphone and dialing Hank. When he puts his phone up to his ear, Hank's unset voicemail greets him right away. "See?" Mouse asks as Al hangs up. "I believed you." "Maybe he's sick." Mouse suggests. "He's never sick, and he's never late. Antonio." Al says, Dawson looking at him, watching the right hand man gesture for Antonio to follow him.
"Cars are out front." Al says as he and Antonio get out of the Magnum, spotting their girlfriend's car as well as Hank's as they walk up the steps of Voight's porch. "Hank?" Al calls out, both feeling chilled air looming. "You'd think they turn on the heater." Olinsky says as he closes the door behind them. "Maybe they were keeping each other warm." Antonio says with a soft chuckle, the 60 year old smiling slightly. "Back door." Antonio says in an alarmed manner, he and Al drawing their weapons as they begin clearing every room. They walk through the kitchen, finding mugs in the sink and two smashed cellphones near the fridge. Al cautiously makes his way down the steps of the basement, seeing something dark on the floor, the safe belonging to his best friend missing from it's spot on the wall. "Blood." He tells Antonio who's right behind him. They look around before looking at each other, Olinsky not being able to bring himself to reach for his phone. Antonio takes his out, dialing Atwater. "Kev, take me off of speaker." He says once Atwater answers, immediately telling him that they all need to get to Voight's house before hanging up. "They have both of them." Dawson whispers, Al seeing that he's beginning to worry. "We'll find them." Al says. In 15 minutes, Kevin, Jay, and Adam are walking through the front door, Antonio walking Halstead and Atwater through the scene. "Smashed their phones so we couldn't track them." Antonio says. "You figure two guys?" Jay asks as they look at the stove that has a small kettle of tea. "At least." Antonio answers, looking at the floor. "Why is Danielle's car here?" Jay asks. "Probably wanted to see how she's been doing, invited her over before work." Kevin lies, knowing the truth. The sniper told him about her relationship since the two are open with each other about most things, and Atwater was elated at the news. Of course, she had asked her boyfriends if it was okay that she told Atwater. Adam stands up from having been squatting and looking at the blood that's on the basement floor, now walking over to the hole in the wall that's empty. "What the hell do you think this was?" He asks Al who's trying to keep calm. "Popcorn machine. What do you think?" Al answers sarcastically, chewing his toothpick harder. "No, I think it was a safe. That's what I think. So, if this is a safe, then this was a robbery." Adam says calmly, wondering why his mentor has gotten so defensive. "We don't know what this was yet. So screw your head on straight and get to work." Al sternly says, turning around to go back up the stairs. "Al...you doing okay, man?" Ruzek asks, causing Olinsky's last straw to be pulled. "What'd I just say, huh? Your boss and our sniper are missing, so get to work, detective." The 60 year old loudly orders, not facing Adam who feels a bit bad for his friend. "Alright." He says softly, Al letting him walk up the stairs first before following him.
Kevin walks out the backdoor, feeling around the doorframe for wires or anything that just feels out of place. Finding nothing, he looks around the backyard, his eyes scanning some of the lightbulbs that are in the backyard light. Squinting, he reaches up and unscrews the bulb that seems off to him, nodding slightly before Antonio joins him, standing to Kev's right. "We don't gotta wait to find out who's mug that was. We got it right here on video." Kev says, handing Antonio the lightbulb.
"Voight had cameras at the front and back doors. Front door, 7 o'clock this morning, Danielle arrives. 7:50, two unknown offenders enter the back. Now we can't see if Voight or Danielle lets them in." Antonio tells everyone as he puts up pictures of Danielle then the two offenders Mouse had printed on the whiteboard. Even though she stayed overnight, she offered to go pickup breakfast while Hank got ready, which he allowed her to do, which is why she was caught on camera arriving at his home at 7 on the dot. "10 minutes after that, they exit with Danielle and Voight, carrying both out. They appear to be unconscious." Atwater adds. "We got to put out an all call message and get a city wide search going." Jay says. "No, 'cause we don't know what Voight was into." Al speaks up, everyone looking at him as he leans against a filing cabinet near his desk. "We're going to bring them home safe. We do it ourselves. We keep this in-house." He adds, his tone a bit aggressive. "For what it's worth, Ruzek doesn't think they're local...the offenders. So he's trying something else." Atwater says before everyone disperses. Antonio sighs softly, worry getting the best of him, so he walks to the break room, Al following him. "They're as tough as they come." Olinsky whispers to Antonio who's pinching the bridge of his nose to keep from crying. "How did they get them out of the house, Al?" Antonio asks after swallowing his knot of tears. "Listen...we're gonna find them." Olinsky reassures the sniper's partner who nods a bit while sniffling. He pats Al's shoulder a few times before they both walk out of the break room, trying to see if the others have found something useful.
Hank stirs with a groan, feeling his hands and feet bound. He blinks, looking around, registering he's on the floor, tied to an old radiator heater in some room, his safe lying a few feet away from him. "He's a used up copper. He'll break." He sees and hears the tall man tell the shorter one. "What about the girl? We don't know who she is." The shorter one says, spotting Hank's head moving. 'Danielle.' Hank thinks as his vision becomes clearer, watching both men walk over to him. "You really think my team won't find us before you crack that box?" Voight asks the taller man who squats down in front of him, crowbar in hand. "A lot of guys think they're tough. Let's see how tough you really are." The tall guy says, jabbing the pointy end of the crowbar into Hank's stomach, causing him to hiss and cough out in pain. "See? Not so tough. Now, what's the combination?" The tall man asks, the three men looking at each other.
"Alright, the little guy...Ian Marks. LKA came back Denver." Adam says, putting up a picture of the shorter man on the whiteboard. "I ran his name through the face of the nation database. His whole family's nothing but crooks. No match on the partner." Jay adds, Antonio shaking his head as he looks at his desk. "The head of this unit and our sniper's been missing 4 hours already. We need more." He sternly tells the guys. Mouse walks up to Dawson, handing him a piece of paper. "Cellphone towers?" Antonio asks, Al going over to read the paper as well. "Idiot pinged a local tower. Looks like Marks called his family back in Denver." Mouse says. "Can't be that stupid." Kevin says. "You choose Voight as a target, you can't be that smart." Jay says. "Ruzek, triangulate those pings and get us a location. I'll get an arrest warrant. Alright, let's go." Al orders Adam and tells everyone else, the team hurrying to where they need to be in order to help.
"I'm getting really tired, asking the same question." The tall guy tells Hank. "Imagine how shook up that makes me." The Sargent sarcastically replies. "You're gonna give up that combination." Marks says, he and the tall guy making eye contact before the tall guy gestures for Marks to the doorway, his partner knowing what to do. Hank and the unidentified man look at each other before the guy gets up with a smirk, the 61 year old suddenly hearing muffled whimpers. Marks and the tall guy drag Danielle into the room, the sniper tied to a chair with duck tape over her mouth. "And you shouldn't have run." The tall man says, Marks placing a clear plastic bag over her head, holding it in place as his partner duct tapes it shut around Danielle's neck, her whimpers even more muffled as she makes eye contact with Hank. "She's got about a minute. Now I ain't gonna ask again." The tall man growls at Hank. Danielle tries to take calming breaths to preserve the little oxygen she has left, but her body freaks out against her mind's will, her breathing become harder as her system freaks out. Not even second guessing himself, Voight says, "48-12-19. Now cut her out of there." Marks goes to unlock the safe, his partner watching. "You sure about that?" The tall man asks, Hank's eyes never leaving his girlfriend. "Cut her out of there." Voight orders. "Cut her out of there!" He repeats, raising his voice. "It's good." Marks says, the safe door opening. "See? So easy." The tall man says, Marks grabbing as many stacks of money as he can, shoving the bills into a small black bag. "Alright, cut her out of there!" Hank shouts, watching his girlfriend's breathing become short and slow, seeing she's trying hard to keep her eyes open. The tall guy stands beside the sniper who keeps her eyes on her boyfriend. "Danielle...Danielle, stay with me." He tells her, watching her body slowly lose strength as her head begins falling backwards. "Danielle, listen to me. Danielle. Danielle! Danielle, stay with me." Hank says, watching her lose strength. Tires screech and car doors slam outside the building, Marks quickly scrambling to his feet. "Gotta go." He tells the tall guy, both making a dash for the back exit, leaving Voight and Danielle as they are. "Ground floor!" The Sargent shouts, hoping someone outside hears him. "Danielle! Danielle, stay here with me. You stay here with me!" He pleads, watching her head hang to the side, the bag no longer inflating with her breathing. Kevin kicks the front door open, Antonio and Al being the first ones inside, the others following. "Voight!" Antonio shouts. "Get her! Get her! Get her!" Hank repeatedly shouts, his best friend and second in command detective following his voice. They quickly enter the small room where their girlfriend and friend are, Antonio's brain going into overdrive as he rips the plastic bag open, kneeling beside the chair while cradling Danielle's head. He gently takes off the tape covering her mouth as Al kneels beside Hank. "Are you alright? Are you okay?" Al asks. "I'm fine." Hank says, their eyes looking at Antonio who's patting one of Danielle's cheeks. "Come on, come on." He whispers, the three watching her eyes flutter open as she takes deep breaths, trying to sit up instead of being slouched. Her boyfriends exhale softly, their focus still on her. "They were gonna kill him, he said-They said they'd kill him." She says softly in a panic as she registers where she is and who's with her, looking right at Hank who she's very grateful is still alive. Antonio quickly uses his pocket knife to cut her hands and ankles loose as Al starts doing the same with Hank, Kevin covering the room door. Adam and Jay walk around the back, both keeping an eye out for any vehicles or people who were running, only finding an empty alleyway. "Beat, 5021. This is Detective Halstead with Intelligence. Please be advised, we're looking for two white males, last seen fleeing on foot from Wentworth and 31st. Hold under the authority of Intelligence." Jay says into his radio. "Regarding?" A patrolman asks. "A confidential matter." Halstead says before he and Ruzek make their way back into the empty home, finding Hank using a still running sink to clean himself up, using his sleeves to wipe away any water from his eyes. "You need a hospital?" Al asks softly. "Maybe later." Hank answers, wiping away what's left of the water. "Do we send her to the hospital?" Al asks, he and Voight turning to find Danielle still sitting in the chair while Antonio takes her statement, continuously asking if she's okay. "She said she's fine." Hank says in a whisper. "District didn't send anyone else?" He adds. "We kept it internal. If we're gonna catch these guys, we need to know why they came after you." Al says. "Why do people rob people?" Hank asks, taking a drink of the water bottle that Kevin gives him. "That's helpful, Hank. Thank you. Now they know we're gunning for them. They're gonna be extra careful. We can have a thousand units on the streets just like that." Al says, exhaling through his nose. "No. We keep this in house." Hank says sternly. "I.A. will look at you. You can't muscle your way through this." Hank doesn't say anything, just walks past Al who follows him to where Antonio and Danielle are. "Jellybean, are you okay?" Al softly asks her after making sure the boys are still out front. "Yes. I-I'm sorry, Hank. I didn't even hear them enter the house." She answers Al then apologizes to Hank who gently hugs her, kissing her forehead. "It's okay, sweetheart. They found us. We're okay." He tells her very softly, letting Al and Antonio hug her. "You're gonna go see a doctor, I'll take you. Keep us updated on what you find." Hank tells her then Dawson and Olinsky, watching them nod a bit, Danielle not saying anything since she knows better than to argue.
~2 hours later~
"Ian Marks has got 5 known aliases, warrants out for home invasion in Indiana and Michigan." Mouse tells Antonio who's looking at the added information on the whiteboard. "2 days ago he used an alias to rent a van downstate. I put the plates into NVLS, so hopefully we get a hit." Adam adds. "I called in a search, but..." Mouse says, pausing, looking over at Rodriguez who looks back at him. "But what?" Antonio asks. "All we can say about our investigation is 'confidential matter'." Mouse answers softly. "That's what it is." Antonio says. "Yeah, well district south can't authorize a search based on that." "Still no I.D. on Ian Marks' partner?" Antonio asks Kevin who's sitting on Danielle's desk. "No, I talked to some C.I.s, some guys who run with robbery crews, but no dice, but still working on it." Kevin answers. "What the hell does that mean? If you got nothin', just say you got nothin'." Antonio says in a frustrated tone, Mouse, Kevin, and Adam looking away from him. The sniper gives him a look of apology, Antonio softly apologizing to Atwater who tells him not to worry. "I got a hit on the van. Dummies drove through a tollbooth. Red light camera caught it going west just south of 290. We gotta go right now." Jay says, coming from Mouse's tech room. "I'll dispatch state police." Adam says, reaching for Al's desk phone. "No, Voight said we do this ourselves." Danielle speaks up. "We'll do a grid search. They got to be in there someplace." Antonio tells Mouse who gets back to his desk, quickly beginning to type. "Where's Olinsky?" Antonio asks Danielle softly once the boys are out of earshot. "Mouse found a number that was connected to a girl named Josie. They went to go look for her." She answers softly, her partner understanding what she means. "Get me an I.D. on the big guy." He tells her, watching her nod before he turns around. "Atwater, Ruzek, with me." He calls out through the bullpen, the two partners soon appearing then leaving with Dawson.
"What do you think was in Voight's safe?" Kevin asks Antonio and Adam as the three walk around a small area where Marks and his partner were last seen. "Who knows, man." Antonio says, looking around as they walk slowly with their guns drawn. "I'm just saying, it was a professional crew, right? So they probably research their targets. It wasn't like it was no random robbery." Kevin suggests. "You mean maybe we're chasing these guys to get something back that Voight wasn't supposed to have in the first place?" Adam asks. "Maybe. I'm just saying." Kevin answers. "Say less. A Sargent was attacked in his home, a Sargent that brought you into his unit, gave you a shot to do something bigger for your city. And we're gonna make it right." Antonio shuts them both up, the partners noticing how defensive he got. "Hey. I'd say they know we're following them." Adam says, Dawson and Atwater turning to see what he's looking at, the three staring at a burning van. They see a man dash out from behind the burning vehicle, all three running after him. "Stop running! Chicago police!" Adam shouts, the three coming up to an empty lot with tons of overgrown weeds and large bushes, making great hiding spaces. Kevin spots an abandoned bathtub with a tarp over it, making a signal for Antonio and Adam to stop, slowly going over to the tarp, lifting it to find a man who gets startled. "Don't move! Put your hands up!" Kevin orders, the guy doing as told. "They told me to burn it!" The man says as Kevin gets him out of the tub. "Two guys, one of them real big?" Antonio asks, the man shaking his head. "No, no, a lady. Fine as hell, too. She told me to take it with and then torch it, so that's what I did. And she gave me 50 bucks!" The man answers. "Is this her?" Adam asks, holding his phone out to the guy who sees the picture of Josie. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's her." The man answers. "Hey, am I under arrest?" The man asks as Kevin puts his hands behind his back. "No, we encourage car fires. It's a new program." Adam answers. As Ruz and Kev start walking with the guy back to the car the three detectives came in, Antonio stays behind to call his boss. "The girl helped them torch the car. Need a hand tracking her down?" Antonio asks. "No, we're good. I'll see you at the district." Hank answers, hanging up the call as he walks back to Al who's waiting for him by the Sargent's front house door. Al stays looking at Hank who grabs two baseball bats and some pliers before looking at his best friend. "What?" Hank asks, Al still looking at him. Hank shakes his head a bit while keeping eye contact. "This ain't about the money." He says softly. "They were going to leave her to die. She comes first. Any other bullshit is second." He adds, Al nodding in agreement before taking one of the baseball bats from Hank, both walking outside and to his car, heading to where their suspect is.