Perfect Storm

Chapter 1 - New Beginnings

A steady stream of air passed between her pursed lips and onto the skin of her balled fists, the breath doing little to warm her chilled digits as the bitter Chicago wind whipped around her. She didn't make a habit of standing outside for any longer than absolutely necessary when the harsher weather hit yet here she was, the cold seeping deep into her bones despite the mid-afternoon sunshine and layers of clothing as she paced up down Navy Pier.

Pulling the sleeve on her left forearm back slightly, she checked her watch and rolled her eyes.

'Of course she's running late.'

A wry smile graced her lips. She couldn't recall a single instance in the five years she's known Samantha Miller that the woman had ever been on time for a meeting. The two had crossed paths when a case Sam was working on had bought her to the East Coast. When the case was closed, the two had kept in touch; something about strong women in a man's world needing to stick together. She was pulled from her thoughts when she spotted the woman in question striding along the pier, hands buried deep in the pockets of her expensive-looking black pea coat, the collar turned up against the frigid air.

"Katie, I'm so sorry I'm late."

Sam pulled Kate into a short hug, holding her at arms length when she pulled away to look her over, chocolate eyes tracking from her face to her shoes and back again.

"You've lost weight again."

Kate rolled her eyes, smiling at her friend's bluntness.

"I'm fine, just busy tying up the loose ends on my New York cases." She tipped her head towards the lone coffee cart at the other end of the pier. "You got time for a coffee?"

"Always got time for coffee. So, how's life in Chi-town treating you so far? You been down to the 21st yet?"

They stopped in front of the small caffeine street vendor and placed their orders, grasping the cardboard cups in both hands when their drinks were dispensed, enjoying the heat the hot liquid provided.

"Not yet, I was going to stop by later today." Kate took a sip of her coffee as the two women strolled along the pier side by side. "Listen, I appreciate you putting a word in for me here. I know it's not something you make a habit of doing." Sam shook her head, dark brown curls bouncing as she did so.

"Don't mention it. I spent a bit of time with Hank and the Intelligence Team last year and I think you'd be a perfect fit...though it might just take him a minute to realise it."

They stopped at the edge of the old wooden pier, both resting their forearms on the metal railing and looking out over the deep blue waters of Lake Michigan. Kate always felt at peace near the water. She attributed it to spending a lot of her childhood on the coast, having been born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. Whenever she went back home to visit her mother, she would always detour by the Maltby Lakes and just spend some time enjoying the silence. When she moved to New York to join the NYPD Intelligence Unit, she immediately missed the lack of quiet; they didn't call it the 'City that Never Sleeps' for nothing. Now, five years later, Kate took the opportunity to spend as much time in the quiet as she could. Being a cop didn't lend itself all that well to a tranquil lifestyle so she took the moments when they presented themselves.

"Well, his reputation certainly precedes him. Any words of wisdom?"

Sam laughed at her friend's assessment. Hank Voight was notoriously insubordinate, played by his own rules and was every commander's worst nightmare. Whilst almost impossible to manage, the bottom line was that he got the job done and put bad people behind bars, despite his sometimes questionable methods.

She turned to the woman next to her and graced her with a rare genuine smile.

"You just be exactly as you are Kate Meadows. Do the job right and you'll be just fine."