Perfect Storm

Chapter 27 - My Person

"Upton, Halstead. My office. Now."

Kate lifted her eyes from her computer screen to watch Hailey and Jay trudge into Hank's office, both of them wearing matching sheepish expressions. When the door clicked shut behind them, Kate refocused on running the partial plate they'd managed to pull from a surveillance camera near their latest crime scene. They were in the midst of yet another case involving the trafficking of young women and the team were actively chasing down leads that might take them to the location of the next delivery.

She had just typed in the last three digits of the license plate for what felt like the millionth time in the last hour when Kate heard Adam's roll his chair up behind her, coming to a stop when the back bumped against Kate's desk.

"Whaddaya think that's all about?" He asked, eyes darting over to Hank's office.

"Unfortunately I don't have a direct line to his cerebral cortex Adam but I would hazard a guess that he's having the 'I know you're sleeping together' conversation...yet again."

Kate couldn't help but smirk. She knew with absolute certainty that Hank would be dying on the inside at having to address two more of his subordinates' sex lives.

"Well, unless Kev and Al aren't telling us something, it should be the last time he's gotta have that specific conversation."

An unladylike snort was Kate's only response to Adam's parting quip before he shuffled back to his own desk. Hailey and Jay were in Hank's office for barely sixty seconds before the pair resurfaced, both of them slightly red-faced as a result of what was probably an incredibly uncomfortable minute for all three parties involved.

When the latest search came up empty, Kate huffed and got to her feet, snagging her mug from the corner of her desk and heading into the kitchen to get a fresh cup of coffee. It was already after eight in the evening and she had a horrible, sinking feeling that they were running out of time. Flicking the machine on, Kate propped her hip against the counter and folded her arms across her chest. None of the cases the Intelligence Unit worked were easy but human trafficking cases were right up there with the most difficult to stomach for every single person in that bullpen. It took a special kind of evil to trade human beings as sex slaves and, even after so many years of dealing with cases like this, Kate still couldn't wrap her head around how anyone could do it.

"This is all your fault, you know that?"

Casting a look over her shoulder, Kate smiled at the sight of Hank leaning casually against the doorframe, an exasperated look on his face as he eyed her from across the room. Filling her mug with coffee, she added a generous drop of cream before turning to face him, hot ceramic cupped between both hands.

"What's my fault?"

"If you hadn't seduced me, I wouldn't be talking to half of my unit about their love lives."

Kate hid a grin behind her mug as she took a sip of the steaming liquid.

"I don't think their relationships were borne out of my desire to get you naked." She said sarcastically, stifling a laugh when he cast a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure nobody was within earshot.

"That's not the point!" He griped, pushing away from the doorframe to slowly stalk towards her, the predatory manner making Kate feel suddenly hot. "If you hadn't made me break my own damn rule, I could have kicked the whole lot of them out on their asses."

Hank came to a stop a few inches in front of her, recrossing his arms over his chest. Since the start of the summer, Hank had swapped out his usual button-downs for short-sleeved t-shirts and, for Kate, it was both a delight and a distraction. The navy blue t-shirt he'd chosen today was a prime example of Kate's dilemma when it came to his wardrobe choices. The sight of his well-muscled biceps and forearms on full display had her pulse racing and her core aching, not ideal when you're trying focus on taking down a sex trafficking scumbag.