9. Dark End of the Street

Thanks for the reviews! So, how did you guys like the first night of the Crossover? I liked it, but I'm not the biggest "Chicago Fire" fan so I kept waiting for Erin and Voight to show up. I think that tonight is going to be a lot better. Plus, I missed seeing Jay last night. I hope we get some Linstead action...I feel like I need some ointment for this slow burn that I keep getting from them.

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Jay took off running after Mike Lane after the bullet that Lane fired at him, missed him and shattered the window of the car next to him.

Jay lunged at Lane, his eyes ablaze with something resembling unadulterated hatred. The two men fell to the ground with Lane landing flat on his back, his head slamming on the cement sidewalk.

"What the hell?" Ruzek yelled as he ran up to the scene. He jumped forward to try to pull Jay off Lane.

Jay squeezed his fingers around Lane's throat, his hands like an iron vise on his windpipe. Lane frantically grasped Jay's wrists as he attempted to free his neck from Jay's crushing grasp, all the while gasping for air. Lane's eyes were wide and full of pure fear as he looked up into Jay's face. Jay's eyes were narrow slits and were red with rage.

"You son of a bitch!" Jay growled through clenched teeth. "I'm going to kill you for what you did to her."

Ruzek grabbed onto Jay's right arm and tried to wrench it away from Lane.

"Jay, what the hell. You're going to kill him" Ruzek pleaded and grasped Jay's other arm, pulling on it. Jay's arm flew back, knocking Ruzek off balance and he landed on his butt, sliding into a parked corner of a mirror slammed into his back and he grunted in pain as he got up and charged back over to the fight.

Jay wrenched his arm away from Ruzek and glared up at his friend. His eyes were smoldering and Ruzek stepped back in fear momentarily. Lane gasped for air beneath and managed to swing his fist upward, as Jay was distracted, and slam Jay in his nose. Jay's body jerked backwards and blood gushed from his nose as he shook his head, momentarily stunned. Ruzek grabbed Jay before he was able to lunge back at Lane. Then pulled him to his feet, and attempted to restrain him.

"Let me go!" Jay demanded as Lane stood up.

"Jay, are you out of your mind? This isn't going to save Erin" Ruzek tried to convince Jay to calm down.

"Erin's nothing but a white trash whore. I wish I'd gutted her like a fish. I hope the bitch dies a slow and painful death" Mike Lane spoke. The words falling off of his lips like venom.

Jay lunged toward Lane again, his fist slamming into Lane's face. Lane fell backward again and Jay jumped on top of him and began to pummel him, hitting him anywhere he could. Tears of anger and pain blurred his eyes as he beat him senseless. Ruzek attempted to pull Jay off Lane again, but Jay just shook him away. Ruzek grabbed Jay around the neck and tried to restrain him that way but Jay jerked forward and Ruzek ended up flipping over his back and landing on the sidewalk in front of them. A searing pain shot through Ruzek's shoulder as he landed with a thump.

Jay grabbed Lane by the neck again and slammed his head forcefully against the cement and Lane went limp; his eyes fluttering closed. Jay looked down at Lane's motionless body and he suddenly realized what he had done. For a moment it was as if he stepped out of his own body and was watching the scene before him. Blood seeped from beneath Lane's head coloring the ground crimson and Jay slumped backward, burying his face in his hands.

My God, what had he done?

Suddenly Jay was jerked up off the ground and came face to face with Hank Voight.. Voight looked at him, shocked, then down at Lane, then back at Jay again. Jay held his gaze, his eyes cold and hard. Antonio Dawson ran up to the scene and shuddered at what he saw and then he reached for his phone to call an ambulance.

Hank Voight held his hand up as a gesture to stop Dawson. "Just wait. We need a plan"

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Trudy Platt sat next to Erin's bed and looked at her. She'd always had a soft spot for Erin. Mostly because she had a younger sister who resembled Erin. A younger sister who was tragically killed. A sister who inspired Trudy Platt to become a cop. To catch men like Mike Lane who were cold blooded and complete and total wastes of space.

Trudy looked around Erin's room and into the bedside table. She pulled the drawer open and pulled out a small toothed comb and stood up.

"No need to let your hair be a mess. I mean, I'm pretty sure that you're the only person who can make a coma look stylish" Trudy picked up a section of Erin's hair and started to run the comb through it.

She finished one section and picked up another and started to comb it as she looked at the clock. It was closing in on an two hours since Voight had asked Trudy to stay with Erin before he followed Halstead down the hall.

"I don't know how you do it, Erin. You've got two men who adore you. I can't even get one. I have as much a cheery disposition as the next person" Trudy picked another section of Erin's hair up and started to run the comb not noticing Erin's fingers starting to twitch.

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Ruzek shook his head, trying to get the images to go away as Dawson approached him, a stern professional look masking the turmoil certainly beneath it.

"Ruzek, you should have the EMT take a look at that shoulder."

"It's fine. Just bruised I think."

"Still you should have someone look at it." Dawson paused for a moment. "You know you're going to have to give a statement"

Ruzek turned and looked behind him. Next to the second ambulance stood Jay, his shoulders slumped. The EMT had cleaned his face of the blood, but it was obvious that his nose was broken, the faint signs of bruising was starting to appear beneath his eyes. The EMT was tending to his bloody hand that had gotten scraped during the fight. Jay had a vacant, almost hollow look on his face. He showed no emotion and that frightened Ruzek more than anything else he witnessed.

Antonio Dawson looked over at Jay and sighed "They have to take him into custody for questioning"

"I know" Ruzek sighed rubbing his shoulder "I have never seen Jay that enraged. It was like he was one of those people who have super human strength, you know when they're in danger or someone else is in danger and they're trying to help them. It was like he was unstoppable for a minute. I really thought he was going to kill him"

Antonio shook his head as he looked away from Jay. "Can you really blame him?"

Ruzek shook his head and looked over to Jay "No. But if it had been me, I'd have put a bullet in the guys head"

Hank Voight walked away from where he'd been giving his statement. "Listen. and listen well. Mike Lane attacked Jay. This was self defense. You keep your mouth shut. Don't mention Erin, don't mention the hospital. As far as the police are concerened, Mike Lane attacked you and Halstead. Unprovoked. Have I made myself clear, Ruzek?"

Adam nodded and rubbed his shoulder "What about the security tapes? It'll be on camera"

Voight looked over at Jay who was talking to the police. "I've already taken care of it"

Antonio Dawson looked at Voight and then at Ruzek "What did you do?"

Hank Voight shrugged his shoulders "I took care of it"

Ruzek and Dawson looked at each other and then at Voight.

"Get your shoulder looked at Ruzek" Voight said "Remember, Lane attacked you. Don't forget it. Am I clear?"

Ruzek nodded "I don't need to get it looked at. It's fine"

Voight watched as the ambulance with Mike Lane in it drove off. "I've got to go sort this out with Halstead. After tonight, this is forgotten. I don't want to hear anybody speak a word of this ever again"

Adam and Dawson watched as Voight walked away from them and over to the patrol car that Jay Halstead was being put into.

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Jay had his head in his hands while he waited for the officers to come back in and question him. His head was throbbing and he could feel his eyes starting to black from the broken nose he'd aquired in his fight with Lane. He heard the door open and he looked up to see Hank Voight walk in.

Hank walked over to the table and pulled the chair across from Jay out and he sat down.

"Why'd you do it?" Jay asked. "Why'd you take up for me?"

Voight looked at Jay and then at the window. "I didn't do it for you, Halstead"

Jay looked down at the table and then at Voight. "What do you want from me? What do I have to do?"

Voight looked at the man across from his and sighed "I'm going to tell you this once and only once Halstead. If you're looking for me to roll out the red carpet for you and Erin, you need to keep dreaming. But what you did tonight, I respect you for it. This job makes it hard to not cross the line. You don't have to worry about the charges. I took care of it"

Jay looked at the man across from him. "What about Lane, He's not going to let it go"

Voight held his hand up to stop Jay from saying too much to watchful eyes that may be behind the two way mirror.

"Lane's not going to be a problem. I'll take care of it" Voight assured. "You leave here. You go to the hospital and you stay with Erin. I'll be back in the morning"

And with that, Hank Voight stood up and walked out the door, and out of the jail. He made it to his car. He got in and drove. He made it to his destination a little after 3 am. He pulled down an old gravel road over taken by weeds and endless swamp lands and overgrown trees.

Voight pulled his car up next to a black van with no plates and he got out. He walked a short distance until he saw two men dressed in all black standing next to something wrapped in a tarp.

"Is that him?" Voight asked walking up to the men in black. Ski masks and gloves covering their faces and hands as they made sure they didn't leave prints.

"It's him" One of the men bent down and pulled the tarp back, revealing the drugged and unconscious face of Mike Lane.

"You two should leave. It's better that way" Voight said as the men dressed in black looked at him.

"You're really going to do this?" One of the men asked softly.

"You fuck with my family, you fuck with me" Voight said. "Go. I'll meet you later"

The two men looked at each other and at Voight before they both walked the short distance to the van and got in and left. Leaving Hank Voight to do what he saw fit with Mike Lane.

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Trudy Platt yawned as she watched the Game Show Network. "I should go on "Baggage" I could find me a man that way"

The sound of the door opening made Trudy tear her eyes from the TV. She gasped when she saw Jay walking in. Surgical tape over his nose and both his eyes were framed with purple and black bruising. She looked down and saw his hand bandaged up and brought her hand up to her mouth.

"What the hell did you do?" She asked

"Nothing that I wouldn't do again" Jay said as he walked over to Erin's sleeping form and bent over to kiss her forehead.

Erin's eyes fluttered as Jay pulled back and looked down at her.

"Erin?" He asked reaching down to run his hand across her cheek. "Can you hear me?"

Jay caressed Erin's cheek one last time just as her eyes slowly opened.

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