Her AU Book Three

Ambush Predator

*Back in the Storage Unit: A Few Hours Later*

Kelly and Ana were standing side by side, silently staring down at the newspaper clipping with Leslie on it. They turned to their right at the sounds of footsteps approaching to see Gabby ducking through the makeshift entrance Kelly had to make while putting out the fire. She walked further into the room to reveal Kevin right behind her.

"Hey, guys." The Captain smiled.

"Atwater." The Lieutenant acknowledged.

"What's up? What we got?" The Officer inquired.

"Got chlorine powder, bags of cat litter,
Brake fluid, vegetable oil." Kelly listed, gesturing around the room at each group of items as he named them.

"All in bulk." Gabby finished for him.

"Yeah, well, he definitely had peculiar taste when he hit the Sam's Club." Kevin muttered, scribbling away in his notepad

"These are accelerants every arsonist knows about." Ana explained, turning back to the table before her.

"At least the slick ones." The Lieutenant added, mimicking his wife's actions.

"Then there's these." Gabby mumbled, gesturing to all the newspapers.

"All about Shay's death." The Captain murmured, softly.

Kevin turned to another man who had walked into the room, presumably the owner of all the storage units as a whole.

"What can you tell us about the person who leased this unit?" He wondered.

"Paid cash. Two years in advance, I'd pulled the paperwork." He shrugged.

"Yeah, man or woman?"

"Man."

"You remember what he looked like?"

"I don't weigh 'em and measure, I just take the money." The owner quipped with a shake of his head.

"We'll check that paperwork in your office
when we get time." Kevin assured. "Well, just, give us a minute?" The other man hummed and swiftly left the room. "Thanks, sir." He nodded after his retreating figure before taking a deep breath and turning back to the firefighters. "The thing is, it's not exactly a crime scene. It's gonna be real hard to pull forensics in on this."

"We know it's a long shot, and arson is almost impossible to prove, but even if it just rules it out, we'd sleep better." Gabby reasoned.

"Can't make any promises but I'll see what I can do." Kevin sighed. "I know it means a lot to y'all."

"Yeah. Thank you. Thank you." Kelly nodded.

"Appreciate it, Kevin." Ana shot him one last smile as he left the room.

*At Firehouse 51: In the Briefing Room*

"The items discovered at that storage unit
are unsettling to us all here at 51. As of now, there was no indication of foul play. But rest assured, no matter what we looked into." Chief promised as he gazed around at each one of the familiar faces before him. "In the meanwhile, our job remains the same, and that is to safeguard the people of Chicago. So you keep your heads down, and you handle your business." The older man glanced down at the table in front of him and picked up his radio before speaking once more. "Brett and mills, my office."

Ana watched them leave the room before looking up and finding Kelly staring off into space. The brunette gently squeezed his hand, bringing him back from wherever his mind had gone to. She smiled, softly, and he returned it a moment later.