Million Reasons

Chapter Eight: Still Breathing

I wanted everything I never had
Like the love that comes with light
I wore envy and I hated that
But I survived

Sia - Alive

On some level ascending the stairs towards the Intelligence Squad Room by Sergeant Hank Voight was one of the most harrowing moments Maggie had ever experienced. She felt her heart pound against her ribs as she took each step slowly and with deliberation. The adrenaline was starting to wear off now and she could feel her muscles quaking underneath her skin as exhaustion began to set in. She wasn't sure how she made it to the precinct intact, her decision had been instinctive. She had learned long ago that she could not trust Regan to have her back so instead she'd gone to the one place she knew she wouldn't get hung out to dry.

Over the past few years she had come to trust Hank Voight the same way she had Al, both men had been friends of her father's before his untimely death and featured predominantly in her life since. She didn't trust the rumors about Voight, she went with gut feelings and experience. Right now both of those were telling her that she would not be misplacing her faith in this man. She cast a glance back at the Desk Sergeant as she waited for Voight to punch in the code to the chain linked door and allow his palm to be scanned. The grey haired woman made no effort to hide the fact she was watching them, her keen eyes were scanning Maggie, taking in everything from her composure to the flecks of blood that dotted the back of her hand.

The squad room was alike all the others she had seen over the years, the desks were neatly placed with a variation of different style chairs accompanying each one. There was a large whiteboard on wheels on the opposite side of the room with several photographs of key players from Oskar's crew stuck to it with sticky tack. Her eyes lingered on Gregor for a second before she forced herself to look away. There were people in the room, fellow detectives who paused when both Hank and herself entered the room, silence seemed to fall and the only thing she could hear was the faint clacking of her heels as she followed Hank towards his office. She could feel their eyes on her as she walked and she knew they had questions and she guessed in the end they would get their answers.

She heard her name as Voight opened the glass door to this office and raised her head to find Antonio standing beside what she guessed was the kitchen door way, a mug of coffee in his hand. His surprise was evident, she could see it etched into his dark features, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to put her arrival into context. She paused for a second before stepping into Voight's office, the back of her hand brushing his lightly as she met his questioning gaze.

"I'm alright." she promised as his warm fingers caught hers for the briefest of moments, squeezing them for reassurance.

"You know where I am." he told her using his mug of coffee to indicate towards his desk.

Maggie pursed her lips together grimly and nodded before stepping inside Voight's office and closing the door quietly behind her.

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The crime scene was a first floor, office complex in one of the most expensive parts of town. The building was owned by a shell corporation that had ties to both Oskar and his brother Jacob. Whatever 'work' went on here Antonio doubted every much that it as legal. He wasn't concerned with that, the same way Halstead wasn't, their destination was the office at the end of the hallway. Voight had been very specific about that. It had taken the best part of an hour for Maggie to divulge her story to his Sergeant and when she had Voight had slipped into that calm commanding officer they knew him to be. The others had questions but no one asked when Voight sent them out on their various assignments.

Atwood and Ruzek were gathering statements whilst Lindsey had stayed behind to collect the evidence from Maggie herself. Nadia had been dispatched to locate an alternative set of clothing since what Maggie was wearing now had to go into evidence bags to back up her story. They had decided to keep it in house so that they could manage the fall out but he had no doubt that heads would roll over this. He was glad that Voight seemed as determined as he was to make sure that Maggie's wasn't one of them.