Grace & the Windy City (Chicago P.D)

Chapter 11- Shots Fired

On the night before Valentine's Day, Grace got home late from studying at Emma's. She threw her bag by the door and went straight to bed, only to have to wake up 5 and a half hours later for school. As soon as her alarm went off she jolted up in bed and whipped her comforter off. Grace got dressed in leggings and her school sweatshirt, quickly washed her face and added a bit of makeup before rushing out the door. She locked the apartment, and made it all the way down to the entrance when she had a feeling she was leaving something behind. Her backpack was a lot lighter than usual...She trudged up the stairs and once she got to the top, she was surprised to see Abigail leaving the apartment. Grace stood frozen for a second not really knowing how to act.

"Uh...hello." she said to Abigail. She looked as equally surprised as Grace.

"Oh...hi, Grace right?"

Grace nodded. "Fun night last night?" she asked, her faint Chicago accent audible in the sarcasm.

Abigail turned beet red. She probably wasn't expecting the 17 year old's candidness. "I've gotta go. I can't be late for shift." she smiled politely, wanting to get out of there.

"See ya!" Grace waved goodbye, laughing to herself as she entered back in the apartment.

She spotted her Biology textbook on the counter and stuffed it in her bag. That wasn't the only thing that caught her eye— two red wine stained glasses sat idle in the sink. Seconds later, when Adam opened his bedroom door and made eye contact with his sister, he knew that she knew.

"How was your night?" she asked innocently.

Adam wondered how to play this. "It was alright. Hey, shouldn't you be on your way to school for that bio test?"

"Yeah, I forgot my textbook so I had to run back and get it. You know I'm not stupid..." she motioned to the dishes in the sink. "I take it you were too busy last night to put these in the dishwasher." Grace was having too much fun teasing Adam with this.

Adam slipped a smile. Even he found it a bit funny. "Ok, Miss Detective Ruzek. Time to go," he said, finally admitted it.

"So is she like, your girlfriend now? She has a key..."

Adam looked a bit confused. "I guess, yeah she is."

Grace looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "You might want to confirm that with her then," she laughed but also sounded concerned.

Grace was at the Blueprint after school delivering promo materials to Carter, as usual. She had a lot of fun creating the posters and had lately been looking into marketing and graphic design courses to take during the summer or later for College. Chicago happened to be a pretty artsy city, she Grace knew there was some opportunity here for her.

The concert hall was dead quiet, as it was only after 4 pm on a Thursday. Inside the venue was just Carter and his girlfriend Sasha, who was also one of the bartenders.

"You wanna stay for soundcheck? This new band from Seattle is playing tonight, they're worth seeing." Carter seemed hyped on something. Maybe he started the party early.

Grace hesitated, while she remembered what happened last time she was there. "Yeah, I don't have anywhere to be," she shrugged.

Carter nodded to Sasha to pour Grace a drink. She watched Grace sit up at the bar, not believing she was over 21.

"She's cool Sash, don't worry." Carter assured her.

Sasha had dirty blonde hair that was frizzy but somehow tame at the same time and a friendly smile with dimples, which showed when she wasn't questioning Carter's ethics. Grace could tell that there was something about her, like she was smarter than everyone else in the room but didn't want anyone knowing. Curious as she was, Grace allowed her to make her a vodka soda.

"Thanks." Grace replied as Sasha set the drink down in front of her. She took a sip and was not pleased, but hid it well. There was barely any alcohol in the drink.

Later that night, the band was halfway through their set and Grace was cross faded backstage. During soundcheck, Carter convinced Grace to do a couple shots much to Sasha's disappointment. Grace didn't know what her deal was, if she was trying to be protective of her or if she was jealous of her for being younger and friends with her boyfriend. The band was just beginning their next song as Carter passed a joint to Grace who took a couple hits and swayed to the music. She looked at her phone to see the time. 9:30pm. She had no idea how she was supposed to get on the L train and make it back to Adam's in the state she was in. Before she could think further about the issue, a loud popping noise sounded from the other side of the venue by the doors.

"Pop! Pop! Pop!"

Grace looked around at the crowd, trying to focus her hazy eyes on the dark room. The band suddenly stopped and she heard screams erupting all around them.

"What just happened?" she yelled over the noise.

The house lights turned on and the band ran off stage in different directions, as did the other crew members.

Carter looked like he knew. "We have to go!"

He took her arm and dragged her away from the stage and down some stairs to an exit. He pushed against the door but it wouldn't budge. While he tried opening the door, Grace ran up the steps again and grabbed her bag and coat that was almost left behind. Right before they entered the cold night, Grace asked again.

"Those were those gunshots, right? I know I'm high right now but..."

It had now been a few minutes since the first shots were fired, and the sirens were getting closer and closer. While Carter was on the phone trying to reach Sasha, Grace took out her phone and wasn't sure who she planned on calling but before she could make a decision, Carter whipped it out of her cold hands.

"Don't call or text anyone." he told her sternly. "We have to get out of here."

"My brother is a cop, he can help!"

"That's exactly why..." Carer mumbled, annoyed that Grace didn't understand. "You're a minor who is drunk and high and was served alcohol here. The cops will see that and won't care about the gunshots, trust me. My buddy can pick us up a couple blocks away, let's go."

"What about Sasha?"

Carter's mind was racing. "She's fine...she's fine," he tried to calm himself down and ease Grace's anxiety, which wasn't working. "I saw her duck behind the bar, alright? She'll be fine."

"Ok." Grace didn't know what else to say.

Just then, a dark figure in a hoodie ran off in the alley a block over from where the two of them were standing.

"Was that the..."

"Come on!" Carter yelled. They both ran a few blocks away, careful not to be seen by any of the police cars and ambulances they could hear passing by.

Once in Carter's friend's car, Grace tried to keep her train of thought straight which was hard to do while 5 shots deep and high off of really good weed. She rested her head against the car window waiting for the adrenaline to wear off.