The next morning, Chicago finally saw clear skies after the previous day’s rain.
Early sunlight slipped through the blinds of the 21st District Intelligence Unit, casting alternating bands of light and shadow across the office floor.
Jack Stacy sat behind his new desk with a cup of coffee nearby.
It was his third day since officially transferring into Intelligence, but the first two had been spent almost entirely in the field, so the workspace still didn’t quite feel like his.
His position in the room hadn’t changed much from the temporary setup, although he now had a proper desk and a set of metal storage lockers behind him.
Catherine Hayek’s desk remained directly beside his.
Their workstations and lockers created a narrow aisle between them, giving the two partners their own little corner of the office.
“Still getting used to it?” Catherine asked as she leaned over with two cups of coffee.
“Like sleeping on a new mattress where everything feels slightly wrong?”
Jack accepted one.
“Thanks.
It’s not really the desk.
Patrol had a clear rhythm every day.
Calls came in, you handled them, then moved on.
Intelligence feels less predictable.”
“That’s because you’re expected to find trouble before dispatch hands it to you.” Catherine dropped into her chair.
“When nothing is happening, though, it mostly looks like we’re getting paid to sit around.”
She wasn’t wrong.
The office had that strange relaxed tension unique to police work, where everything could remain quiet for hours and then explode without warning.
Al Olinsky sat in the corner staring at a family photograph, Sheldon Jin and Adam Ruzek were quietly arguing about basketball, Erin Lindsay and Jay Halstead were trading jokes, while Antonio Dawson sat at his desk cleaning and checking his sidearm.
Jack took another sip of coffee and remembered the Bronze Treasure Chest he had opened the previous night.
The reward had been different from what he expected.
[Obtained: Character Sketch Lv.1]
Rapidly constructs a preliminary psychological and background profile through observation.
[Obtained: Hearing Positioning Lv.1]
Uses sound within approximately 10 meters to judge movement and activity while creating a spatial mental image.
[Spirit +1]
Jack’s Spirit had increased from eighteen to nineteen.
He decided to test the first skill.
His attention settled on Al.
Almost immediately, small details that normally would have required conscious thought connected themselves inside Jack’s mind.
Al’s shoulders were tense, his posture stiff, and his fingers occasionally twisted his wedding ring.
Dark circles beneath his eyes and an energy drink beside his coffee suggested he had barely slept.
A photograph of Al with his daughter Lexi sat on the desk.
The frame had gathered a faint layer of dust, but Al kept looking toward it without actually picking it up.
An open file nearby involved narcotics, yet his attention kept drifting away from the page.
Family problems.
Marriage trouble.
Something involving Lexi and drugs.
Jack raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
He closed his eyes and tried Hearing Positioning.
The office suddenly became far more detailed.
Sheldon and Ruzek were arguing about a Bulls rookie’s shooting percentage.
Erin and Jay were quietly talking about Hank’s family.
Small metallic clicks marked Antonio reassembling his handgun, while from Al’s corner came a tired sigh, paper being crushed in one hand, and the repeated sound of a phone being unlocked before the screen went dark again.
Jack also heard Catherine taking occasional sips of coffee beside him.
More importantly, she wasn’t doing much else.
He opened his eyes.
Catherine was staring directly at him.
“Are you meditating now?”
“Just getting into the zone.” Jack turned toward his computer and opened Minesweeper.
“Not like we have a case.”
Catherine smiled.
“Want to make it interesting?
Loser buys lunch.”
“You’re on.”
For the next ten minutes, the two silently competed.
Jack quickly noticed how much sharper his concentration had become.
Patterns seemed easier to process, probability calculations happened almost automatically, and by the time Catherine realized what was happening, he was already three games ahead.
She stared at the screen.
“I’m starting to dislike you.”
Jack smiled.
“Sounds like somebody’s buying lunch.”
Before Catherine could answer, the Intelligence door flew open.
An eighteen-year-old blonde girl rushed into the office with red, swollen eyes and messy hair.
Trudy Platt followed several steps behind with the expression of someone who had already decided this situation was above her pay grade.
Jack recognized the girl immediately from Al’s desk photograph.
Lexi Olinsky.
She headed straight toward her father.
“Dad!
You’re avoiding me again!”
Al’s exhausted expression instantly hardened.
“Lexi, I’m working.
We’ll talk at home.”
“Home?” Lexi’s voice trembled.
“Have you even been home for two hours in the last three days?
You promised you’d help me with my college applications.
You promised you’d deal with what happened at school, and instead you went after Brayden.
Now everyone thinks I’m some kind of police snitch.”
The room went completely quiet.
Nobody openly stared, but everyone had suddenly become very interested in whatever was sitting directly in front of them.
Al stood.
“Lexi, this isn’t the place.”
“Then where is the place?” She shoved his hand away when he tried guiding her toward the break room.
“You’re always working.
Mom left because all you care about is this job, and now you can’t even deal with my problems without making everything worse.”
Al’s face reddened.
“Lexi Olinsky, watch your mouth.”
“What are you going to do, threaten me like you threatened Brayden?” Tears ran down her face now.
“You went to his parents and started talking about arresting him.
Now he’s telling everyone I set him up.
Nobody wants me in their project groups, nobody wants to go to prom with me, and everyone knows my dad is a cop because of you.”
Antonio lowered his head and started rearranging paperwork that didn’t need rearranging.
Jay stared at his computer without moving the mouse, while Erin quietly stepped toward Hank’s office.
Ruzek and Sheldon exchanged uncomfortable looks.
Catherine glanced toward Jack and subtly shook her head.
Stay out of it.
Jack looked toward Al.
The veteran detective stood with both hands braced against his desk, his shoulders slightly hunched.
Hearing Positioning caught the uneven rhythm of his breathing.
Al finally spoke.
“Brayden Rodiger uses drugs.
When the school found drugs in your locker, he was the one who put them there.
He used you, Lexi.
I was protecting you.”
“I didn’t ask you to protect me like that!” Lexi shouted.
“I could’ve handled it myself.
You could’ve just gotten him transferred instead of threatening his family and making everyone think I’m some cop’s daughter who runs to Daddy whenever something happens.”
The office door opened again.
Hank Voight stepped out.
Lexi either didn’t recognize him or didn’t care.
“I loved him!” she cried.
“I would’ve taken the blame for him!
So what if he uses drugs?
Lots of people do stupid things.
At least he cared about me.
At least he didn’t ignore me all the time.”
Al closed his eyes.
Hank started forward.
Before he could say anything, Jack stood.
His chair scraped loudly across the floor.
Everyone looked toward him.
“Are you done?”
Lexi blinked.
“What?”
Jack remained calm.
“I asked if you were done.”
She turned toward him, angry and defensive.
“Who are you?
This has nothing to do with you.”
“Jack Stacy.
Intelligence.” He stayed several feet away from her.
“And you’re right, technically it doesn’t.
But somebody needs to say this.”
Lexi folded her arms.
“Great.
Another cop who wants to lecture me.”
Jack nodded once.
“Fine.
First thing—you’re acting like an idiot.”
Several people in the office visibly reacted.
Catherine’s eyes widened.
Lexi’s face flushed.
“You—”
“Let me finish.” Jack raised one hand.
“You said you loved Brayden, you were willing to take the blame for drugs he hid in your locker, and you don’t think his drug use is that serious because other people do it.
Those were your words.”
“So?”
“So you’re eighteen years old.” Jack’s voice remained even.
“If police had been called and controlled substances were found in your locker, you could have been dealing with possession charges and a criminal case.
That could affect college admissions, scholarships, jobs, and a lot of opportunities you’re taking for granted right now.”
Lexi’s confidence weakened slightly.
“He was scared.”
“He was scared, so he put the risk on you?” Jack shook his head.
“That isn’t love.
That’s somebody protecting himself at your expense.”
“You don’t even know him.”
“I don’t need to.” Jack looked directly at her.
“He knew exactly where he put those drugs.
If he cared about you the way you think he did, he wouldn’t deliberately put you in a position where you could get arrested for something he did.”
Lexi’s face had gone noticeably paler.
Jack continued before she could interrupt.
“Your father handled parts of this badly.
Going after Brayden and his family clearly made things worse at school.
But he did it because he saw his daughter about to wreck her future for somebody who had already proven he was willing to sacrifice her.”
Al looked toward Jack but said nothing.
“You’re not a bad kid, Lexi,” Jack continued.
“You’re just making a stupid decision because you’re angry and hurt.
You’re mad that your dad works too much, and maybe you have every right to be angry about that.
But confusing that with Brayden loving you more than your father does is something else entirely.”
Lexi wiped at her face.
“If I were you, I’d do three things,” Jack said.
“Apologize to your father for what you just said.
End things with Brayden.
Then think very carefully about how close you came to worrying about criminal charges instead of prom and college applications.”
Silence settled across the room.
Lexi stood there crying quietly, but she no longer looked angry.
Hank remained near his office door with his arms crossed.
Then his phone rang.
He answered, listened for only a few seconds, and his expression immediately changed.
“Everybody move!” Hank’s voice cut through the room.
“63rd and Western.
Female suspect hallucinating after drug use attacked patrol officers.
Atwater and Burgess got her under control, and she’s being transported to the hospital.”
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Chairs rolled backward, drawers opened, and everyone reached for jackets and gear.
Al turned toward Lexi.
His voice was much softer now.
“Platt will stay with you.
We’ll talk tonight, okay?
I promise.”
Lexi looked at him for a moment before nodding.
Trudy stepped closer and guided her toward the stairs.
As Al passed Jack, he stopped and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
“Thanks, Jack.
Really.”
Jack only nodded.
Catherine walked beside him toward the garage.
“That was intense.”
“Too much?”
“A little.” She gave him a faint smile.
“But somebody needed to say it.”
Antonio and the others quietly nodded as well.
Hank walked ahead of them without turning around.
“Stacy, next time you decide to run family counseling in my office, find somewhere more private.”
Jack scratched the back of his head.
“Understood, Sergeant.”
Hank continued walking.
Then, almost too quietly to hear, he added, “You weren’t wrong, though.
Sometimes kids need the truth even when they don’t want it.”
The Intelligence vehicles rolled out of the 21st District moments later.
Through the rearview mirror, Jack caught one final glimpse of Lexi standing behind the lobby window with Platt beside her, watching the convoy disappear into the street.