The streets of Chicago’s South Side felt unusually restless beneath the afternoon sun.
Weeds pushed through cracks in the neglected sidewalks, while faded graffiti covered the brick walls and old storefronts.
Jack adjusted the gear on his duty belt as he walked beside Catherine, his boots striking the pavement in a steady rhythm.
It was already Jack’s second week working out of the 21st District.
Every day still felt like a balance between learning the job and surviving whatever the streets decided to throw at him.
Their Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor was parked at a gas station two blocks away while the two officers continued their assigned foot patrol.
The district had increased patrol activity in the area because Intelligence had been searching for Adlerus Diaz, a Mexican drug trafficker known on the street as Octopus.
Diaz had been causing trouble for the 21st for nearly a week.
Intelligence was certain he was operating somewhere on the South Side, but every attempt to locate him had come up empty.
“All units, be advised…” Trudy Platt’s voice suddenly came over the radio.
Jack and Catherine stopped walking and listened.
“All units, Intelligence is requesting assistance locating a black four-door Chevrolet, Illinois plate BZ-13341.
Last seen near 63rd and Cicero.
Vehicle is connected to the Adlerus Diaz investigation.
Do not approach if spotted.
Report immediately.”
Catherine looked toward Jack.
“Octopus again.
Sergeant Voight and Intelligence have been chasing him all week.”
“I heard the stuff his crew is pushing has already killed more than a dozen people,” Jack replied.
“He’s also had a few of his own dealers murdered when they crossed him.”
“That’s exactly why Voight won’t let this go.”
They continued west along the street while scanning every parked vehicle.
A cheap motel sat nearby, one of several places Diaz was suspected of using.
The neighborhood was filled with aging red-brick apartment buildings, pawn shops, convenience stores, bars, and budget motels.
Jack suddenly slowed and pointed toward an alley.
“Catherine.
Is that it?”
A black Chevrolet sat deep inside the alley beside a dumpster, partially hidden in the shadows.
Catherine narrowed her eyes and moved forward just enough to get a better look.
“Illinois plates.
BZ-13341.” She stepped back immediately.
“That’s our car.”
Jack pulled her farther behind the corner.
“Report it before someone spots us.”
Catherine keyed her radio.
“Car 22 to dispatch.
Target vehicle located near the Eddie Motel, west side of 63rd.
Repeat, Diaz’s vehicle has been located.”
Platt answered almost immediately.
“Copy.
Maintain surveillance and do not approach.
Intelligence is en route.”
Catherine looked around and pointed toward the second floor of an abandoned storefront across the street.
“We’ll get a better view from up there.
Jack, move the patrol car somewhere less obvious.
No lights.”
Jack nodded and headed back while Catherine slipped inside the abandoned building through a rear entrance.
By the time Jack parked the Crown Victoria in a nearby alley and joined her upstairs, she was already watching the motel through a small pair of binoculars.
Minutes passed without movement.
“Think he’s actually inside?” Jack asked quietly.
“With the car hidden like that, either he’s close or someone wants us to think he is.” Catherine kept watching.
“Intelligence should be here soon…
wait.”
The motel’s rear door opened.
A tall, thin man wearing a baseball cap stepped outside and cautiously looked around before walking toward the Chevrolet.
He waited beside the car for several seconds before two more men emerged from the building.
One of them was Adlerus Diaz.
Even from across the street, his distinctive hair and the octopus tattoo on his neck made him easy to identify.
“Target confirmed,” Jack reported quietly over the radio.
“Diaz is outside with at least two associates.”
The three men opened the vehicle, removed a package, and quickly returned to the motel.
Catherine immediately transmitted another update.
“Target suspects have re-entered the building.
Repeat, Diaz and his associates are confirmed inside.”
Moments later, several unmarked vehicles suddenly appeared from both ends of the street and stopped near the motel.
Intelligence had arrived.
Officers exited quickly, but something immediately looked wrong.
“What the hell are they doing?” Catherine muttered.
Jack recognized Antonio Dawson and Jules Willhite moving toward the entrance.
Their body language looked more like they were conducting a routine follow-up than preparing to enter a building containing a violent drug trafficker and armed associates.
Sergeant Hank Voight and the rest of Intelligence were still gathered near the vehicles, apparently discussing their next move.
Jack’s expression changed.
“They didn’t get our update.”
Catherine immediately grabbed her radio.
“All units, Diaz is confirmed inside the building.
Repeat, target is inside!”
Nothing changed.
Antonio and Jules kept moving toward the entrance.
“Something’s wrong with communications,” Jack said.
Catherine tried again, but there was still no response from Intelligence.
Whether the problem was technical or deliberate, their warning clearly wasn’t reaching the team.
“Come on.”
Jack and Catherine hurried across the street toward Voight.
Hank turned toward them sharply.
“What?”
“Diaz is inside,” Catherine said.
“We saw him ourselves and reported it.”
Voight’s expression immediately hardened.
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
“Damn it.” Hank grabbed his radio.
“Antonio, Jules, fall back!
Fall back now!”
He was too late.
A gunshot exploded from inside the motel.
A second later, one of the upper-floor windows shattered and automatic gunfire tore across the street.
Bullets slammed into parked vehicles, shattered glass, and kicked chunks of pavement into the air.
“Officer down!
Officer down!”
The radio erupted with overlapping voices.
Jack ducked behind cover and suddenly noticed movement in the alley.
The black Chevrolet was reversing.
“They’re running!”
Catherine already had her weapon drawn.
“Block the alley.
Jack, get the car!”
Jack sprinted toward the Crown Victoria while the Chevrolet backed onto the street and began turning away.
Catherine moved into the roadway with her pistol raised.
“Chicago Police!
Stop the vehicle!”
The driver didn’t stop.
Instead, the Chevrolet suddenly accelerated directly toward her.
Catherine saw the driver behind the windshield and heard the engine roar as the car rushed closer.
Then Jack arrived.
The Crown Victoria shot forward from the side and slammed hard into the Chevrolet’s B-pillar.
At almost the same instant, Catherine dove away from the vehicle and fired three rounds into the front-left tire.
The Chevrolet lost control and crashed into a roadside fire hydrant.
Water exploded upward in a powerful spray.
The passenger door flew open.
Adlerus Diaz stumbled out holding a silver handgun.
He raised it toward Jack.
Catherine rushed in from the side and delivered a sharp kick that knocked the weapon from his hand.
“Get down!
Now!”
Diaz froze with Catherine’s Glock aimed directly at him.
After several seconds, he slowly raised his hands.
A strange smile appeared on his face.
“You caught me, Officer.
But the game is just beginning.”
Jack stepped in and helped Catherine force him to the ground before securing him in handcuffs.
Meanwhile, the gunfire inside the motel had stopped.
Hank and the other Intelligence officers had secured the building, killing three armed gunmen and arresting another.
Ambulance sirens approached from the distance.
Jack looked toward the entrance and saw Antonio helping paramedics carry Jules toward a stretcher.
A medic was holding pressure against a wound near her neck, and her face had gone pale.
“She’ll make it,” Catherine said quietly, although her voice sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as Jack.
“The ambulance is already here.”
Hank Voight walked toward them with fury still visible on his face.
“You two.”
Jack and Catherine looked over.
Hank extended his hand toward Catherine.
“You just saved two of my people.”
“We did what we had to do,” Catherine replied as she shook his hand.
“What you were supposed to do was follow procedure and stay out of the path of a moving vehicle.” Hank glanced toward the wrecked Chevrolet.
“But today, I’m glad you didn’t.”
He then looked at Jack and extended his hand.
“I know you.
The Super Rookie.”
Jack nearly sighed at the nickname but shook his hand anyway.
“Just doing my job.”
Hank nodded before turning back toward the scene.
Paramedics loaded Jules into the ambulance.
Her neck was wrapped heavily in gauze, and although she remained conscious, she clearly couldn’t speak.
Antonio climbed into the ambulance beside her.
“Antonio, go with her,” Hank ordered.
“Everyone else, search the building and the vehicle.
I want everything Diaz was keeping here.”
Jack and Catherine joined the search.
Inside the trunk of the black Chevrolet, they found three AK-47 rifles, a large amount of cash, and an address book.
Catherine carefully placed the address book into an evidence bag.
Jay Halstead walked over while she worked.
“Officer Hayek, those shots earlier were pretty clean.
Military?”
“Marine Corps,” Catherine replied simply.
Jay nodded, clearly understanding now.
The search continued for nearly two hours.
Erin Lindsay eventually found a makeshift drug lab on the motel’s third floor, while Kim Burgess and Kevin Atwater arrested two suspects who tried to escape through the perimeter.
By evening, Jack and Catherine finally returned to the 21st District to complete their reports.
The moment they walked through the lobby, Trudy Platt looked up from behind the front desk with a rare smile.
“I heard you two decided to become heroes today.”
“Mostly luck, Sergeant,” Catherine replied tiredly.
“Jules is stable,” Platt said.
“The round came dangerously close to a major artery in her neck.
She got lucky, but she’ll be out for a while.”
Jack and Catherine both visibly relaxed.
By the time they finished their reports, it was completely dark outside.
Hank Voight suddenly appeared near their desks carrying two cups of coffee.
“Drink.”
He placed the cups down before looking at both officers.
“Something interfered with our communications today, and some of our equipment was tampered with.
That’s why we didn’t receive your warning.” Hank’s expression darkened.
“Jules is going to be out for a while, which leaves Intelligence short-handed.”
Jack looked toward Catherine.
Hank continued, “Starting tomorrow, both of you are temporarily assigned to Intelligence.
You’ll work under me until I say otherwise.”
After saying that, Hank turned and walked away.
He had already reviewed their backgrounds before coming downstairs.
One was the so-called Super Rookie, while the other was a former Marine, and their performance during the Diaz operation had been more than enough to convince him.
Jack stared after him.
“I’m joining Intelligence?
I haven’t even been here two weeks.”
Beside him, Catherine gave him a long eye roll.