The fully armed Intelligence Unit arrived outside Darren Woodhall’s home and immediately spread out around the property.
Antonio Dawson walked straight to the front door and knocked hard against the wood while calling, “Chicago Police!” Several seconds passed, but nobody inside answered or made any attempt to approach the entrance.
Adrian Knight stood close to the wall with his Glock 17 held in both hands, keeping the muzzle trained toward the doorway.
When the silence continued, he looked toward Antonio and said, “He already lied to us, and his registration situation gives us another problem to work with.
If you need a reason to go inside, I think we have enough.” Antonio considered Adrian’s words for only a moment before making the decision.
He turned toward Kevin Atwater, who was already carrying the breaching ram.
Kevin stepped forward, braced himself, and drove the heavy tool into the wooden door with a solid bang, breaking the lock on impact.
The moment the entrance gave way, Kevin moved aside so the officers behind him could enter without losing momentum.
Jesse went in first with his handgun raised, while Adrian followed directly behind him.
Alvin Olinsky entered third, Antonio came next, and Adam Ruzek brought up the rear while watching their backs.
Darren was considered a potentially dangerous suspect but not an armed gang target like Derek Keyes, so the team had chosen sidearms rather than heavier tactical weapons.
Inside, the house was completely quiet.
Nobody called out from another room, no footsteps moved across the floor, and there was no obvious sign that anyone had been waiting for them.
The team immediately began clearing the interior one room at a time while keeping their movements controlled and deliberate.
Jesse moved down the hallway and turned left to check an adjoining room, while Adrian continued toward the far end.
A large cabinet stood against the wall ahead, and Adrian had just begun turning his weapon toward the right side of the corridor when the cabinet door suddenly opened with a sharp creak.
Before he could reposition, a thin man stepped out holding a shotgun.
The barrel was immediately pressed against Adrian’s chest.
His entire body froze as he felt the muzzle against the front of his ballistic vest, because at such close range even body armor couldn’t make the situation safe.
Once again, the job had placed Adrian only inches away from being killed.
Fortunately, he had a team behind him.
Adam and Antonio raised their pistols almost simultaneously and aimed directly at the gunman while shouting, “Drop the weapon!
Put it down now!” The thin man looked frightened rather than confident, his hands shaking around the shotgun as he stared at Adrian and the officers behind him.
“Who are you?” the man demanded nervously.
Adrian frowned without moving his hands.
“Chicago Police.
Who are you?” The man swallowed and replied, “I’m Darren Woodhall’s protector.” Whatever he meant by that, Antonio had no patience for it while the shotgun remained pressed against Adrian’s chest, and he shouted, “You want to die standing in a closet?
We’re police.
Lower the gun now.” Instead of immediately complying, the man panicked even more.
“I want to see your badges!” Adrian stared at him in disbelief and said dryly, “My badge is literally right beside your shotgun barrel.” His CPD star was attached to the front of his vest, only inches from where the weapon was touching him.
The man looked down and finally noticed it.
His face immediately lost color as he realized he had been aiming a shotgun directly at a Chicago police officer.
Slowly and carefully, he began lowering the weapon.
The moment the barrel moved away from his chest, Adrian grabbed it and ripped the shotgun out of the man’s hands.
Antonio and Jesse surged forward at the same time, twisted the man’s arms behind his back, and forced him into restraints before he could change his mind.
“Please don’t hurt me,” the frightened man pleaded while raising his hands as much as their grip allowed.
Neither officer was interested in being gentle after watching him hold a shotgun against Adrian.
Jesse kept him pinned while Antonio locked metal handcuffs around his wrists, and Adrian stood nearby holding the confiscated weapon with lingering anger.
The entire encounter had lasted only moments, but it had been far too close for comfort.
The gun was a Mossberg pump-action shotgun, but Adrian had no interest in studying it beyond making sure it was secure.
A few seconds earlier, it had been pointed directly into his chest at point-blank range.
That fact alone was enough to make his palms sweat.
The man was arrested, but Darren was nowhere in the house.
After the rest of the rooms were cleared, Intelligence confirmed that Darren had vanished before they arrived.
With no immediate clue where he had gone, the detained man became their next best source of information.
Back at the 21st District, Antonio and Hank Voight entered the interrogation room where the man was waiting.
Antonio opened the file in his hand and said, “Vaughn Bash.
Registered offender in Illinois since 1998.” Vaughn looked toward them anxiously and immediately replied, “You should be worried about Darren, not me.” Hank narrowed his eyes.
“Darren your roommate?” Vaughn leaned forward with obvious urgency.
“You don’t understand.
He’s in danger.” Hank moved closer and asked harshly, “What did you do to that child?” Vaughn’s expression changed instantly, and he shook his head in panic.
“What child?
You’ve got the wrong person.
I swear.” Hank grabbed the front of Vaughn’s shirt and pulled him closer.
“Look at me.
Darren has a fresh wound on his neck, and I want to know where it came from.” Vaughn’s face tightened with fear as he struggled to answer without making Hank angrier.
Finally, he admitted, “We had a fight.
It got physical, and I hurt him by accident.” Vaughn hesitated before adding, “We didn’t call the police because our offender restrictions make living together complicated.
We weren’t supposed to be sharing the place like that.” His voice became more pleading.
“I’m not asking you to understand it.
We just need each other.” Whatever emotional history existed between Vaughn and Darren, none of it explained Jeremy Doran’s murder.
Hank released Vaughn and stepped back.
The man looked frightened, weak, and far more desperate than calculating, which made Hank think he was probably telling at least part of the truth.
Even so, there was still one question that mattered most.
“If you know where Darren is, this is the time to tell me,” Hank said coldly.
Vaughn shook his head.
“I want to tell you, but Darren didn’t run away.” Hank frowned.
“Then what happened?” “They took him,” Vaughn replied.
Antonio and Hank exchanged a quick look.
“Who took him?” Hank asked.
“I don’t know,” Vaughn said nervously.
“Darren came home and said he was going to take a nap.
Later I heard shouting, so I hid because I didn’t know who was in the house.” He swallowed before continuing.
“Then when you guys broke in, I thought those people had come back.
That’s why I grabbed the shotgun.” Vaughn leaned forward in frustration and added, “Please, what would I gain by lying about this?” Before Hank could respond, the interrogation-room door opened slightly and Adrian leaned inside.
“Boss, Mouse tried tracking Darren’s phone, but he couldn’t get anything from it.
We did find Darren’s car, though.” Antonio immediately looked toward him.
Adrian continued, “Darren told us it was at a repair shop all week.
Alvin and I can go check it out if you want.” Hank nodded without hesitation.
“Good.
Go.” Adrian started to turn away, but Hank suddenly called after him.
“Adrian, one more thing.
Have Adam contact the Doran family and tell them I want to speak to them face-to-face.” Adrian stopped and looked back.
Hank’s expression had hardened again.
“Two registered offenders were living together in a neighborhood where everybody keeps telling us they know everything that happens around them.
Yet nobody mentioned either of these guys.” He glanced toward Antonio.
“How could they not know?” Hank’s eyes narrowed.
“I think somebody’s hiding something from us.” [Milestone: [Milestone: 10 Reviews = +1 Chapter] Enjoyed this chapter?