Evening had settled over Chicago, and the last traces of daylight had disappeared behind the skyline.
Deep on the South Side, three dark vehicles slowly approached a narrow residential alley before stopping some distance from their target.
Inside the cars, the members of the Intelligence Unit exchanged silent nods as the operation officially began.
Adrian Knight received the signal and pulled a black hood over his head.
He was dressed completely in dark clothing from his jacket and pants to his shoes, with only his eyes visible beneath the hood.
Without the police equipment hidden beneath his clothing, he could easily have been mistaken for one of the criminals they were hunting.
Click.
Adrian drew his service weapon and gave it a quick check.
Glock 17.
The 9mm semiautomatic pistol was Adrian’s regular CPD-approved duty weapon.
Officers could choose from department-authorized sidearms depending on assignment and qualification, but fully automatic weapons were obviously another matter entirely.
The Glock 18 stored inside Adrian’s Combat Storage Space remained a system weapon rather than something he could openly carry while working as a Chicago police officer.
After confirming his Glock 17 was ready, Adrian looked toward the front seat.
Sergeant Hank Voight turned around and gave him a short nod.
Adrian immediately opened the door and stepped out, taking a portable hydraulic cutter with him.
The other members of Intelligence emerged from the remaining vehicles in the same dark clothing and divided into two groups.
Everyone moved quietly along the alley while Adrian carried the cutter with both hands.
Ahead of them stood an iron gate protecting the outer yard of the target house.
Adrian reached the gate first and positioned the cutter around the lock.
With one sharp metallic crunch, the heavy lock snapped apart.
He carefully pushed the gate open rather than letting it swing or scrape loudly against the frame.
Several armed officers passed him and immediately separated toward the front and rear entrances.
At the head of the first team, Antonio Dawson carried an MP5 and kept the muzzle trained toward the front door.
Behind him, Kevin Atwater covered the same direction with his handgun while watching the surrounding windows.
Adrian set the hydraulic cutter down and drew his Glock 17 again.
Instead of remaining with Antonio’s group, he moved toward the rear of the house with the second entry team.
Nobody spoke as they crossed the yard.
At the back door, Alvin Olinsky crouched beside the lock with a small set of tools.
Years on the job had given the veteran detective a collection of useful skills, and opening an ordinary residential lock was one of them.
Less than ten seconds later, a faint click came from the mechanism.
Behind Alvin, Adam Ruzek held a Remington 870 shotgun while watching the exterior staircase and nearby windows.
Jesse stood immediately behind him with an MP5, waiting for the signal to move.
Once Alvin had the door open, Jesse lightly tapped Adam’s shoulder.
Adam understood immediately.
He shifted the shotgun toward the doorway and quietly entered the house as the point man.
Jesse followed behind him with the MP5, while Voight entered next with his pistol raised.
Adrian came in last because he was the newest member of the team.
Alvin remained near the rear entrance with his Glock 17, watching the windows and protecting their exit route.
The entire operation was being handled as quietly as possible because their goal wasn’t a loud confrontation.
Once inside, Adam spotted a corner at the end of a hallway and stopped.
He glanced over his shoulder, allowing Jesse to move forward and carefully check the angle before exposing the rest of the group.
The house remained silent.
Beyond the hallway was a living room where two people were asleep on a sofa.
Several bottles of liquor sat on the coffee table beside loose stacks of cash.
Neither sleeper appeared to have noticed the officers entering the house.
Jesse kept his MP5 trained toward the sofa and gave Adam a silent nod.
Adam moved around the corner and covered the same area with his shotgun.
Within moments, the living room and hallway were secured without waking either person.
Voight walked past them without wasting any time.
His attention was already focused on the staircase leading to the second floor.
Holding his pistol in both hands, he started upstairs.
Adrian followed directly behind him.
They reached the second floor without making enough noise to alert anyone.
Voight stopped outside one of the bedrooms, slowly opened the door, and entered.
Adrian moved in immediately after him.
A shirtless man was lying across the large bed.
It was Benji Keyes.
The movement inside the bedroom caused Benji to stir.
He slowly opened his eyes and immediately saw two masked figures standing inside his room.
Shock instantly replaced his sleepy expression.
Benji’s hand moved instinctively toward the pillow.
Voight was faster.
Before Benji could pull out the weapon hidden beneath it, Voight stepped closer and pressed the muzzle of his pistol against the man’s head.
Benji froze immediately, his hand stopping where it was.
Adrian reached beneath the pillow and pulled out a silver M1911.
He secured the handgun before taking out a pair of heavy plastic restraints.
With one quick motion, he pulled Benji’s arms behind his back and bound his wrists.
Voight kept his pistol against Benji’s forehead and lowered his voice.
“Chicago Police.” His expression remained cold beneath the hood.
“You’re under arrest.” Adrian pulled the strip of duct tape he had prepared from around his arm.
Because the entire point of the operation was to remove Benji without alerting anyone nearby, he quickly placed the tape over the suspect’s mouth.
Benji could only glare furiously at the two officers.
Then Adrian suddenly heard something.
Voight heard it at the same time.
Both men immediately turned their weapons toward the bathroom door.
The faint sound of running water could be heard from inside along with intermittent movement.
Someone else was clearly in there.
A few seconds later, the bathroom door opened.
Another man stepped outside wearing nothing but brightly colored shorts.
He took one step into the bedroom before noticing Adrian restraining Benji on the bed.
His eyes immediately widened.
“What the hell—” Voight moved before he could finish.
The barrel of his pistol touched the side of the man’s head.
“Shh.
Shh.
Shh.” Voight gave him a warning look.
The man instantly became rigid and raised his hands, no longer daring to move.
Whatever reason he and Benji had for being in the same room was irrelevant to the operation.
Adrian simply stood and pulled out another plastic restraint.
The rest of the arrest went smoothly.
Just as the Intelligence Unit had arrived without drawing attention, they disappeared the same way.
Nobody in the surrounding neighborhood realized that Benji Keyes and another man had been quietly removed from the house by Chicago police officers.
By the time anyone noticed something was wrong, the vehicles were already gone.
Back at the 21st District, Benji was placed inside an interrogation room.
His wrists were cuffed, his ankles restrained, and his expression had become increasingly hostile.
Voight sat across from him as though the murderous glare on Benji’s face didn’t exist.
“Know what I see sitting here?” Voight asked in his gravelly voice.
Benji said nothing.
Voight looked toward the evidence resting on the table between them.
Several packages containing a large amount of high-purity narcotics had been recovered during the operation.
“I see enough dope here to put you away for a long time.” At the side of the table, Adrian was making simple notes while examining the packaged evidence.
He counted the bricks before giving a small shake of his head.
“At least thirty years.” Benji’s expression darkened even further.
Then he suddenly leaned forward as far as the restraints allowed.
“You know what I didn’t see?” Voight remained silent.
Benji glared at him.
“A search warrant!” His voice rose angrily through the interrogation room.
“You arrested me without a search warrant!” Enjoyed the chapter?
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