The streets of Chicago’s South Side felt particularly restless under the afternoon sun.
Resilient weeds grew from the cracks of long-neglected sidewalks, and faded graffiti covered the brick walls, telling the forgotten stories of this neighborhood.
Bruce adjusted the gear on his belt, his black police boots striking the asphalt in a steady rhythm.
This was his second week as a formal officer of the 21st Precinct, and every day felt like walking a tightrope between learning and survival.
Their patrol car, an iconic Chicago Police Department Ford Crown Victoria, was parked at a gas station two blocks away.
Today, the 21st Precinct had requested increased foot patrols to sweep the entire street, with a particular focus on several known strongholds of the Mexican drug dealer, Adlerus Diaz.
This Mexican drug dealer had been a headache for the 21st Precinct for a week.
The big shots in the Intelligence Unit were certain he was somewhere in the South Side, yet they could never catch his tail.
“All units, please be advised…” Sergeant Trudy Platt’s voice suddenly crackled over the radio.
Bruce and Katherine immediately stopped in their tracks and listened intently to the voice on the radio.
“All units, the Intelligence Unit is requesting assistance in locating a black four-door sedan, license plate BZ-13341.
Last seen near 63rd and Cicero.
The vehicle is related to the investigation of suspect Adlerus Diaz.
Do not approach if spotted; report immediately.”
“All units, be advised…”
“All units, be advised…”
Katherine turned to look at Bruce.
“It’s that ‘Octopus’ guy again.
Sheriff Hank and his Intelligence Unit have been chasing him for a week.”
Bruce frowned.
“I heard the stuff Octopus and his crew are selling has already killed over a dozen people.
He’s even beheaded a few of the dealers under him.
It was a bloody scene.”
Katherine lowered her voice.
“That’s exactly why Sheriff Hank from the Intelligence Unit won’t let it go.”
Discussing as they went, the two continued their patrol westward along the street.
There was a cheap motel there, one of Octopus’s strongholds.
Their eyes scanned every vehicle parked along the road.
This part of the South Side was mostly old red-brick apartment buildings and motels, with convenience stores, pawn shops, and bars on the ground floors—the favorite haunts of junkies.
“Hey, Katherine,” Bruce suddenly stopped and pointed to an alley entrance.
“Is that the car we’re looking for?”
Deep in the alley, right next to a dumpster, a black Chevrolet was half-hidden in the shadows.
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Katherine narrowed her eyes and slowly walked forward a few steps, ensuring she wasn’t spotted.
“Illinois plates,” she whispered.
“BZ-13341.
Damn, that’s it.”
Bruce immediately pulled her back to the corner of the main street.
“We need to report this, but don’t alert them.”
Katherine nodded and then keyed her radio: “Car 22 to dispatch, target vehicle located at the Eddie Motel on the west side of 63rd Street!
Repeat, target Octopus’s vehicle spotted!”
Trudy’s voice quickly replied: “Copy that.
Maintain surveillance from your position, do not approach.
The Intelligence Unit is on the way.”
Katherine looked around and pointed to a second-story window of an abandoned store across the street.
“Better view and cover over there.
Bruce, go bring the patrol car over, but make sure not to use the sirens.”
The two split up.
Katherine easily picked the lock of the rusty back door with her police multi-tool and went to the second-floor window.
She pulled a small pair of binoculars from her belt pouch and watched the black Chevrolet across the street.
“Perfect.”
Bruce also quickly drove the patrol car into a nearby alley to hide it.
He hurried to the second floor and stood by Katherine’s side, his holster already unclipped.
Minutes passed, and the alley remained deserted.
“Do you think he’s inside?” Bruce asked in a low voice.
“With the car hidden like that, either he’s nearby or it’s a decoy,” Katherine replied.
“The Intelligence Unit should—wait, there’s movement.”
The motel’s back door suddenly opened, and a tall, thin man wearing a baseball cap walked out.
After warily looking around, he walked straight toward the black Chevrolet.
The man stood by the car for a while, seemingly waiting for someone.
Then, two more people walked out of the apartment building.
One of them was Adlerus Diaz.
Even from a distance, his signature seaweed-like hair and the Octopus tattoo on his neck were clearly visible.
“Target confirmed,” Bruce said into his radio in a low voice.
“Diaz has appeared by the vehicle with at least two associates.”
The three took a package from the car, looked around cautiously, and then returned to the motel.
Seeing this, Katherine immediately lowered her voice and replied over the radio, “Target suspects have re-entered the building.
Note, target suspects have re-entered the building!”
Suddenly, several unmarked police cars sped in from both ends of the street and stopped in front of the apartment building without warning.
The car doors slammed open, and members of the Intelligence Unit quickly hopped out, preparing to enter the building without even waiting for backup to arrive.
“WTF!!!” Katherine cursed under her breath.
“What are they doing?
Did they not receive the intel support?”
Bruce saw Antonio and Jules from the Intelligence Unit approaching the building’s entrance.
Their casual posture made it look like they were just conducting a simple follow-up visit, completely unaware that the primary suspect was inside.
Meanwhile, Hank and the other members were still having a brief discussion by the vehicles, with no intention of going in yet.
They really seemed not to have received the intel that Octopus was inside the motel; they were acting as if they were just there for a routine check.
“They didn’t get the intel!” Bruce exclaimed.
“They’re about to walk right in!”
Katherine had already keyed the radio: “All units, be advised, the target is inside the building!
Repeat, the target is inside the building!”
Seeing no reaction from the Intelligence Unit members, it seemed the communication was cut off.
Was there a mole?
“fuck!” Bruce and Katherine quickly rushed over to the Intelligence Unit’s side to have a brief exchange.
There was a brief silence on the scene, followed by Hank’s angry voice: “What?
Confirmed?”
“Confirmed with our own eyes,” Katherine said firmly.
“We clearly reported it to the precinct.”
“Damn it!
Beldon!” Hank roared and immediately keyed his mic.
“Antonio, Jules, fall back!
Fall back now!”
But it was too late.
A gunshot rang out from inside the motel.
Then, a window on the fifth floor of the motel suddenly shattered.
Muzzle flashes from automatic weapons erupted, and bullets poured onto the street like rain, shattering police car glass and tearing up the asphalt.
“Officer down!
Officer down!” The radio was instantly filled with chaotic calls.
Bruce saw the black Chevrolet in the alley start to reverse, clearly intending to escape in the chaos.
“They’re making a run for it!”
Katherine had already drawn her gun.
“We have to block the alley entrance.
Bruce, go get the car!”
The black Chevrolet backed out of the alley and prepared to accelerate away to the right.
Katherine didn’t hesitate to rush into the middle of the road, raising her gun to aim at the vehicle’s front tires.
“CPD!
Pull over!”
However, instead of stopping, the driver of the black Chevrolet slammed on the gas and drove straight at Katherine.
Time seemed to slow down.
Katherine could almost clearly see the driver’s distorted face behind the windshield, hear the roar of the engine, and smell the burnt rubber from the tires against the ground.
Just as the vehicle was about to hit her, Bruce arrived in the patrol car.
He accelerated and rammed into the B-pillar of the black Chevrolet.
Katherine also instinctively rolled to the right while pulling the trigger.
Three bullets hit the front left tire, causing the vehicle to instantly lose control and crash into a roadside fire hydrant.
A high-pressure geyser of water shot into the sky, blurring their vision.
The passenger door was kicked open, and Octopus stumbled out, clutching a silver handgun.
Just as he raised the gun to aim at Bruce, Katherine lunged from the side, a precise kick knocking the handgun away.
“Get down!
Now!” Katherine roared, her muzzle pointed at Octopus’s forehead.
Diaz slowly raised his hands, a strange smile appearing on his face.
“You caught me, but the game is just beginning, Officer.”
Meanwhile, the gunfire inside the apartment building had stopped.
Hank and the other Intelligence Unit members quickly secured the entire building, killing three gunmen and arresting another.
The sirens of an ambulance grew louder as it approached.
Bruce stepped forward to help Katherine handcuff Octopus, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward Jules, who was being carried onto a stretcher by Antonio.
A medic stood beside her, pressing firmly on the wound in her neck, his face as pale as a sheet.
“She’ll be fine,” Katherine said softly, sounding more like she was comforting herself.
“The ambulance is here.”
Intelligence Unit Leader Hank Voight strode over, his face etched with lines of fury.
“You two!”
He pointed at Bruce and Katherine, then extended his hand.
“You just saved the lives of two of my people.”
“Sheriff, we just did what we had to do,” Katherine answered calmly, extending her hand to shake Hank’s.
“What you had to do?” Hank snorted.
“What you were supposed to do was follow procedure and wait for backup, not block a car with your bodies.
But today, I’m grateful you didn’t follow procedure.”
Hank turned to look at Bruce, who was holding down Octopus, and extended his hand as well.
“I know you, the Super Rookie.
Good job.”
“Just doing my job!” Bruce didn’t like that nickname, but he knew it was a precinct tradition.
He shook Hank’s hand and handed Octopus over to the others.
On the other side, paramedics lifted Jules into the ambulance.
Her neck was wrapped in thick gauze; she was conscious but unable to speak.
Antonio held her hand tightly and climbed into the ambulance with her.
“Antonio, you go with the ambulance to the hospital,” Hank ordered.
“The rest of you, search this building and the vehicle thoroughly.
I want to know what Diaz was hiding here and how many associates he has.”
Bruce and Katherine voluntarily joined the search team.
In the trunk of the black Chevrolet, they found three AK-47 rifles, a large amount of cash, and an address book.
Katherine carefully placed the address book into an evidence bag.
“Hey, Officer Hayek,” Jay Halstead, a young detective from the Intelligence Unit, walked over to strike up a conversation.
“Those were some sharp shots earlier.
Military background?”
“Marine Corps,” Katherine replied simply, continuing to organize the evidence.
…
The search lasted for two hours.
Erin from the Intelligence Unit found a makeshift drug lab on the third floor of the apartment, while Burgess and Atwater arrested two suspects trying to flee while they were securing the perimeter.
By evening, Bruce and Katherine finally returned to the precinct to write their reports.
As soon as they walked into the lobby, Trudy Platt stood up from behind the reception desk, a rare smile appearing on her face.
“I heard you two became heroes today.”
“Just lucky, Sergeant,” Katherine said tiredly.
“Jules is in stable condition,” Trudy said.
“The bullet grazed her carotid artery; another centimeter and it would have been over.
Fortunately, you arrived in time.
Now she just needs to stay in the hospital for a month before being discharged.”
…
They finished their reports when it was completely dark outside.
Hank Voight suddenly appeared at the office door, holding two cups of coffee.
“Have something to drink,” he said, placing the cups on the desk.
“The Intelligence Unit’s cars were tampered with, and the comms went down.
Jules will be out for at least a few months, and we’re shorthanded.
Starting tomorrow, you two are temporarily reassigned to the Intelligence Unit.
You’ll be under my command.”
After saying that, Hank left.
He had already looked into the two before coming—one Super Rookie and one Marine Corps veteran.
Primarily, their performance today had been excellent.
Bruce’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I’m joining the Intelligence Unit?
It hasn’t even been two weeks!”
Beside him, Katherine gave a beautiful eye-roll.
He looked so unpromising…