The next morning at seven o’clock, Bruce and Katherine appeared at the stairs of the Intelligence Unit office dressed in civilian clothes.
They had been seconded to the Intelligence Unit starting last night, and officers in the Intelligence Unit did not need to wear uniforms.
Standing at the top of the stairs, the rich aroma of coffee filled the office.
The four people inside focused their attention on them simultaneously.
(Image in comments)
The gazes of these detectives were a mix of scrutiny, curiosity, and a hint of gratitude.
Yesterday’s operation had left them all owing these two patrol officers a favor.
The first to stand up was Antonio.
He stepped forward and gave Bruce a hug, then shook hands with Katherine.
“Thanks for the backup yesterday.
Otherwise, Jules and I would have been finished.”
“It’s what we should do,” Bruce nodded, indicating it was no big deal.
However, he noticed that Antonio seemed a bit distracted, even somewhat agitated.
At that moment, a blonde beauty stepped forward to greet them.
“Erin Lindsay.
Welcome to the Intelligence Unit.”
“Jay Halstead.” This was the young detective who had talked to Katherine yesterday.
Word was he was also a military veteran, specifically a Ranger.
“Alvin Olinsky.
You can call me Old Ai.” Old Ai was Hank’s long-time partner.
His hair was thin and graying.
He sat in a corner of the office with a toothpick in his mouth and a hat on, greeting them from a distance.
“I’m Catherine Hayek, and this is my partner Bruce Stacy,” Katherine greeted them calmly.
Being cool and detached had always been her persona.
“Alright, everyone come in and sit down,” Hank Voight walked out from the innermost private office, his finger tapping a photo in his hand.
“Don’t stand there introducing yourselves like rookies.
Time is tight.”
Everyone returned to their desks.
Bruce and Katherine found an empty spot to squeeze in together.
At the front of the room, Antonio’s eyes were bloodshot and his jaw was tight.
His son, Diego, hadn’t come home last night and his phone was off.
At the time, no one had connected this to the Octopus case—until an hour ago.
“Everyone’s here, so I’ll explain the situation.
Listen up.” Hank pinned the photo in his hand to the whiteboard behind him.
Next to the photo of Octopus, he added the file photos of Omar Rojas and Ernesto Mipas.
They were both hitmen under Octopus.
On the far side was a photo of a young boy; it was Antonio’s son, Diego.
“The situation is simple yet fucking complicated.
Around eleven last night, Antonio’s son Diego went missing while walking home from a friend’s house.
An hour ago, Antonio received a call…” As he spoke, Hank pressed the remote control.
A recording played through the speakers.
An unknown male said in broken English: “Detective Dawson, your son is with us.
He is safe, but only for now.
Bring Mr.
Diaz to the old baseball field at West Garfield Park at exactly twelve noon today.
Come alone.
If you play any tricks, you’ll never see the boy again…”
The recording ended, and the room fell into a deathly silence.
“Voice analysis confirms it’s Omar Rojas,” Hank continued.
“Diaz’s most trusted hitman, and the bastard who almost ran over Katherine yesterday.
His partner Ernesto Mipas is equally dangerous and skilled in close-quarters combat.”
Antonio suddenly stood up: “Hank, I can’t…”
“Sit down, Antonio.” Hank’s voice softened unusually.
“We will bring your son back.
But I won’t trade Octopus.
That bastard has to be transferred to the federal detention center this afternoon.
Letting him go means all our past efforts were for nothing, Jules took a bullet for nothing, and not to mention he would retaliate against everyone involved in his arrest.”
Old Ai rubbed his temples.
“Hank, so what’s the plan?”
“We’ll pretend to cooperate,” Hank said.
“Antonio will drive Octopus to the baseball field alone, but we’ll set up surveillance in advance.
SWAT will be in position, and snipers will cover all angles.
As soon as Omar and Ernesto show their faces, we’ll arrest them or take them out directly.”
“That’s too risky,” Katherine suddenly spoke up.
Everyone’s eyes turned to her as she straightened her back slightly.
“Sorry, Sergeant, but if anything goes wrong, Diego could be hurt or even…”
“Do you have a suggestion, Officer Hayek?” Hank wasn’t angry; he was genuinely asking.
Bruce took over the conversation, lowering his head in thought.
“They requested the exchange at noon, but the trade won’t actually happen at the baseball field.
That’s too obvious.
They’ll have Antonio wait there and then change the location at the last minute to test if he’s alone and if the police are following.
If our setup is exposed, then Diego might…”
Hank stared at Bruce for a few seconds.
“Go on.”
“If we want to find the real trade location, or rather, find where Diego is being held, we must locate where they are before noon.” Seeing Hank listening seriously, Bruce continued, “If we can track Omar or Ernesto’s cell phones…”
“The phones are off,” Jay interjected from the side, shrugging helplessly.
“No signal since last night.”
“But he has to turn it on eventually,” Katherine said.
“Whether to contact an accomplice or us.
So as long as we can quickly locate him when he turns it on…”
Hank nodded.
“Tech is already monitoring all signals possibly linked to Omar and Ernesto.
But we need more clues.
Antonio, was there anything unusual before Diego went missing?
Anything out of the ordinary?”
Antonio thought hard.
“He said someone was following him after school yesterday afternoon, but I thought it was just a teenage prank…
God, I should have taken it more seriously.”
“What’s the exact location where Diego went missing?” Bruce asked suddenly.
“Intersection of 63rd Street and California Avenue, three blocks from my house,” Antonio replied.
Bruce looked at Hank.
“Chicago has surveillance cameras at every intersection.
If we’re lucky, we might have caught the kidnapping vehicle.
We can also pull surveillance from around Diego’s school to see if the same vehicle or people were hanging around.
By cross-referencing both, we should be able to lock down the kidnappers’ vehicle and then track it…”
Hank immediately turned to Erin.
“You and Jay go check the surveillance.”
Erin nodded and left the office with Jay.
Hank continued assigning tasks.
“Old Ai, you’re in charge of the baseball field setup.
Keep your distance and don’t get spotted.
Antonio, go alone as requested, but we’ll put a tracker and hidden camera on your car.
Katherine, you and Bruce go check all of Octopus’s known safe houses to see if there’s any place to hide a hostage.”
With that, everyone received their assignments and set out.
…
Around eight-thirty, Erin rushed back with a laptop.
“Found it.
At 10:47 last night, a black Dodge Caravan stopped at the intersection, and two males forced Diego into the car.
The license plate was covered, but there’s a distinct red scratch on the front right bumper.” (Image in comments)
“At the same time, this vehicle appeared around Diego’s school.
It’s basically certain that the kidnappers haven’t switched vehicles.”
She pinned two screenshots showing the same black Dodge on the whiteboard.
The blurry images showed Diego being dragged into the back seat.
Although the kidnappers’ faces weren’t clear, the build of one matched Omar.
“Black Dodge Caravan,” Hank repeated.
You and Jay go back to the Department of Transportation to pull all surveillance in that area and track the vehicle’s route.”
“Understood,” the two replied simultaneously, grabbing their files and heading out.
…
At nine in the morning, Bruce and Katherine were driving a white Chevrolet Malibu through the streets of Chicago searching for clues.
They had received the suspect vehicle information from Hank.
“Do you think we can find it?” Katherine asked while driving, her eyes constantly scanning the cars parked on both sides of the street.
“As long as they’re still in the South Side, it’s possible,” Bruce said as he flipped through a map, cross-referencing Octopus’s safe house records.
“Omar and Ernesto need a place to hide, but they also need to be able to move quickly.
It won’t be too far from the baseball field, but not too close either…
Found it.
Right here, the Polk Hotel.”
“Katherine, turn around and go to the Polk Hotel on 45th Street,” Bruce said, pointing at the map.
Katherine glanced at him.
“How did you think of that place?”
“It’s close to the baseball field and it’s Octopus’s territory,” Bruce answered simply.
“Most importantly, it’s near the central station, making it easy to evacuate.
As long as we don’t have the transit authority assisting, they could blend into the crowd and leave Chicago by bus.”
…
Soon they arrived at the 45th Street block.
Bruce and Katherine got out and walked on foot, pretending to be a couple going to the hotel, while searching the roadside vehicles out of the corners of their eyes.
Katherine suddenly grabbed Bruce’s arm.
“Front right.
Black Dodge Caravan, red scratch on the bumper.”
Bruce stopped and pointed at a convenience store behind the target vehicle.
“Honey, let’s go buy some snacks first.
It won’t be too late to go up after that.”
Katherine understood instantly.
They leaned close together affectionately and walked toward the target vehicle.
Under Bruce’s cover, she took a close look.
“The plates have been changed, but the model and the scratch match.
The car looks like it was recently washed.
Diego isn’t in the vehicle.”
Once inside the convenience store, Katherine reported what she had just confirmed.
“Should we call for backup?”
“Wait,” Bruce said suddenly.
“Look at the third floor.
The curtains in the room on the far right are moving.”
Through the convenience store window, they could vaguely see a figure moving inside the room.
A few seconds later, the curtains were pulled open a crack, and a face briefly appeared.
It was Ernesto.
“Target confirmed,” Bruce whispered.
“But I don’t see Diego, and I don’t see Omar.”
Katherine had already pressed her radio.
“Katherine calling.
Suspected kidnapping vehicle found at the Polk Hotel on 45th Street.
One suspect observed, Ernesto, in room 307 on the third floor.
No sign of Omar or Diego.
Requesting backup!
Repeat…”
Hank’s voice replied almost immediately.
“All units, proceed to the Polk Hotel on 45th Street.
Intelligence Unit will arrive in five minutes.
Katherine, maintain surveillance, do not approach.”
“Copy that!”
As the minutes ticked by, Bruce noticed the curtains in room 307 open again.
This time, Ernesto seemed to be on the phone, looking anxious.
Suddenly, Ernesto hung up and began quickly packing his things.