season one episode two
Erin and Rey arrived at Jules' house only hours after she had been murdered, both of them not knowing what to say to her kids or husband. The two glanced at each other before Erin knocked on the door and immediately anxiety began building up in Rey's stomach. She had only done this a couple times in her years an officer and each time it did not get any easier.
It was seconds later that the door swing open with both of Jules' kids standing in the doorway.
"Hi Erin, hi Rey," little Emmy greeted.
"Emmy, Liam, hey guys," Erin said while Rey lifted her hand and waved, not saying anything in case she said the wrong thing. "Is your Dad home?"
"Hey Dad! Erin and Rey are here!" Emmy shouted back into the house.
A few moments later Alec appeared in the door, obviously having no clue as to what was going on.
"Yea?" Was the first thing he said.
"Um..." Erin tried getting her words out but nothing would come out.
Erin turned to his kids and leaned down to their level.
"Hey kids, you wanna go inside," he said as he pointed towards the living room.
"I can go with them," Rey suggested.
Alec nodded in response and let her in. She left a distance between her and the kids as walked through the hallway, glancing at all the family photos while she made her way to the living room. She knew she had to somehow tell the kids what had happened to their Mom because she knew too well Alec would be too upset to tell them.
"Hey Rey?" Liam spoke from the couch.
"Yea, Liam."
"What happened to Mommy?"
She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat before making her way in front of the kids, then kneeling down in front of them. She had no clue how to break it to them but knew she had to tell them what happened.
"Look your Mommy got hurt at work, okay?" Rey started with both kids nodding their heads.
"Is Mommy okay?" Emmy asked.
Rey remained silent for a few moments before biting her lip and glancing at the ground, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry guys, but she got really badly hurt. A bad man used a gun and um... Im so sorry guys but she's not coming home."
"So, when is she coming home?" Liam questioned.
It took all her courage to look up at them as her eyes glazed over.
"She's not, guys," the looks on the kids' faces made her stomach churn as they tried to put together what she was saying. "She got too badly hurt and they couldn't save her."
Both kids looked at each other before their lips started quivering. Within seconds they were both bawling their eyes out and all Rey could do was sit up in the couch and embrace them in a tight, reassuring hug.
"It's going to be okay. You guys are so brave."
~~~~
The Intelligence Unit was as silent as the desert. The only thing that could be heard was the odd stressed breath from one of them trying to find something in the case files, but there was nothing.
Rey still had her blood-stained jumper was sitting on the back of her office chair, a slight stench wafting from it every now and then.
"They took Antonio's son," Voight spoke from the front of the room making Rey look up from her desk. "And they took my own, as far as I'm concerned. Nothing else matter till we get Diego back. Nothing."
Rey nodded in agreement and the whole room stayed silent. That was until Jay spoke up.
"Serg," he said getting everyone's attention. "So, this all started with Rev and Coop getting their heads chopped off and both essentially did the same job for Pulpo, mid-level distribution, right? So, we know Pulpos cleaning house, and what do you when you get rid of old furniture? You gotta bring in something new." He then took a picture of a man from his desk and lifted it up so everyone could see. "This guy stood out. It's Ernesto Milpas. He was running fifteen corners between twenty second and Kedzie when CPD punched him in o-nine."
Antonio took the photo from Jays hand and glanced at it. "Yeah, yeah, yeah I was on that busy with Jules."
"He was released last year."
"He was a climber."
"Maybe he's looking to get promoted," Erin piped up.
"He's the best of a lot of bad options."
"What do we have on him now?" Voight questioned.
"PO's got an address that's a year old."
Without wasting another second everyone stood from their seats as Voight placed the photo of Ernesto Milpas on the board of suspects. Rey picked her blood-stained jumper off of the chair, following Jay and Erin as they exited the Intelligence Unit and headed towards the car.
The car was silent apart from the radio that went off every now and then. Neither of them could comprehend why someone would take an innocent kid, but then again Rey figured it would most likely be the only way to get to someone and get what they wanted.
"I don't know how Antonio's handling all this," Erin spoke from the driver's seat. "If I had a kid snatched up, I would be incoherent."
"If I had a kid snatched up, I'd end up in prison," Rey piped up.
Both Detectives glanced back at her with raised brows before swiftly turning their heads back to the road.
"I used to think that cops under Voight were invincible ... and then Jules died," Erin carried on. "I was holding her hand. As soldiers, how did you guys deal with it?"
Rey kept quiet as she thought back onto her coping methods which she disapproved of while Jay spoke for them.
"Generally, I'd take it out on those who didn't deserve it."
"What about you, Rey?" Erin asked, glancing at her in the review mirror for a mere second before focusing on the road again.
She shook her head.
"Honestly Erin, you don't wanna know."
~~~~
The three hadn't been sitting in their position long before Voight gave the go ahead to breach the building they'd parked outside of. Rey had her rifle in hand while leading the way with Jay and Erin covering her.
Rey followed Erin as the three of them split off, both of them maneuvering their way through plastic drapes and fabric curtains. Rey's rifle was raised in one hand while the other hand was on the back of Erins vest while she led the way.
It was when her hand was ripped off of Erin that she body swung one-eighty in only a millisecond, only for a bat to connect with her head. The force of it shoved her onto the ground and effectively knocking the wind out of her.
Erin was sitting up first and grabbed her radio from her vest, letting everyone where the man had gone while Rey laid on the ground groaning in pain.
"Suspect is on foot out the southwest side of the Warehouse."
Once the entire building had been cleared out the team made their way to the bridge that look over the river. Rey leaned against the railing while lightly touching the butterfly stitches on her brow that covered the gash. There was a slight thump in her head, but nothing she couldn't handle.
She glanced up when she heard footsteps heading towards them, standing up straight when she realised Voight had strolled up to them.
"Hey, you okay, guys?" Was the first thing Voight asked when he saw Erin and Rey in pain.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm an idiot, but I'm fine," Erin answered while Rey nodded.
"Hey, it wasn't your fault. Trust me."
"No sign of Diego that he was ever here!" Antonio shouted as he stormed towards them. "We had him! What the hell was that?"
Voight had to step in when Antonio lunged towards Adam, obviously angered by what he had done.
"I made a move!"
"A stupid one! And let's not forget the two who let themselves get jumped!"
"The fuck you just say?" Rey snarled, stepping towards Antonio the same time as Erin.
Jay placed a hand on Rey's shoulder while Voight stood between the two women and Antonio. Rey already felt stupid and angry enough as it was, but Antonio saying that did not help at all.
"Detective Dawson, this is Burgess," a voice came over the radio. "You're gunna want to see this."
Having found no Diego and the video it she could only imagine how much fury was inside Antonio. Seeing a kid tied to a chair while being threatened made it hard for her let alone it being Antonio's son.
~~~~
It'd been a few hours since the first bust of the day that went completely sideways. Having found a suspect, they bought him and cuffed him against the cage.
They had debated what to do with, what tactics to use and what they could use against him. Voight wanted to use his own method, but Antonio was against, for the moment. Eva and Antonio's wife has arrived at Station with Antonio taking his wife into the locker room to talk with her privately.
About twenty minutes later Antonio waltzed out and went straight into Voights office, finally agreeing to do it his way. Rey had heard him and without wasting another second she offered to come down and back them up.
"Rey, I can't risk you being down there. If we get caught, I can't cover you since you've only been here two days," Voight said to her.
"Voight, I know ways of getting him to talk that you guys won't know," she added, trying to convince him.
"I know that, but I can't risk you being a witness and getting taken off the team."
Rey sighed. She was slightly disappointed but knew Voight was right. She couldn't risk a single thing that could jeopardies her job.
So instead of following Voight and Antonio down to the cage, she made her way to the break room where Kim, Kevin, Gabby and Eva were. The two uniformed officers were stood around the table in the middle of the room where the other two sat. There was a bunch of food and a few bottles of water placed on the table, but Rey knew that wouldn't do the trick.
Erin strolled over to the two that were already sat at the table in the break room, a hot chocolate and two coffees in hand. Taking a seat opposite Rey she then placed the drinks on the table and handed Eva the hot chocolate.
"Your brother is going to be just fine," Rey reassured Eva while she placed an arm over her shoulders and pulled her into a slight hug.
"I hope so. I don't know what I'd do without him."
The three sat in silence as Eva wiped her eyes free of tears that had fallen. Rey could tell she was a strong kid and wasn't one for crying, just like herself.
"Erin, Rey, we need you downstairs," Voights voice spoke from the door frame.
The two nodded, standing from their seats and following Voight out. Rey hated the thought of leaving Eva alone but knew she would cope.
With the whole Unit down with Chang, staring at a computer that was tracking the suspects cell phone. The man was speaking to someone in Spanish, but even though Rey could understand only a little bit of she could gather there was nothing said about Diego.
"He's running," Erin stated. "Nothing about Diego."
"I've pinged his cell to the West Adams Tower," Chang piped up while pressing some keys on the laptop. "Triangulating with the City Centre."
"I want all men deployed to all major transportation routes out of the city - Midway, O'Hare, including all expressways," Voight ordered.
Rey glanced over at the computer while Voight was listing off everything, only to realise where they were tracking him to.
"He's a Union Station," both Rey and Chang said simultaneously.
Without wasting another second the team took off towards Union Station, grabbing everything they needed on the way.
With Rey following Erin into the Station, the two of them hung back until Voight ordered to head to the main floor. Having found the cell phone in the rubbish bun Rey cursed to herself, having had a feeling deep down the suspect knew they were tracking him.
"Everyone fan out," Antion ordered. "He's gotta be here somewhere."
Rey did as she was told and continued to follow Erin. The pair stormed around the floor area a little longer, trying to spot Diego and the man holding him hostage before making their way out towards the busses.
It wasn't long before both of them spotted the scared kid, a fat, Hispanic man's hands placed firmly on his shoulders to keep him from running. Rey felt her blood boil at the slight, but knew she had to keep herself calm so they could get Diego back safely.
"We see him," Erin spoke to everyone over comms. "Boarding the bus for Indianapolis."
"Wait for us," Voights voice spoke back to them, but they knew if they waited it'd be too late.
The two glanced at each other, debating it while watching everyone board the bus. They knew what they had to do and knew it would probably piss Voight off, but it they wanted to get Diego back they had to do it. Rey let out a heavy sigh as she and Erin jogged over to the bus, smiling at the driver and they strolled up the stairs, showing their badges and nodding their heads to the back of the bus.
The lady nodded her head in approval and Rey followed Erin into the bus. While Erin took a seat at the back of the bus, Rey spotted an empty seat a couple rows in front of them right next to the window.
A couple of minutes later, her phone chimed in her pocket. Taking a glance back at Erin she realised she had also got a text message.
From Voight - 10 mins
Rey swiped to her camera, holding it up in the air pretending take a selfie. She could see the man in view gazing around the whole bus, obviously scoping it out in case he got caught.
Exactly ten minutes later the driver had started pressing on the breaks causing the bus to jolt a little. Both Rey and Erin knew this was part of the plan as Rey placed her hand on the top of her pistol, just in case Mateo tried anything while pulling over.
"Looks like were having engine trouble folks, I'm gonna have to pull the bus over and take a look," The driver said over the speakers. Having pulled over to the side of the road she managed to spot Voight and Antionio pass them to get in front. "I've already called another bus to take you on your way, so should be here in a minute or two. Don't worry,"
Rey pulled her phone from her pocket once again, quickly taking a glance back at Erin who was just as ready as she was.
To Erin - You cover back I cover front.
From Erin - Got it.
"Here comes the backup bus now, folks. Apologies for any inconvenience."
A knock came on the door moments later and it was swiftly opened, with Olinsky strutting up the stairs and Adam staying back down by the door.
"All right were real sorry for the delay, folks, but we've got a tride and true new rig out here that'll get you were you're going right away," Olinsky said as he made his way halfway up the aisle. "Now, what I need from all of you is to disembark, grab your luggage, and head on over to the next bus in an orderly fashion. Can you do that for me?" The crowd of people muttered to themselves as they nodded their heads. "Thank you."
While everyone grabbed their luggage and made their way off the bus, Rey and Erin stayed seated and did not dare make it obvious they were glancing back at Mateo.
It was only when she heard Erin stand from her seat that she did the same. Glancing back at Erin she let her walk in front and towards the exit, only to stop next to the driver so they could stall.
"Hey," They both greeted the driver. "So, what happened with the engine? Pretty scary, huh?" Erin questioned.
While the other two chatted Rey kept her attention on both her colleague and the suspect, only for both cops to glance back him simultaneously.
"Policia!" Mateo shouted, pulling his pistol from his pants, wrapping his arm around Deigos neck and putting the pistol to his head.
Rey had her own pistol pointed at Mateo's head within seconds, shouting at him while clicking the safety off but still keeping her finger off the trigger.
"I swear I'll kill him!" Mateo threatened.
"Put it down, asshole," Rey seethed.
Going back and forth with him was not working and Deigo was looking more terrified by the second. Rey tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it only made Mateo put the pistol closer to his head.
"You gonna shoot? Nah, I don't think so."
They both knew they couldn't risk firing their weapons and getting Diego in the crossfire.
"Lindsey, Dakota, hold on to something."
Without thinking Rey leaned into the seat opposite to Erin, bracing herself for what was about to come. When the bus went flying forwards, both Rey and Erin grabbed a hold of Diego as he was jolted out of Mateo's arms. Rey heard a few shots fired briefly before it went dead silent. She could feel Diegos heart pounding against her arm which only made her hold him tighter as Erin stood from her spot and reassured Antonio who had apparently fired back at Mateo.
As soon as she saw Antonio's hand on Diego, she let him go, crawling from her spot between a row of seats. She watched on as the two embraced and could tell Antonio was about to cry from happiness. Glancing at Erin she could tell she was a little shell shocked, so she grabbed onto her bicep and led her out of the bus where Voight greeted them.
Rey watched on as the two strolled off and tilted her head a little when she noticed Erin's hands shaking. She looked down at her own, only to notice her own hands were a little shaky as well. A hand was placed on her shoulder which took her attention.
"Thank you, Rey. I really mean it" Antonio said with a smile plastered across his face.
She smiled back. "I was only doing my job."
The Father and Son duo were lead to Burgess and Atwater's patrol car before hopping in and driving off.
"That was a nice job back there, Dude," Jay's voice came from behind her.
She turned her head and saw him standing with his rifle still slung over his shoulder.
"Thanks, Jay. I think I need a drink after this," was her response.
"I agree."
~~~~
"I've been given to go ahead to run Intelligence the way I want to run it. No interference. This is our Unit now. You do things my way, our way, you'll unclip your badge at night knowing you did right. The Police standing next to you are your family. And to me, there is nothing more important. If you're in, stay here with me."
~~~~
Been a while! Past years been hectic and only just found a way to write up this book not on my phone. Anyway, hoping to do the next chapter over the week but we'll see. Hope yous enjoy.
Publish date: 18/12/2023