If things weren't heated before, it certainly is now.
After the team learned that Antonio's son, Diego, was kidnapped, he rushed to the place where his wife works at and calls out to his wife. "Laura!"
"Antonio... Antonio!" Laura gasped as her husband came and hugged her. "Oh, God. Our baby... he's got to be so scared."
"I will get him back." He vowed.
"I know you will. You have to."
Antonio looks to Cynthia who just got inside from looking around. "What do we know?"
Cyn shook her head. "There's no cameras in the alley. We're checking the streets on both sides for ATM video."
"Neighbors?"
This time Hank answered. "One lady gave us a white van, but no license, no driver description, nothing. Detectives are rolling, squads are canvassing the area and knocking on doors, checking for cameras. Someone's on the pods right now."
We have security cameras out front, but nothing in the alley." Cynthia doesn't blame Antonio for saying that. Having cameras on the public street is one thing. Not having ones in back alleys is another. For anything can happen there.
"I know."
Just then, someone calls out to Laura. A man speaking Spanish has a paper in his hand. "Let him in. Let him in!" Hank told the officers twice and the guy gives Antonio a message. Though it is written in Spanish, both he and Cynthia knows what it says.
"Pulpo free by midnight, or your son dies." It reads.
Another reason Cynthia hates certain criminals. Some would go as far as to threaten to kill a kid.
Time Skip
The three detectives (Antonio, Cynthia and Hank) visit Pulpo, who's sitting in the cell. "Where's my son?" Dawson asked.
Pulpo merely looks under his seat. "Uh... uh, I know he's not here. Beyond that..."
"I don't think you want me to ask you again." Dawson threatens.
"Ah, si, si, si, si. I heard about this type of thing back in Bogota. Yeah. Your son was kidnapped, yes?" Hebasked as he chuckled. "Yes. Yeah, I read that many times. Many, many times. If the kidnappers were given what they wanted, then the wife or son was returned, not a single scratch on their faces."
Not satisfied with that answer, Dawson bangs on the bars and storms off. While Cynthia and Hank stares at Pulpo intensely.
"Maybe you should give 'em what they want, Antonio, whatever that may be. If you want to see Diego again, that is."
"Keep smiling asshole. If anything happens to that kid, if Antonio doesn't kill you, I will."
Time Skip
After Erin broke the news to Jule's husband, she returned here. Cyn could only imagine what the kids will feel, knowing their mom isn't coming home.
Cynthia can see how angry Antonio is. She met his son. Diego. A good kid. She's going to help do whatever it takes to get him back.
Hand gets their attention. "They took Antonio's son. And they took my own, as far as I'm concerned. Nothing else matters till we get Diego back. Nothing."
Cyn nods while she looks at Jay and nods for him to tell their boss what they found. "Sarge... So this all started with Rev and Coop getting their heads chopped off. And both did essentially the same job for Pulpo, mid-level distribution, right? So we know Pulpo's cleaning house. And what do you do when you get rid of old furniture? You got to bring in something new. This guy stood out."
Cyn gets a good look at him as Jay continues. "It's Ernesto Milpas. He was running 15 corners between 22nd and Kedzie when CPD pinched him in '09."
Antonio recognized him. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was on that bust with Jules."
"He was released last year." Cyn added.
"He was a climber." Antonio said.
"Maybe he's looking to get promoted." Erin speculated.
"He's the best of a lot of bad options." Jay pointed out.
"What do we have on him now?" Hank asked
"P.O.'s got an address that's a year old." Cynthia replied.
Time Skip
Cynthia is in the car with Erin and Jay. Still thinking about what happen to Jules being killed and Diego being taken.
"I don't know how Antonio's handling all this."
"He was so pissed, I can tell he wanted to rip Pulpo apart." Cynthia said in a low tone.
"If I had a kid snatched up, I would be incoherent. I used to think that cops under Voight were invincible, and then Jules died." Cynthia knew cops aren't invincible. Doesn't matter what Sargent they're under or how effective you are with a gun or well you do your job, you can die. All it takes is a mistake. A slip. And it's over. "I was holding her hand." Erin asks both Jay and Cyn. "As soldiers, how did you two deal with it?"
Jay was the first to answer. "Generally... take it out on those who didn't deserve it."
"Same answer. But I'll tell you both this; I don't have kids. But my mom... something bad happened to me when I was 12. And what she did when she found out landed her in prison. So for whomever took Diego, for their sake, if any thing happens to that boy, I know Antonio enough to see that he'll do something crazy. So we need to find Diego and fast."
After Cynthia said that, the two agreed and Erin kept driving. Though Jay now wonders what happened to Cynthia when she was 12 that caused her mother to go to prison.
Time Skip
The team was on the look out for Ernesto Milpas. So far they don't see him yet. Adam and Alvin are undercover. Disguised as homeless men. The only thing Cynthia sees are construction workers and people walking by.
So far they don't see anything until she sees the guy that's him. "There he is."
On the radio. "There's our boy." Hand notifies the team.
But then Cynthia sees Adam walking towards him. "What the hell is he doing? He's gonna spook him." Cyn takes off her seatbelt, knowing full well he's gonna run. Three of them get out with their guns drawn. The entered the building and both watched each other's back.
The trio splits up, with Cyn and Erin going together and Jay going alone.
The two women enter a room and looked around carefully and before Erin knew it, Ernesto hits her with a bar, and then he tries to hit Cynthia, but the women dodged it in time. Ernesto swings again and tries to bring the bar down, but Grant catches it and knees him hard in the crotch, causing him to groan in pain and Cynthia puts him on his stomach and gets her handcuffs. "Kidnapping a cop's kid? Dick move, mi hombre (my man)."
"Abogado (Lawyer)." Was all he said.
"Suspect in custody." Cynthia radioed. "Erin, you alright?"
Erin groans and gets up. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm an idiot, but I'm fine."
"Well good thing I went with you." She looks down on the man. "Get yo ass up and move." She pulls him up roughly and the guy is still hurting from the knee to the crotch.
Time Skip
As they bring him out, Cynthia sees Antonio approaching Ernesto aggressively. "Antonio, don't do it!"
But Dawson doesn't listen and grabs him by the shirt. "Where's my son?!"
"Not here, Antonio! Not here! Uniforms will be all over us in a minute. We need to bring him in."
Cynthia knows he's angry and wants his son back, and she wants to help, but doesn't want to do it here. Not when there are witnesses. "Where the hell is my son?
"Abogado (Lawyer)." He repeated in Spanish.
"No, ain't no lawyers around here, ese."
"Antonio, look. I get you're angry. And you have every right to be. We will find Diego. I promise you that. And this motherfucker will tell us. But not here." Antonio, after sometime thinking, he backs down and let's Halstead and Lindsay take him. "I know, Toni. We're gonna get him, ok. But I need you to keep a clear head. Alright?"
"Yeah. Thank you. You did good." Antonio was thankful Cyn was there, otherwise he'll be angry at almost everyone. Including Adam.
Speaking of Ruzek, Grant sees him and goes to him. "Hey." Adam sees her and can tell she's upset. "How bout learning some motherfucking patience. You never approach a suspect like that."
"Hey, I made a move."
"A stupid one." Cyn corrected. "This ain't a game, Ruzek. This guy has a kid. If I wasn't there, he would have gotten away, then you'll have Dawson bitting your head off." She walked away from him, leaving Adam in shame.
"Detective Dawson, this is Burgess. You're gonna want to see this." Burgess radioed them.
"Let's go. Come on."
Time Skip
"Tell me you have something."
Jin unlocked the laptop and there's a video of Diego with tape around his mouth. At least until the suspect (one of Pulpo's Hitman) removes it. Speaking Spanish while he's at it.
"Translation."
Cynthia does. "Scream, and we cut out your tongue. Sick bastard."
"Daddy. They say they're gonna k*ll me, daddy." The guy puts the tape right back on Diego.
"Check out the paneled wall." Jay points out. "That's not here."
Time Skip
Once inside the interrogation room, Antonio tries to do it by the book. Not wanting to do it Hank's way. At least not yet. And Cynthia knows this. And respects Dawson's wish to do things his way for now.
"Second time, Ernesto. You're looking at life.
But we can say that Pulpo came in, threatened you, and forced you to help them out."
Again, the only thing Ernesto said was, "Abogado."
"No, no!" Antonio sits back down. "We're gonna talk about my son! Diego! Eight years old!
Where I'm from, that's off-limits."
Yet again. "Abogado."
Dawson slams the table and leaves in anger. Whereas Hank just stares at him, showing no emotions
Cynthia decided to follow Antonio. To check on him. Being without his youngest kid is hard as hell. And she needs to make sure he doesn't do something he'll regret.
And of course, Antonio wants to make a deal with Pulpo, but is stopped by Cynthia. "Don't even think about it, Antonio. This is what he wants."
"I don't care. I'm getting Diego back." Antonio tries to move past her, but she blocks him.
"And then what? You think he's just gonna hand over Diego just like that? Trust me, he won't. We will get him back ourselves. But to find this dude, you're gonna have to... you know..."
Antonio realized what Cynthia was suggesting and objects. "I know Voight's got a different way of doing things. But..."
"It's not your way." Cynthia finished did him. "Look I get it. I want to do this the right way. Same as you. But when it comes to the people we love and care about. Our closet friends, family, we do what we gotta do to save them." She puts a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever you decide, I'll back you. 100%."
Time Skip
Antonio concedes and goes to Voight. Telling him they'll do it his ways. Cynthia comes in to make sure Dawson doesn't go overboard. But she knows that he won't hurt him.
That much.
Even though she wishes she could let him loose.
Hank cuffs Ernesto to the cage. From what Cynthia knows, it's we're certain guys like Ernesto that refuse to talk.
If Antonio wants Diego back, this is what he has to do.
"You got a big problema, ese."
"Abogado." He said again.
"No comprende abogado down here, bro." Hank then slaps him across the face, only for Ernesto to spit in his face. And for Hank to slap him and push his hands on his face.
Cynthia would stop him, but after the part he played in kidnapping a little boy, she's not going to do squat. When it comes to guys kidnapping kids or hurting them, she ain't gonna move to save him.
Antonio comes in, glares hard as the guy revivers form the slap and rough housing. Dawson then picks a chain and starts to wrap it around his knuckles.
"Uh-oh. Yeah."
Ernesto starts showing fear. Just like Cynthia thought he would. All tough of police go by the book. But when they throw it out the window, they start to get scared.
"Espero (wait)." But as Antonio walks slowly towards him, punching his left hand with his right one. "Wait, wait, wait."
"Well, well, well, so you can speak English." Cynthia then asks. "I've been around this guy long enough to know that he has a mean swing. So I'm gonna ask this one time, and one time only. Where is Diego Dawson?"
"No, I... I didn't do anything."
Cynthia shakes her head, knowing that's a lie.
Hank then says. "No, no, no, no, no. It's too late. You know Antonio was gonna fight in the Olympics."
"I'd start talking if I was you, bro." Cynthia warns him.
"I didn't hurt him. Please, no." He starts crying. "No, no." Antonio punched him in the lower stomach real hard.
"Oh, yeah! He's still got a hell of a right."
Ernesto looks to Cynthia for help? But the women merely had her arms crossed and she shrugged. "Tell the man what he wants to know, bro."
Antonio prepares to punch him again. And Ernesto begs him. "Aah, no, no, no, no!" But he punches him again. And this time, Dawson grabs him by the throat. The anger on his face makes it clear he's in no mood to play nice.
"My partner is dead because of you, and now my son."
As Antonio prepares to strike him again, Ernesto fest up. "Wait, wait! Please. His name is Mateo. His name is Mateo. Please, please! I have his cell number, please. Please, no! Please. Mateo has your young son. Please, please."
Cynthia looks into his eyes to see if their any deceit, and there's none. "If anything happens to that boy, pray that he doesn't come for you."
Time Skip
After hearing Mateo speaking in Spanish. "He's running. Nothing about Diego." Cynthia notes.
"I've pinged his cell to the west Adams tower, triangulating with the city center." Jin was pinpointing his location.
"I want men deployed to all major transportation routes out of the city... Midway, O'Hare, I'm including all expressways."
Jin found him. "He's at Union Station."
Time Skip
Once the team was there, the fan out and searched for Diego. Cynthia already knows what the kid looks like and she's good at spotting things.
That's when she and Erin see Diego along with Mateo. "We see him." Erin informed the team.
"They're boarding a bus for Indianapolis." Cynthia adds. The two waste no time in getting on top of the bus. Only Cynthia wasn't that close to them, but enough for her to get on the bus without the driver noticing and closely sat behind him.
Erin sits next to Cyn, the latter hearing the threats the man made to Diego. She can't wait to get her hands on him.
They both get a Tex from Voight. 10 mins.
Cynthia has an idea. It's risky, but worth it. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course. Why?" Erin asked.
"Listen, I'm going to head into the bathroom. Because if this plan goes south, and he holds Diego at gun point, he won't expect another cop from behind. Just keep his eyes on you. And he's mine. Ok?"
"Just be careful, ok?" Erin asked.
"I will." Cynthia gets up and heads to the bathroom and waits. As soon as she hears shouts, that's when she makes her move. She's not psychic or anything. She's just getting ready for plan B, should Plan A fail.
Soon, the driver stomps the breaks a couple times before announcing. "Looks like we're having engine trouble, folks. I'm gonna pull the bus over and take a look. I've already called another bus to take you on your way, so it should be here in a minute or two. Don't worry." A minute or two and they came to a stop." Here comes the backup bus now, folks. Apologies for any inconvenience."
"All right, we're real sorry for the delay, folks, but we've got a tried and true new rig out here that'll get you where you're going right away. 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?"
Cynthia knows that voice to be Alvin. Likely disguised as a bus driver.
Hank wonders where Cynthia is. He heard she was on the bus with Erin, but now she's not, as Jay reported. Wondering what Grant is up to.
Cynthia waits carefully. Listens for anything.
And just like that, Mateo shouts in
Spanish. "Well, looks like plan A failed." Cynthia quietly gets out of the bathroom, gun drawn. And carefully gets close to Mateo.
"Drop it! Drop it!"
"I swear I will kill him."
After saying that, Cynthia holds him at gun point. To the head no less. "Go ahead. Try me. And I'll send you to god." Mateo groans and with little choice he has, he puts the gun down and raises his hand. "Diego, it's me, Cynthia. You alright, little man?"
"Yeah. Where daddy?"
"Follow Erin. Go." Diego runs to Erin who Cynthia places handcuffs on Mateo. "Eres una perra, lo sabías? amenazando con matar a un niño (you're a bitch, you know that? threatening to kill a child.)"
After saying that, she takes him outside and hands him over to the police.
Antonio and Diego embrace one another. The former looking to Cynthia and thanks her by nodding,
She smiles and nods at him before walking beside Erin and Hank.
"You two did the right thing." Hank says to them.
Both nod, with Erin's hands shaking as she puts her earpiece in her pockets the same with Cyn. "Put your hands in your pockets. It gets easier."
"I hope so." Cyn replied.
Time Skip
Cynthia was attending Jules' funeral. All dressed for it. She sees her kids and husband there. She can only imagine what they're thinking.
Her death is a reminder that any one do them will fall. They're not gods. Just humans good at their jobs and could easily be killed. Let alone fooled.
Though for Cyn, it wouldn't be easy.
She knows what this job might do to her. What it will likely cost her. Hopefully not too much of her. After that talk Hank had with her and the rest of the unit.
[I've been given the 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's nothing more important. If you're in, stay here with me.]
Whatever happens, she's in. All the way in.