"House belongs to a Dean Masters. His file was red-flagged to notify intelligence but he must have been before my time."
"Oh, yeah, him. That robbery at the art institute last year, we liked him as the fence."
"The neighbors heard a woman scream. We knocked, he yelled out that he had a gun and to leave him alone." An officer informed them.
"Masters, this is Sergeant Voight with the Chicago Police. Open up, make this easy on all of us." Voight banged on the door.
"He's gonna kill me!" The woman shouted.
"Take it." Jay shot the lock off. The woman screamed, struggling to get out of Dean's hold.
"Drop it!" Dean held a gun to the woman who was half naked.
"I told 'em I would kill her!"
"Drop it, Masters!"
"We're here to help."
"Let her go."
"All we're trying to do is have a good time. Isn't that right, huh?" He pushed her face into a plate of drugs.
"Drop your weapon! Hands in the air! Do it now!"
"Easy, easy. Everybody take a breath." Lindsay held her hand up.
"She set me up. She's trying to get me killed."
"Fine, you're right. We can handle that."
"I got info. I got info on a deal that's going down, and that's why she's setting me up."
"I don't know what he...what he's talking about. I swear to God."
"All right, we will help you. We will help you, but you've gotta let her go first. You don't need her. Come on, give her to me. Come on. Give her to me." He hesitated before pushing the girl into Lindsay's arms.
"I'm dead anyway."
"No!" Dean put the gun under his chin, pulling the trigger. His blood splattered all over the wall and TV as his body dropped.
Soon, the crime scene was filled with officers. I was stuck in a daze, not realizing that Antonio was standing in front of me.
"Hey. Ana..hey.." Antonio lightly shook me.
"Anastasia?"
"Uh, yeah? Sorry."
"Gabby and her partner went through this. Guy blew his brains out in front of them on a routine call. Gabby was fine but it hit Shay pretty hard. Don't be afraid to talk to somebody, anybody. Me..if it sneaks up on you."
"Thanks."
-
"Dean Masters was a hotshot artist in his 20s. Work dried up, picked up a drug habit. He's suspected of not only being a fence but also forging paintings."
"What was that thing intelligence had him on?" Antonio asked.
"Stolen Klimt. Never resurfaced."
"What the hell is a Klimt?" I questioned.
"An artist."
"Named Klimt?" Ruzek asked, partially laughing.
"Yeah."
"That's a funny name, right? Or am I alone on this? Klimt. Say it out loud."
"It's kinda funny, yeah." Jay cracked a smile, sipping his coffee.
"So this whole "they're gonna kill me" thing that Masters was going on about was either about the stolen painting or something else."
"Or he was just tripping and talking nonsense. I mean, did you see his pupils? He was gakked out of his mind."
"We got a known suspect, took his own life rather than face something heavy-duty. We pursue the case." Olinsky brought up the girl who Dean held hostage.
"Lindsay, will you take this?"
"How you feeling?"
"Like hell." Lindsay led her to the kitchen.
Lindsay informed us about a girl named Nadia. She worked at the same club that the girl worked but was a no-show to Dean's place.
The boys went down to the club. When they arrived back at the district, I couldn't help but laugh when I noticed Ruzek's limp.
"What the hell happened to him?"
"He got kicked in the nuts."
"Ouch." I pressed her lips together, holding back another laugh.
"Yeah, it's real funny." He went to the locker room, sitting on the bench.
"Here." I handed him a bag of ice.
"Thanks." Ruzek put the ice in his underwear.
"He alright?" Antonio asked.
"I think they're swollen. Seriously, dude."
"I'll take your word for it." Jay stood in the doorway, smiling.
"Uniforms picked up Nadia trying to score over on Roosevelt. They're bringing her in. You all right?" He asked Ruzek.
"No."
"Just checking."
"Yeah, I'm glad we're all having fun with this. Wendy and I wanna have kids. If I'm sterile..I'm gonna have that chick's neck."
"Uh-uh. This is all on you, Ruzek. You can't let your guard down like that, ever."
"Good talk."
"You'll be fine." I chuckled and assured him.
"How are Eva and Diego doing?"
"Eva's great. Diego, he still has nightmares every now and then. Other than that he's good."
"That's good."
"Speaking of kids, when are you gonna have some?"
"Hell if I know. I'm just going with the flow, why rush things?"
"Right. Just to let you know, I wasn't joking about that half on a baby thing."
"Ton-"
"Let's go." Hank said, walking out of his office and between us.
Voight and Jay went to check out the shop of Noel Harris, the name they'd gotten from Nadia. Following Voight's orders, we went back to Dean's house, checking over everything.
"Bedrooms are clear." Al said.
"We're missing 20 square feet. Right there."
"You got it?" Jay and Ruzek moved a painting.
"Bingo." I opened the door, revealing all the tools needed to make counterfeit money.
We headed back to the district. Ruzek admired the detail closely, making comments.
"See, I mean, that is some serious talent, man. This guy's a failed artist?"
"Yep."
"It's funny the things people end up doing when they can't do what they really want, huh?" Hank walked up the stairs with a man.
"This is Agent Joe Hill. Secret Service, Chicago field office. We go back a ways." Voight said.
"Where's your earpiece and your sunglasses?" Ruzek joked.
"That's only when Obama's in town."
"Does this mean we're handing over the case?" I asked.
"No. Technically, I can't get involved unless there's actual counterfeit currency found, but Hank just thought I could help."
"I thought counterfeiters were using high-end printers nowadays." Jay stated.
"There's digital tech that'll print a pretty good 5 or 10, then you pass it off at Walgreens buying dollar items. That's what we call 'baby laundering.' Using plates..this is old-school. Takes some real work."
"There's three steps. The plates, the paper, and the printer. Guess who we're looking for now."
"The hooker that kicked Ruzek in the nuts. How'd she characterize her interaction with Dean Masters?" Jin looked at Erin.
"Went to his place once."
"45 text messages between him and her over the last two weeks." She stormed out of the room, going to the cage that held Nadia.
-
"Okay, pods found a match to the delivery van with the Jesus fish on the back. You know, the symbol's actually called an ichthys-"
"Jin?" Erin interrupted.
"Fine. You wanna keep calling it a 'Jesus fish' then knock yourself out. Also found something else." He zoomed in on the side of the truck.
"Tabernacle?" Jay asked.
"Yeah. This van's registered to the Tabernacle of Divinity. It's a storefront church on 63rd and Cal. They use it to deliver meals to the elderly."
"That's Pastor Mike's place. An ex-GD. Supposedly underwent a jailhouse conversion a few years back. Guess it didn't take." Antonio informed.
"All right. I'll show Nadia a lineup of this guy and his associates. If she picks anybody out, I'll get a warrant."
When Erin returned, we vested up, heading to the church. We looked around, watching our surroundings while Antonio used a blowtorch to get through the door.
"Police! Everybody get on the ground!"
"Get on the ground!"
"Put your hands behind your head! On the wall!"
"Down on your knees! Gun! Gun!"
"Hey, keep y'all mouths shut! Don't say nothing!" Pastor Mike yelled.
"No plates. No paper. No sign of any printing operation." Jay said.
"We really think pastor Mike has the skills for counterfeiting?"
"Let's find out."
Antonio and I sat in the interview room, across from pastor Mike. He stared at us, with amusement all over his face.
"We owe you an apology, Pastor Mike." Toni started.
"That's a start."
"I mean, here we were thinking you're the brains behind a counterfeit ring but really you're a small-time charlie who's too dumb to know you've been played."
"Naw. 'The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glories of God.' That's Romans." I took a marker, drawing an 'x' on the back of the $100 bill.
"Uh-oh. That's some kind of trick."
"Your crew took out Noel Harris. Dean Masters knew he was on your list. He freaks out, kills himself first."
"And the problem is..you got paid in funny money."
"Why don't you tell us who hired you for the hit on Harris. I'll talk to the state's attorney, see about you getting 20 years instead of life." He shifted in his chair, starting to talk.
"All right. Pastor Mike was contracted by this man..Glen Ward. Now, Ward has done federal time in Leavenworth for counterfeiting but how Ward and his printing crew hooked up with Dean Masters and Noel Harris is anybody's guess, and why the two of them are both dead now, who knows?"
"Pastor Mike didn't say why Ward wanted them dead?" Jay questioned.
"He didn't ask."
"It could be any reason. Somebody wanted a bigger cut, threatened to snitch, banged somebody's girlfriend."
"Any one of those scenarios."
"One of Ward's aliases is Denis Diderot."
"A counterfeiter and a fan of French literature. Can't wait to meet him." Al joked.
"Hey, Sarge. Jin just did a name check against new leases on commercial property rentals. He got a hit. Foreclosed chemical building on Cicero." Ruzek handed Voight a folder.
"All right, unless anyone's opposed to overtime, let's go find our printer."
-
"It's quiet out front." Jay said, walking along the front of the building.
"Looks like Ward's ready to roll." There were two packed duffle bags in the front seat of a semi truck.
"We got eyes in there yet?"
"No. Almost there. Stand by."
"All right, we're up."
"Counterfeit central."
"All right. There's two, three, and..four."
"Any artillery?" Voight asked.
"I can't tell."
"We're going in." Jay used a tool that looked like a much larger screwdriver to get the door open.
"Chicago PD!"
"Watch out, the police!" Bullets were exchanged, shattering glass.
"I got Ward!"
"I got this one!" I ran into a storage room, looking around.
A cart came at me, full speed, knocking me into the wall. The guy took a swing at me but he missed. I elbowed him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
"Stay down!"
"Ugh!" He groaned, holding his bleeding nose.
"George 5021 emergency. Shots fired by the police and at the police. Roll an ambo to 1356 South 13th Street. Notify the dicks and crime lab. Plainclothes officers at the scene. Can I get you a T-shirt, big fella?" Jay said into his radio, asking Ward, who sat shirtless on the ground.
"You good?" Ruzek asked the team.
"Too bad it ain't real." Antonio said, running a hand over the fake cash.
"Lindsay, get a picture of me for my album cover." Ruzek laid on top of the pile, posing.
"You're an idiot."
"Call Agent Hill, tell him we found the mother lode."
"Yeah, we do all the work, Secret Service comes in, takes the credit."
"You want your face on the front page of the paper?"
"Hey, what are you doing tonight?"
"Nothing. Just me and a bottle of wine."
"Bottle?"
"You heard me."
"Well, alright."
I headed home, yearning for my bed and a drink. I got comfortable, sitting on the couch. There were a few knocks at the door, making me groan.
Why can't people just leave me alone for the rest of the night? I put down my glass, swinging the door open.
"Hey, Luna." I smiled at the familiar face.
"Justin!" I tightly hugged him.
"I need some air." Laughing, I let go. His eyes looked me up and down.
"Damn, you look good. What guy has got you looking all happy?"
"Thanks. It's no one."
"I thought you were with that one guy, Dick or Sissy, what was his name?"
"It was Daniel and that was over long ago."
"Do I need to kick his ass?"
"No. Let's not forget what happened before."
"Right."
"You want something?"
"Yeah. I got a question. Why didn't you show up when I got released?"
"Justin.."
"Huh? I was looking for my old man, you..all I seem to get was Erin. What's up with that? Seeing as you're my little sister, I would've guessed that you'd be there for me. I mean, we're blood."
"We're...we're what?"
"My sister. The old man didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"I'm your half brother. You really didn't know that we share the same dad?"
"Wh- no- I.." he sighed.
"Look, here's my number. Call me when you got time to hang." Without another word, he kissed the top of my head and left.