"Justin, what happened? Justin, look at me. What happened?"
"It was-it was something stupid. I just got into a fight outside of McIntyre's with this...I broke this guy's nose, I think. Right?" I checked his hands.
"What'd you hit him with?"
"What?"
"Your knuckles aren't bruised."
"I just..I cracked him with- I got him with an elbow, real good."
"Justin, what's going on?" He stopped to look at me.
"Hey, listen, I shouldn't have come here. It was a mistake."
"No, come on."
"It's just like I said. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you in on this, okay? I don't even know what I was thinking." He headed for the door.
"Justin! Ju-" He rushed out, slamming the door.
I tried calling his cell but he didn't answer. I went to bed in hopes that he'd turn up tomorrow.
The next morning, I woke up, checking my cell. I had no missed calls. Heading to work, I looked for Voight's car before I entered the building.
"Hey, Olinsky, department's pushing back on these expense reports you turned in. 27 bucks for Powerade? Not covered." Trudy said.
"You owe me 27 bucks." Al said to Ruzek.
"No, no, no. Nobody told me that we got to go out of pocket on stakeouts."
"Is that so? Order some caviar and lobster tails next time, then."
"What's all this?" Al gestured towards the camera.
"New photo I.D. cards in the district."
"There's no way you're getting my face on a badge."
"Well, the locks aren't gonna work without the new I.D., Alvin."
"Okay, here, get your camera ready." He said as he walked up the stairs.
"You got it?"
"Hey, Turner and Hooch, get over here. Anastasia, you're up." Trudy called out to Kim and Kevin.
"Trudy, please call me Ana."
"Anastasia, picture, now. Get your butt on the X." I stood on the X, looking at the camera.
"Alright, just look up for me, turn your head that way. And one, two, three..perfect." she said as she snapped the picture.
"You wanna see it?"
"Sure."
"Hey, anybody seen Voight?" I asked as I walked to the back of the district.
"What is it?" He came into sight. We walked away from everyone.
"We got a problem. Justin showed up at my apartment last night, blood on his hands. He said he got in a bar fight, but I don't know."
"Where is he now?"
"He took off." He nodded.
"So you didn't think to stop him, or call me?"
I fought the urge to throw in his face that he didn't think to tell me I was his daughter.
"It all happened so fast."
"Right. Everybody upstairs."
"All right, we got a new case."
"This is Frank Fitori, caught napping in a ditch by the marsh where he was dumped. He's had his own little racket on the south side for years. He swims with a lot of big fish."
"Swam." Jay corrected.
"Swam."
"Well.."
"All right, Halstead and I will check out the murder site."
"No. Anastasia and Antonio will check it out. Everyone else, go through the confidential files on Taylor Street, Bridgeport, Chinatown, and Melrose crews. Let's see who's running what nowadays."
"Hey, we gotta run out on a personal after we check out the scene."
"Why?"
"It's a personal." I complied, following him to the car. We drove in silence until we reached the crime scene.
We pulled up to a scene with no body and two officers. Getting out, we approached them.
"Where's the dead guy?"
"Homicide already came and went. Then the crime lab, then the motor patrol." I thanked him, walking back to the car.
"Is that one of our pods?" Toni asked after looking around.
"Dinner at the Alistar says it's got our footage."
"Those things suck."
"I don't think so."
"All right, you're on, Dawson." He smirked, getting in the car. A few minutes into the drive, I noticed he was going in the opposite direction of the district.
"Where are we going?"
"On a personal."
"Which is?" He threw me a look, not saying another word. The rest of the drive remained silent until we reached a huge building.
"What are we doing here?" He stayed quiet as we walked to see a familiar face.
"Gradishar." I whispered, angrily.
"Thank you for coming so quickly, Detective Dawson, Moore. I know you're busy."
"Yeah, well, meeting I. A. in some secret spot.."
"Relax. Everyone knows you're great detectives. I talked to Brady in Vice after we chatted a few weeks ago, and he wore my ear out for an hour telling me what a straight arrow you are."
"Come on."
"And you.." she looked to me.
"Save me the bullshit."
"Fine. We have had Sergeant Voight working for us since he got pulled out of lockup, a stipulation to his release. He pretends to be dirty, helps us run down some heavy hitters. It's a win-win for everybody. Only he wasn't just playing dirty. He was dirty. He still is. We were the suckers. Or, more specifically, I was the sucker."
"Hey, lie down with dogs.."
"You have the same fleas crawling on you that I do, Detectives, your whole unit. Did you know Erin Lindsay is a former informant Voight turned out at 14? You think she's not carrying water for him? And what about you?"
"What about me?" She smirked.
"He is building an army there, and it is only a matter of time before it implodes. The murder at the Marsh, I told Voight to look into Alessio Colo. He told me he would. Then he blew it off. I wonder why." She held up a photo of Hank and Colo.
"He never mentioned Colo as a suspect."
"This doesn't mean anything."
"To be very clear, Detectives, I am going to take Voight down. Everyone's watching how this plays out. Right now, it's either me or him. Once he's gone, you are in the perfect position to get a promotion and take over Intelligence and you, well-"
"You wanna keep trying me?"
"Control yourself, Anastasia."
"It's Detective."
"Why'd I think I could turn you? Hank's already invaded your mind, it's too late for you. You're dismissed."
"Dismissed? I'm dismissed.."
"Detective Dawson, think of yourself as the head of intelligence. All you got to do is choose a side."
"Hey, let's go. Let's go." Toni pulled my arm as I glared at her.
"I got some files to pick up."
"You're going to help Gradishar?" I asked.
"Not too long ago, you were in the same boat."
"I didn't consider it. She just assumed she could get me to turn against him."
"Was she right? I mean for a second, I thought I saw you considering it."
"You don't know what the hell you saw. You may not understand but he's a great cop-"
"Is this coming from Detective Moore or Anastasia, the girl who has known him her whole life?" I nodded, staying silent.
When we got back to the district, we entered through the back entrance, going into Jin's office.
"Hey, we need you to access one of our pods at the site."
"Yeah, got it." He quickly pulled it up, playing the video.
"There. Surf and turf."
"It sucks. Like I said, you can't see anything."
"Can you make this brighter?" Toni went to touch the screen but Jin slapped his hand.
"No."
"Come on. Dinner depends on this."
"What do you want from me? I can't make it daytime. I told you, the image on the file is the image on the file."
"Fine."
"Hey, what is that?" I asked, pointing to a sign in the background of the video.
"Kane Builders?"
"If they have a private security cam at the lot, I bet you we get at least a plate off the Escalade."
"Genius."
"I am. Thank you."
We went to the Kane Builders site, stopping a construction worker as he passed.
"Uh, sorry guys, site's closed for like another 6 months." I held up my badge.
"We're with the Chicago Police Department. It would help us out, let us see any footage your security cams caught. I mean, we could come back and get a warrant, but.."
"I'd be more than happy to, sincerely, but I don't even know if we keep them on. Tell you what, it's all run by some company in India or something. Here's the number of our office downtown, ask for Libby. Tell her Don said to give you the number, and she'll take care of you."
"Great. Thank you."
"I'll call the Alistar, seeing as your buying. It's the least I could do. Just so you know, I'm thinking truffles."
"Yeah." I muttered, thinking back to our slight disagreement in the car.
-
"All right. This turned out to be more of a homicide thing, as we all suspected. I apologize."
"Hold up a sec. Alessio Colo. He was one of the top bosses on the south side. Bookmaking, loan-sharking, extortion, armed robberies. C. P. D. thought he was retired, but now a tip leads us to believe he's back in the game." Toni put a picture of Colo on the board.
"What are you doing?" Hank asked.
"And this is Joe Catalano, habitual felon just released from Stateville, and Colo's nephew. He used to work for Colo back before he got sent up. Our D.O.A., Fitori, he turned rat on Catalano back in '06. He made a deal with the state's attorney that kept him in jail and put Catalano in."
"Well, it sounds like Catalano got released. He got right to it."
"All right, so if this is Catalano.." Al trailed off.
"Who is the driver?" Adam filled.
"Okay, I'm tracking down the Indian company that has footage from the construction yard. Just waiting for the sun to come up over there and we should have a clear shot of the driver."
Hank and Toni stared at each other as if they wanted to attack at any moment. Al looked back and forth between them, intervening.
"Yeah, the D.O.A., Frank Fitori, he used to run with this Ross crew back in the day. A guy named Dean-O Ross, was the patriarch." Toni smirked, looking at Al.
"Along with Fitori, Dean Ross was on the grand jury witness list."
"This him?" Jay held up a picture.
"Yep, Dean-O, yeah."
"Maybe Dean-O's a target too, huh?"
"All right, let's go. Ruzek and I will shadow him, tuck him in at night."
"That's a good idea. Lindsay and I will come too." Hank suggested.
"Yeah, looks like we're all going." Toni demanded.
"I'd like to talk to you in my office first."
"What the hell was that about?" Erin whispered.
"I don't know. Can I talk to you for a sec?" She nodded. We walked into the break room. I shut the door, sitting down.
"What the hell is going on with Hank?" She darted her eyes.
"Don't tell me that it isn't anything, because it is clear as day that he is distracted."
"Justin was the driver. Hank hasn't been able to get in contact with him."
"So, that's what happened."
"What?"
"Justin showed up at my place with blood on his hands. He said that he'd got into a fight but now it makes sense." I nodded, opening the door.
"Thanks." Once Toni and Hank exited his office, we set up positions around Dean's location.
"O, you got eyes on him?"
"Just approaching now. We got him."
"We're near Clark and Belmont, in case he heads to the highway." Toni said.
"Ross is on foot, heading toward the tanning salon on Sheffield."
"Be right there."
"The salon's been a money-laundering front for a long time."
"Wouldn't Catalano know that?" Adam asked.
"Yep."
"Whoa, whoa. Catalano."
"I got him. Catalano!" Hank got out the car, running after Catalano.
"Suspect is heading south."
"I lost him. I lost him." Hank said as we caught up to him.
-
"What?" Hank shouted as I knocked on the door.
"Jin's got the construction-site video from India. It's downloading in his office." We went down to Jin's office.
"I've asked them to increase the bandwidth down here, 'cause the connection just- oh, wait. All right, here we go. Now we'll see who was with Catalano that night."
"Thanks, Jin."
"Yeah." Erin glanced at Voight.
"We'll call you if we need you." Jin looked at Voight.
"Yeah. Yeah, of course. Um, take all the time you need."
Once he left, I sat in the chair, pressing play. As the video played, the SUV got closer to the camera. I looked at the driver, sighing.
"It's Justin."
"That's it, then."
"No, that's not it." I shook my head.
"Yeah, well, the kid's an accomplice to murder."
"No, this isn't over yet. I know he's not answering your calls, but he's gonna answer mine."
"Is that right?"
"Yeah, Hank, it is." I threw a glare his way before leaving the district.
I called Justin multiple times, not receiving an answer. Trying one more time, the dial tone ended as his voice sounded.
"Justin? Hey, where are you?"
"You got the old man with you? I don't- I don't want him to know."
"No, he's not with me. I need you to tell me where you are?"
"Meet me at the corner of 76th and Cal. You know- you know where the- the hotel is.."
"Yeah."
Driving to the hotel, I parked the car, getting out. As I walked towards the entrance, Justin came out, putting his hood over his head.
"What the hell were you thinking?" I asked as I pushed him.
"I didn't know, okay? I didn't know he was gonna kill that guy. One second I'm standing there, and the next, pop, pop. And this dude just falls to the ground, straight down, like somebody flipped a switch, you know. He had blood coming from his mouth and his nose, and it was just-" He rambled, panicking.
"Justin."
"You know that he was laying there, and he reached out to me for help, and I just stood there? I couldn't even move my feet. I wanted to run, I wanted to do something. I just stood there, you know. Catalano...Catalano raised his gun up at me, and he said I had to help him move the body, or he was gonna drop me right then and there. Luna, I swear to God, I had no choice."
"You need to get it together right now."
"Luna, I got to run, okay? I got to run right now. I need you to help me. I'm a dead man, you know." I looked around.
"Get in my car."
"You're gonna help me?"
"We're gonna help each other. Get in the car." He nodded.
Thoughts raced through my mind as I drove back to the district. I could see Justin's heart racing.
"You're gonna be fine." He nodded.
"How are- how are you holding up with things? I mean, with the whole thing with the old man. Have you said anything?"
"No. I haven't."
"Why not? I would've broken his nose." I chuckled.
"Yeah, I don't think I could." He smiled.
"You know, I found out when I was a kid. A year after your mom had you, the old man found out that you were his."
"He's known for.."
"Yeah. I know. At least he was there for you. I got the tough love card."
"Right." He sighed.
"Hey, how's your mom?"
"I don't...want to talk about that."
"Oh. Sorry." I blinked, holding back tears.
When we got to the district, I led him to the interview room. Bringing Antonio in, we both sat down looking at Justin.
"Tell him what you told me."
"Luna.."
"Justin, please."
Justin hesitated, telling Toni everything. Toni nodded, leaving the room. As I stepped out, Hank walked past, stopping. I held my hand up, pointing towards his office.
"Antonio's waiting for you in your office." I followed him to his office.
"There better be a damn good reason why my son is in the interrogation room, and I wasn't notified immediately!" He shouted. I closed the door, leaning against it.
"You have a problem. Internal Affairs Gradishar came to me, wanted to make a deal for you. She included Anastasia too, but she wouldn't budge." Hank looked to me.
"Gradishar knows all about you and Colo. Your son was dumb, but he was a dupe. Catalano's the target. So, as far as I'm concerned, I never saw that photo. I never heard him say he was there. And I'm going to move on to the next Intelligence file." I nodded, going downstairs.
"Hey, Jin."
"Yeah?"
"That video from India...you never got it."
"The one I deleted two hours ago? I have no idea what you're talking about."
-
"I'm gonna head home. A tub of ice cream is calling my name."
Jin quickly walked around the corner, stopping me. He looked between me and Toni.
"Hey, they just dredged a body out of the river."
I followed Toni to the scene. Hank stood by the river as they placed Catalano's body on the ground.
"Got him?"
"Yeah."
"That's Catalano, huh?" Gradishar asked.
"Yeah. Well, he had a lot of enemies. Funny how justice works in this city sometimes, huh?" Hank smirked, walking off. Gradishar looked to me and Toni.
"You two, my office."
"What the hell was that, Detective, huh? You're supposed to be building a case on Voight, and you got nothing. You gave me nothing!"
"And you..!"
"Please, tell me what the hell you think I did."
"Lower your voice, Detective! I should've known. You had something to do with it, you knew Voight's plan and you did nothing to stop him."
"You can accuse me of backing up the man the protects Chicago, but you will not accuse me of being a dirty cop." She angrily sighed.
"He has somehow wriggled his way off the hook, and I look like a fool. I look like a fool! Or worse!"
"You don't remember me, do you?" Toni asked.
"What?"
"Fifteen years ago, you were a patrolman in Internal Affairs. You investigated my partner, Sean Patterson. You went after him for some double-dipped overtime pay, some paperwork that he admitted he filed mistakenly."
"Oh!" She waved him off.
"It should've been a slap on the wrist, but you wanted to make a name for yourself, make an example of him because you're a climber. You always have been. The union fought his charges, and you went after him harder." Her face softened.
"You took away his pension, bounced him from the job. He killed himself a year later. His family lost a father because you used him as the bottom rung of your ladder." She stayed silent. Toni shook his head, walking out of the room.
"You don't know. You don't know what we do or what we sacrifice or the price we pay for this, for the job. And you'll never know." I said, slamming the door behind me.
I walked to my car, seeing Toni leaned against his. He stared off, rubbing his hands together.
"Hey. Listen, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. Voight was just in too deep in the case and-"
"This has nothing to do with the case. Look, I think it's probably better we just keep it professional, right?"
Before he could respond, I got in my car and left. On the drive to Hank's place, I wiped my tears, wondering if I'd made the right choice.
Stopping in front of his house, I got out, going up to the door. I repeatedly knocked on the door until he snatched it open, holding his gun.
"Relax, it's me."
"Ana? What the hell are you doing here this late?" He took notice of her puffy eyes and tear stained face.
"Where's Justin?" Hank stayed quiet for a moment.
"He..enlisted."
"He? As in Justin? There's no way he would've just enlisted."
He looked around, motioning for me to come in. Once I was in, he shut and locked the door. He stared at me, putting his hands in his pockets.
"He didn't really have a choice in the matter. Now, what I wanna know is what you're doing here."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"Excuse me?"
"Ashton isn't my real father." He sighed, crossing his arms.
"It wasn't my place to tell you."
"Don't bullshit me, Hank! How long have you known?"
"It doesn't matter."
"It does!"
"I found out a year after you were born. She kept it a secret from Ashton, didn't want him to leave her. Never told me who the father was."
"God, you are such a liar."
"Hey, you're dealing with a lot of emotions right now."
"So imagine finding out that the guy you've known almost all of your life is your father."
"What? No. It ain't me, kid."
"She told you. That crap about her not telling you who the father was, was a lie. Is that why you recruited me for intelligence? So you can keep an eye on me."
"I recruited you for your skills."
"That's it? Why didn't you tell me?"
"She didn't want you to know. Being a cop in Chicago is dangerous and it puts family at risk. We didn't want anything to happen to you so we made it look like you were Ashton's."
"I was put in harm's way the day I was born. The danger enhanced, the day I became a cop, Hank."
"Why the hell do you think I tried to talk you out of it?"
"I thought you were looking out for my dad, excuse me, Ashton. Is there anything else you wanna tell me? Or should I see if Ashton knows anything?"
"Who told you?"
"You're caught in a lie and you're worried about who told me."
"Look, I'm sorry."
"Sorry isn't gonna cut it. Were you ever going to tell me?"
"I couldn't find the right time."
"Bullshit, Hank." I shook my head, heading for the door.
"Ana, wait."
"Kiss my ass."