CHAPTER ONE,
everyone goes home
ARIELLA KNEW WHAT SHE was signing up for when first started dating Antonio. An ex-wife, two kids, and a heck of a lot of baggage, and yet she took it on anyways. She took each day in strides.
"All right, listen up." Voight announced, grabbing everyone's attention, "Got a name on those dope deaths. It's a dealer named Rev on South Emerald." He said, "As soon as Olinsky gets here, we're gonna-"
"Over here." Al popped his head out from behind his desk, "Hey." He greeted.
"Hey, Alvin."
"Hank."
"We're gonna set up a controlled buy Halstead and Lindsay in the doorway." He looked at Erin and Jay, "Do not go inside. Got it. All right, one more thing we've been doing this, what, two months? Now more than ever, we keep everything in house. Understand? I don't care how they run other departments or how you came up. This is Intelligence my unit. You tell me the truth, so I can lie for you. And if you ever go over my head, it'll be the last head you go over."
He looked at each detective in the unit, "Everybody goes home tonight." He stated.
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"Rev! Open up!" Jay pounded on the door. Everyone except Erin and Jay was in their cars, listening and waiting for their sign.
"Hey! You mind keeping it down?" A man yelled, popping his head out of his door.
"Am I banging on your door? No? Then go back inside." Jay glared, and the man went back inside "Rev, open up!" He shouted again when a guy opening the door.
"I'm going out on a limb here. Rev might not be home." Antonio suggested.
"Good one," Arielle commented from her seat next to him.
The door opened, "Yeah, uh, is Rev here?" Jay asked the guy.
"No, so quit pounding on the door." The guy snarled.
"Hey, man, yo, my girl she's going into rehab tomorrow." Jay stopped the door before it shut, "Wants to go out with a bang tonight. Rev usually hooks me up. You ever been to rehab, man? It sucks."
"Come in." The guy opened the door and little furuter.
"We'll come back when Rev's here," Erin spoke up.
"You've been up to my ass for two hours about scoring some "H"," Jay played along.
"Well, I changed my mind!" Erin shouted back.
Jay sighed, then looked back over at the guy in the doorway, "Mujeres, right?" Jay shrugged.
"It looked like blood." Erin explained to all of them, "That and the fact that we don't know that guy-"
"You don't have to justify it. You got a bad hit, you got a bad hit. Let's go in." Voight defended.
"No. Cause maybe it looked like blood? That's not probable cause to force an entry." Jules stated.
"He could have been marinating a chicken and spilled barbecue sauce on his pants," Antonio added.
"We've got three OD's traced back to the heroin Rev's moving. You want to wait for another kid to die?" Voight asked.
"We'll do a knock-and-talk, all right? Whoever's in control of the apartment gets all squirrelly, we'll take it from there. All right?" Al asked.
"Barbecue sauce as a marinade? What's that some kind of Puerto Rican thing - or something?" Voight asked as they all walked back towards the cars and the apartment complex.
"I'm Dominican." Antonio corrected.
"It's got too much sugar in it. It'll burn the meat." Voight pointed out when gunshots went off at a building not too far from them.
They all ducked, but unholstered their weapons, making their way towards the building, "10-1! Shots fired at the police! 10-1, 5600 Emerald! Plainclothes officers at the scene!" Antonio shouted into the walkie.
"Get the long guns!" Voight shouted. Jay and Al grabbed the guns in question, and they all quickly suited up, rushing up the stairs, guns raised.
"Get back inside! Go back upstairs!" Jay told the neighbors who had run out of their houses at the gunshots.
They got to the door where the gunshots were and kicked down the door. They all ran in, guns raised as they cleared each room, "Police! Clear!" Antonio yelled.
"Clear!" Jules yelled.
"Body!" Erin yelled.
"That's Rev in the John," Jay pointed out as they passed a headless body in the sink.
"Offender must have booked."
"Call it in. Clear the rest of the building. Shooter's in the wind." Voight told them.
They all heard a thump come from the closet and grabbed their weapons again. Ariella, who was closest to the closet door, grabbed the door handle. She glanced at her boss and waited for his nod, and when he gave it, she ripped the door open to reveal a boy, no older than 16, curled up with his knees pressed against his chest, looking scared as ever.
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Once at the station, Jules pulled the kid from the scene out of the backseat and walked up to Voight, waiting for further instructions, "Take him upstairs." He told her. She nodded, walking him up the stairs.
"Beheading. That's a signature cartel move." Antonio pointed out.
"Yeah. Lindsay, put together a description of the guy who answered the door, see if you can find him in any of our databases." Voight told her.
"Hey, is your transmitter all right? It cut out." Jin told Jay as he walked past him.
"Oh, yeah. Uh, banged up against the wall." He pulled the gadget out of his pocket and handed it to Jin, "I'm sorry, Jin." He shrugged.
"Alvin, I'm gonna need a fresh face in case we have someone pose as a buyer again," Voight announced.
"I'll pull someone from the academy," Al nodded.
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"That's him," Erin nodded. Antonio and Jules talked to the kid, who gave them a name, and they then pulled a mugshot.
"Adres Dias, aka Pulpo, the Octopus." Antonio put the picture up on the board, "He's got dual citizenship here and in Colombia. Me and Jules had him on our radar five years back when he was working his way up from street enforcer." He explained.
"Yeah, I remember his name. Didn't he beat a double-murder rap?" Voight asked.
"The two key witnesses were killed," Jules added.
"Was he cutting off heads back then too?" Ariella asked.
"No, he learned a thing or two since he was in Colombia," Jules answered.
"What type of player was he? What part of the city did he hold down?" Jay asked.
"Oh, see, that's the thing. He wasn't affiliated with any faction. Nobody knew his real script. He was just in it for the money and the blood." Antonio said.
"Okay, you two, in my office," Voight looked at Jay and Antonio.
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After getting a tip from one of Voight's CI's, if you could even call him that, they all suited up, "Eric Cooper! Hey, Coop, open up!" Antonio pounded on the door.
"Pry marks," Jay pointed out. Antonio and Jay looked back at Voight.
"Breach." Voight nodded. They shot the lock off and Antonio was the first to rush in, everyone else not far behind.
"Police! Clear!" Antonio yelled.
"Clear!" Jules yelled.
"Police!" Erin yelled.
"Clear!" Ariella yelled.
Once the house was clear, they got a clear look at the decapitated heads sitting on the kitchen island, "The next head I see better be Pulpo's," Voight
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"If D'Anthony was right, and he heard three voices in the apartment, Pulpo must have brought two hitmen with him from Medellin," Antonio said. Ariella, out of the corner of her eye, spotted Al walking up the stairs with a new guy.
"All right, just get all this information to Lieutenant Belden in Violent Crimes. Hey, have we gotten anything from his end?" Voight asked.
"Nothing," Antonio responded.
"Calls between Rev and Coop yesterday only one other number called 'em both. It's a pay-as-you-go drop phone, signal's off, but it was purchased at a cell store in Greektown." Erin said.
"Take Halstead. Check it out." Voight nodded and turned back to the newbie, "Hey, I want the Canaryville out of you, not the Beverly, huh?" He told him.
"You got it, boss." The guy nodded.
"Hey," Antonio greeted.
"Hey, man. Adam Ruzek." The two shook hands.
"Antonio."
"Jules. Welcome." Jules smiled, shaking his hand.
Adam turned to Ariella, who smiled and shook his hand, "Ariella."
"Cool, lot's of A names." He pointed out
"Right." Ariella nodded, unsure of what to add.
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"Colombian authorities ID'd this guy as Omar Rojas, freelance hitman," Jay slipped another picture on the baord.
"So Rev was the boss. Coop moved the merchandise. Who's the next in the chain of command?" Voight asked.
"Well, that was the problem. Rev was only in town from Baton Rouge for a year. There was no structure to his crew." Jules answered.
"And nobody's talking?" Voight asked.
"Nope." Jules shook her head.
"All right. When Olinsky gets in, you tell-"
"I'm right here," Al, once again, popped out from behind his desk.
"Anything from your CI's?" Voight asked.
"No dice something about not wanting to have their heads chopped off," Vought nodded.
"All right, get Rojas' image out there with Pulpo's citywide all airports, train, bus stations, and keep hitting the bushes." He instructed.
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Adam was the lucky contender and was selected to go undercover, "Listen, bro, I need an answer, 'cause I got a sociology midterm in 34 minutes. I'm not even joking." Adam lied.
"Huh?" The kid asked.
"Come on," Adam begged.
"You can't be late for class."
"No, sir, I cannot," The second the transaction was made, cop cars from both ends of the ally pulled up. They all jumped out of their cars, guns raised.
"Police!"
"Get your hands up!"
"Police!" They all yelled.
"Wait, you're cops?" The kid asked.
"Hands up! Get 'em up!"
"Hands up!"
"Hands up now!"
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"I mean, this is the sweetest offer I've ever heard, right?" Antonio asked, looking over at Ariella, "You tell us who the Colombians are targeting next, and we won't charge you with the distribution. What's the debate?" He shrugged.
"Ain't no debate. I just know not to trust a word that comes out of a cop's mouth." The kid spat.
"We're trying to save someone's life," Ariella pointed out.
"You all worried about my boy? Don't. He's ready. Them Colombians try to make a move on him, it'll be the last move they try and make." Antonio pulled out the crime scene photos of the decapitated heads and showed them to the kid.
"Ugh." Xavier groaned, looking at the photos.
"They were ready too," Ariella pointed to each of the victims.
"We're looking for a Shane Cameron," Antonio told him. After getting everything they needed, they walked back into the squad room, "Xavier says he's been in hiding since yesterday."
"Yeah, but he has a flophouse over on Addison. Might be worth checking out." Ariella shrugged.
"All right, everybody vest up," Voight nodded.
"What's up Voight's ass today?" Jules asked, as she, Ariella, and Erin got their vests on.
"Who knows?" Erin asked.
"You would." Jules shared a smile with Ariella, "The card-How old is that thing?" She asked, referring to Hank's taped-up card in her locker.
"Want to tell me about it? The man saved my life, both of our lives," She gestured between her and Ariella, "Here we are." Erin shrugged. She looked back over at Jules, who gave her an explant look, "Oh, you want to know more about that? It's gonna cost you a couple of drinks."
"Hey, a night away from the kids and a juicy story-happy to buy," Jules said.
"You had me at free drinks." Ariella joked, shutting her locker and following Erin out the door.
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Antonio and Jules walked into the building while everyone else waited outside. While they were waiting, the Lieutenant drove up, "It's okay, Lieutenant. We got it covered. I'll let you know if he's upstairs." Voight said.
"Who?" He asked.
"Shane Cameron. I left you a message." Voight explained.
"We're following up on the car." He answered.
"What car?" Voight asked.
"Plate match to a black four-door seen leaving the scene of the Coop murder yesterday. Supposed to be parked around here." He said.
"I never got that info," Voight stated.
"Yeah, I must have dropped the ball on that." He said.
"Terminate. Pull back. Targets may be in the building." Voight said into the walkie.
They all froze when they heard a gunshot, "10-1! Officer shot!" Antonio shouted.
"Outside! Outside!"
"Jules?" Erin asked. Erin, Ariella, and Voight wasted no time as they ran up the stairs,
"Over there," Antonio waved them over. After Voight cleared the apartment, they all carried Jules' body outside into the waiting ambulance.
"You're gonna be okay, Jules," Erin tried to reassure.
"We got to move! Get her in the ambo." Gabby annoucned.
"She's gonna be okay, right?" Ariella asked.
"We got to go right now," Gabby stated as they put her on the stretcher, "Midclavicular," Gabby told her partner.
Ariella and Erin shared a silent conversation, "I'm coming with you, sister," Erin announced, hopping in the back of the ambulance.
"Start an IV," Gabby instructed, and Shay shut the ambulance door. Ariella stood there, watching it drive off, sending up a silent prayer to whoever would listen.
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"Antonio! How are you? It's been a while." Andres greeted Antonio as he walked down. Jay shoved him back down on the bench in the middle of the cage.
"Where are they? I want your two hitmen right now." Antonio demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Andres acted dumb.
"You see that? That's my partner's blood." Antonio shoved his hands in front of Andres' face, which resulted in Pulpo spitting in Antonio's face. Antonio snapped and attacked him.
"Antonio! Antonio!" Jay yelled, trying to pull Antonio off of him.
"Get off me! Get off!" Andres yelled.
"Antonio," Ariella called his name. Her face was sheet white and she looked ready to throw up.
"Sit down. Sit down!" Adam yelled, pushing Andres down.
"Antonio," Ariella called him again, and he walked over to her.
"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked, cupping her face and wiping the tears.
"I just..." She took a breath, "I got off the phone with an officer at the bakery."
"So what?" He shrugged.
"Someone took Diego, he's missing."
To Be Continued...
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note.
hey! welcome to the first chapter of forevermore! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you soon my loves 💕💕
SHOW: chicago pd:
season one, episode one
"stepping stones"
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