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Antonio awoke feeling refreshed. After having cleared the air with Josie, and breaking Mike St. Ange's nose, things were right in the world. He got up, showered and got ready for his day. He went to check on Grace before making breakfast. He smiled at his still sleeping daughter. He wasn't going to wake her. He went and started breakfast. Leaving Josie to sleep in a bit was a gift he felt she strongly deserved, especially since Grace was starting to sleep longer through the night. Soon the smell of eggs, toast and bacon had the kids flocking to the kitchen table.
"Morning." Antonio greeted them. "Okay, so breakfast... then you guys finish getting ready for school. I'll drop you guys off on my way to the District today."
"Sweet!" Diego exclaimed. "I hate riding the bus."
Antonio laughed. "I know. So, eat up, then grab your school stuff. I'll go see if your mom wants breakfast before y'all eat it."
"Hey, Dad?" Zoë asked.
"Yeah?"
"Since when did you pick up Mom's slang?"
Antonio stared at his older daughter.
"You said 'y'all'." Xavier pointed out.
Antonio thought about it. "Oh. Yeah, well... I guess she is rubbing off on me a little bit."
The kids laughed and went back to eating. Antonio made a plate and brought it with him to Josie. He knocked on the door.
"Hmm?" Came a sleepy grumble.
"I brought breakfast." Antonio said.
Josie popped up in the bed. "Breakfast?"
Antonio laughed. "I see where the kids get their attention for food."
Josie glared at him. "Uh, excuse me?"
"Just kidding... yeesh."
Josie stretched. "What time is it?"
"6:15... I'm gonna drive the kids to school today... I texted your dad and let him know I'd be a little late."
"You know you can call him 'Dad' too." Josie pointed out.
"I don't think I'm just there yet, Jo." Antonio placed the tray on her lap. "Don't forget, up until a couple years ago, I was determined to lock him up."
"That's all in the past right?"
Antonio nodded. "Of course... as long as he doesn't break the law."
"That's common sense." Josie took a bite of the eggs. "Mmm. What is your secret with the seasoning on the eggs?"
"Not telling." He grinned. He looked at his watch. "Okay, so I'm gonna check on Grace again... she was still sleeping when I first got up."
"Okay." She smiled. "I'm just going to enjoy this for a little bit."
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After changing Grace's diaper and bringing her to Josie, Antonio headed out with the kids. He dropped them off at school and stopped in at the gym for a quick workout. After a shower, he changed and headed to work. He got to work shortly after 8. Voight wasn't even in yet. Antonio checked his phone and saw that Voight had changed the start of shift because he was meeting with a potential informant. He was now early, so he set about to making coffee.
"Hey, Antonio." Jules came into the staff kitchen.
"Hey, Jules."
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah... uh... dealt with Mike."
"I noticed he wasn't here."
"He's supposed to be headed back to New Orleans... if he isn't, I'm sic'ing Voight on him."
"What happened?" Jules asked, pouring herself of the fresh coffee.
"Turns out, he was obsessed with Josie." He drank his own coffee.
"I thought he was married?"
"Long story."
"We've got time, 'Tonio." Jules pointed to the empty bullpen.
Antonio explained how Josie and Mike had previously been involved and how despite being married he was still wanting her.
"Okay, so the guy's a nutjob." Jules summarized.
Antonio nodded. "Yep. Did your guy in NOPD ever get back to you?"
As if by magic, her phone began to ring. "That must be him." Jules said, dashing for her desk.
Antonio poured himself more coffee and headed to his own desk. He looked over to the desk Josie had claimed as her own before her Maternity Leave. Part of him wished she was here with them. Her creativity and her analytical mind would be helpful in trying to catch Pulpo and making sure the charges stuck. He turned his attention to Jules. He was starting to wish he had the ability to hear what she was hearing, but he knew his partner would tell him everything.
Jules thanked the caller and hung up. "So, you sure he's headed back to New Orleans?"
"I broke the bastard's nose and threatened to have Voight drop him in the bottom of the Lake if he came near Josie or our family ever again."
"I don't think he's going back." Jules sighed. "He's not NOPD anymore. They fired him. That file he brought us, illegally taken. He had no authorization to share it with us."
"Fuck!" Antonio pounded his desk sending his coffee flying to the floor. The mug shattered at Voight's feet as he came up the stairs.
"Antonio... what's with the coffee, bro?" Voight asked.
"The file... that Mike brought?" Jules started to say hesitantly.
"What about it?" Voight stepped over the puddle.
"He didn't have authorization to bring it to us. Turns out he's been kicked off the NOPD force, Sarge." Jules said.
"I beg your pardon?" Voight spun to stare at her.
"He was kicked off the force for violations ranging from excessive force to investigating cases that weren't under his purview."
Voight turned back to his son-in-law, who was cleaning the shattered mug and coffee off the floor. "Josie know this?"
"No, she thinks he's still NOPD... but she does know that he was here mostly to try and get her back... his marriage is over... he moved out two weeks ago, and according the wife, their marriage was over after their youngest was born. He kept tabs on Jo ever since she broke up with him... after he proposed to her." Antonio said.
"What?" Voight wasn't sure he was hearing this right. "He proposed to Josie, and she said no."
"Yeah... and she told him that she couldn't love him the way he loved her. That she would always love me." Antonio put the shattered mug in the trash. "I busted his nose last night... told him to get the hell out of Chicago and stay out."
Voight rubbed his chin. "Put out an alert to make sure he does leave... don't care where he goes, but he damn well get outta Illinois."
Jules nodded and put in the call. Voight pulled Antonio into his office, closing the door behind them.
"Sarge?"
"Antonio, are my daughter and grandkids safe?"
Antonio nodded. "Yeah, Josie won't let anything happen to Grace... I told the schools that only myself, Josie, Dixie or you would be authorized to pick them up other than Gaby or my parents. The kids have also been told not to go with anyone other than us."
Voight nodded. "Good, good." He hung his jacket on the coat rack. "Any news on Pulpo?"
"Not yet, but it's still early." Antonio sighed. "I just want Mike gone for good... I'm worried that he'll try to pull something, especially knowing that we're focused on catching Pulpo."
"Hmm." Voight nodded. "Okay, well... let's get looking into catching Pulpo... We'll deal with St. Ange if he hasn't left yet after."
Antonio headed out of the office to talk to the others as they arrived.
Voight sat at his desk and pulled out his cell phone. He hit his contact list and waited as the phone rang.
"Dad?" Josie asked.
"Hey, Josie... how are you?"
"I'm good." Josie said. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Antonio?"
"No! No! Just checking on you."
"Antonio tell you what happened last night?"
"He did... that Mike should know how lucky he is... that it was Antonio and not me."
"I know, Dad." Josie sighed.
"Did he tell you that he was kicked out of NOPD?" Voight asked.
"What?!" Josie exclaimed. "No!"
"Jules got the information... turns out he stole Rev's file."
"Dad... I swear, if I had known... I wouldn't have brought him there."
"I know. Josie, you're a great cop... I know you wouldn't have. Just... if he contacts you... for whatever reason, you call me or Antonio... we'll deal with him."
"Dad..."
"No, Josie... he's gone off the rails... We will take care of him."
Josie knew that she wouldn't win. "Okay... Just be safe out there... Please."
"Always, Josie... Always." Hank ended the call and joined the team for the briefing. He saw Al coming up the stairs with a kid. He walked over to the stairs to meet them.
"Adam Ruzek." Al started. "This is Sergeant Voight."
Adam stuck out his hand. "Hey, boss. Nice to meet you, sir."
Voight looked to Olinsky. "Ruzek... I know that name."
Adam said. "Yeah, my dad, Bob... was a patrolman his whole career in the 26th."
"You don't say." Voight smiled.
"I pulled him out of the academy, not his old man." Al pitched in.
"What? Did you work with my dad?" Adam was intrigued. His dad was still a patrolman, he couldn't possibly be known by two cops of Voight and Olinsky's standings.
Al and Voight just explained they were on the same softball team. Adam wasn't sure he bought that, but he had only spent part of the time with his dad, the rest was spent with his mom in another part of the city. Voight motioned for them to join Antonio's briefing.
Antonio started. "If D'Anthony was right, and he heard 3 voices in the apartment, Pulpo must have brought two hit men with him from Medellin."
"Alright." Voight said. "Get all of this to Lieutenant Belden in Violent crimes." He paused. "Have we gotten anything from his end?"
Antonio shook his head. "Nothing."
Erin jumped in. "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."
"Take Halstead and go check it out." Voight ordered. He turned to Ruzek. "I want the Canaryville outta you, not the Beverly, huh?"
"You got it, boss." Adam grinned. He was proud to have been pulled from the Academy for this unit. He went around introducing himself to the rest of the team.
Voight pulled Olinsky aside and went to ask him what the plan was.
An hour or so later, Halstead and Lindsay were back with information. Antonio took the picture and ran it through various databases to get an ID. He focused mainly in airport security and Colombian authorities. If he was working with Pulpo, he'd be coming in out of Colombia in the last few weeks.
Jay was the one on the receiving end of the call to confirm the hitman's ID. He went to the board and wrote down the name he'd been given. "Colombian authorities ID'd this guy as Omar Rojas. He's a freelance hitman."
"So, Rev was the boss." Voight began piecing this whole thing together. "Coop moved the merchandise. So, who's next in the chain of command?"
It was Jules' turn to hop in. "Well, that's the problem. Rev was only in town from Baton Rouge for the last year."
"That explains why he fell off NOPD's radar." Antonio pointed out. "Neither of those two cities would suspect him as their common link."
"Well, there was no structure to his crew." Jules continued.
"And nobody's talking?" Voight was getting a little pissed off at this point.
"Nope." Jules sighed.
Voight was getting frustrated. They were no further on this than they were the day before. He looked around for Al, but couldn't see him. "Alright. When Olinsky gets back, you tell..."
Al pushed his desk chair back from his desk. "I'm right here."
Voight asked him directly. "Anything from you CIs?"
"No dice." Al answered. "Something about not wanting to have their heads chopped off."
"Alright... get Rojas' image out there with Pulpo's citywide... all airports, train, bus stations... and keep hitting the bushes." Voight sighed. He sensed someone was behind him. He turned around and saw Belden standing at the top of the stairs. He sighed again and headed to his office.
Belden followed him in and closed the door. The rest of the team watched. Antonio had a bad feeling that Belden was actually keeping things from the team. He knew Belden had wanted this position and was more than pissed off that it was given to Voight. He went about calling some of his CIs from his days in Vice. Someone had to know about this guy. Someone had to have an idea of where he'd be hiding.
By the end of the shift, they were still stuck. Antonio sighed. He knew this was about to go into overtime. He called Josie and asked where they were. Turns out they were over at Holy Trinity to watch Xavier in a game. "I'll meet you there." He said. He wanted to see the kids and his wife at least once before this case really went to hell in a handbasket. He told Jules where he was headed and left. If Voight had a problem with it, he'd have to deal with that later. His family was his main focus right now.
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The next morning, they were prepping Adam to do a buy. They needed information and they'd finally been able to get some idea of some of the other runners in Rev's crew. Al was basically running point on this. Antonio and the others were checking weapons and vests. Once it was clear, they headed out to where they suspected Rev's runner was, based on previous sightings.
Adam was very convincing and sure enough, they got their guys. Antonio and Jules took the ring leader, Xavier Green, into interrogation to push him for who the next target was.
"I mean, this is the sweetest offer I've ever heard, right?" Antonio said. "You tell us who the Colombians are targeting next, and we won't charge you with distribution. What's the debate?"
"Ain't no debate." Xavier replied. "I just know not to trust a word that comes out of a cop's mouth."
Jules intervened. "We're trying to save someone's life!"
"Y'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."
"Mhmm." Jules nodded. She slid the manila folder in front of Xavier.
Antonio flipped it open. Xavier cried out in disgust. "They were ready too." Jules pointed out.
As if by divine intervention, Xavier laid everything out for them. Antonio and Jules left interrogation to fill in the rest of the team.
"We're looking for a Shane Cameron." Antonio announced as he walked back into the bullpen. "Xavier says he's been hiding since yesterday."
"Yeah." Jules added. "But, he has a flop house over on Addison. Might worth checking out."
Voight didn't even hesitate. "Alright, everybody. Vest up."
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They arrived at the address and split up. Antonio and Jules would be going in as point leads. The rest of the team waited outside, waiting on the signal. While they were waiting, Lieutenant Belden and his team rolled up.
Voight went over to Belden. "It's okay, Lieutenant. We've got it covered, we'll let you know if he's upstairs."
"Who?" Belden asked.
"Shane Cameron. I left you a message." Voight said.
"We're following up on the car." Belden replied.
Voight got the feeling that there was something missing in this conversation. He strongly suspected that Belden hadn't been overly forthcoming with the information from his end on what was supposed to be a joint investigation. "What car?"
"Plate match to a black 4-door seen leaving the scene of the Coop murder. Supposed to be parked around her."
"I never got that info." Voight was pissed.
"Yeah." Belden said. "I must have dropped the ball on that."
Realizing the danger that Antonio and Jules were in, Voight pulled his walkie out and shouted. "Terminate! Pull back! Targets may be in the building!"
Jules was already walking to the apartment door when the call came through. Antonio tried to warn her. "Jules!" He hissed.
It was too late. A massive shot echoed in the tiny hallway. Jules collapsed to the ground gasping. The hole left in the door was an obvious result of a shotgun blast. Antonio ran to his partner and pulled her back. He grabbed his radio and screamed. "10-1! Officer Shot!" He cradled Jules in his arms. "Hold on! Hold on, Jules."
Jules tried to say something but couldn't. Antonio kept pressure on the wounds the best he could, but the shotgun blast had done catastrophic damage to her neck and upper torso. He wept as his partner lay bleeding in his arms. "Hang on. You're gonna be alright." He tried to reassure her.
Voight and Erin moved in, clearing bystanders as they went. They got to the top of the stairs. What they saw made Erin cry out. Voight and Erin went into the apartment, but Shane Cameron was already dead. They grabbed Jules and carried her out to Ambo 61 where Shay and Gaby were waiting. They loaded her into the ambulance and Erin hopped in with her. Gaby looked to Antonio. Antonio knew that look. It was one of sadness but relief that it wasn't him getting loaded. Gaby hopped in the back and Shay drove away. Antonio stood there, in shock. He looked at his hands. They were covered in Jules' blood and he couldn't stop shaking. Voight patted his shoulder.
As they looked around the scene, Jay's voice came over the radio. "One offender in custody. We've got Pulpo."
Antonio didn't know what to say or do. He was numb. He followed Hank back to their vehicles. He wanted to go to the hospital, but he needed to confront Pulpo. Voight needed to confront Pulpo, but not before he tore Belden a new one for letting his team walk right into a trap. He knew that Jules' probably wasn't going to make it. The damage to her neck, head and chest was too severe and she'd already lost a lot of blood. Antonio headed inside to wait for Jay and Adam to get Pulpo to the District.
Voight was making his way up the steps when his cell rang. "Yeah."
Erin's voice came over the other end. Her voice breaking. "Jules... she didn't make it."
Hank growled. He clutched his phone. He never thought he'd lose a member of this team because another CPD unit had failed to provide them with the necessary information. He stormed up the steps of the District. He saw Belden. He pointed his finger at him and growled. "You! You played games."
Belden sneered. "Back up, Voight."
Atwater, seeing what was about to go down, jumped in. "Yo! Hey, hey!"
Voight was trying to push past Atwater. "You played games! And you got her killed!"
"Hey! Come on now! Back up!"
"Come on! You wanna play?" Voight was being hauled back by at least 4 patrolmen, including Atwater. "Get off of me!"
"Calm it down!" Platt demanded from the desk.
Atwater tried to calm him down. "Come on, Sarge!"
"Get off of me!" Voight wanted to kill him.
"Voight!" Platt bellowed. "Get him out of here!"
Atwater had to pull hard on Voight to get him out of the area. Belden just walked away. If Atwater hadn't been holding onto Voight for dear life, Voight probably would have killed him.
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Josie was feeling a little bored at home. The girls were at a volleyball game and Diego and Xavier were at Holy Trinity playing football with a couple friends. She went to the office and grabbed her CPD issued radio. She wanted to listen in as Antonio had texted her to tell her they had a possibly location on Pulpo. She found the band, but was wishing she hadn't. Her heart dropped as she heard Antonio scream that there was an officer down. She knew that was Jules. She turned it off and flung the radio across the room. She went to check on Grace. Part of her wanted to race over to the District, to be with Antonio and her team, but the other part knew that she would just be a distraction to everyone there. She lifted Grace from the swing and gently rocked her as she paced the living room. She needed to know Antonio was okay. She dialed the District to see if Platt could connect her to the Intelligence bullpen as Antonio's cell was now going straight to voicemail. The line was busy. This whole thing was off. She decided that she'd have no other choice than collect the boys, and head to the District. She bundled Grace up and got her into the car. She headed to pick up the boys.
Holy Trinity High School...
"Xavier! Over here! I'm open!" Diego was waving from down the field.
Xavier grinned. Diego was really into this game. It had been organized by the coaches at the school to encourage the students to play football with their younger brothers. Xavier had been a little hesitant at first, to ask Diego to come along, but it had been the best choice. A lot of Diego's classmates were also joining their big brothers. Xavier threw the ball in a tight spiral, but Diego was just a tad too short to catch it. It flew over his head and over the fence into the alley. "Diego! Just leave it!" Xavier shouted.
Diego didn't hear his big brother's shouts. He snuck between the fence and into the alley to get the ball.
"Diego!" Xavier shouted. He looked to his classmates. "Go get Coach."
They nodded and headed towards the school. Xavier ran towards the fence where Diego had gone. He couldn't fit through the fence like Diego had. He looked around. "Diego? Just leave it, we have other balls."
"I can get it!" Diego's voice came from behind some dumpsters.
There was some thumping. "Diego?" Xavier pulled himself up the fence to try and see what was going on.
"Hey! Let go of me!" Diego's panicked voice echoed in the alley.
"Diego!" Xavier pulled himself completely over the fence. "Diego!" He shouted. He ran down the alley. He saw a couple of men pulling Diego into a white van. He ran towards them, but had to dive into the trash pile when one of them whipped out a 9mm and opened fire. He heard the screeched of rubber on pavement and watched in horror as the van sped out of the alley. "DIEGO!"
By then, the coach had arrived with some of his teammates and to Xavier's horror, his mother. "Xavier! What's with all the shouting?" The coach asked.
Xavier's lip quivered as he turned to his mother. "Mom..."
"Xavier... what's wrong, sweetheart?" Josie looked around. "Where's Diego?"
"Mom..." His voice cracked. "Someone took... someone took Diego!"
"What?!" Josie looked around. "Diego?"
"Coach, uh... there are bullet holes in the dumpster." One teammate pointed to the dumpster closest to them.
"Call the police..." The coach started.
"No! I'll... I'll call." Josie struggled to get her phone out. She knew that Antonio's phone wouldn't ring, but she did have Al's number. She dialed it. Her hands shook as it rang.
"Olinsky." Al answered.
"Al..." Josie's voice quaked.
"Josie... what's wrong?"
"I... I need to talk to Antonio... please." Josie's voice was barely audible. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Please."
"I'll get him... just... hang on." Al said.
District 21...
Antonio knew that Pulpo was being brought to the cage. He rushed down the stairs to the rollout. He wanted to kill him. Pulpo had killed Jules. His partner was gone and this monster was responsible. He saw Jay push Pulpo into the cage. He stormed towards him.
"Antonio!" Pulpo exclaimed. "How are you?"
"Where are they? I want your two hitmen right now!" Antonio demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Pulpo said coyly.
Antonio shoved his bloodied hands in Pulpo's face. "You see that?! That's my partner's blood!" Pulpo spat on Antonio's hands. This sent Antonio into a blind rage. He reached for Pulpo, pushing him back against the wall of the cage.
Jay and Ruzek, seeing that Antonio was going to kill Pulpo jumped in. "Antonio!" They struggled to pull him off of Pulpo. "Antonio! Stop!"
Al came rushing in. "Antonio!"
Jay got Antonio out of the cage. "We need him alive."
Adam was shoving Pulpo down. "You, stay put. Sit down! Sit down! Just... sit!"
Jay locked the cage and watched and Al shoved his cellphone in Antonio's hand. Al said. "Antonio, you gotta take this."
Antonio looked at the phone and put it to his ear. "Yeah."
Josie's sob came over the line. "An... Antonio... Antonio, some... someone's taken Diego... He's gone."
The phone fell and Jay reached out to catch it. "Bro, what... what's going on?"
Antonio's face was filled with horror. He said nothing. He just raced out of the rollout to his car. "Call Voight... tell him to go to Holy Trinity!"
Al pieced together the cryptic message and took his phone from Jay. "Hank... Diego's missing..." He waited for Hank to quit yelling. "Holy Trinity. Josie's there with Xavier and Grace." He ended the call and stalked over to the cage. "If you're behind this... you're gonna wish you'd never come back to Chicago." Al turned to Jay and Adam. "Upstairs. Now. We gotta help find Diego."
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Antonio pulled up behind the school where there were a flock of patrolmen and patrol cars. He raced towards the taped off area. An officer tried to stop him, but another told him to let him through. Antonio raced to Josie's side. She was besides herself. She was weeping on Voight's shoulder. Xavier was sitting on a bench with Grace in his arms. "Josie!" He exclaimed.
"Antonio! Antonio!" She wept.
He pulled her into his arms. "Oh God... baby..."
"Diego... our little guy... he has to be so scared."
"I will get him back." Antonio promised.
"I know you will... you have to."
Antonio looked to Voight. "What do we know?"
"There's no cameras in the alley." Voight sighed. "We're checking everywhere else... see if there are ATMs or private security systems."
"Neighbours? Other people? Anyone?"
"Xavier said he saw a white van speed off." Josie whispered.
"Xavier... he... Xavier?" Antonio turned to his oldest son. "Xavier... what did you all see?"
"We were playing football... Diego wanted me to throw him the ball... it went over his head and into the alley... I shouted at him to leave it... that we'd get another ball... but he didn't hear me... he went through the hole in the fence to get the ball. When... When I got here, I couldn't fit. I tried to climb the fence and he said he saw the ball... then there was a thump and I heard him shouting to let him go. I jumped the fence but then the two guys hopped in that white panel van... and one started shooting at me."
Voight handed Antonio an evidence bag. "9mm rounds..."
"Were you hit?" Antonio asked.
Xavier shook his head. "No, Dad... I'm sorry! It's all my fault!"
Voight took Grace from Xavier as she began to fuss.
Antonio pulled Xavier into his arms. "Diego is going to be okay... this is not your fault... okay, you are not to blame."
"Dad... I shouldn't have..."
"Xavier, stop... okay... this isn't your fault... it's related to the case we're working... this is all Pulpo." Antonio looked to Voight. "Do they know?"
"Know what?" Xavier asked.
Josie looked away, tears continued to stream down her face. "Jules?"
Antonio looked to her. "How?"
"I heard it... over the radio... I wanted to know... how... and..."
"Jules is dead?" Xavier asked.
"Yeah... son... she is... the men that... that took Diego..."
"They're going to kill him!" Xavier began to hyperventilate. "No! Dad!"
Josie stepped in, wiping the tears from her face. "That won't happen. Intelligence will get Diego back."
"That's a promise." Voight patted his grandson on the shoulder. "You take your sister and go home with your mom. As soon as we know anything... we'll tell you guys. I promise, we're going to bring Diego home, safe."
As Josie was about to leave with Xavier and Grace, a voice came from down the alley. "Para Josie! Para Josie!"
They turned to see Juan, the delivery man that Josie had interacted with on multiple occasions as she'd taken to having fresh produce delivered since Grace had been born. She nodded to Voight.
"Let him through!" Voight bellowed.
Juan ran towards them waving a paper in the air. He rambled on in a very fast Spanish. Josie wasn't able to make sense of it. Antonio, however, got it. He took the note. "Juan was told to bring this."
"What's it say?" Voight asked.
"Pulpo free by midnight... or your son dies."
Josie gasped. "Antonio... no!"
"I am going to bring him home." Antonio said. "I promise." He grabbed a patrolman. "You make sure my wife, son and daughter get home safely."
"Yes, sir." He said. "Come this way ma'am."
Antonio looked to Voight. "Get someone to pick Eva and Zoë up. I won't have my family be a target anymore."
"Where are you going?"
"To get answers." Antonio growled before running for his car.
Voight groaned. Today was going to be a long day, longer than usual. He would pick up the girls himself. He called Dixie on the way to Eva's school and asked her to meet him at Josie's. He needed to make sure everyone was going to be safe.
Antonio pushed past Jay and headed to where they were holding Pulpo. He pounded on the cage. "Where's my son?"
Pulpo looked under the bench. "Uh, I know he's not here. Beyond that..."
"I don't think you want me to ask you again." Antonio threatened.
"Ah! Si, si ,si... I heard about this type of thing, back in Bogota... Yeah. Your son... he was kidnapped, yes?" Pulpo laughed. "Yes... I read that many time... many, many times... If the kidnappers were given what they wanted, then the wife... or the son... was returned. Not a single scratch on their faces or a hair out of place."
Antonio banged on the cage.
Pulpo smirked. "Maybe you should give 'em what they want, Antonio... whatever that may be. If you want to see Diego again, that is."
Antonio pounded the cage again. He didn't have words. He had emotions coursing through his veins; rage, fear, and sadness, just to describe a few. He headed upstairs to the bullpen. He prayed that the team had made some progress into who had taken his son.
Voight was standing at the whiteboard. "They took Antonio's son... my grandson... Nothing... I mean, nothing else matters until we get Diego back. Nothing."
Antonio was pacing the room. He couldn't just stand still while they tried to figure this out.
"Sarge..." Jay started. "So... this all started with Rev and Coop getting their heads chopped off. Both did essentially the same job for Pulpo... mid-level distribution, right? So, we know that Pulpo's cleaning house. And what do you do when you get rid of old furniture? You bring in something new." Jay pulled a picture from the top of the pile on his desk. "This guy stood out. It's Ernesto Milpas. He was running 15 corners between 22nd and Kedzie when CPD pinched him in '09."
"Yeah, yeah... I was on that bust... with Jules." Antonio recognized him immediately.
Jay said. "He was released last year."
Antonio took the picture. "He was a climber."
"Maybe he's looking to get promoted." Erin suggested.
Jay shrugged. "He's the best of a lot of bad options."
"What do we have on him now?" Voight asked.
Jay answered. "PO's got an address that's a year old."
"Let's hit it." Voight ordered.
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They were set up outside an abandoned warehouse. Olinsky and Ruzek were UC trying to get eyes on Ernesto. Antonio was sitting with Voight, in Voight's Durango while Halstead and Lindsay were in her Chrysler 300. There was little to no movement. That was, until Ruzek just took off after him. Antonio was livid. The whole team chased him, but he was nowhere to be found. He had caught Erin from behind and hit her.
Voight was checking in on Erin, who was gingerly rubbing her head. "Hey. You okay, kid?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm an idiot, but I'm fine."
"Hey, it wasn't your fault." Voight tried to reassure her. "Trust me."
Antonio came running down the path from the warehouse. "No sign of Diego or that he was ever here!" He shouted. He got up into Ruzek's face. "We had him! What the fuck was that?!
"Hey! I made a move!" Adam attempted to defend himself.
Voight tried to calm his son-in-law. "Hey, take it easy."
"A stupid one!" Antonio went to take a swing at Adam, but Jay stopped him.
"Take it easy, bro." Jay was trying to keep Antonio from ripping Adam's jugular out. He succeeded, but Antonio's attention quickly turned to Erin.
"Let's not forget who let herself get jumped!" Antonio lunged at her.
Erin didn't need anyone's help. "Hey! I..."
Voight cut her off and pulled Antonio away. Suddenly their radios were squawking. "Detective Dawson? This is Burgess. You're gonna wanna see this."
Voight looked to his team. "Let's go. Come on."
Antonio raced into a small room where there was a laptop. "Tell me you have something."
Burgess hit play on the laptop. It was a video. The second kidnapper spoke to Diego in Spanish. Antonio's hand clenched into a tight fish hearing the threat.
"Translation?" Voight asked. He was starting to wish he'd tried to learn some of it.
Erin whispered. "Scream, and we cut out your tongue."
They ripped the duct tape from Diego's mouth. "Daddy! They say they're gonna kill me, Daddy!"
They covered his mouth again and the video was done. Antonio was livid. He wanted to bring his son home. Diego only called him 'Daddy' when he was scared. Antonio heard it in his voice. Diego was terrified.
Jay pointed at the screen. "Check out the paneled wall. That's not here."
Antonio felt defeated. Diego had never been here. They were no closer than they had been after discovering Ernesto's identity. He turned and walked away. The rest of the team followed in his footsteps. Hank felt his pain. Diego was his grandson now. This was personal and they would get him back.
Upon arriving back at the District, Antonio cornered Voight in his office. "I know this goes against everything we stand for. We should consider making the deal. Give them Pulpo for Diego."
Hank looked up. "Antonio."
"He's my son, Voight! Let's make the trade." Antonio pleaded.
"Trades don't work out. No one above would okay it." Voight tried to reason with him but it wasn't working.
"Tell me which one of those excuses I'm supposed to believe. Which one do I tell your daughter and grandchildren? Huh? Which one am I supposed to tell?"
"We still have time." Voight sighed. "I will help you get him back, Antonio... but do you really want to put Jules' killed back on the streets... so more blood can be shed?"
"No!" Antonio pounded the desk. "But I won't lose my son either!"
"Let's go through CI files... maybe there's someone we can use." Voight proposed. "Before we go to extreme measure like letting the monster loose on the streets of Chicago."
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Jin was handing out files and trying to explain his organizational system. Sadly, no one was listening to him and Voight distracted him by inquiring about the video of Diego.
He took note of what Jin said and called Erin and Jay over. "In case we're gonna consider a trade, I want you to check out these locations. Sight lines, sniper spots, the works."
"Are you considering negotiating?" Jay wondered.
"Just... go... check it out. Please." Voight asked.
It was the first time that Voight had said please to Jay. "Okay." He grabbed a sketch pad and his coat.
Erin grabbed the paper with locations from Hank and together they headed out to the first locations.
Voight got pulled into a corner by Al. While they were whispering about Ruzek's future, Adam went to talk to Antonio. "Hey, listen... Antonio, I wanna apologize."
Antonio looked up from the CI folder he had in his hands. "Save it for when we get Diego back."
Adam nodded. "Sure... uh, so what's your secret, man?"
"To?"
"Keeping so many CIs?" Adam pointed to the pile of over two dozen folders that were in Antonio's CI pile.
"Never make them testify, and you never lie to them." Antonio replied, going through another file.
Al joined them. "Sometimes, you gotta be willing to toss a case to protect an informant."
Antonio opened the file. It was Jasmine. "'Cause sometimes, when you really need someone, they're still there for you."
Adam looked at the folder. "Hooker?"
"Yeah... when we busted Ernesto... she was one of the ones there... she may..." He grabbed his cell and texted her. "I'll be back." He took off out the room.
Jin looked to Al and Adam. "Files aren't about to put themselves away."
Al snickered. He patted Adam on the back. "It's a good lesson to learn." Al and Hank headed upstairs to Hank's office, leaving Adam to put at least 60 files in proper order.
Adam sighed. "Being the rookie sucks."
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Antonio ran down the steps into the station. He watched for Jasmine. She got off the 'L' and made her way over to him.
"Detective Dawson. I was surprised to see your text."
"Hey, thanks for hitting me back." Antonio's anxiety was getting the best of him.
"Hey, what's... what's wrong?" Jasmine could tell something was off.
Antonio tried to avoid the question. "The usual... listen... You remember Ernesto? He got caught in that bust in that house on 26th and Sawyer? You were working there at the time."
"Yeah, yeah... I remember." Jasmine nodded. "He had a thing for curly-haired brunettes."
"Well, he's back on the streets. I need to know if he's ordered any girls in the last couple of weeks... but I also really need to know where he's flopping." Antonio's voice cracked. He was losing his grip.
"I can call around."
"Would you?" Antonio said.
"Yeah, of course." She looked around. "Can you... you know..."
"Sure." Antonio pulled some bills from his pocket and placed them in her hand. "I need this fast."
"Okay, yeah... I got it." Jasmine snipped. She saw pain in his eyes. "Hey, you okay?"
Antonio shook his head and sniffled. "This Ernesto... my eight-year-old son is missing and he's involved. So, it's important. My wife and kids... they're depending on me to bring him home."
"Oh my God. Antonio... I'm so sorry. Hey, listen... I'll call around."
"Thank you, Jasmine." Antonio cracked a smile.
"Hey, my real name's Victoria... by the way."
"I know." Antonio said before heading back up the stairs.
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It didn't take long that Jasmine came back with an answer. She met Antonio outside the District and told him what she knew. Antonio thanked her and headed back to tell Voight. "Polk Hotel... on West Adams."
Voight nodded. He got up and barked into the bullpen. "Rollout!"
Antonio ran up to the bulletproof glass window that separated the clerk from the guests. He tapped on it. "Hey. Where's this guy's room?" He held up his badge and cellphone with a picture of Ernesto on it.
The clerk pointed to an empty hook that had a room number above it. Antonio nodded and led the team up the stairs. They busted down the door. Antonio took point and began to clear the place. He saw the chair in which Diego had been tied up and he recognized the paneling on the wall. Then he saw it. Diego's jacket, the one he'd been wearing according to Josie. "He was here!"
They left the room to see if there was anyone else in the area that had seen him. Antonio looked down to the far end of the hallway and he saw Ernesto round the corner. Ernesto froze, dropped the bag he had been carrying and ran back down the stairs. Antonio took off after him. He didn't even run down the stairs, he jumped down entire flights. Ernesto had a slight margin in front of him. Antonio pulled all the energy and strength he had left and tackled Ernesto as he tried to run out the door. Ernesto's gun fired as the two of them fought for it. Antonio knocked it out of his hand and pinned Ernesto the ground. "Where's my son?!" Antonio growled.
Voight, Jay and Erin came up behind them. Voight chased a dumpster diver from the scene. He knelt next to Antonio. "He knows, Antonio." He flipped open his switchblade. "Do what you gotta do. Do it."
Antonio knew that Voight wanted him to go to the extreme to get Ernesto to talk. Antonio took the blade and placed it close to Ernesto's face. "Where the fuck is my son?!"
Ernesto continued to fight against Antonio's strong, rage filled grip. "Abogado!"
"No!" Antonio barked. "Ain't no lawyers around here, ese."
Ernesto groaned. They could hear the sirens getting closer. Voight leaned in. "You got about 3 minutes before this alley's filled with uniforms. Do. What. You. Gotta. Do." Voight put emphasis on the last sentence.
Antonio shoved the blade right to his eye. "I'll start with an eye. Come on! Where's my son!?" He was trying to be like his father-in-law, but he couldn't. He tossed the switchblade aside and he flipped Ernesto onto his stomach. "You're under arrest." Antonio yanked him up and handed him to officers.
Voight bent down and picked up his knife. "Let's go."
Antonio nodded. While having Ernesto in custody meant they would be able to get answers, he didn't feel even the tiniest bit better. He sulked next to Voight on the way back to the District. He could sense that Voight was disappointed in him. "Look, Hank... I'm..."
"I know, Antonio... I know. We'll get answers... just differently than how I'd do it." Hank said. "Just know, I'll do whatever it takes to bring Diego back."
"I know... thank you."
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Interrogating Ernesto had gotten them nowhere. Antonio had almost busted his fist pounding on the table. The only word that had come out of Ernesto's mouth had been 'Abogado'. Finally, Antonio and Voight gave up. Voight had Ernesto sent down to the cage to mull over his options. Meanwhile, Antonio was freaking out. They had little time left to get Diego back. He went to County lockup to confront Pulpo. That only ended in disappointment when Belden interrupted him. Antonio went back to the 21st. He sat at his desk and allowed the rage to come out. He slammed his hands down on the desk and sent a piles of papers and other objects flying. He was lost. How was he going to explain this to Josie, or the kids?
"He's up here." Burgess' voice echoed up the stairs leading to Intelligence's bullpen.
Antonio looked and saw as Josie, Gaby and the kids were being led up into Intelligence by Burgess and Atwater.
The girls ran to Antonio. "Dad!" They exclaimed.
"Hey." He hugged them tightly, then motioned for Xavier to join in the group hug.
Gaby asked. "Hey, how you holdin' up?"
"Not even thinking about that right now." He held his children tighter. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We couldn't stay at home another minute." Eva said. "We couldn't."
Josie moved Grace to her other hip. "What do you know? Anything?"
Antonio looked to Burgess and Atwater. "Can you guys take the kids and Gabriela somewhere comfortable. Get them anything they need."
Atwater nodded. Zoë took Grace from Josie and the kids followed Atwater and Burgess. Gaby wanted to stay. She wanted to help find her nephew.
"Gaby, go with them." Antonio pleaded. "They need someone they know and trust there."
Gaby sighed. "Okay... Just... keep me in the loop, please?"
Antonio nodded. After Gaby was out of ear shot, Antonio looked to Josie. "Let's talk." He took her hand and led her to the locker room. He locked the door behind them. He sat on a bench.
Josie sat across from him. "Antonio... talk to me... what's going on?"
"We know who has him... more or less."
"It's tied to Pulpo isn't it?"
Antonio nodded. "Yeah... we've... we've got one of his henchmen... but he ain't talking... he wants a lawyer."
"Dad has him in the cage, doesn't he?" Josie asked.
Antonio sighed. "Yeah... look... Voight... he's got different ideas on getting the information we need... but I... I can't go dark side like that."
Josie sighed. "Antonio, I've known you for almost half my life. You are an amazing father. The kids adore you. They see how important rules and stuff mean to you and why they're important. As your wife, I love that. I love that you're teaching them how to be great people in our society. As their mother, on the other hand... I want you to do whatever it takes to bring him home."
"Jo... do you understand that 'whatever' means..."
"Oh, I know my dad's history... I've heard the rumours... I don't care. You bring Diego home. Please." Josie may not have been Diego's biological mother, but he was her son and right now she was hurting. "Please... Antonio, I'm begging you. Eva and Zoë are falling apart right now, Xavier feels guilty and I don't know how to comfort them."
"Okay... Okay, baby... I'll... We'll do it his way." Antonio put his head on her shoulder and wept.
Josie held him tightly and wept with him. "Go... I'll go check on the kids." She sniffled.
"I love you, Jo... I will bring him home."
"I love you too." She kissed him. "Now, go."
Antonio nodded and wiped his eyes. He regained his composure and headed to Voight's office. Josie sat and tried to calm herself. She said a silent prayer before wiping her tears away and going to check on Gaby and the kids.
Meanwhile...
Atwater placed a variety of snacks and beverages on the table. "Here you go, guys."
The kids looked to Gaby, who nodded. They hadn't eaten anything since Diego had gone missing. They each took a snack. Gaby took Grace so Zoë could eat something. She looked to Kim and Kevin. "Any news yet?"
"Just the same as before." Kim sighed. "We're all working on it. Commander Perry has every available Patrolman out there looking for him."
Eva sniffled. "The last thing I told Diego was that he was annoying."
Zoë rubbed Eva's back. "Eva..."
Atwater jumped in. "What was he doing?"
"Shooting me with his Nerf gun." Eva wiped the tears away. "I told him to leave me alone and to go bug someone else."
Atwater knelt next to her. "We're gonna bring him home and he'll be able to annoy you and Zoë and Xavier for years to come."
"We promise." Kim added.
Gaby felt for them. She just prayed that Antonio would let go of his values and listen to his father-in-law in how to break their suspect.
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Antonio rushed into Voight's office, slightly out of breath. "Let's do it your way."
Voight looked up at him. "You sure."
"Look, I'm not that kinda cop... but my wife and kids are hurting... Diego's missing... I'm done playing nice."
"Let's go." Voight got up. He told Erin to make sure no one went to the rollout. He looked to Jay. "You make sure Josie and the kids get home safe. Al, you and Ruzek keep an eye on the house. Once we have the information, we'll call you in."
They all nodded. Antonio and Voight headed to the rollout.
Voight went first. He yanked Ernesto from the cage and cuffed him to the exterior of the cage, arms above his head, as Antonio as requested. "You got a big problema, ese."
Ernesto kept up with his pretence. "Abogado."
"No comprende abogado down here, bro." He slapped Ernesto hard. "See... Diego... isn't just Antonio's son... Antonio's my son-in-law... Diego is my grandson... but, I'm letting Antonio get the information... as his right as a father."
Antonio came down the stairs. He took off his jacket and hung by the rollup doors. He took a chain from the hook and wrapped it around his right fist. He patted it.
Ernesto's eyes bulged as he came to the realization of what was about to happen to him.
Voight smirked. "Yeah... uh oh."
"Espero." Ernesto pleaded. "Wait, wait, wait."
"Oh!" Voight feigned shock. "You speak English after all!"
"No! I... I didn't do anything!" Ernesto continued to protest. "No! No! No! No! No! No!"
"You know... Antonio... he was gonna fight in the Olympics."
Ernesto was sobbing. "I didn't hurt him! Please! No!"
Antonio ignored the sobs and pleas. He delivered a powerful right upper cut to Ernesto's ribs. They could hear the ribs crack under the chains.
"Ah!" Ernesto screamed. "No! No!"
"Oh! Yeah!" Voight got in Ernesto's voice. "He's still got a hell of a right!"
Antonio hit him again. More ribs gave way. Ernesto continued to cry. Antonio didn't care. He hit him a third time. "My partner is dead because of you... and now my son? No..." He pulled his fist back and lined it up with Ernesto's face. "You don't go after my family to get to me."
"Wait! Wait!" Ernesto screeched. "Please! His name is Mateo. His name is Mateo... Please!"
Antonio and Voight exchanged glances.
"I have his cell number! Please! Mateo has your young son!"
Antonio tossed the chain to the ground and grabbed the cell Ernesto had had on him when they arrested him. "Number. Now."
Ernesto rattled off the number. Antonio dialed it and held the phone up on speaker. Voight recorded the conversation. Antonio smacked Ernesto one last time before dashing up the stairs to get the recording to Jin.
Voight undid the cuffs and let Ernesto collapse to the ground. "You're lucky... if it had been me... you'd be at the bottom of the River..." He called in Atwater would put Ernesto back into the cage and went back upstairs to call the rest of the team in.
After listening to the recording, they determined that Mateo was on the run, but they didn't know if he still had Diego with him. They had to assume that he did. Jin pinged Mateo's phone to centre of Chicago's downtown.
Voight looked to his team. "I want men deployed to all major transportation routes out of the city. Midway... O'Hare... bus stations, train stations... Include the expressways!"
A ping came up on the computer. "He's at Union Station!" Antonio shouted.
They vested up and headed to the bus depot. They spread out. Antonio and Voight had the tech to trace the location of the cell, but it came up bust. Mateo had dumped his cell in a trash can.
"Everyone, fan out!" Voight ordered over the radios. "He's here somewhere."
Erin was outside when she caught a glimpse of Diego. She pulled out her radio. "I see him... boarding a bus to Indianapolis."
"Wait for us." Voight said. "We're coming to you."
She couldn't wait. The bus was on its final boarding call. She took a chance. She flashed her badge to the driver, who nodded. She headed passed Mateo and Diego and sat behind them. She sent Voight a text that she was on the bus.
Voight's phone pinged. He looked at the text. He read it off. Antonio grabbed his badge and ran to the information desk. "CPD. Where's the manager office?"
It didn't take long for them to reach a consensus on what had to be done. Adam and Al donned Mid-America bus line uniforms and took a bus out to act as a 'replacement' for the 'broken down' bus that Diego was on. They explained the plan to the driver, who was being extremely cooperative. Antonio and Voight headed out. They set up to act as eyes and back up. Jay placed himself in position as a sniper. The backup bus showed up. Al started the process of getting the bystanders out of harm's way.
"Do you have the shot?" Voight asked Jay.
"Negative." Jay groaned. "He's keeping Diego close."
Antonio clenched his teeth. "Damn it." He kept the binoculars up. Then he saw everything fall to pieces. Mateo must have figured out that Lindsay was a cop. He grabbed Diego around his neck and held a gun to his head. "Diego!" Antonio dropped the binoculars and ran towards the bus.
Erin was shouting at Mateo. Adam, seeing the scene unfold, came up with a plan. He hopped in the other bus and radioed Erin. "Erin! Hang on!"
Erin caught his drift and braced herself. Adam floored the bus and rear ended the other one. Mateo lost his balance, losing his grip on Diego. Erin grabbed him and pushed him behind the seat as Mateo opened fire. There were two more shots that came from behind her. She spun around to see Antonio with his gun raised. "Antonio! I got him! I got Diego."
Antonio saw that Diego was safe. He holstered his weapon and grabbed his son, pulling him into a suffocating embrace. "Diego!"
"Daddy!" Diego cried out. "Daddy!"
"Oh! Diego!" Antonio kissed the top of his head. "You were so brave! You were brave, buddy... so brave." He looked to Erin. "Thank you."
She nodded.
Antonio led Diego off the bus to the waiting patrol car. Atwater and Burgess were there to take them home. Antonio didn't let go of his son. He was so relieved.
Voight watched as they left. He would deal with the scene. He'd go there to be with his family later. For now, they needed their time together. He went to Erin to make sure she was okay.
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"Sorry about the smell." Atwater said to Antonio.
Antonio laughed and patted his shoulder. "I don't mind a bit."
They pulled up in front of the house. Josie and the kids came running. "Diego? Diego!"
Diego ran out of the car to them. "Mom! Eva! Zoë! Xavier!"
Antonio thanked Burgess and Atwater and went to hug his family.
"Oh my God!" Was the general consensus. They didn't let go of the group hug for a good amount of time.
Xavier knelt down next to Diego. "Buddy, I'm so sorry."
"I thought I'd never see you again!" Eva wept.
"I'm okay... Dad and them... they saved me..." Diego turned to Antonio and hugged him tightly. "I knew you'd come for me."
"Always." Antonio smiled, tears in his eyes. "I will always come for any of you. Come on, let's go inside."
After the kids were calmed down enough, they got them settled in bed. Josie sighed as she and Antonio headed for bed. "How bad?"
"Well... I shot the guy who had him... the other one... has a few busted ribs."
"I'm sorry... Antonio... I..."
"No, Jo. You were right. I had to do it. We have him home. All of our kids are safe... I should've listened to Hank sooner."
"Antonio... you're your own cop... You're not Hank Voight."
Antonio pulled her close. "We're safe... I'm definitely going to need time off."
"What about Jules' service?"
Antonio hadn't thought about that. "I... I don't know... I guess we'll know more once the Department decides."
"I'm going in uniform." Josie said. "She was my partner too."
"Jo... the..."
"I'm Intelligence... maybe on Mat leave, but I'm still a cop... I'm going... I will be in uniform and that's it."
Antonio knew he wasn't going to win. "Okay." He turned off the lights and held her tightly.
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A week later, Antonio and the rest of the team were gathered at the CPD memorial in their dress blues. The bagpipes sent chills down their spines. Josie had to fight to hold the tears back that threatened to flow as Alec was handed the folded flag and the 21-gun salute was fired. She stood at attention next to Antonio. He wanted to break ceremony and hold her, but he couldn't. After the ceremony, Alec took the kids home. Antonio told him that if he ever needed anything to call. Alec thanked them both and left. Voight asked them all to join him back at District 21. Josie asked Dixie to take the kids home. She was strongly considering going back to work. She knew that Antonio and Voight would probably have an issue with her going back to work so soon, especially after all of the emotional trauma she'd been through in the last 4 months, but she wasn't going to stay home for another 8 months when she knew she could help the team.
They met in the roll-up. Voight looked to them. "I've been given the go-ahead to run Intelligence the way I want to run it. No interference. This is our unit now." They nodded. "You do things my way... our way... and you'll unclip your badge at night knowing you did what's best for Chicago." He pointed to all of them. "The police standing next to you are your family. To me... there's nothing more important. So, if you're in... stand here with me."
"We're in." Josie stepped forward, Antonio right next to her.
"I'm in." Erin and Jay followed suit.
"I'm in." Adam said.
Al looked to Hank. "You don't have to ask. I'll always be here."
Hank nodded. "Then, let's take a little bit of time to digest everything that's happened. I'll see you all on Monday."
The others slowly left, but Antonio and Josie stayed behind. "Dad?" Josie asked.
"Yeah?" Hank sighed. He was exhausted. He hated burying cops, but he hated burying members of his team even more. "How's Diego?"
"He's doing okay... It'll take time, but he's going to be okay." Antonio nodded. "They all are."
"Thank God, Grace is too little to understand any of this." Josie said. "So, um... I know that you're down a team member. I know... you and Antonio will probably disagree with me... but I want to come back."
Antonio and Voight really couldn't hide their surprise. "Jo!" Antonio exclaimed. "Baby, it's only been four months since Grace was born."
"I'm with Antonio here. Don't you want more time at home?" Voight asked.
"Dad, Grace stopped nursing of her own accord... and I'm going crazy at home doing nothing. I've talked to Mama... she and Mami will take turns watching Grace and picking the kids up after school." Josie looked them both in the eye. "I love being a mom, but I'm a cop too... and that ceremony... it just reinforced that."
"Jo, I can't risk losing you to the job." Antonio said. "You can take the full year."
"Antonio." Voight said. "She has the same look Dixie gets when her mind is made up."
Josie nodded. "Damn straight. If you guys won't back me, I'll go to Commander Perry."
Antonio sighed. "Jo, are you sure?"
"Yes. Antonio, I am more sure now than ever of my choice to be a cop. I want to help take the scum off the street and make sure they stay off. I don't want a repeat of Pulpo."
They couldn't argue with that. Voight sighed. "Okay, I'll make sure Platt puts you back on Active Duty. If you need more time, you just let me know, and you'll get it."
"Thanks, Dad." She kissed his cheek. "Now, Mama is hosting dinner tonight... something about fried chicken."
"I'll see you all there." Hank smiled. "Antonio." He extended his hand.
"Hank." Antonio shook his hand. "Uh, just... thank you."
Antonio and Josie left. Hank watched as they walked off. He had to go deal with Gradishar and then he would go and spend time with his family. Chicago was going to have to get ready for the real Intelligence Unit. The criminals didn't stand a chance. He sighed and went to change. Now, if he could only get IA off his back.
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A/N: Well, there you have it. Another chapter. Certain parts come directly from Season 1, Episode 1 and Episode 2. All rights for that dialogue belong to Dick Wolf and the One Chicago writers. Lots more to come. A side note, yes, I know Josie probably could've stayed home, but just wait and see what happens next. Let me know what y'all think! Lots of love! Nicole
