Chapter 21: All Aboard

Having just learned from Aiden Pearce that his sister, Nicole, had just been kidnapped, Detective Harrison shot up out of his chair and headed out into the waiting room where several CPD officers were awaiting updates on Harrison's wounded partner, Detective Tran, who was in surgery.

"Captain!" he called out, at which point Captain Broussard got up out of his seat and came over to him.

"What's wrong, Detective?" the captain asked, sensing the insistence in the detective's voice. The two went over to a corner of the waiting room so they could talk discreetly.

"There's something going on with one of my informants", Harrison began to explain, "I just got a call from him. He was in an area with bad reception, so all I could make out was that his sister had been kidnapped."

Captain Broussard nodded. "Okay", he said, "Between you and me, who is this guy?"

"His name's Aiden Pearce", Harrison said, "He's some sort of skilled hacker who's somehow connected to the May Stadium murders, the car accident and assault that Dobbs and Brooks worked on a little while ago, and maybe even what just happened at Palin Correctional."

"And you say his sister's supposedly been kidnapped?" Broussard asked.

"Yes", Harrison said, "Her name's Nicole Pearce. She's the lady who was being harassed by the guy who was victimized in Dobbs and Brooks' assault investigation, remember?"

Broussard nodded once again. "Right", he said. The captain then turned and signaled across the room to Detective Dobbs, waving him over to where he and Harrison were.

"What's going on, guys?" Dobbs asked.

"Dobbs", Harrison said, "Do you remember that lady who you and Brooks interviewed when you were helping out the Thirty-First District a few days ago?"

Dobbs nodded. "Sure, I remember her", he replied, "Nicole Pearce. She was really forthcoming with us about the harassing phone calls she had received from that guy Frank Janson. Isn't her brother that guy Aiden Pearce we interviewed after you arrested him that day?"

Harrison sighed. "Yeah", he replied with an apprehensive tone, "I'm sorry to let the cat out of the bag, but Aiden is actually my informant now."

Dobbs shot a look to Captain Broussard. "Is this for real?" Dobbs asked.

"I'm afraid so, Detective", Broussard said, "Commander Brooks and the CtOS Task Force both signed off on it after he talked to you guys that day."

"In any case", Harrison interjected, "Nicole Pearce has been kidnapped and I think Aiden has gone off halfcocked in pursuit of both her and whoever it was who kidnapped her. I'm going to need some help from you guys checking this all out."

Dobbs put a reassuring hand on Harrison's shoulder. "You got it, brother", he said, "What do you need?"

"Grab Nick", Broussard instructed Dobbs, "You guys head over to Miss Pearce's house and check things out. Have a unit meet you there. She lives in High Grove, right?"

"Yes sir", Dobbs replied before going to get Detective Brooks.

"Okay", Broussard replied before turning to Detective Harrison, "Harrison, find Detective Voight and see if you can identify a location on Aiden Pearce. The rest of us will stay here and wait for an update on Sunny. I'll call if anything comes up."

Roughly ten minutes later, Detectives Harrison and Voight were in Voight's black Dodge Dakota pickup truck in transit to Parker Square. Voight was at the wheel with his new interim partner, Harrison, in the front seat. Harrison had just spent the last few minutes explaining the whole Pearce situation to Voight.

"Who does Pearce think is after his family?" Voight asked.

"I'm not exactly sure at the moment", Harrison replied candidly, "All I know is what Aiden seems to believe. He thinks there's some conspiracy involved with both his niece's death and why he was let go from the Blume Corporation back in the day. He told me once that it had something to do with his old friend from those days, but things popped off before he had the chance to tell me exactly who that was."

"Can't your buddies at the task force figure out who that is?" Voight asked.

"My supervisor there put in a formal request for Aiden's old personnel file with the higher ups at Blume", Harrison said, "but he says they've remained pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing up to this point for whatever reason."

Voight scoffed. "I smell a big old corporate cover-up", he said in a tone that was equal parts sarcastic and serious.

At that moment, Harrison looked down at his leather shoulder holster and realized it was empty. "Shit!" he exclaimed, "I don't have my gun! I had to turn it in to the Internal Affairs detective after the shootout at Palin Correctional."

"There's a Glock in the glove box", Voight said, "I use it as a backup piece, but you can borrow it for now if you want."

Harrison pulled open the glove box and discovered there was indeed a Glock G17 handgun inside. He promptly grabbed it, checked the weapon's ammo magazine, and placed it in his holster. "Thanks", he said with a grin.

Detective Dobbs' voice was soon heard over Harrison's portable radio. "Thirty-Four-Henry-Charlie calling for Thirty-Four-Henry-Edward on Channel Two", he said, "Harrison, are you on the air?"

Harrison keyed the radio's mic. "Thirty-Four-Henry-Edward here", he said into the radio, "I copy. Go ahead, Dobbs, over."

"Ten-Four", Dobbs replied, "We just arrived at the Pearce place. There's nobody here, but the kitchen looks pretty trashed. It looks like there was a very recent struggle, over."

"Any sign of Nicole's son, over?" Harrison asked.

"Negative", Dobbs replied from the radio.

Harrison let out a very vexed sigh before keying the mic once again. "Ten-Four", he said into the radio, "Call for the Crime Lab. Have them take photographs and dust that kitchen for prints. I think one of our combatants was Aiden Pearce. It goes without saying that whoever he was scrapping with could be either his sister's kidnapper or at the very least someone who might know who that could be, over."

"I got you", Dobbs replied through the radio, "I'll get the lab people here right away. Brooks and I can hold down the scene until then, over."

"Copy that", Harrison said, "I'll get back to you guys in a bit. Thanks for your help, over."

"Ten-Four", Dobbs replied from the radio, "Thirty-Four-Henry-Charlie out."

"Copy that", Harrison said, "Thirty-Four-Henry-Edward out."

"Do you think they kidnapped the Pearce lady's son too?" Voight asked Harrison.

"I don't know", Harrison replied just as an idea struck him, "But I think I might know how we can find out where the kid is."

Harrison clipped his portable radio to the belt loop of his pants before taking out his cell phone from his right-hand pocket. He dialed The Aquarium, at which point Agent Lavinia "Vin" Taylor answered after two rings.

"Task Force Command Center", Taylor answered, "This is Agent Taylor."

"Hey Vin", Harrison said into the phone, "It's Troy Harrison. Listen, I'm in the middle of an 'exigent circumstances' type of situation here. There's a woman missing and her ten-year-old son may be in danger. I don't have time to fill out a subpoena and send it to you guys right now."

"Say no more, man", Taylor replied in an encouraging tone, "I'll square it with Doctor Bartholomew for you later. What do you need?"

"I need you do to do a CtOS search for any personal devices registered to a Jackson Pearce", Harrison explained, "Date of Birth April Fourth Two-Thousand. Now, the boy's a minor, so if you strike out on finding anything in his name, run his mom."

Harrison could hear his colleague typing on her keyboard from his side of the line. "You got it", Taylor said after a few seconds, "I'm not finding anything in the kid's name, what's his mom's info?"

"His mom is Nicole Pearce", Harrison replied, "Her DOB is March Sixth Nineteen-Seventy-Seven. I need the kid's exact location so we can make sure he's okay."

The sounds of Agent Taylor's typing lasted for roughly forty-five seconds before she chimed back in. "Okay", she finally said, "I've got something. I'm showing three personal devices registered to Nicole Pearce. One is a cell phone that appears to be turned off at the moment, so there's no GPS ping available. The second appears to be a laptop, which is currently on. GPS ping appears to be locked in at Two-Four-One High Grove Street in Parker Square."

"That's their house", Harrison clarified, "Two of our guys are there now. We think that's where Nicole was abducted from. What about the third device?"

"Hmmm", Taylor uttered inquisitively, "The device info says it's a tablet and it's currently active. The GPS ping is in motion, and based on my map here, I'd guess your boy is riding one of the elevated trains. The ping appears to be on its way toward the Paulson train stop."

An impressed Harrison scoffed with a grin. "You're a rock star, Vin."

"Thanks", Taylor replied, "right back at you, man."

"Tell Bartholomew I'll fill him in on all this tonight", Harrison replied, "I owe you big time for this. Thank you."

Harrison abruptly hung up and turned to Voight. "The boy's on the El headed for the train stop at Paulson, Hank. Let's go."

Voight activated the set of strobing blue police lights mounted on the grille of the pickup truck and gunned the vehicle toward the elevated train stop at Paulson. Detective Olinsky's voice came over the radio a moment or two later.

"Twenty-One-George-Charlie calling for Twenty-One-George-Bravo on Channel Two. Hank, you there?"

Voight picked up the truck's CB radio mic with one hand and promptly keyed it to respond. "Ten-Four, Al", he said into the radio, "Go ahead, over."

"Be advised", Olinsky said from the radio, "the Thirty-First District's channel is airing multiple calls for 'Shots Fired' in the area of Paulson train stop. OEMC shows your location heading towards that area, over."

"Ten-Four", Voight replied into the radio, "That's right. We're headed toward the train stop now, over."

"The shooting suspect may be in your immediate area, Hank", Olinsky said from the radio, "Suspect vehicle is described as a burgundy late model Corvette, Illinois plates Seven-Kilo-Three-Four-Nine-Seven. I'm headed your way with some patrol units now, over."

An apprehensive Harrison then looked to Voight and shook his head in objection. He took the radio mic from him and keyed it. "Twenty-One-George-Charlie, this is Detective Harrison", he said, "The subject in the Corvette is possibly being tailed by potentially armed and hostile suspects. I suggest you and your backup slow down and let us handle this. We'll advise further if we need help. I do not, repeat, I do not want this subject spooked, over."

Harrison could hear Olinsky sigh in opposition over the radio. "Copy that", Olinsky replied after a beat, "Twenty-One-George-Charlie out."

Voight then shot Harrison a resentful look to Harrison as the latter placed the radio mic back in its rightful place. "What the hell did you do that for?" Voight said in a perturbed tone.

"Say what you will about Aiden Pearce, Hank", Harrison said, "But the man is no threat whatsoever to Chicago PD. He's just trying to protect his sister and his nephew. I don't always agree with his methods, but I think any one of us would go to hell and back if our families were in trouble."

The resentful look then left Voight's face and he sat back in his seat, contemplating Harrison's point. "My wife, Camille, died of cancer a few years ago", he explained, "We have a son named Justin. Let's just say I don't always agree with some of his methods or life choices either. But you're right. I would go to hell and back for my boy if he was in trouble."

Harrison and Voight soon arrived at the Paulson train stop, promptly parking and exiting the truck. They ascended the stairs and reached the train platform in time to see Aiden Pearce and his nephew, Jackson, exit a stopped train. They saw a short, middle-aged Hispanic woman with dark hair in a beige trench coat approach the two of them.

"Hey!" the woman greeted the boy in a very warm and genuinely empathetic tone before hugging him, "Hello sweetheart!" She then turned her gaze to Aiden. "What's going on, Mister Pearce?" she asked him, "Where's Nicky?"

"It's been a rough week", Aiden replied, "She's forced herself to get rid of Lena's stuff, and I think she's finally saying her goodbyes."

"How bad is it?" the woman asked in a very concerned tone.

"It's bad", Aiden said in a very candid tone.

"She should call me", the woman replied.

"Well", Aiden said, "she wanted me to call you. See, we were wondering if you could look after Jacks for a few days? We'll pay you, of course."

"Of course," the woman sweetly replied without even stopping to think, "I'll help in any way I can."

"That'd be great", Aiden said, "Thank you."

"Nicky needs to grieve", the woman said with a noticeable amount of insight unique to a social worker or psychiatrist, "I know it's hard, but it's a good thing."

Aiden nodded. "It's been rough", he said before playfully patting his nephew's shoulder, "but we'll work it out. Right?"

Jackson nodded, now apparently reassured by his uncle's sentiment.

The kind Hispanic woman then knelt to Jackson. "Okay, little man", she said good-humoredly, "We're going to cause some trouble."

Another train arrived on the opposite platform and opened its doors. The woman gently ushered Jackson aboard the train car. "Let's go", she said. The young boy waved goodbye to his uncle.

"See you soon", Aiden said to the pair as the doors closed.

Aiden turned around as the train took off. He stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw Harrison and Voight standing at the top of the stairs, realizing they had seen the whole exchange between him, his nephew, and the kind Hispanic woman.

"Hey stranger", Harrison said to Pearce before motioning to Voight, "This is Detective Hank Voight. He and I are going to be partners for a while."

Aiden nodded to Voight. "Understood", he said, "but what are you guys doing here?"

Voight stepped forward. "I think you have to explain a few things to us, Mister Pearce", he said, "What do you say the three of us take a ride?"