Keeping It in the Family (Linstead)

Chapter 37

As soon as they had found out that there was a gun delivery job on the go, Lindsay had pushed one of the buttons on her special watch, activating a tracker in it. The activation would also flash an alert on Olinsky's phone. He and the Intelligence team would now have to drop whatever they were doing and move their asses double time to follow them to the delivery point, wherever that was going to be.

Once they arrived at the location, she would press the button that had originally been used as the ten minute walking to raid the poker. This time, by prior arrangement, it would be a two minute warning. Intelligence and uniform would sweep in, round everyone up, and seize all guns and money that could be found.

At least, that was the plan, Halstead thought. He had been a cop long enough to know that plans could go awry once they were executed, and that would put him and Lindsay in grave danger if it came to pass. Danger didn't frighten him, he was beyond that at this point in his career. It was merely something to try and prepare for. Luckily, Raquel Gonzalez had issued them both with pistols again, so if things went seriously wrong they at least had something with which to defend themselves.

They were travelling in the back of a car, with Gonzalez and the guy called Juan up front. There was no tension in the atmosphere, which Halstead took as a good sign. The Martinez crew needed to be at ease before they walked into the trap that would be waiting for them. Or at least, would hopefully be waiting for them. There was no way to be sure if Olinsky and the team would get there in time.

Another thing to keep in mind was that he and Lindsay would be 'arrested' along with everyone else. It wouldn't be until they were back at the station that their undercover mission would end. It was also important that they didn't look like they were resisting arrest when the raid happened. Getting shot by some clueless uniformed officer wasn't on the list of things to do.

As before, albeit in a different location to the last time, the van containing Martinez, several men, and whatever was about to be sold, emerged ahead of the car at an intersection. These people were very good at coordination, there was no doubt about that.

A few minutes later, they were driving into a small industrial area behind a public park. Their destination was a warehouse, as before with the doors open at both ends. They were hidden from sight of the public by another warehouse.

"Right, we're here. Juan, with me. Jesse, Sophia, stand guard outside. Anyone tries to get in, shoot them."

Damn it, Halstead thought as Lindsay conveyed their understanding. Being left outside was not good. He wanted to be inside to witness what went down. But there was nothing he could do about it. Objecting to the assignment would look suspicious in the extreme.

Lindsay glanced at him, then pressed the button on her watch. In two minutes, no one in the warehouse would know what hit them.

Juan drove the car into the warehouse and parked it near to the Martinez van. As on the previous occasion, the buyers were there, ready and waiting. It was bad luck for them, since they were also about to be arrested.

As the group got out of the car, Gonzalez issued more orders. "Juan, get that door down. You two, outside. You'll be called back in when we're ready to leave."

Great, Halstead grumbled internally. Things had just gone from bad to worse. The regular entrance door for people beside the big roller shutter door was going to be the only way to access the building from the front, which would slow down the police operation as they entered. Fine margins could make all the difference to a raid like this one.

Reluctantly, without looking reluctant, he led the way outside, having to give the heavy wooden door a strong pull to get it open. Lindsay had to let it swing closed behind them, but it didn't do so with enough momentum to close properly.

"Not good, Jay. Not good at all," Lindsay muttered once they were outside. "I wanted to be in there to see Martinez go down."

"Me too," Halstead said. "But we are where we are. Any moment now, they're going to..."

The sound of roaring engines cut him off. A large group of vehicles came towards the warehouse at pace. Some were the unmarked ones that Intelligence used, others were squad cars. They were all travelling without sirens on so as to avoid alerting the criminals in the warehouse. Half of the cars turned to come to the front of the warehouse. The other half sped down the side of it, heading for the back entrance.

"Guns down, hands up. Now we hope for the best," Lindsay said.

Halstead followed her example, tossing his pistol and kneeling down with his hands up. Even the dumbest uniform would realise they were not a threat.

From their poor vantage point, they were able to watch the start of the raid. Two Intelligence cars were the first to screech to a stop nearby. Ruzek and Purrazzo bailed out of one, Olinsky out of the other. They rushed for the entrance door, assault rifles at the ready, without even looking at Halstead and Lindsay. Several uniforms were close behind them.

"Down on the floor! Interlock your hands behind your heads!" a male uniform yelled at the two of them. He had his gun on them, as did his partner. Whether or not he was aware who they were wasn't clear. If nothing else, it was good for keeping up the pretence that they were real criminals being arrested.

More uniforms moved in, and as he and Lindsay had their hands cuffed behind their backs, Halstead heard shouting from inside the warehouse. Police announcing themselves. People being ordered to drop their weapons. Panicked shouts from criminals. Then the gunfire started. It was awful not knowing what was going on, who was being shot at, who was being hit. Several people were firing, that much he could tell.

"Right, get up," the cop taking charge of Halstead ordered, hauling him to his feet. He was being a bit rougher than he might have been with an undercover detective, but Halstead kept his mouth shut. All that mattered to him was finding out what the outcome of the operation was, and that would have to wait until they were back at the station.

Nearly an hour later, Halstead was shown into an office at the 21st. No longer 'under arrest', he had a welcome cup of coffee in hand. Coming out of the undercover job was a big relief, yet he still felt tense. As yet, he didn't know what had happened in the warehouse. That would soon change when the debrief started. He sat down to wait and sipped his coffee.

The door opened less than a minute later, and Lindsay was shown in. The uniform doing the escort duties left them to it and closed to the door. With a moment of privacy on offer, Halstead got up and went to Lindsay. She looked stressed, which he tried to alieve with a kiss.

"You okay?" she asked him.

"Yes, you?"

"I'm okay. But no one has told me anything. I want to know what happened, damn it."

"I hear you," Halstead said with a sigh. "Al will be along soon, then we'll hopefully get..."

The door opened at that moment. It was Olinsky who walked in. His expression gave away immediately that there was news to come that wasn't good.

"I'm glad to see you're both okay," he said as an opener, closing the door.

"Thanks, Al. Now give us the bad news that I can tell you've got," Lindsay said tensely.

A/N: Yes, I really did leave it there. I guess you'll just have to hate me. XD

What do you think the bad news is going to be?