scripted reality (jay halstead / upstead / one chicago (cast))

chapter 29

"Did you guys sleep at all?" Trudy called out to Paddy and me from behind her desk as we passed by. Her brow was furrowed as if trying to show that she disapproved of us working through the night, but I could clearly make out worry in her voice. "Don't ask them," Lisseth replied before either of us could say a word. "Believe me, we'll all be happy when this day is over." She was right about that last part. I would be more than happy when this day was over. And, much rather, when this case was over. There was no way I would find peace for even just a minute until it was.

The vehicle our suspect had been driving was parked in front of the address it was registered to, and when we arrived, LaRoyce and Marina where already there as well. Tracy had told us that Jason wouldn't come since he was caught up in a meeting with some officials, but that he said we should just go ahead and do whatever we thought was right.

Getting out of the car and pulling my gun, I thus motioned for LaRoyce and Marina to cover the back of the building, while Paddy, Lisseth and I made our way up the front stairs and positioned ourselves next to the door. "Ready when you are," Marina reported over the radio, and I nodded at Lisseth to go ahead. She banged on the door. "Julie Spencer? Chicago PD, open up!"

To our surprise, the door opened after a moment and revealed a woman in her twenties, who looked scared at being faced with several guns pointed at her. "You alone?" I asked, trying to glance past her into the hallway. She nodded. There was no way we could be sure, however. We had to be cautious.

"Go inside," I instructed. "Keep your hands where I can see them." I guided her to the nearest wall and made her place her hands up against it while Paddy and Lisseth moved past us and started clearing the house.

Once I made sure she wasn't carrying any weapons, I allowed Julie to walk down the hall to her living room, where I noticed pictures of her friends and family. She didn't look like a terrorist, and her place didn't look like a terrorist's place either. But then again, I knew too well that it was a mistake to judge from what you saw on the outside.

"How do you know Khaleel Rabbani?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Julie frowned. "I don't know no Khaleel Rabbani." She looked seriously confused, but at the same time, it didn't make sense. She must have known him. "Yeah?" I questioned sarcastically. I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture of our suspect inside her car just a block away from Bashara's house. "Then why is he driving your car?"

Julie's eyes widened in surprise. "That's Faaiz," she said. Right. He was obviously using a wrong name. "Faaiz who?" I questioned, and she jumped at my tone of voice. She didn't seem too comfortable. "Faaiz Qasim. We have some classes together." I raised an eyebrow. "Classes?" She shrugged. She had no idea what I wanted from her. "I'm a chemistry student at Central Chicago University." Chemistry. Great. I grabbed my radio. "Hailey, you copy?"

"Go ahead." I took a deep breath, never taking my eyes off Julie as I spoke. "His alias is Faaiz Qasim, he's supposed to be a student at Central Chicago University." It took a second for Tracy to reply. "Copy. I'll see what I can find."

I focussed my attention back on Julie. "When did you last see him?" She shook her head. She had probably thought of her situation in the meantime. "What do you want from him?" she asked. "I'm not talking to you. Faaiz didn't do anything." I let out a frustrated sigh. "As of right now, we have no reason to believe you're involved in any of this. You help us, you won't get in trouble." She shook her head again. "Faaiz is a good guy."

"Julie, he's not," Lisseth spoke from the doorway. "He's most likely involved in the planning of a terrorist attack, and it's not his first." I turned around to Lisseth in slight surprise, I hadn't noticed her coming in. She glanced back at me. "House is clear." I let out another sigh. Khaleel wasn't here. Julie looked between Lisseth and me, clearly not believing a word we said. We needed to get her to talk, though. Right now, she was all we had. "If you don't help us, you're involved, too," I added. "That's as simple as it is."