Detective Ln; An Adam Ruzek Love Story

Big Friends, Big Enemies

Yn's POV

"Adam" I shout and run over to him before checking him for injuries. "Are you okay? I got so worried when Kevin called." "Hey" Adam said and grabbed my hands. "I'm fine. I promise." He then leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. "I never noticed how good you look in your patrol uniform" I say and run my hand over the fabric. "Ruzek" Voight shouted. "Get over here." "We'll finish this conversation later" Adam said and kissed my cheek. He then walked over to Voight.

"So CPIC said they noticed it about 20 minutes ago. Since then, I found 13 posts. This profile belonging to a banger with the G Park Lords was the first" Jay said and showed us an Instagram post. "TK Ice, bitch thought he tough, but we SHK. G Park Lords gun that punk down. That's right, we get to you anywhere, even when you think you made. Bang bang, bitch" Kecvin read. "TK Ice is the 16-year-old victim from the alley. His real name is Terrel Kenton. He's a rapper from the South Side. His lyrics are violent, but he's got a clean record" I say. "I mean, the kid's from Englewood, so even with no priors, a rapper from that neighborhood is definitely connected to the Southside Hustlers. I mean, everything runs through the gang. Everything from the manager, to the label, to the artist" Kevin said.

"So if he was our target, this whole thing... the multiple casualties, fleeing into the crowd" Antonio said. "Wait, so we're saying a banger drove all the way to a concert on the North side, shot up a whole crowd of people, just to get to some 16-year-old rapper" Adam said. "They were looking to send a message. Even if this kid's not a banger, that hit's a pretty big show of muscle" Jay said. "I'm gonna have the gang unit send us all the territorial conflicts" Erin said. "All right, somebody build me a profile on this kid okay" Voight said. "What do you want to do with the owner of the SUV" Antonio said. "Check his alibi, corroborate the stolen car. If it syncs, kick him. Got it." "Guys, we got a shooting in G Park territory. We got more bodies" Erin said. "All right, run this whole thing down with the FBI. We might not be looking at terrorism. This could be a gang war" Voight said.

A few members of the team went out to investigate the scene, and came back to show us a video that was posted. "Area central's gang enforcement tracked the video, picked up the two Southside Hustlers responsible. Still had the guns on them" Adam said. "And both of 'em lawyered up just as soon as they got the cuffs on 'em and neither one of 'em is saying a word" Kevin said. "All right, so what's the traction on the video" Voight asked. "84 posts so far, and they're all direct call outs. Direct threats" I say. "So this is a gang war now. All right, bring in someone from CPIC, we got to track this in real time. Every one of those posts could be a hit."

"All right, this is TK's manager. Mark Cains, aka 'Markey.' Now, Markey's a Southside heavyweight. Since TK signed with him, the kid's been picked up by patrol three times. He always skates off, but the arrest records are who's who" Antonio said. "Big friends, big enemies" Al said. "All right, so far, it looks like the gunners are members of one of three G Park Lord factions. Three Corner Kings, 71st Street Rollers, and the Shreveport Knights. We got to narrow it down from there" Jay said. "That area's always hot. I mean, you got the three G Park factions and the Southside Hustlers in a 12 block radius" I say. "It could easily be a retaliation for some online beef or power struggle" Al said.

"If we're looking for enemies, Markey's label is no joke. He gets talented kids to rap about violence, brings in cash. And if TK is a rapper for Markey, he's making more than music. He's definitely making enemies" Kevin said. Antonio then showed us one of TK's music videos. "All right, get all of patrol to flood the zone. We got two priorities now. Locate TK's shooter, and keep this neighborhood from going up in flames" Voight said.

Minutes later, Adam entered the room with a girl I didn't recognize. Then I realized she was from CPIC. "Take it away Jenny" Adam said. "Uh, yeah, uh, so... so, bangers use a certain syntax, language... mostly letters, a shorthand. Certain bangers have certain voices. Makes it easy for us to track them over multiple profiles. But there were some that popped up right after TK's shooting. We noticed a few I didn't recognize, and, uh... you're Voight? Hank Voight" Jenny asked. "Correct" Voight replied. "I worked in the Ivory Tower for a spell. I've read a lot of files on you, I guess you'd say... a lot of allegations."

"We, uh, tracked the first two profiles to post after TK's shooting. Uh, they've also been the most dominant. One belongs to a G Park Lord, the other to a Southside Hustler. Jenny here tracked down the IP address and they match. Two opposing gangs making posts from the same place. So that means that one person started this and is stoking the others" Adam said. "So we got somebody purposefully fueling a gang war" Voight said. "Last inflammatory post was made from an IP address belonging to Charles Backer. He's a black male, mid-40s" Adam said. "History of gang violence" Kevin asked. "He grew up in Englewood." "All right, get an LKA, have Antonio and Olinsky hit it" Voight said.

Minutes later, Al and Antonio sent me a text. "Tenants' phones and computers check out, but this house has been rented out 10 different times in the last four years, which means a hundred different people could have used it and got the Wi-Fi password. So, best guess is, whoever's making the posts is mobile. Drives up, makes the post, rolls out. And there's no traffic cameras on this street" I say. "No, whoever's behind this wants to keep bodies dropping, so they're gonna be back. All right, have Antonio and Al sit on the location" Voight said.

While Al and Antonio were sitting on the location, they caught someone who was posting stuff in front of the house. His name is Luis Garza. They then brought him in to be interviewed.

"Garza's alibi checks out. He was out with his girlfriend at a diner on Wabash from 10:00 p.m. to 11:45. and she corroborate" Adam said. "And two waiters" Erin said. "Checking all numbers called, all historical cell sites" I say. "All right, I want a full profile. Arrest records, cell mates, his family, roommates. Anybody who came within spitting distance of him" Voight said. "I tracked the serial number off Garza's laptop. It was purchased in cash at a pawn store in Will County. The buyer didn't match Garza's description. The store sent this over" Jay said and placed a picture on the board.

"Can you enhance that photo" Voight asked. "No, it goes to snow. The store owner says his receipts show that this guy bought the laptop, a video game, a bag of chips, and a box of 223 rounds, same used in the shooting. Guy got ID, I ran it, came back bogus" Jay said. "Why don't we put that guy through facial recognition and cross-reference him with Garza's known associates" I ask. "Nah, there's no time for that. I got this" Voight said.

Voight went out and got us an address, and we watched the building from across the street. "Players run this place off the books, so there's bound to be plenty of bangers inside armed and high. So we don't make a sound; no one knows we're here" Antonio said. "We lure Alex out on Voight's cue; we take him. If he's not alone, we take whoever's with him" Jay said. "Erin and Kevin, you guys take the front. Ruzek and Ln, cover the side. Jay and I have the back" Antonio said.

Adam and I pulled his car into the alley and pretended to be fixing something under the hood while keeping watch on the building. "Eyes open, target's been warned. Should be coming out soon" Antonio said. Just then, a man wearing a black hoodie and yellow pants walked out of the building. He was the one we were after. "Go" Antonio said. Jay was the one who tackled the man and brought him over to us. And this man wasn't even a man. He was a boy. "Turn around and put your hands on the car" I say. The boy followed my directions. "You got an ID" Antonio asked. "Spread your legs" I say. He followed my instructions and I pulled a wallet out of his pocket. "That's our guy" Antonio said. "Hands behind your back" I say. I then handcuffed him and Adam put him in the car. "He's just a kid" Jay said. I sighed. "I know."