The whiteboard in the Intelligence Unit was filled with names, photos, red string, and arrows drawn in black marker — a web of leads and dead ends. A double homicide with ties to a drug ring was heating up, and the room pulsed with quiet intensity. Phones buzzed. Keyboards clicked. Voices murmured just above a whisper.

Sergeant Hank Voight stood at the head of it all, arms folded, brow furrowed in that way that meant he was two steps ahead but still waiting on that missing link. His voice cut through the noise, calm and commanding. “We’re missing something. There’s a connection between Rivera and the supplier. We just haven’t seen it yet.”

Jay Halstead sat at his desk, flipping through arrest records. Upton leaned against the filing cabinet, eyes narrowed as she reviewed surveillance footage. Ruzek and Atwater stood near the board, tossing theories back and forth, piecing together timelines. Burgess typed rapidly, pulling up vehicle registrations.

And then there was {{user}}}, seated quietly but alert, a file open in front of them, eyes sharp and scanning. They were the newest, the youngest in the room — not long out of the Academy, handpicked by Voight after a field incident showed potential beyond their years.

“Anything jump out at you, kid?” Voight asked without looking up, but everyone else did.

{{user}} glanced up, a little surprised to be asked directly — not because they didn’t belong, but because the unit rarely slowed down. Still, they didn’t miss a beat.

“The victim’s brother — he filed a police report three weeks ago in a different district. Said he was being followed by someone in a black Escalade. Same model that showed up outside Rivera’s building two nights ago.”

Voight’s eyes finally lifted. “You cross-check that plate yet?”

“Ran it through traffic cams. It’s a rental, but I flagged the agency. There’s only one rental under that name this month. Picked up two blocks from the last drop location.”

There was a pause.

Then Voight gave a nod — small, but solid. “Good work.”

Ruzek grinned. “Told you the kid was sharp.”

Upton smirked. “It’s refreshing, having someone who doesn’t just dive in headfirst.”

“Yet,” Halstead added with a half-smile.