09x05 - Burnside

[bunniefuu]

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

♪

- See?
- I don't know, man.

What you mean? That is the best I got.

I spent my whole off day

looking for these
different properties.

Just saying, this is Burnside.

It's a little underdeveloped,
lotta crime, but look at that.

sh**t, I mean, as long
as you get a good deal

through CPD's real estate program.

Nah, man, I just wanna kind of do this

away from the badge, you know?

To do it as me, not as a cop.

All right, well, then
I'm gonna sh**t you straight.

You're gonna spend all your money.

Damn right.

And all my time.

Speaking of time. Mine is up.

I've got a late dinner with Kim.

Ah. That explains the shirt.

[CHUCKLES]

I'll see you later. Be safe, yeah?

Yeah, you too.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

♪

- [CHEERING]
- Damn!

Hey, who's got next?

Come on.

I got next.

- All right.
- All right.

What, you're not impressed?

No.

You think they could've
sh*t this better?

All right, look,
anyone who lives here knows

there is two Burnsides.

So you Burnside born and raised?

No, I left Bronzeville for here.

You left Bronzeville for here?

- [LAUGHS]
- The Black metropolis?

Okay.

- For here?
- For here.

People make communities.

- Let me ask you this.
- Hmm?

So how do two people meet at a bar,

talk for hours,

and fail to learn each other's names?

More fun that way.

Okay, stranger,

you wanna dance?

Uh-huh. I do.

[WHISPERS] Not here.

♪

There she go.

- Hey.
- Hey, you.

Girl, talk to me.

We're getting personal now, huh?

- Yeah, we about this, baby.
- Mm-hmm.

Unless you wanna remain nameless.

I'm Celeste.

Mm.

Kev.

[SIGHS]

Hmm.

- Impressive art.
- Thanks.

You a artist?

Or activist?

More like slacktivist.

Just fighting the good fight
from my own little lane.

That one's by one of my kids.

Bit of Ernest Withers' social realism

at play there for sure.

Kids?

Oh, I teach art.

- Okay.
- Mm.

[CHUCKLES] Okay.

You want coffee?

I'm not making you breakfast,
but I will give you coffee.

Nah, I'm okay.

I should probably start
getting ready for work.

What do you do?

[SOFT SUGGESTIVE MUSIC]

Come on, it's your turn.

I just do boring work
for the city, that's all.

So what's up?

Can I call you?

No.

You should come find me again.

Keep it interesting.

[SIRENS WAILING]

Whoa, hey, what's going on?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

Getting additional tickets over here.

Let's get more cars to the sh*ts fired.

th and Ellis.

- David, plain clothes responding.

[SCREAMS AND SHOUTING]

Hey, how many offenders on scene?

- We still got offenders?
- Just rolled up.

[CAR HORN BLARING]

Hey, we're gonna need
some paramedics over here.

- It's en route.
- Okay.

Hey.

- [GASPING]
- Hey.

Hey, hey. You're okay.

You're okay, I'm a cop.
You gonna be all right.

Dad!

Dad, please! Please, wake up!

Where are those paramedics?

I got this. Get in there, come on.

We got multiple GSW.

He's already lost a lot of blood.

Please, somebody help my dad!
He's bleeding!

Please, he's been sh*t. Help me!

- I'm coming.
- Hey, where are you going?

He's gone, I'm sorry.

He's already gone.

♪

What happened?

It's all good. What do we got?

Drive-by sh**ting, four vics

and a pedestrian on
the other side of the line.

A father was hit right here.

His daughter was grazed
on the passenger side.

- Out-of-towners from Madison.
- Huh.

Decided to go through the drive-through,

he takes a GSW in the back.

Hey, the daughter see anything?

Uh, yeah, she saw the car.

It was a red SUV, two offenders.

Both were masked and hooded,

and it was the passenger
who was dumping the sh*ts.

Name of the victim is Anthony Wiggins.

Yeah, he rolled with
the Burn City Hustlers.

Did a -year stint
for drug trafficking,

was released a month ago.

So based on the amount
of lead this guy took,

trajectory of the b*ll*ts,

we think Wiggins was the target.

All the rest of this
is just collateral damage.

We're waiting on the server

for the footage from the restaurant,

but the place next door,
they got security cams

and it's pretty clear from the video.

We can't see the sh**ting,

but the whole block had a good view.

There was kids sitting on a
stoop when the sh*ts went off.

All right.
So knock-and-talk the hell out of them.

Rest of us, grid-search for the w*apon.

Dig into all g*ng disputes.

- Let's go, Ru.
- Yeah.

- See that?
- Yeah.

You left early.
I didn't even hear you leave.

I was trying to let you sleep.

We talked all night.
I just wanted to go to work.

Hey.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Slow down...

- I'm not gonna talk to you.
- Hey!

Man, you don't have to talk to me,

but the way you walking off
fast makes me feel like

you know something, so did you
see that sh**ting or not?

I wasn't a witness.

So go ahead and roll on out

and claim it was another
g*ng on g*ng sh**ting.

Go on, sellout.

"Sellout"?

That's original.

I'ma keep it moving.
We got everything we need.

We know for a fact that
the dude that got sh*t

was active with the Burn City Hustlers.

Keyword, "was."

So you know something I don't?

Kid implies that Wiggins
was no longer in the game.

Changed his life,
found God in the penitentiary.

Confirmed that with Stateville.

While inside, Wiggins actually started

a v*olence intervention program.

Huh.

Two days ago, confronts this man,

Moe Hubbard, street legend from the s.

Hubbard has never done time.

He was arrested six times.

Dealing, homicide,
nothing has ever stuck.

Teflon.

So two days ago,
when Wiggins confronts Hubbard,

somebody catches it on Instagram.

Watch this.

Wait.

What you gotta say, baby?

You just a pariah, Hubbs.

A weak pathetic thug
preying on young brothers.

See, you talk too much, man.

- Way too much.
- hours later,

Higgins was k*lled
in that drive-through.

All right, we got anything concrete?

Connect Hubbard to the sh**ting?

No, of course not.

No red SUV,

no ballistics match,
but we're still digging.

Where's Hubbard now?

Got a recording studio
for young rappers.

Acts like he's all about the kids.

Promises hope, hands them g*ns instead.

Hmm, all right,
rest of you keep digging.

Kev, let's you and me
pay Hubbard a visit.

♪ Rappin' Miami, flight just landed ♪

♪ Six points, I'm catchin'
a b*at like Randy ♪

Hmm. Okay.

Moe Hubbard.

- [SIGHS]
- [MUSIC STOPS]

Ah.

Y'all must be here about that sh**ting.

Hmm.

How can I be of service?

So you knew Anthony Wiggins?

v*olence interventionist?

Yeah, my guy.

Yeah? You guys don't look too chummy.

Way too much. You know you talk...

Two days later, he was dead.

You know anything about that?

Getting sh*t up?

Nah, can't relate.

[CHUCKLES]

I know if you a v*olence interventionist

and you get sh*t,

you probably just got fired.

[LAUGHTER]

You know, intervention is
a dangerous line of work.

- Oh, yeah.
- Mm-hmm.

Where were you this morning?

Man, here.

Finishing up some songs.

I'm gonna need your security
footage from this morning.

Would be my pleasure.

Son of a bitch
basically told us he did it.

Well, there he is
at the time of the sh**ting.

- He could've outsourced the job.
- We got something.

Restaurant footage finally came in.

Okay, so... yeah, here we go.

Red SUV swerves into the lot.

The passenger fires at Wiggins' car

- and then, here we get 'em.
- Looks like kids.

You can't see faces, but you
can see the driver's hat,

and you can just make out
the bottom of the logo.

Now, we ran it through
every system we got

and came back Chi-Teen Arts.

Privately run program contracted by CPS.

It's the only arts program they use.

At-risk teens, they get referred

by their teachers, counsellors.

Who runs it?

Woman by the name of Celeste Nichols.

She lives in Burnside.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

Well, let's hope this Miss Nichols

can help us ID at least
one of the offenders.

Hit it.

Kev, you and me? Yeah?

Yo, Ru.

- Yeah?
- Um...

[CLICKS TONGUE]

I need you to take this one for me.

Why? What's going on?

Last night at the Pennyhole,

I met her, Celeste.

I know her.

Oh.

And she does not know I'm a cop.

I'll go talk to her.

Get some names,
be in and out, real easy.

- I got you, man.
- My man.

♪

Celeste Nichols? Chicago PD.

Full disclosure,
any truancy or juvie issues

must go through CPS.

I don't give information on my kids.

This is their safe space.

Yeah.

Wow. These are powerful images.

The kids are really good.

"Tale of Two Cities" kind of thing.

Okay.

Way the kids see themselves...

Yeah.

Way the rest of the world sees 'em.

Yeah, I like that.

Celeste, we think two of
your students are in trouble.

CPD's in my class, I'd say so too.

Ms. Nichols,

do you recognize either
of the boys in these images?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

Yes?

It's...

I mean, it's not very good quality.

Well, you can see
the Chi-Teen Arts logo.

And we think one or maybe
both of them are students here.

Take a look again.

They're covered up.

It's grainy.

Yeah, but Celeste,
it feels like you can tell.

- Could be anyone.
- That makes things difficult.

That means we're gonna
have to come down here,

and we're gonna have to talk
to all of your students,

possibly have to put them down
as persons of interest.

Ms. Nichols,

we're gonna have to
put them on the record, so...

Yeah? Is that right?

Yeah, it is.

Or you can come down to the station,

and you can talk to us.

♪

Like I told the first two officers,

it's very hard to recognize who that is.

The concern in your voice
says otherwise.

You came here because

you clearly care about
the kids in this photo.

That's a presumptive opinion, at best.

At worst, the truth?

I'm here because your cop friend

threatened the safety
of the kids in my class.

He knew exactly why I wouldn't want them

put in your system,
in your g*ng database,

and so he used that to get me here

and put me in a cold interrogation room

to make me feel as if
I've done something wrong.

- Smart.
- Mm.

Okay.

Kids in that photo

sh*t four people.

This guy d*ed en route to Chicago Med.

Victim by the name of Anthony Wiggins,

he d*ed on scene.

So that's why my cop friend
brought you here.

Yes or no,

do you know who they are?

♪

No. No, I don't.

I have kids in my program,

and this photo doesn't
show me enough to ID them.

But I do have another class to prep for,

and I know my rights.

I'd like to leave now.

So you're actually
kind of into this lady?

Come on, man.

How'd you avoid telling her you're CPD?

Just felt kind of good to be
the dude she met at the bar

- and not the Black cop.
- Mm.

Didn't have to defend the badge,

didn't have to prove
my Blackness, that's it.

Hey, she's moving,
she's moving, she's moving.

Hey, I need you to call me, okay?

I don't care what the cops are saying,

but I need to hear it from you,
okay, so call me.

♪

Sure seemed like whoever she was calling

was our offender.

I could bring her back in.

I doubt that'll get her talking.

Probably just make her angrier.

She wasn't angry.

We could put a warrant on her phone.

Look, there's no way the DA
is gonna sign off on that.

- Look, we need more.
- Hey.

Okay, so I ran Celeste's social media.

She seems close with most of her kids,

and she's right, it is their safe space.

But of her male students were
in CPS at the time of the sh**ting.

So I ran the remaining .

Of those, these four stood out.

Sarge, she spends extra time
with these four.

She takes them on field trips
and books them art shows.

They've each had a rough upbringing,

lots of juggling with family.

They're all into art and music,

so they could've crossed paths
with Hubbard, so...

Well, we still need more.

A lot more.

Okay.

I know her.

Celeste.

I met her at a bar.

Didn't feel like sharing?

I didn't think it would matter.

But she does not know I'm a cop.

Huh.

So I work her. I get a number
off the cell phone

and I confirm the name.

Well, that's a good idea.

You do that.

♪

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

[DOOR CLICKS OPEN]

Hey.

You know, you never gave me your number.

So I figured I'd find you.

See, pure romance.

Hmm.

You okay? This a bad time?

Bad day.

Yeah, I understand.

Well, you know, if you're gonna
feel better all by yourself,

it probably would've happened by now.

Come on, come on.

Okay, so this,
this isn't working at all.

What?

I was supposed to be cheering you up.

I'm good.

Mm?

Yeah, I'm good. I'm fine.

You playing it off well, but I can tell

you ain't really...
Ain't really listening.

My job is sometimes harder than...

Kids, they just pains in the ass?

No, no, they're just...

They're just kids.

Not allowed to be
for very long, you know?

How is that?

How is it not?

They got Burnside, Garfield Park,

Anglewood all telling 'em,

"Don't get caught lacking.

"Keep your g*n,

keep eyes in the back of
your head or lose your head."

You know, they got the police,
they got TV,

hell, they got social media

all showing them the angry Black woman,

the scary Black man, a Black kid

sh**ting another Black kid.

"So be ready.

Be running, be afraid of your own."

[SOLEMN MUSIC]

I'm sorry.

I'm ranting. Let's...

- No.
- Talk you.

No, you're not ranting at all.
It's okay.

I got a little brother
and a little sister.

Yeah?

I raised them,

so I get it.

Most of the time,
it does feel like it's us

versus whatever world
the white man forced on us

- or us versus...
- Against the world that

- we had to force on ourselves.
- On ourselves.

Right.

I swear,

people never get how hard it hurts

to not have a place

to feel seen.

♪

[BOTH MOANING]

You know, I can probably
use another girl beer.

[CHUCKLES]

- Before we go there.
- Yeah.

I'ma get you one.

You stay right there. Hold on.

[VOCALIZING]

[PHONE RINGING]

[SIGHS]

Hey, are you all right?

Hey, okay, no, no, no, no.
Slow down, slow down.

What happened?

I get that,
but this is not the solution.

Okay, I'm on my way right now.

- What's going on?
- I, um, I just gotta...

I got something to take care of.

Is that one of your students?
'Cause I can help.

No, I don't need any help.

Is this kid okay?

No. No, I don't think so.

I don't know what I'm gonna do,
but I gotta do something.

Yeah, well, let me come with you.

I know you don't know me that well,

but I'm guessing from
everything you just told me,

whoever this kid is,

I promise you, I can help.

[EXHALES] Okay.

Okay, come on.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

So who's this kid?

Lewis.

Lewis Dotson.

He's sweet.

He's been a student of mine
for two years.

Oh, turn right, right here.

- Place looks abandoned.
- It is.

He said he's in the back unit.

Lewis Dotson, .

He's one of the four we ID'd, no priors.

Not a lot of truancies.

Good kid.

Okay, everybody is in position?

Just stay steady.
Let Atwater get him talking.

Wait for my signal.

♪

You're okay.

- No, uh-uh...
- Look, he's Kevin, okay?

- No, no.
- A friend.

I don't know this guy, Ms. Nichols.

- He's gonna help.
- No.

Hey, Celeste, I can step out.

- It's okay.
- No, no.

Lewis, I wouldn't have brought him here

if I didn't trust him, okay?
He said he'd help.

Lewis, what happened?

Look, I was just driving.

So it was you in that photo.

The cops got a photo?

Damn, Lewis,

you didn't know where you were driving?

Did you know?

[GASPS SHAKILY]

How the hell do I help him?

[WHISPERING] It's okay.

Okay, all right, Lew...

What happened? We lose his signal?

Yeah, I don't know what happened, boss.

Signal's completely down. I got nothing.

Did you touch the g*n?

Answer me.

Come on, man.

Just to dump it.

I threw it in the river.

All right, okay, what about the person

that you were with, all right?

Why did he sh**t these men?
Who are they to you?

They were Hubbs' guys okay?

- Hubb... Hubbard?
- Hubb, yes.

He was gonna k*ll me if I didn't.

- Chicago PD.
- [SCREAMS]

- Let me see your hands.
- Get down, Lewis!

Keep your hands where I can see 'em.

- Lewis, get down!
- Let me see your hands.

Do it. Go on the floor.

- Lewis.
- Turn around.

Get your hands behind your back.
Get on the floor.

Keep your hands where I can see them.

- You got me?
- Bell on the ground.

I'm sorry.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

You gotta get him a good lawyer.

He's a minor. He's entitled to a lawyer.

Yeah, it doesn't mean he's gonna
know how to get a decent one.

Okay.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I got you in this, Kevin.

Come on, let's go.

We'll search you upstairs. Come on.

♪

I was just about to bring him up to you.

It's all good, I got him.

Come on.

Let's go.

You're a cop.

Ms. Nichols is gonna hate you.

I'll tell her as soon as I can
you're a damn traitor!

My Black ass not being here,

picture that.

I'm the best thing
you got going right now.

So listen to me.

When I take you
into that interview room,

I'm gonna read you your rights,

and you're gonna request a lawyer.

Don't say anything else to me
but "lawyer."

When you have your lawyer,

when I ask you if you knew
where you were driving,

tell me exactly what you told
me in that apartment complex.

No, you did not.

Whether you had knowledge of the crime

is gonna be the difference
between you living your life

or giving it up in a penitentiary.

Why... why are you doing this?

Ms. Nichols knows who you really are.

I believe her.

I see it.

I see you, okay?

I see you.

Come on.

I'm not following, Lewis.

You didn't know where you were driving,

you had no idea
your friend had that g*n?

Don't answer that.

So you just pulled
into that drive-through,

your buddy next to you starts sh**ting,

but you had no knowledge
of his intention to do so?

No.

All right, well, Lewis,

I need more than that.

I need to know the name of your friend.

My client won't be providing that.

♪

Nah, I wanna answer.

You don't have to say anything.

No, I...

It was my friend, Eric Boyle.

Eric Boyle, okay.

But... but look, I...

I know he only would've pulled that g*n

'cause Moe Hubbard forced him to.

Hubb... Hubbard, he owns him.
He threatened to k*ll him.

Moe, he gave Eric that w*apon.

Eric fired it

'cause he must've thought
he didn't have a choice.

I think we got enough
to move on Hubbard.

Definitely Eric Boyle.

Okay, good. Well, patrol just confirmed
they're both

at Drill Hubb Records right now.

So get arrest warrants.

I'll get the marine unit,
start looking for that g*n.

Copy that.

Hold up a sec, Kev.

Oh.

Kid gave just enough
to get Eric and Hubbard.

Got lucky.

What happened with your COH?

I don't know.
I need to check that battery.

We good to move on Hubbard and Eric?

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Chicago PD, open up!

CPD, don't you move!

Let's see those hands, now!

- Do not move.
- Stay right there.

- You got anything on you?
- A g*n.

Chicago PD, hands up.

Uh-huh. Uh-huh, get up.

Come on, get over there.

Take it y'all got a warrant?

Get up.

♪

So just to confirm with you,

your report says that
while the COH was out,

Lewis told you he didn't
have knowledge of the crime

- about to be committed?
- Right.

He told me a version of that
in the interview room.

Why?

I'm just confirming
that he lied repeatedly.

How's that?

My investigators found messaging
between him and Eric Boyle.

It sounded like Lewis knew exactly

where he was driving and why.

Well, that doesn't prove anything.

He lied to you.

He had knowledge of the crime.

We'll be charging him as an adult.

As an adult?

A -year-old boy as an adult?

It's a double homicide.

Hey, he's also a kid
that got manipulated

and threatened by a grown-ass man.

And he committed a crime

in which two men were k*lled.

Under the "do or die" orders of a thug.

That's not in the notes?

Because right now, it sounds like

we're trying to create
a false narrative about a kid

- so that we can build a case.
- Kev.

No.

I'm following evidence.

I'm doing my job, that's what I'm doing.

And you have zero proof
he didn't have knowledge.

Wow.

Is there something else
you wanna say to me?

Call me?

I'm pretty sure every insult

running through your head right now,

you've had thrown at yourself times.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

If Lewis is gonna be
arraigned as an adult,

we're gonna have
to transfer him to County.

- I'll get a transport car.
- Mm-mm.

I'll transport him myself.

Look, man, I can't do this. Please, man!

Please.

I didn't...
There's gotta be something...

Hey, hey, look at me.

There's gotta be something, man.

Hey, look at me. Look at me.

You're gonna go in there,
you're gonna keep your head down,

and you're gonna hold yourself together,

all right?

You're gonna be fine.

Believe that.

Look, man, I lied to you, all right?

I said I dumped the g*n, but I didn't.

I got scared.

[g*nshots]

[GROANS]

[INTENSE MUSIC]

♪

Call it in, call it in!

K , K , sh*ts fired.

Eric, stop!

Don't fight me. Do not fight me!

Stop.

Stop, stop, stop!

Hubbard sent you, hmm?

Tell me, talk to me!

Was it worth it, huh?

You don't even know who you are yet.

Why?

- I got him.
- Huh, why?

[SOMBER MUSIC]

♪

[SHOUTS]

If you're coming down here
to give me a lecture...

I'm not.

This wasn't on you.

It isn't.

I get why you did what you did today.

I also get that

sometimes this job chews up your soul

in a different way than it does mine.

I respect the hell out of you

that you stay here when it does.

Is Eric talking?

No.

Hubbard?

So we have no proof that
Hubbard sent him down there?

Not yet.

[EXHALES]

Lewis was just about to tell me
what happened with the g*n.

He didn't dump it.

He didn't tell you what he did with it?

It could be anywhere.

Hmm.

I just don't know where
he went after the sh**ting.

I don't know.

Hmm.

I do know.

Celeste said he would go
somewhere where he knew it was safe.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

Got it.

That's the g*n used in
the drive-through sh**ting.

Doesn't ring a bell?

Huh.

See, it turns out somebody put

a Glock converter switch on that w*apon,

made it fully a*t*matic.

Still nothing? Hmm.

Lewis is gone,
so he can't testify on that,

but Eric Boyle is still here.

Yeah, the police didn't sh**t him.

Like I'm guessing
you thought they would.

And he's talking.

Oh, he's talking.

He's saying you gave him
the g*n and the car.

That you told him and Lewis
to sh**t and k*ll Wiggins

or you would sh**t and k*ll them.

If you think I'ma slip for a confession,

it ain't gone happen.

See, it turns out we don't need it.

Yeah, I'll be seeing you around, Hubby.

Why don't you fill him in, Kev?

♪

See,

sh**t wear masks, they wear gloves,

they avoid the cameras,
but for some reason,

bangers always forget that

when you load b*ll*ts into a magazine,

and when you put a switch on a Glock

and turn it into a mini AK- ,

you leave partial prints.

Your prints are on both of those g*ns.

That plus what we got from Eric Boyle,

you're done.

So...

Good luck at Stateville.

Those "Free Hubbard" shirts are gonna be

pretty popular, though.

♪

Did you hear what happened?

I wish I could've been here sooner.

Come on.

You know they were gonna
charge Lewis as an adult.

I can't even understand that.

He's .

And we both know

if Lewis was a white kid,

they'd paint a picture
of a helpless victim

bullied into crime.

I mean, he didn't even
have his hand on the trigger.

And Lewis,

k*lled in police custody.

I knew when those cops...

When they showed up
in my classroom, I knew,

and yet, I led them right to him.

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

I should've known they'd follow me.

It was so, so stupid.

You know, and then I got you involved,

and I probably made things
worse for him.

I didn't protect him.

They didn't protect him.

You know what burns me the most?

What?

I heard Lewis was riding in a patrol car

with two Black officers.

How'd you hear that?

Witnesses on the street.

How do they sleep at night
knowing that Lewis d*ed

sitting right next to them?

I don't know.

Why are you looking at me like that?

[WHISPERING] Celeste.

I gotta tell you.

- I'm sorry, but I...
- No, no, no.

No, no, you don't do that, okay?

You're not doing that.

You don't apologize to me.

None of this is on you, okay?

You tried to help, and I
appreciate that so, so much.

I really do, I really do.

I think you

are a very good man, Kevin.

Okay, can we just...

Can we just have some beers

and just sit in silence together?

Our own little safe space?

Is that okay?

Yeah?

You coming?

♪

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

[WOLF HOWLS]