Original subtitles

The chief's son is trafficking underage girls.

There are over two dozen girls

that have gone through his doors that no longer exist.

I run a Safe Place program.

This is me helping the kids in my care.

I don't care who your father is.

You can't tail me and you can't be

on the premises without permission.

My dad says you're falling off the deep end.

We got to be patient.

If there's something-- - There is.

There's something there.

We should loop in the rest of the team.

That way, we always have eyes.

I want to keep this between you and me.

Nothing yet.

Listen, Trudy's noticed how much you've been working.

Don't worry, I'm not putting in for the OT.

When's the last time you slept?

In a bed?

All right, I'll take Sean tonight.

No, it's okay. I got it.

Victor Helms, his face lit up in facial rec.

He's indexed in just about every system we got.

Arrested for involuntary sexual servitude,

transport of a minor,

enticement and harboring of a child.

He's slippery as hell. Never been convicted.

But all these arrests, every single one

tell the same story.

This man right here is sex trafficking children.

He just met up with Sean O'Neal an hour ago.

They exchanged something.

Bag's squared off, weighted.

- It's got to be cash. - Mm.

This is it.

Right?

Yeah.

All right.

I'm gonna call in the team.

Until this is over, we all remain visible

downstairs and up here, like everything's normal.

Trudy'll keep eyes on the front gate like always.

But if someone does make it up here,

this is what we're working on.

My arts and crafts project.

Operation Golden Triangle.

A splinter cartel with a new smuggling route,

Durango to Chicago--

all fake, just in case.

All right, our real work,

our real work lives here.

Listen, we got to keep this in the dark away from the chief.

Everything's labeled 99 confidential.

I've issued a bogus I-number.

Anything you do on any computer,

you link it to that number.

All right, hit it.

Sean O'Neal, 32.

Father, grandfather, both cops.

Small sheet, all low-grade drug stuff.

He's an addict, sober now, white knuckle sober.

Victor Helms, 44, multiple arrests, but no convictions.

You name letters, they've been after him--

ISP, FBI, SIU.

Two years ago, he was indicted again,

this time for pimping out minors.

But the case fell apart-- fruit of the poisonous tree.

So he walked.

Sean O'Neal is grooming girls at Safe Place.

He's got to be picking junkies, runaways.

Yeah, the ones no one's looking for.

Once he gets them in that pipeline,

my working theory is, he sells them to Helms.

Helms holds them, runs them day to day,

and then hires men like Malcolm Kenning

that we found with Abby as an enforcer.

Helms is running them.

There'll be a property trail, a place to hold them.

Yeah, so we start at the bottom.

Gonna work this just like any narcotics case.

We start low to go high.

We need an in to Victor Helms.

We nail Helms, we can get him to flip for Sean O'Neal.

So find me a lowlife, someone who does business

with these pricks, a bottom feeder,

someone who can get us close.

All right, find me a name.

Hey.

I got it. I got a name.

Martin Daniels, 36.

Man's buried deep in Helms's recent case file,

the one that got tossed.

He was supposed to be a protected grand jury witness.

He gave a sworn depo in exchange

for his own solicitation charges being dropped.

Yeah, he's a john.

Who operated in Helms's circle.

He has an online handle.

I mean, he changed the name,

but he kept the same IP address.

"RustAndStardust"?

A "Lolita" reference.

All right.

So let's set the bait.

We find a rookie cop who fits the part.

Just step light.

Let's move.

If Daniels gets too close to her,

he's gonna know she's not 17.

Sure, but we've got his messages to her,

requests for specific sex acts.

Really, we just need him to drop the cash and we move.

This whole case is relying on a brand-new PPO.

Yeah, but Torres vouched for her.

We're good, Hailey.

Is this what's been keeping you out

of the district, this case?

I don't mean to--you just--

you seem worn down.

Sorry.

It's all right.

Yeah, I--I've been tailing Sean since Abby's case.

Oh.

I haven't gone home in a while.

I haven't really wanted to.

All right, look alive. I got the car.

Gray SUV with Indiana plates.

Todd, Mary, Paul, 382.

All right.

Plates check out. It's him.

Got a positive on Daniels. Castillo, you good?

I'm good.

Ready to go. - Copy you.

All right, Kim, you're on.

Text sent.

Okay, he's on the move.

Headed up the stairs now.

He's in.

Hi, Amelia.

Don't!

I like it dark.

I get shy.

What do you want to do?

Everything.

Everything gets pretty expensive.

Yeah, but some things are worth paying for.

Daniels just pulled out his wallet.

Are you trying to play some kind of game with me?

What?

Kim, do we have a cash exchange?

No cash, no go word. Hold.

How old are you, Amelia?

Oh, no.

How old do you want me to be?

I want you to be as old as I was promised,

as old as I am paying for!

I am. I can be that old.

Damn it.

I'm only giving you half.

- That's fine. - We got cash!

Go, go, go!

That's fine?

What do you mean, that's fine?

Who are you? - Hey, stay right there!

Hey.

Marty.

Take it easy there, Marty. We're police.

- Chicago PD! - Keep your hands up!

Slow down. Hey!

Hey! Whoa!

Jeez.

No. No!

You're done. Hands behind your back.

Don't move! Stop moving! Stop!

Put your hands behind your back.

You did business with Victor Helms, Marty.

You admitted that years ago. - But not anymore.

That's what I'm saying.

Not anymore.

I don't talk to him.

I don't--I don't know how to get a hold of him.

I know.

I got issues.

Like getting mad when they're over 17?

No.

I'm doing better.

Mm-hmm, yeah, you are.

I see that they made you deacon at the church,

real pillar of the community.

Got yourself married and everything.

Some pretty nasty language you used to get our officer

into bed with you, Marty.

You talk to your wife like that?

I wonder how she would feel if she

saw these messages, or your pastor,

your boss, everyone you know.

What do you want from me?

I want Victor Helms.

You know, you don't get what you're walking into.

The guy's paranoid now, okay?

He sells kids, young kids.

And he knows the cops are gonna find him someday.

You don't just walk in and make a purchase.

He's not a used car salesman.

I know.

That's why you're gonna walk us in.

I can't.

Okay.

Ruz is in the pocket.

Hey, just calm down.

It's just a meet,

just making friends, all right?

We've got a Lexus sedan pulling up, tinted windows.

Here we go.

Hey, Ruz, Victor's coming in through the side door.

He's here.

Hi, Vic.

It's been a long time, Marty.

You look terrible.

Where you been?

I--just trying to be better.

That's working out for you?

This your friend?

Yeah.

Looking to start a new relationship.

Marty said you're the man to talk--

You have ID on you?

Oh, come on, man. You don't need to see my name.

You just need to see cash, right?

I'll show you cash.

That's very dramatic.

What do you think you're buying?

Oh, I don't know.

Something as young and as sweet as I can.

Mm.

Got to hit the head. Wait here.

Who the hell is that?

I don't know.

Wait.

Hey, Ruz, Victor brought a girl with him.

She's coming your way.

Son of a bitch.

Gonna make a girl pull out her own seat?

I like this.

Yeah?

Spiky.

My friend said you were real nice.

Helms sent her in as a decoy, Adam, to see if you're a cop.

It's your call.

Said we should spend some time together.

We call it too early, we're dead in the water.

We lose O'Neal, the case.

We can always track her. We won't lose her.

Hailey, it's his call.

Your friend doesn't know me.

He doesn't know whether I'm nice or not.

You seem nice to me.

Let's have some fun.

I don't know, honey,

you seem like you're a few drinks in front of me.

Then drink up.

Okay, nah, nah, I'm just here to talk some business, okay?

Me too.

Come on. I gotcha. Let's get you up.

You okay?

Sit down.

Hey. You all right?

What'd you do to her?

She--she fell.

This is what we're doing?

You're testing me with a girl so drunk, she can't walk?

That's what I'm paying good money for?

You can't even get this right?

- No. - You're worthless.

- Ow, Victor. - Trash.

I'd kill you if it meant anything to anyone.

Hey. Chicago PD, man. Back up.

- No. Wait, wait, wait. - It's all right. Stand back.

- Ugh! - Victor!

There's Daniels.

Helms went out the back. He's on the run.

- I got Daniels. - Okay.

Chicago PD! Get your hands up! - Police!

Torres, hold your fire!

There's nowhere to go, Victor. Drop your weapon.

Victor, just put it down.

Come on, Victor.

Put it down.

No!

Ugh!

Tell me. Tell me how it works. - Shots fired by the police.

Sean O'Neal, right, Sean O'Neal gives them to you?

Where are the other girls? Where are they?

Come on. Hey! Look at me.

How does it work?

Does Sean O'Neal sell them to you?

Is that what it is?

Hey, come on!

Come on, Victor!

Do something good in your useless life.

Is that what it is?

I know there's other girls.

Where are they?

Victor.

Come on, Victor.

Where are the other girls?

Come on, Victor!

Damn it!

I used to sober up my dad.

I just want you to know you're safe here.

Okay?

We're gonna help you. We're gonna do anything we can.

And you're not in any trouble.

You're just a child. You've done nothing wrong.

My real name is Amber Bero.

Go ahead.

Look it up.

I'm not a child. I'm 18.

And I wasn't forced to do anything or be with anyone.

I don't need your help.

Okay, well, you are 18 and two weeks.

So I don't think you were 18 when you met Victor.

What were you, 15, 16?

18.

You want this life?

Maybe.

What if I'm good at it?

Mm-mm, mm-mm.

I think you're good at surviving.

But you really think you're gonna want this

five, ten years from now?

What then?

There are other girls out there, Amber.

Girls who are being hurt right now, who've disappeared.

And if you can't lift a finger to protect them,

but you are willing to go to the mat

for the men who did this to them...

There's nothing noble about that.

That's shameful.

Safe Place Oasis,

it's a youth center in Grand Crossing.

You ever been there?

What about Sean O'Neal? You know him?

Abby Jacobs?

She jumped off a roof two weeks ago.

I told her Sean was coming to take care of her.

So she jumped.

Sean did something to her, didn't he?

He sold her to Victor.

That's what's happening.

Michelle Wheeler,

Tina Chan,

Sarah Ramsey,

Emma Jackson, same story.

All of them met Sean, went to Safe Place,

and now they're all gone.

So what's the plan then, huh?

Victor's dead. Did you know that?

There's no one for you to protect,

no one to run you.

No one runs me.

How did you get those scars?

I had them since I was a kid.

I don't even remember.

Birdie knows Sean, knows how he's involved.

She came up through Safe Place, too, just like Abby did.

She's got the same scars on her feet.

Yeah, but we got no evidence of any of that.

And there's no record she went through Safe Place,

never even met Sean.

Then we keep squeezing her.

We find another way for her to help us.

She doesn't have to help us.

She didn't do anything illegal in that bar, Hail.

Then there's got to be something else.

What about Victor Helms' cell phone?

Uh-uh, the GPS was disconnected,

and there's no other girls on his tech.

And none of it links to Sean.

48's almost up.

I can't keep them much longer.

What? - Nothing.

There was a sex trafficking victim

standing in front of me, Hailey.

Her pimp's hand was around her throat, so I did something.

- I know. - And I'd do it again tomorrow.

- I said I know. - All right, enough.

Look, we don't have it.

We don't.

All right. Release Birdie.

We can't release her.

If the chief is reading our reports, we don't have time!

Hailey.

Come on outside.

- There's got to be something-- - Come on.

Damn it.

I get it, okay?

We'll release Birdie. I'll keep tailing her.

You can't do it this way.

What does that mean?

You gotta turn the heat down.

You gotta go home at night. You gotta sleep.

Probably gotta deal with what's going on in your life.

What? This has nothing to do with me.

Hailey.

You want to save something too badly right now.

Okay.

Maybe I do.

Why is that wrong?

You're telling me you don't want something to save?

Just go home, okay?

The others can release Birdie.

Just take a break.

Hailey.

Hey.

I was just about to close up. You want a coffee or something?

Sure. I mean, I'm a cop.

I'm obligated to say yes to that.

Right, don't tell my dad I forgot, okay?

It must be so rewarding, doing what you do.

Oh, boy. The good days, yeah.

What are you doing here?

You said something to me before,

how you could see that I was in pain.

And--thanks.

That's old.

You were right.

I know your dad told you about my husband leaving.

He decided that he lost who he was,

and he had to go.

Somewhere in Latin America.

I can't get a hold of him.

Can't go home either, so.

I don't know. I can't stand being home.

Yeah.

When my mom died, my dad moved us to a one-bedroom

in Bridgeport like that.

He said the whole house smelled like her.

I mean, I kind of liked the smell.

I think not being able to go home is...

the most natural thing in the world.

But why did you come here?

Do you mind if I sit?

Please.

Um, I can't stop thinking about her, Abby.

Everything that happened, I just--

I just--I can't.

I haven't stopped working the case.

Good.

Have you found anything?

I don't know. Maybe.

There was a name that came up, but I--

Victor Helms.

Uh, look, I know this is a long shot,

but do you recognize this guy?

Does he come around here at all?

Oh, maybe.

God, maybe.

There's guys that hang around here looking for girls.

I scare them off.

Anything on this guy?

I mean, where he works, what he's into?

Anything at all?

I wish I did.

I wish I did, Hailey. I'm sorry.

That's all right.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here.

No, I'm glad you came.

Please come back any time, any time you want to talk.

Believe me, I get pain.

All right.

I have lived alone with pain my whole life.

But there's a better way.

Thanks, Sean. I appreciate that.

All right, I'll see you.

Hope so.

Come on, come on.

Gotcha.

- Hey. - Hey.

Voight here?

I haven't seen him.

What are you still doing here?

I'm just trying to find another way in.

Look, man, I'm sorry about earlier.

I sh--I, uh--

you did the right thing.

And I shouldn't have implied otherwise.

I'm really sorry. I'm just--

Hey.

I get it, I do.

No worries at all.

I think I got something.

Thank God.

You tickled the wire?

Yeah, and it worked.

I mentioned Victor.

A minute after I left, Sean made a phone call.

Victor's cell phone lit up.

I mean, he was probably calling to find out

what the hell was going on, but now we have his burner.

- Did Sean make you? - No.

All right, why'd you tell him you were there?

I told him I was in pain, that I missed my husband.

I was a mess, and I was obsessing over Abby.

He didn't make me.

He didn't.

I would know.

Sarge, this is new. This is real.

And we're running out of time.

All right, so call in the team.

The burner was fictitiously registered,

activated on a public IP address at the library.

- Security footage? - Scanned it all.

It's a dry well, probably activated

outside the building.

We'd need a Wire Act warrant

to confirm Sean's ownership to the burner.

But in order to get that-- - We'd give ourselves away.

Chief would have to sign off. We'd have to ID the target.

But the ping order's attached to a phone,

not to a person.

And this phone is a gold mine.

Tower pings, outgoing calls, roaming data.

We got something.

So we cross-referenced pings from Victor Helms's phone

to Sean O'Neal's burner.

They've both been at this location down near Frankfurt.

- What's that address? - 5700 Steger.

Helms has spent a lot of time there.

Malcolm Kenning's cell hit there too.

It's old Salvation Army houses, abandoned years ago.

It's owned by an LLC, an LLC with a lot of shells.

Mm-hmm, we went all the way down there.

We took a peek.

This place is a fortress.

There's cameras everywhere, even in the bushes.

Platt's got two friendly tact guys down there,

they're keeping eyes, no movement yet,

but as soon as they know something, we will.

That is some real nice equipment.

Big money. That is not this neighborhood.

Sarge, that's where they're holding them.

There's kids in there.

I don't understand what I'm looking at.

We think this location

is being used for sex trafficking.

And I got reason to believe there are girls

being held there right now.

And you found this location by lifting data

off a burner phone?

- We did. - Who owns the burner?

Who's the target of your investigation?

Hank, I wouldn't sign a search warrant without a name.

You're asking me for a no-knock,

to let you bring in tact, juvenile detectives,

ambulances, DCFS?

This is a massive order.

Look, Nina,

the last time I came to you,

I asked you for a co-sign on Javier Escano.

It was the biggest narcotics seizure

in the history of the city.

It got you this office, nice view.

Are you saying I owe you something?

No, I'm saying I was good for it then,

and I am good for it now.

All right, let's move.

Mm-hmm.

Breach.

Hmm.

All U, let's move.

Jeez.

We're too late.

They're all gone.

Hey, let's bring it in.

All right, someone tell me we got something.

All I can tell you is that they cleared out all the tech,

ripped everything out the damn walls.

Based on the wiring, there were a ton of computers

and servers in there, but all these cameras

connect to nothing now.

Any of that DNA evidence would be on those sheets,

so they removed them.

Wiped everything else down with bleach.

How recently?

Techs say 24, maybe 48 hours.

They weren't holding them here.

This is where they brought them for sex.

Must have been johns coming and going.

Yes, but they chose this spot for a good reason.

There's no traffic cams, no PODs in the area.

So we have nothing linking Sean O'Neal to this place,

except for the tower pings from his burner.

Which we don't legally know is his.

How the hell did they know we were coming?

I would have known if Sean made me.

I would have felt it.

Hailey, I don't think he did.

The tricks you used,

the 99 confidentials, the fake I-numbers,

I've used them myself.

I read your reports after the officer-involved shooting.

I read between the lines.

He's my kid.

Hank, he's my son.

But me and you, we came up together.

And you have never had a better friend in the ivory tower.

I have been good to you.

I cannot understand why you wouldn't just come to me.

What, you think I don't know that my son has a problem?

A problem?

I know when Sean is clean.

I know when he's not.

Sean's not using, not right now,

and God willing, never again, but--

Patty.

My son's doing goddamn great, Hank.

Patty.

What?

I'm not investigating Sean for drugs.

I'm investigating him for sex trafficking--

minors.

- What? - Children.

Come on, what the hell are you talking about?

No, my son's dedicated his whole life

to helping children.

This is my--this is my son.

This is my child!

This is my blood! How dare you?