Mouch has been wearing a cape ever since he came back
from injured reserve.
I'm in the best shape of my life.
I want my last year or two with the CFD to be my best.
It's not too late to retire with some brass on your collar.
Your official promotion has come through.
You'll be paramedic-in-charge.
Chief Boden has always been partial to 51,
but that's not how I operate.
I'll be picking your new partner.
Your first shift as PIC. Feeling like a boss?
I wish.
The real boss is Chief Robinson,
who has given me zero input in my new partner.
But did you get any heads-up on who it might be?
No. But I did have the weirdest dream that it was me.
- You?
Yeah, I dreamt I got on the ambo
and there I was, sitting across from me.
I was like, "Oh, no. Not her."
Who's texting you at this ungodly hour?
Oh, it's nobody.
Darren Ritter, you met someone.
Why didn't you tell me?
I need name, age, and occupation.
Go. - He's just a friend.
Okay. You're such a bad liar.
And after I told you about me and Carver?
Oh, that's still going on?
Don't change the subject. Spill.
- Okay, fine. - I knew it.
I just didn't wanna jinx it
because we've only gone out a few times and...
Mm-hmm.
Well, last night, things progressed.
I stayed over. - Nice.
Yeah, we woke up late and I had to race out.
And I guess I left my wallet.
Oh, classic leave-behind. Go on.
Now he's insisting on bringing it by the firehouse.
Aww. I wanna meet him.
Well, no.
Way too soon. - No, it's not.
Hey, Vi, Boden's asking for you.
- Okay. - What'd you do now?
Oh, you mean besides get promoted?
So Chief Robinson hasn't reached out to you, either?
No, which is a first when you're getting a new medic.
You usually get a name, some information.
But this time, no, nothing.
This, uh, may sound paranoid,
but I have this feeling that she has it out for me.
I don't know why.
I find that hard to believe.
I say we welcome the new medic in,
try not to hold this against them.
But whoever they are,
you are the PIC.
You call the shots in 61.
Hey, Chippy.
Got you on 81 while Gibson's out sick, huh?
Yeah. I hope it's nothing serious.
But always happy to pick up a shift here at 51.
Glad to have you back.
Question for you, Lieutenant.
Oh, I already heard about the Tex-Mex lunch plan.
So if this is about doing a grocery run,
answer's hell yes.
Oh, great. But, uh, no, actually.
I wanted to pick your brain about this.
I was just reading about
this technical rescue operations course.
You heard of it? - Sure.
Kelly's done a bunch of these workshops.
They're great.
So you think it might help me level up?
Psh. Can't hurt.
Unless it's on shift.
Finding another floater on Truck
gives me heartburn just thinking about it.
Eh, we can always just borrow Ritter again.
- Over my cold, dead body.
- Oh. - Don't worry.
It's all off shift.
Great.
Oh. Hey, are you the new paramedic?
- That's me. - Hey.
- Jared Lennox. - Lieutenant Kidd.
Good to meet you. - Welcome.
Hey, you got some mighty big shoes to fill, you know that?
Oh, I've heard all about Sylvie Brett.
Would never even try. - Mm.
So what firehouse you coming from, Lennox?
Actually, I'm out of the suburbs, Glenview.
Great firehouse, but not exactly run-and-gun, you know?
Oh, well, you will see a ton of action here.
Yeah.
Vi.
Your new partner's arrived.
Looking forward to working with you, Mikami.
Same here.
Squad 3, Truck 81, Engine 51.
You weren't kidding.
I haven't even gotten the firehouse tour yet.
Structure fire, 683 South Wolcott.
Squad, Truck, search and rescue.
Engine, get a line in there.
- Copy that. - Everybody mask up. Let's go!
51! Let's keep it moving!
Primary search and overhaul.
Squad will go front to back. - Copy.
Hey, hey!
Carver, Mouch, you take the rear!
Chippy, you're with me!
- Copy. - Fire department, call out!
All right, let's open the ceiling and sidewalls.
Copy that!
Fire department! Call out!
Oh! Jackpot.
There's more up here. Heads up.
Wonder how much more is up there.
Coming through!
We'll get you out of here and get you taken care of.
Okay, all clear.
Whoa. What did we miss?
Okay, gotcha.
Get two IVs and prep the Cyanokit.
Or we could just do one IV and fluids
and see how she reacts.
No, two IVs and the Cyanokit, like I said.
Are you sure? Because I really think
the one IV-- - Yes, I'm sure.
She's got signs of both carbon monoxide
and cyanide exposure and we need to knock it out fast.
Do it now.
Copy that.
Fire's out. We're washing it down now.
Guys, stick to the bills, whatever you can salvage.
You got it.
Wow, all that was in the ceiling?
She must really not trust banks.
How much you think is in these?
Enough to call Boden and get PD down here.
And we can stick around and help Engine with the overhaul.
Great. Yeah.
We are planning on doing a grocery run,
so we'll hit it on the way back.
Hey, hey, wait. Hey.
Hey! You can't go in there! - Abuela!
Abuela! Abuela! - You can't go in there.
Your grandma? We got her.
Where is she? Is he okay?
Our medics took her to Chicago Med.
Do you have a way to get there?
Yeah. Thanks.
Lennox, you know I'm the PIC, right?
Of course.
Because you seemed confused about it on the scene.
I wasn't confused.
I was just trying to help out with what was going on.
There's no time to debate treatment options
when lives are on the line.
I give an order and you do it.
I didn't mean offense.
My old firehouse, the PIC and I worked differently.
Danny was cool with input.
I'm sorry the bells went off
before we had a chance to talk procedure,
but this is how it works here.
Copy that.
I'm just saying I'm sure flank steak would do just fine.
Flank steak?
What self-respecting firehouse culinary
uses flank steak when the recipe calls for skirt steak?
The kind who doesn't want
to blow our whole food budget on one lunch.
I'm not taking the blame for stubbornly high inflation.
What the hell is this?
Some kind of sick practical joke?
For parking in a fire lane?
Next to a fire hydrant.
The fire lane is literally reserved for us.
Wow, damn. 100 bucks?
Should have got the flank steak.
That's all of it?
That's all we could recover. Took you guys a while.
We've been sitting here on a load of cash.
Believe it or, not we don't work for you.
That's mostly just ashes.
So you're saying some burnt?
That could happen in a fire.
That's not the only way money goes missing.
What exactly are you insinuating?
We're not gonna find any more of those bags in your rig?
That's all of it.
You know,
if you don't believe us, feel free to check it.
Go ahead, embarrass yourself and your whole department
when you come up empty-handed.
We have nothing to hide.
From what I could tell,
the fire was accidental, faulty electrical.
You've let OFI know?
Yeah, I texted Van Meter, sent him a few pics.
Keep him from coming down here for no reason.
What do you think, Chief? What are the chances
of all that cash makes it back to the station?
All we can do is keep our side of the street clean,
hope they do the same.
You know what this is about, don't you?
The city got bamboozled
into privatizing all the parking meters
a few years back.
Sold off the whole parking meter racket
to a bunch of Wall Street fat cats.
Now the city's gotta make up for all that lost revenue
by cracking down on the parking they still control.
Yellow zones, street cleaning.
Putting the squeeze on the little guy.
Imagine that. - So what's next?
Red light camera tickets? Speeding violations?
You know what? Just tear it up.
Forget about it.
What are they gonna do, put a boot on a fire truck?
Let them try it. - Forget it?
- Mm-hmm. - Not a chance.
This injustice will not stand.
Wait, so the money wasn't in the ceiling?
No, it was hidden in the floorboards
of an upstairs bedroom, which seems a little sus.
You know the cops tried to accuse Severide
of stashing some?
- What? - Yeah.
That doesn't even make sense.
We're the ones who called it in.
I wish I could say I was surprised.
Cops hating on us. - Yeah.
They just pissed
'cause they can't pass the firefighter exam.
- They can't hack it.
Hey.
You make it to Med?
Um...
yeah, I was just there.
And your grandma, how's she doing?
The doctor said she'll be okay.
She was sleeping when I left, so.
That's good. She needs rest.
You know what caused the fire?
Uh, we're thinking electrical.
It's an old house, old wires.
Why?
You know something we don't?
I'm not here about the fire.
I'm here about the money.
I need it all back or I'm-- I'm dead.
What do you mean you're dead? Like, your grandma will be mad?
No. It's not her money.
Who does it belong to?
I'm keeping it for someone, okay?
And--and now I need it back.
Well, it's not here.
I saw the bags in your truck.
The one with the 3 on it.
Well, we had to turn it in to the police.
Look, I don't know what's going on, but maybe I can help.
I mean, the police won't just give back the money
without more questions.
I was hiding it for these guys.
These drug dealers.
And they said if $1 went missing, he'd kill me.
I'm Kelly. What's your name?
- Maya. - Listen, Maya.
Once the police find out it's drug money--
- I know. - They can protect you.
- Yeah, right. - What are you gonna do?
You really wanna go at this alone?
No.
Uh, let me make a call.
I'll see what they can offer.
And I won't give out your name, not until you're okay with it.
Okay. Sure.
Hey. Are you busy?
No. Come on in.
Lennox questioned an order I gave him on a call.
Twice.
Wow. So starting off with a bang?
Yeah.
And then he told me that his old PIC,
Danny, was cool with that.
There's no way, right?
I'm gonna guess
that Lennox didn't have as much of a problem
taking orders from his old PIC.
Because he was a guy.
Partly, yeah.
I am really hoping it's not that,
but he gave me some serious attitude on that call.
What's your approach with managing male egos?
It can be tricky.
Right after I made lieutenant,
we got a call on a four-alarm building fire over on Racine.
We were the first to arrive,
so that made me incident commander.
But when the next unit arrived,
the lieutenant decided he was running the show.
He talked right over me.
And the worst part is, I let him.
So after shift, I remember Kelly, he was out,
and I just--
I just stood at the kitchen counter cursing,
drinking tequila, feeling sorry for myself.
But I woke up the next morning
with the realization that this is on me.
And I will never let that happen again.
Mm.
How bad was that hangover?
Next level.
You gotta show no insecurity.
Do not let yourself get intimidated.
And ditch the word "sorry." That was a big one for me.
Mm-hmm.
Honestly, you just bring that Violet vibe full force.
That Violet vibe?
Full force.
Yeah.
I think I can do that.
Mm, I fold.
Game, set, match.
Ah, let me guess, you didn't tear up the ticket.
No, I did not.
I was on the computer looking up how to get a hearing
to appeal it when I found this on the bookshelf
next to Kylie's old desk.
City of Chicago Municipal Code?
Would you mind opening to the bookmarked page
and reading the highlighted passage?
Okay, but are you gonna do it like that at the hearing?
Because if I were you-- - Indulge me.
Chapter 95, paragraph 11, subsection B.
"The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle
"may disregard parking regulations
when responding to an emergency call."
Aha.
"But not upon returning from an emergency call."
Wait, what? Where does it say that?
It's literally the next sentence.
Uh-huh.
Okay.
Who's to say we weren't on our way to a call?
Firefighters don't usually pop in for groceries
on the way to a call.
Yeah, I think everybody knows that, Mouch.
Yeah, well, as our friends in the legal profession
like to say, it doesn't matter what you know.
All that matters is what you can prove.
Mm.
I'm gonna go file that appeal.
So PD believed these drug dealers are with GK-13?
Maya didn't say, but it makes sense.
It's their territory.
They are not gonna shrug off losing this amount of money.
This guy, Bronson,
says PD can put her in a safe house
if she gives up some names, some stash house locations,
and maybe testifies down the line.
That's a lot to ask.
Yeah, well, I don't see any other way around this.
I think she should take the deal.
What, and you're gonna convince her?
I have to try.
Okay. Go get her. I'll cover Squad.
Maya! Maya, get down!
Maya, get down!
Maya.
Maya?
Hey, you okay? Were you hit?
No. I'm fine. - Huh?
Hey, they may circle back. Come on, we gotta go.
- I-- - Come on.
You'll be safe here, I promise.
Ooh.
What's wrong, Mouch?
My appeal was rejected.
Just like that.
Did they give you any excuse?
"Insufficient grounds to contest citation."
What a crock. - Yeah, yeah.
It is weird that they didn't buy your, uh,
emergency grocery run defense.
Forget it, Mouch. I will talk to Chief.
We'll take it out of the petty cash.
I'm sure it won't be a problem.
It's not about the money.
It's about the deteriorating quality of urban life.
I mean, whatever happened to common decency?
And common sense?
And professional courtesy among fellow civil servants?
Oh, I know it sounds like I'm making a mountain
out of a molehill, but you'll see.
Today, it's parking.
Tomorrow, it'll be our pensions.
Well, no, sir!
I am not about to roll over
while these pointy-headed bureaucrats
destroy everything we hold dear.
So what are you gonna do, file another appeal?
It's time to take the fight to them.
I am going down there after shift
to petition my government.
I don't care what happens to me.
I don't care how long it takes.
I will not rest until
our right to park in the fire lane
is the law of the land.
Sounds like a great day off.
You really didn't have to come down here.
I don't need my wallet on shift.
You know you still have receipts from 2020 in here?
Oh, you went through it?
Are you saving them for tax purposes?
This is such a dad wallet.
As long as you didn't see my license photo.
Sorry, I had to check your age.
Green flag. You didn't lie.
Red flag.
Invasion of privacy.
So...
when do I get to see you again?
Friday night.
Dinner at Ada Street, then dancing at Sidetrack?
Yeah, okay, cool. Thanks. I'll hit you up.
Cool. Catch you later.
Chef Robinson. Didn't know you were coming in.
Just figured I'd stop by on my way home
to see how the new medic is doing.
It's been a busy shift. I haven't seen much of Lennox.
Add that to the fact I didn't get any background on him.
And I can't give you much of an answer.
I can send his file over tomorrow so you have it.
But I can assure you I did a thorough vetting job.
He's a highly regarded medic,
has a clean record with no issues or complaints.
Glad to hear it.
Chief Boden, I know we have a different leadership style
and different approaches to our jobs,
but so you know, my intention is simply
to put the top medics out there in the field.
Which is why I handpicked Lennox for 61.
Ultimately, I think you and I have the same end goal,
the best CFD possible.
I agree with that.
- Have a great night, Chief. - Good night.
How did you get mixed up with GK-13?
Those guys are no joke.
My older brother.
He was in the gang?
Sort of, I guess.
I mean, he didn't really have a choice.
Same thing happened to my brother.
He got arrested last month for dealing.
He's down at Cook County.
That's why you can't go to the cops.
They can't protect him on the inside.
Who's the kid? Someone's daughter?
Nah.
The older lady that we took to Med after the house fire,
that's her granddaughter.
She's got no place to go, so she's spending the night here.
And then my abuela. I hid the money in her house.
I got her involved too. - Hey.
This is not on you. - Yeah.
And you did not have a choice, either.
And that fire, that was just bad luck.
How am I gonna find $100,000?
100?
PD reported 42.
And from what I can tell, only a few bags were burned.
And we pulled everything out of the floorboards.
Did you check the vent in the upstairs bathroom?
The fire never reached the second level.
Half the money was there.
I'll go take a look.
Ambulance 61, 135 South Fillmore,
person injured.
Here it is, 40.
Paramedics.
My husband Ty, he's on the couch.
He can't breathe right.
In my mouth, in my mouth.
Keep calm. We're gonna take a look, Ty.
He can't breathe. Help him.
Don't worry, we got him.
Does your husband have any allergies to anything?
No, I don't think so.
Did he eat anything recently?
A few hours ago, we had pizza.
Same kind we usually get.
Can't you help him?
Whoa, did you see that?
What is it?
All right, we're gonna get the bug out, Ty.
I'm just holding your head still.
We'll be done in a sec, bud. - Okay, going in.
Almost there.
Oh, God.
Okay.
Oh, God.
He's probably having an allergic reaction
from the spider's bite.
His blood pressure is dropping fast.
Drop the epi.
He's going into anaphylactic shock.
You're the new PIC. If you say so, I'm on it.
You're new? Do you not agree with what she said?
Is this safe what you're doing?
No, the shot is gonna save his life, ma'am.
Will it?
Yes, absolutely.
She's right.
Try to stay calm, Ty, okay?
Ready?
What--what was in there?
There we go.
Deep breaths. That's good.
Thank you.
Hey.
So that guy I saw you talking to earlier,
that your boyfriend?
Sorry, what?
Who?
Before.
Right outside, the guy you were talking to.
Oh, him? No.
No, we're just friends.
Oh, okay.
Sorry.
Friends of friends, actually. I barely know him.
I left my wallet at his place last night
when he had us all over for drinks.
Me and all my friends.
Okay.
- Who's there?
This is a fire scene. You can't be here.
Look, it's not safe.
The ceiling could collapse any second.
Then why are you here?
I'm investigating the cause of the fire.
The rest of the fire investigation night crew
is on their way.
Oh, yeah?
Pretty late to be working.
Look, if you're here for the money, it's gone.
It's burnt. All of it.
It was hidden up there.
We only found fragments. There's nothing left.
Maybe.
Or maybe you're lying.
You guys should go.
Unless you wanna stick around
and explain how you knew about the money.
Thought you might need some backup.
- You have no idea. - Where's all the cash?
Someone else got to it first.
I have one more stop to make.
Where's the girl?
She's still weighing her options.
We can always put out a BOLO, bring her in ourselves.
Maya did nothing wrong.
She was hiding drug money in her own grandma's house.
Do you know where she is?
What was the count in your report?
43K?
Why?
Because Maya says there's 100,
at least half in a room that didn't burn, but now it's gone.
- How would you know that? - I was just there.
You went there without calling us?
I'm sure you guys stopped by for a secondary search
after I told you about her connection to GK-13.
Of course. That's the job.
You sure you guys didn't...
forget to report anything you found there?
Pretty serious accusation, Lieutenant Severide.
It wasn't a serious accusation
when you accused us on scene?
You know, maybe we should call in that warrant
to search your rigs after all.
Along with your firehouse, homes, all your bank accounts.
We see anything out of place, we're coming after you.
Hold up.
You used the term "new PIC" on purpose to cast doubt
on my abilities in front of the victim and his wife.
No. I--I was deferring to you.
Wanted to make sure you knew I was gonna follow orders.
And that you weren't happy about it.
I did what you said, all right?
No, not all right.
I can't have my partner undermining me on every call.
That's not gonna work.
I'll make sure it never happens again.
That's two strikes, Lennox.
You have one left.
Understood.
Everything okay?
Not really.
What's the deal with this place?
Chief Robinson warned me 51 was known for going out of bounds,
but man.
One guy is trying to change the city's parking code
when his job is a firefighter.
And Violet's been a PIC for what, five minutes?
And she acts like her way is the only way
and everyone else is an idiot.
And she's no great shakes herself.
You have no clue how lucky you are to be riding with her.
What, you got a thing going on with her or what?
Take it easy.
I can't say or do anything right.
Man, I'm trying.
I really am trying, but I get the feeling
I'm never gonna fit in at 51, which might be fine by me.
Chief Boden here.
All right.
Thanks for the heads-up.
You send those over here right away.
Graciella's mom said we could stay with them
instead of the Fontanas.
That's very kind.
Hey, Maya.
Why don't you go find the nurse
and see when your grandma gets to check out of here?
Be right back.
Maya's a tough kid.
And I'm sure she doesn't want you to worry, but...
she's in trouble.
First, they came after my grandson.
Now Maya. Made her hide all that money.
So you knew?
Teenagers, they think they're being so sneaky.
But a grandma knows.
Well, hiding money in the floorboards
isn't exactly stealing a few sips of whiskey.
Depends where you're from.
I've been trying to get them out of Chicago
away from that gang,
but it's expensive raising two kids on your own.
Their father was never around,
and my daughter, she died of cancer
when they were both too young to remember.
Sorry.
That money in my walls...
I could have bailed my grandson out
and take them someplace far away, somewhere safe.
We wouldn't even need all of it, just a few bags.
If only it had not burned.
So if you knew about the money,
you must have known where it was hidden.
Well, the police said it was in my ceiling.
Did you know about the bathroom vent?
Oh, there was more?
Yes, there was more.
Well, that's a surprise.
Wrong place.
Circuit court's across the street.
Oh, no, I was looking
for the Citation Administration Division.
Is this it?
Yeah.
But everything's handled online now.
There are no in-person services anymore.
That's actually why I'm here.
Picture, if you will, madam, a vehicle.
But this is no ordinary vehicle.
Far from it.
It spans 36.75 feet,
fully twice as long as a standard Chicago parking space.
In the fire service, we call it...
an apparatus.
Oh, you're a firefighter.
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were a lawyer.
Uh, yeah, that's right.
I am a firefighter.
So maybe you can imagine my shock
when after spending the better part of a shift
going mano a mano with a rolling house fire,
Truck Company 81 made the briefest of detours
into the market for some badly needed sustenance,
only to return to our apparatus
to get this cruel slap in the face.
Can I see that?
Now, I ask you--
Just give me a sec.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, okay. What just happened there?
Did you notice how the officer entered fire engine
under make and model?
Well, that's obviously not right.
You said you were driving Truck 81,
and a truck is not a fire engine.
Is it?
No, it is not.
Incorrect or incomplete information
is immediate grounds for dismissal of a citation,
so done and done.
- Thank you for your help. - You bet.
Hey, so how did it go down in the viper pit today?
You know, it wasn't so bad, actually.
There might just be one or two good eggs
left in city government.
Really?
If you say so. - Hey.
So I heard that that tech rescue course
is on a pretty heavy wait list.
Yeah. Well, maybe next year.
Which is why I called in a favor
and I was able to get you in.
- Wait, really? - Yeah.
All I gotta do is teach some course at some point.
Turns out, they're looking for female instructors.
Wow.
Thanks, Lieutenant. This really means a lot.
Well, you leveling up is great for Truck 81.
And hey, you never know where it could lead, right?
Yeah.
Don't limit yourself, Mouch.
Ritter, my man, how's it going?
Good, good.
Listen, buddy, I didn't mean to pry into your personal life
asking you about that friend you're with.
It's fine.
I just want you to know I don't got a problem with it.
Really?
Zero issues.
I gotta admit I'm a little worried
what the others might think.
- They don't know already? - Oh, hell no.
I'm still trying to figure out if I'm okay with it.
Oh, wow.
Everyone at 51's so close,
I just figured it was already out there.
Not even Violet?
I mean, you two are attached at, like, the hip.
Well, she knows I'm seeing someone new, but that's it.
She doesn't know it's a guy.
Of course she--
wait, what are you talking about?
What are you talking about?
Chippy, I'm not secretly gay.
I'm secretly...
Dating a cop.
Oh, okay. You're acting so weird is all.
Look, because everybody knows firefighters and cops
don't get along, especially last shift.
- Isn't Mouch's wife a cop? - That's different.
They're OGs, so they get a pass.
And no one messes with Trudy.
Hey, please don't say anything.
I am not ready to come out as a cop-lover yet.
I don't know, pal.
I might stay in the closet on this one.
What is this, some kind of bribe?
No, it's an apology.
I take pride in the integrity of my unit.
So when you accused us of stealing,
I got pretty bent out of shape.
But I was wrong to throw it back at you.
We should work as a team.
Or maybe this is all a ploy to get us off your back.
Maybe.
I guess we'll just have to trust each other.
Or not. Either way, it doesn't matter
because I know what happened to the rest of the money.
OFI turned in their final report,
which shows burn patterns under the floorboards
that would require a large amount of fuel.
Like bags of paper bills.
So you expect us to buy that
you know all this from burn marks?
That's the problem with fire scenes.
Most of the evidence goes up in smoke.
So you're saying the money's all gone?
Mm-hmm.
Because a strange thing happened today.
Maya's brother made bail.
Someone paid the bond, and then suddenly poof,
whole family's gone too.
You wouldn't happen to know where they went?
No clue.
Hey, Chief.
I'm afraid I've come with some bad news.
What's going on?
You have had a complaint filed against you.
Comes from Chief Robinson's office.
Aggressive, disrespectful.
Those are some of the words he used.
Damn. They're not even trying to be subtle.
First shift and Lennox files a charge.
The complaint has also been filed stating that
we have a civilian that stayed the night at the firehouse.
What? Severide was protecting her life.
You were protecting your victim's life
when you administered treatment
instead of delaying it to argue your case.
Lennox went off to me about Violet.
And how Mouch is trying to change city codes
instead of doing his job.
I bet that ends up in a report too.
Robinson and Lennox aren't just coming after me.
They're coming after all of 51.