Owen continues to be full of surprises, Sylvie despairs in the group chats, and while Frank is investigating a homicide, he . . . really should have expected that somehow he would still be the only sane one in the Disaster Family. Yes, he's including Nolan in that.

This is chat-heavy, but I wasn't too into this Lone Star episode, so a bit is covered in there. The rest . . . well, I also need comedy in my life at the moment. This was my answer.

Enjoy "The ATX-Files" and the law part of "Impossible Dream" with a new character's bio at the end!

***

"You know, Frank," Kevin looked at Frank as they left their cruiser and walked through Central Park. "If I'd heard a few weeks ago that you'd be using your phone more than I've ever seen you in two months, I'd have thought they were going crazy."

"Yeah, well, the 126 undersold how batshit crazy they are," Frank snorted as he slipped his phone back into his coat. "I think the teams keep trying to compete for 'most ridiculous scene.'"

"Ah," Kevin smothered a grin. "Who's winning?"

Frank snorted. "Last I heard, some dumb kid got wrapped in barbed-wire fence while running from what his girlfriend said were 'blue glowy creatures.' That was all hands on deck."

Kevin barked in laughter. "Austin is crazy."

"Yeah," Frank sighed, unable to keep a smile off his face. "And yet now we're all wrapped up in them."

"Eh, could be worse," Kevin shrugged. "I heard something about there being bad blood between the 126 and one of the firehouses out in Los Angeles."

Frank's eyebrows rose. "You don't say?"

Kevin shrugged. "That's the impression I got from Sergeant Tutuola and . . . I think I heard it from Gillian." He shook his head, eyes sharpening once they reached the edge of the crime scene. "What have we got?"

"DOA took two to the chest," the crime scene unit officer answered as they ducked under the crime scene tape at Central Park. "Found two discharged shell casings over here. No ID, no wallet, no phone."

Kevin tilted his head and looked down at the man lying on the ground. "Looks like a robbery," he remarked. "White guy walking through the park."

"Just like the old days, right?" Frank asked. "What's the saying? 'History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes?'"

"Mark Twain," Kevin nodded, bending down to check the body. Frank directed his flashlight beam where Kevin was searching, and his partner plucked a pen from the man's suit pocket. "'Hythena, working hard to keep you alive,'" Kevin read the words on the pen.

Frank clicked his tongue. "Not hard enough."

***

It didn't take long for the pair of detectives to find a good starting place on the murder, and Nina Ellis closed the door to her penthouse behind them. "We're sorry to bother you, Ms. Ellis," Kevin told the redhead in designer clothes.

"What's going on?" Nina folded her arms, looking between them. "Did something happen?"

"We're investigating a homicide," Frank answered.

"A homicide?" Nina repeated incredulously. "What's that got to do with me?"

"We found a pen in a victim's jacket with your company's name on it," Frank answered as Kevin held up his phone. "We did some googling, and he's one of your partners."

Nina looked at the photo of the victim, and her eyes widened. "Oh, my God," she whispered. "That's . . . that's Kyle." Kevin nodded and tucked his phone back into his coat. "I'm sorry . . . are you saying he's dead?"

Kevin sighed and nodded somberly. "We're sorry, ma'am," he told her. "I can't imagine what you must feel."

Nina walked away as if in a trance, and Frank watched her in concern. "We can come back at another time, if you want," he offered.

Nina cleared her throat and turned back to them. "I'm fine," she told them.

"Good," Frank nodded, clicking his pen. "So the victim's name was Kyle Morrison, correct?"

"Yes," Nina confirmed. "He's my COO . . . and fiancé."

Frank's eyebrows rose in interest as he wrote that in his notes. That hadn't been something they found in their initial search. "Was there anything unusual going on with Kyle?" Kevin asked. "Any problems?" Nina shook her head silently. "What about you two? Any issues?"

"No," Nina answered. "We were doing great. We were in love."

"Any money problems?" Frank asked.

Nina shook her head again. "The company we started is doing very well. Kyle owns . . . " She stopped and swallowed. "Owned ten percent of the stock."

Frank nodded as he checked his notes. "Can you tell us what Kyle was up to today? Help us establish a timeline?"

"The company hosted a conference," Nina responded. "We do it every year. It's called Quest. We were at the Peninsula Hotel from 8:00 to 4:00."

"After that?"

"Kyle went back to the office."

Kevin tilted his head. "What about you?"

"I came home," she told him. "I made some calls, and then I met a few investors for dinner around 8:00."

Kevin nodded thoughtfully. "When was the last time you and Kyle talked?"

"Around 9:30, just after I finished dinner."

Frank mulled that over. "What did you talk about?"

"I told him that my dinner went well," Nina told him. "And that I was gonna take a walk."

Frank did a double take. "A walk?" he repeated. "At 9:30 at night?"

Nina pursed her lips. "Helps me wind down."

Kevin hummed. "OK."

***

Murder Boss: So since our last chat I got a homicide in Central Park

Murder Boss: Anything else from your shift

Medic Boss: Owen is crazy

Murder Boss: I was expecting another call

Murder Boss: But I'll take it

Ladder Boss: You say this like this should be news to us

Ladder Boss: It's not

Murder Boss: I knew that before I got to Austin

Murder Boss: His antics with Benson and Stabler are notorious in Manhattan

Murder Boss: I just didn't know how crazy until I met him

Court Boss: What did he do to make you realize this?

Medic Boss: Show of hands

Medic Boss: Who believes in aliens

Murder Boss: Excuse me?

Squad Boss: . . .

Squad Boss: He really believes in aliens?

Court Boss: You know

Court Boss: Just when I think Owen can't surprise me any more

Court Boss: This happens

Ladder Boss: It's always Austin

Ladder Boss: It's always Austin

Murder Boss: Now I'm wondering if Sylvie added me just to have someone normal here

Court Boss: Excuse me?

Murder Boss: I give you homicides

Murder Boss: She's chasing God only know what

Murder Boss: And here's the kicker

Murder Boss: You're her brother

Murder Boss: And she's crazy

Medic Boss: ^

Squad Boss: We can't argue when she agrees

Court Boss: Why the hell did I introduce you two

Medic Boss: You didn't introduce anyone

Medic Boss: He almost gave me a heart attack in the same coffee shop I met you

Murder Boss: And you humored me anyway

Medic Boss: Someone had to set your head straight

Medic Boss: I'm good at that

Ladder Boss: Then fix Owen's

Medic Boss: I'm not that good

Medic Boss: Find a neurologist to do that

Court Boss: Can they fix Benson and Stabler's while they're at it?

Medic Boss: I'll find the neurologist you pay for their service

Court Boss: Deal

Murder Boss: Are they always like this?

Squad Boss: Oh yeah

Ladder Boss: Constantly

Murder Boss: Great

***

Counselor: Aliens

Counselor: Why the hell is it aliens

Detective: Ah

Detective: Owen's secret hobby has come out I take it

Counselor: Of course you know about it

Captain: Because Elliot indulged him for a few years

Counselor: . . .

Counselor: You're kidding

Detective: Better for him to let it out than keep it inside

Counselor: You sound like a therapist

Captain: We might as well be each other's therapists

Detective: ^

Detective: So what brought this up

Counselor: A call in Austin

Captain: Yeah

Captain: Should've seen that coming

Detective: He'll ride that high for a few days or so

Detective: Then it'll die out for a while

Detective: Tell the family to hang in there

Detective: And it'll be over before they know it

Counselor: Your confidence is slightly reassuring

Captain: Because you know Owen is unpredictable?

Counselor: Because I know Owen is unpredictable

Detective: Smart man

***

Court Boss: Word of advice to all

Court Boss: Never be the odd one out in a group chat

Murder Boss: I'm the only cop in this one

Murder Boss: My only connection here is I'm your friend

Medic Boss: The 126 literally adopted you and the rest of the team

Murder Boss: You did what now

Ladder Boss: It's a thing

Ladder Boss: Owen started it when he took in Sylvie and Buck

Squad Boss: Just roll with it

Murder Boss: OK then

Murder Boss: Still the odd cop out

Court Boss: I'm your prosecutor

Court Boss: We're the two sides of the law and order coin

Court Boss: You're not the odd one out

Murder Boss: Then which one are you the odd one out in

Medic Boss: The one with Benson and Stabler

Ladder Boss: Hang on

Squad Boss: You have a chat with Benson and Stabler

Court Boss: You see

Court Boss: When all of us have adrenaline junkie family members

Court Boss: Who consistently give us heart attacks

Court Boss: We tend to rant about them to each other

Medic Boss: That makes sense

Squad Boss: Exhibit A

Squad Boss: The dumbasses chat

Medic Boss: You rant about us in our own chat

Ladder Boss: You and the boys need to see us do it in front of your eyes

Ladder Boss: Heart attacks that you are

Medic Boss: Says the dumbass who had a head injury he hid from me

Medic Boss: And downplayed to Kelly

Squad Boss: She has you there Matt

Ladder Boss: Great

Ladder Boss: I'm outnumbered

Murder Boss: Join the club

Court Boss: Glad you understand the pain

***

Cocker Spaniel: {Image: a screenshot of the Boss Squad chat containing all the squabble}

Golden Retriever: OK

Golden Retriever: I'm slightly insulted

Golden Retriever: How are you worse than the squad chat

Grumpy Cat: More insulted

Grumpy Cat: How is that worse than our own dumbasses chat

Cocker Spaniel: Of course that's your beef with this conversation

Grumpy Cat: We're dumbasses Sylvie

Grumpy Cat: Of course that's my beef

Cocker Spaniel: Wrong

Cocker Spaniel: You are Dumbassers

Cocker Spaniel: I'm still the Dumbass

Golden Retriever: You walked right into that one brother

Grumpy Cat: And this is why I'm a Dumbasser

Cocker Spaniel: Well done Captain Obvious

***

"No, I didn't see anything unusual," Catherine shook her head as she guided the detectives through the conference area. "But I wasn't really looking, either. I was too busy making sure that Nina was happy."

"Nina?" Frank frowned. "I thought you were with Kyle most of the day?"

"I was," Catherine nodded. "But he's easy. Nina's the one in charge. Has opinions on everything. The signage, the lighting, the coffee cups, the milk . . . literally, she wanted 1%, not non-fat, not 2%. But it's hard to argue with her. I mean, she's the founder of the hottest tech company in the world. She's worth over two billion dollars."

Kevin whistled, impressed. "But, to be clear, there were no problems, right?"

"No," Catherine shook her head. "The event was a big success. Even Nina was happy."

***

"Kyle was definitely under a lot of pressure," Marcy told the detectives when they arrived at the Hythena office.

"What do you mean?" Kevin frowned.

"He was the COO of a start-up tech company on the verge of going public," Marcy explained. "He was in charge of putting together the sales materials, the financial projections."

"Any stressful issues that weren't work-related?" Kevin asked her.

Marcy frowned as she thought. "Not that I'm aware of."

"Any altercations or arguments?" Frank suggested. "Hostile phone calls?"

Marcy blinked. "Yeah," she nodded. "About a week ago, some guy called Kyle. He was really upset, demanded to speak to him right away. I said he wasn't available, and he went nuts. Got really angry. Said something like, 'If that coward doesn't call me back in the next hour, I'm gonna come down there and beat his ass.'"

Frank's eyebrows rose. "You got this guy's name and number?"

***

"Damn right, I called Kyle Morrison," Jack Morley ground out as he walked past the detectives to continue working on a car.

Frank watched, holding in a snarky comment. "Did you threaten to beat his ass?"

"Yes, sir," Jack nodded.

"Did you ever meet up with him or confront him?" Kevin asked.

"No," Jack shook his head as he bent over the car engine. "Tried to track his ass down a few times, but – "

"You actually went looking for him?" Kevin asked in surprise.

"Yes, sir," Jack nodded. "I waited outside his office building two times. Didn't find him, but I will. Swear on the lives of my three daughters."

"You might want to take that back," Frank warned. "Kyle's dead. Someone shot him."

Jack looked up from his work, but his face was set like stone. "You don't seem too upset," Kevin noted.

"I'm not," Jack scoffed.

"Why all the hate?" Kevin asked. "What the hell did Kyle ever do to you?"

"He ruined my life!" Jack spat, standing up straight and glaring at Kevin.

The detective didn't flinch. "How's that?"

"My wife took one of those cancer screening tests his company sells," Jack answered. "Came back negative. Then ten months later, she didn't feel so good. Went to the doctor, said she had Stage 4 uterine cancer."

Kevin winced. "Sorry to hear that," he apologized. "But how is that Kyle Morrison's fault?"

"If she tested positive, she would've gone to a doctor, nipped it in the bud," Jack snarled. "Instead, she just sat there, watching TV, ignoring the symptoms. The cancer was spreading like wildfire."

Frank sighed. "Where were you last night around 10:00?"

"At New York Hospital with my wife," Jack answered, shutting the hood of the car with a loud thud. "Feeding her popsicles, helping her to get through the chemo."

***

Frank dropped his phone back into its cradle and turned to Kevin. "Morley's alibi checks out," he reported.

Kevin nodded as he worked on his laptop. "His anger was very real," he noted.

Kate turned from handing paperwork to another officer. "What's that mean?" she asked.

Kevin shrugged. "Good chance that Morley wasn't the only one that found himself on the wrong side of an erroneous screening test."

"Medical tests aren't meant to be perfect," Frank pointed out. "Mistakes happen."

"Yeah, until it happens to you," Kate countered. "I mean, imagine a loved one gets a false negative, they get really sick. Not really hard to imagine somebody getting worked up about that."

"I get it," Frank assured her. "But the company claims its tests are 96% accurate, so there's not gonna be a lot of false negatives out there."

"Not so sure about that," Dani shook her head as she walked up to them.

"What's that mean?" Kate frowned.

"Just found a deleted email sent from the Chief Technology Officer to Kyle Morrison a month ago," Dani answered, flipping open her folder to show the lieutenant. "Says, 'We need to terminate all patient screenings immediately. The tests don't work. This whole damn thing is a sham.'"

***

"Big Tech has changed the world," Kevin remarked as he appraised the car sitting in Derek Seaver's driveway. "Electric cars, artificial intelligence, virtual reality . . . "

"Hard to keep up," Frank huffed as he followed his partner.

Kevin snickered. "Is that your crotchety-ass way of saying you miss the way things were?"

Frank rolled his eyes. "Just because it's new and shiny doesn't make it good."

Kevin chuckled. "To-may-to, to-mah-to."

Frank smirked. "Po-tay-to, po-tah-to," he retorted.

Kevin laughed in amusement as he rang the doorbell. "OK." Frank shook his head and craned his neck back to see the entire front of the building, and Kevin turned on his heel to view the rest of the property. "This is a spread," he whistled, impressed. Frank snorted then stepped back when the door opened. "Derek Seaver?" Kevin asked, turning to face the man in the door. "I'm Detective Bernard. This is Detective Cosgrove. We'd like to ask you a few questions."

"About what?" Seaver asked, looking between the pair.

"Kyle Morrison."

Seaver blinked, then he shook his head. "I signed a non-disclosure agreement when I left the company as part of my severance package, so I – I can't talk about him."

"We're investigating a murder, Mr. Seaver," Frank told him. "The NDA is non-applicable."

Seaver shook his head, starting to close the door. "Sorry, I'm not talking – "

"We just have a few questions, sir," Frank interrupted. "The first one is, why did you send an email to Kyle saying the company was a sham?"

Seaver scowled. "Like I said, I'm not talking!"

He shut the door in their faces without another word, and Frank gave Kevin an incredulous look.

***

Frank: In case you're wondering

Frank: There's a reason I'm not the diplomatic one between me and Kevin

Nolan: You say this like it should be news to me

Nolan: I knew that within minutes of meeting you

Nolan: So who did you piss off this time

Frank: Screw you Nolan

***

"Seaver was always sending hysterical emails, looking to stir up trouble," Nina rolled her eyes as she stepped behind her desk. "Thought it would distract us from realizing how incompetent he was."

"But to be clear," Kevin folded his hands in front of him, "your screening tests work?"

Nina blinked in surprise. "Of course, they work!" she scoffed. "The data is unassailable, passed through the FDA with flying colors."

"If that's the case, then why did Seaver say the technology was fraudulent?" Frank questioned.

"Because he was on the verge of getting fired," Nina deadpanned. "He was trying to create some leverage so he could negotiate a fat severance agreement."

"Did Seaver and Kyle get along?" Kevin asked.

"No," Nina shook her head. "Seaver hated him. He resented the fact that Kyle had a bigger title, more stock options."

"Did he blame Kyle for getting fired?"

Nina sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "When Kyle broke the news, Seaver went crazy," she told them. "I mean, he started screaming. He smashed his computer with a golf club."

***

Sylvie: Question

Sylvie: Primarily for Carlos

Sylvie: Who built the pyramids

Carlos: Did

Carlos: Did someone hit her on the head or something

TK: I wish

Eddie: No

Eddie: She's seriously asking

Frank: Does this have to do with

Kelly: Yes

Frank: We're still on this topic?

Nolan: Once you get them going

Nolan: It's hard to get them to stop

Matt: And by them

Matt: Nolan means the original dumbasses

TK: Dumbassers and a Dumbass

Buck: You're really gonna call her that while Nolan's in the chat

Nolan: Nolan would like to remind you he's right here

Nolan: Nolan would also like to remind you that Severide was the one who dubbed Nolan a dumbass

Frank: What the hell is this chat

Carlos: You nailed it

Carlos: Hell

Eddie: Which is why we have our own chat

Buck: You do?

Eddie: That surprises you?

Sylvie: Maybe it should be Dumbasses Dumbasser and Dumbassest

TK: I'll take that

Buck: I hate you both

Kelly: Why did I ever think this chat was a good idea

Frank: I've been in this chat for about two weeks

Frank: I'm wondering why you thought this chat was a good idea

Frank: I'm also wondering why I'm not in the sane people chat yet

TK: Sane people chat

Carlos: Yes TK

Carlos: Also known as the No Dumbasses Allowed chat

Matt: Excuse me while I go make that the chat name

Matt: And yes Frank I'll add you while I'm over there

Frank: Thank God

***

Tommy opened the door to her house with a shaky sigh, then a bark caught her attention. She cracked a smile and bent down as Buttercup trotted up to her, his tail wagging back and forth. "Hello, boy," she scratched his head. "Good to see you."

"He's happy to see you, too," Owen smiled as he finished wiping down the place mats.

"Oh, thank you again for doing this," Tommy told him as she hung her purse on one of the hooks next to the door. "My usual sitter had a family emergency – "

"Tommy, I was happy to watch the girls," Owen chuckled, holding up his hand to stop her from continuing. "I told you, any time you need me, I'm your guy."

"Well, I may take you up on that depending on their review," Tommy winked.

Owen smiled. "How'd it go tonight?" he asked.

"It was lovely, actually," Tommy answered as she joined him at the counter. She fiddled with her keys, then she took a deep breath. "You know . . . our fifteenth anniversary would have been this week."

Owen sighed. "Oh."

"Mmmhmm," Tommy rubbed her forehead. "It's hard to believe ten months have passed since Charles died . . . and I don't feel like I have any more closure today than I did the night that I found him. I keep coming home, and there's this – this part of me that feels like I'm going to see him when I walk through the door, just standing there . . . but he's not there, and he never will be. He's gone, and I'm still here . . . and I don't know how I feel about that."

Owen reached out hesitantly, then he withdrew his hand. "I'm sorry, Tommy."

"It's OK," Tommy sniffed, blinking tears out of her eyes. "Oh, you weren't here for me to cry a river to."

"Hey, any time is not just for the girls," Owen grinned. "Cry me a river if you need it."

Tommy laughed. "Duly noted." She checked the time as Owen stacked the place mats. "Um . . . did I make it home in time to tuck in the girls?"

"Oh, yes," Owen nodded, then he hesitated. "But . . . they're not in their bedroom. They're in yours."

Tommy did a double take. "Oh . . . OK."

Owen coughed awkwardly. "See, they really wanted to watch Ghostbusters, and – "

"Oh," Tommy balked. "How bad are we talking here?"

***

"Our house is haunted!" Evie blurted as Tommy settled between her daughters.

"Our house is not haunted," Tommy shook her head. "Why would you think something like that?"

"The lights in our room, they all started flickering," Evie explained.

"The lights were flickering, so you think we have ghosts?" Tommy blinked.

"Not just flickering," Evie shook her head. "They did it in a pattern. Like one time, four times, three times. Over and over."

Tommy froze in surprise, but Izzy huffed. "They did not! It was just a stupid light bulb blinking on and off!"

"No, it was Zuul!" Evie argued.

"It was not Zuul!"

"How do you know?"

"Because ghosts aren't real, you big baby!"

***

Owen whistled to himself as he stirred his concoction on the stove top, then he perked up when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in!" he shouted. He turned to see who walked into the house, and he grinned when he saw Matt's 2IC. "Judd!" he greeted happily. "What's up?"

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything," Judd said as he lumbered into the kitchen, then he blinked when he saw what Owen was making. "You . . . you making soup?"

"It's 8:00 a.m.," Owen snorted. "I'm not a psychopath. It's golden milk, a turmeric-based superfood. You want some?"

"No," Judd shook his head with a grin, watching Owen pour the liquid into a mug. "As a rule, I never have any turmeric before noon."

Owen nodded and turned away from the stove, giving Judd his full attention. "What's going on?"

Judd exhaled heavily and shifted. "Well . . . guess there ain't no right way to put this, Chief. Uh . . . " He cleared his throat. "It's, uh . . . it's come to my attention recently that, uh . . . I have a son."

Owen paused with his mug halfway to his mouth, looking at Judd in confusion. Had . . . had Judd really just said what he thought he said? "As in?" he asked for clarification.

"As in a masculine child," Judd answered.

Owen blinked. "As in, a second child other than your newborn baby daughter?"

"Yeah," Judd nodded. "Actually, Charlie's my second because Wyatt preceded her by about seventeen years."

Owen slowly nodded. "And may I ask how Grace is taking this?"

"Well, I mean, yeah, it gave her a turn at first," Judd admitted. "But you know Grace . . . she's living up to her name. It was actually her idea that we, uh . . . we host the boy this weekend to get to know him."

Owen raised an eyebrow. "And yet here you are."

"Yeah, here I am," Judd sighed. "Hat in hand because, you know . . . that boy may have half of my DNA, but apart from that, we don't have a lick in common."

"Well, I'm flattered that you came to me," Owen placed down his mug and leaned against the counter. "I'm happy to share any hard-learned knowledge I have about raising a young man."

"Well, I appreciate that, Chief," Judd nodded as he pulled out a chair and sat. "But that's not really why I'm here."

Owen tilted his head curiously. "Why are you here?" he asked.

Judd cleared his throat. "Aliens."

Owen did a double take. "Aliens?" he repeated in surprise.

"Yeah," Judd nodded. "After hearing your little impromptu spiel the other night when you visited after you read the captains' reports, I figured you know more about aliens than anybody I ever met."

"No," Owen shook his head. "Not any more than any other card-carrying member of MUFON. Why?"

"Well," Judd leaned forward, "so I was hoping that you might take Wyatt and I on a little extraterrestrial spotting excursion. And I read on the Internet that they come back to the same places a lot because they're trying to set up their, uh . . . their landing pad?"

Poor Judd looked so confused that Owen couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, that's true, Judd," he nodded. "But the real question is . . . do you believe in aliens?"

"I got a seventeen-year-old Texas boy who doesn't eat meat and who's never fired a gun that wasn't plugged into a videogame console," Judd deadpanned. "So, for me, that's about as alien as I can imagine."

Owen laughed in amusement. "Alright, we'll do it," he nodded. "I'll pack up my alien-hunting gear. We'll go."

Judd grinned in relief, then he blinked. "You . . . you got gear?"

Owen scoffed. "Do I have gear?" he repeated, then he paused. "You know what . . . " He grinned devilishly, and Judd could picture the lightbulb above his head. "I have an idea."

***

"On paper, this guy Seaver is a saint," Frank told Kate as he followed her to her office. "He went to MIT, teaches code to inner-city kids, helps them write it."

"You know I don't care about paper," Kate scoffed. "I care about evidence. I care about motive."

"His motive is strong," Frank nodded. "Getting fired two months before the company he helps build goes public."

"So he was looking down a pretty big payday?" Kate guessed.

"Really big," Frank smirked. "Two to three hundred million."

Kate smirked. "And what was he doing the night of the murder?"

"I'm still looking into that," Frank shrugged. "But I did run his plate. The LPR shows he was definitely in Manhattan at the time of the shooting."

"Just got off the phone with the Scarsdale PD," Kevin announced as he joined them. "They found the 9mm Glock in the sewer. Same caliber casings found at the scene."

"Wait," Kate did a double take. "They actually found a gun in the sewer?" Kevin nodded, and Kate gestured incredulously. "How? Why?"

"Someone called last night and said they saw a man pull over to the side of the road and drop a gun in the sewer," Kevin answered as he checked his notes. "On Saratoga Drive . . . which is a block from where Derek Seaver lives."

"Witness say what kind of car?" Frank asked.

"Mmmhmm," Kevin nodded. "Blue Tesla."

Frank turned to Kate. "Just like Seaver's."

Kate smirked. "Bring him in."

***

"Of course, I didn't kill Kyle!" Seaver shouted in the interrogation room.

"The evidence tells a different story," Kevin countered.

"No, I don't care what the evidence says!" Seaver glared. "I'm telling you the truth! If I didn't sign the damn NDA, I – "

"To hell with the NDA!" his lawyer snapped. "Like I keep telling you, it's not enforceable. Just tell them what you know."

"More specifically," Frank stepped away from the wall to stand at Kevin's shoulder, "tell us why you dumped a gun into a sewer on Saratoga Drive."

"A gun?" Seaver parroted, looking between the detectives in surprise. "What the hell are you talking about? I've never even touched a gun!"

"Look, Derek," Frank sighed. "We know you didn't like Kyle Morrison, that you blame him for getting you fired."

"That's not true!" Seaver shot to his feet, eyes wide. "Kyle and I were friends! He was a good guy! And I . . . I didn't get fired. I quit."

"You quit?" Frank repeated dubiously. "You walked away from all that IPO money voluntarily?"

"You're damn right I did," Seaver nodded.

"Why?"

"Because the screening tests are bogus," he answered, making Kevin sit straighter. "They don't actually work. They're only 50% accurate, like flipping a damn coin." Seaver shook his head and dropped back into his seat, running frustrated hands through his hair. "We're talking about cancer here, people's lives."

"How could the FDA approve those tests if they're so flawed?" Kevin asked.

Seaver scoffed derisively. "Because Nina Ellis fabricated the results."

"You told all this to Kyle?" Kevin guessed.

"Of course," Seaver nodded. "But he didn't believe me. Not at first. He didn't think Nina could actually do something that evil. So I showed him all the data, all the results. A week later, he called me. He realized I was telling the truth, said he was gonna pull the products off the market and postpone the IPO . . . but someone shot him."

"Any idea who that someone might be?"

"Nina Ellis," Seaver answered immediately. "No doubt."

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "But she was madly in love with the guy."

Seaver laughed derisively. "The only thing Nina is madly in love with is Nina."

***

Frank: Asking here because I don't need a tangent from the others

Frank: Someone give me something other than homicides to think about for a moment

Matt: I swear to God

Matt: The things Kelly and I are willing to do for our chief

Frank: Not what I anticipated but it's appreciated

Frank: And yet I think I already regret asking

Eddie: Sylvie just told me

Eddie: How the hell did you get roped into an alien-hunting expedition

Frank: You what

Eddie: That's what I said!

Carlos: Wait a minute

Carlos: You're doing what

Kelly: Yeah

Kelly: Owen convinced us to go on an alien-hunting expedition with him and Judd

Matt: And Judd's son

Kelly: And Wyatt

Kelly: Right

Frank: I'm missing context here

Frank: Did you say "son?"

Eddie: Recent development

Carlos: I just learned it last night

Carlos: Apparently Judd was texting a few people while panicking over making the visit perfect

Kelly: I just learned this morning

Kelly: Which is a little insulting considering we now house two teenage boys

Eddie: Well Judd just learned it in the past week so

Eddie: You can't really complain

Eddie: Fatherhood sends you into a tailspin

Kelly: He's had Charlie though

Frank: Hate to break it to you Severide

Frank: You can tailspin with each additional child

Carlos: ^

Matt: Anyway

Matt: Long story short

Matt: Owen asked us to ask the boys if they wanted to go alien hunting

Carlos: And what teenage boy isn't going to say yes to that

Frank: A sane one

Eddie: Where's the sanity in this family

Carlos: No longer in this chat apparently

Carlos: Or at least in this state

Kelly: Maybe the 2-7 took it back to New York with them

Frank: Thanks for the compliment

Frank: I think

Matt: So yeah

Matt: Kelly and I are taking Griffin and Ben on an alien hunt with Owen Judd and Wyatt

Matt: I still can't believe I typed that

Frank: Definitely not what I expected when I needed a distraction

Frank: But thank you for reinforcing that I'm the sane one in this disaster of a family

Kelly: Happy to be your evening entertainment Frank

Frank: Believe me

Frank: I need it

Carlos: In the spirit of entertainment

Carlos: How hard is Sylvie laughing right now

Kelly: She's a hyena

Eddie: That's my captain!

***

"I think my ears are still ringing from all the laughing Sylvie was doing," Kelly muttered, tilting his head side to side as he followed Owen through the dark.

"Oh, good," Matt sighed. "It's not just me."

"Oh, come on," Ben turned on his heel and grinned at his guardians. "It's just one night, guys!"

"Yeah," Judd chuckled. "One night their girl ain't ever gonna let them hear the end of."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Like Grace won't let you hear the end of it?"

Judd cleared his throat. "Touché, Cap."

Matt patted his shoulder sympathetically, and Kelly aimed his flashlight around the woods. "Chief, this is about where that couple said they saw the . . . er . . . " He scratched his head, trying to remember what he put in his report. "Blue people," he finally said with a wince.

Griffin snickered, but Owen grinned in excitement as he turned on his Geiger counter. "They're called Cobalts, Severide."

"Oh," Judd smirked at Wyatt. "It's the Cobalts."

"Oh, hang on," Owen turned in a slow circle, his Geiger clicking. "Gamma rays."

"Gamma rays?" Griffin repeated, looking warily at the ground.

"Yeah," Owen nodded, then blinked when he realized Griffin was looking worried. "No, I mean, it's nothing lethal or anything, but . . . " He nodded to his clicking machine. "Something was here."

"That's so cool," Wyatt gushed with a grin.

"Alright," Owen nodded decisively, flashlight beam bouncing around their surroundings. "So, I don't think we should go any further. We're downwind of it. We've got good cover and an unobstructed eye-line. I think this is a good place to set up our observation post."

"So . . . " Ben looked around. "Just throw our blankets down over here?"

Owen winked. "Yeah."

"Good job, bud," Matt snickered as he slung off his backpack. "You're starting to speak the difficult language known as Strand."

"Hey, now!" Owen playfully glared.

Wyatt grinned at the byplay as he pulled out his blankets. "So, Wyatt," Judd joined his son. "You got, like, a girlfriend or anything up there in Waco?"

"Uh, no," Wyatt shook his head. "Not really."

"Really?" Judd blinked. "I thought you'd be kinda beating 'em back with a stick by now." He paused. "I mean, you know . . . unless you're not into girls. If you're into guys, there ain't nothing wrong with that."

"No, I like girls," Wyatt smiled. "I just . . . I don't know. I guess I never really needed a stick."

Judd nodded thoughtfully, then Owen rummaged through his bag. "Snacks!" he announced, pulling out a bag. "Who wants snacks? Can't hunt aliens without snacks."

"I think Sylvie might have packed the whole pantry for us," Griffin remarked as he looked through his backpack.

"Guess she managed something while she was cackling like a witch earlier," Kelly muttered.

"Well, yeah," Judd held up his hand. "Unless it's jerky. Wyatt here is a, uh . . . he's a vegan."

"Oh!" Owen perked up with a grin. "No way!"

"Yeah," Wyatt nodded, brightening at Owen's interest.

"Well, that's good," Owen nodded at him. "I tried to go vegan for a while, but a man can only eat so many beans."

"Well, you'd be amazed with what they could do with heme nowadays," Wyatt offered.

"It's funny you say that," Owen blinked. "I've been thinking about heme. I need to eat some more things with heme in it."

"You should do it, for sure," Wyatt agreed fervently. "Heme's, like, a game changer."

"The language of Vegan, however, is another beast entirely," Matt muttered to Ben, who snorted into his water bottle.

"Heme?" Judd repeated, looking like a lost puppy.

"Soy leghemoglobin," Owen and Wyatt told him at the same time.

Griffin blinked. "Gesundheit?" he offered hesitantly.

"Yeah," Wyatt nodded. "It's the stuff that makes veggie burgers bleed."

"That's a thing?" Ben looked confused.

"Why . . . why would you want your veggie burger to bleed?" Judd asked. "Don't that kinda defeat the point?"

"Uh . . . " Wyatt looked to Owen for help, but the deputy chief shrugged. "It's kinda hard to explain, I guess."

"Alright," Owen looked back through his supplies. "Who wants some teriyaki seaweed chips?"

Ben made a face, but Wyatt grinned. "Yeah, I love teriyaki seaweed chips!" he said excitedly, bounding over to join Owen. "Where'd you find those? I could never find 'em anywhere!"

"Oh, I have my sources," Owen grinned mischievously.

"Oh, yeah?" Wyatt looked interested.

Owen nodded as he handed over a bag. "Now, we just sit back . . . and watch the skies."

"Well, hey," Griffin leaned against a fallen tree, Ben shuffling next to him with their guardians setting up on either side of them. "Even if this is a bust . . . we got a free camping trip out of this."

Matt grinned. "That's the spirit, Griff."

***

"The only thing Nina is madly in love with is Nina."

Frank snorted in disgust as he thought about Seaver's words and looked at the photographs hanging in Nina's penthouse. All were covers from magazines praising Nina. Aside from a few pictures of her with who might have been her parents on the table, every picture on the wall was dedicated to her fame. "Talk about narcissistic," he muttered.

"Hey!" Kevin poked his head around the corner. "Sara's got something!"

Frank walked down the hall to join him, and the CSI spraying a black coat in Nina's massive walk-in closet stepped away to join them. "We got this from the lobby downstairs," she told them, handing them a phone with a picture of Nina. "It's from the day of the murder."

Frank compared Nina's black coat in the picture to the one currently laid out in the room. "Looks the same."

Kevin nodded in agreement, and Sara switched off the lights in the room. Under blacklight, little specks glowed on the top part of the coat. "Definitely traces of blood on it," Sara told them.

***

Golden Retriever: So

Golden Retriever: Out of curiosity

Golden Retriever: Anyone know anything about Captain Vega visiting a psychic

Golden Retriever: Asking on Eddie's behalf

Grumpy Cat: What

Cocker Spaniel: Is that the one who had a patient with a roundworm in her?

Grumpy Cat: Ew

Golden Retriever: But also yes

Cocker Spaniel: Oh I saw that report

Cocker Spaniel: But no I know nothing about her visiting again

Golden Retriever: Huh

***

"It's all in the congressional record. It's right there." Griffin blinked awake the next morning, and he winced when sunlight shone in his face. "A hundred and twenty unidentified aerial phenomenon, all by Navy pilots," Owen was saying nearby, and judging by the lanky form next to him, Wyatt was listening attentively. "And that's just in the last twenty years."

"No way," Wyatt breathed, eyes wide.

"Those are the ones the Pentagon cops to," Owen continued, and Griffin looked around to see the rest of the camping party waking as well. "Now they're always near our nuclear facilities, always near our weapons platform. Do you think that's a coincidence?"

"Not anymore," Wyatt shook his head.

"I didn't know it was possible for someone to talk that much about aliens," Ben muttered as he looked around for his water bottle.

"They're still talkin' about aliens?" Judd grumbled from nearby.

"Can you believe he's never heard of ancient astronauts?" Owen pointed at Wyatt.

"Can you believe Chief Strand thinks Martians built the pyramids?" Wyatt countered.

"I never said that!" Owen scoffed. "Mars is a dead planet!"

Wyatt blinked then nodded. "Alright, that's right, you did say that."

Judd sighed and shook his head as he climbed to his feet. "Alright, y'all are gonna have to tell me about that in a minute. I'm gonna go find me a cactus to water over here."

Kelly shook his head in amusement as Judd wandered through the trees, and Matt turned to the Dardens as Owen gleefully went back to conversing with Wyatt. "You two doing OK?" he asked.

"Fine," Ben nodded as he searched his pack. "Hungry, but I slept great."

"Me, too," Griffin agreed. "There any jerky left in there?"

"Hold on . . . yep!" Ben pulled two packages out of his bag and tossed one to him. "Here."

"Thank you!"

"Hey, Chief!" Judd suddenly shouted, and everyone turned to find Judd stagger away from a tree, his hand over his nose. "You might bring that Geiger counter over here!"

"Oh, I got it!" Wyatt bent down to grab it.

"No, no, no, Wyatt, no!" Judd fervently shook his head, making Wyatt freeze. "No, stay there!"

The panic made Griffin look worriedly at Matt, and the ladder captain slowly stood. "Stay here," he ordered, looking from Griffin to Ben.

"We will," Griffin nodded.

Matt nodded and joined Owen in walking towards Judd, and Kelly gestured the boys closer to him. "Come on."

Wyatt shuffled closer to Kelly, watching as Owen swept the Geiger counter back and forth. "What's going on?" he asked in concern.

"Not sure," Kelly admitted.

Owen's eyebrows rose high as his Geiger clicked constantly. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Take a look," Judd pointed, face twisted in disgust.

Matt halted in his tracks when he saw the rotting pig near one of the trees, and he choked, hand flying up to cover his nose and mouth. "What the hell?!"

"You think this is the work of your little green men?" Judd asked Owen, mirroring Matt's action.

"No," Owen gulped, looking down at his Geiger. "I don't." He hastily backed away and shouted over his shoulder. "We gotta back up!"

"Case?" Kelly called, even as he guided the boys backwards.

"Call 9-1-1!" was all Matt answered with.

Kelly immediately pulled out his phone, putting it on speakerphone as the line trilled. "9-1-1, what's your emergency?" a familiar voice asked.

"Hey, Grace, it's Casey," Matt panted as he joined them, green eyes looking back over his shoulder. "We got a problem."

***

"Y'all are sure none of you touched any of the dead animals?" Tommy asked, pointing around the semicircle.

"No," Wyatt shook his head, watching the paramedics in hazmat suits as they assessed the group. "Captain Severide kept me and the boys back by the observation post."

Nancy looked up in confusion from where she was checking over Griffin. "The observation post?" she repeated.

"Yeah," Judd pointed. "It's that pile of clothes back over there."

"Judd called me and the chief over to investigate, but as soon as we saw the shape that hog was in, we hightailed it out of there," Matt added. "We never got near it."

"Any stomach aches?" Sylvie asked, closely examining Owen. "Headache?"

"I'm a little caffeine-deprived, but no," Owen chuckled, humoring Sylvie as she took his temperature. "I'm feeling good. Thanks, Sylvie."

Sylvie nodded and turned to her family. "Boys?"

"We're fine," Griffin smiled.

"Well, I don't have anyone spiking a fever," Eddie reported as he backed away from Kelly.

"I'm barely even getting BG-level radiation off them," Nancy agreed.

"Does that mean we're gonna be OK?" Ben asked.

"Well," Sylvie sighed as she opened the visor of her suit, "it means it's safe to transfer you to the hospital. They'll take some tests just to be certain."

Tommy clicked her tongue, giving Owen and Judd a condescending look. "Next time, try not to set up your weenie roast near a hot zone."

Nancy snickered at Judd's huff, but Owen frowned and looked around. "Well, that's the question, isn't it?" he said. "Where did that radiation come from?"

"How about we leave that to the DOD?" Kelly suggested dryly.

Sylvie frowned at him in concern. "Eddie, check him again."

"What?" Eddie blinked, even as he checked his gear. "Why?"

"He just turned down solving a mystery."

Kelly groaned as Matt burst out laughing. "Very funny, sweetheart."

"Well, Grace said they're sending a containment team out soon," Judd said. "So no need for Austin's best arson chasers to get their chucks ready for a race."

"Well, we got two ambos here," Tommy gestured to the 126's two ambulances. "Y'all can leave your blankets and such for the cleanup crew, and then we can get you over to St. Joe's."

Judd smiled. "Thank you, T." Tommy nodded and returned to her ambulance, then Judd looked down at his phone when it rang. "Hey, Grace," he said. "What's goin' on?"

"You tell me," Grace answered. "Did Tommy and Sylvie check y'all out yet?"

"Yeah, everybody's doing OK," Judd nodded. "Might have been a different story if we wandered a little further into the woods."

"Gracie, this is Owen," Owen said as he stepped by Judd. "Any updates on the DOD cleanup crew?"

"No," Grace answered, making Matt blink in surprise. "And it doesn't seem like they're gonna get there anytime soon."

"Seriously?" Matt asked. "What else do they have to do?"

"I don't know. All I could get out of 'em is that they were dealing with a classified situation down at Fort Sam Houston. Listen, I just checked our logs from the last three hours. We've gotten three 9-1-1 calls from within a two-mile radius of where you're standing right now."

Kelly's eyes brightened, and Eddie sighed and headed back to his ambulance. "Sylvie!" he called. "Grace said some magic words!"

"What did they want?" Kelly asked, aiming a dirty glare at the back of Eddie's head.

"They were all hang-ups from a TracFone, which is probably why nobody paid much attention," Grace answered. "But now I'm starting to think somebody's in trouble."

Matt scanned the area, eyes narrowed. "Do you have an idea where in the two-mile radius it was coming from?"

"Not really," Grace answered. "It's all unincorporated land out there. I do see three residential addresses. I've tried calling all of 'em, and nobody's picking up."

Owen's eyes narrowed. "Alright, send us the addresses."

Sylvie bounded back into view, three hazmat suits slung in her arms. "I heard we're going hunting?" she asked with a cheeky grin.

"And this is why you're my favorite daughter," Owen smirked as he took a suit. "Thanks, Sylv."

"Yep!" she chirped, handing the other suits to Matt and Kelly.

"We'll go on ahead to the hospital," Tommy said.

"Alright," Sylvie turned to Eddie. "Stay here in case we find something."

"Copy that," Eddie nodded.

Griffin watched Matt and Kelly slip into the suits, then he leaned towards Nancy. "How often do they do this?" he asked quietly.

Nancy snorted. "Kid, I can't even count the times."

***

"Geez," Sylvie blinked as she looked down at her counter. "Guys, my meter's already up to 200,000 microsieverts."

"Mine's already at 220," Owen held up his Geiger. "Must be getting close to the source."

Matt yelped from his other side, and Sylvie spun around to see what appeared to be pieces of a satellite in the tree. "What the hell?" Kelly stared. "Who keeps this out in the middle of the woods?"

"Considering how my meter's climbing?" Owen eyed his display. "We're about to find out. this way."

More sculptures of what appeared to be junk and metal lined the grounds in front of a large house in the woods, and Matt whistled lowly. "And all we wanted to do was go on an alien excursion."

"Next time, we're picking an actual campground," Kelly decided.

"Good idea."

"Sylvie!" Owen shouted.

Sylvie burst past the captains, and they ran after her to find Sylvie bending over a man slumped on the ground. "Sir?" she asked, bending down. "Can you hear me?"

She gently shook his shoulder, and the man turned over, revealing burns and dried blood covering his face. "Whoa!" Matt stopped short, eyes wide.

"Radiation burns," Kelly gulped.

Sylvie took a deep breath, then she put her fingers to the man's neck. "I can't find a pulse."

A weak cough came from inside the house, and Owen whipped around. "Maybe someone else has one."

The quartet ran up to the house, and Owen nudged open the door. Sylvie gasped and moved past him to the woman slumped in a chair, burns covering her skin as she wheezed and gasped. "Dispatch, I have a patient here with acute radiation syndrome," she said into her radio as she checked the woman. "Be prepared for decon and transport."

"Hey, Kelly?" The squad captain looked over his shoulder and saw Matt gesturing to a table against the wall. "I think this is the source."

Kelly peered at the powder covering the table, and he paled rapidly. "Back away," he grabbed Matt's arm and yanked him back. "Back, now! Chief, get the drapes!"

Owen moved to the windows and hastily shut the curtains, and the room darkened. All that lit the room was the powder covering several surfaces, all of it glowing eerily blue. "What the hell is this?" Sylvie looked around with wide eyes.

"Cesium chloride," Kelly answered with a swallow. "It's commonly used in teletherapy machines for cancer treatments. The radioactivity makes it glow. Chief, anyone in close proximity to this could be killed in a few days."

Owen looked around at the powder, then at the woman covered in it. "How did it all end up here?"

"Better question," Matt looked up from examining the table. "We know two victims. Do we have any others?"

Owen gulped. "Good question." He turned around and crouched by the woman, careful not to touch her. "Ma'am, this is very important. Did anyone other than the two of you come into contact with this powder?"

The woman gasped, then weakly pointed with her hand towards a box on the table. "Cre . . . credit . . . card."

"Credit card?" Owen repeated.

Matt opened the box and searched its contents, pulling out a receipt. "It's dated three days ago," he reported.

Kelly narrowed his eyes and held out his hand. "Whoever signed that is running out of time."

"Get that to Grace," Owen ordered. "We'll help Sylvie here."

"Copy that," Kelly nodded and headed out of the house.

He made sure he was several steps away from the body of the man before he dialed 9-1-1 on his phone. "9-1-1, what's your emergency?" Maddie's voice asked.

"Maddie, it's Severide," Kelly told her. "This is important. Can you patch Grace into this call, too?"

"Sure," Maddie answered. "Just a second."

Grace's voice joined in a few seconds later. "Kelly? Did you find who made that call?"

"We did," Kelly nodded. "Listen, we need your help."

"That's what we're here for," Grace told him. "What's going on?"

"The hot zone is caused by a radioactive powder called cesium chloride," Kelly explained. "We believe some of it slipped out of the zone."

"Any idea how?"

"We have a receipt that says it's a pendant," Kelly checked the slip of paper. "It's probably filled with that powder. All we got on the person who has it is it's a woman, and the receipt has a partial credit card number and a squiggle for a signature."

Grace hummed thoughtfully. "Send us a photo. We'll try to get you a name and an address."

"Make it fast," Kelly sighed, hearing sirens approach. "After seeing what this stuff can do up close . . . we need to make sure that pendant doesn't change hands."

"We'll find her," Maddie said determinedly. "Just keep your phones on you."

***

Nolan leaned against the back of one of his chairs, arms folded as Kate finished her report. "Lots of reasons Kyle's DNA could be on that coat," he finally said.

"That is correct," Kate nodded. "But the most obvious one is that she was wearing it the night she shot his ass in cold blood."

"What else do we have?" Sam asked.

"She tried to frame a former employee for the murder," Kate answered. "She actually called the Scarsdale PD, said she saw some guy in a blue Tesla drop a gun in the sewer."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Ambitious."

Kate snorted. "Oh, you've got no idea."

Nolan nodded in consideration, already considering which path to take in a trial as he walked to his desk. "Motive?" he asked.

"Well, her company is a house of cards," Kate told him. "And Kyle wasn't comfortable moving forward with the IPO. He wanted to delay it, wanted to make sure the screening tests actually worked. Nina wasn't interested. She didn't want anyone or anything standing in the way of her date with immortality, so she killed him."

It was a hell of a motive, Nolan had to admit. Still, there was one key detail he needed. "We have any proof she was near the scene of the murder?"

Kate's jaw clenched. "No," she answered. "We do not."

"It's solid," Nolan told her. "But right now, everything can be explained away. The blood, the phone call, the motive."

"This woman needs to get off the street," Kate scowled. "We need to end the charade. We need to tell people that these tests are phony. So we're gonna arrest her today. Whether or not you decide to charge her with murder? That's on you."

***

"Lord, please give me strength," Grace grumbled across from Maddie, her head in her hands.

Maddie lifted her head from where she had dropped it onto her crossed arms, "Never Gonna Give You Up" still playing from her earpiece. "I'm never gonna be able to listen to this song again any time soon," she declared.

"Girl, you have no idea," Grace sighed.

Maddie snorted, then the line changed in Grace's ear. "Hello, this is Dan."

Grace sat upright, now fully alert. "OK, Dan, listen," she said, clicking her keyboard to transfer Maddie into the call. "I'm trying to get the name and address of a card ending in nine-eight-six-five."

"OK, let me see what we can do," Dan told her. "Now to get started, I just need the three-digit pin number on the account."

"Pin number?" Grace repeated incredulously. "I don't have the pin number. I'm not the cardholder. I'm calling from 9-1-1."

"Hmm . . . I'm afraid our corporate policy doesn't allow us to give out information without the pin number."

"Dan, are you being serious right now?" Grace narrowed her eyes. "Your cardholder's life is in danger, and I really need you to help me."

"You know what? I'm just gonna get my supervisor on the line."

"OK, Dan," Grace seethed. "Listen, do not put me on – "

The song started up again, and Grace groaned in annoyance. "You know what?" Maddie peered around her monitor, a similar look of annoyance in her dark eyes. "Drinks are on me tonight. You're a saint for this."

"Back at you," Grace huffed.

"Ma'am?" Dan said.

"Yes," Grace took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm here."

"OK, I just got my supervisor Gloria on the line."

Grace nodded, steepling her fingers. "Gloria, listen. My name is Grace Ryder. I'm calling from Austin Emergency Services. I have an emergency, and I'm urgently trying to get the name and address for a Texas-based customer whose card ends in nine-eight-six-five."

"My goodness, of course," Gloria answered. "We'll get that taken care of right away."

Grace smiled in relief. "Thank you very much."

"I just need the three-digit pin number on the account."

Grace's eyes widened. "I don't have that!" she ground out. "And the only three-digit number you should be concerned about, Gloria, is 9-1-1."

"My associate Dan should have explained our corporate policy. Unfortunately, we're not – "

"Yes, he explained it," Grace interrupted. "And I don't give a damn about your corporate policy. A lot of people are going to die if they haven't already." She scowled. "You are aware that these calls are being recorded, correct?"

"Yes, we record all our calls," Gloria answered. "Corporate policy."

Grace smirked. "And you know what? We record our calls also. What do you think is gonna happen to the two of you when I make a TikTok out of this call and the entire world hears that neither Gloria nor Dan lifted a finger to help prevent a mass casualty event?" she challenged. "Do you think anybody is going to care that you were just following corporate policy, Gloria?"

For a few tense seconds, Grace worried she would have to go through this all over again. "Her name is Beverly Gordon," Gloria finally told her.

Maddie was already typing on her keyboard.

***

The detectives found Nina strutting confidently out of her building towards a car parked by the sidewalk, and Frank called out to stop her. "Nina Ellis! You need to come with us."

"I can't," Nina told them. "Well, not now. I'm going to London. We're kicking off the Road Show for the IPO, but I'll be back in three days, and we can talk about Kyle's murder then."

"Yeah," Frank scoffed dryly. "That's not how this works."

"What do you mean?" Nina frowned.

"He means the Road Show is cancelled," Kevin answered. "The only trip you'll be taking is to the 27th precinct."

Nina narrowed her eyes. "I'm confused."

"Allow me to clarify," Kevin smiled like a shark, waving away the woman nearby who was rolling Nina's suitcase. "You won't be needing that luggage for this trip." He gestured to Frank, and the other detective walked behind Nina and pulled her arms behind her back, snapping handcuffs onto her. "Nina Ellis, you're under arrest for the murder of Kyle Morrison."

***

A young boy was the one who opened the door, and Owen smiled as pleasantly as he could through the visor of his hazmat suit. "May we come in?" he asked.

The boy stepped away from the door, and Owen marched in followed by Matt, Kelly, Sylvie, and Eddie. "Oh, what's going on?" a man stood up from his chair, several other people turning to watch in confusion.

"Alright, everybody, take it easy," Matt held up his hands. "Relax. We're fire department, don't move."

"What's going on here?" one of the women on the couch asked worriedly.

"No need for concern," Sylvie shook her head, watching Owen and Kelly sweep the room with their Geigers. "We have reason to believe that you are in possession of radioactive material."

"Radioactive?" one of the men repeated sharply. "What the hell?"

"My Geiger's going off," Kelly reported.

Owen's pointed him to a gold-painted box in an older woman's hand. "That," he pointed at the container. "What is that?"

"That's my gift," the young woman who spoke previously answered nervously.

Eddie looked at Sylvie, who nodded and opened the silver box in her hands. "Ma'am, hold as still as you can," she ordered.

"Diaz?" Matt prompted.

Eddie held out the tong-like tool in his hands, and the woman holding the box leaned back with wide eyes. "Nice and easy," Eddie told her, and he nodded when he had the box in the tongs. "Much obliged, ma'am."

"I didn't know, Mom," the young woman sputtered. "I just thought it was a cute necklace!"

"We understand, ma'am," Matt told her. "And we're very sorry for the interruption, but everyone has to evacuate."

That got everyone moving out of the house, and Eddie moved back to escort them out of the house. "Are we safe?" the young woman squeaked as she looked around.

"You should be fine," Kelly nodded.

"We just need to strip you down for decon," Sylvie explained. "Just to be sure."

"Strip us down?" the woman who had the pendant in her hand looked at her as if she was crazy. "What?"

Owen observed the decorations in the room. "Is it your birthday?" he asked.

The woman blinked at him. "Yes."

Owen smiled. "Happy birthday."

***

Ladder Boss: So

Ladder Boss: Our aliens turned out to be humans covered in cesium chloride

Court Boss: Gesundheit

Murder Boss: I don't speak chemistry

Ladder Boss: Neither do I

Ladder Boss: Not like Kelly does

Ladder Boss: But it's radioactive

Ladder Boss: Which glows blue in the dark

Murder Boss: So not good for humans

Squad Boss: Definitely not

Medic Boss: Owen is never taking you camping again

Medic Boss: I don't care if this was never the intended outcome

Medic Boss: But it's Owen

Medic Boss: And that's really all I have to say

Murder Boss: It's starting to get really predictable in here

Squad Boss: ?

Murder Boss: So much can be explained by only one word

Murder Boss: Or one name, in this case

Court Boss: Welcome to the family Frank

***

Chaotic: Lily

Chaotic: You chose the wrong time to go home

Neutral: Because I clearly have supernatural powers over when my school gets fixed

Neutral: And over my parents

Lawful: Doesn't your dad hate social media

Neutral: Only when it isn't useful to him

Neutral: Which is most of the time

Chaotic: Except when he's talking to the rest of us apparently

Neutral: I imagine that's also why he's been grumbling about aliens the past few days?

Lawful: Chief Strand believes in aliens

Lawful: Judd's son believes in aliens

Neutral: His what

Chaotic: Recent development

Chaotic: Recent as in he just found out

Chaotic: Wyatt is Griffin's age

Neutral: Oh boy

Lawful: So to bond we all got taken out alien hunting

Lawful: Didn't find any aliens

Lawful: But boy do we have a crazy story

Neutral: I just heard my dad scoff

Neutral: Guessing he's getting the rundown too

Neutral: So what happened

Chaotic: Did you know some radioactive material glows in the dark

Neutral: No

Chaotic: How'd you find out

Lawful: Two people were covered in it and walked outside in the dark

Neutral: So people covered in glowing powder

Neutral: Aliens?

Chaotic: Gold star

Neutral: What the hell

Neutral: I want to live in Austin if that's what you get on a daily basis

Lawful: Something tells me your dad wouldn't like that idea

Lawful: At least not without something that benefits him too

Neutral: Any homicide openings down there?

Lawful: No idea

Chaotic: We know nothing about the department except for Carlos

Neutral: Damnit

***

Counselor: So

Counselor: If the aliens were actually humans covered in glowing radioactive dust

Counselor: How long do you think Chief Strand will be on this alien high

Counselor: Asking for basically the entire 126

Captain: Um

Detective: Can we go back to the radioactive dust?

Counselor: Cesium chloride

Counselor: Used by hospitals for cancer treatments

Counselor: Radioactivity makes it glow

Counselor: They found it when they went alien hunting near a hot zone

Captain: There is so much to unpack here

Detective: Well

Detective: I'm hoping that puts a damper on Owen

Counselor: Keyword here is "hoping" I assume

Detective: Correct

Captain: And now I'm going to call Owen and get the full story

Captain: Probably with a drink in my hand

Counselor: Good idea

***

Nolan: So bad news

Eddie: Chief isn't going to stop any time soon?

Nolan: "I'm hoping that puts a damper on Owen"

Nolan: Stabler's exact words

Buck: I see the word "hoping" in that sentence

Nolan: That's almost exactly what I said

Sylvie: Damnit

TK: I could've told you that

Frank: You better make the murder trial worth talking about here Nolan

Frank: I really don't want to hear more about aliens

Matt: That answers who the boys have been texting constantly

Kelly: Haven't we known they've constantly been texting Lily

Matt: What's your point

Buck: I don't think I've ever seen them cranky

Carlos: You just said that with them in the chat

Buck: We aren't on shift

TK: When the hell has that mattered

Eddie: I love an idiot

Carlos: Same

Sylvie: Be careful boys

Sylvie: My brother's in the chat

Matt: Both of them actually

Kelly: We didn't say anything!

Buck: I feel excluded

Frank: This just confirms we took the sanity back with us

Nolan: Keep it with you

Nolan: No wait send some to Benson and Stabler

Nolan: Lord knows they need it to deal with Owen

Frank: Copy that

Buck: They scare me

Nolan: Good

***

Frank both enjoys and hates being in the chats. Enjoys it because homicides can get dark. Hates it because . . . well, yeah, it's pretty much been proven he's the only sane one (right now).

Four of our main five are out of the way . . . so, here's Nolan's character biography!

***

Nolan

Irish, "noble"

Choleric

strength, passion, productivity

The King

assured, authoritative, decisive

Type 3, The Achiever

excelling, driven, image-conscious

ENTP

The Visionary

Slytherin

cunning, leadership, resourceful

Cancer

the sentimental, protective, tenacious, loyal, emotional, persuasive

Earth

hard-working, loyal, stubborn

Upright Judgement

judgement, self-evaluation, awakening, composure, decisiveness

Archetypes

Beat Them at Their Own Game, Crusading Lawyer, Determinator, Hello Attorney!, Honor Before Reason, Long-Lost Relative, Opposites Attract, Tall Dark and Snarky, The Perfectionist, The Snark Knight

Lawful Good

The Crusader

Status

alive

***

Some of these trope names just crack me up. "The Snark Knight", "Tall Dark and Snarky" and "Hello Attorney!"? Nolan in a nutshell. And just wait until you see Frank's. I may do that next time XD

So since we'll be getting the order side of "Impossible Dream" next time, we'll head back to Chicago . . . where Wendy has been tossed a bone, and boy, does she like chasing bones. "What Happened at Whiskey Point?" is on the radar!

graphic by marvelity