How Voight Saved the Intelligence Unit on Chicago P.D.: “Like a Dog with a Bone”
P.D.‘s beloved Intelligence Unit made a triumphant return only after Voight pulled some major strings.
ank Voight (Jason Beghe) will always go above and beyond for the Intelligence Unit, and he put forth a herculean effort to get his officers back on the beat in the Season 13 premiere of Chicago P.D.
P.D.‘s Season 13 premiere (“Consequences”) picked up a month after Voight orchestrated the shocking murder of CPD Chief Reid (Shawn Hatosy), his corrupt higher-up who dedicated himself to disbanding the unit. Voight had falsely believed that after Reid’s death, the Intelligence Unit would soon be reinstated after the charges Reid had brought up were cleared. But Voight had miscalculated the Intelligence Unit’s not-so-glimmering reputation, leading Voight to go toe to toe with the CPD Internal Affairs Commander in Season 13’s action-packed premiere.
Voight soon learned that getting his unit reinstated would be much easier said than done.
“He’s like a dog with a bone,” Beghe told NBC Insider. “That’s all he’s totally consumed with, rescuing his unit and that’s it. And he also has a full-time job, but any kind of free moment he has he’s trying whatever means possible to convince Commander Devlin who’s kinda stepped in Reid’s shoes, played by wonderful actor, Joel Murray. So, he’ll start with charm and reason, and he’ll go to, as you can imagine, any lengths. ”
Read more, below:
Voight was troubled by his scattered Intelligence Unit
At the top of the P.D. Season 13 premiere, everyone in the Intelligence Unit was struggling while not able to get any work done. Voight, haunted by Season 13’s events and sick with boredom, received a visit from Desk Sgt. Trudy Platt (Amy Morton).
Trudy checked in on her friend, noting his recent isolation while encouraging him to buddy up with Commander Devlin, the Internal Affair District’s risk-averse and politically-minded leader who didn’t “like being pressured.” A.K.A. Voight’s worst nightmare.Trudy convinced Voight to speak with the IAD Commander in hopes of getting their scattered team back together.
Soon after Voight touched base with Devlin, he caught on to the commander’s hesitation to sign off on the Intelligence Unit’s return. Voight reminded Devlin that all of Reid’s charges were dismissed, so could Voight finally tell his officers to return to the bullpen?
“You can’t tell them anything just yet,” Devlin explained, reminding Voight that he was given four weeks minimum to evaluate the case and didn’t take the responsibility lightly. Devlin told Voight to continue working patrol, a restrictive position that Voight loathed.
Voight teamed up with ATF for an off-the-books investigation
While begrudgingly working patrol, Voight witnessed a gun deal gone wrong, leading to a deadly shooting. At Voight’s rank, he could do very little in investigating the case, but he can’t be stopped when he’s on the case. He decided to investigate on his own, knowing that the automatic weapon used was now on the streets. Voight called some of his Intelligence Unit friends for some under-the-table assistance, and with nothing better to do, they eagerly agreed.
Voight’s secret investigation led him to cross paths with ATF Officer Eva Imani (Ari Mandi), an undercover cop who had spent a month surveilling a crew of gun runners. Voight clicked with Eva, especially after she was willing to keep Voight’s off-the-book maneuvers away from his supervisor. Eva was similarly disinterested in protocol; all she wanted was to nail down Raptor, the leader of the gun-running operation, so she teamed up with Voight to get the job done.
After tracking down Raptor and finding his stash of guns, Eva encouraged Voight to make the arrest so that ATF wouldn’t be able to strike a deal with Raptor. He’d killed more than 20 people, and Eva wanted to see him imprisoned for life. Voight agreed, knowing full well that his actions that day were far from his jurisdiction.
But having made a new friend at the ATF, Voight asked Eva for a little favor.
Voight pulled some strings to get the Intelligence Unit back
Following Voight and Eva’s successful arrest, Voight visited IAD Commander Devlin to plead his case. His unit had worked dead-end patrol for a month when they could have been working real cases. After citing the Intelligence Unit’s glimmering solve rate, Voight asked again: would Devlin please reinstate the Intelligence Unit?
“No boss with an ounce of self-regard would sign your unit back together, not when your unit destroys everyone it touches,” Devlin snapped. “I’m not signing Intelligence back. Ever.”
Voight sighed, torn by what he needed to do next. “I tried to do this the right way,” Voight told him, handing a photo of firearms to a confused Devlin.
“ATF is still tracking every gun from Raptor’s stash. I mean, he had boxes from gun shows, manufacturers, gun stores all across the U.S. Those are the ones I asked ATF to prioritize, though,” Voight explained, a realization dawning on Devlin. “You recognize them. Serial numbers all trace back to the CPD.”
Devlin began sweating as Voight continued, “There was a batch of weapons IAD ordered to replenish their officers. Same batch that your predecessors and you signed off on — and never reported stolen. I mean, I doubt you knew who stole them. It was just an embarrassment, right? It went against your self-preservation to report it. I mean, think how pathetic it’ll look now.”
“My unit is reinstated tonight, or this goes public,” Voight said, matter-of-factly. But just as Voight left, Devlin gave him a haunting farewell.
“You can’t outrun yourself forever, Hank,” Devlin said as Voight made his way to the beloved bullpen.
Voight was relieved to return to the previously abandoned Intelligence Unit, inviting Officer Eva Imani to the precinct to ask if she wanted to join his squad. Eva accepted the new position with slight hesitation, but she had found a supervisor who gave a long leash. Meanwhile, Voight was elated to officially reinstate the new and improved Intelligence Unit.
“Let’s get back to work,” Voight told his officers, finally back home at the Windy City squad room.
Find out what happens next by watching Season 13 of Chicago P.D. on Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC, or stream episodes the next day on Peacock.
