Chief Deputy Charlie Reid (Shawn Hatosy) has been one of the most formidable Chicago PD villains in recent memory. He was introduced as a shady, albeit professional veteran, but the more we learn, the more obvious it becomes that he is blatantly bad. Reid has been playing ball with a Chicago gangster named Jesus Otero, and the episode "Demons" delves into the crooked business arrangement they have.
Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) is in a difficult situation. He's someone who works under Reid, and has to do his biding, but he's also someone that Reid considers a kindred spirit, and even brags to him about the various illegal arrangements he has. He told Voight that it was actually benefiting the community to work with a gangster like Otero, but it sets up a power dynamic that other abide by, and therefore there's less crime. He was right in the sense that Chicago crime went down, but he was wrong about Voight being on his side.
Voight has been working ADA Nina Chapman (Sara Bues) to bring Reid down. Chapman is the only person he's confided in about his unofficial investigation, and she helped him gain access to Reid's police records in Detroit. It turns out, Reid has done the very same Otero schtick with other people in the Motor City. To make matters even worse, Voight discovered the last CI (Confidential Informant) Reid had in Detroit went missing when he refused to give up vital info.
Dante Torres is torn between Voight and Reid
The kicker, of course, is that Voight has to follow Reid's orders while investigating him. A car with a shipment of Otero's drugs was stolen by a group of local carjackers. The shipment totaled a half a million dollars, and Reid demanded that Voight and the rest of the IU recover it. Things got messier when it was determined that the carjacking crew had shot and killed the person driving the car.
The race to find the car is juxtaposed with the odd behavior of one Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar). The officer had been MIA for a couple weeks, and he showed up to work with his arm in a sling. Voight ordered him to sit out the search party, but Torres ignored these direct orders and went about his business despite his increasingly despondent demeanor. The IU team eventually find the carjackers, and Torres gave chase, despite Voight's direct order to stand down. It didn't go well.
Not only did the carjackers get away, but Torres crashed the car. Voight eventually sat down his young officer and asked him what was going on. Torres revealed that he's been suffering from insomnia over the past few weeks, and only returned to work because he feared being replaced. He also voiced guilt over being the reason Reid has a vice grip on IU to begin with. His inappropriate relationship with a CI was found out by Reid, who turned around and used it as blackmail.
Despite his heart-to-heart with Voight, Torres fell under Reid's thumb yet again. The latter was mad over Torres blowing their only chance to catch the carjackers, and ordered him to fix the situation. Reid communicated this is an especially chilling fashion, however. Instead of threatening him, Reid pretended to be concerned about Torres' health, and claimed throwing himself into his work would help make him feel better. He also lied about the drugs, claiming that he needed them to build up a case against the carjackers.
Reid continues to seize control of the IU
Torres uncovered the location of one of the crew members, and nearly stole the drugs back before calling Voight. He came clean about his conversation with Reid, and confessed to being worn down by the guilt he felt over his CI's death. Torres claimed that nothing has helped him attain peace, and a determined Voight helped him. He discovered the carjackers didn't even know about the drugs when they stole Otero's car. In the end, the car gets blown up, and Otero goes about his business. It was basically all for nothing.
Naturally, the rest of the IU want answers. They confronted Voight over the realization that they had been recovering a drug shipment instead of searching for a murderer, and Voight explained that Reid has been blackmailing both him and Torres.
A frustrated Voight confronts Reid in the episode's final act, and the latter reminded him that that the IU belongs to him. Voight is more fed up with his new boss than ever, but he's going to have to wait if he plans to take him down for good.