Chapter 21 - Master Chief

Episode 21 

Jack Routh

"I need your opinion on this." Sydney Fox turned to the man beside her and held up her hand. "Nigel."

The man handed a carton tube from his satchel, not unlike the one he got from the comic book store but smaller.

"This is Nigel Bailey, my teaching assistant." Sydney introduced her companion while she pushed the plates and drinks to the side of the table and removed a rolled up piece of parchment from the tube. It was wrapped in clear plastic and she placed it on the table.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Professor Routh. You have a lovely home." Nigel greeted politely.

"Thanks." He replied and focused on the scroll. With a nod from Sydney he slowly opened up the artifact and narrowed his eyes at what he saw. The words were written in Latin, and there were even some detailed drawings of some plant. It was very detailed, and gave specific instructions on proper preparations of ingredients and some even had detailed illustrations. A word stood out to him and stared at the Anthropology professor.

"This is from Paracelsus, the alchemist." He stated. "The father of toxicology."

"That's right." Sydney looked pleased. "What do you know of him?"

"His real name was Theophrastus Von Hohenheim. He revolutionized medicine and laid the foundations for modern chemistry." He examined the written texts closely as he continued to speak. "He was a controversial figure, and publicly burned the canon book of medicine by the Persian, Avicenna."

"Why would he do that?" His wife asked.

"That book was horribly outdated, and it was written in 1025 AD. He meant it as a protest on obsolete healing practices." He replied. "That book by Avicenna, was a compilation of medical knowledge from Galen to Hippocrates, but arranged in a more systematic manner. It was also the foundation of Humorism, and that lasted nearly a thousand years before it was discarded."

"Humors?" Nigel asked.

"We're getting out of topic, but essentially the theory is that the body is made up of four humors, body fluids." He explained. "Blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm. It is believed that a perfect balance between these four fluids is crucial for a healthy body."

"Gross." Nigel remarked.

"That belief lasted up until the 19th century." He added and then turned to his wife. "Do you remember those temperament tests you reviewed before from Central?"

Zoe's nose scrunched up in what he thought looked cute as his wife struggled to remember what he mentioned. The city forced the police force to conduct a department wide survey for their officers, and he heard rumors that it was pushed by one of the more… radical political organizations in the city with help from a council member. It was honestly a waste of thirty minutes in his opinion.

"Yeah, those personality tests…" Zoe finally replied. "Sanguine, Melancholic…"

"…Choleric and Phlegmatic." He finished for Zoe. "Sanguine, blood is for cheerful personalities, Choleric, yellow bile for passionate people. Melancholic, black bile for the gloomy and despondent and finally phlegmatic, obviously phlegm for the calm and cool."

"And we wasted precious man hours and tens of thousands of dollars for an outdated test?" Zoe asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't say our council members are smart." He replied and turned to the amused looking professor from UCLA. "We're getting off topic anyway, where did you get this scroll?"

"Some man claiming to be a government agent gave it to me and asked for my help." Sydney answered. "What do you think of the scroll?"

"It's definitely a forgery. A good one, but it's a fake." He replied immediately. Lucy Worsley's memories and vast experiences in handling ancient artifacts made him pretty confident about his answer.

"It's as I suspected." Sydney sighed. "That agent insists that it's real… and Nigel."

"But the carbon dating tests indicate it's from the correct time period." Nigel argued.

"They used rag paper back then, not parchment." He tapped the scroll. "It's a better material, since it's made of linen or cotton fibers. This looks like an elaborate forgery."

"I read the instructions in it, and it looks like it's for some medicine." Sydney leaned over and pointed to the torn bottom part. "But it's missing the bottom half."

"I think this is an attempt to recreate the drug called Laudanum." He mused as he read over the ingredient list. "Paracelsus claims it's the cure for everything, and it contains a wild assortment of ingredients, but the most prominent is opium."

"The government agent wanted me to help him recover the bottom half. He even threatened me if I don't cooperate." Sydney rolled her eyes. "I'm going to tell him to shove it."

"How did he threaten you?" He asked.

"He claimed he could pull the funding for my expeditions." Sydney replied. "He said he could ruin my reputation."

"You should call the FBI and verify this agent's identity, if he says who he is." Zoe advised. "I can help you get in contact with the people I know there."

"Please." Sydney looked relieved.

"That's good idea. Whoever wants to recreate this recipe can cause significant harm to those that will try it." He pointed to a specific drawing of a plant. "It has Rye in it."

"What's wrong with Rye? It's just wheat right?" Nigel asked.

"It's what grows within it that's dangerous." He replied. "Rye was commonly known to cause hallucinations back then, but now we know it only does that if they're contaminated with the fungi called Ergot. Combined with opium, this recipe is extremely dangerous."

"And we don't even know what's written in the bottom half." Sydney muttered and turned to his wife. "Can I talk to your friends at the FBI?"

Surprisingly, when the FBI ran the name Derek Lloyd in their database, all manner of warnings and red flags came up. He had been arrested before, claiming to be from a made up government agency called USGI, or government intelligence.

A quick explanation from Zoe, and Secret Agent Matthew Garza immediately dispatched a team to help arrest the fake agent. It seemed like had had a history with the FBI as well, and they were eager to settle a score with the con man.

Zoe called dispatch and sent a unit to accompany the field team, and they both came up with a plan to arrest Derek when he met up again with Sydney in her office at UCLA.

An hour later he was looking at the various artifacts inside Sydney's office as he waited for the fake agent with his wife. Zoe and Sydney were talking about yoga while the FBI agents hid in the next room with recording devices prepared. The pieces on display in the professor's office showed Sydney had been nearly all over the world, as he saw pieces from South America, to Asia and Africa. The antique didgeridoo in the corner also showed Sydney had spent some time in the land down under.

A small statue attracted his attention and he leaned in for a closer look. It was quite detailed and he knew it to be of Norse design, but he couldn't figure out who the statue represented.

"It's Freya." Nigel told him. The smaller man was standing in front of another shelf, polishing a few of the artifacts in the office.

"Goddess of love, fertility, war and magic." He murmured.

"Very good." Nigel replied with a smile.

"She's the most prominent goddess in Norse mythology. Is this a replica?" He asked.

"No, it's the real deal." Sydney answered. "We recovered that from one of our expeditions. The museum foundation gave that to me for helping them out."

"More like saved their asses." Nigel retorted.

"Sounds like an interesting story." Zoe added. It looked like his wife had made quick friends with his fellow professor, as he now overheard them talking about a unique form of yoga.

The door opened and he focused on the man wearing an impeccable suit. He could see how people would fall for this man's claims, as he walked with a confident stride.

"Ms. Fox. Who are these people?" The man asked in a dry tone of voice as he looked around. He pulled out his wallet and flashed his badge, along with an ID. The badge was made of silver, with an embossed eagle holding arrows and the letters USGI at the bottom. "I need some privacy with Ms. Fox. Government business, you understand."

"He's my colleague." Sydney answered and crossed her arms. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Agent Lloyd."

"And why's that?" Derek Lloyd asked with a raised eyebrow.

The door opened once more and FBI agents appeared and quickly surrounded the man.

"Derek Lloyd." Zoe stood up and held up a pair of cuffs. "You're under arrest for impersonating a federal agent."

Derek immediately stepped back, but was quickly subdued by the agents.

"No! You can't do this!" Derek argued and struggled as he was cuffed by Zoe. "I'm a government agent, you're making a terrible mistake! I'm from Government Intelligence!"

"There's no such thing." A female FBI agent replied. "We finally caught you."

"That recipe! It's very important!" Derek argued. He looked around, trying to look for an escape route.

"I bet that your weapon isn't registered as well." He observed when he saw an agent pull out a firearm hidden in Derek's jacket.

"Thank you for the assistance." An FBI agent approached them as Derek was dragged out the door screaming. Campus security accompanied the group and soon Derek' screams faded.

"That was fun." Nigel commented. "It's nice to be the one to spring the trap for once."

He shared a look with Zoe. He wondered what Nigel meant with that statement.

"You don't want to know." Sydney replied as she shook her head.

They spent half an hour more in Sydney's office, as he asked for updates about his students. He was pleased to know his class was doing well as he looked through a few essays they made for Sydney's mid-term exam.

"Here." Sydney took the small statue of Freya and handed it to him along with a small box. "This is for you."

"I can't accept this." He replied. He knew how valuable genuine ancient artifacts were.

"You can." Sydney insisted. "I have more than enough clutter in my office. Consider it as thank you for helping me."

He accepted the statue and handed it to his wife so that she could take a closer look. Zoe smiled and brushed the polished piece as Sydney handed a few pieces of documentation that came along with the artifact.

"Thanks." Zoe stated as she placed the artifact inside the box. "This would look perfect in our home."

"You're welcome." Sydney gave his wife a wink. "Don't forget to practice what we talked about, Zoe."

He wondered what that was about, but he figured Zoe would share it with him if it was important.

Lucy Chen

"You dropped this."

She was waiting for her order of a spicy chicken burger when someone patted her shoulder. The next thing she knew the man was groaning on the floor as she stood over him. She looked around and saw the shocked faces staring at her.

"Why'd you do that for?" The man on the ground complained. "I was handing out the receipt you dropped."

"I'm so sorry." She quickly helped the larger man get back to his feet. "You surprised me."

"That's the last time I'll help someone out." The man grumbled and pulled his elbow away from her and stomped off. The five minutes she waited for her food felt like an hour as she endured the disapproving looks she received from the other customers. She realized she needed someone to talk to and pulled out her phone and made a call.

The call was immediately picked up and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jack, I need help. I just threw a man to the ground for just tapping my shoulder." She rambled.

It was only when she heard the captain's voice that she realized it wasn't Jack that she was talking to.

"Chen, Jack's fixing up his bike."

"Sorry Captain, I'll call later." She replied.

"Hold on. First, are you okay? What happened?"

She took a deep breath and moved to a corner. "I'm fine, Captain. I dropped a receipt and someone tapped my shoulder. I reacted without thinking." She admitted.

"Is he pressing charges?"

"No, I just threw him to the ground." She replied. "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

"Jack has training in Metro, so he's leaving soon. Why don't you come by our house, let's talk."

"Are you sure captain?" She asked.

"I'll even invite Lopez and Harper over. Let's have a nice lunch here. What do you say?"

"Okay. Do you want me to get some food and drinks?" She asked. The captain was really awesome. She couldn't imagine what would happen to Mid-Wilshire without Zoe Andersen. Sergeant Grey would probably have his hair turn white from all the stress, and he's already bald.

She wondered how the captain maintained such healthy looking skin despite her responsibilities. It was like she was completely unaffected by the pressures of the job, or had a way to relieve the stress. Though there were rumors about that as well that she heard from the locker room about how active their captain was… with Jack. She flushed even further when she recalled the photo she saw in Jack's phone.

"I don't know what drinks Harper and Lopez like so you can take care of that, but we have plenty of snacks here. Hope you like leftovers of Jack's cooking, but we can also order some food."

An hour later she was besides the captain's house and spent the time inside her car. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Angela's car arrive and park in front of hers. She grabbed the grocery bag beside her and quickly got out and met Angela and Nyla Harper who got out of the passenger side door.

"Were you waiting for us?" Angela asked.

"Yeah." She replied. "It's the captain. I don't want it to be awkward."

"The captain's cool." Nyla added. "The fact that she asked you to come over means she's worried for you. You don't see that often in other brass."

"Nyla's right." Angela stated. "Cap even called us over to make you feel less awkward around her. Heard you encountered some trouble?"

"About that." She pushed the already open gate wider and closed it once the two other women entered the beautiful property. "I'll tell you about it when we're inside."

"Welcome." The captain appeared wearing a simple but elegant white cotton dress that reached to just above her knees. "Thanks for coming, Angela, Nyla."

"It's no problem at all." Angela replied.

"Glad to be here captain." Nyla added.

"Come in, I have some snacks and drinks prepared." The captain stepped aside to allow them entry.

She looked around and noticed that the home had more furniture now. It was still spacious, but it now had a lived-in feel to it. There was a new couch set and a new dining table with matching chairs. She approved the design choices and started to see the captain's vision for her and Jack's new home. They both wanted a more rustic feel to match their Spanish bungalow's aesthetics.

"I see you made some changes." Angela noted as she looked around.

"We've been looking at garage sales and antique shops. It's hard to find the right furniture but I enjoy the challenge." The captain shared. She gave them a quick tour and she smiled when she saw the couple's shared sound-proofed office. It was now obvious where Jack's desk was.

"Boys and their toys." She heard the captain sigh as she saw the unusual looking sword on Jack's desk beside his piano, along with a few movie posters that were placed on the wall in his corner.

"I like it." She admired the art of the posters, and Galaxy Quest was one of the funniest shows she had ever seen.

"My husband's a total geek beneath all that muscle." Zoe shared with an amused look on her face.

"Where's Jack anyway?" She asked.

"He's washing the grease off his hands at the back yard." Zoe replied.

They arrived at the dining area and there were several plates of food waiting for them, along with a few bottles of champagne and cold bottles of beer.

"Nice!" Angela quickly got a plate and selected the food she liked from the spread on the table.

"Jack won a few bottles from a bet at metro." The captain replied. "Have at it."

"Fuck me." She heard Angela whisper.

"Oh my." Nyla added.

She turned around to see what distracted Angela and her eyes widened when she saw a glimpse of Jack through the sliding door, just wearing black shorts in the backyard with a small towel around his neck, dripping wet. Her eyes followed a droplet of water as it travelled down his muscular chest to his abs and she swallowed as she felt her mouth started to dry.

It was only a moment as Jack vanished from sight, that she knew he used the entrance leading to the main bedroom. She turned around and tried to control her blush as Zoe gave them a look. 

"Thanks for the dessert, Captain." Angela stated with a smile.

"But I don't have dessert prepa…." Zoe look confused, and then saw the teasing grin on Angela's face. "Funny, but my husband's not dessert."

"Looks tasty enough for me." Nyla added with a smirk on her face.

"That's what you get for marrying Eye Candy, captain." Angela teased. "Women couldn't help but take a look when he's like… that."

"Oh I know all about that." Zoe replied, shaking her head with amusement.

Sadly Jack had to leave quickly, and only gave them a quick greeting when he appeared thirty minutes later. He made a sandwich for himself from the spread on the table and then left the house.

She was glad that Zoe didn't press her about the incident earlier. The conversation was pleasant and the atmosphere relaxed. She believed the unique and peaceful vibe of Jack and Zoe's home contributed to that.

The captain once again insisted they address her by her name. She was getting more comfortable by now and enjoyed the chilled alcoholic drink and the chicken salad she had. The alcohol had done its work, and she felt some of her anxiety and nervousness lessened.

"So, what happened earlier?" Zoe asked. They had retreated to the backyard, where they were all dipping their legs in the Jacuzzi pool to cool off. Naturally, they brought their glasses and the remaining bottle of champagne with them.

"I'm having nightmares." She confessed. She swirled the water with her feet and watch the bubbles that surfaced from the bottom. 

"Is that why you put that man on the ground that surprised you?" Zoe asked. "He touched you on the shoulder right?"

"I panicked. I didn't even realize what was happening until he was on the ground." She stared at her glass of champagne.

"That's what they get for touching you without asking for permission." Angela joked. "Did he press charges?"

"No, he's not hurt. I think he was more embarrassed that I was able to put him down that fast." The man had a good 100 pounds on her if she recalled correctly. "That's when I called Jack, and… Zoe answered the phone."

"You had your trust violated." Nyla stated. "I know that too well. It will be hard, but you will be able to bounce back from this."

"I know I will be, but I'm paranoid right now, and I keep thinking what might have happened to me. I don't even consider dating anymore, unless they're willing to be subjected to an extensive background check including sharing their psychiatric profiles."

"Or if it's a fellow cop." Angela teased.

"Not all cops are good." Nyla countered. She saw how the pretty cop's face hardened as she spoke. "I learned that the hard way."

"What happened?" She asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

Nyla sighed and took a good sip of her wine before answering. "It was during my time when I was undercover. Once a month I met up with my handler, and there I could drink, drop my guard and unwind. It was a fellow cop you know? He's supposed to be safe."

"And then I woke up and realized I was in bed with him." Nyla continued. "I keep thinking I was safe, until I wasn't."

"Did you report it to your superiors?" Zoe asked, looking serious.

"I did, but it never went anywhere." Nyla replied. "It's all useless now, he died of a heart attack, and I couldn't do that to his wife and kids. I decided to use it as a lesson instead."

She pondered on Nyla's words. She still couldn't help thinking about the sight of those two women in the morgue and what Caleb did to them. They were treated like animals for slaughter.

"It will get better." Zoe stated. It was as if the captain was able to sense what she was thinking at that moment. "You just have to keep your friends and loved ones close to you."

She was right. She could already feel better with the company around her. She decided to reach out more to her best friend Rachel, and set up a few bonding moments with her fellow rookies in the future.

"Captain, I heard from Jack that you're a good shot with a rifle at 300 yards." Angela stated. "Where do you practice?"

"Why don't I show you?" Zoe suggested with a smile she had never seen before. "It's a bit of a drive, but the range there is excellent, and the range master is an old friend of mine."

She had never handled a rifle before, but she was excited to learn from the captain. It may also be a good outlet for her anxiety.

"I can't wait." Angela grinned, and she could see the eagerness on her face.

Jack Routh

"Go!"

He swung the large piece of metal on the door, and it opened immediately with a crash as it hit the wall.

Street and Victor moved ahead of him, and he tossed the breaching tool aside and swung back his HK-416 rifle and followed Chris. The four of them continued the sweep of the room and they split of into pairs as he followed his assigned partner for the exercise.

"Clear!"

Chris called out and he moved once he heard her shout. He looked into the poorly lit room with flickering lights and checked every corner.

"Clear!" He shouted back and turned his firearm to the corridor to provide cover as Chris once more moved ahead of him. It was a repetitive pattern, but Hondo insisted they keep training and training until it was second nature to him. Evaluations were coming up, and he was looking forward to his first official deployment with Hondo's squad in D platoon.

They finally reached the end of the maze, and saw that Victor and Street were waiting for them. Sergeant Hondo had a stopwatch around his neck, and he pressed it once they entered the final room.

"A minute and twenty." Hondo stated. "Good. Tomorrow we'll run up the hill once more."

"Again, Sarge?" Victor asked with a sigh. The rest of the squad entered the room, all of them having removed their tactical gear.

"You bet." Hondo replied. "Full gear as well. Then next week we will brush up on the Helicopter Rappel Course, and it's for two days. We're going to focus on rappel insertion fundamentals with live training, so for those who haven't run this course, make sure to absorb as much as you can. Hope you like heights Routh."

"Prepare ice packs." Street advised the squad members who haven't experienced the training exercise. "The straps will feel like they're biting into your legs by the end of the day." 

"Morning is easy, since it is classroom based." Victor shared. "It mostly covers rappel safety, inspection of equipment, rope management and techniques, so I suggest you bring notebooks with this one. There's going to be a test before the instructors sign us off to board our assigned aircraft."

"Looking forward to it." He replied. From Reacher's memories, he already knew how to rappel, but not with helicopters. He was looking forward to the training course and smiled in excitement. He knew Zoe would get jealous.

Twenty minutes later and he was back at the locker room after a quick shower. He was in the process of sorting out his equipment when he saw Street approach him.

"Four out of four successful breaches today and you didn't even need to use a second swing." Jim Street stated with a grin. "Good job. Maybe I should start calling you Jack Breacher."

"Funny." He was amused at how close that name was to one of his character traits' real name.

"So what are you up to?" Street asked.

"Some dinner function tonight with the wife." He replied. He was now realizing what being married to a police captain fully entailed. Zoe as a police captain often attended charity dinners and official functions and he usually spent the time relaxing while Zoe was out. Now that he was married to her, the invitations included him and it would reflect badly on Zoe if he didn't show up.

 "That's part of the job you signed up for when you married brass." Street replied. "See you tomorrow, Routh."

"See you tomorrow, Street."

At least that he still had that suit, though it was beginning to feel tight these days. He wondered how he could talk Zoe into not wearing a tie for this event.

Zoe Andersen Routh

She watched her husband out of the corner of her eye as she listened in to the discussion with her fellow captains. Jack was surrounded by the wives of the police brass, and she smiled at how uncomfortable he looked.

"How's married life treating you, Andersen?"

She focused back to the fellow captains around her. "It's been great. Jack's a good husband."

"So that's your type." One of the captains teased and waggled his eyebrows. "No wonder you never paid me any attention."

"And you were still married at that time, Taggart." One of the captains retorted with a laugh.

"But not anymore." Another captain piped in.

"I guess it wasn't meant to be, Andersen." Taggart gave her a wink and she rolled her eyes and sipped her drink. She did not bother to reply.

"Zoe."

She turned around to face one of the few female captains in the department and gave her a smile in greeting. Jessica Cortez was the commanding officer of Metro Division and one of the few captains she could call a friend.

"Excuse me." She stepped away from the circle of brass and gave Jessica a quick hug. The other captain returned the greeting and they quickly moved to a more secluded area in the function room.

"Thanks for getting me out of that." She told her friend.

"Taggart is still hitting on you?" Jessica asked with a grin.

"He finally gave up, thankfully." Captain Taggart always asked her out and didn't seem to be bothered by her constant rejection to his offers to take her for lunch or dinner. Sure, he always claimed that it was just a simple meal and acclamate to her new role as a division captain, but she didn't miss how the older man's eyes drifted to her ass or tits.

"How are you?" Jessica asked. They sat down on an empty table near the back, providing them a good view of the spacious function room. The charity dinner was hosted by the president of the board of police commissioners for the families of cops who died while on duty. She was impressed by the amount they were able to raise tonight, surpassing the goal of 50,000 dollar the organizers set.

"Happy." Jessica was her friend, and she answered differently compared to when she was asked the same question by Taggart. "It took some time adjusting, but it's one of the best decisions I ever made."

"Are you sure it's not because I saw you head to the bathroom, followed shortly by your new husband?" Jessica teased.

She struggled to control her expression as a blush formed on her cheeks. "You saw that?"

"How could I not? Commissioner Plank's speech was making me sleepy." Jessica admitted. "And then you returned looking like you tasted something wonderful."

Out of boredom during the long speeches, Jack started caressing her exposed leg through the slit of her dress and later his hands started massaging her thigh as his fingers slowly moved higher and higher. It took nearly all of her self control not to moan in pleasure as Jack teased her all throughout dinner.

She pulled her husband to one of the bathrooms at the far end of the lobby, and their sex inside the bathroom stall made her orgasm particularly potent. She cleaned her husband's cock with her mouth, and Jessica was right, she tasted something wonderful. There was an added thrill, talking to her fellow officers with her cunt dripping of her husband's cum.

"I just needed to… relieve some stress." She admitted.

"Is that what you call it now?" Jessica asked with a raised eyebrow. "Anyway, I came here to ask for advice. I'm sort of in the situation you were in before you had your husband transferred to my division."

"Who is it?" She asked, lowering her voice.

"Hondo." Jessica answered. "It just happened. I really didn't plan for our relationship to get this far."

"That's how it usually goes." She replied. "This will be a problem if it comes out, Jess. You're his direct superior. Jack was a rookie when we started dating, and he was at the bottom of the ladder. I.A. could hardly accuse me of favoritism when Jack answered directly to his field training officer and then my watch commander before he faced me. How serious is it?"

"I don't know yet." Jessica admitted. "It's been going on for a few months now. That's the thing though. I don't know how we stand right now."

"One of you has to leave Metro if you want to make your relationship work." She advised. "Hiding a relationship is harder than it looks. Police officers are annoyingly observant. We gossip more than bored suburban housewives."

"I know. We were almost found out a few times." Jessica looked frustrated and sighed. "And I don't think Hondo is willing to give up Metro. He breathes and eats SWAT. Did one of you consider leaving their position for the sake of the relationship?"

"Jack didn't care if he had to transfer or leave the force." She replied. "All he wanted was to be with me. He even had a back-up career ready. "

"So your husband was serious enough to give up his career as a police officer for you?" Jessica asked intently. She saw how serious her fellow captain looked.

"I don't think it's entirely fair to compare our situations." She explained. "From what I heard, Hondo spent years as a police officer and worked his way up to Metro as one of its most experienced and decorated sergeants. He basically wrote the book on modern tactics and strategies. He has more to lose by giving up and transferring to another division."

"You're right." Jessica leaned back and folded her arms. "It's just that I keep hearing about you and your husband. It made me impatient with my own relationship. If you made yours work, why couldn't mine do the same?"

She didn't miss how her friend glanced at the ring on her finger and realized Jessica was now looking to settle down and wanted assurance that her partner shared her own desires for a stable, long term relationship.

"Jess, what Jack and I have is far from normal." She explained gently. "What happened to us was risky. We got engaged quickly and got married in mere months while he was still in the FTO program. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I don't regret what happened. I just know I'm incredibly happy where I am right now. We take each day slowly. I'm still adjusting, but it's been fun. It's like you have a best friend, a partner and a lover all in one man and sharing one bed."

"I guess if anyone deserves a happy ending, it would be you." Jessica replied. She saw the wistful look on the older woman's face and noticed how she glanced at her wedding ring once more. "I heard your ex-husband tried to get back at you? Need help?"

"He tried through Jack." She replied. "My husband saw through his attempts. Last I heard he's rotting in some prison by DHS. Apparently his latest wife was a foreign spy. She was also caught by the FBI."

"Good. Those honeypot tactics are surprisingly effective against divorced, single and lonely men." The metro captain nodded in satisfaction. "Is that your Jack over there?"

"It is." She smiled as she watched Jack continued to speak with a group of elderly women. He now had a stack of pamphlets in his hand while the women around him continued to engage him in conversation.

"Shouldn't we help him?" Her friend asked. "It looks like they're trying to invite him to their support group."

"Let him be for a few more minutes." She waved the concern off. It was Jack's punishment for teasing her and using his fingers while she was speaking with the chief on their table. She enjoyed it, but Jack needed to be taught a lesson about boundaries. "How's Jack doing in Metro?"

"Hondo still believes he received training from some secret military outfit." Jessica answered with a smile. "He's doing well and excelling from the reports I received. I heard he's still undefeated in sparring. Hondo's working out like crazy and he's determined to defeat your man the next time they meet."

"Good luck to him, but Jack's a beast in unarmed combat." She replied.

She knew how dominant her husband was in the few sparring sessions they had. What use was technique, when her husband was equally proficient in it but also had the overwhelming advantage in size and strength? He also fought dirty and she was intrigued by the tactics he personally developed.

Jack had even started to give her lessons in their backyard, though more often than not after their training finished they ended up having sex right after.

"You found a good man, Zoe. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Jess." She replied. "Now let's go rescue my husband before he becomes a member of the LAPD wives association."

John Nolan

His son was getting married.

He could clearly remember the day he first laid eyes on his son, bawling with his tiny little arms and feet kicking as the nurses gave him various tests to check for his hearing and other senses. Little Henry had a firm grip and a healthy set of lungs.

"Are you okay, Officer Nolan?"

He looked up to see his T.O. giving him a concerned look.

"I'm fine Ma'am. It's just…" He hesitated, wondering if Nyla Harper would agree to his request.

"Spit it out." Harper ordered.

"I was hoping you could allow my future daughter in law, Abigail to ride along with us today." He stated.

"Fine by me. Just make sure she knows what she's getting in to." Harper shrugged. That was unexpected. 

He was surprised at how easily his T.O. agreed with his request. He narrowed his eyes, wondering why she was so nice today.

He was once again stunned thirty minutes later when Sergeant Grey told him he would be assigned to Bradford for the week, with Lucy taking his place. His friend looked excited, and he knew it was because of her admiration for Harper's experience as a former undercover officer.

Bradford looked annoyed when he found out that he was being saddled up with a ride along, and he quickly explained the situation to the veteran T.O. His son did not want Abigail to pursue a career in law enforcement and asked him to expose her to the harsher and darker side of police work.

Tim Bradford looked amused at his suggestion and just agreed with a hint of a smile on his face. He knew right then that today's shift would be challenging.

"No problem." Bradford stated with a confident smirk. "Scaring rookie cops off the job is my specialty."

He struggled to hide his glee as Tim dialed up his intimidation factor to 11.

"Hi! I'm Abigail!" His son's fiancé greeted them as soon as they left the briefing room.

"My name is Officer Bradford." The senior T.O. loomed over the young woman. He was already at work, and he noticed his T.O. was using his height to intimidate the smaller girl. "You will only address me as Officer Bradford. Do you understand?"

Abigail did not seem bothered by the chilling introduction and even gave a mock salute. "Yes sir!"

"Did you sign the liability waiver?"

"Yes." Abigail replied eagerly. "I mean Officer Bradford."

"Good." Tim crossed his arms and eyed her from head to toe. "That means you might get maimed, paralyzed, burned or killed during this ride along."

"I mean, yeah sure!" Abigail looked even more excited. She was practically vibrating from where she was standing.

He exchanged concerned looks with Bradford and started their patrol. Kids these days, he knew they've been exposed to too much violent video games.

It was just their first call on their first shift, and Tim didn't hold back. A dead body, splattered on the ground. It looked like pile of meat and everything was so pink.

"I'm not even sure what I'm looking at." Abigail observed, her head tilted to the side, as if she was trying to make out a jig saw puzzle.

"That's the brain." One of the veteran scene investigators commented. "Impact velocity turns people into pinatas. Five stories and the asphalt, and his limbs akimbo."

"That's his left leg, that's his spine." The investigator continued, pointing out various body parts. Abigail was wearing a smile on her face. "Those pink bits are parts of the brain."

 Abigail was peering closer, her eyes wide with excitement and curiosity. She wasn't bothered or repulsed with what she was seeing up close. Weird. "Okay, I see it now."

The body was identified as Heston Dayton, 22. Tim saw the body was not scaring Abigail and decided to take on the role officers usually dreaded -informing the next of kin about their loved ones' death.

"That was cool." Abigail commented as they moved away from the yellow tape around the crime scene.

"That was a human body." He gave Abigail a sharp look. "We're about to inform his family about his death."

He gave a satisfied nod as Abigail's smile vanished from her face and headed into the shop. Good, she needed to learn some empathy. Their ride-along remained silent for the rest of the ride to the trailer park.

"I'm sorry..." Abigail started as they arrived outside the trailer where the victim's family lived. He noticed the look of someone in deep thought from the mirror. "…about my behavior at the crime scene. I wasn't thinking about the family."

"What we're about to do here is awful." He replied. "This isn't a joke where you can gawk at dead bodies and say it's cool. If you can't understand that, then this isn't the job for you."

"Death notifications are always a hard part of the job. What we're about to tell his mother and sister has the potential to destroy lives." Bradford decided to step in and share his two cents. "You never know how the family will react, so be on guard, and just observe. There's no shame waiting in the shop if you're not up for it."

"No, I'll be fine." The girl replied, her expression full of determination. She took a deep breath and gave him a determined nod. He shared a look with Bradford once more and they headed to the trailer.

Abigail meekly followed the two as they stepped inside the small porch while Tim knocked on the screen door.

"Police."

The door opened a minute later and a middle aged woman came out. She looked tired and resigned, her shoulder sagging. He could see a discarded fast food uniform hanging on the back of a chair. It looked like the mother just came home from work. "What did he do this time?"

"Ma'am, I'm Officer Bradford and this is Officer Nolan." Bradford started in a respectful tone. "Can we come in?"

"No." The woman crossed her arms and gave them a hard stare.

He decided to step in. "Ma'am, I think it's best if we came in…"

"Will you just tell me what Heston did?" The woman interrupted him.

"We regret to inform you that your son was killed this morning." Tim replied.

He saw the moment the woman realized what Tim said. Her eyes widened and she moved back a couple of steps.

"What?"

"What's going on?"

He turned to see a younger woman, around Abigail's age arrive behind them.

"Mom?" He guessed the new arrival was the victim's sister, and she shared a resemblance with the middle-aged woman despite their different hair color.

"You brother's dead." The mother replied in a whisper as she started crying.

"No." The sister replied immediately. Her face turned to a look of horror as her eyes widened in shock.

"What happened?" The mother asked as tears continued to fall down her cheeks.

"He fell from a building in downtown." Tim replied. "It's possible that he jumped."

"No, he would never do that. Never." The mother declared in a confident, angry tone and moved back inside the trailer. The two of them followed her inside the to give further details.

He kept an eye on Abigail through the window as Tim continued to ask the mother questions. Heston's mother had opened a bottle and was now drinking it straight. It was clear she was trying to numb the pain she was feeling by getting drunk.

It was the usual sad story, with the young man hanging around with other idiots as the mother proclaimed, and getting up to all sorts of petty crime.

A beaten up brown Pontiac arrived near the trailer, speakers loud with music and he quickly headed outside as the sister started confronting the driver. The situation quickly escalated as Abigail supported the sister as the driver started attacking the two younger women. He was impressed as his future daughter in law managed to kick the driver between the legs, knocking him to the ground.

"Heston can't be dead." The driver replied as he cuffed him, his arms behind his back. Tim managed to control the sister, keeping her from attacking. "I just talked to him this morning."

"Control, this is 7-adam-15, can you run a name for me? Everest Jones, born 02/01/96?" He asked through the radio.

"Wait, he's not really dead, is he?" The now identified Everest Jones asked as he leaned back on the hood.

"Yes he is." He replied. "If you know anything about it, you need to tell us everything right now."

"Dude, I don't know anything." Everett shook his head in denial.

"Liar!" The sister lunged for Everest, only for Tim to grab her by the waist to keep her back.

"Do you have a specific accusation?" Tim asked the sister.

"No, but ever since Heston started hanging out with this loser, he's been getting into all sorts of trouble." The sister seethed, still staring at Everest.

Control replied through his radio a moment later.

"7-adam-15, first name Everest, last name Jones. Priors for criminal threats and brandishing a firearm."

"You're under arrest for assault and battery." He told Everest.

"They attacked me." Everest protested.

Processing Everest went quickly, and he found Abigail with a few bag of chips in front of her in the break room as she continued to jam chip after chip inside her mouth. The girl was stress eating after what she saw, and looked to be thinking deeply.

"It's good for you to see now what this job's all about. Not everyone is suited for this and now you can move on and continue to look for what best suits you for your future." He tried to comfort the girl.

"Are you kidding? After seeing what happened today, I'm more determined to be a cop. Your job helps people." Abigail replied, and he could see sheer determination in her eyes. "Maybe if there was a cop when I needed help back then… things would have been different."

He did not know how to respond. 

"Thanks for making today happen." Abigail stood up and grabbed the empty foil packs on the table. "And for believing in me."

He sank back down on the chair as Abigail left. He tried to intimidate her by showing the bad side of the job, but the girl showed nerves of steel on what could be the worst ride-along ever. He didn't know what he would tell his son later.

At the bullpen he spotted Jack studying. The captain was nearby, talking to Sergeant Wade and he noticed almost everyone was wearing civilian clothes as their shifts ended.

"Heard you had a ride-along today." Jack greeted him. He looked at the opened book and noticed it was all about bomb disposal procedures. "Your son Henry's fiancé right?"

"That's right, Abigail." He replied. "She wanted to enroll at the academy."

"If she needs a recommendation, I'll be happy to give her one." Tim Bradford appeared behind him. "I can see the potential in her, she showed solid instincts today."

"That's very nice of you." He was surprised at Tim's support. "You should know, she got some trouble with her past."

"What kind of trouble?" Tim asked.

"Her ex-boyfriend posted some revenge porn on the internet when she was 17, so she torched her car." He explained.

Tim Bradford shook his head. "That's a shame. She'll never become a cop. The law sees it as a matter of domestic violence."

"Is there no other way?" He asked, feeling sorry for Abigail and her now crushed dreams.

"There are other paths that she can go through." The captain suddenly appeared beside Jack's desk. He didn't even realize Captain Andersen was listening to their conversation.

"If Tim Bradford says she has potential, I don't mind taking a closer look at her previous case." The captain added. "Perhaps we can do something about it with the current laws being proposed for academy applicants."

"That's great!" He smiled at the captain's words. Then his smile fell when he realized he had a new set of problems, namely his son Henry and his refusal for Abigail to become a cop.

The next morning, he shared to Abigail and Henry the captain's explanation regarding her previous record. The way Abigail's face changed to happiness from the news was the exact opposite of his son Henry. He spoke to Henry the moment Abigail decided to take a shower.

"You need to tell her what you really feel." He advised. "It's unfair to her."

"Couldn't you just say she has no chance because of her past record?" Henry asked, staring at his coffee mug. He could see how upset his son was. "That would have been for the best."

 "Henry, I'm disappointed you feel that way. You say you love her, yet you root against her. That's controlling your fiance." He replied. "Applying at the academy, that's her choice to make. Now, if you can't handle that, then I think it's best to let her go."

"Dad… that's not fair"

"I lived with my mother who was very manipulative and greedy." He replied in a sharp tone. "I didn't raise my son to be the same just because he can't handle the idea of his fiancé being in danger. Where's the trust in your relationship if you're going to get married? You're better than this Henry."

"Abigail deserves your empathy, and your honesty." He gave his son a pat in the shoulder and made his way back to his room to prepare for the day.

His words must have got to Henry, since he was surprised to learn from a text message from his son a few hours later that he decided to accompany Abigail to talk to Heston's sister from the previous case yesterday. It was not advisable to do that, but he really didn't have any power to forbid Abigail from going. He was more worried about the criminal activity in that trailer park and what he learned from Tim Bradford.

The report from the medical examiner came in that morning and he learned that Heston wasn't a jumper, he was killed before he fell from that building by strangulation. He also had chemical burns in his arms, and that usually meant he was cooking meth.

He had also looked up Everest Jones, and his burglary charge in his record was for stealing drain cleaner, and that contained sulfuric acid. It was an essential chemical needed to for cooking illegal drugs.

They were on their way to talk to Everest who had been released late last night when they saw a motorcycle gang heading inside the entrance to the Sunland trailer park. They counted the Harleys coming in and counted ten and a pick-up truck.

"That can't be good." He whispered.

"Those are the Dead Bastards gang." Bradford stated. "We saw two of them leaving the trailer park yesterday."

"Do you think they're here for Everest?" His heart was pounding. His son could be in danger.

"It's likely that they were the ones that killed Heston, for working in their territory. My guess is they're here to finish the job with Everest." Bradford replied. "We need backup. This could get messy real fast."

"My son and Abigail are in there." He showed Tim the text message from Henry. "Abigail wanted to talk again to the sister."

"We need more support." Tim immediately called for backup with the shop radio, describing the location and number of potential combatants. He was surprised when the dispatch informed them that reinforcements would arrive soon since they were close to the area after a separate operation.

"We can only hope no one gets killed before the cavalry arrives." Bradford decided. "Let's give them more intel and provide eyes on the gang and what's happening in there. Let's climb over the wall since that truck's blocking the entrance."

They both strapped in more equipment to their duty belts and Tim informed the captain on what they were planning. Grey had told them they would form a command post in a nearby parking lot, and they were calling in additional units at the marked staging ground.

 "Over there." Tim pointed to what looked like a rusted and abandoned trailer nearby peeking over the trailer park wall. He boosted Tim up to the roof and then the veteran officer helped him climb up. A moment later they both lay down flat, having a good vantage point on the Dayton family trailer.

The gang parked their bikes in a nearby lawn, and their men spread out to form a rough perimeter on Everest Jones' trailer. Unfortunately, the trailer was right beside the Dayton's, where he knew Abigail and Henry were.

"Dispatch, 7-adam-15." Tim spoke to his radio. "We're positioned on top of a nearby trailer. The gang has set up a rough perimeter around the trailer. I'm counting five gunmen. Five others are at the end of the street, maintaining another blockade."

"Thank you for the intel. 20-David engaging in two minutes."

He was surprised by the deep voice that replied over the radio. "20-David, that's D-platoon."

"That's Hondo." Tim replied. "Look, I can see his squad moving in."

He spotted figures moving along the trailers, moving in pairs. He forced himself not to move as he saw a gang member making his way to the trailer where Henry was. Another two gang members forced their way inside Everest's trailer and a minute later he could see the young man he arrested yesterday get tossed out and into the lawn.

"We need to get there… my son." He watched as the two gang members force their way inside the Dayton trailer. He heard shouts inside and his hand made its way to his weapon that was secured in his holster.

"Nolan." Tim Bradford patted his shoulder. "They're nearly in position."

He watched with baited breath as Henry, Abigail, Heston's sister and mother were forced out of the trailer and were made to kneel beside Everest. They were surrounded by the five gang members who had their guns pointed to the five kneeling figures.

He watched as the Hondo's squad move closer like shadows, and it felt like hours as he waited for them to make a move.

It looked like one of the gang members with a longer beard than the others next to him was kicking Everest, asking him questions. Everest was crying, while he saw his son and Abigail hugging each other as each gang member pointed their weapons on all of their heads. The apparent gang leader was about to start shooting from the way he raised his arm when he heard the sound of simultaneous gunshots.

CRACK!

Immediately all five gang members fell down to the ground. He heard more gunshots at the end of the street where it looked like other units were engaging the other group. He watched as the swat members appeared from their hidden positions between trailers and dragged the hostages out of harm's way while others secured the gunmen and tended to their wounds.

It was over in a matter of seconds and he realized he was holding his breath for so long. Henry was safe. He hadn't seen such precision and marksmanship before.

"20-David, code 4."

"Wow."

"That's swat." Tim added.

They quickly made their way off the roof of the rusted trailer and he made his way to his son. He was relieved to see Henry appearing relatively unharmed, and he saw that despite the bloody lip his son had, he was eagerly talking to a tall swat officer.

Abigail looked excited as well and he finally realized the reason for their reactions. Jack Routh was standing there with his full tactical gear and weapons. He was amazed to see his fellow rookie was already able to participate in such a high stakes operation.

More units and emergency vehicles arrived and he finally reached his son.

"Dad!" Henry rushed towards him and he quickly gave his son a tight hug. "Did you see? Jack and the other swat saved me! I didn't realize he's in swat!"

"Your dad and officer Bradford saved you." Jack replied through the balaclava he was wearing. "Their intel was very crucial to the success of this operation, and we only had minutes to make a plan."

"It saved a lot of time." The legendary Hondo added as he joined the group with Tim by his side. "And you were lucky we were nearby since we just finished another operation."

The captain and the sergeant soon appeared with other EMS and the suspects were quickly given first aid and moved to waiting ambulances for transport to the hospital.

"I want to be swat." Abigail declared, staring at one of the female swat officers standing beside Jack.

"Metro huh?" Tim Bradford gave Abigail a nod. "If you graduate the academy and pass the field training program, then Metro will be a good fit for you. You have a lot of fight in you."

"She certainly is that." Henry added and pulled the now smiling Abigail closer to him.

Howard Wolowitz

"What do you think?" He asked the group, the smile on his face wider than usual, and no it wasn't from seeing Penny in a thin shirt without a bra. Pokies, hehe.

"Maybe engineers do have some value." Sheldon admitted reluctantly.

They all stared at his creation, an exhausting effort six months in the making. He worked on it during his free time and weekends at his mom's garage, using exotic materials and scraps discarded from his other projects from his government projects.

New 3d printing filaments with hard impact rating, with ceramic powder embedded within it. Another flexible type of 3d spool filament that was also used to dampen machinery in the Navy subs, they were supposed to be more durable compared to natural rubber.

The longest part aside from printing the actual parts was the 3d modeling involved. He even added additional ceramic matrices, silicon carbide discs with kevlar padding to the parts, scraps from the project with the x-37 (thank you US airforce) that would otherwise have been thrown to the garbage. After all, why would he create an armor costume if it's not capable of stopping bullets?

It was a masterpiece in composite fabrication.

That was an impressive feat in itself, but that wasn't even half of the work he did to his masterpiece. He watched as Raj, Leonard and Sheldon walk around his creation, inspecting the many, many details of his work.

"Why are there some holes in the interior of the armor?" Sheldon asked, holding up the chest piece with two hands.

"Ventilation." He replied. He took the heaviest piece from Sheldon and turned it around and removed an aluminum grill at the back. Thank you embedded super strong magnets!

"It looks like you designed intake fans and a slot for air filters and have it run all throughout the armor and helmet through a series of tubes." Leonard observed. "How do you power it?"

"That's the best part." He showed the power banks embedded in another compartment he designed. "This could provide enough power to run the fans for six hours."

He then held up the MA5C assault rifle, a familiar weapon to who were familiar to the genre and showed it to Leonard. "This rifle is filled with additional power banks, with super strong magnets embedded inside."

"You mean?" Leonard's eyes widened in realization.

"Yeah." He grinned. The hard work was worth it to see the reactions of his friends. "That can be magnetically attached to the back, and provide wireless charging to the power banks in the armor and additional 8 hours of operation."

"Why do you need so much power for? Mini fans don't require that much voltage." Sheldon asked.

"I'm glad you asked Sheldon." He carefully took the helmet from Raj who was watching his reflection on the golden visor and held it up for the rest of his friends to see. Unlike the original in the games, the golden visor had faint hexagonal lines on its surface, to add strength to its fabrication process.

This was the hardest part of his project. He used the thick polycarbonate glass with a golden tint, courtesy from a rejected prototype from NASA for their mars mission program as the visor was deemed too heavy for their parameters. One of the materials engineers commented that it had been over engineered and it did not need to be bullet resistant. They were fools, and he watched the Martian. Mark Watney would not suffer a crack in his helmet if he used their special visor.

"There's a communications system embedded inside. Microphones, speakers, the works. It has several modes." He showed off the interior of the helmet. "It can be easily paired with a Bluetooth device, and at the same time cool whoever wears this work of art."

"About that." Leonard stared at all the pieces out of the two large carrying cases. "Who would wear this for Wondercon?"

Knock! Knock!

They all turned to the door and he smiled and headed to the entrance to open it. In his mind, no one could just wear the Mjolnir mark IV armor. It has to be someone with the height, muscular physique and presence to do his creation justice.

 "This would be the one who would wear my masterpiece." He replied as he opened the door, revealing a confused looking Jack Routh.

"Welcome, Jack - 186." He said to their new arrival.

Jack Routh

He sometimes played video games with the four scientists in the days he was free or wandered near their area. Mostly FPS games since he was familiar with them the most. One day Howard had asked him if he could scan his body with a Kinect, and didn't mind, since it only took a minute. He had forgotten about that and continued with his routine of work and relaxation, either with his wife or wandering the streets of Los Angeles when he received a call from Howard, asking him to meet up at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment.

He thought they would play a new game but he was not prepared for what he saw.

It was amazing.

He immediately agreed to try out the costume and after five minutes he was now wearing the most detailed Mjolnir armor he had ever seen in real life.

He looked around and saw that everything now had a golden tint to his vision. He lowered his gaze and saw the look of awe on the faces of the four friends in front of him.

"Press… press the green button on your wrist." Howard whispered. He heard Howard through the speakers inside the helmet.

He did so and immediately he felt cool air blow around his head and torso. This was actually quite comfortable.

"This is amazing." He told them, his voice coming out in an electronic voice. He didn't realize it had speakers embedded in the helmet.

"How do you feel?" Howard asked.

He moved around, he was now two inches taller thanks to the armored boots Howard made. It was convenient that he didn't have to remove his own footwear, and merely inserted his feet and then locked into place by magnets and buckles.

"Dude, you look like a real Spartan!" Raj gushed.

He laughed and gamely posed for pictures for the next thirty minutes.

Then they decided to have fun.

 Scaring his student Penny when she arrived from work was funny as he pretended to be a statue at first and then moved when Penny was examining his costume closer. The scream she made was sure to have disturbed the neighbors in the lower floors.

Collecting the four boxes of pizza from the delivery guy at the ground floor was amusing. The teen could barely speak once he saw him with the exact amount with tip to collect the food.

"So, do you want it?" Howard asked as they were eating the slices of pizza. Even now the people around him were giving him occasional glances. He understood though, it was not often that they would see a Spartan in full armor sans helmet eating a slice of pizza.

"Of course I want it." He replied. This would be perfect to be displayed in his shared office with Zoe.

"I'll sell it to you, on one condition." Howard stated. "Join us wearing the Mjolnir armor for Wondercon in Anaheim this weekend, and participate in the cosplay competition."

"Deal." He replied, armed glove shaking hands with Howard's smaller one. He was sure though that this wouldn't be cheap.

Zoe Andersen

"10,000 dollars?"

She understood that her husband has some eccentric hobbies, but to spend 10 grand on a costume was ridiculous. Some ancient Viking costume at that.

She sighed, and wondered how a bunch of leather and animal fur could cost that much. She stared at Jack, imagining him wearing those horned helmets with rivets at the cap and shook her head.

"Yeah, Howard said it costs that much to fabricate along with labor and materials." Jack replied.

She took a deep breath again and considered the situation. Jack rarely spent money on luxury and branded clothes. He didn't have expensive vices like gambling or expensive watches. He was fine wearing clothes bought from second hand stores and bodegas until she put her foot down. Even then, aside from his tailored suit, most of his clothes mostly came from old navy. Plain, simple and unassuming, that was her husband's fashion preference.

In reality he didn't need fancy clothes, watches and shoes to look good. She eyed her husband leaning against the wall looking at her and she ran a critical eye on his frame. He filled out the gray shirt nicely, along with his Jeans and boots. His short leather jacket completed the outfit. Yeah, he didn't need those fancy brands to make him appealing.

"Fine, I won't make a fuss about it." She remarked. "Anaheim this weekend?"

"Yup."

"I'm coming too." She replied. "Do I have to wear a costume?"

Jack looked surprised at her decision and shook his head. "You don't have to, but you could if you want. The guys will wear their costumes as well and I think Penny will come with them."

"Where is this mjolnir outfit then?" She asked. She was intrigued to see Jack transform into a barbaric, Viking warrior.

"It takes some time to put it on, so the guys will help me with it at their apartment, and then wear it in the drive to Anaheim." Jack replied.

She let the matter drop and organized her schedule, and hoped there would be no emergency meetings from the top brass this weekend.

In the end, that Saturday, she decided to wear what Jack ordered for her in preparation for the next San Diego Comic Convention. The blue green Starfleet uniform was snug, and the skirt reached a few inches past her knees. Thankfully the material wasn't thick and allowed her skin to breathe, but bra straps would obviously ruin the look so she settled for nipple pasties to hide their form from poking the thin material. Ankle height gray boots completed her look along with the silver and gold badge that she pinned just above her left breast.

She was waiting in the car, making a list of songs she would play for the 45 minute drive to Anaheim depending on traffic conditions when movement from the side attracted her attention. She recognized Sheldon, wearing what looked like a star trek uniform that she remembered watching one episode with her husband with a light yellow skin tone. He was followed by Leonard in a similar costume with a different color and some skin prosthetic on his head to make it look like he's bald.

She almost didn't recognize Raj, as he wore extensive make up and a weird looking prosthetic attached to his forehead and a wide silver band around his chest.

Howard came out looking he had a fight with electrical cables and lost. She wondered what he was supposed to be. She laughed when saw Penny wearing a costume almost similar to hers, but with blue and she was wearing a white coat. Then an armored figure appeared following after her.

She blinked and made sure she was not hallucinating. A tall armored figure, in olive green and a golden visor approached her, carrying what appeared to be a massive rifle in his hands. It looked like some sort of advanced armor prototype that the boys from DARPA could have made. Then the massive, intimidating figure waved at her and she realized it was Jack.

Where was the Viking outfit?

 "Eyes on the road, love."

She scowled and turned back to look at the road once more. She could tell Jack was amused by her reaction, and she didn't even realize she had opened her mouth in surprise. She couldn't help it, that costume that Jack was currently wearing was impressive. It was very detailed, and even to her trained eyes, it looked like it could really stop bullets.

Its creator, Howard, was enjoying the experience. She could see from her rear view mirror that the engineer had not stopped smiling as he applied his make-up.

"So this is Mjolnir?" She asked.

"Mjolnir Mark IV power armor." Jack replied. It was weird to hear his voice with an electronic effect so she asked him to remove while they were driving. She could hear the faint sound of motors whirring though, and it added authenticity to the futuristic armor.

"What did you expect?" Jack asked.

"I thought you would wear some elaborate Viking barbarian outfit." She admitted. That set off the two boys, not men in her car laughing.

"Don't you feel hot in that thing?" She asked.

"It has its own ventilation system." Jack replied. "Why do you think it was expensive?"

"And when you need to piss?" She couldn't help but ask as she glanced at his crotch armor.

"It can easily slide off too." Howard added.

An hour later they had arrived and found a good parking spot near the convention. She was amazed to see that Jack's scientist friends had more make-up brands than she had, with them carrying professional grade carrying cases that professional make-up artists used.

"Yeah, sad isn't it?" She turned to see Penny stand beside her as they both watched the four scientists touching up on their elaborate make-ups. "I don't even have those brands."

"Me too." She replied with a wry smile.

A few minutes later the group finished their preparations and headed to the building housing the convention.

She could already see that even far from the entrance they were attracting attention from the people loitering around. She looked up to see her husband walking beside her, he was a bit taller now thanks to the armored boots he wore. His intricate golden visor glinted in the sun as he confidently marched at the back of the group.

Once they reached the entrance, Jack was mobbed by the wondercon attendees.

"Holy Fuck! That's a Spartan! From Halo!"

"Is that master chief?"

"No, it says Jack-186 on the breastplate."

"Dude it looks so real."

"He's... kinda scary."

Jack Routh

It looked like his group, even his wife, got tired of waiting and headed inside the convention center to get away from the heat. Only Howard remained, soaking in the praise for his creation. He was fine though since the ventilation system was in full blast as he endured people taking photos beside him.

"Enough." He reached behind him and with a strong tug pulled his MA 5C assault rifle from his back and settled it in both hands. He turned to Howard and he pushed through the crowd that surrounded him, ignoring more requests for pictures.

"Did you see that!?"

"It was magnetized just like in the game!"

"This can't be just cosplay? It looks to real."

Even the event staff looked bewildered as they received their tickets. Howard, in his infinite wisdom designed pull out pockets in the thigh armor of his costume.

He looked around and instantly found his group. Zoe and Penny had found a nice spot beside a small juice pop up bar in the concession area and made his way towards them.

He spotted a few fellow 'spartans' but he could tell theirs were made from foam, and didn't quite reach his height. Arc Clone troopers pointed at him, but he merely glanced at their direction and continued walking.

"It looks like wherever you go, you'll pull a crowd around you." Zoe stated as he stood beside her chair. "Penny and I would stay here, why don't you explore the area?"

"His helmet has Bluetooth connectivity." Howard replied. "We could all remain in contact. We'll call you when the contest is about to start."

"Deal." Penny agreed.

"You having fun?" He asked his wife.

"I am." Zoe gave him a small smile. "But I know you're enjoying this more. Go have fun, Jack. I'll call you and join you in a bit."

He toured around the large convention hall and posed for countless people. Thankfully the visor limited the harsh flash he received from cameras. Numerous people tried to ask him for details, but he remained silent in that regard and moved on.

He was amused thought at the startled expression of people's faces when they realized he was standing beside them. Even a Darth Vader gave a visible double take when they nearly collided in a corner.

"Master Chief!"

He turned to the voice and saw a military guy running from a military booth displaying a humvee towards him. He wore desert fatigues and looked like he came from the army.

"Mind if we take a picture by the hummer?" The man, a sergeant based from his uniform asked.

"Of course, Sergeant." He replied.

That caused another crowd to form around him, and he spent at least ten minutes taking pictures until he heard a notification sound inside his helmet. Someone was trying to call him. He had paired his phone to the armor and pressed the button Howard showed him to answer the call.

"I'm at the booth across from the humvee." He heard Zoe's voice and looked past the crowd and saw her with her phone held in her ear with a few large plastic bags hanging from her elbow.

"On my way." He raised his and moved through the crowd once more and finally reached his wife.

"Howard said the participants for the contest should head back stage." Zoe shared. He held hands with his wife as they made their way to the stage. He glanced down at her and motioned to the bags.

"What did you buy?" He asked.

"Oh you'll see… if you're a good boy." His wife had that look on her face that he knew meant there would be fun activities later tonight.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"It means that I heard from Jessica that you finally passed the pilot program." Zoe replied and held up her purchases. "This… this is your reward."

Zoe must have been checking her emails while she was waiting for him. He had worked his ass off reviewing and studying for the written exam portion for Metro operations. He had just finished all of his qualifications for the accelerated training program initiated by the department.

He led Zoe to an area with less foot traffic and hid himself behind a pillar. "What does that mean?"

"It means you have proved that this new program is viable." Zoe replied. "We're looking for new candidates now for the first class, while you husband, will be reassigned back to Mid-Wilshire, fulfilling the role as the immediate first response in tactical scenarios."

"I'll tell you more on the way back. You have a contest to win." Zoe added. He lifted his helmet and he saw her surprised expression when she noticed his cool and not sweaty face beneath. He gave her a quick but passionate kiss and then put back his helmet, reattached the ventilation tubes from the chest piece and headed to the back of the stage.

The staff immediately converged on him the moment he appeared and they quickly dragged him to the stairs leading to the stage.

"We thought you wouldn't participate." The woman with the headset sighed in relief. She had an ID around her neck, with her face and the name Blair underneath it. "I've been looking for you for the past ten minutes."

"I'm here." He replied. He watched as a few participants lined up, ready to show their costumes. "What do I need to do?"

"Just walk up, do poses for a minute and head back here again." The woman named Blair replied. "Easy, right?"

"Easy. Do you have water or something?" He suddenly felt thirsty and realized how much he had walked today without taking in any proper hydration.

"Here." Blair handed him a bottle of water and he took off his helmet for a moment and started to drink.

"Thanks." He replied and gave the blonde a quick smile and put back his helmet and reinserted the air tube attachment.

Music started playing and he recognized it. He identified it as Born for this by the Score, and it sounded like they were immediately playing the chorus. Blair the staff member gave a signal and he walked up the stairs to the stage. The spotlight immediately shined on him as he moved to the center and he heard a wave of cheers from the crowd.

In one smooth motion he grabbed his assault rifle prop from the back and smoothly held it in his hands. He moved as if he was in one of Hondo's room clearing exercises with his weapon held in front of him. He turned left and right, imagining that he was shooting imaginary targets and then posed at the center of the stage for a few seconds and then turned around and headed back to the stairs.

"A round of applause for Spartan Fire team leader Jack R186!"

He shook his head in amusement as Howard and the rest of the group surrounded him once more.

"That was awesome!" Howard looked like he was having the time of his life.

It looked like he was the last to participate in the contest and soon the winners were announced. As expected, he won the prize for best costume, as well as the additional award for the crowd favorite, combining it to a total of a thousand dollars in total. Naturally he gave it all to Howard.

"You're treating us to lunch." Sheldon stated.

The drive back to their home went smoother as they went against the flow of traffic. They begged off from joining the group since Penny wanted to have dinner in Anaheim and decided to leave after lunch. It was just him and Zoe in the car, and they continued their earlier conversation about the program he joined.

"Officially you're both part of Metro and Mid-Wilshire." Zoe elaborated. "You report to Metro for qualifications or when they need all hands on deck in an emergency, but you get called by our patrol officers when they need more tactical support."

"Like heavy firearms, booby traps, bomb threats and serial killers…" He added.

"Exactly. In the future, at least three more officers will join you after they finish the training you went through, and then you'll essentially be part of our own mini swat response group."

He wondered who could join him, and smiled as he realized that two of the three T.Os of Mid-Wilshire would be perfect for the role. Too bad Angela was not interested, he was sure she wanted to become a detective. Other than her, Tim Bradford was the ideal candidate. He didn't know much about Nyla Harper's capabilities aside from extensive UC work in the past.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Tim will apply for the program." Zoe added. It looked like she knew what he was thinking.

Zoe Andersen Routh

Sunday was relaxing. No emergency calls from the brass or the station, and Pam had even dropped by.

They were sharing a pitcher of Sangria with some cheese and grapes when she heard the door open. She and Pam paused for a moment to observe her sweaty husband return from his morning jog.

"I got a good workout." Jack reported. 

"I see." She released the breath she was holding and shared an amused look with Pam. Her husband looked adorable with his sweaty look. "Pam's here to invite us to the reception of her wedding."

"Congratulations." Jack greeted her best friend. "When is it?"

"A week from now." Pam replied. "It's a western themed reception, and we were discussing what the guests should wear. My new husband and I followed your example and had a shot gun wedding as well."

"And I was planning our own reception too." She added. "We haven't had a proper one yet, and we have to plan for two, one for close friends and the other for the politicians."

"Yeah, I forgot you and Zoe are big shots now in the city." Pam teased.

"They're just using us for P.R." She sighed. "We really don't have any influence."

"And the moment we express our own opinions, we get shut down." Jack added. "I'm going to take a quick shower. Are the two of you fine here?"

"We're fine." She waved Jack off. She knew how eager Jack was to take a shower after every workout. It was one of his quirks, he took two showers everyday.

"Yes honey."

They both watched as Jack headed inside the house, and she did not miss how Jack ran to their room while he removed his sweaty shirt and expertly threw it at a laundry basket.

"They really never grow up, don't they?" Pam observed with a grin.

"Not really. He's a big kid at heart." She replied. "Still, as long as he's committed to his morning runs, I don't have any problem with it."

"It's a good hobby." Pam nodded in agreement.

"He has many hobbies." She replied. "Incidentally, ever since we moved here and Jack started his morning runs, I noticed more and more… housewives are doing their gardening earlier as well."

"No!" Pam giggled.

"They think they're not obvious about it, and that's pretty funny." Zoe continued as she smiled in amusment. "I saw one housewife watering a bush for a whole minute, not even moving."

"I think she drowned that poor plant."She continued amidst Pam's laughter.

"I think there was another bush that got wet as well." Pam added. They continued with their jokes and then moved on as her best friend inquired if Jack has other hobbies.

"Aside from his musical talent, he's a major nerd." She shared.

"No!"

"He has collections of weapons and sci-fi costumes. He's very playful."

"Do other officers in your division have quirky hobbies like Jack's? Pam asked.

"Most of my officers develop strange hobbies as a result of the high stress environment we experience." She shared as they refilled their wine glasses. "One of my training officers is very strict, tough and uncompromising. Once he finishes his shift, he becomes a complete sports fan lunatic."

"What about the others?"

"One gets her jollies by purposely making her partner annoyed. I've heard she particularly likes the make-up sex after their arguments." She replied. She'd seen the hickies on Wesley's neck and it looked like he was sucked by a vampire. "We all have to learn how to cope with what we see and experience every day. These hobbies are one of the ways we keep grounded."

"And what about you?" Pam asked. "How do you relieve the stress from work?"

"Aside from mind blowing sex?" She ignored Pam's laugh and turned back to observe the front of her new house and a smile formed on her lips. "I like decorating. Slowly turning this place into my dream home is one of my hobbies."

And maybe in the future if she and Jack were lucky, she could see a little kid running through the courtyard, playing with her and Jack.

Forty-five minutes later the two of them looked up when they saw a large hulking armored figure standing before them, interrupting their Sunday morning sangria chat.

"What are you doing Jack?" She had to ask.

"I'm showing my armor to Hondo." Jack replied with a grin as he held his helmet under his right arm. "Heard from Street that he's a big Halo fan. He's having a barbecue in his backyard to celebrate my passing of the pilot program."

"Have fun, honey." She replied, ignoring Pam's giggles.

Wade Grey

He frowned, trying to make sense of what he was hearing over the radios.

"Say that again?" He asked.

"We received several calls regarding a strange robot riding a motorcycle around the city." The other officer repeated slowly and carefully.

"A big green robot, with a golden face." He looked at the other written reports. "Some say it's a cyborg. Or an alien invasion."

"That's right sergeant." The officer replied. "We also received reports of a… Master Chief riding around in a motorcycle. Could these cases be related?"

"Master Chief?"

"That's what the witness said when he called." The officer added.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. He'd seen a lot of lunatics in his two decades of service to the city. "Did this… robot break any laws? Run any red lights?"

"No. Though this person could be violating the California helmet law if it's wearing an unfamiliar helmet for head protection."

"Whatever, I don't have time for that minor infraction. I don't want to waste units following up on that." He pulled the reports to the side and instead focused on another report. This one was more concerning, regarding top secret military gear that stolen, and the witness had more credibility since he was a retired major in the army. Reports of a prototype armor being stolen by a foreign spy needed his attention.

"Get Harper and Nolan to follow up on the witness." He ordered.

John Nolan

He hated Sunday shifts, but once every month it was unavoidable. Nyla seemed to share his sentiment since his T.O. was quiet the entire time they were on the shop to get to the witness' house.

"You think it real? Advanced military armor?" He asked Harper.

"It's possible." Harper shrugged. "Who knows what they develop in Area 51 and what they store at the Edwards air force base."

"On the other hand, the witness is pretty old, and what he saw must have been just a misunderstanding." Harper continued.

"We'll just get a statement, this will be quick." He replied. He turned around to see Harper groaning in disbelief and giving him an unimpressed look.

"What?"

"You just jinxed it." Harper declared.

"Don't be silly, I didn't peg you to believe in superstition." He shook his head and snorted.

"Oh you'll find out soon, boot." Harper declared in an ominous tone.

He did find out soon enough. What was supposed to be a quick five to ten minute interview lasted nearly an hour. The retired army major was paranoid, and prone to rambling and so many war stories. Finally the man showed them a quick photo of the supposed stolen armor, and he was surprised at how advanced the thing looked.

The picture was a bit blurry, and the armored figure with a golden visor reflected the morning sun. Unfortunately they were unable to see the lower half of the figure, though it seemed to be riding some sort of motorcycle.

Even Harper seemed to partially believe the retired major's statements, as she started to use her network to get into contact with someone higher up in the military. Even then it was dead end and Harper decided to call on the captain to ask for help.

He was confused when Harper started laughing a minute later and ordered him to drop the investigation and refused to elaborate. He only got his answer and found his son playing his new game with Abigail.

He realized he'd been chasing a cosplayer all day.