Episode 29 Celebration (part 3/3) (Patreon)

Taylor Swift

“I didn’t know you already had coffee?” Her best friend asked. “Smells good though.”

She turned her head and rubbed her eyes as she yawned. Selena’s knocking woke her up from a nice dream. “What smell?”

“Coffee.” Selena looked around her large cabin in confusion.

Her brain started working as she stretched and dived back to the bed after opening the door. “That’s not coffee, that’s a gift Jack gave me when he was on the island with Liz for that survival show.”

Selena’s eyes brightened, and she watched as her friend hurried to her bed, where she placed the bamboo tube that was turned into a container for the coffee beans.

“Can I have this?” Selena asked and opened the end cap of the container. Immediately, the faint smell of roasted coffee grew stronger.

“Does it have the name Selena carved on its side?” She asked.

This gift was precious, since he only gave her, Lucy, someone called John, Angela, and of course his wife, the coffee beans with their custom containers. He made a total of five bamboo tubes. Jessica and the others were handed their own gifts courtesy of Liz, but they didn’t have their names carved out on the side, unlike Jack’s set.

“This could sell for a good price on the internet.” She knew Selena was teasing her right now, and she tossed a pillow at her friend. “Why did you wake up so late anyway? It’s already past lunch!”

“I got drunk.” She really didn’t drink that much except at the end. She couldn’t exactly tell her best friend what she did as soon as she locked her room. Thanks to Zoe’s… display with Jack late last night, she was a little sore between her legs, as well as a bit dehydrated.

She was thankful that she placed Jack's gift out in the open, the aroma of coffee masked a more personal scent due to her activities with her special friend now resting in her bag, with its batteries empty.

“Well, your guests are waiting for you before they leave for their hotel.” Selena informed her.

Right. “Please tell them to wait for me.”

 She hurried to the bathroom to freshen up, but she wondered how she could now look at her friend straight in the eye without the image of him, naked, appearing in her mind. This was a problem.

“Focus.” She told her reflection in the mirror.

The farewell was not as awkward as she predicted. Jack and Zoe acted like normal, and it was Reese who was more obvious. That calmed her nerves significantly, and she was even able to hug Jack without freezing up as they said their goodbyes before boarding the smaller boat.

A late lunch with her team allowed her to focus on her current priorities. They were already reviewing the footage from the yacht concert, and she intended to have it released as a special DVD.

Her current music video Blank Space was still stuck in the editing stage, as she and her team struggled to pick the best scenes from the multiple angles they took. The climax of the video was on the yacht as she pushed her partner in the video overboard, and then sailing away with her walking right up to the bow of the ship and singing while staring at a new horizon. The symbolism was on point in her opinion.

“We should be able to release it as soon as we get back to L.A.” One of her staff reported.

“What about Jack’s latest song, Iris?” She asked.

“It’s already filed and copyrighted.” Technically, Jack was working under her own label. With a good portion of the profit going to her friend with this concert, she was sure he would be surprised when he checked his bank account in a month.

With the meeting done, she turned to look for prospective partners. Male models were off her list now after working with the last one. She realized she needed someone grounded like Jack beside her. An athlete, perhaps? She did enjoy watching football with her father and brother during the holidays, maybe someone there can catch her eye. In the meantime, there was nothing wrong in her mind about using her music husband for some relief.

That was the gag going on in their group, and Zoe found it funny. She first started it, calling Jack her music husband due to their numerous collaborations. Liz followed by calling him her reality TV husband. Zoe, not to be outdone, placed a cherry on top of the gag by calling Jack her sex husband with a straight face, and that caused a round of laughter that nearly broke her ribs.

Zoe Andersen Routh

Heading back to the airport was a logistical nightmare. In the end, she and Grey announced to their division that it was their responsibility to be on time at the gate when it was time for boarding.

There were more complications when they reached the airport. Their flight was overbooked, and there were four passengers who needed to give up their seats. The airline agent informed her that they needed two seats from the Mid-Wilshire group.

She checked her watch and mentally calculated their schedule. They would be arriving at L.A. at just past 6 pm, Sunday night, if their flight departed without any delay.

“What’s the plan, Captain?” Grey asked her.

“The majority has to report for duty on Monday, correct?” She asked.

“That’s right.”

She looked around at some of her officers, struggling to watch over their kids and family members. She needed to decide soon, since she noticed that the attendant at the gate was about to announce the boarding procedure.

“Let’s prioritize those that have shifts on Monday, as well as those that have kids and family with them.” She explained. “Jack, you report on Tuesday, right?”

“We both have a rest day on Monday.” Her husband reminded her. She gave him a long look, and she saw in his eyes that he understood what she was thinking and gave her a subtle nod.

“They can take our seats.” She told Grey. “Jack and I will stay here and wait for the next available flight.”

“You sure, Captain?” Grey asked.

“I’m sure. Besides..” She nodded in the direction of two older people who were shuffling slowly with their canes. “…it looks like they need it more than we do. We’ll be fine here.”

The female ticketing agent looked relieved at their willingness to cooperate when they informed her of their decision.

“I know it’s a hassle, but we’ll try to accommodate you as quickly as possible. Your luggage should be here momentarily.” The uniformed woman told them as she led them to an exclusive lounge. “Again, thank you for showing kindness to those seniors.”

“It’s the right thing to do.” Her husband replied. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to be on that overcrowded flight if I had a choice.”

She had to agree on that. The plane they were supposed to fly on, a Boeing 777, looked cramp. She could see that a large group of passengers were waiting by the gate, ready to board, and plenty of them had kids, toddlers, and babies with them. And this time, she was seated in the economy class, with a 3-4-3 configuration. 

“Well, it looks like we have an extended vacation.” Jack observed.

“Good luck getting a decent room if we have to find a hotel tonight.” She replied. She knew that was nearly impossible, judging from the surge of tourists she saw all over O’ahu and the sheer volume of arriving passengers at the domestic terminal.

“We should have said yes to Taylor’s invitation.” Jack teased her.

Yes, it was her fault. She was determined to be with her division and declined the offer of a free flight on the pop star’s private jet, a decision she was beginning to regret. She can only imagine the level of comfort her friends, Jessica and Liz, were experiencing right now, travelling on a luxury flight. She just had to give up their seats to Pam and James. Damn.

Jack was drinking his coffee that was free from the lounge when she saw him tense as two women entered the quiet area. She watched with confusion as her normally stoic husband had a very surprised expression on his face. His eyes were wide, and his mouth partially open.

“Jack?” She tried to catch his attention and followed his line of sight. He was looking at the older woman beside the teen girl. They looked to be related but she couldn’t figure out who they were.

“That’s… Andromeda.” Her husband whispered.

“Who?” She looked at the two women again. They didn’t look familiar at all. Was she an actress too? "That's Andromeda?"

“She’s an actress, from a sci-fi show. Lexa Doig.”

Oh. That’s right. Jack was a major nerd deep inside. Instead of feeling jealous, she found the situation amusing with how her husband was behaving. Her husband could talk to famous celebrities like Taylor Swift, Jessica Chastain or Mary Elizabeth Winstead without showing any ounce of nervousness, yet he was now reduced to this... fan boy upon seeing an actress she didn't even know.

“Is she… in any other movies?” She asked as she bit her cheek, trying to hide her smile.

Her husband seemed to have caught on to her line of thought and quickly composed himself.

“Aside from Sci-fi shows?” He asked.

“Yes, aside from that.” She replied.

It was cute. It turns out that Jack was a big fan of the actress, as he casually mentioned various films and movies that she had never seen or heard of. What was a Stargate? Wait, there was a movie about it that she saw before.

“Excuse me… are you… Sugar?”

They both looked up to see that the object of their conversation was standing near their table with the teen girl beside her, holding a small notebook and a pen.

“I’m Jack. Jack Routh.” Her husband quickly stood up to greet the new arrivals, and she smothered a grin as she saw the slight flush on his cheeks.

“Oh my god! You are! You're him! Sugar!” The teenager gasped. “Can… can I have your autograph? And a selfie? Please? I'm Mia!”

“I’m sorry for bothering you, but my daughter’s a big fan of his work.” The woman, now identified as Lexa Doig by her husband, addressed her.

“It’s no problem at all.” She replied with a pleasant smile and indicated the two empty chairs in front of them. “Please have a seat, we’re the only people in the lounge anyway.”

As Jack signed and posed for a selfie with the girl, she was not surprised when the teen insisted on taking a few more photos. It looked like the girl quickly became more confident upon seeing how accommodating her husband was.

“No! This has better lighting! Wait, we need filters!”

“I’m Lexa, and that’s my daughter Mia.” The sci-fi actress introduced herself.

“I’m Zoe.” She replied. “I already know your name. Apparently, my husband is a big fan of yours.”

“He is?” Lexa looked surprised.

“You are?” Mia spoke to Jack with a disbelieving look. "You watch my mom's old shows?"

“I do.” Jack sighed and scratched the back of his head. “I watched Andromeda all the time.”

“So do you want my autograph?” Lexa asked with a teasing grin on her face. She could see why Jack was a fan of the actress. She was quite beautiful in her own right.

It turned out that the mother and daughter duo generously gave their seats to the group of seniors who needed to catch the flight.

“We’re staying in L.A. for a few days, then back home to Vancouver.” Lexa revealed. “I watched that survival reality show, you know. Mia introduced it to me, and I got hooked. Liz is also a friend.”

“You are?” The world was really small, she mused. “How did you two meet?”

“I’m part of the superhero TV show called Arrow.” The actress explained. “I play a villain, and we met in the studio where she was set to play a heroine… but yeah, that thing with the British press exploded and her love life was exposed to the world.”

“Let me guess, the studio pushed her out?” She asked.

“They did, due to fears of a public backlash that would affect the show's ratings. It's a pity, we already rehearsed action scenes, she had her costume made, everything but the actual shooting.” Lexa replied. “I’m glad she’s doing better now, I’m sure she got tons of exposure from that survival show.”

“She did tell me offers are trickling in once more.” She was happy for Liz, her friend needed a break. It looked like her goal for the public to see her true self worked out in the end by participating in that show.

She was prepared for a long wait, but she was delighted to learn from an airline agent that a plane was about to leave for L.A. due to an emergency, and they had seats available. They just needed to reach the gate in twenty minutes.

The four of them rushed through the airport, with Jack carrying their luggage and then they finally reached the gate with minutes to spare.

“You can have any seats you want.” The woman behind the desk replied with a smile. It was the same airline agent they spoke to when they agreed to give up their seats.

“Any seat?” She asked.

“It’s an emergency flight to get to L.A. as quickly as possible, and I realized the four of you have nowhere to go with all the good hotels fully booked. I called the captain and he agreed to accommodate the four of you.”

This was a new experience for her, boarding an airliner with just the four of them. The flight attendants stowed their luggage in a compartment near the front of the cockpit and she realized the flight staff even outnumbered them.

She stared at the row of empty seats and shared a dazed look with Jack. She had to be dreaming.

“Please choose your seats.” A flight attendant stated while she wore a grin. it looked like they found the situation amusing as well.

She sat a few rows from the front with Jack while Lexa and her daughter Mia sat at the opposite side of the aisle.

The crew gathered near their area at the business class, as the plane was slowly towed to the taxiway.

“Are you paying attention?” One of the stewardess asked Mia while she wore a grin as another gave a safety briefing, pulling out samples of the seatbelts and then followed by the yellow floatation vests.

“Do they really have to do that?” She heard Mia ask. The air crew clapped, embarassing one of their own once the briefing ended.

“It’s required by regulations, sweetie.” Another stewardess replied.

The flight was so quiet. The other stewardess, all eight of them sat in the business class section too. Jack was able to sleep, but not before indulging in a few selfies with the crew after Mia revealed his identity.

She snuggled beside her husband as she too tried to rest for the five hour flight back to their home. She woke up an hour later, and the stewardess told her she could walk up and down the aisle if she wanted to stretch her legs. She realized her husband has reached a new level of fame after participating on that TV show.

Even one of the pilots came out the cockpit as he took his break, and it was there she learned why the plane took off with a nearly empty flight.

“We need to be at L.A. for a scheduled flight.” The captain of the aircraft explained. “And we couldn’t wait for the regular boarding process since literally every minute is crucial. It will be more expensive for the airline if we have to accommodate those passengers in L.A. with refunds rather than the cost of the fuel for this flight.”

“Does this happen often?” She asked.

“More than you think.” The captain replied. “The air crew loves it since we all still get paid.”

“It’s far better than a first class seat, that’s for sure.” One of the stewardess remarked. “Do you need anything to eat or drink?”

This kind of personal service was amazing. The crew literally fought each other for the right to bring their drinks and meals and she wondered if they were just bored. Jack had seconds and third helpings, and it looked like he agreed with the burger steak and mashed potatoes.

“It’s surprisingly tasty.” Her husband commented.

Overall it was the best flight she ever had. Even Jack said that he preferred this flight than the one he had on Taylor’s private jet since he was able to take walks up and down the aisle whenever he felt restless.

They left the plane with new friends, and an uber ride later she was pushing the front door of their house open after she unlocked it.

They were finally home.

Howard Wolowitz

There were rare opportunities to throw a party at his house. Today was one of them since his mother was at Florida to spend time with her friends. Still, he enjoyed the quiet despite not having breakfast prepared for him in the morning.

His office in Caltech was closed since they were upgrading the fire control systems for the laboratories. That meant the rest of his group also had free time, and free time meant a party.

 He didn’t waste time and the moment he returned home from the airport he messaged his friends at their group chat, prepared games and food and even pulled out the ping pong table from the garage and set it up for those who wanted a more physical activity.

His best friends Raj and Leonard came on time, and he was in such a good mood that he didn’t mind Sheldon’s complaints about the lack of variety in the food. To his delight, Penny came with them, wearing one of her sexy tops that showed off her curves. He wanted to make a move on her but Leonard was already hovering around her. Still, the party was perfect.

 They had just finished playing a round of Halo where they narrowly won, when another guest arrived, one he really did not expect to show up despite being included in his group chat.

“You all started without me?”

Jack Routh, Sugar came in, with a smile on his face and with a plastic bag filled with various drinks in each hand. Beside him was his hot wife, the intimidating yet beautiful Police Captain who carried a paper bag filled with what looked like chips.

“Jack! Captain Zoe!” He grinned and waved a greeting.

"Just Zoe, Howard." The woman replied and then held up the paper bag in her hands. "Where do I put this?"

His party was going down as one of the best in history if the Jack Routh and his wife was present.

“Professor!” That was Penny, and she sounded delighted. She didn’t waste any more time and greeted the large man with a quick hug and then exchanged warm greetings with Jack’s wife.

“Thank God you came! I was dying of boredom!” Penny told the older woman.

“Mr. Routh.” Sheldon gave the large man a brief greeting.

“Dr. Cooper.” Jack replied with a nod.

“Sorry I was late.” The famous cop replied. “Had to perform some maintenance with Zoe’s car.”

“No worries!” He replied cheerfully. He'd be sure to show the others in Caltech that he threw a party and Sugar was present. He needed to make sure there tons of group photos for later as evidence. Some in the faculty didn't believe he was friends with the man.

They played a few rounds of Halo, and then Penny, bored from just watching played a relaxed game of ping pong with Zoe. When their order of pizza arrived, he suddenly had an idea for a game, and they haven’t played it in such a long time.

“What’s secret agent laser obstacle pizza?” Jack asked, watching as he and Leonard set up the rig that contained the lasers.

“Oh you’ll see.” He replied. "Raj, where are the spray cans?"

"Right here!" Raj came out of the garage holding a cardboard box.

"Perfect!"

He had quickly finished the obstacle course in record time, and there waiting at the finish line was the boxes of hot pizza and cold drinks.

“Done!” He dusted off his hands as he stood up. “First, you need to get through the lasers without triggering the alarm and then you get a slice of pizza.”

“That sounds dumb.” Penny commented but he easily ignored it. The two women finished their game in the backyard and came back to their area at the front of the house, curious about the equipment he had set up. That meant Raj became mute once more. He shook his head, his friend really need to have that unnatural shyness fixed.

“How do we see the lasers?” Jack asked. His large friend ran a hand in front of the emitters, causing the red led lights to flash up and a loud error sound to emit from the speaker.

“This is what these cans are for.” He replied and held up a box. “These are atmosphere aerosol haze spray. They’re totally safe, and photographers use them for shoots.”

"They're also used in special effects in movies and TV shows." Sheldon added.

“Raj, if you care to demonstrate?” He asked his best friend.

Raj nodded and quickly took a can and went to the starting line. His friend gave him a nod, and as one he and Leonard started mimicking the theme of the old TV spy show that they used to watch.

Jack looked intrigued as he watched Raj maneuver expertly through the maze of laser traps, using the can whenever he wasn’t sure if he would hit a laser beam or not with his limbs. The women were clutching each other, laughing but he shrugged and continued singing. This was fun! That was part of the game they invented.

Raj pumped his fist, unable to talk in the presence of Jack’s wife and Penny as he cleared the obstacle course. He rushed to the table and took out a slice and opened a can of beer.

“Yes!” Raj finally verbalized what he was feeling after consuming alcohol.

Leonard failed, and declared the game was stupid, but Sheldon managed to get through, although he took his time navigating the laser beams. It was Jack’s turn, and the large man was surprisingly limber for his size.

“Check it out Chris! That looks fun!”

It was then that they were interrupted by a group of three men and one woman, each one of them looking like they could break him in half without any effort.

“Hondo?” Jack asked. He was in the middle of maze of lasers, unable to greet the new arrivals properly.

“You know them?” He asked.

“They’re part of D-platoon, SWAT officers.” Jack explained. He sprayed the last sections with the aerosol can and finally broke through after he leaped through and landed on a roll on the grass instead of crawling under like Raj did.

“That was more difficult than I expected!” Jack told him.

"But more fun, right?" He replied and then turned to their new guests.

Jack quickly introduced the new arrivals, and explained they were here for the Mjolnir armor he created for him. They wanted a set of their own and got his address from their mutual friend.

“It’s for paintball.” Hondo, the apparent leader of the group explained. “It doesn’t have to be as high tech as Jack’s, but enough to provide comfort and decent protection. I heard the Fire Department had ordered a set of star wars clone armor for the upcoming tournament, and I don’t want D-platoon to be left behind. So what's your price?”

"And can you produce the set in a month?" Another asked.

"Let me think about it." He replied.

He could make the set, but he was running out of materials. He would need to order new printers and filaments if he needed to make their deadline of one month. He needed funds, and their down payment wouldn’t cover his new order. He had already used up a significant portion of his savings to pay for his mother’s Florida vacation.

They took a break from the game and Jack ordered more pizza while one of the men left to get more drinks. His party grew larger now with eleven people. This was one for the history books!

“Howard? You’re good with computers right?” Zoe asked as the SWAT officers tried the laser obstacle course with eagerness.

“I’m okay.” He replied. He was still thinking of the lack of equipment to properly produce a set of 3D printed Mjolnir armor. This was a good chance to start up his dream, but he didn't have any capital, and it was not like a couple of millions of dollars would suddenly appear and fall on his lap.

“This USB I got from the comic book store doesn’t seem to work.” Zoe pulled out a familiar looking batman themed USB stick from her bag. “The techs at the station told me it was encrypted.”

“How did you find it?” His eyes grew large. Was that... No way! They thought it was lost forever!

“That’s our USB! Leonard! Raj! Sheldon!” He called out, attracting the attention of his friends. “Zoe found it! Our treasure!”

He was sure their guests were looking at them in a weird way as they hugged and jumped and cried together. This was it, the answer to his dilemma.

“We found it! We found it!” Leonard literally sobbed. Penny looked concerned and patted the sobbing man on the shoulder.  

He quickly explained the situation to a confused Zoe, and Jack’s wife graciously gave them the USB stick when she heard of the full story.

“It’s really worth a lot now?” Jack asked. They were all huddled on his laptop as he typed the password to the encryption.

“Millions.” He breathed out. “When we first mined bit coin, it was less than a penny and we did it for the novelty. Now, each bitcoin costs 10,657 dollars each.”

“And how much bitcoin did you mine?” This time it was Penny that asked.

“Enough that we roughly have eleven million dollars, split into four.” He replied. He remembered they had stopped mining when the novelty died, but they had their PCs mining bitcoin for weeks at his house. His mother complained of their increased electricity bill during that period.

“10,998,240 dollars.” Sheldon added. “And 72 cents.”

“Damn.” One of the officers whispered. “That’s a thing now?”

They had a quick discussion in his room, where it was quickly agreed, even Sheldon that Zoe should have a finder’s fee. She handed the USB to them without any hesitation, and besides that, her husband was now one his good friends.

 “Honesty should be rewarded.” Sheldon agreed. “I think 250,000 dollars should be an appropriate reward.”

He shrugged at the amount, not really caring by this point. He was just happy to finally have the financial freedom to resume his personal projects.

Zoe hesitated to accept the reward, but finally agreed after Jack whispered in her ear. The party continued until early evening, and the four of them were still in high spirits, practically drunk with euphoria.

As he hoped, this was the best house party ever. Now it was time to cash in those bitcoins.

Ruben Derian

He wanted to celebrate.

“Damn.” He tilted his head to get a better look and let out a whistle. He picked up another glossy full page picture, this time with their target sucking dick while taking another cock insider her. Her arms were bound behind her back, and there was a blind fold covering her eyes. Her nipples were visibly erect, stained with either her saliva, sweat or semen.

“I know right?” Serj remarked.

His little brother looked amused as he inspected another picture. Several photos were scattered around his desk, each one showing the pretty captain of Mid-Wilshire in very compromising positions.

He was tempted, very tempted, not just to blackmail the woman to look the other way but to take her as his own personal slut. The image in his mind, coupled with the pictures made him horny.

“Where did you get this?” He asked.

“You told me to dig dirt, and I did.” Serj smirked. He gave a steely look at his younger cousin. He wasn’t in the mood for games and displays of ego.

“Fine.” Serj averted his gaze. “We tracked her ex husband, but he was in prison for charges of international espionage, so we tracked his assets. I found out that he rented a storage locker, paid in advance for three years. We found pictures of our target and that of several women in similar situations.”

“So Gerard has kink.” He observed.

“Probably a cuck.” Serj replied. “You know, one of those that gets off seeing their partners fucked by other men.”

He snorted and placed the pictures back to the folder. He held his hand out and Serj reluctantly handed back the photo of Zoe Anderesen, fully naked and without a blind fold this time, kneeling on the bed while she being surrounded by naked men from all sides.

He would alter the plan. He needed this woman, but then he remembered she was married.

“Get to work on the husband.” He instructed Serj. “Contact Nick. See if you can find anything.”

The week as Armstrong had promised was very fruitful. All their deliveries went uninterrupted, and they were able to take out the weeds, local competitors without any real backing. Now it was time to lay low, since the regular patrol schedules will be back and all their informants will have to behave themselves.

As Serj left his office, he locked it and pulled out the pictures once more for a more personal viewing. He licked his lips and sniffed the photo, as if he was smelling the woman in person.

It was a pity that they were unable to secure a rival gang’s stash. With that amount he was sure he would be able to buy more of the cops in his new area, perhaps even the captain. Everyone had a price after all.

Sadly, his plans fell through, he didn’t expect LAPD SWAT to respond that quickly. No matter, those were not his men anyway, and they didn’t even know who they truly worked for. He made sure their hands were clean, the rival gang whose crypto currency stash belonged to was out looking for blood. Last that he heard, they had started a few gang wars in their territory south of the border, searching in futile for those responsible.

He focused back on the task at hand. First, he needed to send a message.

The husband, Jack Routh was the first on that list.

Matthew Garza

 It was rare for him to attend the HRT briefing at Quantico, but considering his knowledge about the LAPD SWAT and other individuals in LAPD, he was not surprised when he received the call and orders to head to Virginia.

It was a closed room, and only specially selected individuals were invited and he was one of the resource persons aside from the special operations officers.

The focus of the meeting? It was the successful operation conducted by members of D-platoon on a mass casualty scenario and considered by many as one of the most difficult scenarios, an airplane hostage situation.

He was impressed at how quickly the director obtained footage of the bodycams of the responding LAPD officers. They really prepared for the meeting, as the tech department prepared a 3D illustration of the airplane.

The leader of the HRT started the meeting, and proceeded to show how the initial six man squad arrived from the rear of the plane.

He knew what all of this was for in truth. The Hostage Rescue Team or HRT was late to the party, and it was supposed to be their jobs to tackle these types of scenarios. They responded too late, and they were shown up by the locals who accomplished the mission in under 6 minutes, all threats neutralized and zero civilian casualties.

He chuckled when the HRT team leader proposed a similar training with the exact same scenarios. Those idiots.

“Special Agent Garza.”

Ah, it was his turn now at the podium. He was expected to share his insight about the officers involved. What their mindset was, and how they operated and trained based from his observation.

He came in with his own presentation, and with a nod to the tech, the screen behind him changed, showing pictures of the six officers. He highlighted three individuals, and a green highlight appeared on the frame of their photos.

He explained the power structure, the autonomy given to Hondo by the Metro captain to make his own decisions and the training they received.

He continued with the individuals, starting with Jim Street, followed by a lengthy profile study on Daniel “Hondo” Harrison, the real brains behind D-platoon and finally Jack Routh.

“These three individuals are in my assessment the most talented in the D-Squad. Two of them have military training, and Street is a former SEAL. Jack Routh had just joined the group after graduating ahead of schedule in his rookie year in the FTO program.”

“He’s not military?” The leader of the HRT inquired.

“He isn’t, yet he consistently performed at the highest level and managed to become part of the main squad of D-platoon during major operations.” He explained. “As a patrol officer, he managed to capture a serial killer, and assisted my field team in capturing another thanks to his near encyclopedic knowledge of ancient and modern history. Then there’s that mess he stumbled upon in Hawaii.”

He showed pictures of the current investigation by the Hawaii 5-0 task force.

“Damn.” One of the HRT members muttered.

“He defended his wife and turned the tables on a blood thirsty gang known for kidnapping women, raping and torturing them and then hunting them for sport.” He added.

“That’s what he did to them, in self defense.” He added.

“Fuck yeah.” One of the men muttered.

“They fucking deserved that.” Another operator added.

“He should be in the HRT.” The team leader declared. “He’s what? 24? 25?”

“He’s not even enrolled at the FBI academy, commander.” He explained. “Obviously we tried to recruit him, but he’s in the middle of a new training program with their Metro department. Right now he’s officially logged in as a consultant, so we can tap him if we encounter hard difficult cases in the west coast.”

The director remained silent all throughout the meeting, his hands tucked under his chin. Seeing he wasn’t about to speak, he continued speaking.

“Commander, while Officer Routh displays impressive tactical awareness and skill, I believe he is best suited on the ground, hunting criminals. The man has an analytical mind, perfect for a field agent position.” That was his belief.

“Then we wait, and apply pressure at the right time.” The director finally spoke. “I don’t see why we can’t invite officer Routh and some of his squad for some joint field training with HRT.”

“Our toys are better.” The commander of gold squadron added, causing everyone in the room to laugh in amusement.

“Proposal for the airplane hostage situation is approved.” The director declared. “We can’t have the LAPD showing us up.”

“Agent Garza.” The director turned to him. “What is the likelihood of Officer Routh turning down a spot in the academy?”

“High.” He answered without hesitation. “He already works in Metro, while also teaching history at a community college. Going back to training at the academy will only make him feel like he’s stepping back to coloring crayons in preschool… and with the experience he has? I have to agree with him.”

“Metro did adjust for him to go to D-platoon right away.” The director observed. “I don’t see why we can’t do the same, for a man of his caliber.”

He didn’t know it yet, but Jessica Russo was doing the exact same thing with her superiors in Washington D.C.