Episode 42 The Last Patrol (part 3/3) (Patreon)

Zoe Andersen Routh

“I admit I’m curious about this special duck.” One of her best friends, Pam, admitted as she followed behind her through the gate of their house.

“Is it like that Peking Duck we had before in Chinatown?” Reese asked.

“I don’t know.” She replied. “I just overheard Jack sounding really excited when he talked about it in a phone call with someone.”

Her best friends had arranged their schedules so that they could accompany her during her errands. It was a sweet gesture, and she treated the two to some sweet desserts after her grocery shopping. Their presence helped, especially now that her more famous friends were busy with their own projects at the moment, though they kept in touch through the group chat, sending short video clips and pictures, showing off food they were having or the locations they were in. Liz looked cold in a picture somewhere in a majestic green valley in Iceland, while Taylor shared videos of her and her cats. It turned out that the pop star had become smitten with a kitten used while shooting a music video and decided to adopt him as soon as she could.

She was getting tired of the constant kitten pictures, but Jack reminded her when she confided in him one night as they were about to sleep that they would be like that soon when their baby was born. That kept her mouth shut. There was no way she wouldn’t flood the group chat with pictures and videos of her little one.

She opened the door with a turn of the key and a quick six-digit pin code. Jack liked redundancies, and she shared in his vigilance in protecting their home. Some may call it paranoia, but she wanted their home to be as safe as possible for their family.

“I don’t smell any food.” Pam looked around. The house was silent, empty, and that meant Jack was still picking up their lunch.

She was getting hungry and decided to pull out some of the remaining snacks she had last night.

“Are you two okay with frozen pizza?” She asked.

“I’m good,” Reese replied from the couch. “I’m more intrigued with this special duck Jack is picking up.”

The gates started to open, announcing the arrival of her husband. She quickly prepared placemats, plates, and utensils for the feast, helped along by Pam and Reese, who wanted to be useful and started pulling out glasses for their drinks from the cupboard.

They were ready when Jack stepped through, carrying a large plastic bag with Japanese Kanji and the word Bandai in one hand. She looked closer and slowly realized Jack did not have anything edible with him. Did he get something else?

“Where’s the duck?” She asked.

“What duck?” Jack looked puzzled.

“I overheard you on the phone this morning.” She explained. “You said you were picking up some special tall goose.”

“Tallgeese.” Her husband was trying not to laugh as he pulled a large box from inside the plastic bag. The vivid graphics showed some sort of white robot toy model called Tallgeese. What the hell was that?

“Does that mean there’s no food?” Pam asked, looking disappointed.

“Who calls a robot a goose anyway?” She complained as she ate heated pizza five minutes later while they waited for a food delivery.  

“Hey, it’s a great name.” Jack was still trying to contain his amusement at her mistake. She didn’t find it funny at all and gave him a sharp look. If she heard him start saying one of his usual quotes about assumptions, she’d throw the pizza box at his stupid smiling face.

Reese had saved their lunch by ordering some Spanish paella from a family friend who also works as a chef. They all unanimously agreed that what Reese listed sounded delicious, even Jack.

“Where did you get that from anyway?” She asked her husband, who had wasted no time and was inspecting the various plastic parts packaged in small clear plastic bags while he leafed through a glossy manual. Were those stickers?

“Howard got it for me,” Jack revealed. “He was grateful for my help with the robot arm incident, so he decided to get me a special gift. He called in a favor from a friend who works in Tokyo and had this special limited edition model shipped via airfreight.”

She shared disbelieving looks with Pam and Reese. It seemed like all men never grew past their childlike phase. They all constantly bought tools that they would perhaps use in one project and then never use again.

She took a deep breath to calm down. She was still hungry, and the pizza didn’t really satisfy her cravings.

“Don’t.” She could see the way Jack was eyeing the coffee table as he sat on the floor with his legs crossed, his large frame hunched over the plastic parts. He had somehow produced some fancy clippers and opened the first clear plastic bag, eager to start assembling his latest toy.

“We’re about to eat lunch.” She glanced up at the ornate clock on the wall. “It should be here soon.”

“Fine,” Jack replied and started placing the plastic parts back into the box. Her husband stood up, stretched, and then headed to their office, presumably to store his tall duck robot toy on his desk.

The paella smelled amazing when it arrived, and the taste didn’t disappoint. Whatever that Basque style that Reese ordered exceeded her expectations. Those stuffed peppers with ricotta and feta were perfect with the green salsa, and she made sure she got the contact information of Reese’s friend who made the dishes. She watched her friends with a twinge of envy as they finished their meals with wine while she settled for an avocado milkshake.

Jack looked satisfied with the quantity and had practically finished the seafood paella by himself.

“Where are you going?” She asked as Jack made his way to the backyard.

“I’m going to take some measurements.” Her husband explained.

“Oh, right.” She remembered their conversation about the access door he wanted to install before he was busy with his schedule at UCLA. “Just be careful.”

“Are you planning any renovations?” Pam asked, looking around their modestly decorated home.

“We just acquired the neighboring property.” She revealed. “Jack wanted to install a gate that connects both backyards.”

“Why did you buy it?” Pam leaned forward in interest.

“And how much did you pay for it?” Reese added.

“We both wanted a proper office for the charity foundation that’s easily accessible.” She replied and turned to Reese to answer the other question. “I think the asking price was around 4.5 million.”

Reese let out a whistle.

“I’ve been thinking of moving.” Her friend admitted. “Somewhere closer to both of you.”

“You don’t like the house?” Pam asked.

“You know how messy my divorce was,” Reese admitted. “Living in that house, well, let’s just say I don’t have happy memories.”

“We’ll help you look.” She promised her friend. She was sure Camille or Phil Dunphy would be able to help her friend out find a suitable location.

Jack had returned from the backyard and made his way to their shared office, leaving her alone with her friends. She knew what he would do next, and she was not surprised to see him through the clear glass window assembling his robot toy as she washed the dishes.

“Here are the rest.” Pam brought the used glasses, while Reese brought the placemats.

“Thanks.” She replied and turned to Reese. “You can store those over there by that cabinet.”

“Pam! Look at this!” Her friend had passed by the window, and she noticed the amused expression on her friend’s face.

“What?” Pam asked.

“Look at him, he looks so happy.” Reese gestured to the hunched figure of her husband. She could only see his back and the side of his face whenever he reached over for more parts from the box, and she could see the look of complete satisfaction on his face. 

“So the answer’s toy robots then.” Pam mused and shared a grin with her. “I’ve been thinking of ways to keep Jim distracted so that he wouldn’t bother me whenever I paint.”

“I don’t know if it works for everyone, but you can try.” She added.

She spent a few moments watching her husband assemble his toy robot under a lamp on his desk, and left him alone and headed back to the living room. Pam was already searching for the word Bandai, and her friend looked confused at what robot to purchase as a gift for her friend.

She couldn’t find any big, tall duck or goose robots either, the ones she saw on the web page only sold 1/100 scale.

“What about this one?” Reese pointed to a red robot that stood out from the rest. She tapped the icon and saw that it could turn into some sort of dragon.

“Epyon, what a weird name.” Pam looked thoughtful. “There are different sizes available. What should I get him? I don’t think Jim has experience assembling robot toys before.”

“How hard could it be? Get the biggest one if you’re worried. It will be easy, like Legos.” Reese suggested. “It will probably be the easiest model to build since it’s larger.”

With that logic, Pam agreed and purchased the toy online.

“That should keep him busy for an hour or two.” Pam looked satisfied. “I can finally paint in peace without him trying to distract me with his stupid pranks.”

Jack Routh

The meeting with the UCLA Police Department, or UCPD for short, was surprisingly quick. They were very welcoming and professional, and he was surprised that he was allowed, even encouraged, to bring his hidden back-up piece.

Apparently, his presence as both a graduate student and a lecturer was seen as a boon, considering his record as a law enforcement officer, as one of the Board of Regents explained when she met with him. He was pretty sure they were angling for a donation, judging by the speed at which his papers and credentials were processed.

The blue parking permit, meaning he could park almost anywhere throughout the various campus parking buildings, gave it away. He was willing to give a donation to the campus anyway. His earliest memories since waking up in this world were in this environment, and he felt like he was treated fairly as a student athlete under a scholarship program.

Since he already had all his credentials updated, he decided to take a look at the sports facilities and create a morning exercise routine instead of jogging at the beach or around his neighborhood every morning. Having enjoyed taking up swimming once again, he headed to the student activity center to check the facilities and schedule for the term.

“Is that you, Routh?” An older man with a thin, wiry build and gray hair greeted him by the entrance. It looked like the man had just finished placing a large poster on the announcement board.

“Coach Josef.” He greeted the man who helped train the men's and women’s swimming team. Josef Morozov was a well-known figure on campus thanks to his reserved demeanor.

The man rarely showed emotion on his face and was considered a strict taskmaster, but also fair and competent. That resulted in the UCLA swimming team being considered the best in the state, and him winning coach of the year a few years back by Southern Pacific Masters Swimming.

“I’m glad you finally found that fire in you.” The man returned the greeting and started walking beside him. “I always told you to switch categories. You had so much potential back then.”

He suddenly recalled memories not his own, of the man asking him to switch to the more popular events. He didn’t want to, knowing he wasn’t as fast as the swim team’s top swimmers, but he did have endurance.

“So what are you doing here?” The swim coach asked.

“I’m going to complete my master’s degree and also start teaching next week.” He replied. “I also wanted to check the schedule with the pool facilities. I miss the exercise.”

“It is the best exercise for the body.” Josef Morozov nodded in approval. “Do you have all your credentials and papers sorted?”

“I just finished this morning.” He replied and flashed his card.

“Why don’t you take a few laps then?” The swim coach suggested.

“I don’t have…”

“Follow me to my office.” Morozov increased his pace, and he quickly followed after the man. Once inside, the older man tossed him a blue nylon bag that could be pulled tight at the top with a cord.

“What’s this?” He asked.

“Marketing materials for visitors. It has a swimming trunk for your size, a microfiber towel, goggles, and a cap.” Morozov replied and checked his watch. “A swim class will start in an hour, so you should head to the showers right now if you want to get a proper workout.”

The offer was tempting as he opened the bag and checked the swim kit. It was perfect.

“Thanks, Coach.” He grinned. It would be nice to swim again, and Zoe was busy again with Pam as they toured available houses for Reese. He was missing her presence, and since she wouldn’t be home until the afternoon, he decided to accept the offer.

“Do you have a locker for me?” He asked.

Tamara Collins

She felt lonely.

Her roommate and friend, April, traumatized by the events during their break, decided to fly back home. Lucy, of course, and the rest of the adults gave her support, but she sometimes preferred the company of people her age at times.

She was also a bit paranoid and didn’t trust easily. She didn’t know if that was because she watched too many crime documentaries with Lucy, or she was on a first-name basis with a lot of police officers who always warned her of danger, or it was the year living in the streets, always on guard with a knife in case someone decided to invade her tent.

It only made socializing more difficult, and with April gone, she was left without a partner for her next class. She should have signed up for another sport, but she didn’t want to waste the time and money she had already used up in signing up for the club. The cute guy that she and April saw handing out flyers didn’t have anything to do with it. Really.

She knew it was early, but it wasn’t uncommon for some members of the swim club to arrive, taking advantage of the bleachers to hang out, relax, and socialize. When she arrived at the bleachers, she only spotted one person who arrived before her, a young woman her age with short blonde hair and vivid blue eyes.

Honor Rose.

She heard rumors about Honor Rose when she joined the swim club. She was reputed to be one of the smartest students in the entire country. Her name suited her well, in her opinion. By all accounts, the blonde was a straight-A honor student meant for Ivy League schools like Yale, Princeton, or Harvard. She was even featured in a magazine, and it was puzzling to see her enroll in UCLA, far from her home on the other side of the country.

She had always seen Honor with a book in her hand, always studying in her free time, until now. The blonde had a chemistry book on her lap, but it lay ignored as the owner’s focus was on the pool. She followed her fellow student’s gaze and saw a lone swimmer, cutting his way through the water with smooth, economical strokes that she knew she would never achieve if she trained for a year.

He was surprisingly fast, too, and she wondered if perhaps the pool their varsity swim team used was under maintenance, forcing their athletes to train in the one commonly used by the student body.

She snapped out of her daze, those muscles on the swimmer were really distracting and made her way closer to Rose.

“How long has that guy been there?” She asked. Honor spared her a quick glance and focused back on the lone swimmer in the pool.

“I’ve been here for twenty minutes. He hasn’t stopped swimming.” Honor observed. “He’s probably varsity.”

“Yeah.” She nodded. She wanted to take a closer look so that she could see the guy’s face properly, but she didn’t want to look like a stalker.

More and more members of the club started to appear, but unlike before, where they would break out jokes and banter, their attention had focused on the swimmer.

“That dude’s built like a tank.” One of the few male club members spoke to his companion. “Did you see those back muscles?”

“And he didn’t skip leg day, either.”

She saw what they were talking about when the swimmer finally stopped his laps. He took a minute to relax, submerging up and down on the deep end before he made his way to the ladder.

Giggles erupted from the girls behind her as the swimmer climbed up, showing an incredible physique while wearing a blue Speedo. She couldn’t see his face, but her gaze remained fixed on his ass, and she knew she was not alone.

“I think it’s a good time to soap and shower, right?” One of the girls suggested, her cheeks flushed pink.

“That’s not a bad idea at all,” Honor replied. It seemed like the straight-A student didn’t possess immunity to a hot guy. She joined the group of girls, all of them curious to catch a glimpse of the swimmer.

Unfortunately, the guy had already disappeared into the men’s shower room, though she could hear the water running on the other side, thanks to a small gap about a foot high near the ceiling of the wall that separated the women’s shower area from the men’s to provide ventilation.

“Is… is he singing?” Honor asked. They all remained silent, exchanging glances as they listened to a beautiful voice croon out an unfamiliar melody and lyrics.

It’s a quarter after one,

I’m all alone

And I need you now…

Said I wouldn’t call,

But I lost all control

And I need you now…

“Holy fuck.” She heard a girl beside her whisper. She wondered why that voice sounded so familiar, and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard of this song before. Who was the artist?

And I don’t know how

I can do without

I just need you now...

“I’m right here!” One of the bolder girls shouted through the gap, causing the rest of the group to dissolve into laughter and giggles.

“That was a great song!” Another girl shouted. “You have an amazing voice!”

Sadly, there was no response, though she did notice the sound of running water had stopped. Had he finished rinsing? By the time she was ready to swim, she made sure she was the first, hoping to catch a glimpse of the guy, but there were no signs of their mysterious swimmer and his golden voice anywhere. The guys in the club said they didn’t see anyone either when they decided to take their showers.

That was a bummer, but that chorus was stuck in her head throughout the day. She even heard Honor humming the tune during one moment as they both made their way to another building for another class. She hoped she could meet the person properly and listen to the full performance.

She couldn’t wait to share the story with Lucy.