Chapter 146: Daily Routine
"Hey, Ron, I have a case on hand that might interest you."
The next morning, Ron was driving Jessica to the paintball range when Hobbs' call came in like an unwelcome interruption.
"No, I'm not interested, because today is the weekend. Next time for this kind of thing, you'd better make an appointment with my office first."
"Your office? Are you talking about the old man named Andy, or the long-legged beauty Fiona?"
"Ahem..." Ron coughed and deflected the name that Hobbs mentioned: "Of course I'm talking about Andy, but you'd better contact him on weekdays. I don't want to exploit my employees even on weekends."
"Okay," Hobbs surrendered over the phone: "To be honest, this is a case about a German arms dealer, Klaus. You may have heard of him. He's trying to acquire some serious hardware through various channels.
For example, Soviet-era nuclear materials that went missing after the Cold War."
Ron's expression finally became serious, and he lowered his voice in the car: "I remember him. It's a bit of an exaggeration to say he's a terrorist. At most, he's an international arms dealer, but if I remember correctly, he should have been taken down by the CIA last week."
"No, the CIA let him slip away during that operation. You'll never guess who screwed it up. You know them." Hobbs' tone was resigned when he mentioned the operation.
"I know someone in the CIA who would be involved in a Level 5 operation..." Ron paused for a moment. "Could it be that dynamic duo, Tucker and Roosevelt? I remember we trained them at the facility in Quantico."
The memory of that experience made Ron want to crawl into a hole. Those two were arguably the worst agents he'd ever trained.
All their tactical maneuvers were designed to look cool, with no regard for practical effectiveness. It was no surprise that such a pair would botch any mission.
"Well, I can only wish their supervisor good luck," Ron said, silently praying for the unfortunate commander.
Of course, Ron's harsh evaluation was relative. He always held people to high standards, but that pair was definitely adequate for routine operations.
"Thanks!" Hobbs rubbed his bald head in frustration.
"What? No way? You're that unlucky supervisor? Haha!" Ron laughed until tears streamed down his face.
"You know, I have some connections with the CIA. I'm helping them with a special task force. Those two guys are my new team members. They've been stationed in Los Angeles for a while."
"Okay, I'll get you all together for drinks sometime, but not right now. I need to enjoy my weekend. Later."
Ron hung up the phone, as the paintball facility was already coming into view.
"Ron," Jessica suddenly spoke up considerately, "If you have work to do, don't worry about me. I can hang out with your friends..."
"No need," Ron patted Jessica's head like he would his sister Missy. "Like I said, it's the weekend. Unless it's an emergency, I don't work overtime."
Because of this thoughtful gesture, Ron unconsciously warmed up to Jessica a little more. But not in a romantic way, more like how he'd treat a little sister, just like Missy.
In the distance, Howard and the crew, already fully equipped, were waving at him. Ron waved back. "Don't worry, I told you we'd spend today together. Actually, I've been so swamped with work lately, I could really use a good break."
Ron suddenly took Jessica's hand and kissed it gently, a classic gentleman's gesture. "So, beautiful Jessica, would you please help me relax today?"
"Of course." Jessica laughed in surprise, then immediately covered her mouth with her hands in a demure manner.
"Ron, you're late!" Sheldon looked at his watch in annoyance and complained, "Because of you, we lost 6 minutes of tactical briefing time.
So I suggest we first discuss how to make up for these lost 6 minutes. Should we reduce lunch time, bathroom breaks, or game time?
We have a full day of combat ahead! This will be an intense battle, and I hope you can take it seriously, Private Ron."
As he spoke, Sheldon straightened his shoulders proudly. Only then did Ron notice that this fool had sewn military rank insignia onto his gear.
"So, you think you're a captain just because you have two bars on your shoulders?" Ron was forced to smile at Sheldon's ridiculous behavior. "I'm really wondering if you've lost your mind."
"I haven't!" Sheldon pouted like a child. "Mom took me to see Dr. Peterson, and he said I wasn't crazy!"
"But after seeing you, the doctor needed therapy himself."
Seeing the two brothers about to start bickering again, Leonard quickly stepped in to mediate. "It's time for our pre-game briefing. We need to decide on a strategy."
"How about Operation Thunder?" Raj suggested, sipping his beer.
"Are you sure you want to start drinking this early in the morning?"
"Soldier," Sheldon pointed his paintball marker at Raj. Ron was sure that if there was a commanding officer like that in the army, he'd be fragged the moment they saw combat.
"Hey," Raj took another sip of his beer and defended himself. "What can I do? It's because these two ladies are so beautiful."
"Oh, thank you, Raj, you're such a sweetheart." Penny accepted Raj's compliment and hugged him.
"It doesn't matter. Raj has beer courage anyway, so it doesn't matter whether he drinks or not," Ron shrugged. "As long as he's not the first to run out and surrender, we'll be fine."
"Hey! That's harsh, man." Raj protested. "India has one of the largest militaries in the world!"
"Really?" Ron smiled mischievously. "Are you talking about the same military that had 300,000 troops scattered by 40,000 in 1962? Or the one that turned an offensive operation into a defensive retreat?"
Raj widened his eyes and opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. "Ah... this... well... that's possible..."
Ron decided to deliver the final blow. "Or the same military where a hundred soldiers were captured by three guys from the mess hall?"
"Let's continue discussing tactics," Raj quickly changed the subject. "How about Operation Hammer? We'll set up an ambush near the restrooms and take out everyone who comes to take a leak."
(End of chapter)
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