Chapter 12: The Christmas Heist
[9:00 AM – 99th Precinct Bullpen – December 12, 2013]
The heist was announced not with a grand speech, but with a single, unassuming memo thumbtacked to the bulletin board. It read, simply, "Christmas Heist: Operation Candy Cane." The words were enough to send a jolt of pure, unadulterated chaos through the bullpen, a shift in the air that was almost palpable. The air was now thick with a heady mix of manic energy, playful competition, and the silent hum of strategic analysis. Adam's internal monologue immediately became a chaotic, multi-threaded analysis of every possible outcome, every feigned alliance, and every double-cross he could foresee, as the DIS flooded his mental space with potential strategic paths.
A Christmas heist. Of course. It's too perfect, Adam thought, a wry grin on his face. Jake and Holt are going to go all-out. It's not about winning. It's about outsmarting the other person. And now I'm caught in the middle. I have foreknowledge, but so does Gina. And Holt… Holt always has a hidden plan. This is a game of chess, and I'm just a pawn with a god-like ability to see two moves ahead. But I'm not just a pawn. I'm a wildcard. I have to play this carefully. I can't win outright, but I can't be a useless teammate, either. My goal is to earn Holt's respect, not his trophy. His mind was a maelstrom of possibilities, each one a different strategic path, a different alliance, a different lie. He could choose to win, and in doing so, alienate everyone. Or he could choose to play a different game, a more complex one, and in doing so, earn a deeper form of trust.
The DIS was a maelstrom of data.
[SYSTEM: NEW_MISSION: CHRISTMAS_HEIST. OBJECTIVE: ACQUIRE_HOLT'S_BELT. ANALYSIS: LOW_SUCCESS_RATE_WITHOUT_STRATEGIC_DECEPTION. REWARD: SYSTEM_TITLE: 'TACTICAL_GENIUS'.]
The message flashed in his mental HUD, the words a cold, sterile counterpoint to the chaotic, festive energy of the bullpen. But then a new, smaller alert, a single, pulsating red dot, appeared in the corner of his eye.
[SYSTEM: HIDDEN_OBJECTIVE_DETECTED: CAPTAIN_HOLT'S_PLAN_CONTAINS_AN_UNDETECTED_ELEMENT_OF_INTENTIONAL_COMPLEXITY_AND_SELF-SABOTAGE. RECOMMENDED_ACTION: ANALYZE_AND_EXPLOIT.]
A hidden objective? Adam thought, a new wave of intrigue washing over him. Holt's not just playing to win. He's playing to… teach. Or to test. This is way more complex than I thought. He's looking for something. Something beyond who can get the most ridiculous trophy. He's looking for a mind that can see past the chaos. He's looking for a strategist. He's looking for me.
"Adam! You're with me, buddy!" Jake announced, a wide, manic grin on his face. He clapped Adam on the back, and the sound was like a drumbeat in the tense, silent moment. "This year, with your luck, and my raw genius, we're going to win this thing for sure! And then I'm going to rub it in Holt's face so hard he's going to have to get a new face!" Jake's energy was a physical force, a chaotic, unthinking whirlwind that Adam knew he had to contain and guide.
Adam just smiled. The game was on. The scent of stale coffee and printer toner was now overlaid with the subtle, sweet scent of gingerbread from Boyle's thermos. The low hum of the fluorescent lights was now punctuated by the sound of muffled whispers and a nervous, almost frantic, energy.
[11:30 PM – 99th Precinct Bullpen – December 12, 2013]
The heist was in full swing. The bullpen had been transformed into a festive battlefield, with tinsel-laced booby traps, snow globe bombs that glittered all over the desks, and a series of ridiculous, Christmas-themed pranks. Gina had rigged the water cooler to spray hot chocolate, and Boyle was dressed in a comically oversized "Stealth Elf" costume, complete with tiny jingle bells on his shoes. The air was a cacophony of shouts, laughter, and the intermittent jingle of Boyle's bells, a sound that was both annoying and oddly festive.
Adam and Jake had a plan, one that was a mix of Jake's manic, improvisational genius and Adam's quiet, strategic guidance. They were at a dead end, a locked door that Jake had been trying to pick for ten minutes with a paperclip and a piece of tinsel. The DIS was showing him a complex overlay, a series of potential outcomes that all led to failure. But then, in the corner of his eye, the "hidden objective" alert flickered. He glanced at Holt, who was pretending to be engrossed in a particularly riveting report, but his eyes, sharp and calculating, flickered over to Jake. Holt was watching. And he was waiting. He wasn't trying to stop them; he was waiting for them to make the right move, to see the game he was truly playing.
He's not trying to win. He's trying to see if we can read his mind, Adam thought, a slow, dawning realization washing over him. He's not just guarding the belt. He's guarding a lesson.
Adam nudged Jake. "The filing cabinet," he whispered, pointing to a nondescript metal cabinet in the corner of the room. "The file marked 'E' for 'Elf'." The absurdity of the name was a dead giveaway.
Jake's eyes widened. "Genius! It's so ridiculous, it has to be it!" he said, and he ran to the cabinet, pulling the file open with a triumphant flourish. Inside was a key, a single, shiny key with a small, festive bow on it. The key to Holt's office.
Holt, across the room, gave an almost imperceptible nod. A small, satisfied smile played on his lips. Adam caught his eye, and they shared a silent, strategic moment. Holt was playing a different game, a more complex one, and Adam had just proven that he was a worthy opponent. The victory wasn't in getting the key. It was in understanding the game.
The night continued, a silent chess match between Adam and Holt, punctuated by the absurdity of the heist. Boyle, in a fit of over-the-top dedication, tried to "infiltrate" Holt's office by crawling through the air ducts, only to get stuck and have to be rescued by Terry. Gina, meanwhile, managed to replace all of the bullpen's computers with karaoke machines that would randomly start playing "All I Want for Christmas Is You" at the loudest possible volume. The sheer chaos was a perfect smokescreen for the silent, tense strategic duel. The entire precinct was a theater of the absurd, but Adam and Holt were playing a silent, serious game in the wings. Adam could see the satisfaction on Holt's face as each of his subtle traps was avoided, each of his hidden lessons learned. He was an artist, and the bullpen was his canvas.
[2:00 AM – 99th Precinct Bullpen – December 13, 2013]
The heist was over. Holt had won. Of course he had. But it was in the quiet aftermath, as the squad cleaned up the tinsel and glitter, that the true victory was revealed. Adam and Jake were sitting on the floor, surrounded by a pile of empty pizza boxes, the scent of pepperoni and cheese now a comforting, post-heist perfume. Holt walked over to them, his posture as ramrod straight as ever, his face a perfect mask of professional calm.
"Peralta," he said, his voice flat. "Your strategy was flawed from the start. You focused on chaos, but true strategy is in the details. You mistook a game for a performance." He turned to Adam, his eyes, dark and piercing, fixed on him. "You, however, were… observant. You saw the hidden game. You understood that the point wasn't to win, but to understand the rules."
He gave Adam a quiet nod, a moment of profound, unspoken respect that meant more than any trophy or badge. Adam had proven that he wasn't just a lucky rookie. He was a strategic mind, a worthy opponent, and a serious player in the 99th Precinct's game. The "Tactical Genius" badge, a small, celebratory flicker in his mental HUD, felt earned. He felt a wave of quiet pride, a feeling that was a deep, steady blue, the color of satisfaction and quiet triumph. The emotional state was entirely his own, a new, earned feeling that was far more satisfying than any victory. He was no longer a pawn. He was a knight.
As Holt walked away, Adam's DIS gave a new alert, this time related to a minor character in the precinct's past. A small, digital file popped up in his mental HUD, a name he barely recognized: "Milo Jankowski." He knew that name. It was the name of a character who appeared briefly in a flashback, a small, insignificant part of the canon. But the DIS was flagging it.
[SYSTEM: NEW_ALERT. MILO_JANKOWSKI. MINOR_CHARACTER_WITH_MAJOR_IMPLICATIONS. RECOMMEND_INVESTIGATION_FOR_HIDDEN_PLOTS_AND_CONSPIRACIES. DATA_POINT_LINKED_TO_A_CRYPTIC_SYMBOL_ON_AN_OLD_PRECINCT_FILE.]
Adam felt a prickle of unease. The heist was over. But a new, more complex game had just begun. He had a new mystery to solve, one that reached back into the precinct's past and, he had a feeling, would shape its future. The festive atmosphere of the heist had dissipated, replaced by a quiet, simmering sense of intrigue. He got up from the floor, a new sense of purpose in his step. The game of chess had ended. But a new, more dangerous game of puzzles had just begun.
Love [ The Rookie / B99 ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story! 🌟
Dive deeper into the world of [ The Rookie / B99 ] with exclusive access to 35+ chapters on my Patreon, plus 5 new chapters every week! Your support starting at just $5/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [Grimm, Teen Wolf ,MCU and Arrowverse].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!