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Tactical Village Day is by far the squad's favourite work day of the year. Even Peralta gets involved.
The squad sat in the briefing room, waiting for Jake to show up. When he did, he had his usual large grin in place and he began high-fiving people left and right.
"Happy Tactical Village Day!" He repeated after each high five before he sat down beside Boyle, as usual.
"I am surprised to see you so excited for a mandatory evaluation, Peralta," Captain Holt said from the front of the room. The group laughed, ready to go check out what new "toys" there were to try out this year. It really was a shame that there was only one Tactical Village Day a year.
"It's the best day of the year. How could I not be excited?" Jake looked over at Holt incredulously, as though the man had just told him that he had two heads.
"We get to test out new equipment," he added, nodding at the Captain.
"Peralta's gotten coolest kill two years in a row," Boyle says before anyone could say anything else.
"And thats with all of the cops sending in their videos and voting. You win one of those plastic karate trophies. It's not much but..." Peralta shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal.
"You want it, don't you?" I asked, smirking at him knowingly.
"So bad," he confirmed, face screwing up from his desire for the stupid thing. "I'll do anything to get it. I'll shoot all of you if you get in my way!" He yelled, looking around at his co-workers sitting around him. I chuckled.
The Captain and Terry droned on for a little while about different cases, issues and problems that needed to be worked out. Eventually the Sarge took the stage and began to tell us about what would await us at the Village later.
"Our Precinct is paired with the Eight-Two. As usual, there will be one to one and a half hours to look at and sort through the new equipment. After that, the Eight-Two will go in and do their run and then we will. Also, like every year, there will be a new situation to work with. Only the Superior Officers know what that is. You are not to ask anyone for these details. Is that clear?"
"Yes Sarge!" Excited yells went up around the room.
"Alright. We leave in twenty," Terry added, picking up his folder and walking out of the room, hot on the heels of Holt.
"This is so exciting!" I exclaimed, turning to grin at Peralta and Boyle, who were busy talking about Boyle and his fiancés next outing.
"I know! It's one of the only days I can get away with a backstory that goes with the situation."
The Precinct was abuzz with the excitement that was to come. Everyone was eager to go and shoot things. I myself was just glad to get away from the stress and danger of the job. It was starting to take a toll on me.
I wondered to myself what the situation would be this year. Last year it was a prison break, the year before that a robbery. They changed every year, which made the prospect of the day all that more exciting. Last year, it got super violent. I think someone had to be taken to hospital.
The next twenty minutes rolled over quickly, much to the pleasure of the squad. We all had our bags packed with our gear and whatever else we might need.
The police van around the side was waiting for us and we all cheered when we saw it. One by one we all piled inside and took our seats. I sat at a window seat near the middle and placed my bag in my lap.
Jake sat down next to me and Boyle sat in the seat in front of us. Like the popular kids in schools, Rosa sat at the back. Amy sat down behind us.
The van screeched to life and the group let out another happy cheer.
"So, who are you this year? Nicholas Bryce, FBI agent who was undercover for a decade in a bikie gang and when forced to come back to the fed life, snapped and seriously injured one of his co-workers? What about Dylan Forester, the local postman with a revenge plot to take out the man who killed his wife?" I asked, smiling at the boyish man beside me.
"Those are good but no..." he trailed off mysteriously. "I am Rex Buckingham," he had a British accent now. "British secret agent, ballistics expert and..." he trailed off yet again. "Ladies man," he whipped is head to look at me. I laughed.
"How are you single?" I asked, shaking my head with a chuckle. Anyone would be lucky to have Jake as a partner... romantic stylez.
"The ladies can't handle the Jake," he responded as though it was the most obvious answer in the world. I suppose he was a little cocky. That might frighten some girls off.
"It's because he's so into make believe," Amy spoke up from the seat behind us.
"What? No, I love make believe. It's a great quality," I responded, patting Jake's shoulder.
"You know that it's called acting. How many girls go nuts for George Clooney? Tell me how I am any different from him," Jake replied, looking over at her as well.
"He has a sexy voice," she replied simply. Jake scoffed.
"I have a sexy voice," his face screwed up into that of confusion.
"Prove it," Amy's eyebrow arched in question.
"Valley, mountain range, champagne, hugs..." He said all of these in Rex's voice. I stifled my laugh with a cough.
""Mountain range?"" Amy asked with her eyebrow arched even higher. She had a point. Mountain range doesn't really sound "sexy" at all. Jake just brushed her off.
"Eh, whatever Santiago," he turned back to the front. Without another word, Amy went and sat down at the back of the bus with Rosa.
It only took another ten to fifteen minutes until we arrived at the Village. We all filed out and entered the large building in front of us. I walked past Rosa and Jerry and heard something about Boyle's wedding.
The first floor was decorated with tables and a few chairs. There was a staircase that led to the second floor which had a few pieces of the new equipment around the place. The squad and I put our bags on the table which said "Nine-Nine."
In the corner, there was a line up for people logging in for their roles. Jake recognised one of them and said hello.
"They promoted you from bystander to perp? Nice job," he said to the man.
"Yeah. It's going to be fun this year," the man replied, smiling.
"I'm going to blow your brains out," Jake smiled, much to the nervousness of the other man he was talking to.
We started to unpack our things and put our gear on. There was still a while before our turn would come around put we had been told to put them on around the equipment.
"Who's that?" I asked, looking to the guy.
"Oh, yeah. He's here every year," he answered with a wave of his hand.
After the squad signed in, Jake and I joked around for a little while before deciding to go and check out the guns. Outside, the weather was nice and sunny. It was a great day for the training course.
The gun table was easy to spot. The black guns covered the table completely. We hurried over and started sorting through them. Posing with them to each other and joking around.
Jake was currently holding a gun with a moveable end so that you can shoot around corners without being shot. He was very impressed with it.
"Do you think this can fit in my bag?" He asked, fondling the weapon.
"Probably but I wouldn't risk it," I chuckled as he posed with it again.
"Yeah. You're probably right," he answered, looking at it sadly.
"You know that we'll probably get some in the precinct sooner or later, right?" I reminded him.
"True!" He got excited again, grin back in place.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Amy walking over to us. There was a man next to her.
"Who's this?" I asked her once she was standing beside us. She smiled.
"Guys, this is Teddy. We met on a voluntary code camp. It was pretty fun. Teddy, this is Jake Peralta and Mara Dwyce, two of my work associates," she introduced us.
"Hi. It's nice to meet you," I smiled, shaking his hand.
"The new handguns are in. Do you want to check them out?" He asked Amy, who nodded enthusiastically.
"Hey, good luck on your run later," he said as the two of them walked off in the direction of one of the other tables. I thanked him and turned back to Jake, who was watching the two of them intensely.
"What's wrong?" I asked, putting the gun that was in my hand down and turning my complete attention to him. He looked at me.
"Do you think Teddy's a nice guy?" He asked, eyes still on the two retreating figures.
"I literally only just met him, like, three seconds ago but he seems alright to me... why?"
"Well, what do you think Amy sees in him?"
"They're pretty similar. They like the same nerdy stuff and their personalities are similar. Again, why?"
Jake didn't reply at first. He just put the gun down.
"You like her," I guessed, unsure of how I didn't realise it sooner. I felt a pang in my chest and I didn't know why.
"Come on. Lets go look inside," he bypassed my comment, obviously avoiding the statement.
I gestured for him to lead and I followed him back through the doors. Jake never was good at working out his feelings. Maybe he just wasn't ready to tell anyone anything.
We went through table after table, testing things out, joking around and making small talk with the other cops. Jake, unsurprisingly, had already annoyed several officers with his promises of victory over them. I told them that they'd get used to it over time and not to take him too seriously.
Eventually the Eight-Two went into the prac area to perform their run. The rest of the squad began to show up, waiting anxiously for our turn. Jake worked out the kinks in his persona and showed the group some of his "sick movez, with a "z."'
"What, no. Don't tell me Rex is the only chap here with a signature move," Jake said with his British accent and both of his handguns held up in the air. Boyle grinned.
"Actually, I was thinking that when I ran out of ammo, I could release the mag and drop kick it to the perp's face!" He exclaimed excitedly, attempting to demonstrate his idea. Needless to say it didn't work. His face screwed up in pain and he dropped his gun to grip his bum.
"Ow, my buttholes," he groaned. Everyone grimaced.
"You have got to stop calling them that, Boyle. I know you got shot but you can't say that," I said, shaking my head. Amy nodded, agreeing with me.
"Sorry," he frowned.
"You know how people hold their guns to the side to look cool? I was thinking, you could hold it upside down! I'm calling it the upsie downsie," Scully spoke up from the back of the group. Several of us groaned, wondering how someone could be so stupid. I shook my head.
"Yes..." Jake replied to the man, obviously at a loss for words to reply to the suggestion.
Suddenly the Eight-Two squad appeared through the doors behind us and Teddy, Amy's friend walked over to her, sweat breaking out on his skin.
"Hey, good luck in there, Ames. Not to brag but I think we just broke a course record," he laughed, pointing behind him. That was definitely bragging. No doubt about it.
They talked for another minute and then he left to talk to his friends. As soon as Teddy was out of earshot, Jake called us in for a minute.
"Okay guys," he started, accent gone. "Here's the plan," we all huddled around him.
"Where'd your accent go, Rex?" Rosa asked, coming over to join us.
"There's no time for that now. We're taking this shit seriously."
Jake's almost always permanent grin was gone. It was replaced with a stone-cold expression. To say the least, I was a little concerned.
"Lets break that course record and be the best precinct here," he said, putting his hand into the circle of the rest of ours'. We all tried to repeat what he had said and the start was good. However by the word "record," everybody's sentence was out of sync with everyone else's.
I picked up my paintball handgun and followed the rest of my friends into the next room. The Sarge moved to the front of the group and stood on the bottom steps.
"Alright. The situation today is that some civilians have been taken hostage by an embassy. Your mission is to save the victims, take out the perpetrators and do it in the most efficient, quick way possible. Peralta and Dwyce, you're the assault team. Santiago, Boyle and Diaz, you're in charge of perimeter and security. Scully, I want you to do nothing. Absolutely nothing. You are to stand by my side. Does everyone know what their doing?" He checked. The squad all confirmed their assignments and I fixed my earpiece, making sure it wouldn't pop out randomly.
"I'll be in the Command Centre, letting you know of any new intel we get through your comms," Sarge added. I nodded.
He stepped to the side and Jake took his place, gripping his paint gun.
"Alright guys, listen up. We have eighteen minutes and forty-one seconds to break this record so don't screw this up," he looked at each of us individually.
"Are you really not doing a character this year?" I asked, mildly disappointed.
"Of course I am. I am a no-nonsense detective who's only goal is to break this damn record," he nodded at me, face as serious as ever. I raised a brow at him.
"His name is Vic Kovak, he's an ex-navy seal. He was double crossed and left for dead," he gave a little smile. There was the Jake we all knew.
"I don't have enough time for his back story!" He yelled, annoyed. "Okay, Sarge!" He added, turning to face the stairs. We all got ready.
"And, go!" Sarge stepped out of the way as the five of us rushed up the steps, guns in hand and a fierce determination running through us. We wanted to break that record.
Amy, Charles and Rosa broke off from Jake and I at the top of the landing. They were going to find any other perps who were trying to get in.
Jake and I ran through a hallway and stopped. There were a series of door-less rooms and open rooms between us and the end of the path. I nodded at him and he smirked at me before jumping to the first door. I pushed it open for him.
"Clear," he said.
I passed him to the next room and whipped my gun to face the room. A man with a grey shirt turned to me. His shirt read "PERP" so I shot. The orange paint whizzed through the air and hit his chest. My heart beat faster. I quickly peered into the rest of the room and upon realising that the room was empty, I hissed "clear!"
We used the same method for all of the other rooms. Jake almost shot a civilian but managed to control his hand before he pulled the trigger. We kept going, running through different areas and making sure that we took out any and all perps along the way.
We stalked along a sort of bridge between two buildings and Jake let off three shots, shooting down some criminals in the next room. There was another "innocent bystander" and I nodded to them before moving on, Jake hot on my heels.
There was another hallway.
"How many hallways are we going to have to go through?!" I asked incredulously. Jake laughed.
At the end of the hall, a perp showed themselves and shot at us, their first shot narrowly missing my arm. Jake whipped around and shot the guy for me, ensuring my simulated safety.
"Thanks," I huffed, relief rushing through me.
"Alright! Only three perps left. We got this," Jake said.
"We might actually do this," I grinned over at Peralta and punched his shoulder enthusiastically.
"Peralta, Dwyce, we've got intel that the hostages are in room 402," Sarge's voice crackled in mine and Peralta's ears.
"Copy that," I said into the mouthpiece.
"Lets go break that record, Kovac," I smiled. He nodded and moved through the next doorway.
"Room 387, 388, 389," Jake read the numbers off the doors as we moved through the building.
We moved up another flight of stairs and looked at the room numbers for the first room that I saw. 400.
We stalked forward quietly, guns in hand and expressions stern. We reached the room and stopped. The door was open.
"What are we going to do?" I whispered, looking at him side-on. He looked thoughtful.
"I've got an idea," he smirked, pulling his second handgun out.
"What are you going to do?" I asked, nervousness evident in my tone.
"I'm going to surrender," he grinned.
"We have about a minute and twelve seconds to break the record," he reasoned after seeing my hesitant expression.
"Stay alert," he added before calling out to the perps in the room.
"NYPD, don't shoot!"
Jake walked into the room with both of his guns in his hands, fingers away from the triggers. I held my breath.
"I'm just going to put my guns down," he said quickly. I huffed and moved into the doorway as well.
Jake was lowering his guns as he said he would and the two perps both kept one gun trained on Jake and the other trained on both of the hostages.
Jake then whipped his guns up into his hands upside down and shot the two criminals. He laughed.
"Did you just pull an upsie downsie?" I asked, trying to hide my laughter. He nodded, seemingly ashamed that he had done something that Scully had suggested.
"Congratulations, team! You cleared the simulation in eighteen minutes and twenty-eight seconds. You broke the record!" Sarge yelled excitedly into the comms. I cheered and turned to Peralta, embracing him in a tight hug, which he returned.
"Nice work, Peralta," I smiled, breaking away from him.
He grinned back and we began the walk back to the lobby. It took around five minutes and when we walked through the doors, a loud cheer let up around the room. Everyone was back already. We spent the next few minutes congratulating each other and telling each other what else had happened on the simulation.
Before long, it was time to leave. I packed my bag and turned to see Jake and Amy talking. I felt another pang in my chest.
They finished their conversation and Jake joined me by the exit. He looked vaguely disappointed.
"You ready to get your drink on? Because I am," I laughed, hitching my bag higher on my shoulder. He nodded, smiling. I pat his shoulder and walked out into the afternoon light.
The bus ride on the way back to the precinct was much louder than it was on the way to the Village. Everyone was pumped and ready to tell the Captain of their achievements.
"Okay, would you rather... date a woman with a huge nose or a woman who had a lisp?" Boyle asked Jake. I looked over him with a perplexed expression.
"Are you guys really playing that silly kids game?" I asked, chuckling.
"Damn straight," Jake replied. "I would... date a woman with a huge nose," he answered Boyle's question. He grimaced.
"Mara, would you rather date Captain Holt or Jake?"
"What? No, I'm not playing," I rushed, not particularly wanting to answer the question. "Holt's gay anyway. That doesn't count," I added.
"You have to answer now. I'm curious," Jake looked at me and I could feel my cheeks heat up.
"Jake, I suppose," I looked down in embarrassment.
"Really? Why?" Jake asked, as if the notion that I would date him was so other-worldly or something.
"First, Holt is gay," I reminded them. "Second, you're a good guy. You're funny, smart, caring and..." I trailed off, smirking.
"You know how to please a lady," I laughed.
"True," he winked and pointed finger guns at me.
"My turn," I spoke up after a moment of silence.
"Boyle, would you rather eat Linguini out of the bin or willingly spit into someone's food?" I asked, enjoying the look of horror on his face.
"I-I can't," he shook his head.
"You have to answer, remember?"
"If I absolutely had to choose-"
"Which you do," I interrupted him.
"Then I suppose I would spit into someone's food," he shuddered, grimacing at the thought of it.
Jake laughed, mentioned that I was evil, and then began talking about something that had happened to him on the weekend.
The bus stopped at the precinct and let us out. The squad practically skipped into the building.
"Captain Holt?!" Jake yelled from the front of the group. The man in question appeared from the doorway of his office and looked at all of us with his usual stone-like expression.
"What's... going on?" He asked, cocking head slightly in question.
"We, the squad, hath broken the course record," Jake announced, stepping forward and raising his head proudly. I smiled.
"Well done... I must admit, I am surprised."
"Yeah, well, guess your precinct isn't such a failure after all," Jake laughed, joking with the man.
"Yes."
A few minutes later, we were inviting the rest of the group who had stayed behind to come with us to get celebratory drinks. Needless to say, they accepted.
We all took our own cars. Well, those of us who had cars did anyway. I got a lift with Jake.
The pub was quiet which was nice. We all got our first drinks and began to sit down in seperate groups.
"You like Amy, don't you?" I asked Jake once we had sat down in our booth. He glared at me.
"Why do you care?"
I took a sip of my vodka cruiser.
"I'm your best friend. Of course I'm going to care."
He sighed. "Yes, I like Amy. It doesn't matter anyway though. She's got Teddy," he took a swig from his beer.
"You wan't to know why she's going out with Teddy and not you?" I asked, putting my drink down and looking at him. He nodded, also putting his drink down.
"Because he asked her out," I shrugged. It really was just that simple. The spark that the two had was unmissable. You couldn't miss it even if you tried. Jake just looked at me like I was mad.
"It's true. Trust me. Ask her out later. I can almost guarantee that she'll say yes," I smiled, sipping my drink. He smiled shyly.
"Alright, I will but if it goes horribly wrong, you're the one I'm blaming," he said, pointing an accusatory finger at me.
"I wouldn't have expected anything else," I said, smiling at my best friend.