Around noon, Jack sat in the passenger seat while Catherine drove them home, watching Chicago pass outside the window.
The Amber Alert connected to Diego Dawson’s kidnapping had just been canceled, which meant the entire Adlerus Diaz case had effectively come to an end as well.
Barring something extraordinary, Octopus would be spending a very long time behind bars.
Jack had gained quite a harvest from the case.
Helping with the operation that ultimately led to Ernesto Mipas’s capture earned him a Wooden Treasure Chest, killing Omar Rojas on the bus produced a Black Iron Treasure Chest, and his involvement in taking down Adlerus Diaz gave him a Bronze Treasure Chest.
More importantly, Jack had earned something else.
Administrative leave.
Again.
In less than a month on the job, Jack had already managed to be placed on administrative leave twice.
Hank told him not to worry and to treat it like an extra day off, promising that once the shooting review confirmed what everyone on the bus had witnessed, Jack would probably be back at work by the following day.
Jack believed him.
Even though he had only been with CPD for a short time, he had already heard enough stories about Sergeant Hank Voight to know that the man fiercely protected the people working under him.
Jack had also asked what they were supposed to do about the mountain of reports created by the last two days of operations.
Antonio had immediately volunteered to handle most of the paperwork and make sure everything was organized correctly.
With that settled, Jack officially began his second administrative leave.
After saying goodbye to Catherine and agreeing to have dinner together later, Jack returned to his apartment alone.
He opened the door, tossed his damaged jacket onto a chair, and walked straight into the kitchen.
Jack poured himself a small glass of bourbon and drank it in one shot.
The warmth burned down his throat and settled into his stomach, helping the tension left over from the operation finally begin to fade.
“Alright,” he muttered to the empty apartment.
“Let’s see what I got.”
Jack focused his thoughts.
Open System Panel.
The familiar translucent blue interface appeared in front of him.
It looked almost exactly the same as before, except the Treasure Chest section now contained three unopened rewards.
Wooden Treasure Chest ×1
Black Iron Treasure Chest ×1
Bronze Treasure Chest ×1
Jack focused on the Wooden Treasure Chest first.
It glowed faintly before disappearing.
[Wooden Treasure Chest opened — Ernesto Mipas operation.]
[Obtained: Spanish Proficiency Lv.1]
Grants fluent everyday Spanish and law-enforcement-related vocabulary.
[Obtained: $250 Cash — Deposited into System Hidden Account.]
Almost immediately, information flowed into Jack’s mind.
It felt less like learning an entirely new language and more like suddenly remembering something he had studied for years and somehow forgotten.
“Policía de Chicago.
Las manos donde pueda verlas.”
Jack blinked.
The pronunciation came naturally, and he hadn’t needed even a second to think about the sentence.
“Damn.
That’s useful.”
He turned his attention toward the next chest.
[Black Iron Treasure Chest opened — Omar Rojas neutralized.]
[Obtained: Skill Points ×2]
[Obtained: Gun Duel Lv.1]
When using a handgun, accuracy +100% within 20 meters and +50% within 50 meters.
[Obtained: $5,000 Cash — Deposited into System Hidden Account.]
Jack stared at the $5,000 reward for a moment.
It was a substantial amount of money, roughly comparable to a solid month of take-home pay, but the new skill interested him far more.
“Gun Duel?”
He reread the description.
One hundred percent increased accuracy within twenty meters sounded almost absurd.
Jack wondered how the effect actually worked in practice, especially with moving targets or partial cover.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have his service weapon while on administrative leave, so testing it would have to wait until he had access to a range again.
Jack moved on to the Bronze Treasure Chest.
[Bronze Treasure Chest opened — Adlerus Diaz arrest.]
[Obtained: Skill Points ×2]
[Obtained: Beginner Talent Fragments ×3]
[Obtained: Tactical Grappling Lv.1]
Practical control and restraint techniques combining police defensive tactics, close-quarters combat principles, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu-style leverage.
Designed to quickly restrain and control resisting opponents.
The moment Jack focused on Tactical Grappling, sequences of movements appeared in his mind.
He understood how to use leverage against stronger opponents, escape bad positions, control wrists and elbows, break balance, and restrain someone without relying purely on strength.
Jack leaned back against the sofa and studied his growing skill list.
Boxing and Wrestling Lv.3
Quick Draw Lv.2
Spanish Proficiency Lv.1
Gun Duel Lv.1
Tactical Grappling Lv.1
He also had four unused Skill Points.
Spanish Proficiency didn’t need immediate improvement.
Between shooting and close-quarters fighting, however, Jack had no difficulty deciding where most of the points should go.
He invested three Skill Points into Gun Duel.
[Gun Duel upgraded to Lv.3.]
[Gun Duel Lv.3: When using a handgun, accuracy +100% within 40 meters, accuracy +50% within 80 meters, shooting speed +100%.]
Jack stared at the final effect.
Twice the shooting speed didn’t simply mean pulling the trigger faster.
Combined with his improved accuracy and Quick Draw, it meant he could potentially put two accurate rounds on target in the time an ordinary shooter needed for one.
“That’s ridiculous.”
He used his final Skill Point on Tactical Grappling.
[Tactical Grappling upgraded to Lv.2.]
[Tactical Grappling Lv.2: Adds advanced ground-fighting combinations, improves joint-lock effectiveness, and increases precision when using pain-compliance techniques.]
Jack shook his head slowly.
“This system really wants me to become dangerous.”
He then checked his talent fragments.
Chapter by chapter, he had accumulated four Beginner Talent Fragments, and ten were required to create one random Beginner Talent.
Six more.
Jack opened his updated status screen.
[System]: Super Cop System
Neutralizing criminals or solving cases can generate Treasure Chests.
[Host]: Jack Stacy
[Physical Information]:
Age: 24
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 187 lbs.
[Occupation]: Chicago Police Department — 21st District Patrol Officer, temporarily assigned to Intelligence
[Strength]: 13
[Speed]: 13
[Endurance]: 13
[Spirit]: 18
[Talent]: None
[Beginner Talent Fragments]: 4/10
[Skills]: Boxing and Wrestling Lv.3; Gun Duel Lv.3; Tactical Grappling Lv.2; Quick Draw Lv.2; Spanish Proficiency Lv.1
[Standard Weapons]: None
[Backup Weapons]: None
[Armor]: None
[Vehicle]: None
[Special Equipment]: None
[Treasure Chests]: None
That was Jack’s current status.
The growing list of skills was reassuring, but the string of None near the bottom bothered him.
Once things settled down, he decided he needed to buy some personal equipment instead of relying entirely on whatever CPD issued him while on duty.
Jack closed the system panel and walked toward the window.
Sirens could be heard faintly somewhere in the distance, a sound that seemed almost permanent in Chicago.
A knock suddenly came from the apartment door.
Jack immediately became alert and checked the peephole.
Catherine stood outside carrying a grocery bag in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.
She wore jeans and a gray sweater, and her dark hair was still slightly damp.
Jack opened the door and took the bag from her.
“Catherine, it’s not dinner time yet.
What are you doing here?”
“Hank told me to take the rest of the day off too.” Catherine held up her phone before giving him a knowing look.
“I figured a certain idiot might not be doing too well after getting shot at in an alley and killing a hostage-taker on a bus.
As your training officer, I’m supposed to check on you.”
Jack raised an eyebrow.
Catherine sighed.
“Fine.
I also wanted your cooking earlier.”
Jack smiled and stepped aside.
“That sounds more believable.
Come in.”
Catherine entered and looked around.
The apartment was unusually clean for a place occupied by a single man, apart from the damaged jacket tossed over the chair and the empty bourbon glass sitting nearby.
“Are you hurt?” she asked.
“Just a graze.
Mostly ruined the jacket.”
Jack carried the groceries into the kitchen and unpacked chicken, potatoes, beef, vegetables, and several side ingredients.
Catherine followed naturally, opened a cabinet, and began taking out plates.
Over the past two weeks, Catherine had been eating at Jack’s apartment almost every night.
At one point, she had even joked that she should simply move in and split the rent instead of constantly going downstairs afterward.
Jack had agreed immediately.
Catherine had laughed at his enthusiasm but eventually said that once her current lease ended later that month, she might actually take him up on the offer.
The two worked together in the kitchen while talking about anything except police work for a while.
By four in the afternoon, they had prepared spicy chicken, beef-and-potato stew, and a large vegetable salad.
Jack opened the wine and poured two glasses.
Neither of them spoke much when they first sat down.
They were starving.
The kidnapping investigation had kept them too busy to eat lunch.
After several minutes, Catherine finally broke the silence.
“Today was dangerous.”
Jack looked up.
“The shootout with Ernesto.
Then the bus.” Catherine pushed a piece of chicken around her plate with her fork.
“Either one could have gone very differently.”
“But they didn’t.” Jack set down his fork and looked at her.
“We handled it together.
Ernesto was stopped eventually, Omar is dead, and Diego went home with his father.”
Catherine rolled her eyes, but her expression softened.
“That doesn’t mean you should stop caring whether you survive.”
“I don’t.”
“You jumped out a third-floor window after an armed killer.”
“Technically, I used the fire escape.”
Catherine stared at him.
Jack decided to stop talking.
She took her wine glass and walked toward the window.
“Intelligence is short-handed now.
Jules is probably going to be recovering for months, and nobody knows whether she’ll come straight back to field duty afterward.
Hank needs people.”
Jack poured a little more wine into her glass.
“You think we can handle Intelligence full-time?”
“You’re already doing the work.” Catherine smiled faintly.
“You found the camera angle they needed for Diego, narrowed down where the kidnappers might be hiding, helped locate the bus station, and then saved Diego on the bus.
That’s more than enough to prove you can contribute.”
Jack raised his glass.
“If Hank actually transfers us permanently, I hope we stay partners.
Intelligence usually works in pairs, especially when things get dangerous.”
Catherine raised hers as well.
“I hope so too.”
They drank.
Dinner ended in a far more relaxed atmosphere than the day had begun.
When Catherine finally prepared to leave, she stopped near the doorway for a moment.
Then, before Jack could say anything, she stepped forward and gave him a quick hug.
It lasted only a few seconds, but it was warm.
“You did well today, Jack,” Catherine said quietly.
“Seriously.
Just try not to be so damn impulsive next time.”
She released him, turned, and walked toward the stairs.
Jack watched until she disappeared from sight before closing the apartment door.
He leaned back against it for several seconds.
The living room still carried the smell of dinner and the faint trace of Catherine’s perfume.
[Goal Tracker]