Chapter 23: The First Halloween Heist - Part 1
Saturday, October 27, 2018 - Mid-Wilshire Station, 9:00 AM
The parking lot looked like controlled chaos. Three teams. Camera crews. Civilian volunteers in bright vests. Captain Andersen stood on a makeshift platform, megaphone in hand.
"First clue in sixty seconds!" she announced.
I pulled out my phone, fingers ready. Tim stood to my left, arms crossed, tactical even in civilian clothes. Lucy bounced on her toes to my right.
"Breathe, Chen," Tim muttered.
"I'm breathing tactically."
Across the lot, Lopez's team huddled. Jackson cracked his knuckles. Nolan looked nervous but excited. Lopez caught my eye, smiled sharply.
Game on.
Grey stood with Andersen near the announcement table, looking far too pleased with himself.
"Thirty seconds!"
My danger sense stayed silent. Pure adrenaline, not actual threat. Good.
"Here we go," Lucy whispered.
Andersen's voice boomed. "THE FIRST CLUE: Where angels meet merchants, beneath iron and glass, seek the keeper of flames who remembers the past!"
My recall activated instantly. Iron and glass. Historic LA. Angels... Los Angeles... Grand Central Market. Built 1917, iron framework, glass skylights. Keeper of flames—vendor, cooking?
"Grand Central Market," I said.
Tim was already moving. "Go."
Angela Lopez's POV
"Grand Central Market," I said the moment Mercer did.
Jackson was faster. Already sprinting to our car.
"Merchant district, oldest market in downtown," Nolan added, panting as he ran. "I did a ride-along there month two."
"Then you navigate." I slid into driver's seat, engine roaring to life.
Through the rearview mirror, Bradford's team peeled out seconds behind us. Grey and Andersen were still at the announcement table.
They're not rushing. Why aren't they rushing?
"They're planning something," I said.
"Who cares?" Jackson grinned. "We beat them to the first location, we control the pace."
Maybe. Or maybe thirty years of experience meant playing a different game entirely.
Lucy Chen's POV
Tim drove like he was pursuing a felony suspect. I loved it.
"Market's twenty minutes normal traffic," I said, pulling up GPS. "Fifteen if we use back streets through Little Tokyo."
"Do it."
Mercer sat in back, eyes closed. Memorizing the clue, probably. His memory thing was genuinely creepy sometimes, but damn useful.
"Keeper of flames," he muttered. "Food vendor. Probably someone cooking with open flame. Traditional method."
"Taco stand?" I suggested.
"Or Brazilian churrasco. Or—"
"We'll know when we get there." Tim took a turn fast enough to make me grab the door handle. "Focus on next steps. We get the badge, what's the pattern? Five locations, probably spread across LA. One downtown, one westside, one valley, one beach, one back at station for finale."
"That's predictive," Mercer said.
"That's tactical planning."
I texted our team chat: ETA 14 minutes. Lopez's team right behind us.
Tim's jaw tightened. "Then we better be faster."
Ethan's POV - Grand Central Market, 9:17 AM
We arrived seventeen seconds before Lopez's team. Grey and Andersen were nowhere in sight.
The Market buzzed with weekend crowds. Historic building, iron beams overhead, natural light through skylights. Vendors everywhere—produce, meat, flowers, prepared foods.
"Keeper of flames," Tim said. "Split up. Find someone cooking with fire."
Lucy went left. I went right. Tim took center.
My recall catalogued every vendor as I passed. Fruit stand. Jewelry. Coffee. There—flames visible from a taco stand, older woman grilling meat over open flame, wearing a volunteer vest over her apron.
"Here!" I shouted.
Tim and Lucy converged. Lopez's team spotted us, started running.
The vendor smiled. "You found me! But first—the challenge."
She held up three plates. Bright red sauce dripped from tacos.
"Ghost pepper special. Eat one. No water for sixty seconds. Then I give you the clue."
Lucy grabbed a plate before Tim could object. "I got this."
"Chen—"
She bit into the taco. Chewed. Swallowed.
Her face turned red. Eyes watered. But she didn't reach for water.
Lopez's team arrived. "Damn it," Jackson muttered.
Fifty-three seconds. Lucy's hands shook.
Sixty.
"Time!" the vendor announced. Lucy grabbed water, chugged. "You're insane," Tim said. But he was almost smiling.
The vendor handed over a card: "Day of the Dead remembers. Look where skulls dance in color."
My recall activated. Day of the Dead display. Decorative altar near the back entrance.
"Follow me."
John Nolan's POV
We watched Bradford's team sprint toward the back of the Market.
"Should we—" I started.
"Let them find it," Lopez interrupted. "We watch where they go, then we know for next time."
Strategic. Made sense. But it felt like cheating.
"That's literally the point of competition," Jackson said, reading my expression.
Mercer stopped at a decorative altar—orange marigolds, sugar skulls, photos of deceased. Beautiful and somber. He reached behind a large skull statue, pulled out a small badge attached to a card.
"Got it!" His shout echoed.
"Damn," Lopez breathed. "Okay. We do the challenge, get our own badge."
I approached the vendor. "Three ghost pepper tacos, please."
Ethan's POV - Reading Second Clue
The badge was plastic, painted gold, embossed with "HALLOWEEN HEIST CHAMPION."
The attached card read: "Stars above the city watch. Griffith's eye sees all. Find the cosmic guardian."
"Griffith Observatory," I said immediately. "Cosmic guardian—probably someone in astronaut costume."
"Twenty minutes north," Tim said, already moving.
Behind us, Lopez's team tackled the taco challenge. Jackson volunteered. Made it forty seconds before tapping out.
We were in the car and moving before they finished.
Sergeant Grey's POV - Mid-Wilshire Station
Andersen sat at her desk, laptop open, tracking team locations via their phone GPS.
"Bradford's team is heading to Griffith," she said. "Lopez's team thirty seconds behind."
"And we're sitting here." I sipped my coffee. "This is your plan?"
"Thirty years taught me something, Wade. Sometimes the fastest route isn't the smartest route." She pulled up a map showing all five badge locations. "I worked with Mercer on planning. I know the pattern. We wait for the right moment, then we move. Let them exhaust themselves chasing badges one through three."
"You're evil."
"I'm efficient." She smiled. "Badge four and five are ours."
Tim Bradford's POV - Griffith Observatory, 9:52 AM
We arrived first. Parking lot half-full. Tourist crowds, families, Halloween decorations everywhere.
"Find someone in astronaut costume," I directed.
"There." Mercer pointed. "By the telescope display."
Civilian volunteer in full NASA suit, holding a sign: "Photo Op for LAPD Heist!"
We approached. "Team Bradford, Chen, Mercer."
"Excellent! Pose for a photo, all three of you, and I'll give you the next clue."
We positioned ourselves. Camera clicked. The astronaut handed over the badge and card.
"Where's the restroom?" Lucy asked casually.
"Down that hallway, second—"
"Lucy." My warning tone.
She grinned. Innocent. "What? I need to pee."
Lopez's team pulled into the parking lot.
Angela Lopez's POV
Nolan spotted Bradford's team by the telescope display.
"There! With the astronaut!"
We sprinted over. Got our photo. Received our badge.
"Did you see where they went?" Jackson asked.
"That way," Nolan said, pointing. "Toward the restrooms."
We followed. Checked the bathrooms. Nothing. No clue, no indication of next location.
"They tricked us," I realized. "Nolan—"
"I didn't know!" His face flushed. "The guy said restrooms, I thought—"
Jackson was already laughing. "They played us."
I pulled out our badge card, read the clue: "Where Venice meets the sea, find the silent performer who speaks without words."
"Venice Beach. Mime or street performer."
"Could be anywhere on the boardwalk," Jackson said. "That's a big area."
"Then we'd better move."
Ethan's POV - Tim's Car, Heading to Venice Beach
Lucy was still giggling about the restroom misdirection.
"That was mean," I said.
"That was tactical deception," Tim corrected. "Lopez would've done the same."
"She definitely would've done worse," Lucy agreed.
My phone buzzed. Emma: How's the heist going?
Winning so far. Lopez's team close behind.
Don't get too competitive. Cops are sore losers.
Noted. Coffee still on for later?
Absolutely. 1 PM. Don't be late.
I pocketed my phone, smiling.
"The doctor?" Tim asked, glancing in rearview.
"Yeah."
"Good. You need this." He meant both the heist and the date. "Something normal."
Nothing about my life is normal. But I'll take the approximation.
"Venice Beach next," Lucy said, reading our clue. "This is going to be chaos. Halloween weekend? Every street performer in LA is working the boardwalk."
"Then we'll use that chaos," Tim said. "Systematic search pattern. Section by section."
My recall pulled up the Venice Beach layout. Three miles of boardwalk. Hundreds of performers on a normal weekend. Halloween weekend? Thousands.
"This is going to take a while," I muttered.
Tim's grin was sharp. "Then let's make sure Lopez's team takes longer."
Saturday, October 27, 2018 - Venice Beach Boardwalk, 10:47 AM
The boardwalk was a carnival. Costumes everywhere—zombies, superheroes, movie characters. Street performers on every corner. Musicians, acrobats, living statues.
And somewhere in this chaos: one specific mime with our next clue.
"Spread out," Tim ordered. "Text if you find them. Don't engage until we're all together."
I took the north section. Checked every performer. Juggler. Break dancer. Man painted silver like a robot. Woman dressed as Wonder Woman doing photo ops.
No mime.
Twenty minutes passed. My phone buzzed—Lucy: Found someone dressed as mime. No volunteer vest. Wrong one.
Tim: Keep searching.
Lopez's team arrived. Spotted them near the skate park, clearly implementing the same strategy.
This is going to come down to luck and persistence.
Then I saw him. Classic mime—white face paint, black outfit, striped shirt. But also: orange volunteer vest over the costume, clipboard in hand.
There.
I texted the team. Stayed put, watching. Didn't want to reveal the location until Tim and Lucy arrived.
The mime noticed me staring. Waved exaggeratedly. Mimed being trapped in a box.
I waved back.
Tim and Lucy converged from opposite directions.
"That's him," I confirmed.
We approached together. The mime smiled, handed Tim a card without being asked.
"Logic and stone. Downtown's heart beats in puzzles. Find the answer to unlock the path."
"Pershing Square," I said. "Downtown. Public square with puzzle installations."
Badge number three acquired.
Behind us, Nolan's distinctive laugh. Lopez's team had found a different mime—wrong one.
"Go," Tim said. "Before they realize."
We disappeared into the crowd.
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