Guest: Sophia Bush as Max Zimmer, Robin's younger sister.
In mid-December 2022, Peyton had received an email from Perry urging her to write a Christmas article. But Peyton having no inspiration for Christmas, she chose to help the Security Mentoring Force, or SecMentFor, military personel with their Christmas preparations.
Peyton indeed knew all of her friends enlisted in the US Military and served for five to seven years before asking for and earning an honorable discharge. Kelli, Dean, Rick and Lindy served as EOD technicians before turning into explosive experts for aid organizations while Liz, Liv and Mary served as sharpshooters before turning into instructors for numerous law enforcement and military forces.
For the day's briefing, Peyton and the Lithuanians of C Company were standing with soldiers from Australia, New Zealand, A Coy Mercian Regiment and Estonia's B Company Scouts Battalion. The briefing officer then began the process with a long and necessary speech.
"Okay, for the next days, we will patrol the Christmas market to ensure everything is going fine. I think you know Christmas means more patrols to pick the pickpockets. But for now, we'll only act as support patrol.
Now, up to the terrain. The foot patrol will begin at the train station, before ending at the the exit of the Christmas market. But be careful for snipers, suicide bombers and machine guns. Moreover, the area is expected to be very crowded so if you are to fire, watch where you shoot. There are civilians in the area, so apply the usual ROEs.
As for the operation itself, it will be a cordon-and-knock, meaning we politely knock the doors and search the buildings. Don't kick any doors, it's only a support operation for the police. Any question?" the officer told.
The troops and Peyton prepared their equipment and weapons before boarding their vehicles for the patrol. After the vehicles were ready, Peyton and other troops drove to the train station, where they dismounted their armored carriers, which drove back to base. Peyton patrolled alongside the Australian, New Zealand, Lithuanian, British and Estonian soldiers. Because of the cold temperatures, every soldier wore multi-layer winter uniforms while Peyton wore her South Sudan outfit, albeit with a pullover added under her coat.
After walking to the Christmas market, Peyton saw several familiar faces. But the young journalist pretended not to recognize anyone to make them a surprise. She indeed saw her father, Robin, Barry and five of her friends, namely Kelli, Rick, Dean, Liz and Lindy, enjoying some time at the Christmas market alongside persons Peyton didn't know. She ran before turning to the soldiers, whom she photographed from far enough so that nobody could recognize them before running back to them.
When Peyton and the patrolling soldiers came near the crowd, they all began to share the tasks of cordon and knock. The Estonian, New Zealand and British troops began cordoning the area while the Lithuanian and Australian troops knocked at the doors. Fortunately, the inhabitants were warm-welcoming and allowed the soldiers to search their shacks before they left. Suddenly, Peyton heard her father's voice.
"Peyton! What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Dad. I'm working. And what are you guys doing here?" Peyton replied.
"Well, we used a group coupon to buy plane tickets for the four of us. As were your friends." Robin replied.
"Yeah, makes some sense. But who's the girl next to you?" Peyton asked her father's girlfriend.
"My little sister Max. She came with me for her holiday to meet Owen." Robin told.
"Hi. I think you're the girl named Peyton. My sister and Owen told a lot about you." Max confessed.
YOU ARE READING
The Jurassic Reporter // Jurassic World and Netflix's A Christmas Prince trilogy
FanfictionEight years after being forced to bear her cousin, Peyton Grady, a former USMC combat correspondant, is now a journalist for USA Today after four years serving her country. She's currently accompanying Coalition troops monitoring the rise of UN forc...
