The Original Beefcake

Marcus knocked on the door and seconds later Pierre opened. "Marcus? Is it about the re-match? We might get another shot later…." But Marcus just shook his head and pushed a package into Pierre's arms. "Take it. I won't argue about this. They are useless to me and I hate the thought somebody might die, because we did not show up with everything we got." Before the French man could respond Marcus stomped down the hallway.

Since yesterday Marcus felt a strong premonition that something bad will happen. Somebody from the team will die, he could feel it and it drove him nuts. The LCPS and the police had created a trap for the smugglers and they had fallen for it. They let it slip, to a known source of the Hard Boys, that one new portal was apparently not watched for a limited time, because of technical issues.

The teams prepared, set out by car and closed in on the trap site. "What! Why are you looking at me like this? Creep!" Janette shouted, and kicked Marcus with a foot. He just shrugged and looked somewhere else. He couldn't help it. Last night's nightmare had shown him Janette in a coffin, her body torn by bullets. Her eyes were empty and dead. He held on to the armored Thunder Car, while they moved through thick woods on dirt roads. From time to time he stole glances at Janette. A part of him knew that this terrible feeling was partially the fault of his trauma, but he also couldn't bear the thought of losing her.

Half a kilometer from the portal they left the cars behind and hid them well. It was possible the 'boys' would use drones to scout the area. Most of the team took cover between 50 and 100 meters from the portal, Janette stayed 200 meters behind in a good sniping position. They spread out and covered the whole area to avoid any enemy escape. And then they waited. If the criminals wanted to make use of the security gap they had to get into the portal in the next four hours.

Marcus was one of the closest to the portal, together with Russo and Ben. Support and faster class holders were a bit behind. Marcus looked up, it was day, but it was overcast and the forest was thicker than he had expected. Not only the line of sight, but even the sounds vanished after a few meters.

The waiting was hard for Marcus, stupid visions and scenarios went through his head. The longer this took the more nervous he would get. The com line cracked "Several cars are approaching the area." Police spotters had picked up the enemy. "Wait until they get out of the cars. Only open fire when they don't surrender or try to get into the portal. Janette make sure nobody gets away." Russo's voice sounded professional like always. "I can see them now, too." Janette signaled from her raised stand. Seconds later Marcus could hear the cars and then see them.

Three civilian cars reached the portal area and came to a halt. People in civilian clothing, armed with guns and other weapons, quickly got out of the cars and prepared to enter the portal. It seemed they chose speed over caution. A bad choice.

"LCPS! LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER! YOU ARE IN VIO-" Cullen's voice came over a speaker and broke the silence. Near instantly the criminals raised their guns or tried to get into the portal. The first shot fell and Marcus sprinted from behind a large tree towards the cars. As he ran Janette and the fast team members began their attack and Marcus could see enemies fall in seconds.

By the time he had reached the first car the combat was over. He wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry. Janette took down at least two, but Pierre and Pavel were the true reapers. Together they incapacitated six and the last fell to Russo with a throwing spear. Marcus felt somewhat stupid and useless, too. Pierre suddenly was next to him, in his hand an exotic looking short sword, with a black blade. "It does the trick," he said with a smile, and Marcus nodded. The blades were far more useful in Pierre's hands than in Marcus' closet.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Soon after, Marcus watched as several wounded were taken away together with the corpses. It wasn't an easy sight. "Don't feel sorry for them. These bastards ignore the rules of society and instead only follow the rule of the strongest," Russo lectured Marcus. "But are we then any better?" Marcus asked, and Russo laughed. "Of course, we don't serve ourselves but get pushed around by people who are much weaker than us. Politicians, bureaucrats and so on." Marcus laughed too, but wondered how much truth was hidden in those words. Cullen also joined the philosophical discussion, "You know what happened to those countries that only allowed the military to get class holders, don't you Marcus?"

Of course he knew. These countries fell to militaristic dictatorships in no time and only a large amount of bloodshed gave the people their freedom back. And not all managed even with the help of the UN and other powers. He still thought about this when they moved back to the base.

With tension they waited for new information and the forensic experts in the police and LCPS worked fast. By noon the next day they had a far clearer picture of the situation. The Hard Boys in the area worked under the guise of a transport company with a large building outside of Helsinki. They had several teams of scavengers that operated from there. Besides the compound itself, an undisclosed underground facility existed where materials were prepared for shipment or storage.

Time was of the essence. Once the Hard Boys realized their team wasn't happily gathering plants on another planet, but were in the police morgue, they would abandon the base and rebuild somewhere else. A plan to storm the compound was hastily drawn up. The police would surround the compound and ensure nobody would escape, but the hard part would be up to the LCPS.

"Don't think this will be as easy as last time. We had the element of surprise on our side. This time we have to breach into their base and we have no knowledge about the layout or how many people are down there. In addition, it is close quarters with lots of cover, hiding spots and corners. Stay sharp." Cullen held a short speech before they set out. On the way Marcus caught a look from Russo and he knew this was exactly the kind of situation Russo was worried about.

The first part of the plan went down perfectly. Together with the police, the teams surrounded and stormed the building in the outskirts of Helsinki. Most people were just unarmed workers, only a few drew weapons and were disabled quickly. The problem started from there.

There was only one entrance to the underground area. It was a wide hallway hidden behind fake crates, but the defenders had enough time to prepare against an attack. They would have to breach the entrance and overwhelm the defenders. The hallway was about 20 meters long and from time to time bullets came flying from the other side.

They quickly made up a plan that had the best chance of success under the circumstances. Russo and Janette got a few flashbang and smoke grenades from the police and would lay down cover with precisely aimed grenade throws. Marcus would play the breacher and storm the enemy's side. Behind him would follow the mobile classes and support. The only bad part of the plan was that Elise couldn't reinforce Marcus, she needed line of sight for that.

"Take two flashbangs with you. It might come in handy. You don't need to take anybody out, just draw their fire and break their formation. If there is a powerful class holder, don't forget we are right behind you." Russo gave Marcus last tips, like a dad before a big game. Marcus appreciated it, but his hands were still jittery. And he wasn't alone, when everybody got in position and he closed his helmet Janette kicked him against the leg. "Just make yourself really small so they don't hit you," her voice sounded tense. "Sure I will just turn invisible so they can't see me," he joked back to her. Then he got into position like a sprinter, concentrating on the charge.

At the last moment he got back up again.

"STUPID. I'm so stupid. LARS!" Marcus' voice came over the com line. "Marcus, what is it?" Lars answered surprised. "You can use your second ability right? The one that kills electric devices, including the lights, in an area?" Marcus felt too stupid to not have thought about that. "Yes but if I kill the lights in the hallway we will also not see a thing. Unless we bring lights, and that will make us easy targets." Lars explained, but Marcus didn't mind at all. "No problem, my armor has IR vision. I don't need lights."

The lights in the hallway and beyond vanished. Surprised and confused shouting of defenders instantly broke out. Something big and heavy moved down the hallway with great speed. Once it reached the men and women who guarded the entrance screams echoed through the underground facility. Marcus charged through the defenders striking, kicking any target he could see. Driving the rest back through fear alone. Seconds later the other team members followed. Their light beams scanned the area for resistance and crushed any they found with overwhelming power.

They had taken the entrance without any loses or even wounds.