The Original Beefcake

They made their way back, worn and weary of any shadow or movement. Marcus helped Pavel walk and Elena was supported by Cullen. When they returned to the entrance the other teams welcomed them. Janette and her team looked completely fine, but Russo and his group had seen better days.

Pierre retold the story of his group. They had encountered a few stragglers and later, in one large room, they had found a class holder, who could hide in darkness. Kage, rank 92, Marcus thought. "He was laughing and taunting us in the darkness and then Janette just iced him with one shot." Pierre was full of praise, "Don't know how she saw him but BANG and it was over." Janette just shrugged her shoulders. "Skill," she said, but Marcus had the feeling a large amount of willpower was the source of this miracle.

Russo's team had found the barracks and they had been attacked from two sides. Lars and Russo looked like they had taken at least one hit from a rifle round and Ben had lost half his hair and his face was burned. The burning came from a strong Ray Knight as Russo explained, "He waited until we were fully engaged with the normal troops and then attacked us from behind. Ben got hit pretty hard and we got somewhat lucky to take him out. He already had a strong Shield so getting close was hard. But some water line had cracked and spilled water on the floor, right where the bastard stood. Lars electrocuted his ass off." Russo finished with grim satisfaction and Lars nodded in stoic Lars fashion.

The police were waiting for a sign that they could move in, but Cullen and Russo denied it. "Luca, something is missing." Russo agreed, "We haven't seen anything that looked like some central, some main hub for planning." After a short discussion they set out to look for another hidden area and they started with the direction of Russo's team. A suspiciously useless corridor revealed a secret door after careful inspection.

This time the whole team was here, battered but all hands on deck. As they prepared in front of the door Cullen made a strange face. He rubbed his fingers and sucked his teeth. "Does somebody else feel a bit off. I mean more than a minute ago?" He asked and Russo gave him a worried look. Several people agreed, including Marcus, who felt a bit off, but had thought the wounds and stress were the source. "What do you think?" Russo asked his friend. "Druid," Cullen said.

Russo heavily sucked in the air and punched a wall. Rank 10 Druid, the top support class. THE top support class, Marcus thought bitterly. They can manipulate large areas to hinder foes and to help friends. Their buffs weren't as powerful as for example a Shaman's Reinforcement, but they affected a huge area and they didn't need line of sight.

"So, what do you think? Half a dozen mooks, maybe one or two tougher guys and the Druid?" Russo asked. Cullen nodded, "If we are unlucky." This time, there wasn't much of a plan. They had one entrance and the best way to deal with a strong Druid was to rush them down as quickly as possible. Marcus felt drained and wondered how bad it must be for the rest if his vitality couldn't keep up. They decided to move quickly before they lost any more strength.

They opened the door and a hail of bullets greeted them, but they had taken cover and only a few grazes were the result. Smoke and flash bang grenades flew in and then, like in the original entrance plan, Marcus stormed in crashing through the defenders. The room was only 10 by 10 meters and everything turned into a melee soon.

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The few bullets Marcus took from his charge weren't as bad as the first time, most likely not armor piercing, he thought. The druid went down to Pierre's blades only seconds into the fight. A big guy in spiked armor, with a skull helmet got double teamed by Lars and Ben, who seemed to work well together. It was 20 seconds of brutality and mayhem in the name of justice.

And then it all was over. The Hard Boys base had been taken and their operation in Finland destroyed. When they left, the police and some civilians applauded them. A news team was there and reported on the raid. Somehow they had turned into local heroes and champions of justice. But Marcus didn't care about being a hero, he just felt drained, physically and mentally. After getting back to the base, he had some food, a shower and then fell into his bed like a corpse. This night no nightmares bothered him.

In the morning he felt more alive than in many weeks. He had a very healthy breakfast and some light exercise to get the blood pumping. Certain other team members gave him disgruntled looks, they were still aching and mending wounds. Next he went and looked for Janette. He wanted to talk with her about everything that happened and also spent his three new crests. He hadn't expected to get this many levels, but he had been in the thick of things a lot. Some of the class holders must have been level twenty or higher, he thought.

Marcus finally found Janette, she was talking with Elena of all people, in the common room. He greeted them, "Good morning. How are you feeling? What are you talking about?" Marcus felt too good to be subtle. "We were just talking about which bra we like to use for combat. What cut and how tight it should be around the breasts. Also, what slip type we prefer that time of the month when we start bleeding. Do you want to add your personal experience too?" Janette replied, with a smile on her face. Marcus turned on the spot and walked away, feeling like a lot of cold water had been poured over his soul.

Janette turned back to Elena and continued their discussion as if nothing had happened. "Don't worry about Marcus. He definitely doesn't think you are weak. This isn't how he works." Elena nodded slowly, but didn't seem fully convinced. "First he had to save me and got wounded because of that and then I broke down crying like a baby. It would be understandable if he thought me weak."

Janette looked at the woman who was several years younger than her and scratched her head, "Instead of worrying you should just talk to him. I know that sounds generic, but it is the best advice." Janette watched Elena leave the common room and hoped the two youngsters wouldn't end up in bed. It would only lead to heartache, for the both of them. But they were too young to understand that, yet.

Marcus went to practice to recover from the heavy mental attack Janette had given him. Pierre joined him and they discussed the raid and everything else. "Now that the danger is over, I will return the blades to you," he said, but Marcus shook his head, spilling some sweat on the ground. "You can keep them. I lend them to you until I need them." They both smiled, knowing he would never need them. Afterwards they discussed fighting high speed opponents and Pierre helped Marcus understand their weak points while Marcus shared his view on such a match up.

For lunch and later for dinner Elena and Elise joined them. Elise and Pierre seemed more at ease showing their feelings in front of Marcus and Elena was far more open than Marcus remembered. They all groaned at the thought that they wouldn't get any loot from the whole campaign. It was all declared evidence for the police investigation. At least they had helped to improve the public opinion on the LCPS. Although, you can't buy anything with that and armor repair isn't cheap, Marcus had pointed out.

The next morning the Thunder Squad bid farewell to the Cullen team who were taken away by a helicopter once again. Marcus felt they had grown much closer to the other team and wondered when they would meet again. The one thing he regretted was that he didn't get the opportunity to talk to Cullen over a hot cup of tea.

In the evening the team was gathered in the common room spending their time the usual way. Marcus felt at ease, he had spent his crests (vitality all the way!) together with Janette and at least for now things were back to normal. Pavel and Lars were playing a round of chess, Russo read a paper book sitting in his 'grandpa' chair and Janette played silly games on her phone.

"More ice tea please!" Janette waved her empty glass and Marcus got up to get the princess more drink. The outside beyond the windows was dark, the pale moon was hiding behind thick clouds. Marcus could see the outline of a person at the edge of the base compound. A flame illuminated the figure, like a little sun in the middle of the night. "COVER!" Marcus screamed and grabbed Janette, dragging her behind the large couch.

A second later the room turned into an inferno of fire.