Steve tried to get more information. “What are you doing with the hostages? Where are they?”

  Little Tony had not yet calmed down. “That is none of your business. What is it going to be? Will you deliver the goods or do we have to prove that we are serious? And let me tell you, this is not going to be a negotiation. If you don’t show up with the goods next week, I will personally end those suckers.”

  That had been one step too much for Ben. He felt his anger rise but managed to control it. He focused on his emerging fighting style, took two steps forward, and before anybody could react, he punched one of the fighters in the solar plexus, used the momentum for a turn, and smashed his other elbow into the next Warrior.

  Both enemies dropped like stones to the ground, and all hell broke loose.

  Michael backstabbed one of them. Roots shot out of the ground, entangling three. One tried to run, but Anne punched the air behind him, and a golden fist surged from her hand toward the Warrior and hit him in the spine, toppling him.

  Within seconds, the Warriors were down.

  Steve looked at them, open-mouthed. “What the heck just happened? Now I start to understand how you run all those dungeons continuously…” He continued to shake his head as he went from Warrior to Warrior to check on them.

  It turned out that two had survived the attack. Ben was ambivalent about that. He had intentionally not used his axe, but his strikes had been too powerful—and so had most of the others.

  Little Tony was one of the survivors. He had got lucky, as Allison’s roots had not fully crushed him. The other one was the guy who had tried to run.

  Steve pulled out handcuffs and played with them. “What do you want to do with those two?”

  Ben nodded toward the handcuffs. “Make them hug some sturdy trees and cuff them. When we return, we can release them.”

  Steve nodded. “Given the environment, they might not survive that,” he said, but executed the decision anyway.

  “It is a miserable world where human lives count so little,” Ben said as he looked at the bodies of the Warriors they had just defeated, “but they made the choice to attack our people, and there is no institution left to help us rescue them.”

  Steve frowned but nodded—the failure of the police he had worked for many years still pained him.

  Ben wondered when he had become so calloused to human death. Had it been during the Alaskan village rescue? If he wanted to be kind to himself, he wasn’t callous to human death in general—just toward the people who hurt his family. Still, something to consider and meditate on.

  He turned to Anne. “That was a nice new attack.”

  “[Power Projection]—I haven’t given up yet on beating the guys,” she said, nodding to Michael and Jamal, “and the professor to Tier 2,” she added with a chuckle.

  ***

  They stood in what locals often called the flower neighborhood. It had been a new McMansion development a few years back, and all the streets were named after flowers.

  A few blocks ahead of them was the area that Damien had pursued the Warriors to. It looked like most of the houses around them were abandoned or people were in hiding.

  They had been really fast, and it was late afternoon. Ben turned to his friends. “Let’s quickly recap our priorities.

  “We need to rescue our people. We need to get them and us out of here in one piece. We want to do that quickly. That means, as much as I would like to punch each and every one of the Warriors, we need to do this with as little fighting as possible. So far, does everyone agree?”

  The others nodded; they had discussed this previously.

  “I don’t claim to be a great strategist or tactician, but without proper information we are doomed to fail. Therefore, I suggest that Michael scout the area while we wait here. Whether you can do that now or wait until it’s dark, you have to decide.”

  Michael looked around a bit and said, “I’ll wait until sunset.”

  Ben nodded. There just wasn’t any foot traffic or cover in this residential area.

  “I can also scout a bit—I don’t claim to be as proficient as Michael, but I still have my old skills from work,” Steve said.

  “Can you do it without putting yourself at risk?” Ben asked.

  “There is always some risk, but I think it is manageable.”

  “Good, then do it. Four eyes see more than two.”

  Three hours later, a man approached the yard where Ben and the team were waiting for their scouts to return. It took a while for Ben to recognize the man—dressed in a suit jacket and a baseball cap—as Steve.

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  “Nice outfit!”

  “Thanks. The neighboring house looked abandoned, so I helped myself to an outfit that was a bit less suspicious than leather armor… I walked around two sides of the compound—and that’s what it is. They’ve taken over several mansions and turned them into a small fortress. Fortunately, the walls around it are mostly repurposed picket fences—nothing that we couldn’t overcome quickly. The guards I have seen were also more lounging than paying attention. I don’t think that they expect anybody to mess with them.”

  “Good. Very good. Let’s see what Michael managed to find out.”

  Soon after, Michael returned as well. “Found them. Looking hungry but healthy.” He kneeled down to scratch the compound in the dirt and mark the building that held their friends. Then he tapped one corner of the building. “That’s where they are being held.”

  “How do they guard the area? Is it just at the gates?” Allison asked.

  “I didn’t see any patrols, did you?” Steve said, looking at Michael.

  He shook his head but pointed at the building again. “Guards in the building. At least three.”

  “Ok, how would you suggest we go about this?”

  “Windows are nailed shut—front door is the only access unless we create a commotion.” Michael paused, thinking about their options.

  Anne spoke up. “Were there any women anywhere?”

  Steve and Michael looked at each other; both shook their heads.

  “How about I also change my outfit a bit, climb over the fence, and then knock on the front door? I’m sure guys like them wouldn’t hesitate to let me in or suspect a thing… I can then take them out or at least distract them.”

  Ben’s first instinct was to vehemently decline the suggestion, but he stopped himself. He looked towards the others.

  Allison didn’t look happy about it but also didn’t object. Michael and Steve were clearly considering options based on their reconnaissance but were struggling to find any. Jamal looked resolved to get his friends back.

  The silence stretched, and Anne raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

  “I think that I don’t like it, but that I can’t come up with something better,” Ben said. “How visible is the door from the rest of the compound?”

  “Very—but no streetlights…” was Michael’s response.

  “And no patrols?” he asked, frustrated.

  “How about this: Anne knocks and goes in. When the coast is clear, Michael and I knock; Anne says more girls are coming; we enter and attack immediately?”

  They spent a few minutes iterating on the idea but essentially agreed to do it. They repositioned themselves to the east side and on the way raided abandoned houses for clothes for Anne. She found a miniskirt and crop top, paired with a bit of makeup—a very different look from the leather armor she typically wore.

  Allison clapped her hands with a smile. “Wonderful, Anne!”

  Anne smirked as the men around her tried to tactfully agree with Allison without commenting directly.

  They made their way to the fence behind their target. They had decided that Allison, Steve, and Jamal would stay behind to secure the retreat.

  Ben crouched down to give Michael a boost; he would then receive Anne, who was a little less agile with her new clothes. He himself leaped over the fence easily. They ran the few steps to hide in a blind spot behind the house, though the darkness would mostly protect them.

  Anne looked briefly back at them, then strode confidently forward and vanished around the corner of the house.

  Ben whispered to Michael, “We’ve got to make this work.”

  His silent friend just nodded.

  They heard the knock, and after a few moments, saw light stream onto the front yard. Ben couldn’t hear what Anne said, but he heard loud laughter coming out of the house.

  The light vanished as the door closed, and both men ran around the corner while looking out for any movement across the compound.

  Within seconds, they reached the front door as well. Both men had their weapons ready; Ben motioned for Michael to move to the right and himself to the left once the door was open.

  He knocked. More laughter came from the house, and he heard somebody coming to the door. The moment a crack showed, he shouldered into the door, pushing whoever had opened it back while gripping the door to prevent a loud crash.

  Michael slipped by him into the room.

  Ben took in the situation at a glance. They stood in a hallway; most of the light came from a large living room a few steps deeper into the house.

  Before him lay a man on his back, eyes wide, mouth open in surprise.

  Michael’s dagger found its target in the man’s throat. Ben closed the door behind him and rushed toward the living room. Within, Anne was struggling with one man; when she saw him enter, her struggle turned into the rapid, ruthless attacks he knew her for. One more man stood by, his laugh dying in his throat as he saw the change in Anne.

  Ben was about to rush him when he felt somebody pulling on his shoulder. Before he could react, the distraction subsided and he could continue his rush toward the final enemy in sight. The man managed a shout, but Ben’s axe ended the shout—and his life—quickly.

  As he turned around, he saw that one more Warrior lay on the floor where he had just stood, but Michael had dispatched him already. He had probably been in the kitchen, and Ben had not paid enough attention—something to reflect on later.

  With a final punch, Anne ended her fight as well.

  They remained silent for a moment, listening for any other enemies.

  Michael pointed toward himself and then the stairs to the next floor. Ben pointed to Anne, then to the front door to look for any potential enemies incoming.

  Ben himself rushed toward the room that Michael had initially indicated held their friends. It was locked, but the key was in the lock.

  He carefully opened the door, ready for whatever waited for him.

  Fortunately, there was no surprise—just four familiar faces in a bare-bones room with a few blankets.

  Adam’s happiness on seeing Ben was overwhelming. The same was true for all the others.

  Ben whispered, “It’s great to see you, but we are not fully out of the woods yet. Can you all walk?”

  They all got up and nodded.

  “Okay, then let’s move, but keep quiet. We’d like to avoid any further fights.”

  They stepped out of their prison and looked with a mixture of disdain and fury at their dead jailers. One of the men grabbed the machetes of the Warriors and distributed them to the group.

  Michael had joined Anne at the door.

  The recently freed citizens greeted the two enthusiastically but were clearly surprised by Anne’s outfit.

  “Any movement?”

  Both shook their heads.

  “Okay, then let’s go. Michael, then Anne; I’ll bring up the rear.”

  Michael held up his hand for them to wait. He quickly ran back to the living room and extinguished the lamp that had provided most of the light.

  Ben nodded in approval; now, opening the door would be much less visible.

  Michael opened the door and rushed to the left; Anne and the former prisoners followed. Ben closed the door behind him.

  When he reached the fence behind the house, Michael had already started giving the others a boost.

  Within a minute, they were all over the fence. Now they needed to escape the city.