Owen’s muscles ached from days of rigorous training. Wilson’s Warzone was aptly named, churning out warriors via agonizing training. Coach Wilson had a strict focus on two key components. Cardio and sprawling. Owen didn’t have any ground game which meant he needed to learn how to defend against a takedown. Five hundred sprawls on the mat the first day with an extra fifty for each following day. Complaining got him another fifty. Owen had nightmares about sprawling.

  The sprawl training was complemented by running. Lots of running. Stairs, roads, halls. Wherever Owen could put his feet he ran. Coach Wilson had him sprinting the length of the warzone repeatedly. Sometimes in groups, sometimes alone. With each day he felt his endurance grow. He never realized how truly out of shape he was before.

  And then he had Sensei Dan’s training to endure until he could rest. He got the message to meet from Tuck just as his head hit the pillow. The operation couldn’t wait. They had a limited window to get in and get out with their objective.

  Owen crept under the fence while Scott held it open. Bolt cutters made short work of chain link allowing the team access to a restricted site within the city’s industrial district at midnight. There were five of them including Owen and Scott. Ben, Vicky, and Naomi rounded out the team. There wasn’t much time to plan for the mission according to Tuck, and while the five man team infiltrated the restricted site, Tuck, Ed, and Tom were on another mission somewhere else in the city.

  “Stay low,” Scott said. The big man crawled like a slug. The team wore dark clothing and masks, sticking to shadows when possible as they crawled alongside parked utility vehicles and shipping containers. “Where to next?”

  “Left,” Ben whispered. He pulled the drawstrings of his hooded sweatshirt tight. “Then straight on till we reach double doors.”

  “Light above the door,” Scott said. “Take it, Naomi.” Naomi went to one knee and pulled a slingshot from her hip pouch. She pulled the elastic straps to her cheek and let a ball bearing fly. Shattered the light in a single shot. “Go!”

  They rushed across the lot shrouded by darkness. Owen would’ve been worried about the cameras, but Ben assured him most of the cameras didn’t actually work. He used to work at the site before he joined Tuck’s group and his employers liked to cut corners with their surveillance. His knowledge of the site’s inner workings made him invaluable to their goal.

  Scott sidled up to the door and stuck a small drill against the lock. He bored a hole through the steel and they were inside a large warehouse filled with endless rows of metal shelving and pallets of industrial supplies being prepared for shipment.

  “Hazardous materials are kept in section three,” Ben whispered. “Guards patrol every twenty minutes. If we’re lucky they’re being extra lazy tonight.”

  “Let’s be lucky,” Scott said. “Vicky, Naomi, find a truck and get it into position.” He tapped Owen on the shoulder. “Stick close to me.”

  Owen nodded at Vicky as she split off from the group with Naomi. He wished them luck in his head and stuck to Scott like glue as they followed faded orange arrows on the floor to section three. Flammable material posters adorned the sides of steel crates and there was a fire extinguisher every ten steps. Sprinklers lined the ceiling in case the warehouse went up in flames. Did those work? Owen thought they were walking into the most dangerous area of the city.

  “This one,” Ben said. He opened a metal crate stacked to the brim with brick shaped bars wrapped in black plastic. “Oh, yeah! Smell that? It’s wonderful. Look at these beauties.” Ben picked one up and tossed it to Owen.

  “What the fuck?” Owen whispered as he caught the explosive brick. “Are you trying to kill me?” It would be an undignified end to Owen’s short life right when he had a life worth living.

  “Relax. They won’t blow without a detonator.” Ben picked up another brick and tossed it from hand to hand. Owen winced each time he caught it. “This stuff’s stable, moldable, and highly explosive when set. Tuck’s going to cum when he sees how much we got.”

  “Sounds like you already did,” Scott said as he dragged a pallet jack around and set it under the explosives.

  “Do we need this much?” Owen asked. What the hell were they going to blow up? He figured they could knock down any building in the city with so many bricks.

  “As much as we can get,” Ben said. “Those were the orders. They normally keep this stuff outside the city for safety, but when they need to demo a decommissioned tower they store it here. Lucky for us they don’t post armed guards on it.” He replaced the brick and shut the metal lid. “Montez Holdings always skimps where it matters. Complacency be my ally.”

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  “Less talking, more pushing,” Scott said. He grunted in exertion as he pulled the pallet while Owen and Ben pushed from behind. Wheels groaned as it rolled across a linoleum floor while above fluorescent lights buzzed like angry bees.

  “You think Vicky and Naomi found a truck?”

  “They better have.” Scott’s head was on a swivel. “You know that’s how I got the three of them to join up? They were stealing cars in the mid city. Decided to put them in contact with Tuck instead of arresting them.”

  “You’re a peacekeeper?” Owen asked. He suddenly felt sick.

  “I was. That’s over with now. I sold my soul to the city when I was fresh out of school, but I’ll buy it back with this.” He nodded at the explosives. “Where’s the loading dock?”

  “That way,” Ben said. He jogged ahead of the pallet and froze. “Shit!”

  A security agent stood directly in their path. He froze, a half eaten donut in his hand. His eyes were wide and for a minute nobody moved or said anything.

  “Hey buddy,” Scott said softly. “How about you pretend you didn’t see us? Just enjoy your sandwich and have a nice uneventful shift. That’d be good for everyone.”

  “Thieves, near the loading bay!” He shouted into his radio.

  “Push!” Scott yelled. He ran at the agent and socked him in the nose. His ham sandwich exploded all over the floor and he crumpled beside it. “We don’t get another shot.” He ran behind the pallet and shoved it. The pallet jack wheels screeched as they rushed through the warehouse.

  “Three males in black!” the agent shouted into his radio.

  Three Monolith Security agents in blue uniforms appeared suddenly. They had thick duty belts strapped to their waists containing compliance tools.

  An agent pulled a ranged ECD and fired at Owen. Three darts hit him in the back and agony swept through his body as his muscles failed and he smacked the back of the pallet. He could feel electricity sweeping through every cell in his body. The more he tried to fight the worse it hurt.

  “Knight’s hit!” Ben shouted.

  “I got him,” Scott swapped places with Ben and put himself between Owen and the approaching guards. He pulled his own weapon, a collapsible baton that snapped open with a flick of the wrist. He ripped the wires attached to the ECD. Instant relief flooded Owen’s body as Scott charged the agents with a roar.

  His baton cracked a skull before the agents could pull their close range ECDs. He was a monster brawler, throwing his weight into the guards like a runaway train. He smashed them against shelving. Tossed them onto pallets of concrete mix. Swung his baton like a baseball bat to make space.

  “Get up, Owen,” Sensei Dan said. “Your people need you.”

  Owen scrambled to his feet and ran at an agent sneaking up on Scott. He jumped and kicked the agent in the back, sending him sprawling across the linoleum while Scott finished him with a kick to the face. Teeth clattered across the floor.

  More radios squawked in the warehouse and they ran. Scott scooped up an ECD and hit the electric trigger, a smile on his face.

  “I hate those things!” Owen said as he slammed into the explosive crate and pushed.

  “I love ‘em!” Scott laughed maniacally. He threw his entire weight into the pallet and it glided along the linoleum with Ben steering.

  “Stop!” Ben yelled when they got to the loading by doors. “Are you out there?” He yelled through the gate.

  “We’re here!” Naomi yelled back.

  Owen tried to open the door but it was shut tight with a thick lock. He looked around for something to pry the door with, but he’d need a tank to get through.

  “I’ve got an idea,” Ben said. “Hang tight!” He sprinted away, leaving Scott and Owen to defend the crate from the agents. Owen hoped Ben knew what he was doing. If he didn’t they were buying a one way ticket to Black Hill.

  “Hands up,” an agent said. He pulled a ranged ECD. Three red dots appeared on Owen’s chest “I am authorized to use lethal force. Surrender!”

  “Me too!” Scott roared. He flung his baton at the agent’s head. Crack! Activated his stolen ECD as the agent reeled. He dodged the darts as his ECD zapped the agent in the neck. “Get in here, Knight!”

  He didn’t need to be told twice. Owen yanked his nunchucks from his belt and snapped them across an agent’s face before he could block. Pop! Sensei Dan said they’d hurt like hell, but killing was unlikely. Still, the dull thud they made against a man’s head made Owen feel a bit sympathetic. The agents were just doing their jobs. Scott and Owen fought back to back as the agents dropped and got back up. Owen’s nunchucks swished as Scott’s ECD crackled with debilitating electricity.

  “Look out!” Ben shouted. He honked a horn as he careened toward the group on a red forklift adorned with the Montez Holding’s bull painted on its side. The agents scattered when Ben drove through. He jammed the forklift prongs through the loading bay door and hit the switch to make them rise. The door lock groaned until it snapped and with the prongs as high as they would go the crate could fit.

  Naomi helped Ben load the pallet on a waiting box truck while Owen and Scott held off the agents. They weren’t getting paid enough to die for their employers goods and after a few solid hits they weren’t as eager to keep fighting.

  “We’re ready,” Naomi said as she prepared to slide the roll top door on the truck shut. The team slid inside while Owen held the agents at bay. “Go!” Naomi grabbed the roll top door and yanked.

  “Wait!” Scott shouted as Naomi slammed the door shut and the truck sped across the warehouse parking lot.

  Without Owen.