The armed squad was quietly wandering through the forest thicket. Equipped with night vision devices, the girls, avoiding obstacles, carefully spread out in a chain through the forest. The research area of the squad stretched for a hundred metres. The sniper spotted by the lady must have been nearby.
"Captain, take a look at this," one of the girls called quietly to the commander.
The girl captain walked over to her subordinate and stood stunned. Large raindrops were falling from the sky, soaking into the ground and "melting" it, turning the hard ground into viscous mud. Right in front of her lay a still fresh corpse. Its face was buried up to its ears in the sticky mud, the signs of the dead woman's desperate struggle visible to the naked eye. An unpleasant chill ran down the former Mexican mercenary's back.
Giving an order into her earpiece, the commander gathered her entire squad. The girl fighters stood over the corpse.
"We don't know who this corpse belongs to, but apparently there are other forces besides the terrorists who have taken up residence in the meat factory. How they feel about us is unknown. The only thing that's certain is that this unknown force does not belong to the FBI or the police. That's not how lawmen do things," the girl captain instructed her team. - We'll continue our journey in a column, one behind the other. Exploration in a chain can be dangerous, judging by the work done, not an amateur was working.
The girls in uniform silently accepted the commander's order and the group followed the trail of the murdered woman. After passing four dozen metres, the captain next at the head of the column raised her hand, giving the order to stop the column, and then disperse.
The Kingpin mercenaries who had taken up combat positions were watching the absurd scene through their night vision devices. A guy clad in a metal combat suit was sitting in the middle of the clearing on a camouflage jacket and calmly eating chips. Next to him stood an open bottle of water.
The mercenary commander almost choked on her saliva when the guy turned straight in their direction and smiled welcomingly:
"What are you staring at, do you want some too?
"Don't move! Raise your hands! - Knowing that they were noticed, the captain decided to act aggressively and with a machine gun aimed at the guy, came out of the thick bushes.- Girls, I'll be honest with you, you're taking a long time. If I was that unlucky sniper in the mud, I would have already had time to run away from you ten times, or at least ambush you, - August raised his hands and smiled slyly. When he saw that the group that had climbed out of the trucks had shrunk dramatically, he knew immediately what they were up to. The mercenary wasn't going to hide or engage him. Not yet. He needed to find out their purpose for coming here. Considering how stealthy they'd been when they drove up to the meatpacking plant, maybe he and they could work together. Then he wouldn't have to do all the free labour alone. Offloading some of the responsibilities onto others, that's where the key to success lies. You only realise that when you've been through it yourself.
"Give me your hands and don't do anything stupid. I wouldn't want to hurt a man. Especially such a handsome one, - said the head of the second squad more calmly. While her men had the man in their sights, she went up to him and tied his hands securely with snares.
"Look, I understand everything. I'm a prisoner and I have to obey you, but do me a favour and take my trophy packet of crisps. I like them very much, I'll buy some for myself later, - August picked up his helmet from his camouflage coat.
"Shut up, you don't understand the situation. It's all right, we'll take you to the mistress. She will show you that you should not joke with us boy, - feeling full control over the situation, the head of the squad grinned imperiously. - Perhaps if you beg for mercy as soon as you see her, she might spare your life.
"Is there any way to stay alive without it? - Augustus asked, amused by the whole situation. It would not have been difficult for him to break the restraints that held him back, nor would it have been difficult for him to deal with the group that had bound him in a direct face-to-face confrontation. And Kingpin, even if she were five times stronger than a normal human, would have been no trouble at all.
Except that the mercenary didn't know one major detail. The Kingpin in his mind was completely different from the Kingpin waiting for him near the minivans. If he had known about her current strength, he would have smiled understandingly when he saw her in the crosshairs of his sniper rifle and would have run away without a second thought. August had second-level regeneration and a bunch of other abilities that allowed him to have some pride, but he wasn't immortal. And even if he was, he still escaped. It was impossible to stand up to Fisk's abilities on spirit immortality alone.
Kingpin's mercenaries took away his pistols and machine gun. Augustus was left unarmed, but he was not particularly discouraged. In this unarmed state he was dragged out of the forest and knelt down in front of the silent Vanessa.
"So you are their "mistress"? - smiled the bound mercenary, rising from his knees.
At that moment Vanessa's face became paralysed. She froze, not knowing what to say. It would seem that with her mind it was easy to come up with a lie, or why would she even need to come up with a lie when she could quietly deal with the problem at hand and move on? Except the thought of killing Augustus didn't even run through Kingpin's mind. She was focused on her lie, the quiet voice that appeared knocking her out of concentration. That voice in her head was telling Fisk to confess honestly to the mercenary. In the end Vanessa did what she thought was right and what was right.
"I can't just forgive the terrorists who carried out a terrorist attack in downtown New York and killed so many innocent people. After providing funds to the families of the victims, I used my personal resources to launch a private investigation. Finding the perpetrators was difficult, but I managed to do it. After that, I hired a team of professional mercenaries and came here," Kingpin's face fell silent as she finished speaking. Her eyes were carefully analysing August's facial expressions, trying to figure out whether he believed it or not.
"Yeah, looks like we're on the same side," the mercenary nodded smartly, trying to hide his fucking surprise at such a believable lie. To come up with such an excuse in the dozen seconds it took him to come here and kneel before her. Fisk was gifted with a brilliant mind, and realising that mind made her a little uneasy. - Will you untie my hands, partner?
The Kingpin soldiers standing around were in shock. What was all this lying for? Why didn't Madam immediately order this guy to be killed? Was it their frightening and bloody mistress who always solved all matters radically and did not tolerate disrespect? And the guy was not only in the wrong place at the wrong time, but also dared to disrespect Mistress Fisk. Starting a conversation with her from a position of equality.
"How dare you address my big sister like that?! I'm going to punch your guts out! - Kingpin Sword, dressed in the uniform of a soldier, jumped forward. August didn't recognise her.
[Mission received!
Hero
Description: Unknown terrorists are holding people hostage in an abandoned meat factory. Save them, you're a hero!
Reward: Level 2 Superhuman Reflexes]
[Hidden Quest Obtained!
Hero is my middle name!Description: Hidden
Reward: Hidden]
"Shut up! I didn't say you could talk. Apparently, when I get home, I need to take preventive measures to educate you," Vanessa said angrily. Sword's legs shook and she looked at Fisk in horror. - We are a family, the older ones should teach the younger ones how to behave with others or am I wrong? Answer me.
"Y-yes, sister, you're absolutely right. I was wrong and I need a lesson in parenting from you.
"Come to me," Vanessa beckoned to Swordswoman. She smiled happily and ran up to her sister's hand. She started petting her like a faithful dog. - Don't give me any more trouble.
"Ahem, ahem, sorry, I'm interrupting your family idyll, but can I be released? - The mercenary coughed, not intending to break free of his restraints, so as not to create unnecessary conflicts. After all, in his mind he had already determined who would do the main work for him while he was busy rescuing the hostages.
Task! So much meaning in that one word. August was glad to see the system windows appearing. He had not seen them for a long time, he even began to think that his system had broken or was malfunctioning. But thank the almighty system God - everything went well.
The sound of the first system window appearing in the mercenary's head sounded like a voluptuous trill. No different. After reading the description and examining the reward, August was overjoyed. The joy of finding twenty dollars in the pockets of a dead sniper was nothing compared to the euphoria of the assignment and the reward for it. He was definitely doing the right thing! He even had a thought to stop being a mercantile shithead and start doing something for free. But it quickly disappeared - the money system had long ago perverted his "innocent" mind. The very thought of working for free echoed in August's head with unbearable pain. Yes, the greedy system was definitely to blame.
The second trill of the second task caused the mercenary not joy, but extreme surprise. August had never encountered hidden tasks before and didn't know how to react to them. How to perform them was also interesting. Pure randomness. It seems as if the boss at work told you to go to work, and you go to your workplace and don't realise what job he told you about.
In general, the attitude towards the hidden task was ambiguous, it seemed to be good that there is, but August did not have much joy and hope for its fulfilment.
Kingpin leaned slightly in front of the mercenary to unbind him. The angle was intriguing. From his vantage point he could fully appreciate the criminal queen's main upper charms. Her armour, of course, created some interference in the assessment of the modest appraiser, but not particularly significant.
If one looked closely and compared Vanessa's figure purely to Norma and Anita, then in terms of her upper and lower volumes, the Kingpin was inferior to Norma and was on the level of Anita. When judged by her face, Fisk had no equal. Norma and Anita had beautiful faces, far superior to ninety per cent of all the other girls in the world, but they still fell short of Vanessa's pretty face. If Norma and Anita's faces were a couple of notches above the faces of the best models in this world, Vanessa's face was a full three notches higher.
"Thank you very much, that's much better, - August put the helmet on his head and turned to the silent Swordswoman. The girl, noticing the man's gaze, flashed her eyes angrily and turned away.
"Give him back his weapons," Kingpin ordered, and the mercenaries quietly complied with her order.
"So, what's your plan of action? - August asked after checking the clip of the assault rifle. Vanessa pointed at the captain of the combat team and began to speak.
First they should neutralise possible observer-snipers on the perimeter of the building, and then, having surrounded the building from all sides, make a quick assault with fragmentation and flash-bang grenades. That sounded pretty unsafe for possible hostages. If a fragmentation grenade accidentally hit them, it would be unpleasant.
So fragmentation grenades were agreed to be used only as a last resort. In his defence, the captain, having some experience in such cases, said that terrorists would not place hostages in an open room. They would have too many opportunities for escape there, and the meatpacking plant had only one open floor. The only logical place to hold hostages inside such a building was the basement. It used to house freezers for already freshened carcasses. The freezers were removed after the meat factory went bankrupt, leaving only bare basement walls.
During the joint plan, August shared that he had already eliminated all perimeter observers. The only thing left was to make an assault, and it had to be made sooner rather than later. The terrorists would definitely have noticed the disappearance by now. The mercenary had switched the snipers' radios to frequency interference, but his trick would not work for long. If it worked at all. It could be that the militants in the building were already waiting for them with all their weapons. To test this, just before the assault, when all the Kingpin mercenaries had dispersed, Augustus randomly chose a spot on the brick wall next to the main gate and fired a shot. The large bullet from the heavy pistol easily penetrated the bricks, and the next thing they heard was a painful shriek and a fall.
"Yeah, it was so expected it was funny.
"Good shooting," praised Kingpin, who had been silent since the action began.
Through the closed iron gates the firing began. Not only heavy assault rifles of seven-and-a-half calibre were working, but even several machine guns of the same calibre.
Further into the plan, August left the bandit's company and headed for the outer upper left corner of the meatpacking plant. There was no door or any other entrance, a solid brick wall. Behind that wall was the entrance to the basement. Through the walls near the basement entrance, gunshots could be heard.
"He's shooting, and he's not even shy. You can't leave it like that, - the mercenary took out a pistol from his holster and put the muzzle of the weapon against the wall. One second to mark the exact spot and shoot. The gunshots behind the wall stopped with a resounding rumble. Presumably the hostage keeper had been killed. Now it was just a matter of time. Using kung fu techniques picked up from various Chinese films, punch through the brick wall with his bare hands.
Of course, August did not want to suffer nonsense during an important mission and left the demonstration of kung fu techniques for later. It would be later when he was alone again and had nothing to do. What to say? The mercenary had a strong suspicion that he was having a midlife crisis. When he was already an adult, but he wanted to suffer more than before.
Leaving unnecessary thoughts for later, without pretending to be a wise old Chinese master, August struck the wall. He did not limit the force of the blow in any way. His armoured gloved fist made contact with the wall and passed through it unhindered. With a few more blows, the man created a good gap in the wall and climbed through it.
...
Hera and Petra were talking quietly amongst themselves while Gwen 'slept'. The girl was actually listening intently to the kidnappers' negotiations. Trying to find glimmers of hope for rescue in their dialogues. The time allotted by the terrorists was coming to an end. There was only half an hour left before they would take the first man and lead him to execution. The woman who had spoken of the execution suggested a blonde, sickly schoolgirl as the first victim. Her interlocutor agreed.
Stacy nearly had a nervous breakdown at that moment. She could barely contain her raging emotions. She prayed to herself for Stark to arrive quickly and save her.
The red-haired billionaire seemed to hear her prayers, or maybe God had mercy on her? Short bursts of gunfire were heard from above, followed by full-fledged gunfire and explosions. The hostages immediately stirred, joyful smiles on their faces.
"See, I told you the authorities would save us. We'll all be home in a few hours," Petra said with relief. - Gwen, are you okay to walk?
"No, I still have weakness in my legs and arms. I don't know why it started a few hours after waking up, it was fine, - Gwen replied puzzled, trying to move her weakened legs. Her arms were still moving, but her legs were a mess.
"When we get out, I'll send you for a full course of medical examination in the best clinic "Ozcorp", - said Hera without taking objections and folded her hands expectantly. - Where are our saviours? I want to dive into the bathtub and forget all this as a terrible dream.
"Huh, you just want to get home so you can sit and read all the new gossip on your lover's fan site, don't you?
"Gwen, out of compassion for the paralysed you, I'm not going to hit you. You can rest easy.
"I'm not paralysed! You don't have to talk to me like that! I'm actually--
The metallic rattle of the door interrupted Gwen's screaming. All the hostages stared at the slowly unlocking door. A couple of seconds and a figure shrouded in metal armour, with a helmet on his head, appeared before them. Hera's eyes went wide, staring at her in disbelief:
"Augustus?
"That's the one. I need to keep an eye on you, you're always getting into trouble. After I get home, I'll talk to your mother so she won't let you go anywhere else," the mercenary took off his helmet and began to walk down the basement stairs. Towards the door holding the hostages.
"I'm not your daughter, you don't have to behave like this to me! - Hera immediately sulked, remembering Gwen's taunts about her age. Apparently it wasn't just mockery, it seemed that her friend had clearly recognised Hera's main obstacle on the way to love.
"Yeah, yeah, so where are the keys to the door? It doesn't matter, I'll open it this way, - the mercenary threw away the borrowed bunch of keys. With the first door everything was simple, it was clear at once which key should be put to open the door, but here... - Get away from the door, now I'll break it down.
"What did he just say?
"This guy's not strong enough to kick the door down.
"Hey, he's Anita Stark's bodyguard!
Most of the hostages didn't believe August's words, but they did as he said and stepped back. Hera froze in anticipation, making sure her friends were watching Augustus, she inwardly smiled.
One blow and the door holding the hostages came off like a tank shot. The people who had been watching it went wide-eyed at the sight.
"He's a mutant.
"Definitely a mutant, a human can't have that kind of power.
Looking at her friends again, Hera saw the stunned look on their faces mixed with shock. Their reactions pleased the younger Osborne, now Gwen and Petra should understand more why she was so much in love with August and begin to envy her even more. Truthfully admitting to herself, Hera herself was now standing with the same expression on her face as her friends.
"I've made a slit on the left, so you can get out through it. I'm not going to wipe your arse from here.
"Why do we have to get out on our own? Can't the police--
"Where did you see the police? - August smiled. - Do I look like a policeman? You can go up the stairs and look at the girls shooting at each other. I'll tell you in advance, there are no cops among them. You'd better get out of here quick, or you'll never know what's gonna happen.
The freed prisoners realised everything and rushed to freedom. They had no grudge against August, he was still their saviour. Especially the rescued girls. Their glances at August's back were full of obsession. Obviously, in a few days August's fan site would be filled with new members, and the media would get a hot scoop and once again the mercenary's fan site would skyrocket. One day August will find out about this site and will come to the administrators to demand money from them.
All the hostages have escaped and only the three friends are left.
"What are you standing around for, a special pep talk?
"Gwen's in trouble, she can't go...
Hera had not yet had time to finish, as August took Gwen in his arms under a surprised and pleasant shriek. The younger Osborn's heart filled with blood. She could carry her friend herself. She just wanted to let Augustus know that Stacey wasn't okay and ask for his help to get to the hospital quickly.
"It's okay, baby, you'll be all healed up before the wedding," August smiled dazzlingly, recognising the girl in his arms as a future superheroine. The dazzle of the mercenary's smile was not because he had met Marvel's most popular and coveted female character, but because he saw another opportunity to secure his future comfortable life. You just have to do a little matchmaking and get Spidey and Iron Man rendezvousing a little earlier.
***
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