Hugh paced three steps back and forth in a tight line as the vacant looking smiling Jenifer blonde left the small and equally vacant square room she had led him too. He had been awakened from his quarters in G.O.’s North American headquarters and told that he should grab a coat because he was heading to Chicago, and it was going to be cold. It was also going to be his first assignment as part of the newly formed Strike Force 41. He was supposed to meet the other three members of his team here soon. In the corner of the room were a chair and a small cabinet containing scotch in a square bottle and some shot glasses- obviously to quell the very same nerves he was feeling now. It would not help; ironically, considering he was dressed like a demented combination of biker, soldier, and rock star, Hugh was a teetotaler. He took the seat though just to stop himself from pacing and tried to suppress the urge to do that annoying leg tap that pissed him off so badly when other people did it.
He did not know much about his new team members, and this is what frightened him. He had been told the role that each of them would play, but that was all. He had not even been given the names of the people he would soon trust his life to. Of course, he had been assured of their top notch quality, but he really knew nothing. Apparently, one of them members was a top notch “recon and intelligence” guy, and another was a “stealth and low impact termination” specialist, so he could be assured that they knew much more about him than he did about them. This comforted him even less- the kind of discomfort that is felt in the stomach when the plane hits turbulence and everyone thinks for a moment, “What have I gotten myself into?” Other than those two it was only a “tactical leader” and Hugh the “Heavy Enforcer”. Hugh knew this was a nice way of saying “dumb muscle”, but he took it in stride since his title was the only one capitalized in the dossier. It made him feel a little more important.
The door opened and Hugh leapt to his feet only to regretfully realize a moment later that he was about to salute and probably looked silly standing at attention. An Asian woman entered followed by a blonde woman and what looked to be a skinny child. The Asian woman wore a sophisticated looking business skirt and blouse combo, and Hugh almost could have fooled himself into thinking she was a secretary if he had not seen the handle of the military grade machete poking out over her shoulder. The blonde girl was dressed much more eccentrically; she was wearing what looked like a skin tight wet suit and some of those wooden block sandals that Hugh had only seen in those cheesy three am samurai movies. She had a pair of belts that were hung in an X on her hips another pair hung in the same way over her shoulders like the bandoleers that Mexican banditos used to where. All four of these belts were loaded with knives. As a trained fighter, Hugh had instinctually checked for weapons, but he was also a man. Both of these women were about Hugh’s age, and they both were very attractive.
Hugh did not foresee any competition in the third individual anyway. He was less than four feet tall and dressed like an Eskimo, with mittens, boots, scarf, snow pants, a parka, and goggles tinted so darkly Hugh would have sworn they had just been painted black. This was shocking to Hugh. It seemed- with nerves- that the room was very hot, and it was hard to comprehend anyone dressing that way. Even through the bulky clothes, Hugh noted that the third team member was unarmed and his limbs seemed spindly. Hugh wondered for the first time if maybe this team was going to be able to handle the types of tough situations that they would be put through.
The Asian woman said, “You must be Hugh.” Without waiting for his response she continued, “This is our team’s metal man.” He smiled and nodded at the other two individuals. She gestured toward the blonde and the small one and said, “This is our stealth expert Chloe Legrace, and our Intelligence manager Xero.” She smiled; he nodded. “I am Ami Axedoubter the team’s tactician. I’m sorry for these rushed introductions, but we’re expected to prepare for this mission in three hours. You must all gather your supplies and meet me in room five as soon as you can.”
To be continued…
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