Chapter 19: We Are All Soldiers Now!
The place looked like an abandoned factory, reeking of oil and grime. The odor was suffocating.
Robert scanned his surroundings, taking it all in.
"Mekaren, come and eat!"
A heavyset thug with dark skin waved him over. Robert, who was currently undercover as "Mekaren," glanced around. Was he really calling him?
He jogged over, fully aware that he had to stay in character. If he were exposed, there would be a dozen guns pointed his way. He couldn't afford to slip up.
A variety of food sat in wooden barrels, with disposable lunch boxes stacked high nearby. The other thugs were digging in, eating what appeared to be fried chicken, sandwiches, and toast. But the barrels looked greasy and filthy, and the sight alone was enough to kill his appetite.
"Mekaren, what are you waiting for? Come with me after you eat," the heavyset thug insisted, sounding like Mekaren's friend.
Reluctantly, Robert took a piece of toast—it was blackened and hard. He couldn't imagine how these men managed to eat it.
"Mekaren, you're a big eater, aren't you? Is this all you're having today?" the thug taunted.
Robert resisted the urge to snap. His voice was different, and if he spoke too much, he risked being discovered. To play it safe, he croaked out in a hoarse voice, "My throat… it's not great."
The hoarse tone masked his natural voice well enough.
"Hurry up, eat, and help with the moving when you're done. I'll be waiting upstairs," the thug said, moving along.
Robert let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, his cover hadn't been blown. He discreetly tossed the hard toast on the ground, hoping no one noticed.
He climbed the rickety iron stairs to the second floor, where the heavyset man was waiting. "Come on, follow me!" he barked.
As they walked, Robert saw two thugs dragging a man whose head was covered. The man wore dark blue jeans and white sneakers—Thomas!
"Be quiet!" one of the thugs growled, kicking Thomas. "The boss gave you a chance, and you didn't take it. You'll regret it soon enough. We'll see if you can keep quiet after what we have planned."
"Quit staring and follow the rules," the heavyset thug muttered to Robert.
Robert quickly looked away and continued walking.
"The boss is really something," the thug continued, whispering conspiratorially. "He actually captured Soldier 76. You know Soldier 76, right? He's from that Overwatch movie."
Robert shook his head, pretending ignorance.
"You've got to be kidding me! Soldier 76 is a superhero with incredible strength and a powerful pulse rifle that can cut through anything. He made headlines when he showed up at the Brilliant Star attack and wiped out our squad."
The thug gave Robert a suspicious look. "Do you even watch the news?"
Robert shook his head again, suppressing his irritation.
"No wonder you're stuck here carrying boxes with me. Listen, if you ever want to rise above grunt work, you need brains, not just brawn. You've got to know what's happening in politics and the military. Otherwise, you'll be a low-level mercenary forever, at the mercy of the boss—and possibly the Grim Reaper."
Robert just nodded, thinking how absurdly chatty this guy was. All he cared about was rescuing Thomas. Every second wasted meant Thomas suffered a little more.
They arrived at a warehouse stacked with wooden crates. Robert knew right away they were loaded with ammunition. Several other men were also loading crates.
The thug lifted a box. "I'll head down first. Hurry up and bring these down. Word is, this place has been compromised."
Compromised? Had the military discovered this terrorist hideout?
Regardless, Robert's first priority was Thomas. He pried open one of the crates after the others left, revealing grenades. Other crates likely contained similar explosives.
Robert took a time bomb from his pocket, set the timer to five minutes, and tucked it inside the crate before sealing it. When the bomb went off, it would level the entire area.
Leaving the warehouse, he saw Thomas being dragged into a separate room. Keeping his pace slow to avoid suspicion, Robert approached the door and knocked.
One of the thugs cracked the door open, eyeing him warily. "What do you want?"
Through the narrow gap, Robert glimpsed Thomas tied to a wooden post, gagged and groaning. A variety of brutal-looking instruments lay nearby, but they hadn't yet started the torture.
"The boss wants to see him," Robert said, his voice calm but assertive. It was a gamble—if this didn't work, he'd have to fight his way out.
One thug frowned. "Didn't the boss just have us bring him here?"
"The boss says he has a way to make him talk," Robert lied smoothly.
The thugs exchanged glances, then shrugged and let him in.
As Robert stepped inside, he found himself face-to-face with the mercenary leader, a towering man holding a battle suit box. Apparently, the leader had been trying to get Thomas to reveal the code to open it. When Thomas refused, they'd decided to resort to torture.
"I'll handle the interrogation myself," the leader grunted.
"Boss, this guy says you've found a way to get him to talk," one of the thugs said, gesturing to Robert.
At that moment, Robert's heart began to race. But without hesitation, he switched from playing Mekaren to becoming Soldier 76. With a swift elbow strike, he smashed the leader in the face with the butt of his heavy pulse rifle and immediately opened fire, taking down the two thugs blocking his path. Then he quickly untied Thomas and handed him the suit box.
For a moment, Thomas just stared, stunned. When he snapped back to reality, he hurriedly put on his combat suit and joined Robert.
The leader, half-dazed, saw two Soldiers 76 in his field of vision. Convinced he was hallucinating, he staggered, only to be struck down by another powerful blow from Robert's rifle, rendering him unconscious.
"We've got two minutes until this place goes up in flames. Let's move!" Robert urged.
Thomas nodded, pulling on a gas mask and tactical goggles. He loaded his Stark-manufactured pulse rifle.
"We're all soldiers now!"