Heart

We all woke up in the morning, and everyone had their own tasks and routines. I was focused on taking a shower and checking my supplies. I also called Captain Geomonty, letting him know that my plan was to dismantle the Apol-Lyon industrial complex tomorrow. 

He agreed that his people should be on standby. He explained he had a group of about 15 officers that had either military or SWAT experience that could be trusted if they saw anything strange.

We said our goodbyes and planned to meet this evening. I managed to secure another 5 rooms for the officers so they could rest before the big day. 

Once everyone was ready, we went down for breakfast. After eating, we headed out to do some shopping. We dropped the van off at an automotive customizer who specialized in vehicles for high-profile figures, engine work, armor plating, bulletproof glass, run flat tires, and ramming bumpers front and back, as well as a couple more less than legal additions. This was all to be done tomorrow morning, and the amount we paid made sure they worked through the night. We hired a driver to take us to the Army surplus, gun, and hardware store.

I wanted bullet-proof vests and ballistic helmets for the ladies; I would be fine, but there will be a lot of bullets flying around. I wanted body armor, too, so Kevlar shin, arm, and front and back plates. Everyone was equipped with two guns, a short barrel rifle, and a pistol. 

I went to the hardware store to make myself some weapons. I had some ideas of what was going to work best with my style of attacking. I grabbed two of the heaviest machetes I could find, the thickest leverage bar I could find to break loose doors or other obstacles. I also got some rebar; my plan was to bend them into a pair of knuckle braces and some type of bracers for my shins. This would allow me to potentially beat down doors that my knuckles might be too soft to be effective against. 

After getting everything we needed, we headed to the gun range to practice with the new weapons. Everyone was disciplined and a good shot. Once done there, I stopped at a lumber yard and, after dropping a couple hundred bucks, was able to see what those machetes with my strength could do against a tree. It was very similar to a cartoon beaver; the tree looked like a cored apple in less than 30 seconds. Afterward, I realized how dull the machetes were, so part of my plan for the rest of the day was to relax a bit and sharpen the machetes and work the rebar into the shapes I wanted. 

We were having dinner when I got a message from Captain Geomonty's cellphone. They had arrived and were heading to their rooms. We would meet in an hour to go over plans for tomorrow and synchronize our communication equipment. We are also going to finalize the order in which forces engage the enemy. 

I knocked on the captain's door. An officer answered the door, giving me and my girls a once-over. At first, he looked confused, but by the end, he nodded and let us in. Taking me to Geomonty. 

"Good evening, Captain," I said, presenting my hand. "How was your trip?" 

"It was good, son. How has the spying business been treating you?" He asked. 

"Good, I mean, I'm sleeping with one of my first clients, so maybe I need to up the professional level a bit, but I am making more money now." I grinned, slapping him on the back. 

"Haha, yes, that might be better for future business." He chuckled. "How has my Madison been?" He asked.

"Talking about me behind my back?" Madison jumped into the conversation while bringing the captain's arm behind his back in a classic handcuffing move. 

"Never!" Geomonty answered. "I just wanted to know how my favorite girl was. 

"I am doing fantastic, Grandpa Geo," she said, "looking forward to crushing this terrorist cell tomorrow and getting back to the norm." She finished. 

"Alright, well, on that note, why don't we go ahead with the briefing?" He said. Captain Geomonty motioned to his next in command, who went to pull everyone into one room.

After a few minutes, we were pretty tight in the room; the main focus was on Captain Geomonty and myself. I thought I recognized at least a few of the police from the last engagement we had; some of them looked at me with respect, knowing what I was able to do. The others had obviously been briefed on my capabilities, even if they were skeptical. 

"As you men know, we are facing an enemy who, while not military, is heavily armed, and in this situation, we are attacking a fairly fortified position in the industrial park. There are barriers, cameras, guards, and dangerous materials everywhere. We need to focus on the things that are truly important and support Mr. Cole while he goes after the main and secondary objectives," he stated plainly. 

"If it is okay with you, Captain, I would like Tessa to setup her projector to go over what we know about the layout and what the primary and secondary objectives are." I asked, knowing the answer. 

"Of course, Mr. Cole, please go ahead." 

Tessa walked up to the front of the room with us, placing a small hand-help projector on the table in front, and began taking the team through our intel. 

"We have been using the wifi signals to create a digital layout of the industrial park; I have also tapped into the government's spy satellite and FLIR imaging for the area to help us." She started. "The primary guard houses are here at the entrance, and at the two locations here," she said, using her laser pointer to indicate a large silo-looking building. "And here," she said, indicating a square hotel-looking building with lots of windows. 

"We believe that this houses the main objective," Tessa stated, going back to the silo. "There are a few reasons: the fewest guards go in this building, it is large enough for the target, and it is heavily fortified with 1" thick steel doors. We also have FLIR footage showing intense heat levels coming from here. If this is not the main objective, it would have to be underground as there are no other thermal anomalies in the park." She took a breath. 

"Wait, how are you going to get through the guards and the reinforced steel door?" A younger, skinny officer asks with his hand half raised.

"I take it you were not with me during the last encounter." I said, looking at him.

"No, sir, I know you are special, but we would need an armored vehicle and a battering ram to get in there." He said, looking around for support, which a few nodded along. 

"It's ok, I know how this must look to those of you who haven't seen what we are fighting against. Let me see if I can put your mind at ease." I said, willing to give a little demonstration.

I still had my rebar with me from earlier and decided now was as good a time as any to make it into my knuckle brace. I tossed it to the surprised officer, and he almost dropped it; it weighed about 45 lbs. He handed it back to me, and without missing a beat, I snapped it into two pieces, taking the one length and bending it around my hand three times to make the guard. I repeated the other piece around my left hand. The officer's face was obviously disbelief at what he had witnessed. 

Next I nodded to Madison, who was the closest to the kitchen; she grabbed a butcher knife from the drawer, and after giving the other officers the universal sign, everything was fine. She raised it high and plunged it into my arm, or she would have if it didn't snap in half, leaving no mark on me. I heard a few swears being said, still not believing that I was truly this powerful. 

Lastly, I used my speed to snatch the cigarets out of the officers pocket and return to the front of the room. The only thing the group saw was a fraction of a second blur where I was, and then everything was the same, but I had a box of cigarettes in my hand. 

"I show you new members of this team not to boast of my abilities but for you to realize what I am capable of and that you do not need to worry about me. Please worry about my girls and yourselves; you are not bulletproof. I can also heal someone almost on the brink of ****, so know this too; if you can keep any casualties alive, I can heal them." I finished tossing the cigarettes back.

"It's always weird when you do that shit, Matt, but I know why you do that too." Geomonty barely whispered to me. 

"Tessa, go ahead and tell everyone what the main objective is and why it is so important, as well as the secondary objective". 

"Yes, as I was saying, the primary objective is a fission power source; our objective is to power it down, not destroy it; destroying it could potentially do half a dozen very disastrous things to happen. However, shutting it down is perfectly safe. Moving onto the second objective, the leader of this COA terrorist cell's name is Igor; he has some other worldly powers in the form of sorcery. He has escaped us once able to rebuild better than before; he is very dangerous to be left alive. You are not to engage him without the help of Matt; we have no idea what his powers can do, only that he is able to open a barrier to hell, which you do not want to be anywhere near." She paused. 

"Lastly, objective two seems to be where the guards dormitory is, so not only having to beat the guard tower there but also the re-enforcement from the dormitory. Also, it is not known, but it is possible Igor can teleport or become invisible as he disappeared during the last encounter." Tessa finished. 

"So the plan is to allow me to attempt an infiltration of the primary target; I will take out the guard tower and the reactor. In case I fail, this is the primary objective. If I succeed, I will need all of your support dealing with the guard dorms and reinforcements while I deal with Igor." I said. "I will remain in touch throughout the mission, but I lose contact. I also have blue and red smoke grenades; blue means go for the plan; red means you all hightail it out of there because something worse than me is there." I had barely gotten those words out of my mouth when an explosion blew the door and most of the wall into our room. Luckily,  I was between most of my girls and the explosion, and as the **** hit me before them, I was able to dash to protect the other two that would have been a crippling blow to them in time. 

Being focused on protecting my girls, I failed to see that Geomonty had a piece of shrapnel that had gone through his eye and into his brain, killing him instantly.