“I’m not sure about this,” Mr. Flarink said, dabbing at his head with a handkerchief.

“Sir, if you want us to do anything, we need a written request. A digital document explaining the request and rewards. Which is exactly what our friend, Farrah, has written up for you. All you have to do is read through it and sign it.” Jar-lock calmly explained for the second time.

Kaleb sighed as he leaned against Two Gun’s car. The sweaty warehouse manager was looking shakier the longer this went on. Not to mention they were drawing stares from the cops. Who were probably wondering why they hadn’t left yet? Claire and Jar were using their bodies to block Mr. Flarink from view, but that was only going to work so far.

“Of course. You could always leave it to the police.” Two Gun added. “I’m sure they’d be happy to throw it on their pile of work right now.”

“Not to mention, those truck tracks were pretty fresh. If we hurry, we might be able to find them.”

Flarink seemed to sink into himself as he thought about their words. He clearly didn’t have any faith in the police to find the criminals. But he was also uncomfortable about signing a contract. Kaleb groaned, as he was sure the guy was going to wave them off. But instead, Mr. Flarink seemed to gather himself and then thrust his thumb onto the tablet. A few seconds went by before the tablet beeped and Farrah spoke in all their ears.

“Okay, everyone. We have just been hired by the Trilli-O’s cereal company to investigate what was stolen from the warehouse and retrieve it.”

“And you’re sure this is within our remit?” Jar-lock asked as everyone silently celebrated.

“It’s a grey area. Technically, we do contract work all the time. Only it’s for the city. But there is nothing stopping corporate entities and other interested parties from hiring heroes. Now we have a legally binding contract stating that we are employed by Trilli-O’s to investigate their stolen goods.”

“From heroes to mercenaries.” Abby chuckled.

“I’ll take it.” Kaleb said. “So, where do we start? Those tracks?”

“I’ll lead you all to them.” Claire said, but Jar-lock was shaking his head.

“No. Just me. I’ll use magic to enhance your tracking and everyone else will follow with the cars. We don’t want all of us crowding around the side of the warehouse.”

“Especially since we are supposed to be long gone.” Vivienne nodded.

Kaleb was already around the side of the car and opening the passenger side door. Vivienne and Abby took off toward Jar-lock’s car as Claire and Jar went to find the tracks again. As Kaleb got into the vehicle, he saw several cops moving to stop his friends. Two Gun chuckled as the resulting discussion seemed to make the police angrier than hell.

“Bastards don’t know who they were screwing with.”

Kaleb nodded as he saw a cop wave Mr. Flarink over. Meanwhile, Jar-lock and Claire continued walking on. The sweaty alien manager was defending himself as they drove out of the parking lot and toward a side-street. Two Gun parked them alongside the road and they waited. From his seat Kaleb could see down toward the side of the warehouse where Claire and Jar-lock were staring at mud. Vivienne had pulled up behind them as Jar-lock finished his spell.

The next thing Kaleb saw was Claire squat down and tense her legs as Jar-lock ran for their cars.

“Oh, here she goes.” Two Gun said excitedly.

Before Kaleb could ask, Claire flung herself upward and forward. With monstrous strength, the alien strong-woman flung herself through the air. She was still falling as Kaleb looked over at Two Gun.

“She increased her jumping strength. She’s been excited to try it.”

“I bet that’s hell on the pavement.” Kaleb said as he watched Claire hit the ground way off in the distance.

“It is. Which is why she waited for when she was in the dirt. Are we good to follow!?”

Two Gun shouted out his window as Jar-lock made it to Vivienne’s car. The big mage nodded and waved a robed arm at the green giantess.

“Yep, the spell should hold. You just have to follow your bouncing wife.”

“Ha!”

With a bark of a laugh, Two Gun took off like a shot and hurried after Claire. Kaleb kept an eye on the woman as she leapt across the open fields. Whenever she landed, she would take a few seconds to gather her bearings before she flung herself again. He figured she was keeping track of whatever trail she was following. Which, surprisingly, never seemed to come near the side-road they were on. Whoever had stolen from the cereal company kept their truck off-road.

When Kaleb pointed this out to the others, Jar-lock grunted in grudging respect. “That makes sense. Cops would be watching the roads. Not the fields next to it.”

“Still, the ground is pretty open. How would they hide a truck?” Kaleb asked.

“I don’t know.”

Kaleb rolled his eyes. “Farrah? Do you have anything with the drones?”

“Nope. I’m spreading our net wider and trying to keep ahead of Claire. But we don’t know how much of a lead we’ve got.”

“Shit!” Two Gun swore.

Looking ahead, Kaleb spotted Claire jumping southward. She was heading further off road. Their own narrow bit of road was curving northward. Kaleb reached for his seat belt as the old cowboy swung the wheel and took them into the grass. From the noises in his head, Kaleb was sure Vivienne had just done the same thing.

They traveled half a mile like that before Claire turned eastward again, and Kaleb spotted a large building in the distance.

“Hey, is that the…”

“Yeah!” Two Gun cackled. “That’s the old stadium and raceway!”

“But that place has been defunct for years!” Abby shouted over the comms.

“That’s in the real world. Who knows what it’s being used for now?”

“Maybe they got some alien races out here.”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Kaleb glanced at the oncoming stadium. The bricks were weathered and he could see plant growth slowly encroaching on the place. The race track, slightly alongside it, didn’t look much better. Both places were clearly defunct in-game as well. Off to the side of them, Kaleb could see Claire come to a landing and stop jumping entirely. She waved a hand in their direction and panted through the comms.

“Tracks are leading into the stadium.”

“Any movement?” Jar-lock asked.

“None that I can see.”

“For all we know, this is where they switched vehicles.”

“Still warrants a look. Farrah?”

“Drone’s are moving in. But our signal strength is declining rapidly.”

Kaleb sat up straighter. “What? That shouldn’t happen. The hangar’s signal booster should cover us all the way to San Antonio.”

“Geez, Prof. Isn’t that overkill?”

“Better to have the strength and not need it. Then need it and not have it.” Kaleb shrugged.

“Professor, could some kind of jamming sap our drones signal?” Jar-lock asked.

“Something on the D-net wavelength. But no one uses that anymore.”

“Except us.” Two Gun added.

“Yeah, but that’s cause it’s all I could afford. R-Wave emitters are pricey.”

“So these guys are either low-rent thugs or tech-savy mercs.” Abby guessed.

Kaleb scoffed. “I’m going with low-rent. No way some high-end mercs are going to be hitting up a cereal company.”

“That depends on what they stole.”

“Dude, they yanked a drive from the server rack at a cereal company. What the hell could they have stolen? The secret recipe to tiny marshmallows?”

“Whatever it was, it was worth burning down an entire building.”

“Besides, prof. Didn’t you say that the server rack was ‘high grade?’”

Two Gun pulled their car to a stop next to a sweaty and panting Claire. Kaleb closed his eyes and remembered the server rack in the warehouse office. It was a high-end server rack. It was even offset from the other servers. Which was suspicious, but he couldn’t even comprehend what the company would need such a thing for.

He was chewing it over in his mind as the other car pulled up. Reaching into the back seat, Kaleb pulled his lab coat out and started putting it on. After starting the game with it and wearing it every day, being without it just felt wrong. Sure, it was a different coat at this point. But it was a part of his look. Abby caught his eye as they all stood waiting for word from Farrah. Kaleb gave her a slight nod.

“Sure, the server was odd. But I still don’t think we are hunting anything more than magical cereal recipes.”

“Is that a thing?” Claire asked.

“Mana-infused foods have been tried. But it’s a murky area.” Vivienne explained. “Magic can react badly when used on various people. But there’s no rhyme or reason to it.”

“I’ve got movement.” Farrah said, interrupting their conversation.

“What’s it look like?”

“Well, it seems like our dear professor was wrong. I’ve got dozens of people in tactical gear and some heavy duty weapons. But it looks like they are closing up shop. They are loading a bunch of stuff into hover-cars. But I can't tell what they’re loading. Prof, do you think you can upgrade the zoom on the drones later?”

“Put it on the list.” Kaleb grumbled as they all stared at the defunct stadium. “So, how do we want to do this? Do we track them to the secondary location or take them here?”

“We don’t have flying cars, so following them will be much harder. I say we take them now.” Claire offered.

The others nodded, and Kaleb got his Cybar and Quad-gun out again. Jar-lock prepped a spell as he issued orders.

“Claire and I will circle toward their exit route. The rest of you take the stadium floor by floor. Farrah, are there any lookouts?”

“Several snipers are on the roofs of both the stadium and the raceway. They haven’t seen our drones yet. But once we move in, they will.”

“Okay. Abby, can you take care of the shooters? That’ll leave Two Gun, the Prof and Vivienne to charge the stadium. Once y’all are inside, cause as much havoc as you can.”

“Are we a distraction?” Kaleb asked as he twirled his Cybar on his finger.

“Yes, and no. Your presence will draw some attention. But they’ll prioritize escaping. So really, you’re just forcing them toward Claire and I.”

Two Gun spoke up, looking thoughtful. “If that’s the case, why don’t y’all take Miss Vivienne too? The lizard and I can cause a ruckus by ourselves.”

“Then once I’ve handled the snipers, I can join whichever side needs help.” Abby added.

They all agreed on the rush-job of a plan and started toward the large stadium. Kaleb and Two Gun kept low, but rushed through the open parking lot. Meanwhile, Jar, Viv, and Claire swung out wide and charged toward the space between the stadium and the raceway. Kaleb kept his eyes pointed upward as they ran. Farrah had said nothing about ground forces around the stadium. So his chief concern was the snipers. He needn't have worried, though. The black blob he spotted standing on the stadium’s roof was quickly dispatched, followed by Abby’s smug voice.

“That’s one.” She said.

Kaleb rolled his eyes as he and Two Gun hit the main door. Kaleb set his quad-gun to lightning and readied his Cybar. Two Gun checked both of his six-shooters before he looked across at Kaleb.

“You know, the two of us attacking a fortified position entrenched by highly trained, heavily armed people is probably not the best idea.”

“It doesn’t sound like they are entrenched, old man. And Farrah only assumes they are professionals because of the gear they are carrying. Idiots can be well-armed too.”

“That’s true.”

“Besides, we also have the element of surprise.” Kaleb smiled.

That’s when the front double-doors leading into the stadium exploded into shards of glass and metal.

“Shit!”

“So much for that!” Two Gun screamed, peering around the still smoking door frame.

He quickly whipped his head back as green, blue, and red lasers tore through where his face had been. The old cowboy blew out a breath in annoyance and blind fired around the door frame. Kaleb joined in as he looked questioningly at Two Gun. The cowboy held up four fingers and then pointed a thumb back toward the door. Kaleb nodded in acknowledgment and crouched low.

He set his Cybar on the ground by the door and held his Quad-Gun in a two-handed grip. Taking a steadying breath, he waited for the lasers to stop for a few seconds and snapped his head out. He saw little more than a black armored chest before he pulled the trigger and sent a bolt of electricity toward the bastards. Kaleb ducked back into cover and grinned as he heard shouts of alarm and pain. Two Gun added his own blaster shots to the cacophony and Kaleb heard two loud thumps. He picked up his Cybar and held both guns up and ready. Looking at Two Gun, he nodded at the older man before he charged. Kaleb heard the old cowboy swear before footsteps told him Two Gun had joined his charge.

Green and red lasers whizzed by his head, and Kaleb immediately spotted his enemy. Two dark-armored soldiers were crouched behind a ticket kiosk in the open lobby of the stadium. Kaleb returned fire with electric bolts and energy blasts. Bits of the ticket desk exploded as both soldiers used it for cover. Oddly, Kaleb didn’t see any shots from Two Gun as he slid behind an old stone plant pot. It was large enough to cover his whole body if he crouched low enough. So Kaleb made himself as small as possible as the laser fire resumed.

But the lasers were short-lived as two quick shots were followed by grunts of pain. Kaleb glanced around and found Two Gun slightly in front of the stadium doors, on his knees. A single pistol in his hands. The glow from the blue energy blasts of his six-shooter was still vanishing as the old cowboy pulled himself to his feet. He waved a hand at Kaleb, a smug smile on his face.

“You distract, I attack. I like it. We should make it a part of our regular attack strategy.”

Kaleb wanted to respond with a sarcastic remark. But Farrah interrupted him.

“Well, you are going to get a chance. I’ve got multiple hostiles moving within that building. Some are running for their exit. But some are heading your way.”

Kaleb swallowed his sarcasm and instead looked left and right. Claire and the others had headed to the right side of the stadium from where they were. But the stadium itself was circular. If they headed in one direction exclusively, they could be boxed in. When he pointed this out to Two Gun the old man laughed.

“HAHAHAHAHA! Well, it looks like we’re caught between some criminals and some more criminals.”

“But if we head right, we could reach our friends quicker.” Kaleb pointed out.

“Either way’s good with me, son. Just remember to watch your shots with that little pistol of yours. The last thing we need is dead bodies.”

Kaleb groaned and holstered his Cybar. He traded it out for his Sun Gun and held it up for Two Gun to see. The cowboy shook his head.

“You’re a regular arsenal.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s carry on with our pacification.” Kaleb sighed.

With that, they both headed right simultaneously. By unspoken agreement, they both seemed to conclude that joining with the others was more important. They ran for a short distance before they heard loud thumping footsteps coming their way. Finding cover, they waited to ambush the incoming soldiers. Kaleb hid behind another plant pot as Two Gun found a souvenir kiosk. They both clutched their guns and grinned as the steps grew closer. Something told Kaleb running and gunning was going to be the name of this little stadium game.