William fidgetted uncomfortably, trying to shake off the numbness in his calves. He was never good at doing the Asian squat, despite being of Asian heritage himself. He glanced over to Brett, who was looking way too comfortable in his half kneeling position. Masako squatted conspicuously beside him, engaging in lively conversation.

“That’s odd. Why’s there so much activity?” William muttered, looking in the distance with his binoculars.

“You know what I think is odd?” Yuxia said. “The fact that an ordinary bandit group has a whole motel building to themselves in the first place. Most of them usually occupy abandoned warehouses.”

“We’re going closer to hear what they’re saying,” Brett stated, before moving from their hidden position. He weaved between the trees and tall grass expertly, his clothes blending in almost perfectly with the surroundings. Masako followed behind, sticking out even more with her awkward movements.

“Since when did those two get all buddy-buddy?” William raised an eyebrow.

“Since last night, apparently,” Yuxia replied absent-mindedly. “He was showing her how to craft a bow in the dining hall. Pretty romantic gesture, if you ask me.”

“How’d you know-”

“They’re on high alert,” Brett’s voice interrupted him in his earpiece. “Apparently all of their kidnapped children somehow escaped. Can’t really make out what else they are saying though.”

“You might want to move,” Yuxia stepped back, shooting a grappling hook from her palm and leaping away onto a nearby tree.

“What- WOAAH!” William gasped as a black truck suddenly appeared from his side behind the tall grass. He scrambled backwards from the large automobile but its engine cut off suddenly. The vehicle slowed to a halt just before it hit him.

“You’re welcome.” Masako appeared out of nowhere and winked at him. She opened the back doors to a small group of teenage girls huddling together. Their faces were blackened with dirt and some of their clothes were torn. The girls stared at both of them, shivering in fear.

“Uhm… hi.” William smiled and waved awkwardly. “Do you happen to come from that motel by any chance?”

They continued staring at him, refusing to utter a word.

“Masako, a little help here,” William called out.

“Brett, come back. You might want to see this,” Masako spoke with a finger to her ear.

“It’s okay, we won’t hurt you,” William said as gently as possible, but they still ignored him. Sarcasm laced his tongue as he started to lose a little patience. “I didn’t know bandits are into deaf children these days.”

“Don’t be so mean.” Masako put her hands on her hips. “Can’t you see they’re afraid?”

Brett scurried to the back of the vehicle. “What is it, Hayashi san- Ceci!”

“Brother!” Ceci jumped out from the truck and ran into Brett’s arms.

“Oh thank god! Are you alright? Did they hurt you?”

Ceci shook her head, burying her tear streamed face in her brother’s shoulder. Yuxia jumped down from her tree and landed in front of them, causing a few girls to flinch at her inhuman looking suit.

“Are these the captives?” she asked.

“Yeah, you wanna take off your helmet to say hi? I know it’s all new and shiny, but it does look kinda scary,” William said.

“Says the guy who designed and made it,” Yuxia said in a dry tone. “Besides, the sun is still up. In case you forgot, people like me can’t expose our skin to the sun.”

“It’s alright, we’re the good guys here.” Brett grinned at them. “What happened? How did you all escape?”

“We were kidnapped and placed on this train that brought us to that motel. Those terrible men use us for their pleasure. And afterwards, they kill us,” one of the girls spoke up. “But we were saved by a lady who fell from the sky into our carriage.”

She paused, taking time to stop herself from shaking like a baby bird.

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“Ever since she arrived, she protected us and made sure that none of us were touched,” Ceci continued in her stead. “She taught us how to communicate secretly through the walls of our rooms. She even dug a path out to lead us to this truck, but she’s still stuck there! Please, you gotta save Marianne too!”

“Marianne, you say?” William raised an eyebrow.

“Thank the heavens, she really is alive!” Masako cried out in joy.

“Out of curiosity, was she naked when she fell into the train?” William asked thoughtfully, ignoring Masako’s glares.

“Yes, how did you know?” a girl replied. “She landed in our carriage completely in the nude, so we gave her some clothes from those who had died.”

“That’s definitely her. I reckon she must’ve burnt off her clothes when she released all the heat in her that night.” William nodded firmly, as if reassuring himself.

“Masako, can you reprogram the truck to go to Victor’s settlement instead?” he commanded, and Masako placed her hands on the vehicle.

“Brett, follow them on the truck and let Victor know what happened.”

“Wait, I can help you-”

“Help them.” William pointed at the girls with a note of finality in his voice.

“Done,” Masako piped cheerily, taking her hands off the vehicle’s exterior.

“What? How?” Brett asked in surprise.

“I’m a really good ‘electrician’.” She smirked, waving her hand as blue electrical currents danced around it. “And besides, I didn’t need to do anything. The truck was already programmed to head to our place.”

“We’ll need to break in and subdue those bandits if necessary,” William mused. “Yuxia, you wanna take the lead for this one? You’re the most experienced out of all of us here, after all.”

Yuxia glanced at him with narrow eyes. “Just don’t get in my way.”

----------------------------------------

William dropped ungracefully from the ceiling air vent, landing with a loud thud. He felt a whoosh of air as Yuxia landed silently behind him, followed by a softer thump. Masako closed her eyes in concentration, short circuiting all the cameras in the immediate vicinity.

Yuxia switched the vision in her helmet to infrared mode, scanning the floor. Five to the left, three ahead, and seven on the right. Too easy.

The Red Clover pulled out a miniature crossbow, aiming it forward like a pistol. “I trust you two know what to do. So just stay behind and try not to get hit.”

Yuxia charged forward with blistering speed, greeting her first victim with an arrow to the head. Gunshots rang out in retaliation, but she dodged the incoming bullets with ease. Yuxia fired off two more arrows, striking the remaining two of them in the arm. Their pistols dropped to the floor as she swiftly finished them off with two headshots.

“Tch, I wasn’t expecting them to have guns,” Yuxia muttered as the others picked up the pistols. “Sure you know how to use these?” She leaned against the wall, taking a moment to relax before the rest of the men arrived. “You better not shoot me in the back.”

“Pretty sure I won’t need to use this,” William replied in a slightly annoyed tone. “By the way, ‘Subdue’ isn’t a euphemism for ‘Enthusiastically slaughter’.”

“Look, you wanted me to break into this place and this is how I do it,” Yuxia snapped back. “If you don’t like it, you can go screw yourself.”

More men appeared from the corners as the Red Clover sprang back into action.

She somersaulted in the air like a seasoned acrobat and kicked a rifle out of the first guy’s hands. Two arrows hit him in the chest in rapid succession before he could react. Yuxia fired another arrow into his head for good measure before kicking the body forward. It flew back with tremendous force, knocking down the other people rushing in.

She leaned to the side, cleanly avoiding a swing from a metal bat. Her assailant screamed in pain, dropping his bat as she sliced his arms with her dagger. Yuxia jammed her weapon into the side of his neck and caught the bat before it touched the ground. She swung it at full force, breaking the skull of another standing a little too close to her.

The Red Clover danced about in a blur, terminating the people around her with deadly efficiency. She sprinted off towards the staircase, all too eager for more bloodshed.

“Geez, this really is just another Sunday walk in the park for her, isn’t it?” William tucked the pistol into his pocket.

“She must have really violent Sundays then,” Masako commented nonchalantly.

The pair followed her bloody trail to the lower floor, carefully avoiding the dead bodies that littered the ground.

“Let’s do what we came here to do,” William said, walking forward.

“Wait. There’s an enhanced here,” Masako whispered.

“It’s not Marianne, is it?”

“Can’t tell, but it’s only about ten metres ahead.” Masako pointed to the end of the corridor. “There’s only one room right ahead of us. Shall we?”

“Better be careful; we’re still in enemy territory,” William whispered, taking out his pistol. He controlled his breathing, aiming his pistol at the door. William glanced at Masako and gave her a nod. The electronic door unlocked with a faint whirring sound accompanied by a green light.

William burst into the room, pointing his gun at the figure backed up against the wall.