Today's the Day

"Today is the day."

"Today is the day." My friend Gary toasted his beer.

Always cheerful, no matter the situation. Gary really is a typical mercenary. Today was the day we performed our terrific job yet he was excited.

On the other hand, I do not share the same feeling. I do not like what I do. I mean... I like the action part and all, and I'm good at it. But it would be a lie to say I don't feel bad about what I do. Unfortunately we get used to it. We have to embrace what life gives us.

Good thing today was not about reckoning with innocent people. Wanna know what today's mission was? Obtain the invitation of Arthur Cooper, the one for the clandestine Arena tournament, which was under police possession. We'd break into SAD's building, get the paper, and get the hell out of there. That was the plan.

We still had to wait forty minutes before the secretary was supposed to be alone in the building, and my heart was already pounding fast. No matter how often you perform these operations, you never really get used to them. I looked at my watch.

"Thirty nine minutes."

"Relax, Spikey. Nothing is going to go wrong." Boe was smoking one of his favorite cigarettes, those Lights don't know what.

"I Hope so. If we are seen today, we can't live here in Sproustown anymore. It is one thing to be seen once or twice by a normal citizen. They forget quickly. But today is a direct attack on the special case affairs building of the police. They are experts on paranormal beings thus they will soon get what is going on. And the cameras never forget.

"According to the information we got on Saturday, today is the empty day inside the building. There should be only a secretary working there. So no problem."

"You are making a storm in a teacup." Gary added. "Do you know what you need? You need to drink the teacup, not make a storm." He pushed my beer closer to me.

The three of us were in a restaurant on the twentieth floor of a skyscraper three blocks away from the target building. You could see some of the movement inside SAD throughout the window, so we chose there. We just could notice when cars and trucks got in and out, nothing too specific. The restaurant was expensive and wasn't even that good. But we were just having beer so it didn't make much difference

"Surely there will be plenty of cameras..." I commented vaguely.

"But we have the masks, Spikey."

"We do, but we will have to put them a lot before entering the building if we really don't want to be seen by any of them. At least a block before. And if we do that we'll be seen by passersby."

"Better passers-by than police cameras. They couldn't describe Buddha to the police if he were a suspect. The worst that can happen is that they decide to warn the wrong department and the military police decide to wait outside when it's over. But I don't think so... They'd probably call the building's own department... One more anonymous call makes no difference."

I looked speculatively at Gary. Boe and I could easily climb to the third floor from outside, which was where SAD experts worked. Gary would not be very successful, and that could probably delay the attack by a few seconds. A lot could happen for the plan to go wrong in that circumstance. Gary seemed to read my thoughts and said jokingly:

I'll be fine, Spikey. At worst, you both get the information from the secretary and find the invitation and I stay outside trying to climb up.

"Truth." I agreed more to show myself confidence than to them, "in the end it's just a secretary. Let's just point the gun, force her to take us to the invitation, pick it up and leave."

"That's the spirit!"

The plan was a little too crude, but with so many external factors that could not be predicted, it was the best we could do. The next half hour of psychological preparation took a while, but when it was finally over, Gary toasted one last time:

"My pals, let's go!"

In one minute we were twinkling our glasses, in the next we were wearing black cloth masks over our faces, running as fast as we could through the streets of downtown Sproustown to stay on the sidewalk for as short a time as possible. Only one citizen or another may have spotted us. From what I saw out of the corner of their eyes none of them took out their phones immediately. As we were breaking into the police building itself they would not call any authority. The worst that was going to happen was to have a large band of onlookers by the time we left there with the envelope.

This way, the three of us focused on our work.

Better than expected, my friend Gary was able to climb up to the third floor's side window easily, together with me and Boe. With our ability, we got to there from the gate in about seven seconds, which is not bad.

After leaping into the building through the glass, we came across a narrow corridor where there was a double door with a square of glass at the top. The door, which was closed, lead to the reception room. You could see the silhouette of someone inside sitting at the table. This person was talking on the phone with a female voice:

"What are you saying? You mean that day? No... Rick didn't say anything... Actually I didn't even tell him."

The three of us were crouched and farther to the right of the door glass, so we hadn't been seen yet by anyone inside. We looked at each other and nodded. The voice went on:

"It turns out the lieutenant is an asshole, that's all! What does he think Rick is? Well... whatever. I didn't even say anything to Richard because I honestly don't think it's worth..."

My friend Boe took his pistol from his pocket and motioned for us to enter in three. The voice continued:

"No, Joey. I'm not 'at that time of the month', and do you need to keep imitating the lieutenant everytime now?"

We counted: one, two, three.

Gary kicked the door and walked in, followed by me and Boe. Along with the noise of the door we heard a "yes?" From the reception girl. She changed the tone of her voice. It was a deep, obnoxious voice. Directed to us, not to the whatever-who-was on the other end of the line.

The secretary was standing with her hands on the table. She looked at us impassively. She had left the phone off the hook.

The interior of the room was a great vacuum. It had the large reception desk, which strangely had only one or two papers plus the telephone on it and the rest was a smooth, clean surface. Around the table was nothing but a trash can and a cupboard in the corner. It was all so empty that it baffled the visitors, giving a strange impression that it was not the right place to be, no matter what they were looking for.

And that strange impression contrasted greatly with the resolute air with which this elegant secretary looked at the three of us, with both arms bent over the table, standing with her back slightly bent. She wore an impeccably ironed button-down cardigan, her hanging badge centering over her neck. She had a formal bun and her countenance showed no emotional alteration.

I felt a chill down my spine.

Remind you that we were three tall men wearing masks covering our whole faces and one of us carried a pistol in his hand. The secretary's reaction was a mere 'yes'.

"Gentlemen? How can I help you?"

Was the girl trying an emotional game, staring at us impassively and addressing us formally like that? If she wanted to be unpredictable, she got it. We lost a moment without knowing how to proceed. She looked so intimidatingwe could only conclude she wasn't a normal secretary. As soon as we decided to attack she would fight back.

Even so, she wasoutnumbered. There was nothing to fear.

I turned my head toward Boe and gestured, he understood and aimed the gun at the secretary. We had to make the first move.

However, the first attack turned out to be hers. She had put her hands on the table not only to look threatening, but it was a trick up her sleeve. I don't know how she got the strength for it, but as soon as Boe raised the gun, she lifted the entire table with one thrust. (Remembering it was an extremely large object, occupying almost half the room.) She turned the table in the air to parry Boe's first shots.

After a few bullets she hurled the table toward Boe, which slammed right into his belly, pushing him to the opposite wall.

I didn't know how strong the impact had been, but Boe was certainly temporarily immobilized. And worst of all, he was the one carrying the gun.

I did have a spare pistol in my back pocket, but I'd have to pick it up and charge, which was much more time wasted in a fight against a paranormal being than against an ordinary human. After all you know that these creatures can use indarra to get super speed on their limbs at any time.

Guns apart, our formation is as follows; Gary is versed in various fighting styles so he is good at hand-to-hand combat. Boe's finesse is dealing with poisoned knives. He spent time practicing the various types of throws until he learned to handle them with virtuosity. This is a useful skill because any injury caused, even the slightest, can mean the end of a battle due to the poison.

Since Boe was busy floundering around with the table, I figured Gary would act first. If he could immobilize the secretary in hand-to-hand fighting, I could find a way to attack her from behind.

But that girl was too fast. As soon as that thought came to mind and I glanced at Gary, I saw the girl's body being thrown violently against my friend at a terrifying speed.

She grabbed Gary and squeezed him against the wall that was originally behind the desk if such was in its place. She had one hand around his neck and he couldn't shake it because of the way her body was pressed against his. The impact of contact between the bodies did severe cracks the wall.

Damn it.

The only thing I could think of in such a short timespan was running over to where they were and trying to hit her from behind. It would take too long to charge my gun and the girl could choke Gary until he lost consciousness in the meantime. Of course I didn't approach slowly, but instead lunged at her on impulse, triying to grab her with my arms behind her neck. The collision against them two squeezed Gary further against the wall.

Sorry, Gary.

I managed to detach her hand from his neck, because as good as she was at fighting she couldn't win over four arms against her two at close range. It was that time I noticed the sound of the alarm that was ringing incessantly outside. Soon that place would be filled with people.

Mind you: we were originally told the only person present at the SAD's building on that day would be a secretary, we assumed it would be a normal human. We were mistaken. But at least she was the only one since if there were more strong creatures like that on the building, they'd be around, as this was their work area. But if more police officers in the other blocks came into the room, even if they were ordinary humans, being heavily armed, the situation could be become a little iffy.

Gary was the first to comprehend the situation. Noticing the invitation wasn't one of the objects in that visibly empty room, he shouted to me:

"It must be in that locked room. Quick! I deal with her."

He had already been released from her clutches because of my blow and now they were just fighting. Both now grimaced at the effort, simultaneously trying to immobilize each other with both arms in different ways, forming an unglamorous limb dance.

The room Gary referred to had a name on the glass so it should belong to someone important. Through the glass you could see a cabinet that could contain some documents. I ran over there. Our best chance at that moment was to look for the paper on our own. It would be very difficult for a paranormal being to reveal information and the alarm would sound more and more at every second.

I quickly ran and slammed my body against the door, putting pressure near the lock to break it. My body burst into the room, carrying the door and tumbling along with it on the floor. I almost hit my head on the cabinet. Diligently, I gathered myself and began to frantically draw through the drawers looking for the damn invitation. Meanwhile, my senses finally returned to normal for the first time since we entered the big room:

The secretary really managed to gain emotional advantage with that weird reception and surprise attack of hers. But now that the adrenaline had subsided, I realized how flashy her ductu was. A paranormal being of that level could've been felt from afar. If the intensity of the ductu really was proportional to the strength I could be sure that she'd eventually beat Gary sooner or later.

I could expect her to come from behind me at any moment.

And I'd be on my back supposedly looking for documents so she could easily beat me.

Supposedly... But it just so happens she wasn't aware of my finesse.

The advantage of her having such an intense ductu was that I could feel exactly when she would strike me from behind. I hate to admit it, but at the expense of Gary's defeat, at that moment I came up with a quick plan. While waiting for the opportune moment of Gary's defeat, I frantically searched for the paper. Its material was of a special kind made in the Arena that I was familiar with, so it would be easy for me to recognize it. But it wasn't there anywhere.

I spilled all the contents of the cabinet on the floor and found nothing. Then I noticed the drawer under the table. Since the invitation concerned recent work, it might have been put there, as it was the easiest place to keep it for someone who wanted to take a look at it the next day. But in order to search the drawer I would have to turn to the door and not wait for the girl on my back, which was necessary to carry out my plan. It was necessary for the secretary to think I had my back turned by chance, with my guard down.

I almost thought of abandoning the plan and searching the drawer, but it wasn't necessary. Within seconds the secretary arrived at a speed similar to that of the Eurostar. I didn't anticipate that speed. But luckily, when it comes to my peculiarity, the faster the better. She hoped to physically hit me and finish it all at once, but forgot to consider if I had any extra skills.

Humans call me merely an alien, but I belong to the Euphorbia race, an unique class of beings born in Cralahyrdrutcu, a place you have certainly never heard of, because humans keep you ignorant about it.

As she approached, I quickly brought my body back to normal. Yes you heard it correctly: to my normal. To co-live with humans, I have to contract until I fit into human skin comfortably and convincingly. But when I get back to normal my body swells up and gets one and a half times bigger. Euphorbia have thorn-covered flesh all over the place and can contract and expand them as they see fit, to a degree of self-defense.

This little surprise is even more aggravating if the target comes to my body at an exorbitant speed on its own.

As soon as she hit my thorns she screamed as her skin was pierced rigorously. I retracted my thorns, letting her go, and slammed her in the face with all my might. I'm not used to expanding and contracting in such a short time, so I ended up dislocating my arm with my own punch.

The impact was so strong that the secretary fell unconscious to the floor with a thud.

I looked at her and thought about finishing the job, but she was a cop. If I killed her it would surely infuriate the other SAD cops to an unimaginable extent. They'd never settle down until they captured us. However, if we simply did what we came to do: come, steal the paper and leave; they'd probably investigate, but if they found nothing substantial in the upcoming days, they'd settle down.

The boss told me it was all a matter of good policy, so I just decided to focus on the job. It was certain the girl would not get up in the next few hours.

Once I opened the drawer under the table, voilà! The envelope was there! I took it with my very bloodstained hand. Don't worry, the paper was inside.

Once in my human form again I returned to the big room of the previous combat. My friend Boe had thrown the table which felt on him in the middle of the room and was getting up, one hand over his head.

"Argh... What happened?"

"Quick." I tossed the envelope at him. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

"Whaddabout him?" Boe pointed his head to Gary.

I looked at him in silence. He was passed out and in a pitiful state. Had lost an ugly fight. His shirt was torn, his hair all tousled and he bled from his nose and mouth. I looked at the wall and saw six, seven, eight bloodstains made in different directions. The girl had not been merciful.

Boe, my friend, interrupted my introspection:

"Know what? I carry him. I didn't do anything anyway. Go. Take the envelope and run to the damn store. I can already hear cops communicating on the radios."

And in fact they were already getting organized off the corridor. They probably planned to come in and shoot incessantly, since we're paranormal and supposedly can put up with gunshot wounds. And if that happened we would be in the worst of situations. My body can only take so many bullets... Instead of going out through the only entrance, which was surrounded and filled with armed officers arranging to ambush us, I went back to the room where I found the envelope and jumped down the window.

The rest was easy. I still had some energy left to run fast on the way back.

I was a bit worried about Boe, but deep down I knew that once awake he could at least get away without much effort. Gary was not heavy to be carried on his back, and Boe hadn't used any of his energy that afternoon yet.

Half an hour went by and we managed to outwit the police.

The agreed meeting place was a liquor store whose operation had been cut short of customers two days ago. There was nothing and no one there. It was just a place to rent. As it was recently closed we imagined no one would think of looking for us there.

The place was out of light and closed with an iron door, so you couldn't see anything inside. It was just a cement floor. It also had a wooden chair and a bucket. Boe had the bucket in his arms. Spitting blood in it.

"Damn it! What's up with that woman? Attacking us before we say anything. Wasn't she supposed to be a cop?"

"At least we got the invitation."

"I wouldn't say it's worth it."

My friend Gary was crouching against the wall with his head down. He began to heal his wounds with the sane. He hadn't said anything since he arrived. I hadn't seen his face, but it was probably all swollen now.

"What about the secretary? Did you finish her?" Boe asked.

"No. I left her there."

"What!? Why??"

"She's a cop, Boe! We don't want this to draw more attention than it already has."

"We've already drawn attention to the entire month! Things will get even worse if she somehow recognizes us by our bodies when we go out to pubs and such! Wow, Spikey. You should've taken care of that."

I disagree. I still think I made the safest decision. And I venture saying Boe in my place would've done the same. He was just trying to blame something on someone because he was upset.

"Well, whatever. You got the envelope. Nice work, Spikey"

"Yay! Another great work from Spikey-Gary-Boe!"

The two of them were still annoyed.

"Cheer up, you two. We are like this now, but in a few days this will become a funny memory in our heads."

"You're right... Soon we'll forget all of that."

"Right, Gary? Gary...? You alright? How are the injuries?"

"Leave me alone," he grunted.

My friend Boe got up and turned his pants pocket searching for the phone.

"Now Spikey... I think we have to report to the boss. Mission One is now complete"

"Mission one?"

"C'mon, why do you think Verde wanted the invitation? He'll sign one of us up, won't he? In other words... This is where the real mission begins."

I didn't think of that, but the boss was probably thinking something along those lines. Verde had been relying heavily on Spikey-Gary-Boe lately. We were his top picks for anything that came along that line, so it was to be assumed that he was understaffed among his subordinates. If he wanted to register a stronger competitor into the Arena tournament he would have to appeal to us. But as far as I know you can only register one fighter per organization. I was afraid this would bring some intrigue between the three of us

After all whoever is chosen... Would make a lot of money.