Ready Room – Simulation Room 6, FTA HQ
"So, now that we are all here, M, can you fill us in?" Agent Salamander walked past the blonde woman as he made his way to the weapon racks.
A holographic window opened above the table, revealing the white-haired woman as another hologram activated, projecting the high-rise that they'll be infiltrating. "Our job is to extract a VIP from the upper floors of this high-rise. Our Intel is limited on this op, so we'll most likely have to improvise when in the field."
"Improvisation is the name of the game." Sal glanced over his shoulder with a grin, but it fell away as he turned back to the limited range of training weapons. His voice dropped to a mutter as he frowned at the wall. "I fucking hate the Beretta 92 series…"
"What we do know, is that the VIP is on the third floor down from the roof. So, with that in mind." M made the hologram zoom in on the rooftop. "You'll be fast-roping down into the roof and finding an entry point into the building, which will be up to your four to decide."
"Do we know the exact location of the VIP?" Celeste queried as she leaned in to inspect the hologram. "Where on the third floor are they?"
"Latest intel puts them in a meeting room, here." A light blipped on the hologram. "But they could have moved from there."
"Hmm, that's near the outside windows…" The blonde woman slowly rotated the hologram as she started to come up with ideas. "Could we rappel down the side and enter through a window?"
Knight looked over from next to Sal, they had been discussing what weapons to take. "I like the idea, but chances are that we'll have the entire force come down on us if we do that."
"Knight is right." Demon added. "We have reports of heavy activity inside the building, expect a sizeable opposing force."
"I still think it's a possibility, we just have to pack for a prolonged firefight in case we can't extract the VIP quickly." Celeste pushed her idea as she pointed at the roof then traced her finger down to the windows closest to the meeting room. "If we make use of the ascenders that come with the rappel kits then we could hoist the VIP up to the roof where we could be extracted."
"I like it!" Sal grinned at the woman as he cocked the M416 A5 that he was holding. "They won't be expecting it, so we have the advantage of surprise, if we capitalise on the surprise and blitz through there, then we could be in and out before any interference arrives."
"Majority rules." Frost said as he grabbed an armoured vest and threw it to Celeste. "Armour up, people, it's party time!"
"Alright, we go loud then." Knight commanded as she pulled another training spec M416 off of the wall. "Get kitted and pack for a full house. Frost, take some breaching charges."
"Copy that."
"Eyes and ears." Sal's hand glowed as he brought a small case from his magical pocket dimension and placed the tactical contacts, earpieces, and throat mic in their place. "Don't want to be Flash Banged and have to pay the price of negligence."
"Speaking of which, Sal, grab that wall-mounted grenade launcher and some flashbangs to go in it." Knight said as she walked over to Celeste, the redhead grabbed a hold of the woman's vest and made sure that it was fitted properly and would protect her plentiful assets. "Looks good, grab yourself some gear and meet me by the door out of here."
"Alright." Celeste moved past the older woman and walked over to the salmon-haired agent. "Sal, what should I take?"
"Grab the M27 IAR, we'll need the suppressive fire capability if things go pear-shaped. Grab several fifty round mags too." The man placed the rifle down on the bench in front of her. "Keep it on Semi until things start kicking off, then switch to Full-Auto."
"Gotcha. Why can't I take my Ruger 57 in?"
"They don't have training rounds in 5.7mm. Trust me, I know how you feel, I'd rather be using my Glock 20s but I'm stuck with these 9mm Barrettas."
"Are you two ready yet?" Knight called out from the doorway that led to the sim. "Clock's ticking."
"In a sec, Knight. Grab the rest of your gear and follow me." Sal slid some thirty round mags into his kit then attached the M416 to the mounting points on his back. He did a quick check of his gear then walked over to the rest of the team.
"Are we definitely following her plan?" Frost asked quietly and curiously as he slid a protective helmet onto his head.
"Yes, no arguing either Knight." The pinkette quickly replied, lowering his voice to match as he grabbed a helmet and put it on. "This is her assessment, so if she wants to play it fast and loud, then I'm all for it."
"I understand."
"Good, here she comes, so make sure you're all set to move out." The man grabbed the last helmet and turned to the approaching blonde. "Put this on, have you grabbed a rappel kit?"
"Yes, Sir. It's in one of my pouches." Celeste gave the man a nod and put the helmet on. She gave herself a pat-down as she checked her gear then gave him the thumbs-up. "Ready to roll, Sir."
"Agent Celeste…" Sal grumbled as his eyes narrowed at her through the visor of his full-face helmet. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me "Sir", well?"
"Hopefully," The agent in question cocked her rifle. "Today will be the last day, we'll be equals."
"While it's true that you'll no longer be my protégé, you still have a lot to learn." The pinkette's tone was deadly serious but a smile graced his face moments later. "Now, let's get this over with."
"Follow me, I prepped a drone before you two arrived." Knight informed the duo as she pushed the doors open. "It's set to take us to the rooftop."
"This'll be the first time you've seen a Sim Room, isn't it Celeste?" Frost asked as he fell into position behind the redhead, glancing over his shoulder at the two following agents.
"Yeah."
"Well, I think you'll be in for a surprise."
"Why is that?"
"The simple answer to that question is the sheer size of the Sim Rooms, with the one you are about to enter being on the larger side." M replied through their earpieces. "You'll see in a few seconds."
"Celeste, you're first up." Knight announced as they reached a door, she stepped to the side and placed her hand on the doorknob, only opening the door when the blonde had reached her.
As Agent Celeste stepped out of the hall, she became blinded by glare and had to raise a hand to block out the light while her eyes adjusted. The light quickly dimmed and Celeste lowered her hand, her jaw-dropping at the sight. "Holy shit…"
The team of agents had exited onto a skyscraper's rooftop, surrounded on all sides by buildings both tall and short. A flock of pigeons cooed as they flew past, the rustling of their wings and the breeze of the wind reaching the shocked woman.
"I still remember my first time, I had the same reaction." Sal grinned at the rest of the team. "Such a sensory overload that I froze on the spot."
"How is this possible?"
Knight smiled softly as she walked around the woman and stood in front of her, she gestured out towards the city around them. "A combination of holograms, displays, and practical effects. The smaller rooms are easier to set up than these larger ones but you can't ignore the benefits of these larger ones, they are very immersive."
"Just how big is this place?" Celeste murmured as she wandered about the rooftop, looking out at the city she couldn't discern what was real and what was fake, it looked exactly like a real city, just like Magnolia or Hargeon.
"Sim Room 6?" Sal placed a hand on the back of his head as he had to think about it for a moment. "You know what, I think I'll leave you guessing, but try and focus on the mission."
"This way." The redhead ordered as she led the way to the drone helicopter waiting for them nearby, it had bundles of rope attached to hooks near its doors. "Two aside."
Sal and Celeste took a seat on the edge of the floor on the left side of the aircraft as Knight and Frost took their place on the right side, the wind picking up as the downdraft from the rotor blades washed down around them.
"We'll be using our comms from here on out, easier to hear each other that way." Sal glanced at the blonde sat next to him, his voice coming out over the earpieces as the helicopter took off. "It's only a short hop from here, a few minutes. Should we go over the plan once more?"
"It's for the best." Knight replied, her voice neutral. "Once our boots hit the roof we'll make our way to the southern side of the building and deploy our rappel lines. Copy?" The woman was met with a simultaneous 'Copy' from the three other members, prompting her to continue. "We hook up and rappel down three floors, pop a window to the room next to where the VIP should be then we breach the wall and snatch the VIP and get out."
"Let's hope that Murphy doesn't show his face again." Frost said as he nudged Knight with his elbow. "Hey?"
"At this point, Frosty, I'd be upset if he didn't show his face." Sal twisted around and looked through the cabin at the raven-haired agent. "We've become such good friends over the years."
"I hear that, man. Seems like every other mission he shows his face."
"More like every mission for me."
"Cut the chatter you two, we are approaching the tower. So get ready to move." Knight cut the two men off. She felt a chill run through her body as they passed through a barrier that caused her magic to feel thick like sludge. "There is an MSF in play, looks like we'll be doing this the hard way."
"What's the play?" Sal glanced at the redhead, curiously. "Are we knocking out the MSF or are we leaving it?"
"Leave it, we don't have the luxury of time to look for it. The longer the VIP is in danger, the greater the chance of critical harm befalling them." Knight adjusted her gloves and pulled the pin on the bundle of rope by her as they came to a hover above the structure.
The woman was the first one out of the helicopter, sliding down the rope with her eyes glued to the rooftop. As her feet hit the ground she stepped to the side and brought up her rifle, sweeping around for hostiles as a second pair of feet landed next to her with two more soft thumps landed behind her moments later, alerting her to the rest of her team landing on the roof.
"Looks like Murphy decided to join us." Sal murmured as he jogged over to the south side of the building, he placed his rifle on his back and pull the rappel kit from one of his pouches. "No magic, no fire. And my alternative would be too noisy."
"We'll burn that bridge when we get there. Frost, Celeste, and Sal, set your lines up while I cover you." Agent Knight turned on the spot and took a knee as she swept the rifle around the roof.
The three agents hooked their lines onto the base of a water tank and gave them a tug before throwing the lines down the side of the building. They placed their automatic ascender/descender onto the ropes and Sal moved to Knight's side with his rifle raised.
"All set, your turn to hook in, be quick, they might have spotted the lines."
"Got it." The redhead turned as she placed her rifle on her back and opened the pouch with her kit. She quickly hooked onto the tower and threw the rest of the rope over the edge. With a click, she snapped her ascender onto the line. "All set, let's go." Knight put the device into descend and led the way over the edge.
Sal gave it a few moments before he ran to the edge, his hand wrapping around the device and engaging the neutral as he leapt from the roof. He saw the rest of his team waiting for him by a window on the third flow as his momentum carried him in an arc.
"Bust this window, Sal. We have visual confirmation that the VIP is in the room next to it." Knight ordered as she pointed at the pane of glass between the three of them.
The ascender clicked as the agent locked it, his arm cocking back as he rocketed toward the building.
SMASH
Sal's gloved fist collided with the corner of the glass pane, shattering the corner and allowing for the man to get a grip on it and rip it free of the frame.
Agent Knight pushed off the side of the building and swung into the building, unhooking herself mid-swing and landing with her rifle raised.
She was quickly joined by Celeste who dropped to a knee beside her. The redhead pointed the woman to the door as she turned to Sal and Frost as they entered one after the other. "Celeste, switch to full auto and cover that doorway. Sal, Frost, make us a new door."
The two men walked to the wall, Sal pulling out the wall injector while Frost pulled out a breaching charge. It only took them a few seconds to set the charges, their deft hands working quickly.
When they finished, the three Agents stacked up near the entrance they were about to make, Knight gave the nod to proceed.
Sal fired his device first, shooting three flashbangs one after another into the room next door.
"FUCK! FLASHBANGS!"
BOOM
The wall blew open at the same time as the flashbangs detonated.
Frost entered the room first, clearing to the left. He shot each hostile twice, once in the chest and once in the head.
Sal was hot on his heels, taking down the hostiles to the right.
Knight walked in behind them, checking the room for any other hostiles before heading to the dazed VIP. "Come with us, Sir."
"Demon, we have the VIP, extracting now."
The sound of rapid bursts of gunfire echoed through the hole in the wall as Celeste opened the door and started taking down the reinforcements.
Sal stepped back into the previous room and made his way to Celeste. "You good?"
The blonde was firing from a kneeled position, firing short bursts at her targets to either hit them or suppress them. "Yeah, the plan is going well?"
"Just gotta get the VIP up to the roof and on the chopper." The salmon-haired agent started sending rounds down the hallway, making sure to keep heads down as Frost and Knight took the VIP to their entrance.
"Frost, go up first and clear the roof, I'll follow with the VIP." Knight ordered as she started putting a harness onto the man they were escorting and hooked them to herself.
"Moving."
Sal glanced back at the two agents then down at the woman next to him. "Go with them, they'll need your firepower if things get heated up on the roof. I'll cover the Exfil."
"Good luck, Sir." Celeste turned on the spot and ran back to the exterior hole.
The pinkette quickly switched to the left side of the door and kept sending single rounds down the hall every time a head popped out. He heard the whine of the electric motors in the ascenders as they pulled the agents up the side of the building.
A soft ding echoed through the gunfire, causing Sal to blink as he processed it. His eyes widened as realisation struck him. He shot a glance back at the redhead. "Shit! Knight, get that VIP out of here, the elevator just dinged so things are about to get crazy down here!"
"It's the strike team, isn't it?" The redhead shouted back. Before Sal and Celeste had turned up to the Ready Room, she and Frost had been given a brief rundown of the specific events that were planned to happen.
"Most likely, I'll be up there soon." Sal placed the M416 onto his back and pressed his back against the wall.
Knight hit the switch on her ascender as she leapt back out of the window, she quickly disappeared upwards which left Agent Salamander alone on the third floor.
The pinkette took a deep breath as the sound of footsteps came closer, the steps barely made any sound but Sal could hear them clearly.
They were his fellow agents but he didn't know who they belonged to just yet. He couldn't hear them talking so he guessed they were communicating on a different frequency.
Sal took a quiet but deep breath as he readied himself to attack.
The Agents continued to draw closer to his position and the salmon-haired man began to wonder just who his brother had sent in. He quickly pushed the thought out of his head as he heard the group split into two.
Four sets of footsteps entered the room next to him just as two agents entered into his room. A fist rocketed towards the agent who had swept their rifle to the right, the heavy blow colliding with their stomach and knocking them to the floor.
The commotion alerted the other members of the strike team, the second agent immediately whipping around to attack.
They were quickly disarmed by a swift kick from the pinkette as he sent the rifle flying out the missing window.
"Shit!"
Sal grinned as he continued with the momentum and pivoted around, landing another kick to the side of the agent's head, knocking them to the floor. "Hello there, Agent Sandman."
"Freeze!" The first agent shouted as they raised their rifle at the pinkette.
"So this one is Agent Picasso." Sal muttered as he grabbed the barrel of the rifle and ripped the gun free of his grip.
The man whipped his arm back, throwing the rifle through the hole in the wall right as another hostile agent was about to walk through it.
"Fuck! It's Agent Salamander!" Agent Picasso shouted shortly before Sal delivered a heavy punch to his helmet, severely cracking the visor.
An explosion rocked the floor and the pressure put on the pinkette's magic suddenly vanished, the MSF had been destroyed.
Sal turned to deal with the agents coming through the wall but was met with a very quick, heavy punch seemingly out of nowhere.
"Too slow!"
"Agent Raptor, what's the count at now?" The man slowly turned to the source of the voice, his visor cracked from the high-speed punch. He reached up and took the helmet off, it would have only been a hindrance from now on.
"You know it would be easier to just shoot him, right?" A woman said as she entered the room, her rifle raised at the pinkette.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Agent Oak…" Sal grinned over his shoulder, his arm whipped back as he threw the helmet at her head.
Raptor vanished from where he stood, using his unrivalled speed to assault the salmon-haired man with a flurry of punches.
Sal grunted as the rapid strikes rained down upon him, his world instantly slowed as he activated his Reflex, a grin spreading across his face as his body primed itself.
The man grabbed an incoming fist and threw the attacker into the nearby wall.
He moved with explosive speed as he closed the distance and sent a fist straight into Raptor's stomach, cracking the plasterboard wall and splintering the frame inside.
The punch was followed by a torrent of successive devastating punches, forcing the agent further into the wall as the rapid, solid thumps echoed around the office.
Sal took a step back then turned and sidestepped to the man as he launched a powerful kick to the Agent's stomach, forcing him through the wall and into the next room.
"OPEN FIRE!"
'That sounded like Agent Ivy.' The man turned and dived under the slow-moving gunfire.
The pinkette moved to Sandman first, dodging the fire from his pistol and landing a heavy kick to the prone man's stomach, sending him into the wall.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! I didn't sign up for this!"
'Agent Radar… no surprises there. Don't know why he is here, he usually works in intelligence gathering and interrogation.' Sal decided to leave him for last, he launched after Oak and dived into a tackle.
Wood burst from Oak's body, encasing the man in an ornately designed and door-less 'Iron' maiden in an attempt to protect herself from the extremely lethal agent.
The wooden maiden hit the floor hard and tumbled to a stop in the corner of the room. Agent Oak press a hand against her chest and took deep breaths to soothe her rapidly beating heart. "Did we get him?"
"Hopefully, who have we lost?" Agent Ivy asked as he moved to the hole that his friend had been punched through.
"Picasso, Raptor, and Sandman are down for the count, Zeref's orders." Oak replied as she walked over to the window that had been removed and looked up the ropes. "Radar, Ivy, come with me. It looks like they are up on the roof."
A dull thump echoed around the room as the trio made for the door out of the room.
"Please don't tell me…" Radar muttered as he turned to the wooden casket.
The wood started to splinter as a louder thump echoed around the room.
"Oh Fuck!" Oak shouted, a chill shooting up her spine as she raised her rifle at the wooden maiden. "Get ready!"
A third thump echoed from the corner, the wood splintering as the front cracked open enough for a lone green eye to peer out of.
The wood exploded in a shower of splinters as Sal burst out of the wooden maiden, he turned on the spot and grabbed the slab of wood, throwing the torture device at the three remaining agents and in turn blocking their firing line.
"Nice seeing you all." Sal watched the wood come crashing down upon the agents and knocking them flat on their asses. "But we have to cut this short. You see, I'm busy conducting Celeste's assessment." He flashed them a grin as he walked to the window and grabbed onto the ascender, not bothering to hook in as he gave them a wave and raced up to the roof.
As he reached the roof, he was met with heavy gunfire. Sal quickly climbed up over the edge and ran into cover beside Agent Knight who was firing her rifle at the new hostiles. "Where The Hell Did They All Come From?"
"It's the QRF. They turned up when the MSF shit itself!" The redhead replied as she ducked down into cover.
"What's a QRF?" Celeste shouted over the racket of her M27 firing on full auto.
"Quick Reaction Force! Think like a rapid response unit!" The salmon-haired agent shouted back as he took his rifle off his back. "I've dealt with the other agents."
"Who were they?" Knight asked, her curiosity slipping out from her trained stoicism.
"Max, Reedus, Jet, Droy, Warren, and Laki. Don't ask me why they signed up for it, but my best guess is that they thought they'll only be going up against Celeste, they were shocked when they realised they were up against me."
"I hope they realise that she isn't a pushover…" The redhead muttered, but shook her head and pointed at Sal's face. "Helmet?"
"Raptor landed a full speed punch on it, fucked the visor so bad that I couldn't see a thing out of it. So I ditched it."
"Better make sure that you don't take a bullet to the face then." Knight popped up and unleashed a quick burst of gunfire.
"M, what's the ETA on the Heli?" Sal looked around as he tried to spot the drone that took them to the building.
"Hey Man, Think You Can Do Your Thing Here?" Frost called out from the other side of Celeste.
Sal glanced over the cover but ducked back quickly as a paint-bullet skidded along the top of the metal ducting. "It's a bit thick, counting incoming and outgoing fire. Not to mention that we seem to be outnumbered by about five-to-one!"
"Sal, it's too hot for a pick-up. Clear the roof and we'll bring in the drone."
The man grumbled as he looked around, his mind running like a bullet train as he planned the next move. "Celeste! How many mags do you have left?"
The blonde glanced over as she pulled a fresh mag from her pouch in time for her gun to run dry, she dropped the empty mag from the automatic rifle and slid the new one into the well. She racked the bolt and continued to lay down highly accurate suppressive fire. "I'm on my sixth one!"
'Six more to go.' Sal looked past the woman at the raven-haired agent. "Frosty, how are you on ammo?"
"Eight left!"
Knight ducked back behind cover to reload her M416, her attention turning to the man next to her as she fluidly reloaded without paying attention to her rifle. "I'm down to five now, what is your plan?"
"I'm going to do what I do best. Cause havoc among hostile troops." Agent Salamander grinned as he drew the twin training Baretta pistols from their holsters. "When the bird comes, get on-board ASAP."
"M, bring the drone in low and keep it below the edge of the roof. When I have distracted them enough I want you to bring it up so the rest of the team can board."
"Copy that, Sal. Give 'em hell!"
"I'll signal when I'm about to attack, be careful who you shoot." The man told Knight as he started to scoot away.
The redhead agent gave him a playful grin as she cocked her rifle. "Now I'm going to shoot you in the leg just because you said that."
"Good luck actually landing the hit." Sal moved around the corner of the metal vents and skirted around the group of hostiles.
He came to a stop once he was in their blind spot, he glanced over the cover and got ready to assault the QRF.
"Here we go." The man announced as he leapt over the ducting and sprinted at the group, his senses going into overdrive as the world around him slowed rapidly.
It was as if a hurricane tore through the attacking force, Sal had drawn his 92s and ripped through the group.
"Fuck!" One of the hostiles shouted as they turned their attention to the agent, followed by a few others.
Flashes of salmon hair surged around the group as the crackles of 9mm thundered around the group.
True to her word, Sal sensed a bullet racing towards his leg, fired by Knight.
Sal swept the legs out from under one of the hostiles then brought his leg down upon their gut, forcing them down into the path of the bullet. He promptly flipped the bird at the woman and continued with his assault. "M, ETA on that drone?"
"It's about to be in position beside the building… It's there now."
"You heard the woman, GET TO ZE CHOPPA!" Sal couldn't help but grin wildly as his 92s fired rapidly.
A chorus of audible groans echoed through the comms as the helicopter rose so the cabin was level with the roof.
"Cover me then get onto the Heli!" Knight grabbed the VIP and dragged them to their waiting ride, she leapt across the small gap and pushed the VIP into a seat, she put herself between the door and the VIP and opened fire at the hostiles.
"Let's move Celeste!" Frost called out as he turned and made a break for the chopper.
The blonde slipped a new mag into her rifle as she walked backwards, covering the man as she moved the rifle's sight from target to target, sending bursts of fire downrange.
"Don't wait up for me, I'll be there as soon as it's clear." Sal glanced at the blonde who met his gaze and gave him a nod as she turned and jumping into the waiting helicopter.
"Sal, I'm moving the drone a safe distance away and will hold it there until further notice."
"Copy that, M." Out of the corner of his eye, the pinkette saw the helicopter pull up and start to retreat the hot zone. He continued to evade the ever-weakening fire as he returned his own gunfire.
As the last body limply fell to the ground, with a mark of paint over their heart and on the visor of their helmet, Sal straightened and holstered his training pistols as he looked at his evac. 'It's a bit far… but I think I can make that distance, I'd have to grab the ropes though.'
"Bringing the chopper in for a pick-up." M announced as the helicopter turned to the building.
"Negative, I can make that jump."
"You're absolutely insane, Sir!" Celeste replied as she poked her head out of the side, she could just see the Agent's hair standing out among the bodies, they were too far for her to make out any other details. "That distance is too great."
Sal carefully moved out of the field of bodies so he didn't tread on them when he made the jump, he glanced over his shoulder at the operators. "Hey, you guys did really well, I owe you all a few rounds of drinks so feel free to hit me up at some point. Enjoy your bonuses!"
All the man got back were groans, he might have been a little too rough with them and they might have some bruises after this, but he made sure that he didn't break any bones. Once he was free to move about he quickly broke out into a run and then to a sprint as he raced towards the edge, his eyes glued to the helicopter. His muscles primed themselves with explosive power as Sal leapt to the edge of the roof and propelled himself through the air with a powerful jump.
The wind rushed through his spikey hair as he flew through the air, gunning for the helicopter. He knew he wouldn't make the cabin, but he was betting on being able to grab onto the ropes that still hung from the aircraft.
Sal reached out as he approached the ropes, snatching one in a firm grip. His momentum carried him up, swinging on the rope like a vine as it arced up and around to the other side of the helicopter.
He was quickly snatched up by Knight as she dragged the man into the cabin. "That was a close one, Sal. Any higher and you would have been ran through the blades like a blender."
The pinkette chuckled as he took a seat inside the helicopter. "Thanks for the save." He turned to the blonde sitting next to him and gave her a broad smile. "Well, Lucy. In my eyes, you have passed, but it isn't up to me. Zeref, Makarov, and a few others will be reviewing the audio logs, and the recordings from both our contacts and the cameras, once they have sorted their shit out they'll contact you about it."
"I can't wait." The blonde smiled eagerly as she lifted her helmet off her head and looked around at the other agents. "Thank you for all of your help."
"Glad to have lent a hand." Gray replied as he sat back in the seat. "So, who was the VIP?"
Erza reached over and removed the burlap sack that was hiding the identity of their VIP, revealing a man with vibrant green hair. "Oh, good afternoon, Freed."
"I'll be honest, I thought it would have taken a lot longer to be rescued, even with the three of you helping her." The greenette man said as he fidgeted in his bindings. "Mind giving me a hand?"
"It was Lucy's idea to rappel down the side of the building and breach through the window, we're just lucky you hadn't been moved." The redhead replied as she reached behind the man with her knife and cut him free.
"I was supposed to be moved once things started kicking off, but you happened to bypass that plan fairly effectively."
"And what was the deal with Max and the others?" Gray asked casually as he took a look out the side of the helicopter.
"Max was at the head of that idea, he wanted to prove something it seems, something along the lines of beating Salamander's Protégé to prove something or other." Freed waved a hand as he trailed off and started to rub his wrists as he glanced at Natsu. "Who knows, but even if she was alone in the assessment, I'm not stupid enough to ignore the fact that she had been trained by you and Mira."
"Well, hopefully, I wasn't too rough with the poor fuckers." Natsu grinned as the helicopter touched down on the rooftop. "Nice seeing you, Freed, remind me to buy you a drink sometime for participating in this."
"I'll keep it in mind, Natsu." The greenette said as he disembarked from the aircraft and made his way through the nearby doors without a glance back.
"I kinda feel sorry for the other guys, you know?" Natsu said as he stepped out of the helicopter and turned to the group. "They didn't seem to have all that much cohesion. Attacking me one at a time instead of all together."
"I'll be honest, Natsu." Erza replied as she gathered up her rifle and walked to the man's side. "I doubt they'd have stood a chance even if they did that."
Lucy looked curiously between the two seasoned agents as she and Gray joined them, forming a circle. "What makes you say that?"
"Natsu, here, is proficient in all manners of martial arts as well as offensive and defensive fighting techniques and forms, and will seamlessly transition between them seemingly at random." The redhead gave the man a gentle shove to the shoulder with a smile. "He tends to fight with those who he knows will not pull any strikes, and when they aren't available then he would set up all the bots in the gym to a randomised playlist of styles, and have them all come at him at once."
"Suffice to say, Lucy." Natsu chuckled and shoved the woman in return. "I haven't taught you everything I know, only enough to ensure that you are a capable field agent and can survive on your own regardless of what is thrown at you, with time though I plan on bringing you up to the level we are on."
"To that point, if you feel that you need further training or even just a sparring partner then feel free to ask any of us. We'd be happy to help." Gray added with a grin. "As Natsu said, you're basically one of us now, so we can chip in and help train you when we are free."
"Anyway." Natsu turned and headed to the nearby doors. "We should get this gear cleaned and put away."
"So what's everyone's plans after this?" The red-haired woman asked as she followed the man into the ready room and placed her gear onto one of the benches. "I think I'm going to head into town and finally check out that place Mavis was talking about."
"I've got work to be done on my Camaro." Gray placed his unused gear back up on the racks and got stuck into cleaning his rifle. "Need to take it into Ashlyn's team for a service and a tune-up, it's been a little ragged out of the blue, so I want it to be sorted out as soon as possible."
"Unfortunately, I don't have much of a plan for today, I'll probably go back to my office." Natsu asked as he sat upon a bench, cleaning the two pistols. "What about you, Lucy, got any plans?"
"I need a shower, I swear I smell of gunpowder… Afterwards, though, I'm probably going to hit the gym again and set up some of the bots."
Natsu's House, 7:45 pm
"I'm home!" Natsu called out as he walked through the front door. "Sorry I'm home late from work."
"How did it go, Natsu?" Happy called out amidst a cacophony of gunfire coming from the TV.
"The test?" Natsu closed the door and poked his head into the lounge room, he saw that Happy was stuck into playing a game. "It went well, Lucy passed with flying colours in my opinion, she'll probably find out tonight or tomorrow about it."
"Good. Hey, have you heard anything about Romeo?" The human-looking exceed paused the game and turned to look at his adoptive father. "I saw him in the range today practising with some of the standard-issue weapons."
"No, the boy has been keeping his distance from me." Natsu sighed as his eyebrows furled with concern. "Ah well… Have you eaten?"
"I ordered pizza, yours is on the bench but you might need to reheat it a little." The blue-haired teen lifted a pizza box that was sat on the coffee table in front of him and turned back to the TV.
"Thanks, Kiddo." With a long yawn, Natsu walked to the kitchen and grabbed the box from the countertop. "Hope you don't have any homework?"
"Already finished it before you got home."
"Good." The pinkette stuck the pizza onto a plate and gave it a quick blast in the microwave before taking the plate into the garage. "I'll be in the garage if you need me."
Natsu stifled a yawn behind his free hand, his breath coming out in a thick, white fog. He placed the plate of pizza on his workbench and reached behind his back, his hand slipping under his jacket and gripping the Glock 29 back-up pistol.
He drew the pistol as he reached for a small parcel box with the FTA Logo emblazoned on the top, it had been put aside for when he had the time to spare. Natsu brought the handgun to his front and flicked the mag out onto the desk, with a flick of his hand he had wrapped his finger around the slide and pulled it back, ejecting the live round from the chamber singlehandedly as he placed the parcel next to the mag.
The now-empty G29 was placed down upon the bench as Natsu opened the package, it was a specially ordered kit from FTA's R&D department, containing their latest model of suppressor, and a mod kit for his G29 with a new barrel and a slide locking mechanism.
Natsu had specifically ordered it to make his back-up pistol as quiet as possible, the suppresser came with special synthetic rubber wafers that had a self-repair enchant to extend the life of the wafers beyond their standard capabilities. There was an extra set of wafers packaged with the suppressor for when the enchantment deteriorated and the wafers needed to be replaced.
His idea was to have his two G20 pistols as offensive suppressed handguns, and the shorter G29 pistol as a more concealable and clandestine alternative for where he wouldn't be able to carry two full-sized pistols.
Both types of pistols were loaded with high-powered 10mm cartridges developed and manufactured within the R&D facility, they also had an enchantment placed upon them to bring their sound level down into the subsonic region.
"Whatcha doing?"
Natsu's head snapped around to the door when he heard a familiar voice, yet it wasn't Happy who should have been the only other person in the house… He was looking into the curious brown eyes of Lucy who seemed to have come out of nowhere.
"Lucy… I didn't hear you arrive…" The pinkette grabbed a slice of pizza and bit into it. "When did you get here?"
"According to Happy, not long after you. So, what are you doing?" The woman's high heels clicked and clacked on the cold cement floor as she made her way over and lifted herself up onto the bench, her short black dress sliding over her pale skin.
"I've got some new stuff for my pistols, a slide lock for my G29 as well as a new barrel, and a new suppressor." Natsu grabbed the tube in his left hand and held it out for the woman to inspect.
"What's with this mechanism where it connects to the barrel?" Lucy asked as she pressed down on a spring-loaded tab.
"It's the barrel lock for the suppressor, it slots into the slots cut into the muzzle of the barrel and that is what holds it in position. This type of catch is much faster than screwing on a threaded suppressor." Natsu put the suppressor down and showed her the new barrel. "See the slots? My Glock 20s have the same setup but with an older version of this suppressor. I'm still waiting for the delivery of a set for those pistols."
"Why do you need to wait?"
"Because they are custom made, and they go through test fitting with a matched barrel to ensure tight tolerances, you don't want any wiggle room when in a gunfight as it could send your shots off target. Or damage your equipment mid-fight." Sal wiped his hand clean on a cloth and started to strip the pistol. "So why are you here?"
"I got bored at my house so I decided to come here." Lucy gave him a blasé shrug of her shoulders as she replied, she flicked a strand of hair behind her ear as she watched the man work. "Seriously, there is nothing good on TV and I'm not in the mood for much else."
"Quite the conundrum, unfortunately though, I don't really have anything exciting going on here. Just a little bit of machining and maybe testing the pistol once I am done."
"Oh! I bumped into Makarov before I left the HQ, he told me that I passed! But he just needs to finalise the paperwork. He did compliment my idea of coming in through the window though, apparently, it annoyed your brother a lot as apparently, he had a carefully constructed plan where we would have made our way through the building, fighting off tougher and tougher forces." The blonde smirked as she chuckled quietly, her legs crossing over the other as she leant over for a better view.
"Poor bastard… that would explain why the rooftop became a shit-storm, he would have thrown everything at us, including the kitchen sink." The pinkette carefully made small modifications to the pistol then replaced the barrel and started to install the slide lock. "Well, you passed and now the real training begins. Things just get tougher from here on."
"I know, I know. But at least I can put your training into practice. Do you know what we'll be doing first?" Lucy watched the man work with keen interest, her eyes following the well-practised movements of his hands.
"I believe I have already mentioned it to you. We'll be retrieving a magical artefact from Duke Everlue, a Golden Celestial Key." Natsu turned his attention to the woman. "You're coming with me because of your expertise with Celestial Magic, and your Heartfilia matrilineal line. We know about how your women pass their knowledge down to their kids."
Lucy slowly nodded her head, it was no secret that she came from the Heartfilia Korzern CEO's family at the FTA, even though she was hesitant to talk about it in the beginning. "After my father's passing due to a harsh battle with cancer that took his life after a four-year struggle, my mother took control of the company and was unable to keep adventuring with the twelve spirits, so she handed them out to be spread to other Celestial mages. My mother, it turns out, has a really good head for business, even better than what my father was like so our business saw a golden age."
"I know, it is part of your file." The pinkette chuckled and held up the completed pistol, testing the slide lock by engaging and disengaging it followed by engaging it and tugging on it with the force equal to firing the pistol. "What was your life at home like?"
"Cozy, my mother was able to balance her work-life and home-life very well. She actually encouraged me to go out and explore the world, she had even trained me in Celestial magic." Lucy smiled as she closed her eyes, visualising Layla's smiling face. "I've kept in contact with her, I talk to her a few times a week over video calls. I've told her that I live and work in Magnolia, but I haven't told her what I do exactly."
"I wouldn't be surprised if your spirits still keep in contact with her, does she have any keys still with her?"
"Just Leo." The woman hopped off the workbench as Natsu slotted a round into the chamber and placed the mag back into the G29. "He wanted to remain in service to her. He has probably told my mother about what I do already. The spirits love gossip just as much as the next person."
The pistol vanished from the pinkette's hand as he turned to Lucy with a raised eyebrow. "Just the one?"
"Yes, Aquarius made a fuss but she decided to stay with me, Cancer and Taurus offered their service to me, and I came across Sagittarius again about two years ago." Lucy smiled and dusted the back of her dress off, she quickly reached over and stole a slice of pizza as she turned back to the house. "That's enough about me, let's go watch a movie and have some celebratory drinks or something."
I think I'll leave it here. Sorry for the long gap between uploads, I've been fairly busy recently and had this sitting half-completed for longer than I'd like to had, but here it is. I hope you have liked it, Lucy is an official agent now and can go on missions, the first one will be retrieving the Key from Everlue's potential dangerous hands and ensuring that the magical artefact falls into competent hands once more. I'll try to get that out faster than this one had been but I can't make any promises as my Course has ramped up its pace. Again, I hope you have liked it and sorry for the wait, I'll see you all next time.