Chapter 35: One Stun Grenade
The phone connected instantly.
Christmas said anxiously, "Barney, are you on London Bridge?" The moment Barney spoke, Christmas knew his teammates were really there. "Barney, it's me! Come and get me. We're in big trouble!"
Listening to Christmas's panicked voice, Barney didn't need to think twice; he knew their contact must have spotted them. Damn it. He'd meant well but had only made things worse. Now their contact would think it was an ambush. The Expendables were in trouble.
Barney spoke urgently into his headset, "Yin Yang, pick up Caesar immediately. Gunnar and I will get Christmas. We've been spotted. Shake anyone following you and rendezvous with us later. Be careful."
"Understood, we're on our way," Yin Yang replied.
Barney drove to Christmas, slammed on the accelerator, and sped away.
After hanging up, William slowly moved towards Yin Yang's car. From tens of meters away, he used his telekinesis to place a tracker on their vehicle. Then, William got in his own car and began to follow them.
William tailed Yin Yang's car through London for over an hour. During the drive, Caesar and Toll Road periodically checked their surroundings. After confirming that no one was following them, they arrived at an old house in the London suburbs. Caesar and Toll Road got out, drew their weapons, and approached the safe house tactically. Once they confirmed it was clear, Caesar gave the all-clear signal, and Yin Yang drove the car up to the house.
William stopped his car several hundred meters away. He got out and opened the trunk, revealing the equipment Gareth had provided for him.
He stood behind the car and took inventory: two Glock 17s, ten magazines, an M4A1 rifle, an AWP sniper rifle, two basic loads of ammunition, four smoke grenades, four flashbangs, four stun grenades, a radio, listening devices, trackers, and four anesthetic gas grenades.
Wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying his gear, he used the cover of the surrounding woods to approach the safe house. He used his mental powers to scan the area, avoiding several hidden cameras. He found a spot behind a tree, closed his eyes, and waited for Barney's group to arrive.
Using his telekinesis, William stealthily sent a listening device into the safe house, planting it along with a stun grenade and two anesthetic gas grenades. Soon, Caesar's voice came through his earpiece.
"What's going on?" Caesar asked, full of confusion.
"I don't know. We'll find out when Barney and Christmas get here," Yin Yang replied.
"Damn it," Caesar complained.
After waiting for more than twenty minutes, William sensed Barney's car approaching. About fifty meters from the safe house, Barney checked in with Yin Yang over the radio. After Yin Yang confirmed it was safe, Barney drove up. He and Christmas entered the house. Once the team was reunited, Barney asked Christmas, "What the hell is going on, Christmas? How did you know we were spotted? And who is coming after us?"
Christmas hung his head, then came up with a partial truth. "I can't tell you, Barney. If I do, you won't be able to back out. We haven't even engaged the enemy yet, and we're already compromised."
"Damn it, we don't even know who the opponent is! How are we supposed to escape if we don't know who to guard against?" Gunnar demanded.
Barney raised a hand to stop Gunnar. He knew Christmas wouldn't harm them; otherwise, he would have just come to London by himself and never told them what happened. Christmas must have known who the opponent was yesterday, but felt they were too powerful and didn't want to involve the team.
"Gunnar, Christmas didn't want to get us involved. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to London alone."
The others heard Barney's words and nodded in agreement. They were all veterans; they knew their teammates.
Hearing Barney, Gunnar realized he was right and said to Christmas, "Okay, buddy. I'm sorry."
Christmas nodded at Gunnar. "I should be thanking you. You're my best comrades. But today's opponent is not someone we can handle. The moment I got on the bridge, they spotted you. They know every one of us, and their power in England is too great. I didn't want you to get caught up in this. They want me, so I'll stay in London as a decoy to draw their attention. You guys take the opportunity to get back to the States."
Barney thought for a moment. "In other words, our opponents know each of us well and have incredible intelligence capabilities. I can only think of a few organizations with that kind of reach."
Hearing this, William knew Barney was guessing correctly, but William wasn't working for military intelligence.
Seeing that Barney had guessed, Christmas didn't hide it anymore. "Yesterday, an intelligence chief called me and told me to meet him in London today. I didn't see anyone on London Bridge, but then I got a call saying I had violated the confidentiality agreement and that they might make a move on us. You all know what happened after that."
After hearing this, William used his Mage Hand to pull the pin on the stun grenade inside the safe house. A deafening bang echoed through the building. The six members of the Expendables were instantly disoriented by the concussive blast and collapsed.
A stun grenade is extremely effective indoors, capable of incapacitating anyone with its sheer noise. However, these men were all seasoned warriors. So, as a follow-up, William used his telekinesis to trigger one of the anesthetic gas grenades. After the gas dispersed and the six men inside were completely silent, William used his power again to open the door and a window. He waited outside for more than ten minutes to let the air clear before carrying his equipment into the safe house.
Looking at the six unconscious men, William sealed each of their mouths and eyes with tape and bound their hands and feet. He then went out, retrieved his car, and, one by one, loaded the men inside. It was a good thing he was driving a Land Rover Range Rover; otherwise, there was no way he could have fit all six of them.
William drove to a secluded forest about ten kilometers away. He drove the car deep into the trees, got out, and tied each of the six members of the Expendables to a different tree. They wouldn't wake up for several hours.
William sat in his car, wondering how he was going to recruit the Expendables. He knew these men were tough, and he felt a little frustrated. His original plan had been to recruit Christmas first and then hire the rest of the team with money. As long as he wasn't asking them to do anything world-ending, they wouldn't care who they were targeting, so long as the pay was good.
It was a real headache. William couldn't bring himself to kill them. Even though they were mercenaries, they still had principles. Besides, he had no grudge against them. They were all familiar faces from the movies of his past life. He just couldn't do it.
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