Chapter 35: A Shock Grenade Takes Down the Expendables

The call connected quickly.

Christmas urgently said, "Barney, are you guys at London Bridge?" Hearing no immediate response, he knew his teammates were indeed at the bridge. "Guys, we're in big trouble. No time to explain. Come get me now, we have serious problems," he hurriedly added.

Barney, realizing that the contact must have spotted them, cursed inwardly. He had meant well but ended up making things worse for Christmas. Now, it seemed the contact would think they were trying to ambush him. The Expendables had landed in hot water.

Barney quickly spoke into his headset, "Yin Yang, you and Toll Road get Caesar. Gunnar and I will get Christmas. We've been compromised. Head to our London hideout. We'll meet you there after shaking off any tails. Be careful."

"Understood, we're on our way," replied Yin Yang.

Barney picked up Christmas, flooring the gas and speeding away.

William, after ending the call, leisurely approached Yin Yang's car from a distance. Under the cover of his mental abilities, he attached a tracker to Yin Yang's car, then calmly got into his own car and followed.

For over an hour, William tailed Yin Yang's car as it weaved through London. Caesar and Toll Road frequently checked behind them until they were confident no one was following. They arrived at an old house in the London suburbs. Caesar and Toll Road disembarked, weapons drawn, and secured the safe house before signaling the all-clear. Yin Yang then parked the car beside the house.

William parked a few hundred meters away, retrieving equipment from the trunk of his car that Gary had told him about. 

He checked the gear: two Glock 17s, ten magazines, an M4A1 rifle, an AWP sniper rifle, two sets of ammunition, four smoke grenades, flashbangs, stun grenades, a radio, bugs, trackers, and four tranquilizer smoke bombs.

Wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying his gear, William used the cover of the surrounding woods to approach the safe house. With his mental abilities, he avoided several hidden cameras, stopping about twenty meters from the house behind a large tree to wait for Barney and the others.

Using the Mage's Hand, William discreetly placed a bug, a stun grenade, and two tranquilizer smoke bombs inside the safe house. His earpiece picked up Caesar's voice.

"What the hell is going on?" Caesar asked, bewildered.

"I don't know either. We'll have to wait until Barney and Christmas get here," Yin Yang responded.

"Damn it," Caesar muttered.

About twenty minutes later, William sensed Barney's car approaching. Barney asked Yin Yang for a safety confirmation over the radio, then parked fifty meters from the safe house. He and Christmas entered after getting the all-clear.

Once inside, Barney asked, "What's going on, Christmas? How did you know we were compromised, and who are we dealing with?"

Christmas, with his head down, thought for a while before speaking. "Barney, I can't tell you. If I do, there'll be no turning back for you guys. Right now, since you haven't confronted them, you can escape to the USA tonight and be safe. We can't mess with these people."

"Damn it, how can we run without knowing who we're up against?" Gunnar demanded angrily.

Barney raised a hand to calm Gunnar. He knew Christmas wouldn't betray them. If he had known who the enemy was and deemed them too strong, he wouldn't have dragged them into it. "Gunnar, Christmas didn't want to involve us. That's why he came to London alone."

The others, realizing the truth in Barney's words, nodded. They understood their teammate well.

Gunnar, seeing reason, apologized, "Alright, buddy. I'm sorry."

Christmas nodded at Gunnar. "I should thank you guys. You're my best comrades, but today's opponent is beyond us. When I got to the bridge, the contact spotted you guys immediately, meaning he knows us well. In England, their influence is massive. I don't want to drag you down. They're after me. I'll stay in London to distract them. You all head back to the USA."

Barney, contemplating, asked, "So our opponent knows each of us. There are few with such intelligence capabilities. Christmas, how did you end up dealing with MI6?"

William, listening, realized Barney had figured it out. However, he wasn't working for MI6.

Christmas, seeing Barney had guessed it, stopped hiding the truth. "Yesterday, an MI6 officer called me, asking to meet in London today. At London Bridge, I didn't even see him before getting a call that I'd broken the confidentiality agreement. He warned they might act against us, and the rest you know."

William, hearing this, used the Mage's Hand to pull the pin on the stun grenade inside the safe house. A deafening blast disoriented the six Expendables instantly.

The stun grenade's effect was immense indoors, capable of stunning people instantly. Knowing these men were tough, William then pulled the pin on a tranquilizer smoke bomb. As the smoke filled the room, the six men fell silent. Using the Mage's Hand, William opened the door and windows to vent the smoke. After waiting ten minutes, he entered the safe house.

Seeing the six men knocked out, William tied them up with duct tape, binding their mouths, eyes, hands, and feet. He then brought his car around and loaded the men inside, grateful for his Range Rover's capacity.

Driving to a secluded forest about ten kilometers away, William tied the six men to trees. They wouldn't wake for several hours.

Sitting in his car, William pondered how to recruit the Expendables. He knew they were tough and felt conflicted. Initially, he planned to recruit Christmas first, then hire the Expendables with money, ensuring they only took on justifiable tasks. He was reluctant to kill them, as they operated with principles despite being mercenaries. Moreover, he had no personal vendetta against them, and their familiar faces from past movies made it even harder to consider harming them.

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