Benbeck looked out over the village as his plan went into motion. The three heavy hitters on his crew, Jeff, Manfred, and Siegfried, stood out in the dust cloud while he and Athena stayed out of sight and ready to intervene if necessary. He wanted a clean operation. They needed to take down Ortega fast or get out of there, not that they knew where he and his crew were.


    Benbeck just wished he had more information on the crew.


    He knew several crew members were present, and he could even identify one of them who wasn''t Ortega. ''Sword Saint'' Sayed was famous enough from the stories Benbeck had heard, but that left the other four people he had seen as shadows around the fire.


    One of them was an old man who hadn''t moved from the start of the attack, though he glared fiercely into the dust cloud. The other two were women, and one of the women had a child with her. Then there was the dark man in blue robes and the knight with silver hair.


    "Some information was left out of the briefing," Benbeck sighed as he pulled out his comb and styled up his hair.


    "I''ve got one!" Athena came at him through the brush, settling beside him with a furry creature bound in her arms.


    "Let me go!" the creature yelled, but it was lost in the din of the attack


    The creature fought back as best it could, but even though Athena wasn''t the strongest among them, it couldn''t break free from her grip. She held it in a neck hold as she knelt down, laying her bow to the side as she struggled to keep it under control. It fought back with long curved nails, cutting against her black jumpsuit but failing to cut through the leather.


    "Are you going to help or not?" she asked finally, huffing out a long breath.


    "Alright, alright," Benbeck said, grabbing onto the fur-covered creature and taking over so that Athena could act as support. "Thank you for securing the backup plan."


    "Are you sure it''s going to work?" Athena picked up her bow and pulled an arrow from the quiver on her hip. "Ortega''s an outlaw, right?"


    "I''ve heard stories," Benbeck said. "But I won''t know until I see him in action. You know what they say: always have at least three plans."


    "James is going to kill you when he fi—"


    Thump.


    Benbeck hit the kid as hard as he could in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. He didn''t have time to argue with the kid, whatever he was. Knocked out was just as fine a state as any to be in for Benbeck''s plans, and he could watch the fight without distractions now.


    "Let''s see how this goes," Benbeck said as he leaned forward and peered through the brush.


    "Ready to support as needed," Athena smiled.


    Silence crept over the village in the wake of the explosion, and Benbeck''s crew emerged from the dust cloud. Their mission was simple: focus down Ortega and create a space for Athena to take down the main threat in a surprise attack. Benbeck and Athena would interfere if needed to help make the plays necessary. If things went bad, then they would focus on distraction and extraction first and regroup.


    "Friends of yours?" Ortega asked, looking down at the unmoving old man who still hadn''t risen.


    "We should have been warned," the old man said, pushing himself off the ground before collapsing with a grunt of pain. "What happened to our scouts?"


    Of course, Benbeck had already handled it. He and his crew had gotten a lay of the land once they realized where Ortega was. He knew there was a temple to the east, and they had managed to flush out all of the village scouts in the area. Benbeck knew that knowledge of the area was needed to make a plan, and he worked accordingly.


    "We are here for ''Tin Man'' Ortega and his crew," Siegfried shouted, hefting his sword high as the dust cloud cleared.


    "Well, at least they''re obvious about it," Ortega sighed.


    "Shall I show them the price of their transgressions, brother?" Sayed asked, already drawing one of his swords.


    "In a minute," Ortega said, putting his hands in his pockets as she stepped away from the fire. "Jean, with me and Sayed. Wen, keep an eye out for any more of them. Erin and Artur watch over Mari and the rest. We good?"


    Ortega and his crew moved out from where they had been standing around the bonfire. From those words alone, Benbeck had an idea of who was on his crew. He recognized at least two of the main players he hadn''t known before and now wondered how a bounty hunter was mixed up with Ortega''s crew.


    "I am with you, brother," Sayed''s blade began to glow a bright orange.


    "We will hold any attackers at bay." The knight''s shield began to glow as he and Erin pushed inside the building with the kid. "So take these foul villains and make them pay."


    Wen disappeared into the shadows, and Benbeck didn''t like that. She was ''Cold Shot'' and was known for her sniping skills. If she got off a good shot on one of his crew, it might turn the entire plan on its head. It was a variable he hadn''t planned for, and he didn''t like that one bit.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Keep an eye out," Benbeck said to Athena. "But don''t hesitate if you get a clean shot."


    Sayed, Baptiste, and Ortega stepped away from the fire and toward the intruders. Benbeck leaned forward, rubbing his gun against his pants leg as the confrontation started. He hoped his first plan would work. Otherwise, he would need to rethink the strategy.


    "Oh, I didn''t think this would be so easy," Siegfried said, smiling as he hefted his sword off his shoulders. "You just came out without us even needing to take hostages."


    "I take it you''re with the people who attacked us earlier," Ortega said, looking over the three.


    "You should have kept running," Siegfried said, pointing his sword toward Alex. "We''ll take your and your crew''s heads in for the bounty and live like kings!"


    "You guys came after me armed with metal?" Ortega looked over the three of them, and Benbeck bit his lip. "Force Pull."


    Benbeck knew about Ortega''s curse, but he didn''t know its limitations. Curses could only do certain things, depending on the user''s will. Either Siegfriend''s and Manfred''s wills would be stronger than Ortegas''s, or they wouldn''t. How that broke down would determine the course of the fight.


    Clatter.


    Siegfried''s armor clattered against itself, but he didn''t budge. He held his sword in his tight grip with a smile on his face. Even Manfred kept his knives in hand. A brief moment of shock crossed Ortega''s face before a grim line set across it. Benbeck smiled. There was a chance.


    "Oh, you seem to be having some troubles," Siegfried smiled, flipping his hair out of his eyes. "Why don''t you try it again? We have all the time in the world tonight."


    "The more they struggle, the better they taste," Manfred clashed his knives together as he took on a stance.


    "I''ll break them like a twig," Jeff flexed his arms.


    "We''ll need to change tactics," Ortega said, looking over his crew. "Are you guys ready?"


    "Cleaver''s Strike!"


    Before they could respond, Siegfried bounded into the air, his blade burning as he came down toward them in a rotating slash. Ortega threw up his hand, and a blue light seemed to form in his palm before extending out around his body. Benbeck leaned closer, wanting to see exactly what the man was doing.


    "Repulsive Wave," Ortega caught the blade with his orb, slowing Siegfried''s strike until the man was visible again.


    Ting.


    Manfred jumped into action, two knife blades going for Ortega''s side, but Sayed had imposed himself between Manfred and Ortega, knocking the blades aside with his glowing sword. Manfred grinned, but he was just part of the attack. His crew had two more shots to shoot.


    "That will not work!" Sayed yelled, knocking the blades away before leaning forward to stab into Manfred.


    "Strong Arm!" Before Sayed could finish his attack, Jeff was there as well, swinging a hard punch toward Sayed''s head.


    "Spirit Step!"


    Boom.


    Baptiste appeared in the air, his leg slamming into the fist to knock it off course and away from Sayed. In the next moment, everything finished. Ortega pushed Siegfried back. Jeff was knocked to the side, and Sayed threw off the knives. Benbeck''s crew retreated, gaining some distance for the next move.


    Even Benbeck, from his outside perspective, had some trouble keeping up with the fight. Even now, moments after it was over, he was still replaying each move in his mind. He shook his head. This was why he liked a ''behind the line'' leadership role. It let him think in a way that he couldn''t when his blood was pumping hot.


    "Impressive," Siegfried said, smiling as he held his sword in both hands. "Your crewmates were ready to protect you the moment I made the opening."


    "They''re working together," Baptiste said, his arms out at his sides as he held one foot forward. "We will need to do the same if we wish to win."


    "I have your backs, and you have mine," Sayed said, reaching for his second blade.


    "There''s doubt in them," Athena said as she lined up a shot. "Permission to take the shot?"


    Benbeck waited, keeping an eye on the fight. While it was a pause, they weren''t in motion, and the attack would be easier to pull off. Benbek raised one finger to Athena before nodding. In the silence of the conversation, he didn''t want their position to be revealed.


    "This can''t be it, though," Ortega whispered. "They''re a distra—"


    Twip. Thud.


    Ortega staggered as Athena''s arrow hit his shoulder. Benbeck smiled, but then he noticed a flash of a lens near the hut. He had forgotten about ''Cold Shot.'' Surely, that single arrow couldn''t have been enough for her to track their location. No one was that good.


    Hiss. Bang. Thwoop.


    There was no shout of technique, nor was there a sign that ''Cold Shot'' had acted besides the sound of the shot. Benbeck dodged to the left, throwing himself away instinctively and hoping Athena had done the same. He knew he wasn''t faster than a bullet, so his only chance was luck.


    Thump. Crack. Crunch.


    A bullet whizzed past Benbeck''s head, crashing into Athena beside him and sending her falling to the ground. Benbeck had a moment to look down before he saw the worst possible outcome. Blue-white ice covered Athena''s arm and was spreading up it toward her shoulder.


    "No, no, no," Benbeck said as Athena lay there on the ground, groaning in pain.


    It had all happened so fast. At first, he thought he was winning, and then the bullet hit. Now Athena lay on the ground, her arm freezing. He needed to act quickly. If ''Cold Shot'' was able to fight unhindered, she would be able to take down the rest of his crew.


    He pulled Robismo out of his pocket. He needed to act fast. Benbeck stood up, channeling aether into his body as he opened his gate. The whir of an engine turned through his heart, and gouts of combustion exploded up and down his limbs as he threw Robismo to the ground.


    "Awaken Robismo," Robismo expanded in size in moments, and Benbeck made sure that the robot''s hand reached out beneath himself, Athena, and his hostage as it grew taller.


    Crack. Boom.


    Benbeck''s curse allowed him to control and expand Robismo''s size and everything necessary for its maintenance. Robismo grew until it was the size of the nearby trees and towered over the village. Benbeck picked up his hostage as Robismo put its hand forward, and he prepared to give his speech. It took his childhood imagination and made it all possible.


    "I have you precisely where I want you, Ortega!" Benbeck yelled out the command for his men to retreat. "Don''t you dare move unless you want me to kill this hostage!"


    He held up the kid with one hand, holding it by the scruff of its neck while he pointed his gun at it. Benbeck looked down at the people below and saw that Ortega knelt on the ground, clutching at his shoulder. Benbeck knew he would be a target for other members of the crew, though. He needed to issue his demands and get out while they were distracted.


    "If you want this kid to live, come and meet me alone in the temple to the east! If I see even the hint of your crew there, I''ll kill this kid! Robismo Retreat!"


    With that, Robismo turned, and Benbeck breathed a sigh of relief that ''Cold Shot'' hadn''t taken the opportunity. He only had a few seconds to get out of there, and his men would meet him at the temple. Hopefully, it wouldn''t be too late for Athena. She was an important asset, after all.