The sounds of deep, struggling breaths could be heard from several of them. To the untrained ears it would almost seem like panting. But Mark knew there was no time to baby them. Of course, Ben and James were in decent shape. Ben was off the charts in physical conditioning with his bionics. James struggled a bit at the end, but he was more than capable.
The others were a different matter. Sarah struggled but survived the long run. Thomas and Charles had both resorted to walking. Years of soft living had taken its toll. There was no time to take it easy on them though. It was a matter of a few weeks before they had to be ready. The mission timing was critical.
“I do not understand why they would even think I could do this stuff. For goodness sakes I have been behind a desk all my life.” Charles remarked to Thomas as the two men walked at a slow pace.
“I feel like a knife has been pushed into my chest. I do not know if I will ever be able to do this.” Thomas replied.
“Get moving you two! You look like two turtles out there!” Mark yelled through a bullhorn. He watched as the two men stopped and looked at him. He would have to find a way to get them motivated. If he had time, he could get them to where they needed to be physically with ordinary means. The time restraints and the importance of the mission called for more extreme measures.
“If you two do not start running then you will meet Hugo!” He threatened through the loud horn again.
“Who is Hugo?” Thomas asked to the man on his left.
“I do not know but I think I would rather face him than this arduous trail.” Charles replied. Then there was a moment of pause. It felt like there was a chill in the air and the two men knew something frightening was fixing to occur. Something primal inside told the two to run but they looked at each other and just started walking again. There was no way that this government agency would let anything happen to them. They, after all, had mental skills if not the physical.
There was an odd sound coming from behind them. It was a familiar but disconcerting sound. Gooseflesh rose on Charles skin. “I think I am fixing to take off now.” He said as he started to put one foot in front of the other until he came to a fast walk pace. Thomas did the same. Then their fear was proved true. The sound of barking could be heard clearly.
“The crazy people have released a hound on us!” Thomas yelled. Before Charles could respond Thomas had passed him. He followed suit. He looked back after a few strides and could see what was making the terrible bark. It was a large black beast. He recognized it from its size. It was a Cane Corso. A large Italian breed of Mastiff, known for its muscular frame and aggression.
“Run! Run! They are going to kill us! Run!” Charles screamed with fear. The two men ran with all they had. Their endurance was more than could have ever imagined as the thought of being eaten by the beast raced through their minds.
“What is going on back there?” Ben asked.
“Why are they screaming bloody murder?” Sarah asked right behind him concerned about her brother.
“Do not worry. I just had to find the proper motivation to help them find their athletic side.” Mark said as he walked to the end of the trail where Sarah and the other two had gathered resting from their run.
“What do you mean the right motivation?” James inquired.
“Just wait; you will see.” Mark told him. Just then the two out of shape desk jockeys came running around the last corner. It was no more that ten seconds the big black beast came into everyone’s view.
“You put a dog on their track!” Sarah screamed. She looked over and noticed the devious smile on Mark’s face. Ben took off running in their direction. He could see that the dog was gaining on them quickly. The two men were gasping for breath, and their faces were beet red. There was no way they were going to make it out of the grasp of the animal before they got to safety.
“Let them be! They can do it!” Mark yelled as he watched Ben move with unbelievable speed toward the two softies. He heard no reply.
About the time he got within thirty yards of the two. They looked like frail “Rusty the Rabbits,” and Thomas began to stumble. “Help me!” he screamed out in terror.
Sarah and James watched in horror as they witnessed the man stumble. They knew that if the big bruting beast reached him that irrevocable damage could be done to him. Mark watched in amazement at the event. Not because Hugo was going to catch the rabbit, but that Ben seemed to speed up going as fast as a cheetah.
Thomas was done after running the long trail with the dog chasing him and then the stumble, he knew he was done. He felt the rocks scrape across his hot skin as he skidded on the trail. He waited for the inevitable to come. The breath of the dog inching closer to his skin and the eventual feeling of his teeth sinking in. His eyes closed and he waited. Then he waited some more.
He slowly realized that the animal had not mauled him. He opened his eyes, and he slowly turned his head. He fully expected to look in the eyes of a breed of dog bred to attack any intruder or other threat to their owner. This one was particularly vicious and was waiting for his victim to turn so he could rip at his face. He did not know why but he turned to look.
In amazement, after he turned, he witnessed something that he could not imagine. Ben was there! He had somehow made it to him before he was attacked, and he was holding the dog back. Ben’s torso was behind the huge dog with one arm around his chest and the other holding his mouth closed. He lay there with his eyes like saucers gawking at the amazing feat.
Just a few short minutes later the others were gathered around him. The Cane Corso had been restrained and put into a cage in the back of a truck. Sarah bent down and handed him bottled water. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“I think. Is this real or am I dead?” Thomas asked.
“You are alive.” Charles responded.
“The problem is that you should not be. You should have been overtaken and mauled!” Mark said angrily.
“Why are you trying to destroy the team that you are helping to build?” Charles asked.
“I will tell you why! You two were walking around like you were on a leisurely stroll. Do you not take this training serious?” He spoke. They all noted a look and demeanor they had not seen in the man before.
“We are computer and banking nerds. Do you think that we would be able to perform like the others? Of course not. We have spent our lives working behind a computer not training to be triathletes!” Thomas yelled as if his breath started to come back to him.
“You better wake up. From here on out you must be capable of physical tasks like this. You are on a team. Not a chess team or in some thinking group! No, you are on a team of agents that is tasked with infiltrating a foreign country and breaking into a well-guarded bank. You need to know, and I need to know that if you go in you have the capability to come out. That takes mental and physical strength. You get it into your minds and your psyche now, I will push you to the limits to make that happen. Even if it kills you!” Mark looked at all of them for several seconds. Then he turned and got into the truck that held the beast and drove off.
The five of them stood there looking at one another. They let the words sink in for a long time before a word was spoken. The reality of what was happening and what they were tasked to do sank into them slowly.
“He is right. We must be ready to do whatever it takes to perform this mission.” Sarah said to the men.
“I agree. The weakest link will get us all killed.” James chimed in.
Thomas and Charles looked at each other. Something happened at that moment. It was as if their minds and spirit melted together.
“Whatever we have to do we must, or we will not make it home.” Charles said as he looked Thomas in the eyes.
“I know.” Thomas agreed. They stood together and they all looked around at what they knew were the only people they could depend on from here forward. They themselves.
