Olympus: The Agency (Book One)

23. Trigger

Ten minutes had passed since the two agents had began running around the holographic oval. Dionysus was managing, breathing as much as she could through her nose, not sprinting but maintaining her speed at level.

Dionysus had lapped Riley already, who was struggling to run. He hadn't done any athletics throughout his career. He had gone to university through his merits, not a sports scholarship. He wasn't aware of the tactics to keep himself moving, so he alternated between speed and a staggering, breathy walk.

Finally, her progress in-between Dionysus and Riley, Epione was managing to keep herself moving, though slower than her fellow agent. She was trying to remember what her husband used to do when he prepared for his paintball tourneys.

This was what Rohan Gunn was watching as the three circled him on the oval. He held a tablet in his hand, adding weight machines, a target range, long and high jump pit, and a few shot puts and javelins. He sat down on the grass and watched the three run around the oval for a few minutes, then blew his whistle to signal them to come to him.

Coated in sweat, they stood before Gunn. He pushed himself up, towering over them.

"Not bad, Dio," he started. "Don't be afraid to breathe through your mouth if you need to, though. It all goes to the same place. Riley, try to keep a pace that works. Speed isn't everything for exercise. You can be the fastest man in existence, but it means nothing if you can only keep it up for 5 seconds."

"Rule 1," Epione said absent-mindedly. No one present really understood the reference though.

"Rule 1, in a way, yeah.  As for you, Epione, it was easy to see you weren't... good at this. You need to figure out your pace, too."

"Sorry, got a few things on my mind," Epione admitted.

"It's ok here, but a Klisk or an Orc isn't going to care you've had a bad day. Just remember that, ok?"

It was a sobering way to bring Epione to reality once again. She nodded, remembering what the Klisk did to Cerberus and what the Orcs did to Thanatos. It wouldn't happen to her.

Gunn cleared his throat and made a gun rack appear with his tablet. "Alright, I know you three can fight, but I want to see your aim with a few weapons. Your weapon preference can help me figure out what areas you need to focus on. So, pick a weapon."

First was Epione. She immediately picked up the closest thing to a paintball gun from her previous life. Gunn seemed to approve.

"Ah, good choice. The Byrne is a semi-automatic that can be modded to suit your needs. That's a hologram for today, but it'll still have the kickback and impact of the real gun. It just won't kill you."

Dionysus was next, and she picked up a handgun. Gunn nodded again.

"The light Falcon is good for your type of movement, Dio. It can go full auto and like the Byrne, fully customisable. Don't stay in one place with that. It'll take out an Alliance goon, sure, but it'll do nothing against a big'gun."

Riley was the last to choose his weapon, and he opted for some kind of crossbow. Epione and Dionysus were amazed crossbows were still a thing. Gunn was skeptical.

"Alright... Riley, that's a Rama launcher. It's supposed to be a toy, but some soldiers swear by the fact it can fire normal objects as lethal projectiles with some modifications. You add an object in the receiver, and it ejects it at hyper-velocity when you pull the trigger."

Riley nodded, then walked over to his bag and pulled a screwdriver out of his bag. He pushed it into the receiver and it thrummed lightly.

"Screwdrivers... yeah, that'll kill something." Gunn said cautiously.