(Beardy POV)
***
Beardy's heart was thumping as he watched Reiji and the rest move towards the port's gate while he himself hid behind a tree on the way.
'Is he going to be okay?'
The worry was worsening every second, especially when he recalled the group of men wielding crossbows through the CCTV feed.
He knew the danger his Boss was going to be in was no joke, and he was both furious and proud that he was chosen for this important mission, a testament to how much he was trusted.
But he would much rather be right next to him at this crucial moment, as a shield rather than a sword.
'Too late to grumble about this. I have to make sure my timing is perfect.'
If this plan worked, the dominant position would be shifted in their direction, but only if it was executed flawlessly.
A single mistake and he could blow the entire operation, which is why Arata's help was quite significant.
At this point, Reiji had approached the guard at the gate and initiated first contact. He couldn't hear the conversation from this far, but it must have succeeded since the man guided them inside the port, leaving the station empty with no one watching.
In the next second, Arata's annoying voice piped up in his ear through the Bluetooth device.
"You have approximately 20 seconds to infiltrate; another guard is making his way to the entrance to replace the one that just left."
As soon as he heard that, Beardy sprinted ahead, making a beeline for the gate in a way that seemed impossible with his muscular body.
Once he stepped through, Arata continued.
"Turn right, there's an empty pathway towards the offloading area with no one guarding it. Not sure where they got the confidence to conduct this operation with so few people…." he mused.
"There's definitely more to this," Beardy muttered quietly, following the advice given to him as silently as he could.
The Hayashi he knew was not stupid enough to conduct such a large operation if he was shorthanded, so the warning bells were blaring quite loudly in his mind.
Just as Arata claimed, he didn't encounter anyone on his way, though he had to change directions a couple of times to ensure that this didn't change.
Every time the dickhead saw someone on the camera, he ordered Beardy to go a different way or wait for a bit.
"Ok, slow down now and stay quiet, though that's a crazy ask for a hippo like you. The next turn will bring you to the main area."
Beardy clenched his teeth, feeling a sudden urge to punch that cocky face through a wall, but he held back from retorting.
His Boss's life was at stake, and eating a couple of insults in exchange for his safety wasn't a big deal.
'But once this is over….. hehe.'
His anger vanished as he imagined Arata's future teary expression, and he tiptoed to the wall's edge with a smile.
He studied the current situation by peeking through and saw that Reiji and the rest had also just met up with Hayashi.
Beardy had run through the empty locations after all, so the difference in reaching their respective destinations was negligible.
However, his hiding place was on the opposite side of where the meeting was taking place, right next to where the crates were being offloaded onto the trucks.
Well, that was the plan in the first place.
He noticed that four of them had already been fully packed, leaving seven partially empty trucks.
The only issue was the fact that there were two men leaning against the vehicles, leaving no angle for him to get access to one of them.
"Oi, do something," Beardy whispered into the earpiece.
"….. Tch, useless. Can't believe I gotta spoon-feed these babies. Give me a sec."
'Patience, patience, patience.'
Beardy forced himself to daydream about what he'd do later and managed to bite back the curses that threatened to escape from his mouth despite the vein throbbing on his neck.
After a few seconds, one of the cranes that was lifting the goods from the ship slowed to a halt.
The workers on the ship who were waiting for the package to descend glanced at each other in confusion.
Beardy could make out some of the chatter between them.
"Hey, what happened?"
"I don't know, but the control box is down there. Someone go down and check it."
"Agh, what a pain! Hey, those two are slacking off!" one of them pointed at the men next to the trucks.
They both glanced up at the small commotion, wondering what was going on. Beardy, on the other hand, looked over at the meeting area to see if they had noticed the noise, but they seemed to be engrossed in whatever they were discussing.
The walkie-talkies on the men came to life as a staticky voice gave them orders.
"Hey, one of you check the control box and see what's wrong."
"Man…. I finally got a break, though."
The younger of the two groaned as he moved his feet irritably towards the crane, the other laughing at his misery while smoking a cigarette.
'Hmmm, that only got rid of one….. But that's enough.'
Beardy hunched over, lowering his stance as he crept forward as quietly as he could. The man was turned away from him, so as long as he didn't look over, there wouldn't be any issues.
But of course, he did.
"Ack, *cough cough*."
He accidentally inhaled the cigarette smoke when he saw Beardy's hulking body right behind him, causing him to retch to regain his composure.
The man's eyes widened in shock and fear, crying out instinctively.
"Who ar- *cough cough*."
Beardy leaped behind him, putting him in a chokehold with skilled expertise. He struggled to breathe, writhing in agony as the lack of airflow prevented him from making significant noises, especially when most of it was already covered by the humming of the other crane's operations.
Very quickly, the man stopped struggling as he closed his eyes, drifting off into a forced sleep.
"What a brute, poor lad must've been scared when he saw a rhino charging at him," the grating voice in his ear giggled.
Beardy ignored him, not wasting any time as he checked the truck right in front of him and saw the keys already inside and ready to go.
That would save time from needing to hotwire it.
But there was one more thing he needed to do.
He checked if the coast was clear, and once he saw that everyone was still focused on trying to bring the crane back to life, he stepped on the ledge of the truck's cargo area and forcefully popped one of the crates open.
A neat array of crossbows greeted him, the shiny metal gleaming under the sparse moonlight.
'Phew…. Putting up with that bastard was worth it.'
He grabbed a couple of them and threw them onto the passenger's seat before he climbed in, his hands sweating as he stared at the meeting area in controlled nervousness.
'I hope I won't have to jump in, but Hayashi doesn't look happy for some reason.'
The man in the white suit had a twisted expression, bellowing at Reiji's group in soundless words, though that was due to the distance between them.
In the next moment, he grabbed the crossbow on his throne and aimed it at the group, spittle flying before the arrows did.
Reiji could be seen yelling something, and the rest of his men scattered immediately, seeking cover while the henchmen behind Hayashi held up their own weapons a beat later.
"THIS MOTHERFUCKER WANTS TO DIE!" Beardy roared, not caring about his volume any longer as he twisted the key in the ignition so hard it almost snapped in half.
*VROOOOOM*
He stepped on the gas pedal and the truck lurched forward, speeding towards the meeting area without a care in the world.
Arata, as despicable as he was, seemed to prioritize his professional integrity because the lights in the entire area turned off at the exact moment he had started the truck.
Beardy aimed the truck at Hayashi, barrelling towards him as the headlights illuminated his flabby body under the darkness.
He seemed frozen in place, simply watching death approach him with a pale face.
But fate had different plans.
His body was pulled back by one of his underlings when the truck was just a few meters away, and even though Beardy turned the steering wheel to follow them, the speed at which the large vehicle was going prevented him from completing the job.
*SCREEECHHH*
Beardy stomped on the brakes, veering to the left as he managed to drift the truck to a certain extent, only stopping when he felt the balance shifting excessively.
His brief intervention had changed the dynamic, and the Yagami Syndicate had managed to find cover behind steel beams or cargo boxes near the edge, while Hayashi's group seemed lost on how to proceed.
The three gangsters with crossbows had them loaded and raised, ready to fire once they caught sight of their enemy, but the ones with batons, knives, and swords seemed more hesitant to approach.
They stayed in front of the archers but didn't stray too far, preferring to protect them rather than engage in close combat.
"YOU BASTARD! WHO ARE YOU!?" Hayashi screeched with bloodshot eyes, firing haphazardly at the truck, though most of them missed, while only one arrow embedded itself into the door.
"I'm your dad, you piece of shit," Beardy snorted as he rolled down his window and stuck his own crossbow out.
*THWANG*
And this time, it wasn't a miss.