MTF-Sierra-7 exits their transport vehicle and proceeds toward the main entrance of SCP-4651. There are no apparent signs of life in or around the building.



MTF-Member Taylor: Area appears deserted.



Expedition Command: Our intel indicates hostiles still remain inside the building. Your job is to clean up the rest, no exceptions.



MTF-Commander Henderson: Understood. Squad, let’s do this by the books.



Sierra-7 proceeds to the entrance, with Henderson entering SCP-4651’s foyer first. Rubble and ash cover a large portion of the area, while a large hole can be seen in the ceiling through Henderson’s helmet cam. Henderson shines his flashlight through the hole to the upper floors, which lack power. The rest of MTF-Sierra-7 follow.



MTF-Member Yeung: Jesus.



Several bodies are sprawled behind SCP-46516’s reception desk, with hands zip-tied behind their backs. Gunshot wounds indicate execution via shots to the head. Text messily scrawled on the wall behind the bodies reads: “WHO’S THE BIG SHOT NOW??”



Yeung: What the hell happened here?



Henderson: Keep it together Corporal Yeung. Let the lab boys figure it out. As for us… we’ll cover the building one floor at a time. You and Davidson can take this floor. Williams and Perez, you get the second. Me and Taylor will take the third. Rendezvous back here at 1700 hours.



Taylor: And keep your eyes open.



Henderson nods. Sierra-7 then splits up into its assigned teams. Henderson and Taylor proceed up a nearby stairwell to the 3rd floor, with several bodies in advanced stages of decomposition found throughout. Henderson and Taylor reach the third floor, with muffled voices audible from beyond the doorway. The door itself appears to have been previously breached by explosives. Taylor pauses, before deploying her camera mount, extending it through the open doorway and scanning the workspace.



Taylor: [Whispering] Four of them, armed. Sitting ducks.



The feed reveals four dishevelled SCP-4651 workers hunched around a makeshift fire, using various papers scattered throughout the area as fuel. None have weapons within reaching distance. Henderson picks up several leaflets and brochures that have blown into the stairwell, bagging them for later examination. Taylor’s microphone is able to capture the conversation of the SCP-4651 workers:



SCP-4651 Instance-1: …bastard finally got what was coming to him. Good riddance.



SCP-4651 Instance-2: It’s a damn shame too, Frank. Remember that bake sale in ’17? Made the best damn lemon cakes I’ve ever tasted.



SCP-4651 Instance-1: Well now he can feed them to his traitor buddies all day long in hell.



Expedition Command: That’s excellent. Hold steady for a little while longer, we’d like to observe their behaviour.



Taylor rotates the camera head in various directions, capturing focal points around the space. More bodies are scattered throughout, with an observation window to the 2nd floor partly shattered and covered with viscera. Below, MTF-Members Williams and Perez approach several deceased SCP-4651 employees. The silence is broken by several audible gunshots from the ground floor. All 2nd floor employees immediately become alert.



SCP-4651 Instance-3: What was that? Ashley’s boys?



SCP-4651 Instance-2: Can’t be. We put them to the torch last week, remember?



SCP-4651 Instance-3: Well whoever they are, let’s go sell them some insurance. Something tells me they’re gonna need it.



The figures stand, moving to pick up their weapons.



Henderson: [Whispering] Now.



Henderson and Taylor proceed around the corner and terminate two hostiles each. No firefight takes place. The two then advance and begin searching the bodies.



Henderson: Four hostiles down.



Expedition Command: Excellent work, now proceed to the-



Command is interrupted by disembodied applause coming from the opposite end of the room. A middle-aged Caucasian male enters the workspace through an adjacent office door. The door itself appears pristine, with no sign of blast damage contrary to its surroundings.



Unidentified Male: Excellent work indeed. Fast, clean… and without any fuss. You could do well here.



Expedition Command: Hold your fire Commander. We’d like to hear what he has to say.



Henderson: Identify yourself!



The figure’s facial expression changes from impressed to incredulous.



Unidentified Male: Really?



The figure gestures to his lanyard, which reads “Keith Robinson, Floor Manager”



Unidentified Male: Don’t worry about it. You can just call me Keith.



Henderson: And what exactly is it you do here, Keith?



Taylor: Are you responsible for the bodies?



Keith: What… those? Oh no, I’m more of a… helping hand, you could say. I keep things running smoothly. Make sure everyone gets their fair shot.



Taylor: And you do that… how exactly?



Keith: [Sighing] Look, I’m not gonna bore you with the ins and outs of everything we do here. It’s our principles that matter. Take you, for example, you are? [Keith gestures towards Henderson].



Henderson: The leader of this Task Force. Henderson.



Keith: Right, Henderson. I’ve seen your type before. You’ve got that jaded look in your eye. You’re on the clock here, but I’ll bet this is just grunt work, isn’t it? Orders sent out by uninterested bosses looking to fill a checklist. Never pushing you or giving you something to really sink your teeth into.



Keith pauses momentarily, before casually reaching into his suit pocket. Taylor and Henderson react immediately.



Taylor: Don’t move! Keep your hands where we can see them!



Keith’s expression once again becomes incredulous.



Keith: Easy, just a cigarette.



He removes the packet and lights one, though the smoke is barely visible amidst the smoke already trickling through the structure.



Keith: Where was I? Right. We don’t do that same old bullcrap here. Everyone has a chance to make something of themselves. If you’re hungry, you’ll rise up quickly, and what better way to get there than to turn up the heat and smoke out the competition? Isn’t that the American Dream after all? You can stand still and get left behind in the dust, or grab opportunity by the balls and move up one way or another. Isn’t that chance worth something?



Taylor and Henderson pause, glancing at each other briefly before turning back to Keith, ignoring the question.



Taylor: Duly noted. Can you explain the origins of the weaponry used by the employees here?



Keith chuckles.



Keith: Well, and this is something you ought to know well, any decent worker needs the right tools! In fact, I suppose you could say-



Unidentified Voice: YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME? Acting all high and mighty, giving Ben that shot? Well it’s time to return the favour!



A volley of gunshots sound, although the bullets appear to directly phase through Keith’s body, hitting the wall behind him. Two armed SCP-4651 employees then emerge from the stairwell behind Henderson and Taylor. The two MTF-members immediately turn to engage, although they are unable to react before further gunshots sound.



Taylor: The hell?



Slow motion playback indicates both employees were terminated before Taylor and Henderson were able to aim and fire. The bodies of the employees fall to the ground, each with a neat hole in the centre of the forehead.



Taylor, visibly shocked, turns back to Keith.



Taylor: How did you…?



Keith is now armed with a comically long-barrelled, western-style revolver. Video analysis shows no indication of the firearm being on his person prior to being produced, which occurred off-camera.



Keith: Call it a trick of the trade.



Keith smiles at Taylor.



Keith: Let me know if you need anything else. We’re always looking to expand!



Keith de-materialises from the area.



Taylor: Asshole. Felt like basic training all over again.



MTF-Sierra-7 then proceeds through the remainder of the structure, eliminating 42 hostiles before returning to the foyer. No major injuries were incurred by any members of Sierra-7, though MTF member Taylor reported a feeling of being “watched” during her remaining time in the structure. Following the mission and SCP-4651’s return to normal operations, proper SCP classification was given and full containment procedures established.