the rifles, if not some lingering tension between the more partisan members of the company.
Pushing the man to his knees, Theresa ignored him as he exhaled like a deflating balloon and thanked her breathlessly. It was Willem who was her whole focus as she tromped across the turf; Willem who had once again exerted his will upon her; Willem who had a way of making her question every instinct she ever had. “Next time you draw down on me like that,” she hissed into his ear, “you’d damn well better pull the trigger.” And then, inexplicably, she kissed him almost violently for all to see before stalking off to collect herself. Whatever tension remained among the partisans quickly gave way to open-mouthed wonderment at the sight.
“Hot damn, if she isn’t a fiery one,” Mack hooted at the display. Willem turned, shoveling his fist into the smirking hayseed’s gut as hard as he could. The force of the blow dropped Mack to one knee in a fit of sputtering coughs. “S’pose I was asking for that.” A long rope of greenish-yellow snot trailed from his nostrils past his chin. He addressed it presently with the swipe of a sleeve across his nose, undeterred by Grace’s grimace. “No harm done.”
Willem pulled Mack to his feet by the collar. “Tell me what this is, now .” His voice was a tight-lipped snarl, his tone suggesting he would brook no further delay or obfuscation.
“Easy, chief, easy. That there’s what we in the trade call a PIGSI.”
His face a mask of confusion, Willem furrowed his brow as he looked from Mack to the cylinder. “A pig’s eye? I don’t understand.”
“‘Powder-Ignited Guidance System Initializer.’ A distress beacon, basically. In case we have men down or need a resupply or the like.”
Now there was an interesting bit of news. “How does it work?”
“S’like a fancy-schmancy flare. Fit it over the muzzle of one of those rifles, aim straight up, and fire. The barb ignites the powder charge. Once the cylinder reaches altitude, the outer housing breaks apart and the device inside transmits its position.”
“Then what happens?”
“They track the signal and send a helicopter. Won’t do you any good, though. They’ll know y’all aren’t us soon as they lay eyes on you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me all this before then? Why risk a man’s life over it? One of your men?”
Mack shrugged casually. Almost lazily. “You kept him out of it in the end, didn’t you?”
“Do I need to bring Theresa back over here?”
“Fine,” Mack sighed. “In that case, the real question is why I decided to tell you at all.”
“Okay.” Willem spread his arms invitingly. “Enlighten me.”
“Well,” he began, “for starters, I ain’t too fond of being lied to.”
“Who lied to you?”
“Like I said before, whoever hired us said we were testing out some new tech. At first we thought they meant the rifles. Now, though, after the way you and your people bushwhacked us, I’m starting to think we were wrong.”
“If not the rifles, then what?”
Mack smirked, lifting a brow appraisingly. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Apparently not.”
“No,” Mack agreed. “No, I don’t suppose it would be. You see, we were told we were hunting some real shit-heels. Murderers, rapists, pedos—the whole shebang. You people obviously aren’t that, but you’re not exactly soldiers, either. Yet somehow you managed to get the drop on us. Now how do you figure you managed that?”
Willem narrowed his eyes. “So, you’re saying…”
Mack nodded. “Mm hmm. You people are the new tech. That’d be my guess, anyway.”
“Us?” Willem asked incredulously.
“You.” Mack said. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you haven’t wondered about yourself.”
Even as he worked to dismiss the possibility, Willem knew Mack was right. Whatever he and his fellows were, they were not normal. No, they were the truth they had been seeking all along.
“Can I ask you a favor,
Pushing the man to his knees, Theresa ignored him as he exhaled like a deflating balloon and thanked her breathlessly. It was Willem who was her whole focus as she tromped across the turf; Willem who had once again exerted his will upon her; Willem who had a way of making her question every instinct she ever had. “Next time you draw down on me like that,” she hissed into his ear, “you’d damn well better pull the trigger.” And then, inexplicably, she kissed him almost violently for all to see before stalking off to collect herself. Whatever tension remained among the partisans quickly gave way to open-mouthed wonderment at the sight.
“Hot damn, if she isn’t a fiery one,” Mack hooted at the display. Willem turned, shoveling his fist into the smirking hayseed’s gut as hard as he could. The force of the blow dropped Mack to one knee in a fit of sputtering coughs. “S’pose I was asking for that.” A long rope of greenish-yellow snot trailed from his nostrils past his chin. He addressed it presently with the swipe of a sleeve across his nose, undeterred by Grace’s grimace. “No harm done.”
Willem pulled Mack to his feet by the collar. “Tell me what this is, now .” His voice was a tight-lipped snarl, his tone suggesting he would brook no further delay or obfuscation.
“Easy, chief, easy. That there’s what we in the trade call a PIGSI.”
His face a mask of confusion, Willem furrowed his brow as he looked from Mack to the cylinder. “A pig’s eye? I don’t understand.”
“‘Powder-Ignited Guidance System Initializer.’ A distress beacon, basically. In case we have men down or need a resupply or the like.”
Now there was an interesting bit of news. “How does it work?”
“S’like a fancy-schmancy flare. Fit it over the muzzle of one of those rifles, aim straight up, and fire. The barb ignites the powder charge. Once the cylinder reaches altitude, the outer housing breaks apart and the device inside transmits its position.”
“Then what happens?”
“They track the signal and send a helicopter. Won’t do you any good, though. They’ll know y’all aren’t us soon as they lay eyes on you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me all this before then? Why risk a man’s life over it? One of your men?”
Mack shrugged casually. Almost lazily. “You kept him out of it in the end, didn’t you?”
“Do I need to bring Theresa back over here?”
“Fine,” Mack sighed. “In that case, the real question is why I decided to tell you at all.”
“Okay.” Willem spread his arms invitingly. “Enlighten me.”
“Well,” he began, “for starters, I ain’t too fond of being lied to.”
“Who lied to you?”
“Like I said before, whoever hired us said we were testing out some new tech. At first we thought they meant the rifles. Now, though, after the way you and your people bushwhacked us, I’m starting to think we were wrong.”
“If not the rifles, then what?”
Mack smirked, lifting a brow appraisingly. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Apparently not.”
“No,” Mack agreed. “No, I don’t suppose it would be. You see, we were told we were hunting some real shit-heels. Murderers, rapists, pedos—the whole shebang. You people obviously aren’t that, but you’re not exactly soldiers, either. Yet somehow you managed to get the drop on us. Now how do you figure you managed that?”
Willem narrowed his eyes. “So, you’re saying…”
Mack nodded. “Mm hmm. You people are the new tech. That’d be my guess, anyway.”
“Us?” Willem asked incredulously.
“You.” Mack said. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you haven’t wondered about yourself.”
Even as he worked to dismiss the possibility, Willem knew Mack was right. Whatever he and his fellows were, they were not normal. No, they were the truth they had been seeking all along.
“Can I ask you a favor,
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