Felix cringed in agony. He wasn't sure what hurt more: his hand from the splinters or his soul from the godawful joke. "Danke sehr," Felix mumbled as he was helped into the Mercedes. At least bad jokes couldn't kill him… probably.
_____"Hello? Grey Wolf, is that you? This is Sidorovich!" The green Mercedes rattled down the trail, now laden with far more than the small crew that had started just earlier in the day. Dexter was keeping a prisoner company in the trunk, everyone else crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the seats. The interior was laced with bandage wrappers, energy drink cans, illuminated by the numerous phone screens.
_____It wasn't long before they arrived at the camp, where the others were waiting a neat circle, idling motorcycle, milling stalkers and all. They were still questioning the bandit from the run-in earlier. "Some rookies say there was a fight with the bandits. I assumed it was the newcomers, especially after the Bandits sent me another death threat! HAH!"
_____As the doors opened and the stalkers begun to stretch their limbs, Sid's voice carried. Most of their crew was easily within earshot "Take some advice from an old fart, eh? Those bandits throw tantrums, make things 'messy' in Cordon for a while. By messy, I mean shooting at every unaffiliated rookie that walks through their 'turf!' It's a good idea to lay low in Garbage, maybe the Darkscape, or Agroprom."
_____"No, no, you have it all wrong," Serbian chattered. "They're going to kill me! The only reasonable option here is to bring me with you. I can get you past the Bandits in Garbage... we have good ties with them. Like different sects of Buddhism, they might be vegetarians, we might eat meat, but we don't mess with a brother walking the same path..." The man finally let out a dusty breath, deflating where he sat. "Backpedaling, okay, bad example. You have friends here, don't you? More than me. If I'm not in Cordon, they don't have to tear it apart looking for me, you see?"
_____After a moment's pause, he added, "or whoever shot me in the back of the head in cold blood. That would likely be as inconvenient for you as much as me."
_____"Hello? Grey Wolf, is that you? This is Sidorovich!" The green Mercedes rattled down the trail, now laden with far more than the small crew that had started just earlier in the day. Dexter was keeping a prisoner company in the trunk, everyone else crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the seats. The interior was laced with bandage wrappers, energy drink cans, illuminated by the numerous phone screens.
_____It wasn't long before they arrived at the camp, where the others were waiting a neat circle, idling motorcycle, milling stalkers and all. They were still questioning the bandit from the run-in earlier. "Some rookies say there was a fight with the bandits. I assumed it was the newcomers, especially after the Bandits sent me another death threat! HAH!"
_____As the doors opened and the stalkers begun to stretch their limbs, Sid's voice carried. Most of their crew was easily within earshot "Take some advice from an old fart, eh? Those bandits throw tantrums, make things 'messy' in Cordon for a while. By messy, I mean shooting at every unaffiliated rookie that walks through their 'turf!' It's a good idea to lay low in Garbage, maybe the Darkscape, or Agroprom."
_____"No, no, you have it all wrong," Serbian chattered. "They're going to kill me! The only reasonable option here is to bring me with you. I can get you past the Bandits in Garbage... we have good ties with them. Like different sects of Buddhism, they might be vegetarians, we might eat meat, but we don't mess with a brother walking the same path..." The man finally let out a dusty breath, deflating where he sat. "Backpedaling, okay, bad example. You have friends here, don't you? More than me. If I'm not in Cordon, they don't have to tear it apart looking for me, you see?"
_____After a moment's pause, he added, "or whoever shot me in the back of the head in cold blood. That would likely be as inconvenient for you as much as me."
Steel nodded to all the new faces that just arrived, looked like they were the other stalkers that Talon was working with. They were an odd bunch as she clear saw that they weren't all from the same nationality, the relatively young girl with the tall bodyguard certainly looked more out of place than anyone else. Nonetheless once they were all gathered together she listened in closely to whatever Sidorovich said as well as what Serbian was talking about, by the end of it she was looking around to memorize what they were called and what the looked like.
"Well if we're planning to go to the Garbage, me and Talon have something to do." She said as she crossed her arms under her chest, letting a little sigh. "A pleasure to meet you all by the way, the name's Steel." She added before keeping herself quiet.
Talon furled her brow at the words Garbage, Darkscape, and Agroprom. They sounded like the kinds of hole in the wall dance clubs she would frequent while on holiday in the Fatherland.
"Agroprom? What's an Agroprom?" she asked aloud. "Is it like a dance where everyone's pissed off? I've been to a few of those, heh."
Talon didn't wait for Felix to reply, or for anyone else to speak. With a nod of her head to the right, she seized the moment with a thick German accent.
Rachel didn't need any further encouragement. She hurried over to the vehicle with Felix as if the Chief of Staff had commanded her. The sooner this place was behind them, the better.
_____"Hello? Grey Wolf, is that you? This is Sidorovich!" The green Mercedes rattled down the trail, now laden with far more than the small crew that had started just earlier in the day. Dexter was keeping a prisoner company in the trunk, everyone else crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the seats. The interior was laced with bandage wrappers, energy drink cans, illuminated by the numerous phone screens.
"Yes. We got your package," Rachel replied over the phone as she gave a brief glance to Felix's condition. She managed to keep the suspicion out of her voice, which wasn't too hard when one's default mood is being impassive. "But the bandits have a message for you. They say if you screw them on another deal, you'll be missing more than your delivery boys next time. And they want you to pay for the shipment now. They said you'd understand."
An edge crept into her voice towards the end, like the gleam of a knife leaving its sheath. Rachel hadn't expected to run into so much opposition; Sidorovich made it seem like the most they had to worry about was a few mutants and not an entire group of bandits in their backyard. If things had devolved into a gunfight, she had no idea how it would've gone. They were fortunate enough to get out with their lives. The whole thing made her re-evaluate her plans. Val was skilled, that much showed, but Rachel wasn't comfortable with just the two of them crawling around the Zone anymore. Time to rejoin her team and see what they were up to.
_____"Is that so? They'll have a tough time if my hand slips off the leash holding the army boys at bay. The bandits aren't that stupid," Sidorovich said. A moment later, he sighed. "I hope. At any rate... I see your point, 'Grey Wolf.' Taxi Driver owed me a favor, but what use do I have for going around the zone? The favor is yours... a reliable driver is expensive around these parts. I'll send you his information. And I suppose you've earned some equipment for your trouble. There's a cache not far from you. Just past the checkpoint in Garbage, look under the body of the first rusted out truck. Should be marked with red paint.
_____"... and that's on top of your payment, by the way. Take that as an apology if you want, a little consolation gift from an old fart. Good hunting."
_____Most of the regulars didn't pay them much heed. It was only when the conversation headed toward leaving the camp that a few curious souls took notice. Not grizzled veterans in exoskeletons, nor the starstruck new arrivals. The trio that made moves toward the crew were clad in Adidas, Underarmor, Converse and Nikes, wearing climbing harnesses instead of plate carriers, tasers instead of Kalashnikovs. They made a greeting with the faint scent of burnt grass and chalk, looking like three musketeers gone parolee.
_____While two of them were not much older than Issac or Felix, carrying only tools, their companion moved with a middle-aged weariness visible even behind a mask and goggles. He didn't seem to mind carrying a gun, either. "Rain-Spider," he croaked, with a voice tinted by the filter of his mask. "If you expect to survive the Zone without knowing what the 'Aprogrom Research Facility' is, you are not only hopelessly optimistic, but also illiterate. You didn't buy a map?" A coat draped along his garments swallowed up most of his shape save for slender limbs that made up most of his significant height.
_____"What am I saying? Of course you didn't," he sighed. "Can't expect foresight in one of the most dangerous places on Earth, can you? Unfortunately it seems we're headed in the same direction, and you so fortunately have more guns than common sense. Why don't we caravan in the same direction until we can find a better idea? I might even have room for one or two of you." He waved to a vehicle partially obscured in the brush. His assistants ran over and pried back the cover, exposing the shape of an American truck in slate black, festooned with armored steel and brush bars.
_____A brutish older sibling to their own Mercedes.
_____Steel was making friendly with the group when a bookish-looking man with a rifle and a pink-haired teenager burst from the Mercedes in a ragged, bilingual argument. A few of the kids scattered from the rear of their vehicle into the encampment, muttering a quick thanks before disappearing from sight. Only one thing was clear: 'Dexter' was only mildly fluent in Ukranian, and the kid babbling in Russian had an even simpler understanding of English. She caught the notes of their conversation as they returned to the group.
_____"Hey! Gimme a gun. How am I gonna be useful if I don't have a gun? Look at her, with the big boobs— do you see that Kalash? That's awesome! Why can't I have one too? Are you even listening?"
_____Valkyrie was busily unpacking her medical supplies. Luckily for Felix, the pain had died down quite a bit. He felt quite normal, actually.
_____In fact, his hand looked normal. The splinters weren't anywhere to be seen. His skin was a little scurred and dirty from rolling in the dirt, but none the worse for wear. There wasn't even blood on his uniform where there had been a few minutes prior, and the brown stains on the seats of the Mercedes had vanished.
_____And nobody seemed to find this particularly strange.
Steel couldn't help but snicker a little to herself when she saw how their guides were dressed, though she was grateful for them lending a hand even though it would probably come with a high price. Nonetheless she noted how the trucks looked pretty much like they came out of some insurgent group or from a post apocalyptic movies that the Americans loved so much.
@DB_Explorer
Though her attention immediately switched to that of the Dexter whom she came to understand as the bookworm from the group and a young teen had a pink coat on her hair argue about something. Soon enough she came to understand what the problem was, though she was confused as to why her bosom was what she used to call her. Walking over to both of them she then leaned down to look the young girl in the eye.
"I have this Kalash because I've worked hard for it, and if you behave my little friend we'll probably give you a weapon to defend yourself." She said to her with a smile, her voice the one she used to talking to little children and young teens. "By the way my name is Steel, not big boobs." She added, a little chuckle coming right after.
Lilith idly patted herself down when she saw how everyone was getting progressively more armed as they all went along. She felt like she needed...something...now. She admitted, she could probably smith a pretty damn good gun and could strip one down to the screws with her eyes shut, such was her trust in her hands, but she'd never shot one in her life. If she was asked to shoot Kennedy, she'd hit Lincoln, she thought.
She tried to poke around and look for someone willing to give her a piece for her own defense - she could just see herself becoming a load on the others if she had to depend on them for her defense against anything armed with more than a knife. Or a knife and warning.
To that end she waved over these new figures approaching them and tried not to pay much mind to the "you're an idiot for not getting a map" spiel. "I find myself a little underequipped," she said, "could you spare a sidearm?" She paused for a moment. "Seeing as I'm a little short on sense it only could help if I doubled down."
That's a sick fucking truck. Talon mused. Too bad the guys driving it look like chavs.
The Belgian savored the thought of a military grade armored car she whipped through badlands, having a metalhead machine gunner as a partner instead of the kvetching egghead companion she currently had. She glanced at the center console, though, and remembered the expensive array of technological wonders that made the Merc unique. That, and the fact it was camouflaged and fully kitted out with brush bars made it her most memorable ride, to date. She had a grievance with the lack of armor as well as the stick shift, however, but was tactfully informed to 'deal with it' back at corporate headquarters.
With her loot in hand, she joined the milling stalkers, finding her newfound partner arguing with a pink-haired punkette in Russian. "Whatever you're arguing about, I agree with pinkie. Nice scope, by the way," Talon said, pointing at the bulky sight clamped atop her Kalashnikov. Deciding she wanted one, Talon slid out a cigarette and lit it.
"So, Steel, Dexterrr. What's the deal with these guys? Think we should roll with them? They look like they're good for it." Talon took a drag off her cigarette. "Also I need to do a... thing with Steel. A job."
That's a sick fucking truck. Talon mused. Too bad the guys driving it look like chavs.
The Belgian savored the thought of a military grade armored car she whipped through badlands, having a metalhead machine gunner as a partner instead of the kvetching egghead companion she currently had. She glanced at the center console, though, and remembered the expensive array of technological wonders that made the Merc unique. That, and the fact it was camouflaged and fully kitted out with brush bars made it her most memorable ride, to date. She had a grievance with the lack of armor as well as the stick shift, however, but was tactfully informed to 'deal with it' back at corporate headquarters.
With her loot in hand, she joined the milling stalkers, finding her newfound partner arguing with a pink-haired punkette in Russian. "Whatever you're arguing about, I agree with pinkie. Nice scope, by the way," Talon said, pointing at the bulky sight clamped atop her Kalashnikov. Deciding she wanted one, Talon slid out a cigarette and lit it.
"So, Steel, Dexterrr. What's the deal with these guys? Think we should roll with them? They look like they're good for it." Talon took a drag off her cigarette. "Also I need to do a... thing with Steel. A job."
Steel chuckled as she turned to look at Talon as the younger woman took another drag from her cigarette. "So you agree to calling me "big boobs" then I have to say you children are silly." She said to her before shaking her head. "But yes, the scope is quite dated. Still works fine though." She said to the girl as she then waved her hand in front of her to bat the smoke away.
"Also from what I heard this group of yours is heading to Agroprom, heard it was like some sort of base back in the day." She said to Talon with a shrug.
"Maybe we can do our business when we go to the garbage with the group? We'll have back up in case shit happens while were trying to do that priest's work." She added as her eyes then fell on the young man called Dexter, having ignored him for quite a bit.
"You look like the kind of person who visits Jurassic Park and maybe gets eaten half way through the trip." She teasingly said to him. "Is she a friend of yours by the way? She doesn't seem to be your daughter." She asked curiously.
Dexter glanced up from his impromptu charge and over the Russian gun hand. Despite her tease on Dexter's relation toward the girl he was bickering with she was old enough herself to be the girl's mother. The way she held herself though reminded himself of his time in Afghanistan. Though if she did serve it would of been back when his former employer was backing the Taliban rather then shooting it. "A stray I picked up." He said with a shrug. "Well we met before in Kiev - she tried to hold me up at gunpoint so I slammed a car door into her. I ran into her at a bar not two hours later then saved her from being shot by some kids for stealing there shit - I figured three runs in was enough just grab her and avoid any more surprises."
Dexter turned his attention back to the girl in question. "Albatross, I'm all for you having a gun out here." He held up a hand. "But I'm not giving you one of mine - you want a gun you need to help me get the cash for one, got it?"
_Most of the regulars didn't pay them much heed. It was only when the conversation headed toward leaving the camp that a few curious souls took notice. Not grizzled veterans in exoskeletons, nor the starstruck new arrivals. The trio that made moves toward the crew were clad in Adidas, Underarmor, Converse and Nikes, wearing climbing harnesses instead of plate carriers, tasers instead of Kalashnikovs. They made a greeting with the faint scent of burnt grass and chalk, looking like three musketeers gone parolee.
_____While two of them were not much older than Issac or Felix, carrying only tools, their companion moved with a middle-aged weariness visible even behind a mask and goggles. He didn't seem to mind carrying a gun, either. "Rain-Spider," he croaked, with a voice tinted by the filter of his mask. "If you expect to survive the Zone without knowing what the 'Aprogrom Research Facility' is, you are not only hopelessly optimistic, but also illiterate. You didn't buy a map?" A coat draped along his garments swallowed up most of his shape save for slender limbs that made up most of his significant height.
_____"What am I saying? Of course you didn't," he sighed. "Can't expect foresight in one of the most dangerous places on Earth, can you? Unfortunately it seems we're headed in the same direction, and you so fortunately have more guns than common sense. Why don't we caravan in the same direction until we can find a better idea? I might even have room for one or two of you." He waved to a vehicle partially obscured in the brush. His assistants ran over and pried back the cover, exposing the shape of an American truck in slate black, festooned with armored steel and brush bars.
Safety in numbers. The reason was simple and universal, something Nick could get behind. And the trio were well-equipped. Their trucks at least. Body armored and windows barred, yet they themselves carried little high-end equipment. Arrogance, maybe. A moral code? Definitely, the Zone attracts many weird and quirky adventurers. Yet Nick was not one to care, especially if Rain-Spider made a good offer.
The detective moved nearer to the leader of the trio.
"Yeah, we brought a map," Nick said, holding up his smartphone to the walking sportswear.
"Our guide, Journalist, showed it to us before we crossed the border."
The sounds of an argument turned the detective's head, only for him to sputter a curse. Shit, the teenager stood, her badly dyed hair bobbing beside Dexter as they argued in mangled languages. Resisting the urge to stomp over there and give the kid a piece of his mind, Nick brought his attention back to the Adidas-wearing Rain-Spider.
"So we know where Aprogrom is. What we don't is what's in it," Nick finished. "So a caravan sounds good."
Dexter looked at the detective. "She walked, I presume." He replied with a smirk. "Does it matter? She is here now - she came for her own reasons. What are we going to do? Tell her to leave? Contrary to Steel's suggestion - I'm not her father. Sure, I don't want to see her killed by her own stupidity but that just means I've got myself an intern - she's free to do what she wants. Which includes staying or leaving."
Nick pinched his nose. Hard. "Look American, you can be an ass all you want, but that doesn't change how you're willing to endanger a minor, just because she doesn't know any better."
"And as for you," the detective's accusing finger turned to the pink-haired girl. "We'll find the next convoy to Kiev and you'll be in there whether you like it or not. Just don't do anything stupid in the meantime."
@DB_Explorer
"I see, quite an interesting story this little one has. Then I guess some of the youth is despondent at the moment due to all the fighting that is happening." Steel said as she looked at Albatross, quite the young girl that had fallen off the right track. Thinking deeply she didn't want the young girl to waste her life away getting killed by the Zone or worse, be a play thing for bandits and other stalkers.
The old Soviet paratrooper wanted none of that, and when presented with the chance she'll try and get her to a safe place.
Her head then turned to Nick, whom she watched berate Dexter and Albatross.
@Zeitgeist Blue
"I'm sure Albatross here understands that she needs to keep herself close, if she doesn't want to end up as feed for the mutant or something worse by bandits or other stalkers." She said to the man. "In the meantime she can stay with us, although I do not suggest sending her back to Kiev. Things are to heated there at the moment." She added as she took a little stretch.
Dexter just gave another shrug at replies to his comments. "I told her that going to the zone was a fools errand if you wanted riches. Easier ways to do it." He explained as he glanced back at the girl, Lena, now that he remembered the name the bartender in Kiev used. "Maybe before we truck her out of the zone, we can ask here why she came out to this slice of the bizarre? She managed to get herself into the zone quicker then any of us could - so lets give her a little credit." His thoughts turned back to a small knife he found in Kiev only a couple nights ago as he directed his next words to the girl. "So Albatross - you still have that knife of yours?"
_____"What? You don't just give someone a gun because they ask for it. What do I look like, a walking charity? You know how long it takes to save up for an armored truck? An American-made one out... here?" The lenses of the man's mask glinted as Nick flipped out the butt of his Soviet-era shooter and pressed it into the smaller stalker's hands. "Nevermind then! Clearly, I've misread: you're too well-stocked, too rich, or far too stupid to care." He turned to the cop and his offered map momentarily. Rain-Spider's muted fatigues stood in sharp contrast to the vibrant tracksuits and white sneakers of the assistants standing just beside him.
_____"The Agroprom Research Facility was only the biggest top secret military facility in the region, though it became not-so-secret once the scavengers fell upon it after the disaster and started exchanging shots with the military. You'd have to be an idiot to camp out there with how the military likes to poke their nose around... which is probably why most of the stalkers flock there looking for military-grade treasure. It's the biggest collection of stalker camps in Chernobyl, and one of the most dangerous if you're not careful.
_____"Which is exactly why we're traveling in a convoy vehicles and not just standing around getting unnecessary attention, isn't it?" he grumbled.
_____'Albatross' glowered at the nickname and the turn of conversation. "Hey, screw you, asshole! Just cuz' you walk like a cop doesn't mean you can boss me around! You're just standing around with your thumbs up your asses, anyway!" She stormed off toward the black truck, swinging the bulging hiking backpack from her shoulders and into the bed.
_____"That's not your truck," Rain-Spider grunted.
_____"Idi nahui!"
_____With a sigh, the masked mercenary turned back to the stalkers. "I'd be more offended if I understood what she said." His voice contorted into a sneer. "Little bit sad the kid's got more initiative than you lot, isn't it?"
"What the fuck is wrong with you people? Is this really what we should be doing now?!" Felix fumed. Once he had the attention of the group, the anger turned into a cold groping for ideas he didn't have. They were here to do a job right? What if they got snuck up on by staying here? What if the bandits came? Why couldn't he be far, far away, behind his desk.
Watching through a camera.
Like a remote controlled camera.
Or a drone.
"I might have something really special in the Benz, but I'll only use it if you, Rain-Spider, promise to give us some extra firepower to protect ourselves. You have to have something special in that truck, right?"
Talon heard as Felix snapped on everyone, and shrugged. People losing their temper was quite common where the punk privateer made her bread and butter, but the proposition Felix made afterward, wasn't. She knew exactly what he wanted to do, and it made perfect sense to her. Still, she had her own concerns. She smiled as Du Hast played in her mind for a moment before she spoke to Felix in German.
"A smart plan, using the drone, but if we stay here with our thumbs in our assholes like the kid said, we'll draw the attention we're looking to avoid." She dipped her hand into her bag of jerky and handed Felix a piece. "If you want, we can leave, now, but park someplace down the road to perform the aerial." Realizing speaking in a foreign language to someone who just asked a question seemed a bit off, she in turn asked Rain-Spider a question of her own.
"I agree with my friend, here. What do you have to offer us the protection we need? The Benz isn't a combat rig, despite its appearance...and if it's fine with you, I'd like to get going, soon. "
Steel watched as Albatross walked off to one of the armored pickup trucks before turning once more to look at Felix scream out, if he wanted less attention to be paid to the group he wouldn't have done that. Then again his looks were the kind that you see in an office, not a desolated and irradiated area with creatures and people that are ready to turn you into youtube's next big phenomena.
Nonetheless the old trooper stretched herself out as she started following Albatross. "I'm old, I need a little time to think~" She said to the masked mercenary while chuckling and snickering. "I will take shotgun seat, much more comfortable there!" She shouted out as she caught up to Albatross and patted her on the head before climbing into the seat, letting out a sigh as she just rested there.
"Stupidity and Initiative are separated by a fine line Rain-Spider." Dexter replied with a shrug as he watched Steel followed after Albatross, though given the girls glower he doubted she appreciated the name, as she headed towards one of the armored pick ups. "You need someone to man the machine gun on one of those beasts?" Dexter asked, debating if ditching Talon again was worth it to be able to figure out why exactly the younger girl had decided to come to the zone. "I'm was a pretty good gunner before I took up this gig." Dexter elaborated.
He abstained from translating the younger girls parting words.
_____In the chatter Issac had begun to wander, drift around the camp. After a little more talk, the scientist's kid was nowhere to be seen, leaving Felix and Valkyrie with ticking geiger counters and a off-yellow rock hopping on the ground with buckshot swirling around it like a miniature solar system. A few neatly-scrawled notes were placed right by the artifact, but there weren't even footprints to mark where Issac had gone. Up by the camp, a stalker elbowed his buddy and the two eyeballed the artifact with pointed interest.
_____Serbian dragged his restraints against the pole of a tent, working the rope against the first sharp edge he could find. Without leverage, he had to lean farther and farther forward, until finally tipping over and crashing through the flap. The first thing that hit Sera was the scent of burning grass and easy laughter, blunts flaring brightly behind the entrance as even lazier guitar notes rose into the camp air. "Sheeeeeit, they found us man!"
_____Their laughter echoed through the Pig Pen as Serbian looked piteously at Sera, shaking his head vigorously. Evidently having been spared once wasn't enough to settle his fears of a spot execution, but on the other hand it hadn't kept him from trying to run again, either. His eyes darted to Sera's, then to the tent she was observing.
_____"I know a guy. That's what you want to hear, right?"
@Wizard_Marshall@Sushi@DerPoltergeist
Having heard Sid's reply to Rachel's phone call she leaned over next to the girl and whispered into her ear while she unpacked bandages, tweezers, and some antiseptic from her bag. "If you want some company going after the cache, I'd be glad to accompany you" Leaning away she took Felix's hands gently in hers not quite conscious of the action as she looked at them briefly and then flicked Felix on the nose with a peeved hum as she started repacking her medical supplies "Loud." Is all she said of his outburst.
"But I do agree with Fe here, Trades are only good if both parties are offering something." She said in agreement, wondering what had prompted her to grab the gauze in the first place and hold Felix's hand. Looking around as things moved around them Valkyrie wondered if anyone else had gotten hurt.
_____"One was enough to make a point, two hitchhikers is pushing my definition of 'hospitality,'" the merc snarled. "Fine, Indiana Jones can have the turret, but that's it!" After a moment's pause, he snorted. "Must not have confidence in your own resources, hiding like vermin in my transportation. But I'll get to the point. The truck will go first, since I'm going to go on a limb here and assume that I am the only one with custom-built anomaly detector in my vehicle. We'll stop at the checkpoint and chat with the loners to get some up-to-date intel.
_____"Then it's bandit territory. Once we pay the toll at the door, we'll cut straight to the flea-market... you shouldn't be able to screw that up given it's a straight shot down the road, but I've had worse surprises before. Surprises like neat little tricks from pencil-pushing little girls," he added, jerking a thumb at Felix. "I'll give it to you straight then. There's one piece of crap mortar in the truck you can divide among yourselves somehow, and if your 'surprise' is really noteworthy, we can talk about splitting some of the salvage on the trip."
_____He waved at his two assistants loitering by the truck. "Go grab the mortar for our new friends."
_____One of the identically-dressed lackies deposited the tube by their feet, giving Dexter a quick, sideways glance. "It's not really a machine gun. On the truck I mean..."
