"Just on video games, and one time I did some paintball," I replied.
Mark nodded, put one of the pistols back, and pulled out another. He took a clip of ammunition from the trunk, slapped it in, and pulled back on the top, making a metallic, intimidating snick. He turned the gun around and held it out to me. "It's loaded, with one in the chamber. There's a safety on the left side, right now it's on. Push it in, and the red line disappears. See?"
I looked, and saw the button. I pushed it in, and heard a small click. I looked on the other side of the grip, and saw the button had popped out on the other side, this time with a red line visible. I pushed it, and the safety reengaged. "Okay, got it. Now, how do I cock this thing?"
"You don't need to," Mark said. "Once the safety is off, just point and shoot. Listen, this thing is not very big, you're shooting a .22 caliber Magnum load. The good part is that it barely kicks at all, maybe even less than the paintball gun you used. You more or less point and shoot, and can do it over and over again. The bad part is that it's a tiny round. You won't cause a lot of damage with one of these things, but it is better than nothing. I'll be carrying something with a lot more punch."
Mark took two more pistols from the footlocker, slid in clips, and tucked them under his shirt against his lower back. With his shirt hanging loose over the top, I couldn't see anything. "Do you have a jacket or a sweatshirt?"
"I have a hoodie," I said, "but it's kind of tight. I couldn't wear that pistol in my jeans like you are."
"Then keep it in the pocket itself. If you stuff some other things in there, you should be fine. We're going to walk, so it should look like you have a cell phone or something like that in there. Don't pull it out unless you have to. You'll know when."
We left the belfry, and walked cross country until we were along a side street, near a preschool. "This was a lot easier when I started," Mark said as I pulled out my phone. "Back then, there were pay phones all over the place. Nowadays, neighborhoods like this don't have many at all. In some ways it makes it more flexible, since we can go anywhere. The bad part is you need to hang onto a phone. There's some VOIP and different masking programs out there, but in a lot of ways they are just as traceable as a normal cell phone. So, we do things like this, and travel. I'd prefer to get on a city bus or something and head downtown, but I don't want Tabby to be in any more danger."
I nodded and pulled out my phone, dialing Tabby's number. My hands shook as I waited for the call to be picked up. I didn't have to wait long. A rough voiced man picked up the call after only three rings. "Miss White."
"Where is Tabby?" I asked immediately, before he could say anything else. "Is she safe?"
"She's fine," the man replied. "Although that may not last forever. Is the Snowman with you?"
"Yes," I said, looking up at Mark. "Why?"
"Put him on the phone," the voice commanded.
I handed the phone to Mark, who held the phone up to his ear. "I'm here...... okay...... okay..... not going to happen. Not there, I'm not a fool. That's fine. Just me and her. Fine. Three hours. Now put her on the line, let her verify the identity."
Mark handed the phone next to me, and nodded. "Tabby is supposed to be on the line."
"Tabby?" I asked, my throat tight and my eyes starting to water. "Are you all right?"
"Oh Sophie, I'm so scared!" It was definitely Tabby. Even with all the fear choking her voice, the accent, the intonation, everything was her. "They keep saying there's some guy they are interested in or something. What the hell is going on?"
Before I could answer, the phone was taken away. "You have your proof. Three hours."
The phone went dead in my ear, and I cursed, only muffling my voice enough to make sure the preschoolers in the area didn't hear me. I handed the phone back to Mark, who shut it off and took out the battery. "We meet in three hours, at the same nightclub where you and I met. Which at least confirms who took your friend. That club is owned by a Confederation member. Don't know how many in the Confederation are in on it, but it doesn't matter, I guess. Let's get back, I need to get us ready."
* * *
Mark
The club was dark, which I expected. I wished that I could have left Sophie behind, she wasn't prepared for this, but the men on the phone had been very clear, we had to come together. It made sense. They assumed that having Sophie nearby would reduce my combat efficiency, since I would spend energy and brain power trying to defend her at the expense of killing them. They were right. It came down to how much of a decrease in my abilities Sophie would cause, and if it would make them better than me. Honestly it was an interesting conundrum, and one I would have enjoyed contemplating at any other time.