Revelations of a Grey Coat Hunter

12

     Monty's heart pounded as his feet raced. Alarms blared. Lights flashed. Somewhere in the darkness, his quarry waited. There. In one smooth, practiced motion, Monty raised his weapon and fired two quick shots. Sensing movement to his left, he rolled to safety, dodging a shot, and returned fire. Miss. Monty got moving again, keeping low, wary of another attack. Up ahead, he saw a shadow move, aimed, and fired. Another target down.

     "One more, coming up on your right," Conrad sent through the telepathic communicator in his bandana. "Stay where you are, and I'll flush it to you."

     "Copy." Monty got into position and stayed low, quickly reloading. Remembering his training, he slowed his breathing, keeping still and quiet so as not to give away his position. Focusing, he trained all his senses, alert to any change in the space around him. There. Monty fired, but his target was too fast, darting behind an obstacle. Not good. If he didn't find a way to block off the path, they'd lose this one for sure. Monty spun his hand rapidly in a circle, creating a small ball of concentrated fire. This he launched quickly, sending it in a wide loop around the obstacle, directly in the path of his opponent. Perfect aim. The fireball exploded, forcing his target back. The moment his target was in sight, Monty was ready for it. Two shots, dead center. "Target destroyed!"

     A buzzer sounded. The lights went on, accompanied by applause. Dr. Jacobs was on her feet from behind the partition in the training room. "Well done!" she exclaimed. "You've certainly come a long way in three months."

     "I had a great teacher." Monty's smile widened as he spotted Conrad. The ginger Hunter was strolling out from the other side of the training room. He too was smiling. He clapped Monty once on the back. Then he turned in their paint guns, letting Monty take the time to shake hands with the staff who had been their opponents in the exercise. Monty knew most of them by name. He knew they were glad he'd finally reached this level.

     Dr. Jacobs was happily making checks on her clipboard. "Amazing," she said. "No other pyro has the level of control you've developed. The way you can direct your flames around obstacles, especially when you keep them contained to explode later? That's an ability the Foundation can use." She gave him a broad smile. "I'm happy to report you have officially passed this stage of your training, Candidate Thatcher. Congratulations, you're ready for your first field trial."

     Monty whooped. "Hot damn! Conrad, give me some skin!"

     Conrad rolled his eyes. "I'll never quite understand that expression," he grumbled as he reluctantly held up his hand for Monty to slap.

     "Get with the program, old man," Monty laughed. He threw an arm around Conrad's shoulders. "Go order something to celebrate, my treat, and I'll meet you back at your room. When Maddy passes her skills exam today and finally becomes a Hunter Candidate, I'll feed us all dinner."

     "Works for me!" With a friendly wave, Conrad headed out.

     Monty headed for the showers, knowing Conrad preferred to use his own in his room. Made sense. The Hunter still had issues with the other Foundation personnel and was prone to getting pranked. Fortunately, none of their dislike for the twins' trainers had extended to the trainees, and they'd all left Monty and Maddy largely alone.

     Monty quickly washed off the sweat and grime, came out, and approached the neat pile of clothing waiting for him. Becoming a Hunter Candidate and finally graduating from the onesies to real clothing had been a relief. Now his t-shirt, jeans, socks, and sneakers were waiting to go back on along with his bandana, just as he'd left them when he'd changed into his tracksuit for the exam. But as he approached, he realized something was different. A small wrapped item and a note were on top of the pile. Monty picked it up, seeing Arthur's neat handwriting. "Remember the sock."