Revenant

Chapter 26

I kept my right hand near my midsection, as though about to reach for a gun kept in a shoulder-holster. I didn't have one there, of course – the only gun I had on my person was in the right thigh-pocket of the black cargo pants I was wearing. Still, I wanted to present the illusion that I could draw on Alaric in an instant if I wanted to.

His hand was hovering in much the same way as mine was, though chances were he actually had a gun near where his hand was hovering.

We stayed like that a while, looking each other in the eye, waiting.

After several moments, Alaric raised his eyebrows and turned his head slightly, as though asking a question.

"Working," I said nonchalantly, giving him a small shrug while keeping my hand precisely where it was. "In the middle of a job, as it were."

"Oh," he said. "Really? I didn't realize. " He grinned. "Do you want I should leave, perhaps?"

"Of course not! Why, an hour ago I found myself thinking, 'What I really need right now is a meaningless conversation with a complete git.'"

He laughed at that, though his eyes never left me for an instant.

"Oh, Joe. Are you still sore about dat whole thing in Odense? I was just 'aving a bit of fun with you at de time, is all."

"Well, what can I say? Life as a hardened criminal has robbed me of my sense of humor. I've been trying to get it back though... I'm working really hard on some of my jokes. Hey, did you hear this one? What did the amateurish French ex-pat say to the Englishman?"

Alaric's eyes narrowed briefly at that, but his already huge smile got even fiercer.

"I give up," he said after a few moments.

"Wow. I didn't think you'd get it that quickly." I gave him a pretended frown. "Hmm, you're not laughing. I don't know... I'm a little rusty at telling jokes, so that punchline might need a little work."

His already fierce smile became even more so, and now contained just a touch of annoyance.

So, just in case you're interested, here's the reason why you should always have a small arsenal of smart-alec comments at the ready when in situations like these.

Simply put, when you're in as perilous of a situation as I was, you need every single advantage you can get. No matter who it is you end up dealing with, they've got some sort of button you can push, and things like emotion were often a critical factor when it came to things like confrontation. Encounters like this were a bit like a chess match, and things like confidence, anger, laughter, nasty words... each of them were pieces that you could move around the board. Display enough confidence and self-assuredness, and you could cow a dozen heavily armed men who would like nothing more than to see you broken and bleeding in front of them. Get someone angry enough during a fight, and they'll probably end up doing something you can take advantage of.

Of course, if they realize that's what you're trying to do, they can be a little more cautious when it comes trying to inflict grievous bodily harm. Ironically, that's also something that can be taken advantage of.

Besides, the two of them looked as though they were enjoying the moment a little too much, having found me like this. Making as if I had the upper hand would probably make them feel a little less confident, alter their perception of this whole situation and cause them to enjoy themselves a little less.

The three of us stood there in silence, which became strained and awkward after a while.

"So," I said as casually as I knew how, "how do you guys figure this is going to play out? I mean, I'm here ready to work, and have all sorts of nifty things within reach. I'm assuming you do as well, and haven't reached for them yet, but hey, what do I know? " I smiled amicably at both of them.