To the Range

Zale politely stored his ID card and replied, "Under article 4, subsection 3 of the International Hunter's Resolution, no institution, private or public, may require the identification of a hunter to enable access to services, save the institution of employment. Any attempt to discriminate based on the presence or lack-there-of a hunter's identification is punishable by a court of law. Will that be a problem?"

Charles's smile faltered, and he stumbled over himself for a concise reply. "If so, I will gladly speak with a member of administration here. I can be in contact with the chief officer of my company within the hour."

His eyes went wide with horror as if he'd just provoked a high tier hunter. "T-that won't be necessary," he managed, putting half of his smile back on, "That was my mistake. You two may proceed to the ground. I'll direct any remaining members there upon their arrival, should there be more."

"Thank you very much. It is appreciated," Zale rattled off, allowing Shai to lead the way.

"Well, that was...quite the spectacle. I don't think I've ever seen Charles at a loss for words. Color me impressed, Zale. It was an impressive bluff," Shai complimented once out of earshot.

"Who was bluffing? Okay, maybe I played it up some for that asshat, but I have my own connections. He gets what he deserves, though. I've always hated those people. They think they are better than you just because they have a bit of power. They act like they're untouchable. I'll put them in their place any chance I get," Zale fumed.

"Well, let us forget about that for now and focus on this experiment for the time being, shall we?" Shai offered, pulling the pendant from his pocket.

They made their way out on to the hot, dry practice field where all the scientists of the team were waiting already. They were busying themselves with setting up recording equipment and a range of weapons for testing purposes. Zale walked to the laid-out guns and thought about how it would feel shooting them. He'd never really used guns much. "Are you qualified to fire these," Zale asked the man who was handling them.

"Yes, sir. I've had weapons training for small firearms and rifles."

Zale nodded approval but raised an eyebrow. "And what about explosives?" he added, pointing to the grenades.

"Well, I know how they work in theory," the man said with a shrug.

Zale grimaced. "So, who's going to be testing these things? I don't see any hunters," he turned to Shai and asked.

"It'll be you, of course."