“Oh, yeah,” Tim said. “The enemy was very cooperative.” He laughed. “It was like a turkey shoot.”

“Where did you see them?”

Tim pointed. “Coming along that gully that looks like a notch on the horizon.”

Curt strained his eyes in the darkness. He needed a bit of imagination to believe he was looking at a ravine end on. There was no way he could see anyone approaching until they were practically on top of them. Curt wondered what it would be like if a group of men did suddenly spill out of the darkness. By reflex, his hand dropped down to his holstered Glock automatic. He unsnapped the cover. He didn’t want to be fumbling with it if a need for the gun arose.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Tim said. “Let me show you something.”

Tim unzipped his canvas gun bag that he’d put on the ground next to him and pulled out a weapon. Even in the darkness Curt could tell it was one of Tim’s that he’d never seen.

“This here’s my favorite,” Tim said proudly. “I don’t take it out except for real ops, like tonight.”

He extended the weapon toward Curt. Curt took it and held it up close to his face. He recognized it immediately although he’d never held one. It was a Marine-modified Remington .308 sniper rifle.

“Where the hell did you get this?” Curt asked with awe.

“You can buy pretty much whatever you want from the survivalist mags like Mercenary. All you have to do is look in the ads in the back.”

“But this is Marine issue,” Curt said. “How could someone get one in the first place?”

“How should I know?” Tim said. “I suppose someone probably stole it at some point or maybe somebody traded it for something else. You’ll learn that there’s a lot of bartering going on in the military.”

“They modify these things at Quantico,” Curt said. He ran his hand affectionately along the stock.

“Yeah, I know,” Tim said. “It’s got a floating barrel and fiberglass bedding. And the trigger pull has been adjusted to one pound.”

“God, it’s fantastic,” Curt said. He could only dream of owning one. He’d come to love guns of any sort but especially high-tech ones.

“The best thing is the scope,” Tim said. “Notice its size. It’s a night-vision scope. Give it a try.”

Curt lovingly lifted the weapon to his shoulder and sighted through the telescopic sight. The black night was miraculously transformed into a hazy green transparency. Even at a distance of several hundred yards Curt could make out details of the arid environment.

All of a sudden Curt’s eyes caught movement and he turned the rifle slightly to his left. In the center of his field of vision were two men picking their way through the darkness, heading toward Curt on the diagonal.