bullets lined up in the main section of the gun right here –” he tapped the steel, “– and they ’ re packed in tight with propellant in between each bullet. When you squeeze the trigger, it fires each bullet out through electric shocks. Not many people can build one of these, brother. On full auto, this thing can shoot out forty thousand rounds a minute if all four barrels are going at once. ”
Jake let out a low whistle. “ That ’ s a lot of ammo. ”
“ It sure is, which is why we need to be bloody careful about what we point it at. If you find yourself in a life or death situation, though, this bad boy will tear a slayer to shreds. ”
“ How do you know how to build one? ”
“ Let ’ s just say I ’ m fairly switched on. The Delta Force taught me a lot, though. It helps that the MetalStorm technology was designed right here in Australia. I ’ ve done a lot of research. There ’ s also a lot of old contacts willing to sell me the parts I need. For a price, of course. Nothing in life ’ s free, bro. ”
“ How do you afford all this? ” Jake said.
“ Link, ” Felix said.
He didn't elaborate.
They moved up the stairs with Jake at the rear. As they fanned out into the kitchen, Jake saw an Asian man sitting at the dining room table. He had a pack of playing cards in his hand and was shuffling them between his fingers at a blinding speed. He looked younger than the rest of the men, maybe twenty-five.
“ Link, ” Felix called out. The man looked up. “ This is Jake. ”
Jake walked over and the two shook hands. Link had an iron grip.
“ Heard a lot about you, ” Link said. His voice was monotonous.
“ I ’ m not sure if that ’ s a good thing, ” Jake said. “ Nice to meet you. ”
Felix clapped a hand on Jake ’ s shoulder. “ Training starts tomorrow, kid. I know you ’ ve been sleeping all day, but try and get some rest tonight. You ’ ll need it. We ’ re off. ”
“ Where are you going? ”
“ To check up on Wolfe, ” Crank said. “ He ’ s out scouting, looking for slayer hotspots. Has been all day. ”
“ The guy ’ s got an uncanny ability at finding them, ” Sam said. “ He can tell just by looking for signs. He tracks them, reports back to us, and we all deal with the problem. ”
“ That ’ s how he found you, ” Crank said. “ He was scouting. ”
The four men shuffled out, first Thorn and Sam, followed by Crank and Felix.
“ Catch ya, man, ” Sam said as he left, performing a casual salute with his index finger.
Jake nodded back. Then they were gone. Link was the only man left in the room.
“ So, Jake, ” he said. “ What do you know about counting cards? ”
Jake paused. This he knew a little about. He ’ d seen a few movies on the subject. Even recalling those memories sent him back into the little apartment, stretched out across the couch, absent-mindedly watching the television and waiting for his dad to return home. Countless nights had been spent like that. For many, his dad had never showed. Jake preferred this place, and the company that came with seven people living under the same roof.
“ It ’ s used in blackjack, right? ” he said. “ To gain an advantage over the casino? To beat the system? ”
“ You ’ ve got the general gist of it, ” Link said. “ You keep track of the cards as they are being dealt across the table. In your head, you have what ’ s called a running count, which is a number that changes as you remember each card. That way, you know what the rough chances are of the next card being what you want it to be, and you can place your bets accordingly. To dumb it down, you basically assign each card that comes out with a number. For example, the most simple form of card counting is that anything from a ten to a king is minus one, anything from a two to a six is plus one, and seven to nine is neutral. So when the running count in your head is a big number, you know that a lot of lower value cards have
Jake let out a low whistle. “ That ’ s a lot of ammo. ”
“ It sure is, which is why we need to be bloody careful about what we point it at. If you find yourself in a life or death situation, though, this bad boy will tear a slayer to shreds. ”
“ How do you know how to build one? ”
“ Let ’ s just say I ’ m fairly switched on. The Delta Force taught me a lot, though. It helps that the MetalStorm technology was designed right here in Australia. I ’ ve done a lot of research. There ’ s also a lot of old contacts willing to sell me the parts I need. For a price, of course. Nothing in life ’ s free, bro. ”
“ How do you afford all this? ” Jake said.
“ Link, ” Felix said.
He didn't elaborate.
They moved up the stairs with Jake at the rear. As they fanned out into the kitchen, Jake saw an Asian man sitting at the dining room table. He had a pack of playing cards in his hand and was shuffling them between his fingers at a blinding speed. He looked younger than the rest of the men, maybe twenty-five.
“ Link, ” Felix called out. The man looked up. “ This is Jake. ”
Jake walked over and the two shook hands. Link had an iron grip.
“ Heard a lot about you, ” Link said. His voice was monotonous.
“ I ’ m not sure if that ’ s a good thing, ” Jake said. “ Nice to meet you. ”
Felix clapped a hand on Jake ’ s shoulder. “ Training starts tomorrow, kid. I know you ’ ve been sleeping all day, but try and get some rest tonight. You ’ ll need it. We ’ re off. ”
“ Where are you going? ”
“ To check up on Wolfe, ” Crank said. “ He ’ s out scouting, looking for slayer hotspots. Has been all day. ”
“ The guy ’ s got an uncanny ability at finding them, ” Sam said. “ He can tell just by looking for signs. He tracks them, reports back to us, and we all deal with the problem. ”
“ That ’ s how he found you, ” Crank said. “ He was scouting. ”
The four men shuffled out, first Thorn and Sam, followed by Crank and Felix.
“ Catch ya, man, ” Sam said as he left, performing a casual salute with his index finger.
Jake nodded back. Then they were gone. Link was the only man left in the room.
“ So, Jake, ” he said. “ What do you know about counting cards? ”
Jake paused. This he knew a little about. He ’ d seen a few movies on the subject. Even recalling those memories sent him back into the little apartment, stretched out across the couch, absent-mindedly watching the television and waiting for his dad to return home. Countless nights had been spent like that. For many, his dad had never showed. Jake preferred this place, and the company that came with seven people living under the same roof.
“ It ’ s used in blackjack, right? ” he said. “ To gain an advantage over the casino? To beat the system? ”
“ You ’ ve got the general gist of it, ” Link said. “ You keep track of the cards as they are being dealt across the table. In your head, you have what ’ s called a running count, which is a number that changes as you remember each card. That way, you know what the rough chances are of the next card being what you want it to be, and you can place your bets accordingly. To dumb it down, you basically assign each card that comes out with a number. For example, the most simple form of card counting is that anything from a ten to a king is minus one, anything from a two to a six is plus one, and seven to nine is neutral. So when the running count in your head is a big number, you know that a lot of lower value cards have
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