Two of the Raptor Corps sat at their stations with mugs of coffee in hand. "So there I was," the first Raptor was explaining, "right out of college and no place to go. I just wasn't cut out for the pros like I thought I was. I could have joined the military, but I really just don't like those uniforms. They look gay. Not like these. These are kick ass uniforms."
"Definetly," the second Raptor agreed before taking another long sip of his hot coffee.
"So, that's when one of Montag's executives came up and recruited me. She promised me travel all over the world, great pay, and full dental."
"That's important," the other Raptor interjected.
"Ummmm-hmmmmmm," the first agree with a mouth full of coffee. "Exactly. Probably the most important thing to a group of hired mercenaries is a comprehensive health plan. Teeth can get knocked out, limbs shot off, eyes burnt out with a hot poker, you know. It's a crap shoot out here."
"Yeah, did you hear about Paul?"
"No, what happened?"
"Columbian drug lords fed his balls to piranhas."
"Ouch!"
"Yeah!"
"See, that's what I'm talking about. Show me an insurance company that has a box like that for you check off for coverage. And all these drug lords and African warlords always feel like they have to be clever and sadistic, like they get RACK points for it or something."
"What points?"
"RA.... Nevermind. It's an inside thing. Where was I?"
"You'd just been recruited."
"Ah, yeah. So, like I said, five years ago she comes up to me and offers me all this money and..... Did I forget to mention it was Yvette who recruited me?"
"The redhead with the big...?"
"Yeah! That's the one!"
An electronic buzz broke the conversation as a red light flashed.
"Contact at three o'clock!" the second Raptor called out as he looked at the screen before him.
"Got it," the first replied as the small jet came into his sights. The barrels of twin machine guns blazed alive with fire. White streaks of tracer rounds cut through the sky and sliced the left wing of the aircraft into pieces. The jet dropped from view. "So, how did you wind up in the Raptor Corps?"
The second Raptor turned away from his screen. "I.... um...... I was drafted."
"You..... you were what?"
Victor's head pounded in pain as the strain of his infra-red vision faded away. He could feel his body falling in a crazy spiral. He lamented aloud, "Maybe I shouldn't have knocked out the telekinetic."
