"Oh," Hawk said, "wull that makes me feel kinda better, actually."

"Yeah, people like that aren't gonna rush in to use this newfangled thing." Vlad replaced the joint on the table, propping it on a little ceramic object to keep the lit end off the table cloth. He glanced at Hawk, who was taking a drink from his own can. "Wanna go again?"

Hawk made a noise of agreement. As the announcer started the rematch on the TV, Vlad said slowly, "So, uh, did, uh...Mari say how he was planning to set all this up in Escalus?"

Hawk was concentrating very hard and didn't immediately answer. On the screen, a swordsman took a swipe at a round tanuki-like character, who dodged it effortlessly.

"...He?" he said after a moment.

"Yeah."

Again Hawk paused. Finally, he said, "Oh. Uh, whaddya mean?"

"You know, passing out radios in Escalus, educating people on what all this is for, the kind of stuff the--" he trailed off abruptly as the tanuki-like character got off a big kick, sending the swordsman offscreen and drawing a curse from Hawk. Vlad then went on, "--Mari isn't gonna be able to do alone."

"No, we ain't talked about that part," Hawk said, looking a bit defeated. Vlad gave him a crooked smile.

"Well, you tell him I've got friends that can help with that part, then."