"I know it's a trap, Jeremiah, but it's our only lead. We have to go."
"Man, that's the dumbest cliche ever. That would be a pretty bad reason to die."
Martin paced the room in frustration.
"What we should do, martin, is set up a counter-trap!"
He stopped, and his eyes lit up. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that? It's brlliant! Trap the trappers!"
He paused.
"Unless...That's what they want us to do. In which case they'll have counter-measures."
Jeremiah's face hardened. "A trap to trap us trapping them?"
"Exactly. it's simple logic. Stay one move ahead of your opponent and you'll surely triumph."
"That's some Sun Tzu type stuff right there, Martin."
'It's a good book, you should read it."
"I will, Martin."
There was a moment of silence.
"We
have only one option then. Set up another trap. A snare to catch the
hunters who seek to trap us capturing them in the act of ambushing us."
"But they'll just trap us trapping them trapping us trapping them trapping us-"
"Are you having a stroke, Jeremiah?"
He smiled to himself. "Maybe. A stroke of genius. Here's the plan-"
--- 18 Hours later, at the rendezvous point ---
Concentric circles of hidden people, thirty tiers at least,
all set up to trap trappers. All waiting for Martin and Jeremiah; as
well as their inevitable meta-traps. The clock ticked, and the tension
grew. They would come, and it would be soon.
And then
they heard a sound. A subtle droning far above them. If it hadn't been
dark they might have seen a blur falling from the sky. But as it is the
first thing, and the last thing, that they saw was the flash of light.
