Free The White Mountain by Ernie Lindsey Page A

before you even know he’s in the same room.  The first
pursuer to eliminate the rabbit will have a one-round reprieve from having his
name in the hat.  Should the rabbit eliminate a hound, he will be
granted a one-round reprieve.  Note that the rabbit is not allowed to pursue—only
to defend himself against the coming blitzkrieg .  The round ends once a
hound or the rabbit records a kill, and the remainder of the names will be
returned to the hat for another drawing.”
    Yankee Doodle said, “So let
me get this straight.  We put our names in there, and you’re pulling a rabbit
out of a hat?”
    It was the last time they
would ever laugh together.
    Enigma showed no signs of
amusement, clearly perturbed by yet another interruption.  “I never thought of
it that way, but yes, I suppose so.  With your permission, I shall continue,
yes?  Good.  Thank you.  These rounds will continue until each and every one of
you, save the final participant, has been eliminated from the competition.  The
last man remaining will earn the chance to match his skills against the
previous winner, one on one.  And should you prevail, the money is yours, and
you will be passed the responsibility of choosing the next game’s
participants.  Eight contests have been completed since Ares won in 1976, and
eighty men have fallen.”
    “Hang on a tick,” Blockade
said.  “Once you’ve picked a rabbit, how’re we supposed to find the son of a
bitch?”
    “Utilize your resources. 
None of you made it here due to stupidity.”
    “What resources?  And who’re
you calling stupid, you little runt?  Any one of these shit-for-brains monkeys
could be hiding in a goddamn igloo at the North Pole and we’d never know the
difference.  The only thing I can say for certain is that Geisha over there’ll
probably have his dick stuck in some Nippon glory hole—the randy bastard—and
I don’t fly.  Not anymore.  One too many close calls.  No way am I hopping on a
puddle-jumper to chase him or any of these other cocksuckers halfway around the
world, no sir.”
    Indignant, Enigma lifted his
chin.  “May I remind you, Mr. Blockade, that any refusal to participate is in
violation of the terms upon which you agreed?”
    “I don’t give a rat’s ass
what I violated.  You never said nothing about no airplanes.  Feet to ground,
you stick around.  Booyah.  That’s what I always say.”
    Enigma said, “This is your
first and final warning.  You agreed to a set of terms and if you do not
comply, if you insist upon this violation, I regret to inform you that I will
be forced—”
    Blockade shouted, “Violate
this!” and spat at Enigma. 
    He never had a chance to
raise his hands before the bullet pierced his forehead.  The remnants from the
exit wound showered Randall and Shallow Grave. 
    Randall groaned and wiped his
face with a sleeve.
    Shallow Grave turned to
Randall and smirked, amused by his pathetic need to remove the blood and brain matter.
    The others sat motionless,
like it had been nothing more than a popped balloon at a birthday party. 
They’d all seen too much death and survived too many harrowing situations to be
surprised by the outcome. 
    Enigma lowered his pistol and
gently placed it onto the podium.  “Well, then.  It appears I’ve done you all a
favor.  For the first time in history, the contest will begin with nine
participants and your game has just been simplified.  The prize money is
protected by such—by such mishaps, but should you feel the need to compensate
me for making your task easier, I see no cause to disagree.”  Enigma raised a
hand, “Please sit down, Mr. Krakatoa.  You’ve heard of a joke before, yes? 
Good.  I have three more points to cover before I release you all to get your
personal lives in order.  The first one is this: you will be required to accept
the inclusion of a tracking chip, which monitors both your vital signs and your
location, and the implant will reside