Page 359 of Devil’s Disciples

He put his hands on his hips. “What kind of shit?”

My intentions were none of his business. Aggravated, I turned toward the door. After taking a few steps, he cleared his throat.

“I don’t give a shit what you’re doing with it,” he said. “I was just tryin’ to figure out which one would suit you best.”

I paused. I really didn’t want to drive all over San Diego looking for a night vision setup. I faced him.

“Is it new, remanufactured, or used?”

“New. Unissued.”

I took a few steps in his direction, making certain to stand at his side, in case one of his buttons became a projectile. “Do you have the latest generation? The 7D?”

“Not here,” he replied. “The one we have in stock right now is the 7A, if I remember correctly.”

I knew from experience that the first generation would suit me fine. The PVS-7 was my first choice for night vision—and what I was replacing.

“You only have one?” I asked.

“That’s all we keep on hand.”

“But you have others? Somewhere else?”

“We do,” he said. “In El Cajon, in our warehouse.”

“So, when you sell this one, you’ll bring in another?”

He grinned. “That’s how it works.”

“Will it be the newest gen? The 7D? When you bring in the one that replaces this one?”

He shrugged. “Probably.”

“Are you negotiable on price?”

Although I could afford whatever the setup cost, I didn’t like paying asking price for anything. Ever. Anywhere that allowed negotiation was subject to my penny-pinching wrath.

“Sorry, we’re not set up that way,” he said apologetically. “We don’t negotiate. Our prices are competitive for an Army-Navy store. If you want it cheaper you can go online and get it.”

“I don’t buy anything online. That’s why I’m here.”

“It’s cheaper online,” he offered.

I approached the counter. “Is it? What’s peace of mind worth? What about privacy? If I buy online, I can’t pay in cash. If I can’t pay in cash, that means I have to use a credit card. If I use a credit card, they have my information. My name, my address. Everything. I could be smart, and use a pre-paid credit card, but that could be traced to the store where it was purchased. Regardless, they’d obtain the IP address of the computer used to make the transaction, which could lead them to me, even if I went to the library and used their computer. If I buy it from you, they don’t know anything.”

He seemed confused. “Who are they?”

I shook my head. “Are you negotiable, or not?”

“We’re not set up that way.”

“That’s what you said earlier.” I sighed. “But. You’ve got an outdated piece of equipment that will be replaced with the current version when you sell it. You only keep one in stock. That tells me you’ve had the one you’ve got for some time, or it would have been replaced a long time ago. So, you can sit on that old, outdated piece of Mil-spec shit from now until the end of time, or I can buy it from you. In case you don’t realize it, people aren’t beating your door down to buy shit. You’ll make a month’s income on one sale. Essentially, I’m doing you a favor. I’ll give you thirty-five hundred.”

“I’ll take four grand.”

“Thirty-two hundred.”

He blinked. Several times. “Wait, you’re going backward. You’re supposed to come up in price. We’re negotiating.”