Alain was quiet. He'd thought of that, but he hadn't thought enough on it. Cort would have your hide if he saw how careless you've gotten, Johns, he scolded himself, and sighed. "Stay where you are," he said warningly, and sheathed his knife, going for the gun instead. With one eye on Altair, keeping his guard up, he started to investigate the weapon.

It didn't take long. It was of a foreign make and style, but a gun was a gun, and Alain was a gunslinger. There was the trigger, something that might be a sight, something else that looked like a firing pin...

He didn't fire it. Flexed his finger on the trigger, made sure he had a clear idea of which way it would fire, then lowered it and turned his full attention back to Altair. "I don't need strength to shoot straight," he said, firmly. "Only my eye and my hand. Give me the mask."