Even if Ginny didn't know what the click meant exactly, (the sound of a Torchwood-modified AK-47 being loaded), she knew it wasn't friendly. Her eyes darted around, trying to locate the source of the sound, instantly on her guard.
"Put your hands where I can see them," a voiced barked out from the shadows to her left, female, brisk, businesslike. "I've got a gun, and don't think I won't shoot."
A gun. A Muggle, then. Ginny allowed herself a small smile. Muggles never understood what they were dealing with. She put both hands in the open, her slender wand seeming harmless in the dim light.
"What's that in your hands, there?" the woman asked as she stepped out. She was thin and blonde, not much older than Ginny. Her demeanor and attire were both professional, but it was the very large machine gun Ginny's eyes were drawn to.
"It's just a stick I found on the ground," Ginny lied smoothly.
"Oh yeah?" This woman didn't miss anything. "You can just lay it on the ground, there."
Ginny complied, taking care to put it no more than two feet away. She was no whiz at wandless magic, but a simple Accio from that distance shouldn't be a problem.
"What are you doing here?" the woman wanted to know. Her voice was sharp as her eyes scanned the empty clearing, and the shadowy trees around them.
"I'm meeting a contact," Ginny said. No need to lie unless she had to.
"What kind of contact? Who are you with?" the woman asked. "We picked up some strange readings out here."
"What kind of readings? Who do yourepresent?" Ginny countered. Muggles shouldn't be able to pick up anything magical on their sensors, so something else must be off. Maybe they shouldn't have trusted this contact after all.
The woman's eyes narrowed. "You don't know who I am?" she asked. "I'm Rose Tyler. Daughter of Pete Tyler? Representing Torchwood?"
Was this some Muggle thing? "Oh, okay," Ginny said, pretending she knew what the lady was talking about.
"Who are you?" Rose demanded. Evidently, Ginny's acting job hadn't quite convinced her.
Ginny's eyes drifted to the moon, which was emerging from the clouds. "My name is Ginny," she said grimly, "and I'm afraid I don't have time to continue this conversation, fascinating as it may be." The wand leapt to her hand with a wordless summons and she whispered, "Expelliarmus!" before the other woman could react.
The very large and very dangerous machine gun flew twenty feet away, but the woman's reflexes were fast. She dived behind a tree before Ginny could hit her with a Stupefy.
"Look, I really don't want to cause a fuss," Ginny said placatingly, absently flicking a Protego around her in case this Rose person had another gun lying around somewhere. "I'm on a tight schedule, see. There's a finicky contact who insists on meeting now, and it's worth my job if I miss the appointment. I won't hurt you if you just let me go."
"That's nice to hear, but you're the one who started using alien tech against me," Rose said from behind a tree. "So you'll forgive me for not believing you." There was a flash of metal in the distance, and then some loud pops as the bullets from Rose's .45 hit Ginny's Shield Spell. "Nice shield you got going there," she added as an afterthought.
"Thanks," Ginny said, pleased. "And it's not alien tech. It's magic."
"Well, then," Rose said. "Let's see how well your magicfaces up against my alien tech."
"Let's do."