The soft spot looked an awful lot like a fingerprint recognition pad, which is not only unusual on a thermos (is it a thermos really?) but is also unheard of anywhere in the town of Wayward Pines.
It's hard to tell if they're counterfeit. They appear to be used, but they're also newer-looking than any bills Pepper & Co. have seen, with additional security strips that glint in the sun and a number of much less obvious means to visually confirm that the bill is genuine. They also might notice that the tiny dates read anywhere from "series 2010" to "series 2034".
no subject