Life after the Lottery Ch. 57

"Don't you men have some place to be," he said to the group.

"Yes, sir!" They all scattered.

"They were okay," Sam said.

"They need to be focused, and I afraid you may be too much of a distraction, Sam!" Dan said teasing her.

"Sam, time to put on the ear muffs and the glasses," I told her.

While she was doing that Dan and I walked back to our stations; he was next to me.

"Who is she?" He asked.

"A very close friend of ours."

"She is cute."

We took up our positions and listened to the range master give everyone instructions. We were going to be shooting a silhouette at 15 feet first right handed. Everyone loaded a magazine in their pistol and waited for the command to fire. When the command was given, everyone fired 15 rounds then unloaded and waited for instructions to retrieve the target. Once it was cleared, we walked down and got our targets and brought them back. Three range officers walked down the line and recorded the scores. A perfect score was expected at 15 feet. I turned around and checked on Sam, and she waved. The range officer walked up and looked at my target.

"15 out 15," he said and walked away. Dan looked over at my target.

"Not bad."

Everyone put up another target at 15 feet and walked back and waited. This time we had to shoot with our off-handed. The command was given to fire, and everyone fired then stopped. After I got my target, it was 15 out 15. I looked over at Dan's target, and he had 14 out of 15, that was passing.

"Missed one there, Dan."

"It's passing."

We went through the same routine down on one knee at 15 feet. I had the same results. The next targets would be 25 feet. Everyone put up a new target and got ready. This one would be 15 right handed then 15 left handed without stopping for a total score. The command was given to fire. I fired the first 15 then switched hands and fired the second 15. We were cleared to go and retrieve the targets. Dan and I were teasing each other as we walked. When I got to my target, a young officer was looking over at it.

"Fuck," I heard him say.

I had shot all 30 rounds in a space that could be covered with a silver dollar.

"Show off," Dan said pulling his target down.

We went through some more timed drills at 25 feet with magazines we were given that would have dummy rounds randomly placed in them so they would jam. You had to get all the rounds in two magazines into the target in 45 seconds. Each magazine would probably have two failures in it. This drill would always panic some of the lesser shooters. The command to fire was given.

"I hate this drill," Dan said as we walked down the range.

"You just have to keep your cool," I told him.

22 out of 27 rounds had to be where they belonged. I had the 27.

"How do you do it?" Dan asked.

"Dan, I have taught you to stay focused and keep cool," I told him. He had shot 23.

We shot six more drills at 35 feet. The young officer next to me was getting frustrated looking at my target.

"You must shoot all the time," he said while we were waiting.

"No, it's all muscle memory. Once you are good at it, your body remembers how to do it."

"I haven't seen you before, what precinct are you with?"

"I'm with the Attorney General's office."

"I didn't think you guys could shoot."

"Most of them can't."

"What do you do?"

"I'm the staff psychologist."

The range was cleared so we could break and go to lunch. Dan and I walked back to Sam.

"You ready for lunch?" I asked Sam.

"Did you pass?" Sam asked.

"Are you kidding?" Dan said. "He is the best shot in town."

"Come on Dan, go to lunch with us."

The three of us walked to the Escalade and got in and drove down to a burger place and got out and went in and ordered and sat down.

"Dan, what do you do?" Sam asked.

"I teach firearms and hand to hand combat."

"If you teach shooting, did you beat James?"

"I wish. I don't think there is anyone in town that shoots better than he does."

"I haven't seen him practice that much," Sam said.

"He doesn't have to; he is cold as ice when he shoots."

"He is going to teach me how to shoot."

"He taught Dawn, and she shoots very well."

"Is she cold as ice?" Sam asked.

"Not with a pistol, but she is pretty good," Dan said. "What do you do, Sam?"

"I'm going to school to be a surgical nurse like Dawn."

The three of us ate while Dan talked to Sam. Dan had been one of my martial arts instructors for a few years. He was about five years younger than I was and was a nice-looking guy. I watched as Sam flirted with him. After we finished eating, we headed back. When we got there, we went inside. The head instructor was talking to some of the younger officers, chastising most of them.

"What do you do now?" Sam asked.

"This is where I walk down a line of obstacles and the targets pop up."

"Can I watch?"

"This is a restricted shoot; everyone is kept inside, so they don't catch any stray ricochets."

"Hang on, a minute," Dan said. He walked over to head instructor and said something. They walked back to Sam and me.

"Lieutenant Smith, you embarrassed my officers this morning," he said sticking his hand out to shake.

"Sorry about that."

"You shot a perfect score. Maybe I should give you Lieutenant Davis' job."

"I have a job with the AG."

"Who is this young lady?"

"A friend of mine. She wanted to watch."

"Well, if she wants to watch, she can join me in the observation room and watch on the monitors."

"Can I?" Sam asked.

"I guess you can."

Everyone moved to a big room where we got our instructions. Sam was sitting next to me listening. There were only 20 people left because ten hadn't qualified that morning, and they were back on the range. We got numbers assigned to us in the order we had shot earlier. I was up first. The instructor left, and everyone started getting ready. It would be at least 2 hours before the last person shot. Sam left with the guy we had been talking to.

"Hey, Dan. Don't shoot the hostage this time," I teased him.

"Screw you! I wouldn't have if you hadn't gone before me. You know you're not supposed to shoot the bad guy on that one, don't you?" Dan said.

"Maybe you are not supposed to shoot the bad guy, it's 10 points if you do," I said.

"It is, but you don't have to to pass, James. If you miss, you have to run the course again."

"I guess you better skip that one then, Dan."

"Screw you!"

I loaded two magazines and put them in the belt holder, then loaded a third and put it in my pocket. We sat down and waited.

"Lieutenant Smith!" I was called to go.

I got up and walked outside and stood at the start and waited. This was timed and scored for accuracy. I took several deep breaths and cleared my head and waited. A few minutes later the horn sounded, and I started walking through obstacles and taking cover. This course took about 10 minutes to run. I was walking and running up to walls and taking cover. Targets started popping up from behind old cars, buildings, walls, and other places as I moved and shot. Most of the targets were bad guys, I few were unarmed citizens. I was on my last magazine nearing the end. Two bad guys popped up from behind a car, and I shot both of them and ran to the building. Another target popped up in the doorway. It was a picture of a kid pointing a cell phone. I ran past the building. The last stage I had to enter a building. I walked in, and three targets popped. Two were bad guys; one was a civilian.

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang!

The two bad guys were gone. I moved through the room and a target popped up in a doorway. It was a bad guy pointing a weapon while he had his arm around a woman. This was the target we were talking about; you never knew when it would pop up.

Bang! Bang!

Two in the forehead and I moved on smiling inside. I moved through the back door and back outside. I saw a target begin to move from right to left on a track in front of me.

"This is new," I thought.

I looked because it was a dark figure, but it was a good guy running from behind a building. I paused, then suddenly another target swung out from the edge of the building. It surprised me. This was also something new. I looked, and it was a bad guy with a big knife holding a woman in front of him. There was a clear shot to the shoulder of the arm holding the knife on the bad guy.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The target swung back. I walked through the rest of the obstacles shooting one more bad guy. The horn sounded. I cleared my weapon and stood and waited. Five instructors were heading down the line checking targets. They would stop at each of the targets and write on a sheet. When the first instructor walked up to the target that had the guy holding the knife, he looked at it, then looked at me. I waited as he scored the last target and walked up to me and checked my weapon.

"Seriously, Lieutenant Smith? One in the shoulder and two in the head?"

"Actually, it was two in the head and one in the shoulder."

"That was designed to be a disabling shot."

"No such thing with a bad guy."

He waited until the other instructors caught up and they talked a minute. He gathered up the score sheets and added them up and handed me the last one.

"Do you always shoot the bad guys in the head twice?"

"If necessary."

"You passed. 100."

I walked back to the start with them as other guys were either putting up new targets or patching the holes.

"Move to the house and make sure you don't talk to any of the other officers," he said.

I took my score sheet and walked back into the holding room. Dan looked at me, and I winked at him, and he rolled his eyes. I picked up my gear and went next door to the fun house. I walked in and met with the instructor in a waiting room.

"Have you done the fun house before?" He asked.

"Oh, yes."

"Give me your weapon and put on the face shield."

I had to wear goggles and a face shield for this one because I would be shooting a paintball gun, and the bad guys shot back. You usually got killed in the fun house then critiqued...usually. They had let me be one of the bad guys once, but I kept killing their officers. The lighting inside was dim, and the other guys could come out high or low, but the rules were they had to come out and couldn't shoot around corners. There would also be good guys in the house but no hostages.

"Here is your weapon, you have 15 rounds. Good luck," the instructor said and walked out and closed the door.

A minute later the lights went down. That was the signal to walk through the house. I lifted the weapon and held it in front of me with both hands and started moving. I didn't have to take cover, just shoot first. The house was full of infrared cameras so they could check to see who shot first.

I began walking through the first room. I guy stepped around a corner and lifted a weapon. I shot first. I moved past him and down a hallway. I saw movement, and a guy came around the corner down on a knee with a weapon. I shot him in the head. I moved through slowly and shot three more guys and skipped two good guys. The last time I had run this course, three guys had come out at once in a large room. I was moving slowly around a corner into another room. Two guys jumped out. I shot the closest guy with a weapon and turned to another one; it was a good guy. I knew there was going to be three guys in a no-win scenario.

I pushed a door open with my foot and saw a weapon come up from someone coming through a door. I shot him in the side of the head then saw more movement to my other side. I turned quickly and saw a guy standing just behind the shoulder of another guy. The guy in front had his hands down. The guy in the back aimed over the guy in front shoulder; I shot over the first guy's shoulder and hit him in the forehead. I thought the guy in front was going to be a good guy, then I saw his hand begin to come up, and I saw the weapon on the way up. I shot him twice in the goggles.

"Fuck!" I heard him yell and the lights came on.

"Nobody gets past this one," the guy in the back I had shot said. "Everyone relaxes after they shoot me if they hit me and think this guy is a good guy and he shoots them."

"That would be a fatal mistake," I said and pulled off my goggles and face mask.

"Did you have to shot me in the goggles, they are a bitch to get this paint off of," the guy in the back said pulling his goggles off.

"That was all I could see," I said.

"That is the way it is supposed to be," he said.

The back door opened and one of the instructors walked in.

"Okay, let's see how many times you got shot, Lieutenant," he said.

"He's not hit," the guy I shot in the side of the head said.

"He has to be," the instructor said. "Everyone gets shot."

"Not him," two guys said walking up behind me.

"How many good guys did you shoot?"

"None."

The instructor looked at the guy I shot in the side of the head.

"You shot him before you could see his weapon," the instructor said.

"He was too ready to shoot me. He brought his weapon up ahead of him," I said.

"We will have to look at the tape."

"I have never been shot in the side of the head. You are a cold bastard."

"Maybe, but I am alive. Keep your weapon down until you clear the door next time."

I walked out the back door with the instructor, and we went back around to the room with the monitors.

"He's right, he got the guy because he led with his weapon coming through the door," the other instructor said.

"Did anyone get a shot off at him?"

"Two of them did, but they missed, and he shot them first."

"I have never had anyone make it through the house without getting shot," the head guy said as he wrote on my score sheet.

"You're new," I said and took it from his hand.

I gave them back the paintball gun and left the fun house. I met Dan coming from the waiting room. He looked all over me.

"I don't see any paint," he said.

"No, you don't. Good luck."

Dan walked past me, and I walked back over to the other waiting room to find Sam. She was still in the control room watching the other guys.

One head guy that had let her in the room turned and looked me up and down.

"No, paint?"

"Not on me."

"I don't believe that."

Sam and I watched one of the young officers moving through the course for a few minutes. At the end of it, he shot one of the hostages.

"Dumb ass," the instructor said.

"Captain, can you sign my score sheet. I have to see the AG to tell him I passed."

I handed him my sheet.

"A 100! A 100! No one ever shoots a hundred!"

He looked it over again then signed it.

"I wish the rest of the guys at the AGs office could shoot that well. Half of them fail every year and have to be retrained."

I took my sheet and walked back to the waiting room as Dan was walking in. He had a big red spot in the middle of his chest.

"That doesn't look good," I said laughing.

"Screw you, James!"

I picked up my gear and was about to leave.

"Hang on; I will walk out with you," Dan said.

Sam and I waited then walked out with Dan.

"The last guy got you, didn't he?" I asked.

"Hell yes, and I missed the guy behind him."

"What about the guy coming from the side?"

I got him when he brought his weapon up, then turned and fired at the guy behind the other one and missed, then the guy in the front shot me as I was trying to get another shot off. How did you get both of them?"

"When the guy came from the side I saw his weapon before I saw him. When I saw his head, I shot him in the side of the head then turned and shot the guy behind the other guy."

"I thought the guy in front was a good guy because he only had on shorts and a T-shirt. Then the asshole shot me," Dan said.

"You weren't focused, Dan."

"I bet you thought he was a good guy too, James."

"There are no good guys until I am certain someone is no longer a threat."

"You're just cold."

Dan followed me to the Escalade.

"I really hope you can help me in October. If you and Dawn can come for the weekend, I can have more people."

"When is it?"

"The first weekend."

"We are going out of town this weekend; I'll check and ask Dawn then call you Monday."

"Great!"

I opened the door for Sam, and she got in, and I closed the door.

"James, how old is she?"

"18."

"Wow, they didn't look like that when I was 18. Does she have a single older sister?"

"Yep. I'll call you Monday."

I walked around the SUV and got in and started it up and we took off.

"Why does he want you and Dawn to help him with a self-defense class?"

"I have had a little martial arts training, and I have taught Dawn a few things."

"I didn't know that. I took a self-defense class in college; it was fun." Sam said. "Why are you such a good shot?"

"I used to shoot a lot when I was younger and was on a shooting team in college."

"I hope you can teach me."

"I can. Being good is all about control," I told Sam.

"When you were walking and shooting it looked like fun."

"It can be stressful. I need to stop at the AGs office and drop off my paperwork. You can meet him; then we will go and get the van. After that, you can drive the SUV back."

"Okay," Sam mumbled.

I drove into town to the AGs office and Sam, and I went in to see him.

"Hi, Dr. Smith," his secretary said. "Who is this young lady?"

"I very close friend of mine. Is Fred available? I need to give him my paperwork."

"Sure, go on in."

I opened the door and walked into his office.

"I have my paperwork," I said.

"Good. Who is this beautiful young lady, James?"

"Fred, remember when I asked you about polyamory?"

"Uh, yes."

"This is Sam, she is one of my wives."

"Uh...what?"

"Not legally, but technically. She is one of Dawn's and mine's wives."

"O...kay. Nice to meet you...Sam."

"Nice to meet you," Sam said.

"Here is my paperwork from the range," I said handing it to him.

"Did you embarrass everyone, James?"

"Of course."

"I'm going to set that seminar up for about three weeks," Fred said.

"Make it on a Saturday or Sunday."

"I will do that."

"I have one more thing I need your help with, Fred." I handed him an envelope.

"What's this?" He asked.

"This is information on a guy that is stalking Linda Williams. He got in her hotel room in Italy but got away before they could catch him. Until Saturday he was being...detained. He got away, and her security has no idea where he is, but he lives here."

"Is he dangerous."

"We are assuming he is. Her security has been tightened, but I want to spread his information and picture around so everyone can be on the lookout."

"I'll pass this around to everyone. James, why do you have this information?"

"Fred, like I told you. Linda is a very close friend of mine. I am helping her security people get this information out to the local law enforcement."

"Okay, I will see what I can do."

"Thanks, Fred. Have you talked to your wife about coming to the house for dinner?"

"Oh...uh...yes, I guess," he said looking at Sam.

"Good. I can't wait for all of us to get together," I said.

"Sure..." he said still looking at Sam.

"I'll talk to you later about the seminar," I said, and Sam and I left.

Sam and I left his office and went back to the SUV. We stopped, and I rented the van. Sam left in the SUV, and I followed. When we got to the house, Amy and Dawn were cleaning up the den.

"Did you pass?" Dawn asked.

"What do you think?"

After that, I was putting the class with Dan on my calendar. I read an email from Sherri, and she said they were making good progress with the architects. I left the study and saw that Sam was vacuuming. I went to the kitchen to grab a soda; Dawn was cleaning up.

"I saw Dan Davis today."

"How is he doing?"