The shooting range was located in the basement of the Red Dragon District Watch House.? Despite David and Riley no longer being active members of the law enforcement community of Rhy'Din, they were still welcomed onto the range with open arms.? In fact, the Watch encouraged anyone who lived in the city, regardless of whether they were Watch or former Watch, to visit the range to keep their marksmanship skills up and to take the occasional safety course as well.
"Ready to blow the crap out of some targets?" David asked, giving Riley a little grin.? He was trying his best to be as upbeat and cheerful as he could be.? It wasn't all that easy, since he was feeling the loss of Dan, who had become like a brother to him, pretty strongly too.? It wasn't half what Riley was feeling, though, so for her, he was trying.
She nodded and waited for the desk sergeant to show up, so he could check them in and give them their ammo.? "Yes, I believe blasting the sh*t out of things would be a good thing right now."? She turned to face David and cocked her head to the side.? "Do you think they'll let us play with the Barrett or the shotguns?"
He glanced around the range.? It was dead silent there, not another soul around.? They'd practically had to wake the sergeant up to get into the range.? "Hell, don't see why not.? It's not like anyone's here to bother.? I'll ask when he comes back."
The short, portly man with the florid nose came ambling back, a friendly smile on his face.? "Here ya go," he said and handed over a box of .45 slugs.? "Gonna take the Sig out for a test run, boss?" he asked Riley.
She smiled at the lingering moniker and nodded.? "Yeah, I think that's the one I've settled on.? The P250, right?"? She glanced up at David, a brow raised in question.
It made David smile a bit that the sarge still called her 'boss'.? "That's the one," he confirmed.? "Yeah, we'll play with that one for a while," he said to the sergeant, "but we were thinking about taking some shots with the big stuff later.? That okay with you?"
The sergeant chuckled.? "What were you thinking about, Lo?? We've got that Desert Eagle, a Browning sniper, the Barrett..."
"Definitely the Barrett.? Maybe the Eagle too, that should be fun.? Got one of those MP5 around, too?"
"You weren't kidding about the big stuff.? Yeah, the MP5's still around.? You let me know when you're ready, okay?"? The sarge gave both David and Riley a warm smile and then ambled back upstairs to his station, leaving the two of them alone in the range.?
Riley watched him go, a fond look in her eyes and then turned to peer into alleys through the thick, bulletproof glass window.? "Well, shall we?"
"You bet," he answered, leading her through the range to one of the alleys.? By habit, he choose one far from door; the were usually the last to fill up.? Not to mention they were the best cover in case someone came in shooting.? He handed her a set of ear protectors, and put one on himself.? "Let's see what you've got, babe."? Nodding towards the target already waiting at the end of the alley.
She grinned and slid the shooter's glasses on to her nose.? She held the gun as he'd taught her - her right hand holding the pistol's butt, index finger in the trigger guard, left hand curled around the bottom of the pistol, supporting both the gun and her hand.? She pulled back the slide, and raised the Sig to eye level, lining up the rear and front sights with the target that David had placed 50 feet down the alley.? Then she took a deep breath and as she released it, fired a two-round burst, just as he'd taught her.? Then she fired off two more two-round bursts followed by a final three-round to finish off the magazine.
When she finished, he hit the button to bring the target in so they could see how she did.? As the target slid closer, he could see that she'd grouped most of her shots nicely in the target's center mass.? The final three, however, she'd put into the target's head.? "Showoff," he said, grinning at her.? "Nice job.? Could qualify for most PDs with grouping like that."
She slid the ear protectors off and flashed him a big grin.? "Yeah, well, I kinda had a wicked awesome teacher."? She held out her hand for another magazine after ejecting the empty one and setting it aside.
"You've got a point," he said modestly, handing her another mag.? "Let's try some snap shooting for this one."
"What's that?" she asked as she slid the magazine into the butt of the gun and made sure it was seated well.
"Hold the gun pointed at the floor of the alley, then bring it up and fire as quickly as you can acquire the target in your sights.? Don't worry about firing a lot of shots fast, this is to improve your aim more.? On the street, you don't always have time to stop and take a firing stance.? If you can hit your target as soon as you bring the gun up, you'll take your target out fast, often before he can react."
She nodded and put the ear protectors back on.? Squaring her shoulders, the pistol pointed at the floor as he instructed.? She raised it quickly, her arm a blur of motion, took a quick aim and fired off her shots, adjusting her aim on the fly, quickly emptying the magazine.
"Good," he said, bringing the target in again.? This time, most of her shots where in the upper left shoulder of the target, with one in the center.? "You were pulling up a bit too much," he said, "but don't worry, you'll get better with practice.?? You hit the target, which is a lot better than some do trying this the first time."
She made a sour face and ejected the empty magazine.? "I wanna go again," she said reaching for another full magazine.
"Be my guest," he said, handing her the mag.? "This time, before you start, hold the gun up and aim for a minute or two without firing.? Get yourself dead on, and pay attention to how your muscles feel, where your arms are in relation to your head.? Then when you start, visualize yourself duplicating that feeling."
She nodded and concentrated for a moment on how everything felt once she had the target dead centre in her sights.? She memorised how her arms were arranged, the feeling through her shoulders and down into her back and torso.? Then she dropped the gun and quickly raised it until it felt similar and fired off her shots until the gun clicked empty.
"Feel better that time?"? He hit the switch to bring the target in again.
"Yeah," she said and took off the ear protectors and laid them next to the gun on the little shelf at the head of the alley.? "I tried to memorise how it felt, like you said."? She turned to watch the target coming in, a little smile when she saw her groupings.
"Nice," he said, looking at the target.? "You're still pulling a bit, but you got a couple of shots through the lungs, and that last one looks like it probably nicked the heart.? That guy's toast.? You're probably overcompensating a bit for your weaker arm."
Her eyes narrowed a little, though they retained their good humour.? "Weaker?? You wanna rephrase that?"? She reached out and poked him with her so-called weaker left arm.
He caught her poking hand and raised it to his lips, giving it a little kiss.? "Your non-dominant arm.? Better?"? He was grinning at her.
She chuckled.? "Much.? You wanna go?" she asked with a nod to the gun.
"Nah," he said, shaking his head.? "This is your show.? Want to do some more with the SIG, or switch out?"
"I want to play with that Desert Eagle," she said eagerly.
He chuckled.? "That's my lady - she loves the big guns.? Be right back."? He went back to the desk and got the sergeant to bring out the hand-cannon.
"Ready to blow the crap out of some targets?" David asked, giving Riley a little grin.? He was trying his best to be as upbeat and cheerful as he could be.? It wasn't all that easy, since he was feeling the loss of Dan, who had become like a brother to him, pretty strongly too.? It wasn't half what Riley was feeling, though, so for her, he was trying.
She nodded and waited for the desk sergeant to show up, so he could check them in and give them their ammo.? "Yes, I believe blasting the sh*t out of things would be a good thing right now."? She turned to face David and cocked her head to the side.? "Do you think they'll let us play with the Barrett or the shotguns?"
He glanced around the range.? It was dead silent there, not another soul around.? They'd practically had to wake the sergeant up to get into the range.? "Hell, don't see why not.? It's not like anyone's here to bother.? I'll ask when he comes back."
The short, portly man with the florid nose came ambling back, a friendly smile on his face.? "Here ya go," he said and handed over a box of .45 slugs.? "Gonna take the Sig out for a test run, boss?" he asked Riley.
She smiled at the lingering moniker and nodded.? "Yeah, I think that's the one I've settled on.? The P250, right?"? She glanced up at David, a brow raised in question.
It made David smile a bit that the sarge still called her 'boss'.? "That's the one," he confirmed.? "Yeah, we'll play with that one for a while," he said to the sergeant, "but we were thinking about taking some shots with the big stuff later.? That okay with you?"
The sergeant chuckled.? "What were you thinking about, Lo?? We've got that Desert Eagle, a Browning sniper, the Barrett..."
"Definitely the Barrett.? Maybe the Eagle too, that should be fun.? Got one of those MP5 around, too?"
"You weren't kidding about the big stuff.? Yeah, the MP5's still around.? You let me know when you're ready, okay?"? The sarge gave both David and Riley a warm smile and then ambled back upstairs to his station, leaving the two of them alone in the range.?
Riley watched him go, a fond look in her eyes and then turned to peer into alleys through the thick, bulletproof glass window.? "Well, shall we?"
"You bet," he answered, leading her through the range to one of the alleys.? By habit, he choose one far from door; the were usually the last to fill up.? Not to mention they were the best cover in case someone came in shooting.? He handed her a set of ear protectors, and put one on himself.? "Let's see what you've got, babe."? Nodding towards the target already waiting at the end of the alley.
She grinned and slid the shooter's glasses on to her nose.? She held the gun as he'd taught her - her right hand holding the pistol's butt, index finger in the trigger guard, left hand curled around the bottom of the pistol, supporting both the gun and her hand.? She pulled back the slide, and raised the Sig to eye level, lining up the rear and front sights with the target that David had placed 50 feet down the alley.? Then she took a deep breath and as she released it, fired a two-round burst, just as he'd taught her.? Then she fired off two more two-round bursts followed by a final three-round to finish off the magazine.
When she finished, he hit the button to bring the target in so they could see how she did.? As the target slid closer, he could see that she'd grouped most of her shots nicely in the target's center mass.? The final three, however, she'd put into the target's head.? "Showoff," he said, grinning at her.? "Nice job.? Could qualify for most PDs with grouping like that."
She slid the ear protectors off and flashed him a big grin.? "Yeah, well, I kinda had a wicked awesome teacher."? She held out her hand for another magazine after ejecting the empty one and setting it aside.
"You've got a point," he said modestly, handing her another mag.? "Let's try some snap shooting for this one."
"What's that?" she asked as she slid the magazine into the butt of the gun and made sure it was seated well.
"Hold the gun pointed at the floor of the alley, then bring it up and fire as quickly as you can acquire the target in your sights.? Don't worry about firing a lot of shots fast, this is to improve your aim more.? On the street, you don't always have time to stop and take a firing stance.? If you can hit your target as soon as you bring the gun up, you'll take your target out fast, often before he can react."
She nodded and put the ear protectors back on.? Squaring her shoulders, the pistol pointed at the floor as he instructed.? She raised it quickly, her arm a blur of motion, took a quick aim and fired off her shots, adjusting her aim on the fly, quickly emptying the magazine.
"Good," he said, bringing the target in again.? This time, most of her shots where in the upper left shoulder of the target, with one in the center.? "You were pulling up a bit too much," he said, "but don't worry, you'll get better with practice.?? You hit the target, which is a lot better than some do trying this the first time."
She made a sour face and ejected the empty magazine.? "I wanna go again," she said reaching for another full magazine.
"Be my guest," he said, handing her the mag.? "This time, before you start, hold the gun up and aim for a minute or two without firing.? Get yourself dead on, and pay attention to how your muscles feel, where your arms are in relation to your head.? Then when you start, visualize yourself duplicating that feeling."
She nodded and concentrated for a moment on how everything felt once she had the target dead centre in her sights.? She memorised how her arms were arranged, the feeling through her shoulders and down into her back and torso.? Then she dropped the gun and quickly raised it until it felt similar and fired off her shots until the gun clicked empty.
"Feel better that time?"? He hit the switch to bring the target in again.
"Yeah," she said and took off the ear protectors and laid them next to the gun on the little shelf at the head of the alley.? "I tried to memorise how it felt, like you said."? She turned to watch the target coming in, a little smile when she saw her groupings.
"Nice," he said, looking at the target.? "You're still pulling a bit, but you got a couple of shots through the lungs, and that last one looks like it probably nicked the heart.? That guy's toast.? You're probably overcompensating a bit for your weaker arm."
Her eyes narrowed a little, though they retained their good humour.? "Weaker?? You wanna rephrase that?"? She reached out and poked him with her so-called weaker left arm.
He caught her poking hand and raised it to his lips, giving it a little kiss.? "Your non-dominant arm.? Better?"? He was grinning at her.
She chuckled.? "Much.? You wanna go?" she asked with a nod to the gun.
"Nah," he said, shaking his head.? "This is your show.? Want to do some more with the SIG, or switch out?"
"I want to play with that Desert Eagle," she said eagerly.
He chuckled.? "That's my lady - she loves the big guns.? Be right back."? He went back to the desk and got the sergeant to bring out the hand-cannon.