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Post by skybright on May 22, 2006 0:02:15 GMT -5
Chuck's Firing Range and Gun Club occupied two belowground levels in a somewhat shabby professional building on the fringe of Manhattan's mutant neighborhoods. The owner/operator, Chuck Deaver, was a slow-talking, droopy-eyed mutant with 'hair' that looked more like a small reef of red coral and a general lack of interest in who came into the firing range -- so long as they were with a member.
Daws exchanged a few pleasantries with Chuck when she first arrived, told him she was expecting at least six visitors, and asked him to point them in her direction. Then she took the protective headphones Chuck slid across the counter, and wandered into the otherwise-empty range.
Daws set herself up in a relatively secluded corner, slipped out of her trenchcoat and fedora, and pulled Sweetie from its holster. She kept the gun in condition by bringing it in regularly, but nonetheless she checked and double-checked to make sure the mechanism looked correct before she loaded it with bullets from the box she'd brought with her.
As she did so, Jack Knight's voice echoed sternly in her memory. This ain't a Cracker Jack prize or a cap gun, Ace, this's a genuine firearm. It's built to do one job. If you take care of it, respect it, treat it right, the gun will always do that job for ya. If you don't, Jack had chuckled mirthlessly, It might do that job to ya instead.
Daws shook her head wryly at the memory, slipped the noise-dampening headphones on, and started firing.
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Post by Jordanna on May 22, 2006 17:25:19 GMT -5
"This brings back memories," Sid Rosenstein murmured nostalgically as he sauntered into the firing range, accompanied by his pseudo-permanent houseguests Miriam and Alex. Slung over his shoulder was a canvas bag, in which he was carrying half a dozen small firearms.
Miriam grimaced at the dull echo of gunshots coming from somewhere deeper inside the firing range. "You must have had a wonderful childhood."
"Hey, it was part of my old job. I liked it when I was doin' it--but that was the old days, an' the old me." Sid shrugged philosophically. "Anyway, it's comin' in handy now."
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Post by skybright on May 22, 2006 19:28:49 GMT -5
Chuck managed to tear his eyes away from the Charles Bronson film playing on the tiny black-and-white TV behind the desk. He surveyed the trio of unfamiliar people with lazy, mild interest, his strange hair waving in a nonexistent breeze.
He gestured at Sid's duffle bag. "Gon' haveta check the serial numbers on those," He mumbled, " 'Less you're here with a member."
Chuck let his gaze wander over the small group, obviously recognizing none of them. Nonetheless, he added "You here with a member?"
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Post by Jordanna on May 22, 2006 21:33:06 GMT -5
"We're here to meet Regina Dawson," Alex put in.
At that moment, Joey Falco trotted through the doorway, looking around brightly. A reluctant Henry Casselton came in two seconds behind him.
Sid glanced dubiously at the two before chucking his thumb at them and adding to Deaver, "They're with us, too. So's a blonde gal we're still waitin' on--she prob'ly got lost findin' this place."
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Post by skybright on May 23, 2006 0:45:52 GMT -5
Chuck blinked at the group a few times, then nodded diffidently. "Yeah, all right. I'll send 'er back."
He pulled five pairs of ear protectors from beneath the counter and shoved them towards the group. "Daws' usually in the far-back corner," He waved vaguely. "Down that way."
Business with his visitors (to his mind) concluded, Chuck turned back to his television set.
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Post by Jordanna on May 23, 2006 1:06:56 GMT -5
The five guests exchanged bemused glances, then unanimously moved off in the direction the proprietor had indicated. It wasn't hard to follow the sound of the gunshots they had already noted.
"I don't think we'd better sneak up on her," Alex murmured, as they approached the armed detective.
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Post by skybright on May 23, 2006 2:28:59 GMT -5
Daws caught the motion out of the corner of her eye as her friends entered the range; she fired the last two shots in her revolver and then carefully emptied the spent casings and set the gun aside.
She raised a hand in greeting as she slipped off her ear protectors, and grinned. "Good, you all found the place okay." She glanced back over the group, and added "Well, most of you did, anyway."
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Post by Jordanna on May 23, 2006 10:17:40 GMT -5
As if on cue, Grace scampered in, wearing a classic deer-in-the-headlights expression. The young dancer clearly did not like the surroundings--outside and especially inside the building.
"I'm sorry I'm late, I--"
"Yeah, yeah. Welcome to the party, Gracie," Sid interrupted. He had already set down his bag, and was taking out his assortment of handguns.
"Just so ya know, I got some less lightweight stuff at home too," he informed Daws. "Maybe a little on the antique side, but they still pack a pretty good wallop."
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Post by skybright on May 23, 2006 13:26:13 GMT -5
"Hey, nothin' wrong with a classic." Daws surveyed the weapons Sid was producing from the duffle bag and raised her eyebrows in appreciation.
"You've got some nice pieces here, Sid." She drew a Browning 9mm from the bag, pulled back the slide, and added "And you've taken good care of 'em. Man after my own heart."
Daws set the Browning aside and looked around at the others. "So, you guys ready to get started?"
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Post by Jordanna on May 23, 2006 22:32:41 GMT -5
Henry scowled, Joey shrugged, and Alex and Grace shuffled rather nervously. It was Miriam who stepped forward with a nod.
"I won't lie to you, Daws--I'm afraid of what will happen if I... kill someone again. But I want to be ready to protect the people I care about." She tilted her head toward the others.
Alex grimaced slightly. "Amen to that point, anyway... I'll do my best, Daws."
Henry opened his mouth to speak, but Sid latched onto his arm proprietarily. "Oh no ya don't. I'm gonna show ya the ropes personally, rich boy."
Henry muttered something as Sid steered him away.
Grace gazed after the pair in uneasy bemusement, then hesitantly glanced back at Daws. "D'you mind if I just... watch for a little bit first?"
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Post by skybright on May 23, 2006 22:48:01 GMT -5
Daws shook her head. "Not at all. But," She gestured at the ear protectors in the other woman's hand, "Make sure you put those on anyway. Guns are a lot noisier in real life than they are on TV."
She nodded at Alex and Miriam. "Fact is, usin' a real gun isn't very much like TV in any way. For one thing, the recoil's a lot worse."
Daws slipped her own ear protection back on and waited until the others had done the same. Then she picked up one of the smaller automatics that Sid had brought with him, checked to see if it was loaded, and motioned to Miriam.
"Okay, Doc, why don't you try this one. This switch here," She pointed, "Is the safety -- so long as it's set right there, the gun won't fire. When that switch is set so you can see the orange mark, though, the gun's live. Good rule of thumb is just to treat any gun like it's always capable of firing -- it's safer all around."
Daws turned to the controls for the target and moved it to a medium distance. Then she indicated the paper human outline clipped to the target arm. "You'll have a better chance of hitting something if you aim for the torso -- thus the bulls-eye on the target. Keep both eyes open when you aim, and sight down along the barrel of the gun."
She stepped back and nodded. "Whenever you're ready."
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Post by Jordanna on May 23, 2006 23:23:32 GMT -5
Miriam closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer, trying to force down the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. All she could see in her mind was the face of Gordie Spake--and the final memories she had absorbed from him.
She was the last thing he had ever seen... when she killed him.
She swallowed hard and opened her eyes, blinking back a tearful sting in them. The fact that she was only facing an outline on paper was little comfort. Very soon, it might be much more than that.
Alex, standing beside and a few steps behind her, suddenly cleared his throat.
"You know what, Daws... maybe I should go first. I mean... I've had a little experience with prop guns on stage, and... um." He shrugged, wearing a hapless expression.
He was trying to give Miriam more time--even though he was as uneasy with guns himself. The gesture on his part tugged at her heart, and with a sad smile, she shook her head.
"It's okay, Alex. I'm alright."
Before she had time to think about it, she turned back to the too-innocuous paper target. She aimed at it, squeezed the trigger...
And missed.
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Post by skybright on May 23, 2006 23:34:42 GMT -5
Daws nodded as Miriam lowered the weapon, watching the complex mix of emotions playing over the other woman's face. "Okay, Doc. Lemme start with your technique."
She stepped to Miriam's side and carefully wrapped her own hand around the doctor's on the gun. "For one thing, you gotta ease up on your grip a little -- white-knuckling the gun just tenses up your whole body. Throws you off. Bend your elbow a little -- it'll help you absorb the recoil. And here," She took Miriam's other hand and moved it up to support the weapon, "That'll keep the weight from pulling your aim down as much."
She stepped back and observed Miriam for a minute. "Better. Now, here's the thing." Her voice softened. "Shooting is 90% mental, Doc. With what you've seen, with you power, I think I can guess what's goin' through your head." She sighed and rubbed at the back of her neck.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, Doc -- you're holdin' something that can kill another person, and there's no sense telling yourself different. In fact it's dangerous to tell yourself different.
"I've got no way of knowin' how any of you will respond to shootin' at another person. I honestly hope we never have to find that out. But the best thing you can do, for now, is to put that outta your mind -- as much as you can," She gestured, "And just shoot at the paper, instead."
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Post by Jordanna on May 23, 2006 23:47:08 GMT -5
Miriam swallowed hard and nodded slightly. She braced to shoot again--but flinched as a gunshot sounded from further down the shooting range. Under Sid's guidance, Henry had at least managed to hit his target.
Taking a deep breath, Miriam shifted her stance and steadied herself for another try. Forcing herself not to think, she fired--and this time, she put a bullet hole through the lower midsection of the outline on the target.
Miriam felt her muscles go weak, but she refused to show it, and slowly lowered the gun.
"Please don't say that was better... because it didn't feel any better at all."
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Post by skybright on May 23, 2006 23:51:04 GMT -5
Daws half-grinned. "Okay, that was . . . more accurate, then."
She cocked her head and examined the other woman. "D'you want to keep tryin', or . . . " She let the thought trail off, and waited.
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Post by Jordanna on May 24, 2006 0:04:57 GMT -5
Miriam fidgeted and took a breath to answer, but before she could, Alex spoke up again. "I'll take a turn, Daws."
He gently took the gun that was still in Miriam's hands, grimacing as if it were something dead. The closest acquaintance he'd ever had with a real gun was Sid's unloaded pistol--the one he had once tried to hold on Daws. The memory forced a somewhat painful smile from him, and he shook his head.
"Okay, so the orange means it's on safety--no, no, the other way around..." He fumbled with the weapon for a moment, causing Daws to look mildly alarmed. At last, in surprisingly quick succession, he raised the gun, aimed, and fired--all the while trying to pretend he was shooting a stage prop.
The recoil taught him better than that, as he wobbled backward and struggled to keep his balance. All the same, the bullet he had fired managed to clip the shoulder of the target outline.
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Post by skybright on May 24, 2006 0:12:04 GMT -5
Daws grinned and shook her head. "Well, I think you've just learned for yourself the difference betwen a blank and a real bullet." She nodded at the target.
"Your technique's not half bad, though -- once you actually get the gun aimed," She said lightly, "I think you might be surprised. Try it again."
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Post by Jordanna on May 24, 2006 0:21:21 GMT -5
Blushing, Alex shifted his position and raised the gun again. The kick of the live ammunition had spoiled any notion of treating this like a game or a stage rehearsal.
He gritted his teeth, aimed, and fired. This time, the bullet struck home solidly in the midsection of the target, if not terribly close to the bullseye.
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Post by skybright on May 24, 2006 0:28:27 GMT -5
Daws nodded in approval and grinned. "Alex, you're a natural -- especially f'r someone who holds a gun like a two-week-dead bird." She gestured at the target. "In a . . . situation . . . that's right about where you want to put the shot. Nice work."
She raised an eyebrow and added jokingly "Just try an' make sure y'know which way the safety works, willya?"
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Post by Jordanna on May 24, 2006 0:42:40 GMT -5
Alex grinned wanly and let out a sickly chuckle.
Joey stepped forward. "Can I help, Daws? I could take him over to practice some more while you work with the ladies here." He indicated Miriam and Grace, who was still standing back and watching fretfully.
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