Page 102 of Power
“Alrighty, then. You ladies go have fun.”
Upon entering the indoor firing range, they decided to stay together, rather than split off into different lanes.
“Day one,” Simone said before covering her ears with protective muffs.
While she’d kept her go-bag, she no longer had a weapon. With their eyewear in place, Slash handed her one of her smaller Glocks. Simone eyed the weapon. It felt oddly familiar in her hand.
“Just like riding a bike,” Slash said.
“You go first.”
Slash stepped up to the line, got in position, relaxed her knees, raised the weapon, and fired at the target. The bullet pierced the center circle.
Nice.
Slash fired off a few more rounds before lowering her weapon. She offered an encouraging smile, and made room at the line. “Your turn.”
With a mix of excitement and anxious butterflies, Simone moved into place. She raised her weapon, aimed, and fired off a shot. The bullet missed the target completely.
“Do you want pointers?” Slash asked. “Or do you want to feel your way back?”
“Pointers,” Simone said.
“Ready your stance. Breathe in, relax your knees, release your breath slowly, softly squeeze the trigger.”
Simone applied the coaching, and fired off three rounds. The bullets struck the target, moving closer to center with each shot.
“Nice,” Slash said. “Again.”
Simone did as instructed, getting more comfortable with the feel of the gun in her hand, her palm and fingers cradling the grip. Again and again, she fired, until the weapon no longer felt foreign to her.
She lowered the Glock. “Fire with me.”
Slash stepped up. It took a few rounds before they were unloading in sync. Over and over and over. By the time they finished, the target was a shredded mess. Slash pressed a button that brought the target to them, attached a fresh one, and send it back out. When they’d decimated that one, they placed the guns in their cases, stepped out of the booth, and removed their protective wear.
Today had been a good first day.
“Tomorrow, we’ll move the target farther back,” Slash explained. “And we’ll swing by here on Sunday too. That way you’ll be ready to rock it out at Monday’s training.”
Simone raised her eyebrows.
“At training base camp,” Slash said.
Code for the Black Site. Another flurry of anticipation flowed through her.
“Thank you for this,” Simone said. “You’re a great instructor.”
“I help Rebel sometimes, so he gets firing time.”
As they drove back, Simone said, “I was thinking of heading back home today. I don’t want to?—”
“Nope.” Slash shot her a smile. “Stay the weekend. On Monday we’ll drive to the site together.”
“I like that,” Simone replied.
“I’ve missed hanging with you.”
“Same. I’d like to make dinner for everyone tonight, unless you have plans.”
