Renegade World: Future Past (24 page)

He picked up the gun, pointing it away from them and down
toward the ground. “As you can see, there is no mag currently in the gun. There
still could be a round in the chamber. Let’s see.” He pulled the top part of
the gun back, and it stayed open. “The part of the gun that I pulled back is
the slide. If there had been a round in the chamber, it normally would eject
when the slide is pulled back.” He pointed to the front of the opening where
the slide had been retracted. “You see that hole there at the back of the
barrel?” They both nodded. “That’s where the round would be if there was a
problem and it didn’t eject, but we can see that it’s empty.”

He stuffed the three other boxes of ammo into his vest and
picked up the backpack. “Raul, grab that chair, and Naami, grab the five mags.
They followed him as he walked closer to the piece of plywood. “Put the chair
right here.” He set the backpack down on the chair. “Raul, in the backpack,
there is a folder with targets. Take three out and attach them to the plywood
about your shoulder height. There should be a bunch of thumbtacks already up
there.  Naami, there is a box of ear plugs in the backpack. Hand me two, take
two for yourself, and give Raul two when he gets back.”

After Raul set up the targets, Joe explained how to stand
and how to hold the gun with both hands.  “This gun has a red dot sight. All
you have to do is find the red dot in this little window on the top of the
pistol and then line it up with the center of the target.”

“Alright, put your ear plugs in and watch me, especially
how gently I pull the trigger.” He brought the gun back up and fired ten times,
about two seconds between each shot. The ten shots formed a group just bigger
than a nickel. He looked back at them. “Any questions?” They both shook their
heads. “Who’s going first?” He put a full mag in the pistol.

Naami pointed at Raul. “Go ahead.”

Raul took the gun from his uncle, shifted his grip a few
times, and pointed it at the target. After his uncle nodded, Raul began
shooting. After his third shot, he shifted his grip again and fired seven more
times. Eight of the bullets were grouped almost as close as his uncle’s group.
The other two were low.

Joe clapped his nephew on the shoulder. “That was really
good, Raul.”

Raul shrugged. “I can do better.” He pressed the mag
release button and took out the empty mag.

Naami took the pistol from him and inserted a full mag. The
slide was still locked back, so she gave it a tug back and let it snap forward.
She gripped the pistol as high as she could, wrapping her hands around as much
of the handle as possible. She aimed and fired ten shots, about a second
between each one. “That didn’t kick very much.” Her shots all touched each
other.

Joe said, “That’s the nice thing about a 22. There’s very
little recoil.” He shook his head. “You both shot amazingly well for your first
time out.”

 Raul, take three new targets and put them up. “Naami keep
the gun pointed down and away from us. We’re going to move back to 10 yards.”
He grabbed the backpack and chair and moved back. After Raul came back, Joe
shot, and then Raul and Naami each took a turn. Raul grouped his ten within the
area of a quarter, and Naami’s all touched. Joe said, “I’d swear you two have
been shooting for years.”

Naami, you should tell him what you’ve been doing for
the past three years.

I suppose you’re right, Abraham.

Naami grinned at Raul. “You want to tell him or should I?”

Raul shrugged. “You can tell him.”

“Tell me what?”

“Raul and I have been shooting for three years, but this is
the first time we’ve shot real guns with gunpowder and bullets. A year and a
half ago I got a Daisy NRA Junior competition .177 caliber pellet rifle. But
before that, Raul and I used laser trainers. We still use them a lot.”

“And by a lot, Naami means an insane amount. How many times
have you shot the laser trainer pistol?”

“Almost two hundred thousand times. Raul teases me that I’m
OCD.”

“I only said that once because you made me look it up, but
you are a compulsive perfectionist.”

“How many times have you shot a laser trainer, Raul?”

“I don’t keep precise track like Naami. I’d guess about
fifty thousand.”

Joe shook his head. “And how many times have you shot the
pellet gun.”

Raul said, “Last summer, we shot it three times week, right
after we shot our bows. We each only shot a hundred pellets each day because
it’s a single shot, and it takes time to pump it and load it in between shots.
This summer I’ve only shot it once a week since dad got home.”

“No wonder you two are so good with the 22 pistol. I’ll bet
you’re good with the rifle too. Let’s move back to the bench, and you can shoot
my Ruger at 25 yards.”

“Can we try the Buck Mark at 25 yards too?”

Joe laughed. “Why not? Raul, put six targets up on the
plywood.”

Raul went first and put his shots in a three-inch circle.
The group was a little high and left of dead center.

Naami took the gun and put in her magazine.
Abraham,
give me a target point.

I don’t have muzzle velocity for this ammo in the Buck
Mark, so I’m using a similar pistol. Based on your shots at ten yards, I’m
using a ten yard zero.

As she looked at the target, she saw a green dot about an
inch and a half below dead center and just under a half inch right of dead
center.

Naami and Joe both put all ten shots within a two-inch
circle. Both groups were centered on dead center. As Joe put the Buck Mark into
its case, he said, “That was amazing shooting. Let’s see how you do with the
rifle.”

He took out the Ruger and showed them how to load the ten
round rotary magazine. “Any questions?” After they shook their heads, he said,
“You can load the other two mags after I shoot. Watch me.” He sat down behind
the table and rested his elbows on it as he lined up the sights.

After his final shot, Joe took out the empty mag. “Any
questions?” Raul shook his head and motioned for Naami to go first.

She set down. “What distance is the rifle zeroed at?”

“Twenty-five yards.”

“Thanks.”

She watched the grass blowing as she rested her elbows on
the table.
Abraham, give me a target point.
She saw a green dot about a
half inch right of dead center. The dot, superimposed on her normal vision,
compensated for the wind. She lined up the red fiber optic front sight just
below Abraham’s aim point, closed her eyes, took a breath, and let it out. When
she opened them, the dots were still aligned. She fired her ten rounds. They
all touched and were centered in the middle of the bullseye, just like Joe’s.

Raul took his turn. While his holes all touched, his group
was almost a half inch left of center. “I guess I should have adjusted for the
wind. I’m left just like with the pistol. I didn’t think wind would matter at 25
yards.”

Joe nodded. “You’re off almost exactly by the amount of
wind drift. How did you know to compensate Naami?”

“I pulled up the ballistics on the bullet.”

Why didn’t I think of that?”  Raul frowned. “I can’t get to
the net right now.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll spot for you,” said Naami.

Joe sat down at the table. “Let’s shoot the hundred yard
steel plate. It’s eight-by-eight-inches.” He took out another fifty round box
of ammo, and they reloaded the three magazines. “OK. You guys listen, and tell
me if you hear my shots ding the steel.”

Abraham, give me a four power enhancement when I look at
the target.
Given that her vision was 20/5, this let her see the target as
clearly as most people would see a target at 6 or 7 yards.

She listened and watched his shot hit the target. “Hit.” As
each of his other nine shots hit the steel, she called them out.
Abraham,
show me his hits with a three-inch circle superimposed on the center of the
target.
All of his shots were well within the three-inch circle, tighter
vertically than horizontally.

As Raul set up, she watched the grass blowing and got the
firing solution from Abraham. “Raul, aim four inches above the target and two
inches right of the target.”

After he fired, she looked at the bullet impact. “About an
inch higher and you’ll be perfect.” She watched Raul put the rest of his shots
within a three-inch circle.

She took her turn and put the first nine shots into a
two-inch-wide by half-inch-high rectangle, centered on dead center. She looked up at
Joe. “Is it OK if I try my last shot at the 200-yard target?”

He snorted. “Good luck.”

Naami, focus on the upper right corner of the target, and
from there, look up 54 inches and right 20 inches.

She saw his aim point.
No wonder he snorted.
She
adjusted her body to its natural point of aim for Abraham’s point and fired.

“I’ll be damned,” exclaimed a voice with a hint of a
southern accent.

Joe turned. “Hey, Rhett. You’re back early.”

“I thought you were teaching them how to shoot. Shoot. Put
her on your 223. I want to see her shoot the 400-yard target.”

“Naami, Raul, come shake hands with Rhett.”

As he shook his Raul’s hand, he asked, “Can you shoot as
well as her?”

Raul shrugged. “Pretty much. She might be a little better than
me at figuring out bullet drop and wind drift.”

He smiled. “Dang. You even talk like a shooter.”

Naami held out her hand to the big, blonde haired man. “I’m
Naami.”

He stared at her. “Naami Schmidt?”

She giggled. “Yes.”

“I heard stories about you.”

“About me?” She giggled again. “From whom?”

“A young buck name of Jake Stahl.”

“You know Jake? I’m surprised he even remembered me. I was
with him for less than a day.”

He grinned. “Young lady, you leave an impression.”  He
turned to Joe. “Sergeant, let’s see these two shoot the 223 at 400 yards.”

Joe saluted him. “Yes, sir.”

N
aami lobbed the ball up, and Thor dunked it. She retrieved
the basketball. “Again?”

“No. That’s enough.”

“Free throw contest?”

“You’re on. I’m going to end my losing streak.” They had
been lifting weights together and shooting baskets afterward three times a week
for four weeks, and she had beaten him the last five times.

“You go first, Thor.”

He made ninety-four free throws out of a hundred. “That my
personal best. Beat that!”

She beat him, shooting ninety-five out of a hundred.”

He shook his head. “I’m beginning to think I need to shoot
one hundred percent to beat you.” He folded his arms across his chest and
peered down at her.

“What?”

He smacked himself in the head. “I just realized that
you’re just as big a sandbagger as Aaron.”

She pouted. “Am not.”

“Yes, you are. That’s probably one of the reasons you quit
gymnastics. I’ll bet it was getting too hard to hide how good you really
are.”

Naami looked down and shrugged.

Thor put his hand on her shoulder. “Come in and have a
drink.”

As they walked inside, Naami said, “While Mr. Patterson was
my coach, he let me keep the difficulty of my routines lower than my teammates.
Even then, I occasionally took first, but only if they didn’t do their best.
But when his granddaughter started coaching me, she insisted that I do the same
routine as Kim.” She giggled. “I seem to be inherently unable to screw up my
technique.”

“That’s one of the reasons Aaron switched from gymnastics
to basketball. As a point guard, he could make other teammates look good and
not draw as much attention to himself. I’m not in the same league as you or
Aaron or even my sister, but my dad talked me out playing football because I
was so much stronger than everyone else.”

Thor held up his finger.  He stared at the floor and began
to frown. After a minute, he shrugged and looked back at her. “Sorry. I was talking
with Jeff. We were entered into a two-on-two tournament, but Jeff has to back
out because his uncle passed away, and the funeral is tomorrow. He already
tried the rest of my teammates, but they all had other plans.”

“I’ll play with you. You can do all of the scoring. If I
have to guard anyone over six feet, they’ll be able to shoot over me, but you
can help me out.”

Thor looked doubtful. “Not that I don’t think you could do
it…but if you’re as good as I think you are, you might draw too much attention
to yourself.”

She smiled. In a lower than normal voice, she said, “I’ll
go incognito. Introduce me as your second cousin, Phil from New Jersey.”

“How did you know I have a second cousin in New Jersey who
plays basketball?”

She just smirked.

“Phil’s got blond hair, and even though you’ve grown over
an inch in the last four weeks, you’re still a couple of inches shorter than
him.”

“I can dye and straighten my hair. No one here will know
about the height difference.”

“Aah—“

“I’ll use a little makeup to lighten my hands and face.”

“Well…”

T
hor and Naami won their first game 22 to 15 with Thor
scoring all but four of their points. While she had only shot twice, she had frequently attacked the basket on fast breaks before passing to Thor. This tournament, one of the few full-court two-on-two tournaments, favored players who could run.

Abraham, connect me to Thor.

Naami.

Yes, Thor. How’d I do? Did I sandbag the right amount?

Thor glanced over at her.
I still can’t believe you got
your hair that straight and matched his color that well. With your glasses
darkened and your makeup, you’re not totally unbelievable.
He looked across
the outdoor court at their next opponents.
See those two guys straight
across from me, sitting on the folding chairs?