shot was loud, and Shay and Fenfang both jumped. They saw a puff of dirt as the slug hit a few inches left of the can. X snorted at the faint odor of gunpowder, then set his eye on Shay, as if trouble might be coming.
“After the first shot, the gun loads automatically, which is why they call it an automatic,” Cruz said. “It’s ready to fire again. You can fire as fast as you can pull the trigger, until you run out of ammo.”
He pulled the trigger.
BANG!
He missed the can again, but was close. He asked Shay, “You ready to try?”
“Yes,” she said.
He clicked the safety on, she took the gun, and he stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her, adjusting her grip. “Look down over the barrel, but don’t worry so much about aiming. Just point it at the can. Click the safety off.”
She did, and he said, “It’s hot, it’s ready to fire. Pull the trigger when you’re ready. Don’t yank on it, just squeeze….”
BANG!
The gun jumped in her hand…but not that much. She had it back on target in a half second and pulled the trigger again.
BANG!
They had two boxes holding twenty cartridges each. Shay had found them in West’s Jeep, stashed under the seat. Cruz suggested they hold back one box, “just in case.” Shay found she liked the rush of trying to hit the can, and wondered if twenty shots would be enough “to get good.”
“Shay,” Cruz said with a smile that was just a little condescending, “you’re a certified badass, but you’re not going to hit the can on your first time out. No offense.”
Shay was neither offended nor deterred; she just lined up her next shot. After a couple more rounds, the bullets hitting high and wide on the bank wall, Cruz showed her how to pull the magazine and unload the auto-loaded shell that was already in the chamber.
He then had her reload the gun, jack a shell into the chamber, click off the safety, and fire. And do it all again. And again. And again. Shay didn’t hit the can, but she was hitting within a few inches of it a lot of the time. She paused to rest her arms for a bit, and Cruz walked back to the Jeep for a bottle of water.
Fenfang grinned at Shay. “You are becoming like a cowboy.”
“Cowgirl,” Shay said. “You wanna try?”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized their stupidity: Fenfang, the girl without a mind of her own, could certainly not be entrusted with a loaded weapon. Dash might ambush them.
“Ah, I…,” Shay stammered.
Fenfang put up a hand to stop her. “I understand,” she said.
Shay was relieved to hear that, but it wasn’t only out on a shooting range that she and Cruz might need to be on the lookout for Dash; it could be at Dash’s house itself. Shay thought about that for a few moments and said, “Maybe what we need is a code word, something you could say, or some answer you could give, when we really need to be sure you’re…you. Would that be okay with you?”
“I think that would make us all feel better. We make a code in my language because this lady does not know Chinese…only maybe some Spanish.”
“That sounds smart,” said Shay, and they quickly settled on a simple exchange they would rely on anytime Shay or the others felt a need to check Fenfang’s ID:
“Are you okay?”
“Háixíng.”
I am okay.
—
When they were down to the last seven cartridges from the first box, Cruz had Shay fire three shots quickly, trying to repoint after each shot. With the next three, he had her pull the trigger as quickly as she could: the shots were all over the place. “If you take just one extra tenth of a second to steady yourself, you’ll shoot a lot better than when you’re just pulling the trigger as fast as you can,” he said. “If you ever have to pull the trigger, remember that. You probably won’t, but try.”
“I’ll do that,” Shay said.
From behind them, Fenfang said, “You should practice once with your words, too, Shay. When you make the lady think you
“After the first shot, the gun loads automatically, which is why they call it an automatic,” Cruz said. “It’s ready to fire again. You can fire as fast as you can pull the trigger, until you run out of ammo.”
He pulled the trigger.
BANG!
He missed the can again, but was close. He asked Shay, “You ready to try?”
“Yes,” she said.
He clicked the safety on, she took the gun, and he stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her, adjusting her grip. “Look down over the barrel, but don’t worry so much about aiming. Just point it at the can. Click the safety off.”
She did, and he said, “It’s hot, it’s ready to fire. Pull the trigger when you’re ready. Don’t yank on it, just squeeze….”
BANG!
The gun jumped in her hand…but not that much. She had it back on target in a half second and pulled the trigger again.
BANG!
They had two boxes holding twenty cartridges each. Shay had found them in West’s Jeep, stashed under the seat. Cruz suggested they hold back one box, “just in case.” Shay found she liked the rush of trying to hit the can, and wondered if twenty shots would be enough “to get good.”
“Shay,” Cruz said with a smile that was just a little condescending, “you’re a certified badass, but you’re not going to hit the can on your first time out. No offense.”
Shay was neither offended nor deterred; she just lined up her next shot. After a couple more rounds, the bullets hitting high and wide on the bank wall, Cruz showed her how to pull the magazine and unload the auto-loaded shell that was already in the chamber.
He then had her reload the gun, jack a shell into the chamber, click off the safety, and fire. And do it all again. And again. And again. Shay didn’t hit the can, but she was hitting within a few inches of it a lot of the time. She paused to rest her arms for a bit, and Cruz walked back to the Jeep for a bottle of water.
Fenfang grinned at Shay. “You are becoming like a cowboy.”
“Cowgirl,” Shay said. “You wanna try?”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized their stupidity: Fenfang, the girl without a mind of her own, could certainly not be entrusted with a loaded weapon. Dash might ambush them.
“Ah, I…,” Shay stammered.
Fenfang put up a hand to stop her. “I understand,” she said.
Shay was relieved to hear that, but it wasn’t only out on a shooting range that she and Cruz might need to be on the lookout for Dash; it could be at Dash’s house itself. Shay thought about that for a few moments and said, “Maybe what we need is a code word, something you could say, or some answer you could give, when we really need to be sure you’re…you. Would that be okay with you?”
“I think that would make us all feel better. We make a code in my language because this lady does not know Chinese…only maybe some Spanish.”
“That sounds smart,” said Shay, and they quickly settled on a simple exchange they would rely on anytime Shay or the others felt a need to check Fenfang’s ID:
“Are you okay?”
“Háixíng.”
I am okay.
—
When they were down to the last seven cartridges from the first box, Cruz had Shay fire three shots quickly, trying to repoint after each shot. With the next three, he had her pull the trigger as quickly as she could: the shots were all over the place. “If you take just one extra tenth of a second to steady yourself, you’ll shoot a lot better than when you’re just pulling the trigger as fast as you can,” he said. “If you ever have to pull the trigger, remember that. You probably won’t, but try.”
“I’ll do that,” Shay said.
From behind them, Fenfang said, “You should practice once with your words, too, Shay. When you make the lady think you
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