| "Smoking Barrels" | ||
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Shooting Range June 13, 2008, 1347 hours The members of Team Myech were all lined up next to each other, though each was separated from the next by a wooden partition that ran the length of the 'course'. Each lane was fifty metres long with a cable set three metres off of the ground running the entire length. The cable was controlled by a simple motor at the far end of the course, and the in turn was controlled by a fairly rudimentary computer system. The computer simply controlled the movement of each cable; with each press of the red button located at each of the `booths' the cable moved ten metres further back; a press of the green button brought the cable back to it's starting position zero metres from the booth. A wooden target could be hung onto the cable via a hook, and by adjusting the distance of the target a simple shooting range came into existence. There were far more advanced systems available, two of which were also to be found on the RGZS site, but Russians tend to put a lot of stock in traditional methods, valuing reliability above all else. Because of this the old-style shooting range was included in the organisation's practise facilities, and it did get a good deal of use, mainly because the shooters had an appreciation for the simpler things in life. One of those was Nikolai. He stood in booth five. There were ten booths in total, and his team occupied numbers one through five. None of Myech wore ear-protectors since their team leader had a 'thing' about silenced weapons, and therefore any sounds that were produced by there weapons were minimal at best, and as such not a danger to their hearing. His hand reached out and pushed the red button four times. After a serious of mechanical sounds the cable started moving back, stopping after it had travelled forty metres. The wooden target swung slightly as the momentum of the cable was lost, looking almost as is it were caught in a gentle breeze. It took a few seconds to settle down, causing Nikolai to look away towards the trees that encircled the area. They had run here, a full eight-mile circuit; just to make sure they were in good shape. The run also had the effect of diminishing their ability to aim, recreating in a crude way the effects of battle. Not that it mattered to Nikolai. In one swift movement his turned back to the target, his right hand already reaching behind his back for the familiar grip of his pistol. As soon as his hand found it the pistol was pulled from its position and brought around in front of him. At the same time his eyes were narrowing on the centre of the target, an area not more than a centimetre across. It was hard enough to see from this distance, but he didn't need to see it; he had an almost instinctive idea of where it was, and that was what he used. The hand came up in front of him and he automatically lined up the sights with the target, firing five times in rapid succession, adjusting for the slight recoil after each shot. "Feeling lucky?" he heard a voice ask, startling him. Spinning round he saw the grinning face of Innokenteiy. "Not lucky, just good," was his reply. "I thought you were meant to be with Kovalenko till your team goes on active status?" "I am. Needed a break though, so I thought I would come and find you." Nikolai safed his weapon before returning it to its place in the small of his back. The silencer dug into his back slightly but he ignored the discomfort. There was something in his colleague's eyes that told him this wasn't just a friendly chat. "Cool. So, do you want me to teach you to shoot or something?" he asked with a wicked grin. "What makes you think you can teach me anything?" Innokenteiy responded good-naturedly. Nikolai hit the green button and waited for the target to return to him. It took a few seconds before the target came to a stop right in front of him, but as soon as it did he simply pointed to the hole in the centre. "That does." "How many shots?" "Five." "Then you need some practise," Smirnov told him. "You've missed four shots." "Look closer," Nikolai ordered him. "Ok." Smirnov took a step towards the wooden square that dangled at the edge of the booth. He was rewarded with the sight of a single hole that was not quite perfect, denoting that it had been made by the passage of several bullets. "My mistake young sir," he admitted with a grin. "So, do you want me to teach you or not? I'm offering friends and family a twenty percent discount today." "I'll have to pass on that for now. What I really want to talk to you about is this mirror team." The serious look told Nikolai everything. "I'm guessing you're talking about the American team." Innokenteiy nodded. "Well, what do you want to know?" "How good are they? I mean, really." "Very." "As good as us?" "I'd like to be able to say no, but I can't. I mean, we may have caught one of theirs, but they got one of ours. They picked me up as I walked through the forest, but I also picked up one of them before I deployed the deterrents. Their sniper took out the lights with a great deal of skill, and even their leader called them the best in the world. I would like to pitch Sergei up against them. Hell, the old man is the best shot I've ever seen, and that is with any weapon. Still, they are at least as good as us. The only advantage we would possibly hold over them is the fact that we are not the most conventional of thinkers." "Speak for yourself!" Innokenteiy said. Nikolai laughed at that. "Ok, maybe I am a little crazy at times," he offered. Smirnov raised an eyebrow. "At times? And a little crazy?" "Ok, fair point. But you see what I mean. From that one brief encounter I surmise that they are our equals. Maybe that will be proven different in the future, but that is my opinion at this point in time. I will say this though: we may have lost our greatest asset in that meeting." "Anonymity?" "Partly. I was talking about underestimation. I didn't realise it but my deterrents were a little too clever, and maybe they have given away just how good we are. I hope I'm wrong, but Trouble, that's what I call their Team Leader, seemed very bright and on the ball." Innokenteiy thought about that for a second. "So what do you think is going to happen?" he asked. "I hope that the two teams get to meet. Trouble seemed quite keen on getting to know me, and I don't think that was because of my charms. We represent a threat to them, maybe not in a direct way, but we do threaten their beliefs of being the best, and that's a tough thing to deal with. I know exactly how that feels. It happened to me when I first came here. I always thought I was the best, but I never realised how much of my success was down to Sergei. He was the one who helped me become what I am, but he also did a lot more than just support me: he pulled me along. Now I'm having to start over again, but it is good, especially seeing as I'm with someone as experienced as Maksim. So, actually, if we do get to meet the Americans and work together then it can only benefit us." "You are wise beyond your years Kolya." "No, I just read a lot," he replied with a grin. "Now go and do some work!" Return |
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