Even as the group moved along, the shooter stood in the same spot, waiting, breathing, trying to keep his mind clear of everything but not succeeding completely. Stray thoughts were coming through, flashes of images from his past, irrelevant thoughts that had nothing to do with the job at hand. Mentally sighing, the shooter resorted to a mental trick that he had used with some success in the past.
Hearing the melody of the song in his mind, the shooter's head started to nod slightly, keeping the beat, hearing the guitar riffs as they started to pound.
*I came into this world as a reject Look into these eyes then you'll see the size of the flames Dwelling on the past It's burnin up my brain Everyone that burns has to learn from the pain*
Feeling his partner tap on his shoulder, the shooter moved to his place next to the door of the target house. Standing in front of his partner next to the doorway, still hearing the guitar riffs playing in his head, the shooter drew his Beretta .45 pistol from his thigh holster and unsnapped the safety, holding it at low ready in front of him.
Flashes of silky red hair, soft pale skin, wide innocent green eyes flickered through his mind as he waited for the signal, listening to the song in his head.
*Should I be feeling bad? Should I be feeling good? It's kinda sad I'm the laughing stock of the neighborhood And you would think that I'd be movin on But I'm a sucka like I said, fucked up in the head - not*
Hearing the team leader scream "GO GO GO!!!" the keyman smashed the door open with the battering ram and the shooter went through the doorway a second later, moving in a low crouch, sweeping the room, seeing no hostiles or civilians in the room. Moving quickly, the shooter and his partner went to the door that the mission briefing had described.
Now the visions in his mind were of wavy chestnut hair, smooth tanned skin and dark brown eyes that could shoot angry sparks that threatened to burn his soul or drown him with her passion and desire.
*And maybe she just made a mistake And I should give her a break My heart'll ache either way Hey, what the hell whatcha want me to say? I won't lie, that I can't deny*
Just as the shooter and his partner were about to go through the door, it crashed open and a object flew into the room. The shooter had just enough time to recognize what it was, scream "DOWN!!!" and turn his face away before the flash-bang grenade when off with a roar that sounded like the end of the world.
The shooter staggered away from the wall he was thrown against by the blast and turned back to the doorway. He could see masked and armed men storm into the room, firing as they came. Even as he dropped on one knee into firing position the shooter could see his partner on the floor, not moving, maybe even dead.
*Like a chump hey Like a chump hey Like a chump hey Like a chump hey*
The first two rounds from the Beretta smashed into the lead masked man's face, dropping him to the floor even as his momentum carried him forward, finally stopping in front of the shooter as he continued firing at the other charging masked men. Two more rounds hit the next masked man in the throat, causing him to fall to the floor, clawing at his neck. The third masked man was hit in the chest and fell back, firing wildly at the shooter and missing before collapsing.
Moving up from his kneeling position, the shooter reached for a spare pistol magazine on his belt as he moved toward his partner. As the mag cleared the holder, the shooter hit the mag release and dumped the depleted mag from the pistol, slapping in the new mag as the old one clinked to the floor.
Aiming his pistol at the doorway after decocking it, the shooter reached down and touched his partner's neck, feeling the pulse beating strongly. The shooter made a quick decision and moved forward toward the open doorway.
The images in his mind turned into that of a petite blonde with a storm of emotions in her hazel eyes - courage, anger, fear, love...
*Ain't nothin' gonna change... cause you can go away… And I'm just gonna stay here And always be the same…*
After a quick scan from outside the door into the next room, the shooter holstered his pistol and dove into the room, hitting and rolling on the floor, drawing his weapon and firing from the floor at the two masked men waiting along side the doorframe to ambush him. Firing rapidly, the shooter dropped the two masked men with six shots total.
Springing to his feet, the shooter reloaded his pistol again and moved up to the bound and gagged hostage, rapidly patted her down, making sure she wasn't a hostile in disguise. Finding no weapons, the shooter pulled out a folding knife and was about to cut through the hostage's ropes when a airhorn went off, along with a loud speaker announcement.
"Combat simulation complete. Combat simulation complete. All participants put your weapons on safe and holster. All participants put your weapons on safe and holster."
Standing up and holstering his pistol, the shooter stayed still as everyone rushed into the room and started pounding on his armoured shoulders - the masked men, his still-groggy partner, even the hostage.
"God damn, I've never seen anything like that - "
"Great shooting, man, you got everyone - "
"Holy christ, I've never seen a dive like that, you caught us off guard but good - "
"You beat the simulation, you were going up against instructors and took them down like they were raw trainees - "
"When that paintball round got me in the throat protector, I knew I was dead. Man, am I glad I don't have to go up against you for real - "
The shooter stood there and soaked up all this until the lead instructor came up to him and everyone quieted down.
Shaking the shooter's hand the lead instructor said, "Congratulations, son. You are the first trainee to survive the full combat simulation - no one has got through it without being hit before, especially when it's their first time through. How the hell did you do it?"
Unsnapping the protective helmet and faceshield and pulling it off, revealing his short dark brown hair and brown eyes, the shooter took a deep breath and looking at the assembled trainers and deputies, and smiled his trademark lopsided smile.
"It's just rock and roll, sir. That and a little help from my friends from Sunnydale."
While the trainees started whooping and cheering again, Deputy Xander Harris of the Sunnydale County Sheriff Department thought about Willow, Cordelia, and Buffy, thinking of the day that he could finally see them, and try to make things right again.
end
Note: The song lyrics are from "Nookie", from Limp Bizkit's Significant Other album.