For Winterhalt and capsarchic. A romance story challenge featuring Low Light in ten chapters. Rated T to M
Outside the Rain Begins
Chapter One
0030
Trick Shot could see Firewall in his scope. She was approximately fifteen hundred yards and standing up behind the sparse yucca and cactus of the desert night. She couldn't have been more visible if she was neon. He grinned.
After coming back from Sierra Gordo Trick Shot thought for sure that whatever chance he had of being a sniper was gone forever. He missed too many things. He made too much noise. He lost Low Light and stepped in monkey shit. His first mission ended disastrously with a near miss of the ninja Snake Eyes. Or near hit. It depended on how it looked.
He thought he would never be paired with Low Light again. The legend didn't even bother to talk to him. He spent that first weekend three sheets to the wind drinking in a downtown bar with the rest of the greenshirts. To them he was Trick Shot. He made that impossible shot from one and a half miles. They paraded him around like a badge of honor.
The entire weekend he had to be reminded of it.
And the more they reminded him the more he drank.
They were off for four glorious days. For Trick Shot he just wanted to forget. He dreaded the coming Monday morning.
When the sun finally hit it was like the eye of God accusing him of all of his sins of the previous weekend. He was hung over, his eyes were blood shot, he leaned too far to the left during morning reveille and when he took his position on the roof he had to be reminded by Janack.
She stared at him as if she could see every action of the previous night on his face. She glanced once at his sniping rifle. It was now Knight Armament but to him it would always be a M.A.R.S. weapon. Thankfully she didn't say anything. She gave report in her usual professional clipped manner and left. Trick Shot felt like a loser. The rest of the day he just wanted it to be over with.
Trick Shot cringed when Low Light came to relieve him. He couldn't look him in the eye. He knew as much as Low Light did what really happened in Sierra Gordo. He bit back whatever pride he had and stumbled with his report. Throughout it all Low Light only looked at the desert. He was busy setting up his M110.
It wasn't until he was scanning his badge to leave that Low Light said anything.
"Psyche Out wants to see you." He said.
He stopped with his hand on the door knob. He thought that was for weirdoes or soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Never in his mind did he think it would be him. He had to wonder what Low Light told the psychiatrist about him.
Trick Shot considered himself a pretty stable person. He didn't have any hang ups that he knew of. He wasn't old enough to carry baggage. He certainly wasn't Low Light. The man had more neurosis than he had fingers. It was no secret on base he was one of Psyche Out's regulars. Now that it was his turn he was nervous.
He swallowed. Day old beer and whiskey hit the back of his throat "What for?" He asked.
Low Light crouched down and checked his sites. "It's just protocol Dixon." He said. "Get used to it."
Unlike the rest of the team Low Light still called him Dixon. He was glad. He didn't want to be reminded any more. Except for four days ago in the middle of the night it was the most Low Light said to him. He didn't know what the night sniper did on his nights off. He didn't want to know.
He nodded and walked down the endless flight of stairs. His mind was racing with all of the possibilities. He didn't even know where Psyche Out's office was. He would feel stupid asking someone. Instead he wandered the corridors until he found it.
He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It was close to eight PM. He didn't know if the psychiatrist was still there. He heard a "Come in."
The office was a lot bigger than Trick Shot imagined it. The room was carpeted for one. In the corner was a fake tree and in the center were two large chairs. In the corner Psyche Out was looking over a file. It had to be at least fifty pages. Trick Shot didn't think there was that much to say about him. He panicked a moment. The military was anything but precise.
To his surprise Psyche Out closed it. On the front was written "Cooper G. MacBride." It was strange to see Low Light's name on the front. To him he was known only as Low Light. Psyche Out put it aside and opened a smaller thinner file. On it was "Michael J. Dixon."
Psyche Out motioned him towards a chair and walked from behind his desk. He took out a notebook. Trick Shot felt uncomfortable. He kept shifting in the overstuffed chair. His knee bounced uncontrollably. It was a habit from when he was a teenager. His mom used to say he was sexually frustrated. He tried to stop it.
Psyche Out looked up. "Welcome back Michael." He said. "I believe this is our first session. It is protocol for a sniper to be seen after a mission. The military and I believe that it helps a soldier to understand his role. How are you feeling?" He said.
The kid looked jumpy enough. He also smelled of alcohol. It was all written down on the file in front of him.
"I feel fine. I mean, I'm good. I mean, yeah, I feel fine." Trick Shot said. "What's up?"
"That's good, Michael. I just wanted to talk. It's just standard questions and then you can leave." Psyche Out said. He opened the file. "It says here that you are the only child of Sharon Dixon. Your father is stated as Captain Michael W. Andrews of the United States Army. They were never married. You're still close with your mother." Psyche Out began.
Trick Shot nodded. "Well, yeah, we did alright. My mom is a great mom. She's the best." Trick Shot said. "What does that have to do with anything?" His knee started jiggling again.
"I'm just stating what is in your file Michael." Psyche Out said "And what about your father?" Psyche Out asked.
He had to pause. "He's in Germany I guess. I've seen him a couple times. He has a wife and kids there." He said. He shrugged.
Psyche Out nodded and wrote that in his file. "Is that what influenced you to become infantry?" He asked.
Trick Shot stopped. He couldn't believe he was being asked these questions. "What? No. I mean, I grew up at Fort Leonard Wood." He said. "I guess it was just what I knew. Everyone else was."
"Yes your file states that your mother is a Registered Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at St. John's Ozark Health Services. She never served."
"Hey wait a second!" Trick Shot said. "You make it look like my mom's some kind of base hopper! She's not like that!"
Sharon Dixon never married. She never had the time to date. She was too busy being a single mom to a son in a military town set in the middle of Missouri. They didn't live fancy but they did have a good life. To her the sun rose and set in her sons' eyes. They were best friends.
That hit a raw nerve with him. Psyche Out wrote it down. A base hopper was the kind of woman that either wanted a military man as a husband or would go around from town to town sleeping with anyone with a uniform. His knee was going a mile a minute.
Psyche Out put his hand up. "Alright Michael, that's the end of these questions. It is only part of your file. Now let's move onto Sierra Gordo." He said. "You were on a mission for three days with Low Light. Until the night of July 23rd when you were stationed overlooking a Cobra position. How did that make you feel?" He asked.
"What?" Trick Shot had to think about it for a moment. At one point the psychiatrist was asking him about his mom and now he was asking him about the mission. He had to think about it. "It was fine. It was a success." He said. His knee stopped and he sat back in the chair.
"As Low Light's protégé it must have felt like a lot of pressure." Psyche Out said.
Trick Shot blinked and stared at him "Protégé?" He said.
"Well yes, as Low Light's apprentice it must have felt like a lot of pressure for you to perform up to his standards." Psyche Out said. "The GI Joe team and Low Light have strict standards for a night sniper. How did that make you feel?"
Trick Shot dropped his jaw. Up until that moment no one said anything. He didn't have a clue.
Psyche Out could see it on his face.
That was two months ago. Now he was outside on drills targeting Firewall in the Utah desert. It was well past midnight. His goggles made everything as clear as if it were daylight. Beside him Low Light looked through the scope. Tonight was the first night he wasn't designated as spotter. Tonight he had Firewall in his sites.
He smiled.
"Send it." He heard Low Light say.
He saw Firewall jump and then a scream across the desert. "Hit it." He said.
Across her head there was bright pink paint slowly dripping down her face. Then just because he felt like it, he shot her in the ass. Next to him he heard Low Light give his low coarse laugh.
"You asshole! You didn't have to shoot me in the face!" He heard Firewall say. The com was busy laughing. She was wiping at her butt trying to clear pink paint from her BDU's.
"It was a big target." Trick Shot said. He grinned.
"Ha Ha very funny. OK, I'm dead. I get it. You still have Snake Eyes and Scarlet to deal with Trick Shot." Firewall said.
Somewhere still out there were Snake Eyes and Scarlet. They were waiting for them. Their perimeter was close to two miles. That was the furthest that Low Light would trust Trick Shot. Ever since he became his apprentice Low Light was slowly but surely expanding his field of view. With the new Knight Armament sniping rifle he could make it to three miles. Low Light never let him go that far.
Trick Shot took sweeps across the desert like Low Light showed him. If they were out there he would find them. He was working on his night vision. His stealth was still nonexistent but once in his sites Trick Shot was the best there was.
He was the best after Low Light that is.
Low Light held up his hand. He made two fingers. Then he made a fist and a five. That meant there were two targets at fifteen hundred feet. They were moving in close. He switched to infra red. The only thing he could see was Firewall's heat signature eighteen hundred yards away. He took his time moving from left to right.
"I don't see anything Low Light." He whispered.
His goggles were blank.
Next to him Low Light was gone. He didn't hear him leave. The spotting scope stood empty.
Outside the rain began.
Trick Shot swallowed. It was the cover of the night. He was on his own now. He lay on his belly and tried to control his breathing. He felt like every inhale and exhale could be seen. He tried to remember his training and stayed still. Low Light could stay still for hours if not days if he had to. Trick Shot was still working on it.
He didn't hear it as much as he felt it. By then it was too late. He felt the pink paint spread across his back and dropped his head. He groaned. That was the fifth time in two months. Above him Scarlet was smiling with her crossbow. He held his hands up over his head.
"Got you" He heard her say.
"Got you" is what Low Light said.
On her chest was a blossoming pink shot spreading out in a direct hit. Scarlet hissed.
"God Damnit Low Light."
By then Low Light was back in the shadows. It was just him and Snake Eyes. They enjoyed it. Snake Eyes was quick and deadly but when it came to ruling the night, no one was better than Low Light. It was a game between the two. It would go on for hours.
Each one would move slowly and decisively keeping out of range. The rest gave up and headed back to base. They knew that it would be daylight by the time the two showed up. By then they would be covered in paint or not covered at all.
This morning they showed up arguing. Snake Eyes was deliberately signing. *You hit my sword. It doesn't count*.
"It was a hit. It counts." Low Light said. Across his shoulder was the M110. On Snake Eyes sword was pink paint.
*You didn't hit me. You hit my sword.* He signed.
"It's still a hit." Low Light said.
"Leave it alone Snake Eyes. Low Light got you." Scarlet sighed. "I'll make it up to you."
They thought they saw Snake Eyes smile and then it disappeared.
They were at the mess hall having breakfast. For Low Light and Trick Shot that meant water and runny eggs. They had to be on duty at 1800. The rest could have coffee. They still had to go to sleep. With the Sonata Low Light seemed to sleep a bit better. The sleeping pill helped him sleep but it didn't cure the nightmares. Still it was better than what he felt in years.
Trick Shots phone rang.
It was his mom.
"Oh shit I forgot my mom was supposed to come this weekend." He said. "It'll be great! Just wait until you meet her."
He opened his phone like a kid at Christmas. It was the first time they talked in weeks. She didn't know about Sierra Gordo or his apprenticeship.
"Hi mom! Guess what!" He said.
End Chapter One
Outside the rain Begins
What will happen when Low Light meets Dixon's mom