Ding ding!
The door's bell chimed softly as Lucas Wright entered the shop. Gunsmith Cats. He had heard a lot about it, all good. Touted as the best gun shop in Illinois, if not the entire country.
A pretty young lady was stacking ammunition boxes behind the counter, whistling a tune as she stacked them.
"Uh, Miss?" he started. She turned to face him. There was something familiar about her, but Lucas couldn't place what.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Um, yeah, could I speak to the proprietor, please? A Rally..." he trailed off as he realized where he knew this woman from. "Irene?"
She cocked her head, confused.
"Sir?"
"Irene Vincent! Oh, man, it's been a while."
She stared at him, not recognizing him.
"Lucas Wright! We grew up together! Christ, I can't believe you don't remember me!"
She finally recognized him, and smiled.
"Lucas! Wow, it HAS been a long time."
"Yeah... We should have a drink sometime, catch up. Anyways, not that I didn't enjoy getting sidetracked, but I have to speak to the proprietor. You related to this... 'Rally' Vincent?"
Irene beamed proudly.
"I AM Rally. What can I do for you, Lucas?"
"Well, I have a business proposition. I am the CEO of Wright On Target, and we're looking around for places to sell our new rifle, the Bullpup Rifle 5.56."
"Is that what you have in your case?" Irene asked, pointing to the rifle case Lucas was carrying.
"Yep. First model." he said, placing the case on the counter and opening it. "I hear you have a range here. I brought my own ammo, you want to give it a mag or two?
Irene shrugged.
"Yeah, sure, why not?"
She escorted him to the range in the back.
Lucas took out the rifle and loaded in a magazine.
"Takes STANAGs, PMAGs, anything an AR-15 can take. Hell, if the ergonomics would allow, it could take Beta-Cs. Takes 5.56 and .223 without a barrel change, just like any AR-15. It's got a 22-inch barrel, overall length of 27 inches. It comes with a Phantom flash hider standard, an optional tri-rail handguard, and an ambidextrous charging handle. It uses a gas piston with an adjustable gas system similar to the SIG 556, and shoots light as a feather. We got Spec Ops trying out an integrally-suppressed variant, like the SEALs, Green Berets, we got Marines and Army both lookin' at this thing for infantry. Four SRT teams have already gotten on board with buying this rifle for their departments!"
He handed the rifle to Irene, along with a pair of Surefire EP4 earplugs, putting in his own pair.
"Impressive." she said, flipping the safety off and sighting it downrange.
"RANGE IS HOT!" She yelled.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Three rounds in the 10-ring.
"THAT OPTIC IS RATED TO HOLD ZERO ON A MA DEUCE!" Lucas yelled over the echo of the shots. "WE'VE TESTED IT!"
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Three in the head.
She flipped the safety back on and removed her earpro.
"Good shooting!" Lucas said, whistling.
"Recoil reminds me of the old AR7. I'm sold. I want one."
"You'll get one. Free of charge, old friend discount. Hell, it's good PR anyways. If you like the rifle enough to advertise it, we'll more than make up for the loss of giving you a free one."
Irene laughed as she put the rifle back in its case.
"Listen to you, you sound like a real businessman!"
"Yeah. Don't worry, it doesn't happen very often." Lucas said, chuckling.
"You got any other products?" She asked.
Lucas pulled up the side of his shirt to reveal his pistol, safely tucked in Bianchi leather.
"The WT9. It's a Browning camlock based pistol, but what makes it stand out is the quality of the steel we use, and the ergonomics. It can also shoot a quarter-sized hole at 60 yards, and can put an entire 16-round mag in a nickel-sized hole at 25. I like to feed it +P JHPs. Want to give it a shot? First mag's free." he said, grinning as he slid the gun out of the holster.
Irene carefully took the gun, checking the chamber and flipping the safety off.
"RANGE IS HOT!" she yelled, putting her earpro back in.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! All through one hole.
"God damn, Irene. You're still the best shot I've ever met."
"It's a good gun, Lucas. You should be proud." She said, safing the pistol and offering it back to Lucas.
"Proud enough to carry it. This one is the first production model. We also offer it in .45 and .40 Smith. We offer it with and without rails. I like it without, myself."
"I might consider getting one. How much do they go for?"
"I take it you'll sell my wares?" Lucas asked.
Irene nodded.
"Of course. I sell things I would buy myself, and I would buy this stuff in a heartbeat."
"We sell them direct from the factory for about $650. Comes with an extra barrel and three magazines. Railed one goes for $700 with the same extras."
"And how much should I charge customers for the rifle?" she asked, eyeing it in a manner that was almost sensual.
"We sell 'em for $1600. That comes with an extra barrel, four mags, the optional railed handguards, and some rail covers. The optic sells separate for $300."
"I'll be sure to check it out." she said, opening the door back into the shop. "My 870 could use a tough optic."
"I really appreciate this, Irene." Lucas said, heading through the door.
"No problem." she replied, turning to close the door.
"So how about that drink? You free anytime soon?" Lucas asked.
She locked the door with a loud CLICK.
"I dunno, Lucas... I'm pretty busy."
"Oh, come on, Irene, It's been, what, like, 7 years? Tell you what, how about we make a bet? A round of trap shooting at 25 yards. You win, I donate a glass Kalashnikov of vodka."
Irene turned, smirking.
"You're on."