Trust

"Sully."

He stirred, clinging on to the soothing webs of sleep.

"Sully, wake up."

There was a gentle tap on his shoulder, then a more vigorous shake.

"Sully, I know you can hear me."

He reluctantly opened one eye. A dark figure stood next to his bed, enclosed by the shadows of early morning.

"Nate," Sully said groggily. "It's still dark outside. Go back to bed."

"It's Sunday," said Nate, with too much enthusiasm.

"All the more reason to go back to sleep." Sully closed his eyes and turned his back to the younger man.

"The sun's going to come up any minute. We should get to the shooting range before it gets too hot."

Nate leaned into the space directly above Sully's head.

"I cleaned all the guns. They're ready to go."

A couple of seconds passed, before he spoke again.

"Sully?"

Sully sighed with exaggeration. "Okay, okay. I'm up. Let me get dressed and make breakfast."

"Breakfast can wait. We should get going."

Sully slowly sat up in bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked out the window. The grey lights of early dawn had just begun to tinge with yellow outside. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been up early enough to see the sun rise.

Nate stood patiently beside his bed, with an empty holster strapped to his side.

"Can I at least have some privacy to change?" he said.

"Hurry up," said Nate, as he bounded out the room.

. . .

The makeshift shooting range Sully constructed was more or less a cluster of glass bottles, aluminum cans, and whatever else he could find that was small enough for target practice.

After two Sundays of learning the basics, Nate had shown real talent with the .22 and 9mm pistols. Sully watched as he hit six cans in a row.

"Good job, kid. Make sure you're not letting yourself lean back after the shot."

Nate smiled in his direction. He refocused on a paper target, and hit it directly in the bull's-eye.

Sully crossed his arms. "Show off, huh? Wanna try on something bigger for size?" He unholstered the 44 magnum revolver at his side.

Nate's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Come here," Sully motioned. "Now, this is going to have a much bigger kickback, so brace it with both hands."

Sully handed him the revolver and stood back. "See the green bottle about twenty yards out? Aim for that one."

Nate brought up the gun, aimed at the target, and fired. The revolver swung upward with the strong kickback, and the bullet completely missed.

Sully laughed. "It packs a punch, doesn't it?"

Nate was already lining up for the next shot. The bottle finally fell after the third, and he turned around with a big grin.

"You're becoming quite the sharpshooter," said Sully. "We might have to graduate to rifles soon."

Nate's eyes lit up. "You mean that?"

Sully laughed again. "One step at a time, kid. Let's go eat breakfast first. I'm starving."

. . .

After he agreed to move in with Sully, Nate had been regularly surprised at the quality and variety of meals that were prepared. Breakfast was his favorite, and the heaping plate full of eggs, bacon, and pancakes made his mouth water.

Sully filled two coffee mugs and joined him at the table. Nate raised his eyebrows at the offering.

"Decaf," Sully confirmed. "God help us if you start drinking caffeine. I don't think I'll ever sleep past dawn again."

Nate dug into the food with a smile. "It's really good," he said between enormous bites.

"Don't forget to chew," said Sully.

Nate ignored his words as he continued to devour the food.

Sully began to cut into his pancakes. "So there's something I want to talk to you about," he said.

"What's that?" Nate asked.

"I got a call from a guy I know in Peru. He has a job that starts next week. I figure it's time to move on, after all that nasty business with Marlowe last month. What do you think?"

Nate stopped chewing . He swallowed hard.

"When are you leaving?"

"Soon, I guess. Maybe tomorrow, or the day after."

"Okay," said Nate in a much subdued voice. He took a sip of the coffee, but remained silent, staring down at his plate.

"So what do you think?" Sully asked.

Nate shrugged, trying to remain neutral.

Sully frowned at the sudden change in demeanor. "We can set up a shooting range anywhere, you know. We'll still practice every week."

Nate looked up with confusion. "You want me to come with you?"

Sully's frown deepened as he realized the meaning of Nate's words. "Of course you're coming with me. Did you think I was going to leave you here?"

Nate shrugged again. "It's happened before."

Sully set down his fork. "Kid, like it or not, we're partners now, and partners look out for each other. I have your back and you have mine. That's the way it works."

Nate continued to stare, unsure of how to react.

"I'm going to call the guy and tell him to expect us by tomorrow afternoon, so you better start packing after we finish up here."

Sully reclaimed his utensils and dug into his pancakes. After a couple of bites, he looked up to see Nate had also resumed eating.

"Hey kid, are you gonna finish your bacon?"

Nate looked up with the beginnings of a smile. He placed a protective arm around his plate. "Don't even think about it."