A.N. – I'll apologize ahead of time for all the skipping around that occurs in this chapter…I will not apologize for how much I blushed and 'squee'd for every review you lovely people are giving me!
Chapter 7- Hints at Romance
My lungs were begging for air as I gasped and coughed in the dark. I was alone in my cell, something I had never thought I'd be happy to see, and tried to curl up and ignore the pain. However the damage to my lungs was too severe for me to even try to breathe properly, I have been in a coughing fit ever since, but not so severe that it would last longer than a few days…Adrik had made this an art. Every once in a while I would be able to get a short gasp of air in but it was never enough as the world began to fade into deep hues of red and black
. I was stuck on my side with my wrist shackled to the wall in an uncomfortable angle. I found my mind trying to distract itself from the pain that I was left in after the coughing fit finally ended. Of course, however, the only thing it would use to distract me was thoughts of the last time I was in Adrik's clutches. Every little thing that the crazed man had said had been ingrained into my memory and I hated every second of it that I had to relive.
Luckily, one of Adrik's men slammed his meaty fist on the door and began screaming in Russian before all but throwing a tray of bread and thin soup at me. When he left I moved towards the meager meal, a small white note sat near the edge, now slightly splattered with the broth but still legible.
"To weaken a spirited horse you give it barely enough so it is weak. Then you strike." Adrik's handwriting defied his personality: an elegant and refined style that hinted at a wealthy upbringing. Part of my mind was telling me to tear the note or destroy it completely, but the more logical side of me stayed my hand. I would need to conserve every last ounce of energy I had to survive this; I ate my meal slowly, sighing as the lukewarm broth soothing my itching throat. He would be back eventually with some new kind of torment…
XOXOXO
"Alright Laddie! Take your stance…back knee bent a bit more please…good! Alright! Got your target in sight?"
"Yes." Jack's deep voice answered as he tilted his head to look down the metal sights at a moving red and white target.
"Fire away Lad!" his balance only jerked slightly before he found the rhythm of the fire rate; the target was torn apart quickly and when Jack eased off the trigger he heard Twitch's contagious laughter. "Very good Lad! You've taken to the gun easily!" Jack gave a small smile, "Now let's try the Python." Jack walked over to a wooden table where the large handgun sat innocently and traded his RPK for it.
"Remember what I told you about the kick 'o' this one Lad. A lot 'a recruits end up with broken noses when they don't hold the gun properly." Jack checked over his grip and braced his forearms before aiming at another little target. "Take a steadyin' breath for me Jack and then you're free to fire." Inhaling slowly, Jack slid his finger to the trigger before exhaling and shooting his target. His arms jerked as the force of the shot jolted through them but the firearm itself didn't waver much at all.
"Good work Lad, let's upgrade to multiple moving targets."
XO
Crow and Churchill had set up a small shooting range of their own near facing the lake, that way any stray bullets would fly over the water instead of towards the cabin. Churchill had placed the targets all around, some in trees and a few even in the water, and motioned for Crow to begin as soon as he had stepped out of the way.
Crow revved his runner and slid his gun into its holster on his hip before kicking off and racing towards the targets; he whipped the gun out of its holster and quickly taking aim he fired at the first set of targets before he was forced to whip around and go back down the strip of sand. Churchill had practiced with Crow on a motorcycle, showing him the motions of removing the gun quickly and how to position the arm holding the gun across the opposite arm after turning.
"Excellent work Crow!" Churchill's deep voice echoed slightly as he clapped his hands with a smile splitting his face. Crow flipped the safety on the gun and slid it back into its holster before removing his helmet and looking at his progress for himself. A humorless smirk crossed his features,
"That maniac is in for such a surprise."
XO
Rua jerked as the kick of the shotgun attempted to jerk the firearm back and take his shoulder with it. The target was now littered with holes and he moved through the large boathouse carefully, knowing that at any time Bulldog would swing the next one out in front of him; a soft click was all he heard before whipping around nailing another target that stood in a deadly proximity, so close that the little holes Rua was used to seeing all merged to become a large, tattered one.
Bulldog's repressed chuckles caused him to roll his eyes, which probable where the size of dinner plates just seconds earlier, and continue on to the next position.
"Stay frosty kid."
"What's that supposed to mean?" bulldog repressed his laughter as he triggered the next few targets which were eliminated fairly quickly.
"It means don't let your guard down." He triggered another target that would appear to close to use the shotgun safely thereby forcing Rua to use his knife. "We use that order fairly often so yah might wanna get used to hearin' it."
Aki no longer flinched at the sound of her firearms going through its clip as she brutalized each target she was presented.
"Swap guns!" Ghost's order rattled through the headpiece and Aki didn't hesitate to strap the Galil to her back and taking the AUG into her hands before flipping the safety off. "Go prone." She immediately hit the ground and scanned the area for her next target. A soft click was heard and she snapped her eyes to the right and her gun's sights followed flawlessly as she waited for the red and white circle to present itself.
Instead it was a cut out the looked like a young child. Aki stopped herself and waited a bit longer for another target, this one a mugger, appeared; this one she pulled the trigger to the head and chest of the target.
"Good. Move on to the next section." Aki obeyed silently, every motion she made carried her complete focus as her thoughts remained on the reason why she was learning, no, engraving every lesson and tactic thrown at her.
Punching the last target with a few holes, she slowly raised herself off the ground and flipped the safety back on before strapping the AUG next to its cousin. Ghost stepped down from the raised platform where he could observe Aki's progress,
"You're doing very well Miss Aki, you've stop flinching too which is a good sign of how much you have improved. I think we have trained enough for to-" A sudden large explosion caused the two to jump and look back to the section furthest from the cabin before bolting out the to see a good amount of smoke coming from the area.
"Do you know what that dim wit is doin' over there?" Ghost turned to see the others running towards them while Aki watched the smoke for any sign of the two who were training in the area. They all heard something from within the smoke that resembled…laughter. All too soon, two figures quickly emerging from the smoke and revealed two laughing figures covered in dirt.
"This girl," Brains paused to breathe and point at Luna, "Is a natural when it comes to explosives!" No one said anything for a moment before the laughter became too contagious and they joined in with the first two.
"Naw, Brains was the one who told me exactly what to do! I just followed his instruction!" Luna was smiling from ear to ear and jokingly punched the taller man in the shoulder.
"Well she placed it perfectly! I didn't even have to hint at where she had to place it to do the most damage!" The others had stopped laughing and now flicked their gazes between the two with smug expressions.
"What?!" Luna exclaimed when she saw the look and watched Brains flush under the dirt, "What are you guys implying?!"
"Nothing Sis! Nothing at all…"
A.N. – well I have to leave it here for now…we're going on another trip…oooohh boy. So I decided to at least give you something to hold you off for a while! (ducks under bunker and throws chapter to the readers before bolting the hatch)
