Chapter 13: This Is Only A Test...
Day Two
Events: Track and Field
Mixed Martial Arts
Swimming
"Hey Kev! Hand me a beer, will ya?" Mick called out from the couch in his barracks. Sashi, Carly and Jenna had inexplicably disappeared after the first day of the games. So, instead of watching with them, Mick, Steve and Kev had come to Mick's place to watch the events there.
Kev returned with their beers and he opened his, taking a sip before tuning in for day two's events.
"Did you catch the marathon yesterday?" Mick asked Kev as his friend sat down on the couch with him.
"Yeah. Probably the first time I've seen that particular race finished so closely. It was pretty awesome." Kev said.
"Yeah, Commander Leonhart really made a race of it, didn't he? And he shattered the record in the process. That was impressive." Mick commented.
"So when does Irvine's event start?" Steve asked.
"Tomorrow. Track and field is continuing today, and there's also mixed martial arts and swimming." Mick answered. Then he turned up the television as the program came on.
"Ladies and Gentlemen this is Kelsie Reynolds from Deling City Action news here at the International Stadium and welcome to day two of the SeeD Games. Today's events include track and field, mixed martial arts and swimming." The blond announcer looked over to her companion, sports analyst Bruce Samson, and he took up the narrative from there.
"That's right Kelsie. And the big story today is on the concluding day of track and field and Balamb Garden's pilot Nida, who is on pace to win the decathlon if he scores well in his final five events. The preliminary bouts for the mixed martial arts tournament start later on today, as well as swimming. So we've got some exciting events happening here today, and if you stick with us, we'll be covering all of it."
"That's right Bruce. I'm Kelsie Reynolds," she said, and her companion chimed in, "and I'm Bruce Samson. Stay tuned after these messages and we'll take you live to the conclusion of the track and field meet and give you the final tally in the hotly contested decathlon."
"So, how's Squall holding up after that run yesterday?" Selphie asked Rinoa. Selphie, Irvine, Ellone, Laguna (and his bodyguards, much to his chagrin) and Quistis met with Rinoa at the stadium to watch the conclusion of the track and field meet, then later that afternoon they were planning on watching Zell's first fight in the mixed martial arts tournament. Squall was down on the field with the team, encouraging them with his presence.
Rinoa found that oddly endearing. He was not the cheerleader type, so enthusiastic jumping up and down and cheering was not something he'd do. Ever. But everyone who knew him was aware of this and so a simple nod and a quiet "good job" was encouragement enough. She suspected he was there to support his year-mate Nida in his quest for the decathlon.
She remembered how stung Squall had been at Nida's comment that forgetting about him was "typical" of him. It was during the battle to regain control of Balamb Garden after Norg and Cid had had their falling out and Squall had encountered Nida and aided him in a rather sticky situation. He hadn't shown any sign that it had affected him, indeed had maintained his indifferent attitude for quite some time afterward, but much later he'd confessed to her that it had bothered him.
Not long after that, Squall had given Nida the responsibility of piloting the Garden when it had become mobile, thus ensuring that the quiet young man was not completely overlooked. While they hadn't established as close a friendship as Squall had managed with Irvine and Zell, Squall would on occasion play a game of triple triad with Nida.
Turning back to Selphie, Rinoa smiled at her and answered her question, saying, "He was very, very sore this morning. Took awhile for him to get moving and work the kinks out, that's for sure."
"Well, I would say he was probably grumbling and complaining the whole time, but I know he's more the suffer-in-silence type." Irvine commented.
Rinoa agreed, "yeah, but he wasn't too grumpy, mainly because I was the one that helped him work the soreness out."
Irvine raised his eyebrows at this and Selphie gave him a punch on his arm, saying "get your mind out of the gutter, she gave him a rubdown you ninny!"
Rinoa's cheeks went pink and she said, "well, yeah.. It started out that way…"
Irvine laughed, "well, that explains why he was in such a good mood this morning!" Everyone laughed at that comment.
Then Laguna turned to Rinoa and asked, "What did Squall decide about that interview request?"
"Interview? Squall?" Irvine asked curiously.
Rinoa nodded, "Yeah, Kelsie Reynolds has been asking Squall for an interview for awhile now, and she's getting very persistent. Especially since he won the marathon. I guess she's been trying to interview as many of the participants as she could and Squall is one of the more interesting personalities here."
"I still think Squall should hire a PR rep to help with things like this. It'll make the process a lot less aggravating for him." Laguna said.
"I know but you know how he is. He doesn't want to acknowledge that he is actually that interesting a person. Bottom line is that he just doesn't want to play their game." Rinoa answered with a shrug.
"He's going to have to learn, otherwise they'll start digging and they might turn up things that you don't want leaked to the public." Laguna said seriously.
Rinoa sighed, "I know. Well, he's decided to do the interview. While he doesn't want to play thegame, he's decided that since he's not being given much choice, his best strategy is to play it on his terms."
"Good. Well, if he does the interview right, they'll forget about him as soon as the winner of the next event is announced." Laguna said.
"If nothing else, it's a sound strategy." Quistis commented.
Irvine nodded. The reporter had been trying to get an interview with him as well, but he hadn't been interested in doing it. Not yet. He hadn't done his event yet. So he'd put her off, claming too many time conflicts. And she had indeed been making the rounds doing interviews with as many of the athletes as she could so as to inject some human interest into the games.
Some of those interviews had already been aired, notably Sebastian Cole's interview, just prior to the running of the marathon. Afterward, Kelsie had expressed her frustration on air at her inability to interview the winner and current world record holder, Squall Leonhart, immediately after the conclusion of the race.
Irvine's attention turned back to the field below then he glanced up at the video screen, reading the graphic there listing the current standings in the decathlon. Nida was leading by a wide margin. He'd been performing impressively thus far, winning four of his field events; the pole vault, the high jump, the long jump and the javelin. He'd taken second and third place in the shot put and discus, and in the running events he'd won the hurdles and the 400-meter, and got second place by only a fraction of a second in the 100-meter run. The last event was the 1500-meter run, and if anything, Nida looked stronger than when he'd started.
"Nida looks like he's going to win this," Irvine observed. Nida was running close to the leaders but not quite on the pace yet, reserving his strength for the final drive.
Selphie nodded, "he sure does."
Turning to Quistis, Selphie asked, "How come you didn't bring your boyfriend?"
"He couldn't come. He was too busy." Quistis answered vaguely, watching the runners.
"You're going to have to introduce us to him soon, Quistis, you can' t hide him forever." Rinoa said.
"I know. He's just a very busy guy. Trust me, you'll meet him pretty soon." Quistis smiled at her.
"You'd better hurry it up Quisty or we'll have to get the guys involved and track this fellow down. Nobody wants a repeat of what happened with your last boyfriend." Selphie warned her.
"I still can't believe that both Squall and Irvine threatened to kill him." Quistis said.
"Argue all you want Quistis, but we both know the bastard deserved much worse than he got." Irvine said flatly. Rinoa and Selphie both nodded in agreement.
Then the gun fired off the signal for the final lap of the race and Nida leaped into action, overtaking the leaders and roaring down the final stretch in a blazing turn of speed. He broke the tape several meters in front of the rest of the runners, winning the race and the decathlon decisively.
As he charged down the stretch, Quistis leaped up yelling and cheering, "GO! GO! Nida! You got it! Whoo-hoo!" Selphie and Rinoa, also cheering, suddenly stopped and stared at each other wide-eyed.
"Nida? Seriously?" Selphie asked Rinoa, who shrugged as Quistis, ignoring them, abandoned her seat and went out onto the field.
They all stared in shock as Quistis grabbed Nida in a big hug and he gave her a passionate kiss, right in the middle of the track.
"Wow." Irvine said, "Who knew?"
"I still can't believe you managed to get tickets to this!" Jenna said as they made their way into the venue for the mixed martial arts tournament. Sashi had come into her room that morning, crowing that she'd gotten some tickets to the event and they were leaving right that minute. They'd tried contacting Carly to invite her along but unfortunately she wasn't able to make it.
"Well, it helps to have a friend on the inside." Sashi answered as the found their seats. Jenna was amazed; they were in a section so close to the ring that they'd be sitting on the apron if they were any closer.
"Who, Irvine?" Jenna asked curiously.
She was confused when Sashi answered, "Well, yeah but I didn't get the tickets from Irvine."
"So who gave 'em to you then?" Jenna pressed.
"Zell. He's such a sweetie." Sashi answered. Jenna started to comment on that but was distracted as Irvine and Selphie came in, followed by Squall and Rinoa, and Laguna and Ellone and their ever-present security detail.
"Hey guys! How're you doing?" Irvine greeted them enthusiastically, giving both Sashi and Jenna a hug before stepping back and putting his arm firmly around Selphie. Jenna smiled to herself, honestly happy that he'd worked things out with his girlfriend.
Then she caught sight of the brilliant yellow diamond on Selphie's ring finger and she couldn't help smiling at her, asking, "Is that what I think it is?"
Selphie nodded, answering, "Yes it is."
"Have you guys set a date yet?" Jenna asked, curious.
"Not yet, we're still working on that." Selphie said, smiling.
"It's cool you could be here, but how'd you manage to get the tickets?" Irvine asked.
"Zell called me up the other night and asked if Jenna, Carly and I wanted to come. When I said yes, he said he'd have the tickets waiting for me when I got here." Sashi answered.
"That was nice of him." Rinoa commented.
"Great job on that marathon by the way Squall, that was really impressive." Sashi said with a grin.
"Thanks, but I think Nida winning the decathlon for Balamb's team was even more impressive than that. I just ran one event. He did ten, and won most of them." Squall said. Jenna nodded in agreement. She'd caught the tail end of the track meet and saw the dark-haired young man flying across the finish line in Balamb's team colors on the large video screen.
Then he'd proceeded to passionately kiss a gorgeous blond woman, presumably his girlfriend, who'd met him at the finish of the race. It was probably one of the most heartwarming images that had been filmed thus far during the games.
"That's true. But, you broke a world record." Sashi said.
Squall shrugged, "I didn't mean to…" Rinoa, Irvine, Selphie and everyone else burst out laughing at that comment.
"We know Squall, you had to in order to win." Laguna said with a grin. Squall sighed.
"We'd better go ahead and sit down, they'll be coming out to start this pretty soon." Squall said, suiting action to words.
When Jenna and Sashi glanced over at Laguna, they both did a double take.
"We're sitting near the President of Esthar Sashi." Jenna whispered.
"I know," Sashi whispered back. "He's almost as handsome as Squall is."
"Well, he is Squall's father…" Jenna began, and Sashi interrupted her, "What?"
"You didn't know? Don't you watch the news? Remember two years ago when President Loire came here on that diplomatic mission and there was some sort of assassination attempt made?" Jenna asked her.
Sashi frowned, "I only remember it vaguely, I was in boot camp during that time and didn't have time to do anything."
"President Loire had hired SeeDs as his security escort, and the leader of that detail was Squall. The assassination attempt was a failure but Squall was shot and nearly killed, and during the investigation it came out that President Loire was actually Squall's long-lost father." Jenna explained.
"Wow." Sashi marveled, studying both men and suddenly seeing the resemblance. No wonder the press was so interested in Squall Leonhart. She could tell he didn't much appreciate the interest, preferring to keep his private life as private as possible. Unfortunately, being the acknowledged son of the leader of a powerful country, plus having accomplished exploits that were well on their way to becoming legend, tended to increase the public's fascination with him.
"Hey! Sashi! Jenna! Thanks for coming!" Zell said, bounding energetically up to them and enveloping both girls in a hug as they stood to greet him. He was wearing a blue and silver silk robe and his hands and feet were already taped up and ready for his first bout. Sashi smiled as his blue eyes sparked in excitement.
Looking around, he asked, "Where's Carly, did she come?"
Jenna shook her head, "no, she couldn't make it."
"Well, darn," Zell said, then he grinned, asking, "you ever see a MMA tournament before?" Both girls shook their heads.
"Watch and learn ladies. This is for real, full contact and pretty much anything goes except for weapons. Any style of fighting is allowed, no holds are barred and the only rules are no cheap shots below the belt, biting or gouging. Its gonna get intense!" Zell answered.
Irvine nodded, "You'd better bet it will. Better get your tail in there Dincht before they disqualify you."
Zell looked around, startled to see an official motioning him over to the closest of the rings set up in the venue.
Waving at them all he left with a parting request, "wish me luck guys!" and he hurried over to the ring.
In the interest of time, there were actually two rings set up in the venue, so that two fights could take place at the same time. This would speed along the preliminaries and when the final two fighters were left, that bout would take place at the main auditorium in Deling City's convention center downtown.
The tournament would be fought in several rounds, with the winner advancing to the next round. This first day promised to be a long one as eight fights would take place before it was concluded, narrowing the original sixteen qualified fighters to eight. The next day would reduce them to four, and then finally to two.
It was pretty simple to win. A win was gained either by knockout, pinfall or submission; or more rarely, a decision by the referee.
Sashi watched as Zell danced outside the ring, warming up. Then he put in his mouthpiece, removed his robe and got into the ring. Jenna and Sashi both exchanged a glance, mouthing "wow" at Zell's frankly impressive physique.
Sashi remembered him from the graduation celebration and while they'd gone out a couple of times since then, it had been just as friends. He'd been too busy training for the tournament for anything more to develop. Yet. Sashi had had no idea that Zell was this… built. He was obviously in shape for the fight, and Sashi couldn't hide her appreciation of his ripped abs and muscular chest and arms.
Watching them out of the corner of his eye, Irvine commented softly to Selphie, "I think Zell's just stolen Squall's biggest fan." Selphie glanced over and stifled a laugh at Sashi's rapt expression.
The bell rang to start the round and Zell came out swinging. His opponent was good, but no match for the martial artist. The fight was over in just under three minutes with Zell landing a devastating uppercut to his hapless victim's chin, knocking him out cold. The bell rang and the referee raised Zell's hand, declaring him the winner, advancing him to the next round, which would take place the next day.
He wiped himself off with a towel and put his robe back on and came back to them, barely winded. He'd scarcely even broken a sweat.
Nodding at Squall and Irvine, he said, "I don't think I've thanked you guys for helping me train. It wouldn't have been this easy for me if we hadn't worked together on this."
"Don't get cocky, you've still got two more elimination rounds to go," Squall warned.
"I know. It'll get harder from here, but if nothing else, having you chase me every other day has certainly helped my endurance." Zell said.
Sashi gave them a puzzled look and asked, "Squall chased you?"
Zell laughed, "Yeah. I needed someone to spar with, and both Irvine and Squall took turns helping me out with that, and in return I got to be Squall's "rabbit" on his training runs. I'd jump in on the last five miles of his runs and make him chase me down."
"See, now that's what you call teamwork." Irvine said. Jenna and Sashi nodded in agreement.
"Did he ever catch you?" Jenna asked.
Zell nodded, "A couple of times. I made him work for it though."
"It obviously worked, for both of you." Sashi said. Jenna nodded in agreement.
"Well, I'm gonna go ahead and shower and change. I didn't get too sweaty today but what the heck. I'll be back in a few minutes." Zell said, smiling at Sashi and Jenna before leaving.
"You two going to hang out here and watch the rest of the matches?" Irvine asked.
Sashi nodded, "Sure, looks like fun." Jenna agreed.
Zell joined them a few minutes later and seated himself next to Sashi. The remainder of the event was spent with him watching the other fighters intently, periodically answering questions that both Sashi and Jenna asked him about the fights and the rules.
About midway through Squall had to leave and he kissed Rinoa and said his farewells to everyone else before he left.
"Where's Squall going?" Selphie asked.
"He's going to do his interview with Kelsie Reynolds." Rinoa answered.
"I'm kind of surprised you aren't going with him." Selphie commented.
"He'll be okay. We did a sort of mock interview last night. Laguna helped us out, he's got a lot of experience with this sort of thing." Rinoa said.
"When's it going to air?" Selphie asked.
"It should be on tonight's newscast." Rinoa answered.
When the last fight was concluded, Zell invited both Sashi and Jenna to dinner, and Irvine shook his head, laughing softly.
"What?" Selphie asked.
"Zell. With both of those girls? Who'd have thought that?" He replied, amused.
Then he called out, "Hey Zell! Take 'em to Pike's Place! Save the hotdogs for another date!"
"Yo, Irvine!" Zell called back as he was leaving, "Bite me!" Jenna and Sashi started laughing.
"Says the wiener ninja!" Irvine shot back, and Selphie and Rinoa joined in the laughter. Zell flipped him the bird as he left with Jenna and Sashi.
After they'd had dinner Irvine and Selphie went back to his room to see if they could catch Squall's interview. Irvine, for his part, was interested in seeing how Squall handled it, first of all, and how the reporter, Kelsie Reynolds, conducted it. He'd returned one of her voicemails earlier informing her that he'd be willing to do an interview but it would have to be after his first round of shooting tomorrow. Selphie was actually kind of excited about it; Irvine wasn't sure how he felt. Both excited and apprehensive, he figured.
So, he kicked back on his sofa with his arm around Selphie and turned on the T.V. to check it out.
"I still can't believe Squall actually decided to do this," Irvine commented.
"Well, I guess it was either that or be dodging them forever, and Squall isn't the sort to run and hide." Selphie replied.
"True. Well, let's see how he handles it." Irvine said as the news program began.
"Hi, this is Kelsie Reynolds from Deling City Action news evening edition, and tonight we have an exclusive interview with the enigmatic and elusive Commander Squall Leonhart, captain of Balamb Garden's team in the SeeD games and Commander of the Balamb Garden SeeDs."
Turning to Squall, who was watching her warily, she gave him a brilliant smile and said, "first of all, thank you for coming, Commander Leonhart, I understand that you're an extremely busy person with all that you're doing commanding the SeeDs and competing in the games. That can't be easy for you to do, balancing all of that." She commented. She waited for a response, beginning to worry when the silence stretched.
Squall shrugged, finally replying, "It isn't. I couldn't do it without the support of my staff and friends. They've stepped up and helped me out immensely." Kelsie sighed silently in relief. She'd worried about the interview with Squall, knowing his reputation of being by turns either curt, hostile or simply uncooperative with the press in the past. And that was if they even managed to speak with him.
As she interviewed him, she studied him covertly. His attitude was alert, a little edgy bordering on unfriendly, and definitely cautious, and for the life of her Kelsie couldn't figure out what his problem with the press was, because he was a very photogenic young man. Even with his new, severely military haircut, the ratings for this interview among the female demographic would soar. At least he hadn't gone full military for the interview and shown up in uniform, which would have just been too much. Instead he was casually dressed in black jeans and a deep forest green button up shirt, which was open at the collar, showing a flash of platinum at his neck from the necklace that was currently hiding under his shirt. An echoing flash of platinum on his ring finger reminded her that he'd gotten married fairly recently. A glittering blue-green gem accented his left earlobe. In or out of uniform, Squall Leonhart was undeniably attractive.
She suddenly regretted agreeing to his stipulation of no personal questions, because there were a good baker's dozen of them that she'd love to ask and was constrained not to.
"How were you helped?" Kelsie prompted, hoping he'd elaborate.
"Instructor Quistis Trepe served as my backup when I couldn't be in my office all the time, as did Xu. They kept things running smoothly and gave me the time I needed to train for the games. My friends Zell Dincht and Irvine Kinneas helped with the training, Zell especially. And finally there's Seifer Almasy who's one of my training partners for the gunblade fencing." Squall answered.
Kelsie's eyebrows rose, and she asked, "Seifer Almasy? Wasn't he wanted a few years back for his involvement in the Sorceress War? How is it he's back at Balamb Garden and a SeeD?"
The newswoman almost shuddered suddenly as the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees at her question.
Squall eyes had hardened to chips of blue ice as he leaned forward and answered, "Balamb Garden claimed jurisdiction in that matter as we were the ones most directly harmed by his actions, and because he was a cadet at Balamb Garden at the time. Appropriate punishment was meted out, with certain extenuating circumstances being taken into account in its administration. Almasy has since met all requirements to become a SeeD and has performed admirably in that office." He held her gaze, challenging her, daring her to press the issue. He had no compunctions about simply getting up and leaving if pushed too far.
She covered her sudden discomfort by taking a sip of water. She didn't actually think it would be an easy interview by any means. She also didn't think it would be this difficult, either.
Clearing her throat, she asked, "By all accounts, you two have a strong rivalry that goes back a long way. How has that played into this competition?"
Squall's intense, almost confrontational attitude relaxed slightly as the questioning went on a different tack, and he answered, "it's certainly pushed each of us to do our best. How that ends up in the competition itself remains to be seen."
"Talking about the games, I have to ask you about that marathon run. That had to have been the most exciting finish to that particular race that anyone has seen in a long time. What was going through your mind as you realized you'd won it?" Kelsie asked, expression alive with curiosity. His behavior after the race had been puzzling, to say the least. Most athletes upon winning in such grand style were happy, elated and willing to comment to anyone who asked. By contrast, Squall had withdrawn abruptly from the field for a few minutes, to emerge later looking as though nothing had happened. He had offered neither comments nor explanations for his actions, and had spoken to no one.
His only comment was made as he left the track, saying, "I'm very tired." It was undoubtedly true, he'd looked exhausted, and if Kelsie could hazard a guess, the publicity shy young man was also likely overwhelmed by the sudden crush of people that had descended upon him.
Squall sighed, and then answered, "the only thing that was on my mind as I crossed the finish line was to breathe and stay on my feet so I wouldn't fall over." Kelsie laughed slightly before realizing that the young man was serious.
"Well it was certainly an incredible effort, breaking a world record on your first outing. Nobody thought you'd even come close to winning it, going by your qualifying time. Very impressive." She said warmly, congratulating him.
The newswoman was surprised by his next comment however as he said, "It was a tough race, to be sure, but it was the only event I did that day. What was really impressive, at least to me, was the fact that one of my teammates, Nida, won the decathlon today. Ten events, and he won most of them."
"That is impressive." Kelsie agreed, then asked, "according to the schedule Commander Leonhart, you have two more events, the gunblade fencing and the A-level combine. Do you feel like you'll be recovered enough from the effort you expended in the marathon to be at your best in these two events?"
Squall nodded, answering simply, "yes."
The newswoman waited a moment, and when he didn't seem inclined to elaborate, she said, "Well, thank you Commander Leonhart for sharing your valuable time with us. Good luck on your remaining events."
"Thank you." He responded gravely. As the interview wrapped, Kelsie sighed. It hadn't been as bad as she'd feared, but the whole interview he hadn't even come close to smiling. She wondered briefly why he was so guarded before she remembered his profession. She supposed it had to be second nature to him to be cautious about what he discussed. About midway through the interview though, she'd felt as though she should have had a whip and chair handy, just in case.
After the interview concluded, Irvine shut off the television, chuckling.
"Is it just me, or did Squall really go into his 'crouching lion' routine?" he asked.
"You mean when that reporter asked him about Seifer? Yeah, looks like he did, doesn't it?" Selphie said.
Irvine yawned, realizing it was getting late and he had his event starting early the next morning.
"At least she had the sense to focus on the games after that. I think he kind of scared her a little." Irvine commented.
"Squall can be intimidating when he wants to be." Selphie observed.
Irvine snorted, "When he wants to be. Which is most of the time, if you ask me."
"Yeah, he's still not much of a people person is he? We've gotten to know him so well we tend to forget that, don't we?" Selphie commented.
"It kind of depends on his mood too. He obviously wasn't in the mood to be messed with during that interview." Irvine said. Selphie nodded.
Then Irvine suddenly grinned rakishly at Selphie, saying, "How about you darlin'? Are you in the mood to be messed with?"
Selphie made a great show of thinking about it, saying slowly, "I don't know, depends on what you mean by being 'messed with'."
Pulling her close, Irvine said in a low voice, "baby, you know what I mean.."
"Yeah," Selphie said breathlessly, "I think I do."
"Good." Irvine murmured, kissing her.
As always, he lost himself in her taste, touch and texture, content to simply enjoy the moment. Eventually however, they both had to breathe and he broke off for a moment, smiling at her.
"Let's go to bed sweetheart." He said softly.
Day three
Events: Shooting
Mixed Martial Arts
Swimming
Rugby
The first round of Irvine's shooting event was the first of the day's contests. He'd had to get up very early indeed to make it out to the shooting range in time, bringing Selphie with him.
"So, are you excited about this?" Selphie asked him.
Irvine shrugged, "A little bit. The first round won't be too hard, just basic stuff. The tough stuff starts tomorrow."
"You can do it." Selphie said confidently.
Irvine smiled at her, warmed by her faith in him. He did admit to a little bit of apprehension about the coming contest, but not a great deal. He knew his abilities. He thought about the other competitors in the contest, allowing that some of them were indeed very good. But he'd scoped out their scores and didn't see any that could match his. So, he was cautiously optimistic about his chances, while doing his best to avoid overconfidence.
Upon arriving at the shooting range, Irvine was amazed to see the number of cars and people there. A shooting competition wouldn't seem to be the most exciting event in the games, the action consisting mostly of the participants focusing and shooting at their assigned targets. But, there was still a good-sized crowd present.
After parking his truck, they exited and Irvine gave Selphie a soft kiss and hugged her tightly.
"Love you sweetie. I'll see you later." He said, kissing her again.
"Good luck baby. And I love you too." She smiled. She left to join the rest of the spectators, while Irvine flipped the driver's seat of his truck forward and reached behind it for his gun case. Then he strode toward the area where the other participants were gathering.
He checked in with the Range Officer, double checked the time for his first event, and took a moment to check on his equipment and ammunition to make sure it was the correct, allowable type. He couldn't use his Exeter in this competition, it was a custom made weapon and not within the allowable standard. He had a competition-ready .22-caliber rifle that he would use instead; along with an appropriate handgun for the pistol course he was also competing in. For the long course however, his Exeter did meet the official requirements, and he would be using it in the 1000-meter sharp shooting contest. The competition rifle was lighter and had a longer barrel, but Irvine had practiced with it intensively, so he was confident his performance with this weapon would be no different than it would be with his Exeter.
His first event was the three-position shoot. Each round would have ten targets shot within an allotted time. First round would be lying prone, second round kneeling, and the final round standing. For this competition Galbadia's shooting range had instituted electronic targets that would automatically record and score each shot that struck them. Irvine was somewhat dubious about that, having never encountered them before.
The Range Officer announced the pending start of the three-position shoot and Irvine, along with all the other competitors, approached their assigned positions on the firing line. He took out his .22, laid it on the ground with the bolt open, muzzle pointed toward the target, and took out ten bullets and lined them up within easy reach. Then he put on his shooting glasses, put in his earplugs, tugged his hat down over his eyes, and laid down, shifting until he was comfortable as he waited for the order to start. He'd already told the Range Officer to set up one sighting target for him. He was allowed up to five, but he'd told the man that he only needed one sighting shot.
There was no scope on his rifle. They weren't allowed at this distance. That wasn't a problem for him however; his keen eyes could use the target sight without any trouble.
The Range Officer inspected the firing line, saw that all participants were ready and waiting, and then he gave the order.
"START"
Irvine quickly loaded and fired his sighting shot, hitting the sighting target dead center. Ejecting the brass, he loaded again and when the competition target came up, focused, sighted in and shot it. Again, dead center. Each target that came up, it was the same. At the distance he was shooting, only 50-meters, he could do it all day. He shot through all ten of his allotted targets in the prone position without at single miss, and left his bolt open until the Range Officer called time and ordered everyone to stop.
The next round was in a kneeling position. Again, Irvine prepared himself, and waited for the order. It was a little more challenging, keeping the rifle steady in that position, but Irvine handled it without any trouble, and shot through that round without a single miss as well. Thus far, he hadn't missed a single target and all of them had been dead center of the bull's-eye. The Range Officer ordered them to stop, concluding that round.
The final round was standing. Still more challenging since each contestant had to load and fire only one bullet per target. They were not allowed to load their magazines with more than one bullet. So he had to load, sight, shoot, eject the brass and reload. He put his allotted bullets into the pocket of his duster and shouldered his rifle, sighting in on the target once again and shooting it perfectly. He did that for each target until he'd shot through them all. No misses, all dead center.
The next test, prone 100-meter rifle, was the same, as was the 25 and 50-meter pistol. By this point, people were beginning to take notice of his scores and how he managed, on every shot, to hit the target perfectly in the center. By the time he got to the rapid-fire pistol course, Irvine was leading the standings impressively.
The rapid-fire course was a departure from the norm in this competition, in that each contestant went through what was essentially a timed obstacle course shooting six targets that would pop up at random. It was also known as the precision course, because it tested both the speed and precision of the contestant going through it.
It was not simply sight and fire. The participant also had to run through the obstacle course, shoot all six targets and finish within an allotted time. It was the only course that allowed the contestants to load more than one bullet into their pistol, in this case, six. And only six.
Despite the fact that this was a speed and precision test, it was going to take the longest to complete because each person had to go through it one at a time. It was difficult, it was challenging, and it was exciting, both to watch and to compete. It was also the last event of the day.
By the time it was Irvine's turn to run the course, the afternoon sun was slanting strongly through the course, the mellow golden light intensifying the shadows and adding a visibility challenge to the variables on the course. The course was won by the best shooting score combined with the best time, so Irvine had his work cut out for him.
Irvine stepped up to the start of the course, loaded his pistol, and waited for the signal.
"START!" Ordered the Range Officer.
Irvine took off at a dead run, headed toward the first target. As it popped up, he raised his pistol, sighted and fired without pause, then turned to his right, headed toward the maze and his next target. He weaved his way through the maze, watching closely, and as the next target came up, he shot it and continued on. Accuracy was important, but so was speed. So Irvine was willing to sacrifice a little bit on the accuracy part. However, the first two targets had both been hit dead center, and barring an unforeseen disaster, Irvine didn't think he'd have any trouble with the remainder.
He charged out of the maze and three targets presented nearly simultaneously. He shot them each in turn, running toward the finish, and then briefly holstered his pistol as he came up to a low barrier, vaulting it and pulling his pistol out to shoot the final target and race across the finish line.
Breathing hard, Irvine waited for the Range Officer to inspect his pistol and verify that all rounds had been shot. Then he waited anxiously as the final score for the day was tallied. It flashed onto the board and he laughed breathlessly. Waving jubilantly at the crowd as they cheered his score, he got the all clear from the officials that the event was over and ran over to where Selphie sat and picked her up with a big bear hug.
He'd finished the precision course with the fastest time, and had not missed a single target. Irvine finished the day's shooting firmly in the lead.