Shade pushed through the door to the rec room wearing his usual outfit of a t-shirt over a pair of combat pants, as well as his plate carrier and his comms headset/earmuffs around his neck, and stood in front of his target once he had sighed it. Dash looked up from what she was doing with a confused expression, "Caaan I help you, Shades?"
"Grab your gear, we've got some work to do," he answered, turning on his heel before walking straight out, "meet me in the range in fifteen!" He didn't wait for her response as he walked with purpose towards the ranges, and stopped in front of the table that had a nice variety of rifles and carbines he had picked out from the armoury, also picking out a decent selection of attachments such as scopes and optics, grips, and other electronics. He set aside his own rifle as a demonstration item as he waited, looking towards the entrance for Dash's arrival.
Dash shrugged to herself and put away the journal she had been mindlessly sketching in and hurried to the range. She quirked an eyebrow at Shade as she walked up with her hands in her pockets, "What's up?" she asked curiously.
"No offense, but your shotgun is kinda… well…" he shrugged back, struggling to find the words, "it narrows down how effective you can be to a certain degree. I know you can switch the kinds of rounds you use, and that you also use your secondary, but I feel that you should at least try and adopt a rifle or subgun for missions where a shotgun isn't ideal. Preferably before you're forced to pick something up that you aren't confident in when you can't use a shotgun or your sidearm for whatever reason," he swept his hands out across the table and over the collection of weapons that he had gathered, "which is why I brought out all of these toys for us to 'try before we buy', so to speak. Thoughts?"
Dash shrugged, "Fair enough. I may have mentioned that I've been practicing on the UMP at some point?"
"I do remember that, yes, but part of the reason why I got a good range of everything is to find something that you just 'click' with. Granted, your first love is a SPAS-12, but we'll find your 'guy on the side' soon enough," Shade chuckled, gesturing her around to one end of the table, where he held up his first choice, "we might start with the basics, and work our way up from there. I trust you're familiar with the M4A1 platform from your time in the Marines?"
"Course I am," Dash answered, "Wasn't great on it, but well, I'm here aren't I?"
Shade chuckled, handing her the M4A1 and a full magazine, "That you are. Let's get a benchmark, we can just your performance based on this, our 'control', so to speak. I got a basic accuracy range set up on lanes one through three. Multiple targets in different directions at different ranges, a simple 'snap shoot'."
"Right…" Dash answered simply, stepping up to the firing line, "Haven't used a rifle in a while, don't expect anything pretty…"
"Don't worry, we've got plenty of time and ammo. You've got a mag to warm up, refamiliarize, and get zeroed in with, then we'll start scoring. Thirty rounds, in your own time, and your own target selection," Shade announced as he put on his earpro, looking around before stepping back and calling out, "range is hot!"
Dash shrugged and loaded the rifle before shouldering it, resting her finger on the safety as she found the target in her sights. She flicked the safety in the same movement as her finger moved to the trigger and fired a quick volley of three shots. Checking them, she adjusted her position a little to adjust for her overshoot to the right. She fired three more before fixing the accuracy on the sights. Another three shots let her know that she was just terrible with rifles, all shots within the 'eight' to 'seven' rings.
Shade stepped up and waited for her to lower the weapon before patting her on the shoulder, "That's why we're here, D," he said, carefully taking the rifle from her grip before carrying it back to the table. He hummed for a moment, then reached down and retrieved the ACR that he had selected, then quickly attached an angled foregrip to the bottom rail, and flipped down the iron sights before fixing a holographic sight to the top. He walked back with a fresh magazine and offered her the ACR. "Try this one, it's a little lighter and a bit more ergonomic compared to the M4's. Also took the liberty of attaching a grip and a sight to the top, might make target acquisition a bit faster."
Dash chuckled, taking the rifle, "Your way of saying I'm awful?" she smirked, "I'm joking. Thanks." she loaded it and tested the grip, shouldering it for a moment before adjusting the grip's position. She shouldered it again and found the target in the sight.
The ACR was more comfortable, at least, Dash mused as she took in her results after firing. She had done slightly better, a few shots had made it into the nine ring, but the results were still not good. Shade crossed his arms in thought, looking at the rifle, her stance with it, and her shot placement. "I have an idea…" he announced before stepping away to grab a different weapon. He returned with a submachine gun this time, the Kriss Vector, and he had attached a smaller version of the same grip and fitted a compact red-dot sight to the top rail. "This is the Vector, smaller bullet, higher automatic fire rate but very minimal recoil. Give it a try." He said, setting it and a magazine down on the bench in front of her.
Dash quirked an eyebrow at him as she took the weapon, "If recoil were really the problem I wouldn't be using the SPAS, now would I?" she questioned with a chuckle.
Shade smirked back, "Well, if you let this beauty rock 'n roll, you'll still get a pretty tight grouping. Probably do a bit more damage since it slings forty-fives, compared to a nine-mil or the five-five-six that other sub-guns and carbines use."
"Mhm…" Dash hummed as she loaded it and shouldered it, getting a feel for the weight and hold before finding her target and firing. She was slightly shocked by the fire rate, but adjusted easily and checked, the group was tight, but off-center, she adjusted her stance to compensate and fired again, this time getting fairly nicely inside the nine. Her aim could use work, but it was not bad at all. Shade agreed, if the smile on his face was any indication.
"How'd that feel?" he asked, lifting away his earpro.
"Not bad," Dash smirked, "not bad at all."
He gestured her over back to the table, to where all the grips, optics and other attachments were sitting, "anything you want to change, perhaps?"
Dash thought for a moment before shaking her head, "Nah, it's pretty good as is."
"Cool… this way," he said, leading her towards the dynamic ranges. He climbed up into the control room, and activated the PA system. "Okay, I set up the first range in the same manner as we had when we beat Royce's records. I'll bring up your time and you can see how you did with the Vector and compare it to the SPAS time, alright?"
"Sounds good," Dash answered with a thumbs up at the camera.
"Alright alright, let's get this started…" A loud buzz sounded as the targets all loaded in the rooms, the door shut but ready to go, "Shooter on the line, in five…" Shade counted, the red light above the front door changing to green as he said 'go'.
Dash took off into the course, firing bursts at the targets as she cleared each room. It was cleaner than her SPAS, but it felt slow going and she shrugged after hitting the finish. It would take some getting used to, she supposed, and made her way up to the control room.
Shade was clapping slowly, a wide smile on his face as he stood next to the screen with the time readout. Her shotgun time of 2'29" was on the left side, in red text. Her new time was covered by a sheet of paper, and he waited for her confused look before reaching over and pulling the page down, revealing in green text her time of 2'23". "Not bad… not bad at all, I'd say you gained a few seconds since you didn't have to reload or transition to your sidearm."
Dash grinned, "Aw yeah, I could get used to this…"
"Mhm, once you get more comfortable with it, you might be able to shave an additional second or two off. Keep the SPAS though, because you can adapt that as a breaching tool or as a tertiary weapon if needed," Shade said as he saved her time into the log, "but I'd stick to the Vector from now on. The more you use it, the better you'll get with it, and the more you'll be capable of with it."
Dash nodded, "Of course I'm keepin' the SPAS on me," she commented as if it were obvious.
"Heh, alright…" He said, turning back to look at her, "want to give it a few more runs, try the other courses as well? We've got plenty of time, and it won't hurt to get more practise in."
Dash shrugged, "Why not," she agreed and turned, heading back for the start of the course. Shade smirked to himself as he got the targets reset and the timers ready, settling in to watch some new records get set very soon…
"Gotta say, you're getting a lot more fluid with the Vector," Shade commented as he walked over to where Dash was sitting, taking a breather after running the third assault course for the fifth time, "your time between shots and groupings are improving, transition from your primary to secondary is smoother. Honestly, you and that gun are getting to be like a match made in heaven," he finished, sitting down beside her with a wide smile, "but I'd like to hear what you have to say. You're the one behind the trigger, after all."
"Took some getting used to," Dash shrugged, "but it's smooth and faster than my SPAS, of course, it's a shotgun, so that's not saying much, but you get my point."
"Mhm, indeed. During my rotation in the Tactical Assault Group, I had to train up a bit more in the use of the MP5s," Shade with a small chuckle, "so I know what you mean by adjusting to the difference. I mean, it's not as drastic as moving from a shotty to a subby, but the concept's still the same. Tell ya' what though," he leant in conspiratorially, "it'll likely freak out the guys when you rock up to the next op using that as your primary over the SPAS."
Dash smirked and chuckled, "Probably… I adapt quickly though, always have, kinda necessary when you're workin' with cows and horses. When something bigger and stronger wants to go the opposite direction you're taking it, you don't get much say in the matter."
"No kiddin'," Shade said with a slight shake of the head, "let's get this all packed up. I kinda thought we'd be out here a bit longer than we have, but hey, nothing like being ahead of schedule."
"Yeah," Dash nodded, already moving to help gather up the equipment. Together, they got it all put away and cleaned fairly quickly. From there, they retired back to the rec room to kill time until the next meal time. Shade reclined back in the couch as much as he could while channel surfing, occasionally making smart remarks about the show titles that he saw.
"I question the IQ of people who watch shows like bloody 'Jersey Shore'. Maybe I'm too smart and don't see the entertainment value in watching a pack of tossers act like absolute pricks…"
Dash shrugged, "I never really got it either…" she commented boredly.
"Mhm, I mean, at least 'Big Brother' was a game show disguised as a reality TV show. Everyone was playing a game, and there was a prize at the end for the winner," he continued, "but there's no result or end game to Jersey Shore. Oh, and don't get me started on shit like 'Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo'... that shit should be quarantined or reserved for high-security prison audiences only…"
Dash scoffed a chuckle, "You sure do have some opinions on what qualifies as entertainment."
"Oh, believe me, Australian network television can be just as bad. Half because a lot of the shit shown there is just imported from the US or the UK, and half because everything else tries to be the imported stuff. Only a fraction of actual Aussie TV is worth watching, and even then…" Shade trailed off, letting the statement finish itself, "I could probably count on both hands the number of shows I've seen come and go that were actually worth watching, and on one hand shows that are still running to this day," he stopped as a show title caught his eye, and he started smiling, "for example, this was a favourite of mine when it first came out. A cop show called 'Rush'."
"Right…" Dash was only half listening, the other half was trailing off into nowhere. Shade just rolled his eyes as he clicked onto the channel and sat back to relive some of his late 'teen-hood' memories. He focused on the TV, not noticing Meat and Royce entering the room and taking up spots on the other side of the couch from Shade. They were chatting about something, and the noise they were making was distracting Shade from his show. In an effort to get them to quiet down, he picked up a nearby cushion and pelted it at Meat's face. It impacted perfectly, knocking the Canadian back slightly as it had caught him off-guard.
"The fuck, what was that for Shade?" He asked with a slightly miffed expression on his face. Shade just gestured to the TV.
"I'm tryin' to watch something here, mate, but your yapping's making it hard to hear."
"Oh?" Meat said, now curious, "What are you watching, I don't recognise any of the actors or anything."
"It's an Aussie show, I wouldn't expect you to know anyone… maybe apart from the Hemsworth's," Shade said with an amused sigh, "according to everyone else, that's our greatest export."
"Oh yes, who can forget the Marvel-ous god of thunder, Thor himself," Royce said with a chuckle, laughing properly as Meat rounded on him with a shocked look on his face.
"Royce! No! I thought we were brothers!" He cried out, to which Dash and Shade shared a curious look.
"We are, up until this damn argument gets brought up again," Royce sighed, "and I keep telling you, you need to bow down to the superiority that is the Marvel franchise."
"Nuh-uh, DC for life!" Meat challenged, looking towards Dash and Shade and pointing at the latter. "You there, which do you prefer!? DC, or Marvel!"
Shade looked back at him with an expression that plainly read 'are you fucking kidding me?' "I'm with Royce, mate. Marvel all the way. I always found the DC films to be too serious and nitty-gritty for my liking."
"Dash!" Meat rounded onto her, "please, please, tell these heathens that they must convert and be saved!"
Dash shook her head, "I am not getting involved in this war, I like both, shut up and let it go."
Meat recoiled visibly, while both Royce and Shade studied his reaction and the sly look on Dash's face. Shade broke the silence, "... did you just-"
"Yes… yes, she did…" Royce finished, leaning back from Dash slightly as he watched her with a cautious expression. Meat had vacated the couch and was against the wall across from them, eyes locked onto Dash in horror.
Dash simply laughed, shaking her head, "Meat, you need to calm down before you pull the wrong lever."
Shade and Royce started to laugh as Meat made for a quick escape, practically knocking down the doors and almost sending Roach and Ozone to the floor. They turned and watched as the Canadian fled to safety, before looking at the other three with quirked eyebrows. Shade and Royce kept laughing as Dash crossed her arms smugly.
"Disney, bitches."
Monte Carlo, Monaco…
It was a pleasant day in the small European city-state, strangely quiet without the high-pitched whining of Formula One racing cars zipping along the tight city streets that made the area world renowned. That small detail did make the area a very attractive place for the world's elite to live or use as their 'home away from home'. On a luxurious and expensive yacht, a man surveyed the coastline and how it followed the rolling slopes as he waited for a call to connect through his encrypted satellite phone. It clicked through after a few moments, and the man waited a few more seconds to allow the connection to stabilise.
"I trust that the delivery is going smoothly?" A heavily accented voice asked on the other end, prompting the man to speak.
"From what my associates in South America inform me, there have been a few minor delays in getting your product into Europe, but it was more a matter of problems with the matter of transport."
"In what regard, exactly?" There was no mistaking the tone of masked disappointment in the speaker's voice.
"The vessel was held back in port for two days as a critical member of the crew fell ill, and they needed to hire on a temporary replacement before they could depart," the man said evenly, "I believe it was the chief engineering officer, responsible for the engines and power plant of the ship."
"I would have appreciated being advised that such an issue had set us back," his companion said with no amount of veiled threats behind it.
"Had I known that the engineer had fallen ill sooner, then I would have been able to," he responded, a degree of annoyance in his own voice, "but these things happen. I was assured that they would make haste and work overtime to ensure they made up for the lost time. If all goes well, the shipment should arrive to you on the day I originally specified, maybe a day later if any weather impedes their progress," he paused for a moment to sigh, "Mother Nature is a rather fickle thing this time of year."
His sigh was met by one on the opposite end, "As long as your product is in our hands by the end of the month, then all shall be forgiven."
"I am assured that that will be the case… it is getting rather late here, so I must bid you farewell. Do stay safe, my friend. I would hate to lose your patronage to an unforeseen accident, after all," he said with a small chuckle.
"Same to you, friend. It's hard to come by men like yourself in this day and age," the other man said, "прощай, друг."
"Addio." The call ended after that, and the man set the phone down on the table, exchanging it with a small class of scotch on ice. "Vladimir… oh how much you've changed…"
Authors' Notes:
(Shade)
MORE FILLER! Smaller chapter this time, with some more bonding between Shade and Dash this time. Meat's a DC-ving little boy (Shade…), Royce and Shade are modern day Marvels (Shade no…), and Dash is a Disney die-hard (damn it Shade). Sorry, had to. Also, got a bit of a future plot teaser too. Wonder who mystery yacht man is, and what his connection is with that Vladimir bloke… stay tuned!
(Spitfire)
Filler, filler, and filler. Can't exactly say it was fun, because, well, filler (yuuup), but it was… interesting. Ehh, that's all I got.
Thanks for Reading, Fly High Aim Higher
~Spitfire out