At the firing range a lone man stood in one of the booths. He was above average height and had a muscular build to him. His black hair was cut short and tended to be spiky on top. He might have been considered handsome if it wasn't for the long scar that ran from his temple down to his chin. Well, that and the crazed look on his face.
Dark blue eyes locked onto the paper target as he brought his handgun up. He shot several rounds into the paper dummy's head. He looked at the target, looked at his gun, then looked at the target again. Most of the "face" of the target was gone, but that wasn't good enough. It didn't give him enough satisfaction. He put the gun back in its holster and thought for a moment. Out of nowhere, he pulled a bazooka. He softly said, "kaboom", and fired. The shot disintegrated the target, knocked a hole in the wall, and blew up a huge dumpster. The sound of a car alarm and a cry of "my car!" could be heard in the distance. The man chuckled.
"Nice shooting there, Rico."
The bazooka disappeared, and the gun reappeared in his hand. It took a moment for him to register that it was an officer standing there.
"Stand down, soldier."
Rico scowled, but felt himself compelled to put the gun away. He was surprised to find himself saluting the captain. He didn't normally do that, and when he did it was always very sloppy. There was something about this shorter man, but he couldn't really understand it. Thinking wasn't exactly his strong point.
The captain crisply returned the salute. "At ease." Rico relaxed, but only slightly. He didn't know who this man was and didn't trust him. Rico moved aside as the man moved to the booth that Rico had been shooting at. Skipper looked at the destruction with some admiration. This was the kind of person he needed for his unit. Still eyeing the hole in the wall, he said, "I'm here to talk to you about a little matter, Rico."
Without warning, Rico was behind him and had his left arm around the Skipper's neck in a choke hold. "No ta'e dollie", he croaked.
'He was right," Skipper thought, calmly. 'There was damage to the vocal cords, but the man is hardly unintelligible. You just have to listen carefully.' Reaching up, he grabbed Rico's wrist, pressing two fingers against one area of the wrist. With the pressure point engaged, he was able to easily twist Rico's left arm behind his back and slam him face down on the booth's ledge.
Rico squirmed but wasn't able to loosen himself. He slowly began to moved his right hand to the edge, toward his holster. Skipper saw the movement and put a little more pressure on Rico's arm. Rico felt the added pressure on his arm and knew that any more would dislocate his shoulder. He slowly moved his right hand away from the edge and up to his head.
He started to become anxious. This stranger was going to take Ms. Perky away and he'd be left alone. His breathing became more rapid. "No ta'e dollie", he softly croaked.
Skipper remembered the warning and sighed. He let go of Rico's arm and moved away from the larger man. "No one is taking your dollie away."
Rico pushed himself away from the ledge and turned to look at the captain suspiciously. "No ta'e? Ah kee' dollie?"
"Yes, you can keep your dollie. What my men do in their free time is not my concern." He was surprised to see Rico genuinely smile, his dark blue eyes lighting up. For a moment he thought the man was going to hug him, and was relieved when he didn't. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm forming a special unit and I need a weapon's expert. I'd like you to join my team."
"Kaboom?"
"Uh. Yes. Kaboom. Lots of kaboom." He moved his hands to pantomimed an explosion. Then he pointed an index finger at the man. "But only when I say so, comprende?" Rico nodded enthusiastically. "But first, I need to see your fighting skill." Skipper looked at his watch. "Meet me in the training room tomorrow at 0600. Be ready for some tough training. I expect you to show me what you've got."