Chapter Eight: Firearms Training (Part 2)

Sig

Social Welfare Agency, Undisclosed Location, Italy

Round 1

Henrietta, Triela, Angelica, and Sig were sitting inside a classroom. Standing before them were the Handlers. Jean began to speak. "Today, we'll have your firearms proficiency training. The first part will consist of stationary target shooting using pistols. It will take place inside the indoor shooting range. For the second part, you'll practice your room clearing and raiding. That will take place in the outside. Any questions?" Sig raised her hand, "Yes?"

"Can I not use any other weapon in the first part—"

"You heard me, didn't you? Only pistols will be used."

"Demo! I haven't fired any pistols. Only my AR—!"

"You cannot rely only on one weapon! You have to be proficient in all weapons. Say I destroy that gun of yours, what will you do? Run away? I have no time for this. Everyone to the armoury!"

Sig was about to protest but Henrietta held her hand, smiled and shook her head. Together they went to the armoury. Triela spoke with Sig.

"Don't argue with that Jean. He's the leader of the other Handlers and the field commander for Section 2. In short, he's a tough nut. But what you said earlier, is that true?" Sig nodded. "Don't worry. You already fired ARs. Pistols are easier unless you're firing a fifty cal. In general, it's easier to control and there is less recoil to worry about. The armoury has lots of guns. You're a Sig, right? So just pick one of the Sig pistols."

They reached the armoury and indeed there were lots of weapons. Sig chose a P226. "Nice choice," Henrietta said. Sig just smiled and together they headed to the indoor range.

At the indoor range, the girls wore their head earmuffs and shooting glasses. They positioned themselves in individual stalls, their Handlers behind them. The RCO (Range Conducting Officer) stood further behind. "On my signal, commence firing. One…Two…Fire!"

The range was filled with the noise of gunfire which was much louder since it was indoor. After they emptied their magazines, the RCO ordered to stop firing, to put their weapons into safety, and to holster their weapons. Their targets approached them. Sig was disappointed. Only five hit the centre, the others were scattered. Jean smirked, "This your best? My grandmother can shoot better."

"I told you! I'm no good at this pistol! Let me use my AR and you'll see what I'm made of!" Sig protested.

"That's no excuse. I expect you to improve your pistol skills. Remain here until you get perfect scores."

"What the—that's crazy…I…I'm no cyborg—" Sig started to protest but Jean slapped her.

"You talk too much and you're disobeying orders! That ought to teach you a lesson!"

Giuse and Henrietta ran, the former placed himself between Jean and Sig while the latter wiped the blood from Sig's lips. "Enough Jean! You can't treat her like that! It's already good for a first time considering she hasn't fired a pistol ever. Why don't we give her a chance to show what's she made of."

Jean just sneered. "You're too soft Giuse. Whatever," Jean turned to Sig, "thank this soft-hearted Handler for this chance I'm giving you. Pick up your AR and let's see what you're made of in the outdoor range." Then he walked away.

"Are you okay, Sig?" Henrietta asked.

"Yes. Thank you 'Etta and thank you, Giuse," replied Sig.

"Don't mention it," Giuse replied casually. "Just don't waste this chance to show what you're made of."

At the outdoor range, Sig was standing alone at the middle of the firing positions, carrying her SG550.

"Hit all targets as fast as possible within the time limit which is…two minutes," Jean said. "Your performance depends upon the number of targets you take down. On my mark," Sig braced herself, "Three…two…commence firing!"

For the first minute, targets appeared randomly in the left, right, and centre. Sig took them down perfectly with one shot each. At the last minute, multiple targets—thirteen of them—popped up from left to right and started closing in on her. She reloaded her magazine and switched to full automatic fire and placed the SG550 in her right hand. Using only one hand, she fired at the targets continuously from left to right as if wielding a samurai sword. All the targets' heads were torn. When she was finished, Sig just stood.

The other girls clapped while the Handlers—again sans Jean—let out a low whistle. Never had they seen such a trick. The girls and the Handlers approached Sig.

"Hey, how'd you do that Sig?" Henrietta asked.

"Well, I used my gun like a samurai sword," Sig explained, "normally, I'd shoot at the targets individually but by using my SG550 as a sword, I was able to shoot in a line. I used the speed and centrifugal force of the swing to eliminate the recoil made by the full auto mode."

"Wow!" Triela exclaimed. "You should teach us that technique, it will come in handy!"

"Looks like she really is good when using her own gun, Jean, in fact excellent," Giuse said. Jean's expression was just flat. Sig looked at her and gave off a smile that was more like a sneer. Although flat-faced, Jean's face showed signs of impression and a look of defeat. Alright, she's good at her stuff, Jean thought. He turned and said out loud, "Okay enough. Let's practice your raiding and room clearing."

Round 2

The girls were now in the room clearing training area—a replica of a building with many rooms. They were divided into two teams: Alpha (Sig and Henrietta) and Bravo (Triela and Angelica). Alpha was positioned in the east entrance while Bravo in the north. The Handlers were in the observation tower where they would give out instructions.

"Command to all units, the training begins on my signal. Clear all the rooms and arrest the prime suspect as fast as you can. The suspect is in one of the rooms. Whoever team gets to arrest him earns an extra day-

off," Jean said over the line. "Do you understand that?"

"Roger!"

"'Etta, can you take point?" asked Sig. "No problem Sig, let's do our best so we'll have an extra vacation," Henrietta smiled.

"Ready!" Jean's voice resonated in their earphones again. Sig readied her SG550 and Henrietta her P90. In the north entrance, Triela readied her Winchester M97 Trench shotgun and Angelica her Steyr AUG. "Commence operation!"

Henrietta kicked the door open and they entered the first room which has only one target that Sig took out. Henrietta went to the room at the right side. Sig followed. It was Sig's turn to bust the door open and as she did so, they took cover in the walls and Henrietta threw a flash-bang. After the blast, they entered the room and shot the three targets. On and on they cleared the rooms. At the observation tower, Giuse remarked, "That exchange student, she's really good."

"Yeah. Got to admit that. She fires fast and she's accurate—pretty good for a non-cyborg."

"Looks like Alpha's in the lead," Giuse said. Henrietta and Sig cleared about six rooms already and were closing in on the centre room where the target—a Section 2 agent—was sitting.

"I won't get so confident," Jean said. "Bravo may have cleared lesser rooms but they are much closer now."

In less than five minutes, both Bravo and Alpha team were at the two entrances of the room.

"This will be interesting," Marco said who was now looking more closely.

Both teams entered the room simultaneously. Angelica threw a smoke grenade and Henrietta a flash-bang.

Sig and Triela both entered the room and they shouted simultaneously "On the floor, now! Hands in the air!"

"Okay! Okay! Enough! Do you really have to use such excessive force?" the agent said.

"Oh! Sig and 'Etta! We came together!" Triela said. "I thought we'd arrive first!"

"So did we! That's why we used two grenades!" Henrietta replied and they all laughed leaving the agent in dismay for his eyes and ears were still stinging.

At the classroom

The girls and their Handlers regrouped at the room for a debriefing.

"The assault took three minutes and fifty-four seconds," Jean said. "Good enough. And Sig, you did well. But don't get lax. Improve your skill especially on pistols."

Henrietta nudged Sig and she just returned it with a smile.

"So, who gets the extra vacation, Mr. Hirscher?" Triela asked.

Hirscher looked at his fellow Handlers and they gave a nod. "Well, since you entered the room at the same time, all of you get the extra day-off," Hirscher said with a smile.

The girls cheered and all of them were visibly happy. Sig for herself was contented. At least I was able to show what I'm made of and earned the trust and respect of my friends and superiors…except that baka-Jean! Sig though with a beam.