Chapter 8
After a short while, Sami returned to see that Grit had quickly finished his beer. Hers was almost complete, and as she sat down, she finished hers off as well.
"Feelin' better?" Grit asked as soon as she had sat down. He could tell she had freshened up; it looked like she never broke down in the first place. Her smile was back, and so was the perky attitude she brought with her to begin with.
"Yes, thank you" Sami replied. She glanced at the clock at the back of the room hanging next to a singing fish and a deer's head: it read half eleven. She had no idea when she got into the car, for all they knew they could have been together for hours. But neither didn't care. Sami felt a lot more sprightly after sorting herself out in the toilet. She hadn't even realized that Grit had supplied another pair of beers at the bar. Within seconds they were deep in conversation again.
"…So, here's a few tips for your long distance, seeming you're pretty good at it anyways" Grit rambled. Sami looked on in full, drunken attention as Grit explained his craft to her over the bar. "So it's all well and good knowing your rockets from your artillery, and how far they can shoot n' stuff. But there's so many other bits n' bobs you have to worry about if you wanna get the best out of your shots, right?"
"Like what?" Sami asked.
"So, I always place orders for the best, state-of-the-art indirect units" grit revealed. "Correct me if I'm shootin' blanks, but most armies like Orange Star and heck, even Blue Moon does it: they re-use some old models to try and save up on cash. Like repairs and stuff?"
Sami nodded in confirmation. "When funds are tight…" she said. "…we have to do city repairs rather than send out orders for new artillery units. And even when we buy new artillery units, we stick with what works"
"Ah, so you see darlin'?" Grit explained, pointing with his finger (making his point). "These new models aren't in such high demand, cuz' there's this stigma that they don't work as well. I call bullshit, and say that it's jus' people being scared of trying out new models. Anyway, where was I?" The beer had started to catch up with Grit quite heavily, his words slurred but he enjoyed every sensation of drunkenness. Sami was more with it, but even she was wavering under the beer.
"So ordering new units means you shoot further?" Sami asked.
"Ah, now see, here's the thing" Grit interjected. "New models can shoot far, so that's where I get my distance from. But that ain't all the story, missy. No, you can shoot as far as Green Earth itself and it'll make no difference unless you can actually hit someone, get my drift?" Sami nodded like a child, enthralled by Grit's wisdom of long-distance firing. "So once you got the distance, you need the accuracy. Most people just give a rough area and say, 'shoot'. But no, you gotta take into account specifics of terrain, the wind on the day, whether it's rainy or sandy or whatever, everythin' and I mean everything matters when you're shootin' long-distance"
"So that's why you're so good" Sami marveled. "It's all in the detail"
"On a good day, I can fire artillery just as far as your battleships" Grit boasted quietly, adding a wink at the end. "It's all about details and power, hand-in-hand"
"Talking about shooting…" Sami added, looking over her shoulder to the pool table. Nobody was playing on it; in fact, Sami and Grit were the last two people at the bar. "…wanna shoot some pool?"
Grit couldn't resist a challenge, and before long, they were flocked around the table, firing away. Grit figured himself to be a very good pool player, but as they started to play a few games and converse, Grit realized that Sami was just as good at playing. This lady, who on the outside looked so pretty and elegant and daisy-like, was a hardened, beer drinking, pool shooting woman. And Grit liked it a lot. So much so that he felt like opening up about himself. The longer the night went, the more and more comfortable he felt with Sami. By the time they had played their fifth round of pool, conversing, playing (and even flirting here and there), Grit started to feel as if he had known Sami all his life. Every glance across the table seemed more and more familiar. Why, he hadn't felt this good since…
Nell.
And suddenly, something inside him sank.