"So I heard you were interested in shooting." Tobias smiled as Sheva and Valentine came downstairs the next morning, both of them barely awake until he spoke. Sheva's squinting eyes suddenly shot wide open before he elaborated. "Yuuki was walking by your room while you two were talking, she told me about you wanting to try out our guns last night."
"Oh, I do... But I'm not really sure about doing it right this second..." Sheva explained.
"We're here for a week, plenty of time. And, that's not counting back in LA when we get back. You can shoot with us any time." Tobias - who wasn't wearing his signature black suit, but instead a surprisingly casual set of jeans with a hoodie with the sleeves rolled up - was in the process of lighting a cigar as he spoke, snapping his lighter close before continuing. "The Colt's all function the same way, my VP9's are 9mm, my other pistol, the USP, is the same bullet as the Colt's, but operates a little differently. Rize's Raffica shoots three bullets at a time, and of course, Yuuki's rifle a completely different experience. Any of them pique your interest, Sheva?"
"I um... I'd like to try a Colt... and Yuuki's rifle, if that's alright with her..."
"She's still asleep, but I don't think she'd have any issue with it." Tobias exhaled some smoke. "Valentine, you want to let her use yours?"
"Sure, I'll grab it." Valentine had already set the coffee machine - the same one as back home - to start, so he went back upstairs to grab his gun, returning a minute later with both of his sisters in tow, both in their light sleepwear with messy bedhead.
"Um... Yuuki, could I use your rifle later? Your dad said I could try shooting, and I thought I should ask you first."
"Y'wanna use Lucky Lady? Go right ahead." Yuuki nodded in agreement. "She's got four rounds in her right now, you want me to grab her for you?"
"I can wait..." Sheva didn't want to be a bother, but Yuuki waved her hand casually.
"Nah, it's cool. I'll grab her." Yuuki took an apple from the bag in the fridge and tore a chunk off as she went back upstairs, returning after a moment with Lucky Lady in hand while the apple was firmly clamped in her teeth. She handed it over with one hand, while the other pulled the apple free and she chewed the chunk that remained in her mouth. "See? No problem. Just throw her over your shoulder for now, she won't fire. The casing from the bear's still in the chamber."
Sheva took the rifle and hung it across her back for now, and of course, Valentine had his Colt shoved into the back of his waistband. She felt an oddly reassured feeling with the rifle on her back... She wasn't scared, for sure. In fact, she felt confident now.
Being left handed, Sheva had some initial difficulty with Lucky Lady's right handed bolt, but she eventually got the hang of it as she lined up the scope's crosshair with Tobias' floating ice target in the water and pulled the trigger.
Tilting the rifle onto it's left side and reaching over it to operate the smooth bolt, Sheva was surprised by how easily shooting came to her. Up until today, she'd never held a gun before. Not even Valentine's Colt, which was sitting nearby with a few spare magazines at the ready for her use. And with Tobias' help - she noticed that he was ambidextrous - she was getting better and better with each shot.
"Yuuki and I worked together to customize Lucky Lady for her. But, as you've proven, she's a beautiful rifle. Now, unfortunately, the Colt's are also designed for the right hand, so if you'd like to use one of mine, which are ambidextrous, just ask."
"Could I try... the USP?" Sheva took a second to recall the gun's name, then realized that Tobias had it on him, since he was holding it out to her by the barrel. Right away she noticed the word scratched into the side of the gun in feminine handwriting. "Silence? What's that for?"
"This gun used to belong to Alice, but she gave it to me before I lead a group to take down Umbrella. I never did ask why she carved the word into the gun, but that's the name I gave to it for her." Tobias explained as he traded Lucky Lady for Silence with Sheva. "So, this part on the side is the safety, click it down disable it." He pointed at the gun once she decided which hand - her left - to use the gun in.
"How do I hold it?" Sheva didn't put her metal hand onto the gun yet, awaiting her instruction from Tobias.
Here, I'll use some ice to show you." Tobias shouldered Lucky Lady and made an exact copy of Silence out of ice, and crouched onto one knee to show her the proper grip. "One hand on the grip, the other around the front of your other hand, just like that, good. Now, tighten both of your wrists, and try to relax your elbows, that'll help lessen the recoil. Perfect, now, just like with Lady, only use the three muscles I showed you to squeeze the trigger. I'll move the target closer for you so you can line up the sights."
With Sheva's grip and stance correct, the distant ice target vanished, only to be replaced by a new one about twenty feet away from them.
"This gun holds 13 bullets. Whenever you're ready, go ahead." Tobias withdrew two spare magazines from his hoodie's pocket and let them hang in the air with his Telekinesis as Sheva fired the first round, then another, and eventually finished the first magazine after pressing the magazine release below the trigger, catching it with her other hand to reload, just like how she remembered Valentine doing it with his Colt.
"I really like this gun." Sheva commented as she fired.
"Heckler and Koch make great products, in fact, they're the official supplier of the BSAA. I've never had an H&K weapon malfunction on me. Ever." Tobias smiled, amazed at how naturally that shooting came to her, just like it did for himself all those years ago.
"How many Heckler and Koch guns do you have back at home?" Sheva asked, since she knew about the big gun safe in the master bedroom - and the twin's one beside their long computer desk - but she'd never actually been one to recognize different models until now.
"I have four personal ones." Tobias replied. "But for work, I switch between four different ones, plus I also carry a standard issued version of Silence at all times. The ones I switch between are the G36, the UMP45, the MG4, and the PSG-1."
"Where is Heckler & Koch from?" Sheva finished the second magazine and reloaded the last one, the two empty ones remained floating in the air as she clicked the safety back on and held Silence out for him by the barrel, just how he did for her.
"Germany." Tobias replied as he accepted the thoughtful gesture of reloading the gun for him, not to mention her picking up on the respectful way to hand someone a weapon - gun or blade - by presenting the grip to them with the business end directed at yourself. "What? Were you expecting me to say they were Russian?"
A couple days later, after another shooting session together, everyone was relaxing by the fire with a drink and something to eat, their general air was light hearted and relaxed, making jokes and enjoying their vacation. But, just as Tobias was about to light a cigar, he suddenly paused in the familiar action, and everyone's eyes had been in his general direction, so they all felt his sudden shift.
"Someone's driving here." Tobias' gaze immediately went towards the long gravel road, just barely visible through the trees. "Two vehicles..."
"Everyone else couldn't make it, so it can't be them arriving late..." Rize glanced at her wary husband before pursing her lips. "Any other sounds?"
"Sounds like SUV's... Might be someone that took a wrong turn. I'll wait until you guys can hear them before I make a move." Tobias lowered his lighter and slid it into his hoodie's pocket, but didn't remove his cigar from his mouth.
"I can hear them now." Jake, Sheva and Sherry all detected the sound of the approaching vehicles at the same time, so Tobias slowly stood up and started walking across the grass, passing around the side of the cabin just as the two SUV's came into view, making him briefly narrow his eyes.
"Excuse me, sir, we've received a call for gunfire coming from this area." The first officer, with the Ontario Provincal Police, stepped out of the driver seat, followed by his partner and the second pair.
"That was indeed us." Tobias knew better than to get cocky like they did with the LAPD, so he stayed calm and polite. "We were doing some target shooting, sir."
"I'm gonna need to see your gun license and permits, please." The officer continued.
"Of course, they're in my truck." Tobias pointed at his nearby vehicle. "Shall I get my keys? They're inside at the moment."
"Of course." The officer nodded, and so Tobias opened the front door of the cabin, plucked his keys from the hook beside the door, and returned to them, opening the driver door and leaning in to retrieve the paperwork, until one of the officers suddenly spoke up.
"Sir, you are carrying an illegal firearm on your hip, I'm going to have to ask you to keep your hands in the open while my partner disarms you."
"I have paperwork for that, officer." Tobias slowly held up the sheaf of documents in one hand, the other doing the same with his keys.
"Turn around slowly, keep your hands as they are." The officer was still speaking with authority, and of course, Tobias followed the orders, remaining nonresistant as the second officer approached him and removed Silence from his hip, since when he'd leaned into his truck, his hoodie rode up just enough to reveal the gun. "Hand over the documents."
Tobias complied, and the partner stepped back to show the paperwork to the one that was issuing the orders. They read it over for a few minutes, then looked up at Tobias, still suspicious.
"I'm going to need to see your ID."
"My wallet is in my back pocket, right side." Tobias held up his free right hand, making it clear that he was going to use that hand to retrieve his ID. So, with calm and careful slowness, he retrieved his wallet from his back pocket and held it out for the partner to take over to the officer.
"BSAA, huh? What's your rank and where are you stationed?" The officer glanced at the BSAA photo ID in the front of the wallet, then up to Tobias' face.
"Captain First Class. I'm stationed at the California base." Tobias explained.
"Alright, you can relax, Captain. Your stuff checks out, give his gun back." The officer in charge gestured for his partner to return Silence, and the documents, back to Tobias, who accepted them but didn't holster the gun. "We'll speak to the person that placed the call, try to smooth things over. In the meantime, those papers mentioned some of your guns have suppressors. Might want to use them next time you guys do some target practice."
"Of course, Officer." Tobias nodded. "And if I may, I didn't bring them on this trip."
"Well, if that's the case, best to take a break for this trip. Don't want anymore unpleasantries. Enjoy your vacation, Captain." The officers all bade him goodbye and drove away, finally allowing Tobias to holster Silence and put the paperwork back into his truck before returning to his concerned family.
"Noise complaint for the gunfire. Things got a bit tense when they saw Silence on my hip. But, it's all resolved. Next time we come up here, we need to bring the suppressors if we want to do any shooting." Tobias explained as he - finally - lit his cigar and reformed his ice throne beside his wife.