Shot Throught the Heart

eighteen

            I sighed then pulled off my hat and tossed it behind me in the general direction of the table before walking inside the cage. Being team leader, my cage was a bit bigger then everyone else's. I unclipped the hammock I had hanging across the center of the cage and let it rest against one side so it's out the way. I checked over a few things on my own gear before turning around to find Morgan already unloaded her the contents of her duffle bag on the table.

            Walking over to her I saw that most of her gear is outdated and needs to be replaced if she is going to be attached to my team.

            "All of it needs to go." I said and didn't even bother taking more then a few second too look at it. Morgan sounded like she was about to rebut my statement but I didn't let her as I opened her gun case to take a look at her rifle. It's the standard issue M4 we were given during basic with no attachments to it.

            "Are you comfortable shooting this rifle?" I asked picking it up out of the case, giving it a once over.

            "It's the only one I've had Daniella." I could hear the edge to Morgans voice at my question but I didn't let it get to me.

            "I can get you something much better. I just wanted to know how attached you were to this weapon. I'm already going to be getting you new armor protection, comms and helmet. I just wanted to ask about the gun because I know soldiers are usually more attached when it comes to their choice of weapon." I said explaining myself.

            I could see some of the hostilely drain from Morgan after my explanation but some still lingered. I have no doubt there will be some by the time we finish all the preparations I have in store for today.

            "Can I see what you guys use and then decide later?" Morgan asked.

            "Yes, we are going to go to the range, I want to see how your accuracy is." I said and put her rifle down before stepping back into my cage to grab my rifle. Once in hand I turned around and held it up for Morgan to take a look at.

            "This is my MK 17 SCAR. My team mainly uses it with an exception of a few members. It is fitted with a standard-length barrel right now but I'm thinking of changing it out for a long barrel for this upcoming trip to turn it into a light sniper rifle, SU-231A/PEQ holographic sight, flip-to-side magnifier, AN/PEQ-15 IR laser and Insight WMX200 Visible Bright Light. Like I said, we have some new and improved toys here." I said and held it out for Morgan to take a look at.

            She took the rifle from my hand and held it up to get a feel for it. I used this time to open my gun case and take out my sniper rifle and Beretta to put it away in my cage for now. When I was done Morgan held out my rifle for me. I took it back and put it into my cage then checked my watch.

            "We need to get moving to the meeting room. When the meeting is over I'm going to bring everyone back in here and go over equipment issues to take a stock of anything that needs to be fixed or replaced. Once I have the order ready, I'll bring it over to Major Collins and she'll get it ready." I said.

            "Sounds good, after that I need to go speak with my CO to get the equipment I need to bring over there. Once I'm done we can meet up again and then we'll hit the range." Morgan said as she started to pack up her old gear again.

            "Alright, lets move out." I said and took the duffle bag of gear and stored it in my cage before locking it up.

            We moved out together and walked down the hall to our meeting room and before I scanned in I dropped my cell phone in the clear container on the wall outside. Morgan followed suit and I scanned us into the meeting room to find that Major Collins was already waiting for us.