Die for You

Chapter 45

The third round, that of rapid fire shooting, was over in a blur of cordite and noise. When the final round was fired, I placed the Ruger down on the table and stepped away from the firing line with a palpable sense of regret. I really had been enjoying myself, doing something I loved; something simple and uncomplicated, something I could control.

The air horn blasted for the final time signaling the end of the first part of the competition for me. There would be other people to follow, but for now, I could set myself up for the most challenging part of the competition, the marksmanship round.

"Nice work, blondie," James said as we walked back to the staging area, our weapons safe. "Hope you had a good round there, because I don't mind telling you I was awesome."

"I did okay," I said casually, trying not to brag in the same way he seemed to find necessary.

"I'm sure she did better than awesome, James," Becky said appearing at my side, her mother with her.

"Becky, Mrs Armstrong," James said nodding his welcome. "What brings you down here?"

"Robert and Richie are bored already, James, they've gone off to the hospitality tent," Jenna said, a hint of displeasure in her voice. "Becky and I thought we'd come down to congratulate you both."

"That's a little premature, Mrs Armstrong," I replied as we walked back to our benches. "The scores won't be announced until all the competitors have finished shooting."

"Well, that won't be long now," Becky said smiling warmly at me.

"Just enough time to get cleaned up and ready then," James said happily, "my favorite round is coming up, so I'll go and get prepped up. See you then, blondie."

"Mum and I thought you'd frozen up out there, I was really worried." Becky nudged me with her shoulder.

"All good things come in time, Becky. I just needed a few moments to clear my head, that's all."

"Is your head clear now, Freen dear?" Jenna asked as we approached the secure area and showed our passes to get in.

"Yeah," I replied grinning stupidly, "thanks to my fan club here, my head is well and truly on straight."

"That's good, I'm afraid to say that my husband was most amused to see you pause like that," Jenna said frowning as I emptied my pouches and set the pistol down on my bench. "I think Robert hoped you were going to give up. I don't think he was the only one either. I didn't want to say anything with James around but I think he was a little annoyed that you managed to finish at all."

"Well, I think he really wants to win this, and he thinks I'm his competition." I said sniffing.

"He's probably right from what Becky tells me."

"Let's not count our chickens, we don't even know the scores yet, Jenna," I replied, beginning the strip down the Ruger, removing its cleaning kit from the moulded carry case. "I might have done really badly in that round."

"I very much doubt that, Freen dear, I've seen you shoot before remember? Without any practice, you were extremely good. I'm sure you're a natural, and naturals always do well in everything they try." She smiled warmly at me before tapping Becky on the shoulder. "Anyway, Becky, we should leave Freen to get herself ready for the next round, and we really need to get over there to claim our seats."

"You go ahead, mum, I'm going to stay here for a bit longer."

We chatted about nothing in particular after Jenna left smiling indulgently at her daughter. I spent my time cleaning the Ruger, placing everything back in the case, exactly the way itwas, preparing to return it. We were both stalling, waiting for the first set of scores, and we both knew it. The small talk and cleaning an obvious substitute for our shared nerves about the outcome; as the loudspeaker system crackled into life, I nearly dropped the barrel cleaning brush I was trying to use.