Dark Angel (Sequel to White Raven)

Chapter Seven: Tryouts

Warning: Strong Language and Sexual References!

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Ary didn't really want to work with the police, but Rave did tell her to get a normal job and being a consultant for the Chicago PD organized crime division was normal, right? Either way she figured that this was a good way to piss Rave off and too keep him out of jail if it turned out he was involved with the gang again.

She really didn't believe that he had reclaimed his place as leader of the Bloodbaths, but he was definitely hiding something from her. It wouldn't hurt any to gain a few friends on the police force for future problems. With her track record she was sure there'd still be plenty of problems.

Ary called Wilcox the very next morning and they made arrangements to meet later in the day. Rave didn't say much to her before he left to go take care of some 'club business'. She didn't say much to him either, nor did she give Mason a head's up that she was going out for the day. She was tired of feeling like an adolescent that had to check in with their parents for everything.

The address that Wilcox had given Ary for the meeting turned out to be a shooting range. Wilcox and Keller were already there, leaning against the side of their simple, non-descript black car. She imagined that they were trying to look cool, but it wasn't really working out for them. They couldn't pull the cool detective look off very well.

"Good afternoon, Miss Harper," Wilcox greeted her. Keller just nodded his head in greeting.

"Afternoon, gents," Ary replied, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her flannel jacket. She glanced up at the stone building in disdain.

The last time she had been at an actual shooting range was when she was sixteen. Her Uncle Jack had brought her, Luke, and Mads along. It was right after he retired from the army and after all the crap he had seen in Iraq he wanted his nieces and nephew to know how to defend themselves. The little trip hadn't gone over very well with their moms and they had banned the kids from seeing him, but of course that didn't last long.

Ary had always thought she knew how bad it was for her uncle; that she had some inkling of what he had been feeling while overseas. It wasn't until she had actually killed someone with her own hands that she realized how naive she had been.

Everyone always tried to reason that there was no other choice in the matter, especially in times of war. It was kill or be killed. While that was certainly true, it didn't stop a person from thinking about all the what-ifs. What if that guy was just protecting his family? What if his family was being held captive and he was forced to strap that bomb to himself?

Even with Michael, who clearly had not been defending his country or family, Ary felt the what-ifs. What if Michael's father had abused him as a child and that's why he went crazy? What if he suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness? She never stopped thinking about the dozens of other ways she could have stopped him, without taking his life.

She had gotten so lost in her thoughts that she completely forgot about everything around her, until Wilcox loudly cleared his throat.

"What?" she asked, coming out of her trance.

"I said, don't tell me you're afraid of firearms," Wilcox said, giving her a strange look.

"Yeah, about as much as I'm afraid of ladybugs," Ary scoffed.

"Well, let's get started then, shall we?" Wilcox said, opening the door.

"What is this? A tryout?" Ary inquired as she followed Wilcox and Keller into the shooting range.

"We need to see if you can shoot a gun before we give you a license to carry one," Wilcox explained to her.

"Thank you, but I'm not really a big fan of guns, and I already have a license to carry a concealed weapon," she said, glaring over at Keller, who was trying to cover up a laugh with a cough.