Esther Vanhomrigh - Rifle Range
"I can't fucking believe them!" a seething Esther cursed, her voice bellowing and carrying far.
She was absolutely fuming as she made her way to Beacon Academy's rifle range.
Any students within her path immediately cleared the way, lest she turned her well-known wrath upon them.
"Hey, hey! Calm down, lady. You're gonna get an aneurysm! Pop a blood vessel or something! Shit!"Said a darker skin-toned man trailing close at her side.
The man made a hand motion, as if to appease her rage and get her to calm down.
It didn't work.
"What sense does it make, huh? They suffered enough already! Why not have a fresh team take on the mission instead?! Why them?!"Esther grit her teeth, a wild and intense fire burning in her eyes as she vented to her friend.
"Come on now, Vanessa. I'm completely lost here, you gotta fill me in. I'm stuck in the middle right now."She whirled on him, the two continuing to walk to their destination as she continued to throw a bit of a tantrum.
The man barely dodged her arm.
"The mission my team had just come back on! I debriefed the head shed on the situation and put in my request for the next mission, right?"The large man nodded.
"Uh-huh, okay? And then...what?""I asked for a different team to take on the next mission, barring the current ones. Give them a break, y'know?! I was looking out for the kids and the request got denied! Stating some moronic reason about 'existing knowledge and experience'! Who gives a flying fuck about that, the kids nearly all died!"The man walking by her side sighed and tapped at the side of his temple.
"You gotta think of it from their perspective, Vanessa. Why would they want to subject and potentially traumatize a fresh batch of young minds?"Her voice took a rise.
"So they want to continue to torture the same ones!?"She stopped, turning to him as her body was positively shaking with anger.
The man nervously chuckled and slowly stepped to her, placing his large hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down.
"Easy now, easy...What else can you do, Vanessa? Huh? The top brass have already made their decision. All you can do is prepare them for the future as best you can, like I know you can. This time, they know what to expect. The shinies on our side have already agreed to elevate the level of support they would receive if they decide to accept it. The Traversers are already on board."Upon the mention of the 'Traversers', Esther seemed to calm down a little. Her shaking subsiding.
Her voice grew quieter.
"...They are? That got approved?"The man nodded, smiling.
"Yup. That's part of the reason I came here. To give you the good news myself and to suggest we blow off some steam. Now, let's go to the range and put rounds on some targets like we planned. Later, we'll go out for drinks with the rest of the guys. Whatdoyasay? Huh?" The man patted her shoulders, Esther stood there quietly for the moment.
She sighed heavily.
"Fine."
In her 'mood', Esther and company hadn't been aware of any others that were present on the range. To them, they believed themselves to be the only ones there. Uncharacteristic of them, but Esther's nerves were worn and shot. Somewhere in between her mentioned 'briefing', Esther found the time to change into more appropriate attire for some combat shooting practice. Her hair pulled back into a ponytail, Esther was wearing a tan ball-cap with some wolf's emblem on it. A long-sleeved olive-green t-shirt as her top, khaki cargo pants, and some rugged-looking sneakers finished her look. She looked and dressed much more differently than normal, it would've been somewhat difficult to recognize who she was if she didn't speak. And if it weren't for her signature weapons she always kept with her.
Strapped around her waist was her 'war belt' with its accompanying magazine pouches and her side arm at her right hip. Slung on her back was her treasured custom-built rifle. As she began to load her magazines with cheap practice ammunition from her own private stock, her friend prepared the targets. Fumbling with the controls as he messed with the automated functions on the range.
For a while, the two readied and prepped in silence.
The man broke it first.
"Man, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to set up these targets. Back at base we just announce the firing line cold before walking down and stapling the paper targets on. Damned new-fangled tech. How in the hell does an educational institution have more funding and backing than a private military contracting group is beyond me. This is ridiculous."Esther quietly sighed and set down the magazine she was currently loading, walking over to take the controls from the man.
"Here, let me see."The man's eyes flitted to look at her face, before turning his attention back to what Esther was showing him. Leaning in close.
"That's how you operate the range."Esther said, matter-of-factly.
The cut slab of a man whistled, impressed.
"Thanks."Esther handed off the controls and returned to loading out her magazines.
Another awkward silence between the two.
Esther was the one to break the silence now.
"How's the divorce going?"The man made a face, shrugging dismissively.
He looked over at Esther's back.
"Finalized. She took what was her's and left. Didn't claim Desaleigh to be her's though."Esther
hmm'ed, clicking her tongue.
"Of course not, the bitch. I told you didn't I? Not to do it."The man turned back to what he was doing.
"Yeah, yeah. I know..."Another moment of silence.
"...How's the kid?"Esther asked.
The man smiled.
"She's great. She's gotten so big now, you should come over some time and see her."Esther smirked, shaking her head.
"Nah.... You can come over to my place, y'know. You already know where I live."The man chuckled.
"Might just have to do that. She would love to play with Nero."Another moment of silence.
The man, finished with setting up the range for Esther's course of fire, stared at her turned back.
"How have you uhh...been coping? Since the mission...?"Esther put on her hearing and eye protection.
"Is the range set?"She avoided the question.
The man licked his lips and sighed.
He put on his hearing and eye protection as well.
"Yeah."The man wiped a hand over his mouth.
"Go through the course of fire."Esther demanded.
The man made a face that Esther didn't see, looking off to the side. He itched his goatee.
"We'll start off with a warm-up. Four targets total. One pop-up target at 100 yards. Second pop-up target at 50 yards. Third pop-up at 50 yards. Final pop-up at 100 yards. Failure to stop drills, so that's two to the chest and one to the head on each for a total 12 shots."Esther cracked her neck, loosening up.
"Time?"She asked.
The man scoffed.
"It doesn't matter, you'll destroy it anyways."Esther smirked.
"Does the shooter understand the course of fire?"He asked, getting ready to start.
Esther nodded.
"Is the shooter ready?"He asked, finger hovering over the button which would activate the pop-up targets down range.
Esther settled into her stance. Feet shoulder width apart with a slight bend in her knees, her ass sticking out just a bit as she leaned forward at the waist. Slipping out a magazine from a pouch on her belt, she slammed it into the magazine well and charged her rifle. Shouldering it, she pointed its muzzle down range as she stared through her sight.
"Aye, ready."Esther said.
The man's eyes couldn't help but take a second to...
admire her combat stance.
"Shooter may commence when your taaaargets appear!"He tapped the button which then loudly beeped.
The targets all then popped up, but as they popped up they hardly stood a chance. Being shot down just as soon as they appeared. Though her rifle was semi-automatic, her trigger finger was so trained that they all seemed like seamless automatic shots. 12 shots rang out one after the other and it was all over in literally seconds. Her shooting even giving the illusion as if she had some type of real-life auto-aim hack or cheat. The muzzle of her barrel having snapped to each target as if drawn by some powerful magnetism, though it was only her razor-sharp reflexes. As her magazine was only loaded with 12 shots, she ejected it and let it drop on the ground. The man couldn't help but smile brightly.
Esther straightened up and turned to look at him.
"Time?"The man massaged the back of his neck, still smiling.
"Fucking 2.15 seconds."Esther smirked.
"That's terrible, I'm rusty. What are my shot placements like?"The man continued to massage his neck.
"You could fit your hammer pairs on a lien cent piece, lady."Esther shook her head, her smirk growing wider.
"That's pitiful, Tony. No keyholes?"The man shook his head as well.
"You've hardly lost your touch, Vanessa."Esther winked.
@Onarax