Don't matter where we sleep, don't matter where we park
All we need is a spark, spark, Spark In The Dark
- Spark In The Dark, Alice Cooper
"Ok, you've got a full mag, one up...er, one in the chamber. You're ready to fire." I stepped back and watched McKenna steady herself both physically and mentally, and then squeeze through the trigger. The stubby little gun barked, twisted up in her hands slightly, and she pushed it forward again, hammering out another shot.
It was Tuesday, and I was making good on my guarantee to take McKenna to the range. I was still exhausted from the weekend, from watching over Sienna eight hours a day in addition to work, from having a kid in the house and constantly underfoot, but a promise was a promise. I'd gotten home from the bank this evening, showered and changed into street clothes, and let the petite programmer sort through my safe for what she wanted to bring. After explaining to her that the smaller, "cute" pistols had more recoil than the big ones, she had picked out a surprising variety, I'd added a few, and we'd headed out to the quarry.
The quarry was owned by Don Jackson, a local construction company magnate, who, left with a big hole in the ground, an interest in competitive shooting, and a desire to make money from the two, had lined most of the inside of the pit with piles of old tires and rented it out to pistol shooting clubs in the Milwaukee area. It was open year-round to any of the members, and though it was a haul to drive that far out of the city, it occasionally made for a relaxing trip to engage in some ballistic therapy.
I watched Mick - er, Kenna - lean forward into the recoil and, with greater confidence, pound out the rest of the magazine.
All while keeping the green-apple sucker tucked in the corner of her mouth.
She was kind of cute to watch, and she knew it. Five-foot two, and a hundred and fifteen pounds in her late twenties, she looked like she'd aged until about sixteen or seventeen and then just STOPPED. And today she was playing that illegally youthful look up with sandals, a short denim skirt, a lime-green polo, and her long cocoa hair tied up in pigtails. At least she wasn't wearing something low cut that would let hot brass fall between those full, heavy tits. Probably Jessie's idea.
I thought back to my first day on the range with my gothic lover. Yup, Jessie's idea.
Gravel ground behind me, and I looked back at the gate to see a familiar yellow Escalade drive through and pull up at a nearby lane of tires. Don got out and strode over, a black box in his hand. "Gary, how's it hangin'?"
I shook his free hand. "Doing alright, you?"
"Just fine, just fine. Who's the lady?"
McKenna had the presence of mind to keep the gun pointed downrange, but I could tell she didn't know how to dispose of it, so I took it and kept it angled in a safe direction while I set it on the table. She reached out to shake Don's hand, and he brought it to his lips instead for a quick peck. She giggled nervously, rolled the sucker to the other side of her mouth. "McKenna Krossley. And you are?"
"Don, I own this fine establishment. Friend of Gary's?"
"Yeah, he's teaching me how to shoot."
He squinted downrange at the sheet of paper. "Sure you haven't done this before?"
McKenna glanced at me questioningly, then back to Don. "Just enough to know which is the naughty end."
That earned her a chuckle. "Well, keep it up. Pleasure to meet you. I've gotta go sight in."
The petite programmer watched him walk down the gravel driveway between lanes, then set up at a stall about fifty feet away. "Fuck, that man is gorgeous!" she hissed.
I glanced down the range at Don's table. "I've never looked at him that way." The man was an athlete, running and boxing and circuit training constantly - he'd actually introduced me to the boxing studio I attended, and the sleeveless shirts he wore for all but the absolutely coldest Wisconsin months showed off thick bulges and cords of muscle under his dark brown skin. He was BUILT.
"Those eyes," McKenna said dreamily.
"You little fox."
"I can't help it," she whined. "I see arms like that and I start imagining getting thrown around a bed."
I sighed. "C'mon, nympho. Back on target."
#####
The sun was setting and Don had left by the time we packed up. In the cab of the Suburban, I asked McKenna what she liked best. She thought back, rolling her neck to relieve the feeling of safety glasses and hearing protection. "Ummm, that matched pair. The big one and the smaller one."
"The Remington hi-caps? Seriously?"
She shrugged. "Trigger was nice. Recoil was... Soft. They weren't as loud as that little one of Jessie's."
Fair enough points. "You want'em?"
"What? Are you joking?"
"Not at all. I dabbled in the platform briefly. They're my only forty-fives. You like em better than I do. And I kinda owe you for saving my life."
"Ummm... Maybe? Not right now. I still don't know enough about them. A few more trips to the range, then yeah, maybe."
"Ok. I do have one thing you have to take though." I fished in the truck door pocket and came up with a small cloth bag, handed it to her.
McKenna regarded it cautiously. "What is it?"