New to Ketterdam

Chapter 5

Warnings: Weapon use.

Word Count: 1.9k

Author's Note: For this chapter, there will be more Jesper POV instead of Julia's, even though this will still be in the third person. Since this is majority dialogue-heavy, I might make this chapter short and sweet as well; I'm not the best as no action and just dialogue :/ Enjoy!!

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     After the display at the Crow Club, Jesper took Kaz seriously with his idea of taking Julia to the shooting range. He had only known the short girl for a week, but didn't like the idea of her being stalked by a random man; a situation he was still largely confused by and in the dark with. He had tried to ask minimal questions, but of course, that was a hard job to accomplish for Jesper. It is not a Jesper Talent, he thought to himself and he held the door to the shooting range open for Julia.

     They had gone straight from the Crow Club to the small store just down the road after Kaz had left. Jesper could tell Julia was stressed and ready to release some energy by the way she continually bounced on her heels, clicking them together. On the short walk to the range, her eyes were in constant motion, looking at every alley and every person standing within a few feet from her. Jesper guessed that the stalker was long gone by now after Kaz's warning and Julia's knife to his throat, but the ordeal was enough to make anyone anxious.

     "Should I go home first?" Julia stopped and looked up at Jesper, her hands wrapped around the knives. The new one Kaz had stolen from Calzo was in her hand but the other one was sheathed near her hip, her hand resting on the handle at the ready. "Just to check on my family? Especially if he's been snooping around my house the past two months?"

      Jesper rested a hand on her shoulder, to which he notice her flinch slightly, he had almost missed it. He removed his hand and nodded her through the range more. "They will be fine, love. With a threat from Kaz, he will go near them. I promise."

     Julia sighed and looked around the room. Jesper followed her example, eyes landing on the walls. The room was full of guns. Everywhere Jesper turned, guns were placed. He grinned and let out an excited whistle. The large room was a dream to him with rows of tubs lining the walls and hanging off the ceiling. He'd been to the establishment once before but was still enamored by the display of weaponry. The main entrance was a sign-in table with a fat-bellied man behind it, right in front of the door a few steps, blocking customers from entering too far in without payment. Behind the entrance was a long hall with seven rows of wood splitting it into sections. The wood separated each marker from the others' field of vision, allowing each gunman--in theory--to have almost complete focus on what was in front of them. The broken and battered targets stood erect at the end of each row. Aside from Jesper, Julia, and the man at the table, the place was empty.

     Jesper walked in front of Julia and sauntered up to the man behind the desk. Jesper had been in here once before and had gained quite an image within his first visit. He smiled at the man, and rested an elbow against the table, leaning towards the man as though they had been life-long friends. "Hello Ted, how's it going on this beautiful day."

     Ted grinned back at the young boy. "Back here again, Fahey? Reid and I were hoping you'd come back soon; we've been bored out of our minds." Ted glanced at the girl behind Jesper, raising an eyebrow, "Brought yourself a friend to show off to?" He chuckled, leaning to the side to face Julia, "You're in for a treat, little lady. He's got a killer shot."

     Jesper's face reddened as he turned towards Julia, "He likes to exaggerate."

     "Not in the slightest. This boy has the best shot I've ever seen, and I've worked here for fifty years." His tone was honest as he began to peel through the papers on his desk. "Same lane as last time?"