Every Were Gets A Mate

Chapter 30

"What do you do if you get pulled over?" I noticed I was whispering.

Laughter sounded from outside, where most of the squad remained.

"Licensed to transport and configured like we're going to a gun show. They are all legal. It's not a problem." Tank clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Which one of these darlings is going to be yours, Jessica?"

My eyes roamed the variety on display. The rifles and other long guns were out. I wanted something petite, concealable. The handguns drew my attention.

The smaller handguns were still in their boxes, each model stacked inside a metal chute. They were removed from the bottom, and the supply replenished from the top. A display model was firmly attached to the front of the chute with a detailed information sheet below it. The setup reminded me of the plastic chutes that held soup in grocery stores.

I moved to the sub-compacts and touched the grip on one appealing display model.

Tank said, "You can take those down, handle them, and bring them to a range we have set up nearby."

Permission given, I tried them out. I checked that each was unloaded and manipulated every control. My father's voice was in my ears, the touch of his hands over mine, memory a virtual overlay on reality, as I went through the motions he taught me. If I couldn't immediately figure everything out, it was too complicated, and I put it back.

These handguns could take 9mm or .40 caliber bullets. Recoil with .40 is significantly higher than with 9mm, but this made little difference to those who could strengthen their bones and muscles to accommodate greater force. Most of the ammunition nearby was .40.

I tried twelve models and narrowed my choices down to six. No one rushed me in any way. The gun also had to feel comfortable in my hand, which led me to three: a Sig Sauer, a Glock, and a Smith & Wesson, all slim, polymer framed, sub-compact, pistols.

A table in the center of the truck held my choices. "I want to try firing these."

Tank grinned at me. "Good choices." He grabbed a box of .40 shells and the Glock. "Let's go."

I picked up the Sig Sauer as Cade took the Smith & Wesson. Our eyes met, and I found him grinning at me with pride. He took my free hand, and we went down the stairs.

The range was a grassy area facing a tree line with targets hung on some trees. Orange flags staked out a square and flew from many trees going deep into the forest. Cade and Tank went to the line with me, and the rest of the squad stood further back.

My father's lessons returned easily, along with stories he told while training us. I loaded the Sig Sauer with five bullets. "Do you know where the human's myth that only silver can harm a werewolf comes from?"

"Did we make it up so they wouldn't try what they had on hand?" Tank's tone held mischief.

This made me smile as I set the gun and looked down the sites. "We probably helped it along for that reason, but no."

I braced myself, pulled the trigger, and hit the outside circle of my target. The feel helped me adjust, so my fourth and fifth shot hit the center. I put the safety back on and checked that the gun was unloaded even though I knew how many bullets I had loaded and shot. Dad had drilled safety into me and Tanner above all else.

I swapped guns with Cade and repeated everything as I spoke. "The weres of Asia and Europe hid their existence from humans in ancient times, after the humans started building walled cities to keep things out and became wary of anything different. From then on, weres were only spotted shifted when the moon was out."