Blood-Born

Chapter VI - Part 3

Pike mused from within his all too perfect comfort zone as his world narrowed to the familiar circular view of his scope, bisected evenly into marked quarters within thin lines of cross-haired accuracy and lethal intent.

He had not entirely agreed with Poe's decision to go down unarmed, but he also could not fault the man for his reasons of doing so.

Foolish from his perspective perhaps, but reasonable just the same for those mere mortals who fervently believed that they knew what it was that they thought it was that they were doing.

But not necessarily what it was that that they were actually getting into.

Hence, how in the end they always seemed to involve his services almost each and every time.

Rested upon the base of the viewing window, he casually adjusted the scope of his favorite girl, as fingers gently twisted small screws to adjust the magnification crystals.

When asked, Clementine had informed him that he would not have to contend with the usual interference of wind gust or change of direction within the dome which would make his work that much less complicated as it might have been otherwise.

Even the humidity would be absolutely where he wanted it to be.

Now, he just had to contend with distance and drop calculation.

"Here we are again Maudette." He whispered in affection as he eased the first high powered round into the chamber with the gentle slide of a well oiled bolt.

His weapon of choice was still considered a working prototype amongst the watchmen; however he had proven its effectiveness and accuracy with each use to the point that he actively eschewed any other choices when his work had been called upon.

Even Abigail had taken to using one before she had opted for retirement.

Something that she would undoubtedly never, ever have stooped to openly admit that she had learned from him but along the way she had also managed to prove its worth and effectiveness in the field.

Originally developed and designed for the Belgian Army, the bolt action service rifle that they had affectionately given their Mauser name to could only have come from the technically devious minds of two brothers in Germany.

Smuggled out by their sources, he and several others had modified and improved where they could, although at its base it still held much potential when left untouched.

Jacketed by steel to protect the barrel, effectiveness was kept in tune when in heavy use on an active battlefield or during a run where several targets would be taken out in a hurry from cover in short bursts.

One distinct advantage the watchmen held over their mortal counterparts was ready access to blacksmiths that could make steel that would not dent or allow rust to otherwise corrupt their weapons as the Germans were finding with their tests.

Such was the fault of mortals and their tools as they slowly advanced in comparison.

Although still technically considered bolt action, the Germans had designed a magazine box they had improved upon slightly to hold more rounds and a snap attachment for ease of change in an active firefight.

With each fired round, the next one rose in place with a smooth and effective movement by ejection of the spent casing as the next target was selected to be dealt with.

Even he had been impressed with their ingenuity of the modifications to the magazine design; his only suggestion had been the flash suppressor attached to cover the end of the barrel for night work.