Saved by my nightmare (A Nigerian Story)

CHAPTER 45

Kaduna, Nigeria.
2020.

"At ease" Rayyan said to Nonso, grinning down at the boy.

Since he'd begun training with the boy three weeks ago, he'd been left feeling an overwhelwhing sense of accomplishment.

His days were occupied with coaching Nonso in the shooting range. So far, Nonso had mastered using the Ruger LCR9, the Kahr CW9, the Glock 43(9mm Luger) and a personal favourite of Rayyan's, the Smith and Wesson M & P9.

It'd been tough work at first getting him to understand the basics, but once he got his stance and grip right everything progressed smoothly from there.

They had little issue with his sight picture and dominance, but it wasn't anything Rayyan couldn't help him get the hang off.

Nonso still wasn't the best among the cadets, not by a long shot but he'd moved from one of the worst to a far above average shooter.

And with the amount of time he spent at the range, Rayyan had no doubts he would become one of the best marksmen in his year.

Currently, Rayyan stood to one side of the range, chatting with the RO.

The RO, MWO Patrick, was a man in his mid-fifties, he'd been the RO even when Rayyan was a cadet, and was the strictest of them all.

Rayyan who'd spent practically all his time in the range was one of the man's favourite cadets, once a new shipments of ammo came in, he'd be the first to be notified.

The shooting range was Patrick's world, he never let just anyone waltz into it, even the Commandant— although being the highest ranking officer— had to respect the RO's authority when in the shooting ring.

It was just the way things were in the military.

"He's just like you were" Patrick smiled fondly, crinkles forming around his eyes.

Rayyan's only response was a low humm but Patrick didn't mind, he knew Rayyan had always been a man of few words.

They spent minutes just watching Nonso putting on his gear as he proceeded towards his bay.

"Keep your gun pointed downrange" Rayyan shouted to Nonso who raised a thumb up in affirmation.

Patrick spent minutes just looking at Rayyan, he smiled at the tenderness in his eyes as he watched Nonso, his heart squeezing at the familiarity of the look.

It was just like he used to watch Rayyan back then.

"You care for the boy a lot" He said lowly, turning to look at Rayyan.

Rayyan met the man's gaze with a smile on his face, an indeed unusual sight to see.

"You're loosing your touch, old man" he simply said, unable to wipe the smile off his face.

Patrick laughed loudly at that, his shoulders shaking as he did so.

For the first time since his wife passed on, he found something to look forward to.

He'd never admitted it but he'd always seen Rayyan as a son, he'd watched how much the boy struggled with himself back when he was a cadet.

Always off on his own, he never really spoke to anyone except he had to. Patrick had detested him for some time when other officers boasted of how skillful he was, excelling in everything he was assigned.

He'd seen one too many spoilt brats feel like more than they were and go scot free because of their relationship with the Commander, all because their parents were high- ranking officers.