handgun and shot until she emptied the clip and the chamber. She smiled at Parker as she pressed the button to release her target towards her. She pulled down the target and smiled. “So, what do you think?”
“Head shots?”
“And two heart shots. Don’t forget those,” she smiled. “Youaregood,” he laughed.
“Damn right I am.”
“Have you figured out your calling card yet?” he asked. “Yup, I know the perfect thing. I’ll show you later once Iprepare
my bullets,” she laughed. “Just to prove to you how good I really am…” she said, as she pressed the button and loaded another target. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Just watch and learn,” she grinned, as reloaded her gun. She took aim on the target and emptied the clip. She pressed the button and he stared at the target as it moved slowly towards him.
“What thehell?” he stared at the smiley face bullet holes in the target’s head.
“Have a nice day,” she laughed.
“Oh, that wastoogood,” he laughed. “Very cool. You won’t do that to real people, will you?”
“No,toosloppy. I was just showing you myprowess,” she smiled. “So, where do we go to do the long range?”
“Follow me,” he said, as the two them headed down the long corridor. Parker opened the door and they both went outside. “This is a training field for the army.”
“Targets?”
“Over there,” he pointed to an abandoned makeshift town. “All I have to do is work the controls and you can let off your shots. Your target will be all who are not civilians.”
“I can do that,” she looked around. “I want to get up on this building. Is there a way up?”
“Why don’t you figure that out? After all, you’ll be scoping out the areas around the mark.”
She looked into his eyes and smiled. “So, if I’m this great hit woman, what will you be doing?”
He lightly touched her face. “First, I’ll be tryingnotto get turned on by yourprowesswith that rifle,” he cleared his throat.
“So, I turn youon?” she flirted.
“Definitely.”
“What’s the second thing?”
“I’ll be your back up. Your way out. Yourwheelman.”
“Can you shoot?”
“Yeah, I can shoot, but I damaged my left hand a little,” he held up his left hand and exposed his small scar.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Nail gun. I don’t want to get into it right now.”
“Well, later, I want to see what you can do. Can’t you shoot with your right hand?”
“I’ve been working on it. It’s very awkward.”
She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Well, get on those controls. I’ll take my position. In exactly five minutes, start popping up those targets,” she leaned down, picked up the silver case and headed around the building.
Parker looked at his watch as the time dragged on. He looked around at the tops of the buildings that surrounded the training range, but he didn’t see her. He took a deep breath and started pressing the buttons for the electronic targets.
One by one, the targets stood up, in conjunction with several shots that echoed throughout the range. He looked around but still he couldn’t see where the shots were coming from. As the last of the targets were shot, he crossed his arms and shook his head.
“So, how’d I do?” she asked from behind him.
He turned around quickly. “Well, let’s go see.”
“Oh, you’reimpressed, aren’t you?” she asked, as her eyes looked him up and down.
“Um, yeah,very. Let’s go check out the targets,” Parker took her hand and led her to the makeshift town. “Head shots? All of them? Wait, what’s with the red … whatisthat?”
“Nail polish,” she laughed.
“Nail polish?”
“Yeah, I painted the nail polish on each bullet and let it dry. When the rifle heats up the bullet, it softens it and it leaves the red splatter around the wound, and probably inside it, too.”
“So,thisis your calling card?”
“Yeah, I was thinkingpassion red, because it stands out more. Why not? I’m a hitwoman, right?”
“You are definitelyallwoman,” he grinned.
“Turned on again, huh?”
“Yup.”
“So, what’s next? We knowIcan shoot. Wait, I know,” she took his hand.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“I want to seeyoushoot.”
“I’mnotgood anymore. I told you.”
“Hey, if I can turnyouon, you’re going to have to repay the favor,” she laughed.
“I’ll try,” he said, as he followed her to the shooting range. “Where were you anyway?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, as she opened the door.
“I couldn’t tell where the shot was coming from.”
“Oh, see that tree over there?” she pointed.
“That tall one?”
“Yeah, I figure it was about 1000 yards, so I climbed up to the top of the tree,” she laughed.
“In your skirt?”
“I’m a woman ofmanytalents. You’ve only seen a few of them,” she kissed his cheek. “Come on, show me what you got.”
The two of them went into the building and walked down the long corridor to the shooting range. “Now what?”
“Here, take this .38,” she placed it in his left hand.
“I can’t…”
“Yes, you can. The .38 is small and easy,” she stood behind him and took his left hand as she helped him aim the gun. “Just point and shoot. It’s a lot lighter than the .45 that you use,” she smiled, as he pulled the trigger.
“You’re right. Thanks.”
“If you have to use your right hand to steady the shot, it’s all right to do that. The goal is to hit your target byanymeans necessary.”
He turned around and faced her. “I thought I had to teach you andyou’reteaching me.”
She gazed into his dark eyes. “We’ll learn from each other. I know we have to do this one day, one moment at a time.”
He leaned into her breath and smiled. “So, did that turn you on?”
She shook her head. “Notreally,” she laughed.
“Oh, well,” he lightly touched her cheek. “Time to spar,” he said.
“Do you knowhow?” she asked.
“Yeah, doyou?” he grinned.
“You knowIdo. What ifIkick your ass?”
“Doubt it,” he laughed. “Let’s get our stuff. We’ll go back to the penthouse and practice.”
“Sounds good,” she said, as they left the building.
As they walked into the penthouse, she looked around the room. “Let’s use the empty room down the hall.”
“All right. You get changed, and I’ll do the same. I have some equipment in my bedroom.”
“Oh, um, about that…”
“Right. We can use yours for the master. Mine will be the guestroom.”
“Later, I want to my stuff, too,” she said.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get everything you need,” he said, as they headed in different directions to their rooms.
He watched as she sauntered into the empty room, dressed in a black sports bra and tight spandex shorts. He instantly dropped the bag he was holding and licked his lips nervously.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, as she gathered up her long, black hair into a ponytail.
“No, I’m sorry. I’ve got all the sparring gear that we need.”
“Great. Now, just because I’m a woman, I don’t want you to go easy. I do have to warn you, though, I haven’t sparred in quite a long time.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he smiled.
“As if,” she laughed, as she put on her headgear and gloves on her hands. She took her fighting stance and focused on Parker. “Come on, show me what you got!”
He tightened his gloves and took his fighting stance. Together, they kicked and punched each other. Sam leaped into the air and kicked Parker in the chest, and he flew across the room. He quickly stood up and shook it off. As he went to punch her, she blocked the hit with her forearm, and then spun around and kicked him. Parker fell to the groundagain.
He took a deep breath and stood up. He went to grab her by the waist and she flipped him over her shoulder. She sat on top of his body as he stared up at her from the floor.
“Are you all right?”
“I think I’m getting old. I got my butt kicked by agirl,” he laughed.
“You’re not old, you just needpractice.”
“I thoughtyouneeded practice,” he said, as he leaned up.
“I do. I was a bit rusty,” she lightly touched his face.
“Ifthatwas rusty…”
She smiled. “Why don’t you take a shower now? I’ll take mine after. I want to do a few workouts.”
“Sounds fine, um, can you get up?”
She slowly stood up and took his hand and helped him to his feet. “Are you sure you’re all right?” she tried to hide her laughter.
“Um, I’mfine,” he muttered as he stood up. He headed out of the room and down the hall towards the bathroom.
Sam walked over to the boom box and turned on the CD player. She walked into the middle of the room and started practicing her punches and kicks.
Parker wrapped a towel around himself and stood in the doorway to watch her work out. He watched as she spun around and practiced her kicks and air jumps. He ran his hands through his wet hair and smiled.
He walked down the hall towards his bedroom and sat on the bed. He opened the drawer and took out a photo and gazed at it. “I found her,” he whispered, as he gazed at the older woman’s photo. “Gram, I found her and I’mnotletting go,” he placed the photo back in the drawer and proceeded to get dressed.