I inhaled slowly, holding my breath for just a moment as I squeezed the trigger, and releasing it as I felt the gun kick in my hand. I knew without looking that the shot had hit the target, but it wouldn’t be dead centre. I was still tensing up in anticipation of the shot, ever since… I shook my head. I needed to get that out of my head. There wasn’t time for it, at the moment. Hopefully, more practice would help me shake it off.

“Nice shot,” Luke raised his voice so I could hear him past the ear protection.

It wasn’t. Not really. It was low and to the right of centre mass, but it wouldn’t do to tell him that. I was trying to build up his confidence, and in comparison, it wasn’t bad. I put the gun down and pulled the ear protectors off, letting them hang around my neck.

“Are you done?”

He nodded, eager for me to assess his own paper target. I moved to his booth and hit the button to retract the target, and we both waited as it made its way along the track. Even from here I could see that he was improving. The grouping was tighter and closer to the centre. That was a start. When it arrived, I pulled the paper down and moved it behind my back, out of his sight.

“How many shots did you fire?” I asked.

“10.”

“And how many hit the target?”

Luke furrowed his brow,

“How should I know? You’re hiding the target.”

“This is a stationary target, Luke. You should know by the time you release the trigger, whether it hit or not. You shouldn’t be firing a gun if you aren’t sure where your bullets are ending up. How many?”

He hesitated for a moment,

“All 10,” he said finally.

I laid the target out on the table and counted each hole.

“8,” I concluded.

“Maybe two went exactly through the holes made by another shot?” he ventured.

I stared at him in silence for a moment.

“Ok. Probably not.”

“Probably not,” I agreed. “Now, think about it. Which two missed? And why?”

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember.

“I don’t know,” he concluded at last. “They all seemed about the same to me.”

“Then we have some more practice to do. Alright, set up a new target. I will watch this time, and we’ll see if we can figure out where you are going wrong.”

A little over an hour later, the problem was abundantly clear. He was too jerky on the trigger; it made his aim unpredictable. After further instruction, it seemed like he was improving and his touch was getting softer, but then he had started backsliding again.

“The trigger doesn’t require that much pressure, Luke. Keep it gentle and even.”

“I am being gentle!” he snapped, yanking the trigger, and firing off a wild shot as if to demonstrate exactly how incorrect he was.

“Ok, that’s probably enough for today,” I announced. “Pack up and we’ll head back to the room.”

“Wait! I’m sorry, I can get this, I just need a bit more practice.”

“Nope. You are getting frustrated, and I bet your hands are going numb, at this point. It’s time to stop for now.”

“But we don’t have much time…”

“All the more reason not to waste what time we do have on something… counterproductive. Besides we have more important things to focus on, anyway. If we do this properly, you should never have to draw a gun at all. Trust me, it’s better that way.”

Luke sighed and began packing up his gear,

“Tom told me a bit about what happened, is that why…”

“Tom should learn to keep his mouth shut,” I interrupted. “And no. That has nothing to do with it,” mostly nothing, anyway. “Violence should always be a last resort. And you should never draw on someone you aren’t willing to kill. Remember that.”

He nodded sullenly and didn’t speak another word as we returned our weapons to the attendant and headed back to the living quarters. Finally, as we passed the cafeteria, I paused and turned back to him.

“Look, don’t take it so hard, kid. It takes practice to get good at anything. And you are improving. Just, put it out of your head for a bit, and we will start fresh tomorrow, ok?”

“You’re right, I know. It’s just… I am starting to get kind of nervous about… everything. You know? I would feel a lot safer if I could at least shoot straight.”

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“I know. You’ll get there. And don’t worry, we aren’t going to let anything happen to you, ok? Just, focus on doing your part and no one will be in danger at all.”

“Right,” he took a deep breath. “Right.”

“How about you take a break, get something to eat. I am going to head back and see how Tom is getting along with his project.”

“Sounds good,” he smiled, gratefully. “I’ll bring something back for you guys, if you want?”

“Thanks, Luke. See you back there.”

I watched him slip into the cafeteria, then headed to my room. Tom was exactly where I had left him, hours ago, hunched over the laptop on the small desk in the corner. Hearing me enter, he stopped muttering to himself and spun to face me.

“Finally! Took you long enough.”

“What? Did you think teaching him to shoot would be a ten-minute process?” I flipped on the kettle and settled into a chair to wait for it to boil.

“No. I just don’t understand why you are taking him shooting, while I spend hours on a PowerPoint presentation.”

“You already know how to shoot, so it would be kind of foolish to teach you, wouldn’t it?”

“Why can’t I teach him while you work on this, then?” he grumbled.

“Because you are the one who needs to know this information. You need to give the presentation, after all.”

“Yeah. Well, maybe that is the part I am unhappy about. I don’t see why I am the distraction, while you get to do all the interesting parts. Like always.”

“Oh, come on, Tom. Please let’s not have this argument, again,” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “We talked about this. It makes the most sense to do it this way.”

“Maybe I am having second thoughts about that.”

“Don’t be stupid. Who is going to give the presentation, if not you?”

“Luke could…”

“I said don’t be stupid. Luke is one of the worst liars I have ever met. It is already a risk just taking him along at all. His job is to keep his mouth shut and not give us away.”

“Why don’t you give it, and I will go retrieve the drug?”

“Because the person going into the facility has to work with Liz. She is the one who is going to talk us through any guards or obstacles. She trusts me, she barely knows you at all. So, how would it make sense to send the two of you off together?”

“She probably shouldn’t be involved at all,” Tom glowered.

“Well, it is a bit late to be changing the entire plan, at this point, isn’t it? Even Wallace signed off on it. Oh, and that attitude is another reason why you shouldn’t be the one working with Liz. You don’t think she is going to notice something is off, with you acting this way? Seriously, Tom, you need to get it together or you are going to fuck this whole thing up. This isn’t a school play, there are no starring roles, we are all just trying to get a job done, ok? This is going to be hard enough, without you working against us.”

“That’s not what I am trying to do, I just…”

“Just what, Tom? You want the job you think is more glamorous? Are you even listening to yourself right now?”

For just a moment, I saw him tighten his fists, then he took a deep breath,

“I didn’t mean… I am sorry. This is the plan that makes the most sense. I am just not very good at all this… science shit. I am worried I am going to screw it up.”

I wasn’t entirely sure if I believed that was his real problem. Tom had always had a bit of a jealous streak, but lately it was starting to make me wonder… I shook my head, banishing the thought. It didn’t matter. You go to war with the army you have. I just needed to find a way to make this work.

“Relax, it isn’t even really science. You are only trying to sell them stuff. If you can’t answer a question, they will assume it is because you are just a sales guy. It’s all part of the plan. You just need to make sure you remember the presentation, pitch them on some products, try to sell them on a new brand of lint-free wipes or something and keep them busy until we get back. You’ll do great.”

The kettle whistled and I stepped away to pour it into the teapot.

“What is with you and tea, lately?” Tom asked.

“I told you; I find it relaxing,” I replied, dropping a couple of bags into the pot. “Frankly, that is something we all could use right about now.”

“Fair enough.”

“Now, are you going to tell me how the presentation is going?”

“You really want to know?”

“Of course. Your job is important. A lot of our plan hinges on this. Walk me through it.”

I leaned over his shoulder as Tom showed me his slides. They weren’t too bad. Most of the pictures were just taken off the company website, but the quality was good, and the information matched what I had seen in the brochures. It shouldn’t appear unusual to anyone watching. Generally speaking, people tended to tune out during these vendor talks, anyway. Hell, I was tuning it out, right now. Though, in my defense, I was starving. Where was Luke with the food? Huh. I paused. That was a thought.

“How many employees does this place have, again?” I asked.

“About 30, I’d say,” Tom stopped advancing the slides and turned back to give me a puzzled look. “Why?”

“Well, it occurs to me that we could draw in and distract even more of the staff if we brought something people actually wanted to the table.”

“And what did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking food. No one ever turns down free food.”

“I don’t know, Ray, this is a professional workplace, not a college dorm.”

“Remember Suzette and her donuts?”

“Ok, you have a point,” Tom admitted. “What should we bring?”

“Not sure. We could go snacks and desserts, or maybe sandwiches?”

“Hmm, I feel like something hot would be a bigger draw, maybe…”

Tom was interrupted by a short knock on the door. I opened it and Luke entered, carrying a box that he deposited on the table.

“Hey, guys. I wasn’t sure what you wanted to eat, so I just grabbed a pizza. Figured everyone likes pizza, right?”

Tom and I exchanged a quick glance.

“Yes, everyone does like pizza,” Tom agreed, rising from his chair to grab a slice.

“It’s perfect,” I agreed.

“Why do I feel like I missed something?” Luke asked, puzzled.

“Nothing major, you just gave us a good idea about how to bait our trap.”

“Oh, good.”

We ate in silence for a time, before Luke spoke again,

“So, how is everything coming together?”

“Well, I think we basically have everything in place. Tom’s presentation is nearly ready. The guys in IT have set up an appointment for us with NovaChem, using a spoofed phone number that links back to our chosen company, Thompson Laboratory Supplies. You both should spend a bit more time studying the product catalog, but I think we are nearly as ready as we are going to be. Which reminds me, now that the date of the appointment is set, I need to make a call.”

“Are you sure about this, Ray? The sooner we bring her in, the more time she has to tip someone off or mess something up.”

“Look, the whole plan sort of depends on her. I need to know Liz is on board before we waste any more time. I don’t think she will refuse, but if she doesn’t agree, then we will have to scrap the whole thing and start over. Better we know that sooner than later, right?”

Tom sighed,

“Alright. But Pete said he wanted to be there for that call, so let’s finish eating, then we can head to his office. I just hope you are right about Elizabeth Ward being trustworthy, Ray.”

“Yeah,” I replied sincerely. “Me, too.”