We walked down a few hallways and came up to an imposing-looking metal door that was marked “Armory”. Agent Ruthersford swiped his badge and the door swung inward. Inside was a large area with a few metal picnic tables and various cleaning stations arranged on the walls. There was a large poster on the way that stated in large, red letters that “Gun Safety Starts with YOU!”.

Along one wall there was a square cut out with bars over the opening. As we entered the bars swung outward. I saw a younger man wearing a white lab coat and glasses looking at us expectantly.

“Daniel!” Agent Ruthersford exclaimed. “So good to see you!”

“It’s good to see you too, Agent.” The man smiled at me. “ You must be Teddy’s new partner? Right? Nice to meet you. I’m Dan Jones, the Junior Mage/Armorer here.”

“So you are like a wizard?” I approached the window and could hardly believe my eyes. Beyond the security window and behind Dan, there was a massive, sterile-looking room. I noticed several armorer’s benches with sets of tools and cleaning gear. Beyond that, there were rows and rows of racks of weapons. I saw a variety of assault rifles and submachine guns. Several of the racks had small cases that I assumed to be pistols. There were an array of items that I was not at all familiar with. Some looked like wands or staves of some sort. They didn’t seem to be uniformly made and were in all different shapes and sizes. Just the same, they were lined up in orderly rows, same as the other weapons. I could guess their purpose.

There were also shelves full of clothing. Shirts, pants, hats, belts, and more in various paramilitary configurations. There were also “less-military” items. Mundane looking clothes, cloaks, capes, stylish hats. I also saw some cases of jewelry. Amulets, rings, earrings, bracelets of all shapes and colors.

“How’s the Rhino treating you Agent Ruthersford?” Dan asked.

“Splendidly Daniel. I have grown quite fond of it, as a matter of fact.”

“Awesome, Sir. Glad to hear it. Is our boy here ready for his rigs?” Dan looked at me with a huge grin on his face. “I have really enjoyed putting these together for you.”

I looked at Teddy. “Am I going to get a Rhino too?”

Agent Ruthersford and Dan both laughed together. “Oh no Cash. I’m afraid that the Chiappa is something particular to me. It helps me overcome some of my limitations, when it comes to firing large calibers.

Dan could hardly contain himself. “He’s got a bit of the ol’ limp wrist.” Dan demonstrated by wiggling his hand around loosely.

Agent Ruthersford cleared his throat. “Certain aspects of my Archetype make using certain firearms less than ideal. The unique ballistic properties of the Chiappa Rhino assist me in its use.”

Agent Ruthersford seemed a bit sensitive on the topic so I trod carefully. “It shoots out of the lower chamber of the cylinder. Having the force closer to the centerline helps with the recoil, right?”

Dan looked impressed. “You really know your weapons, sir. But Agent Ruthersford’s the only one that uses that Chiappa model. We typically tailor the primary weapon to the agent. We have quite a bit of variety, but nothing quite like what I rigged up for you. Ben left the window and grabbed and returned with a large, plastic waterproof case.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Try and keep an open mind about what we talked about.” Agent Ruthersford said. “Remember this is a whole new world for you. What is the most efficient may no longer be the most effective.”

Ben set the case down in front of me and slid open the locks. The case had my name stenciled in white letters across the top. Inside the case were two small leather rolls and several small boxes of what I assumed was ammunition.

I looked at Teddy uncertainly. He just smiled.

I removed one of the leather rolls and saw that it was actually an old fashioned leather holster wrapped in a wide leather belt. Inside the holster was the most beautiful gun I had ever seen. It was a revolver of some sort of a bright nickel finish. The grips were made of expensive, deep brown wood. Probably Cherry. I pulled the pistol from the holster carefully, keeping it pointed in a safe direction. “Is this a…?”

“Colt Single Action Army?” Dan helpfully supplied. “No. They are Ruger New Vaqueros. Like the Colts, but a few more modern design touches. I figured it would still trigger the innate magic of your Archetype and still allow you to carry 6 rounds. Plus, they were a bit cheaper and you know how the government loves to save money.”

I examined the pistol. I had never handled one before. Before I realized what I was doing, my fingers nimbly opened the loading gate and spun the cylinder. As the cylinder spun making its wonderful noise, I visually inspected that it was currently unloaded. I snapped the cylinder back into place and spun the pistol on one finger. After several smooth revolutions, I twisted my body and took aim at the safety poster. I fanned the hammer and clicked off 6 dry fires in fractions of a second.

Dan whistled. “Unreal. I guess you have one at home?”

“Nope, “ I admitted. “Never touched one until just now.” I put the belt and holster around my waist. The dark leather looked nice with my suit. I inspected the pistol a bit more closely. There were some unusual markings on the frame just above the trigger. There was also an adjustable rear sight, which I didn’t think was standard. “What’s this?”, I pointed at the markings.

Dan peered over the window to see what I was pointing at. “Oh, that’s the mage part of my job. Standard runes. Durability, accuracy, and something to help keep it clean. I also added a rear sight for you. Not sure you will need it, but hey.”

I strapped on the second gun, it was identical to the first. “What do these shoot?”

Agent Ruthersford answered this time. “357 Magnum. The tech boys like the extra shell space to cram in their powders and elixirs. It’s the “standard” around here if anything can be considered “standard” around here.

“Powders and elixirs? How’s that?”

Teddy took one of the smaller boxes out. “These weapons aren’t for use on standard foes Cash. Our Agency firearms fire special ammunition to help us neutralize metahumans and magical creatures.” He opened the box and removed a bullet. It looked like a standard .357 magnum round, but I noticed that the projectile was made of sterling silver.

“Werewolves?”

He nodded and pointed at the different boxes of ammunition. “Vampires, demons, ghosts, stun rounds, magic penetration rounds, etc. They are all color-coded and there are explanations of all of them in this book.” He pulled a spiral-bound booklet from the box. “We use revolvers because not all the rounds have enough force to cycle the action of a semi-automatic. The ghost rounds for example don’t fire a traditional projectile at all, but kind of a spray of powders. Extremely messy.”

“But effective,” Dan added. “You are permitted to carry a conventional firearm to deal with mundane threats”.

Agent Ruthersford opened his coat to reveal a Glock 19 in a shoulder rig.

“But we figured you’d rather keep your own piece. I could certainly issue you a regular gun if you want.” Dan almost looked hopeful.

I shook my head. “I’ll carry one of my own guns. I have a nice shoulder rig I can use.”

“Oh! I do have one other thing for you today.” Ben brought over a rifle case. “We are working on your tac vest and body armor now. We just got your measurements sent over. We will have it ready by the end of the day. I’ll just have one of the boys run it down to your car.” He set the case in front of me and unzipped it. Inside was a lever-action rifle in a leather scabbard.

I pulled it out and looked at it, running my hand over the walnut stock and nickel finish.

“It’s a Henry Big Boy Carbine. Chambered in .357 Magnum of course.” I could hear the smile in Dan’s voice. I was going to add some tac rails and maybe an optic, but I figured you would want it left alone.”

I worked the action and sighted down the barrel. “No, it’s perfect,” I muttered.

“Awesome. I’ve got another piece I am working on for you, but it’s not quite ready yet. I’ll give you a buzz when it’s finished.”

Agent Ruthersford placed a hand on my shoulder. “Are you ready to qualify?”

“Teddy, let’s go punch some paper”.