Marco turned back and clipped the last round into place in the magazine, jammed it into the receiver, charged the handle, and took aim. Making a minor adjustment to the focus on the scope, she pressed the stock hard into her shoulder and fired a short burst.
Vera took one large step forward, so that he was directly to her left and could see down the lane to the target.
“Move it back, Vladimir.” Vera leaned his head back and gestured to Vladimir who had been watching the target zone through a security window.
Fiddling with some hidden switches, a humming noise began and Sergio stood on his toes in order to see the backstop receding further into the room, making the target distance another ten meters away. He decided to stand at the adjacent firing lane in order to be able to see where her next group of shots landed, as his angle didn’t afford him a good view.
“Alright, concentrate on a controlled shot now.” Vera spoke softly, leaning over Marco impatiently.
Marco ticked the switch to semi-auto, let out her breath, and then fired again. A pause, she fired again, and then made another minor adjustment on the sights, and then a third shot. Vera was outwardly impressed and gave a satisfied grunt. Sergio, who had been watching the two of them, looked down at the target – not a single shot had landed outside of the innermost circle.
“Well done indeed!” Vera laughed, giving Marco a hearty pat on the shoulder. “Maybe you can tell Sergio something about the weapons over here and then I won’t have to.”
Sergio stared down at the weapon on the bench in front of him; it looked to be a very old bolt-action sniper rifle with a heavy wooden body. Feeling already slightly ashamed by the commander’s comment, he only ended up confirming its truth for himself by not recognizing at all what lay before him. He held his breath in hopes that Marco would not take the invitation.
“This is a Mosin-Nagant 1891, used extensively during the Great War. Five-round internal magazine, bolt action, and it has the extended bent bolt to accommodate a sniper scope.” Marco touched the polished wood of the rifle with one hand.
Sergio backed up and practically pretended that he wasn’t there as Vera led Marco past him, but looked over at him expecting him to follow and pay attention. Stopping at each lane, Marco recited what the weapons were and their basic specifications.
“Dragunov SVU automatic sniper rifle, Pecheneg squad support and Degtyaryov light machine guns, all using 7.62x54 rimmed cartridges. And this one is a Simonov SKS-45 carbine with a folding bayonet.” Marco’ voice droned, as if she was generally uninterested in the things she was talking about. Vera, on the other hand, was thoroughly pleased with her.
Sergio stared at his boots, waiting for the humiliation to be over. Inside he truly wished he’d known all the specific attributes and names of the weapons she had listed off. He repeated the words to himself in a vain attempt to memorize all the facts and figures like Marco apparently did. Although normally he’d be interested to learn everything he could, especially in order to become a more effective soldier, he was finding that he only wanted to leave the room.
As if by some miracle of the heavens, Maro came in through the armory doors with a clatter and strolled over to the three of them casually, dragging his sleeve across his sweaty forehead. His entrance seemed to disrupt the atmosphere in the armory and it became instantly quiet.
“What’s up everyone? Have I earned my break yet, boss?” He threw a wink at Vera whose exuberant expression changed to one of irritation.
“Yes, Makarov, go get some ear plugs and you can shoot whatever you want.” Vera sighed heavily, his hand still resting on Marco’ shoulder. “For weapons!” He quickly corrected as Maro darted around the corner, trying to clarify that he had his choice of weapon, not targets.
Marco hurriedly left the old Stalker’s grasp and picked up the Vintorez tenderly, ejecting the magazine and the clearing the chamber, leaving the unspent rounds on the bench. Evidently she remembered the new policy about ammunition.
“I’d like to get some rest, Colonel.” She turned and said with an apologetic sigh. “Please excuse me.”
“Of course, go and get some sleep. It’s very late. I’ll send for you sometime tomorrow once I’ve worked out your assignment.” Vera nodded his head slowly and waved her off with one hand.
“Goodnight, Sergio.” Marco said softly, and he raised his head upon hearing his name, just catching her invasive stare for long enough to understand that he should follow her when he was able. The inflection in her next sentence confirmed his suspicion, “We will speak again soon.”
Chapter 22: How We First Met
Comforted by Marco’ hasty exit, Sergio felt as if he could think and breathe normally again; it was as if a fog was suffocating him when she was around and his mind just spun in circles. The shock and embarrassment of her advanced knowledge of firearms still reigned, hitting him more sharply as he caught sight of Vera shaking his head solemnly. For a minute, Sergio thought the Colonel might turn and admonish him for being so dull by comparison, but then he began to speak in a mournful tone.
“I wish she had come to us sooner.” Vera sighed, a regretful frown on his lips. “I didn’t even think that Sacco had so much spare time to spend with her – or anyone, really. But perhaps his requests for extra assignments gave him the opportunity to visit her more often. Now, I’m sure of it.”
“You would have welcomed her? Even back at Polis?” Maro inserted, coming back around the corner with three sets of hearing protection.
“He did mention her before, about a year or so ago. He’d been spending more and more time out on patrols, though he always checked in on time. I could tell something was on his mind, so I asked him outright.” Vera shifted his stance, rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “At first he told me he’d been visiting an old friend, but I didn’t believe him. Finally he came clean and told me he had been meeting a girl at Venice. He was pretty enamored with her.”
“So you knew about it all along and never did anything?” Maro challenged the Colonel with a harsh tone, but Sergio couldn’t be sure what he had to be angry about.
“We can’t just adopt every man’s mistress into our fold! Smolensk was already overcrowded… you have to think about these things when you’re in command.” Vera sighed harshly as if letting off steam, knowing that no reason was good enough to atone for the loss of their best soldier.
“Mistress?!” Maro yelled, amused by the sentiment but still sounding irritated. “Sacco wasn’t married! Well, I guess they basically could have been. But Marco is clearly a different breed of woman; we could use a soldier like her.”
“I know that now!” Vera roared and then hushed his voice as perhaps Marco was still nearby. “I know it’s my fault – that I didn’t listen to him when he came to me about the Dark Ones. You’re thinking that she could have joined the Order and been his partner and gone with him to the Gardens, that they could have been a team and protected each other. Perhaps it was all possible at one point… only it didn’t happen that way. Sacco never asked me about immigration. In fact, I asked him what he intended to do about her, and as much as I believe that he wanted her here – she refused him.”
What a thought! Sergio paused, running quickly through the idea in his mind; Marco and Sacco going together to the Gardens. Would they have stopped in Exhibition at all? Would she or Sacco have even paid Sergio any mind? Perhaps Sacco would indeed still be here if he had gone with a partner like her. But then, Sergio would never have needed to leave his home station and journey to Polis.