About the time we finished our salads, Ricky, from our previous visit, came in with our cheeseburgers. He presented them to us as though they weren't anything less than the steaks we'd had last time – and after each of us took a bite, we had to agree with him: the same delicious flavor, only in a sandwich. Each of us also had a portion of crispy, golden french-fries, and fresh toppings for our burgers. We took our time, savoring each bite, even chatting with Muddy when he came in to join us. Having Muddy there, telling stories as we ate, did wonders to distract Lucy and the girls from why we were there in the first place.
When we'd finished that part of our meal, Muddy headed off again, reappearing a short time later with bowls of ice cream for us all. None of us thought anything of it, until we'd taken a bite – then realized just how good this ice cream was! Muddy chuckled, and told us "That's*fresh* ice cream folks. It's just plain old vanilla, made just today, with FRESH ingredients and REAL vanilla beans. What do you think?" Robyn looked up at him with an impish grin, and said "Beats grubs!" – and earning herself a roar of laughter from him.
We took our time with the ice cream, too – it was simply too good to hurry.
Finally, though, it was gone – and after Ricky had cleared the bowls from the table, another waiter brought in cups of coffee for me, and Lucy, and hot chocolate for Sandra and Robyn. We all sat around, listening as Muddy told stories and joked with us. Finally, though it was time to go. As we were leaving, Muddy pulled me aside and said "If it's really the Mob involved, you might want to look up Guido. He's here in town."
I looked at Muddy in surprise, and he let me know "Nah, he's not in the family business; everything I hear, he's stayed out of it completely. But it's still HIS family, y'know? Might be he has something to say."
I thanked him, and he clapped me on the shoulder, almost breaking it, before escorting us to the front door – nearly surrounded by pleased-looking FBI agents. I think he shook up one agent when he told the man "Those folks are my *friends*, Mister FBI. You watch after 'em GOOD, you hear?" The agent just nodded his head, and got while the getting was good.
From the Caf,, we went to the gun store Agent Gallery had told me about. The girls, wanted to see what it looked like; Lucy went with us to keep an eye on them. Inside, I found what could only have been the owner – a somewhat grizzled older man, with eyes that missed nothing, and a look that said he was the sorrier for what he'd seen. Right behind us came Agent Gallery, and a couple of his people – more to reassure the owner, than for protection, I thought.
I introduced myself, and he looked me over before saying "Yup. Been expecting you. Glad to see you've got company. Guess you're in kind of a fix?"
I smiled wryly, and said, "Some might think so. Seems some folks think I need to carry, again."
"You looking for anything in particular?"
"I got kinda fond of the.45, some time ago."
He looked at me again, and said "Military?"
"Army. Special Forces."
He nodded, and said, "These kids today, they all like those little nine millimeter popguns. Me, I like something that makes bigger holes, and will knock someone down so they don't get up again. I've got something over here you might be interested in. A customer special ordered a long-slide.45, paid the deposit for it, but never came in to collect it. Had it laying around here for a couple months." I'd followed him over to where it was, and he opened the case up to let me look it over – and gave a grudging nod of approval as I carefully checked to make sure it wasn't loaded. I racked the slide a couple of times, holding the hammer with my thumb as I checked the trigger; I saw approval in his eyes that I wasn't letting the hammer drop.
I was looking at the grips when he told me "That's some fancy new rubber kind of stuff; won't slip in your hand, no matter how wet it is. Seems to work pretty good."
I hefted it, and checked how it felt when I held it out – nice and solid, but not 'heavy'. When I set it back on the counter, I asked him "How much?" He looked me over, and asked "What the boys tell me, about why they're on you – that true?"
"Yup."
He looked over to where Lucy and the girls were examining a display of shotguns, then looked back at me before saying "Them the ones you're wanting this for?"
"Yup."
He thought a few moments, and said "Tell you what. You being military and all, and knowing how to treat a decent firearm – I'll let you have it for cost, just to get it out of here. Be worth it to me if it helps you keep those pretty girls from getting hurt."
I thanked him, and said that I'd be needing some ammo for it, and a holster.
When he asked me what ammo I wanted, I told him "The heaviest you've got; preferably silvertip, but hollow point will do, too." He smiled at me and said "You don't want 'em getting up, do you?" – and laughed when I answered "Not if I gotta shoot 'em in the first place." He rummaged around a moment, and put a couple boxes of ammo on the counter, next to the pistol. I asked if he had any spare magazines, and he came up with a couple of those, too. Then we went over to have a look at the holsters; I finally settled on a little number that would fit under my waistband, at the small of my back. He added it all up, and I gave him cash for the purchase. He looked at me, and raised an eyebrow; I just said "I thought it might make the paperwork easier". He smiled, and when he brought me over the forms to fill out for the handgun purchase, I carefully didn't notice they were all dated for a couple of days previous. When he brought me my change, I asked "You got a range in here that I can use? Kinda like to make sure I still remember which end the bullets come out of." He grinned, and said "Oh, I reckon you still know."
I looked around, and saw Lucy looking at me. I gestured her over, and asked "I'm going to fire a few rounds through this thing to get a feel for it. Your call if you and the girls want to watch."
She thought about it a few seconds, and finally told me "Yeah, it would probably be a good idea. Let them know that it's not a toy, and show them that you're really there to protect them. Okay, we'll watch."
As she went off to herd them over, the owner went over and locked the front door, saying "Well, that's it for the night. I'll be closing up after you folks leave."
When he got back, we were all ready, and he guided us to the indoor pistol range he had in the back. A couple of the agents followed us – as much to see if I could shoot, as to watch over us, I suspected. The owner handed out safety glasses and hearing protectors before showing me to the firing line. I carefully loaded all the magazines, leaving them next to the pistol as I put the holster in place at my back. One of the agents put a silhouette target up for me, and ran it down the range a little ways. I looked around to make sure Lucy and the girls were ready, and out of the way, before sliding a magazine in. I drew the slide back, and let it move forward, putting a round in the chamber.
I put it up in front of me, and carefully sighted in on the target, and eased the trigger back, firing the first round. The owner was watching the target through a small scope, and called out "Nine, two o'clock", telling me where I'd hit the target. I fired again, and he called out "Nine to Ten, Twelve o'clock".
Again I fired, and he announced "Ten ring, Twelve o'clock". Then "Ten to X, twelve o'clock". Then "X-ring, Twelve o'clock". The last three, all he said was "X-ring" – meaning that I'd actually hit the 'X' that marked the center of the target area.
The FBI people were looking at me strangely, and I let the empty magazine drop, and the agent that had put the target up for me brought it back in – revealing that the last three shots had left a single ragged hole in the target. He quickly put up another one, and sent it down the range – a little farther.