Kirsty Cotton will never surrender. (bloodonsnow) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-07-25 19:14:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, kirsty cotton, will graham |
Who: Kirsty Cotton and Will Graham.
What: Firing range.
When: Saturday, July 20th.
Where: Firing range near Will's.
Rating: PG-13 for language.
Status: Complete!
Will had been turning over Lilo’s idea ever since their date a week or so ago. Before he did anything, though, he wanted to ask someone who’d know better. So he rang up Kirsty’s cellphone, figuring her fiance wouldn’t pick that up. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with Babcock right now. Or preferably ever.
“Cotton,” she said, answering the phone on the first ring. She hadn’t looked at the ID when she picked it up; it was autopilot. She just answered.
“Hello, Kirsty. It’s Will. Are you on today?” If so, another day would be okay, but he couldn’t help being a little impatient. “Or do you have plans?”
“About to be off in thirty, no plans. Why do you ask?” She liked Will, and it showed in the smile on her face.
“Was wondering if you might like to go to the gun range. I’m a bit out of practice.” Will smiled a little. “Also, I wanted to discuss something with you.”
“Yeah, that’s a great idea. Which one?” She grabbed a pencil and a pad of paper, ready to write down an address or a phone number.
Will named the range nearest his house, giving the address. “Out of curiosity, what do you carry on duty? A .38?”
“Yeah, but I’ve got a .45 anyway just because the rest of the dumbasses here carry one. Fuckin’ penis envy.” She jotted the address down and ripped the paper off. She could leave early.
“I have a .22 rifle and a .45, but I prefer the rifle.” Will chuckled a little. “But good, I’m glad you’re interested. See you there when you get off work?”
“I’m on my way now. Paperwork’s all turned in for once.” She made sure to take her piece and her tin with her, tucking the latter into her jacket pocket.
“Okay, I’ll meet you there, then.” Will hung up and headed out of the house.
He was excited to see Kirsty - it had been some time, and he’d worried about her after some of her posts on the Valarnet. Plus, she might be able to give him some pointers with the .45; if this was going to be even remotely possible, he had to be able to pass things like the marksmanship exam.
She took her own car to the range, leaving her unmarked in the lot in case her partner needed it. Granted, her partner was useless anyway and everyone knew it, but still. Kirsty tried to be polite.
When she pulled into the range, she flashed her badge and got to get a discount for their room. Sprawling out, she waited for Will.
Will arrived about fifteen minutes later on, holding a gun case and waving. “Hello, Kirsty. Been waiting long?” He’d had to take Winston and Lady out before he left.
“Nope, not at all.” She stood up and smiled, waiting for him to check in. “How’re you?”
“All right.” Will finished the process, turning to her. “It’s been an interesting week or so. And it had been a while since we spoke. I wanted to check in with you.” Her fiance had no doubt looked after her during all the danger, but still.
“Oh, a couple got into the house, but Giles ripped one in half and I shot the other one. We hid out at the bar where Giles works. Duke’s pretty good at being a guard dog in addition to finding corpses.” She smiled, obviously fond of the dog and her fiancé both. “Oh, we’re getting married next weekend. If you want to come.”
“I’m glad you had them both there. And am I allowed to come?” Will raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want to cause trouble.” He’d like to go if he could, but he didn’t want to upset Babcock. Especially if he considered bringing Lilo.
“Of course you are. I told Giles if he starts anything, I’ll shoot his kneecaps off.” Kirsty put on her safety goggles and put her ear protection around her neck as she started loading clips for both her guns.
Will waited until she had finished loading. “Would it be all right to bring someone?”
Kirsty’s eyes lit up. “A girl? You have a girlfriend? When did this happen? I need details before we do anything firearm related, please.”
“I don’t know if I have a girlfriend.” Sigh. Will had brought it up because he did want to tell Kirsty, but at the same time, it was awkward. “Are we tenth grade girls?”
“I was a tenth grade girl, so sure, that’s a working theory.” She folded her arms. “C’mon. So you’ve got a girl you go on dates with but you guys aren’t sure if you’re dating yet?”
“We haven’t discussed it.” Will shrugged. “I don’t want to assume.”
“You could ask,” Kirsty added. “You know, since you’re inviting her to a wedding.”
“Well, now I will. I didn’t know that until just now.” Will made a face. “I don’t know. I was fishing and saw her out on a boat diving, and I got alarmed when she didn’t resurface for four minutes.”
Kirsty raised an eyebrow. “What happened? Did you have to save her?” That was terribly romantic in a Start to a Disney Movie way.
“Oh, no. She’s a freediver. She ... dives.” Will finished lamely. “It’s an Olympic sport or something. She’s from Hawaii, and she’s a pro surfer.”
“I actually saw a documentary about freediving,” Kirsty offered. “It looks scary as hell. She must be a firecracker.” Of course, Kirsty thought that sort of personality would be perfect for Will.
“She’s ... very free, really.” Will had to smile. “About what you’d expect someone from Hawaii to be like. In tune with nature, likes animals. She has a big mastiff she named Daisy.”
That made Kirsty smile. “She’s a dog person too, then?”
“I think Winston has a crush on her.” Will smiled a little more, starting to load his guns. “She definitely understands animals.”
Kirsty couldn’t help but notice that Will was smiling broadly and genuinely. It was one of the few times she’d seen it, and it made her happy. “Ask her. If she feels the same way you do, you guys are dating.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” Will grabbed his ear protection. “But regardless, may I bring my ... Lilo to the wedding?” If Babcock stared at her, he’d speak up. That was probably the safest way to handle it; odds were Babcock wouldn’t understand him if he spoke in words of more than two syllables.
“Please do. Like I said, if Giles gives you anything, I’ll shoot him.” Kirsty smiled and chose human outlines for their targets instead of the sharpshooting circles she used sometimes.
“I hope you don’t have to do that.” Will was somewhat thrown by the human outlines - he hadn’t used those before in real life, only as a dream New Orleans cop - but it was, after all, just an outline. “You can go first, if you want.”
“I hope so too. And okay.” She put her ear protection on. “Head shot’s worth ten points, chest are worth five.” Chest shots were easier to group, but heads were worth more. Kirsty tended to group in the head. She shot one handed since she was used to the recoil on both of her guns, squeezing off five and getting them all in the head. She squinted as the sheet of paper came back to them, sighing. “Eh, I’ve done worse,” she sighed.
Will nodded, leaning over to scrutinize the holes. “Neat grouping, at least,” he commented. “I’m more used to the circles, so we’ll see, I guess.” He put on his own ear protection, readying himself.
His grouping was not quite as tight, but he hit the head all six times with the rifle. “I’ll try the .45 next, I suppose.”
The results were almost opposite with the .45; Will hit six all in the chest, but his grouping was extremely tight, all concentrated in the upper right chest area, near the heart. “Huh.”
Kirsty blinked, looking at him. “That’s Academy style,” she commented, quiet. “Dreaming about being a cop still?”
“Yes.” He hadn’t expected her to catch on that quick. “It just came back to me. But yes, I dreamt about walking a beat before I joined the crime lab.”
She nodded, retying her hair into a higher ponytail. “God, I wish I had a partner half as smart as you,” she sighed. “Smith’s just fuckin’ dead weight.”
“Oh?” Will reloaded the .45. “How so? I mean, can you speak to your superior?”
“I could. You ever thought about joining the force here for real?” Kirsty turned her head to look at him, smiling broadly.
“Yes.” Will probably confused her with his reply, but well, he had. “I just don’t know if it would be possible, since it’s not ‘real’ experience that I have. I wouldn’t want to walk a beat. I don’t think my brain is particularly suited for that.” He said it with more than a touch of cynicism.
“I could talk to my chief, see what we can do. I think he’s been here long enough to know that weird shit abounds, and as long as you pass. I’d be willing to take you on as my partner.” She reloaded her gun with another clip, smiling at him.
It would be ideal, and he knew that, but he couldn’t be too optimistic. “Your fiance would try to kill me.” Will said, not without humor.
“Eh, maybe once he realized I’m not going to run off with you, it’ll settle him some. I just think he doesn’t like feeling like a freak, and you remind him that he’s not as smart as he thinks he is sometimes. Hell, who is?” Kirsty loved her future husband, yes, but she saw his shortcomings too.
“It’s understandable, but I don’t do it on purpose.” Nine times out of ten. Will would admit to trying his best to embarrass the man only after Babcock had been an ass. “But ... that was the thing I wanted to discuss with you, the serious thing. Do you think it’s even remotely possible?” He’d have loved to use these interesting talents for something a little more useful. All the client dogs except Bo were coming toward the end of their training periods, and if he made more money as a police officer, he could hire someone trustworthy to go feed Winston, Lady, Roger and Aggie.
“I know you don’t, but he’s sensitive.” Words Least Likely to be Used Describing Giles Babcock for a thousand, Alex.
“I do, yeah. Tanaka’s a hard bastard, but fair, and he’ll see that you’re smart and we could use you. Especially if you’re you’re that good a shot.” Not as good as Kirsty, but few were; she’d trained for years until she was better than every man on Sex Crimes. Point of pride.
“Let me try again with the .45.” Will waited until she’d put her ear protection back on, then emptied the .45 into the human-shaped target. His grouping was just as tight, though a half inch or so lower, aiming for the bottom of the heart area. “In this life, I never learned to group that well. Honestly, I thought I’d be better with the rifle.”
“If your dreams are what’s influencing your shooting, which I suspect, the .38 will be best.” She handed him her standard issue, having reloaded it, safety on, grip first. Resecuring her ear protection, she leaned against the partition, feeling like Will was already more a partner than Useless Smith was.
Will knew something about guns even without his dreams, but he did feel more at ease with the .38. “I’ll try to aim for the head.” He put his ear protection back on, taking a breath. The trigger felt lighter, so the first shot jumped wildly - too much pressure. The next few, however, were all concentrated in the neck and chin area, as he got a better grip. “It’d take some adjusting - it’s smaller.”
“Here.” She adjusted the way he was standing. “Weaver stance is fine for a .38, it’s so light it won’t kick too much. Isosceles makes more sense for that .45.”
Will nodded, shifting his shoulder. “Like this?” It did seem to make more sense.
“Mmhm. You can risk bent arms. Something something inertia.” She didn’t adjust his grip; that was personal. “Okay, go for it.”
“Okay.” Will aimed for the head again, finding his grip better. His grouping wasn’t as tight as with the .45, but it was solid, all of the bullets connecting near between the eyes. “Not bad at all.”
“You’d probably have better groupings in the chest, which is really all the Academy wants from you.” She was grinning, feeling for some strange reason, absurdly proud.
“Will you do it in the chest area with the .38 so I can watch you?” Will saw her smiling. “You’d be behind me if I do this, huh.”
“I’m gunning for you to be my partner, Will.” She favored an in-line grip with her .38, and she signaled for another target to be let down. When she was finished, there were five neat holes all in a circle, dead center on the heart. “Now, this is my gun, of course, so that makes a difference, and I did practice every night for like, seven years.”
“Understandable.” Will nodded. It made sense that Kirsty, as a woman in a male-dominated profession, would want to be the best. He looked at her form, her hands, where her shoulders were. “You prefer the Weaver, though, with the .38. Yes?”
Kirsty nodded. “It just feels more natural for me, and she’s got less kick anyway.” Kirsty smiled, shrugging a little. “I try not to personify my weapons, but hell. I suck at it.”
“I think literally every cop does it.” At least all the ones he’d met. “I’ll work on it. I got the .45 for target shooting more than anything - I have the rifle for hunting, but I don’t hunt much anymore.” Not since he’d gotten to California, at least. “I should maybe get myself a .38 to practice on. Maybe?”
“Hell, I have spares if you want one.” She’d have to fill out paperwork, but that would be easy enough.
“Thank you, but I might prefer to get one I can adapt to my own grip.” It was probably particular, but oh, well. “I mean ... I appreciate it. But it’s probably better to get my own.”
Kirsty nodded. “I knew what you meant.” She clapped Will on the back. “We’re all sort of antisocial, quirky sorts on the Force, Will. Normal, quote unquote, people aren’t drawn to this line of work.”
Will flinched at the clap on the back, but he managed to smile.
She winced. “Sorry.”
“It’s all right.” She’d just gotten carried away. “I’m certainly not normal, I admit that.”
“Fuck, who is?” Kirsty smiled. “I’ll be sure to not get huggy.”
“Sorry. I ought to have said something.” Will shook his head. “It isn’t personal. Just ... personal space.” He could handle it from Lilo - she always touched him after a pause of sorts - and if Kirsty warned him, it would be all right.
“My partner now is like that, only I’m kind of glad because he smells like he bathes in Aqua Velva. Like, literally uses it instead of water.” Kirsty wrinkled her nose. “I take so many showers.”
“Ugh.” Will’s shiver of distaste was real. “That’s ... no.”
“Bless you for knowing that,” she laughed. “But still. If you decide you want to go through with this, I’ve got your back.”
“Thank you. Really.” Will smiled. “Care to fire off a few more?” He needed the practice, after all.
“Always. I’ll even sweep up your brass after. How’s that for friendship?” Kirsty smirked a little, thumbing bullets into her clip and resecuring her ear protection. She motioned for him to go first.
“Aw, how kind.” Will smiled again before going back to the firing line.