Page 48 of Shadow Boxed (Shadow Warriors #2)

Chapter thirty-nine

“We’ll head to the shooting range next,” O’Neill said. He leaned over to offer his daughter his hand. Once she grabbed it, he lifted her from the AstroTurf, where she’d been stretching after their two-mile jog.

“Why do we shoot at the end of the workout? When the body and mind are tired?” Gracie asked, the huff of heavy breathing still evident in her voice.

They had started the morning in the gym with a punching bag and wrestling mat.

Surrounded by the reserved faces of various warriors, he’d demonstrated the basics of self-defense, like the elbow, eye, nose, and knee strike.

She’d picked the moves up quickly, although she needed to refine her technique.

Once she’d mastered the fundamentals, they’d move on to more advanced practices.

“Because you need to learn to shoot true through physical and mental exhaustion,” O’Neill said, assessing her sweaty, red face.

After the self-defense demonstration, he’d led her to the obstacle course, and had her scale a few walls, jump a few hurdles and climb the net. They’d concluded the physical training with a two-mile run.

“How long have you been exercising?” he asked. Muriel had mentioned that Gracie had been hitting the gym and the track.

“About ten days.” She shot him a quick look and fell into step beside him. Her voice darkened. “I know—I suck. I have no strength or stamina.”

“Both will come with time and discipline,” he assured her. “The body does not turn into a blade in ten days’ time.

Physical fitness was the key to a warrior’s success, be it female or male.

A warrior could not think strategically if they were concerned their heart might explode.

Nor could they shoot true while aiming through heaving breaths.

After today, he had a fair sense of his daughter’s capabilities and ideas on how to improve them.

Now it was time to assess her proficiency with firearms. “Have you fired a weapon before?”

“You mean like a gun?” Gracie asked, turning her wet face toward him. The rolled-up bandana she’d tied around her head was soaked with sweat. “I fired a rifle. Daniel—” her voice caught. “—taught me how to shoot.”

“What model?” He was certain the catch in her voice came from grief, rather than exertion. He ignored it.

“An MK22.”

“The model?”

“O.”

The MK22 model O was just one of the rifles offered to the warriors of Shadow Mountain. It was Samuel’s weapon of choice. Which could be why Daniel had gravitated to it. However, there were many types of rifles at Shadow Mountain. A warrior should be proficient with all of them.

“Did you fire a handgun?”

Gracie shook her head.

“We’ll spend the rest of the day on the shooting range. You need to be proficient with various weapons—rifles, handguns, knives...”

“Knives?” she asked. For the first time, trepidation trembled in her voice.

He stopped long enough to hold her hazel eyes.

A shimmer of nervousness touched her face.

“Knives are an essential part of training.” For battle training mostly, although self-defense was a battle of sorts.

“If your target is too close for guns, a knife is a necessity. You cannot afford to be weaponless.”

She offered a sad smile. “Daniel said his hands and feet were his best weapons.”

O’Neill seized on that tidbit concerning his dead son. It read of the bravado typical of young warriors. Even though it was a foolish sentiment.

“Hands and boots are weapons.” He didn’t return her smile.

“But only as a last resort. “Rifles first, then handguns, followed by knives. Only after knives are lost, do you employ hands and boots.” He glanced at her.

The corners of her eyes were crinkled, but her gaze remained steadfast. “The strategy in battle is to attack from a distance. Keep space between you and your opponent. Give yourself room to maneuver.”

She offered a small nod, as though committing the advice to memory. “Am I allowed into the weapons room and shooting range?” She hesitated and rushed the rest out. “I try to work out when no one is around, but I don’t think the warriors like me using their training equipment.”

O’Neill scowled, a surge of protectiveness catching him off guard. “Have any of them spoken to you about this?”

“No.” She recoiled from the harshness in his voice, then stumbled to catch up with his longer stride. I just sensed their annoyance, that’s all.”

His scowl slowly fading, O’Neill stopped and faced her. In retrospect, the reaction she sensed from the base warriors should not have brought surprise. The warrior clan was very much a patriarchal society.

This would not be an easy shift to navigate…for any of them...if she were accepted onto the warrior path.

“Wolf has given permission for your training. This includes all activities and equipment on base.” He paused to catch her eyes. “This does not mean you are slated to become a base warrior. We need guidance from the Shadow Warrior on that matter.

With that said, he led her out of the obstacle course and across the road. Another door was recessed into wall directly across from the entrance to the obstacle course. He pressed his thumb to the scanner.

“This is the weapons locker,” he told her as the security panel beeped and turned green. The lock on the door deactivated with a loud click. He twisted the handle and pushed the door open, which activated the overhead lights. They came on, bank by bank, with a series of loud twangs.

She followed him into the room, only to stop dead as racks upon racks of weapons came into view—submachine guns, RPGs, rifles, handguns, knives—the room was a smorgasbord of every type of weapon imaginable. There were even racks of fiberglass bows and quivers of arrows.

“Holy…” Gracie’s awed voice trailed off. “Do I get to use all of these? I mean, like, can I try them all out?”

“Eventually.” O’Neill’s lips twitched.

Her face was lit with eagerness. Was this interest in weapons a new thing? One that manifested with her Ho'cee claiming? He thought not. Daniel, after all, had taken her shooting before the Ho'cee had claimed her.

He walked along the racks of rifles, until he reached the MK22 models.

He removed the model Daniel had taught her on and grabbed a couple of magazines.

Then crossed over to the racks of handguns and removed a Glock 19, along with a thirty-round magazine.

Gracie’s hands were on the small side, which made the G19 the best fit.

“We’ll start with these.”

He’d evaluate her proficiency with these weapons to start. Then they’d explore other options. Every warrior had a favorite weapon. Daniel might have chosen the MK22, but that didn’t mean Gracie would.

The range was empty when they walked in.

No surprise. Most warriors hit the range after the endless training and strategy meetings had concluded for the day.

And when they finally arrived, they did so en masse.

Target practice had become a competitive sport among Wolf’s warriors, complete with jeering and boasting and obnoxious one-upmanship.

Hell, even the squids had fallen into the competition trap—although their rivalry was among themselves.

There was a clear delineation between the warriors of Shadow Mountain, and the squids, and then him.

Although his jie'van status seemed murkier since Wolf’s thawing.

“This place is huge,” Gracie said, her eyes shining with awe as she followed him to the first shooting station.

O’Neill set the MK22 and the Glock, along with the extra magazines, on the counter running along the front of the station.

“Remember to always point your weapon down, when it’s not in use,” he said as he removed a steel, body shaped target from a hook on the Plexiglas that separated the stations. He attached it to the target holder and ran it down the range to the fifty-yard marker.

Gracie nodded solemnly. “Which gun should I start with?”

O’Neill nodded toward the rifle. “The MK22. Remember, always do a weapons check before using any gun. Treat each weapon as though it’s loaded.

While doing a check, point the weapon in a safe direction in case of discharge.

” As he went through each safety precaution, he demonstrated the action on the MK22.

“If the weapon has a magazine inserted, remove it and check the chamber for ammunition. Check the empty barrel and magazine for any obstructions that could cause a misfire. If the weapon has a safety, engage it.” He showed her where the safety was on the MK22.

After demonstrating the safety protocols, he inserted the magazine back into the magazine well and set the weapon down on the counter.

Stepping back, he turned to her. “Your turn.”

Moving into place in front of the rifle, she picked the weapon up with confidence, checked that the safety was on and methodically went through the steps he’d listed. After completing the last step, she reinserted the magazine, rechecked the safety, and set the rifle back down.

“Good.” O’Neill stepped back up to the counter and grabbed two pairs of earmuffs.

He handed one to her. “Always wear ear protection when you’re on the range.

” Since she’d already used this particular rifle, he didn’t bother to give her a rundown on shooting practices.

He’d correct any mistakes after he’d seen her shoot. “Target center mass.”

“What’s center mass?” Gracie asked, her fingers hovering over the rifle.

“Chest and upper abdomen. It’s the area most likely to neutralize a threat.”

“Right.” Gracie pulled on the earmuffs and picked up the MK22.

O’Neill stepped back, putting on his earmuffs.