The Face of Freedom. Benjamin Vance
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announced, “There will be five; shooting rounds of ten shots each. The targets will be pulled and scored after each ten rounds. The targets are at 50 meters. You have one minute to get ten rounds down range. If there are any problems, announce them immediately. ‘Any questions?” No one asked. Then he announced, “Ready on the left ... ready on the right ... ready on the firing line?” After he saw everyone was ready he announced, “Commence firing!”
The walker had not unholstered his weapon before Anderson got off his first shot. The walker inserted a 15-round magazine raised his weapon and sent the first tracer down range and into the ten-ring, almost dead center. His old baby was still dead on. He heard the murmur of acknowledgement from the crowd and heard Ralph laugh sarcastically and somewhat fearfully. Julie concentrated on a firing cadence that allowed a bullet down range every five seconds or so. He figured she would be a bad opponent shooter to be up against; very deliberate!
Anderson and Kitty shot pretty methodically, but Ralph did not. It seemed he was shooting just for fun and not paying too much attention to the others or to hitting the target. When the walker's fifth round lit up the line Ralph called on Simon to stop the shooting. He complained that the tracers were distracting. After a “manly” discussion regarding tracers in combat Simon got Ralph to concede that after the tenth round, he would switch places with the walker so that he wouldn't see the tracers out of his right eye. That put the walker next to Julie.
The scores were announced after the first round: Julie 90, Kitty 90, Anderson 100, Ralph 100, and Mr. Walker 90. Now he knew why Ralph wasn't really trying. He had a mole in the target lifting bunch. The walker asked that the scorers not be moved. Simon agreed and Ralph had no argument. The walker knew he had put all ten in the middle, but didn't ask for a recount. He also knew he had a mole working his target and would lose the match. There wasn't a thing he could do about winning, with Ralph's men down range, but he could help someone else win. He noticed Ralph's attention to Julie was not so distracting to her, so during the next series he put two perfect rounds into Julie's target while Ralph was trying to impress her. The scores were: Julie 100, Kitty 90, Anderson 100, Ralph 100, and Mr. Walker 90. The 90 was impossible since he had put only eight on the target. That would bear scrutiny if necessary.
As the shooting progressed, Ralph got more and more lax about his shooting. The walker's only concern was to make sure he didn't put a tracer into Julie's target. He kept mental track of the tracer sequence. He could not be wrong. He could only assume she had an honest scorer; or maybe a dumb one. He put at least one round into Julie's target every time. She kept getting perfect scores. Lazenby apparently didn't want to look too good so he also got a 90 just to seem credible.
By the fifth round Julie and Lazenby had the same scores. There was no doubt Lazenby would end up winning if the walker didn't take some action. Then it hit him that he was shooting on the repaired target holder. After he put two rounds into Julie's target, he took a moment to estimate trajectory of a ricochet from the angle iron the brothers had installed so well. He asked his forty for her help and they placed a round onto the angle iron. Since it was a “Man Stopper”, it blew into a thousand pieces; almost shredding Ralph's target. There were so many holes in it that no one could have scored it.
Ralph cussed, looked at the walker and wondered out loud why he was carrying a gun. Simon pronounced Julie the winner and everyone congratulated her, especially Ralph. Even though Ralph suspected treachery, he didn't seem to be distracted by the loss. It was just his normal way of influencing events he couldn’t control. Many people are like that and it serves them well until faced with life threatening situations. Then most become a liability, and are usually evacuated in a black bag.
Julie was ecstatic! The walker noticed her and her scorer talking and realized she had a friend in the target pits. ‘Another young man who was sweet on Julie; he couldn't blame any of them, but if she were his daughter ... well there would be some young men toeing the line.
Ridge Parker came out of nowhere with a big grin and a friendly handshake to congratulate him on the lowest score, and asked him not to feel too badly. He said that everyone realized Ralph was a great shot since he won almost every time. When the walker looked toward the Lazenby's he found it hard to keep his eyes off Isadora. He made a mental note that Mrs. Lazenby had been used a lot to distract from, and promote Ralph's agenda. Julie ran over to her dad and they both congratulated each other on her winning. He congratulated her on being such a great shot and she congratulated him on having such a super sharp shooter daughter. Everyone was in a jubilant mood; even Mrs. Lazenby, who kept stealing glances at the walker and catching his eye. He guessed she was doing what she was getting paid for.
Many people talked to the walker and insinuated they knew what went on and made it clear that his last shot was a welcomed one. After all, one can't score a mutilated target. Some hinted at a shoot off, but he was purposely non-committal. He suspected that after supper and ice cream, everyone would forget the target shoot.
He chose to sit with some of the folks who were new faces to him. He assumed they were actively employed and could not normally make it to the compound during the week. They seemed happy to talk to him, and he answered many questions. He purposely sat with his back to the Lazenby's, not to be rude but to avoid the glances from Isadora.
During the conversation he noticed recognition on the faces of several of the folks facing him, turned and saw Ralph Lazenby was about to join him. A lady sitting next to him refused to move for Ralph so he sat to his left close to a man that didn't seem pleased to have Lazenby within a hundred yards. Ralph was on his best behavior though and everyone at the table seemed to be considerate enough to be civil. He glibly consoled the walker on his poor showing at the shoot and asked if he would ever consider a rematch.
The walker responded with, "Maybe we could just go out and shoot at some pine cones sometime and discuss the state of the union." That was fine with Ralph. He patted the walker on the back as he left and invited him to his home sometime. The walker thought he would rather stick bamboo under his nails, but stood up and thanked Ralph for his hospitality.
The conversation was very civil and quieter than he remembered the night before. He wondered if he had misjudged Ralph Lazenby’s influence. He thought, “Perhaps the real leader or leaders are somewhere else this evening.”He really couldn't wait to get away from this convoluted bunch, but he had to try to sort out the leadership if they were to ever be a part of the movement.
“Hi there sharpshooter,” came a loud salutation from Julie as she kissed his cheek and whispered close to his ear, “I know what you did ... thank you! And I know why you did it ... thank you! Now I'm going to turn you over to Isadora.” She grinned and giggled as he cut his eyes at her in a fake menace. She bounded off like a little girl, very pleased with herself for being so observant. The scent of her remained and his heart thought of Linda.
9.
Steve Northfield and his wife had just finished a rare home dinner when his government cell phone rang. The chief of the FBI, Roland Franks and Northfield exchanged pleasantries for a moment and Franks informed him there had been progress on the minuteman investigation. An operative in Montana had identified the man who was stirring up the Para-military organizations across the West. There had been no confirmation of his identity yet, but the operative was working on it. Apparently he was just known as the walker. He’d chosen to hide his identity. That made him a possible terrorist threat as far as Steve Northfield was concerned.
“Thanks for informing me Roland. We may have something to go on here. It sounds like he may fit the terrorist profile.”
“No, actually. Our informant says he gives speeches to these organizations in which he espouses no military action against the government. He envisions a high state of readiness in the event of foreign invasion.”
“Ha! That's the biggest bunch of crap I've ever heard. How can he be trying to organize groups that are basically anti-government and not contemplate the violent overthrow of our government?”
“He claims that if the organizations can be combined cohesively they will comprise