The Night Gods III- V: Kyle

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Kyle's skills as a marksman were improving dramatically thanks to Dick's expert tutelage. Despite his mother's pleadings, he was determined to make his contribution to the resistance effort. Out of deference to Ann's feelings, Dick and Przybysz had kept Kyle out of harm's way by only letting him play a marginal role. She had already sacrificed her husband and no one wanted her to lose her son too.

"Prz," she said, voice trembling with fear. "Surely you can talk him out of this madness... he looks up to you."

"I already have," Przybysz replied. "He's a determined boy and I'm afraid he'll go out on his own if we don't let him take part."

"He's just a boy," Ann pleaded. "I'm afraid Prz."

"He's got that fancy new rifle, Ann," Przybysz told her. "A CheyTac with that new Nightforce scope and he's been hitting targets well over 1500 meters. He's dying to get out and do some damage to the enemy. We can't hold him back forever- you know how he worships Dick... He wants to be like him."

"Why can't he be more like his father... If Jim was only here," she lamented. "Can't you order him or something?"

"I can," Przybysz said. "But it won't do any good. I can't watch him 24 hours a day, but I can keep an eye on him. Look, I'll take him out with me... if there's any sign of danger- we'll get out."

"Promise," Ann asked trying to smile.

"Scout's honor," Przybysz replied with a grin. "Look, I'll set him up with a really long shot and maybe he'll miss and lose his taste for it. It's a lot different when it's another human being in the scope and not a target."

"Thank you Prz," Ann reached out and touched his arm gently. "He's all I have left of Jim... I see his father in him so much."

"I know hon," Przybysz leaned down kissing the top of her head.

Prz," Ann said as he was leaving, "thanks again."

"You're welcome," he smiled, but I can't keep him down forever... he's a natural, Ann, like Dick. Like the saying goes- he was born for this shit."

Ann grimaced. The thought of losing her only son was almost too much to bear. She liked Prz and admired his skills... If anybody could keep Kyle safe it was Prz.

Kyle and Dick were out at their makeshift range. It was time to try a moving target at a 1500 meter range. Dick had set up a shooting platform on a hilltop and with the help of a local farmer pulling a mannequin behind his tractor, they would test Kyle's skills.

"Breathe kid," Dick told him, squeeze on the exhale. Don't hold your breath, it will throw off your shot."

I know, Dick, I know," Kyle said. "You don't have to keep telling me."

"Ok, hotshot, I hope you're ready," Dick replied, "range 1640 meters, wind..."

"About 5 mph from the west," Kyle said with a smile, adjusting his scope accordingly.

"How do you know that?" Dick asked him.

"I watch the leaves of the trees behind the target," he replied, " just like you taught me."

"Ok," Dick shook his head," I'll have Randall start."

The tractor came into Kyles line of sight first, followed by the wagon carrying the sitting mannequin. He took a deep breath and began letting it out slowly through his mouth... he squeezed and the mannequin's head exploded. he turned and grinned at his teacher.

Damn it Kyle," Dick said. "What did I tell you about head shots!"

"I just wanted to show you what I could do Boss," Kyle continued grinning, "I would never do it in a real situation... I remember- always a chest shot."

Ok, kid," Dick smiled. He had to admit, Kyle was good... maybe even better than he was at that age. But it still remained to be seen how he would react at the moment of truth... when there was a human being in the scope. He would soon find out. They packed up the CheyTac .408 and headed back to the compound where they found an anxious Ann.

"Kyle, "she began, "won't you please give up on this sniper business. Go to work with David and his people- you're good with computers."

"I'm good at this too Mom," Kyle said defiantly. "I'm not a kid anymore- I'm almost 19 and this is what I want to do."

"But honey," Ann pleaded, "you're not a killer. You've never shot anybody and shooting people isn't like shooting at targets... I don't want my son to be a killer. Oh how I wish your father was here."

"Things are different now Mom, and Dad isn't here," Kyle said firmly, putting his arms around her. "I love you Mom, but this is a war and I have to do my part... This is what I'm good at."

"Well, I can see your mind's made up," Ann said resignedly. "Just promise you'll stay close to Prz and listen to him... He has experience with this sort of thing."

"Did he say something?" Kyle asked eagerly. "Is there a mission?"

"I don't know Dear," she said. "You'll have to ask him."

Kyle kissed his mother and went in search of Przybysz. He found him with Dick in conference with a couple of the New Oathkeepers- UN officers dressed in civilian clothes.

"Am I interrupting?" He asked after knocking.

"Come in Kyle," Dick said. "We were just talking about you."

"Is it a mission?" Kyle asked excitedly.

"Yes Kyle," Przybysz told the boy. "An opportunity to test your skills on a moving target- a human target."

One of the NO men spoke: "Minister of Defense Wade is coming for a top secret meeting with an envoy of Patterson's, his Information chief" he began. "Because of his, shall we say, unpopularity, they wanted an out of the way place- they chose Ft. Smith. There's only a small window of opportunity and he'll be heavily guarded. You'll have to take the shot between the plane and the car... He'll be arriving via a small private jet so as to not arouse suspicion."

"I can do it," Kyle said enthusiastically. "Just give me a chance."

"Let me finish," the officer continued, you'll have to take the shot from around 1800 meters."

"This is no dummy, son," Dick said solemnly. And like I told you- no head shots. This is serious business Kyle... there's no room for hotdogs in this line of work. If you're serious about becoming a sniper, the first thing you need to do is learn to follow orders."

"Yes, Sir," Kyle said looking down. "No more showing off."

"Prz will come along as a backup shooter- he's the boss," Dick told the boy. "Just in case you miss or freeze up... This is far too important for any mistakes."

"I won't freeze," Kyle said defensively.

"Don't take it hard, Kyle," Przybysz said. "It's always like this the first time... You never know what you'll do until you squeeze off that first shot."

The other NO officer took a photo from inside his jacket. "This is Wade- your target. He'll be in civilian clothes and there will be others with him. Memorize this face," he said handing Kyle the picture.

"Kyle, you take that picture and study it well," Dick said. "We still have some details to iron out."

When Kyle was out of earshot, the NO officer spoke up: "Are you sure you want to use him, he's just a boy- untried?"

"He has to start somewhere," Dick replied. No offense Prz- he's the best shot we have and I believe in him. I've been training him for months."

"None taken... second best, by the way," Przybysz said with a smile. "Don't worry gentlemen, I think he'll do just fine. I have faith in Kyle just like Dick has... Besides, I'll be watching with my Steyr IWS 2000... It'll take out a tank if worse comes to worse."

Holy shit," the Oathkeeper said. "Where the fuck did you get one of those... or the ammo?"

"Same place you do," Przybysz said with a wink.

"Ok," the officer replied. "You'll have three minutes from when we hear the shot to get to the extract point on the backside of the hill. It will be an uphill climb most of the way so... The Lt and I will be standing by in the Blackhawk. We'll just look like part of the search party that'll scramble. From there, we'll take you to the drop-off where Dick will be with the van."

It was a tense two days for Kyle, waiting for his chance to prove himself. He spent the first day practicing and the second preparing himself mentally.

Minister Wade's plane was scheduled to land at precisely 2:30 PM where a car would meet him and carry him from the airport to his meeting with Patterson's envoy at the Convention Center offices. Little did they know that their timing would favor the shooters.

The location for the shot was carefully chosen by Leo Rosen... it was a hilltop near the airport in neighboring Oklahoma, just over a mile away. The sun at that time of day, would be in the eyes of any pursuers. Before leaving the compound, Dick took Kyle aside to once more caution him...

"This isn't like shooting targets Kyle," he said. "There won't be any sandbags to rest your rifle on, you'll have to depend on your bipod."

"I'll be fine, Sir," Kyle assured him. "Now stop making me nervous- you're starting to remind me of Mom."

"Ok kid," Dick slapped him on the shoulder. "After today, I won't be able to call you kid anymore- off with you now, I want to talk to Prz before we leave."

"Watch out for the kid, Prz," Dick told his old friend. "If there's any question- any hesitation... You take the shot."

"I think he'll be fine," Przybysz replied. "He had a good teacher."

When they got to the drop point, Przybysz and Kyle just had time to get dressed before heading into position. The van Dick drove had a business sign on the sides- Marie's Lock & Safe, to avoid suspicion. Dressed in Ghillie suits, Przybysz and Kyle carried their weapons and got into place only minutes before the plane arrived. It was right on time.

Przybysz checked the distance- 1804 meters, which he relayed to Kyle who made the adjustments on his scope. There were no trees to indicate wind direction and luckily there was only a slight breeze at their backs, directly from the west.

"Got your windage Kyle?" Przybysz whispered.

"Got it," Kyle whispered back.''

Wade appeared in the doorway of the Gulfstream and began descending down the stairs. Kyle took a deep breath and began to exhale slowly . Just as Wade was about to step onto the runway, he was thrown suddenly backwards against the steps- when the report of a high-caliber rifle echoed across the tarmac. A red blossom appeared on his chest and began to spread across the fabric of his white cotton shirt... His eyes and mouth were open wide in surprise- staring straight ahead into nothing. Duke's nukem days were over.

Przybysz slapped Kyle on the back. "Nice shot kid," he said, "now let's get the fuck out of here... no time to admire your work."

They had three minutes to get to the waiting helo on the backside of the hill- no easy task running in tree-togs and carrying weapons... especially for przybysz carrying the Steyr weighing in at nearly 40 lbs.. When they got there the helo was warmed up and ready to take off to the drop-off point. They made the trip in silence listening to the whir of the blades. When they got there, Dick was waiting in the van. They gave the NO officers a quick salute which they returned solemnly and climbed in.

"I heard on the radio that somebody murdered a high ranking UN official," Dick said with a grin. "You guys don't know anything about that do you?"

"Not a thing," Przybysz grinned back.

"How'd our boy do?" Dick asked as he drove off.

"A perfect shot," Przybysz replied. "One of the best I ever saw- at any distance. A perfect heart shot- dead center... we can't call him kid anymore- he got his cherry popped."

"You ok, Kyle?" Dick asked.

"I'm fine," Kyle replied quietly. "It was actually easier than I thought," he said... just before he threw up. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Przybysz laughed. "It happens to everybody the first time."

They headed up the infrequently travelled 64 Hwy toward Ozark. They were mostly quiet along the way, leaving Kyle alone with his thoughts. Both Dick and Przybysz had their first kills years ago and understood well Kyle's feelings at the moment. When they arrived at the compound he would be hailed as a hero- it would take the bitter sting out of what had just happened.

"I'm going to call your mom, Kyle," Dick told the young man. "She's been worried sick that you're all right."

"Ok," Kyle smiled from the back seat. "Just don't tell her..." Kyle waved his hand over the floor.

"Don't worry, Son. It happens to everybody," Dick said sympathetically. "I'd be more worried if you didn't... that's the sigh of a psycho." He opened his eyes wide and wiggled his fingers.

"I'll clean it up when we get home," Kyle said grinning sheepishly.

"I have a feeling you won't get a chance," Przybysz said with a smile.

"Why not?" Kyle's face belied his confusion. "I don't expect anybody to clean up after me."

"You're a hero now," Przybysz told him. "I have a feeling that there's going to be a big party in your honor."

"I just did my part," Kyle replied. "I don't expect any special treatment."

When the van pulled into the gate they found a crowd anxiously awaiting the heroes... Ann and Anica in the front. Kyle was now a man.

GIF by @papa-pepper