Free Killer Instincts v5 by Jack Badelaire

comical glare, then turned and fired the revolver six times as fast as he could pull the trigger. I actually missed seeing the first two shots hit; I only caught a glimpse of half a broken bottle disintegrating in mid-air before the next four bullets shattered the three remaining bottles. The second to last shot kicked the top half of a broken bottle into the air before the final bullet knocked it apart, just like the first bottle.
    I looked from the stump, covered in broken glass, to the smoking revolver, to Jamie, who stood there gun in hand, calm and cool as a cucumber.
    "Holy shit, that was amazing."
    Jamie turned and reloaded the pistol.
    "I can't believe you just did that."
    Jamie smiled. "A lot of long hours and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into that. You don't serve on a SOG recon team without knowing how to shoot straight and shoot fast."
    I just shook my head. "That wasn't straight and fast, that was a whole other world of awesome. I wouldn't have believed someone could do that if I didn't see it."
    Jamie just shrugged. "You could get that good some day, if you really worked at it. I've seen men with a real gift for pistol-craft who could have done that in half the time, and at twice the range. What you just saw, that was nine tenths practice."
    "Can I try again?"
    Jamie held the pistol out. "Hold on a second while I set up some more bottles."
    It took us half an hour to exhaust Jamie's recycling bin. I fired several more cylinders' worth of cartridges with extensive coaching, but later on Jamie allowed me to cut loose and try firing as fast as I could. My batting average wasn't exactly major league, but by the end, Jamie reassured me that I had good reflexes and a sharp eye, and with practice and training I could some day get as good as he was.
    By then it was getting dark, and we cleaned up our mess and drove back to the cabin. Before putting it away, Jamie demonstrated for me how to clean and oil the revolver after firing. I didn't see where the revolver had come from or gone off to, and I think that was deliberate. Jamie might trust me, but only so far, and I understood that perhaps he kept his guns someplace hidden that he preferred I not know about, so I respected his privacy and didn't inquire.
    Jamie and I made sandwiches for dinner, washed them down with more beer, and just relaxed in the pleasant quiet of the evening. Eventually though, I could tell Jamie was growing somber, and he finally looked away from his view of the lake in twilight and turned to face me.
    "So, you're still committed to your plan?"
    "More than you can imagine," I said.
    Jamie nodded. He got up and went into his bedroom, and when he returned a minute later he carried in his hand a battered leather address book. Jamie sat down next to the phone, propped his address book open on his knee, and dialed a long distance number. I heard the line ring twice, before a muffled female voice answered.
    "I'm calling for Richard," Jamie said.
    I couldn't make out the reply.
    "Tell him it's the Hangman calling. Yes, he'll know who that means. Yes, I'll hold while you establish the connection."
    There were perhaps two minutes of silence while Jamie waited. Then I heard a click from the handset.
    "Richard, it's Lynch. Yup. I know, been awhile. No, I'm offering a contract instead. Not me, no. Someone else. Yes, he's solid. Yeah, I can vouch for the money, it's solid too.”
    Jamie listened for a moment.
    "Yeah, if you can come up, that'd be easier. Can you fly into Bangor? We can meet you there. Tomorrow? Oh, okay, sure. Didn't think you'd get here that fast. Chartered jet? Well, aren't you living the dream."
    There was another brief pause.
    "Yeah, we'll meet you at the airport. There's a place where we can grab some grub close by, nice little bar and grill. Yeah, I know. All right, I’ll see you then."
    Jamie hung up.
    "He'll be coming in to Bangor tomorrow around five in the evening. We'll meet him at the airport and go someplace quiet to