then pushed the gun at her. "Stop. Stand still. I'm warning you."
Zara giggled. "Ok, you do not do scared militia guy very well. It's also kinda weird that I'm not scared of that gun in your hand at all."
"It's because you know I won't hurt you with it," he explained. "Now, the other kind, the ones you need to take seriously are the stoic ones. Try shifting again."
She did, but he kept the barrel aimed at her body and made no moves to flail around.
"If you get one of those, let him get close. Keep your hands up at chest level. Be calm. Be brave. Most of all, be patient, because there will be a point when he looks away, and that's when you act."
"And what do I do if he's not an idiot?" she asked.
"You do every single thing he wants, make no move that will piss him off, and wait for me to shoot him in the head," he told her. They both knew he wasn't joking.
"Ok, let's try this," she decided.
So Jason set up and pointed his weapon right at her chest. Zara did everything he'd shown her. She shifted her weight. She was calm and patient. But when he looked over to see where his dog was, she stepped in to break the gun out of his grip. The problem was that she didn't hit hard enough, so they tried again.
This time, he was the more fretful type of gunman. Zara just kept moving until he reacted a bit less, and then she lunged for his weapon. Her hand struck his wrist hard, the other closing on the slide, and she nearly got it out of his hands. Jason was willing to call that a win because he'd accidentally compensated for her attack. Too many years of training made it almost automatic for him.
Again and again, she came at him, getting better each time. And then it finally happened. Zara managed to get the gun from his hands and into hers - the problem was that she didn't really know what to do with it. So he showed her. He gave her a simple checklist to think about. Bullets, which would have her check that the magazine was secure. Top, which had her clear the chamber and get a round in there. And finally, he had her check the safety just to be sure, because nothing would suck more than getting this far only to die because her gun was locked.
And they did it again. After about the millionth time, she was starting to get comfortable with handling his weapon, so he decided to change the rules. Zara snapped the weapon from his hands and he dropped, pulling the smaller pistol he kept strapped to his ankle. Her reaction was perfect.
"Bang!" she said.
He put the gun back and stood, taking his main weapon from her hands. "Think you could shoot a guy?"
"I think I could sure try," she promised. "I am so tired of having guns pointed at me. I mean, in that mess at Deviant, I managed to get the fire out because I knew I had to. There was no other option, and that was the only way to win. Wouldn't this be the same? One-track mind and desperation, you know?"
Securing his weapon in the holster, Jason stepped in to wrap his arms around her waist. "Baby, I think you can do anything you believe you can. So the answer to that is yes, and if it ever happens, I'll be right there to help you cope with it all."
"I figure if I know how, then I'll never need to use it, right?" she asked.
Jason caught both sides of her face. "Twice, a man has wanted to kill you. Both times, I made sure he couldn't. I will always take care of you, Zara. Even if I'm behind the glass banging away and begging for help, I will take care of you first, ok?"
She stepped a little closer. "And I'll make sure you never regret it."
Her hips pressed into his and he had to kiss her. There was no one around but his dog, and the mutt was sprawled out in the grass chewing on a toy. So when Zara ground herself against him, he didn't need much encouragement.
"Keep that up and I'll prove to you that my truck has a back seat."
She leaned back to look at his face. "Did you know that I've never done that?"
"Very unexpected," he admitted before grabbing her