Blackout - By Tom Barber Page 0,6

MP5 sub-machine guns every three months here, so the guys were extremely familiar with the place. Cobb encouraged constant practice to mitigate against any disasters in the field, so First Team had taken to meeting here three times a week, if they weren’t on an operation, to work on their shooting. Soon after its arrival, one of the PSG1A1’s had become a consistent fifth member of the group. The challenge of being precise with the rifle inevitably created competition within the team, and although Chalky had improved he was still to beat Archer in their head-to-head, a score-line his best friend seldom let him forget.

Returning his binoculars to a rack on the wall, Chalky poured himself a coffee with milk and two sugars whilst Archer went for tea, black, nothing added. The two men took a seat and watched as Fox snuggled in against the stock of the rifle across the range, Porter lying beside him like a spotter, binoculars to his eyes, ear defenders in place on his head. They were the only ones here on the long-distance range, but they could all hear muffled bangs and weapons' reports coming from the doors across the stone walkway to their right.

Archer watched as Fox clicked off the safety and settled in behind the weapon, giving it a dry click. He then carefully slotted the magazine into place and pulled back the slide, loading a round into the chamber. A hundred and fifty five yards across the grass, the black paper target was mounted in front of a thick sand levee, the sun now shining down brightly. The morning April air was thin and clean, not a whisper of wind in the air, good weather considering the usual showers that time of year in the UK.

‘So how’s your girl?’ Chalky asked, blowing on his coffee to get it to cool. ‘The one in New York. What was her name- Katick?’

Archer looked at his tea.

‘Katic. And she’s not my girl.’

Chalky looked at him. ‘What happened?’

‘It didn’t work out.’ Pause. ‘She met someone else.'

'Oh shit. I'm sorry buddy.'

Archer shrugged.

'Guess it wasn't meant to be,’ he said. ‘Probably for the best anyway. She's a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI. People like that don't have time for personal lives.'

Silence followed. Chalky took a premature pull from his coffee and winced as he burnt his tongue. It was still too hot.

‘You should go over there,’ he said. ‘Go and see her. Maybe she’ll change her mind.’

Archer looked at him and shook his head.

‘With what money?’ he said. ‘I’m even more broke than you, Chalk. And you know the way this job goes. I can’t just pack up and leave for a week.’

There was suddenly a loud bang as Fox fired the weapon. They looked down the range from their seats and could just make out a white hole in the black right shoulder of the target. A hit, but not a kill. Anything three inches left would have been a different story. The sandy-haired officer looked up and cursed, racking the bolt and clicking on the safety. He and Porter swapped places as the two other officers watched. Fox was six-five up against Porter, much closer in their head-to-head contest. But from the looks of things, it was about to become six-a-piece.

‘So what’s new with you?’ Archer asked, drinking his tea and eager to change the subject.

Chalky grinned.

‘I went on a date last night.’

‘Oh really? Who’s the girl?’

‘Her name was Elaine.'

'Where'd you meet her?'

'Dating website. She's a lawyer.'

Archer looked over at him. ‘You’re kidding?’

‘That she's a lawyer?’

‘No, that you're on those websites.’

‘What’s wrong with that?’

‘Chalk, you’re twenty seven. Why the hell are you online dating? Go to a bar.’

Chalky drank from his coffee and shook his head.

‘You should have seen her, Arch,’ he said. ‘She was a real beauty. Divorced, late-thirties. She saw police officer on my profile and said that’s what attracted her. Said she’d always liked a man in uniform, and was looking for a new one after her ex-husband left her for a younger woman.’

‘Am I going to meet her?’

‘No. Don’t think I’ll see her again. Didn't even get a chance to show her my scar.’

Archer smiled. Chalky had taken a bullet in the back a year and a half ago, and after he’d healed, he'd found much to his pleasure that the bullet-scar had a very positive effect on women. He had all sorts of wild stories for how he’d got it, including surviving a mob hit and Archer’s personal favourite