Carter swung the Mercedes into a wide parking spot. Before them was a gray stone building, just on the outskirts of the city. They climbed out, making sure not to hit the two neighboring pickup trucks with their doors. Donovan looked over the building, a note of recognition in his passive gaze. Carter lead the group to the front door and pulled it open.

The burly man, behind the long, glass counter, with a dark beard and a scar down his left temple, didn't blink an eye as he saw her walk in. His surprise showed as Donovan and Link followed behind.

"Hi Carter, where's Steve?" the man asked, in a voice fit for a bear.

"At work," she said, stopping before the counter.

Link's head swiveled from one side of the place to the other. Every inch of the walls were covered in guns, ranging from sniper rifles to handguns. The wall behind the man was an assortment of selected handguns as well as photos.

Carter turned away from the man to Donovan and Link, waving a hand between them.

"Mark, meet my friends. Donovan and Link, this is Mark."

Donovan took Mark's outstretched hand and gave a nod in acknowledgment. Mark narrowed his eyes.

"You look familiar. You been here before?" he asked.

"Few times," Donovan said.

Mark nodded and shook Link's hand, but barely gave him a second thought.

"What will it be today?" he asked.

"Three ear muffs, glasses and two guns. I'll take the usual." She looked to Donovan, silently asking his preference.

"I'll take a M45," he said.

"You got ID?" Mark asked.

Donovan handed it over and Mark checked it before going to work. He pulled out three large ear muffs, that looked like bulky headphones, three sets of plastic glasses, two target sheets and then grabbed two different handguns off the wall.

"How many clips do you want?" he asked.

Carter glanced at Donovan, and raised an eyebrow.

"Two," Donovan said.

Carter tossed Link a pair of headphones and glasses, then grabbed her stuff. She guided them to a side door. Putting on her ear muffs and glasses, she nodded to Link, directing him to do the same. He followed suit.

She pushed into a long rectangle room. One long metal table ran the width of the room. Spaced out along it were metal partitions, dividing the table into stalls. The sound of gunfire rang off the walls, the sound muffled in their covered ears.

Carter moved down the rows of stalls and stopped at the last ones, far enough away from the room's other occupants. She didn't bother setting up her target but stayed with Donovan in his stall. In matter of minutes, the black outline of a human torso was out in the distance and Donovan had his gun in hand. Link and Carter took a step back. Donovan set his stance, loaded his clip into the gun and brought it up.

In quick succession he fired at the target. The shots exploded in the room as the paper quivered as each bullet tore through it. Before the sounds even had time to die off, Donovan was reloading and going through the second clip. He lowered his gun and Carter moved towards him. Link remained positioned against the wall, watching the other gunmen. Donovan turned to her, some of the tension in his body released.

She nudged his shoulder with her hand.

"Are you going to tell me what today was about?" she yelled over the sound of bullets tearing through the air.

Donovan closed off his expression. "It's nothing, I just needed to let off some steam."

Carter shook her head at him, her face going hard.

"Don't stone wall me! I've had enough of that already. Tell me what's going on!"

He looked as if he wouldn't talk, but Carter crossed her arms and stared at him.

"My brother got promoted," he said, raising his voice just enough so she could hear it.

"I know. So?"

Irritation flashed through Donovan's face. He was silent, his mouth a thin line.

"Donovan, just talk to me," Carter said.

Something cracked in his expression and all his emotions gave crashing out. The sight of it surprised her.

"He got promoted and I'm still stuck here! In high school!" He waved his hand towards Link. "Baby sitting as James put it yesterday."

He ran hand through his hair as the words came out, each of them releasing a bit of his frustration. "My brothers are surrounded by people who can respect them for their work. I have to spend my days entrenched in empty headed girls and egotistical guys." He crossed his arms and shook his head, as if he couldn't believe where he was. "For two more years I have to deal with complete lack of freedom." He met Carter's gaze. "Do you understand how aggravating that is?"

She didn't respond for a long moment. The ringing of gun fire continued on around them. Link had taken to looking at his phone, oblivious to their talk.

"I'm sorry," Carter said, raising her voice.

Donovan nodded, then took a deep breath.

"I know it's frustrating but this will be worth it in the long run," she said.

He gave a mocking chuckle. "Yeah, it doesn't feel that way at the moment. I just spent hours with my brother, having to listen as he tells me about how great his job is."

Carter playfully hit his arm with the back of her hand.

"You're going to get that. Donovan, at the end of this you get to walk into any place and get whatever job you want. You have to remember that."

He nodded but stared down at the ground, lost in his own thoughts. He looked back up at her.

"He talked to me about some of his coworkers. Halfway through I realized that some of the people I interact with are ten years younger than the people he works with."

Carter made a sympathetic face. "Yeah, that part does suck. I still find it irritating and I'm not you."

Donovan let out a breath of a laugh, smiling. A moment later the look fell away, as he focused on the distance targets.

"What you're doing matters," Carter said.

His gaze returned to her, but he said nothing.

"Link is able to have a normal life because of you. With all the crap he has to deal with, that's a gift. Don't forget that.

He stared at her, absorbing her words and the caring tone in which she delivered them.

"Your job isn't worthless because the people around you are. You don't get a lot of appreciation but you're doing a good thing here." She waved her hand towards Link. "He is grateful for it and so am I. Try to remember it."

He gave a nod in appreciation, his shoulders straightening with renewed resolve. As he looked at her a small thankful smile curved the edge of his mouth. Her lips echoed the look, then she nodded him out of the stall.

"Now move aside, I'm not wasting a chance to shoot something."

Chuckling, Donovan stepped out of the stall and stood back to watch. Carter replaced the target sheet. She picked up her gun and loaded the clip. Taking in a deep breath, she raised her gun. As she exhaled she squeezed the trigger. The gun recoiled, but she kept her arms steady and continued to shoot, shifting it in a planned out motion.

When the clip was emptied, she lowered the gun. She pressed the button and the target came racing back. Donovan walked forward, followed by Link, his gaze trained on the target sheet. He kept his face indifferent, but when he looked at her there was a hint of intrigue in his eyes.

In the target's chest was a smiley face made from bullet holes. Link started laughing as Donovan stared at Carter. Meeting his look, she shrugged.

"I thought it would cheer you up," she said.

He smiled at her, which she couldn't help but return. She unclipped the sheet as he gathered up his items. They left the ringing sound of bullets and walked back to the quiet store front.

Mark looked up as they set their gear down on the counter.

"How did it go today?" he asked.

Carter held up her target sheet. "I'm feeling pretty positive about it."

Link chuckled as Mark shook his head in amusement. Donovan looked over the photos on the back wall, stopping at one on particular. He looked back to Carter.

"Is that the first day you came?" he asked.

Carter gazed over the wall and stopped at the photo in question. In it she was slightly gangly and standing by her father, gun out to her side. Still staring at the picture, she gave a nod.

"He took me here when I was sixteen." A quiet smile appeared on her lips. "It was a birthday present of sorts."

She was pulling her focus from the wall but paused when another photo caught her attention. Narrowing her eyes, she stepped closer to the counter and leaned forward. She pointed at it.

"Mark," she said. "Who is that man? The one in the center of the group, with the scars on his neck."

Mark moved over to the wall and studied the photo.

"That's Ben," he said, tapping the picture. "He comes here a lot with this group. They are all retired from the Army." He turned back to the counter. "It's a sad story. He was in an ambush with three other platoons years back. That's how he got those scars. Half of the men didn't make it."

Carter stared at the photo, saying nothing. Her throat tightened as her father's face flashed in her mind.

"You know him?" Mark asked.

She looked over at him but found she couldn't speak.

"He works at our school," Donovan said.

Mark gave an approving nod. "Well, he is a good man to have around." He moved to the register. "How do you want to pay?"

They paid and left. The sun was nowhere in sight, leaving the sky dark. They walked towards the car. Link got into the back, but Donovan stopped Carter with a hand on her arm. He stared at her, as if reading her thoughts.

"You alright?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm just glad he's at a desk and not on the field."

Donovan's expression shifted to one of understanding. She started to move towards the car, but he stopped her again.

"Thank you," he said.

She met his gaze and smiled. "For what exactly?"

"Listening."

"Anytime." She shifted, her face taking on a curious look. "Is that why you were...off, yesterday?"

For a moment, Donovan didn't say anything, pulling his thoughts back from his face. Carter took a step back, sliding her hands into her pockets.

"My brothers haven't ever met," he said, "the people I've made friends with, doing what I do. I wasn't sure how I felt about them getting to know you. It's a different part of my life."

Carter nodded in understanding. "I get it. It's hard to be taken seriously when your friends are high schoolers."

"Yes."

They stared at each other for a moment, before she spoke again.

"Well, if it would ever be fun to surprise them by having a high school girl beat them in a race, let me know."

Donovan smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

He moved around the car as Carter slipped into the passengers. Her phone dinged but she ignored it. Link looked up from his screen.

"It's nice that you remembered me," he said.

Donovan started the car as Carter gave a half chuckle. He looked over at her.

"Home?" he asked.

Her phone dinged for a second time. She pulled it out and read over the text. A slight frown came in to play as she read over the words a second time.

"Everything alright?"

She looked up. "Captain is staying late for a meeting." She gave a half smile. "Either of you have space on your couch I could borrow for a couple of hours? I'm tired of a quiet apartment."

Before Link could even open his mouth, Donovan replied.

"Yeah, I do," he said.

**********************************************************************

Toffee ice cream!
(Ooooooh toffee yummm!)

There it is! Donovan and Carter bonding over guns. Wow this book is strangely violent. Well, you know what they say the couple who shoots together...tends to have a lot of holes in their walls. Or something like that!

Funniest way to describe how cute Donovan and Carter are!

Okay! I really want to know your guesses on what's going on with Captain??

One thing that completely baffles you?

(Fried butter. Don't understand it at all!)

Време за въпроси! (Bulgarian) This question is from the boisterous pinkiewish: Who is your favorite film director?

Answer: No idea. I only know two: George Lucas and J J Abrams. Sooooo... I'll say George because I quote Star Wars the most! 😄

Coat, wallet, yellow!