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The following four targets each consisted of a cluster of fifteen-gallon wooden barrels tied together. Inserted in each bunch was a smaller five-gallon barrel that would act as the bullseye. The larger barrels were filled with gray smoke. If any of the five-gallon barrels were hit, it would release green smoke. Green smoke was worth three points, and gray smoke was awarded half a point.
Gabby took a deep breath and released it. She could do this. She had practiced similar shots and was successful. She just wasn’t under the intense pressure she was now.
She felt the hand on her back and knew it was James. She turned her head and met his gaze. He removed his sunglasses.
“You got this, Gabs. Show these boys what you’re made of,” he told her, instilling confidence in her, and she gave him a slight nod before settling into her shooting position again.
With each set of barrels, she carefully listened to James as he rattled off the calculations and data. She made some quick adjustments before taking aim and pulling the trigger.
When the last shot was fired at the final set, she pulled back and took a deep breath. She wasn’t feeling confident with her performance on this round. Having the barrels all the same color bobbing in the ocean made it difficult to spot the smaller ones, especially how the wind was blowing, affecting the water's surface. She thought she might have missed two of them completely. However, she would never use that as an excuse because it’s the shooter’s responsibility to make the appropriate adjustments to offset those conditions.
“Let’s see how you did,” James told her, giving her an encouraging smile as they leaned toward the open door to assess the results of that round.
At first, she felt mixed emotions. There was a lot of gray smoke lingering in the air. On one hand, smoke meant that she had hit something. However, gray smoke was only worth half ofa point. She was down five points, so even if she hit all four, that would only give her two points. That would mean she had to be perfect on the final challenge to earn the three points, putting her into a tie with Cruz.
Just as the negative thoughts entered her mind, she felt James nudge her elbow.
“Look there!” He exclaimed, pointing toward where the last target had been.
She looked to the left and saw a green hue mixing with the grey smoke. Her lip lifted into a small smile, and a feeling of excitement started to build inside her. She was still in this thing.
She didn’t have to wait long to hear how she did as the scoring official’s voice came over the headset, and Gabby held her breath as he relayed the results.
“Petty Officer Allen, you scored a hit on each of the four sets—three gray and one green.”
As the official rattled off the results, Gabby was already doing the calculations in her head. Learning that she was only half of a point behind Cruz, those negative thoughts that were sitting idle in her head just a minute ago instantly vanished as she realized what that meant. No longer was she fighting to settle for a tie. She now had the opportunity to claim the top spot all to herself. All she had to do was nail the final challenge.
She glanced at James, and they both listened to another event official explain the final challenge, which would entail a fast-moving speedboat pulling a one-hundred-foot rope with a barrel attached to it. Her objective was to hit the fifteen-gallon barrel from approximately one hundred fifty yards while the helicopter was in motion, tailing the boat.
“Any questions?” The official asked.
“No, Sir,” Gabby replied.
The pilot’s voice then broke into the headset.
“We are thirty seconds out.”
“Copy,” Gabby replied as she made a few minor adjustments to the straps she used to support her rifle. James was next to her, looking through his spotting scope.
“Target spotted, four hundred yards out,” James relayed.
“Copy,” Gabby told him as she got into position on her knees and settled her rifle on the support system.
She pressed her cheek firmly against the rifle’s stock and slowed her breathing. Blocking everything from her mind, she peered through the scope. Once she had a visual on the target, she zeroed in on it as James relayed the calculations to her. With her finger on the trigger, she took a deep breath.
Suddenly, the boat banked hard to the left.What the fuck?!
“Goddammit,” James shouted, sounding angry.
Moments later, the boat changed course again, veering back to the right, causing the target to bounce erratically in the rough waters and making the shot even more difficult.
Fuck!She didn’t remember Cruz or any of the others having to deal with this shit.
Even with the frequent and abrupt movements, Gabby managed to keep the bouncing barrel within her sight while keeping a cool and calm composure.
“The driver changes directions about every ten seconds,” James told her just as the boat again banked hard to the right. She watched as she counted down from ten, and as soon as she hit zero, the boat turned back to the left.
“Not the next change but the one after; I’m taking the shot,” she told him, not taking her eye off the target.
