Chapter 95: Barney's Quick-Draw Technique
Barney and Christmas led William along the faintly lit floor lights of the castle grounds toward the newly built shooting range. This facility had cost William one million pounds.
When they arrived, Barney opened the door with a password and fingerprint, then joked to William, "Boss, let's get your password and fingerprints entered first. Otherwise, we'll have to spend a lot of money to get you in if you get locked out."
William laughed and, with Barney's help, entered his credentials. Then he took a moment to seriously inspect the state-of-the-art shooting range.
The facility had a two-story arsenal with a basement, which contained a double-layer, password-protected vault. Inside were all the weapons William had last sent for Barney: five AWP sniper rifles, ten M4 carbines, dozens of Glock 17 and 18 pistols, some classic revolvers, and a large quantity of ammunition, grenades, and stun grenades. There were also bulletproof vests, helmets, night-vision goggles, and intercoms. He even had an M249 machine gun and a Spike missile launcher with four complete setups.
This was William's personal armory, and he intended for it to also become his weapon collection room, where he would store all his favorite firearms in the future. After changing the armory's password, William took out a Glock 18 and headed to the shooting lanes.
There were three indoor lanes—50 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters—and beyond them was an outdoor range. William went to the 50-meter lane, loaded a magazine into the Glock, aimed, and fired.
Barney and Christmas both held up binoculars, watching the holes appear on the paper target. After William had emptied the magazine, Barney gave him a thumbs-up. Being able to maintain bullseye accuracy during rapid fire was impressive. For mercenaries like them who lived and died by their skill, it was commendable, but for an amateur like William, it was truly valuable.
Barney advised him, "Boss, you have a real talent for shooting, and your form is standard. Your aim and accuracy are fine. With more practice, you can improve your speed. In a real fight, being faster than the other guy is often the difference between life and death."
William knew that Barney had a famous quick-draw skill. "Barney, can you teach me your fast draw? I know you can empty a revolver in less than a second. Show me."
Barney didn't hesitate. William was a good boss, and he was happy to teach him. Besides, a fast draw relied mostly on talent. A gifted person could draw and fire in a fraction of a second, while someone without the knack could practice for a lifetime and never get close.
"Boss, a fast draw is really about being quicker than your opponent. While there are some techniques, the most important things are talent and practice. It also puts a lot of strain on your wrist," Barney explained. He stood at the firing line next to William and flexed his wrist. His revolver was holstered at the small of his back. In the blink of an eye, he drew the weapon, aimed, and fired all six rounds.
It was the first time William had seen someone draw a gun so fast. In a flash, six shots were fired. Looking at the six holes clustered tightly in the paper target, William was stunned. Against that kind of speed, there was no way to dodge. You'd be shot in an instant.
William felt that he wouldn't even have time to cast a magic shield. The power of that revolver was immense; he didn't think he could survive six shots.
Damn it. He would have to be more careful in the future. He couldn't just assume his magic made him invincible.
William's marksmanship was actually quite good now, but he couldn't match Barney's speed. Although speed was critical in a duel, accuracy was the most important thing. Besides, he wouldn't be stupid enough to engage in a face-to-face duel. Using his mental power to scan for enemies and then launching a sneak attack was the smarter way to win.
William returned to the armory and picked up a short-barreled Smith & Wesson revolver. Following Barney's instructions, he tried to quickly draw the gun and pull the trigger. It took him four seconds. William saw Christmas sneer at him and felt his face flush. The move looked simple, but it was incredibly difficult to execute.
Seeing William's blush, Barney said with a smile, "It's okay, boss. You'll get better with more practice. I've been practicing this for over ten years. Your first try is much better than Christmas's was. It took him almost three years of practice to get as fast as you are today."
William looked at Barney speechlessly. Then, seeing Barney staring at him, Christmas had no choice but to nod and say, "Yes, your talent is very good. To be able to do that on your first try is impressive. You'll get better if you practice more, boss. I have confidence in you."
"Shut up, Christmas. God, you are so fake. Don't ever talk to me like that again, or I won't be able to stop myself from punching you."
William knew Barney and Christmas were just trying to comfort him. The moment he'd first drawn the gun, he knew he had no talent for this. His hand-eye coordination was poor, and it felt like his hands were fighting each other. He was much more comfortable shooting a Glock one-handed.
Thinking about Barney's fluid motion and then his own clumsiness made William very depressed. He looked at his watch and saw it was 11 PM. "Forget it. I'll practice by myself later. It's already eleven o'clock. Let's go back and rest. You all leave tomorrow, so get to bed early."
William put the weapon back in the armory, and the three of them left the shooting range and headed back to the castle. On the way, they walked past Caesar and Toll, who were patrolling the grounds. William said to Barney, "There's no need to worry about security tonight. Tell everyone to go back and rest."
Although Barney didn't know why William was calling off the patrol, he obeyed his instructions. He took out his intercom and said, "Caesar, Toll, stand down for the night. We're getting up early for the airport to return to the US, so get to bed early. Don't be late."
Caesar's reply came over the intercom: "Understood."
After William and Barney wished each other goodnight, they went upstairs to their respective rooms.
William showered and lay on his bed for three hours. At 2 AM, he quietly dressed, slipped out onto his room's balcony, and scanned the surroundings with his mental power. The castle grounds were still and silent. After confirming that no one was around, he walked toward the large angel statue in the garden.
Once he reached the statue, William followed the instructions his grandfather had given him and opened a hidden compartment between the statue's feet. Without looking at the contents, William moved them directly into his storage space. After restoring the compartment, he carefully observed his surroundings for another moment before returning empty-handed to the castle.
Making sure not to make a sound, he went all the way down to the basement, opened the castle's safe room with a password, and closed the heavy alloy door behind him. He carefully scanned the safe room with his mental power several times to confirm there were no listening devices or cameras. After changing the safe room's password, William finally took the coded container he had hidden for ten years out of his storage space.
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