‘Glad you could join us, Jasmine,’ said Anna turning around in the front seat.
‘Hi guys. Let’s go.’
On the main road, Taylor planted his foot, leaving some tread behind and a whole heap of smoke. ‘Jaz’s folks are gonna love you,’ squealed Anna who was gripping the door handle.
Jaz was flung back in her seat with her half-socked foot flying around in the air.
Taylor snickered with glee. ‘How ya going back there, Jaz?’
‘Fine and fricken dandy, no thanks to you. Bloody hoon,’ she laughed as he swung the car sideways again, causing her leg to fling to the right window. ‘I’d love to see the cops pull you up and then have your dad hear about it,’ Jaz teased.
‘You both know he’d kill me.’ After Taylor mentioned that, his lead foot eased to the speed limit.
It was a fifteen-minute drive to the range, through the suburbs towards the hills.
‘Can I drive on the way back?’ Jaz begged after finally getting her boots on. She had her licence but no car.
‘Jasmine Thomas! You know no one drives my baby but me. She’s temperamental, fussy and has to be treated with care.’
‘Just like her owner,’ added Anna with a smirk.
‘Burn.’ Jaz laughed as she and Anna high fived.
Taylor ignored them as he turned off the main road and into a bush reserve on the outskirts of Perth. It was dense and green. You could almost feel like you were out in the country.
‘See here? That’s where the new training facility is going up. Dad said that all the groups will be able to use it — Australian Police, Detectives, SWAT, SAS and other special forces.’
‘So will it be like a big paintball skirmish where they all run through the bush?’ asked Anna.
‘Some of it. It will have set ups for bush scenarios, buildings and vehicles. Also areas where helicopters can land or hover above. I can’t wait to watch them in action at the big viewing tower. Dad said it should be finished in a few months.’
Taylor’s enthusiasm radiated from his eyes as he lifted his sunnies onto his head. He parked his Mustang and they headed inside a building that looked like an old clubhouse, aged red brick overgrown with shrubs and tall gum trees. It used to be an old pistol club but the police took it over after it closed and turned it into their own training range.
Inside they signed in to the officer-on-duty. Due to Taylor’s father, they were all well known to the officers, besides the fact that Taylor practically lived here.
‘Hey, Stewie!’
‘Back so soon, Taylor. And with the ladies this time?’ Stewie was a retired cop. He was still in shape and had the tough buzz cut to go with it. There was Stew and a few others that worked here full-time, cleaning the weapons, keeping up stock and they also offered pointers on how to shoot.
He signed them in and gave them a wink. ‘Off ya go and have some fun. Derik is out the back and will fit you out.’
‘Cheers, Stewie.’ They followed Taylor into a room where they had stalls set up for close range shooting with the handguns.
Derik was sitting in the corner on a chair reading a paper. His blue trousers and boots were all you could see.
‘Business must be slow, Derik,’ asked Taylor.
The newspaper flopped down and Jaz could now see Derik’s round face and short hair. The orange colour of it glowed like a halo. ‘You could say that. It comes and goes.’ Derik threw his paper on the floor beside him and stood up. ‘Hi Jaz, Anna, long time no see. So what can I get you all?’
Derik pulled a set of keys from his pocket, walked into a small office room and inserted a key into the big solid vault behind him. Then he pressed a few numbers on the keypad before it beeped and he turned the handle and opened the door. Jaz could see him through the small square hole in the wall, which acted as a serving window.
‘The Browning 9mm will do us for now, cheers Derik.’
‘Just the one between you all?’ Derik smiled when Taylor nodded. He seemed to like the idea of one gun between three teenagers better than one each. He handed the gun over to Taylor while he locked the vault and opened another one for the ammunition.
Taylor held the gun out on his flat palm. ‘So who’s first?’
Jaz and Anna both shrugged but Anna reached for it first. Jaz much preferred to use her hands as a weapon.
‘Come on, you were scared the first time and I got that but now you know what you are doing,’ said Taylor.
Take two thirteen-year-olds who had never seen a gun before and not long out of playing with dolls…well yeah, they were scared. But Taylor’s dad had been with them at the start and the adrenaline rush from holding a terrifying weapon and firing it had eased their nerves. ‘Remember Anna, it’s just like the plastic one you have at home for your computer game.’