Curtain Fall: Second Edition, Disaster, Preparedness, Survival, Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 1) (20 page)

“Yeah,” said Adam, as he wiped his face with the back of his hand.

“Ok then . . . let’s get a rifle.”

J
ohn meant everything he said about Adam’s abilities, and what he would have to face. But he also knew that Adam was as well trained as any infantry recruit right out of basic. Adam knew how to disassemble and assemble every weapon in the house, blindfolded. He could also accurately fire every weapon John owned. And when it came to field craft, few were as proficient as Adam. Whenever they went hunting or camping, John showed him something new. That training started at a very young age.

Adam was also an excellent hunter. He knew how to stalk prey, as well as field dress it for movement. Father and son also ran together at least three times a week. John saw it as an on-going process of training and development, one that he started when Adam was 10. John liked to think of Adam as his Spartan warrior, but he would never admit that to Jenna.

“You’re a lot like me when I was your age,” said John, “only you’re much better trained, and equipped, and smarter than me.”

Adam shook his head and John replied, “OK, you’re way better prepared than I was at your age. I didn’t have the things you had, and my dad wasn’t a Soldier. Still, I thought like you. I had your interest and motivation. That’s what I was talking about.”

Adam nodded and said, “I’m ready, dad. Thanks for getting me ready.”

“That’s my boy. Now let’s get a rifle and test out the new scope,” said John, as he moved to the end of the work bench. John unlocked the plywood door in front of the gun safe and began turning the safe’s tumbler.

He build the plywood to hide the safe, to keep it from view when anyone was in the garage. John really wasn’t worried about someone breaking into the safe, or even moving it for that matter. The safe was very heavy, and anchored to the foundation, so it wasn’t going anywhere, but he felt better when it was covered and out of plain sight.

John quickly spun the tumbler dial to open the safe, and turned the tri-point wheel to the left to disengage the large pins. He swung the safe’s heavy door open and examined the contents. Everything looked to be in its proper place.

Seeing his favorite weapon, a semi-automatic AR15, built after the one he used in Iraq, John removed it from the safe and handed it to Adam. John learned to really love the military M4 version of the weapon, so much so that he bought one for himself when he returned home after his first deployment. He purchased a base model, and then spent the next several months outfitting it with all the attachments and upgrades he liked. Except for being semi-automatic, it resembled his army M4 to the tee.

Later, he bought a second AR15 for Adam, on his 16
^th
birthday. He found a reasonably priced model at the Fort Worth Gun Show. Then, under John’s supervision, Adam replaced the barrel, installed a rail gas block, added flip-up front and rear sights, and replaced the stock and
buffer assembly. After the work, the two ARs were nearly identical to each other except for their optics.

John’s AR sported a Trijicon AGOJ, 4X, tactical scope, and Adam’s was equipped with a Mil Comp3 Red Dot with a flash reduction screen. Both weapons were also equipped with form-fitting hand grips and laser sights. John and Adam both agreed that they looked lovely and deadly, like a pair of cobras.

When Adam accepted the AR, John was gratified to hear him draw back the bolt to check the weapon’s barrel. John grabbed Adam’s AR, cleared it, and walked over to the worktable. He handed Adam the second rifle and spread the blanket on the table surface.

John accepted his rifle from Adam and laid it on the blanket to attach the night-sight. While he worked, Adam field-stripped his AR and inspected it with a trained eye. “Do I get your “a-cog” now that you have the night-sight?” asked Adam, using the familiar term for the Trijicon ACOJ John was removing from his AR.

“No. I don’t plan on keeping the night-sight attached. Besides, I’ve seen you shoot with that red-dot. You don’t need the magnification.”

“It would be nice, though,” replied Adam.

“I’m sure it would,” quipped John.

“Can I borrow your laser bore-sighting device to check my zero?”

“Of course . . . you know where it is.”

While Adam checked his zero, John adjusted the night-scope mount on his rifle and set it to his satisfactions. “OK, ready to test this out?” asked John.

“Sure. Do you want me to put my rifle back?”

“Nah. Just lay it on the table for now. But I do need you to turn off the lights.”

Adam laid the rifle on the worktable and ran to the kitchen door to kill the lights. With the garage lights off, Adam began to make his way tentatively back to John but then stopped and said, “I can’t see a thing, dad.”

“Stand fast for a sec,” replied John, as he turned on the night-sight scope and put it up to his eye. The view through the sight looked a little
like the view from his old army night vision goggles, but it wasn’t as sharp. John wondered if it was due to the fact that this sight was magnified, so he said, “Go ahead and open the garage door.”

John managed to turn off the night-sight before the garage door light came on, and he laid the weapon on the table next to Adam’s. Adam took the opportunity to join his dad while the light was on. While they waited for the light to turn off, John began to mount the acog on Adam’s rifle. “Ah, dad. You’re gonna let me use it?”

“You know, this acog cost more than I spent to build your entire weapon, so treat it with care and respect.”

“You know I’m always careful, dad.”

John nodded and went back to work. Once he had the acog mounted on Adam’s rifle, he held it up to check the seat. “You’ll have to check your zero again,” said John, as he handed the rifle to Adam. “No big . . . dad. Thanks.”

The garage light finally went out, and John picked up his rifle. As their eyes adjusted to the dark, John grabbed an empty magazine and slapped it into the rifle’s magazine well.

“Are we gonna shoot . . . in here?” gasped Adam.

“No, Adam. I wouldn’t shoot from here even if I had a suppressor. I want the magazine in for feel. Remember, the rounds for this weapon are deadly fast . . . close to three-thousand feet per second. They might be small, but they carry a lot of kinetic energy, so firing them around here would be very foolish, even if nobody called the cops.”

John seated the AR against his shoulder, put his eye up to the eyepiece, and studied the yard beyond the driveway. “Hmm,” said John. “Adam, walk into the back yard so I can get a better point of reference.”

“But dad, you taught me not to point a gun at anything you didn’t intend to shoot.”

John lowered the weapon and looked at Adam, his silhouette faintly illuminated by ambient light outside. “You’re right, but you won’t be in my line of fire. I won’t let that happen. Besides, I’m testing the capabilities
of this scope. Do you want me to remove the bolt carrier? Would that make you feel better?”

“No. I’m okay. Besides, mom would kill you if you hurt me.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” replied John. “Okay. You see those lights in the distance?”

“Yeah.”

“Walk slowly that way until I call for you.”

Without a word, Adam turned and walked off into the dark. Adam’s natural night vision capabilities rivaled that of John’s, so he didn’t need a flashlight. And like his dad, he was comfortable in the dark.

That was one of the first things John did for Adam, work the fear of darkness out of him. The night, or darkness, could be an asset for defenders as well as attackers. John taught Adam that the force which practiced the best light and noise discipline usually always prevailed in warfare.

While looking through the night-sight, John watched Adam as he walked away. When Adam was about twenty-five yards away, the night-scope’s sight picture improved dramatically. When Adam was about fifty yards away, john gave a short, shrill whistle. Adam stopped, turned around, and ran back to the garage.

John was extremely satisfied with the performance of the night sight, and he knew it was a very smart purchase. As soon as Adam reached the garage, John handed him the AR and took the same walk.

John wanted Adam to see the same view through the scope. He also wanted Adam to be familiar with the performance of the sight, especially since he would need to pull an occasional night watch while using it.

When John reached the same spot where Adam turned around, he also turned and returned to the garage. He was impressed to see that Adam was standing out of all illumination. He was completely hidden in the shadows, just as John taught him.
“He’s a natural,
” thought John. “
I could use a few more like him in the coming days.”

John reached the garage and decided to let Adam pick a pistol he wanted to carry during the disaster. He wondered which one he would pick, but instead asked, “What’d you think of the sight?”

“It’s really cool, dad. When are you going to sight it in?”

“That’s a good question. I’ll have to rely on the laser zero for now. You can see the beam through the sight.”

Adam put the AR up to his shoulder and turned on the night-sight once again. He then reached forward to the barrel guard and powered on the laser sight. “Oh yeah, that’s awesome,” exclaimed Adam.

“How does it match up to the sight?”

“I’d say a little low and to the left, but pretty darn close.”

“Good. I’m gonna close the garage now, so go ahead and power everything down.”

Adam turned off the night-sight and John hit the button to close the garage. They both blinked at the bright light as John joined Adam at the worktable.

John grabbed his AR and returned it to the gun safe. While he put both rifles away, he asked Adam, “So, what pistol do you want to carry during the disaster?”

“Can I carry your Glock?”

“Which one, the 17 or the 36?” asked John. “Wait a minute, I thought you said the hand grips were too big for you?”

“I can handle the 17,” replied Adam. “That was a long time ago.”

“Last month,” replied John.

“My hands grew since then,” replied Adam, more as a plea than a statement.

“OK . . . that’s fine with me,” said John. “I know you can handle it. But I have other pistols that will fit your hand better. Are you sure you don’t want to use your grand-da’s 1911?”

“It’s okay, dad. Besides, it’s like the one I use . . .” and he began to tail off.

“Like the one you use in Call of Duty?” John droned.

“Yeah,” replied Adam, sheepishly.

“That’s fine with me, but I’ll want to see you shoot it before I hand it over. Deal?” asked John.

“Deal,” replied Adam.

John considered commenting on his son’s sense of reality, but he decided it wasn’t necessary. Besides, if it made it easier for Adam to cope with the disaster, by identifying his weapons to a video game, then perhaps it would be easier for him to deal with threats.

“Which one do you think mom will want to carry?” Adam asked.

“She’ll probably carry her Walther,” replied John.

“What about Abby? Will she carry a gun too?”

John had trained Abby to shoot, but he didn’t think she was ready for the responsibility. He decided to take that up with Jenna, and said, “That’s a good question. I’ll talk to mom about it later.”

He closed and locked the safe, and did the same for the plywood door that covered it. While jingling the keys in hand, John said, “We’ll begin loading some magazines tomorrow.”

“When I get home from school?”

“You won’t be going to school tomorrow. I’m going to need your help around here for the next couple of days.”

Adam was silent for a moment and nodded his understanding. John stopped short of entering the kitchen and asked, “What’s up? Will it keep you from doing something important?” asked John. He was a little surprised at Adam’s apparent reservation about missing school.

“No! It’s just that Cheryl will wonder where I am.”

Cheryl was Adam’s current girlfriend, but John had a hard time keeping up with all of Adam’s flames. “What happened to Jennifer?”

“We broke up almost a year ago, dad,” he replied with obvious irritation. “She’s history.”

“Sorry. I can’t keep up with all your love interests.”

“It’s not love, dad. We’re just friends.” Adam sounded as if John had insulted his manhood.

“Got it,” replied John. He wasn’t sure where the conversation would go, but he wanted to test Adam’s resolve on the subject. He didn’t think
Adam was sexually active, at least he hoped he wasn’t. John knew that a serious relationship would distract Adam from his responsibilities, and a disaster would only magnify that distraction. John also knew that it would add an additional layer of challenge to their survival.

John met Cheryl only once, briefly, but he really didn’t know anything about her, or her parents for that matter. John actually considered running a background check on Adam’s friends, but he never got around to it. He was afraid Jenna would beat him if she knew he was spending money to check on Adam’s friends, so he never tried it. John knew that sometimes you had to trust your kids, at least if you wanted them to trust you back.