The Storm

a fire mission to take out the whole bunch, but that was not my mission. 'Take the shot when you're ready, Gunny. Your call.' 'Yes sir, Cap! With pleasure,' he responded, and I waved the men to hold steady. Gunny had taken a prone position, and, with a sniper’s grip on his weapon, he readied himself. Reese was quietly giving angle and range data, Gunny mirroring it with his rifle scope. " "The long suppressor on the end of his barrel was wrapped in burlap and extended way beyond the barrel's end. The suppressor muffles the muzzle blast of his rifle, a modified .308 caliber Remington 700 bolt-action rifle. I knew there would eventually be a muzzle flash that could possibly compromise our position, but only for an instant. We weren't planning on sittin' still any longer than necessary, other than to get a quick confirmation of the kill from Reese." "Gunny, now motionless and silent, with his trigger finger barely restin' on the trigger shoe, began his breathing sequence. I could tell that Gunny now was slowly releasing his breath. At the bottom of that breath, his finger would have reached the point of break-over and the firin' pin would hit the cartridge primer." "The recoil was obvious, and a dull 'THUD', accompanied with a bright flash, escaped the suppressor as the bullet slammed through the night air. I watched in my scope as the bright red blood spray from our target went all over the back curtains and over several waiters. The concussion of the .308 round tossed that monster backward off of his chair. Guests screamed and tripped over themselves to escape, while others, frozen in shock, still sat in their seats."

1 39