That Day, It Happened

Walking down the stairs to the basement felt a lot like he was walking towards his demise. The IT student was scared of what was at the end of the tunnel and Abby leading the way was not at all reassuring.

She unlocked the door at the end of the corridor and opened it widely, letting him enter first. His eyes widened when he finally saw what was down there.

“Wow!”

Except three libraries that looked antique, there was a fully equipped shooting place. Abby turned on the lights and walked next to him.

“My father was a strict man. He used to get us down here and teach us how to shoot. My brother was really good but he was tall and loved the action on the field. He was good with a lunette but didn’t have enough patience. That’s when my father replaced him with me.”

She started as she geared up and grabbed a normal gun, swaying it in front of his eyes. There was already a practice figure in the distance.

“He was surprised. Against my personality, my skills were good. I trained a lot and he beat me up a lot. I didn’t have a normal childhood but I didn’t hate it either. I finished first in the Academy.” She shot twice and put the gun down, pressing a button that brought the practice figure closer.

Evan’s eyes widened. She shot both bullets through his head.

“That was very precise.” He commented.

“Of course. I used to practice for hours every day.” She said smugly before she made a sign for him to come closer.

Abby gave him the protection glasses as well as the headphones before she took another pair for herself and went behind him.

“Are you ready?” He shook his head. “It’s alright. I won’t beat you up if you don’t get it from the first try.” She answered bemusedly.

Evan’s eyes widened before he focused on the object he held in his hand. It was a real gun and he was holding it. It was just crazy.

“Shoot.” She screamed.

He did shoot once before he felt a sudden chill go up his shoulder. Evan had a bad position and lost his balance, thus why his shoulder hurt.

“That was bad.” Evan stated, massaging his shoulder.

“It was horrible actually.” She chuckled, “It’s fine. We won’t leave this place until you improve.”

Evan sighed and let her take control. For the first time since they met, she was mature and responsible.

“Look at me and try to do the same thing I do.” Abby started the lesson as if he were a child, “When you’re handling the gun, always keep it pointed downrange. Imagine a magnet connects the front of your barrel to your target and keep it pointed in the general downrange direction the whole time the gun is in your hand. Always fire your handgun at a gun range or club set up with the safety backdrops for firing a handgun.” He was amazed. “ Open your dominant hand to expose the webbing between your index finger and thumb. Taking the pistol in your other hand, insert the grip of the pistol into the web of your dominant hand. With your thumb on one side of the grip, keep your middle, ring, and pinky fingers curled securely around the other side just below the trigger guard. You are really gripping the gun only with the middle and ring fingers, the “pinky” is resting on the gun but is not used to grip; neither is the thumb used to grip the gun. The grip should be very tight. Grip the gun so tightly that your hand begins to shake, like a handshake in which you’re trying to prove something. If you’re gripping it so tightly that the gun shakes, you’re in the ballpark, but relax it a bit from there to stop the shaking.”

He copied her actions when she went into place. She glanced at him and smirked.

“Cup your non-dominant hand to cradle your firing-hand in it. It should not be used to grip the gun, but primarily for steadying the gun vertically and horizontally. Align both of your thumbs for support and accuracy.” For that, she had to help him a little since his posture was really bad. She raised his arms higher and started to explain every little change she was making at his posture. “Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, with the foot opposite your dominant hand about a step past the other foot.” She kicked his legs for that. “Lean forward slightly with your knees bent, making sure you’re firmly balanced. The elbow of your dominant arm should be almost completely straight and your non-dominant elbow should be flexed at a slightly obtuse angle.”

He nodded, scared that if he would move, he wouldn’t be able to get back in position.

”Ensure that the top of the front sight post is level with the top of the rear sight, and that the rear sight appears evenly centered within the notch of the front sight. This will insure that the gun is even and that you’ll get a good “sight picture” when you aim at the target.”

“I’m sweating here. Can we do it faster?”

She glared at him but couldn’t say anything when she saw him bit his lower lip innocently.

“Control your breathing,” Abby started, the boy following her instruction right away “Look at the target and fire right after you breathed in.”

Evan nodded and complied but his bullet went far to the left. It didn’t even touch the target.

“Again.”

Her tone was suddenly very authoritarian, the complete opposite of what Evan heard before.

Evan glanced at her from the corner of his eye, realizing just how precise she was in everything regarding fighting and firing a gun. She was born and raised in that kind of world and he couldn’t help but respect her.



After a few more rounds, he was breathing heavily and his back hurt. Abby helped him twice and he hit the target a few times but only legs and arms. No important damage was done.

“Focus on what’s going on at the moment. Sometimes rage helps.” Abby advised, folding her arms in front of her arms.

He raised an eyebrow and loaded his gun; at least he learned how to do that.

“Did it help you?” He asked without thinking he might a nerve.

“Yes. It did.” She answered, quickly grabbing his gun and firing, no need of glasses or earphones.

Standing there, Abby couldn’t help but remember why she ran away in the first place from her so called duties.

“Look who we’ve got here! It’s newbie Abby!”

Abigail was already used to that kind of behavior. Her father was an important NCIS agent and he wasn’t usually around but his title was always around. Abby couldn’t get rid of the pressure of it. Besides, her brother was working already for MI6.

The officers spread when her boss entered the room.

“Stop messing around and get your equipment. We have a case downtown.”

Everyone nodded and saluted before they left.

“Lincoln.” She stopped mid step. “You’re not allowed to shoot.”



In the car, Abby’s partner was being silent. He wasn’t exactly the bright guy but he was muscular and somehow graduated the police academy with flying colors.

“The suspect is driving a red Mustang. I repeat. The number is 6549980. He went down to Coventry. Repeat, he’s on his way to Coventry.”

Abby took the station and turned it on.

“Got it. We’re going there right now. We’re close.”

The response wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear.

“Don’t force yourself too much, Lincoln.”

She glared at the station and placed it back with a scoff before turning her head to look outside the window.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed a red Mustang parked somewhere on a corner street. She told her partner to check it out and they both agreed to take a closer look.

They parked their car a few feet away and got out. Abby went to one side while her partner took the other. They nodded at each other and silently entered the alley.

“It’s the right number.” He said after he checked the car but no one was there. “Do you think he abandoned it and continued running by foot?”

“That wouldn’t be smart, would it?”

Her partner chuckled.

“Who said he has to be smart? Smart people don’t leave collateral victims behind. They’re clean and precise.”

Abigail knew that but it was funny to hear him say it; he was making it sound so much more mysterious and interesting.

The brunette was checking the place out, her eyes warily passing every detail on the ground when suddenly, it happened. It was really fast but she couldn’t grasp the situation fast enough: Abby heard two shots before she was pushed aside by her partner.

Turning around, she saw the ginger rookie fall on his knees, blood spilling from his shoulder and stomach. It was as bad as it looked and both officers were aware that he wasn’t going to make it alive.

“I’m sorry. You got shot because of me. I was the target.” She started, falling next to him and supporting him as he tried to move in a position so he could lean against the wall.

Seeing the blood gushing out so fast, Abby started to cry. It was the first time someone died on her and he did it to save her life. She was sneezing and crying and he could only watch her consume her energy on his pitiful life. He grabbed her hand and gave her his gun.

“Go and do me justice.”

Abby glanced between the gun and his face, her brain not yet registering hos words.

“Forget the rules, Abigail. Sometimes, you have to bend them in order to make it worth it.”

The brunette grasped the gun and watched him as he gave his last breath before he died.

Abby got up and wiped the tears from her face before she grabbed her station and announced the death of an important cadet. A minute after, she heard her boss shouting something about the east part. She glanced at her former partner for the last time before she ran over.

When Abby got there, she saw a few police cars but no police men. She turned on her station and let it like that, following the shouts and instructions of the others. She was just like a fox, or so she saw herself move, as she grabbed the gun with both hands and turned the corner. Two police men were there and one was shot in the hand, one that used to make fun of her and remind her about her father’s prestige. It didn’t matter now that so many things were happening so quickly. Abby hurried to him and called for an ambulance.

“Where is he?” She asked.

The unharmed officer pointed at a building. Her eyes widened when she realized that a dangerous criminal entered a shopping center.

Abby sneaked in silently and walked up the stairs. She could hear him shouting nonsense as she opened the door slowly and saw that he had the gun pointed at someone’s head; a child.

“I told you not to carry a gun, didn’t I?”

She flinched when someone pulled her under a table. Abby breathed in relief when she saw her boss.

“My partner is dead, sir.” He nodded. However, she didn’t see any regret on his face.

“That’s the risk of the job. You get used to it after a while.”

That didn’t sound good at all. It wasn’t supposed to be like that and she had clear examples in her life that being an officer was about getting out alive not dead.

“We have to save the kid.” She stated but her boss was silent. “We’re going to save the kid, right?”

“Look, it’s a life instead of thousands.” Her boss said without any trace of remorse, “His parents will understand that as well.”

“No. I can shoot the guy without harming the kid. Just let me shoot”. She was on the brink of begging.

“No.”

“But-“

“No. I said no, Lincoln.”

She continued to watch the scene unfold before her eyes with a knot forming in her stomach. The guy was in the middle and a lot of police men were surrounding him.

He was crazy and scared. Scared people always do mistakes because they feel pressured and they panic.

With that thought in her mind, she ran to the stairs. She was a level above them and could easily shoot the guy. Abby had him right in front of her and could easily save the kid.

“Bend some rules in order to make it worth it.” She mumbled.

With those words in her mind, she raised her gun and shot. At the same time, someone else shot, someone from a closer range than she had. Both the kid and the criminal fell down but Abby was sure she hit the criminal. She hit him right in the head but then, what about the kid? Her boss rose from his hiding spot with his gun in hand and glared at her. She was confused.

“Good job, Lincoln! You shot an innocent life!” He yelled at her in anger.

The young officer blinked repeatedly and ran down there. No. She shot the criminal. She knew exactly because the target was hit exactly where she intended.

“Sir, with all my respect but you shot the kid! You killed him! I told you I can shoot the criminal and that’s what I-“

He grabbed her arm and pulled her close to his face.

“I shot the criminal and you shot the kid.”

Her eyes widened. He was lying and he was shifting the blame on her!

When her father heard about that incident, he was scandalized. He didn’t believe his daughter but he believed her boss. He didn’t believe the girl he raised and taught; he didn’t believe his own blood.

That was the moment the rage begun.

Abigail shot the next three bullets straight through the middle of the target’s forehead. Her eyes were narrowed and her whole body was stiff. Evan didn’t know what happened but revengeful was definitely one word to describe her. She was like a chameleon, blending perfectly in the scenery but once she regained her colors, she was unique.



“So, your father used to get you here and teach you how to fight, right?”

After their little session, they took a seat at the table between the two libraries and Evan found it important to find out more about her life.

“Then what are these libraries here for?” Evan asked curiously.

That was indeed a good question. She trailed her eyes over the old and dusty shelves and couldn’t contain a smile spreading on her lips.

“My father was a man who loved reading. He had a soft spot for little and pretty animals. He loved nature and he would always take us out for camping.”

Now that she remembered, those camping times weren’t all that bad. Even though, in the middle of it, everything would turn to 180 degrees and it would change into a military camp, she wasn’t disappointed. It was fun.

“Why did you act so crazy in Portobello?” Evan asked in all seriousness.

Abby’s eyes moved on him immediately and she laughed loudly.

“Because it was fun. As you noticed, I didn’t have a normal childhood so I wanted to feel free. I got sick of people labeling and judging me. You didn’t give a shit about who I was and what I did. I liked that. Besides, we ended up living quite the runaway life. Just like Bonny and Clyde.”

Evan chuckled, finally seeing Abigail Lincoln instead of the girl that peed behind him and gave him fake money. All that energy and all those mood swings had an explanation now but it all happened under terrible circumstances.

Suddenly, her phone rang. The song was echoing through the whole basement. Her posture tensed as she placed the phone on the table and put it on speaker.

“Abby, Abby. You got into a big freaking mess.”

Evan didn’t find that encouraging at all.

“The people that you’re dealing with are a famous mafia clan. They make business with the Italian and Russian mafia too.”

Evan’s head shot towards her quickly but she looked calm. Maybe too calm for what they were dealing with.

“What kind of business?” She asked her brother.

“Everything. But they are specialized in prostitution and tobacco. They sell it quite cheap. Their boss is Max Lee. He’s the CEO of a chain of supermarkets. The police has been after this guy for a while now but they can’t find anything incriminatory. His business helps the economy in these hard times which makes it even more suspicious.”

So that meant they couldn’t even use the police?

“What about his son?”

Matt shifted, sounding like he was typing on his computer.

“Right. Johnny boy. He is a petty thief but lately, he’s been making some suspicious deals with Yakuza. Since the Japanese police started to investigate it, we’ve been left in the dark. We caught him when he tried to smuggle women from Indonesia. His trial is ongoing.” He stopped and sighed heavily. “Getting him out will be a piece of cake. But once Max got his claws on you, he will ask for more and more. It won’t be only your families. In no time, he will have you wrapped around his finger.”

With that established, Abby hung up and leaned back, thinking intently about her next move. When she raised her head and looked at him, he swore he saw her orbs dilating.

“What are we going to do?” He asked, a bit scared and a bit excited.

Abby smirked and leaned over the table.

“We’re going to kill him.”

Evan froze. His blood was boiling and his heartbeats grew so fast that it gave him the impression it would jump out of his chest. His feet and arms were like jelly and he swore he had a bittersweet taste in his mouth.

“W-what!?” His voice cracked.

Compared to Abigail, who was trained to keep collected and focused in such times, Evan was terrified. He could already picture himself bleeding profoundly by his brother’s side, asking for forgiveness.