The Perfect Shot

It was louder that night in the bar, there was a rowdy group of middle aged men avoiding going home to their partners on one end and the TV on max volume down the other end being shouted at by passionate sports fans.

"What are you having today Pete?" The bartender asked as he wiped down the counter. 

"Today, it's the Whiskey Vince!" Pete nearly shouted in excitement as he approached and sat on one of the stools with excitement. 

Pete's heart was racing, it had taken months but he was finally going to get paid. He looked around the bar, and to his left, noticed the drunk men in the corner, trying to stack their empty beer glasses into a pyramid, a disaster waiting to happen. on his right, he took note of the sports fans yelling obscenities at the TV, though the TV was on high volume, there was no hearing it tonight. Vince delivered the drink, "here you go mate, congrats" Pete raised his glass to the air in cheers and pursed his lips. He wanted to share his news with someone, and wasn't going to approach a group of men to discuss his payday. He turned towards the bar and draw in his breath to call to Vince when he saw the man sitting alone at the bar, only a few seats down he had nearly completely missed him as he was being so quiet. The man was roughly Pete's age, and sat with his head stooped over his drink which Pete saw was also whiskey. 

He decided to make a new friend and swivelled off his stool and relocated closer, leaving one stool space between them he said "Congratulations" "I'm sorry?" The man said, looking up at Pete furrowing his brow. Pete nodded to the whiskey and explained "Whiskey is a celebratory drink in my book, and if i'm not mistaken you seem to have yourself a top shelf choice tonight, must be celebrating" "You could say that" he replied, staring into his drink. Pete thought he saw a faint smile. he waited a moment and the man spoke, "what's the good news?" nodding towards Pete's own drink, Pete paused, "Well, I'm finally getting paid, you see, i'm a freelancer, if there are no results, there's no payday. Today, I finally delivered and my client is releasing the dough." he took a drink and indicated to Vince for another and then turned to the man. The man sat there, nodded slightly and looked as though he was deep in thought. "I'm Pete" "Sam" the man says. "Nice to meet you Sam, I see you have top of the line hunting shoes on, do you like to hunt?" Sam looked at Pete and smiled slightly, "you could say that" Sam said, flicking his eyes to the TV and taking a sip of his drink. 

Vince placed Pete's second whiskey on the bar and Pete nods, gives him the money and returns to Sam. "I enjoy hunting, tracking the target, knowing that it relies on your skills alone to take that perfect shot, because you don't get a second chance" "I agree" replies Sam, "lining up the target, factoring in all the elements, distance, wind -" "oh, and don't forget obstructions blocking your shot" Interrupts Pete. Sam smiled bigger then, "no, that would be a problem" "it's just exhilarating isn't it? those moments between lining up the shot and taking it, not knowing if this is the best moment or you should wait for something clearer" Pete says. 

Sam flicked his eyes to the TV again and turned back to Pete. "How long have you been in the business?" Sam asked. "About 20 years" Pete says after a moment of thought then continues, "this is my last job though, i can retire once the payment clears, finally get out of debt" " i know the feeling, today is my payday too, hence the whiskey" Sam says taking a sip. 

"well, look at us, just a couple of lucky lads with the same reason to celebrate, What is is you do Sam?" Sam paused for a moment "hunt" 

Pete nods "Targets always change but someone has to do it for the greater good right?" 

"right, the greater good" Sam says and shoots back the remainder of his whiskey. 

"I like you Sam, I'm going to let you in on a secret. My profession is also hunting, of sorts. My client directed me to a very rich and powerful person, this person has their hands in every department you can think of, a dirty corrupt person who is benefiting off the suffering of the people in this city. I had to track his every move, waiting for him to give me the opportunity to take him down, it took me months but i did what no-one else in my field has been able to do, I took the perfect shot" Pete stared at his drink and exhaled a huge breath of relief mixed with pride. "Congratulations.." said Sam, his frow burrowed slightly in thought, he flicked his eyes to the TV again, the game was ending and the sports fans had won, their energy was raised in cheer and singing. 

He ordered his third whiskey for the night and sat in thought for a moment. Sam spoke up, "So, Pete, forgive me, but I was considering some of the information you supplied and it sounds eerily familiar" 

Sam had finished his drink, Vince had cleared his class and a strange sensation hung in the air. Pete sighed and thought to himself that he should have just kept his mouth shut, he could have ruined everything in his excitement. "I've said too much" he says under his breath. 

Sam hesitated for a moment, "Sounds like we're in the same profession, both requiring stealth, discretion, a perfect aim and a large payoff" 

Pete's heart was racing, Sam had figured out he was a Private Investigator hired to take down the largest corrupt politician in the country's history. Pete had been compiling thousands of documents and photographs implicating Politician Dane Prenillo in hundreds of illegal dealings, enough to finally take him down and he had just taken the final perfect shot of Prenillo unmistakably paying off  senior members of Law enforcement. 

"You see Pete, my payoff also involved taking down someone powerful and corrupt." Sam says. 

Pete started to panic, did Sam beat him to the punch? He knew he should have been paid in cash, now Prenillo is going to go down on Sams information, leaving him with nothing. 

"Listen Sam.." Pete started, knowing that there were few corrupt people in this town and a lot of competition "I don't know what information you have, but I need this money." 

Pete saw confusion in Sams face then he said, "Pete.. you mentioned that you took the perfect shot earlier, might I ask what time?" 

Pete, now a little scared as Prenillo had spies everywhere and the ability to make people vanish.. kept his mouth shut. 

Sam tilted his head, "Okay, answer me this then. Was it before 4:30pm today?" 

Even though he was scared, there was something about Sam that he trusted. Pete nodded.

The confusion seemed to have lifted off Sams face and replaced with relief. Pete's tension eased at the sight of this. Then Sam spoke again, "It appears that we are in different professions with the same target and we are both here because we have both taken the perfect shot.

That's when it happened, in the left corner, the pyramid of glasses fell to the ground in a clash, glass smashing over the floor, Vince rushed to the back for the broom while a sudden quiet settled over the bar, the only sound was the TV, "Breaking news this evening. Dane Prenillo was found dead in his home earlier, police are treating his death as a homicide, they have no leads at this time and believe they are chasing a professional" 

The colour drained from Pete's face, he could feel his stomach hit the floor beneath him in fear. He clenched his teeth and clutched his drink so tight that his fingers turned white. 

Everyone was watching the TV now in shock. Sam turned to Pete and met his eyes. In a hushed tone, he said "for the greater good" 

Pete said softly, "The perfect shot.. you weren't kidding"

>>Inspired by a writing prompt<<

"A photographer and a Sniper sit at a bar discussing the 'perfect shot' neither are aware of the other's profession"

Battlegrounds III

She awoke,
It was as though she had slept a thousand years, her wounds had healed and light scarring remained, to remind her of what she went through. She shudders to think of how decayed the land has become through her slumber but she must face it, there is no more delaying.

She sees new growth poking its way through the damaged ground and smiles, may it be weeds or not, things can be grown. She looks for the trenches and pits that once riddled the ground and trapped her repeatedly but they were nowhere to be seen. With nothing visible, her mind throws the memories before her, reminding her that this is a place of unrest, reminding her of the battles fought and the blood shed for reasons she cannot recall anymore. Her chest tightens and she hugs herself as she falls to the ground shaking with the memory of what she had done. Then she hears it, a call, reluctant to answer it she lets it ring.. her surroundings a constant reminder that she isn't safe to be around.
She lets the call go on, torn between the the person she was and who she wants to be.
Fighting for change, she decides to take a cautionary step in a direction she would have otherwise avoided. She answers the call, and he was beautiful.

She wandered through the fields and began clearing out the armour she no longer needed. She began removing the broken pieces of everything destroyed eons ago and began to plant seeds.

He walked beside her, bandaging her hands as she rifled through the broken glass and metal shards of the past. He knelt beside her as she became overwhelmed with grief from the loss of friends who've found greener pastures. He watered her seedlings when she gave up hope they'd ever survive.

The dreary fields she was accustomed to lay before her, though her mind was set on remembering each battle, each war fought and each fallen soldier. The battlefield has been nothing other than a war-zone for as long as she can remember, she has danced to the song of battle her whole life and knows nothing else.

He stands before her, this beautiful being who has shown her so much and changed her in ways she never dreamed of. She can feel the seedlings growing deep inside the earth, she can see in her minds eye, trees growing, flowers blooming and a sense of peace so overpowering that she is fighting the urge to turn and run, the world she has always known is changing into what she always dreamed of and she hasn't any idea on how to live in it.

Battlegrounds II

Her armour falls as she wanders the vast wasteland, she often wonders if she were the instigator for the many battles that ravished her world, was she the one who destroyed this place? Though the trenches are few and far between she still falls, struggling with the thought that perhaps she dug them herself, with her recklessness and expectations. Pulling at the walls to get out she slowly fills them in. Small holes they have become, but she won’t fill them in completely, not yet.

Picking up the pieces one by one, she knows he has departed for good, he has found another home, another paradise as this once was. Wrecked with guilt and remorse, she wishes him back, her world not the place he wishes to be anymore, an equal hand that slew the sword of destruction he cannot face the outcome, he leaves, unable to see the garden it once was. He looks at her and sees every flaw, hears those cruel words echoing through the wind, feels the wounds reopen and ache without mercy, he no longer sees the beauty that once was, that once stood upon the broken debris that littered the ground. He no longer feels the warmth that she once emanated for him, he feels only pain and regret.

Empty, void of feelings, she is compelled to rebuild, driven by the remnants of truths scattered in lies, driven by the pain in her chest where her heart once rested, driven by the pure ambition of a woman who has fought every ounce of herself away and is left with nothing but a shadow, she has nothing left but wounds to remind her that there may have been a terrible war, but she still stands.

The ground won’t be ready for natural growth for some time, the skies, though clearer still have the lingering essence of grey. She clears the ground of debris, and can do no more until the ground recovers from the damage it has withstood. So she lies down, and stares at the sky, slowly she closes her eyes and dreams that when she awakens, her world will be ready for a new beginning.