FAKE Ficlet: In Position
Title: In Position
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee, OCs.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: Ryo’s sniper skills may be required, so he needs to be ready.
Word Count: 555
Written For: Challenge 380: Position at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: My 555th fic for fan_flashworks, and it’s 555 words long. No idea how that happened.
“You in position?” Dee’s voice came through Ryo’s earpiece.
“Affirmative.” Ryo’s lips barely moved as he replied. He adjusted his sniper scope carefully, giving him a clear image of the target. He’d had to take the long way around to reach this vantage point, so there wouldn’t be any chance that he’d be spotted, but now that he was in place all he could do was wait, ready to take out the target if necessary.
Down below, a negotiator was trying to convince the armed man to let his hostages go and give himself up. With any luck, she’d succeed and then Ryo’s talents wouldn’t be needed after all. He could only hope. He was one of the best marksmen in the city, and he enjoyed testing his skill, but that didn’t mean he relished taking a life. He could do it when necessary, had on a number of occasions, but even for a police sniper, killing should always be the last resort. He focused through the scope, breathing slowly and evenly, his right forefinger resting lightly on the rifle’s trigger.
His position gave him a clear view down into the coffee shop, where the barista, two waitresses, and half a dozen customers were being held at gunpoint. One of the customers was the gunman’s boss, who’d fired him that morning for no reason after twenty years of putting his all into the company. He’d been due to retire in less than a week, but now he wouldn’t be eligible for the pension package he should have gotten.
Ryo felt for the man. Loyalty meant nothing to big businesses these days, and the last thing he wanted was to take the life of someone who’d been pushed over the edge by corporate greed. The boss of the company deserved to be taken to court and sued for unfair dismissal, or whatever it was called. If he hadn’t chosen to cheat his former employee out of what the company owed him, none of them would be in their current position.
The other customers were released, then the waitresses, and the barista. Ryo watched it all through the rifle scope from the roof of the building across the street. Now the only people still in the coffee shot were the gunman and his former boss. Ten minutes later, the gunman laid down his weapon and surrendered; turned out the gun wasn’t even loaded.
“Stand down,” Dee said in Ryo’s ear, sounding as relieved as Ryo felt.
“Roger that.”
Letting out his breath in a long sigh, Ryo clicked the safety on and lowered his rifle; it was over. Shifting out of his crouch into a more comfortable position, he flexed cramped muscles, letting the tension drain away. Then he broke the gun down, ejecting the bullet from the chamber, removing the clip, and packing all the parts back into the carry case.
He took the direct route back down; Dee was waiting for him as he stepped out onto the sidewalk.
“Okay?”
“Yeah. Glad I didn’t have to shoot him.” Ryo checked his radio was off and removed the earpiece. “His ex-boss though…”
“Wouldn’t have minded puttin’ a couple of rounds in him myself,” Dee agreed. “What’s the world comin’ to when profits and shareholder bonuses are considered more important than treatin’ staff fairly?”
“I don’t know.”
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee, OCs.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: Ryo’s sniper skills may be required, so he needs to be ready.
Word Count: 555
Written For: Challenge 380: Position at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: My 555th fic for fan_flashworks, and it’s 555 words long. No idea how that happened.
“You in position?” Dee’s voice came through Ryo’s earpiece.
“Affirmative.” Ryo’s lips barely moved as he replied. He adjusted his sniper scope carefully, giving him a clear image of the target. He’d had to take the long way around to reach this vantage point, so there wouldn’t be any chance that he’d be spotted, but now that he was in place all he could do was wait, ready to take out the target if necessary.
Down below, a negotiator was trying to convince the armed man to let his hostages go and give himself up. With any luck, she’d succeed and then Ryo’s talents wouldn’t be needed after all. He could only hope. He was one of the best marksmen in the city, and he enjoyed testing his skill, but that didn’t mean he relished taking a life. He could do it when necessary, had on a number of occasions, but even for a police sniper, killing should always be the last resort. He focused through the scope, breathing slowly and evenly, his right forefinger resting lightly on the rifle’s trigger.
His position gave him a clear view down into the coffee shop, where the barista, two waitresses, and half a dozen customers were being held at gunpoint. One of the customers was the gunman’s boss, who’d fired him that morning for no reason after twenty years of putting his all into the company. He’d been due to retire in less than a week, but now he wouldn’t be eligible for the pension package he should have gotten.
Ryo felt for the man. Loyalty meant nothing to big businesses these days, and the last thing he wanted was to take the life of someone who’d been pushed over the edge by corporate greed. The boss of the company deserved to be taken to court and sued for unfair dismissal, or whatever it was called. If he hadn’t chosen to cheat his former employee out of what the company owed him, none of them would be in their current position.
The other customers were released, then the waitresses, and the barista. Ryo watched it all through the rifle scope from the roof of the building across the street. Now the only people still in the coffee shot were the gunman and his former boss. Ten minutes later, the gunman laid down his weapon and surrendered; turned out the gun wasn’t even loaded.
“Stand down,” Dee said in Ryo’s ear, sounding as relieved as Ryo felt.
“Roger that.”
Letting out his breath in a long sigh, Ryo clicked the safety on and lowered his rifle; it was over. Shifting out of his crouch into a more comfortable position, he flexed cramped muscles, letting the tension drain away. Then he broke the gun down, ejecting the bullet from the chamber, removing the clip, and packing all the parts back into the carry case.
He took the direct route back down; Dee was waiting for him as he stepped out onto the sidewalk.
“Okay?”
“Yeah. Glad I didn’t have to shoot him.” Ryo checked his radio was off and removed the earpiece. “His ex-boss though…”
“Wouldn’t have minded puttin’ a couple of rounds in him myself,” Dee agreed. “What’s the world comin’ to when profits and shareholder bonuses are considered more important than treatin’ staff fairly?”
“I don’t know.”
The End