1 Law 4 All - Vegas. Billy Angel
Todd was enjoying this. "Cow-shoes were used by Moonshiners during prohibition to disguise their footprints. A footprint trail would lead Elliot Ness and his Untouchables directly to their illegal operation. They used cow-shoes to trick the feds so they wouldn't find their country stills."
"You mean smugglers read history books dating back to the '20s?" Rizzo asked.
Jimmy heard a something whizzing by his head. Todd and Lenard saw the puff of dirt come off the ground ten feet behind and to the right side of Jimmy. Their cop instincts kicked in. "Gun fire. Duck behind the SUV."
Rizzo pulled his Glock 30S pistol as they dove. Two more puffs of dirt and the five were pinned against the SUV.
"That won't do you much good," Todd said. "Those guys have scoped, Heckler and Koch G36's compliments of our government."
"Are we talking Fast and Furious?" Jimmy asked.
Todd scornfully nodded his head, yes. "These drug cartel idiots use us for target practice. Lucky most of them jam their rifles after a few shots. We find rifles on the trails, jammed and broken all the time."
"You think we can wait them out?" Lenard asked.
"Do we have any weapons besides our hand guns?" Rizzo asked.
"Funny you should ask," Todd answered as three more rounds hit the side of the SUV. "They gave us new Barrett 50 cal Airsoft rifles with scopes and rocket bullets to test."
"Test?" Jimmy questioned.
"Yea, you know, shoot at cactus or bottles. Our captain wants us to show the politicians our marksmanship next week at the annual district shootout."
Two more bullets whistled over their heads. They looked at each other wondering when these bozos would jam their guns and leave.
Todd said, "Usually a couple of warning shots means they're clearing the way for a smuggling run. But this is getting serious." Four more bullets hit the SUV and two hit the ground to their right.
Rizzo asked Todd if he had any high-powered binoculars. Todd started to move towards the SUV door. Then Rizzo said, "While you're in there, get the Barrett, too."
Todd hesitated for a few seconds. Then six more rounds peppered the ground and the SUV. Sheriff Lenard gave Todd an ok nod feeling in rhythm with the shooter's load and shoot pattern.
Todd climbed through the SUV's back door. He pushed the Barrett and two cases towards Rizzo's position. He crawled back out and closed the door.
Rizzo turned to Jimmy and said, "Want to have some fun? You spot and I'll shoot." He handed the binoculars to him after taking a long look about with them first.
Todd, Lenard and Chase played their bureaucratic roles. They explained their jobs may be at stake with any kind of shooting incident. Jimmy said, "I'm an attorney. I will defend you for free!"
Rizzo assured Todd and the others. "I spend six months in Marine sniper school. Then decided, I didn't have the patience to wait hours, sometimes days, for the shot." He looked at Todd, "So, what's this about rocket bullets?"
Chapter 17 Rabbits and Cactus
A volleys of bullets kept peppering the ground around the SUV. Jimmy could tell that Todd and Lenard were still cool with the situation, but Chase appeared nervous. "You guys relax. If Rizzo says he can shoot that rifle, he can."
Rizzo appreciated the vote of confidence. But after assembling the Barrett rifle he noticed the scope's digital readouts were in German. "Anyone read German?" he asked.
"I took German in high school," Chase answered.
Another volley of bullets bounced off the ground around the SUV. Todd said, "I don't understand why we're drawing so much attention. These guys are usually gone by now."
Rizzo handed Chase the pamphlet that came with the scope. "Start reading," he ordered.
Jimmy took the binoculars from Rizzo. He eased his way for a quick look over the hood. Todd did the same with the second pair of binoculars but from the rear of the vehicle.
"I see three guys," Jimmy said. "But I only see one rifle."
"Same here," echoed Todd.
"Let me see," Lenard asked Todd. "Yea! Three guys rolling around on the ground with one rifle. Looks like they're taking turns firing it."
A series of four bullets thumped the SUV. More bullets came their way every minute or so. The last burst hit the ground in front of the SUV.
"They may be trying to shoot under the car." Todd said with growing anxiety in his voice.
Rizzo looked from the assembled rifle to Todd. "Tell me about these so-called rocket bullets."
"The weapons specialists told us not to compensate for short distances. Apparently, in the first 1500 hundred yards, there's no significant drop in the bullet's flight. Then the bullet only drops a quarter-inch for every two hundred yards until about five thousand yards out. He also said wind adjustments aren't necessary for the shorter shots."
They heard a loud boom. The SUV started dipping away from them. Then came a second boom. The SUV was now tilting towards the shooters. The banditos shot out the two driver's side tires.
Lenard spied the shooters. "They're jumping around like a bunch of Jihadists." "German boy, what does the manual say?" Rizzo said with more urgency in his voice.
"The cross-hairs with the dot-pyramid under is the automatic trajectory compensation. The parallax adjustment goes from fifty yards to infinity." Chase put the pamphlet down.
"That's good enough," Rizzo said sighting the scope at the distance ground behind them.
Jimmy eased up again for another look. "These guys are out in the open. They could be having a picnic except for them shooting at us."
Frustration crossed Todd's face. "They know our rules of engagement. We can't fire on them unless they cross the border to the U.S. side and our lives are in eminent danger."
"That's those sucky politicians for you. If any of those cowardly lions were here now, they be shitting bricks," Sheriff Leonard spoke from experience.
"They'd say screw the rules, get those bastards," Jimmy concurred.
"I'm ready," Rizzo said chambering the first round. "No time to practice. Point me in their direction."
Todd raised his arm and pointed across the river. "About five hundred yards. Sight the top of the rise behind them and bring your aim back towards the river."
Rizzo crept under the front bumper. He had just enough space to stabilize the Barrett and scope. What seemed like hours later, he said, "I see them. One rifle, three hostiles. You guys spot their movements after I start shooting. Am going left to right.
Rizzo sights in on the first guy. He squeezed the trigger three times with a second in between rounds. Then silence surrounded them.
Not believing what he had seen, Todd said "Holy cow. We're putting a border patrol uniform on you for the district shootouts."
"Lee Harvey Oswald has nothing on you," smiled Jimmy spying through his binoculars.
Sheriff Lenard smiled to himself. Rizzo was a man after his own heart!
"What happened?" Chase shrieked nervously.
"Do you want a play by play," Jimmy asked.
"They're running to their jeep. There they go riding off blazing a dust trail South." Rizzo said rolling over on his back.
"Mighty fine shooting," Todd expressed thankfully. Lenard agreed.
Jimmy started to gloat as if his teammate just hit a three-point shot to win the game. "The first shot hit a guy's neck. The second shot hit the next guy's shoulder. The third shot blew off the last guy's nose."
"Yea, that third guy must have turned to see what was happening to the other