Evil Author Day: A Good Days Work

Title: A Good Days Work

Fandom: NCIS, Numb3rs

Pairing: None

Warnings: None

Word Total: 1372

Beta: Jilly

It was the time of year to re-up their qualifications.

Tony never looked forward to actually using his gun in a hot situation, but using it in a shooting range didn’t bother him at all. He was familiar with all of the little quirks of his Sig P228, but this was the time of year that he stretched himself.

Every single gun that NCIS had, he was going to be shooting over the next two weeks. From the standard issue 9mms, to the shotguns, to the more exotic sniper rifles, with a side of the semi and fully automatic guns hidden away, he was going to be handling them all. And checking his range scores. He routinely went to a private range that let him rent some of the exotics, but yeah, this was a special time of year.

“Got my time for my range tests, Boss,” Tony let Gibbs know. He slid the list of his times and dates over and didn’t blink when the Special Agent in Charge raised an eyebrow at the length of it. He wasn’t going to let his boss get to him.

“Branching out this year, Tony?” Gibbs asked.

Tony cocked his head to the side as he thought about his list. Oh. Must have been the .338 rifle he was shooting that afternoon. There hadn’t been any mention of the ammunition, but he was hoping it was something good. “Yes. We can’t always rely on just you, Boss.”

The piercing blue eyes of Gibbs looked at him with a question buried in them, but he wasn’t answering them this time. He owed Gibbs exactly nothing concerning his qualifications other than he qualify. And there was no doubt that he was qualified in the weapons he normally carried.

“Let me know when you get your results, then.”

He just hummed an assent as he opened his computer up and got to work. He had a great deal of paperwork to get through before he could head out for an afternoon’s fun. As the senior agent for the DC MCRT, he rarely managed to get ahead of his, so he was taking the down time to try. He had a number of case files that only needed a final review before he sent them on to Gibbs.

It took him three hours, but he managed to clear almost a dozen case files off his to do list before he turned his attention to the memos that had piled up in his email. Most of them were the very basic administrative crap that NCIS couldn’t get away from. He raised his eyebrow at the dress code that Vance had put out. He had to give the Toothpick credit for trying. He still ignored him.

Continuing education requirements got another raised eyebrow and he suppressed a snort at one of them. There was no way on God’s green earth he was taking a computer class from anyone at NCIS. He a) had the skills already, thanks and b) didn’t want to deal with McNerd’s gloating. Tony opened one of the drawers to his desk and pulled out the certificate from the computer course he had taken while he was completing his latest degree.

He sat back and tapped his finger against the certificate. It was a copy, so he was actually fine with sending it interoffice to get rid of Vance’s latest bullshit. Nodding his head slightly, he grabbed a folder out of the same drawer and slid it into place. Setting the paper aside, Tony kept plowing through the memos. Oh, fantastic. Sexual harassment seminar. Aka, how not to be an asshole for both men and women. Tilting his head, he considered the timing. Unless there was something like a case, he wasn’t on for it. His schedule had him running an obstacle course that afternoon and he wasn’t going to be fussed to miss it.

For all that he was a flirt, he knew what the word ‘no’ meant. And he had no problem respecting it. He also had no problem using the word himself. The other things that would be discussed were something that he was very familiar with and he had no interest in rehashing well known knowledge. Let some of the newer, more moronic agents of both sexes get the lessons.

When his phone buzzed at him, Tony looked over at it and smiled. “Heading out, Boss.”

Gibbs only nodded. Tony didn’t take it personally.

The drive out to the range was fairly short, but he enjoyed it just the same. His car, his music and no rush to get to a crime scene where he would be seeing the worst of humanity in brutal color. Instead, he was going to a nice, mostly clean gun range where he would shoot a very nice gun and have some fun.

When he pulled into the site, Tony made sure to retrieve his own ear plugs before he left the protection of the car. Only once each of the little bits of personal protection were in place, did he get out of the car. The distant feel and sound of gunfire still came through the plugs, but it was easily ignorable. His backpack had his credentials in it and he had been assured that the testers would be providing everyone with the guns, so he hadn’t had to check out anything from NCIS.

Check-in was easy, and Tony made his way over to the FBI agent who was in charge. Ian Edgerton was something like number three in the US for snipers and had been roped into running the testing for some reason that Tony wasn’t going to get into. Tilting his head to the side when the agent’s dark eyes met his, he quickly signed a greeting in ASL. When the sniper signed back, Tony introduced himself and took his directions without a word exchanged.

Stall number four had a very nice .338 rifle set up with several boxes of Lapua ammunition. Tony set his backpack down at the back of the stall and pulled out his eye protection and ear muffs. The plugs he had in were good enough for his handgun, but for the sniper rifle he was using, they just wouldn’t be enough. He took the time to carefully look over the gun and inspect every inch of it before he settled in to approve his ammunition.

Two of the rounds were set aside for being iffy and he lined the rest up for use. Settling into place behind the rifle, Tony settled into position to look through the scope. He had his hands tucked close to his chest because he hadn’t received clearance to shoot. The scope was sharp and dialed into the range when he checked to see how clear he could see.

The feel of someone tapping his foot made him look over his shoulder. Agent Edgerton was standing behind him with a clipboard. Edgerton tucked his clipboard under an arm and quickly signed his directions. Tony nodded his understanding and turned back to the rifle.

The motions of loading the rifle were familiar and he slapped the magazine into place with confident hands. He managed to get the gun to the point where there was a bullet in the chamber when he stopped. The directions were for him to wait for Edgerton to give him the signal before he fired. Breathing slowly, he consciously slowed his heart rate and fell into a rhythm of when he was pulling in air.

Cheek snug against the stock and his eye gazing through the scope, Tony waited. He kept his mind blank and tried not to think of anything but his target. He had no idea how long it had been when he felt a double tap against the back of his calf.

Since he had been expecting the touch, he didn’t start. It still took him several moments before he was comfortable and he took his shots. The target before him showed the damage from his bullets and he smiled. Three bullets, one hole that got a bit bigger with each shot.

The satisfaction that ran through him was clean and deep. He had done well. A good day’s work.