Read Online Data Runner by Sam A. Patel - Free Book Online Page A

,” says Dex.
    â€œYes, but getting shot at means that sooner or later one of those bullets is going to hit the target. Think of this as a dry run.”
    â€œDry run in stupidity.”
    â€œIt’s a controlled experiment.”
    Dex shakes his head. “This is so stupid, Jack.”
    â€œNo, it’s not. I have no idea what it feels like. The first time is going to be a shock no matter what, and I don’t want that to happen out in the field. By doing it like this, I’ll at least know what to expect. It’s building the muscle memory, that’s all. I’m just desensitizing my body to it.”
    â€œAre you even listening to yourself? You’re talking about desensitizing your body to a bullet, Jack. A bullet.”
    â€œNot the bullet itself, Dex, but the impact.” Actually, now that I do listen to myself, the whole thing does start to sound a little crazy. But then aren’t half the things we do crazy? “It’s not like the bullet will pass through the armor.”
    â€œHow can you be sure?”
    â€œBecause this gear is certified to stop a 9mm slug at point-blank range.”
    â€œSays who?”
    â€œI read the instructions.”
    â€œOh, that’s different,” mocks Dexter. “If that’s what the instructions say then this isn’t stupid at all.”
    â€œGive me a few feet just to be on the safe side.”
    â€œI don’t think there is a safe side here, but I’ll give you five.”
    Dexter opens his bag and removes an old pillowcase rolled into a tight bundle. He puts it on the ground and carefully unrolls it to reveal his uncle’s gun. I just stare at it. All my life, this is the closest I’ve ever been to one.
    â€œWhat kind is it?” I ask.
    â€œIt’s a Beretta. I don’t know the model.”
    â€œBut you’re sure it’s a 9mm?”
    â€œIf it isn’t then we’ve been using the wrong bullets all these years.”
    Because of the new gun-control laws, it is impossible to get a carrying license for modern weapons. However, because of the way the laws were written, any handgun manufactured prior to the formation of the North American Alliance is automatically grandfathered in. That’s why the market for “loophole guns” is so big. The carrying permits for those are as easy to get as a driver’s license. That’s what makes them so valuable. The newer the loophole gun, the more valuable it is.
    â€œI wouldn’t do this for anyone,” says Dexter. The way he handles the gun, working the slide and hammer with confidence, you can tell he’s an expert. There’s a certain authority in the way he holds it, even in the way he always points it at the ground. He knows exactly what it is, what it’s capable of, and how to use it. You can tell he respects it as much as he commands it. “No one else but you. You know I hate guns.”
    â€œI know.”
    Out in the squatter settlements, guns are a fact of life. Not only did Dexter have to learn how to use one at a very early age, he had to be ready to use it. Not because he was a thug, but just so he could protect his mother when his father and uncle weren’t around. The things that can happen to a woman left alone in the settlements are unspeakable. Unspeakable. For that reason alone, Dexter didn’t have the luxury of being her child. He had to be another man in the house.
    In a way, I think that’s why he and I get along so well. Our backgrounds couldn’t be more different, but the one thing we do have in common is our independence. He and I both had to learn early on how to take care of ourselves. Another thing we have in common is our ambition. When the Drakes finally made it out, it wasn’t just the settlements Dexter left behind, it was everything that went along with it, including all those facts of life he once had to live by. Like guns.
    Dexter points the gun away and