"Where are we going? You passed H-MARKET like two blocks ago you idiot." Mia asked getting even more annoyed at her brother as time passed.
Jehiel smirked and announced proudly with his chest out, "We're gonna pick up dad's gift for me at my work."
"You've never been there right?"
'You're lucky it's your birthday...' Mia thought to herself.
"No, I haven't. What do you even do for work?" she asked a question back as she harumphed.
"I do a lot of things..." he replied with an eager smile on his face, the excitement clearly showing as they neared the gun store.
Mia stared at her brother like he was a weirdo as they slowed down and looked for parking.
"We're here already?" she paused and looked around at the area.
There was quite a bit of activity on the bustling streets. It was the weekend so many people were out and about.
They soon found parking around 2 blocks away from the store. They unbuckled their seatbelts and pressed a button to kill the electric car.
As they stepped out, Jehiel grabbed the keys and stuffed them into his pocket. He stood up and locked the car while giving a tug on the handle to see if it was properly locked.
The murmur of crowds filled the streets. Some families were out to eat, some were out for errands, and some were arriving to work.
As they headed to the plaza, some restaurants had lines of people waiting outside to be seated. It was a nice clear day in the city of Serio so it was expected to make people want to go out.
A store with a camouflage-patterned awning had metal gates behind the glass doors. It was always locked until a customer wanted to leave or enter.
[Serio's Finest Arms] The sign on the door read.
A flickering OPEN sign was seen duct-taped to the glass and flags of skulls and guns hung up as well.
BEEP BOOP BEEP BOOP
The sound of the crosswalk sign indicated it was time to cross the street. The number counted down as they arrived in front of the plaza.
There were karaoke lounges, laundrymats, and boba spots. Jehiel paid no attention to any of those stores and focused his eyes on the camo-pattered awning.
"A gun store?!" Mia exclaimed questioning what her father recently bought Jehiel for his birthday.
"You work here?"
"Hehehehe... Yup!" is Jehiel walked up to the glass door and swung it open before banging his fist on the locked gate.
RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE
The gate shook as he banged on the metal sign that said Must Show Proof of Age or accompanied by an adult.
The workers inside turned their heads to the sound of banging and shook their heads as a wry smile appeared on their faces after seeing who it was.
An older man walked to the other side of the counter and pressed a buzzer.
BZZZT
Jehiel pushed the metal gate open and entered the gun store and held the gate open for his sister. He first entered the store with Mia following behind while the gate closed behind them and locked.
Mia's eyes wandered as she looked all around the store, rifles, shotguns, and many firearms were hung up on the wall.
There were glass counters with lights to illuminate the handguns, and an old man with a mature but still attractive face was leaning against it.
"Boss Old Fart!" Jehiel said with a huge grin on his face and raised his arm for a fist bump.
Boop
"Who is this wonderful young lady?" the boss smiled and turned to Mia who was standing beside her brother.
"H-Hello, my name is Mia... nice to meet you," Mia said with a slight wave as she shifted her gaze to the handguns below the boss.
The boss nodded and continued to speak with Jehiel while Mia's eyes sparkled at the different pistols underneath the light.
"Boss Serg, is it here?" Jehiel asked with clenched fists and anticipation, not being able to keep his excitement in.
"What happened to 'Old Man' or 'Old Fart'?" Serg chuckled and bent over to grab a plastic handgun carrier that had the label 'Glock' on it.
Jehiel's eyes sparkled as the carrier was placed on the glass counter.
He didn't even hear what Serg said as all the attention was focused on the case. He had never owned a handgun ever since he got his firearm license.
He completely forgot about the handgun he wanted and focused on the one in front of him. He lifted the flaps and heard the case open.
CLACK
He lifted the case's lid open to reveal a beautifully custom Glock 19 Gen 5. He slowly scooped up the gun, not wanting to damage his new baby, by the handle and put it in his right hand. The gun had some weight but also because there were custom parts added.
The cold steel slide with the polymer body felt warmth as Jehiel's hand wrapped around the textured grip.
CLANK DUD
He racked the gun back and took the magazine out and placed it on the table to clear the firearm.
CLICK
The side stop was pressed and the slide swung back forward.
"Hohoho, the slide is so light," a wide grin and eerie breathing escaped his breath.
'I don't even own one of those,' his co-workers sighed in envy.
Jehiel's mind was only on the gun, held the gun firmly in his right hand and put his left thumb under the right one, holding the gun properly as he pointed it at the floor.
He pressed the + button on the side of the RMR sights and a green dot appeared in the lens.
He turned and faced Serg wondering, " Why is there a threaded barrel?"
"Silencers aren't allowed in this state unless you're LE (Law Enforcement) or Military."
A slight smirk was on Serg's face as he reached for a skinny 6-inch box and placed it on the table.
"Happy Birthday J, two years working with you made life a little easier, your passion for guns can't even compete with other employees."
"I got it for you as a gift, along with the already-installed custom extended control kit and lightweight trigger." Serg smiled gladly, sliding the cardboard box toward's Jehiel.
Jehiel's mouth was in the shape of an O and his eyes staring at the box.
He took out a pocket knife from his pocket and sliced the tape open. He took out a suppressor with a brand on the side that read 'Obsidian'.
Everyone at the store knew the brand, and all the other workers became even more envious.
"B-Boss, are you sure I can have this? This is one of the most expensive suppressors on the market." Jehiel said while holding the dark titanium suppressor shakily in his hands.
Serg nodded and had a soft smile on his face. Mia was busy looking at a Pink 1911 and forgot all about her brother. She then raised her head and turned to Jehiel, "J, buy me this when I turn 18!"
Serg, Jehiel, and his other co-workers laughed when they heard Mia asking for a gun while she was only 15.
Her face reddened slightly due to embarrassment and soon put her headphones on to block out the laughter coming from the gun store.
"Y-You won't take this out of my pay will you?" Jehiel scratched the back of his head shyly and let out a soft laugh.
"Nope, although I want to. Also, don't forget these!" Serg lifted a metal ammo can with 1,000 9mm rounds of hollow points as he placed it gently on the glass table.
Jehiel placed the handgun inside the case beside the 4 extra 19-round magazines and softly placed the suppressor in the gun case as well.
He reached out his hand, looked into Serg's eyes, and shook the well-worn hand firmly.
He said his goodbyes and thank yous to his boss and co-workers. Then lugged the ammo box and gun case with a key off the table. Signaling his sister to come with him with a tilt of his head.
Mia saw that both her brother's hands were full and proceeded to try and open the door for him. The door didn't budge since the buzzer wasn't pressed yet.
BZZZT
The door was pushed open and they both stepped out of the gun store.
Mia was blasting her K-POP music and had both earbuds in. She was looking at her phone thinking her brother was watching her.
Jehiel watched as his sister walked a few feet away from him. He was humming a happy tune until he stopped mid-way with his eyes widening.
"MIIIIAAAA! MIAAA! MOVE!!!" Jehiel yelled at the top of his lungs.
She took a step into the street and walked a few steps until she heard yelling that wasn't a part of her song. She was already in the middle of the road and her brother was at the edge of the crosswalk.
She took out one earphone and heard her brother yelling at her from the top of his lungs.
"MOVE!!!!" her brother yelled again as bystanders started to look in the direction of the yelling.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEP BEEEEEP
The blaring horn of a delivery truck was the second thing she heard.
Her eyes widened as she turned her head, frozen in shock she dropped her phone and stood there, facing the truck with screeching tires that were trying to slow down.
Jehiel gritted his teeth and clenched the case of ammo and his gun. The truck inched closer and closer every passing millisecond.
"YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!!" Jehiel leaped and sprinted 4 steps before tucking his shoulder and lowering his head.
Holding his ammo and gun to his chest, he felt an impact and smacked his sister out of the truck's range like a 300-pound linebacker in Football.
SCREEEECHHH
The truck swerved and tipped to the side. But it was too late. It all happened in a split second. Mothers watching the horrific sight gasped and couldn't bear to watch more as they buried their faces into their husband's chests.
'Jehiel clenched the ammo and gun to his chest, turned his face away, and closed his eyes.
BAM BAM BAM
SPLURGE