Mirabe casually reached for another gun on the table, lifting it up like she was aiming at some invisible target in the air. Catching James''s eye, she casually exined, "If you''re gonna learn, might as well make it a challenge, right?"


    Cassie, standing nearby, immediately felt her earlier annoyance at being called slow disappear. Sure, he wanted to pick his own gun, but he trusted his sister''s expertise. Whatever she picked was the best choice for him, no doubt. After all, how could someone clueless handle something tricky?


    Cassie quickly urged Wyatt to take him to the shooting range. Wyatt, knowing the kid had never held a gun before, figured they''d start in the simtion room to get himfortable. But Cassie wasn''t having it.


    With no other option, Wyatt led him straight to the live ammo range. He was ready to teach patiently, determined to make sure the kid learned, no matter how long it took. After all, Ms. Mirabe herself had asked him to!


    Mirabe watched them leave, then spun the gun in her hand with aid-back ir, looking effortlessly cool.


    "Wanna have some fun?" James asked, raising an eyebrow and nodding toward the range.


    Mirabe shrugged, clearly not interested. "Nah." Basic pistols didn''t excite her; they were more like toys.


    She ced the gun back on the workbench. Noticing herck of interest, James signaled to an attendant to bring in something different.


    Soon, the attendant returned with two rifles. Mirabe''s eyes lit up at the sight. She picked up one, her fingers gently tracing its body. "Is this the upgraded MR sniper rifle?"


    James, not entirely surprised by her knowledge, nodded. "Yep, the old modelcked sensitivity, so we redesigned it with a modr setup."


    Mirabe noted how the new design not only improved sensitivity but probably amped up the power too. "Did you make these changes?" she asked, lifting the rifle stock.


    "Sure did," James replied, grabbing the other sniper rifle. "I''ve even tested its firepower."


    "Looks like today''s gonna be fun," Mirabe said, genuinely impressed by the technical expertise. "Let''s give it a whirl."


    James grinned, all in. They headed to the training room on the left.


    The room was decked out with all the gear they''d need. James handed Mirabe some noise-canceling, shock-absorbing earplugs. "Fancy a littlepetition?"  fo


    Mirabe turned to him, eyebrow arched. "What''s on the line?"


    James rolled up his sleeve, showing a bit of his wrist, his voice smooth and


    teasing. "If I lose, you get to ask for anything."


    "Typical yboy move," Mirabe scoffed, though with a hint of a smile.


    "Or would you rather a million bucks?" James teased, his tone yful.


    Mirabe paused, feeling a bit challenged. She cleared her throat, popped in the earplugs, and moved up to the firing line, smoothly lifting the rifle to aim at the target monitor.


    Once James had his earplugs in ce, she fired without any adjustments. A momentter, the system announced a bullseye, dead center.


    Mirabe rested the rifle on her shoulder and turned to James, her eyebrow


    slightly raised in victory.