While My Husband Cheated I Married His Powerful Brother novel Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Chapter 55 The Anatomy of a Gun

The shooting range was cold and it was not temperature cold. The type of cold that came from concrete walls and fluorescent lights and the absence of windows. Veyra stood at a long metal table, the Nightblade disassembled in front of her, its parts laid out like organs on a surgeon’s tray.

Li Wei stood across from her. His hands were steady. His voice was calm.

"This is the slide," he said, picking up the top portion of the gun. "It houses the firing pin and the extractor. When the gun fires, the slide moves backward to eject the spent casing and load a new round."

Veyra nodded. She tried to memorize the word. Slide.

He set the slide down. He picked up the barrel. "This is the barrel. The bullet travels through it. The inside has spiral grooves called rifling. They spin the bullet for accuracy."

"Rifling," Veyra repeated.

He picked up the spring. "Recoil spring. It returns the slide to its forward position after firing."

He picked up the frame. "The frame is the body of the gun. It holds everything together. The trigger mechanism is inside here. The magazine goes in here."

He pointed to each part as he named it. Magazine. Trigger. Trigger guard. Magazine release. Safety. Sights.

Veyra’s head was spinning. There were so many parts. So many names.

Then Li Wei’s hands moved.

He picked up the frame. He inserted the trigger assembly. He placed the recoil spring. He slid the barrel into place. He put the slide on top. He pushed the takedown lever.

Click.

The pistol was whole again.

Veyra stared. Her heart pounded. Her adrenaline surged.

He had done it in seconds. Less than ten. The parts had come together like they were magnetized.

"How do you do that so fast?" she asked.

Li Wei shrugged. "Practice. Ten thousand times."

"Ten thousand?"

"At least."

He set the assembled pistol down. He pushed it across the table toward her.

"Your turn."

Veyra picked up the Nightblade.

Her hands were steady. Her breathing was calm. She had watched Li Wei’s demonstration. She had memorized every step. The slide. The barrel. The spring. The frame.

She pressed the magazine release. The magazine dropped into her palm. She set it aside.

She locked the slide back. She rotated the takedown lever. She pulled the slide forward.

Nothing happened.

She frowned. She tried again. The slide would not come off.

"Too much pressure," Li Wei said. "Ease up."

She eased up. The slide slid off. She set it down.

She removed the barrel. It came out easily.

She removed the recoil spring. It would not budge.

She pulled. Nothing. She pulled harder. Nothing.

"The spring is under tension," Li Wei said. "You need to compress it slightly before removing it."

He showed her. A small pinch. A slight twist. The spring came free.

Veyra’s cheeks were hot. She had watched him do it. She had thought she understood. But her hands would not cooperate.

She continued. The trigger assembly. She could not figure out how to remove it.

"This one is tricky," Li Wei said. He reached over. His fingers pressed a small catch. The trigger assembly lifted out.

Veyra looked at the pile of parts on the table. She had done it. Sort of. With help.

"How long did that take?" she asked.

Li Wei looked at his watch. "Three minutes."

Three minutes. Li Wei could do it in ten seconds.

She felt a wave of discouragement wash over her.

"Now assemble it," Li Wei said.

Veyra picked up the frame. She inserted the trigger assembly. It clicked into place. Good.

She inserted the recoil spring.

It did not fit.

She turned it around. Still did not fit. She turned it again. Still did not fit.

"Backwards," Li Wei said.

She looked at the spring. The ends were different. One side was wider. One side was narrower.

"The wide end goes against the frame," Li Wei said. "The narrow end goes toward the barrel."

She flipped the spring. It slid into place.

She inserted the barrel. It fit.

She put the slide on. It would not close.

She pushed. Nothing. She pushed harder. Nothing.

"The spring is not seated properly," Li Wei said. "Remove it and try again."

She removed the spring. Seated it again. Put the slide on.

It closed.

She inserted the takedown lever. She rotated it. Click.

The gun was whole.

She looked at Li Wei. "How long?"

He looked at his watch. "Five minutes."

Five minutes. She had taken five minutes to assemble a gun that Li Wei could assemble in seconds.

She set the pistol down. Her shoulders slumped.

"This is harder than I thought," she said.

Li Wei picked up the Nightblade. He disassembled it in ten seconds. He reassembled it in ten seconds. He set it back on the table.

"Everyone is like this the first time," he said. "No one picks up a gun and instantly knows how to take it apart."

Veyra looked at him. "Were you?"

"My first time took seven minutes. And I put the spring in backwards three times."

She almost smiled. "Really?"

"Really. Proficiency comes from practice. The more you do it, the faster you get. Your muscles learn. Your fingers remember."

He pushed the gun toward her.

"Try again."

She picked it up. She disassembled it. Two minutes and forty seconds this time. Faster.

She assembled it. Four minutes and thirty seconds. Faster.

"Again," Li Wei said.

She did it again. Two minutes and twenty seconds. Four minutes and ten seconds.

"Again."

She did it again. Two minutes. Three minutes and fifty seconds.

"Again."

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