Chapter 8 - THE BALLISTIC PUZZLE
Daniel walked slowly past the safety line, heading toward the small optical display monitor attached to the lane seven command pillar. He pressed three keys on the diagnostic keypad, overriding the default public score display to bring up the raw ballistic telemetry data.
The screen flickered, shifting from the large red '0' to a detailed diagnostic grid showing environmental variables: wind speed at four knots from the southwest, ambient humidity at forty-two percent, and temperature at ninety-four degrees Fahrenheit.
Below the environmental data sat the acoustic sensor log. Five distinct acoustic impacts had been registered by the microphone array set in the ground beneath lane seven.
Five shots fired. Five acoustic signatures detected downrange. Zero impacts recorded on the standard scoring plate.
"Look at the acoustic interval," Daniel said, pointing a calloused finger at the small green numbers on the diagnostic screen.
Logan stepped over, his brow furrowing as he looked down at the screen. "So what? The acoustic sensors pick up the muzzle crack and the bullet supersonic pass."
May you like
"The interval between each acoustic wave was 1.2 seconds," Daniel stated, looking Logan dead in the eye. "Not a single millisecond of variance across all five shots. That isn't luck, Captain. That isn't a rookie panicking and pulling her shots into the sand."
Logan’s mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. He looked past Daniel at Maya, who was now quietly wiping down the receiver of her rifle with a small lint-free cloth from her utility pocket.
