Prologue
She lay on a mattress atop a scaffolding platform five metres above the ground. The hand crafted sniper rifle pulled tight against her right shoulder. Through the telescopic sight she could see a cantaloupe on a bird table thirty-five metres away. She squeezed the trigger and felt the rifle kick back through the padding on her shoulder; the sound of the shot echoed through the building.
Her partner watching the cantaloupe through a high speed digital camera, replayed the shot. The more conventional target behind the fruit had a hole above and to the left of the bull’s eye.
“High and left” came through the small earpiece.
“Not a great deal, two centimetres up four left.”
She made a small adjustment to the sight and settled down again. This time the cantaloupe exploded.
“Still slightly left.”
More adjustment to the sight.
The third shot was dead centre.
Five shots and five cantaloupes later they were satisfied.
