Jake listened in startled silence to Ranger's story. It was almost too much to believe, but Jake could see the truth echoing off of the man with more clarity then any polygraph could manage. In all likelihood, even with the weapons training, he was probably not much of a match for Meld in a straight fight. She was too strong, too fast, and most of all too tough. His best hope would be to outmaneuver and outsmart her. Not something he could expect to do on the first try.

“Look Ranger...You never need to worry about me judging you or what you do. I can tell where your intentions lie. If I had any question of that,” Jake said with a grin, “we probably would never have talked in the first place.”

“Truth be told, I'm here to make a difference, and I think your here for the same reasons. The world isn't what it could be. It isn't what it should be, and not everyone has the strength or ability to change that. We do. I picked a fight with Meld, and I'll pick a fight with anyone like her, whether they are a mutant or a human.”

Jake turned and smoothly raised the M4 and unleashed a savage volley into the paper target, tattering the midst of it. His grouping this time was tight and steady, even facing the savage power of the Beowulfs. Lowing the weapon, he smiled at Ranger.

“What you've shown me will probably save my life, and hopefully those of others.” Jake's voice conveyed nothing by a frank honesty. “To be honest, if we get the chance, I'd like to help you. I probably can't take Meld myself, especially if she brings friends, and you know how they fight. I'm not going to find that anywhere else. If your trying to deal with something, or someone, no one can give you an edge like I can. I can track, I can talk, I can sneak, I can fight, and now thanks to you, I can shoot.”

Jake sighed. He hadn't really intended it to come out like that, but it was truthful. Jake had long ago learned that luck was a fluid thing, but something to be embraced when the time came. An alliance? It was his best chance to make a difference for all involved, but it all fell to Ranger now.

The Ranger listened to what Nexus had said, he believed what he was being told, and also was relieved that this man understood his approach to things. He said nothing, merely nodding that he understood, as Nexus then raised the M4 and fired an impressive succession of shots with an excellent grouping for how powerful the kick was, not to mention the fact Nexus couldn't even see the target.

Following the volley Nexus turned back to the Ranger and addressed him regarding a possible combining of skills, an alliance as it were. This sort of thing had been discussed with Hyde, and though nothing formal came from it the Ranger still viewed Hyde as a comrade in combat and perhaps Nexus could an asset in the field of battle.

"From what I have seen here it would be foolhardy not work together. You seem to have incredibly useful ability, a good range of skills, and not to mention your being able to learn new tricks when needed." The ranger reached into the inside of his jacket and took hold of a business card. Turning the card so that it slid into his palm he extended his hand for a handshake which would then serve a double purpose. One it would palm the card to Nexus. And two, it would solidify a spoken agreement to work together when the need arises. The card had only a picture on the front and a phone number on the back.

"I would be happy to work together in taking care of situations that require a different caliber of enforcement than the police can provide."

Smiling, Jake shook Ranger's hand warmly and when the paired grip was finally released, he glanced without surprise at the card the soldier turned vigilante had palmed him. After all, he could see the little act of subtlety coming. Grinning, he held up the card Ranger had offered him. He could sense Ranger's title on it, but the number he imagined were there were meaningless to him.

“I'm afraid your going to have to actually give me your number,” he said quietly. “Another quirk of my mutation makes reading rather difficult sometimes, but let's take care of that later.” Jake dexterously slipped the shard of paper into one of the many pockets lining his cargo pants.

“So where should we go from here?” Jake really didn't have any idea where this alliance should lead. His interests lay more in straightening out the violent knot of mutants he knew threatened the people around them. He also knew that many of those people that were threatened were threatening right mutants right back, but at least the former he could actually deal with. Clean up one's own house, so to speak. “Do you have anything in particular you were thinking of doing, or should we train more? Maybe somewhere more private?”

Jake could see years of experience and skill hanging off of Ranger in thick coils. That was something he didn't have, despite Ranger's impressed words about his shooting. He had never even seen a flash-bang before, let alone used one, but that was something that he had to learn and he doubted you could train with those in a confined place like this.

The Ranger felt a little stupid for handing a blind man a business card, granted if he was to tell anyone he spent the time teaching a blind man to shoot they'd call him downright insane. "Alright, yeah. My number is nine seven nine, five oh eight, three oh two one. And hang onto that card, if for whatever reason you get picked up by FBI or DHS ask to contact a guy named Kurt Schultz and give it to him. He'll be able to help you out."

"Yeah, we should defiantly go somewhere more discrete for a little more situational training. Since Meld won't be standing still when you are shooting at her." The Ranger thought for a moment about where a good place to go would be. Obviously inside the city was out as gunshots and explosions somewhere other than a range would attract unwanted attention. "We need to go somewhere outside of the city, and bring things with us..." The Ranger stopped, an idea struck him. "I may be able to get access to Fort Hamilton. It is south of Manhattan, but still in New York. It won't be as good as going to Fort Bragg for what we need, but it should work."

"I could make either option work, but both would require at least a few hours to set up. Which would you rather try? The first would probably benefit you a lower profile, if that is something you want. But, the latter would provide better training for an urban environment like in the city."

Jake nodded as he memorized the numbers, running them through his head and hammering out a mnemonic to keep them there. It was a trick he had learned a long time ago to help him adapt to a world that relied so heavily on being literate.

“Kurt Shultz. Got it. As for the training ground, either works for me,” Jake said with a shrug. “I'm a complete stranger over here, and I don't drive, so it really comes down to how far you want to go.” Instinctively, Jake checked the breach of the weapon for any remaining rounds, ejected the M4's mag, and set the weapon down on the counter. He didn't really know why he did that, it just seemed to make sense.

“If you think Bragg is better, then lets do that. I can make people ignore me, so the profile of the place doesn't matter. If it really comes down to it, I can find us somewhere in the city where no one will bother us. Some of the old subway tunnels go really deep and you can't hear a thing through fourty feet of packed earth and concrete. Hell, I even got a nice tour of the little towns outside of the city on my way coming over here. Old gravel pits, abandoned train yards, the lot.”

"Bragg would be the best, but it is in North Carolina so unless you feel like takin' a flight that is out. Ft. Hamilton though is in south Manhattan. And unless you can make yourself invisible they aren't going to be ignoring you, not when we show up to use their trainin' facilities with some pretty decent firepower. Yet, abandoned train yard... that kind of location could work nicely." The Ranger paused to think for a moment.

"I could load up a truck sometime tomorrow with everythin' we'd need and then get it all set up in about a half hour or so Depending on what the location looks like of course." The Ranger noting Nexus had set down the gun earlier made a slight change in the topic. "If you're done shootin' than I'll pack it all up. I may be able to have some guns for you to hang onto tomorrow, though for the Desert Eagle it may be a few days at the least. It'll be comin' from Israel and all."

“Yeah, I think I'm done for the day...” Jake rolled his shoulder somewhat stiffly. He had put a lot of rounds down the range and was really starting to feel the equal and opposite reaction from each and every one of them. The shooting, however, was remarkably satisfying and he looked forward to the next few days.

“The truck idea sounds good to me. I'd like to get started as soon as possible. I think my control will get better the more often I handle them.” Jake said, nodding towards the tattered target. “If we head West, I can take us down the route I took into the city. I learned those towns pretty well and it probably wouldn't take me long to find my way back to someplace suitable. Hour, maybe two tops. When would you like to meet up?”

The Ranger bent down and moved everything currently in the case to it's proper location, which then left the obvious gap for where the M4 was to be set. "Alright well just lay the gun down there." The Ranger said motioning to the proper spot. "And yeah, the more you use them, and the more stressful the environment is, the better you will get at handling them. Also, wherever it is you think we should go just make sure there aren't any people within a few miles. We don't need people comin' around since we will be skirting what is legal...well, what for me is legal."

Before answering Nexus' question of when to meet up he had to pause. It would take him a few hours to get everything in order that he would need, granted he could get it all. "Let's shoot for the day after tomorrow, early. Let's say five or so A.M. Also, is there somewhere you would like to meet up? Preferably not in the middle of downtown of course."

OOC: Sorry about the delay in posting. Busy, busy life.

Jake nodded and nestled the weapon back into its case just as Ranger indicated. There was a familiar feeling to the way the steel slid into its foam and plastic casing. After finishing, he stood and continued to run his shoulder mildly.

“Oh yeah, day after tomorrow at five A.M. suits me just fine. I haven't had a chance to find a job yet, so my schedule is pretty clear. How about we meet up here? If anyone asks any questions, we just say we're going for a morning shoot, right? It's not crazy we would have a few guns so long as we keep the actual ammunition hidden away.”

Jake proceeded to pluck other pieces of equipment and weaponry off of the firing stall's table and settle them into their cases smooth as clockwork. After the weaponry had been all safely hidden away, Jake grinned at Ranger.

“Do you want some help putting these away?”

"Yeah meeting up here'll work. And yeah, it wouldn't be crazy that we'd have guns, but some of my equipment is borderline illegal if not outright illegal. Even for me as a former soldier." The Ranger stated, he may be able to openly carry a firearm due to his former service but his application for a automatic weapons license had been denied. Also, several of the weapons had illegal modifications.

Seeing that Nexus had returned all of the case's contents that had found themselves in his stall to the case he kneeled down and closed the case. Then standing back up replied to Nexus' question, "I got it." Following which he took hold of the handle and lifted. The weight of the case when fully loaded surpassed what a normal person could lift and as after a second or two of the Ranger lifting his torso seemed to expand in size, making him look more like an Olympic power lifter, and the case came off of the ground.

"But, you could get the door for me. This thing's rather unwieldy." He took a step toward the door then stopped, "And I am not leaving these here in the lockers, but taking 'em with me. Gotta clean 'em an' whatnot since they'll be gettin' a workout soon."

Jake had been wondering absently in the back of his mind what exactly Ranger's ability was, and it was rather heartening to see it in action. As the man lifted the two very heavy cases, there was a flicker in the midst of the glimmering weave that composed him. Somewhere within Ranger, some connection left the world that Jake understood and returned once more, heavy with an impossibility that he couldn't follow. Super-strength huh? Cool.

Nodding, Jake smiled and turned towards the door, leading the pair of them down past the few other shadowy shooters still clinging on in the morning hours. How long had Ranger and he been in here? Time was always something of a challenge for Jake, and idly he wondered if anyone made braille watches.

Reaching the door at the far end of the range, Jake pulled it open and stood aside to allow Ranger and his massive load a clear path through the door. The pair of them would have to play leap frog for the next few doors to get out into the parking lot.

“Ok, so we have a plan,” Jake commented as Ranger approached the door. “It's not like we will be showing anything off when we are here anyway.” Jake took a moment to gage the sensory range of those around him. No one was trying to overhear them at all, and so he felt at ease speaking plainly.

“Do you need anything else from your locker, or are we heading straight outside?”

The Ranger walked through the door that Nexus had opened for him and as he passed through the threshold he nodded in thanks to him. He then moved to let Nexus pass him to get the following door. Then Nexus stopped and addressed the Ranger about his comment regarding the cargo he'd have and then asked him about the locker.

"Well in theory that's how it should work, but in this city you never know. Between the gun control crowd who try to have police check for weapons left and right, and the thugs who're always lookin' to take guns, especially my kind'a gun, you never know when your cargo is gunna get seen by the wrong kind'a person." The Ranger shrugged, "I guess I can deal with either easy enough, but it can just be such a hassle."

The Ranger pointed to the door and said, "And I've got e'er'thing. So let's just go straight out." The Ranger then took a step before speaking again, as there wasn't anyone in earshot he felt he would disclose some information regarding his power to Nexus. It was only fair, he had told Ranger of his and if they were to work together in the future than the information would possibly prove itself good for him to possess. "Hold up a sec. I think it's only fair I tell you about my mutant power since we'll be workin' together." He gave one last look around before looking at Nexus and continuing. "The military called it 'Reactive Enhancement.' The way it works is that based on the situation my body will, of it's own volition, increase the power of my muscles for a certain task. For example lifting this massive case, running at Olympic speeds, jumping above normal heights, and even increased night vision...although the latter is murder on the retinas if a light flicks on suddenly."