‘Keep fucking moving,’ he shouted as another target – this time a man with a handgun – popped up.

Jane’s ears were ringing and she had difficulty hearing him. She hesitated before firing and the target retracted, followed by the sound of the Klaxon. She returned to the table, carefully removed the two unfired bullets and placed them and the gun down on the table.

‘We have to vacate the area now,’ Elliott said as he put the gun and remaining bullets in his gun case.

‘I shot an innocent bystander, didn’t I?’ Jane said, feeling disheartened.

‘The range supervisor will have a look at the targets and let us know the results. In the meantime, let’s have a coffee.’

‘Right now, I feel like something stronger than a coffee,’ she sighed.

Elliott ushered her out of the shooting range and she followed him down the stone corridor and up a flight of stairs to a small anteroom. Inside were worn cloth chairs, a couple of low coffee tables and a corner bar that had a coffee and tea-making machine and a few chipped mugs. Elliott placed his weapon case down and gestured for her to sit.

‘Did I hit that woman?’ she asked, sitting on one of the chairs.

‘Be patient, we’ll get the results in a few minutes. Black or white?’

‘White, please.’

‘Sugar?’

Jane didn’t usually want sugar, but she felt she needed some. ‘Yes.’

Elliott brought the coffees over and they had just sat down when the door opened and the range officer wearing the military fatigues walked in carrying two of the targets. He went straight to Elliott and handed them to him, again totally ignoring Jane, before leaving the room.

‘Looks like you hit two of the targets.’

‘One’s the woman, isn’t it?’

He turned the target to show her. ‘Well, if it’s any consolation, she’ll survive. You hit her in the shoulder. You didn’t shoot the police officer and you hit the target with the shotgun in the throat, so that would have incapacitated him.’

‘I can’t believe I missed the last one,’ Jane said, shaking her head.

‘You lost your concentration when you thought you’d hit the woman, and that slowed your reaction time as well. If I’m honest, and it was a real-life situation, the last target could well have shot you because your reaction was slow.’

‘I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve let you down,’ Jane said sadly.