493 A Sharpshooter (2/2)

”I don't think a sniper in special forces could do that.”

”I agree. A sniper rifle works with a functional sighting telescope. The scope on this air rifle did not magnify the target. He aimed with naked eyes.”

”It's not only a matter of sight. His aim was also perfect. At a distance of 50 meters, the slightest movement will lead to a huge difference.”

Nick Reiss was annoyed with all of these discussions.

Dai Li didn't stop after the third shot. Before long he had shot the target a fourth time.

His fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth followed.

Every shot was on target.

Everyon went from being stunned to expecting him to hit his targets. They had gradually gotten used to Dai Li's success.

Dai Li stopped after ten and Wilfrid showed the stack of target paper to the audience. ”Everyone saw this with their own eyes. My client is fully capable of hitting a coin from 50 meters away. I don't think there will be any more questions about his shooting skills.”

Jurors nodded. They obviously recognized Dai Li's abilities.

The only one who didn't want to recognize the result was Nick Reiss.

If he admitted Li was skilled, he had to admit that Li was reasonable to assume he was able to shoot Gardner in his leg. That was to admit that Dai Li had no motive, making a first- degree murder charge groundless.

It's so far away that the target is beyond my sight, but he could hit the target. Why? Is there something wrong with the gun?

Nick Reiss thought about it for a while before exclaiming, ”Wait! I want to check the air rifle!”

He decided to not take any chances, although he knew the rifle was probably fine.

”No problem,” said Wilfrid.The lawyer gave the air rifle to Reiss.

The notary scowled at once and looked at Nick Reiss angrily. He had checked the air rifle with his own hands, so such a request was insulting. It was almost an accusation of collusion with the defendant.

Reiss took the air rifle and made sure the scope was not capable of magnifying the target.

Wilfrid said, ”I think you'd better try to shoot the target, Reiss.”

He then asked for another target to be set up.

Reiss hesitated for a moment and finally stepped onto the shooting platform. He picked up the gun. A prosecutor's job was to send criminals to jail, which often led criminals trying to take him out. Given the gun problem in America, he felt as though he was in constant danger. So, Reiss himself practiced shooting often and had gotten fairly good at it. However, all of his skills were useless in this situation He could barely see the target paper. As for the coin-sized black circle, it was totally beyond his sight.

Damn it. I can't see the black circle. How can I aim at it? How could I shoot? How did Dai Li do that? Reiss complained in his heart.

He aimed at the target as exactly as possible, but he found that at such a long distance, even the slightest movement of his arms caused a huge difference in the target paper and might even make him miss the target

As the minutes ticked away, Reiss started trembling more and more.

Three minutes passed before Wilfrid said, ”Reiss, the time of the judge and jury is precious. Could you please be faster?”

”I need time to aim! The defendant was given time to ai, wasn't he?” argued Reiss.

”My client was much faster than you though. I don't think another three minutes will help you either. You don't want to keep us waiting forever, do you?” Wilfrid was intentionally irritating Reiss.

Finally, Reiss pulled the trigger.

After the gunshot, Reiss looked to the target expectantly. He hoped very much that he had hit the target. From so far away, he couldn't even see the target paper clearly.

The target was sent back to the audience and there was no bullet hole on the paper at all.

Reiss had missed the target.

”Why don't you take a couple more shots to see if you hit it” Wilfrid said sarcastically.

Reiss was embarrassed. Luckily, the judge said, ”Did you find anything wrong with this gun?”

His question eased Reiss' sense of shame. He shook his head helplessly and said, ”Nothing wrong with it.”

”That is to say, my client has proven that his shooting is excellent. I think you all admitted this, right?” asked Wilfrid.

It was obvious that the jury and the judge acknowledged this. The only one left was the prosecutor, Reiss.

With a notary's presence, Reiss could not deny it. Faced with the fact, he nodded helplessly and admitted with a low voice, ”Yes, his marksmanship is great.”

Wilfrid smiled. He took his briefcase from his assistant and got out a document. ”This is my client's psychological assessment report issued by the Psychology Research Institution of UCLA, which shows that my client has no tendency towards violence. It makes the prosecutor's accusations regarding this tendency totally groundless. I will propose this report be admitted as evidence to the court.”

The report in Wilfrid's hands made Nick Reiss more upset. His reasoning had been taken apart bit by bit. There was no way to accuse Li of first-degree murder now

He did not even think he'd win if he accused Li of intentional injury. The jury was obviously favoring Li as of right now. Any further accusations would just turn the jury against Reiss. They would sympathize with Li and pass a verdict in his favor.

It seems that my perfect record is about to come to an end...