American Sniper: The Last Round – Episode 14

📖 The Story Continues

American Sniper: The Last Round – Episode 14

Nate Foster studied Carl Oliver with open irritation as they approached the weapon rack. He had expected Captain Alex Westin or another ranked shooter, someone whose defeat might add value to his reputation. Beating a maintenance worker offered no honor. He announced that he had not come to waste his time.

“Not everyone gets the chance to lose to a B-Class sharpshooter,” Nate told Carl. He suggested the handyman should consider the humiliation an honor. Matthew Valentine’s team laughed, enjoying the contrast between the famous one-eyed trap specialist and the quiet man in work clothes. Carl did not reward them with a reaction.

Jane’s shooters joined the criticism from the opposite side. They called themselves real gunslingers and described Carl as a grunt fit only to polish their weapons. His earlier bull’s-eyes had not overcome the hierarchy they needed to believe in. If Carl possessed genuine skill, their own status became less secure.

Jane asked herself once more whether she had chosen correctly. Nate’s history against A-Class competitors made the danger undeniable, while Carl’s past remained a blank space. She had trusted instinct under pressure, but the entire range now waited to measure the cost. Matthew noticed her uncertainty and smiled.

Chris Redford instructed both contestants to select their weapons. A row of shotguns offered the natural advantage for trap shooting, where spreading pellets made moving clay targets easier to strike. Nate deferred with exaggerated courtesy, calling Carl “princess” and inviting him to choose first. He wanted the beginner to remove any excuse before losing.

Carl examined the shotguns without touching them. Each was suitable, familiar, and more than capable of clearing fifteen targets. He had no need for the advantage. After a brief inspection, he reached past them and selected a pair of handguns.

Disbelief moved through the spectators. Someone asked why he would ignore the shotgun sitting directly in front of him. Another concluded that Carl did not know how to use one. In a competition already tilted toward a specialist, choosing handguns looked like deliberate self-destruction.

Jane felt her confidence crack. She had expected Carl to make an unconventional decision, but this seemed indefensible. Handguns offered no pellet spread, less stability, and far less room for error against flying clay. She wondered whether the skills she witnessed had made her imagine competence beyond what he truly possessed.

Rebecca reacted differently. She watched Carl test the balance of each handgun and remained certain he had a reason. He had never failed her when it mattered. Adult rankings and equipment theory could not compete with the memory of him standing between her family and Benny.

Matthew applauded the choice as entertainment. He said he had feared the contest would be boring until Jane brought them a clown. Every laugh increased the pressure on her, because this was no longer only Carl’s decision. She had placed him on the line.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Jane asked under her breath. She wanted to pull Carl aside and demand an explanation, but changing course now would signal panic. Chris had already approved the equipment. The challenge would proceed with whatever Carl chose.

Alex begged Carl to admit he was not truly rejecting the shotgun. Even from resentment, the captain understood how severe the disadvantage would be. He asked whether the louder weapon frightened Carl’s fragile ears. The insult was an attempt to provoke him into making the conventional choice.

Carl checked both magazines and sight alignment. “For something this easy, a shotgun is overkill,” he said. The calm statement silenced the nearest spectators for a beat before fresh mockery erupted. To Nate, it was arrogance from a man too ignorant to understand the event.

In truth, Carl chose handguns because the targets did not require more. He had trained to calculate movement, distance, and timing under conditions far less forgiving than a controlled range. A shotgun could hide imprecision; the handguns would reveal complete command. Revealing that command was now part of protecting Jane’s range.

Nate selected a shotgun and handled it with the intimacy of a specialist. His missing eye had forced him to refine depth perception through motion, rhythm, and experience. He did not need Carl’s foolish equipment choice to win, but he welcomed it. The round was becoming an exhibition rather than a contest.

Chris inspected both selections and found no rule violation. His gaze lingered on Carl’s grip, where every finger rested in disciplined alignment. Beginners often compensated for uncertainty by squeezing too hard. Carl held the weapons as extensions of balance, not objects he needed to control.

Jane noticed Chris’s attention and wondered whether the coach recognized something. Earlier, Carl’s stance had unsettled him; now the handguns seemed to deepen the question. If Chris knew Carl, why had neither man said so? The mystery behind her employee grew at the worst possible moment.

Matthew reminded Jane that the range would belong to him if her team lost two rounds. He described renovations he might make after removing everyone she employed. Jane refused to answer. She focused on Carl because hope, however irrational, remained better than giving Matthew the fear he wanted.

Nate took his position for the opening run. The launcher was loaded with fifteen clay pigeons, and Chris confirmed the ammunition count. Carl waited behind the line with the handguns secured, apparently unconcerned by the professional about to establish the target time. Every spectator expected Nate to create a record the handyman could not approach.

Before Chris gave the signal, Nate turned and promised Carl a lesson in what real gunslingers could do. Carl met his single-eyed stare without hostility. The contest was not personal to him, but the range behind Jane represented Lewis’s unfinished life. As Nate raised the shotgun, Carl prepared to learn exactly how high Matthew’s first obstacle could reach.