HISTORY III: QUADRUPLE TAP

Back in the 1930s, there were two British police chiefs called William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes. They were war veterans and close-combat specialists, with skin pocked and scarred from years of knife training and combat. Brave and innovative, they served in the Shanghai Municipal Police together between the two world wars, where they developed training techniques for anti-riot squads.

It was during this stint in China that the pair invented the double tap technique. Initially a specific way of allowing the front sight post to arc naturally before firing a quick second shot, it came to mean a more general firing of two shots in quick succession, with or without this arc.

Now, with the evolution of military tactics and techniques, the term also takes on the meaning of other artillery. Missiles, Air Strikes, or IEDs can now also be described as a Double Tap strike if two are initiated in quick succession, giving a tactical advantage. The first ‘tap’ brings in a wave of response teams and medics, who are then in the line of fine for the second ‘tap’, depleting the support as well as the front-line.

Sometimes two taps aren’t enough. US Marine Jeff Cooper revised the work of the Brits in the 1970s, adding a third shot to the head if the first two to the torso were ineffective.

But Jeff Cooper hasn’t seen the same things I’ve seen, class, and hasn’t fought the same battles I fight. Two taps won’t be enough this week, and neither will three. The technique must be revised once again to include four taps.

A round for each round of the tournament.

Tap One: Round One.

Two men reaching their twilight years, the Dogs of War have become cumbersome, burdened with the weight of their history. Like their name suggest, they have faced a great deal in their lives, but now, just like Old Yeller, they are awaiting the day they can finally be put out of their misery.

Tap Two: Quarter-Finals.

Here, either The Guardians or Hug Life await Justice. Neither truly deserve a round to the back of the skull but to make progress sometimes even the innocent must be moved aside. They have had their chance to put things right and have failed. They must acknowledge their failure and let me and Redwing administer true justice.

Tap Three: Semi-Finals.

There is so much that needs to be resolved in the teams that could await us here that listing the ways we could achieve justice would take longer than the time we have left before the match. Instead I will focus on the Gentlemen Duo, whose chivalrous appearance hides a terrible attitude. They believe they are superior, just as Wolfgang does. And in my eyes they are no better for it. I have a special bullet for them.

Tap Four: The Final Tap.

One round remains for the other finalists. Whatever their sins, we can absolve them quickly and painlessly with the final round in the chamber.

With each round, another wave will replace the fallen, only to fall to the Quadruple Tap Strike.