Poverty Hill
Copyright© 2026 by Asa Strong
Chapter 16
“Damn, it’s cold,” I said to myself. I could tell by the light comin’ through the window it were just about sun-up and I really didn’t wanna leave the warm bed and warm body next to me. However, I forced myself outta bed and quickly got dressed. On the way to the kitchen, I fired up the propane heater. I pro’lly should’ve turned it on last night before Lisa and I went to bed.
I had just finished pourin’ a cup of coffee when Lisa came into the kitchen, wrapped up in the quilt from the bed.
“Amos, it’s cold in here! Don’t you have any heat?”
I laughed as she sat down, bundled up in the quilt. “Hold your horses, I turned the heater on and it’ll be warmin’ up soon.”
I poured her a cup of joe, “Here, this’ill warm your bones.”
I got out some oatmeal and a bag of raisins and started on breakfast while Lisa sipped on her coffee.
After a quick breakfast, Lisa headed back to the bedroom to get dressed and I sat down and started thinkin’ on what we needed to get done today. One thin’ for sure, Lisa needed a weapon.
I went over to the back closet, where I’d stored all of my dad’s stuff and rummaged through the boxes until I found his revolver. Dad was never one to go lightly armed and had a Ruger 44 Magnum with a seven and a half inch barrel. There were also three boxes of shells as well. I took the pistol, shells, and holster to the kitchen table and had just checked to make sure it was unloaded when Lisa came back into the room.
“What’s that cannon?” She asked as she sat down at the table.
“This canon darlin’, is gonna be your constant companion for a while.” I said, and then handed the open weapon to her.
Lisa looked the weapon over, spun the cylinder, closed the loading gate, and sighted the gun out the window.
“You think I can shoot this?” She asked.
I nodded towards her and then said, “Let me get my boots on, and we’ll find out. Get a coat on, it’s cold outside.”
I found my boots, put my holster on, grabbed a jacket and my hat, and headed for the door. I picked up a few empty cans from the trash on my way out the door, with Lisa followin’.
Lisa ran a box of shells though the gun before I was satisfied she could mostly hit what she aimed at. At first them empty cans weren’t in much danger. She’d never fired a single action revolver and it took a while for her to get used to the gun. I was surprised some, as she seemed to be able to deal with the recoil from the big gun. We returned to the kitchen and I showed her how to clean the weapon over a cup of coffee.
After she’d cleaned and re-loaded the pistol, she turned to me and asked, “OK boss, what’s next. You said something about a party last night?”
I looked at her, thought for a moment and then said, “Ayup, I guess it’s time to give you an education.”
She didn’t say anythin’, but when I got up and put on my coat, she followed me out the door.
“Where we going,” Lisa asked as we walked towards the barn.
I didn’t say anythin’, just pointed towards the barn.
When we entered the barn, I walked back to the last stall. Turnin’ to Lisa I said, “Here, give me a hand with these bales.”
She helped me move the baled hay to the other side of the stall. I then pulled out my knife and pried off the top board, and exposed a line with a loop in it. When I pulled the line, the whole side of the wall dropped, exposin’ a hidden compartment.
I could hear Lisa behind me as she gasped, and then said, “Amos, what the hell is going on?”
I finished droppin’ the side panel and then reached in and pulled a weapon from the rack inside. I ratcheted the bolt and then handed the weapon to Lisa.
She looked at the gun and then said, “Amos, what the hell is this thing?”
I laughed, and then in a serious tone of voice said, “Lisa, these guys comin’ for us ain’t gonna be amateurs. They’re gonna be loaded for bear. What you have in your hand gives us a big edge. Say hello to the H&K MP7.”
“What the hell is an MP7? I’ve never seen a gun like this.”
I thought for a moment, “I guess you could call it a machine pistol.”
“You mean like fully automatic?”
I took the weapon from her, “Yes, but it can also be set to fire semi-automatic.”
I then showed her how to use the fire selection tab.
I handed the weapon back to her and then reached into the hidden compartment and pulled out another MP7, six of the forty round clips, two holsters, and two military type ammo boxes.
I then closed up the panel and reset the drop clasp to hold it in place. When I’d finished, Lisa asked me, “Amos, what else you got in that hidey-hole?”
I turned and said in a stern voice, “Lisa, you don’t know that this exists. You’re better off leaving well enough alone, you hear!”
Lisa snapped her head up and looked at me with a contrite expression on her face, “Sorry Amos, I was just curious.”
I calmed my self and then said to her, “Lisa, what you have in your hand is about as illegal a weapon as you can get. The fewer people who know about it the better.”
She nodded her head and then we returned to the trailer.
I spent the next hour showin’ Lisa how to load the 4.6mm, 40 round clips, safe the weapon and also how to disassemble and clean it. By the time noon rolled around, she was familiar with how the gun operated.
We had a quick lunch and then I told Lisa that it were time to get in some actual practice shooting the MP7.
“Where are we going to shoot at?” She asked.
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