Nathan McBride

Subject:

Nathan McBride

"Let's bring them around," Nathan said. He reached down, grabbed an empty beer can, and crumpled it in his palms. As if shooting a free throw in basketball, he tossed it at Fork. It bounced off Fork's forehead with a metallic clink sound. A few drops of stale beer splattered the man's nose and cheeks. His eyes fluttered open, then grew wide with terror.

"Nothin' but net," Harvey said, giving Knife a firm shaking. Knife's eyes registered fear, then changed to rage. He whipped his head back and forth, trying to dislodge the tape covering his mouth.

Nathan dragged a chair over and sat down. Without taking his eyes off Knife, he pulled a thin pair of black gloves from his front pocket and slowly pulled them on. Harvey did the same.

"Here's the deal," Nathan began. "We aren't going to play good cop, bad cop with you two miscreants. For one, we aren't cops and the other, we're both bad. We don't work for the FBI, CIA, NRA, PTA or the ASPCA. We're..." He looked up at Harvey. "What are we?"

"Independent contractors."

Firearms:

Sig-Sauer P22

The SIG-Sauer P226 pistol was developed in the early 1980s as an improved, high capacity version of the P220. The P226 quickly became one of the most popular service pistols, being used by police, military and security forces, as well as by many civilian shooters, around the world.

Initially available in 9mm, it was subsequently adapted to .40 S&W and .357 SIG calibers, which are extremely popular in the USA. In fact, the P226 was the first pistol to be chambered for the .357 SIG, a high velocity, high penetration 9mm cartridge, preferred by many American highway patrol services as well as by the US Secret Service.

For more, visit SIG SAUER online.

Remington 700

The Remington 700 bolt-action is one of the most accurate and widely used hunting & sniper rifles in the world today. It is available in a number of different versions, all well made have made the 700 the weapon of choice for numerous military and law enforcement sniper units.

The company has produced the rifle since 1962. All are based on the same 700 centerfire bolt action, have a 3, 4 or 5-round internal magazine, and can accept third-party telescopic sights and rifle stocks. Some variants can mount bipods, slings and other accessories. Some Model 700 rifles are made with detachable magazines, for faster reloading. Both the U.S. Army's M24 Sniper Weapon System and U.S. Marine Corps' M40 sniper rifles are built from the Remington Model 700 rifle, in different degrees of modification.

For more, visit Remington.

Glock 23

The Glock 23 is a sub-compact, .40 S&W variant of the Glock 17, the first truly polymer pistol.

Glock sidearms are common handguns among law enforcement agencies and military organizations around the world due to a number of factors. They are said to be very reliable, being able to function under extreme conditions and to fire a wide range of ammunition types. The simplicity of the Glock design contributes to this reliability, as it contains a relatively small number of components — nearly half as many as the typical handgun — making maintenance and repair easy.

The Glock's polymer frame makes it lighter than typical steel or aluminum-framed handguns, which is attractive for police officers and civilians who carry firearms for extended periods of time. Further, Glock's triple safety system guarantees safe handling of the pistol with a cartridge introduced into the chamber, reducing the time required to deploy the weapon. This allows the user to concentrate on tactical considerations, rather than manipulation of levers, hammers or external safeties found in other, conventional handguns.

For more, visit Glock online.

Heckler & Koch HK91

The Heckler & Koch HK91 is the semi-automatic, civilian version of the highly regarded G-3 select fire rifle, considered by some to be one of the finest military weapons of its kind. With its introduction in the early 1980s, the HK91, along with the variants — the SR9T, the SR9T and PSG1 — offered a precision accuracy that enabled target shooters to achieve performance unmatched in semi-automatic rifles at the time.

Almost identical to the G3 externally, with only minor internal modifications, the HK91 was considered the "Rolls Royce" of civilian rifles. It was the most prolific of the HK90 series to be imported to the U.S., and the most popular rifle import from Heckler & Koch, beating out the other 93 in U.S. sales by almost 20 to 1 until its ban in 1989.

For more, visit Heckler & Koch

Equipment:

Ghillie Suit

You may have seen in recent news pictures of snipers looking half man and half shrub. That is a ghillie suit, its point is to make the person blend into the elements surrounding him/her. Nothing in nature has perfectly straight lines, so equipment like rifles and antennas often betray concealed positions. Using the same principles of camouflage, snipers also wrap their rifles in canvas and create ghillie sleeves that make them blend into the environment.

The word ghillie is an old Scottish term for a special kind of game warden. Ghillies were tasked with protecting the game on their Lords lands from poachers. From time to time, the ghillies would stalk the game by hiding in the grass and lying perfectly still. They would wait for unsuspecting deer to amble by and then leap out and grab it with their bare hands. Ghillies would then haul their prize back to the keep so the Lord could shoot it in the castle courtyard in a "mock hunt."

Ghillie suits are essentially old military uniforms that snipers modify for their special purpose. The belly of the uniform is reinforced with heavy canvas to help pad a sniper's torso during hours or days of lying on his stomach. Camouflage netting is attached to the uniform. This netting is used to attach shredded burlap and other frayed materials. Ghillie suits are usually painted to match the environment of the battlefield. Local elements like twigs, vines, and branches can be incorporated into the netting to further camouflage the ghillie suit.

For more, visit GhillieSuits.com, Inc.

Bell 407 Helicopter

The Bell Model 407 is a civil utility helicopter, a derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger. With a range of 612km (330nm), the seven-seat helicopter is frequently used for corporate and offshore transport, air ambulances, law enforcement, electronic news gathering and movie making.

The Bell 407 is a highly maneuverable, light helicopter with extreme weather and high altitude capability. In August 2005, the United States Army selected a variant of the Bell 407 for its armed reconnaissance helicopter — the replacement for the Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters which are approaching the end of operational life.

For more, visit Bell Helicopters.

ATN Aries 7900

Although available to the general public, the ATN Aries 7900 "Crusader" Night Vision Rifle Scope is a top-of-the-line, precision, Gen 3 weapon sight primarily intended for law enforcement officers, military snipers and predatory hunters. Produced by American Technologies Network, the ATN line of scopes is known for their excellent construction and outstanding accuracy.

The 7900 and its Gen 4 counterpart, the Aries 8900, are just a couple of ATN's scopes that provide a significant tactical advantage for the NYPD, FBI, DEA, as well as U.S. Special Forces and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, just to name a few.

For more information, visit Night Vision Equipment by ATN

HHTI

DRS Technologies' Hand-Held Thermal Imager (HHTI) delivers an unparalleled view to paramilitary and law enforcement personnel. A key feature is a Wide Field-Of-View (WFOV) immersion display system, resulting in a perspective so real and clear that users report feeling as if they are part of the scene.

The HHTI provides high-sensitivity and high- quality imaging in total darkness and other adverse conditions (i.e., smoke and haze), as well as daylight operations. The design is compact, lightweight, ergonomic and modular, making it extremely portable and easy for personnel to select options and enhancements. Plus, the high-resolution, high-performance imager allows users to detect vehicles at 2,000 meters and man-sized targets at 700 meters.

With feature-rich functionality, including a VOx uncooled microbolometer engine, the HHTI is ideally suited to critical security operations, such as border surveillance, force protection, physical security and Search And Rescue (SAR), where speed, agility and performance are critical to mission success and personnel safety.

For more information, visit DRS Technologies.

Night Quest PVS-14

Night vision devices are among the most powerful tools in military and law enforcement arsenals. At the top of its class, the Night Quest PVS-14 Gen 3 monocular is designed for the most demanding of nighttime applications and is highly regarded for its reliability and performance.

Manufactured by ITT Industries Night Vision, the leading producer of Gen 3 night vision devices, the unit is a derivative of the military issue AN/PVS-14. The NQPVS-14 features the most advanced Gen 3 image intensifier tube with a variable gain control to achieve the highest quality image resolution for varying light conditions. The extremely lightweight and versatile PVS-14 can be head-mounted, weapon mounted, handheld or camera adapted.

For more, visit Night Vision Equipment from ITT.