Edward Becerra wrote:

        Excellent, Krista.. 

Seconded.  

        Knowing Nabiki, and her ruthlessness. I feel that while she
might
not have gone for an immediately fatal shot, she certainly would have
gone
for one that would ensure Cologne's death even if she herself was
taken
down.

        Namely, a gut shot. Stomach wounds are almost always fatal
unless
promptly treated. And that means _modern_ treatment, not traditional
herbal medicine. Peritonitis is one thing that no pre-industrial
culture
I'm aware of has ever been able to deal with. Torn intestines, leaking
feces into the abdominal cavity kills, and kills in a particularly
nasty
manner. Cologne would be aware of that. She'd be faced with a choice,
immediate medical care at a class-3 trauma facility, or death.

I disagree, Ed - not with the choice of targets, but with the reasoning
behind them.

How far away is the nearest hospital?  This is WILDERNESS, Ed.  In other
words, a shot like that would kill just as surely as a bullet to the
brain. 

That said, I agree with the choice of targets.  With this version of
Cologne, who is an immediate and lethal threat to the lives of others,
you don't shoot to maim.  Also, the torso & stomach region is, under
normal conditions, the largest lethal area available (though,
considering the way Cologne's body is drawn, the head might be bigger).

One other thing: I think the wound to Cologne's shoulder (assuming it's
kept) would need to be described as worse.  The description there didn't
seem like much, and a bullet does fun things to a person's flesh in the
area around the point of entry.  

        Ed Becerra

        "Dreamers may die, but the Dream is eternal..."

-- Nick
To borrow Chris Davies' .sig quote, "I am not a nice person anymore."