Demons Grasp

Chapter 16

We arrive at the paper factory long after nightfall. I let Tess drive my car, while I watched the city and later landscape rush past me in a blur. My thoughts were elsewhere.

Flex gets out of the car and walks towards the minivan as soon as the cars stop. The van actually has some table space between the seats of the middle row. He claims this spot now for his equipment.

I get out as well. My car is parked a few steps away from the wire fence surrounding the premises of the paper factory. Only a few distant lights in the night indicate the presence of a building in there. We came here via an agricultural path winding through endless fields. The corn, growing tall around us, gives us a little bit of cover. The smell of the plants reminds me of my childhood. When I turn around to share that thought with Tess, I see her stalking out of the field waving two young corn cobs.

But before she reaches me, I am approached by Beaker. "I've got something for you." He hands me a pistol. When I take it into my hand, I am surprised at how heavy it is. "Do you know how to use this?" he asks, probably sensing my insecurity. "No," I admit.

He takes it away from me again, steps closer to the light of the cars and gestures to me to follow him. "This is a Colt M1911, pretty common model. That's the barrel, the grip, the hammer, the trigger and the safety." Beaker points out the components of the pistol while he speaks. "Safety up means that it can not be triggered. To shoot, you will pull it down. Up here are rear sight and front sight. You align them to aim. If the hammer is in this position, you will have more resistance on the trigger for your first shot. That is an additional safety feature. Afterwards, the hammer will be down in any case and the trigger will react quicker. Keep that in mind. You can also pull the hammer down manually, if you are really certain that you want to put a bullet into someone."

He turns the weapon again to show me the upper side of the barrel again. "The barrel has a slide and an ejection port. During each shot, the shell will be ejected when this opens up, while the bullet shoots forward. And the slide will retract, which, in short, brings the next bullet into position. The magazine holds seven rounds. To switch it out, press this button," he indicates a round silver button close to the trigger "and it slides right out. When the new magazine is in, you grab the slide like this, pull it all the way back and then let it slide forward. Do not push it. That might jam the gun, and then it's useless. Any questions so far?" I shake my head.

Beaker hands the pistol back to me. "Take it into your right hand, put your index finger along the trigger, not on it. Angle your thumb up and place the ball of your thumb firmly on the grip. Do the same with your left hand, thumb up, fingers under the magazine. Make sure to put as much pressure as possible on the gun's grip when shooting, to make sure you hit your target and to avoid it bouncing back from the recoil." He pats me on the shoulder, hands me a few additional magazines and then turns away, leaving me with the question of where to put all this.

Tess waves me over. "Flex is in their network," she tells me as I approach. We look inside the van, where Flex sits with a smug expression on his face. "I was right," he says. "I was able to access their surveillance data." He shifts his laptop for us to see several small squares of camera footage. "That's the entries. They are guarded by two men, each. I see no one in the hallways, three men upstairs and those two clowns in the main hall, plus Jake."

He looks at me, seemingly concerned. "He seems pretty out of it." I stare at his tiny figure on the screen, still on that chair. Still slumped over. "We'll get him out of there now," someone says behind me. "Are we ready to execute the plan?" I ask. "I need a few more minutes to get the video ready for streaming. I'll let you know."

I turn around to face Jacky. "We made a hole in the fence. So as soon as he hits play, we are ready to get in. We will split into two teams. You stay with me, Beaker and Midas. We take the eastern entrance, which is closer to our current location. Once inside, Beaker and Midas will take the staircase to secure the upper level. You and I will go straight to the main hall. The rest of the team will take the western exit. Same procedure. Gunner and Nitro will take the stairs. Curly and Hide will meet us in the main hall."

"Put that on your belt." She handed me a black tactical pouch that would hold the gun and an extra magazine. I do as I'm told and shove the two extra magazines into the pockets of my jeans."

Then I wait. I would have expected to be terribly nervous at this point, terrified maybe. This is no courtesy visit. The odds of everything going according to plan or everyone coming out of this unscathed are slim. But a strange calmness settles over me. I can do this. I will do this!

"I am ready" I hear Flex calling from inside the minivan.

Beaker puts his arm around my shoulder and leads me to the hole in the fence. "It's go time. Let's fuck them up!"