“Yes. It is your company, and you have done an excellent job. For that, you deserve a reward. Come. Come closer. I have a surprise for you.”
Brunswick hesitated.
“Come,” said Vidrik with force in his voice.
Brunswick took a slow, cautious step forward.
“Take a look in there,” said Vidrik, motioning at the gun with his eyes. “Tell me if it’s inside the barrel.”
Seconds passed. The tension in the room lingered in stark contrast to the mayhem outside.
“If you’re going to shoot me, just do it. I’m not playing your games,” said Brunswick.
Vidrik snickered and lowered the gun. He stepped forward and leaned his face close to Brunswick’s ear and whispered something Inselheim could not hear. Brunswick’s eyes bulged out, and she hardened her face to conceal her reaction. Vidrik then turned and began walking out. When he opened the door, the commotion had already shifted away into the distance.
“This facility is under new ownership,” he said. “Come outside.”
Brunswick and Inselheim looked at each other. Brunswick moved first, and Inselheim followed. They walked outside and found the hall had been cleared. The workers were being rushed into the sleeping quarters at the back by the military men, who were now carrying rifles. Six of the militia were standing before a group of six remaining employees who had been lined up beside a partition wall with their hands on their heads. Brunswick and Inselheim exchanged looks of concern.
“Come,” said Vidrik, motioning with his head toward the line-up.
“What’s going on?” asked Inselheim while looking toward his employees.
He locked eyes with Marius Olson, an aeronautical engineer who had joined recently to help reinforce the team and speed up the final stage of the project. Marius’ eyes exuded his terror, his face had turned a deathly pale and was covered in sweat, and his chin was trembling.
“We’re downsizing,” said Vidrik, before turning toward the armed militia and giving them a nod.
The six men lifted their rifles and aimed at the employees. Before Inselheim or Brunswick could protest, the guns fired. The six employees dropped to the floor. Inselheim went completely stiff. Brunswick screamed hysterically, her voice echoing through the hall. She ran toward the shooters.
“You bastards!” she screamed. “What have you done!?”
She tried to attack one of the shooters with her hands, only to be struck on the shoulder with the stock end of the gun and pushed to the floor. She rose immediately to her feet with a grunt and went over to the dead bodies. She bent down and touched one person then moved to the next, desperately searching for any sign of life.
Vidrik signalled to one of the armed militia. The man put down his rifle and went over to Brunswick. He grasped her by the arms and began dragging her to the other side of the hall.
“Let me go!” she screamed while wrestling with her aggressor. “You damn monsters!”
Brunswick continued to struggle and scream while being forced away. Inselheim could not feel a thing. Brunswick’s screams were now coming from the other end of the hall. He gazed at his six dead employees as though in a dream. A hand slapped his face.
“Inselheim, look here,” said Vidrik.
Inselheim blinked twice and turned his head.
“That was a message from Kalakia. You do what you’re told, or more of your people will die. That includes your smart-talking bitch. You got that?”
Inselheim could not breathe.
“Inselheim.”
Another slap to the face. Inselheim nodded.
“Good. Now, everything stays as before. You can have the week off, then we want you in the public eye again. You keep your mouth shut and look normal. Don’t do anything to draw attention. Otherwise, you’ll have no employees left. You can count on that.”
Vidrik paused, allowing the gravity of his words to fully impact Inselheim.
“But look on the bright side. You’re still the boss. It’s all in your hands. Understood?”
Inselheim blinked and gave a weak nod.
“Say it.”
“I understand,” he croaked.
“Right, let’s go,” said Vidrik, nudging Inselheim’s shoulder.
Vidrik turned to one of the militia.
“Keep this place locked down until reinforcements arrive,” he said, poking the man’s chest. “Don’t let anyone get out of line.”
The man nodded.
Without another word, Vidrik escorted Inselheim up the stairs and back outside where the Jeep was waiting for them. Inselheim offered no resistance. The visual of Marius’ terrified face was still branded on his mind, and he could barely feel his body. He looked down on it all from a distance, hearing the sound of their feet crunching on the dirt and the breeze blowing as Vidrik led him to the car before it drove away, back through the lifeless desert, leaving Brunswick and the team held hostage by Kalakia’s armed killers.
18
No way Scheffler was going to win. Not this time. Not ever. The darkness was no bother to Frederich. In fact, he had learnt to savour it. It invigorated him, like bathing in a warm spa, or based on the smell in the room, like being a pig in shit.
“Knock when you’ve had enough,” Scheffler had said from the doorway with his English accent, illuminated from behind by the hallway light which reflected off his thick head of light brown hair. “You’ll be let out, no questions asked. One catch: you pull your head in after that.”
Without waiting for a reply, he had shut the metal door and locked it, leaving Frederich in total darkness in the tiny windowless cell carved into the mountain rock. There was no toilet, no bed and no heating. Only black.
During the initial period, Frederich sat by the wall with his legs crossed and his back upright to keep himself alert. His mind eventually settled and he grew restless. Aches began appearing in his shoulders and legs. He shivered occasionally. Within hours his mind’s grip loosened and he felt himself floating. Then he could no longer hold it in. He pulled down his pants and squatted in the opposite corner and relieved himself. Then came the nausea. He sat
