The Grasshopper

Chapter 83

The Grasshopper sometimes went alone on his missions, with a sniper rifle. But more often they were assignments of a wider significance. Then the Grasshopper would put together a team. Erivan allowed him to include members of any squad, for any mission. In some situations Erivan’s entire squads, including their leaders, were placed under the Grasshopper’s command.

For this mission the Grasshopper chose five squires: Kid, Elephant, Victor, Scorpion, and Cupid, and took them along to the Command.

At the entrance to the Command the Grasshopper handed the guards Erivan’s written orders to the head of the Command and the head of its security.

In order to give the orders greater meaning, Erivan wrote them by hand, signed them with his full name and stamped them with the magnificent, embossed state seal. It stated that Mr. Grasshopper was his personal envoy to the Command, that he had full authorization, and that he was to take absolute control of the Command and the entire energy system.

When the chief and head of security at the Command made themselves available to him, the Grasshopper carried out the following steps, the following order:

1. He ordered that he and his men be taken to the operations room.

2. He ordered that the shields be raised around the Command and all the platforms in the energy system, which the system administrator on duty in the operations room carried out.

3. He ordered that all those present in the Command, regardless of their function, including the guards at the door, go to the amphitheatre where he would convey President Erivan’s instructions for operation under wartime conditions.

4. After a while he checked on the monitors whether all the other areas of the Command were empty. When he was certain of it, he ordered Scorpion, Kid and Elephant to go into the amphitheatre, to close the doors, and if necessary prevent anyone from leaving the amphitheatre until the chief, head of security, Victor, Cupid and he joined them.

5. He asked the chief and head of security to approach the command desk, so that he could first explain to them the wartime regime for the functioning of the energy system. Because he expected their full support when he addressed the staff in the amphitheatre.

6. When the chief and head of security approached the command desk, the Grasshopper nodded to Victor and Cupid.

7. While Victor fired a shot into the temple of the head of security and Cupid emptied his clip into the chief’s body, the Grasshopper, with truly incredible speed, which completely deservingly represented a significant part of the legend about him, drew his two (also legendary) revolvers from his thigh holsters, throwing himself on the ground and before even touching the floor, firing a single bullet from each revolver, making holes on the foreheads of the surprised Victor and Cupid, who had just turned towards him.

8. He approached the command desk, remotely locked the doors to the amphitheatre and switched off its oxygen supply. 

9. He walked out of the operations room into the corridor, opened the first aid cabinet and took out gauze and a bandage. He returned to the operations room, and used a knife, which he drew from the sheath on his belt, to remove a bullet from the chief’s body. He placed the bullet on the edge of the command desk and thoroughly soaked the gauze in the chief’s blood.

10. He placed the bloody gauze on his left side and attached it with the bandage, wrapping it around his stomach.