CHAPTER 9: THE MILL
Minutes later, the trio arrived at the flour milling plant, located in Stockton. The building was L-shaped, consisting of a short, two-story wing to the south connected to a larger, four-story wing to the west, which in turn was attached to three gigantic silos. The mill's parking lot sat in between this L-shaped structure.
"We're here," said Louie, parking the cruiser, "Keep your eyes peeled for cops, eh?"
He and Jimmy stepped out of the cruiser, leaving Lenny behind, and approached the lot. There was not a person in sight and it was deathly silent.
"I don't like this," Louie whispered, "Come on, let's take it slow."
Louie and Jimmy made their way across the large parking lot on foot. As they did so, Jimmy glanced upwards at the larger building. The sky was black, as it was still the middle of the night, but giant industrial lights placed outside the buildings' exterior provided illumination. As Jimmy observed the building, he noticed a bright gleam in one of the windows, which he immediately recognized as light reflecting off of a sniper scope.
"GET DOWN!" he yelled, pushing Louie out of the way.
The sniper's bullet struck the ground and narrowly missed the duo. This was followed up by another two shots. Jimmy and Louie ran quickly across the parking lot and sought shelter behind a security booth.
"Did you see how many there were?" Louie asked.
Jimmy shook his head.
"Fuck," said Louie, "Hang on."
With his back pressed up against the security booth wall, Louie sidled over to the corner and peered around it. A bullet whizzed by his face. This was followed up by the sound of a bolt being cycled.
"JESUS!" he yelled, returning to cover, "There's at least one guy in the small building…Maybe another two guys in the main building. Fuck if I know. The minute we step out from back here, we're dead."
Jimmy sighed in frustration, before pulling out his radio and changing the channel.
"Roark," he said, "I know you can hear me, you dumb son of a bitch! You wanna kill us? Fine. But there's an innocent fucking civilian in there and we need to get her to safety, you hear?"
"Aye," Roark said over the radio, "I knew it wouldn't be long before you'd arrive. Why don't ye make this quick an' easy?"
"Damnit, Roark! We don't have time for this shit! This city's infested and soon this place will be too! Just let us go in and grab our friends so we can…"
"In your dreams boyo. I swore an oath to uphold the law. How will they recognize me as a hero when they see me workin' with the likes o' ye?"
"This fuckin' buffone won't listen to reason!" snapped Louie, "We should've known he'd have a trap laid out for us!"
"We can't stay here too long," said Jimmy, "Or he's gonna send men down to take us out."
"What do you propose we do, hm? We can run to the car, or to the mill's entrance. Either way, we're exposed."
"I know, I just gotta…Huh?"
Just then, a car smashed through the gate surrounding the parking lot and began driving around erratically. The snipers began firing at the vehicle, but missed.
"This is your chance," a familiar Russian voice spoke over the radio, "Quickly! You must go!"
"Is that who I think it is?" demanded Louie.
"I was in the area," Anton continued, "Heard all the radio chatter and figured you could use some help, yes?"
"Yeah," said Jimmy, "The Zolotoy. They're on our side."
"Legs, you are aware of what these Zolotoy assholes did to…"
"I am very aware, but right now, we ain't got much choice but to trust 'em."
"I can't keep them occupied for too long," Anton said over the radio, "You must go!"
"Ready when you are," said Jimmy.
Louie nodded. The two ran out from behind the security booth and made their way across the parking lot to the smaller building.
"Hopefully," began Jimmy, "None of them snipers spotted us."
"What's the plan?" Louie asked.
"Follow me."
The smaller building had a steel staircase leading directly to the roof. However, before they could climb it, they heard two officers standing near the entrance, which was positioned right under the stairs.
"I don't fuckin' know where they came from," the office spoke into his radio, "But I sure as hell didn't think they'd have back-up!"
"I don't care how many there are," Roark said over the officer's radio, "Kill those motherfuckers or I will personally feed ye to the Slime, ya hear?"
"Yessir."
As the two officers headed for the door, Jimmy and Louie jumped them. Once they were taken care of, the two mobsters headed up the stairs and reached the building's roof. There, they saw a lone sniper, taking cover behind a vent.
"Lay low," Jimmy whispered, "I'll handle him."
Jimmy quietly approached the man and grabbed him from behind, choking him out. Jimmy then picked up the man's rifle and checked the ammo.
"Jimmy," said Louie, "You sure you know how to handle one of them things?"
"Springfield M1903," said Jimmy, "Standard issue Army sniper rifle. They sure arm the cops well in this shithole town."
"No kiddin'," said Louie.
"Anton," Jimmy said into his radio, "You alright down there?"
"My men and I are taking cover behind the booth now," Anton replied, "You?"
"I'm on overwatch," Jimmy replied, "South building. I can take care of the other snipers. That'll let you get inside."
"Khorosho," he said, "I will wait for your signal."
With both Jimmy and Louie lying in cover, Jimmy took aim at the larger building. There, he saw the familiar gleam from earlier.
"Got ya, bastard," he muttered.
Jimmy squeezed the trigger, firing a round that struck the officer in the eye.
"Come on," he said, cycling the bolt, "We gotta move."
"Move?" said Louie.
"They know we're here now. We gotta keep 'em confused."
With their heads down, Jimmy and Louie crept their way across the roof, finding new cover.
"There," Louie whispered, "There's a guy in the water tower."
Louie pointed to a water tower at the northeast corner of the lot, where an officer was attempted to climb down the ladder. Once again Jimmy took aim and fired, killing the officer and causing his corpse to plummet all the way down.
"Nice shot!" yelled Louie.
Jimmy changed the channel on the radio, allowing him to hear what the police were planning next.
"Sir," said one voice, "Someone's taking out all of our guys! I think they reached the south building!"
"Then find him," Roark snapped, "An' kill him!"
"Cover the stairs," Jimmy ordered.
Louie nodded and headed to the staircase leading down, where he lied in wait.
"You better start making your way to main building," Jimmy said into the radio, "We've thinned their numbers. I'll cover you until you get inside, then we'll join you."
"Understood," Anton replied.
Anton and his accomplices bolted from behind the security booth and ran across the parking lot to the entrance of the larger building. Jimmy spotted a sniper attempting to fire at them and quickly took him out.
Meanwhile, several officers began charging up the staircase to reach the smaller building's roof. Louie drew his shotgun and blasted the first two officers, causing them to stumble backwards and knock several others over. He then cocked his shotgun and fired at the next group.
"Ha, ha!" he laughed, "I can do this all day, cocksuckers!"
With Jimmy having taken out all of the snipers in the immediate area, he called for Louie.
"Come on," he said, "We gotta get inside!"
"Right behind ya!" Louie replied.
The duo ran across the roof of the smaller building, dodging shots from the incoming officers, until they reached the wall of the adjacent, larger building. Louie blasted a window open with his shotgun, allowing the two to climb inside.
"The Russians are making their way up from the ground floor," Jimmy explained.
"Let's hope they're actually good for something," Louie quipped.
As the duo navigated the corridors, Jimmy slung his rifle around his back and switched to his Tommy gun.
"Manny?" he said into his radio, "Come on, Manny! Pick up!"
"Sounds like a mess out there," Manny said, "I assume you're gettin' close?"
"Depends," Jimmy said, "Where are you?"
"Lucia and I were made, now we're headin' north. I think we're on the floor above youze. You gotta hurry!"
"Stay there, we're comin'!"
"Yeah? And then where do we go?"
"We got the Zolotoy helpin' us. They're keepin' the cops distracted on the main floor."
"The fuckin' Zolo...? Oh, I really hope you know what you're doin' kid."
With that, Jimmy and Louie headed upstairs, to a corridor that consisted primarily of offices and found Manny locked in a grapple with a police officer. Jimmy and Manny drew their weapons, but couldn't shoot for fear of hitting Manny.
"Nevermind me," Manny said, pressing his Tommy gun against the officer's throat, "You gotta find Lucia! She ran ahead!"
Just then, additional officers appeared further down the hall.
"I'll take care of those guys," said Louie, "Go find Lucia!"
Jimmy nodded and ran ahead. He passed through a door and found himself on a catwalk above the central milling room. Large pipes descended from the ceiling, carrying grains into the machines below, many of which were still running. As Jimmy stalked his way across, he listened for additional footsteps.
"All units," Jimmy could hear radio chatter nearby, "Slime infestation spotted on the west lot. The fence is holding, but we're sending a small team to monitor the situation."
"Roger that," said another voice, "Keep us posted."
The radio belonged to an officer patrolling the catwalks. Jimmy waited for him to turn the corner before springing his attack.
"For Christ's sake," said the officer, "As if I got nothin' better to do than die in a stupid ol' factory chasin' some goddamn wop…"
Suddenly, Jimmy pounced from the side and plunged his knife into the man's throat.
"You don't have to chase nobody," Jimmy said to the dying man, "'Cause the wop found ya, asshole!"
"FREEZE!" yelled a voice.
Jimmy looked up and saw another officer standing nearby.
"Aw shit!" Jimmy snapped, removing his knife from the dead cop's neck.
The cop opened fire, but missed. Jimmy bolted, leading him in pursuit around the catwalks. The cop halted his chase once Jimmy was out of sight.
"All units," the cop spoke into his radio, "Bernucci spotted on main floor, requesting…"
Jimmy suddenly pounced on the officer from behind and attempted to wrestle the man's revolver from his hands. The man fired two shots, each narrowly missing Jimmy's feet. Jimmy then used his elbow to smack the man in the face, knocking him off.
"Fucker!" snapped the cop.
Jimmy turned the revolver on the cop, but when he pulled the trigger, it clicked empty.
"Damnit!" he snapped.
Before Jimmy could reach for the Tommy gun slung on his back, the officer tackled Jimmy against the railing of the catwalk. As the two men grappled, the rusty old railing began to give way under their combined weight.
The officer proceeded to strangle Jimmy. In response, Jimmy pressed both of his hands against the officer's face and tried to force his head back. Just as the railing was about to snap, Lucia suddenly emerged and began striking the officer with her purse.
"You leave him alone, you pig!" she cried, as she mercilessly struck him.
"Back off, ya bitch!" yelled the cop.
The man took his hands off of Jimmy's throat momentarily to defend himself, allowing Jimmy to retaliate. He punched the officer in the gut, causing him to reel over, then placed both of his hands on the cop's back and hurled him over the railing. The officer fell directly onto a machine where his body was pulled through the rotating cogwheels. Lucia immediately threw up upon witnessing that.
"Fuck," said Jimmy, "I seen a lotta shit…But nothin' like that."
Jimmy then ran to comfort Lucia.
"Thanks for that," he said, "You okay?"
"Yeah," she replied, wiping her mouth, "You?"
"Don't worry about me. We gotta get you back to your brother. He and Louie are in the next wing over, fightin'..."
"Jimmy?" said Louie, via radio, "Have you found Lucia?"
"Yeah," Jimmy replied, "How are things there?"
"Bad. We had to abandon the hallway. We're headin' down to meet up with the Zolotoy. Whatever you do, don't come back the way you came, ya hear?"
"Got it."
Just then, the reinforcements arrived. They had the bottom floor completely occupied.
"We know you're in here," said an officer, "Come on out and make this easy on yourself!"
"Jimmy?" said Lucia, "Are we fucked?"
"You know I don't like hearin' dames curse," Jimmy chuckled.
"I just figured since, ya know, we don't really have a way out..."
"There is still have somewhere we can go."
Jimmy grabbed Lucia by the hand, and led her to the north end of the room, where a door lay.
"Shit," Jimmy muttered, "It's locked. Stand back."
Using his Tommy Gun, Jimmy blasted the hinges off of the door, allowing it to collapse. Unfortunately, the noise alerted the officers below.
"There they are," said one of them, "You two, find a way up there. The rest of you, with me! The wops and the Ruskies are makin' a mess of things downstairs!"
Two officers set off in pursuit of Lucia and Jimmy while the rest fled the room.
"Jimmy," said Lucia, "Where does this lead?"
"The silos," Jimmy replied, "We're gonna climb down there."
"You know I'm afraid of heights, right?"
"Yeah? Well, right now, we ain't got much choice. Keep movin' and don't look back!"
Jimmy led Lucia across the skybridge with the two officers in hot pursuit.
---
Meanwhile, in a storage room downstairs, the Zolotoy worked alongside Louie and Manny to take out a group officers. The reinforcements from upstairs had just arrived.
"They just keep comin'," said Louie.
"At least you two came to help us out," Anton laughed.
"Yeah," said Manny, "Nobody asked you guys to be goddamn heroes in the first place."
"True," said Anton, "But if we didn't, you'd all be dead. Speaking of which, where is the young one? Jimmy Legs?"
"He's savin' my sister," said Manny, "But that fucker better hurry up! Louie, see if you can reach him."
While seeking cover behind a crate, Louie pulled out his radio.
"Kid?" he said, "You there? We gotta scram!"
"I hear ya" said Jimmy, "I got Lucia, but we're in a tight spot."
"So are we," said Louie, "Where are ya, kid?"
"On the skybridge, headin' to the grain elevator."
"What?"
"Listen, we had no other choice. But the cops know where we are and I'm low on ammo. You think you guys can meet us outside once we climb down?"
"They're outside?" said Manny, "We gotta get to 'em, fast!"
"In case you haven't noticed," began Anton, "We're a little preoccupied!"
Louie scanned the room for an escape and noticed the air was filled with white particles.
"I think I found us a way out," he said, "Shoot those bags! Shoot 'em all!"
"Huh?" Manny demanded.
"I see what you are planning," said Anton, "And let me be the first to say you are crazy, yes?"
"It's our only way out," Louie insisted, "Kid, hang tight, we're comin'!"
The mobsters began firing at the bags of flour scattered throughout the room, causing white powder to envelop the room.
"Get down!" ordered Louie.
As the mobsters sought refuge, Louie held up a lighter.
"Can't stand the heat?" he quipped.
Louie threw the lighter behind him, igniting all of the flour particles. This created a massive fireball that engulfed the room, burning all of the officers alive.
"You're fuckin' nuts!" Manny yelled.
"Come," said Louie, "Let's go!"
With the room clear, the mobsters were able to head outside.
---
Outside, Jimmy and Lucia reached the end of the skybridge and stepped onto the catwalk that encircled the upper portion of the silos. The fall was close to two hundred feet.
"Jimmy," said Lucia, "I don't think I can do this..."
"Come on," said Jimmy, "You have to - For your brother, for me - No one wants to see you die."
"Oh, alright!"
Jimmy escorted Lucia to a ladder. However, as she started the climb down, several bullets struck the ladder, causing her to lose her grip and fall momentarily. Fortunately, she was able to regain her grip further down.
"JIMMYYYY!" she cried.
Jimmy turned to face the officer who had fired the shots and blasted him with his Tommy gun, killing him. The second officer behind was struck in the shoulder. though Jimmy had run out of bullets before he could finish him off.
"Fuck," he muttered, "Lucia, hang on!"
"Like I have a choice, Jimmy!" Lucia cried, her legs dangling helplessly.
As the officer recovered, Jimmy charged at him and tried to wrestle the gun out of his hands. As the two men grappled, the officer fired several shots, some of which struck dangerously close to Lucia.
"JIMMYYY!" she yelled.
Jimmy slammed the officer's hand into the railing, forcing him to drop his gun.
Meanwhile, down below, Louie, Manny and the Russians congregated under the silos. They glanced up and saw Lucia hanging for her life from the ladder.
"Luciaaa!" Manny screamed from below, "What the hell you doin'?"
"M-Manny?" Lucia whimpered, glancing down below.
"Come on," urged Louie, "You have to climb down! We're waitin' on ya!"
"I-I..."
"That's it!" snapped Manny, removing his suit jacket, "I'm goin' to get her!"
"How exactly?" asked Anton, "You'd need two hands to climb down, yes?"
"Shaddup, you!"
"No," said Lucia, "I can do it!"
Lucia regained her footing and began to rapidly the descend the ladder. From her vantage point, she could see the Slime breaking through the fence on the other side of the lot.
"The Slime!" she yelled, "It's breakin' through! We have to go, Jimmy!"
Atop the catwalk, Jimmy continued his battle with the cop. As the officer held Jimmy in a grapple, the young mobster plunged his fingers into the bullet hole in his shoulder. As the officer reeled in agony, Jimmy kneed him in the gut, then punched him several times in the face before hurling him over the railing.
"Heads up!" yelled Jimmy.
The mobsters watched as the officer's body crashed into the pavement not far from them and immediately went limp.
"Fuck man," said Louie, "Can that kid kill!"
By the time Lucia made it down the ladder, the Slime had burst through the fence and was making its way across the lot. The mobsters could hear shooting and screaming coming from several officers in the distance.
"Hurry, Jimmy!" yelled Louie, "We gotta split!"
"Comin'," said Jimmy.
Once Jimmy reached the bottom of the ladder, the group quickly fled the premises.
"I want a bloody status report," Roark could be heard over the radio, "What happened to them Bernucci bastards?"
"Sir," said another voice, "We're completely overrun! We have to ret...AAAARGH!"
"Sounds like you got your hands tied, Roark," Jimmy spoke into the radio.
"What the..." said Roark, "YOU?"
"Sorry you didn't get us this time," Jimmy continued, "But hey, at least we left you and your boys with plenty o' Slime to kill, ha!"
"You bastards! I swear to the Lord, I'm gonna..."
Jimmy muted the radio.
"You were amazing, Jimmy," said Lucia, "Thank you so much!"
"Don't mention it, doll," said Jimmy.
---
In the back seat of the police cruiser, which was parked across the street from the mill, Lenny anxiously awaited the gang's return. Upon hearing a tap on the window, he turned to look, and saw an infested police officer staring at him, holding a pen and ticket pad in his hands.
"I-I-I'm sorry officer," he said, "Th-This isn't my car. I'm waiting for..."
The officer ignored Lenny and continue to claw at the window, before being abruptly shot dead. When Lenny looked out the rear window, he saw Jimmy and the others approaching.
"Y-You're back?" said Lenny, as Jimmy opened the door.
"Come on," said Jimmy, helping Lenny out, "We gotta leave. Manny still has Louie's car. We'll take that."
"And go where?" asked Lucia, "In case you haven't noticed, fightin' off Slime monsters and crooked cops ain't exactly my strong suit."
"She's right," said Anton, "She needs to be brought somewhere safe. She and the little man may join us in Rodham where my men will keep watch over them."
"You fuckin' no-good Reds actually think I'm gonna entrust my sister to youze?" Manny snapped.
"Do you actually believe she stands a chance out there with you?" Anton retorted.
"He's right, Manny," said Jimmy, "The Zolotoy have the Rodham district locked down. There are other civilians there. Lucia will be safe."
Manny gnashed his teeth in rage, but ultimately caved.
"Fine, whatever," he said, "God, I can't believe this shit!"
"Jimmy," said Lucia, grabbing Jimmy by the hand, "Promise me you'll be safe."
"Sure thing, sweets," Jimmy said with a smirk, "Been doin' good so far, no?"
Lucia smiled weakly, as Anton ushered her away.
"Come," he said, "We must get a move on."
As Anton and the other Zolotoy escorted Lucia and Lenny away from the scene, Jimmy called out to them one last time.
"Wait!" he said, "Before you go...In the tunnels, you asked me what happened to my uncle."
"Yes," said Anton, "And?"
"He was killed by your boys," Jimmy continued, "He was gettin' wasted at the pub, like he always did. Ran his mouth off at a couple of Ruskies and they whacked him on the spot, then dumped his body in an alley."
"I see. Hmmm...Yes, this incident does sound familiar. I can assure you, those men were punished severely for their actions."
"I'm sure they were. You kill a made man - Don't matter if he's Family or not - You suffer the consequences. The Don didn't wanna start trouble. Said he worked something out with you guys, but I didn't give a shit. I just wanted to see every last one of you fuckers burn for what you did."
"Understandable."
"But after today - Assuming we get through all this - Let's call it even."
"Very well."
Jimmy sighed as he and his friends turned and headed the other way.
"Can't believe we're playin' nice with the Zolotoy now," said Manny.
"Well," said Louie, "At least someone's playin' nice with us, what with Roark decidin' to be a total prick and all."
"What's our next step?" asked Jimmy.
"You want answers?" asked Manny, "Then I say we hit the National Guard. They got this trainin' centre just outside o' Fort District."
"You want us to break into the National Guard?" Louie said.
"Bah, yeah! If anyone has an idea of what the fuck is goin' on, it'd be them! Look, you said they sealed this town up, right? And they didn't give no one a chance to escape? That means they know somethin' we don't and they don't want nothin' gettin' out."
"Huh," said Louie, "How surprisingly insightful of you, Manny."
"Could be worth a shot," Jimmy said, "If nothin' else, we can at least score some decent weapons there."
"You know I'm right," said Manny, "Looks like you didn't need to bust Lenny out for answers, after all! Now, let's get a fuckin' move on!"