text: The warehouse was old and in a state of disrepair. The back of the building had been renovated several years prior. An upper level was added with a two bedroom residential apartment. I remember this kind of thing being fashionable in previous decades, as it allowed the business owner to live on the property. Kayla was being held in one of the bedrooms. She was tied to the chair at her wrists and ankles respectively. It was hard to believe that this now thirteen year old was the same girl who was three when I met her father Diego ten years prior. Earlier that day I'd felt both of them calling out to me. When I arrived at Diego's place, he explained that these three had kidnapped Kayla and the ransom was him pulling a job for them. He was supposed to crack a safe full of diamonds at a high end jewelry store in town. I told him not to go anywhere near that place, and promised him that I'd bring her home safe, and deal with these thugs. I followed Kayla's mental distress signal to this place. I floated through the apartment walls, and out into the warehouse. Her three captors were all downstairs. There were two men and a woman. The woman, I'd heard one of them call here Piper, was the one calling the shots. She had one guy in the office of the warehouse with her, and the other was to stand guard outside. The guy inside the office wore a black t-shirt bearing the image of a local rock band. I had heard this band play once, so I could tell immediately that he had terrible taste in music. During their conversation he mentioned that he wanted to "have a little fun" with Kayla. Piper told him he'd have to wait until after the job was done. I decided right there that his chances of surviving the rescue were going to be incredibly slim. Piper also mentioned that Diego had an hour and fifteen minutes left to pull the job and call them to confirm. This hastened things a bit. I would need to be in a corporeal form to interact with the environment. I would thus need a host body. The easiest approach would be to take over one of them, and just let Kayla go free. Maybe take over band shirt guy, and drive her home safely. When I arrive maybe encourage Diego to put a few bullets in the body. I couldn't use any of the three though. I could sense that inside of them they were all completely given over to their inner darkness. That was the biggest limitation to this ability, I couldn't take over a person with too much darkness in them. Of course everyone has a dark side, but to be able to override them I needed a host whose dark side was small. I'd have to find someone fast. I floated outside and went high above the building. I flew a couple of blocks away and saw the corporate office building of an insurance company. It was 4:30 PM and some people were leaving work for the day. I floated down to the sidewalk outside of the main entrance. I spotted a young guy as he walked out. He looked to be about 6 '2 and seemed physically fit. He was wearing his letter jacket from his recently completed high school days. I could see that he graduated two years ago, and got the letter for football. Excellent, he'd have good reflexes, and was likely to be quick on his feet. His name was also embroidered into the jacket. Brian Cromwell. I could sense that the darkness in him was small, almost microscopic in size. This was the kind of guy you'd hear about running into a burning building to get someone out. Usually I prefer to research a host more thoroughly first, but time was of the essence here. "Alright Brian, " I thought to myself. " you get to be the hero today." I entered Brian's body, and could see through his eyes, and hear with his ears. I wiggled his fingers for a moment. In my experience that was usually the fastest way to get a feel for how to pilot his nervous system. After that I reached into his right pocket and found his car keys. I saw the make of the car on his key fob, and then looked out at the parking lot. I could see three different models of that make, so I pressed the unlock button, and saw the lights blink on a blue four door sedan. I made my way to the car. I got in and started the engine. I looked around the car for a moment for anything I could possibly use as a weapon, or helpful tool. That's when I discovered that he kept a folding knife in the center console. I took the knife out and clipped it to his belt. I then put the car in reverse and backed out before throwing it into drive and departing for the warehouse. I parallel parked the sedan about fifteen feet up the street from the warehouse. I walked along the sidewalk until I came up on the guy standing guard. He was a few inches shorter than my host which worked to my advantage. "What's up?" I asked him. "Chillin Man, what about you?" "Dude, I am so lost right now. I'm supposed to be going to this place on park street, and my phone died, so no gps." That's when he made the mistake I’d wanted him to make. As he began to give me directions, he pointed toward Park Street. I knew exactly which way it was when I asked him. As he pointed he turned his body facing away from me, and that was the moment I made my move. I removed the knife from Brian's belt, unfolded it, and dispatched him before he knew what happened. I dragged his body into some nearby bushes, and took the pistol from his waistband. I checked it and found nine rounds in the magazine, and one in the chamber. That would likely come in handy shortly. With the guard now removed from the equation I turned my attention to the warehouse again. I made my way to the front door, and stepped inside. To my right were a pair of restroom doors. The men's room light shone through the edges. I waited for a moment, and then the door opened. The guy in the black t-shirt stepped out. I made quick work of him with the knife as well. As I approached the stairs Piper emerged at the top. "Who the hell are...?" She didn't have time to finish the sentence before I drew and fired. She stumbled back, clutching her abdomen.She then drew her own pistol and returned fire. I got out of the way and used a nearby vending machine for cover. She fired four rounds. I leaned out from behind the machine and saw that she had herself propped up in a halfway sitting position. She was a smaller target now, and the shot was risky, but I took it anyway. My effort paid off and I saw her fall back down again. I slowly ascended the staircase with my weapon still drawn and ready. As I approached the top I could hear her labored breathing. The wheezing sound seemed to indicate that I'd punctured one of her lungs. I got visual confirmation of this as I reached the upper landing. She was in bad shape, and wouldn't make it. I put a final round in her head to finish her off. Regardless of what somebody has done, I don't like for them to suffer needlessly. I made my way to the apartment on the second floor. I entered the living room, and took a moment to check my surroundings. After I made sure that the kitchen, restroom, and second bedroom were clear I made my way to the one where Kayla was being held. I opened the door slowly and called out. "It's okay, it's me, Simon." I heard a sigh of relief from the other side. I entered and quickly cut her makeshift restraints free. "Thank you Simon." "No worries. Let's get you home. Oh, and you might not wanna look on the way out. Your captors are, um, expired." She chuckled slightly at my choice of words. I got Kayla back home, and chatted with Diego for a little bit. He offered to get rid of the gun and knife for me. I knew he could dispose of them in a way that they'd never be recovered. I took the opportunity to wash the gunshot residue off of Brian's hands before I left. I also cleared the GPS history both from his car, and phone. That would be enough to get rid of most of the evidence of him being there. He wouldn't remember what happened today either, so that also would work in his favor. I took Brian back to his apartment, and settled down on the couch. I could feel the adrenaline wearing off, and the crash setting in. I leaned him back and relaxed his body. I then left him asleep on his couch. I floated through the exterior wall and into the hallway leading to his front door. I left the apartment complex and went up to a higher altitude. A couple of blocks away I noticed a new sandwich shop that I hadn't seen before. I made a mental note of it, so next time I had a host who was hungry I'd give it a try.