It was getting late in the day as Declan and Foss entered the warehouse. Foss set the duffel bag on the table. "Now, I'm going to show you how to clean your Glock." He went over to his refrigerator and opened it. "Do you want a beer?" He asked.
"Sure," Declan said, slightly surprised at the offer.
Foss smiled, then came over with a couple of bottles and handed Declan one. He sat down and waved toward the seat next to him, "We can go through it together." He looked at Declan, "Have you done this before?"
"No," Declan said then sat next to him.
"Ok, follow me. Take out the clip and set it aside. Check the chamber for an extra round." He pulled back the slide and showed it was empty.
"You do that a lot," Declan said.
"You would be amazed at how many people get shot with an empty gun when the clip is out but there is a round in the chamber," Foss said. "Now pull the trigger – always pointed somewhere safe – to release the back. Hold it like this, with the palm of your hand over the slide, the edge against the sights," he demonstrated the position. "Pull the slide back slightly, not too far. Pull these two tabs down and remove it." He removed the slide and turned it over to show the contents. "Take out the barrel and the spring and set them to the side."
"It's really simple inside!" Declan said.
"Yes, simplicity adds reliability," Foss continued. "Now there is a more complex disassembly we will do some other time, but you don't have to do that very often. We're just going to do a normal cleaning."
"We use this oil, to lubricate all the parts?" Declan asked, pointing to some gun oil at the side of the bench.
"No. We use the oil on the barrel, coat it and let it soak." He put a coating of oil on the barrel. "Next, we are going to use a dry brush on the body and the slide and spring. We want to clean them off, but we don't want to add oil which can attract dust," Foss explained.
He cleaned and reassembled his gun with Declan following his actions. "I'm going to put the clip back in mine, but you should probably not put the clip in yours until you are ready to shoot it again. You could get in trouble carrying a loaded gun around."
Declan said, "That was easy. In TV and the movies people are always cleaning their guns. It seems an obsession."
Foss chuckled, "Sometimes it seems like that. It's more of a form of meditation. Really, most forms of meditation involve repeating ritualistic movements. Warriors throughout the years have made a ritual of caring for their equipment.
"Be one with the gun," Declan said with a smile.
"That's actually part of it. You want to be able to use it without thought, so that you can use your brain for more important things – like staying alive."