Cross Down

The Glock in Cross Down is symbolic of the dangers of a shoot-first response to perceived threats. The Austrian manufacturer Glock makes America’s preferred service weapon. In Cross Down, Sampson uses a Glock 17, while most military service and law enforcement officers carry the more well-known Glock 19. The handgun is known for its reliability, durability, and ease of use. In the novel, whenever Sampson is threatened, he immediately pulls out his Glock. His quick-draw response to perceived threats reflects a militaristic ideology. Sampson was trained first as a soldier and then as a police officer. His shoot-first instinct serves him well, saving his life on multiple occasions.

And yet at times, this self-preserving instinct leaves Sampson without options. When Sampson kills his attackers, he loses the ability to question them. This happens on multiple occasions, depriving Sampson of a valuable source of intelligence. When Sampson threatens Bibi Ahmadi by shoving his Glock in the guide’s mouth, he creates an enemy rather than an ally and physically (temporarily) removes the man’s ability to speak and thus provide information.

Sampson’s chronic habit of turning to violence leaves him without sources of intelligence, without key allies that could have proven useful, and without a clear path to solving the central problem in the novel.