Chapters (95)
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by David Swinson
- Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Hachette Digital.
I shoulder my backpack when I exit. It’s a little heavier than normal because it contains some other tools I might need, like a mini Halligan bar. Don’t leave home without one.
I check the time. Coming up on midnight. Shouldn’t take me more than twenty minutes. Saturday night near 14th Street, so there are a few people out, maybe walking home or looking for their parked cars after hitting a bar. Two young girls pass me. One smiles. I smile back. Just a normal guy in a suit here.
I walk leisurely so I can scope out Riggs Street. I notice a dim light on in their house through the closed curtains of the front window. An equally dim patio light is on. The block is quiet.
I walk up the stairs. They have a sturdy security gate. It’s locked. I look around again.
I ring the doorbell.
Not a sound.
I ring it two times in a row. Wait a couple of minutes, and still nothing. The security gate would be easy to pop open with the Halligan bar, but it’ll make too much noise. I walk down the stairs and east toward 13th, counting the homes between their house and the intersection. I turn left on 13th toward the alley. I don’t take the cut on Riggs just in case there are prying eyes. This way it looks like I’m leaving.
After I make the turn into the alley I count the homes to the east of their house. A six-foot flimsy wooden fence surrounds the tiny backyard. I use my knife to unhinge the latch and enter. No exterior lights back here. That’s good. I let my eyes adjust, then move to the back door.
No security gate, but it’s a good door. Nothing that can’t be pried open, though.
Hitting a home at night is far more dangerous than hitting it during the daytime. It’s easier to surveil a house in the daytime before you hit it. Now I know where they are, but not for how long. And I haven’t sat on the house long enough to know who else might live here. Not smart? Maybe. Desperate times and all that shit.
I peer through one of the square glass panes in the door. Looks like it opens to the kitchen. The light I saw through the curtains is coming from a hallway. Can’t waste time.
I wedge the Halligan right at the dead bolt, give it a good tap with my lower palm. A little noise. Not bad, though. Without hesitation I slap the Halligan with the weight of my upper body, breaking the dead bolt out. I slip the bar back into the pack, take out my full face mask, and put it on. I shoulder the pack, then unhinge the stun gun from my belt and enter.