The guy dropped like a rock.

DJ ran to Kowalski’s security man and checked for a pulse. There was none, so he helped himself to the man’s gun, phone, and keys, stowing everything but the keys in the duffel. The keys went into his own pocket.

He was relieved to find the tree near the back fence standing tall. The lowest limb was a little too high for him to easily reach, so he fashioned a pulley from the rope and a few minutes later was standing on the limb, looking into Kowalski’s windows. The house was grand, of that there was no doubt. It had to be ten thousand square feet, the backyard enormous.

So far, so good. No lights in the house came on, so the wife and kid were still sleeping. There was no sign of the dog mentioned in the teacher’s notes, which was a relief. It would take precious minutes for the drugs to incapacitate a Rottweiler. Plus, he liked dogs.

He heard the next security guard before he saw him, softly speaking into a walkie-talkie.

“Keating isn’t answering. Be on alert and do not leave your post,” the man commanded. Once he came into view, DJ realized he knew this guy, too. They’d done a drop-off a few years ago.

Drawing his handgun, DJ waited until the man was walking under the tree limb, then fired two quick shots into the man’s head. He then jumped from the limb to the ground, landing in a crouch a few feet from the remains. He headed for the garage door, figuring the six-car garage was as good a place as any to store weapons, as the house appeared to have no basement.

He saw the third guy long before the guy saw him. Creeping along the back wall, the third security guy was definitely lower tier. He was young, maybe twenty years old, and scared.

DJ shoved his handgun to the back of the young man’s head. “If you make a sound, I will kill you. Nod if you understand. Do not speak.”

The man nodded frantically and did not speak.

DJ patted him down and found a knife and two guns. He added them to his duffel bag. “Good. I’m looking for weapons. Take me to them and I’ll let you go.”

The guy began walking toward the garage, where he unlocked an exterior door into the cavernous space. The entire wall was covered with cabinets and safes, and while the garage could easily hold six vehicles, the only ones inside were a van, a pickup, and a red Jaguar.

The young man made a grunting sound, and DJ realized that he was asking for permission to speak. “Go ahead. But if you scream, you’re dead. I got nothing to lose.”

“I don’t know the combinations to the safes. I don’t have keys for the cabinets, either.”

DJ took the first guard’s keys from his pocket. “Open all the cabinets.” The safes would have to wait for another day.