BooksBarbecue
Back Straight Shot Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Dedication
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Chapter Four
  6. Chapter Five
  7. Chapter Six
  8. Chapter Seven
  9. Chapter Eight
  10. Chapter Nine
  11. Chapter Ten
  12. Chapter Eleven
  13. Chapter Twelve
  14. Chapter Thirteen
  15. Chapter Fourteen
  16. Chapter Fifteen
  17. Chapter Sixteen
  18. Chapter Seventeen
  19. Chapter Eighteen
  20. Chapter Nineteen
  21. Chapter Twenty
  22. Chapter Twenty-One
  23. Chapter Twenty-Two
  24. Chapter Twenty-Three
  25. Chapter Twenty-Four
  26. Chapter Twenty-Five
  27. Chapter Twenty-Six
  28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  31. Chapter Thirty
  32. Chapter Thirty-One
  33. Chapter Thirty-Two
  34. Chapter Thirty-Three
  35. Chapter Thirty-Four
  36. Chapter Thirty-Five
  37. Chapter Thirty-Six
  38. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  39. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  41. Chapter Forty
  42. Chapter Forty-One
  43. Chapter Forty-Two
  44. Chapter Forty-Three
  45. Chapter Forty-Four
  46. Chapter Forty-Five
  47. Chapter Forty-Six
  48. Chapter Forty-Seven
  49. Chapter Forty-Eight
  50. Chapter Forty-Nine
  51. Chapter Fifty
  52. Chapter Fifty-One
  53. Chapter Fifty-Two
  54. Chapter Fifty-Three
  55. Chapter Fifty-Four
  56. Chapter Fifty-Five
  57. Chapter Fifty-Six
  58. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  59. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  60. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  61. Chapter Sixty
  62. Chapter Sixty-One
  63. Chapter Sixty-Two
  64. Chapter Sixty-Three
  65. Chapter Sixty-Four
  66. An Extract from Breacher
  67. Chapter One
  68. Also by Jack Lively
  69. GET A FREE NOVELLA
  70. Enjoy this book?

The desk was now empty. I tested the door knob. It was locked and I was stuck inside with nothing to show for my efforts. The office was three stories up from the street. I figured the window would be too risky. I was more concerned with being seen from the street than falling. Calling Nazari for help was out of the question, too risky for her. Kicking the door in would attract attention from the people who were evidently just down the hall.

I examined the door jamb. The device had an automatic safety feature when locked by a key. The mechanism featured a curved and sprung bolt that snapped into place when the open door is pulled shut. A simple credit card can be slid between door and jamb. My bank card and identity documents were in Brumaire.

I took out the burner phone and examined the back. It was the kind of phone where the SIM card goes under the battery. The back slid off with a little push from my thumb. The battery tumbled out, and I caught it before it hit the floor. I stuffed the battery and phone into my front pocket. The back piece was thin plastic, but slightly curved all the way around its edges. I tested the way it bent and figured it was rigid enough to break if I did it right. I bent the plastic back hard and fast. The top quarter snapped off with a click.

There were a few millimeters of air between the door and frame. The locking bolt was barely visible as a shadow in the gap. I slid the plastic piece into the space above the bolt. It fit there with a small amount of play, maybe a millimeter. I eased the shim down and worked it where I thought the angled part of the locking bolt would be. Nothing happened.

I realized it was the wrong side of the bolt. So I pushed the phone piece out as far as I could through the gap and then pulled it back at the same time as I pushed down with force. The pressure compressed the spring and moved the bolt back into the door. I blocked the door jamb with the phone back and turned the knob. The door opened. The locking bolt sprung into its extended lock position. I put the broken plastic in my pocket.