bought the condo. Anyway, I called around, and there’s nothing going on at that address. No cable, no internet, no phone number listed.”
“That’s suspicious.”
“Yeah.” He pocketed his phone again. “Now we just have to wait for dark.” He cocked his head so he could see me from the corner of his eye. “You gonna survive?”
I fell back on the bed. “Probably not.”
Shane twisted around and ranged himself over me, bracing himself on his forearms. He smelled of the harsh soap he used to clean his hands at the shop. He dipped his head and kissed my jaw, then my neck. “Come on,” he whispered in my ear. “No rescue missions on an empty stomach.” He rolled off the bed and brought me with him.
We ate pan-fried redfish with Lionel and Bruce while we waited for the sun to go down. When it finally grew dark, we dressed in black clothes and brought our bag full of cheap wireless cameras to the most expensive neighborhood in the city.
We hopped over the wall the same way we had before and snuck into the elaborate landscaping of the place next door, a mock-antebellum mansion with a white columned porch and a three-car garage. They’d planted some conveniently enormous ligustrum on the property line.
“ How many? ” Shane sent. I took a moment to scan the house and the lawn for minds that weren’t asleep.
“ Three , I think. Same as before. Two on the lawn and one in the house. ”
“ That’s what I’m getting too. ”
The one in the house wasn’t moving, and I suspected again that it was Diana.
“ This is probably a good spot. Up in that tree. ” Shane pointed toward a smallish oak a few yards from the property line. It had plenty of crooked branches.
I nodded, and he sent the first of the cameras floating into a high branch. He followed it with a brown nylon tie-down and secured the camera in place. I cut off the hanging tail of nylon with a focused mental jab. Shane extended the stubby antennae on the camera and took my smartphone.
“ Explain to me again how this won’t get us sent to prison? ” I said.
“ Easy. We don’t get caught. ”
I laughed quietly and watched as he worked. In a few moments, I had a green-tinted image on the screen of my phone. It showed a nice view of the back garden, which featured a stone fountain with one of those half-naked Renaissance-era women pouring water out of an urn.
“ Next? ” Shane said. We had three cameras left.
We found two more trees, one closer to the front yard alongside the garage and another on the opposite side of the house. I held my breath when one of the guards moved in our direction, but he was only smoking a cigarette.
“ Do you think she’s in there? ” Shane pulled the third camera feed up on my phone.
I made another gentle pass through the structure, but I didn’t know her well enough to recognize her sleeping mind. “ I can’t tell. ”
Shane frowned as he set up the fourth camera. “ I wonder— ”
My phone gave a loud chirping noise. I nearly dropped it. Shane and I both ducked and held our breaths while I fumbled for the silent switch.
“ What the hell was that? ”
“ Motion alert—look. ” He pointed toward the house. “ Someone’s driving up. ”
A black SUV pulled up the driveway. The two guards converged on it, but not in an aggressive way. The driver got out and opened the back door.
A woman got out, stepping easily to the concrete. She was about my height, and slim, but it was hard to make out much else. She was wearing long sleeves, long pants, a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses. She said something in the driver’s ear, and he nodded once and trotted for the house. The two guards stayed on either side of the driveway. I turned my phone off for good measure.
The small woman didn’t speak to the guards. She watched the front door of the house without moving, her hands folded behind her back. It took an interminable fifteen minutes for the door to open again and the driver to come out. He
“That’s suspicious.”
“Yeah.” He pocketed his phone again. “Now we just have to wait for dark.” He cocked his head so he could see me from the corner of his eye. “You gonna survive?”
I fell back on the bed. “Probably not.”
Shane twisted around and ranged himself over me, bracing himself on his forearms. He smelled of the harsh soap he used to clean his hands at the shop. He dipped his head and kissed my jaw, then my neck. “Come on,” he whispered in my ear. “No rescue missions on an empty stomach.” He rolled off the bed and brought me with him.
We ate pan-fried redfish with Lionel and Bruce while we waited for the sun to go down. When it finally grew dark, we dressed in black clothes and brought our bag full of cheap wireless cameras to the most expensive neighborhood in the city.
We hopped over the wall the same way we had before and snuck into the elaborate landscaping of the place next door, a mock-antebellum mansion with a white columned porch and a three-car garage. They’d planted some conveniently enormous ligustrum on the property line.
“ How many? ” Shane sent. I took a moment to scan the house and the lawn for minds that weren’t asleep.
“ Three , I think. Same as before. Two on the lawn and one in the house. ”
“ That’s what I’m getting too. ”
The one in the house wasn’t moving, and I suspected again that it was Diana.
“ This is probably a good spot. Up in that tree. ” Shane pointed toward a smallish oak a few yards from the property line. It had plenty of crooked branches.
I nodded, and he sent the first of the cameras floating into a high branch. He followed it with a brown nylon tie-down and secured the camera in place. I cut off the hanging tail of nylon with a focused mental jab. Shane extended the stubby antennae on the camera and took my smartphone.
“ Explain to me again how this won’t get us sent to prison? ” I said.
“ Easy. We don’t get caught. ”
I laughed quietly and watched as he worked. In a few moments, I had a green-tinted image on the screen of my phone. It showed a nice view of the back garden, which featured a stone fountain with one of those half-naked Renaissance-era women pouring water out of an urn.
“ Next? ” Shane said. We had three cameras left.
We found two more trees, one closer to the front yard alongside the garage and another on the opposite side of the house. I held my breath when one of the guards moved in our direction, but he was only smoking a cigarette.
“ Do you think she’s in there? ” Shane pulled the third camera feed up on my phone.
I made another gentle pass through the structure, but I didn’t know her well enough to recognize her sleeping mind. “ I can’t tell. ”
Shane frowned as he set up the fourth camera. “ I wonder— ”
My phone gave a loud chirping noise. I nearly dropped it. Shane and I both ducked and held our breaths while I fumbled for the silent switch.
“ What the hell was that? ”
“ Motion alert—look. ” He pointed toward the house. “ Someone’s driving up. ”
A black SUV pulled up the driveway. The two guards converged on it, but not in an aggressive way. The driver got out and opened the back door.
A woman got out, stepping easily to the concrete. She was about my height, and slim, but it was hard to make out much else. She was wearing long sleeves, long pants, a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses. She said something in the driver’s ear, and he nodded once and trotted for the house. The two guards stayed on either side of the driveway. I turned my phone off for good measure.
The small woman didn’t speak to the guards. She watched the front door of the house without moving, her hands folded behind her back. It took an interminable fifteen minutes for the door to open again and the driver to come out. He
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