Twisted Mercy

Pacing and Afraid

September 17th, 2021

8:19pm

Location: Rockport, AR

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"With cat-like tread. Upon our prey we steal." I moved along the side of the building, coated in black. Shrouded in the dark of the night.

"Really, Shadow?" I heard through the comm link in my ear. "We're trying to be stealthy and you start whisper-singing?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm whisper-singing a stealthy song." I ducked underneath the open window, evading the light that would surely blow my cover.

"That would probably be the least stealthy song that I've ever heard. They're all being loud and crashing and stomping." I heard typing coming from her end and then "Oh, duck down!"

I hit the deck just a a flashlight came sweeping in my direction. I rolled underneath the white wrap-around porch and made myself tiny enough to be imperceptible. If I just stayed still enough, no one would be able to see me. At least, that's what Cameron Ann Morgan taught me in the Gallagher Girl series.

"Weird. I thought I heard something down here." A gruff voice floated down from the porch. I recognized it as Jonathan. Aw. He was one of the nice ones.

"We've all been kind of paranoid for the past month. Maybe you were just wanting to hear them. To warn them. But we can't. Eddie and the rest of the freaking Cabals would have our heads. It'll be okay, Jonny." This voice I heard was younger, but still kind of rough. It must be Aidan. He was the only other one who cared about Gia and me.

"I just know that they've been sneaking around here. I mean, the cameras being cut-off or put on a loop at just the right time. The security gate being disarmed for a ten-second interval. It's all them. It has to be them." I could hear Jonathan's voice break and it tugged at my heartstrings. But I couldn't move to speak with him. I'd be killed. And they'd be...

I can't even think of it. I still have nightmares from what I've done.

"Look, Jonny," I heard Aidan begin, "I want it to be them too. Then we can warn them that this system they've been wrung through is not just a national thing. It's all over the world. They grew too independent. Lillian's stubbornness lately matched with Genna's ever-growing code skills has got the bosses scared. And it's not just the Cabals. It's everyone."

I heard them start to walk around the front of the house. "Yeah, I guess you're right kid. I just miss them so much."

"Me too, Jonny. Me too."

Their footsteps and voices faded and I waited ten seconds before crawling out from my hiding space while asking "Did you hear that, Goose?"

"Every word, Shadow. What do you think they meant by 'all over the world?'"

I began to make my way around the back of the building to the cherry wood privacy fence and began to climb to the roof. "Probably that we would've been tossed from country to country, carrying out crimes for various mob bosses of different nationalities." I winced as splinters dug themselves into my fingers, but I managed to push myself onto the roof. "I'm just surprised we hadn't found out about it yet. I mean, we did figure out about the two-year plan with our first boss within the first six months."

I ducked underneath the trip line running from the lightning rod to the chimney and made it to the skylight. From there, I had a clear view of the kitchen, where our ex-boss, Eddie, was pacing in distress.

"True, but we only found that out when we were raiding through his files that he stupidly left unlocked, like some sort of amateur," Gia added. I breathed out a chuckle as she typed on her keyboard. "Okay, the security system to the skylight is down. You have about thirty seconds to plant the bug before it comes back on. Otherwise -"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Security guards, SWAT Teams, anyone and everyone who can take us out." I pulled the bug from the pouch on my belt and opened up the skylight. I quickly placed the bug in the bottom right corner of the glass. I shut the window with five seconds until the alarm would have gone off. "You act as if I've never done this before."

"You've done it on a house that doesn't have a security system the Pentagon would be jealous of."

"Yeah, well, I've also bugged the Pentagon, so this isn't new." I made it to the edge of the roof, then dropped to the ground and rolled back underneath the porch. I army crawled until I got to the trapdoor that was installed in the extreme case that Señor Cabal needed to make a quick escape.

"Are you at the trapdoor yet?" I could tell Ivy was getting tired because her mood took a sour turn within the blink of an eye.

I rolled my eyes and whispered "Yeah, Sleeping Beauty. Now I need in, so would you kindly turn off the lasers and the security alarms so that I can drop down and install a tripwire of our own?"

"Don't get snippy with me, Shadow. I'll drive off."

"Then how would you get your house key back?" I smirked as I heard a gasp after she rustled around in her bag, unaware that I had 'borrowed' her key. She muttered some choice words and, after a few seconds, I heard the soft click of the trapdoor being opened and widened it enough for me to drop down. "Any lasers, Goose?"

"Nope. At least, none that I can detect." I heard more typing on her side as I kept moving down the smelly dirt tunnel.

"Great. So, if I get myself sliced in half or set off the security system, I'll blame your detection skills." I dodged a spider web and, instead of turning right towards the house, I took a left and climbed some wooden steps. Jeez, even their security tunnels have to be over-the-top.

"Listen here, Shadow," Genevra placed an emphasis on my code name because she wanted to get across that she meant business. I rolled my eyes and got onto my knees, narrowly evading the rotating camera. It must've been new.

"Spare me the lecture, Goose. I'm placing the camera and microphone and kinda need to concentrate so I don't slip, make a bunch of noise, and then die."

She grumbled at me and muttered a few more choice words, but kept quiet. I added the tripwire in front of the solid oak door (why? tell me. who cares if their door is made of one of the most expensive woods when no one is going to see it except them?) and placed the small camera and mic in the top right corner of the ceiling. I was climbing down from my place on the wall when I suddenly heard the door on the other side of the tunnel open.

My heart stopped. There was no way that I would be able to make it to the branch off and up the trapdoor and the door in front of me would set off an alarm in the house. I could hear two distinct sets of footsteps coming my way. Then, the voices.

"Aw, the boss sure wants us to make sure we don't leave any stone unturned, huh," Jonny asked.

"No, I don't think so," Aidan replied. I saw a small alcove three feet from the bottom of the steps in front of the door. It would be approximately fifteen seconds before either one or both of them made it to me and it would take me seven seconds to reach the alcove.

The footsteps stopped just as I squeezed into the alcove. It was just big enough for me to make my frame small, but they'll be able to see me if they look hard enough. I'm praying they don't look hard enough.

"Okay, kid. Let's split up here. Shout if you see something."

I slowed my breathing down so as not to be heard, but I was afraid that the pounding of my heartbeat would give me away as footsteps came closer to me. I squeezed into the alcove as tightly as I could. The footsteps passed me and made their way up the stairs and I could hear them creaking quietly under the weight of his feet.

Don't trip the wire, don't trip the wire, oh please don't trip the wire.

Ten seconds later, he walked down the steps. I thought I was home free when I saw his figure pass my alcove when I heard his footsteps stop yet again. Then, he turned around and stood right in front of my hiding spot. I stopped all breathing as I turned my head slightly and met his eyes.