The Boss's Son | ✅

15

This afternoon there was more that didn't quite fit into the picture. A few very nice and very roomy SUVs were parked on the grounds. They had obviously been driven out by a couple of men, all of them built like sturdy cupboards of diverse sizes. I watched them puttering around one building, carrying in sacks that they unloaded from their cars.

All of this combined gave me reason, when I lowered the binoculars again, to believe that something would be going down at this place that night.

"What do you think?" Mike asked. He, too, had observed the scene for a while in silence and was now looking at me with some concern etched into his forehead.

I plopped onto my butt and shook out my legs that were tense from crouching. "I have failed with better ideas than this one. Groot has piled up a lot of security to guard this galaxy."

"Groot?" Mike asked and shook his head with one eyebrow raised.

"The tree on the roof looks like Baby-Groot about to start to dance."

Mike looked back over to the roof. His eyes didn't linger, but slipped back to the things going on around the outbuildings. We had planned to be here first and find a place to hide before anyone else would show up. This part of our plans already had failed. "You want to call it off?"

"I didn't hike the mile from the car though the wilderness to have a lay down with you in the bushes," I grumbled. "But if we want to do it, our chance to get into the building is now while the number of people is still low and all we have to worry about are the cameras."

"How do you plan to get in?"

I pulled out the footprints and looked for the right one, which I then spread between us on the ground. "They seem to concentrate on this one. It has been a hay barn or something. Or at least it has an upper floor to store things that was accessed from here." I pointed at one side end of the building. "The access seems to have no camera on it and thus makes for a perfect place to enter for us. Beyond it, the upper floor spans just one third of the whole length of the barn. From there we should have a nice view at things going on at ground level."

Mike studied the plan, then crossed his arms in front of his chest. "That's all good. But the access you are talking about is on upper floor level. And I can't see any stairs or ladders leading to it. That's probably why there is no camera on it."

"Then we must climb," I shrugged. "Up to the roof and from there we can use the beam sticking out to lower us in."

Mike's lips pursed. "Easy peasy."

"Exactly." I patted his back in reassurance. "You could wait for me here though, as backup, you know."

"Not a chance, pumpkin."

"I thought it was worth a try," I grinned. I really didn't like the idea to take Mike with me. I had a bad feeling about all of this. Something wasn't right.

And it looked like our mission was doomed already on the way in several times. The most dangerous moment occurred, when I was dangling from the beam, once probably used to carry a pulley, and was picking the lock of the hatch. Of course, there was a lock at the wonky, wooden door as if it led to Saladin's treasure.

There was no hiding while at it. I hung in broad daylight in the open space, feet propped up against the building and my braid slightly swaying in the air, sweating in my dark clothes that would hide me in the dark, but stuck out like a sore thumb in the light, like I had a spotlight on me. And one of the bulky men was closing in.

I was fast, but he was just steps away. In my hurry, I dropped one of my tools just as the lock gave in. The nearly inaudible plop had made me jump. When the little hook hit the ground, it did so with a small chime that was much louder than the plop. In my ears, it boomed like a bomb going off. Mike cursed under his breath, but stopped himself immediately.

Nevertheless, I went rigid, thought that was it. All the man had to do was look up. He surely would, alerted by the ruckus, we had made.

He didn't. He stopped in his tracks, but then listened to something on his earpiece, looked in the opposite direction, turned, and walked away. Whoever had interfered on our behalf, I sent prayers of thanks up for the timing. After that I couldn't even be bothered anymore that the hinges were in need of oil. We were inside within seconds, Mike swinging through the hatch after me and shutting it as he went.

After some deep breaths and an exchange of crooked grins, we found us a place in the shadows with perfect view on the space below. We settled in, then I made sure that my camera would work. Later, we would lie flat on our bellies to be as close to the rim as possible. But now, with still a couple of hours to go until the main show, we leaned against a wall.

"What now?" Mike whispered.

"To quote movie-Hermione," I replied to him, "'And now we wait'."