Page 20 of Justified (Ruthless Vigilante #1)

Chapter seven

I was back in my secret spot that gave me a great vantage point to see all of Walter’s property.

I noted the rounds his security team made, and they hadn’t deviated from the way they had patrolled last night.

So, things were looking good as far as my plan went.

I aimed my tranquilizer rifle and looked through my night vision scope at one of the guards as he rounded the corner into my line of sight.

I controlled my breathing, and then I made the shot, hitting the guard in the neck with the dart.

He grunted, reached for the dart, but then lost consciousness quickly after.

I waited a few more minutes until the other guard came into view and I shot him before he could go to his friend.

The tranquilizer that was in the darts was the good shit, so they would be out for hours.

I climbed down off the wall I’d been hiding on and pulled out my EMP device.

It would only give me maybe fifteen minutes to get in and do what I had to do.

I got a little closer to his home and hit the button.

Instantly, all of the lights went off inside the mansion.

A few seconds later, the backup generator came on and the security lights sparked to life, shining their brightness over the yard and on the mansion itself.

Shit, I figured a rich bastard like him would have a backup generator, which was troublesome but nothing I couldn’t work around.

I moved in closer to the house, peeking into one of the windows.

This room was empty, but not a good point of entry.

By this point, his security would be on high alert and I needed to get to my target.

I crouched down low and then leaped up high, latching on to the ledge of the second story window.

Again, I peeked inside and saw nothing. I lifted the window, using a bit of strength to break the lock, and climbed inside.

I could hear some commotion going on in the hallway and on the first level, but I didn’t let that deter me.

I aimed my rifle as I stealthily stalked through the mansion, keeping to the shadows.

Closer to the first floor, I heard two of the guards conversing.

Apparently, their scumbag boss was hiding in his panic room until all of this could be sorted out.

Well, double shit! That wasn’t good news to hear.

They knew they had an intruder, too, because the guards had been discovered outside.

Okay, so maybe I didn’t have the best plan for extraction, but I wasn’t willing to give up.

Not yet, at least. I hid in one of the empty rooms as one of the two guards made their way up the stairs to investigate.

I wondered if maybe it was time to end the stealth mode and just go full on attack.

One thing I needed to do was destroy that fucking generator.

I was hoping my EMP device would have been strong enough to take out the generator, but I wasn’t that lucky.

If I wanted to salvage this plan, I had to locate it and shut it down.

That was my strategy until I heard the sound of police sirens approaching.

Triple shit with a heaping helping of fuck it added on top!

I had to abandon my mission… at least for now.

I could hear the guards drawing closer as they appeared to be checking all of the rooms. There was mention of the broken lock on the window in the room I’d entered through.

Best take them down and get out of there.

I flung the door open and charged forward, kicking one guard in the stomach and sending him flying back into the other room, where he crashed into a trophy cabinet.

The glass shattered and trophies fell to the floor, along with the guard who was grimacing as he coughed up blood.

His partner managed to get a few rounds off, striking me in the chest and shoulder, and I growled from the pain.

Damn, that fucking hurt like hell. I didn’t let that slow me down though, as I ran towards him, snatching his gun away and breaking his arm good enough for the bone to come poking through his skin.

“Ahhhh!” he screamed, right before I rammed my head into his, knocking him unconscious. Two less guards guarding this asshole would be helpful for when I returned.

I looked outside the window after I’d opened it and saw that the coast looked clear.

I really didn’t have time to survey for any hidden traps before jumping back down to the ground and sprinting off into the cloaking of the trees.

One thing I needed to do was get off his property.

I was sure the police would be doing a perimeter search and I didn’t need to be around when they did.

Motherfucker! I’d fucked up royally. Not only had I failed to get Walter, but I had alerted him to the fact that he was a wanted man.

No doubt, he would be beefing up his security, making it that much harder for me when I tried again.

I ran back to my car as fast as I could and drove off.

I couldn’t help but think back to everything I had done wrong tonight.

The first mistake I made was not having a backup plan to destroy the generator.

Without any bit of electricity, Walter wouldn’t have been able to hide safely in his panic room.

They wouldn’t have been able to call the police or radio each other for help.

I could have taken them all down and walked away with my target.

When I had run missions in the military, it was always as a team, and someone else came up with the tactical plan.

I just followed orders. This was different now, it was all on me, and tonight was a tough lesson to learn.

I needed more practice. I returned home and Jordan watched me in silence as I pulled a beer out of the fridge and chugged it down in a few gulps.

Jordan sighed. “I take it things didn’t go as planned?”

I took my mask off, laying it on the table.

“That’s a good guess.” I finished off the contents of my beer and in a fit of rage, tossed the empty bottle against the wall, sending bits and pieces of glass in all directions.

“I fucked up,” I roared as I gripped the back of one of the table chairs.

I’d squeezed the chair so hard, the leather split as the metal bent in my hands.

I looked down, seeing the damage, and forced myself to ease up.

Jordan came over to me and started rubbing my back. “What happened?”

“I didn’t think it through, that’s what happened.

I got lucky when I took out that son of a bitch three months ago.

He was stupid and arrogant, so he didn’t make the same moves this guy did.

There was a backup generator that was protected against my EMP.

I was still trying to complete the mission, but that generator really fucked up my plans.

It allowed him to get into his panic room where he was able to contact the police.

Either that, or he has his panic room set up to contact the police as soon as the door is opened.

Regardless, there was no way I was getting to him tonight. ”

“This is bad news. There’s got to be another way, maybe his home isn’t the best snatch and grab location. You might even have to put your stealth away and go for a full on attack,” Jordan suggested.

I turned, looking at him. “You mean take him out on the street?”

He shrugged and nodded. “Why not?”

I shook my head. “I’m not ready to be on the news yet.

But what I could do is maybe get him while he is leaving his home.

It would be a bold assault, but I’m guessing I can take out his security and get to him before the police can come to his aid.

” I walked over to Jordan’s computer station.

“Can you, I don’t know… piggyback on someone’s satellite and zero in on his house?

I want to see if he’s going to stay there or leave. I need to know his every move.”

Jordan nodded. “I sure can.” He walked over to his station, taking a seat.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, which meant he wasn’t playing around.

As I watched him in action, I wondered why I hadn’t thought of this in the first place.

I looked up at all the screens and, truth be told, didn’t know what the fuck I was looking at, but I was sure something magical was happening.

“Got it,” Jordan said and pointed to one of the screens that gave me a bird’s eye view of Walter’s mansion.

Police cars were on the property and officers were investigating the premises.

I was sure they would tell him they didn’t find anything or anyone, but with the guards I’d injured, they’d know there was an intruder. Precautions would be taken for sure.

“I’m going to need some coffee,” I said as I pulled a chair over to the station. “Can we keep this going all night?” I asked.

“I’d rather not keep my location up that long on the CIA’s spy satellites.

Let me see if I can break into his security feed.

That way, we can at least see what his cameras pick up on his property,” Jordan explained.

Again, his fingers flew across not one, but two keyboards, and then he smiled.

“We’re in, and it was easier than I thought it was going to be. ”

“Awesome! Have I told you how fucking amazing you are?”

“Not today, you haven’t.”

“Well, you are. Thank you.” I slid up closer to the monitors, happy to get my in-depth view of Walter’s home. It looked like I was going to be watching this all night and coming up with a plan B.

“I’ll get a pot brewing,” Jordan stated, then stood up and walked away.

A few minutes later, I could hear the sound of him sweeping. I turned to see him cleaning up the mess I’d made. “You don’t have to do that, I’ll clean that up.”