dozens of butts in the alley below a small loading dock.
“
He clicked his radio and kept moving down the alley. “After I turn the corner up here, I’m going to hold my position between the buildings until I see you.”
“
“Grangeland, let Harv advance and cover his six. From there, he’ll cover your advance. Let us know if you see or hear any vehicles coming.”
“
Fifteen seconds later, Nathan saw Harv round the corner. “I’ve got you. I’ll advance to the next alley and turn south. Grangeland, move up to Harv’s position. I’ll be holding at the fenced truck yard on the east side of our warehouse.”
“
He didn’t like being under the streetlight for the brief trek into the alley, but didn’t think anyone would be out and about in this neighborhood. Still, the graffiti concerned him. Gang tags. No doubt this was claimed turf. He smelled the air again-nothing.
“Okay, I’m at the northwest corner of our target’s fenced yard. There’s an old fishing boat on blocks to my left.”
“
He waited for Harv and Grangeland. They formed up and huddled in the shadow of a cargo container. “I only saw two cameras. One covering the front door and one covering the rear loading dock. The building’s tall enough to have a second floor office.”
“Concur,” Harv said.
They circled back to the narrow alley bordering the rear of the warehouse to the east and stopped out of camera shot at the northeast corner of the fenced truck yard.
Harv spoke quietly. “If anyone runs, they’ll come out that fire exit and head straight for the open gate.”
“This position isn’t going to work,” Grangeland said. “There’s no place to hide if a car comes by. I should use that fishing boat behind us. It’s a little farther away, but it should be okay.”
“Nate?” Harv asked.
“Sounds good, but don’t move from that position without telling us. We want to know where you are at all times. If anyone bolts, give a verbal command to get on the ground. If they make a threatening move, drop ’em. You’re only watching the rear of the warehouse until I finish the video splice.”
“Understood.”
“Okay, let’s hustle back to our vehicles. We can’t walk along this alley without being seen by the camera. We’ll have to detour to the east by half a block.”
Back at Harv’s Mercedes, they went over the plan one final time.
“Grangeland, grab your change of clothes. At a full sprint, how long will it take you to get from the fishing boat to Harv’s position at the southwest corner of the warehouse using the route we just took? Best guess?”
“Thirty seconds.”
“Okay. Everyone ready? Here we go.”
Chapter 27
An uncertain part of tonight’s operation involved bypassing the surveillance camera eyeing the front door. Nearly everything hinged on Nathan’s belief that the monitor wouldn’t be continuously watched.
“Grangeland, once again, your threat area is only the rear of the warehouse. Harv will cover the west and south, I’ll take the north. I’ll have a clear view if anyone approaches from that direction.”
“Understood.” She hustled down the street and disappeared into the shadows.
“Harv, I’ll circle around to the north corner of the building again. I’ll take the exact same route and radio when I’m in place.” He pulled his gloves a little snugger and grabbed the duffel.
Thirty seconds later, Harv stayed behind at the southwest corner of the warehouse while Nathan entered the alley with the white delivery vans. If anyone drove by, Harv could duck behind the recycle bins next to the warehouse.
Halfway down the alley, he heard a door open on his left.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. He had no cover. If he ran for the containers twenty yards distant, he’d be seen for sure.
“Harv, I’m busted,” he whispered. “Stand by.”
“
“Not yet.”
He heard his radio click once.
He began a slow shuffle, pretending to struggle with the bag. He switched the strap to his left shoulder to free up his right hand and began mumbling to himself, mixing in some foul words. No more than thirty feet away, three men stepped onto an elevated loading dock, lit cigarettes, and stared like caged gorillas.
He hoped the smeared face paint would enhance the act. “Spare ’nee change?”
The voice hissed an expletive, then, “Get lost,
Perfect. He didn’t respond and kept going. The dim light kept them from seeing the wire leading up to his ear. If they changed their minds and approached, he’d have a fight on his hands. Although he could easily handle them, sooner or later their absence might be noticed and all bets would be off.
“
“So far,” he whispered. He continued his snail’s pace, feeling three pairs of eyes bore into his back and the duffel bag. “I’m almost to the corner.”
Without looking back, he rounded the corner and hurried toward the cover of a big rig parked on the curb. “Harv, wait one. I’m going to make sure I’m not being followed. Sixty seconds. Grangeland, your location?”
“
He gave her a click.
He ducked deeper into the shadow of the truck’s cab and kept his eyes on the corner.
A car approached from the west.
The shadows cast from the truck’s wheels moved in a sweeping motion from left to right as the car sped past.
The smokers from the alley didn’t appear.
He crossed under the streetlight and entered the alley leading to the warehouse. Half a minute later, he was flat against the warehouse’s northern wall.
“Harv, I’m in place. I’ll contact you from the roof.”
“
“Grangeland?”
“
Nathan pulled a grappling hook with twenty feet of knotted, half-inch nylon rope from the duffel and coiled the rope. The bag also contained a small car battery, an inverter, two compact DVD players, two disks, and seventy feet of coaxial cable. His front pockets contained all the tools and parts necessary to splice into a coaxial line.
He moved to the midpoint of the north wall and swung the grappling hook. It caught on the parapet. He tested its anchor. Firm. Next, he tied the end of the grappling hook’s rope to the strap of the duffel bag. Once on the roof, he’d be able to haul the bag up.
Scaling a vertical wall by rope required strength and skill, especially near the top, but he’d done this exact kind of climb more times than he could remember. It took him less than twenty seconds.
At the top, a sudden wave of dizziness nailed him. The concussion.… He took a knee and steadied himself against the parapet. Precious seconds were passing. Lightheaded or not, he had to keep working. He assessed his battle readiness at roughly 80 percent. Not great, but acceptable. With a little luck and a lot of skill, this would all
