“I’ll be in and out before anyone sees me. Come on, Knox. It’s quiet out there.” She smirked. “And you know me, I’m known as the Phantom Chick of the Rangers.”
“I am so going to regret this,” Knox muttered. “Did you bring comms?”
“Never go anywhere without them.” She handed over a small flesh colored device while she secured her own inside her right ear. “Besides, I hacked into the security firm’s system and scrambled this property’s CCTV footage before we left the office. It’s on a loop, so no one will see me.” She flicked a small silver device in her palm. “This little baby is going to take care of any motion detectors. It might seem that I’m reckless being here but I’m not stupid, Knox. I’m not going to play with my life and hand myself on a platter to the Mafia.”
Knox snorted as she squinted at the house but Jordan’s assurance made her feel more relaxed. She should’ve known she’d come prepared.
“Hand me the little black leather folder in the cubbyhole.” Jordan secured it in an inside pocket of her jacket as she got out of the Jeep. “Get behind the wheel and keep the engine running. Be ready to hightail it out of here when I return.”
“Be careful, Jordan and don’t take any chances, do you hear me?”
“Got it.”
“Hey! Take this. Just in case.”
Jordan smiled as she ignored the gun Knox held out to her. She patted the pack of her pants. “Got my own, sister, and a knife strapped to my thigh. You’re not the only one with foresight.”
The high-masted streetlamps standing sentinel cast a yellowish glow from their sodium vapor tubes onto the modern construction of grey stone sidewalks. A well-worn asphalt street revealed exposed cobblestones that spoke of an earlier time.
Jordan kept to the shadows, running behind a hedge that ran parallel to the garage.
“Checking in. Confirm, Jordan.”
“Check,” she responded to Knox’s concerned voice in her ear. She dropped into a crouch as the sound of footsteps from the back of the house broke through the silence. “Fuck. Guards are doing a perimeter check,” she muttered at the sight of a large man strolling towards the front of the house. She had hoped since it was so late no one would be lurking about. He stopped and opened a side door into the garage and scanned the interior with a flashlight.
“South perimeter clear.”
Jordan didn’t move as his voice filtered towards her when he turned and disappeared around the back of the house. She checked her watch and waited three minutes before she quickly ran towards the door the guard had checked. At least she didn’t have to pick a lock.
“Going in.”
“Be careful, Jordan.”
“Crank up the engine and move over into the passenger seat. This isn’t going to take long.”
She slipped inside and pressed against the wall while her night vision adjusted to the darkness. The black void soon gave way to a deep charcoal gray.
“Three SUVs. I’m going to tag each of them,” she said as she took out the black zip-up pouch from her pocket. The tracking chips were the latest nano technology and completely undetectable. She quickly secured them to the underside of the left fenders.
“Perfect.”
She straightened and turned to leave when she noticed a coat on the backseat of one of the SUVs.
“Christmas came early, it seems,” she smiled as she opened the door. She stroked the material. “Too expensive to belong to the guards and too old fashioned to be one of the younger sons. It’s the mighty Dons for sure.” She secured another chip under the collar of the jacket. The units were designed to link up via satellite. No matter where he went, she would be able to locate him and listen to his conversations.
“Let’s pray this is going to help Jared and Brock in finding a way to put the bastard away. It’s time this motherfucker takes a one-way trip up the river to the Buttfuck Hotel for an indefinite stay— the sooner the better.”
“Get your ass out of there, Jordan. There’s movement on the other side of the house.” Knox’s urgent warning spurred her on to get moving and finish planting listening devices inside the three SUVs. Within moments she sprinted over the clearing towards the hedge.
“Stop! Hey you! Derek! We’ve got an intruder, South Side.” She froze momentarily at the deep voice behind her then pushed her legs to pump furiously as she ran towards the road.
“I’m coming in hot, Knox. Get the Jeep moving!”
“Fucking hell!” Knox cursed in her ear but was easing the Jeep beside her as she broke through the hedge.
“Move over!” Jordan shouted as she approached. She was the best of the team in aggressive and evasive driving. If a chase ensued, she was the best one to be behind the wheel. She flung the door open and jumped in while Knox was still scrambling over the console into the passenger street. The door slammed closed as she punched down on the accelerator. The powerful engine surged forward.
Screeching tires behind them ripped open a seam of fear.