Page 4 of Thief for the Mountain Man

Stripping where I was, I peeled the plaid vest then the Henley I had been wearing off and over my head. Next, I yanked my jeans down my legs and kicked them to the side. Chilled but dryer than I had been, I marched my way toward the master bedroom and into the bathroom.

I needed to wash away this chill quickly and then get back to storing all my food. I didn’t bother testing the water before I stepped into the shower. The quick jolt of shock before warmth streamed down on me was a welcome sensation.

Tilting my head up so the water hit my face, I close my eyes and take a couple deep, calming inhales. Trying to let go of the weird energy I was holding on to today. I was home now. Once again alone and undisturbed. That was exactly how I liked it.

The flash of color replays behind my eyelids.

I knew why I was fixated on it. Why it had stuck in my brain. I just didn’t know why that memory would come to haunt me now. It had been years. An event and span of time I had pushed to the farthest corner of my mind. Why was I remembering now?

Shaking the thoughts away, I turn my face away from the shower spray, running my hands through my wet hair. Maybe it was the annoyance of heading into town today that was messing with my head. I recognized I was a grumpy bastard but even this kind of attitude from me today was a bit much.

The lights flicker and I pause, waiting to see if they would go out completely. The bathroom goes dark, then lights up again. Unsure if the power would stay on much longer, I finish my shower quickly.

I throw on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt and head back to the kitchen to put away my groceries. It’s not until I’m unloading the last bin that I see the envelope with my incorrect name on it. I’d completely forgotten about this. No one ever sent me mail unless it was around the holidays.

Very few people had my address here on the mountain.

Curious now, I grab the envelope, bouncing it in my hands a couple times to see if I can figure out what’s inside. It’s light, that’s for sure.

I knew with certainty I was the only Lennox in town. I’d had a couple overly friendly townspeople ooh and aah at my ‘unique’ given name so it had to be for me. Yet it still felt off.

“Fuck it,” I curse to myself. Why am I letting so many things get stuck in my head today? It was a damn package. Who cares?

I rip open the paper, flip the package and a USB key falls into my open palm. Completely confused, I stare at the drive then open the package wider to see if there was anything else inside. Empty.

This was very odd.

I place the USB down on my kitchen island and turn back to the last pantry items that need to be put away. My gaze keeps going back to the drive as I do small tasks around the house.

Not able to ignore the mystery, I grab the USB and march toward my control room. The secret room was hidden behind a wall panel in my hallway and held all my cabin’s security cameras, sensors and other tech that helped me keep this mountain safe.

I insert the USB into a port then wait for a folder to pop up.

Or a virus.

I’m ready for either.

Seconds later an untitled folder appears and I click into it.

Another folder appears—this one is different though. It’s locked.

Trying to access the folder, my screen flashes to black and a code is quickly written across the top of the page.

“The hell?” It wasn’t a program. It was an encrypted file. Had I been sent this to solve? Decryption wasn’t my specialty, but someone obviously sent this to me for that purpose. There was something on this drive so secret it was hidden under layers of code.

I could give it a go. See if I could solve this puzzle myself. If not, I trusted Cohen to help me. He was the computer genius.

I’m so focused on setting up the decryption program that when a beep sounds from my security system software, I ignore it. Not immediately understanding what the sound is. I’m focusing on the problem at hand and don’t want any interruptions.

Then the noise sinks in. And it’s meaning.

My fingers pause over the keyboard, and slowly, I turn my head and squint at the screen that’s begun to flash.

A tingle of anticipation zips through my body. The all-too-familiar adrenaline coursing through me. I was right all along.

Someone just stepped foot on my property. On a part of land that wasn’t the driveway or side entrance way.

Someone is trying to sneak up on me. I scoff, excited to be proven right.

A spy had just trespassed.

And they were about to be taken down.

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