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“I think I see something a bit to the right,” Ethan said.
They maneuvered their way through the jungle until they reached their target. They had to stand against the wall because there wasn’t enough space. Jay stood on his tiptoes to peek above the gate.
“Do you see the camera?” Chris whispered.
“Yes, right above the sliding door leading into the house.”
Then Oscar was telling the truth.
“The gate should be unlocked,” Chris said. “We’ll need to open it slowly, so it won’t make too much noise. We’ll only have ten seconds to slip inside and close it behind us. Oscar said that we should hide behind the rose bushes. I think it’s best to enter one at a time.”
“I’ll go first,” Jay said. “Wait for my signal before going in. Is it two minutes before the camera turns away from the gate?”
“Yes,” Chris said.
Jay peeked into the yard again, and they all waited in silence for the camera to turn. Chris drew comfort from knowing that this time, he wasn’t alone in this. The look of Anthony in that hidden apartment still haunted his dreams.
“Here we go.” Jay opened the gate carefully, but the hinges still creaked. Once he slipped inside, Ethan hurried to close the gate since they didn’t know how sensitive the camera was to the gate’sorientation.
Seconds passed in tense silence. It seemed that no one in the house had been alerted to the intrusion.
“You’ll go next,” Ethan said.
“You sure?”
“I’m barely able to see above the gate, so I doubt you’ll manage. I’ll tell you when to slip inside.”
“Okay, and I’m average height.”
Ethan chuckled softly. “I know you are.”
Chris waited with his breath held tight as Ethan watched above the gate. “It’s moving. Go.”
The gate creaked louder than before, or maybe Chris just imagined it. Once inside the garden, the tall rose bushes were to his right. He tiptoed around them and crouched down next to Jay. The moonlight glittered over the water in the pool, and behind it, the sliding door into the house was closed. The thick curtains prevented light from shining through, but some silvers of light reflected off the polished floorboards.
They both waited in silence for the camera to turn away from the gate, watching the small red dot gleaming on the camera.
“Here it is,” Jay said as the camera started to turn.
A faint creaking sound marked the opening of the gate. Through the roses, Chris saw Ethan slipping inside and closing the gate behind him. He looked like a long shadow as he made his way toward the rose bushes, but then the shadow made an ‘oof’sound and fell to the ground.
“Shit,” Chris hissed.
“E, don’t move,” Jay whispered. “You won’t make it.”
Holding his breath, Chris watched the camera turn back toward the gate where Ethan lay on the ground. He gasped when the camera’s red light began to angrily blink.
“They know we’re here.” Chris reached for the gun in thewaistbandof his pants, knowing he might need to use it any minute.
“I’m not sure,” Jay said. “No alarm. Could be the camera’s sensing something, but not enough to alert anyone.”
Chris prayed that he was right. Almost a minute after the red light started blinking, it stopped. The camera finally continued its normal sweep. Jay whispered, “Move.”
Ethan got up and hurried to reach them. He crouched down next to Chris, panting. “Jesus, that was scary. My damn legs. What now?”
“That sliding door should be open,” Chris whispered. “If we stand close to it, the camera won’t catch us. We can’t see what’s on the other side because of those curtains, but we should be able to hear if anyone’s talking inside. I hope.”
They waited another minute for an opening, then all three hurried toward the sliding door, making sure to only step on the grass to silence their footsteps.
