Page 55 of Heal
It had taken a few hours, but Carter had managed to locate and disable several cameras in the area, and he'd also managed to get blueprints of the man's house so Beau would have an idea what he was walking in to.
What he didn't have was a way inside. That was going to be his first issue. He needed to find an unlocked door, an open window, or some way inside. He didn't have lock picking skills like the others on the team. He never dreamed he'd need them.
Carter had found dark clothes in Bryon's closet, so at least he had that to help him hide in the shadows. He also had a ski mask that would hide his face. Once he found a way inside, it was going to be simple. If he could catch the man asleep, then he wouldn't have to worry about a struggle. The drugs would take effect fast. He just needed to get close enough to inject them.
He took another deep breath, checked that he had everything he needed in the front pouch of the hoodie he wore, and shoved a thumb drive of evidence that Trenton had copied for the cops to find into his pocket as well.
There was no reason to put this off.
Trying not to think about what he'd lose if he got caught, he got out of the car and glanced around. It was dark, and he didn't see any signs of life in the area other than a cat watching him from someone's front porch. He prayed that was the only witness tonight.
Quickly making his way down the sidewalk, he got to the man's house and casually walked down the driveway. As he moved to the shadows, he looked around as he lowered his ski mask over his face, hoping to see an open door or an open window.
When he didn't find anything along the driveway, he slipped into the backyard, carefully watching for a dog or any other danger that he wasn't prepared for. Sweat dripped down his spine, and he wondered how the others on the team did this several times a week without freaking out.
Every shadow spooked him, ever sound echoed in his head.
Casing the back of the house, he found no way inside. All the windows were locked, and the sliding glass door was locked and had a wood plank reinforcing it from inside.
He was fucked.
Why hadn't he joined the team when they practiced lock picking? He bit his lip, tasting the material of the ski mask. His heart pounded, and he was sure that his pulse was double what it should be.
He had no choice but to break a window and pray that no one would hear him. It was the only way he was going to get inside.
He glanced around looking for the best window to get through. He wanted to smash the sliding glass doors, but that would make way too much noise, and if he remembered right, the bedroom sat just down the hall from the living room. He would be better to find a window farther away to try and climb through.
Refusing to second guess his being there, he walked along the backyard again, finally deciding to break into a basement window. It was far enough away from the bedroom, and hopefully, any glass falling wouldn't alert the man inside that someone was breaking in.
With the end of the torch, he gently hit the glass, hoping it would give easily, but it didn't. The sound of the metal canister against the glass echoed through the backyard.
Beau was going to be sick if he didn't get his nerves under control. He reminded himself that the other guys did this all the time, and everything went fine. Tonight would too. He had to make it out of here. He couldn't get caught. He wouldn't let Lisa and Jeff down because he'd taken a risk and gotten caught.
With renewed determination, he hit the window again, this time cracking the glass. It was enough that he could jar the glass loose with one more hit. The sound of glass crashing to the floor inside the house was like fireworks going off in his head.
He paused, watching for lights to come on, taking a deep breath when they didn't.
There were sharp edges around the window, and he tried to knock them out as quietly as he could, but again, the glass hit the ground hard.
This time a light came on inside the house, and Beau silently cursed. This wasn't good at all. He quickly shoved the torch back into his pocket and pulled out the syringe. It was the best weapon he had since he'd refused to take the gun that Carter had tried to insist he use.
Castrating a pedophile was one thing, taking a life was another. That was a line he couldn't cross.
Uncapping the syringe, he moved to stand in the shadows just beside the sliding glass door. His only hope was to hit the man when and if he came out to investigate. He hoped the man didn't go downstairs first, or call the cops before coming to look.
He doubted the guy would call the police. Not with his history. Someone who had been arrested before almost always hesitated before calling the police, and this guy had been arrested several times. All for minor things, mostly related to being drunk, but still, that would make him unlikely to want to deal with the police if he didn't have to. Beau hoped the guy was cocky enough to think he could handle things on his own.
Holding his breath, Beau waited. It took only a minute before he heard the sliding glass door opening. Beau readied himself for a fight. If he didn't hit the guy just right the first time, he risked losing the syringe, breaking the needle, or having the guy cold-cock him before he could get another chance. He couldn't afford to miss.
The man stepped out of the house, barefoot and in nothing more than his boxers. "You kids get the fuck out of here. I told you last time I'd call the police if you showed up." The man stepped farther out, then turned toward the broken window, away from where Beau was standing.
It was his chance, maybe the only one he'd have. Hoping the man didn't scream, Beau moved quickly, coming up behind the man and jabbing the needle into the side of his neck. He pushed the plunger as the man turned.
"What the fuck?" The man's eyes went wide as he grabbed for his neck.
Luckily, the injection was fast acting. Beau made it that way to help protect the team. It was his own formula, a mixture of drugs used during surgeries to help keep a patient from moving.
"Who are you?" The man stumbled, going to his knees as he stared up at Beau.
