Page 71 of Hack
CHAPTER THIRTY
Just as all the maps had shown, Lyle's property was a few miles outside of town and away from everything. The nearest neighbor was far enough that they wouldn't be an issue, and lucky for them, a long driveway led back to the house which was set nearly half-a-mile from the road.
They'd have to park and walk in to keep from alerting anyone in the house, but that wasn't going to be an issue. He wanted this so badly he could run the distance and not even get breathless. At least that's what he told himself.
Xander parked the car off the side of the road in an area where the bushes hid it from sight. If someone looked hard, they'd see it, but most people just driving by wouldn't even know it was there.
With them so close, Xander was already on the phone with Matt, letting them know what was going on, so that they could follow along on satellite and also turn off the cameras and alarms around the house once they got closer.
Carter's heart beat so hard he was sure that would be what gave them away. It wouldn't be some loud, screaming alarm.
As if sensing his nervousness, Xander grasped his shoulder. "Take a few deep breaths. This is the easy part. We'll get in the house just fine. We've gone over this several times. You know exactly what to do."
As he stood there nodding at what Xander was saying, he realized it was a good thing Xander had come with him. If he hadn't, Carter would have turned around and left. He had no right doing this. He wasn't like Bryon, Xander, Kasey, and Dyson. He didn't know how to break into places, take down people, even kill.
The killing part he was actually comfortable with. He wanted Lyle dead and had no doubts he could do that part. It was getting to that point that had his nerves going wild. "Now?" Carter asked.
"You comfortable?"
Carter nodded.
"Then drop your mask down and stay beside or behind me. We'll sneak up through the field, not the driveway. I've got Matt on the line until we get closer to let him know when to turn off everything. We're going to do this, get back to the motel, and down that whiskey we bought." Xander gave his shoulder another squeeze. "Let's do this."
When they'd arrived, it was nearly two in the morning, and Matt had let them know that the house was dark and the thermal imagery showed two people asleep in the same room. According to Xander, this was a good thing. He was going to stab the syringe into Lyle's neck as Carter stabbed one into the other woman. He'd debated on that. Still was, to be honest. He hated attacking her if she was a victim, but as Xander had pointed out, the drugs would wear off with no harm done to her. Having her unable to talk or move was going to help them keep control of the situation.
Carter slid his hand into his pocket, feeling the syringe, knife, and extra gloves. Xander had the zip ties, his gun, another knife, and his own collection of gloves and syringes just in case they needed more.
He hoped they didn't. He didn't plan on taking long enough to have to dose them again.
Carter had thought about bringing a collection of evidence with them, but decided they'd drop it in the mail before leaving town and send it straight to the FBI. It would only take a day or two to get there, and he'd made sure to address it in a way that it would get noticed and not tossed aside in the mail room until someone could get around to it. One of the perks of having worked for the government.
When they were about a hundred yards from the house, Xander stopped them. "Okay, Matt, cut everything. We're about three minutes from going inside. I'm going to let you go, but you'll get the normal text once we are out and on our way to the motel. Yeah, I love you too." He took the phone from his ear and stuck it in his pocket. "You good?" Xander glanced at Carter.
He gave a nod, then worried Xander couldn't see him in the dark. "Yeah, I'm with you." He swallowed hard, praying his stomach would settle.
Quietly, the two of them made their way to the house. They had already decided to go through the backdoor, as it had the simplest lock, and was closer to the bedroom where they were going to find Lyle and the woman. He stayed about a foot behind Xander, watching in awe as Xander worked the lock with his lockpick, then quietly pushed it open.
He heard about all this when the team did stings, but being part of it gave him a whole new view of everything they did.
His chest tightened as the door squeaked as Xander pushed it slowly. His biggest fear was for Lyle to hear them and come wandering out with a gun. He paused when Xander held up his fist, but then a second later, Xander motioned him forward.
The place was so dark he could hardly see what he was doing, and he was glad that Xander had insisted he carry a penlight just in case they needed it. He reached for it, but didn't turn it on. He was able to see Xander, and as long as he was following him, he figured Xander could see well enough to know where they were going.
Hell, there would have been no way he could have done this alone. What the fuck had he been thinking?
Xander tapped Carter's shoulder and pointed to a door.
Carter nodded, shifting the penlight out of his hand, and going for the syringe instead. He could do this. Had to do this. If he didn't, he'd put Xander at risk, and he couldn't do that. Things had to go exactly as planned.
This time as Xander opened the door quietly, he moved faster, not stopping his forward motion as he walked into the room. His footsteps were silent, but his intent was clear. Get Lyle and subdue him as quickly as possible.
Carter did the same, moving around the bed, trying not to look at Xander as he plunged the needle into the man's neck. He had to stay focused. Realizing he hadn't uncapped the syringe already, he cursed silently. His mistake cost them enough time that the female started to sit up in bed, woken up by Lyle jerking as Xander administered the drug.
Carter rushed forward, stabbing the needle into the woman, praying it still worked when he caught her in the shoulder instead of the neck. He relaxed some as she slowly went limp in his arms.
A second later, the lights came on and he got his first look at the fucker who had killed his daughter.
He stared at the man, feeling nothing. He was numb. The guy was so ordinary. He was thinly built, lanky, and kind of reminded him of one of the nerds from an old eighty's movie. The guy didn't look threatening at all. How could someone like him get away with so many murders? Do so much violence?
