Page 74 of Mia Amata

He filled his water system from the lake, setting it aside. It would purify the water, but then he would also boil it that night to make it even safer to drink. He saved some bottles from his trip; he would reuse those to keep his water supply in. Clearing out some brush from below a tree, he sat down. He took out his binoculars, searching across the lake.

He started from the north end, counting houses until he settled in Megan’s house. He noticed that there was a pier, a beach, and some open yard, leading up to a firepit area, then up to the back deck. He knew there was a walk-out basement, he was able to see the doors under the deck. He raised the binoculars, checking out the French doors over the deck. The side of the house had huge windows facing the lake. He would definitely be able to see inside the house if the curtains were open.

Following the house to the right or south, there were even more huge windows looking into what he knew was the master bedroom from his study of the blueprints. The house was dark, as he knew it would be. He still had a couple of days before the happy couple got home from their honeymoon. Tonight, he would check out the house, on the inside. He studied the houses on either side, not seeing much that concerned him. He thought he had seen enough for the time being, taking his water he headed back to the cabin.

After a quick lunch, he worked on clearing the path to make it easier and quicker to make the trip to and from the lake. He then packed a small backpack with things he would need that night. He packed his night vision goggles, a flashlight, his Bowie knife along with a smaller knife, and gloves, lying out the small Glock. He took the small two-person raft, getting it ready with the oar. He would inflate the raft at the water’s edge. When he had made all the provisions for the night, he lay down to take a rest, knowing he would wake up at whatever time he told himself to.

Allen woke up well-rested, ready for his night-time excursion. He ate supper, tucked the pistol into his waistband on his back, threw the pack on, and then grabbed the raft and oar. He walked to the lake, pulled out the night vision goggles, and did a quick survey of the lake and shoreline. He didn’t see anything worrisome, so he inflated the raft, putting it in the water.

Quietly, he started to paddle across the lake. He kept scanning the shoreline with the goggles, but he saw nothing. He made it across the lake in what seemed like no time at all. Pulling the raft up under the pier he tied it up. Using the goggles, he explored the backyard leading up to the house. He stealthily made his way up to the house, to the basement doors.

He looked the doors over well, noting that the bitch had a security system that was armed. He needed to figure out a way past that. He couldn’t go in this door; he would have to be careful because it was hooked to a video system. If he went in this door, probably the front and the one on the deck, he would be caught on video. He would have to find a window that was not being monitored by the alarm system.

He crept around the side of the house, checking the windows as he went. The only one that seemed to not be monitored would be the hardest for him to climb in, the one over the kitchen sink. He examined the window closely. The window was a single-hung window. All he needed to do was to insert something between the sashes and open the latch. Then he should be able to open the window from the outside.

Pulling out his small knife, he popped the screen out, then slid the knife between the sashes. Very carefully, he slid the knife over to the latch, pushing until he finally was able to unlock the window. He then pushed up carefully on the window, sliding it open. He put his knife away, looking in the window. He would have to be careful climbing in.

He knelt down, taking off his shoes and socks. He didn’t want to leave shoe marks on the outside of the house, his socks would not offer him any traction on the siding of the house. He put both in his backpack, then hoisted himself up into the window, being very careful not to scuff surfaces as he went. He crawled through the window, over the sink, then jumped down to the floor.

Once inside the house, he placed his backpack on the kitchen floor and listened for a few minutes. Hearing nothing, he turned to the basement door. He paused long enough to pull his socks on, leaving the shoes in his backpack, not wanting to leave footprints or shoeprints in the house. The moon was still bright, and with the amount of windows in the house, he felt he should be able to see fine without the goggles or the flashlight, but he did take them both with him. He opened the basement door, making his way down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, he found himself in some kind of office. He walked over to a desk, sat down, opened drawers, and thumbed through the contents. He found nothing of interest. He turned his attention to the filing cabinet, trying the drawers. He found that they were all locked, and he hadn’t seen any keys in any of the desk drawers. He could force the locks open easily enough, but he didn’t want to leave any evidence that he was there. He would come back to this later if needed.

Looking around the rest of the basement, he noticed the other side of the basement looked like a child’s playroom. That didn’t make a lot of sense to him unless maybe she was running a small daycare. That definitely would make sense, she would have to make a living somehow. She certainly didn’t have any useful skills or knowledge that would help her get a decent job outside the home.

Figuring that was probably what was going on down here, he turned his attention to the doors going outside, taking a closer look at the alarm system that she had hooked up to them. He was able to rewire her system so that these doors were no longer hooked to the alarm but would still appear to be. She could disarm and arm the alarm all she wanted, but this set of doors would remain unarmed at all times.

Pretty soon, Allen headed back up the stairs, closing the kitchen window, now that he would be able to go out the basement doors when he left. He went into the garage next, but looking around he didn’t see much that alarmed him. There were only a few items that someone could grab as weapons, but he could take care of that when the time came. Going back into the house, he made his way through the living room, checking out the first door he came to, a bathroom. Walking past that, he looked into the smaller of the two bedrooms. This appeared to be a nursery, but he figured it was just part of her daycare, so he didn’t give it a second thought.

He went into the master bedroom last of all. The first thing he saw was the king-sized bed. He was instantly enraged. This is where she betrays him with another man. Bitch! He took a few minutes to calm down, trying to keep his head about him.

Looking around, he decided there was really not much here of value. The only thing he did find was that the closet would offer a great hiding place should he need it. It was a walk-in closet, there was one corner where he could hide pretty easily, even if someone walked in. Upon opening a few drawers, he found himself getting enraged again at the sexy panties and bras he was finding. Slut! he thought.

He would teach her a lesson when he got his hands on her. Making his way back through the house, he did not find anything else of interest, so he concentrated on memorizing the layout of the furniture, so he could find his way around in the dark. Pretty soon, he grabbed his bag from the kitchen floor, took a look around to make sure that he didn’t leave any evidence he had been there and then headed down to the basement. He walked out the basement door, shutting it behind him, stopping for a moment to put his shoes back on. He worked his way back around to the kitchen window that he had climbed in, replacing the screen that he had popped out. Looking over the window, he didn’t see any evidence of his climb into the house.

Allen then headed back down to the pier. He climbed onto his raft and headed back across the lake. Making it to his takeout spot, he pulled his raft out, carrying it back to the cabin. He hung the raft on the side of the cabin, leaning the oar against the side of the cabin.

Once inside, he changed clothes and started a fire. Grabbing his notepad once the fire was going, he made notes while everything was still fresh in his mind. After finishing his notes, he lay down in bed, thinking about what his next step would be. He had a lot of plans to make.

***

Allen woke up the next morning, still trying to work out his plan in his head, he needed to get all the details figured out soon. Sitting up, he knew one thing that he needed to do for sure. He needed to be able to stop her or her husband from calling the cops if given a chance. He picked up his cell phone and made another call.

“Hello?” a man said.

“I need you to bring me something.”

“What and where?” came the reply.

Allen told the man what exactly he needed, stating that he wanted it as soon as possible. The man on the other end stated he could actually meet him later that same day with the items he needed once he found out approximately where Allen was located. After setting the time and place, the call ended. Allen got up, warming up some water over what remained of his fire. He washed up and got dressed. The meeting place was a pretty good hike from where he was hiding out, so he got started as soon as he could.

Making it to the meeting place, a little before his contract was supposed to arrive, he surveyed the area to make sure they wouldn’t be spotted. His contact was someone he helped escape arrest in Nevada, who had moved to Minnesota to hide out. Allen hid in the trees a few hundred feet from the actual meeting spot to wait for him to arrive.

When the contact arrived, Allen watched as he got out of the car, leaning against it while he lit a cigarette. Allen watched him for a few minutes from the trees, then made his way silently up to the man. Pulling out his pistol, another Glock but this time a .45 caliber, he placed the gun against the man’s head. The man stiffened.

“Hey,” Allen said. The man didn’t say anything. “Did you bring what I needed?” The man nodded, motioning to the backseat. Allen glanced in the window, seeing a box sitting on the back seat. “Get it out for me, slowly.” The man opened the back door to his car, pulling out the box. “Hand it to me.” The man did, saying, “Listen, man, I don’t have anything against you. Take the box and go. I won’t say anything to anybody. I mean, what could I tell anyone?”

“You could tell them I am in the state,” Allen replied.

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