Page 23 of Peaceful Chaos

"I can think of a reason why there isn't audio to go along with the visual. Brett, you said that Grant is fanatical about the law, right?" Shane asks.

A look of realization comes over Brett's face. "Of course, it's illegal to record audio with video unless one of the parties being recorded is aware. While Grant is working undercover on this case, there's a reason he's never been chosen before for this type of assignment."

"He has a hard time bending the law," Teddy chimes in.

Brett nods. "Exactly."

"Well, it's time to test that theory. Try and look as normal as possible," Shane instructs as he starts taking several small appliances out from under the cabinets. "Jen, can you and the girls go to the bathroom and start getting ready. Make it look like we're trying to have a date night here at the house. Whatever you do, make sure you plug in as many appliances as you can. Use every outlet."

"What are you doing?" Brett asks.

"This house isn't new, just remodeled. When Ford and I went looking for a house to rent this one was the best available, but I noticed the updates didn't include the electrical system. The breaker will trip if too many appliances are used at the same time."

Sin smirks. "Looks like we should start getting a feast prepared."

"Don't you think we should spruce the place up a bit?" Teddy asks, pulling out the vacuum cleaner.

We all set about taxing the electrical system as much as possible. Everyone finds something to plug in and within minutes there's a whirring sound, then nothing. The lights go off, and then there's silence. Lucien checks the computer again and confirms the feed has been cut.

Brett pulls his phone from his pocket. "If we're right, my phone will go off in three, two, one—" his phone starts to ring in his hand. His face falls, disappointment clearly etched in the frown lines pulling down his mouth. "Grant, what's going on?"

He puts the phone on speaker and sets it on the counter. He puts his finger against his mouth to signal us to remain silent.

"An alarm went off on my phone. Why is the power out?" Grant demands.

"How do you have an alert for the power? I'm looking at the wiring now, and it’s kind of old," Brett replies.

"That doesn't matter. We need the power back on, now. Call someone and get it working," he orders.

"Shane is qualified to work on it. He said he could call someone to help if he needs it," Brett replies.

"No, I'll send someone. We've got to make sure everything is running correctly again," he says sounding distracted.

"There's no need. The guys and I can keep an eye on them without power. It's still light out, and Shane will have it back up in a few hours. Really, we've got this," Brett insists.

"There's other matters that need to be overseen. I'll just send someone. Maybe you can get everyone out of the house while it's being fixed," Grant pushes back.

"Yeah, I can do that," Brett agrees.

"Look, I've got to go, just get everyone out of the house for a bit. I'll call you when they can come back," Grant says and hangs up.

Brett hangs his head for a moment, then picks it back up and looks at us apologetically. "I swear, I didn't know."

Sin nods. "I'd like to believe you. He put cameras covering every inch of this house. Who knows how many sick fuckers have gotten off watching my wife in the shower, in our bedroom. We aren't coming back to this house."

"No, you aren't. I won't allow you to continue being victimized. Grant thinks he's doing the right thing, that the end justifies the means, but he's wrong, and I won't stand by and let it happen."

Lucien steps up next to Sin. "My uncle doesn't step foot on the new property. I won't have Raven, Amber, and Jen being exploited, not even if there's a slim chance he can manage to tie my father up legally."

"That's going to be trickier to manage, but I'll do my best. I have a feeling Sin's uncle has a better chance than I do," Brett replies.

Shane walks out of the room and heads to the garage. We all follow him there to see what he's up to, and we stand around watching as he sorts through tools on the workbench.

"What are you looking for?" Teddy asks.

He retrieves a tool and holds it up. "A soldering iron," he says while attaching a battery.

Brett leans against the wall. "You say that like we should know why you need that right now."

Shane opens the control panel and dismantles it to locate the wiring. "Just as I suspected. There's a short circuit. This will be a crude job, but as it's already pretty melted, I don't think there's much I need to do."

He pressed the hot end to the wire and lets the heat further melt the plastic and corrupt the encased wires. "That should be enough to make any halfway decent electrician suggest inspecting all the wiring in the house."

"If you are done damaging the house, we should head to the gym now," Brett suggests.

He uses the key fob to unlock the vehicle, and we climb into the back of two of the standard government SUVs. I'm surprised when we pull over in the parking lot behind a grocery store.

Ford, Shane, and Jen rode in the other vehicle, which pulls right behind us moments later. Brett shuts off the SUV and hands the keys to the agent sitting in the passenger seat. "You know what to do." A large, dark van sits parked in the far corner.

"The two other SUVs are going to act as a diversion. It won't take long for Grant or Damien to figure out where we've gone, but Allen and Parker will drive around stopping at available real estate to try and buy us a bit of time. While they're doing that, we are going to climb into that van so I can keep the eight of you together."

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