Page 27 of Seth
His palms gripped the wood, ready to lift up, when a powerful wave threw the boat at the pier. Air left his lungs as the wooden bow crashed against his spine. His ears rang, and he had to loop his elbow around the pile in front of him as the night lost a few shades to darkness. With a weakening hand, he pushed the boat aside and it knocked against the pier with a low thud.
Seth cringed, fighting for the next breath. His ears strained, muscles tensed, ready to swim away and haul the boat with him, but not a sound disturbed the night. Even the dogs seemed to be sleeping.
Now or never…
Palms against the pier, Seth lifted out of the water. He stole a glance around, then hoisted the boat closer to the pier. Beckoning the dog with one finger, he waited for the nervous animal to approach before he grabbed the collie’s front leg and yanked the animal out of the boat. The dog whimpered and scurried to the side, claws scratching the wood. Gaining the ground under her feet and a safe distance from him, she sniffed the air.
Seth slipped back into the water, hooked one arm over the gunwale, and grabbed the backpack. His hand searched the contents, found the ultrasonic dog repellent, pressed the button. The collie jerked, gave him an offended stare, and jogged away, tail between her legs.
Aggressive barking cut the air as the trained dogs, hearing the sound too, woke up and rushed toward the pier. A dozen paws slapped against the pavement. The collie squealed and galloped toward the garden. Seth froze, waiting, hoping that people like Gustavo wouldn’t want to deal with bitches in heat, hence all the dogs would be males, hopefully not fixed, or he would need a better plan. Black, taut animals, zipping past him, stumbled over the spot where the bitch stood a moment ago, sniffed the air, then changed direction, and chased after her.
Seth smirked, hauled the boat to the pier, and tied the rope to a girder. He got out of the water and unloaded the shield from the boat. Metal clanked when he fastened a wide heavy toolbelt around his middle, stuffed with tools and the necessities—tranquilizer darts, syringes with Ketamine, radio signal jammer, long, glass spikes, and a pepper spray. He slipped the dry tennis shoes on and, holding the shield in front of him, moved toward the trees, where it would be easier for him to blend with the thick foliage. He knew the shield, though bending light, wasn’t completely invisible, but he hoped that Gustavo’s people wouldn’t be watching the monitors too closely.
Following the orange tree line, he stalked in the shadows toward the small building with shuttered windows. Hidden from the public eye, it drowned in greenery.
At home, when he’d examined the electricity plan, the number of cords leading to this facility from the power distribution center made him suspect that the building served as a server room or a guardhouse. The humming coming from the building confirmed his suspicion.
Barking and howling slashed the hush. The commotion the dogs created carried throughout the garden and didn’t escape the guards’ attention. Heavy boots stomped past him, following the noise.
“What’s with the dogs?” A rough voice asked.
“How do I know? Let’s go, finish the round. I’m starving,” another voice replied.
“You go; I’ll be right back, just check the dogs,” the first voice rustled from afar.
Seth smiled.Yes, let’s go and check the dogs.
He trailed the guard, his tennis shoes silent in the night. With his shoulder pressed against the rough bark of a tree, Seth glanced up, but either he grew night blind or the garden didn’t have any cameras.
“What the hell?” The guard approached the Dobermans swarming around the collie, trying to mount her. The black and white bitch swirled and whimpered, avoiding another stud jumping her. “Where did you come from?”
The guard reached for the radio, pressed the button. Seth cast the shield aside. A syringe glinted in his hand as he rear-choked the wide neck of the guard with his elbow, needle stabbing into his neck. The guard’s fingers released the button as his arms floundered.
“It’s air, so don’t move. I hit your artery; if I inject you, a bubble of air enters your aorta and gets sucked into your brain or heart, causing a gas embolism. You’ll die within minutes.” Seth breathed into the man’s ear. The rifle, hanging on the guard’s shoulder, pressed into Seth’s hip as he flattened his chest against the man’s back to tighten the choke.
The radio came to life. “Base to First? Respond.”
“Go ahead.” Seth stirred the needle in the neck. “Say that everything is quiet, and the dogs are just being playful.”
The guard’s neck moistened under Seth’s hold. “They will kill me.”
“Not if I kill you first. Report or die.”
The man nodded, slowly lifted his hand, then pressed the radio’s button. “First to Base. Everything is quiet; just the damn dogs are going crazy.”
As soon as the guard released the button, Seth asked, “How many people are in the house?”
“T-three. Please, remove the needle.”
“I don’t believe you.” He stirred the needle again.
“DeSilva is a private person. N-no one stays at night in the mansion. Only the live-in butler and guards.”
“Is that so? Where are the rest of the guards?”
“In the guardhouse. N-next to the power distribution center.”
Seth pressed the plunger. The guard jerked, hands flying up. His back tensed, eyes bulged, and he tried to scream, but Seth tightened his hold. “Don’t worry, I lied. You won’t die, not now anyway.”
