“That seem a little odd to you?” Maria asked as she exited the vehicle.
“Little bit,” the officer replied. “It’s the only dark one on the street.”
“Wait a minute,” Maria said. “Did you see that? Something just came out of that upstairs window on the left-hand side of the house. You go check the front. I’m going around the side.”
Avery hurried as he continued with his counter-insurgency preparations. But he froze when he heard the front doorbell ring again.
Barquero pulled Polly from the group and cut her restraints off before ripping the tape from her mouth.
“You know the drill,” he said to her as he grabbed Jackie and pulled her back toward the kitchen. “Get rid of whoever it is, this time for good. I mean it,” he said pointing the gun at Jackie’s head. Kip struggled furiously against his bonds. “You, keep quiet,” he added, looking at Kip. Polly went to the door and opened it.
“Evening, ma’am,” the police officer said as he looked into the dark house. “Sorry to bother you. I’m looking for an Avery Bartholomew Pendleton. I believe he lives at this address. Is he in this evening?”
“No, he’s not,” Polly quietly replied.
“Do you expect him back soon?” the officer asked. “I don’t mean to alarm you. Just need to ask him some questions.”
“I…I…I don’t know when he’s coming back,” Polly stammered.
“I see,” the officer replied as he pulled a card out of his pocket. “Would you mind giving this to him when he gets back? Have him call the number on the card. Like I said, nothing to be worried about. Just a few questions, that’s all.”
“Okay,” Polly said as she took the card from the officer. “I’ll let him know.”
“You having some kind of power issue with the house?” the officer asked as he looked into the darkened house again.
“Yes,” Polly replied softly. “It’s out.”
“Want me to take a look at your fuse box?” the officer asked as he pulled his flashlight from his belt. “Happy to do it. It’ll only take a second.”
“No. That’s okay,” Polly replied.
“You sure?” the officer said.
“Yes.”
“Ma’am, are you home alone this evening?”
“Yes. Well, uh, not exactly. I mean…” Polly fumbled. A deep voice from the kitchen cut her off.
“Officer, may I borrow your flashlight for a moment?” El Barquero called from the kitchen.
“Please don’t,” Polly whispered as the officer stepped past her and into the darkened foyer. The officer scanned his light around the house, stopping on the group of people standing together in the darkness. “What’s going on in there?” the officer asked. Three dull thumps from El Barquero’s silenced pistol came from the kitchen. The officer collapsed. He was dead before he hit the floor.
“Oh, my God,” Polly whimpered as she looked at the dead police officer at her feet.
“Lock the door and get over here,” El Barquero commanded Polly as he shoved Jackie back into the parlor. El Barquero pulled the officer’s pistol from his belt and tucked it into his waistband next to Pearl’s as Polly closed the front door and shuffled back into the parlor.
Outside, Agent Diaz examined the darkened exterior of the house. She cautiously approached the rope fire ladder hanging from the second-floor window near the back of the house.
“What the hell?” she whispered as she reached with her free hand to pull her sidearm out and awkwardly chambered a round. She froze in place and listened as a loud voice came from inside the house.
“Avery! I’m coming up. I want my money.”
“Shit,” Agent Diaz said as she turned and ran to the front door of the house.
Inside, El Barquero slowly climbed the stairs to the second floor. Tentatively, he tested each of the doors he found there. All of the rooms were dark and empty. Only the door on the end remained. The one with the SKUNK WORKS sign on it. He tried the handle. It was locked. He tapped on the door with his pistol.
“Last chance, Avery,” he growled. Inside the room, he heard movement. Stepping back from the door, El Barquero kicked it with his heavy boot. The flimsy lock instantly gave way and the door swung open. Blinding strobe lights attacked El Barquero’s eyes as deafening techno music filled his ears. In the slow-motion effect of the strobe lights, he saw the portly Avery disappear out the window.
For years, Avery had prepared his counter-assault plans. A battery-powered trip wire attached to his bedroom door sent an electric current to his collection of defensive countermeasures. They were designed to shock and confuse an invasion team, providing him sufficient cover to escape down his rope ladder. Beyond that, he didn’t really have much of a plan. Nonetheless, powerful strobe lights and blaring music were triggered first. Purple smoke bombs and strings of small but loud firecrackers followed immediately after. Batteries that Avery meticulously checked during his weekly bug sweep powered the whole system. Cutting the power to the house was standard operating procedure during a black ops assault. Avery was too smart to fall for that. He’d watched lots of spy movies.
Downstairs, Agent Diaz tried the front door. It was locked. She peered through the front windows of the house but couldn’t see any movement. Suddenly, she heard loud music from inside the house. The music was followed by a quick series of sharp explosions. She pounded on the door. No response. She wondered where the hell that police officer was as she stepped back from the door and raised her firearm. She fired three rounds into the lock before pushing open the heavy door. Entering the dark house, she nearly tripped over the police officer’s body in the foyer.
“Oh my, God,” Maria said as she noticed his service pistol was gone. She spotted movement in the dark. Agent Diaz quickly went to the struggling figures crammed together in the parlor. Using her pocketknife, she cut the zip ties that restrained Kip’s hands. “Do you have a basement?” she asked as Kip pulled the tape from his mouth.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Cut the others loose and get down there. Do you have a cell phone?”
“Yes.”
“Call 911. Tell them a police officer has been shot and that an armed intruder is in the house. Tell them the intruder is suspected of multiple homicides,” Maria commanded as she handed Kip the knife and turned to head upstairs toward the thumping music.
Reaching the bottom of his rope ladder, Avery looked back over his shoulder to see the flashing strobes coming from his bedroom window. He ran toward the garage with the assassin’s money. He couldn’t believe he forgot to bring the chupacabra with him, but it was too late now. He jumped into Kip’s rental car, threw the plastic sack of money in the passenger seat, and started the engine. Throwing the car in gear, he roared out of the garage.
Inside Avery’s room, El Barquero ripped the strobes from their power cords and threw them across the room. With a powerful kick, he sent the blaring boom box crashing into the wall on the far side of the room, smashing it into pieces and silencing the deafening music. Pulling his black T-shirt up over his nose, he rummaged through the purple smoke–filled room as the last of the string of firecrackers went off. He quickly ransacked the room, looking for the money. He paused as he heard the sound of a car engine starting. Moving to the open window, he saw the headlights of a green sedan pulling out of the garage and into the alley. El Barquero turned and sprinted for the door. Just as he exited the room, the plaster wall next to his head exploded.