“Now, if they’re like last week they should be breaking up in about three hours. Which should give me a little boredom but, I will at least know if they are consistent. I wonder if there is any way to get on to that building.”
Wren gets out and powers up her night vision binoculars and looking through the hazy green of the enhanced scene she scans the building for a way up.
“Yes, there is a ladder and it goes all the way up to the roof.”
She leaves her vantage point and begins heading for the ladder. A patrol car drives through the area on an adjacent street as she ducks behind a forklift. She’s thankful it's nearing the new moon and that there isn’t much light to be seen by. Pushing a heavy crate up under the ladder she manages to just reach it and pull herself up. Once on the roof she starts her search for a lit skylight to show her where the meeting is happening. Its distance is worrisome in the darkness but fitting her goggles in place she decides to go for it. Dodging pipes and ventilation equipment takes some time but she finally makes it without too many trips and bumps along the way. She opens her pack and with a little maneuvering of its contents pulls out the parabolic microphone.
“I hope this microphone works as good as I was told and, I hope it works through glass.”
She relies on the knowledge she learned in social science and psychology class, that people generally don’t look up. She very carefully lays the microphone on the glass, then sits back out of sight to listen through the headphones. The sound is faint and a bit crackly but good enough to hear what is going on.
“Clarence I’m worried, why can’t we find this Wren chick? I mean it’s almost like she fell off the world or something.”
“Jerome, you’re starting to sound like Tommy. You know he called me after our last meeting and swore someone followed him all the way home. He said they even stopped when he did at Bruce and Butch’s houses. Thing is he said it was a car with one headlight out or, maybe a motorcycle. Now he doesn’t show up for this meeting, probably sitting home to chicken to pick up the guys and show up.”
“But if we can’t find her and Tommy was followed why couldn’t it be her. Maybe she’s following us to turn us in to the cops.”
“You idiot, if she had followed us to turn us in then the cops would’ve been here tonight when we showed up. As for a motorcycle, I still have her license and there’s no endorsement for one on it. So, I doubt she has one or even knows how to ride.”
“This guy would probably lie to the devil himself. Still has my license indeed, I took it with me the night I escaped.”
“Now all of you listen up, and listen good. Wren is not a threat to us. We will find her and when we do we’ll rape her again and make sure she doesn’t come back to talk this time. So, stop acting like a bunch of sissy little girls and let’s get down to business.
Hacker, how’s our financial situation doing? Have we got enough for another party?”
“Not yet Clarence. The guys aren’t bringing in enough money and Wren closed or froze all of her accounts before we could use them for anything.”
“Guys and ladies, if we don’t see some revenue we don’t get to party! Now you all benefited from Wren’s apartment donations to your lifestyle so I expect to see your help.”
“Ladies what’s the prospects like for getting another guest of honor?”
“Pretty good actually. I saw this really gorgeous girl working down at the mall. She must be full time because she’s there Tuesday through Saturday every week. I’ve got the reconnaissance pictures here for everybody, Rachel would you pass this to Hacker for the projector.
If you will all look at picture number one. You should all plainly see this will be another first as this woman plainly has a ring on her left ring finger. I got the plate number off her car and Hacker ran it through his connections at the Department of Revenue. The car is registered to Stanley and Jo Ann Schmidt. Which matches her name tag. I also followed her home and cased the house. There is a man there and they have three children. Like I said another first, we never found one that was married and a mother before.”
“Very good girls, when we have the money we will definitely invite this one. Potential to be a model, wife and mother, we definitely have never had one like that before.
Hacker, how long before we can invite our new friend?”
Wren sneaks a peek through the glass and watches as Hacker punches a few buttons on his laptop and consults a few things before he answers.
“At our current rate, approximately three weeks.”
“Good then it’s settled if money comes in as planned we party in three weeks. Now, so all of you know our next meeting will be in the abandoned K-Mart in Arnold. I think we’ve been using this place a little too long.”
“I’ve been here too long myself. But, I did pick a good time to eavesdrop. I wouldn’t have suspected a change of meeting place. Let alone all the way out in Arnold. But then again the meeting might be irrelevant now that I now know who is next.”
Wren climbs back off the roof, and heads back to her bike, throwing her leg over it and watching the door.
“Now I just wait for Hacker to emerge.”
It’s another hour before the meeting breaks up and they head for their cars.
“Everyone but Hacker seems to be leaving. Oh there you are, nice, that car should be easy to follow bright yellow and loud.
Wren follows him home trying to be careful not to follow too closely and give herself away again. He takes her back into roughly the same neighborhood as where she found the first three. They head down Chippewa from Hampton driving past a half dozen police cars around the wrecked Monte Carlo now sitting in a store window. A couple of turns later finds Wren at Lindenwood park. She stops down the road from where she sees Hacker pull into a driveway.
“These guys live so close they could meet in each other's living rooms. All right, already, how long does it take to park that thing?”
She takes advantage of his tedious parking and pulls over to the park. Parking her bike she takes some cover and watches her query through her binoculars.
“Okay from the size of that bag he must have the laptop with him. Now go inside already, first floor lights perfect he set it down by the window. Darn! I can’t see him from here. I don’t want to get any closer but I need to see what all is on that laptop, if he’s as organized as any other computer geek I can bet it's just loaded with all kinds of information.”
Wren moves closer crossing the now deserted street and heading to the window where she saw him set down the laptop.
“It figures the light would go off as soon as I get to the window. Oh luck, the window’s open. Now if I take the laptop and run he may be too on his guard to get him later so it’s now or never.”
Wren goes back to her bike and gets her night vision goggles and pair of wire cutters. When she gets back to the house she cuts the lock on the electric meter, opens the lid, pulls the meter out, and cuts the phone line. Then going back to the window she swallows hard and climbs in.
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