The large mansion on St. Paul's wealthiest street loomed above him, the brown bricks towering in the sky... and Justin felt awful as he rang Colby's doorbell. Leaving Adelyn behind had been by far the hardest thing he'd ever done.
When the butler answered the door, he gave Justin a strange glance, but let him in anyway. Right away, his eyes wound up the grand staircase and saw Colby's feet spiraling down the dark wooden steps.
"Ah," Colby said, cracking a smile when his eyes met his guest's. "If you've come here to discuss the same matter we talked about during our last meeting, then lie to me and tell me you want to talk about something else. The last thing I want to hear about is your love life."
"Which is now nonexistent," Justin mumbled under his breath.
Colby's black shoes hit the hardwood floor with a thump as he stepped down from the last stair. "What was that?" he asked abruptly.
"I was just wondering when I could get another job."
His comment seemed to please Colby. "Hard up for cash, Justin?" he said, a smirk plastering itself across his face.
"No," Justin frowned. "I'm anxious. I need something to do."
Colby raised his eyebrows. "Well, you sure change your tune quickly," he observed.
Justin nodded, though felt like hitting his boss in the nose. How the hell could he change his mind when he hadn't been given any options? "When's the next job?" he asked again.
"You came at a good time," Colby nodded. "I was just about to plan tonight out. Let's go sit in my office and discuss this in more detail."
Justin followed Colby down the main hallway and through the doorway. Colby led him through another set of doors and then down a few flights of cement steps. They wound through a hallway and rows of doors appeared suddenly on either side of them. Colby opened one on the right and they sat down around his desk.
"Look here," Colby said, unrolling the blueprints to his latest project, and turning them so they faced Justin as he put his finger down on the page. "Here's the entrance. You get through there, and go down this hall. The main terminal is on the forth door to your left. It has a pretty hefty security system, but I know someone on the inside who gave me the code." Colby wrinkled his nose. "For a price. Anyway, this building does have a silent alarm, so you have to be very careful once you're in the room. There're a few red beams going across the doorway, so maneuver around them anyway you can. Once you get to the computer," Colby said, his finger moving across the outlined room. "It'll be right here... you'll have to enter another code. I got that one too... for an even steeper price." He looked up at his employee. "Justin, it cost me a lot to get this information, so don't screw anything up. You're incredible at this and I trust you... but even the best man can make a mistake. This would not be the time to get caught. Understand?"
Justin nodded as he stared down at the blueprints.
"This deal will get me the most money I've ever gotten from one job," Colby said in a dreamlike state. "If we can pull this off, I'll be an even richer man." Suddenly, he looked back at Justin and smiled. "And so will you."
Justin raised his eyebrows. "If?" he said. "If we pull this off? Do you have doubts that I can't handle it?"
"No," Colby blinked at him. "I meant if we can actually get the projected money out of this deal in the long run. I have no doubt that you will pull through for me, Justin."
He stared at his boss for a moment and then took a quick breath. "So, where are those codes and what time should I show up?"
Adelyn tapped her fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the music while Pertel sat in the passenger seat with his arms folded across his chest. Once again, Adelyn beat him out in the fight to control radio stations. She turned left on the corner of 4th and Nicolet and drove cautiously down the street. The city was crowded tonight with Twins fans, and not to mention all those down at the Target Center. Aparently there was a big concert that was just ending. With so many people hanging around, anything could happen.
Closer to the Target Center, there was a group of young men standing on the corner... and there appeared to be an arguement. Adelyn sighed as she flashed the lights and pulled up next to the men. As soon as they saw that a police car was coming, they shut their mouths and faced toward it.
Pertel and Adelyn prepared to deal with the situation and got out of the squad car. Pertel approached first. "Is there a problem here?" he asked.
Justin, dressed all in black and securely wearing all the equiptment he would need, stepped softly down the upstairs hallway. He was breathing heavily after climbing all fourteen flights, but tried his best to be as quiet as he could. The hall was dark, but his eyes were now used to little light, and he could see his destination at the end of the hallway, almost as clear as day.
Once there, he pressed his fingertip to the black and white buttons with careful precision, entering the exact code. Before he knew it, he was granted access into the room... but not until he could get around the red beams that flashed across the doorway. Justin studied how each beam fell, and the judged that a gap toward the floor would be his best bet.
He got down on his knees and stared through the hole. He knew that if any part of him so much as knicked the edge of one of the beams, the silent alarm would be sounded. He was pretty confident that he could get through without setting the alarm off.
Slowly, he climbed halfway through the gap, and then paused. How was he going to get his legs to the other side? Without thinking about it anymore, he dove through the rest of the way and did a summersault to the ground. He landed not so gracefully on the ground, and barrelled into the trash can, knocking it over with a loud clank. Before scurrying to pick everything up, he rubbed his sore shoulder. Justin crossed his fingers and prayed that he hadn't set that alarm off.
He looked around the room and spotted what he was looking for. Next, he had to get into the computer, and then he could work on getting the hell out of there.
Once he had everything he needed, he turned the computer back off. As he moved away from the monitor, he got this weird tightening feeling in his chest and he put his hand over his heart. For a moment, he felt light headed, but then took a deep breath and felt a little better. But that feeling in his chest wouldn't go away. He rubbed his eyes and when he looked around, everything was dark from the pressure.
He knew he had to get out, but his feet felt like cement. Slowly, he made his way to the door... then realized that the red beams were gone. Panic struck as he looked around the room, wondering what to do.
Get out, his body told him. Get out fast.
He took a long step forward and reached for the doorknob. Just before his hand got to the metal, he noticed the handle slowly turning downward.
Justin froze, sucking in his breath as his blood ran cold.
Before he could even think about running, the door flew open and he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
The man holding the gun told him to stay still, but Justin could barely hear him. His ears seemed to be plugged. The man behind the gunman, who looked vaguely familiar, yelled for Justin to put his hands up.
Justin realized he had the disk in his hands. Before obeying anything, he cracked it in half and shoved it inside his black jacket. Then, he put his hands up.
Chapter 16
Paying the Consequences
Justin {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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