Chapter 9 - The Night Watch-9
Saturday night fell over Columbus like a heavy black velvet sheet. The neighborhood was dead silent, save for the wind rustling through the bare oak branches along the driveway.
Inside the Lawson home, every single light was turned off.
Gabriel sat in an armchair in the corner of the darkened living room, holding a high-definition night-vision camcorder in his lap. On the floor beside him sat a heavy steel tire iron from his semi-truck cab.
Upstairs, Lucas was safe at Frank Vance’s secure residential compound, guarded by two retired state troopers. Gabriel was alone in the house.
At 1:45 AM, the soft purr of a vehicle engine echoed down the quiet street.
Gabriel leaned forward, looking through the living room blinds. A dark blue Ford SUV pulled into the driveway, its headlights turned off. The vehicle coasted to a stop behind Gabriel’s truck.
Four figures stepped out into the damp night air: Candice, Evelyn, Patricia, and Wyatt.
They walked quickly, stealthily, toward the side garage entrance. Candice pulled out her key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it.
The heavy door creaked open smoothly.
They stepped into the kitchen, moving quietly in the pitch-black house. Evelyn carried a heavy tactical flashlight, shining its narrow beam along the floor.
“Quiet, Wyatt,” Patricia whispered sharply as the boy stumbled over a rug. “Keep your feet light.”
“Is he here?” Candice whispered nervously, her voice trembling as she looked around the dark kitchen. “His truck is parked outside!”
“His truck is there, but he’s probably out searching for us or at a lawyer’s office,” Evelyn said coldly, her sharp voice echoing softly off the quartz counter. “We get into the basement, open the safe, grab the paper ledgers and the offshore access drives, and we’re across the Canadian border by sunrise.”
They walked down the hallway toward the basement door. Evelyn pushed the door open, revealing the dark wooden stairs leading down into the cellar.
They descended one by one, their footsteps echoing against the concrete walls.
Gabriel stood up from his armchair in the living room. He walked quietly down the hallway, stepping with deliberate, noiseless precision until he reached the top of the basement stairs.
Down below, the flashlight beam illuminated the far corner of the basement. Evelyn was standing in front of the main electrical breaker panel. She swung the metal panel open, reached behind the wiring conduit, and pressed a small hidden button.
A section of the concrete wall clicked and popped open three inches, revealing a heavy steel keypad safe set deep into the foundation blocks.
“Quick, Mom,” Candice urged, looking nervously over her shoulder toward the dark staircase. “Enter the code.”
Evelyn rapidly punched six digits into the keypad: 0-4-1-2-0-5—the date of Clara’s death.
The heavy steel safe unlatched with a loud THUNK.
Evelyn pulled the heavy door open. Inside lay three thick black binder ledgers, four encrypted USB hardware wallets, and stacks of foreign currency bundles totaling over $500,000.
“We have it,” Evelyn said, a cruel, triumphant smirk appearing on her weathered face. “We have everything.”
At that exact moment, a loud, metallic CLICK echoed from the top of the stairs.
The bright overhead floodlights installed in the basement ceiling suddenly blasted on, illuminating every square inch of the room in blinding white light.
Candice screamed, dropping her flashlight. Evelyn shielded her eyes, gasping as she spun around.
May you like
Standing at the top of the basement stairs, blocking the only exit, was Gabriel Lawson. He held his night-vision camcorder in his left hand, recording their faces in crisp 4K resolution, and the heavy steel tire iron in his right.
“Looking for something, Evelyn?” Gabriel asked, his voice echoing off the concrete walls like thunder.
