Story-A-Day #22: Breaking In

BREAKING IN

I was cool as a cucumber; completely nonchalant. Of that I was certain. I wandered past the imposing facility and barely afforded a direct glance. From the perspective of an average observer, I was just a dude out for a walk. Of course the people guarding the facility were not average observers, they were machine gun wielding gorillas chuffing at the air.

It was a little tense, but as I passed the facility, I noticed a few things. None of them were good.

An impossibly tall fence lined the perimeter, a curl of razor wire lining its top like a twisted set of titanium shark teeth. Where the fence met the building, a pair of turret like guard towers rose up from the courtyard, and perched statue-like within each tower was a guard, an intensely focused, heavily armed guard.

I had scouted the rear of the building a few days earlier and knew that it was not an access point. In fact, the only feasible way in was either through the front door, or from the roof.

I wandered into the forest that lined the open expanses surrounding the building and positioned myself behind a decent blind of dense sumacs and shrubs. The front door was the only legitimate entrance, but it was guarded in a fashion that made the term “heavy” seem like an understatement. I watched as the armed guards cycled positions; every hour on the half.

After a few hours, I wandered a little deeper into the forest and found a solid oak tree that stretched up into the forest canopy. I carefully made my way up the branches seeking a nice vantage point. Half way up I froze.

There had been a small sound below. I probably would not have noticed it had I not been on high alert already. I waited a few moments and then saw the source of the noise, not a patrolling guard, but a tawny hided deer.

I continued up the tree until I found my perch. It was a fairly modest sized facility really, a nondescript rectangle of dull grey concrete placed at the mathematical centre of the large open clearing that surrounded it. From the edge of the forest to the cold grey walls there was nothing but grass and a ringed dirt track used for perimeter patrols. There were no ditches, trees, shrubs, or cover of any kind.

I pulled out a small range finder and scanned the roof of the building. There it was, a single vent that provided the airflow to the facility. It was a Dittman EX-9 Series, plenty of space to weasel through and decent sized shafts. It looked like that was going to be my in, the only thing I needed now was a way to get up onto the roof.

This would take a little more planning after all. I figured it would but time was of the essence and I was starting to worry that I had wasted too much of it all ready. I was going to need backup, and I would need to call it in soon, but first I had some schematics to review.

Based on my recon today, I had about a 0.001% margin of error on this. Anything outside of that would mean a bullet in the brain and no body for my funeral; not exactly an option. I needed to get in, get out, and get the hell away before they knew I’d even been there.

I needed a better plan.