Hulk Chapter 7 #2
Capri sat down and was chatting away with the ladies, which was a good thing. It was nice to see her at ease. I noticed Soren and Thoryn were hanging by the bar. They kept casting glances her way. I had news for them. They’d better not get any ideas. If they did, I’d yank a knot in their tails.
“You ready for this?” Cyclone asked.
“I am. You?”
“You know me. I’m always ready for some snooping or action. How about Celeste?” he asked.
“Celeste is more than ready. And she’ll do fine,” I assured him.
“Here she comes,” Wire said.
As she sauntered to us, I cataloged her. Even in unflattering coveralls, her hair pulled up in a ponytail and no makeup, she was stunning. Her body filled out the overalls better than any I’d ever seen.
“Damn,” I heard Cyclone mutter. I shot him a glare. He said no more. Wire, on the other hand, smirked.
“Will I do?” she asked as she joined us.
“You’ll do. We should head out. Remember to bring nothing with you other than these and sunglasses.
You don’t want them to be able to identify you,” I reminded her as I handed her a badge and a work ID.
Both claimed the same as the patch on our overalls and the fake sign on the side of the van we were bringing.
They read North Carolina Bird Rescue & Research.
The bird we were supposed to be checking for was the red-cockaded woodpecker.
“Where did you get these badges and the other things?” she asked.
“Haven’t you heard, Celeste? I’m a magician. Ask, and you shall receive.” Wire waved his hand in the air like he held a wand. She smiled and shook her head.
“I see you’re so humble. Alright, Mr. Magician, and you woodpecker chasers, is there anything else we need to do before we leave?” she asked.
“Go say goodbye to Capri, then we can head out,” I told her.
She went over, hugged her niece, and whispered in her ear for several moments.
When Celeste was finished, Capri nodded and gave her a weak smile.
Celeste rejoined us, then the four of us left the clubhouse.
I sat in the backseat with her, leaving Cyclone up front with Wire.
To sell the lie, we had small cages, nets, and other paraphernalia that I wasn’t familiar with in the back of the van.
Wire had been the one to research what we’d need to sell it.
The ride wasn’t a long one. Small talk passed the time.
Celeste joined in. I watched her for signs of chickening out, and saw none.
My admiration for her grew. When we arrived at the address, I scanned the front of the property.
It had a gate and a winding driveway that ended at the top of a small hill, where a mini-mansion stood.
I bet it was something to see in the summer with the green lawn, numerous flower beds, and the trees.
At the gate, it had a speaker and button setup like the one we had at the compound. Wire pressed the button.
A minute later, a man answered, “Yes, how may I help you?”
“We’re here from the North Carolina Bird Rescue & Research program. Mr. and Mrs. Seymour are expecting us,” Wire stated matter-of-factly.
There was barely a pause before the man replied, “Yes, we’ve been expecting you. Please come up the drive and park off to the left of the entrance. You’ll be met on the front veranda.”
The man sounded bored. I wondered if it was an employee or Mr. Seymour.
I bit my tongue as Wire gave an affirmative murmur.
The gate before us opened smoothly, though more slowly than I liked.
If someone were attempting to get inside, they’d have a ton of time to slip in with how slow that damn gate moved.
I studied the surroundings as we wound to the top of the hill. Cyclone was doing the same. I caught Celeste checking it out. We found the place we were to park next to a luxury sedan. Wire backed the van into the spot. If we had to make a quick getaway, it was better to be facing outward.
Before exiting the van, we all put on baseball-style hats and sunglasses, including Celeste.
They would help to disguise us. We made it to the veranda and were about to ring the doorbell when the door opened.
There stood none other than Mr. Seymour.
Behind him was his wife. I knew it was them from the photos Wire had found online and shown us.
“Hello, we’re from the—,” Wire stated, but was kept from saying more by Seymour.
“I know who you are. You’re with that bird place. You’re here to inspect the grounds. I can assure you that we have none of those, whatever you said they were. I want to know who reported that we did,” Mr. Seymour said, crankily.
“Are you the owner?” Wire asked.
“Yes, I’m Jason Seymour. My wife and I own this property.”
“Well, Mr. Seymour, I promise it won’t take more than a few hours to inspect the property to determine whether you have any of the red-cockaded woodpeckers or not.
However, as I said on the phone, during our inspection, no one can be here.
We’ll be outside the entire time. However, these birds are very easily rattled.
Anything that can impact their mating or egg-laying abilities must be avoided at all costs.
It’s our policy to ensure nothing harms the birds and not to disturb the homeowners,” Wire kept explaining.
“I need to see your identification. And I want the name of whoever called you people,” Seymour said snappishly.
“Of course, we’ll show you our IDs. As for the reporter's name, we’re unable to disclose it. It was anonymous.”
As we each handed over our fake IDs, I heard Seymour mutter, “Of course, it was anonymous.” We pretended not to listen to him.
The entire time Wire spoke to him, we remained silent, and so did his wife.
She cast anxious looks at her husband, then at us.
I was surprised he didn’t scrutinize the identification we gave him more closely, but it worked for us.
After he was done, Mr. Seymour handed them back to Wire and shrugged.
“Everyone else has left. My wife and I will be spending the day at the country club. We will be back promptly at five p.m. You need to be gone by then. How will I know whether you found any of those little bastards?”
“If there are any, we’ll leave a sign posted on the door to warn you of them.
We’ll be in touch in a week or two to finalize the details for their removal.
If that happens, you’ll have to stay somewhere else until we get every single one of them rounded up.
They’ll be taken to our sanctuary, where they’ll be released and preserved.
We’re determined not to let any of the endangered species of North Carolina perish.
” The passion and sincerity in Wire’s voice as he answered him were incredible.
Rolling his eyes, Seymour stepped further outside.
Up until then, he hung inside the doorway with his wife behind him.
As soon as he did that, he reached back, snagged his wife’s arm, and yanked her out.
She stumbled. He made a production of arming his security alarm and then locking up.
Mr. Seymour didn’t spare his wife even a tiny glance.
Smiling smugly when he was done, he walked off, almost dragging his wife without a word. We stayed there until they were in their car. Then we left the veranda and went to our “work” van. Opening the back doors, we got to work, pretending to gather equipment.
We kept that going until they were out of sight. Wire pulled his cell phone from his pocket. It was a couple of minutes before he gave us the all-clear.
“They’ve left the property. I got an alarm set to alert if he returns or if anyone opens the gate,” Wire stated.
“How can you know?” Celeste asked.
He smirked. “I placed a tiny camera on the post at the gate and another under the wheel well of their car. If movement back here occurs or the gate is accessed, it’ll set off an alarm.
There’s one more thing I'd like to do before we begin. I have to ensure that no one is inside that house. While I do that, why don’t you three head to the backyard?
Oh, don’t forget to put on your gloves,” he added, as he pulled a pair of black leather gloves from his pocket and slipped them on.
The three of us did the same. As we walked to the side of the house to enter the backyard, Wire carried his trusty pack, which contained equipment to bypass security alarms and more.
We left Cyclone to have a look around the patio and the backyard that was between the house and the pool.
Celeste and I went straight to the pool house.
No surprise it was locked. However, I had the skills to pick the lock.
We busied ourselves by walking its perimeter while I waited for Wire to text that there was no alarm system back here.
He assured me he’d be able to tell once he accessed the one inside.
He explained how, but, truth be told, it went in one ear and out the other.
Even a month after the party, there were impressions on the ground from multiple feet. Perennial shrubs surrounded the pool house. The few bare spots showed no disturbed ground. It was maybe five minutes or so before my phone beeped. I checked and saw Wire’s thumb-up.
“Let’s go,” I told her.
At the door, I crouched down and took out my lock picks.
“You can pick a lock? Wow, we have lived very different lives. You’ll have to teach me how to do that,” Celeste said, surprising me.
“You want me to teach you?”
“Yes, it might be a good thing to know.”
Chuckling, I went to work. In less than a minute, I felt and heard the tumbler drop into place.
Putting my picks away, I turned the handle and slowly opened the door a crack.
I trusted my brother, but it was never a waste to be extra careful.
No blaring alarm caused me to let out a breath. I opened it wide and stepped inside.