The Lost Testament

79

Bronson had already looked all around the building, doing his initial reconnoitre. As far as he could tell, both cameras were focused on comparatively small areas, in the immediate vicinity of each doorway. There were no cameras covering the parking area in front of the structure. Or, if there were, he hadn’t seen them.

Two of the cars he had observed earlier were parked directly in front of the larger of the two doors, while the third vehicle was further away, over to one side. He could watch from there and be hidden from view, but still be close enough to the building to react quickly to intercept anybody who came out.

He moved towards the car as fast as he could to minimize his exposure to any potential watchers inside the building, and then ducked down behind it, crouching in the shadows.

For about five minutes, he concentrated all his attention on the building in front of him and the area immediately around it, just in case anybody inside had seen his fast but stealthy approach. But he saw nobody, and no indication of any imminent threat.

Despite what he’d said to Angela, he was worried about the two cameras. If it came to breaking in, he thought he would probably be able to open the door with his collection of home-made picks. But trying to do that while being watched by the unblinking eye of a closed-circuit television camera was a very different situation. If it came to that, his best option might be to rely on speed and violence rather than stealth, to smash the lock with a round or two of nine-millimetre Parabellum ammunition.

The problem with that scenario, of course, was that if the occupants were also armed, he’d probably find himself facing two or more men carrying pistols the moment he entered the building. And that didn’t sound like a particularly good idea.

He was also keenly aware that there was no certainty that George Stebbins was actually inside the premises and, even if he was there, that he was alive. He could be embarking on a fool’s errand.

A sudden metallic sound from in front of him interrupted his reverie. He crouched lower behind the car and peered cautiously around the front of the vehicle. As he watched, the pedestrian door in the front of the building swung open and a figure stepped out and walked briskly across to one of the parked cars. The hazard flashers on the vehicle pulsed twice as he approached. He walked over to the back of the car and opened the boot.

Bronson knew immediately that this was the best chance he was likely to get.