It was 11.00pm on Friday. The silent alarm and security lighting were triggered when Carla walked within view of the external cameras. She quickly moved to a blind spot and attached the disruptor, as she called it, to the wiring. It looked like a normal junction box and attached magnetically. All the disruptor needed to do was generate loud noise bursts outside the range of human hearing, and intense bursts of electrical interference that would induce small currents in the wiring. It simulated the effect of tampering and activity similar to a break in. Carla could switch it on and off remotely.
A security guard remote monitored her approach to the building, when the silent alarm went off. All he could see was a slightly built female, dressed in jeans and hoody; her face was never visible. A minute later, she walked off into the night.
He waited until the alarm reset. Several hours later, Carla tested the disruptor from the perimeter of the plot, beyond the camera range. After a second or two, the alarm system sent a silent alarm and turned on all the security lights, inside the building and around the outside. The sounds and sensor triggering were everywhere; a full alert was confirmed.
Police were alerted and within ten minutes a security team attended to the alarm. Remote monitoring confirmed no persons or vehicles had entered the premises. It was possible someone had tricked the video feed, so a physical visit was the only way to be certain it was a false alarm.
Because the alarm did not reset, technicians were called to correct the fault, so the owner had to unlock and let them in.
Before they arrived, Carla switched off the disruptor.
At random times throughout the night, the disruptor was alternately switched on and off. The police and security staff hung about all night, becoming more frustrated by the minute. The following day, Saturday, technicians replaced the circuitry in the alarm control box, effectively the brain of the system. They tested all the wiring for short circuits and loose connections.
Carla let them think the problem was solved, until the premises were closed again for the night. At random times, she switched the disruptor on and off, observing that the police were no longer attending.
During Sunday, the technicians took the system apart and replaced everything. The moment they left the building, Carla activated the disruptor again.
Jack’s men were also busy throughout the area, activating alarms and causing minor damage requiring police call out.
It was approaching midnight and the owner was the only person to attend when the alarm went off. He unlocked and went in to switch off the system and guard the building himself.
Wearing a grey jogging suit with hooded top, gloves and carrying a knapsack, Carla ran to the door the owner had just used, and went in. She hoped to tie him up, get the combination for the safe, and use his keys to unlock the rear warehouse door.
She darted into the office but it was empty, so she looked around for the keys. The owner crept in, silent as a shadow and made a grab for her. Carla leapt away, turning, to face a massive man. When she had previously seen the owner at a distance, she thought he was just obese, but he was also muscular. His face was florid, probably from rage.
He stood still, blocking her escape and decided how to catch her. She had to lure him away from the door as it was her only way out. She darted to one side and he lunged, to corner her, holding his arms wide as he closed in. She ducked under his right arm; he brought it down like a hammer on her back, catching her across the shoulder blades. Winded and in pain, she dived, rolling behind the desk.
“He’s very quick,” she thought, “another blow could finish me and I would have no chance of getting away.”
He saw his advantage; keep her trapped and deliver a damaging blow. She had no weapon, so couldn’t harm him. Encouraged, he darted to one side of the desk to lure her out, within striking range. Carla had no choice but to take a chance that she could out-maneuver him. She leapt away, he darted back. If he was angry before, now he was practically bursting with fury. She was as swift as a cat and twice as lucky.
The exertion and adrenalin made him gasp for breath and sweat poured off his body. Focused on his prey, the man started weaving from side to side, to drive Carla out from behind the desk.
The desk! He realized that was the way to catch her. “Push the desk into her and block her movements,” he thought. He pushed hard on the front of the desk in an attempt to corral her - it hardly budged. The piece of massive mahogany furniture was embedded in the deep pile of the carpet, but he was not giving up. His huge arms bulged as he leaned into the furniture.
Carla leapt onto the desk top and over him. He swiped upwards and struck her, so she fell clumsily to the floor. He would be on her in a second, so she rolled on her back like a submissive animal.
He spun around, stood up and started to lunge at her, but a crippling pain held him back. He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest. He collapsed on his front and lay still.
“Heart attack” she thought, “he is dying!”
She rolled him over and felt his carotid artery; there was no pulse. Checking that inside his mouth was clear, she breathed into it and started CPR. She reached up and pulled the phone to the floor. Between breathing into him and compressions, she dialed 911 and shouted for an ambulance to HiEndCars - the owner was having a heart attack.
Carla searched the body for keys as she worked, and also found a card with a number on it. The safe combination by the look of it. Minutes later, the ambulance arrived and the paramedics took over.
Carla had noticed the owner’s name on correspondence on the desk, so was able to give his name when asked who the patient was.
“Who are you?” the paramedic asked.
“His daughter. He’s been having trouble with break-ins, so I came with him. How is he?”
“Well, you may have saved his life. His condition is serious and we are taking him to hospital immediately. Are you ready to come with us?”
“No, I must lock up here first and tell Mum. We will come down as soon as we can.”
They heaved the body into the ambulance and drove away.
Carla unlocked the safe and removed a tray of labelled ignition keys. Next she went into the warehouse and unlocked the roller door. Whilst it rumbled open, she started each car and noted their fuel levels. All were showing empty.
She carried small radio transmitters in her knapsack, one for each car and placed them on the GPS tracking unit. The constant signal would jam the device.
“All the cars are running and ready to drive, come and get them.” she informed Jack on her mobile.
Jack could hardly believe she had pulled it off; he had seen the ambulance and wondered what could have gone wrong. Getting the cars away now should be easy.
Carla phoned an old adversary in the FBI; Agent Steve Wilcox. She told him about the meeting points where the cars would be loaded, warning him not to intervene until they had reached their destination. This would lead the FBI to the buyer.
Somewhat amazed, he asked how she knew about the heist. Briefly she explained that an innocent family were being blackmailed to carry it out, but she stepped in and did the work instead, to ensure the family’s safety. So she needed him to hold off the arrests until he had caught the whole gang and the buyer. Carla asked him to contact the wife of the owner, to go straight to the hospital. Her husband had suffered a serious heart attack.
“By the way, I’m sorry about Teal, I liked him a lot. I know he was your partner and you must still miss him.”
“Thanks for that Carla, I appreciate it. However, I’ll still hunt you down for your part in this heist.”
“You can try, but don’t expect to see me anytime soon,” retorted Carla.
A minibus pulled up and Jack’s men poured out.
Carla pointed to one of the cars. “I’m taking the black one, over there.”
“Did you neutralize the trackers?” asked Jack, ignoring what she said.
“Of course I did. I didn’t go to all this trouble to be caught that way.” She replied.
Jack just stared - there was someone behind her. She ducked, putting her hands over her head. It was too late – someone coshed her; she waited for the bullet that never came.
Jack had all he wanted, the cars and her defeat. He would leave her here for the police to find.
As the roar of the last car died away in the distance, Carla heaved herself up. She staggered through to the front of the building and climbed into the owner’s car. It was nothing special, just a cheap 4x4, but would serve her purpose. She raced after the last car, almost losing the red tail lights in the distance.
Fortunately, the police would not be aware of the theft at HiEndCars, or of the owner’s car, till daylight.
The superfast sports car ahead of her was no faster than the 4x4, in traffic so Carla soon caught up. The driver took care not to draw undue attention to it, and drove slowly.
As they headed out into the suburbs, she dropped back to avoid being spotted, as a tail. The sports car turned off into a warehouse and she pulled up some distance away. She called the FBI Agent, who confirmed he was on his way. It would be about 20 minutes before he and his team were in place.
“They’ll be long gone by then, Steve; I’d better keep eyes-on and update you as best I can.”
Using darkness and the cover of low bushes, Carla crept closer to the building, to look in. A simple frame had been made using rope and timber, to go under the wheels of the car; the crane then lifted it onto the lorry bed. They managed to fit two cars on the bed and covered the frame with a tarpaulin. It looked like a long, low box, with no hint of the cars underneath.
Fifteen minutes later, the lorry pulled out of the warehouse, and it was plunged into darkness. Carla ran back to the 4x4 and followed. She regretted not sneaking onto the lorry and hiding beneath the cover, as it pulled away. All she could do now was give its location and registration number to the FBI Agent, Steve Wilcox.
This was not part of her plan so she had no idea how far the lorry would be driven. The 4x4 had almost a full tank of fuel, but it dwindled quickly as the miles went by. If the lorry stopped she would sneak on board. In daylight she was bound to be spotted tailing the lorry.
When the lorry pulled in for refueling, the driver and his mate took it in turn for refreshment and a pee. Carla ditched the 4x4 and climbed aboard the lorry.
She realized she would be away from work so left a message with Human Resources that she had urgent personal matters to attend to and would be back in a couple of days. Carla considered updating Sam Leighton, but decided not to. She had never failed to complete any mission, but Sam did not appreciate her propensity to go off on her own.