There is a world that breathes fire and brimstone… but rather than be afraid, its enticing green allure intoxicates many people.
There is an underground network of deception and fraud. A huge snake slithering under the very fabric of a civilized society.
The scent of money fuels its passion.
Those that are hypnotized become part of a culture that scams, cons, steals, and deceives. And even kills.
They become part of the snake. And their voracious appetites are never satiated.
Trapped in this maze are the gullible citizens that the snake preys upon.
It’s only a matter of time before you fall into its grasp and become its next victim.
It’s only a matter of time before you’re gasping for breath.
The players that roll the dice, come from all parts of society. And they play a wide variety of deceitful games very well.
The black market helps them. The internet helps them.
Need a fake ID? No problem. Need a fake Social Security number? No problem. Need a fake degree that you can put on your office wall? No problem. Fake death certificate? No problem. Fake work permit? No problem. Fake naturalization papers? No problem. Fake passport? No problem. Fake tax return from the IRS? No problem. Fake vendors license? No problem. Fake Sales tax number? No problem.
The list goes on and on.
I received information that a couple was going away for the weekend. They live in the well to do Brooklyn Heights area. The husband is a collector of rare coins. He keeps them in a wall safe.
He either shows the rare coins off whenever he has company, or transacts business in his home. That’s why he needs them to be readily available.
Can you believe the ego this guy has? What a narcissistic personality. He probably thought that he would never get robbed. Is he someone special?
This was an easy score. I canvassed the area. I always do that before a job. It’s just common sense.
They live on the second floor and the building is on the corner. There is no other building across the street. Just small businesses that would be closed late at night. Perfect. No prying eyes to be worried about.
Amazingly, they have a fire escape around the back of the building. Easy for me to climb up. Could this get any easier? They should just hand me the keys.
How am I going to get the wall safe open?
The wall safe was installed a month ago.
One of the people cleaning up the mess that the construction workers left after putting in the wall safe, found a paper with a combination number on it. It was carelessly left by the safe. The guy took a picture of it with his cell phone.
All his contacts needed now was a time when the couple were going away. A time when they won’t be home. When they found that out, they would contact my people.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
It was easy getting the window open. Do you know what a glass cutter is?
It is a tool used to make a scratch on the surface of glass, creating a weak point that allows the glass to be broken cleanly along the scratched surface. I made a hole big enough for my hand to get through, and unlocked the window.
I learned that it’s a good idea to put fast acting cement glue in the middle of where you’re scratching with the glass cutter. I usually glue a small handle to the window. This way, instead of pushing the glass in… you can pull it out. That way the glass won’t fall to the floor and make any noise.
I was in.
I don’t know why, but I always tiptoe around. I turned on my small flashlight so that I could see. I thought I heard something. What was that? I ran into the closet and closed the door behind me. I left it open wide enough so that I could take a peek.
Through the crack I saw two enormous German Shepherd dogs. I don’t know if they saw me or could smell me, but they started barking viciously at the closet door.
I was trapped.
I wondered if any of the neighbors could hear them. They were making quite a racket.
I was afraid.
If the dogs didn’t get me the cops would. Someone is bound to call them.
The dogs are making too much noise. Why didn’t they hear me earlier? Before I opened the window. If I would’ve seen them… I would have left.
Were they asleep? Were they eating? Were they humping on each other?
The information that I received was bad. It was bad. No mention of dogs.
And these were not small or medium sized German Shepherds. They looked like they were on steroids. I thought of calling my uncle. What was I thinking about? He was in jail.
I had to use my brain. I had to calm myself down. I had to think.
I started talking nicely to the dogs. “Here boy… nice boy. Do you want a treat? A dog bone?” I kept talking and talking. “Do you want to play fetch with a ball?”
They weren’t barking as much. They were calming down. I continued talking to them softly and then I opened up the door wide enough so that I could stick out my left hand. My right hand held my glass cutter. My heart was pounding. I started petting one of the dogs. They both started wagging their tails.
I continued talking to them. “Good boy… good boy.”
Were they playing me for a fool? If I came out… would they tear me to pieces?
The story will be continued in The Burglar 4
Thank you for reading, your feedback is warmly appreciated and anxiously awaited.
Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash
Fictional stories by John Saccone 
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