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My walkie-talkie squawked from local radio traffic, so I turned it off. Didn’t need it giving away my location.
I crept around to the back of the house and peered into the windows at a dark kitchen. I paused and listened for any sounds of activity. I had no idea how many people were inside. Didn’t want to walk into an ambush if I could help it.
After several minutes of hearing nothing but the sounds of the desert, I figured I had the advantage of surprise. I pulled out my lockpicks and set to work on the back door. Both the door handle lock and the dead bolt were set. The main lock yielded in just a few minutes with little bother. Just a run-of-the-mill five-pin lock. The dead bolt, on the other hand, was a whole other story.
The security pins refused to cooperate. Just when I thoug
