CLICK : Part 42 - The FBI And The ABC.

As I drove into the cul de sac, I slowed even further than necessary. Crystal grabbed my arm. Penny and Andy were leaning forward. Our wolf pack had sensed something was amiss. I crept forward at under 5 mph, all four of us scanning the surroundings.

"Mr Tanaka isn't sitting out front." Crys pointed at his porch, where he spent most summer evenings. "Stop here, I'll go round the back and check on him."
That was not something I was happy with, she could tell by my face. Hers told me this wasn't something she was going to argue over. I nodded reluctantly. Pen handed her the .38 snub nosed revolver, without being asked. Crystal slipped it into her jacket pocket before she exited the vehicle.
"Andy. Let's get the drones out. Scout out the situation."
"Already on it." He replied, the remote sitting on his lap. "Open up the rear door so I can get it out. Take the other one up a couple of hundred feet so we can get a real birdseye view."
Penny cocked her favorite Glock, jacking a round into its chamber.
"They better not have hurt Mr Tanaka. I like him. He swears a lot."
I'd already parked on the side of the street, by the time I'd got my drone into the air Crys was vaulting over a low fence and heading back to us.
"He spotted a couple of guys poking around our place."
"Has he called the police?" I asked.
"No. He said he thinks they are the police."
I took my drone up high, while Andy kept his only twenty feet above the ground. Using cover he brought it to the front of our home.
"Not unheard of where we're concerned." I mused aloud. "I'm pretty sure he's close with that assessment. Got anything Andy?"
"No. Everything looks normal out front. What have you got?"
"Nothing... Hang on. Movement to the rear of the workshop."
"I'll sneak over the roof. Whoever it is must have arrived in some kind of transport. Shit... Almost got spotted. There's at least two of them."
"Don't take any risks. I've spotted a car up on the escarpment behind the house. Looks empty, I'll try to get a license plate. Boot up the laptop Pen please."

The car was empty. The license plate didn't exist on any database, and thanks to Heather and Wesley we had access to all of them. There were a minimum of three, it was time to get out of there and head up to the escarpment. It was a two mile trip, taking less than five minutes. As soon as we got there we checked the car out, while Andy took over my drone. Whatever they'd been doing it was finished. We could see them making their way to the steep zigzagging path up the eighty foot slope. While they were struggling and sweating their way to us, we reviewed the video. Definitely three men. They'd been checking on something before they'd headed back. The four of us, armed to the teeth, ducked down out of view. Ten minutes later the black clad men reached the top. Puffing and panting for all they were worth. Their faces dropped when we came into view.

"Hands behind your heads. One move and you're dead. Don't even blink." Crystal growled, her rifle aimed right at their heads.
They looked at each other. Understood they didn't stand a chance. Not with four weapons pointed at them.
"FBI." One of them declared confidently, gesturing towards his pocket with his head and one raised arm.
"ABC." Crys responded sarcastically. "That doesn't mean dick either. Now very slowly, using only the fingers of your left hand, get out your badge. Drop it on the ground in front of you, then take a step back. Very, very slowly."
He did just as he was ordered a smirk appearing on his face.
"You've just got yourselves into a bundle of trouble. Interfering with a Federal investigation."
"Why would the Feds be investigating us?" I asked innocently. "You other two step back as well. Nice and slow like shit for brains did. Pen, check out his badge." She edged forward cautiously her pistol pointing right into the face of the middle one. "I asked why would the Feds be investigating us. Don't fucking look at each other for answers."
There was no explanation forthcoming. They obviously couldn't come up with a convincing lie. Pen was crouching over the badge, she flipped the wallet open with her finger.
"Looks pretty convincing. I think this one might be telling the truth."
The three of them had far too confident an air about them for my liking.
"Have you got a warrant by any chance? You know. The legally required document you need to trespass on private property. And please don't say probable cause."
That took some of the air out. It also made them look at each other again. When the middle one looked down at Pen, the three of us stepped forward. Point blank range so they'd be looking right the barrels of the three guns. I could actually see the idea taking shape in his head. When Penny stood up he'd make his move. She must have seen it as well, because she deliberately stumbled to her feet and pushed him back over the precipice. He didn't scream that loudly. It was more a surprised wail.
"Whoops. I'm really clumsy aren't I." Our blonde giggled.
The other two were so stunned, that instead of getting the hell out of there, they began to bluster. As Crystal shoved the one in front of her with the barrel of her rifle, putting him off balance. Before shouldering him off the cliff. Andy and I took care of the third one. The dumb bastard didn't appear capable of believing this was happening, as he teetered on the edge. The fear in his eyes was most satisfying. He screamed the loudest. The four of us looked down at the broken twisted bodies. Andy sighed.
"I'll get the drone up again. Looks like one of them might still be alive. I'm not walking all the way there to check."
"There's been a tragic accident Pen. I'm really glad you're my best friend and not my worst enemy." My angel shrugged. "I always knew you had a good brain inside your head along with all those hats, shoes and dresses."
Andy and I grinned.
"And best thing is, officially nobody knows they were here." He chortled. "Round one to us I think. I'll let dad know the shit's going down, without going into too many details."

I love these new keyless cars. With the right equipment and software you can get in, start them up and drive away inside 30 seconds. Our search revealed little of interest. We stuck a tracker on it anyway. So if and when the Three Stooges were missed we'd find out where they took it. It might provide a lead. It might not. Now we needed to find out what they'd been up to at our place.

They'd been very careful in covering their tracks. Their only problem being all the efforts were pointless. Crystal was able to trace everything they'd done. She could even work out a pretty accurate timeline of their activities. They'd planted five devices at strategic points, which were subsequently discovered to be highly sophisticated fire bombs. Not sophisticated enough to disguise the arson, but that wasn't necessary. They'd have buried any investigation before it even started. Wesley was confident they would have been activated by a cell phone signal, firing off almost simultaneously. Now if they were constant with their modus operandi, I knew they'd have kept our house under surveillance. Waited until we were inside and asleep before someone else set them off. I was correct. A week later, two men torched themselves. It was a risk, I knew. I wanted to send them a message though. Make them aware we were aware. Place the worm of doubt in their minds.

Constant success builds overconfidence. Things are learned from failure. Most failures come at the beginning though. When they happen after a long winning streak, it's far harder to adapt and learn. For some reason the pathways for their success become ingrained. Very nearly instinctive. Often leading to the mistaken assumption the loss was merely a statistical fluke. You humans are like that. You become very set in your ways. What worked before should work again, as it always had done up to now. Fortuitously the bodies of the three men we'd disposed of, weren't found until after we left.

We spent a week at the house. Primarily to give the impression we didn't suspect anything was amiss. It also gave us time to install some security measures. Motion sensors and high definition cameras inside and out. All of them linked to our laptops and pads. If anyone came along after we left, we'd know about it and have good footage. It might come in handy in the future. Anything of value was removed however. The entire contents of Crystal's workshop, along with those items I held dear. Packed up and shipped off to safety one dark night. When the would be arsonists committed suicide we slipped away in the confusion. It was quite the firework display. Very impressive. We watched them burn. I think their puppet masters got the message. Now it was going to be underlined and highlighted. Some lessons need to be driven home with immense force.