Read Online Snakes & Ladders by Sean Slater - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sean Slater
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down there when you’re done.’ She leaned close, smiled, and whispered, ‘Want to borrow my rape whistle in case things go bad?’
‘You mean in case things go well .’ He smiled back at her, then shook his head. ‘If I can handle you, I can handle anyone, especially Wanda. I’ll pick you up in twenty.’
Felicia just rolled her eyes, gave his face a pat and left the store. With her gone, Striker locked the front door for Wanda – to prevent anyone from coming inside and stealing products – then entered the back room.
To reach the office, he had to cut through a small narrow stock room. Walls of motor oil, and candy bars filling the shelves. Everything smelled of lemons from the car deodorizers.
Tucked away in the far back corner of the store was a small nook, used to house the security system. Wanda was already standing over it, leaning forward over the desk. With her there, there was little room left for anyone else – much less a man of Striker’s six-foot-one, two-hundred-and-twenty-pound size. He did his best to lean over her shoulder and watch the security surveillance feed.
The video system was new, and that made Striker smile. The old one had been a software program called Omni-Eye. Striker had used it before. The program was slow, buggy, and crashed halfway through most of the applications – especially when burning video evidence for court. It was also not uncommon to burn the video, then leave with a blank DVD.
‘You guys switched to digital,’ he noted.
Wanda just shrugged. She used the mouse to navigate back through the video timeline.
Unlike most gas station security systems, the video for the Chevron at Hastings and Vernon was excellent. The new owner was a former military officer and, as such, took security very seriously. Striker had never met the man, but he sure appreciated all the benefits. He looked down at the timeline and said, ‘You’re getting close, Wanda. Slow the feed down.’
She did.
The machine read 1625 hours, and the angle of the exterior camera caught the northwest corner of the lot. This was the Vernon Drive entranceway. The camera had been placed there to catch the never-ending stream of Gas-n-Go fraudsters, which was becoming a pandemic nowadays. With any luck, the driver of the SUV would be driving tight to the kerb, and thereby visible. Any further out than that, and they’d be shit outta luck.
Striker watched the feed at normal speed.
‘I shoulda been a cop,’ Wanda said. ‘Or at least married one.’
‘You say that every time I see you.’
‘Because you never take the hint.’
Striker grinned. He was about to say something back, when he spotted a black SUV on the feed. The caller was right – the driver had been driving like an idiot. The vehicle raced down Vernon Drive, punched straight through the stop sign, and bulleted across East Hastings Street. It happened in less than two seconds. Given the time of day and the thickness of the rush-hour traffic, it was a wonder that no one was hurt. The vehicle was going so fast, Striker had to back up the video twice and slow down the speed to have any hope of making out the details. With the video in slow mode, the make and model of the SUV became apparent.
It was a Beamer, no doubt. And he had been right about the model.
An X5.
As for the driver, it was impossible to tell. The distance was too far and the angle bad. The speed of the vehicle also made the quality poor – not blurry, but definitely indistinct.
Striker doubted if the tech guys could even sharpen it.
‘It’s not very good, is it?’ Wanda asked, frowning.
‘It’s better than what I had coming down here.’
Wanda smiled at that.
The front door alarm buzzed – more customers trying to enter the gas station – so Striker told Wanda to go unlock the front door. She could leave the video with him. He knew how to work the system.
He spent the next ten minutes trying to magnify and sharpen the image. It wasn’t easy. But when he
‘You mean in case things go well .’ He smiled back at her, then shook his head. ‘If I can handle you, I can handle anyone, especially Wanda. I’ll pick you up in twenty.’
Felicia just rolled her eyes, gave his face a pat and left the store. With her gone, Striker locked the front door for Wanda – to prevent anyone from coming inside and stealing products – then entered the back room.
To reach the office, he had to cut through a small narrow stock room. Walls of motor oil, and candy bars filling the shelves. Everything smelled of lemons from the car deodorizers.
Tucked away in the far back corner of the store was a small nook, used to house the security system. Wanda was already standing over it, leaning forward over the desk. With her there, there was little room left for anyone else – much less a man of Striker’s six-foot-one, two-hundred-and-twenty-pound size. He did his best to lean over her shoulder and watch the security surveillance feed.
The video system was new, and that made Striker smile. The old one had been a software program called Omni-Eye. Striker had used it before. The program was slow, buggy, and crashed halfway through most of the applications – especially when burning video evidence for court. It was also not uncommon to burn the video, then leave with a blank DVD.
‘You guys switched to digital,’ he noted.
Wanda just shrugged. She used the mouse to navigate back through the video timeline.
Unlike most gas station security systems, the video for the Chevron at Hastings and Vernon was excellent. The new owner was a former military officer and, as such, took security very seriously. Striker had never met the man, but he sure appreciated all the benefits. He looked down at the timeline and said, ‘You’re getting close, Wanda. Slow the feed down.’
She did.
The machine read 1625 hours, and the angle of the exterior camera caught the northwest corner of the lot. This was the Vernon Drive entranceway. The camera had been placed there to catch the never-ending stream of Gas-n-Go fraudsters, which was becoming a pandemic nowadays. With any luck, the driver of the SUV would be driving tight to the kerb, and thereby visible. Any further out than that, and they’d be shit outta luck.
Striker watched the feed at normal speed.
‘I shoulda been a cop,’ Wanda said. ‘Or at least married one.’
‘You say that every time I see you.’
‘Because you never take the hint.’
Striker grinned. He was about to say something back, when he spotted a black SUV on the feed. The caller was right – the driver had been driving like an idiot. The vehicle raced down Vernon Drive, punched straight through the stop sign, and bulleted across East Hastings Street. It happened in less than two seconds. Given the time of day and the thickness of the rush-hour traffic, it was a wonder that no one was hurt. The vehicle was going so fast, Striker had to back up the video twice and slow down the speed to have any hope of making out the details. With the video in slow mode, the make and model of the SUV became apparent.
It was a Beamer, no doubt. And he had been right about the model.
An X5.
As for the driver, it was impossible to tell. The distance was too far and the angle bad. The speed of the vehicle also made the quality poor – not blurry, but definitely indistinct.
Striker doubted if the tech guys could even sharpen it.
‘It’s not very good, is it?’ Wanda asked, frowning.
‘It’s better than what I had coming down here.’
Wanda smiled at that.
The front door alarm buzzed – more customers trying to enter the gas station – so Striker told Wanda to go unlock the front door. She could leave the video with him. He knew how to work the system.
He spent the next ten minutes trying to magnify and sharpen the image. It wasn’t easy. But when he
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