The address for tonight’s party was for a sprawling American Colonial located on one of the largest private estates in the greater Los Angeles/Pasadena area.
A quick Google search showed that the house was built back in the 1930s and that the estate itself was nearly ten acres. A large swimming pool, tennis courts, and an assortment of fountains dotted the manicured landscape. Bordering the property, a small forest of magnolias and sycamores and oaks and Chinese elms.
According to the online articles, the estate had been opened in the past for galas, dinners, and other major events.
And tonight, it was where the VIPs were being hosted.
After swinging by the electronics store to pick up my package—a large box that was awkward to transport on the Kawasaki—I arrived at a public park.
The park had officially closed at dusk, but some teenagers were still haunting the playground, smoking and drinking and messing around. A few heard the bike and looked up, but nobody gave me a second glance. I drifted past them and soon found a deserted spot to park. Taking off my helmet, I surveyed the area to make sure nobody was nearby before opening the box.
Pretty soon I had the item inside assembled and ready to go. It was an Aerialtronics Altura Zenith drone. A quadcopter with eight rotors—each quad had two—and a flight time of up to forty minutes. Due to its carbon fiber design, the drone could withstand inclement weather and winds up to thirty-five miles per hour. The best part—and the reason I’d chosen this particular model—was that it included a FLIR Boson camera capable of detecting remote heat signatures.
The estate was three miles away. As soon as I got the drone connected to my phone, I used the controls to get the rotors going—they sounded like a swarm of bees—and then launched it straight up into the air and piloted it west.
Within minutes, I had a bird’s-eye view of the estate. I flipped the view over to the thermal sensor to gauge how many guards were currently patrolling the perimeter. As the estate was rather large, they would have more room to cover, though my guess was that these parties had been going on for some time now and so far there hadn’t been any intrusions.
I kept the drone hovering high enough that it wouldn’t be noticed. There was a light breeze in the air, which undoubtedly rustled the leaves of the trees, so any distant whining might be mistaken for the wind. And of course there was the occasional traffic coming and going out on the street beyond the estate gates that helped dampen the noise.
The thermal sensor helped confirm four individuals roaming the grounds, though it was impossible to say whether they were guards or just guests outside catching a smoke. I kept the drone positioned above the mansion for several minutes, monitoring each person’s movements, and when it became clear that none of them were ready to head inside any time soon, I decided I had my confirmation.
At the front of the estate was the main entrance. A few vehicles had arrived in the past few minutes. The VIPs. I maneuvered the drone toward the front of the mansion, where the cars would stop. The driver and sometimes a guest would get out, and a valet would take the car and park it while the driver and guest entered the house.
So no chauffeur, then. That made sense. The fewer people aware of the party, the better.
Switching back to regular view, I tracked where the vehicles had been parked and noted a Sprinter cargo van among them.
At the same time, another vehicle came through the gate: a second Sprinter. This one didn’t go to the front doors but instead drove straight to the side of the mansion, where two men were waiting. As soon as the Sprinter had stopped, the men opened the back doors. One got up inside, and together they extracted four women from the van.
Based on what Olivia had told me, the women would be dressed in skimpy outfits and given makeup and probably drugs so that they would be less resistant to whatever was planned for them.
Realizing that my molars had started to grind against each other, I wondered if I should just call the authorities. Make them aware of what was going on.
But no, I couldn’t risk word leaking to whoever oversaw this party that the cavalry was coming.
Plus, I had to keep pulling on this thread. After everything I’d done this past year—after everything I’d sacrificed—I had to see where it would lead me.
I steered the drone on another loop of the estate to make sure there were no other guards I’d missed. I took notice of what areas of the estate were farthest from the mansion, and which might be the easiest access point.
The southwest section was my best chance of getting in. The street there outside the estate appeared less traveled, and there was a large copse of trees across the way where I could stash the bike. I would need to drive past to look out for any security cameras, but I imagined those were mostly aimed toward the main entrance.
Once I had memorized the estate’s layout—and noted the areas where the guards were mostly milling as they patrolled the perimeter—I selected the button that called the drone back to my location.
Soon the drone appeared above me, a dark shadow in the night sky. It slowed to a hover and then lowered itself down to the ground only feet away.
That’s when I heard the scrape of footsteps against asphalt.
I spun around, reaching for the pistol I had secured in my waistband. But as soon as I saw it was only two of the teenagers from the playground—a guy and girl, holding hands, clearly a couple—I dropped my hand to the side.
“Whoa, dude,” the guy said. There was just enough moonlight to see some redness in his wide eyes. “Sweet drone.”
I pocketed the phone and clamped the controller under my arm as I bent to retrieve the drone.
“Thanks.”
“Can I buy it off you?”
“Sorry, no.”
“I’ll give you twenty bucks.”
The girl giggled at her boyfriend’s ridiculous offer, and I merely smiled.
“Think I’m going to pass.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Your loss, dude.” Then, as if something had just occurred to him: “What are you using that for, anyway?”
I considered lying, or just ignoring him, but then decided to go with the truth.
“Spying on some bad guys.”
“Whoa, really?” Somehow his stoned eyes grew even wider. He glanced at his girlfriend, grinning, and then said, “Are you like a special agent or something?”
“Something like that.” I placed a finger to my lips. “This is top secret, okay? You can’t tell anyone. Or else I’ll have to kill you.”
The girl giggled again, a little less certain this time, but the guy smiled and saluted.
“Don’t worry, dude. Your secret is safe with us.”
I placed the drone back in the box and then shouldered the backpack and got onto the bike.
“Oh shit,” the guy said. “That’s a sweet ride. I’ll give you a hundred bucks for that.”
“Let me think about it.”
I put the helmet on and brought the Kawasaki to life. I revved the engine a bit to make the guy laugh, then wheeled the bike around and headed for the nearest exit.
I had a party to get to.