CHAPTER 24

They arrived in two inconspicuous black vans which were disguised to be from a plumbing company. They were at the rendezvous point just a few meters away from the forest they intended to use as an entry point into the minefield which was just behind the mansion. 

Everyone geared up and headed into the forest, they headed straight for the fence as Tom remained behind. He was in one of the vans with headphones on and computers in front of him. 

A camera was placed on the captain and on a team member named Dante, with cams of which both the cameras and coms were linked to the computers of which Tom was making use of. 

The plan was that the captain would infiltrate the surveillance room and plant a device on their server which would provide stale footage and not real time visuals, while Dante would lead four men to the safe at the basement of the mansion. Of course a few were to be placed at strategic positions as lookouts in case things went south. 

They got through the forest and were at the high tensioned fence, with the minefield just located two meters at the other side of the fence. 

The captain placed the EMP on the ground next to the fence and activated it, immediately he turned it on and the electric fence lost its power as the pulse covered a specific region of the minefield and not a yard beyond. The identification device which helped the mines identify intruders was now nothing but a toy hanging on a post. 

The men cut through the fence and advanced into the yard without raising an alarm. They walked straight on as Tom watched their every move, directing them through the blind spots of the yard as they trampled on mines without it detonating. 

They arrived at a location at which they intended to split up into their various sections and carry out their assigned duties. The captain and his men crouched behind some trees as he gave the signal for them to follow his lead. 

They advanced towards the target and entered the mansion through a door known only to the security personnels but Tom was able to spot it on the blueprints. As they opened the door, two guards were behind it and they immediately cocked their guns in sight of the intruders.

He moved swiftly and disarmed both men, he went between them and delivered a heavy jab to the jaw of the man at the right and gave a brutal kick to the kneel of the other. Knocking one out and leaving the other with a broken kneel before bashing his head with the back of his gun. 

His men hid the bodies in corners which would not draw the attention of anyone who passed by that route as they proceeded deeper. They split up as the captain headed for the control room and the others to their individual posts. 

[ The Captain's POV] 

We needed to be in and out of that mansion as soon as possible, the longer we stayed the more our chances of getting away with the painting unnoticed kept depreciating. 

The man, Ghost, had been in my ears all these while he watched the operation through my body cam. As I approached a turn, I crouched and leaned on the wall before peeping through to see if there were guards on the other side when I heard Ghost's voice saying I could proceed. 

"They wouldn't change their shifts till an hour's time but still proceed with caution and head straight to the security room, you never know when some loser would decide to go get some coffee or take a leak." He said as he kept on watching through the body cam. 

I was determined to reach the security room and disrupt the servers so we could get out of here as soon as we possibly can. As I made my way through the dimly lit hallways, I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of the security guards that patrolled the premises. I moved silently, using the cover of crates and equipment to conceal myself from view.

"Wait, there's a guard coming. Hide behind the boxes next to you." He said to me as I heard footsteps approaching. I quickly ducked behind a stack of boxes and held my breath as a guard walked past, scanning the area with a flashlight. I waited until the guard was out of sight before continuing on my mission.

I eventually reached a door which he said led to the security room according to the blueprints. I pulled out a small device from my pocket and started working on the lock. It was a tricky one, but I was confident in my skills. Within a matter of seconds, the lock clicked open and I slipped inside.

The room was filled with servers, communication systems, and a wall of monitors that displayed the feeds from the security cameras. I quickly went to work, as I approached the two security guards who were watching the monitors. I applied chloroform to a small piece of cloth as I crouched and slowly approached them and covered the face of one then pressed it down on his nose, the other noticed the struggle and attempted to press an alarm button but I was quick to shoot him down with a silent revolver. 

I took out the device from my backpack and planted it on the main server, then reached for the coms in my left ear before telling Ghost it was all done. 

He hacked into the security system and implanted security footage from a few hours ago, before proceeding to shut down the alarm system so we did not need to be extremely cautious but pick up the pace as we did so. 

I placed the two men on their chairs like they were facing the screens doing their job, but they were unconscious. 

My men were in position to break into the basement where the safe was located but waited for me to regroup with them. The door was a fingerprint scanner and it required the retinal signature of a validated individual before it could be opened. 

Within a few minutes of dodging and sneaking around guards as I went through the mansion, I arrived at my men's position and was ready for the second phase of the plan. 

Click! 

A click sound came from the door as the red light next to it had turned into a green one. 

"Okay, I just bypass the security system of that door so now you and your men can advance directly to the safe." Ghost's voice permeated through the comms as the captain turned to his men and signaled for them to move in. 

We got to the safe and it had a four digits security lock, such locks typically had ten thousand possible combinations. But Ghost was already in the system and had access to their security network, so he bypassed the lock and opened the safe. 

I picked up the painting and at first glance, it appeared to be a normal painting with nothing particularly extraordinary about it. One of my men approached me with a suitcase and together, we carefully placed the painting inside.

With haste, we headed towards the exit, moving with precision and a sense of urgency. Our plan was to quickly get out of the building before anyone noticed the missing artwork. We knew that the alarm would soon sound, and we needed to be as far away from the building as possible by then. My men and I moved cautiously, making our way through the halls and avoiding any potential confrontations with security. We were all well aware of the risks and the consequences of getting caught, and we were determined to make a successful escape with the priceless painting in hand.

"Oh oh, you all need to get out of there fast." He spoke through the coms as I halted  my men who were heading straight for the exit, so we knew what exactly was our situation before we proceeded. 

"The guards in the mansion are searching the premises. They must have noticed that something was amiss, I suspect they had checked in with the control room for it was time to change shifts but there was no response." Ghost said as I instructed my men to hasten their pace. 

As we made our way out of the building, we could hear the alarm blaring. We moved quickly, each member taking on roles as we had rehearsed in case things went south. One member provided cover, another covered our escape route, and others made sure the stolen painting was protected.

As we reached the first floor, the guards were already converging on their position. My team and I made a stand, firing at the guards to keep them at bay as we made a run for the exit.

We sprinted through the compound, dodging bullet after bullet as the guards closed in.  On getting to the minefield I could hear one of them yell at the others to stop firing, I assume he thought we wouldn't make it through the mines, he was wrong.

In revelation to the unexpected turn of events one of the men held a detonator in his hand, since the mines weren't responding to physical contact he decided to activate them remotely. 

My men and I were already approaching the fence when I noticed the hostiles trying to activate the mines but it wasn't working because the EMP had kept them at bay. We got through the fence at the other side and headed straight for our getaway vehicles at the other side of the forest. 

"Who says we couldn't have our cake and eat it too!"