Đang tải thông tin quảng bá...
Robbers Expected Two Kids, Six Cops Hid Behind Door
NovelShort
new
Hoàn thành
The knocking at the front door came again at one in the morning. The past three nights it had been just a few knocks, then whoever it was left. Tonight was different. The knocking stopped, but nobody ...
Chương (4)
第1章
The knock at the front door came again at one in the morning.
The past three nights, it had only been a few taps, then whoever it was left.
Tonight was different. After the knocking, they didn't leave. They started working the handle instead.
I dragged a chair over and climbed up to the peephole. The motion light in the hall was on. The corridor was empty.
Right then, the peephole went dark.
An eye was pressed flat against it, staring in.
Before I could react, whoever was out there slammed a foot into the door.
The chair went out from under me. I pitched off the back of it and cracked the back of my head hard against the floor tile.
Everything went black. My ears rang.
The second my vision cleared, a few dense rows of danmaku flashed across the air in front of me.
【Don't open the door! There are robbers outside. They've been staking the place out for three days. They're carrying knives!】
【They know there are no adults in this unit. In one hour, their accomplices arrive and they break the door down.】
【This is bad, this is so bad, the little brother is still in the living room watching cartoons, he has no idea anything's wrong……】
【Looks like the sister figured it out. While they're still waiting for the signal, there's still time if she moves now!】
I wiped the cold sweat off my forehead, grabbed my phone, and called my dad.
"Dad, bring some of the guys and come home right now. There's a citation waiting for all of you!"
……
The line went quiet for two seconds.
"What citation? Sweetheart, what are you talking about?"
My dad's voice was hoarse and tired, like I'd just woken him out of a dead sleep.
I gripped the phone, and the moment I opened my mouth I nearly couldn't keep the sob out of it.
"Dad, I'm not talking crazy! There's a fresh cigarette butt on the doormat again, exactly like the ones the last few days, and it hasn't been out long!"
The line didn't answer right away, like he was trying to tell whether I was telling the truth.
I got so scared the tears just spilled over, and I stamped my foot.
"There's an X drawn on the wall by the door with a rock. It wasn't there before!"
"Dad, there are about three of them, they've got knives, and in about an hour they're going to break in. Dad, believe me. I'm really not making it up!"
The more I talked the more my nose stung, tears swimming in my eyes.
The line went silent for another couple of seconds. My dad was probably making a fast call.
"Lock the door right now, take your brother into the back room, and stay quiet. No matter who knocks, don't open it!"
"Dad's going to report this to my supervisor and head back with a few of the guys right away. You wait for me!"
He believed me.
He didn't write me off as a kid making things up.
I clutched the phone and nodded hard, forgetting he couldn't see me.
The danmaku went wild, scrolling up like crazy.
【Wait, her dad's a cop? Then she's saved!】
【A cop doesn't help, I just checked, her dad's out in the suburbs, it's at least forty minutes back! Will he make it in time?】
【The crooks get there in half an hour! And one of them comes to the door first to test the place, then in an hour they break in!】
【Kid, don't just stand there waiting! It's only you and your brother in the house, you've got to prep something first!】
Right. I couldn't just wait.
I wiped my eyes, turned around, and got to work.
Even if I couldn't stop them from breaking in, I could buy some time.
First I dumped out my brother's box of LEGO, the whole thing clattering across the tile in the entryway.
Dinosaur models and little cars were mixed in. Step on those and you wouldn't just slip, they'd punch right through a sock.
Then I dug my mom's pepper spray out of the shoe-cabinet drawer and shoved it in my pocket.
The pepper shaker and the chili-flake jar from the kitchen, I popped the lids off both and set them on top of the shoe cabinet.
Last, I took down all the clothesline from the balcony and tied it low across the entryway, five centimeters up, between the two posts on either side.
By the time I finished, there was a layer of sweat down my back.
Ten-some minutes later, a knocking suddenly came at the door, bang bang bang.
My brother was curled up on the couch watching his cartoon. The second he heard it he shot up and went sprinting for the door.
"Daddy's home!"
My head roared, and half the blood in my body went cold.
How long had it been since I hung up?
Not even half an hour.
My dad couldn't have gotten home that fast even in a plane.
The danmaku blew up the whole screen, the characters stacking over each other, scrolling so fast I could barely read them.
【Don't open the door! That's the one casing the place! He's got a knife!】
【Open it and it's over! He'll shove the door right open and force his way in!】
【Grab your brother! Hurry!!】
My brother was already at the door, up on his toes, both hands on the handle, pressing it down hard.
第2章
“Click.”
The handle turned only halfway before it jammed hard.
My brother froze there and rattled the handle twice more.
“Huh? Why won't it open?”
I lunged and yanked him behind me.
Thank God I'd flipped the deadbolt when I hung up the phone.
A second more and the door would have swung open.
I clamped a hand over his mouth and whispered against his ear,
“Don't make a sound. That's not Dad out there. It's a bad man!”
He flinched hard, then went limp and stopped struggling.
I crouched behind the couch with him, one hand over his mouth, the other feeling for the pepper spray in my pocket.
He was shaking all over, his little fist gripping my shirt, and I didn't dare let go, afraid he'd bolt again.
The danmaku went wild.
【That guy's got his ear against the door! He's listening for movement inside!】
【Don't talk don't talk don't talk!】
【Little brother hold still, whatever you do don't make a sound!】
“Anyone home? There's a leak downstairs. It's maintenance. Open up so we can take a look.”
The voice came through the door, edged with impatience.
I kept my hand over his mouth and didn't dare breathe a word.
It went quiet outside for maybe ten seconds, long enough that I thought he'd left.
I stared at that little ring of light around the peephole, sweat running down my back.
The living room was dark, only the hall's motion light leaking in through the peephole.
Then the next second, that ring of light went black.
He was pressed up against it again!
An eye plugged the peephole, blocking out the hall light completely.
The blood drained out of me like it had been sucked away, even my fingers went cold.
That eye stayed at the peephole a long time, long enough that it seemed to be trying to see into every corner of the apartment.
My brother and I were crouched behind the couch, out of the peephole's reach.
I thought he'd take a couple of looks and go.
But he didn't.
He held that pose, motionless against the peephole, just looking.
One second, two, five, ten.
I could even hear his breathing through the door.
The handle pressed down once and sprang back.
A few more seconds, and the footsteps finally moved toward the stairwell, farther and farther, until I couldn't hear them anymore.
Only then did I dare to gulp for air, the back of my shirt soaked through.
【The scout's gone! But he ran to the fire stairwell to make a call, definitely tipping off his crew!】
【He's reporting numbers! Saying there are only two kids inside, lights off, but somebody's definitely home!】
【Twenty more minutes and all three of them will be here!】
【Where the heck is her dad, I'm dying here!!】
I fished out my phone again, my fingers shaking so bad it took two swipes to unlock the screen.
“Dad, they're hiding in the fire stairwell. Come up the other set of stairs, not the elevator.”
The next twenty minutes dragged like nothing else.
I'd stuffed my brother into the wardrobe to hide, and for now he was quiet, not daring to make a sound.
I turned off the master bedroom light, crouched by the door with my back to the wall, and watched the danmaku keep refreshing.
Every so often a car passed outside, its headlights sweeping the ceiling, and my heart would clench.
【There's movement in the fire stairwell, footsteps!】
【It's not her dad, her dad's not here yet! Another one of the crew just arrived.】
【All three of them met up in the fire stairwell, they're handing out tools!】
【Holy crap one of them's got a screwdriver and a crowbar!】
I couldn't bear to look, but I couldn't stop looking either.
Every glance at the danmaku sent my heart racing.
The hand holding the pepper spray was slick with sweat, so slippery I could barely keep my grip.
Right then, through the master bedroom door, I heard a sound from the living room.
“Click.”
The door had been opened!
第3章
My back was pressed hard against the wall, and I didn't dare even breathe, my eyes locked on the gap in the master bedroom door.
Footsteps came in, soft, but there was definitely more than one person.
The moment the door was pulled open from the outside, I nearly sprang off the wall.
When I saw it was my father, everything I'd held in broke loose, and I threw myself into his arms and started to cry.
I didn't dare cry loud, terrified of alerting the robbers in the fire stairwell.
I cried for maybe ten or twenty seconds before I lifted my head off his shoulder and wiped my face with my sleeve.
Then I saw there were people standing behind him.
Five men.
All of them in dark clothes and sneakers, standing in the living room.
Their waists bulged, like something was tucked there, and not one of them made a sound. They just waited, quiet.
I quickly stepped back out of my father's arms, wiped my eyes again, and sniffled.
He reached out and pressed my shoulder, his palm warm, full of safety.
"You're not too shaken, are you? Tell your dad everything you know."
Before I could speak, the danmaku in front of me exploded, packing the whole screen edge to edge.
【Holy crap, look at this setup! Six plainclothes cop uncles!】
【The crooks are still chitchatting in the fire stairwell, no idea the place is already a cop den!】
【Delivery's about to arrive right to their door hahahaha!】
【Little sister, tell your dad the headcount, the tools, the positions, all of it!!】
Watching the danmaku scroll past, the stone that had sat on my chest all night finally sank a little.
I took a deep breath and poured out everything from the danmaku in one go.
"Three of them, all carrying knives, and they know how to pick locks. One of them came earlier to case the place, pretending to be building maintenance and knocking on the door."
"They're all in the fire stairwell now, splitting up the tools. Someone's going to come knock to test us. If we don't open up, they'll pick the lock straight off."
My father exchanged a look with the man beside him.
"Matches the crew we've had a warrant out on."
He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Leave four downstairs, two at the fire stairwell and two at the stairwell entrance, seal off the exits. The rest stay in here with me and move once they're inside. Remember, they've got knives."
He hung up and started positioning the men in the apartment.
Two of them hid behind the doors on either side of the entryway, backs to the wall, their breathing so soft you could barely hear it.
Another slipped into the kitchen and stood in the shadow beside the refrigerator.
The rest went with my father, all of them pressed just inside the master bedroom door, only three steps from the living room.
The moment everyone was set, the danmaku lit up again.
【Everyone in position! Hardest-core home defense line in history!】
【Crooks' POV: isn't this place just two little kids??】
【They're still smoking in the fire stairwell, no clue the inside is already a cop den!】
【Can't wait to see their faces the second they push that door open hahahaha!】
【Cut the laughing! The ringleader's got a knife in his pocket! Don't get careless!!】
I wasn't laughing.
I leaned against the master bedroom doorframe, my hands still shaking.
The apartment was full of cops, but I was still just a kid.
All I could hear was my own heartbeat, pounding, each beat heavier than the last.
Right then, a sound came from outside the door.
The scrape of shoe soles on the hallway tile, someone coughed and was instantly hushed by another lowered voice.
The footsteps stopped at the door.
The danmaku exploded.
【Here they come! Here come the criminals!!】
【All three are here! The one in front with the black hat is the ringleader! Knife tucked in the back of his waist!!】
【They're signaling each other with their eyes!! Getting ready to knock!!】
The next second, a voice came from outside the door.
"Hi, your food delivery's here, could you open the door?"
My hand clenched hard.
第4章
The father's hand settled on my shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.
I got it at once and stayed silent.
The motion light out in the hall was still on.
My back pressed flat against the wall, and I could hear my own heartbeat, thud after thud, slamming against my eardrums.
About two minutes passed before that voice came again from outside the door.
This time it had changed its tone, slowing down, coaxing, the way you'd talk a small child into opening up.
“Little girl, can you open the door? I'm a friend of your dad's. He asked me to come check on you two before he left, said I'd bring you something to eat tonight.”
My stomach clenched hard.
Just as I thought. He knew my dad wasn't home.
He knew there was a girl in the house too.
But he didn't know my dad was a cop.
The danmaku blew up instantly.
【Still playing the friend?? The knife handle is already sticking out of his sleeve!!】
【They really think it's just two kids inside, figure a couple of lines will get the door open】
【Dying, they have no clue there are six plainclothes officers behind that door!】
The younger brother stuck half his head out of the closet, mouth already open to ask.
I clapped a hand over his mouth, pushed him back down into the pile of clothes, and made a shush sign.
He blinked twice, said nothing, and shrank back in.
The hall went quiet for a few seconds.
Then the voice came again, less patient now, an edge of threat in it.
“Kid, are you opening up or not?”
I didn't answer.
Another two minutes or so went by.
The corridor fell completely silent, silent enough that I could hear wind pouring in from the fire stairwell.
“Quit pretending! We've been watching for three days. Your parents are never home, it's just you two little brats in there!”
“Open the door nice and quiet, hand over the cash and anything worth taking, and we'll leave once we've got it. We won't touch you.”
He paused, then let out a low chuckle.
“But if we have to pry our way in ourselves, don't blame me for what comes next. I'll sell you off to some old man in the mountains as his child bride, and sell your brother to somebody as a son. Neither of you will ever come back.”
The words were barely out when a dull bang hit the door.
Someone drove a foot hard into it.
The frame shook, plaster dust drifting down the wall.
Right after came the screech of a metal crowbar wedging against the lock.
They'd started prying it open.
The danmaku went wild, characters stacking on top of each other, too fast for me to read.
【Can't take it can't take it! They're forcing their way in!!】
【Every knife is out! The ringleader's up front!!】
【Dying, thought they had two kids cornered, next second they walk straight into a cell!】
【Getting ready to spring the trap! Counting down to a commendation!!】
【Girls my heart can't handle this!!!】
I clenched my fist, nails digging into my palm.
I looked back. On either side of the entryway, two officers were already crouched and ready, like they'd spring out the next second and pin these criminals down.
The one in the kitchen stood sideways against the edge of the fridge, one hand already on the gear at his waist.
My dad stood just inside the master bedroom door, face grim, the weapon in his hand aimed at the front door.
“Crack!”
The lock shattered under the crowbar.
The next second the door was yanked open, and the black-hatted man at the front stepped in with a cold sneer, knife raised.
“You little brats, let's see where you run now!”