Mastermind: Mitchell Parker Crime Thrillers, Book 1

Special Agent Mitchell Parker had a clear plan – get the security tapes, get out of there, and get home in time for Inspector Morse on television at eight. Crouching on a hanging bridge spanning the middle floor of the university’s science block, Mitch silently cursed the architects who thought suspended walkways and wire railings would be ‘arty’ in the new science wing. It left nothing to hide behind and exposed him and his partner, Jack Jameson, to the lab entrances and thoroughfares.

Mitch flattened himself against the railing in the shadows on the bridge. At six-foot-two, with dark hair and an athletic build, he was a man who didn’t spend much time in the shadows. His sharp blue eyes swept the area, landing on J.J.

“J.J., nothing here. Try the next level up,” he whispered into his throat microphone.

The stocky J.J., five years older and a stone heavier, nodded and crawled out of sight.

Mitch looked between the wire railings to the hallway entrance below. He saw one security guard at the front desk. His eyes travelled above the guard, and he found the security camera that broadcasted images to the desk monitor while recording them somewhere in the building.

I want those recordings!

Mitch glanced at his watch. It was nearing seven o’clock; the night-shift security officer was due.

“Mitch?” J.J.’s voice broke his concentration.

“Yeah?” Mitch whispered into the headset.

“Are you sure this is going to work? There’ll be two guards to deal with during the changeover.”

“I know,” he whispered, “but they’ll be talking, not watching the monitor. It’s our best shot. Just find the room where the tapes are – I need them, and we’re running out of time!”

Mitch took in the area. The walkways reminded him of modern shopping centres, which require you to walk one hundred and eighty degrees to reach each level.

A pain in the ass, he thought. OK, walk around or straight up?

Mitch jumped up, missed and tried again. Grabbing onto the overhead landing, he heaved himself up, squatted, and surveyed quickly. He saw lights on in one of the rooms.

“J.J., the large room with the lights on, that’s got to be the main lab—and I bet the small room next to it is our tape room,” he whispered into the mic.

J.J. came into sight from the opposite direction. He glanced through the glass strip on the door of the small room.

“Yeah, we’ve found it,” J.J. confirmed. “You’ll have to pass the main lab or drop down below again and work in reverse.”