Pale moonlight crept its way through the windows, painting the room a muted gray. Despite the shadows, the tapestries draped along the walls were mastercrafted. The marble statue in the corner was lifelike, as if a man stood there. The decadence of the mansion was plain to see. And amongst it all stood Liam, barely breathing as he waited.

As the clock on the wall ticked away, Liam’s body tensed, each strike bringing him closer to the breaking point. Maybe the man wasn’t coming, or was late. Either case would collapse his entire plan. The urge to get up and move hit Liam with the force of a running back, but he pushed it down. Telling himself to remain calm. He’d done the math. This was the best plan, and it’d work, it had to.

As Liam decided to stay, the unmistakable clicking of boots on a hardwood floor sounded from beyond the room. Someone had finally come. With each step the sound grew louder, the rhythm of the clicks becoming clearer. Liam’s muscles tensed, ready for whatever would happen. A creak sounded on the far side of the room. Followed shortly by the swoosh of a door opening then closing. A small smile spread over Liam’s face. His visitor had arrived, just as he knew he would.

The footsteps continued through the sitting room. The pace never changed as the guest worked his way across the dark space.

In the small room, each step echoed louder than the last. The new person, growing closer by the second. Liam curled into his corner. Becoming one with the cloak of night.

Finally, Liam got a glimpse of a murky figure looming out of the darkness. The new arrival was easily a foot taller than himself. Though it was hard to tell details. His black attire was an almost perfect marriage to the night. His clothing grasping for it silently. Trying to hide from anyone who would be watching. Only the man’s footsteps and a blurry figure signaling his progress through the room.

Separated by mere feet the slightest of sounds would have alerted the new figure to the one hidden in the corner. But none came as even Liam’s breathing stopped. He merely waited, frozen, for each booming step to land. Goosebumps crawling over his skin as the man passed his hiding place.

With a final stride, the figure reached the exit to the room. That was the cue Liam was waiting for. Lunging from his hiding spot he moved in to attack. In one hand, Laim cradled a small metal cylinder, the tip of which ignited in glowing blue. A stark contrast to the hues of grey covering the rest of the room.

A swift thrust and the metal cylinder slammed into the walking figure's neck. The man didn’t have a chance to react before a sharp zapping sound and the smell of ozone seeped into the air. The blue glow fading from the metal device as the figure went rigid for a second, then collapsed. All the muscles in his body giving out.

Looks like the guards are keeping to their schedule, Liam thought as he wrapped an arm under the collapsing man. Softening his fall and turning what would have been a crash, loud enough to wake the neighbors, into a muffled thud as the body hit the floor.

As he set the man down, Liam flipped the metal cylinder around, tapping the side twice. From the base of the canister, a needle glided out. With little ceremony, Liam plunged the needle into the man’s neck, dispensing a sedative to knock out the guard for the next few hours. Wouldn’t do to have him wake up, not after how well the plan was going.

With the guard properly restrained, Liam waited. Listening to the night. Looking for any changes in the world around him. After a moment’s wait nothing happened. Liam let out a long-held breath. The first hurdle was officially over. Now to move onto the rest of the plan.

Scanning the room for an appropriate hiding place, Liam spotted a large sectional in the other corner. It’d have to do he decided. As quietly as possible, he dragged the unconscious victim to his new waiting place.

Lifting the man, Liam grunted in surprise as his legs nearly buckled. The man was dense, like a wrecking ball and weighed as much, not something the plan accounted for. It took nearly twice as long to get the unconscious man situated behind the sectional than Liam wanted. Not that the guard was really hidden there, more placed out of the way. With any luck a passing guard would miss him. But anyone actually searching the space would find the unconscious body quickly. That shouldn’t matter though, if things went according to plan. Liam would finish with the mission and be long gone before any alarms were raised.

With the man hidden Liam pocketed his fondly named ‘suppression stick’. The metal cylinder, originally a cigar case, was filled with several devices designed to incapacitate an opponent. Like everything Liam made, it wasn’t glamorous. Instead it was made to be purely practical. Still Liam was proud of it, given his current lack of funding everything he made was a miss mash of parts. The fact any of them worked was a testament to his ingenuity and ability to scavenge. Which, in Liam’s opinion, made all the gadgets just a little more impressive. But that wouldn’t be an issue going forward. After tonight, he’d receive guaranteed funding for the foreseeable future. It took significant willpower for Liam to focus back on the mission at hand. Lest he start thinking of new toys to design.

Straightening up he thumbed a button on the inside of his sleeve. In response, a small screen flared to life on an otherwise black jacket. The little screen was only a few inches wide and an inch longer in length, easily small enough to fit on the inside of his sleeve. To Liam, this screen was just another one of his toys. But if anyone else saw the display, they’d be wide eyed with how it molded itself to the jacket’s fabric. It wasn’t a typical display like you would find on an electronic and more a part of the fabric itself.

The little display showed a stationary blue dot with several red dots moving around it. Twenty-two guards in total, Liam thought as he looked at the red dots moving around, well twenty-one now that one of them wasn’t moving.

The program running the display compiled security system data from the house itself. Turning that information into a map Liam could use to track the guards. While also blinding the guards to Liam’s movements. If he ever met the security designers of this place, he’d have to thank them for using such an antiquated system. It’d taken Liam mere moments to hack in. Once inside, the system was useless against him.

Following the red dots, Liam compared their movements to the patterns he’d seen earlier in the night. After a moment’s watch, Liam was convinced, all the dots were patrolling in the same pattern, the guards didn’t know he was here. Perfect Liam thought, the plan was still a go. He was just slightly behind schedule because the guard was so heavy and hard to move. The man could’ve weighed a little less. Ideally a size small people, like himself, could move. But who could he complain to? It wasn’t like anything would change even if he voiced his grievances.

With only one thing left to do, Liam started forward. Pushing protests about the guards size to the back of his head, there was a time and place for that and it wasn’t now. Flicking the button in his sleeve, the light on Liam’s arm flickered for a moment then turned a blinding white.

Liam quickly slammed his sleeve into his body, trying to block the light from escaping. A bright light would be like a flame for moths. Drawing in every guard in sight after mere moments.

The world turned dark again as Liam covered the display. He’d been fast, hopefully fast enough that no one noticed the light. But until he fixed the display, there was no way to move forward. A single wrong step and the light would slip out again.

Maybe his devices didn’t always work as intended, Liam thought. There were bugs with every invention at first. Part of the design process was smoothing out those issues. It was what made the whole thing exciting. Liam wouldn’t be embarrassed or upset just because the display wouldn’t turn off. He flicked the switch a couple more times hoping that would fix the issue. Taking a quick peek at the screen he was blinded by a bright white light, nothing had changed. Well maybe he was a little embarrassed Liam finally admitted. But everything couldn’t go smoothly. It was how you faced those challenges that decided who you really were. And Liam would take this challenge and rise above it.

With no time to waste Liam reached into his sleeve and found the power wire for the display. Pulling it out in one sure motion. The screen went pitch black. Blending back into the rest of the jacket as if it’d never been there. Continuing on without the display wasn’t the worst thing. Though it would make the mission more difficult. Liam had the layout of the mansion already memorized and was fairly certain he knew the routes of the guards. Now he could only trust the plan and hope nothing convinced the guards to change their patrol patterns.

Quickly Liam crept out of the room. Moving down a large corridor. On one side, large windows faced out into the yard. Dark shapes swayed beyond them to the motion of a silent breeze. Liam kept away from the windows. Instead, hugging the deep welcoming shadows near the inner wall. The last thing he needed was one of the guards outside to see him in a window. That would completely ruin his plan. And given how far behind he was he couldn’t afford any major issues. Picking up the pace Liam tried to claw back a few seconds, this next part would require every one of them.

He continued to edge forward, as quickly as he dared. An interesting process to be both quiet and fast. And one Liam was finding he excelled at.

Windows and doors passed by as he worked his way through the mansion. Every sense in Liam’s body was on high alert. Ready to respond if reason arose.

Reaching an intersection, Liam peeked around the corner, it was clear like the plan said it’d be. A quick dash across the empty space and he was safe to move forward again.

Finally, reaching the next checkpoint, a door indistinguishable from those around it, Liam tried to make his way inside. Pulling on the handle, he found it locked. Well, Liam hadn’t expected that. But it was something he could overcome. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out another metal cylinder. This one, much shorter than the first, all labeling removed from the outside, leaving a shining metallic gleam. But it still carried the feel of a lipstick container. Given new life as one of Liam’s many gadgets.

Popping off the cap Liam placed it against the keyhole, then twisted the back. The action originally pushed lipstick forward. Now long thin rods extended from the container and entered the lock. Clicking as they settled into place. With the tool in position, Liam pushed a button on the base of the device and allowed it to get to work. Soft clicking sounds emanated from the keyhole as the device tried to pick the lock.

Liam’s feet fidgeted as he watched the device work. Every second he was exposed in the hallway felt like minutes. How long did he have before the next guard passed? Not long, Liam thought as he worked on the math. Ten or fifteen seconds at most.

Suddenly Liam’s heart sank, they were here too early. Coming from the far hallway he could just make out the sound of footsteps echoing towards him. The sound of rubber soles on a wooden floor distinct in the otherwise muted world. With each passing second, the clack of a shoe grew slightly louder. Given what this mansion held, it could only be a guard on the move. Making their way here ahead of schedule.

Looking back to the door, Liam could see the little device struggling with the lock. There was progress, but the door refused to budge. Come on, come on, come on, Liam thought as a cold sweat crept up his back. Looking between the distant sound and the lock Liam began tapping his finger. The frantic pace of his finger at odds with his otherwise still body.

Wait for the door, find a different place to hide, or fight? Those were the only options that spun through Liam’s head. If he went somewhere else, the rest of the night would be by the seat of his pants. A risky plan given what was at stake.

Alternatively Liam could fight his way past the guards. But using brute force because of one setback was a little extreme. One of the main reasons for this mission was to see how he’d overcome obstacles. Falling back to violence wouldn’t look good to the people up high.

Which left hiding as the best option, Liam thought as he glanced around. The hallway was empty save for the door in front of him. No cover to duck behind. The only escape was in the locked room. Great, Liam thought. That simplifies things.

The little device continued to work away at the lock. Metal arms moving inside the contraption. There was no sign of how much time it needed, it simply worked till the lock opened. Nothing he could do about that Liam thought. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the suppression stick. With any luck the door would be opened before the guard got here. If not, he would take out the guard. That was the best plan he could come up with on the spot.