(55) Smoke Detectors Detect Smoke

"You have my ex-girlfriends location?"

Theo held up his hands in surrender. "Purely for honest purposes."

"I don't understand why he has to come," Matt pointed out, glancing into the backseat where Makennah lounged low with her black hood pulled up over her head.

"He has the location," she clarified again.

"You act like you don't want me to come," Theo said bitterly like his feelings might be a little hurt. Makennah rolled her eyes at that.

"I do want you to come," Matt answered nicely. "I'm just...pissed off."

"This is the final chapter, champ," Theo said, clapping Matt on the shoulder.

"Okay, coach," Matt said sarcastically, focusing on driving the Jeep in the right direction according to the GPS on Theo's phone while routed them to the location where they presumed she was hiding away with her lover.

"Break it up, kids." Makennah leaned forward between the front seats and pointed obscurely into the night. "That's the house. Park here."

Matt killed the car headlights and parked quietly by the curb around the bend, a few houses down from the property that Makennah and Theo previously trespassed on to spy on Cassandra the first time they tracked her down. "So what now?"

"Now we do the thing," she answered, kicking the back door open and falling out on the sidewalk. The boys followed suit while she reached back into the Jeep to grab their bag before she closed the door gently.

"Let's go," Theo instructed, taking the bag from Makennah and briefly sharing an intimate touch of their fingertips. Since he officially asked her to be his girlfriend, they hadn't been able to spend much time together.

"When did you break up with her?" Makennah asked since she hadn't heard a thing about it.

Matt shrugged his shoulders up to his ears and dug his hands in his black jacket pockets to protect himself from the chilly November temperature. "When Grandpa died. I realized it was stupid to keep holding onto someone and wasting time that isn't guaranteed to us."

Makennah glanced at Theo who watched his friend charge onwards into the night. Makennah understood the feeling. Even though she jumped into a commitment with Theo, a future with him did feel like a promise quite yet.

"Do you really believe she cheated?" Theo asked cautiously.

Matt gave them a sideways look. "I'm here, aren't I?" He said angrily. Makennah and Theo exchanged similar worried glances at his tone. "Besides, it's kind of hard to refute the evidence at this point."

Out of curiosity, Theo asked, "What evidence?"

"That she loves another man," he commented in a clipped tone.

Theo whipped his head sideways. "What did I miss?" He whispered to Makennah, walking backwards, as she lagged behind them.

She waited for Matt to explain because it was his story but he never did. He just stalked silently. "At your house, the night before homecoming I followed Cassandra into the house and overheard her on the phone. She told him - the guy - that she loved him."

Theo's eyes widened. She silently mouthed the word 'sorry' to him because she forgot to tell him.

"Damn," was the way he consoled his friend. "She take it well? The break up?"

Matt sneered with an air of humorless laughter. "Nope. For a girl in love with another man, she sure did hold on tightly. Which house?" He changed subjects quickly.

"That one." Makennah pointed directly across the street to the dimly lit house where the same Toyota was parked in the driveway as the night they first trespassed on this property. However, Cassandra's car was amiss.

"There's her car," Matt inspected, gesturing down the street. The three of them paused at the curb across from the house and spied Cassandra's car parked among others on the quiet suburban street. "Are you sure this is going to work?" Matt asked Makennah.

"Yes," she answered fearlessly even though, deep down, she knew she couldn't make any promises.

It should work.

It had to work.

She dragged them all out here after all. "Let's go."

At her lead, the boys crossed the street after her, leering at the looming white home which housed secrets untold. The sound of their footsteps was their only companion other than the moon.

When they purchased the equipment for their operation, the three of them formulated a game plan that involved as little trespassing as possible. They also attempted to keep Matt'e involvement to a minimum so that he could take the fall. Makennah promised to do all of the hard work since she already had a record which surprised the boys. She was a little shocked they had never thought of that considering her past but also pleasantly pleased they revered her so highly.

"No more talking," she instructed sternly ad they arrived at the other side of the road.

Like they had discussed, Theo handed off two different packages to Makennah while Matt watched out and kept guard in the front lawn. His eyes scanned the perimeter every few seconds, expecting danger although she knew nothing lurked about. No one snooped in these neighborhoods. Everyone preferred their privacy. Blinds drawn. Doors closed. Peeping eyes hidden away.

With a Bobby pin and pick clutched in her hand, Makennah knelt on the stoop in front of the front door and steadied her shaking hands. The trembling was a result of adrenaline, not fear - she knew that. Still, her heart pounded loudly in her ears. Theo crouched behind her so that no one could peep out of the window and spot him. His presence reassured her that she could complete her assignment.

Sticking both objects into the lock, Makennah jiggled the pick up and down until all of the prongs shifted upwards and the door unlocked. She cranked the knob just to double check and nodded back at Matt and Theo for confirmation.

Theo unwrapped the objects they bought and laid them on the stoop in front of him. "You sure this will work?"

"You both keep asking me that," she answered, a little irritated about it.

"How do you know it will set off the smoke detector?" He asked.

She raised her eyebrows and smirked a little. "Uh...because it's smoke. And smoke detectors...detect smoke."

"Okay, Einstein," he whispered sarcastically.

She stared at his face, spotting all of his recognizable features in the darkness and finding herself irresistible drawn to him. Flashes of the past relapsed in her brain from the first time they hung out alone and found themselves here on this property pressed together from head to toe behind a tree. She should have known at that moment that she would be a goner.

"You asked," she cracked back with a smile meant only for him.

Suddenly turning serious, Theo reached out and grabbed her hand. His thumb grazed her knuckles. "Please be safe."

"We have the upper hand, remember?" She reminded him.

He shrugged and raised her hand to his lips. He gently kissed her palm and smiled sweetly like he just couldn't live without her - at least...that's what she told herself. "People do stupid things when caught red handed."

Reluctantly, she withdrew her hand and refocused her brain. "I'm heading to the back. Stay here."

Theo nodded in approval and watched her hop off the stoop into the grass with her gear and quickly but quietly tromp into the backyard, ducking under windows on the way. Luckily for her and for all of them, all of the blinds were closed in the back as well. It would be fairly easy to approach the house without getting caught. However it did present a problem because she couldn't see if anyone reclined in the back of the house.

A twinge of guilt snaked into Makennah's mind again. Even through all of this, they managed to keep the identity of Cassandra's lover away from Matt. Insult to injury is what she called it. He was still processing the information of her affair. Matt didn't need to worry about who the guy was too. However, Makennah and Theo, being privy to that information, knew his identity might even be worse to handle than the actual affair. Loading all of this into him at night in the dark on someone else's property where they might catch them doing the dirty deed seemed a tad irresponsible. But they had already made this decision. Matt had to piece things together for himself now.

Same as the front door, Makennah picked the lock and jiggled the knob. The door opened easily.

However, that door led her into the garage which was stocked full of boxes and a black Harley Davidson motorcycle. She didn't expect this. She just needed to get into the house one way or another.

Knowing she was safe in this area, she creeped into the enclosure, wedging the door open so she could easily slip outside. Makennah spotted the door to the inside of the house and checked the knob - unlocked. Not seeing any light under the door, she twisted the knob slowly and cracked it open. She hadn't realized how sweaty her palms were until she tried to pocket her lock picking kit and almost dropped both the items on the floor.

Clutching the objects to her chest, Makennah slid inside and planted her feel quietly on the hardwood floor. So far she didn't hear or see anything. If Matt or Theo knew what she was doing, they would kill her. She wasn't supposed to actually go inside the house. Their entire place was supposed to be executed from the open doors. That's it.

But she would and could do this for Matt. Makennah promised to get this done.

Tiptoeing forward, she spotted the smoke detector across a living room between a couch and a small hallway that separated the lounge area from the kitchen. The green light blinked, signaling that the smoke detector worked. Dropping to her knees close to the door for easy escape, Makennah dropped her two objects on the ground and began to prep them for use.

For this mission, they purchased military grade grey smoke bombs with a wire pull. The canister easily fit in her hand, similar to the size of a plastic water bottle. The product promised at least ninety seconds of smoke. The smoke bombs provided a cover with thick grey smoke clouding any space - especially perfect for their objective.

Listening closely, Makennah suddenly heard a bang and nearly jumped out of her skin. Seconds later moaning followed. Makennah gagged, recognizing them as sounds of pleasure. Thinking about Cassandra having sex seriously grossed her out.

Ripping off the smoke bomb cap, she looped her finger through the ring and tripped the wire by pulling the loop. The smoke bomb sizzled before exploding with smoke. Hastily, she dumped the cap on the second smoke bomb and pulled the second wire, tossing both into the kitchen. Seconds later, she heard two more sizzling sounds, signaling that Theo also set off his two smoke bombs.

Seconds later, the smoke detectors blared in every single room in the house, blinking red to signalize a hazard.

Makennah ditched the house faster than she thought possible. On the way out of the garage, she heard screaming and yelling as she locked the door and pulled it shit behind her.

Although she figured the two of them would run out of the house through the front, Makennah promised the boys she would wait in the back with her phone recording in case they escaped the house from the back.

Luckily, she was right. The two of them exploded out of the house, half dressed and sweating, and staring up at the house and smoke poured out of every opening and slithered down the steps from the open door and billowed into the sky.

"What the heck?!" Cassandra screamed, grabbing the ends of her floral robe and tightening the strings quickly.

When she spotted Matt, her entire face morphed into confusion and then humiliation.

Makennah raced around the house with her phone still recording to watch it all burn to hell.

"So I was right," Matt said slowly, eyeing Cassandra and then trailing his gaze over to the assistant football coach. "Although...I wasn't expecting this."

The coach slipped through his yard on bare feet with his hands in his hair, staring up at his house in mortification. "My house! It's on fire!"

"No, it's not," Makennah clarified.

Theo held up the two caps from his smoke bombs. "Smoke bombs. Still triggers the smoke detector."

The coach spun in circles with his hands still clenched in his hair, taking in his smoking house and the three teenagers in his lawn who out smarted a grown man.

"Matt! What is this?!" Cassandra yelled, weakly attempting to maintain control of the situation which was quickly unraveling.

Matt stopped recording his phone after collecting images of both the coach and Cassandra in the front yard. He tucked his phone away. "Do not even act like I have done something wrong. You're sleeping with the coach," he answered bitterly.

"And now he's got evidence," Makennah added.

"We knew all along," Theo said. "Just never caught you explicitly with him."

The coach pivoted to the four of them clustered together in his front lawn. "All of you need to leave now!" He yelled.

Matt shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Matt, please. Stop this," Cassandra begged.

"You don't get to ask for anything. You cheated. And you cheated with a grown man. That's illegal," Makennah pointed out. She crossed her arms over her chest and stood beside Matt for support.

"Get off my property!" The coach screamed in a horrible attempt to scare them back in submission.

"No," Matt said calmly.

The coach was obviously losing his cool. His eyes darted around the group, sensing he was about to lose this game he was playing.

"It's not what you think! I love him!" Cassandra said, reaching for the coach.

The coach ripped away from her. "Shut up!" His fists clenched over and over again, forearms rippling with tension up to his taught shoulders and bare chest. He wore only a pair of basketball shorts presumably because Makennah caught them in the act. "I'm serious. You all are trespassing. Get off my property," he grumbled.

"You're not in control here," Matt said. "We are. And we'll do as we please. You aren't necessarily in a position to be negotiating or barking commands." Matt sounded just like his attorney father and man, did that seem to be scaring the daylights out of Cassandra.

"Here's what's going to happen. We now have photographic and video evidence of your affair," Makennah started.

"Irrefutable evidence," Theo chimed in.

"I don't give a flying flip about this relationship or you, Cassandra," Matt said. "This affair is over. Cassandra, you're going to go home and act like nothing happened. You will speak of this to no one. You will never tell anyone about what happened between you and the coach. If you told any of your friends what was going on between you two, you will text them and tell them you made it all up for attention from me but it didn't work. Coach," Matt sneered and bit his tongue, sucking in all of the things he really wanted to say. "You're a disgusting vile pig who preys on young girls. With one little button, i could send all of this off to my father who could prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. But," he paused. "I won't. You will never ever ever talk to Cassandra ever again."

"Matt, stop it!" Cassandra tried again.

"Shut up," Makennah bit at her, daring her with a sharp look to speak up ever again.

Matt continued like nothing happened. "You will never talk to any other teenage students ever again. You won't even look in their direction. If I get wind that you two are seeing each other, I will send this to my father. If I see you even look at each other, I will send this to my father."

The coach stepped forward menacingly. "You won't get away with this. You broke into my house. You might have destroyed my property! I'm calling the authorities!"

"And you slept with a teenage girl," Makennah said, standing between him and Matt. The coach looked like he might hit something and hit something very soon. "You have no proof that we broke into your home. You have no proof we set off the bombs. And if you do decide to still grow some balls and call the authorities, we will send this evidence to his father, the school, the state of Colorado, and Cassandra's parents. You'll be arrested, you'll lose your teaching license, and Cassandra, your life will be hell. You'll go to prison. You'll be forced to register as a sex offender. Good luck finding a new house. Good luck making friends. Good luck finding a good job. Cassandra, don't think your parents won't press charges because they will. You think they'll believe this perverted coach didn't take advantage of their little girl? You really believe they'll let you continue seeing him? Because you love him? I don't think that's a risk you'd be willing to take."

Her pale skin turned sallow. Her cheeks sunk in as she blanched in disapproval and disbelief. "This isn't happening. This can't be happening."

"Oh but it is, sweetheart," she said.

"Have a nice evening," Matt smiled menacingly.

The three of them crossed the street, hands buried in their jackets to stave off the cold. Theo shared a smile with Makennah. Matt sauntered to the car with his head held high.

And Cassandra and the coach watched them walk away, fear in their eyes. Half dressed. Humiliated.

"Job well done, folks," she congratulated and shut the Jeep door behind her.

"She deserved it. All of it," Matt whispered. Started the car. And drove home.

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Xoxo

W. Carolina