He was in no hurry. First one mechanism, then another, then the rest. Each piece went back exactly where it belonged.
When everything had been reassembled, he checked it again. He weighed it in his rough hands, judging the balance. Then he gave a slight nod to himself and set it down.
Next he picked up one of the flash-bangs. His fingers moved carefully over the smooth metal. He checked the pin and weighed it in his palm.
Satisfied, he set it back down. Nearly a dozen of them lay on the table. He studied them for a long time.
Then he rose and walked to the front door. Outside, the night was still and clear. Over the sleeping town hung a dark sky thick with stars.
Far off, the pines made their steady sound. The cold night air smelled of damp earth. There was also a faint trace of wood smoke from the chimneys.
The old man stepped into the dark yard. He stood motionless, looking toward the empty road. In the moonlight, his face was calm.
But his eyes were hard and alert. He had lived a long, difficult life. And in that life he had seen enough to know one simple thing.
Sometimes trouble comes to the very places where people have gotten used to peace. And then somebody has to find the nerve to stop it.
Otherwise it puts down roots and stays. The old man let out a slow breath and went back inside. He hardly slept at all that night.
Sometimes he sat by the window watching the road. Sometimes he stepped outside for air. But mostly, he waited for daylight.
Morning came earlier than usual for the town. People stepped into their yards and looked anxiously toward the road. Nobody said out loud what everyone expected.
But the waiting was there in the air. The sun climbed slowly above the tree line. One long hour passed.
Then another. And then the sound came.
Low, distant, and all too familiar. The growl of a powerful engine. Somebody was the first to spot the cloud of dust over the road. “They’re coming,” a pale man whispered by the fence.
A few seconds later, the first vehicle came around the bend. Big, black, and ominous. The second followed close behind.
They drove in with complete confidence, never slowing down. As if they already considered the town theirs. The vehicles stopped in the same place they had the day before.
The doors flew open. The same men stepped out. The same smug faces. The same contempt in their eyes.
Their mouths wore the same self-satisfied smiles. The big leader looked over the shut-up houses and smirked. “Well?” he shouted. “You got our money ready?”
He made sure everyone could hear him. No one came out. Every door stayed shut.
The man gave a dark little laugh and started forward. “Fine. We’ll do this the hard way.” At that very moment, somewhere on the edge of town, a gate creaked open.
An old man stepped onto the dusty road. He walked calmly, steadily. Not a muscle in his face moved.
In his hands was the gear he had prepared. The men didn’t notice him right away. But when they did, they stopped.
The big one narrowed his eyes. “And who’s this supposed to be?” The old man stopped several dozen yards from the vehicles…
