She tried to run, avoiding the workers who were storming the place like a colony of ants. She got to the door, and was able to see several black unmarked vehicles outside, the largest of which was a truck, stationed outside.
She ran back up the stairs to find her father and rescue her mother. She found him sneaking through the hallway, but away from the bedrooms. She suddenly realized where he was going...he wasn't coming to try to rescue her or her mother...he was going to lock himself in the safe room... "Daddy..."
Richard McMillan didn't miss a beat. "Thank goodness....we need to get to the safe room...it's a home invasion."
"You weren't going to come rescue us?" She said, accusingly.
"And get shot? I was going to lock myself in, check the cameras, and call the police. That's a much smarter move than throwing myself in front of these people." He said. "Besides, your mother took a sleeping pill...I doubt the entire army could wake her right now."
Sarah, for all her flaws, had actually come to check on her parents to make sure they were safe... She paused, trying to reconcile how she felt about being left behind before she pushed it aside and heading with him toward the safe room. In the panic, she'd forgotten they even had it. She'd only been in there once. It was little more than a reinforced closet with a few chairs and the security cameras. It wasn't like it was designed for extended occupancy.
When they got there, he couldn't get the electric door to lock. "They must have cut the power. I thought there was a backup..." Richard said. The cameras weren't working either.
"And Mom is out there..." Sarah reminded him. "And the lights are on...but none of the phones or anything are working."
"We're just going to have to hide in here until morning," Richard said. "And hope they don't find the room." He took one of the chairs and tried to jam it against the wooden door, suddenly wishing he'd paid for the full bunker and the service contract, instead of the cheapest model that could hold 3 people. But this was Lake Point. He hadn't been expecting an army to descend on the place.
Sarah, uncharacteristically, really wanted her father to comfort her, but he hadn't done that since she was a little girl. An outsider would not be impressed by Richard or Susan's parenting style of throwing money at the problem.
They stayed in the room for what felt like hours before the lights flickered back on, and the cameras started working. Oddly enough, the time stamps still said 4AM...The house looked completely silent. There were no cameras in private areas. They covered the exterior and entrances mostly, with a few in strategic inside locations such as the stairs. Everything looked deserted.
"We should call the police," Richard said.
"We should find Mom first," Sarah insisted. She didn't think a lick about the other occupant of the house.
"Fine..." Richard said.
They headed out of the safe room. But, as they started down the hall, Sarah suddenly paused.
"What is it?" Her father asked.
"There was a painting there..."
"So, they must have stolen it?"
"And put up a different one?" She pointed. "That table wasn't there either."
Richard hadn't noticed. Susan was always buying useless art junk, he only paid attention to the bills. But as his daughter pointed it out, he started to notice things that he was certain hadn't been there before.
