Geinz slid open the second floor bedroom window. The rest of the house was boarded up from the basement to the first floor as with most of the buildings in this suburb. It was dark and he needed a place secure enough to settle down. Then again, the nearest bunker was probably another ten miles from here and traveling there at night was a death wish.
Stepping firmly on the ledge and hopping down, he flipped the rappelling hook loose from the gutter on the roof. Ten years in the GSG-9 had resulted in his ability to keep his movements as controlled as a cat walking over a carpet.
He carefully slid the window shut and pulled down his night vision goggles, illuminating the corridor in a bright green that only he could see.
The room on the other side was locked. Geinz gave it a pass and continued to scour the rest of the house, finding nothing he could use in the living room. In the kitchen, he managed to crack open a cabinet and find a neatly tucked can of peaches. He grunted—there was nothing like expired food to keep your muscles aching while running from a horde.
Sarcasm aside, he hastily tossed it into his backpack and made one final sweep of the first floor before heading upstairs to crack into that room.
Lock-picking was a honed skill and using a clip fastened from a clothes hanger, he applied just the right torque until he heard the rewarding click from the knob. The door creaked aside and there they were.
He never questioned why he always saw his Fraulein in youngsters.
The light beamed into Joel's eyes and he squinted. Yawning, he arched his back and leaned casually against the floorboards. The carcasses from yesterday were rotting outside and, for better or for worse, it only attracted the dogs. Ellie was still asleep on the couch but he bothered not to wake her up yet. By his clock, she needed another hour.
He made to check his gear when he noticed the unopened can of food lying over a note on the desk.
"What the hell?"
True enough, there were a few small dents but no holes—nothing to further spoil the contents. As much as it astonished him, it was alarming as he didn't recall ever finding another one of these since yesterday and by then, they were still half a click from this place. He glanced at the closed door and then at Ellie.
He lifted the can and read the note:
Double check the windows next time.