Sleight of Hand [Show 'em Who's Boss #1]

11: Topophobia

It had been a lot more effort to get into my father's office than I'd expected, but I managed it. Firstly, I got Jakob so drunk he fell asleep on the sofa with my Xbox remote in his hands. It would've been impossible to break into my father's office with Jakob watching my every move. I was sure he still suspected that I wouldn't give up investigating my father's business. Before leaving the room I muted the TV in case Jakob's character got attacked and the noise woke him up.

Then I realised that I wouldn't be able to get into the office without the key. There are at least two keys to that door in existence and they belong to my dad and Uncle Steve. I didn't know if there were any spare keys around either. This meant that I had to break in. After watching several YouTube video tutorials I decided that I was ready to pick the lock on the door. Fortunately I managed to get in.

At a first glance the room looked unsuspicious. There were various, boring business documents littered on the big wood desk. None of them seemed to be important or interesting so I didn't bother to read them. The more important documents would be stored away somewhere out of sight. There was also a green desk lamp and a computer on the desk. I considered logging on to the laptop to see if I could find anything on there but decided against it. It would probably be easy for me to guess my father's password; I like to think that I know him pretty well. However, I didn't want to spend too long in the office in case I got caught. Jakob was asleep but he could wake up at any moment. It would also be a waste of time guessing passwords when I could be thoroughly searching the room.

The obvious place to search would be the filing cabinets that lined one of the walls but the very thought of going through those bore me to death. No doubt they'd all be ordered alphabetically and the mere thought of all that organisation made me want to scream. I can't stand it when people are obsessed with ordering things.

Then I noticed something slightly suspicious as I collapsed into the big leather desk chair. Running down both sides of the desk were three small drawers. The top left drawer was the only one that had a lock on it. I could just sense that there must be something important inside so I immediately set to work picking the lock.

On the top there was a small black folder. I took it out and placed it on the table. I was shocked when I noticed what had been underneath the folder. There were a few revolver guns, some bullets and some other miscellaneous items. I flicked through the folder first. What I found in the folder appalled me. From that moment on, my view of my father was completely distorted. Words could not describe just how much I hated him.

A gasp of shock escaped my lips as I heard gentle footsteps walking towards the door. There was a pair; my father and Uncle Steve? They weren't supposed to be back for days! The steps grew closer to the door, like seconds ticking away on a clock as my mind fought desperately to figure out what to do. I hastily grabbed a gun from the drawer along with some other things I needed and picked up the folder.

It was probably too late to rush out of the door so my eyes flicked around the room in search of a hiding place. There wasn't anywhere to hide except for under the desk which would be an awfully stupid idea. Just like breaking into this office. What a stupid plan!

I dashed towards the office door and peeped around the edge. It was a relief to see that they hadn't yet turned around the corner of the hallway. I tiptoed out of the office and closed the door behind me, hugging the folder to my chest. Then I rushed into the room next door: the kitchen. It was close but neither of them noticed me as they turned the corner and stopped outside the office door.

"That's strange, the office is unlocked," spoke my father.

"You're getting old, you know. You probably forgot to lock it," joked Uncle Steve.