Late at night, at the base of the cliff below Steve's villa.
Hunter fought the urge to light a cigarette.
He looked up. The villa above was pitch black.
Whether the owner was asleep or the angle simply hid the lights, Hunter couldn't tell.
Doesn't matter.
He reached into his Inventory and pulled out a bag of magnesium powder (chalk).
He coated his palms, then slung a climbing rope across his chest.
Finally, he took out two glow sticks—one in his mouth, one in his breast pocket.
He began to climb.
He followed the pitons he had hammered in the night before. As he ascended, he threaded his rope through the carabiners he had pre-installed, creating a secure line for a rapid rappel later.
Without his superhuman strength (double a normal human's), doing this solo would have been nearly impossible.
He moved cautiously.
He was terrified of a guard patrolling the perimeter above.
Ten minutes later, he reached the top without incident.
"Phew."
Hunter exhaled softly. His heart, which had been in his throat, settled back into his chest.
No time to waste.
He didn't know if there were guards inside.
In The Italian Job, Steve; paranoid and trusting no one after betraying Charlie and killing John Bridger, lived alone in this fortress.
But Hunter knew better than to trust the movie blindly.
His presence had already derailed the Fast & Furious plot.
He had checked the parts shop recently. It was trashed. Looted. Brian was gone.
Hunter suspected Dom had handled it.
Brian would never be "family" now. The timeline was broken.
So, Steve might have hired mercenaries for all he knew.
Hunter secured his rope and double-checked the anchor.
He pulled a balaclava from his Inventory and pulled it over his face.
He was already wearing disguise makeup, but you could never be too careful.
He crouched low and crept toward the villa.
Suddenly, he froze.
The System chimed in his head.
[System Notification: New Skill Acquired — Stealth]
[Trigger: Detected host performing covert infiltration.]
Hunter ignored the notification for now.
Steve's villa was riddled with cameras. Most were concentrated at the front gate and along the perimeter walls.
But Steve was a ruthless, calculating survivor.
Hunter doubted he would leave his rear undefended.
As he neared the cliff edge, Hunter stored the glow sticks back into his Inventory.
Total darkness.
He crawled on his belly, hugging the ground.
Four meters from the villa's rear wall, his enhanced hearing picked up a faint mechanical whir.
Servo motor.
He scanned the darkness.
There. A camera mounted on the wall, scanning the backyard.
Hunter scanned again. Another camera covering the blind spot of the first.
"Close call."
He watched them for a minute, timing their rotation cycles.
There was a gap. A small window of opportunity where both cameras faced away.
3... 2... 1...
Hunter exploded from his crouch.
In a single breath, he crossed the gap and pressed his back against the villa wall, right in the blind spot between the two cameras.
"Safe."
He scanned the wall.
His eyes lit up.
Nearby, a ground-level window was slightly ajar.
It looked like a basement vent. Small, but big enough for him to squeeze through.
He waited for the camera cycle again.
Counting down in his head.
Go!
He dashed to the window and slithered inside like a snake.
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