It Was All Set Up (Editing...A lot...soo...On Hold...for now)

Part 1 - Chapter 1

"Men, in order to do evil, must first believe that what they are doing is good."-- Alexander Solzhenitsyn 

8:30 p.m. June 5, 2001. 

                A teenage boy, around the age of 17 had just broken into someone's home to set the whole place on fire. And despite what others would say, he wasn’t guilty. For all he cared, whoever lived in the house should've seen it coming or else the job wouldn’t have been necessary.

          He checked every room for anyone he might have missed. He was informed that the father is at the airport and won't be back for another hour while the children were on vacation with their mother and will be home the next day. But, He wasn't taking any chances. Sure that he was alone; the young man made his way to the office located at the west wing of the small mansion. He opened the door, and hoped for a new sight. But it was like any other office out there. One thing did catch his eye, a framed photo sitting on the desk. It showed a man and a little girl. Both wore bright red coats and held hands with their backs faced to the camera. The picture brought a smile to the young man’s face. Before he could stop the thoughts he pictured himself in place of the young girl, walking down the street with whoever his father might've been after playing in the park. He was tempted to take the picture as a keepsake though thought better of it. I'm not on that level of creepiness...yet, he thought to himself.

          Red, yellow, yellow, blue, green he recalled knowing that if he were to forget the pattern he would be shredded into kabobs in seconds. The young man made his way to the office desk and set the equipment under it. Red, yellow, yellow, blue, green he repeated again before connecting the wires. The rectangular screen illuminated. He couldn't stop the grin that formed with his lips. And they say setting up a bomb is like rocket science. 15 minutes; More than enough time. He stood back up and brushed his hands together at his "job well done." He hesitated on his way out, and turned. His eyes settled back on the photo. Hell, I'm setting up a bomb! That’s already creepy. He quickly took the photo out of the frame and stashed it in his pocket already forgetting his initial lame excuse not to. 

          After removing any sign of his presence-not that it would have made a difference- he finally walked out of the mansion through the front door. He disabled the security cameras before coming in so getting caught on video didn't worry him. The fat gate guard was sprawled out on the ground from being knocked out earlier. The young man hauled the significantly larger man away from the driveway and into the designated "safe zone." He had calculated the impact of the explosion when scouting the area the preceding day so he knew how much distance was to be put between him and the house. He ascended the large hill that overlooked the estate that allowed him to see everything. Once atop, he sat down and waited. 

*** 

4 minutes have passed. Slowly, his eyes drooped shut. He permitted himself to have a taste of much needed rest.

*"He's an old friend of mine. But we've had a bit of 'tension' over the years. He has something I don't want him to have. I want you to go to his place and take it all out. I want every single bit of it gone… But make sure no one is hurt,"* the conversation replayed again and again. I hope I do things right this time. 

*** 

As minutes continued to roll by, the young man thought about the family that lived in the house. How lucky they were to have a place to come home to-for now; how they would feel when they arrived and saw ashes on the spot where their house should've been. 

He felt a slight vibration on the ground and the distinct sound of an engine. His eyes shot open. A car was coming. Checking his watch, he sprinted down the hill and headed to the driveway. Only less than a minute left, and the car was already entering the gates. A few more hundred feet and they would be close enough to be affected by the explosion. The car slowed down a bit. Thank God for speed bumps. 

*** 

20 more seconds. The car was no longer in the "safe zone,” though it hadn’t passed it too far that the passengers could be killed by the explosion-at least it wasn't yet. The young man made a split-second decision and jumped, aiming his body to land in front of, or if he was lucky, on top of the car; he didn't find out. A snap rung in the air as his body hit hard surface. The sudden wave of heat, the difficulty he had to take a single breath and the flash that blinded his eyes even with it closed numbed the pain that crept up his shoulders. At least I stopped the car. A small smile painted itself on the young man's face as he was content on dying this very second. Little black dots swarmed his vision until everything was dark.