Shifters of Night and Day

POV of Jakob:

As Jakob slipped through the bars of the driveway gate he swore he could feel his heart beating out of his chest. His heart raced against his rib cage and it's like his lungs felt they had to compete because his breathing became rapid as well. Sweat glistened on his hands and somehow his face grew pale.

"Easy Jake, don't panic."

Self soothing was not a talent of his but he kept telling himself not to panic as if repeating those words would convince his vital signs to stabilize. He knew his grandfather goes out each night to play cards and see the girls at the brothel. The old man was never content to stay in for a quiet night at home.

Jakob also knew that in the old man's office the window doesn't latch. He noticed it the last time he was here. A few months ago his grandfather had him come to collect adult diapers and soaps for his bedridden mother's care. While the man was sipping on his glass of whiskey a cool breeze slipped past the crack in the window. His grandfather got up to close the thing but the lock would not latch. Jakob remembered his grandfather drunkenly slurring about, "why do I keep forgetting to have the damned thing fixed?"

For Jakob he sure hoped the "damned thing" was still broken.

He ran down the driveway quickly. As he came up to the shrubs he squeezed between two of the massive bushes and then pressed his body against the cool white wall on the outside of the building. Hugging his body against the wall he was quite hidden by the landscaping and plants surrounding the old home as he moved around to the side of the house.

Finally he got to the office window. He pried the screen off of the window and then placed his hands flat on the glass in an attempt to slide the window up.

***Sqweeeeeeeh***

"Shit!" His sweaty palms slide across the window nosily so he pulled his hands back and dried them off on his black hoodie. Once dry he attempted to slide the glass up again. It wasn't easy but slowly he inched the window up until it had a wide enough gap to let his body through.

One arm went into the office followed by another. He bent his elbows, braced them against the sides of the opening, and jumped up to hoist himself inside of the office.

His idea of a smooth entry was all shot to hell when he ended up struggling to pull his body up and through the window. In the end he wound up falling head first into the hard wood floor. The noise of his landing was quite loud and he was thankful his grandfather was not home.

Jakob once again grabbed the key to the safe and fidgeted with it as he walked across the room. He threw the papers and books on the desk in front of the massive safe onto the floor. Wedging his foot on the side of the desk he kicked it aside with much effort so he could reach the safe.

Feeling suddenly paranoid he looked around the room. He was indeed alone. Only the ghosts of this old house we're aware of his intrusion. He slowly inserted the key and then flicked his wrist to turn it over. The door unlocked and swung open slowly. He wasn't sure what he would find but he knew he was taking as much as he could shove inside his bag and pockets.

Setting his eyes on the contents he quickly spied shining jewelry, legal documents, and cash. There was a lot of cash. It was more money than he ever knew even existed.

The hell is the old man doing to make this much bank???

Pushing that thought aside he threw down his bag and squatted down to unzip it. He grabbed stacks upon stacks of the money. To make it all fit he had removed his clothes and astronomy book before shoveling the cash into the bag. He grabbed old rings with the family crest. He grabbed his late grandmother's favorite diamond necklace. Then he grabbed whatever documents were in there with no real idea what he was grabbing. Once his bag was full he put the clothes and book back in and half-assed zipped it up in his haste. After that he filled his hoodie and jeans pockets.

Satisfied with the money being more than enough to buy his freedom he took out a cigarette and flipped the zippo to light it. He took a drag of his cigarette and then looked at the zippo still ablaze.

A funny thought ran through his head. Now that he was opening his cage and letting himself out he no longer needed the cigarettes. Why try to kill myself with the nicotine now that I have a life to start? He kept looking at the zippo and pondering his future.

What if grandfather tracks me down? If that happens I'll be a dead man. Looking at all of the money in the safe that he couldn't carry Jakob made the decision right then and there to insure the old man would struggle to find him again. He tossed the lit lighter into the safe and ran back to the window where he slipped, or rather fell not so elegantly out the window. He got up and brushed off and ran back to the gate.

He got out the gate and continued running until his legs gave out. Refusing to be caught in a hotel so close to the Victorian home he opted instead to sleep tucked under a bridge. Sleep wasn't easy though. He was worried a homeless person would steal from him while he slept.

Meanwhile his grandfather rolled his vehicle through the iron gates and saw black smoke coming out from his office window. The old man slammed the car into park and ran to the front door. As he hurried to unlock the door he dropped his keys. Cursing as he picked them up he located the house key and threw open the doors.

He ran into his office to see his desk slide across the floor, his work papers scattered, and his safe wide open. His wealth sat in the metal safe engulfed in flames as heat and smoke radiated into the office. He went to the kitchen and grabbed the small fire extinguisher. Sweeping the foam left to right he put out the small blaze.

After the adrenaline died down and the safe was no longer hot he looked through to see what was left. Not a lot survived, but he did find a zippo lighter that looked vaguely familiar. He knew he has seen this before but could not remember whose hands he saw this thing in.

He went to the window and looked out of it. Whoever had done this dropped a book. He went outside and around to the side of his home to pick up the book.

"Who the hell reads astronomy when they burglarize a home?" He carried it back inside with him and sat down in his bedroom with his phone in his hands.

Before he could dial any numbers it rang in his hands. "This is Voight."

"I need you to call your grandson to go check on his mother. Your daughter has been screaming her head off for two hours. If you all don't take care of her I'm going to call the police." Suddenly the electronic voice of Lauri's neighbor clicked off.

Voight seethed. That kid his daughter birthed was a lazy abomination. He dialed the number to the home he provided for his daughter and her son. It rang and rang. No answer. The old man got up and grabbed his keys to go check on why Jakob was failing to perform his duties. This was proving to be a shitty night.

As he pulled up to the small house he could hear Lauri screaming and crying. He went inside and into her room. "Where is Jakob?"

"How should I know dad? I can't exactly get up to look for him. I think he has ran away. He hasn't checked on me and I've been calling for him for so long. What if he has left me dad? Who will take care of me?"

Lauri looked at Voight with hope in her eyes that he would save her but all he did was stare at her. "You did this to yourself. I'm not going to break my back to care for you but I'll hire someone to come stay here with you until I find Jakob. I'll bring his worthless ass back after I deal with a personal issue of mine."

"Good luck finding him. He is gone. He took my last cigarette pack and even my lighter. I can't see them on my bedside table. Fucking brat stole from me and just left!"

"What kind of lighter was it?" Voight asked this impatiently.

Lauri snapped back, "Does it even matter?"

"Yes Lauri it does. What kind of lighter does Jakob have with him?"

"It is a zippo. You know it's the kind that you flip the top open before you light it."

Voight reached into his pocket and produced the lighter he had found in his safe. "Lauri is this yours?" He extended his arm forward so she could inspect what was in his hand.

"What happened to it? It's mine but it looks rough." Voight looked at her and asked, "What type of books does Jakob like?" Looking up at her father Lauri said, "He likes space crap."

Voight instantly thought back to the astronomy book that was dropped outside his window. All of the evidence points to Jakob abandoning his mother and then stealing his grandfather's money to get away. Seething in absolute rage Voight knew exactly what he would do now.

"Lauri, I'm going to find your son, but when I do I'm going to teach him a lesson about stealing and being a good son. Even if I have to cut off his hands to do it!"