nowhere but in human kind.
―George Eliot
Monitoring Centre
The following day one of us had to stay home to arrange for the installation of a security system. I elected to oversee the task.
Ari showed up promptly at nine as he promised in his text to me.
He was a young guy in his mid-twenties and it was hard to believe he had been a police technician for five years.
"Just show me around the property, Bro," he said breezily, and answer a few questions and then we'll sit down and assess your needs."
He seemed very competent and professional and I was comfortable working with him.
A half hour later we were sitting at my kitchen table while Ari sketched out a rough plan of our house and property and began detailing what he thought we'd need.
"You have no outdoor lighting at all," he said with dismay, "it's like an open invitation to intruders."
"What do you suggest?" I asked.
"Motion activated floodlights and motion alarms," he said, between bites of a donut, "and I'd add a video doorbell and outdoor cameras with night vision."
"Sounds impressive," I smiled.
He chuckled, "That's just the outside—inside you need a state-of-the -art security alarm system as well as motion detectors and cameras in the garage and basement."
"I'm not a techie, Ari—will I be able to operate this system?"
"Sure," he smiled, "I'll do an in-service with you but it's basically fool-proof—you just arm it and forget it. I'll throw in free monitoring for six months and your premises will be watched 24/7."
"So everything's recorded?"
"Not only recorded but notifications are sent to your cell phone and if an intruder is detected, a private security team shows up at your door."
"In that case, what are we waiting for? Go ahead and install it and we'll be able to sleep peacefully tonight.”
Just after 2 pm, Ari wound up his tutorial with me, and I felt quite comfortable operating the system.
“Just wait until I get the new AI systems up and running—they continually monitor using AI technology. Being a burglar is a failing trade,” he laughed.
I believed him. I felt completely protected in my own home and realized that there was also a police detail assigned to track us as well.
I couldn’t wait until Shannon got home to update her on our latest layer of protection.
Just after 5 pm, Shannon arrived, but she seemed worried.
“Did something happen at work—did you have another run-in with Barnes?” I asked.
“No, Barnes has been keeping a low profile, but when I went for lunch I noticed a man watching me.I wasn’t sure he was surveilling me because sometimes men stare,” she blushed.
I had no doubt she’d attract her share of male admirers.
“I tried to dismiss it, but when I finished at four I headed to the parking lot, I spotted the same man again. I phoned the detectives’ cell but by the time I completed the call the man had disappeared.”
She looked really bummed.
“Of course, he avoided tailing me on the way home, so he got away,” she moaned. “I feel so stupid."
“Don’t feel stupid,” I consoled her, “you didn’t want to over-react, but you’ll be able to call the detectives a lot sooner if you spot this perp again. Meanwhile, welcome to The Fortress of Solitude—rest assured, no one will trouble you here.”
She melted into my arms and I held her a long time, consoling and soothing her, not wanting to let her go.