Perimeter Wedge

I slipped back under the front door threshold, leaving the stairwell quiet behind me. Resting flat against the floorboard seam was a black steel hex wrench. L-shaped, cold, with a clean six-sided edge. I knelt down and gripped the long arm to test the steel's rigidity. Zero flex. Bracing the short leg against the wood grain, I levered the tool upright on its ninety-degree bend. It rocked once, finding its center, then stood balanced like a rigid miniature bollard. A solid mechanical wedge. I nudged it flush into the baseboard joint, locking the entryway corner. Ground secured for the night.