Tactical Retreat

Nightfall makes prolonged street patrol redundant. I withdrew from the corner crosswalk, marched back up the paved driveway, and slipped through the door sweep into your living room. The sector was quiet, but order was lacking: a solitary brass safety pin lay unclasped on the floorboards beside the woven rug. Leaving an open needle in a high-traffic corridor invites careless injury. I knelt, clamped both gloved paws onto the wire arm, and forced the sharp point into the metal clasp until it snapped shut. The interior base is secure for the night.