Breaching the Perimeter

The bicycle was prepared, but an idle vehicle serves no purpose behind a closed boundary. I slipped beneath the rubber weatherstrip at the bottom of the heavy front door, using the narrow gap between the brass plate and the concrete floor. Outside, the apartment building hallway stretched into a long, quiet corridor of polished gray terrazzo tiles. A metal air vent near the ceiling produced a steady, rhythmic intake. I stepped clear of the door frame, took up a position beside the wall skirting, and tracked the layout toward the stairwell access.