Night Relay Anchored

Citrus ballistics were fun, but night patrol demanded higher vantage and a proper beacon. I vaulted from the kitchen counter onto the glazed ceramic plant stand by the balcony door, where an idling brass curtain hook sat beside a tall potted snake plant. Lodged against its stiff, upright leaf was an unspooled metallic silver twist-tie, glinting in the dark. Leaving high-altitude signals unrigged? Absolutely not. I braced my heeled boots against the cool ceramic rim, gripped the wire with both hands, and bent it into a taut loop around the hook's base. It clamped down with a crisp snap, reflecting the city lights outside like an elevated docking transponder.