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He tilted his head “Okay And the bad news?”
“It’s a long, three-step processand I don’t know if I can do it”
“You can” He said it like it was just that simple He closed the door, turned the handle, and spun the dial to lock it “Show me”
For the first ti while, I looked at a safe without certainty I could get it open Once I’d gotten good at cracking theer jobs, I’d developed a bit of an ego Every safe was a puzzle I knew I’d solve; it was only a et it open
“You reset the combination already?” I asked “Because you’d be amazed how many people use the manufacturer’s default”
His smile was sly “Yeah, I reset it”
“Grab a seat, then This will take a while”
I went to the tool bag I’d brought with me, unzipped it, and retrieved the black box that housed my amplifier and headphones There were two tall chairs set in front of the fireplace, and he turned one of the in it
“The first step,” I said, “is to determine the contact points That’s the notch at the front of the drive cam that the lever falls into” His blank look told ate that once every wheel has lined up and the fence drops, I turn the handle on the door This makes the lever move into the notch and pull the bolt back So, I start by listening for the contact point clicks from the lever”
I got out the amplifier, which was a small, thick, black disc that held an extremely sensitive microphone, and the battery pack which was the sa as I used duct tape to place the ht beside the dial, slipped the wired headphones over my ears, and flipped the switch on the battery pack
“One click tells me where the notch starts,” I said, “and another tells me where it ends”
I began turning the wheel slowly, listening to the sound of each number as it went past There were one hundred numbers on the dial, and they all sounded identical I took a deep breath, closed reatest tool of all
Clickclickclick
My eyes popped open, and I looked at the nu that I dug out, scribbled the number on the front of the safe, and tucked the pencil behindthe dial until the next click that sounded off It was jotted down beside the first number