By lthr_jock
As the police patrol car drove slowly past the end of the alley, the police officer in the passenger seat swept his torch down the darkened alley revealing nothing but half-empty rubbish bins and discarded McDonalds boxes blowing around in the wind and rain. The patrol car moved on and the alley remained still, the only sound being the falling rain, the distant sound of a window banging in the wind and the low rattle of the rubbish being blown away from the street.
After a few minutes, there was movement as four figures stood up from their hiding places — three from behind bins, the fourth from a darkened doorway. Without speaking, the four padded forward to the entrance of the alley and looked cautiously out into the road. After checking in each direction, the lead figure made a series of gestures with his hand and all four men ran into the lit street, swiftly moving along the pavement until they reached the door of a jewellery shop. Two took crouching positions either side of the door where they had a clear view of the street. The other two unstrapped packs from their back, one taking out a screwdriver and removing the cover of the alarm box by the door, the other pulling out a laptop and booting it up.