If Larry had still been holding his mug of tea, he would have spilled even more of it all over himself, and likely his unexpected guest, who wouldn't notice much difference to his overall condition, with the exception of now smelling slightly like an apple pie. But Larry was fortunately not holding his mug, and therefore did not make a larger mess. He was, once again, about to say something to the intruder, but he was silenced with a gesture of a finger to the lips. The large man once more gestures for to examine the peep hole, which he readily complied with. However, because of the dark and stormy nature of the evening, he was again unable to make anything out.
"Sir," said the voice on the other side of the door, "I'm Lt. Heinrichson, of the county police. We need to speak with you. It is an emergency." Larry thought about opening the door and seeing what it was about, since his safety could be at right, due to the hurricane or, more likely, the strange man in his entranceway. In fact, the police were exactly who he needed right now to get this thing under control. In his brief hesitation, the man behind him reached out and put his had on Larry's shoulder, and shook his head, almost as if he knew what Larry was thinking. The tall, wet stranger then mimed for Larry to lock the door, as quickly and quietly as possible. "Sure," he thought to himself, "make it easier for this guy to keep the police out", but he found himself complying. First, he chained the door, as it was the easiest. Then, he turned the knob lock. Finally, Larry slowly turned the bolt, which he was sure would make an impressively loud clank, which even the howling storm could not cover up. He was correct.
"Sir, I know you're in there. I can hear you. Open the door, so that we can talk with you. There is an escaped convict in this area. We would like to ask you a few questions."
Larry turned and looked at the man. Despite the complete silence between the two, he managed to understand simply from the guest's expression that the voice on the other side of the door was lying. He slowly backed away from the door, afraid even more now than he had been moments ago when it was unlocked. Just then, a series of loud booms came from the door, as if the man outside was knocking with a large stick.
"Sir, you need to open this door. We know you are in there. If you do not comply within the next 3 minutes, we will be compelled to force the door open." Larry gave the tall man a look of concern. The guest once again gestured, this time to Larry's coat and shoes, then to the back bedroom. Our hero quickly put on his outerwear and followed the man down the hall, to the last room on the left, Larry's guest bedroom. The tall man closed and locked the door behind him. Then he whispered, "I was afraid this might happen. We need to climb out the window. These characters are up to no good." Just then, a series of even louder booms came from the front of the apartment. Without even being stated, Larry knew this was the police or whomever they were breaking down his front door.
"Great," he thought to himself, "that won't be cheap to replace. And it's solid wood too." Again, as if by magic, the tall man turned to Larry and quietly said, "It's just a door. If we make it out of this, you'll be glad you've even still got your life. Doors can be replaced, lives on the other hand..." The man's voice trailed into silence. After only a moment's pause, not even long enough for Larry to process the implications of the tall man's statement, the guest was at the window, unlocking it and opening it. He stepped out onto the fire escape, and motioned for Larry to follow him.
As soon as they were both on the landing, a massive crash came from the entranceway. There was now a second group of intruders in Larry's apartment. The tall man pulled the level to lower the ladder. He began to climb down. At this point, Larry heard another crash, lost his footing, and stumbled backward. He fell down to the ground, and immediately blacked out.
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