Chapter 26

Edward Brandt stopped at the curb about one hundred yards from his home. He didn’t want the abrupt screeching of his car’s tires to alarm his wife’s aggressor if he was still inside. Surely if the man were to hear such a racket, there would be nothing more Edward could do. After exiting the car, he removed the Glock 19 from his holster and looked around attentively as he briskly ran towards the house. He had two options. He could try entering through the front door, which patients never used but would also use valuable time. Or he could go around the back to the patient entrance, where he would have quicker access to Joyce’s office but may alarm whoever was inside.

The decision had been made. With his pistol ready, he slowly tried to turn the handle to the front door. Locked. Of course, it’s locked; she’s just as conscious with security. Fumbling through his pockets, Edward pulled out his keys and unlocked the deadbolt and the handle lock as quietly as he could. With another quick glance around him, he opened the door and walked slowly through the threshold. He immediately noticed that the hallway door to Joyce’s office was open. He couldn’t hear anything, whether out of his panicked breathing masking the external noise or maybe he was too late.

Quickly scanning with the pistol, he cleared the living room and kitchen from any obvious threat. Staying low and smooth, he worked his way down the hallway and towards Joyce’s office.

The scream, followed by the loud thump, snapped Edward out of caution as he bolted the last several feet toward Joyce. Upon reaching the doorway, he immediately noticed two things. Joyce was slumped over her desk, and her attacker was taking aim with an object in his hand. The man’s back was toward Edward, which gave him the element of surprise. Wasting no time, not even to speak, Edward fired off three rounds. Two struck the attacker in the center of his back, and the final round went through the back of his skull only to exit through the front.

Lucious collapsed instantly. There was no functioning vital organ left that would keep him upright.

Joyce was still shaken from the blow to the side of her face, but even more so by the three shots fired directly behind her. She thought that this was the end. Caught in a daze, she rose back to her feet like an apparition. Is this the afterlife? she thought as time felt like it no longer existed. She looked down to see the man she came to know as Jacob lying on the floor, his life essence draining and pooling all around him. She looked back up to see her husband, Edward, walking towards, her speaking words that she could not hear.

Edward grabbed Joyce’s shoulders giving her a light jolt before wrapping both arms around her tightly in embrace. “Are you alright?”

The embrace snapped her out of her euphoric state and she could hear again. It wasn’t a dream. She wasn’t dead. Edward was here. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, and everything that had just transpired came back to her in an instant. “I am okay.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. Dan tried to call. My phone didn’t work because I’m an idiot who didn’t buy a charger,” Edward said as they continued to hold each other.

“You’re here now. That’s what matters,” Joyce sniffled in response to both the traumatizing event that took place and the emotional responses she received from her husband.

Edward unlatched himself from Joyce to look her in the eyes. “I need you to stay here. I need to check the rest of the house in case someone else is here. Can you do that for me?”

Joyce nodded.

“Here. Take this.” Edward handed over his Glock 19 to her. “If someone comes through that door that isn’t me, shoot them.”

Nyx couldn’t believe his eyes when he noticed the man get out of his car and run toward the home. How could this be? What went wrong? The realization that the man he just witnessed was none other than Edward Brandt offered more questions than answers. Could he be so lucky to kill Edward today? While Nyx had formed some respect for Lucious, he didn’t care one way or another about his fate. Edward was the ultimate target, and now he could make it looks like a home invasion that had gone wrong.

He parked his vehicle right behind where Edward had left his. He didn’t want his target trying to make a quick escape. The Glock 17 was already holstered and attached to his belt. He grabbed the hunting knife before exiting his car. Moving alongside the 1987 Corvette, he kneeled down and punctured holes in both front tires with the knife. Unlike a blowout, the rapid release of air hissed rather than making a loud pop. That should do it.

Nyx continued quietly, scanning his surroundings and coming to the same decision as Edward before him. He would try the front door. He had not heard the gunshots earlier, so he thought he might catch everyone by surprise. As he positioned himself in front of the door, he noticed it was still cracked open. Here we go.

After swiftly clearing the house, Edward walked back toward the door to Joyce’s office. He knocked lightly so he would not panic her, then opened the door.

Joyce had immediately stuck the muzzle of the Glock 19 into Edward’s face.

“Whoa.” Thinking quickly, he grabbed her wrist and moved the business end of the pistol away from his face and disarming her in the process.

“Sorry. Sorry.” Joyce backed away slowly while realizing what she had almost done.

Edward took the weapon and holstered it. Comforting his wife. “It’s okay. I probably should have been more careful. The house is clear; we are safe now.”

“Thank goodness.”

“I am assuming that Dan was able to contact you first?”

“Dan? I don’t think so.” Joyce picked up the phone that dropped from her would-be killer’s hands and unlocked the screen. “When I turned the phone on, I had received a bunch of messages and missed calls. I was only able to look at the most recent one. This one.” She showed the message to Edward.

His eyes widened when he saw the name. “Jean. How?”

“Do you know who that is?”

Edward didn’t know if it was the right time or even how he would be able to explain it. But he felt that Joyce deserved an answer.

Joyce took notice of the change in Edward’s expression. “Jean. Who’s Jean?”

“Jean. Oh, how do I explain this. She’s not really a who, but more of a what.”

“You’re not making much sense. Give it to me straight.”

“She’s a computer. Well, more of an Artificial Intelligence.” Edward did not know how else to put it. He always thought it was better to show someone rather than trying to explain something and potentially making things even more confusing.

Joyce let out a small laugh. She didn’t know if Edward was trying to be funny in light of the dark situation. Her smile straightened when she noticed that he was not laughing or smiling along with her. “Excuse me?”

“She’s some kind of advanced system that Andrew built. I only found out through a letter given to me after his death. Supposedly he wanted me to find her.”

“So you have been talking to a female robot?”

This was exactly why he would rather just show someone. “Not a robot. Just a computer, a very smart computer. She has been helping Dan and I track down those responsible for Andrew’s death. She’s the one that tipped us off regarding the man who attacked you.”

“And somehow she was able to text me?”

“I guess so. She’s full of surprises, it seems. Regardless, I’m glad that she did.”

“I would really like to meet this person, or thing.”

Edward thought that perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Not only to prove that he wasn’t fabricating a fantasy but it may also help to keep her safe. “I promise, I’ll take you to her as soon as we get this mess cleaned up.”

Dan had just turned onto Edward and Joyce’s street when he noticed something peculiar. It wasn’t the fact that Edward’s car was parked a few houses down from his own; he understood the tactic. What was bizarre was the man knelt down at the car’s passenger-side front tire, seemingly thrusting a shiny blade into the rubber. He was too far away to notice any distinguishing features about the man but had a gut feeling that either this was Joyce’s attacker or another member of the party altogether.

He had to think quickly. Speeding up to engage the tire slasher would draw too much attention and may even get himself killed. Instead, he would park at the end of the street and work his way behind the houses. The small single-lane access road was primarily used for utility vehicles and those fortunate to have a detached garage at the back of their homes.

Dan was not the greatest sprinter at his age, but he went as fast as he could. When he reached the side of the house, he felt a great relief hearing the voices from Edward and Joyce coming through the windows. This was his opportunity to do his part. Assuming that the man was going to either go through the front or the rear, Dan could at least cover half of the ground by glancing at the back door and working his way along the side of the house to check the front.

He regained control over his breathing after the sprint and tip-toed toward the front door. He abruptly stopped when he noticed the man make his way across the front yard. Shit. He stood there frozen. For a moment, it looked as if the man had glanced in Dan’s direction, but maybe the bushes gave sufficient camouflage since he kept moving. Now he had to move fast and quietly.

Edward and Joyce had moved their conversation to the living room. They were both clearly uncomfortable continuing their discussion with a dead body littering the floor of her office.

“May I see your phone?” Edward asked.

“Sure.” Joyce unlocked it again and handed it over to Edward.

He noticed repeated messages from Dan. Get out of the house. You’re in danger. Edward and I are on our way. Respond soon. The messages were something he’d expect from Dan, but the one he was really curious about was supposedly from Jean. Upon opening the message, it didn’t have any real number attached to it. More of some random characters and numbers. The only noticeable clue of its origin was the quickly signed name, Jean. I guess she is the real hero today. It would have troubled him if he didn’t try to send a message back and thank her for the warning.

Thanks Jean, you saved her life. -Edward

Shortly after pressing send, he received the message ‘Undeliverable.’ “Hmm. I guess she must have used some sort of anonymous one-off online text service.” It made sense to him, considering how unlikely it would’ve been for her to have her very own cell phone number. It also felt obvious how she had got Joyce’s number in the first place. The phone was a business number for her practice, and like most businesses that want to stay in business, the number was publicly available.

“Well, I tried to thank her, but couldn’t get through.” Edward handed the phone back to Joyce.

“It’s okay; you’re taking me there soon anyways.”

“Absolutely, I think she would love to meet—” The sound of a blunt object hitting the front of the house rattled them. He quickly pulled out his Glock 19 and whispered to Joyce, “get behind the couch.”

She moved without hesitation as Edward walked slowly to the front door. He flung the door open to surprise the unannounced guest, only to see Dan standing there, winded and soaked with sweat.

Edward pulled back his handgun and holstered it. “Dan, you made it. What happened to the secret knock?”

Dan was still breathing heavily. He hadn’t had to move like that since his early thirties. “I’m glad you two are okay.” Still panting. “Here’s a little present for you.” He looked down, expecting Edward to do the same.

“Who is this?”

The dark-haired man was unconscious and balled up just to the side of the front door. Edward knelt down to get a better look, then looked back at Dan.

“I don’t know, but he wanted to crash your party as well.”

“I guess there’s one way to find out. Grab his legs.”