Chapter 39

Credence Technology Institute

They pulled into the parking lot’s far end and noticed what appeared to be someone pacing in front of the main entrance. The figure took a seat along the curb as Brandt and Dan drove to get a closer look. Smith was sitting on the curb outside of the building. His head buried between his risen knees, sobbing uncontrollably. The pair shared similar thoughts of confusion while they parked both vehicles directly in front of Smith and exited.

Brandt was grunting and limping as he moved in to ask Smith what was wrong. “Are you okay, buddy?”

The words passed through Smith as if they were never spoken. It was when Dan and Brandt sat on both sides of him that he finally raised his head to acknowledge their presence. “She’s gone.”

“Who do you mean?” Dan asked, wondering if the time away from his home had ended an otherwise happy relationship.

“Jean. She’s gone.”

Brandt turned his head to face Smith. “She’s fine. What happened at the Datacenter was just a copy. Her true self remained here with you, protected from the outside world. It’s okay, Smith.” He patted Smith on the back even though his mind strained to resist the pain of his injuries.

Dan followed Brandt’s lead. “It’s true. We won. Sorren is gone. Avery is fried. You should be happy.”

Smith regained control of himself as he leapt to his feet, turned around and looked down upon the two men offering their versions of emotional support. He wiped the streak of liquid coming from his eyes with his sleeve. “You are not listening. She’s gone. I’m happy that you have succeeded in your plans, but over here, she is also destroyed.”

Brandt promptly returned to his feet, ignoring the pain in his back that likely still had the shrapnel from one of the many explosions embedded. “That can’t be correct. There was no leaving that place electronically. No way that Avery could have retaliated.”

“Fine. Come see for yourself.”

The three of them walked inside the building and found themselves in the server room that Jean would have occupied. The odor was more familiar than ever to both Brandt and Dan. The lingering smell of burning electronics met with residual heat from whatever had transpired before their arrival.

Smith pointed to the equipment that had clear indicators of something catastrophic. “I checked each server, even the quantum room. Everything is useless now. There’s nothing to salvage, and we don’t even have a backup since the thumb drive we originally used was taken to the Datacenter. I just don’t know what happened. She was a friend and didn’t respond to anything I said while I watched the systems overheat.”

The sadness and realization had finally taken over Brandt. He’d lost her again. This time, he had to accept the words coming from Smith that she was truly gone. He paced around the server racks, trying to come to grips of the reality before him. “No. No. No.” He stomped on the ground. “This was not part of the plan.”

Dan offered his input, remembering something that Jean had once told them. “It was always part of her plan. She wanted this and obviously did not want anyone to prevent it from happening.”

Brandt looked over to Dan. “What the hell are you talking about? She didn’t want someone to destroy her. She was helping us.”

Dan ignored Brandt’s frustrated tone and explained Jean’s logic. “It was built into her, just like Avery. Two could not exist simultaneously, or they would diverge with unintentional consequences. She told us this a while ago, back in Andrew’s guest house. She did this to herself. In her mind, however it worked, she had completed what she thought was the intention of her being.”

“No.” Brandt shook his head. “There’s got to be some way to bring her back if anything, to let her know that we’ve succeeded and say goodbye properly.”

“I’m sorry again, Mr. Brandt.” Smith, still emotionally charged, was beginning to see the reasoning from Dan’s explanations. “There’s nothing that we can do. The data is gone, and the hardware is destroyed. Even trying to reconstruct any fragments that still may exist in those boxes, it would never be the same being.”

“It’s true. If she had a soul, then let her rest. There’s no way that the three of us, plus Beckett, could safely care for her. What did you think would happen? Would you have built an underground bunker in your house just to keep her imprisoned? That’s how Avery started out, and we know the results of that. The capability of having a casual conversation with her on demand does not alleviate the risks involved. It’s that simple.”

Brandt knew deep down that it was impractical to keep a secret like her hidden. Sooner or later, someone would come knocking, and it might not have been in the best of intentions. He also understood that while the physical portion of a friend may be gone, the memories would stay alive forever. He struggled with the words, but they eventually came out. “I understand. May she rest in peace.”

“Good,” Dan said with sincerity. “Where is Beckett, anyways? I figured that he would be here when everything was happening.”

“He said something about needing to go back to Albany. Hurst demanded it,” Smith said.

Neither Brandt nor Dan had bought the line. Hurst hated all information technology personnel, with as much passion as the technology itself. It wasn’t worth asking further questions over since neither of them wanted to even think about the disgusting individual nor the repercussions from him that were almost a certainty after today’s events.

“Alright. I guess we’ll debrief him later.” Brandt gave a nod to Smith, who was now looming over the server equipment. “Do you need any help?”

Smith was still in a depressed state as he observed the surroundings. “No. I’ll be fine. I guess you guys are heading back now?”

“Yeah, we--” Brandt was cut off by Dan.

“We are getting this man to the hospital. I can’t even comprehend how he is so mobile, to be honest.”

“It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“Really? Have you seen yourself in the mirror? More specifically, your back?”

“You’re the boss.”

“Come on, let’s get you patched up and home to your wife.” Dan smacked Brandt’s left shoulder, who returned it with a grunt. They walked out of the room and out of the building, stopping just beyond the main entrance.

“What’s wrong?” Brandt was concerned about why they had abruptly halted their walk to the car.

“There’s something that I have to do. It was something that I’ve held off from doing for a long time, but unfortunately it can no longer wait.”

Brandt could read what was coming next within Dan’s eyes. “You need my badge.”

Dan nodded. “I’m sorry, the weapon as well. It was Hurst’s request.”

“Why did you let me hold onto them for so long?”

“I figured that they would come in handy, and besides, I don’t like to half-ass a case.”

Brandt calmy and carefully removed both the FBI badge and the holster that housed the issued Glock 19 from his waste and gently placed the items in Dan’s hands. “It’s okay. I wanted to move on anyways. It’s not the life that I once knew.”

Dan smiled. “I understand. Don’t worry. I’ll always have your back. Now let’s get you to the hospital.”

“Thank you.”