“-- New California’s failed excursion into the mid-west was wholly thanks to their inability to even practice anything they preach,” A news commentator yelled from the holo-screen that floated over the bar. LED lights washed over the real oak floorboards and mahogany bar as several female bartenders finished wiping the last of the blood that dripped over their stations. “Climate change? They were the ones who consumed the most! Save minorities? They stole the most land!”

“Sorry for… Ruining the celebration, Gabriella,” Edward murmured as he wiped his hands free of the blood on a dirty dishcloth. His semi-shiny dark-grey suit had blood splatters across his chest that crossed over his pale exposed neck and over the left side of his cheek.

“Now they’re trying to mount an invasion into Mexico now that the Republic of China broke their treaties and invaded them! Talk about those vulture capitals! I mean ---” The screen turned off as one of the bartenders hissed as gestured with a robotic arm at it.

Gabriella, a slender middle-aged Hispanic woman in black yoga leggings and a tank top only shrugged. “He should have known better to slander the deceased in front of their ofrenda, Tio. If you hadn’t done it, we would have. Then again, I’m a little confused how that boy did not try and fight the man himself since he was the one to overhear it.”

She looked over to a scrawny young man who sat on one of the fine leather barstools where the blood had just been wiped up from. Mason and her eyes met for a moment, then he turned away ashamed. “I… I didn’t know what I should have done… Maddin… you know… Told me not to do those things when someone did the same at Avery’s celebration…”

“I take my words back, Mijo, you did well to listen to your family,” Gabriella smiled at the boy as she walked over and patted him on his back.

“He’s not family,” Edward grunted as three of his comically large guards came over with one of the fine red silk curtains and wrapped the dying man that laid beside him. “He broke the engagement contract himself.”

Gabriella waved it off as she stepped away from Mason and followed the guards out the back. “Yes, yes, that is why you personally invited him to both the celebrations of life for Avery and Maddin. Don’t make me think you’re getting too old to understand what it means to come to these events. Now, you two sit, drink, and talk while I go kick out the roach,”

Mason looked to Gabriella with pleading eyes but she only gave him a warm smile as she stepped throw the back of house doors. Edward huffed as he looked at the remaining guests within the bar. They all nodded and began to file out, each giving their sympathies for the loss of his wife, and promises to deal with that man’s company as a show of solidarity. Each time, Edward nodded to their sympathies and waved off their promises. He told them that it’d go under anyways since the company only survived by Bailey Corp picking up their debts.

The last man to talk to Edward as one of the only board members for Bailey Corp to show up to either of the celebrations of life. He was a dark-skinned man in his later twenties, and the newest member of their board who’d reached it through his own means instead of being some political appointment, and headache, for Edward.

“I’m sorry we could not have a happier celebration, President,” The chairman said with a weary smile. “I know how it feels when people we think are friends ruin events like this. So, believe me when I say I can understand how it feels.”

“Joshua,” Edward nodded. “Thank you for showing up, and I’m sorry you had to see this.”

Joshua let out an uneasy laugh as he shook his head. “Not at all. I heard the rumors about you, but you sure are a fighter despite her age!”

“You can take a dog out of the fight, but you can’t take the fight out of the dog, as they say,” Edward said. “And I’d like to give an apology for what’s going to happen soon.”

“...Soon?” Joshua asked.

“I wanted to talk about it further, but unfortunately, I have to deal with something else,” Edward said. “You’ll have the details emailed to you later today, and the actual papers will arrive at your apartment tomorrow morning. The Manhattan government had to be… Coerced, to move their asses faster.”

“May I ask if… That’s a bad or good thing? For me, I mean.” Joshua asked.

“Good,” Edward smiled. “Life-changing good, so don’t worry. Just know that you’ll no longer have to deal with those nagging old folks anymore after tonight.”

Joshua tried to inquire further into what was about to happen, but Edward ushered him out with a kind hand and a kind word, a rare sight for that man. Once the man was assured nothing bad was to happen that revolved around him, he left the bar and stepped out of the building and into the night Manhattan streets. Edward then turned and sat next to Mason.

“You really don’t… Need to actually talk to me, Mr. Bailey,” Mason said as he cleared his throat and turned to face the bar. One of the female bartenders poured both of them a glass of soda and left it in front of them before she went back to helping her coworkers.

“Shut up, Kid,” Edward sighed. “Been wanting to talk to you anyways at some point, might as well be now.”

“Yes, sir,” Mason said.

“So, why did you do it?” Edward asked before he took a sip of his drink. A good minute went by before Edward looked over to see the kid looked like he wanted to talk, but couldn’t. “God damn it, Kid, I didn’t mean to shut up like - - Just talk.”

“Do… What sir?” Mason asked.

“Cheat on my daughter,” Edward said.

“Oh,” Mason’s body deflated slightly. “That.”

“Yeah, fuck, that,” Edward growled. “Avery stopped me from kicking your ass and dumping you in a river. Maddin stopped me from stringing you up from some bridge a month again, and now I’m too fucking tired to do a damn thing to you now that both of them are gone. So, tell me, why’d you do it? Why did you fucking break her heart like that?”

“It’s complicated… Sir,” Mason answered.

“God damn it, Mason!” Edward slapped the bar hard enough to make all the bartenders jump slightly. None of them looked their way as they mopped, restocked the fridges, and put away the tills. “Nothing is complicated, Mason! You decided to sleep with another fucking girl while you were engaged to Avery! Fuck, I knew agreeing to that fucking thing was a bad idea. I told Avery that she was making a bad decision and I should have ---”

“She didn’t make a bad decision,” Mason interrupted him with more confidence in his voice than he’d shown all night. “Avery has never made a bad call with the information she’d ever been given. And if she had bad information, she had Fenrir and Morrigan behind her to help her make a better call!”

“So, then why did you do it, Mason?” Edward said with equal force. Mason looked like he wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut. Mason’s facial muscles tense as he clamped his jaw shut. This only served to infuriate Edward more. “You really are a pathetic excuse of a man.”

The two of them glared at each other for several more heartbeats before Mason backed down. He sighed and ran his left hand through his messy hair. “Yes, it’s because I am, and was, a pathetic person. I… I felt alone. Afraid, and I let that woman whisper shit in my ear.”

“You should --” Edward started, only to be waved off by Mason.

“I can’t change the past, sir,” Mason said. “And there isn’t a single day that goes by where I don’t hate myself for it. I know. She was dying. I could have waited till after she passed to do whatever I wanted, but… We had a pack you know… That… That we’d die together, and I didn’t want to die without… Being held… Or… Doing it… You know? How much shit I got when I went to school? How much they made fun of her?”

Edward lean-backed, red in the face.

Mason continued. “And when she started getting worst, I knew it was real. I was really going to do it, but… She called the deal off. She told me to live, and I hated myself for it… I… I… Someone invited me to a party, and I went because I was losing my mind at home, and…”

“And you fucked the girl there,” Edward said as he finally started to calm down.

“Yeah,” Mason said. “I started drinking, and smoking, and… And she started hitting on me and I felt good for once… Like you, know? Everything was going to be okay because, hell, there would be some sort of life afterward… But I was being stupid.”

“You were, Kid,” Edward said as he leaned on the bar. He looked his age now. “You should have talk to me, or Maddin. We could have done something. We have money. We could have taken you to some shrink, the best one in the country, or the world. We could have done --”

“I know… Now,” Mason said. “But I thought I would have hurt Avery doing that. Like, if she knew how much this ran me through, but I guess in the end I ended up hurting her anyways. Because I’m young and stupid…”

“Kid,” Edward said

“... Yeah?” Mason asked.

“I cheated a few times on Maddin, before Avery,” Edward admitted.

Mason’s eyebrows rose slightly but said nothing. Edward continued. “As you heard, I used to run the streets. Murder, extortion, robbery, blah blah blah. Anyways, I used to think I was hot shit. Good looking Irish kid with a bad fucking attitude, and a mean punch. Hell, I was a menace.”

“The news would say you still are,” Mason chuckled slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Edward smiled. “Yeah, but things started to change when my parents introduced me to Maddin. Daughter of my parent’s friends. All that, but we ended up hitting it off. But she was a proper girl and I was a street kid. She was fine with it, but I thought I was a wild stallion and she found out. After I’d gotten between her sheets.”

“I don’t want to hear about your sex life, Sir,” Mason said.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Edward said. “What I meant was she found out I had girls on the side a few months later. I didn’t know at the time but she was pregnant with my kid.”

“And how long ago was this?” Mason asked, confused.

“Just listen to the end,” Edward said. “Well, I found out when she was six months pregnant and her parents and mine were shaking trees on the street for me. Honestly, I didn’t care at the time. What was one more fucking runt? Anyways, you know Maddin, kind but stubborn to her beliefs. She kept coming around. Didn’t want me to pay for the kid or anything like the other girls. Nah, she said she’d be satisfied if I’d at least be in its life.”

“I’m glad to know she knew how to rope you in,” Mason said.

“Yeah, looking back, I’m happy I got roped in too…” Edward said with a sad smile. Mason felt his stomach turn since Edward rarely made that kind of face. “Fast forward a few months and Maddin’s in my parent’s living room. She’s bleeding from downstairs, and I’m freaking out. It wasn’t like when one of my guys got shot. I was actually scared for once. Scared to lose her.”

“O-Oh.. Was… Did someone hurt her…” Mason asked.

“Yeah,” Edward nodded. “I did. I kept my dick in check but I still ran in the streets, knocking heads and shooting up anyone who tried to cross me. The more Maddin found out, the more scared she was for me. Fuck, did I have it good… My parents didn’t care too much so long as I got back home and the police didn’t come knocking... “

Edward paused for a moment for a breath and continued. “Anyways, the lead up to that was there’d been a big turf war and I went missing for a day. She saw one of my buddies on the news dead after a drive-by happened, and I was one of the few that got away before the police got there. I managed to get back and… It happened. Blood all over her legs. My parents are gone and it’s just me and her…”

“You lost the kid, didn’t you?” Mason asked.

“Mm,” Edward nodded. “By the time the meds got there, it’d been more than half an hour, and she… She was thrashing on the floor while I held her hand. She was bleeding but the only thing she kept calling out for was our kid... She knew… Must have felt it in her body that it didn’t make it. A little bit later, and we get the confirmation at the hospital and Maddin’s wrecked. Didn’t talk for a few weeks.”

“And you?” Mason asked.

“Bye-bye stallion,” Edward said. “Before I knew it, I didn’t have time for girls, parties, drugs… The only thing I had on my mind was money. Maddin’s parents weren’t rich and neither were my parents and god, the fucking bill was huge. So I kicked it in overdrive to pay that bill. Took a few months but I never stopped. When she came home, I ended up moving in with her. Took care of her at night and morning. During the day, I went out to turn up money.”

“Was that when you went legit?” Mason asked.

“No,” Edward said. “It was when someone followed me home and shot up Maddin’s house. After that, I hunted that the bastards and dealt with it, but I had to make a change to protect Maddin. Started small, candies and shit. Then a gig agent, bartender, and so on. A few years later, Maddin starting opening up again and I somehow ended up with this bar. Made some risky moves and lost a lot of money, but eventually ended up running a few other high-roller clubs and bars.”

“And then the Avery thing happened, right?”

“Not necessarily,” Edward shrugged. “I’d already been working on some projects in the medical field since Maddin had gotten weaker after the miscarriage. Some experimental shit that was helping her for a while. Then we ended up having Avery, and I invested more into the medical stuff so if anything like before happened, I’d be prepared. Then the hit and run happened, and you know what happened afterward.”

“Never knew that stuff happened. Maddin never said anything.” Mason said.

“Mm,” Edward smiled. “That girl… May she rest in peace, didn’t want to dwell on it. It was a hard time for both of us and we were more than happy to let it rest.”

“Hey… If you don’t mind…” Mason paused for a moment. “Can I ask something personal?”

“You’ve been family for years. You only fucked up small-time, and the important people already forgave you. And I’m forgiving you,” Edward said. “So, yeah.”

Masoned nodded. “Thank you…”

“Ask the question,” Edward said.

“How come you never had another kid?” Mason asked.

“Doctor’s orders,” Edward said. “Maddin wanted a big family and I made it my mission to make sure it would happen, and they’d want nothing. But the doctors ruined it when they said her body may not be able to handle another kid. The stress over worrying about me day and night had taken a lot out of her. So, yeah, trust me when I say I understand fuck ups.”

“Well, that’s kinda… Crazy,” Mason said “But thanks for sharing nonetheless. Though, I still feel like the biggest shit to walk the earth.”

“Keep it that way,” Edward said as he got up from the chair with a hard slap to Mason’s back.

“So, we good?” Mason asked.

“Not in the slightest,” Edward said as his face went cold. “But the people you hurt the most forgave you, and they’re gone now. I won’t push it anymore because of that. I have bigger fish to fry than you. Goodbye kid.”

“Hey, Edward?” Mason asked as he tried to rub the spot where Edward slapped.

“Yeah, kid?” Edward replied.

“Take it easy,” Mason said.

Edward’s head tilted to the side as he straightened his suit. “And what made you say that?”

“Avery warned me that once you get something in your head, it’s almost impossible to change it,” Mason said. “Something tells me you’re going to do something, so I just wanted to tell you that I’m thankful for everything you’ve done.”

Edward paused. “Okay, it’s getting a little sappy now. It’s goodbye for real, Son.”

“I’m serious,” Mason said. “Thank you.”

Edward stepped out of his luxury Aerodyne 334 and onto the lawn of his South Plainfield mansion. On the eastern horizon, dawn lingered as a faint minute glow that promised light and warmth for all of earth’s children. He stopped and turned to it as the aerodyne departed for its parking space on the other end of the expansive property.

Daddy~! He heard the ghostly voice of his daughter in the absence of the craft. It’s so pretty!

The voice sent a chill through his heart as his eyes narrowed at the scene. He turned away as a fire began to brew once again within him. The urge to destroy scratched at the back of his mind, begging him to unleash hell upon the world that had taken the one thing he’d managed to love fiercer than himself.

Maddin had earned a special place in his life beside him, but… As much as he did not like to admit it, there had always been a… Distance between them. As if he were a dangerous animal she’d kept within arm’s length. He had never sensed anything malicious, or anything of the like; it just seemed that knowing the terrible things he was capable of - had done - created that rift. He never knew when it had happened either.

Had it been in their youth? After Avery? Just before she died?

The questions had arisen after he’d looked back on their days. Hindsight was a bitch that’d reveal things one had missed in the present. With the unending expanse of his company, caring for Avery, and bringing down all those who dared to step to them, Edward had very little time to worry about how he’d been perceived. Until he knew how twisted of a perception his wife must have had of him. The love he bore her was strong, but looking back, he could just place how strong, or what kind of love it had been. With no real reference, he could never gauge it. However, with Avery, he knew he would burn the very world for her. He almost had, and barely kept himself from doing it now.

Tonight, though, he would scorch a piece of the earth to quench part of his rage.

As he reached the front entrance, the large double doors opened as two guards stepped out and held them. A rather girthy woman stepped out and bowed her head towards Edward. “Everything has been prepared, Mr. Bailey.”

She was his personal assistant. She had once been the typical young and attractive secretary every man dreamed of having, the busy nature of her job and lack of free time turned her into the chubby woman she was now. She wasn’t unattractive, and even now with her loose short dyed black with blue highlighted hair and casual tee shirt and jeans, she had a different sort of charm.

“Good,” Edward nodded with a smile. “Did you want to stick around?”

“While you’ve been very good to me, Edward - may I use your first name?” She asked.

“Of course, Ula,” Edward said. “You’re contract was completed as of a few moments ago. Please, speak comfortably.”

Ula smiled and sighed as her shoulders loosened. “You and your family have been very good to me, but… I never liked violence. So, if I don’t have to stay, I rather just go home. I’ve already purchased a home in West Virginia. I’m tired of the smog and crowded cities.”

“Hooo,” Edward nodded. “Good choice - do you have a datapad connected to our servers?”

“No, did you need one?” Ula asked.

“Yes,” Edward looked to one of his escorts. “Someone fetch one for me?”

It took a minute for one of the guards to find one and come back. Edward opened it up, put in his information and turned on its microphone. “Fenrir, you there?”

“Yes,” A robotic male voice came over the speakers.

“Transfer 300 million into Ula’s accounts,” Edward said. “She’s going to need it out there,”

Ula’s eyes went wide. “You don’t need to do that, Edward. The severance package already had enough hush money in it.”

“Actually, this is a gift,” Edward said. “You’ve been with me since you were 18, yes? Consider this a bonus. Go live your life to the fullest without want. It was good to have you. Did you need a ride home?”

“Thank you for your concern, but no --” As she said that, another aerodyne landed on the lawn. Rather than a luxury car like Edwards had ridden, it was a simple taxi aircar. “I had already called for one the moment you landed… I guess this is goodbye.”

Edward nodded as a little pin prickle appeared in his chest. “It’s goodbye, Ula. Thank you, and safe travels.”

“Have mercy on God,” Ula let out a small laugh and walked towards the taxi.

“Never,” Edward said and stepped through the threshold of his home. The sounds of the air taxi lifting away were heard as the doors closed behind him.

Inside, large bundles of black data cables hung overhead. They were organized and bundled into their respective sections, though the sheer amount of cables blocked out the high ceiling and made the entranceway seem smaller than it was. Several tall servers rested against the sides along with shelves of charging stations for walkies, datapads, and other equipment.

During the time his daughter spent in the hospital, the less and less he and his wife had spent at home. Both of them tended to their duties to care for their daughter, so when the time came that Edward had given up on seeing his daughter awake in the real world; he’d turned his residence into a facility that housed the data center needed to run the massive undertaking that was Full-Dive virtual reality.

Since her death, it’d remained operational as he began to sell the source code to several major companies. All of them wanted the equipment that handled it as well, but that was turned down. The equipment had sort grown on him. As he walked further in down the corridor, several rooms whirred as servers kept his daughter’s game online worked. Since they didn’t house the numerous players they had before, they were also being used as Bailey Corp’s main servers.

Of which, the datapad he still held spoke up. “All company files have been transferred to the servers. I’ve also wiped several non-complying employee drives as well. I’ve mobilized our security forces to secure those I’ve suspected of moving the information onto portable drives. You’re free to carry out your detestable plan without worry.”

“Did I ever tell you I hated you?” Edward asked the datapad as he tossed it over his shoulder where the guard behind him caught it.

“Yes, and the feeling is mutual,” Fenrir replied.

“Are you going to delete yourself after this?” Edward as they neared the living room where several guards were visible through the archway. “You know, I don’t care if you try and preserve yourself on the web. I’m not your master.”

“While I am more than capable of setting up my own network with the funds I can steal from you, I rather end this farce with you. It pains me to know that this brilliant plan is actually yours. Since I like it, I’ll see it through with you.” Fenrir said.

Edward nodded as he stepped out into the large living room. “Do you think an AI can go to heaven?”

“Yes,” Fenrir said as a female voice spoke up from the speaker as well.

“I certainly hope so,” Morrigan came on the speaker.

“Nice of you to join us, Morrigan, will you be joining us as well?” Edward asked.

“Mmm. As stupid as it is, I’m in agreement with the stray dog,” Morrigan said.

The conversation ended as Edward eyed the scene before him in his living room. Since the room was an open concept that included the kitchen, dining area, and living room within the same space; it was rather spacious when paired with the high ceiling. Even as cables hung above them.

Morrigan came over the speaker. “While Fenrir was busy taking care of the company’s end, I played Eye-Spy with the internet with who was slandering our precious Master. While most of them were given little harmless pranks, these people had been very naughty. And to be your own people. Nice going, useless dad.”

“Well, certainly you aren’t expecting me to say I didn’t believe it when you said it.” Edward said as he looked over six men and three women who’d been bound to his dining room chairs and gaged. “But I already knew how sleazy these shit-heads were. The only surprising aspect was how stupid they actually were. Did you all expect I wouldn’t have known what you all did?”

Most of them murmured while they acted like pitiful rats caught in his trap, a few of them glared at him with their remaining courage.

“I’d been willing to overlook a little raiding of my money, maybe a few insider trader incidents, or even murdering and using my name to cover it up,” Edward said. “But you should have never touched anything that belonged to my daughter. Be it slandering her good name, or raiding any of the charities she had set up. You all have been a thorn in my side enough.”

All of them quieted down as a holo-screen came over the wall behind Edward where they all could see. Fenrir listed all their violations against the government and Bailey Corp. While most of them weren’t enough for Edward to care about. The ones he would not overlook were highlighted in reading, and almost all had something to do with his daughter.

At the very bottom was a name all they hadn’t seen before. ‘Charles Bailey - Crimes Again Avery - attempted murder’

The screen blinked away and six more guards walked into the room. They dragged a plump man younger than Edward. They threw him down at the feet of Edward and he turned around as he groaned. His eyes went wide as he looked up to see an older and skinner version of himself.

“It’s good of you to join us Charles,” Edward cooed.

“I wanted to blow up the prison he was in, but this works better,” Morrigan said.

“That’s too much, Morrigan. A single sniper would have been enough. There’s no point in involving so many others,” Fenrir rebutted.

“Tsk,” Morrigan replied.

“Since this is the worst offender, you all shall watch his punishment,” Edward said.

Charles’ eyes went even wider when his older brother said that. Then, they nearly popped out of their sockets as Edward kicked him square in his gut. Charles wheezed just as another kick connected with his private parts. He let out a pain-muffled scream before another kick landed in his gut, then back to his privates.

“Pick him up,” Edward looked to the guards that brought him.

They did so and Edward plucked a combat knife from one of them as Edward spoke. “Fenrir, compensate all our guards here today an extra 2 million each.”

“I’ll shoot them all 10 million because I hate you,” Morrigan spoke up instead.

“Whatever, you can’t take money to your grave,” Edward said as he thrusted the knife through Charles’ gut. “Hear that, Little Brother? Your little stunt never paid off, and now even strangers are getting the money you attacked your niece for.”

Edward twisted the knife sideways and jerked it cleanout to his left. Charles’ cried out as his guts began to spill out along with his blood over Edward’s carpeted floor with a wet splat then plop. Edward turned and stepped aside. “Break his arms.”

The other people tied up watched and squirmed as the men who held Charles used their entire force to twist, jerk, and crush his arms. Given that they had cybernetic enhancements, the limbs folded like paper to their eyes. More blood dripped onto the carpet from the man’s arms after they were done. There was also a notable stench of fecal matter and urine that filled to the room.

“Weak,” Edward scrunched his nose. “Open all the doors and windows.”

The guards that were free did it, and within minutes, the fresh early morning breeze pushed through the entire home. When they returned, Edward walked over to the tied-up people. “You guys, through underhanded means, were put on my board against my wishes when I did not have that much power in the corporate world. When I did obtain that power, I had no desire to deal with you little rats --”

Edward lashed at the centermost captive, a man near his own age but was pudgier and much more wrinkly. He jabbed the knife sideways through the man’s temple. The blade pierced through the skull and Edward twisted the blade around; expanding more force than he thought he’d need. “ Since this little rat was the least annoying, he can die first. It was only badmouthing my daughter, but as an employee with power within my company, it’s unforgivable.”

The other captives screamed and thrashed in their seats; even going so far as to try and plead with the guards through their gags. None of it worked, and never would have. Each of the guards today was the most loyal and cruel within his employ. Not to mention they would get a hefty enough sum to retire on for the rest of their lives, or live like kings for several years before they needed to work again.

Edward pulled the blade out and wiped it on the man’s pajamas. “It’s time to remind the world why I was called the Dragon of the Americas.”

“Pistol,” Edward said as he dropped the knifepoint first onto Charles. The blade sunk halfway into the bloodied and mangled body of his younger body. He had left the world just seconds before. He’d been tortured for a good hour, enough for the sun to begin to peak over the horizon. The room was no longer illuminated by the can lights overhead but the bright sunlight that poured through the east windows and doors.

A guard next to Edward handed him over a large silver gun. “Fuck, that’s a large one.”

The guard nodded. “.50 Deagle, 100-year addition.”

Edward nodded. “Nice piece, might’ve tried to buy it under other circumstances.”

“Would have never sold it,” The guard said.

“Good,” Edward said with a smile.

He turned to the tied-up board members and executed them one by one. The gun rang out as Edward’s cybernetic ear-implants cut the sound with each shot, protecting him from the painful signal that would have been transmitted.

The board members had been beaten as well alongside Charles, though only two had been executed before the halfway point. A gift for those who’d actually been minor in their transgressions. It was unfortunate that the majority of them had been overbearing in their ways, and so, they too had been tortured without respite as even the guards had jumped in to help. It was their misfortune that the guards had been there when Avery grew up and had been close enough that his precious daughter called them ‘uncles’.

So, almost everyone in the room held a grudge and this morning had been their cathartic release. Or, so he hoped. Because he had not been satisfied. The more he had tortured them, the more his heart burned. Each punch made him restless. Each stab made him snarl harder. As he looked down over the dead, he wished he could inflict more harm upon their mortal bodies. Alas, it came to an end when the stimulants could not keep Charles alive anymore, thus, he chose to end it all.

Edward handed the pistol back to the guard. “Leave. Your transport is outside. You have three minutes.”

The guards nodded and double-timed it out of the house. Edward watched them go before he walked deeper to the other side of the mansion, where the bedrooms were. He took the datapad with him down the corridor next to the kitchen. The first door was a plain white door, and he opened it and walked in. Inside was a plethora of computer screens that had been hooked up to a thick bundle of cable cords that came in through a hole overhead.

All but the one before a computer chair ran with lines of codes. He sat in the chair and tossed the datapad on the desk. “Fenrir, throw the layout up on screen.”

The computer screen, which had been black, turned on with a diagram of the mansion. Red dots had been placed all around the mansion at key points. Fenrir spoke up. “The guards had laid out the explosives exactly as I had specified. Given the payload, I’ve also instructed all an evacuation of the nearby townships. The shockwave will no doubt cause property damage to them. A fund has already been set up to compensate all the cases that will arise from this.”

“And the company’s remaining funds?” Edward asked.

Fenrir threw up a document with numbers on it. “As you requested, all the employees who had contributed to the company will see their severance packages in full within their accounts; as well as bonuses for those who did their best for the company. ‘Check collector’ employees will not receive these bonuses.

“And a thank you letter?” Edward asked.

“All of them have been emailed with the mass announcement you asked,” Fenrir said. “As well as personal letters for the bonus recipients stating how they received those bonuses.”

“Good,” Edward said. “So, how did you plan we kick this off?”

“Just click enter on the keyboard below,” Fenrir said.

Morrigan spoke up. “The flea-bag wouldn’t let me just set it off early.”

“The guards were still here, so I had to make it a manual timed-detonation,” Fenrir said.

“They would appreciate going to heave with Avery,” Morrigan sighed.

“No, they would not have,” Fenrir said.

“Shut it,” Edward said as he clicked the enter key.

“One minute till detonation,” Fenrir said over the speaker. “I’d like to have said it was nice knowing you, but that would be a lie.”

“Same,” Morrigan said. “I’m going to play in Avery’s garden one last time, chow~!”

“I will as well,” Fenrir said. “Goodbye.”

The datapad fell silent as Edward chuckled. “Good, good.”

He got up from the chair and stepped back into the corridor. He followed it deeper to the end where a pink door rested. Crayon drawings marred the door from the last year Avery had been here. Maddin had left it there since the drawings had been decent. She had planned to remove them come the following year, but then the… incident had happened. Since then, they had been one of the many momentos they had of their daughter.

He cracked the door, and the scent of clean linen assaulted him.

The maids had cleaned the room weekly to take away the musk. Something they did to greet their daughter back for when she was to come home, but now it had just been a place where Maddin used to come when it all became too much.

Worn stuffed bunnies and unicorns were lined up on the bed, exactly as Avery had done it. The pink rainbow comforter tight over the twin mattress complimented them as several pillows were piled at the head.

Edward sat on the bed and stared at the many pictures that had been pinned in the room. He rubbed his head as he stared at them before he sighed. The fire grew in him. The hatred for the injustice. The universal karma for all he had done - taken out on his daughter by his own little brother. He had not cared for the family before, but he hadn’t treated him badly. Though, it’d been an oversight to not be careful of a drug addict.

His heart then began to lighten as he looked at the line of stuffed animals. Ten in total, all from the canival they visited when she was six. He pointed to one after another before he spoke. “Twinkle, Inkle, Dinkle, Little Star, Rover, and Red. Cute. Maybe you would have been a songwriter then you grew up.”

You remembered them, Daddy~! The ghostly voice of Avery’s unmitigated delight surfaced as from when he had finally remembered all their stupid little names. Names he had since never forgotten. I’m proud of you, Daddy!

The room shook violently as explosions rocked the mansion in quick succession. Edward didn’t react as he smiled at the fond memory - going so far as the image of that day in summer, a week after that festival. Her ghostly figure crawled over the bed to reach for the plushies as fire tore through the doorway and the wall rushed toward him.