Blake Schwendiman's Blog and Blook

Chapter 40

Saturday, 12 March 2022 – 7:00 p.m. SAST

Daniel spent most of the day sleeping and rummaging through Brad’s home. He had scanned for wireless electronics a few times, but never found anything. He assumed that if there were any computers, they must be powered off or simply not connected to the net.

At three p.m. Daniel started to grow weary of waiting. The African had told him that they should be returning at about that time. Four additional hours passed before Daniel finally heard the sound of a car approaching.

Outside, the African watched as a car turned into the drive toward the small home. He had been waiting all day for his payment and his patience had waned. He followed the car on foot and stayed out of sight. He felt he needed to protect his investment and would ensure that he was properly paid.

Inside, Daniel heard the thump of car doors then footsteps and voices. He sat in the living room. The door opened and Brad made eye contact with him. Anupama stood immediately behind Brad gasping as she entered. Brad turned immediately.

“It’s okay,” he reassured. “He won’t be staying long.”

Anupama wasn’t convinced. Daniel wasn’t what she had expected to see. He looked more like a pop musician than a software developer. He was wearing khaki shorts and a shirt that only passed as such in the academic sense. It covered very little of Daniel’s torso providing a clear display of his numerous tattoos. His face had an unsettling devilish appearance.

“Hello Brad,” Daniel called. “How are you?”

Brad turned and glared. “I’ve been expecting you.” He turned to Anupama and whispered, “Can you give us a minute?” Anupama looked worried, but agreed.

“So, you know why I’m here then?” Daniel sat with his feet up.

Brad knew exactly why Daniel had come. “I don’t have it anymore.”

“That’s not good enough Brad. The fact that it exists at all is a problem. We need to fix that problem, so I need you to tell me where it is.”

Brad had no intention of giving anything to Daniel. It was true that he had commissioned the development of a device while he was at Naidu. He had been obsessed at the time. He didn’t have authorization to do it, but he was driven. He found a developer inside the team that he could trust and he paid her on the side to help him. Eventually they succeeded. He took the technology when he left.

“I don’t have it.”

“I’ve heard you say that already. What I’m saying is that I need to know where it is.” Daniel shifted slightly in the chair, just enough to reveal the weapon he carried.

“Are you threatening me?” Brad asked. He had moved from the doorway to the living room. He felt surprisingly calm, considering what he knew was about to happen.

“No,” Daniel responded in a condescending tone. He picked up the weapon and let Brad get a good look at it. “This?” he asked. “This is just for self defense. You never know who you might run into in Durban.”

Anupama had been watching from the bedroom. At the sight of the gun she burst into the room with a shriek. “No!” she called. “Brad, we have to go. Please. Let’s just go.” She turned toward the door.

“No!” he called as she pulled the door open. He jumped up and rushed after her. He tried to grab her, but she was a few steps ahead of him. “Anupama, wait,” he cried.

Daniel rushed to follow. He had not expected the reaction. He had no intention of hurting Brad or Anupama. He had come only to obtain and destroy the device. For all their differences, Daniel had always respected Brad. Brad was the most consistent person he knew, even if they didn’t agree on much.

As Anupama reached the edge of the porch, Brad heard the piercing whiz of a bullet. Thump. Anupama spun. Her eyes filled with horror as she crashed down on the steps just out of reach of her husband. He rushed to grab her. Thump. Brad felt a piercing sting, then the flow of warm blood over his chest. He clutched Anupama and watched the life slip from her eyes.

He looked across the garden to see a small African man pointing a gun at him and shouting in Xhosa. There was another pop, this time from behind. The African spun and fell. Brad craned his neck around to see Daniel lowering his own gun and shouting.

Daniel looked down. Brad gasped for a breath and wheezed, “You did this to yourselves.”

Brad was still holding a set of keys. Both the car he drove and the house he lived in were still locked and unlocked with manual metal keys. It wasn’t the keys that Daniel noticed, though. On the chain was a small remote device, an old radio frequency transmitter. Brad pushed the button. The chain fell to the step.

Daniel’s eyes widened. He activated his implants and stared into his visual overlay. His shoulders fell limp and he staggered to the rail to support himself. Physical weakness overcame him as he realized the implications of the information streaming through his view.

“No,” he whispered to himself as he collapsed onto the porch.