Chapter 18 Michael
MICHAEL
A metal door in the doorframe shot out, slamming into the other side. I rushed forward and banged my fist against it, nearly breaking my hand.
“Blake!” I shouted.
“Parker! I’m stuck! The windows are blocked!”
“I’m gonna get you out!”
I tried to pry the damn thing open, but there was no way in hell that was gonna work. There had to be a way to clear the system and start over. Rushing over to the wall unit, I turned it back on and tried to reset the damn thing.
A skull and crossbones appeared, along with evil laughter you’d hear at some horror movie.
“What the fuck?” I muttered, pressing buttons everywhere, trying to get the damn thing to reset. I held down the ON button, hoping it would somehow restart the whole damn thing.
A whirring noise caught my attention, but when I turned around, I didn’t see a damn thing.
“Parker!” Blake shouted, banging on the door.
“Hold on! I’m trying to figure this out!”
I pressed buttons frantically, hoping something would work. And then the whirring started again. Spinning, I searched everywhere, but it wasn’t until I looked down that I finally caught on to what was making the noise.
“You little fucker,” I growled at the robot on the floor.
Those blinking lights were back, but this time, there was something evil about the damn thing. I wasn’t about to touch that thing without finding out just what in the hell it would do.
Slowly pulling out my phone, I froze when the lights seemed to narrow in on my movement. “No fucking way,” I whispered. “How does this thing know what I’m doing?”
It slowly wheeled forward, every inch making me take a step back. I hit Knight’s number and waited for him to answer.
“Let me guess, you didn’t set the alarm,” he said in his charming way.
“Knight, this fucking robot looks like it’s about to attack me.”
“Because it is,” he answered without a care in the world.
“Knight, turn the fucking thing off!”
“Well, that’s just the thing, I need to be in the house to manually end the programming, but since you didn’t set the alarm, I am officially locked out.”
“Then climb in through the fucking window!” I shouted.
“I think if you look, you’ll find the house sent you into automatic lockdown mode.”
“And why the fuck would it do that?” I snapped, slowly inching toward the kitchen where the knives were.
“Because it sensed a threat. It’s really not that hard. All you had to do was listen.”
“Listen to you and your psychotic robot!” I shouted. “I just wanted a normal fucking house.”
“It was my wedding present to you.”
“A normal wedding present is a fucking pillow or a gravy boat!”
I was close enough to the kitchen that I might just reach a knife.
“Well, that sounds more like something Chance would give you. Personally, I don’t care for his pillows. Not that I would ever tell him that.”
“Knight, I have a robot stalking me around my house. Tell me how to dismantle it,” I grumbled.
He snorted in amusement. “Well, it has to recognize whoever’s in the house.”
“I’m in the house!” I shouted. “You uploaded our profiles!”
“Yes, but you deactivated the unit. I’m guessing you ripped it off the wall.”
I stayed silent, not admitting anything.
“If you had just let me finish what I started, none of this would be happening.”
This was insanity. The robot was stalking my every move, following me like a killer dog. I was going to die all the while Blake was stuck in that other room.
“Okay, so it doesn’t recognize me. What do I need to do to get it to recognize me?”
“Well, you could always try talking to it.”
“Seriously?”
“It’s worth a shot,” Knight sighed.
I couldn’t believe I was going to do this. “Alright, uh…Robot—”
“Charlie. I fucking told you his name is Charlie.”
“Who the fuck cares if I call a robot Charlie?”
The robot lifted on its wheels, and the intensity of its eyes darkened.
“Okay, okay! Charlie! I swear, I’ll call you Charlie!”
The robot slowly lowered back down and took the danger down a notch. God, I was about to piss my pants. This was not the way I saw my night going.
“Charlie,” I said slowly. “You’re such a good boy. I’m your new daddy, and we’re going to have such a good time together, right?”
“What’s happening?” Knight asked.
“Nothing. He didn’t respond in any way.”
“Huh.”
“Huh, that’s good? Or huh, you don’t know what that means?”
“I mean, huh, you should probably fucking run.”
“What—”
Bullets flew from the robot, spraying across the wall behind me. I shot off toward the kitchen, ducking down behind the counter as gunfire sounded throughout the house.
“How many fucking bullets does this thing have?” I shouted into the phone.
“More than you can outrun,” he mused. “Bet you wish you were in your panic room right now.”
“The only reason I need a panic room is because you put a killer robot in my house!” I shouted.
When the robot rounded the corner, I took off at a dead sprint for a room across the house. I made it just inside the door and slammed it shut when the robot peppered the walls with bullets.
I crouched down behind the bed, covering my head as best as possible. “Knight, get your ass in here and fix this!”
“Wish I could, man. But I guess we know what happens now when you don’t listen to me.”
“Screw you! This is my wedding night!”
“Yeah, sorry it’s going to end like this.”
There was no way I was going out because of some small robot that spewed bullets at me. The whole fucking thing was insane. Getting to my feet, I watched for the spray of bullets and made a run for it when it was far enough away from the wall.
I only had one chance at this. Sliding across the floor, I grabbed my gun from under the couch and blasted the robot with bullets until the damn thing blinked furiously a few times and then died.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I ran over to our bedroom and slammed my foot into the wall beside the door over and over again until I broke through both sides of the drywall.
“Blake?”
“Are you okay?” she asked. “What was all that gunfire?”
“Knight’s killer robot.”
Rolling her eyes, she started tearing the drywall on her side. “Just get me out of here. The last thing I want is to be in this death trap one minute more.”
I nodded and started tearing at the wall, but from somewhere, I heard Knight shout. Striding back to the couch, I snagged my phone off the floor.
“What?”
“What the hell did you just do?”
“What do you mean? I put an end to your death device.”
“Please tell me you didn’t shoot it.”
“Of course I did—”
“Get Blake and get the fuck out of the house now!”
I knew that tone and didn’t bother to question him a second later. Reaching through the wall, I grabbed Blake and hoisted her through the hole. As we raced past the killer robot, smoke and red lights blinked furiously.
And I knew there would be no coming back to this house.
“Run!” I shouted, shoving her through the door.
Jeff was just walking up the steps when I tackled him to the ground just as the whole fucking house exploded in one fiery ball that sent all three of us flying through the air.
I landed on my back with a thump. All the air that used to be in my lungs was now long gone. I struggled to breathe, to even think, as the night sky turned bright orange.
Finally, after a few seconds, I rolled over and saw Blake doing pretty much the same thing.
“Okay?” I asked.
She gave me a thumbs up, then collapsed back on the ground, staring up at the sky.
When I rolled to find Jeff, he shook his hands that were covered in some kind of white substance. “That’s the last time I ever deliver dessert for Ma.”
“So, you wanna tell me again what happened?” Remi asked, staring at me curiously.
For a town Deputy Sheriff, he was really suspicious of everything going on around here. Then again, he hadn’t been living with the guys at Reed Security for months on end. He didn’t realize this was just another day for them.
“It’s like I told you, a killer robot attacked us. I had no choice but to shoot it, but then it retaliated by blowing up the house.”
“Uh-huh,” he nodded. “And this killer robot…care to describe it for me?”
I rolled my eyes, wishing I was talking to Mav instead, but he was too busy laughing with Sinner and Cap.
“It’s no bigger than a vacuum robot.”
“One of those little ones that maps the house and sweeps the floor?”
“Exactly.”
He looked at the destroyed house and then back to me. “And you’re telling me the robot did all that.”
“Believe me or don’t,” I snapped. “I don’t give a shit.”
“Oh, it’s not me you have to convince. It’s the insurance company.”
Shit, I hadn’t even thought about that. How the hell would I convince them to pay to rebuild the house when I was basically holding a deadly weapon inside that could and would explode if you angered it?
“Look, if you don’t believe me, go talk to Knight.”
“And who is Knight? Is he dressed in medieval gear and carrying a sword?” Remi teased.
“No, he’s the one dressed all in black that you know you don’t want to fuck with. Just look for the fuck off scowl, and you’ll know you found him.”
Remi turned and looked at the gathering crowd of Reed Security guys, studying them all before turning back to me. “Which one?”
“The—” I looked past him and saw pretty much all of them had the same expression on their faces. Aside from Cap and Sinner. “Never mind,” I muttered, shoving past him.
Ma rushed over to me, wrapping me in a hug. “I’m just so glad you’re alright.”
“Do you think Pop feels the same way?”
“Oh, he’ll get over it.”
“Will he? His house is blown up.”
“Well, not the one he lives in. What are you going to do about all your things?”
I sighed as the weight of the destruction pressed down on me. I hadn’t even considered that we just lost everything. “I don’t know. We’ll figure it out.”
“Well, you can stay with us until you get back on your feet.”
Shit, that sounded horrible.
“Michael,” Mav grinned as he walked over. “Nice wedding night.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So, how exactly did this happen?”
Sighing, I really didn’t want to go through this again. “Talk to Remi. He has the details.”
“You know, that uniform is gonna cost you.”
Glaring at my boss, I lost it. “I just lost my house and everything inside, and you want to nickel and dime me over a uniform?”
“State property, I’m afraid,” he grinned.
“You’re an ass.”
“Now, boys,” Ma chastised. “Now is not the time to argue about such things. Let’s all be grateful that you all made it out okay.” She sighed, shaking her head. “And so soon after Liam’s house burned down. It’s like we’re jinxed.”
Mav raised an eyebrow at her words. “Any chance they’re related?”
“Not unless Austin suddenly figured out how to make killer robots,” I muttered.
I stared at the still-smoldering house. How the hell did this happen? I was finally happy. Finally on my way to a normal life, and then this happened.
Correction, Knight happened.
“Well, the fire’s mostly out,” Declan said, walking over as he wiped the sweat from his face.
“Got a few places that are still just itchin’ to flame up, but we’ve got it under control.
I’d say you could go back tomorrow and see if you can find anything, but honestly…
I don’t think there’s gonna be anything to get.
What the hell started this fire anyway?”
In order to know that, I’d have to ask Knight, but if I spoke to him, I might actually kill him.
“Not sure, but I’ll get back to you on that. Excuse me,” I said, leaving the group behind to stalk over to the person I really needed to talk to.
Cap stiffened as I approached, ready for the lashing I was about to give.
“Now, just remember, I had nothing to do with this.”
“Cap, just once, it would be nice if destruction didn’t follow me wherever I went.”
He opened his mouth, but I continued.
“See, I came here for a peaceful life. I have a baby on the way. I had a new house. Hell, I even got myself a real job,” I grinned. “And on my wedding night, of all nights, it all goes up in flames. Literally.”
“Not true,” he countered. “You’re still married. You still have a job, and you still have a baby on the way. Three out of four isn’t bad.”
“Except, I don’t have any place to put the baby. And in Montana, that’s kind of important, seeing as how the winters are so freaking cold!”
“Right,” he nodded, scratching his jaw. “Reed Security will cover the expenses.”
“You’re damn straight you will!”
His eyes widened comically. “And we’ll build it ourselves!”
“Without Knight,” I hissed.
“Sure,” he nodded. “And in the meantime, we’ll send you and Blake off on a honeymoon. All expenses paid.”
Now, that sounded more like it. “I expect the house to be built the same as before.”
“You got it.”
I wasn’t quite sure about this, but it sure as hell beat staying with Ma for however long it would take to get a new house built.
“Good. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
He nodded. “Listen, really. I’m sorry about this. You know how Knight can get.”
He was right, and it wasn’t his fault. Knight got out of control sometimes. It wasn’t like Cap could control everything he did.
“I get it. It’s fine. I mean, it’s not fine, but I understand.”
“Thanks. Do you have someplace to stay for tonight?”
I grimaced at the thought of staying with Ma, but what other choice did we have? “Yeah, we’ll be fine.”
“Just leave it to us. You’ll have a new house in no time, good as new.”
Somehow, that felt even more ominous than if he had just said he’d take care of it. And as I walked away, I wondered if giving control to Reed Security was really such a great idea.