Path to Convergence
Copyright© 2025 by Vonalt
Chapter 16: Code Complete, Babies Delivered
The ride back to the office was a joyous one, we had secured another major contract that would bring in a substantial amount of money to both the corporate and our individual bank accounts. I announced that we would have a party to celebrate when we got back at the office. I had Molly order pizzas for the entire staff and asked her to include plenty of cheesy breadsticks with marinara sauce for dipping, as well as enough soft drinks to keep everyone happy. I gave her the OK to use the Mercer, Frisch, & Associates credit card to pay for the party.
Our celebration lasted until mid-afternoon while everyone had a good time. I made sure to keep a healthy distance from Molly because she had a tendency to get touchy-feely, and I wasn’t about to risk suffering Andi’s wrath, and then Karen’s when we got home. There was no telling what could happen with both wives pregnant and their hormones out of whack. I’d been in enough trouble lately, and there was no need to invite more.
I remember one Christmas not too many years ago when Johannes went home from an office party after Molly kissed him on the cheek, and he still had the lipstick mark on his cheek. He called me later that night and asked if he could use the bedroom on the third floor, as things at home weren’t going well for him.
That was just Molly being Molly, all charm, zero boundaries, and completely unaware of the chaos that she could leave in her wake.
Our office celebration wrapped up around three PM, and I suggested that everyone head home, relax, and be ready to get back to work in the morning. I told Molly to call it a day and that I’d close up the office myself. Andi waited while I made sure that all the systems were shut down and the Bernoulli disks were securely locked away.
We walked out together, hand in hand. I made a point of helping her into the car, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as she climbed in. I closed her door once I was sure that she was safely settled in, walked around the Volvo, got in, started the engine, and eased out onto the parkway. I made my way home like the rest of the afternoon commuters, navigating traffic and keeping an eye out for the overly aggressive drivers who always seemed to think that the road belongs to them.
We had ordinary week night meal at home, followed by the girls telling us about their day. It was my turn to read the next chapter in their latest bedtime story that night. Some would think that I would tire of it, especially after having a busy day in the office, but it wasn’t true in my case as reading to the girls was therapeutic for me. It gave me a chance to realize what really mattered and to appreciate the twins, my two wives, and two more offspring soon. I was no fool; I knew what mattered most in my life.
The girls dozed off before I could complete the chapter. I closed the book and made sure that the point where I left off was marked. I walked softly not to make any unnecessary noise that would wake the twins as I quietly left the room.
I checked in on the wives after I had made it downstairs, and found them watching some silly Hallmark rom-com movie. I knew better than to comment after I noted that both of them had their own box of tissues and a lap full of used tissues.
I called Beast and the Dobermans to me and had them follow me to the kitchen. They knew that the trip to the kitchen meant a treat and a last opportunity to burn up some pent-up energy. I opened the back door and three terrors ran out hoping to catch someone in the yard with which to play their favorite game of chase and catch.
I glanced at the clock on the wall while the dogs were outside tearing around the yard, and saw that it was still early enough to call Lawrence. It had been a while since we last spoke, and I wanted to check in to see if there were any updates on my mother’s and brother’s pending trial for conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping.
My call was brief. I got to the reason why I called after our usual small talk. I asked Lawrence about my mother and my brother. He didn’t know a lot, but did say that they were facing both federal charges and charges in several states, including my home state and the states of Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Those charges included interstate flight, which were federal and state charges of accessory to kidnapping, battery of a police officer, obstruction of official business, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse.
Abuse of a corpse? I didn’t even want to know the reason for that. That was a charge that my brother would face. His behavior just made me sure that charge was his.
Lawrence then hit me with a zinger.
“There’s also an additional charge that was just added to the list, James. I only found out about it today,” Lawrence said. “Both your brother and mother are now facing murder charges in the deaths of your father and stepmother. They went back, conducted another autopsy, and found evidence of a sedative in their systems. The local police were able to trace the drug to a prescription your mother had. She was prescribed it by a physician affiliated with the cult they were members of. This isn’t the first case of this kind filed against cult members. There are warrants out for that doctor and the cult leader—both of whom are, of course, nowhere to be found.”
I wasn’t expecting that sort of news, and I somehow hung the phone up without saying goodbye. Poor Beast and the Dobermans would have stayed outside all night if one of my wives hadn’t come out in the kitchen to check on me. I hadn’t come back in to the living room, so Karen grew concerned and came out to see if everything was OK.
Karen later told me that she found me sitting at the table as if in a trance. She said that she had to say my name several times before I finally snapped out of it. I would’ve had two wives dragging me off to the local emergency room where Karen worked part-time to have me evaluated if I hadn’t responded by then.
It took both her and Andi to drag what had put me in that state out of me. They were both equally shocked by the news that Lawrence shared. I think that Andi was the most affected, as she was the one who had initially confronted my mother and brother by herself. I saw the goose bumps form on her arm, so I know how upset she was and it generally took a lot to upset her.
Beast and the Dobermans got credit for saving the day once again, and the women fawned over them for being the home’s guardians. Beast and the other two mutts weren’t exactly sure what all the fuss was about, but they weren’t about to walk away when ear scratches and flank rubs were on offer. Flank rubs were rare, and they certainly weren’t going to pass those up.
Sleep didn’t come easy for any of us that night. We all stayed awake and talked about what I had learned from Lawrence. I got the feeling that we weren’t done with that cult. There was no reason to worry Karen and Andi, especially since they were in the last trimester of their pregnancies. I wasn’t too keen on having the babies arriving early and having a health issue related to an early birth.
It was close to three AM when we all finally drifted off to sleep. Not that it did us much good, we had to get up at six to get ready for work and the girls ready for school. I was almost tempted to call in sick, but I was needed at the office with the new contract with the CIA group. Andi and I weren’t worth a damn at work. We were just going through the motions, not really contributing to the project.
Work for the next couple of weeks was intense, as everyone in our group was busy doing their part. Randy found a supplier who was willing to rent us one of the temporary buildings similar to the one I was quartered in over in the sandbox, and another company that would rent us the fence and guard shack that we would require.
Johannes was working on any legal issues that we might encounter in hiring future employees. It was a top-secret project, so we had extra hiring requirements that had to be adhere to.
Andi was kept busy listing and documenting the education and past employment requirements needed for the contract. We would then work together as a committee to write the ads that we’d place in specialized trade publications circulated in the Washington area. We would expand the search to a larger target area if that didn’t attract the type of candidates that we were looking for.
We had the approval to place the temporary structure in the parking lot, and run all necessary services to it, from the real estate management company within two weeks. The structure went up in two days. The building provider’s crew who came to assemble it were miracle workers. The fencing contractor took two days to complete his part as well. We were ready to install the temporary office equipment we had leased, along with the temporary office staff that we would soon be hiring, in just over a week.
The hiring process took longer than expected, as we had a large number of applicants to evaluate. Many unfortunately were unqualified and had to be rejected. It took nearly a month to hire the twenty-five employees that we estimated were needed to complete the job within the required time frame. The process wasn’t without its headaches. Randy caught a couple of new hires attempting to access sensitive client files. We immediately terminated them and reported them to federal authorities for possible criminal activity. It took extra time to replace the employees we had let go.
We were finally up and running a month after we were awarded the contract. Just because we had this new major contract didn’t mean that we could slack off with our other clients. They continued to receive the same level of service they had before we won this contract. We were a very busy office, with some of us putting in extra hours both in the office and at home after hours.
I mentioned earlier that I was concerned that we weren’t done with the cult members, and my feeling proved correct. Andi and I were dog-tired when we headed home, and the unusually heavy traffic didn’t help. It didn’t make me so tired that I didn’t notice a strange car parked down the street on the other side from our house. I mentioned it to Andi as we pulled into the driveway, waiting for our automatic gate to open. Andi said that she would call 911 once she was inside the house and report the car.
I asked Andi to let Beast out as she got out, but to keep the Dobermans inside with her up on the second floor, along with Karen and the twins. I told her to make sure that she and Karen were prepared in case we had any visitors. Andi did as I asked, and Beast came running out, clearly glad to be outside instead of cooped up inside.
I was waiting inside the carriage house, and I could see most of the backyard from my vantage point. My only blind spot was along the side of the carriage house where it met the wall, along with an additional twenty feet of the wall. Beast came to me when I quietly called him. He sensed that something was up and was twitching in anticipation. He made quiet, barely audible. low sounds in his throat I could also see him getting tense, just ready to move when I gave the command.
He didn’t have to wait long. It seemed like only seconds before I heard noise on the side of the carriage house, as if someone was using it as an aid to get over the wall. I heard one person drop down, then another, and slowly make their way along the carriage house.
I already had the Makarov pistol that I was temporarily carrying out of its holster and ready to use. It would have been their last move if they chose to poke their noses into the carriage house. I didn’t have my Walther; the local police were still holding it as evidence, and there was no telling how long it would be before I got it back.
The two intruders were making their way toward the house instead. I kept them covered and I would have shot them if they had turned and faced me. Beast grew more excited, anticipating my command to attack. This was a first; I had never seen him this worked up waiting to take the men in front of him down. The Russian breeders had perfected his genetics if this was what he was bred for.
The intruders were forty feet in front of us when I gave Beast the command to go get them. Whatever Greyhound or Doberman blood was in his ancestry came alive as Beast streaked toward his target. It was no different than a safety hitting a running back from behind as his hundred-plus-pound body slammed into one of the intruders, immediately taking him out.
Beast turned and lunged at the second man, hitting him from the side and locking onto his arm. He began violently shaking him. The force of the attack yanked the intruder’s legs out from under him. He hit the ground screaming, begging for Beast to stop, and I was genuinely shocked by the sheer violence with which Beast was shaking him.
I shouted for Beast to let go, but it took two commands before he finally released. The intruder’s arm hung at an obscene angle, twisted into something that no arm should ever resemble when he did.
Karen and Andi had come out of the house after hearing the screams of the second intruder. Both were armed and ready to use their pistols if necessary. Karen holstered her revolver and went to check on the two intruders. She gave the first one only a quick once-over, then looked up at me, shook her head, and said, “I think that his neck is broken.”
She moved on to the second intruder, briefly examined him, then shook her head again. “This one’s alive,” she said, “Though I doubt that shoulder will ever be right. I think that all the connective tissue separated from the bone while Beast shook him like a rag doll.”
We all heard the sirens of approaching police cars in the distance just then.
Andi went to stand by the gate to flag the cops when they pulled up. “I’ll warn them there are two pregnant women here and one prospective father,” she said. “That will hopefully keep them from shooting.”
That’s Andi, always the comedian. I had my pistol holstered and concealed; there’s no sense in giving the officers a reason to shoot or confiscate my guns.
The cops had their pistols out, sweeping the yard, when they came through the gate. So much for following directions. I kept holding on to Beast’s collar; I didn’t want any officer to perceive him as a threat, so I made him stay beside me.
Beast stayed beside me, curiously watching the police enter his yard. He was happy to see them and seemed to think that they were there to play with him. His ears twitched, and his stubby tail enthusiastically wagged.
One of the officers who responded to the call was an old friend of Beast’s and came over to greet him. He gave Beast the required ear scratch, and Beast leaned into him, almost knocking him over.
“So, what happened this time, Dr. Mercer? Another bunch of intruders out to cause your family harm?” the officer who knew me asked. “Did Beast do this?”
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