Electron landed neatly in Coolidge Avenue and started
frantically searching for house number 156. Even though he knew there was no
way the Iron Maiden could have gotten there before him, he still couldn't help
panicking that he might be too late. His relief upon seeing the front door and
windows still intact was immeasurable.
After taking a moment to catch his breath, Electron
headed up the cobbled driveway and pounded on the door. "Mr. Smith?"
he called out. "This is Electron. Your life is in urgent danger. I need to
speak with you right now."
When the door opened, it was not Andy Smith who answered,
though nor - thankfully - was it the Iron Maiden. Instead it was a woman,
presumably Andy's wife. She opened the door slowly, looking at Electron with a
mixture of concern, confusion, and sorrow. "Is your husband home?"
asked Electron.
Mrs. Smith shook her head. "No," she said. "When
we heard about Kevin, he panicked, and said he needed to go into hiding. He
said she'd be coming after him next. He didn't tell me where he went. It's
true, isn't it?" she added. "That masked woman's going after
him-"
"She will be," said Electron. "His friend
Matt's already dead. I need to find him before she does. Do you have any idea
where he could have gone to?"
Mrs. Smith shook her head. "N-no, I don't
know," she said. "I… he could be anywhere-"
Electron persisted, keeping calm and composed despite the
pressure. "Try to think of a place where your husband would feel
safe," he said. "Can you think of anywhere like that?"
"Uhh…" Mrs. Smith thought for a moment, looking
increasingly agitated, then snapped her fingers. "The old shooting
range!" she exclaimed. "There's this… outdoor shooting range, to the
north, outside of town. It closed down a couple of years ago, but my husband
and his friends go up there every so often to let off a few rounds… the targets
are still there, and my husband owns a gun, he probably took it with him… I
think he's going to shoot her when she shows up-"
"Then that makes two people I have to stop,"
said Electron, letting out a small sigh. "Right, I got it. The old
shooting range. I'll go look for him. Thank you for your help."
Electron started to turn away, but Mrs. Smith seized his
arm, pulling him back round to face her. There was a growing look of dread on
her face. "Why is this woman after him?" she asked.
Electron fell silent for a moment, unsure what to tell
the woman. Should he tell her that her husband and his friends were all
murderers? Somehow, he felt that he could not bring himself to do so. "I'm
not sure you want to know," he said.
Mrs. Smith did not release Electron's arm; in fact, her
grip tightened, her fear-widened eyes pleading up at him. "Electron,"
she said, her voice quiet and wavering, "what did my husband do?"
Suddenly, Electron realized that she was not just
dreading what might happen to her husband: she was dreading the truth. As hard
as it may have been for her to accept at first, she knew that her husband and
his friends had done something terrible to this woman, and now she wanted to
hear it for herself. With a heavy sigh, he looked Mrs. Smith deep in the eyes. "Your
husband, and his friends… they killed a man," said Electron. "Now his
wife is hunting them down, out of revenge. I couldn't stop her from killing the
other three, but now that I'm one step ahead of her, I promise I will save your
husband."
Mrs. Smith brought a hand up to her mouth in shock, her
face turning pale as the revelation sank in. She staggered back a few paces, her
other hand straying to her chest, then nodded as though in acknowledgement. Her
lips began to move, and she muttered something under her breath that Electron could
barely hear: "I… I never thought he would go this far… I know when he hits
me, it's because I've done something wrong, but this man, he didn't do
anything, he-" Mrs. Smith froze suddenly, as another thought occurred to
her. Maybe I didn't do anything wrong.
Maybe it's been him all these years, and I just didn't realize it until now.
All this time… Slowly, the fear and sorrow she felt for her husband ebbed
away, replaced by torrents of repressed pain, regret, and anger.
Though Electron could not see the maelstrom of emotions
swirling inside her, he could tell that Mrs. Smith needed some time to herself,
to process everything. "I think I'll leave you alone for now," he
said. "I have to go save your husband, after all."
As Electron turned to go once more, Mrs. Smith suddenly
shook her head, this time with a new-found ferocity. "Don't bother,"
she said. "If they… if they really killed that man… then he deserves to
rot like the rest of them."
Electron turned back, shaking his own head. "He
deserves to answer for his crimes," said Electron. "He deserves to
face justice. Just not the kind of justice that woman's dishing out."
Electron turned to go once more, and this time Mrs. Smith did not try to stop
him. "I'm really sorry," Electron said finally. "I really
am." With that, he took off into the sky, heading north.
"Martin," he said, activating his radio.
"Andy wasn't at his house; he got spooked and ran to a disused shooting
range north of town. I'm gonna head there now, see if I can convince him to
turn himself in. That oughta put a stop to Jasmine's rampage."
"Alright, good job, man," said Martin. "And
if you could apprehend her while
you're at it, that'd be great."
"I'll do my best," said Electron. "The
police are still out combing the city for her, right?"
"Yeah, but they ain't found her yet," said
Martin. "Let's hope they do. In the meantime, you get to Andy."
"Will do," said Electron. "Oh, and could
you send a police unit over to his house, please? I think his wife might have a
few things to say."
"I'm on it," said Martin.
It was at this point that something occurred to Electron.
"Actually… don't," he said. "Don't send a police unit there. At
least, not yet. I've got an idea."
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like the
sound of this?" asked Martin.
***
It was not long before the sudden smash of a window
heralded the Iron Maiden's arrival at Andy's house. Mrs. Smith was sitting in
the living room as though waiting for her, her head bowed and her face pale as
she continued to digest the horrible truths she had just learned. "Your
husband," said the Iron Maiden. "Where is he?"
Mrs. Smith looked up, her expression strangely calm.
"He's at the disused shooting range, north of town," she said.
"It won't be that hard for you to find."
The Iron Maiden nodded, appreciative of the help, and
also pleasant surprised. "Thank you," she said, before adding,
"You understand, don’t you? Why I have to do this."
Mrs. Smith nodded in reply. "I do," she said.
"I just wish I could have done it sooner."
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