Shortly after handing Bennet my car keys, a much younger man in a suit came jogging towards us. Watching my car drive off, I said, "So Bennet, I'm going to be honest. Karlo said the Woxen family was one of his wealthier clients, but I wasn't expecting all of this. I mean, the ride to the castle alone was absolutely amazing."

  "Ah yes, you must mean the topiaries. The Ukrainian sculptor Kuzma Bondar is renowned for his amazing work. But he is quite literally the weirdest guy I've ever met," Bennet said. "I'll explain the Woxen family history as we walk to meet Master August, the current head of the Woxen family." He ushered me into the castle, and I stepped into a massive entrance hall.

  The foyer of the house was enormous. There were two staircases that led to the second floor. We walked past the staircase and went down the long hallway with knights standing guard on either side. "The Woxen family amassed their wealth from owning land with a large amount of oil underneath in their ancestral home of Norway. The family originally started with the sale of oil and then later the production of many types of plastics."

  The hallway ended with a portrait of an older man sitting in a throne room chair with a menacing look. He wore a suit and had a stern expression with strong features, as if inherited from Viking ancestors. We turned down the right hallway and continued. This one was lined with doors on either side, with one door at the very end. Bennet guided me to that final door, and it opened up to an indoor garden with a glass ceiling.

  As we walked through the beautiful garden, there were fresh flowers all around us. Bennet continued as we walked towards the exit. "The great grandfather of the current master decided all the gasoline and plastic they were producing was harming the environment, so he started funding research into alternative energy sources to replace fossil fuels. His son, Master August's father, found that nuclear was the best solution to replace oil. Now that Master August has taken over the family business, he's been working to make his great grandfather's goal of replacing fossil fuels a reality."

  Bennet opened the door to the outside garden. The area was filled with trees, fountains, and more topiary. "I have served in the Woxen family going back to when I was a trainee for the great grandfather, and I have to say the Master and his family are the most interesting group this family has to offer."

  "Interesting? What do you mean?" I said.

  "Well Tom, I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I will let you see for yourself," Bennet said. In the distance, a large building became more visible. "The reason Master August hired Karlo is because an intruder murdered his wife, Nelka. It happened when Master August was away on business. Nelka, their daughters, and a few of the nighttime butlers on shift were the only people in the castle. An intruder broke into the house. Master August chose to build his home here because it was so secluded from everything, which meant they were very underprepared when they had their first burglary. We rarely receive guests, so there were no contingency plans for when an incident like this would happen." Now at the edge of the garden, we stood in front of the large building. Bennet opened the door, letting me walk through first. He then guided me to the elevator at the end of the hall.

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  "Unfortunately for the burglar, he encountered the Master’s wife during her evening stroll. Nelka According to the burglar, she attacked him from all angles with a barrage of kicks, punches, and pro wrestling moves. When the burglar was detained, he mentioned that he was the one that called the police when he was able to momentarily get away from her. He thought she was going to kill him. Pardon my French, but essentially, she handed his ass to him," Bennet said as we walked inside the building. We were greeted by an open foyer with a few lounge chairs and an elevator surrounded by two staircases.

  Bennet pressed the button to the elevator, and we walked in. The doors began to close when he pressed the button for the 4th floor. "The only thing that saved him was pure luck. When Nelka found the intruder after he ran away, she launched herself at him with a flying kick. He panicked and threw his knife at her. By a stroke of miracle in the intruder's favor, the knife lodged itself into Nelka's stomach. The kick still landed and knocked him unconscious. By the time the night crew finally arrived, they found Nelka bleeding out and the criminal unconscious. His pants were soaked because he'd wet himself."

  The doors opened, greeting us with another hallway. Once again, there were multiple doors on either side of the hallway and a single door at the end of the hallway. "The night crew on duty that night were all fired and immediately replaced with combat trained security guards." Now at the end of the hallway, Bennet put his hand on the door. "Before we meet Master August, I want to mention that his three daughters are home. I would recommend staying away from them because believe me when I say those women are succubus and each have their own flavor of crazy."

  "Uh, thanks for the heads up?" I said.

  "My pleasure," Bennet said, opening the door. Sitting in the middle of the room around stacks of papers on the floor was a person with three large white boards with wheels in the background covered with mathematical equations. From the back of his chair, we could see his black and grey frizzled hair going in all different directions like he'd stuck his finger in an electric socket, giving him a mad scientist look.

  The man swiveled around on his stool with a bowl of cereal in his hands. His cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk. Taking a big swallow, his cheeks returned to normal, and a huge smile spread across his face. "Ah, you must be the programmer Karlo told me about!" The man stood from his chair and walked over to us.

  Using one hand to hold the cereal bowl, he wiped his right hand on his pants and extended it for a handshake. "I'm August Woxen. It's a pleasure to finally meet you!"

  "Hi, I'm Tom. I heard the story about your wife from Bennet. I will do my best to make sure your home is secure," I said, shaking his hand.

  August took a spoonful of cereal. "Oh, perfect. Now there is no time to delay. If you're anything like Karlo, you must be a busy man," he said with his mouth full.

  "Master August, we discussed this before. It's impolite to speak with your mouth full," Bennet said, annoyed.

  August's eyes widened and he swallowed. "Oh, right, sorry. Cereal is such a delicate food. Let it soak too long, and the result is death by mushiness. But enough of that, let me show you around the place so you can set up the security system," he said, standing up and taking another spoonful of cereal. This time there was a little moan as the cereal crunched in his mouth.

  The butler nudged me. "Buckle up. That was just the introduction." We both followed August to the end of the hallway towards the elevator.