The Heart System Chapter 567

"Evan?"

"Hey," I replied, taking another puff. "Mendy. How have you been?"

"I’m good," she responded, though her voice sounded a bit unsteady, almost breathless. "Actually, I’m with Kayla right now. There’s this app she’s been raving about..."

"Oh, you too?" I murmured, releasing a stream of smoke and shaking my head slightly. "I’ve got a theory, Mendy. Kayla is secretly the mastermind behind that app, and she's just using all of you for free promotion."

A light laugh escaped her, a soft, airy sound despite her exertion. "Hey, it’s working... but it’s kinda exhausting."

"I can imagine," I said, leaning my shoulder against the cool glass and turning my gaze back to the view outside. "You sound occupied. I can ring you back later if you prefer."

"No, no," she quickly interjected. "My earbuds are in, but I can still talk."

In the distance, Kayla’s voice could be faintly heard.

"Lift your right leg higher. Yes, just like that. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four."

A smile touched my lips involuntarily.

"Wow," I commented, looking down at the street below. "She’s really pushing you, isn't she?"

"She... is," Mendy admitted, her words punctuated by breaths.

I let out a soft chuckle and tapped the ash from my cigarette into the small receptacle beside the railing. "Hey, speaking of random things. Do you also find yourself waking up in the middle of the night to eat bananas?"

A brief silence followed.

"Y-yeah... that’s part of the workout routine," she confessed, sounding a mix of embarrassed and amused. "How did you guess?"

"Just a wild guess," I replied with a grin.

Truthfully, it was starting to feel more like a predictable pattern than mere guesswork.

"Um... so..." she began again, her tone softening. "Thanks for calling, by the way. It’s been a while since we really talked."

"Yeah," I conceded, watching a vehicle drive through a puddle below. "Things have been a bit chaotic recently. A lot has been happening."

"Kayla mentioned something," she said. "About that... disturbing individual. The one who was encouraging his patients to end their lives."

I released my breath slowly, the cigarette still smoldering between my fingers.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "That guy."

"Is your friend alright?" she inquired. "I can’t recall her name... she was his girlfriend, wasn’t she?"

"Ivy," I supplied. "She’s... recovering. Gradually."

"That’s good to hear," Mendy said, her voice regaining some of its former strength. "What he did was utterly reprehensible. I can barely fathom it... but because of you, he won’t be causing any more harm. You might not realize it, Evan, but you've likely saved numerous lives."

I let out a quiet sigh, observing my breath fogging the glass once more.

"I'm not so sure about that," I stated. "I simply did what was necessary."

There was no point in dwelling on that matter. Not at this moment.

"Anyway," I continued, pushing myself away from the window. "I won’t hold you up. All I can hear is you struggling over there."

She gave a soft laugh. "Sorry... yes, I think I do need a break soon."

"Take one before you completely wear yourself out," I advised.

"Yeah... I will," she replied. After a short pause, she added, with a touch more shyness, "We should... get together sometime."

"We definitely should," I agreed. "Once things settle down."

"Okay," she said, her voice sounding genuinely pleased. "Take care, Evan."

"You too, Mendy."

"Bye."

"Bye."

The call concluded, and I slowly lowered my phone.

For a brief instant, I remained there in the quiet, gazing out at the cityscape through the window. The rain had intensified slightly, tracing thin lines down the glass.

I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled.

For a few minutes at least, things felt... ordinary.

⟁ ⟁ ⟁

Another lead had surfaced.

Cora was already on the case, working with her usual efficiency. I had no idea how she managed such swiftness, but she had located Jack Kuinn at a bar. It wasn’t one of the upscale establishments he might frequent; instead, it was a small, secluded place, the kind frequented by those seeking anonymity.

That detail alone spoke volumes.

I pulled the car over and stepped out, the biting cold immediately making me shiver. Snowflakes drifted down in slow, unhurried movements, the kind that seemed to take their time reaching the ground. Occasionally, a gust of wind swept through the street, sharp enough to prompt me to pull my jacket collar higher.

"Cora!"

She was standing across the street, directly in front of the bar’s entrance. Hearing my voice, she turned and offered a small wave, a faint smile gracing her lips. I crossed over, my boots making a soft crunching sound on the thin blanket of snow that had already accumulated.

The hour was deep, precisely two in the morning, far beyond the normal schedule for ordinary folks. It was a time when the city underwent a transformation, shedding its usual bustle for a more subdued, yet subtly perilous, atmosphere. The street itself offered no comfort, with dim streetlights overhead casting dancing shadows across the damaged pavement. Down the block, a couple of questionable individuals loitered near a corner store, and graffiti marred the brick walls, seemingly untouched for ages.

The bar situated behind Cora seemed to belong to this very scene.

A tired neon sign flickered above the entrance, its letters sputtering as if on the verge of collapse. The windows, tinted just enough to obscure the interior, still allowed fleeting glimpses of movement – silhouettes drifting beneath the warm interior glow.

"I apologize for contacting you so late," Cora murmured, her voice soft as she slipped her hands into her coat pockets. "I believed you would wish to be informed."

"It's quite alright," I responded with a faint smile. "Sleep wasn't coming to me anyway. So... enlighten me. He entered this establishment?"

"Y-yes," she confirmed with a nod. "However, he was unaccompanied."

"Hmm."

This revelation presented both a simplification and a complication simultaneously.

My gaze drifted to the entrance, then returned to her. "Why did you refrain from entering?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed her face, her shoulders subtly tightening. "I... I felt a touch of trepidation."

A quiet chuckle escaped me. "Indeed, I suspected as much."

Standing taller, I extended my arm to her. She regarded it for a moment before offering a sheepish smile, linking her arm through mine with a gentle grip.

"Come now," I urged. "Let us not keep our young man waiting indefinitely."

We proceeded towards the entrance together. There was no queue, no gathering crowd – hardly surprising, as this was not the sort of venue that typically attracted a throng of waiting patrons.