The Joy of Revenge

CHAPTER 167 Pete’s Cause
Pete McDowell
It was half past two on a chilly Friday morning. I was outside in the cold, standing beside car, waiting near the hangar of a private airport right outside Bismarck.
The jet was
was supposed to arrive at two, but half an hour later, there was no sign of it in the
sky above, not even a light. And I was getting impatient.
Last Friday was a disaster. Brock and his team of Black Hawks never returned from the Ol
Barn. According to his partner codenamed Joker, who was watching the live feed of their assault, Brock almost had Liam, but a sn iper got to Brock first.
my
It was shocking to learn Liam had hired a group of mercenaries to aid him. I had thought I had outsmarted him with my group of hired thugs, thinking he only had the Sheriff, Jack and those dumb deputies to defend him.
Again, I had underestimated Liam Cohen.
They were known as the Blue Rogues, a team of highly trained ex-military operatives led by a ruthless man who called himself the Colonel. I didn’t expect Liam had the money and the connections to hire them, nor did Brock or any of the Black Hawks, who were, unfortunately to some degree, inferior to the Blue Rogues.
Unknown to the Black Hawks, the Colonel was the first person I contacted when I was. shopping for a private army. I promised him I would double his fee if he agreed to help me take back what was mine. However, through an encrypted email, he rejected my offer outright without even giving me a reason. Now I knew why….
After Brock’s untimely death, Joker exercised self-restraint and decided against avenging his bestfriend. He said it would be suicide to attack and argued the Colonel would be expecting a retaliation anyway. He decided to keep a close watch over the Blue Rogues by hacking through the CCTV cameras in New Salem, vowing he would have his revenge when they least expected it.
I doubted he would, knowing full well what the Colonel and his army were capable of. But who was I to stop a person from fulfilling his quest for retribution when I wanted the same for myself.
I glanced up in the sky and saw complete darkness. Not even the moon or the stars were out
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CHAPTER 167 Pete’s Cause
to illuminate the dark sky. I wondered what was taking them so long to arrive. Joker’s men said they left Texas right on schedule.
Where were they? I kicked the pavement in frustration. Clearly, I was an underboss who the organization undermined.
I knew I should have gone to Texas with my capo. I would have, if it weren’t for the steel rods framing my face. I had asked the hospital director to remove the infernal contraption yesterday morning, however, he arrived late in the afternoon, leaving me no choice, but to stay in Bismarck.
The private jet, the Consigliere had sent, left with my capo on board right on schedule. According to the spies sent by Joker, he was dressed in a nice expensive suit and was carrying a small attache case with him. It was obvious he had business to discuss with Doña Ortiz, the very thought angering me. He was my second in command, yet he was the one the Consigliere requested. It was clear as day… They were undermining my authority!
I had first planned to scold the hospital director when he arrived, however, he looked
agitated as he walked into my room. After he placed his bag on the nightstand beside my bed, he politely asked one of my men for a double shot of whiskey to calm his nerves, before he began the removal of the external fixation rods.
He downed the amber colored liquid in one gulp, pursing his lips as he placed the glass back on the tray. I noticed his hands were shaking, like he was scared s hit less.
“What the f uck happened to you, Doc?” I asked, more annoyed than concerned. Not only did I miss the plane ride to Texas, he had to see me while he was upset.
*I had an unexpected visit by your, uhm, delivery man,” he answered as he took a seat on a stool beside my bed. He began to massage the palms of his trembling hands while he rolled
his shoulders forward and backward, attempting to ease the tension he was feeling.
“And? What did he want?” I asked impatiently. Before he answered, he placed his right hand. over his chest and took a couple of deep breaths.
“He wanted me to give you this,” the hospital director said, fishing out a small white

envelope from his breast pocket. I reached over, sn atched the envelope from his hand and heaved a sigh of relief, noticing it was sealed. I turned the envelope over to find it addressed to me, nothing else.
I tore it open and found a small piece of paper with a number written on it. I flipped the
small note to see if there was anything else on it. Nothing.
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CHAPTER 167 Pete’s Cause
“Did he say anything to you after he gave you the envelope?” I asked.
“No. He was gone before I could react,” he answered. “He cornered me as I was exiting my office. He was dressed like a janitor.”
“What did he look like?” I asked, urging him for a description. The last time I asked about the delivery man, he said there was a murderous expression in the man’s eyes which scared. him to death. It wasn’t the description I was looking for, but it was enough for me to stop pursuing the subject.
The hospital directors’s eyes focused on the space beside me as he recalled the appearance of the man disguised as a janitor. I noticed the fear emerge in the depths of his brown eyes, as if the man was standing right in front of him.
“He was tall, muscular and tan. He had a black beanie over his head and a medical mask covering his face, so all I could see were his eyes. He had dark angry eyes… the same
dark
eyes
of the man I saw last week…” His voice trailed off like a frightened child. At least, it was
-the same man.
“Get a
grip, Doc,” I said. “He’s not going to hurt you. If he wanted to hurt you, you’d probably be dead already. Now take these rods off of me. I need to look like my underboss self before the Consigliere arrives. And don’t worry. That man won’t bother you ever again. He gave me
his number.”
“Oh, thank G od!” He exclaimed, heaving a huge sigh of relief. Then he stood up, opene bag and began placing the tools needed to remove the rods. “I expect you’ll pay me ext now that I’ve helped you outside our previous arrangement.” I rolled my eyes and scowl
was always, always about the money.
thing off of n
“Your money is in the drawer of the nightstand, I said angrily. “Now get this th before I shoot you!”
It took over an hour to remove the steel rods and the rest of my bandages. Luckily, my wounds and bruises had healed quickly although one of my eyes was still swollen and bruised. I decided to wear a black eye patch over it to hide the swelling, inadvertently giving
me a sa distic look..
After the hospital director left, I called in a hair stylist and had him dye all my facial hair a silver white to match my hair, making myself look much older than my years.
I looked at myself in the mirror after the hair treatments were finished and I liked what I
saw. I could hardly recognize myself. To complete my new look. I decided to use a cane to
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Pete’s Cause
disguise myself as an elderly gentleman.
Once I was dressed in an expensive navy blue suit, feeling like my old self again, I called the number printed on the piece of paper. As expected, the same creepy voice from last week
answered.
“I’d like to confirm my delivery,” he said, his voice deep and raspy. I couldn’t believe someone living on this earth actually sounded like Freddy Krueger. “Midnight, after the New Salem Spring Honey Bee Celebration at the gas station along the road heading to Red River.”
“Correct,” I answered. “There will be a white van parked in front of the gas station waiting for you. Tell Cris, I expect him to be there during the delivery. And remember, I want my package unharmed and unspoilt.”
“I’m only a delivery man. You’ll get her in whatever condition she’s in. I’m no nanny,” he replied, his tone angry. “Sure, I’ll pass your message on to Cris. We’ll see you midnight.” It thought he was going to hang up, but unfortunately, he spoke again. “By the way, make sure -you have my payment with you. No payment, no girl.”
“How much was promised?” I asked, irritated. I suspected Cris had trouble getting to his stash which was in a rented storage unit in Mandan. But if I had knowledge of that, it was a huge possibility Lisa did too.
“Two hundred fifty,” he answered to my surprise
“That can’t be right. I only pay as much as 100 grand for a girl,” I replied.
“But this isn’t any ordinary girl, Pete. After tomorrow afternoon, she will be Mrs. Lia
Cohen,” he said unexpectedly.
“What did you say?” I asked, thinking I heard wrong.
Virtue and Liam were getting married… tomorrow?
“You heard me,” he said. “Two hundred fifty and not a penny less. See you… Pete.” He suddenly hung up on me before I could ask him any more questions.
I turned to Joker who was tracing the call. “Well?”
“The call pinged at a tower here in downtown Bismarck,” he replied, pointing at a specific location on a map spread out on the table. “I already sent a team to check it out.”
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Pete’s Cause
However, instead of locating the delivery man, they found an empty, abandoned old building.