The Joy of Revenge

CHAPTER 51 Late Night Meeting Joy 1 flinched at the sound of my alarm... | was unwilling to move, my mind still muddled from sleep, but | had to get up.

With a groan, | pushed the covers back and stumbled out of bed. I scratched the bird's nest on top of my head and rubbed the sleep from eyes, walking in a zigzag pattern to my. bathroom to take a shower.

Last night, we had a late night meeting which lasted until the early hours of the morning.

Dressed in black tactical gear with a small black backpack on my shoulders, | waited after all the lights in all the homes around the cul-de-sac were off before slipping out through the basement exit of my house. Before leaving, | located the tiny CCTV camera that Noah had installed on my shed door. | placed a drop of black nail polish to obscure its vision and left. my house to head into town.

Before | moved into town, Xavier showedthe path through the woods which led to the warehouse of his grocery store. Once there, | tapped the keycard he had givenand the door opened, allowingto enter without any ha ssle..

| removed my black ski mask and walked to Xavier's secret office. A beep sounded and the door opened. | found Cristos, Sebastian and Xavier huddled around a long white table in front of a whiteboard where different photos and papers were pinned up.

| handed Cristos the antique desk clock | bought for the Sheriff. He took the clock and began to work his magic on Xavier's desk.

“How was your date with Jack?” Cristos asked as he began to unscrew the clock.

“It was fun actually. He likes antiques,” | said, walking to the whiteboard and scanning through all the papers and photos on it. “Over dinner, he went through all the information. on that file you made like a checklist.” “Did he try anything funny?” Xavier asked.

“Sadly no, he was the perfect gentleman,” | answered, looking at the blueprint of the Cohen mansion. “I kissed him on the cheek and he left my house wide-eyed and happy.” Xavier scoffed. Sebastian slapped him on the arm with the back of his hand and gave him a 1/6 CHAPTER 51 Late Night Meeting dirty look.

“Don’t worry, Bo,” | said in a sing-song voice. | sterilized my mouth with mouthwash.” “Kissing him on the cheek was a good call. Jack was acting like a lovesick puppy this morning looking for you,” Sebastian said. “Did he say anything about Abigail?” “They suspect she fell asleep while driving,” | answered, turning my attention to the blueprint of the town hall.

“You guys did hear Abigail is in a coma right?” “Yes, Nicole informed me,” Sebastian replied. “Was anyone else at the hospital when you visited?” “Cris and Lisa. Cris askedto drop by his office at ten to discuss that promo Bo suggested. | plan to spice it up and sponsor the Spring Formal as well.” “Good idea. That will secure you an invite to the Spring Formal at New Salem High,” Sebastian said. “Your gown and your necessary accessories will be arriving with Bo’s men.

When is their ETA, Bo?” “Tomorrow afternoon. Right now they are at a truck stop getting ssleep,” Xavier answered. “I spoke with the high school student body president the other day when she and her mom were shopping. It so happens the th| suggested to her months ago has been approved. It seems everything is going as planned in that department.” “Has the coroner confirmed for Friday?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes, he did,” Cristos said without lifting his head from the clock.

“Bo, have you found your entry point?” Sebastian asked.

“Yep, through the woods. After Chip hacks into their security system and blocks all cameras, I'll enter through the back and head to his office and the bedroom and clean the place out, making it look like a robbery,” Xavier explained.

“I still need a thfor this Sa while placing a tiny camera in the clock.

party at the pub. Any suggestions?” Cristos asked “The Honey Bee Spring Parade still needs a Miss Honey Bee,” Sebastian replied. “I heard from Nicole that Miss North Dakota will be attending an event in New York and won't be able to grace this year’s parade. Accompany Virtue tomorrow and ask Cris if you can hold a small pageant. Sweeten the deal and say a percentage of the night's sales will go to their 2/6 CHAPTER 51 Late Night Meeting campaign.” “A week's tto have girls join a pageant? That's not enough time, Cristos complained.

“Uhm, Chip, it won't be hard if you give out a live thousand dollar cash prize to the winner,” | said. “Make it a simple event. A casual attire and evening gown portion should be enough.” “Casual attire and evening gown? That won't make the men come. | need the girls to wear a swimsuit if I'm going to shell out five grand,” Cristos said. | rolled my eyes. | couldn't believe Cristos was being cheap. “Do you, by any chance, have swimsuits coming in, Virtue?” “No, but we can order them and have them flown in, right, Bo?” | asked Xavier.

“Yep. The bikinis will get here two days... tops,” he answered.

“Create a flyer, hand them out once Cris approves, then close the application process by Wednesday. We can order the swimsuits Wednesday evening and they'll arrive just in tfor Saturday's event. For the meantime, have the girls give you a photo of themselves in their own swimsuits and make a poster using those pics to bring in the crowd,” | suggested. “Are you guys sure that whatever is going to happen is happening this Saturday?” “Yes. Leo and Benny have confirmed that the bi-weekly drop is happening this Saturday. It can’t be a coincidence,” Xavier said. “Lou has already discovered the meeting point at the other side of the lake. He found various tire imprints that lead to the lake’s shallow area. Anyway, my men will be there waiting just in case. If it does happen Friday night, I've ordered them to kill everyone and take the merchandise. It will be sl oppy unlike what we have ve planned for Saturday, but it will still have the sresult.” “And what result is that?” | asked.

“It will flush out whoever is in charge of this town’s illegal drug trade. We suspect it to be at woman, but we aren't entirely sure,” Sebastian answered, shuffling through the papers.

strewn in front of him.

“A woman?” “I pinged on Theodore Cohen's location last night and was able to get ssatellite images. from this morning,” Cristos said, clicking on his laptop and testing out the camera. “He met with a woman, but her face was hidden under a scarf and thick sunglasses. Two trucks filled with boxes were unloaded and the boxes were placed in a structure near the cabin. | couldn't see the structure though. Too many trees.” Satisfied the camera was working, Cristos began putting the clock back together again.

3/6 CHAPTER 51 Late Night Meeting “We can’t seem to find a laboratory at Hillcrest. We've gone through all the houses and the clubhouse, but nothing. Sebastian said, frustrated.

“What about the church?” Have you searched there?” Cristos said. “I saw people with black sling bags this morning, giving w ads of cash during offertory.” “You went to church?” | asked, surprised.

“With Dan,” he answered. “These people were mostly parents with college kids.” “So they're laundering money through church. That's actually brilliant,” Sebastian murmured. “College kids huh? I've noticed scommunity college kids at the bus station every Friday afternoon with black sling bags. It's possible they're dealers. Finally, we have gotten sclarity. I'll have sof my men tail these kids and see who they deal to.” “What about the diner? Many of them go there with the black sling bags in tow. Anything from the bug Virtue planted, Chip?” Xavier asked.

“Nothing. Just business as usual. | just don’t have the tto plant a CCTV camera at the diner,” Cristos said.

“I'll do it,” | said, volunteering. “Jack will be there for breakfast. Where do | need to put it?” “In the plant box along the booth in front of the counter nearest to the office,” Cristos mumbled while cleaning the clock up with a brush and wiping it with a piece of cloth.

“It'll be too obvious. They'll know you planted it if they find it, Virtue,” Xavier said. “Wait until my men arrive with their deliveries. I'll have them have lunch there when it’s busy. They'll find a way to plant the camera.” “All done,” Cristos announced, pointing the antique desk clock in my direction and clicking on his laptop.

“Beautiful.” He swung his laptop forto see and | saw myself smiling back.

“No need to see Jack at the diner. Go see him at work.” “Don’t forget about that bug, Virtue,” Xavier reminded me. “We need eyes and ears in that office.” “How about you? Have you bugged Cris’ office?” | asked.

“Tomorrow. | was planning to bug his whole house,” Xavier said.

“His office is at his house?” | asked. Sh it. I didn’t bother to look at Cris’ card..

4/6 CHAPTER STLate Night Meeting Temporary office. His office at town hall is under renovation.” “He’s going to be utterly disappointed when he sees Chip with you, Sebastian said, chuckling. He took out his phone and checked it A puzzled expression suddenly formed on “What is it, Dom?” | asked.

| put a fracker on Dan's car. After heading to Jack’s neighborhood, he’s now at Highland Oaks. He was there last night before we all met at the hospital. Chip, do you know who he’s visiting there at this ungodly hour?” “Honestly, | don’t know.” “Check if there are CCTV cameras in the area. If not, Bo and | will need to wait for him to visit again,” Sebastian said. “There's something about Dan. The spreadsheet, the late night meetings, the expensive clothing... he has ‘made man’ written all over himself. | want to know who he’s seeing.” “Have you placed a tracker on Noah's car?” Xavier asked.

“Not yet,” Sebastian answered. “I'll do it at the pub on Saturday night. He'll be there for sure.” | helped Cristos make a flyer before heading home. Now, | had to meet him at Cris’.

Dressed in a camel colored pantsuit with a white silk blouse underneath and my hair in a ponytail, | drove to Cris" house at Valley Ridge, a residential area which catered to the upper middle class just beside town.

As | glanced through the rearview mirror, | saw Cristos’ car right behind mine. | was just in time.

Cristos stepped out wearing a light gray pinstriped suit. | whistled knowing how expensive it was. He laughed, handingthe folder he was carrying.

Cris’ secretary opened the door and stared admiringly at Cristos. She was a young brunette, fresh out of college, and was wearing a tight black pencil skirt and a white fitted blouse with a deep neckline.

She ushered us in, standing close to Cristos who gave her an annoyed look.

When we entered his office, Cris had his back towards us while speaking to someone on his phone. When he turned to greet us, | gasped.

5/6 CHAPTER ST Late Night Meeting He had one beautiful...shiner.

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