The Joy of Revenge

CHAPTER 131 There's a Reason Joy The sun was about to rise when we boarded one of Xavier's trucks bound for New Salem, leaving a shaken Emma to care for Sebastian. | wanted to stay and look after Sebastian myself, but | had to go back before Liam noticed | was missing.

After Delgado, Xavier didn’t want to lose any more members of the organization and the mere possibility of someone else dying ate at him. He decided it was best if we were prepared. So he ordered all his men stationed at Mandan to move to New Salem.

Despite the risks, Xavier's sister... she was coming whether we liked it or not.

When Ki ki was formally inducted into the organization, she assumed Xavier would tap her to tap beca part of his group. But Xavier, who only wanted to protect his sister, had Cristos her instead. Although adept in h acking, Ki ki, like her brother, loved combat and warfare.

| remember her induction... She was the first soldier to ever refuse a tap from an underboss.

“Katarina Xandra Beaufort,” her father yelled from the podium. “You are privileged to have been tapped by a wise underboss. Know your place in this organization or | will strip you of your membership.” “But Father,” Ki ki reasoned, “I deserve to be under Capo B astone Beau-" “You will addressas Don, soldier,” her father reprimanded her. “Understand our traditions. You will follow and serve Underboss Primo... until your dying breath.” K iki muttered a curse before bowing to Cristos. It was obvious she wasn’t too thrilled to be under him, but Cristos was definitely happy to acquire K iki. She had the Beaufort skillset he needed for his dirty work.

Eventually, Ki ki warmed up to Cristos especially since she did all of his field work for him. However, as twent by, Xavier and his men oversaw all armed-related operations. So, just like Dina and Lou, K iki ended up being in charge of a large team of hackers working for Cristos... something she utterly detested.

She was one slick cookie though. She waited for the perfect opportunity to get what she wanted. And even though Xavier screamed obscenities at her earlier, she wouldn't back down. Cristos had promised anything to the one person who could decode Cris’ messages 1/6 CHAPTER 131 There's a Reason “X, you aren't the underboss | work for,” she said while on speaker phone. “Primo, you said | could ask for ar anything and this is what | want. | arrive in Bismarck later in the day. Please have Lou or Dina pickup.” “Ill pick you up,” | offered. “You can play my bestfriend from Nevada who will be helping met with my wedding.” “Oh, this is just fantastic,” Xavier exclaimed. “The two of you together? Not only do | have to worry about just one woman, now | have two!” “You will never have to worry about me, dear brother. As Joy's bestfriend, | can and will keep her safe,” K iki promised.

“That’s what I'm afraid of,” Xavier said. “You are just as reckless as Sebastian. And K iki, it’s Virtue Sullivan, not Joy Taylor. If you're going to play her bestfriend, you better not slip. Chip and Virtue will pick you up at the airport. And Ki ki, | need you to be a girly girl.” “Aw... people in New Salem aren't into goth?” K iki asked, chuckling. “No problem, Bo. | gotcha.

Before we boarded the truck, we quickly went through Cris’ messages, but despite being in word form, most of the messages didn’t make any sense, except for the last one which had the words OI’ Barn and Friday.

While heading back to New Salem, Xavier got an unexpected call from Link. It was a to discover Norma Martin was broke.

“I should've looked into Norma's finances,” Cristos mumbled, angry at himself. “I was a to, but Dan called and we had the Chicago trip and the proposal. It slipped my mind.” “It's a good thing then that Jake took a look at her finances for us,” Xavier said, placing at hand on his shoulder.

“Cristos, we need to find out who truly owns the pharmacy. Unfortunately, we are a man short, so it’s up to us.” “I'll have Lou get us that information and I'll instruct my team to listen in on all of Liam’s conversations.

Something big is going to happen tomorrow and the OI’ Barn is where it’s going to happen.” Xavier jumped out as soon as the truck stopped and immediately turned towards his office. But after a few steps, he abruptly stopped. | was about to ask him what was wrong when he gestured for all of us to keep quiet.

2/6 11:50 Tue, Apr2 M CHAPTER 131 There's a Reason “Link, cough once for yes. Is this Tomas Martin Hispanic?” He asked through his communication device. | noticed the excitement on his face as he listened intently.

“Who is Tomas Martin?” | mouthed to Cristos. He answeredwith a shrug of his shoulders.

“The Angels of Darkness is primarily the Mexican Mafia,” Xavier suddenly said. “I want you to get on Tomas’ good side. Get Ford out. Do whatever it takes.” “Get Ford out? Are you insane? What about Emma?” Cristos asked incredulously. “And who is this T Martin anyway?” “Chip, I'll make sure Emma has back up. As to who this Tomas Martin is, he is Ford's father and Norma's ex- husband,” Xavier answered. | gasped. Was he Luis Villegas in disguise? “I overheard Norma and Tomas fighting over the pharmacy. Tomas said, and | quote, “The pharmacy stays in the organization.” End quote. Xavier grinned at Cristos. “I think we have finally found Pete’s capo. | can’t believe it. Everything does happen for a reason.” “I need to h ook up my laptop,” Cristos said, quickly walking towards Xavier's office which was still partly boarded up except for a small opening. “I'll use facial recognition and see if he fits the description we found on Luis Villegas.” | followed Cristos into Xavier's office where he quickly set up his laptop and began typing. It took him about five minutes to hack into the CCTV footage at the Sheriff's station and. obtain an image of Tomas Martin.

He uploaded the image he got from De Luca and sought a facial match.

“Sixty-six percent,” Cristos announced, grimacing. “It's not good, but it’s high enough considering this photo was taken years ago. Height is a problem though. He’s an inch shorter than this Luis Villegas, but we do becshorter as we age so this could be him-" “Jake has something for you,” Xavier suddenly interrupted, entering with Jake. He handed Cristos a USB. “Files from Hartman's laptop. Link toldearlier Norma wired Hartman five hundred thousand to help Ford. You go through that while | check her phone.” Xavier sat down on his sofa and began swiping through Hartman's phone.

“Hartman was planning to s kip town... she even wrote a letter confessing to the murder of Theodore Cohen...,” Jake began, but stopped. “Has Autumn you, Primo? Otten in touch with I'm sure she can provide us with more information than what I could get off Hartman's laptop.” “No. | told her to lay low Cristas said grabbing his phone and dialing. “Autumn, can you - 3/6 11:50 Tue, Apr 2 MG.

CHAPTER 131 There's a Reason speak freely? You're at home? Good. What do you have for me?” He put her on speaker phone so we all could hear what she had to say.

“Well, Hartman first tried to pin Theodore’s death on his cardiologist, but it didn’t work. After the Sheriff went through all the CCTV footages and smartphones they confiscated, he announced all the evidence pointed to Ford. Hartman called Norma to inform her of her son’s arrest and told her she couldn't stand idly by and watch Ford be crucified for something he didn’t do, so she offered to take the fall for Theodore’s death. However, she went on to explain to Norma that it cwith a price, considering her retirement benefits. would be revoked once she s kips town. Norma agreed to pay her all the money she had left in her bank account just as long as all charges against Ford are dropped. Unfortunately, Hartman wasn’t too pleased with the amount Norma offered her and was about to back out, but Norma promised her once Ford is released, she would ask Ford for a loan and pay her more. They negotiated for a while... with Hartman finally settling for two million dollars,” Autumn narrated.

“After writing her confession letter and leaving it inside her desk drawer, she pulled out a -long brown folder from under her desk. | thought she was going to go home, but she headed to the hospital director's office instead.

Apparently, they both originally conspired to take Ford's trust fund money in exchange for his appointment as nurse administrator. However, due to the unforeseen circumstances, taking Ford’s money was no longer a viable option, so Hartman proceeded in blackmailing the hospital director, showing him all the evidence she had collected in that folder she had brought with her. The hospital director laughed and quickly turned the tables on her, informing her he had evidence of her embezzling money from the department budget. It seems Hartman has a gambling addiction and travels to Fargo frequently,” Autumn explained.

“What evidence did she have against the hospital director?” Cristos asked.

“Drugs. The hospital director supplies the meth the nurses buy from Junior Nurse Administrator Rodney Marshall, one of two friends Emma has. Don’t getwrong... | like Emma, | do, but she can be a real snob. Everyone at the hospital sees her as this big priss, so no one ever really warmed up to her. Ford, that idiot, had thought Emma was doing drugs since she was on speaking terms with Pam, this nurse who helps Rodney with his drug.

dealing. That's the reason why Ford targeted Emma in the first place. | didn’t say anything because | needed her to act naturally.” “Does Ford know about this Rodney?” Xavier asked.

“He only knows about Pam. Rodney is like a hero at the hospital. He even created a petition for the termination of Ford's employment.” 4/6 11:50 Tue, Apr 2 MG.

CHAPTER 131 There's a Reason 60% “Wait, I'm confused. Rodney is openly trying to have Ford fired when the drugs he sells cfrom the organization Ford's mother is tied up with?” Xavier asked “Based on what | heard from the hospital director, Norma Martin has no stake in the business whatsoever while Ford... well, he was becoming a hindrance to the business. The only reason why most of the sexual harassment complaints against Ford were withdrawn was because many of the female nurses who filed a complaint were involved with drugs. As for Hartman, the hospital director reminded her that all he needed to do was say the word and she, Ford and Norma would cease to exist. He reminded her of a security guard and a janitor that went missing and told her, ‘McDowell doesn’t like liabilities. He prefers them buried in the ground.” | gasped again. The one place we didn’t care to look... the hospital..

“What happened after their meeting?” Cristos asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“While | was providing care for Nicole Davis and everyone else was at the vigil, Hartman went to the nurses’ locker room and raided Emma’s locker, then quickly left the hospital right after. | have to apologize for my negligence, Primo, because it was already two in the morning when | was able to check the footage,” Autumn apologized.

“Do you know what she saw in Emma’s locker?” “She saw Emma's ring, Primo” Autumn said, her voice laced with concern. “After watching th recorded feed, | went out for a smoke to calm my nerves and that’s when | noticed Hartman car parked at the gift shop fronting the hospital. | decided to see if she was inside and she was, with a gun in her hands. That's when | decided to steal the note. | was on my way to warn Emma, but she had already left. | immediately linked into the CCTVs and found Emma standing in the parking lot with her hands raised above her head. | hurriedly alerted Link, knowing he could take care of Hartman.” “Do you think she told Norma about Emma?” Xavier asked.

“I don’t think so. | don’t even think she understood the inscription on the ring. But from the footage, it was clear Hartman marveled at the red diamond of Emma's family heirloom,” Autumn answered. The red diamond ring was only owned by the founding fathers of the Blood Disciples. Emma inherited hers from her father and it was worth millions. “What | can definitely say though was Hartman wanted money and she was desperate. Desperate people often don’t want to share.” “I have to say you did well, Autumn, but next tkeep Emma updated... including me,” Cristos instructed her.

“We can’t risk anyone's life. For today. Emma's calling in sick, so you’ 5/6 11:50 Tue, Apr 2 M GU 60% CHAPTER 131 There's a Reason need to keep an eye on Nicole. | also need you to hack into the hospital director's files and look into every patient and every employee who is currently in that hospital and send that information to me. It’s possible Pete may be hiding there.” “Of course, Primo,” Autumn replied and hung up.

“I'm convinced. There's a reason for everything,” Xavier said, standing up. “There aren't any messages on this phone. Here, Chip. See if you can find anything else on it.” He handed Cristos Hartman's phone, then turned to speak to Jake. “Jake, did Link leave you with instructions?” “He needsto assist him for the day, Bo,” Jake answered.

“For now, your mission is Tomas Martin. | want to know where he lives. Tell Link to call later. | need the both of you to ambush one of Sheriff's deputies, Xavier instructed. Jake nodded his head and quickly left. “Ill call Sam and have him meet with the hospital director while Lou and my men put up CCTV cameras around the OI’ Barn.” “Why do you need Sam to meet with the hospital director?” | asked, surprised.

“I'm going to make a deal with Pete.” Chapter Comments 5 POST COMMENT NOW 6/6 The Joy of Revenge