The Joy of Revenge

CHAPTER 155 Bob Sheriff | parked my car right in front of Jack and Liam. They stood rooted to the spot, obviously debating whether to approachor not. From Bismarck, | was supposed to meet them at the OI’ Barn. But instead here | was, angry as hell.

Go d da mmit! Why the f uck didn’t | check the bathroom to make sure the coast was clear?! Why didn’t | do my homework? Of all the screw ups | have done in my life, this was the worst.

| banged on the steering wheel with the palms of my hands, releasing sof my pent up anger, but it wasn’t enough. | wanted to break something, anything...

G od, | was so stu pid! STU PID! | thought my plan was fool proof. After getting stitches, | called an old friend of mine who | had bailed out from a jam a long while back. | helped him change his nand appearance, then | got him a job at Bismarck General as an unsuspecting security guard. It's been twelve years since | saw him last, but he oweda favor.

“Combs, | was wonderin’ when you'd call. | was shocked to find OI’ Mary’s grandson admitted in the hospital under police custody. What's goin’ on in New Salem anyway?” Bob asked.

Bob was Theodore Cohen's favorite runner. Bob was a man of his word, never complained, and most importantly, he brought in lots of money. He was trusted by Theodore, so much so that he was allowed to sell in large quantities. | used to envy Bob's relationship with the Cohens. He was one of the selected few who could visit the mansion without having invitation.

an Unfortunately, Bob made the mistake of supplying a huge amount of drugs to a new player in the field.

Apparently, the new player was an undercover DEA agent. During what was supposed to be a routine deal, he found himself walking into a bust.

But Bob was a shrewd man. He knew something was wrong. So he brought a group of men to back him up. And just like what we've seen in the movies, they all ended up shooting at each other. Bob alone survived to tell the tale of that fateful day, although to the townsfolk of New Salem, he was deceased.

“Sold, sold,” | answered. “Sold sh it.” 1/5 12:10 Thu, Apr 4 CHAPTER 155 Bob “Nah, this ain’t no drug bust,” he said, “this is somethin’ else. They got bodies piled up in the morgue, ‘but they ain’t got no drugs on them. I've been doin’ ssnoopin’ around and they think OI’ Mary’s grandson is part of shuman trafficking syndicate. There’ve been reports of girls goin’ missin’ around Bismarck. You know, Combs, this kinda s hit wouldn't be happenin’ if Cynthia was still boss.” Bob never liked Pete. To him, Pete was a little boy playing godfather.

“I don’t know if you've heard, but Cynthia’s dead and we're making the necessary arrangements to get rid of Pete. Once Liam becomes boss, there won't be anymore girls going missing,” | promised.

has “Well, they moved Riley to a corner room at the secluded area of the hospital, near the ICU. The police say they got sanonymous tip about an assassination,” Bob stated. “That area eyes at all times, but the computer system that powers the security around the hospital minutes to is so sophisticated that it takes tfor it to boot up. After reboot, it takes seven i be fully operational. That'll give you enough tto break Riley out of his hospital prison.” “This isn’t a rescue mission, Bob,” | mumbled through the phone. “I need to make sure he doesn’t make a peep.” “Oh, | see. Poor OI’ Mary ain't gonna see her grandson ever again. Well, that’s karma,” Bob replied. “I'm guessin” seven minutes will be enough to shoot him in the head or inject him with ssort of poison. All we need to do now is think of way to distract the guards and nurses in that area. So what tshould | expect you?” “Around five in the afternoon. That'll give us enough tto finalize our plans. Getso clothes to makelook like sdoctor and a wig of skind if you can find one,” | instructed him.

“No problem. | already have somethin’ in mind. I'll message you where you can meet me. See you, Combs.” | arrived at the address he sentat exactly five in the afternoon. It was the address of a laundry shop in a remote part of the city. | walked in and asked to see a man named Charlie. The woman at the counter took one look atand asked who | was. She looked to be in her forties, with long curly brown hair, a full face of make- up, wearing a red top with a deep v that showed ample cleavage and a tight denim miniskirt. She leaned forward, givinga clear view of her breasts, as she waited for an answer.

“Tell him I'm an old friend,” | answered. She smiled sesuctively and usheredinside.

“He’s waiting for you at his office. It’s the blue door at the very end,” the woman said, 2/5 12:10 Thu, Apr 4 CHAPTER 155 Bob pointingto the right direction. “You can’t miss it.” | followed her instructions and walked through the shop, looking for the blue door. After dodging clothing hanging on metal racks, | finally found what | was looking for, hidden behind a dry cleaning machine. | knocked on the door tentatively and patiently waited for an answer to cfrom inside. But instead of an answer, the door swung open, revealing Bob.

He was much older now and fatter. He had a pot belly, a dark moustache and a beard, and thin salt and pepper hair. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt and black slacks. He looked as if he was getting ready to go to work at the hospital.

He smiled at me, his teeth stained from coffee and cigarettes. Because of his old age and his fully grown moustache and beard, he didn’t have to dye his hair, wear colored contacts or wear loose clothing to mask his true self.

“Wow, Combs, you look as old as me,” Bob remarked, usheringinside. “But it’s really nice to see a familiar face. After bein’ stuck in this hell hole, | sure miss the good old days.” “I didn’t know you had a business,” | said noticing the currency counters on a long table on the left side of his rather large office. On the right of his office was a long leather sofa with a coffee table in front of it, while at the end, near a red wall, was a vintage wooden desk made of sturdy dark mahogany. It was a beautiful desk, varnished and gleaming under the light. It madewant to change the old desk in my office.

“Money launderin’ is actually quite profitable,” he said, chuckling, gesturing forto sit in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk. “I started several years back, so | could keep tabs on New Salem. And in case you didn’t know, Daniel Williams is my number one client. Coffee or whiskey?” | “Whiskey. | need something to numb the pain,” replied, pointing to my stitches. He poureddrink from a small bar beside his desk and placed the glass on the mahogany table in front of me.

“What happened to your head?” He asked.

“A riot,” | answered. “Speople just don’t have any respect for law enforcement.” He laughed, nodding his head.

“I know what you mean.” He laid a long sheet of paper on his desk, flattening the folds with his hands. | took a look and realized it was the blueprint of the hospital area Riley was transferred to.

3/5 12:10 Thu, Apr 4 S CHAPTER 155 Bob 68% “Have you spoken to Bismarck police?” Bob asked. | nodded my head. “What have they told you so far?” “Riley's unconscious. The detective on the case toldthey called a few days ago to inform me, but Randy, the pri ck that he is, didn’t tell me. This would have been dealt with earlier if | had known about it sooner,” | said before sipping my drink.

“Matthews right?” He asked. | nodded my head. He shook his head. “He lied to you. Riley's conscious. He just can’t talk or use both his hands. But knowin’ Matthews, he found a way to communicate with Riley. On the bright side though, Matthews is a lone wolf. He likes to investigate on his own and won't tell anyone anythin’ until he has enough evidence. I'm sure whatever he already knows, no one else knows.” “But he has files, Bob,” | pointed out. Bob nodded his head.

“Of course, he has files, Combs,” Bob said. “But not at the station. Too many police on someone else’s payroll.

He has an office in his basement slash bunker.” | raised my eyebrows, surprised to hear bunker. “Ah, yeah, he’s one of them folks who believes doomsday is right around the corner. | got the blueprint of his hright here.” He opened a drawer and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“But before we think of breakin’ into the detective’s home, let's go over how you're gonna enter and exit the hospital and what we're gonna do to the guards stationed in the hospital security monitorin’ room.” “Alright,” | said, standing up and looking at the blueprint. “What do you propose?” “There's a utility entrance at the west wing of the hospital. You'll wear a security guard uniform to enter. | swiped this ID off from one the guards whose s hit always goes missin”.” From the sdrawer, he took out the ID card and tossed it towards me. “There aren't any screen checks through that entrance, so you'll be fine. From there, proceed to this utility room, change into your doctor's disguise and wait for the signal.” “What signal?” | asked.

“Once the computer system is down, the light of the utility elevator will turn green,” he answered. “Take that elevator all the way up to the twelfth floor. He's in room 1203.” “Will | need an ID to access any other doors?” | asked.

“No. All doors needin’ a card will automatically turn green when the computer is shut off or rebooted. The hospital director had that specifically engineered. He reasoned a doctor locked in a room or out of the hospital for seven minutes can risk a life.” 4/5 12:10 Thu, Apr 4d CHAPTER 155 Bob “What about the guards at the monitoring room? What's going to happen to them?” | asked.

“I'm goin’ to make them all fall asleep, Bob answered. “Redford, the guard in charge of the night shift, comes by the cafeteria at eight-thirty every evenin’ for coffee. Just a bit of rohypnol and in ten minutes, they'll all be fast asleep. Now, all we have to do is think of a distraction.” “I think | have something in mind. What was Riley’s room number before he was transferred to 12037” | asked.

“Room 728 in the east wing at the Orthopedic ward. Why do you ask?” Bob asked confused.

“I got Randy coming in to fix his mistakes,” | answered, smirking.

“I remember him. He's Ernie's kid,” Bob nodded his head, knowing who Randy was. “| always hated that kid. He was a snitch.” “Well, now he’s a greedy s onofabi tch who wants more money,” | scoffed. “Knowing him, he’ll shoot Riley in the head instead of using his imagination. When you see him, you can alert everyone on radio.” “That'll makelook like ssort of hero,” Bob said, agreeing to the plan.

“I'll give Randy a call and give him the intel he needs. He'll probably think I’m helping hi Bob chuckled merrily.

“What do you know? | get to pay back a favor and get srevenge. Life is full of Bob said.

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