The Joy of Revenge

CHAPTER 161 Highland Oaks Massacre Joy From the pub, we drove to the commercial complex to change our mode of transportation.

Parked in Xavier's warehouse were several motorcycles. We each took one motorcycle and drove off towards Highland Oaks with Cristos as our leader.

We veered off the main road heading to the high-end residential area and drove on the grassy terrain, passing through sc attered trees and vegetation, until we approached the forest that hid part of the tall brick wall that formed the beautiful enclosure of Highland Oaks.

“Dina, we're on site,” Cristos said as we parked our bikes under a tall cottonwood tree. The forest surrounding Highland Oaks was surprisingly well-kept. There were hardly any dried leaves on the ground and the grass and bushes were trimmed. The people who lived here undoubtedly spent a lot of money keeping the landscape behind the wall maintained. Judging by the beautifully furnished roof decks and terraces, the scenery the forest had to offer was the allure of this community.

is at “According to Sam, the masked men have divided themselves into groups. One group the gate, one at the far east, another at the center while the last group is right in your area, Dina said.

“Okay, so that means we have to split up,” Sebastian said. “Girls, you stay here at the coroner's house, while C and | head for the center first. Then, C, you and | will split up. You take the far east and I, the gate.” “Wait. Hold on a sec. You're injured, D,” Ki ki argued. “You stay here while the three of us head out.” “She's right, D,” Cristos said. “You and Link secure this perimeter. The girls and | will clear the center first before splitting up.” Sebastian scowled, but he had no say in the matter. His stitches may not hold if he were to engage with any of the masked men.

“Fine,” he reluctantly agreed. “You guys have your CCTV cameras with you?” “Yep. Don’t worry, Dina. You'll have eyes soon,” Cristos said.

1/8 11:17 Fri, Apr 5 CHAPTER 161 Highland Oaks Massacre “Copy,” Dina’said. “Outdoor security systems are off. Primo, | have to warn you... These perps knew where the CCTV cameras were and they also know the homes with outdoor security systems. And up to now, | don’t know how they got inside. Clearly, they had help.” “This is Liam's work,” Sebastian said.

“And what about Hughes?” Ki ki asked. “She could have done this.” “This isn’t her forte,” Cristos reasoned while gunshots rang out from inside the community. “We'll argue about this later. Right now, we need to save all those innocent people.” “Dina, standby,” Sebastian said through coms. “Wait for my signal to cut the power to this grid.” One by one, we went up the wall. After signaling for us to hold our positions, Sebastian went ahead and positioned himself behind a bunch of bushes surrounding a tree at the front of the coroner's yard.

“Link, we're here,” Sebastian said, informing Link.

“I have a guesthouse full of frightened people and the Martins are here,” Link said, his anxiety straining his voice..

“It’s a small gang of seven and from what we can tell from their erratic behavior is that all seven of them are high. Do you have night vision goggles? Grab them. Dina will be cutting off the power soon,” Sebastian whispered.

“Goggles check. Gun check.” “Good. There are people running down the street,” Sebastian said, peeking over the bushes. “I need you to pull them to safety while | get a location of the first target. He seems to be hiding in the trees.” Link cout of his front door waving at the four people who were scurrying to find a hiding spot. All of a sudden from behind an oak tree located in Link’s neighbor's yard, a man with a goat mask stepped out, shot at them then laughed.

| head Sebastian's sharp intake of breath.

“Dina, cut the power,” Sebastian said. Cristos, K iki and | quickly slipped on our night vision googles over our heads, giving us a clear view. | saw Link guiding the people safely into his house while Sebastian screwed on a CCTV camera on the tree.

2/8 EN CHAPTER 161 Highland Oaks Massacre “Go,” Sebastian ordered us. “Count down once you've neutralized a target.” The three of us stood up from our hiding spots and walked quietly through the yard and onto the street.

K iki signaled us and pointed to one of the masked men wearing a wolf mask making his way down the street towards Sebastian.

“Let D handle that,” Cristos whispered. We parted allowing Mr. Wolf free access. “Follow me. This way to the center.” We slowly walked through the eerie streets where bodies lay, sc attered on the cold, dark pavement. | could already see the headlines on tomorrow's news... “Many Shot Dead: Highland Oaks Massacre”.

From behind the bushes of a yard, a man with a pig’s mask emerged, walking towards us. He was talking on his phone.

“McDowell residence,” he uttered, passing us. “What the f uck is a deed of sale anyway? Alright. | got Wolf and Goat in that area. We'll kill them and search the house.” He picked up the pace and headed towards Sebastian.

Sebastian was right. This was Liam's work..

As we walked further into the gated community, we heard gunshots.

“One down,” said Link.

“Two down,” said Sebastian.

“There is another headed towards your direction, D,” | said.

“Got it, V, Sebastian replied. “Link, hold your position.” A sudden gunshot erupted, echoing from a distance, which caused the nearby people to scream and cry out. It was loud... large caliber.

“Three down,” Sam said through coms. “You guys counted seven, but there's three at the gate and two at the other side of the residential area. I'm going to assist the girls.” “Copy that,” Sebastian said. “Where's X?” 3/8 11:17 Fri, Apr 5 CHAPTER 161 Highland Oaks Massacre extraction” “You heard Sam,” Cristos said, pausing to screw on a CCTV camera on a nearby tree. “Let's split up. Count down when you've killed your target.

We gave him a salute and veered off, making our way to the gates of Highland Oaks. There were a bunch of people hiding in that area, afraid to move.

It was pretty smart to guard the gate. No one in or out.

There were dead bodies lying on the street, on the sidewalks, and the lawns of the houses. It was s so sad to see how these rich people only thought of themselves. None of them opened their homes to save one life. None.

| saw a woman walking on the road, clutching her arm. | was about to help her, but Ki ki grabbedand shook her head.

“If she cries out, we're good as dead,” K iki whispered. “The only way to help her and all these people is to kill these b astards. Con.” | felt a pain in my heart as we passed the wounded woman, but K iki was right. If | tried to help her, she would definitely turn hysterical.

A gunshot at the gates rang out, causing those hidden near it to cry out and scream.

There were more people than | imagined.

According to Sam, there were three shooters guarding the gate. As we approached, we saw r the third shooter. We one with a rat mask and another with a horse mask on. We looked couldn't find him.

He was hiding somewhere. We needed to ask Sam.

“Sam, third shooter's location?” K iki whispered.

“He's right above you,” Sam said. | looked up and there he was, seated on a thick branch of the huge oak tree, playing with his assault rifle. The mask he had on was a gorilla head. “I'll shoot him down to grab the other two's attention. When they walk in, shoot them in the back.” *Copy,” | whispered.

4/8 11:17 Fri, Apr 5 CHAPTER 161 Highland Oaks Massacre the wall. Since we needed to wait, | placed a CCTV camera above my head.

When | was done, | peeked around the brick wall and saw a pair of headlights approaching. We needed to kill these two before that car arrived.

| took my gun out and screwed on a silencer. Each gunshot made these people cry out. | didn’t want to add to their stress.

“Standby,” Sam said. | looked up and saw Mr. Gorilla-Head, aiming his gun at the window of the closest house.

He was getting bored.

A loud gunshot sounded, followed by the characteristic wh izzing sound of a bullet. The nearby people screamed, agitating Mr. Gorilla-head. He aimed his weapon, using the people’s cries as his guage.

However, the bullet pierced his chest before he could move or react. He fell from the with a loud thud causing the nearby people to scream.

“Four down,” Sam counted down.

tree The raucous caused the two masked bandits to enter the residential area. They quickly made their way towards the cries and pleas, aiming their guns at their direction.

Before they could shoot, Ki ki and | aimed our weapons at their backs, squeezing our triggers almost simultaneously. They fell to the ground like paper.

“Five down,” | counted down.

“Six down. Con, V,” K iki whispered. “Back to the coroner's house. We can’t be seen.” She pointed at the headlights. “Sam keep an eye out for more, including that car. That car may have reinforcements.” “Roger.” Before following K iki, | took my goggles off and peered through my binoculars to take a look at the incoming car. It had the characteristic BMW emblem.

“Liam’s here,” | growled, pocketing my binoculars. | raised my gun, wanting to shoot, but | had to wait.

“Soon, V. You'll get that a sshole soon. But until then, may all of this weigh on his conscience... heavily.” 5/8 11:17 Fri, Apr 5 CHAPTER 161 Highland Oaks Massacre Cristos “Four down,” said Sam.

“Five down,” said Joy.

“Six down,” said K iki.

Two left.

There were bodies everywhere. This was just plain cruel.

Liam’s plan, | assumed, was to cover up the deaths at the OI’ Barn and the deaths of the Martins by creating a massacre.

“I have two in my sights,” | whispered. | had cautiously walked towards the last two shooters who looked as if they were wandering around. The moon was covered by the clouds, so there wasn’t an ounce of light..

These idiots didn’t even bring a flashlight.

“Dude, | can’t see s hit,” | heard the one with a bird's mask complain. “I'm going to take my mask off.” “You f ucking m oron. You want people to know who you are? We'll be castrated and left to b eaten by the vultures when people find out we did this,” the one with the dog mask said. “How about we use our phones?” “Why didn’t | think of that?” Bird said. “Hold on. My phone is here somewhere. He struggled to find his phone.

| was right behind them. | could smell the acidic scent of their sweat. I'm guessing they could smelltoo.

“You smell that?” Dog asked, sniffing.

“Smell what?” Bird answered with a question. He was still fishing out his phone from his pocket. What a loser.

cologne Dog answered pulling out his phone from his pocket. 6/8 * 11:17 Fri, Apr 5 CHAPTER 161 Highland Oaks Massacre “Boo!” | aimed my gun at the back of their heads and pulled the trigger. They both fell forward.

“Seven and eight down,” | said through coms. “Heading back to the coroner's.” As | ran back, | noticed a car speeding towards this direction. We needed to leave.

We were about to head up the wall when we saw someone cdown.

It was Xavier.

“Found you,” Xavier said.

“Why are you here?” | asked.

“All this s hit was Liam's idea. The killing isn’t over. No one knows the shooters are dead. | suspect, Liam is going to make it look like he is negotiating with the criminals when in fact he’ll be killing the Martins, Link included. We need to get Link to safety.” Xavier slipped on his goggles and walked casually towards the Old McDowell house.

We followed him while the girls stayed behind.

“Link, make it appear you are talking on your phone. Liam is coming to kill you. You need to leave.” “What about the people in my guesthouse?” “Liam won't touch them, but you... you need to leave.” *| can’t leave the Martins here. If they die here, they'll pin it onand I'll be part of the police most wanted.” Xavier scratched his head. Saving anyone from the Angels of Darkness was like saving a snake.

*Fine,” Xavier reluctantly agreed. “Girls, you go ahead. We can’t allow your cover to be blown.” “Copy.” “Masks on and no speaking,” Xavier ordered us. Lou, | need a van to transport the Martins. and make sure you have black hoods to cover their heads. We'll meet you at the boundary to Arnold County.” 7/8 11:17 Fri, Apr 5 CHAPTER 1 “Copy that, X.” Highland Oaks Massacre “Link, open the door.” Xavier walked in and cout with the Martins. He took Tomas, pushed Ford to Sebastian while Link assisted Norma.

“A BMW has stopped at the gates,” Sam said. “Get out!” As a demonstration, Xavier went up and over the wall. It was a struggle, but we were able to get the Martins over the fence.

Once Link was on the other side of the wall, Sebastian followed. That's when I noticed a flashlight heading towards our direction.

| clicked on my harness and up | went.

Liam was here.

Chapter Comments Morgan I heard* VIEW 1 COMMENT > 2 < SHARE POST COMMENT 8/8 11:17 Fri, Apr 5