It would take more than a whim for Javier to bring Maple Court to its knees. The limitation had nothing to do with a lack of training or skills and everything to do with speed. If he were to strike, it would have to be like lightning.After leaving the Fayes, he contacted Mary Jane Gould.Maple Court’s stocks were on the market, so the key to demolishing it was right there. As a stock kingmaker, Mary Jane could part seas or sink ships if she so chose with ease—and it was only going to get easier with the Kerseys’ funding backing her up.By 10 in the morning, Phineas received some devastating news.“Mr. Maple? Someone bypassed the stock market regulations and launched a financial campaign against us!”Phineas did not care for these technicalities. All he cared about was how much he might be losing. “And how much blood are we losing? Hundreds of thousands? Millions?”“All of it, sir,” his deputy financial director answered with a gulp. “Our enemy has invested a billion dollars into
Getting punched in the face and then having the ladies get snatched up by the guy who had done it p*ssed Jim off a lot. He might not be an *ss-kicking bad*ss, but d*mn it, he had always been at least good at hyping himself up about being one. This son of a b*tch had sent his front teeth flying, and now Jim could not even toot his own trumpet.The next best thing he could do was run up to his boss, Craig “Buck” Buckley, and recount the entire sequence of events with as much incendiary embellishment as he could muster. He mentioned how much Javier had dissed him and how much he had laughed at him.The perceived insult proved too much for Buck, who fit the stereotype of a silent but violent thug leader. His spleen shot up to the roof, his anger dialing up to eleven. With one word, he commanded all of his followers to surround Javier.“Who the f*ck are you? Those are my babes you’re touching. You really are itching to die if you wanna pick a fight with us!”Javier squeezed his arms aro
There was no way Jim could have possibly stopped Javier. One punch was all it took to knock him out cold.All Buck cared about at that moment was running as fast as he could, but he could not possibly outrun Javier. He was practically outpaced in a moment and tackled down on the floor. A barrage of brutality later, Buck curled up in a fetal position and begged. “Oh God, have mercy, man! Stoooop! You’re a big, tough motherf*cker to these b*tches, okay? Isn’t that enough for you? Oww! God, I’m begging you, stop!”Javier continued to shower him with attacks while shouting down, “Weren’t you a big tough motherf*cker just moments ago? The hell happened to that bad*ss, huh?”As Javier continued to kick and beat him up, Buck covered his head with his arms, still curled in the fetal position. He felt very glum. Had he known how much of a gangster his opponent was, he would have never thrown his hat into the ring.What the hell was hindsight useful for, though?Buck gave up preserving his
After confiding in his father about everything that had happened up to this point, Mortimer looked at his father with a long, glum face. “You have to help me out of this, Dad. Help me pay them back! Please, I’ll never touch anything like it ever again in my life, I promise…”Phineas was initially enraged by his son’s folly, but seeing Mortimer in person had reminded him of one thing. “Hold up. Something doesn’t add up. You’re here, aren’t you?” he asked aloud. “So why do we even need to pay that guy back? Now that you’re here, we don’t need to at all!”Phineas was right to point that out. If his son had returned in person, then there was no longer any real threat. He would loathe to believe that some gangster scumbag from another country would dare cause havoc in a foreign place. Besides, who was to say that same thug would be able to locate his son?He said as much, only to cause the consternation in his son’s mien to deepen. As it turned out, the thug was in Chinea too. He had eve
“A student?!”Javier was bamboozled. Flummoxed. Nonplussed! How was that a legitimate mission? He was 25 years old! Where was he supposed to roleplay as a student? An elementary school where he would then proceed to become the king of the kids?Kaiser glared at him. “Who in their right mind would think of having you do that? I meant a university student, kid. You look young enough to make it believable, so no one would recognize you. I’ll have my people change your background and everything, and the rest of the process will be the same as your cover in real estate. Don a new mask and no one will be none the wiser.“You have to be very careful. This is more than a training ground—this is an actual undercover mission. You have to bait that member out. I’m telling you right now: That person is an important figure. You must find out who they are.“If you aren’t certain of your abilities, then don’t say yes. I can have someone else do this. The last thing I want is you ruining it becaus
Nonetheless, Javier could see things from Kaiser’s perspective too. If this piece of news leaked, Morgan could very well be in grave danger. For her safety, Javier had to keep his lips sealed too.Sometimes, cruelty was the best defense. After his chat with Kaiser, Javier bade everyone farewell and left the location. Soon, he would have to become yet another fake, mundane “Javier Kersey” for his next job, but there was a loose end he wanted to tie before that.He wanted to see Morgan Fairchild.Javier flew to Republic City airport the very next day. Since he had called Morgan ahead of his arrival, the woman in question was waiting for him there personally.Her beauty and grace in their full glory aroused something within the ever-red-blooded Javier. She continued to be very sexy and seductive, which was not particularly helpful when it came to his self-control, especially in combination with the rather…suggestive interaction they’d had last time. Ultimately, though, Javier manag
Faint shades of coyness shadowed Morgan’s mien, and she almost seemed embarrassed. She answered him, but her reply was not forthcoming. “It’s nothing major, Javier. I promise you. When it wears off, you’ll be okay again.”So, she was not telling him what it was, why it had been dumped into his wine, and what she was planning to do with a drugged Javier. The oblique nature of her intentions rubbed Javier the wrong way. He had trusted her! And she had repaid that trust with a drug of unknown purpose that she had used with unknown motives!He was just about to say something when an urge seized control of him. It was an urge that should not have come, and it was overwhelming, and maybe the most primal urge of a man. Javier finally realized what had gone into his glass.“You spiked my wine with that sort of thing?!”Morgan got to her feet and strutted toward him, her white heels clicking against the floor.“Javier, I’m so sorry, but you look so much like him! I miss him…I miss him so m
Fleur instantly became unhappy when she noticed Javier’s arrival. She was feeling frustrated, even a little ashamed, as though Javier was a poor relative of hers who came from the countryside.When Javier got close, Fleur instantly dragged him aside, slapping away the hamburger in Javier’s hands. “I already told you on the phone not to come looking for me, so why are you still following me around like glue? How shameless can you actually get? Are you not even a man in the first place?! “Don’t you know that society is a place where benefits and money coexist? Everyone out here is working hard to earn more money, but you’re naively remaining in the same spot. I’m not going to stop you from remaining stagnant if that’s what you want, but don’t drag me down with you!“I’ve got good looks and a perfect body, so why should I be with you? You’re nothing more than a piece of sh*t who isn’t worthy of having a future with me. You can’t give me the future I want, you loser.“Do you under