Well, I was now safe back at our hotel and everything was ready for our plan B to begin. The gadget that Angel put on that wire in the office that was hooked up to their monitor, short circuited all of the security cameras in the Black Swan. Now they have to rely only on what they can actually see, and that won’t be enough to stop our teams from doing their job tonight. Mandar used his influence to stop the local police from interfering in anything at the Black Swan tonight.

We will be very careful not to hurt any innocent people even though our teams will be robbing them of their valuables. It will all be handed over to the police so they can return everything to it’s rightful owner. The police will get credit for retrieving all of the stolen goods too. But, it’s going to make Tobias look rather bad, if he survives the night. He might even decide to try and run somewhere else and hide. Back at the Black Swan prior to opening.

“All of the security cameras are down,” said Gordon, “and there’s no way to get them fixed before opening tonight.” “Send someone to check on Steve,” said Dinah, “this would be the perfect time for him to escape.” Tobias sent 4 men down to check my room. He also had 2 men standing guard outside my door, just in case someone tried to rescue me. “Hey Tobias,” said Henry, “Steve is gone, yet the door was still locked, guards are still here, but he is gone.”

“I knew it!” exclaimed Dinah, “There is something strange about that man.” “What do you mean strange?” asked Tobias, “Do you think he can walk through walls maybe?” “It’s possible,” she said, “I have been studying that man. I believe he was shot and killed in Panama a while back and he was brought back to life. Now he can do strange things.” Tobias just looked at her. “You’re beginning to sound like Herman,” he said, shaking his head.

“Well, how did he get away then?” she asked. “How should I know?” he grumbled, “Maybe we should ask Delena, she doesn’t know much about the Investigators, but she might know something that important.” “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” said Dinah, “Delena and her two nasty kids are no longer with us. They were getting on my nerves, so they were the first subjects for testing that machine. Besides, she was hardly very pretty, you can do much better than that, especially after we join together and take over the gambling in this town.”

Tobias stared at her for a few moments, then he shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” he said, “I never did like those kids anyway. Where are the bodies?” “I had them put in that huge freezer in the basement,” she said, “just until we can get rid of them somewhere.” “Good, I know just the place to get rid of them,” he said, “a friend of mine lives outside of the city and has a big furnace where he burns up left over construction materials.

He has let me burn a few bodies in there over the last few years. A great way to get rid of the competition. That’s how I was able to purchase the Golden Cave and the Silver Eagle down the street, both will have their grand reopening in a couple of months.” “I think you and I will get along just fine Tobias,” said Dinah, “we think so much alike. But you do need a bigger gang of men working for you, just to make sure all the competition knows their place around here.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, “I was also thinking maybe you could send me some of those beautiful women from Argentina to work in one of my places.” “Good thinking,” she said, “let’s get working on the details while I’m still around here.” Meanwhile, back with us. “Those listening devices are working nicely Angel,” I said, “good job.” “Thanks Steve,” she said, “but that part was easy, Sky did most of the work.” “Okay, now, you girls are staying here to protect Steve and Celestine tonight,” said Jennifer, “I am going along to join in this fight.

Dinah needs to know that attacking my husband was the wrong thing to do. The wrath of the Kat works with me as well. If Dinah wants a fight, then she will definitely get it from me!” Off she went and Angel was my main guard tonight, plus Aasta and Misty stayed as well, plus Celestine too, she had her gun ready. Jennifer had already told me it was time for me to explain a few things to Celestine, and she was right, it was past time really. Back at the Black Swan the doors were just opening for the large crowd waiting to get in.

About a third of the way through the line was Sky and the Bad Girls, complete with the Bad Girls name on their T-shirts. After all, this was a formal event. Jennifer was with them. A little further back was Kat and the Wildcats, proudly showing their name and logo on their T-shirts. Near the back of the line was the Black Wolves in their official attire as well. Plus strong clubs by their sides. Tobias’ men were to be dealt with first, Sky’s team was to eliminate the private security people with dart guns right away.

Too bad I will miss all the action, or maybe I should be careful what I say. Unfortunately the place filled up before the Black Wolves got in, so the doormen closed and locked the doors for now. Jennifer didn’t like that, however, so she went over to speak with the guards at the door, which were Tobias’ men, and in a brief fight she killed both with two kicks each. She then unlocked the doors for the Black Wolves who immediately went into the dining room, which was also the entertainment room, the main one anyway.

They went from table to table with nice cloth bags and told the patrons to put their wallets and jewelry into the bag. If they refused, out came the club which was slammed onto the table, hard! That made people very cooperative. They thanked the people on behalf of Tobias and told them it was a new luxury tax. Then they would laugh.

There were only the private security people in this room so Sky and the Bad Girls had gone around and shot them all with darts, to make sure they didn’t interfere. They just told the people it was part of the celebrations that night. But, finally word made it to Tobias and Dinah what was happening on the floor downstairs. “Steve arranged this whole thing,” said Dinah, “I know it!”

To Be Continued. ©2025 Steve McLeod.