Author Note: This story follows the events that happened in the final chapter of The Guilty Are Always Caught.

After getting off the phone with her cousins and informing them about what had happened at her house, Katlain called the homicide squad of the precinct where she worked so they could send detectives to inspect her place. While she waits for them to show up, she lays Katherine down in her crib until she can drive over to her cousin’s house.

Afterwards, Katlain checks some of the secret cameras inside the house to see if any of them caught anything. She had them put in years ago after a stalker broke into her house and ambushed her. She also checks the Ring footage to see if someone entered through the front door.

Several of the internal cameras caught a person dressed all in black moving through the house. From the footage's angle, Katlain manages to backtrack to where the intruder entered her home. The intruder came in through the back door and noticed they had disarmed the security system on the door.

Two police cars, the forensics team, and detectives William Knight and his partner Joyce Collins arrive at her house. While the detectives talk to her, the forensics specialist goes about determining how the intruder entered Katlain’s house.

Detective Knight looks at Katlain. “Katlain, do you know of anyone who might have a grudge against you or your husband?”

“Me, sure. But not my husband. He’s an independent trucker and a nice guy. A lot of the truckers he associates with are nice people.” Katlain has met some of the other truckers when she went on short runs with her husband.

“Katlain, I know you and your partner just got back from Washington, but do you think this has anything to do with that case?” Detective Collins knew Katlain and her partner had just gotten back from a case they had been working on.

“I doubt it. No one knew we busted knew anything about me. Here’s all the footage from all the concealed cameras I have hidden about my place.” Katlain had recorded everything to a flash drive to give to the detectives. She transferred a second copy to her cloud account for later review.

“Katlain, do you have some place you can stay tonight?” Detective Knight knew the forensic team would be busy.

“Yeah, I’m going to stay at my cousin’s place tonight.” Katlain had already packed her overnight bag and was ready to go. She did the same for her daughter as well.

“Alright, you know the boss isn’t going to let you investigate this yourself, don’t you?” Detective Collins looks at Katlain with a serious look on her face.

“Just try and stop me.” Katlain walks away from the detectives and grabs her overnight bag, as well as Katherine's.

Katlain walks out to the maverick in the garage and gets in it. She sends a text to her cousin letting them know she's on the way.

She knew the two detectives would lock her place up after they were done. She tries to keep her emotions under control as she calls a cleaner, whom she knows and trusts, to visit her place once the police and forensic team have finished. She gives them the entry code to the Ring so they can enter her place.

After forty minutes of driving, Katlain arrives at her cousin's mansion. The place was an old plantation home that her cousins bought. The house and the property came as a package deal. She pulls her maverick up to the old carriage house and parks it there. She gets out and carries Katherine and her bags up to the main house.

By the time she reached the front door, Taylor had opened the front door for her. He looks at her, “Come on in, cousin.”

“Thanks, Taylor.” Katlain enters the house and drops her bags.

“I’m sorry about your husband. He was a nice guy.” Taylor was still getting over the shock that Katlain’s husband was dead. He liked Declan and was surprised when she shared with him what had happened.

“Thanks. Also, thanks for letting me and the munchkin stay here.”

“Hey, after what happened at your place, it’s the least we can do for you. Your standard room has been made up for you. I also put the family crib in there as well.”

“Thanks, Taylor.” Katlain heads towards the bedroom she usually slept in whenever she stayed over.

Taylor followed behind his cousin as she went to the bedroom that had been made up for her. He’ll do some digging tomorrow to see who the shooter was who went after Katlain’s husband. He walks into the bedroom and drops Katlain’s bags down.

“If you’re hungry, there some luncheon meat in the frig.”

“Thanks. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Tears were already leaking down Katlain’s cheeks.

Taylor takes Katherine and places her in the crib. He turns around and wraps his arms around Katlain and holds her against his body while she cries. He could feel his shirt being soaked from her crying against his shoulder. He holds her and lets her get it out of her system.

After a while, he can feel Katlain leaning more against his body. He walks her over to the bed and makes her lie down, after folding the sheets down. He tucks Katlain in and places a kiss on her forehead. He makes sure there is a box of tissues on the nightstand next to her bed.

He walks out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He turns and starts walking towards his home office, where he spots his twin Traver sitting at his desk.

“How is she?” Traver knew how much Katlain loved Declan.

“Right now, I would give her some time to cope. She’s broken up.” Taylor walks over to his desk and sits down.

“We need to find out who put a hit out on Declan.” Taylor looks towards his twin.

“I’m already on it. I’ve already contacted several of our people, and hopefully we’ll know something by tomorrow.” Traver has been on the phone calling all their sources for information on who put the hit out on Katlain’s husband.

“God help whoever did, because when Katlain finds out, she’s going to go nuts.” Taylor knew what Katlain would do to the person who killed her husband.

Katlain is woken up the following day by Katherine crying. Katlain didn’t want to get out of bed, but forced herself to get up and tend to Katherine.
Her poor daughter had peed her diaper and needed it changed. She goes about changing her diaper and ensuring Katherine’s bottom is dry before applying baby powder and a fresh diaper.

Katlain changes the onesie her daughter was wearing and tosses the wet onesie in the clothes hamper in the bedroom. Katlain knew the maid would be in later to tend to the bedroom. She changes out of the clothes she wore yesterday and grabs her toiletries to take a shower.

She was doing everything she could not to fall apart right now. She had so many things she needed to do today. She walks across the hall and takes a shower. She breaks down and starts crying while in the shower.

Outside:
Keli covers up a yawn as the cab she was in pulls up the long driveway leading to her uncle's place. The flight from St. Louis to Augusta, Georgia, was long and tedious. Luckily, she had a first-class ticket, thanks to her uncle’s. She was happy to escape St. Louis for a few weeks.

After all the drama surrounding her inheritance of the security company, Mr. Knight left her. Plus, the small fortune, his house, and cars had even surprised her. His relatives and children thought she had something to do with it, but she didn’t. She had been surprised that Mr. Knight had instructed his lawyer to have her come to the reading of his will.

She was even more surprised at everything he had left her. She never asked anything from him and had enjoyed taking care of him. His children, on the other hand, weren’t very nice people.

“Here we are, Ms.” The taxi driver stops in front of the main house.

Traver was alerted to the arrival of his niece when the taxi stopped at the gate. He was happy that she had finally arrived. He had stepped outside to help her with her luggage.

A smile appears on his face when Keli steps out of the cab. He could tell she had changed how she wore her hair. It was styled to look more business-like. Additionally, he noticed she was wearing business-style pants, rather than her usual blue jeans and blouse.

When the taxi pulled up to the front of the mansion, Keli noticed her uncle Traver was waiting for her. A smile appeared on her face as she was overjoyed to see her uncle. It has been almost six years since she last saw her uncles.

The last time had been when she buried her mother in St. Louis. Her uncles wanted to fly her mother’s body back to Augusta and lay her remains in the family cemetery. But her mother left instructions to have her remains buried next to her husband in St. Louis.

“Uncle Traver, it's so nice to see you.” Keli runs up to her uncle and hugs him.

She could tell the difference between her twin uncles. There were only a few people who could tell them apart.

“It’s so nice to see you as well, Kelly.” Traver never liked the way his younger sister spelled Keli’s birth name. He preferred calling her Kelly, instead of Keli. He returned her hug and could smell that she was wearing her favorite perfume. It was the same type of perfume his little sister liked wearing.

“So, how was you’re flight?” Traver pays the cab driver and gives him a hefty tip for carrying his niece’s bags into the house.

“Long and tedious. I’m so happy to be here with you and Uncle Taylor.” Keli was so glad to be back in Georgia. At least here, Mr. Knight’s relatives and children wouldn’t be bothering her.

“Are things still bad back home with Mr. Knight’s relatives?” Traver had been surprised when he received a phone call from Keli and was informed about what happened to her.

“God, yes, Uncle Traver. They have contested the will several times and seem to have no intention of stopping.” Keli was glad that each time she ended up going to court, the final judgment was always in her favor.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about anything here. I do have some bad news.” Traver shuts the front door behind him.

“What’s that, uncle?” Keli hopes it had nothing to do with her.

“You remember your cousin Katlain?”

“Yeah? Did she finally get caught stealing cars?” Keli knew her cousin was a famous car thief and had never been caught.

“No, she has gone over to the other side. She’s an Augusta police officer, and just recently her husband was found murdered in their home. She and her daughter are going to be staying here with me and Taylor for a while.”

“This is a surprise. I never knew she was married or had a daughter either.” The last Keli knew of her cousin, she was a car thief, but also worked as a model. She had no idea her cousin had gotten married or had a daughter.

“She’s only been married for about a year now, and her daughter is almost two years old.” Traver helps carry Keli’s luggage up to the other spare bedroom that had been prepared for her.

“Does the police know who killed Katlain’s husband?” Keli follows her uncle to the bedroom.

“No, but Katlain is going to be hunting the person down. She might need some help.” Traver knew Keli wasn’t in the same business as he and Katlain were.

“If I can help, I will. I just inherited a large security firm that has access to every criminal database here in the States and overseas.” Keli had been surprised by what Mr. Knight did for a living.

“That is a surprise. Mr. Knight must have liked you.” Traver was surprised by that information.

“I don’t know why he left his company to me, uncle. I didn’t do anything that would warrant such a huge gift, along with everything else I told you and Uncle Taylor about.”

“Well, you must have done something special for him to leave you all his stuff, sweetie. Now, let’s get you settled in and go out for brunch.” Traver figures Keli must be hungry.

“Okay, uncle.”

Katlain’s bedroom:
Katlain finally got done taking her shower and went back to her bedroom to get ready for the day. She still needed to feed her daughter and make arrangements to bury Declan. She’ll have to get the family's permission to bury her husband in the family plot. Which meant she’ll have to speak with her great-uncle, since her grandfather passed away a few years ago. He was the last remaining elder alive. The responsibility would pass to her cousin’s parents, since her parents were in jail on drug charges.

Katlain grabs Katherine’s baby bag and her small wallet. She texts her cousins letting them know she’ll be out and that she has Katherine with her. The first place she plans on stopping is the funeral home to pick out a coffin for her husband and make arrangements with the local burial vault company to install a burial vault once she gets permission from her aunt and uncle.

As for her own funeral arrangements, she wants to be cremated and placed with her husband.

While Katlain is out and about making funeral arrangements. Her cell phone starts alerting her that the trucking warehouse where her husband parks his eighteen wheeler, along with his backup truck is parked was being broken into.

“Hang on, Katherine.” Katlain makes a quick u turn and heads back towards the direction she came.

The warehouse was in the opposite direction she was heading. She presses down on the accelerator to give her maverick a little bit more gas. It was a good thing her maverick was souped up, because she manages to get to the warehouse in six minutes flat. She hated leaving Katherine in the car, but someone was in the warehouse.

She turns the air on, and calls the police. Katlain turns and looks at her daughter “stay put beautiful. Mommy has to go inside and catch some bad guys.”

Katlain locks the maverick, and makes way towards the warehouse. She quietly enters the warehouse. She saw the door on her husband truck cab opened. She grabs a nearby wrench and makes her way towards her husband’s truck. She could see a person inside holding a device in their hands. It looked like it was hooked into the semi’s data port. She knew the onboard computer system kept a record of every destination her husband drove. It also allowed a mechanic to diagnostic the truck as well.

“Hands up right now.” Katlain was ready to strike whoever the person was in her husband’s truck.

The figure was decked out all in black and turned their head to look towards the voice. The figure saw the woman standing near the cab door with a truck wrench in her hand. He puts the device he was holding down and jumps out of the cab towards the woman.

Katlain didn’t expect what the person in the truck was doing and before she could swing the wrench in her hand. She lands backwards on her back, with the guy standing over her. The next thing she knows, the figure punches her in the face and knocks her out.

The figure was about to get back into the truck, but hears police sirens coming towards the warehouse. He looks back towards the cab and figures he doesn’t have time to grab his device. He looks down at the woman, he should shot her before she gets back up, but he needs to get out of here.

“Katlain, wakeup!” Officer Davenport tries waking up Katlain.

Katlain starts moaning as she starts waking up. She slowly opens her eyes and spot patrol officer Davenport looking down near her. She tries to sit up, but falls back down.

“What happened Katlain?” Davenport knew Katlain owned several warehouses and was a member of a special unit inside the Augusta police department.

Katlain looks at Davenport “I was jumped by the person who killed my husband.”

“Katherine! I got to get to Katherine.” Katlian tries to get up.

“She’s fine. Officer Colley is looking after her.” Officer Davenport extends his hand down towards Katlain.

Katlain grabs Davenport’s hand and use him to pull herself up off the ground. She was still feeling a little light headed. She steady herself, using Officer Davenport for support.

“Did you managed to see who attacked you?”

“No, because he was covered from head to toe in a black suit.” Katlain slowly start to recover.

“Why was the person here?” Officer Davenport was curious.

“He was digging around inside my husband’s truck.” Katlain walks over towards her husband’s truck and saw the device still connected to the data port of the truck.

“Why don’t you go outside and get your daughter, before you do anything else.” Officer Davenport would stand guard over the semi.

“Alright.” Katlain walks outside of the warehouse and spot Officer Colley outside with Katherine.

“Thanks for looking after Katherine for me, Officer Colley.” Katlain looks at her baby girl.

“It’s a good thing you left the car running or I would have to charge you with child endangerment.” Officer Colley knew Katlain would do anything for her daughter.

“Yeah, it was a bad idea to bring my daughter with me, but I got an alert from the alarms.”

“Well, next time think about what would happen to your daughter if you hadn’t called us.” Colley hands Katherine back to Katlain.

“Thanks for looking after her, Officer Colley.” Katlain hated that she left her daughter unattended.

She walks back inside her warehouse with Officer Colley following behind her. Both of them spotted Officer Davenport looking inside the semi.

“Why did your alarm go off.” Officer Colley was curious.

“Someone was breaking into my husband’s semi. I have concealed security system on this place.” Katlain walks over to her husband’s semi and looks into the cab.

“Officer Colley, can you hold Katherine for me, please?” Katlain wanted to know what that person was looking for on the computer system.

“Sure.” Officer Colley takes Katherine back and smile at the little girl.

“What is that, Katlain?” Officer Davenport was looking at the device Katlain was holding.

“It’s a data reader. The onboard computer system records every place my husband goes. It’s a new DOT regulation because a lot of truckers
like to be dishonest and keep a double log book of their times.” Katlain goes through the menu and reads the destination of where her husband has been.

“You seem to know a lot about this system.” Officer Davenport wonders where Katlain learned this.

“Who do you think maintains his trucks.” Katlain looks at Officer Davenport when she ask that question.

“So, what could your husband be hiding in the computer system?” Officer Davenport wonders what could be so important?

“I don’t know.” Katlain downloads everything she can.

She knew her husband had a secondary destination computer in his truck for special trips he did. However, you can’t access it from the main data port. There was a hidden data port only she and her husband knew about. She disconnects from the primary one and connects to the secondary one. She downloads the information in it.

“You are going to share that info, aren’t you?” Officer Davenport heard about Katlain’s husband being murder.

“Of course I’m going to share this information.” Katlain was going to keep the secondary information to herself.

After Katlain gets everything she needs and fill out the police report. She looks towards Officer Davenport “let me transfer this information to a thumb drive for Detective Knight and Detective Collins.”

“Alright, I’m holding you to that promise.” Officer Davenport makes sure he gets his meaning across to Katlain.

“I promise, now I’m going to lock up and disable my husband’s semi, so if that person comes back. They won’t be able to access any information.” Katlain wipes the information form the onboard computer.

Afterwards, she retrieves Katherine from Officer Collins and head back to her cousins place after locking up.

When Katlain arrives back at her cousin’s place. She parks her car in front of the garage her cousin’s keeps their Bugatti in. They don’t let anyone drive them, not even her.

She picks Katherine up out of her car seat, along with the diaper bag and walk towards the house. She wanted to look at the information she retrieved from the onboard computer system. She uses her electronic key to enter her cousin’s place.

Katlain heads upstairs to her bedroom to look at the thumb drive. She brought the data reader with her. She could tell it was a custom job. It didn’t look like any that she owned.

Katlain lays Katherine down in her crib and pull out her laptop, from her computer bag. She turns the laptop on and enter her passcode. She plugs the thumb drive in and bring up the program she uses to access the data. She scans the routes and none of them seemed to be out of the ordinary. Most of the deliveries were standard contracts her husband had with different companies.

While she is scanning the thumb drive, her cellphone beeps, alerting her to a new text. She stops what she is doing and looks at her cell phone. She notices that text was from Billy Jack. He was a friend of her husband’s. He was letting her know that Casey Knoxs and her husband were found dead at Stocker’s Truck Stop this morning.

The text had a link to a photo one of the truckers took. She clicks on the link and saw several police cars and coroner there. The photo showed the bodies covered up as they were taken out of the cab, but when she enlarged the picture. There was blood dripping out of the cab.

She knew Casey Knoxs and her husband. She met them when she traveled with her husband last spring. She took some time off from work and traveled with her husband with Katherine. She ask Billy Jack to let her know when the funeral is and that she is willing to donate money to the family.

Katlain goes back to examining the data on the thumb drive. She switches over to the secret data she downloaded. She notices there were several unauthorized routes her husband went. She checks the GPS coordinates to where the routes lead to. The places seemed to be ordinary houses, a few farms, and a few warehouses that could hide the semi inside without any problems.

All of them were out of state, so she would have to take time off from work to drive out to the nearest one. As for the assassin that attack her husband and the one, she found in her husband’s truck. She needs to track who they were and why they came after her husband and did they have anything to do with the death of Casey Knoxs and her husband.

She looks over towards Katherine and notices her little girl fell asleep. She really needs to bring her bouncy chair so her daughter can have some fun. Since Katherine was asleep, Katlain leaves her bedroom to see if her cousins were still home or if they went to their night club.

Katlain checks the house, and ask some of the maids if her cousins are home, but learn they left with her cousin. She couldn’t leave Katherine by herself in the house. There were days she hated the fact she was a mother. However, there were also days, she wouldn’t trade being a mother for all the tea in China.

She needs to find out who the assassin was. Katlain sends a text to her friend Rat. He had connections she didn’t. Normally, she would use Red, but he wasn’t available right now.

Since Katherine was upstairs asleep, she walks into the kitchen and make herself some lunch. She knew it might take Rat some time to get back to her. While Katlain is fixing some lunch, the casket company she used calls to informed her that they have to have the casket she selected brought in.

Katlain tells them that is fine, because the medical examiner wanted a little extra time. It seemed the morgue was a little backed up. She hangs up after that and hopes Rat gets back to her soon.

The Black Orchid Club:
Keli was amazed when she walked into her uncle’s club. She has never been in her uncle’s club before. She was too young to be allowed the last time she was here.

“So, what do you think of it, Keli?” Taylor and Traver look at their niece.

“It looks really nice. I bet you guys do a lot of business.” Keli looks at her uncle’s.

“We do pretty good. How are the clubs out in St. Louis?” Traver looks at his niece.

“I don’t know uncle Traver. I was so busy trying to get my nursing degree, that I didn’t have time for anything else. When Mr. Knight hired me to look after him. I spent all my time taking care of him.”

“That’s what makes you such a good person, Keli.” Traver and Taylor were proud of their niece.

“Thank you.” Keli hugs her uncle’s.

The three of them head upstairs to Traver and Taylor’s office. They show Keli their office and have drinks brought up for them. Keli liked how her uncle’s office was decorated.

She wonders if her uncles can help her with the problem of Mr. Knight’s family taking her to court again.

The Black Orchid Club:
Keli was enjoying the time she was spending with her uncles. They had some work to do, so Keli toured the club itself. It was still morning and the club wouldn’t open until noon time. She saw where the employees changed and where her uncles had a room set up for visiting bands.

While Keli is walking around enjoying how her uncle's club is set up. Her cellphone beeps informing her that several emails have arrived. She looks at the emails that she received and notices one of them is from the same law firm that has been coming after her about the inheritance she received from Mr. Knight.

She started reading the email and couldn’t believe that she was being taken to court again over the inheritance. This time she was being accused of causing Mr. Knight’s death by giving him the wrong medication. She knew that was false because she kept a journal of every medication, she gave Mr. Knight and what time she gave it.

The lawyer she had on retainer was good, but it was costing her money. She looks up towards her uncle’s office and wonders if they could help her. She knew they had a way of making people leave them alone.

She didn’t know very well, because she had been out in St. Louise going to school and working. She knew her mother wanted to get away from Augusta for a reason. What it was, her mother never told her.

She puts her cell phone back in her pocket and heads back upstairs to her uncle’s office. She knocks before she enters, just in case they are on the phone. As she walked in, she was glad she did knock, because her uncle Trevor was talking on the office phone to someone.

She walks over and sits down in one of the leather chairs in front of her uncle Taylor’s desk. She knew he was balancing the books. She knew her uncle Taylor handled the books and her uncle Trevor ran the club and made sure everything was running smoothly.

Taylor noticed something was on his and Trevor’s niece. He wonders what is bothering her “What’s wrong, Keli?”

Keli took a deep breath before she spoke. “Mr. Knight’s relatives are suing me again. They are accusing me of giving him the wrong medication and I know I didn’t because I kept a log of everything, I gave him and what time I gave him the drug.”

“When did you just find out about the lawsuit?” Taylor looks at his niece.

“A few minutes ago, while I was exploring downstairs.” Keli pulls out her cell phone and shows her uncle the email.

Taylor accepts Keli’s cell phone and reads the email. He hands the cell phone back to his niece.

“Will your lawyer be able to handle this lawsuit?” Taylor hopes his niece has a lawyer.

“Yes sir, it's expensive and I can’t access the money Mr. Knight left while the lawsuit is going on.”

“Don’t worry about the money sweetie. Also, I’m going to get our lawyer on this as well. He’s a shark and takes no prisoners.”

“Thank you, Uncle Taylor.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Taylor knew Keli had a nice soul and didn’t need this hassle.

Back at Trevor and Taylor’s Place:
Katlain was wondering what steps she needed to take next. She knew Katherine would be safe with her cousins and niece. But she still had her husband's funeral to deal with. While she was watching the news, a story about two truck drivers dying caught her attention. According to the story, their rigs blew up while they were on the highway. She knew it took a lot to blow up a diesel engine.

Diesel wasn’t as volatile as gasoline. The newscaster was withholding the names of the truckers who were killed from their trucks exploding. There was also a new story about several warehouses and a church in Tennessee that caught fire. The reporter suggested that initial reports are suggesting that it might be arson.

They found bodies at the church and are having a difficult time identifying who they are. According to the news report, two of the bodies were children. Katlian picks her cell phone up and calls the local police department to investigate the fire.

She BS’s the detective she is talking to. Because she knew if they were like any of the detectives she worked with. They won’t release very much details about what happened.

What information she manages to get from the detective working on the case, she records. After she gets off the phone with the detective. She inputs the address into her laptop along with the two warehouses and all three line up with the destination that her husband stopped at. She sits back and just looks at the information.

“What were you doing there, sweetie?” Katlian looks at the information and tries to think like her husband. Also, she wanted to know who the attacker was she encountered at her garage.

She needed more information and there were only three people she knew who might be able to help. One of them was in the penitentiary here in Georgia. The other person was in the supermax in Colorado and the last person, was free, but no one knew where he was.

She could use her police clearance to visit the penitentiary. But she needed to find someone to watch her daughter before she went to the penitentiary. She’ll ask her cousins tonight when she sees them when they get home.

Central State Prison, Macon, Ga.:
Katlain sips her coffee as she drives down the interstate toward Macon, Ga. It was where the person she needed to talk to was kept. She was glad that Trevor and Taylor offered to take care of Katherine for her. She didn’t know how long she was going to be gone. Her second cousin Keli was thrilled to take care of Katherine, along with her cousins.

Katlain finishes her coffee and leaves the empty coffee cup in the cup holder. She gets off the interstate and pulls into a Circle K parking lot. She gets out of her armored Jeep Renegade and rushes inside to use the bathroom.

When she exits from the bathroom, she notices the cashier is being held up by a figure wearing a grey hoodie. She doesn’t spot anyone else in the store. So, she moves quietly up towards the front of the store, stopping briefly to grab a can from the shelf. She waits as the person turns around and throws the can right into the face of the robber.

Just as the robber gets hit in the face by a can, she moves quickly and knocks the guy out. She tears strips from the figure's hoodie and ties his hands behind his back with them. She looks up towards the cashier “Does this happen often around here?”

Mary couldn’t believe what just happened to her. First, she was being held at gunpoint and told to empty the drawer. Then the next thing she knew, a woman with light brunette hair was taking the robbery down.

“No ma’am. What are you?” Mary was curious about this woman.

“I’m an off-duty police officer just passing through. Go ahead and call your local law official. I’ll wait around until they arrive.”

“Alright.” Mary does as she was told to do.

While Katlain was waiting for the police to show up, she fixed herself a large cup of coffee and a bear claw. She goes up to the counter to pay for it.

“It’s on the house, ma’am. It’s the least I can do for what you did for me.” Mary wasn’t going to charge the woman who just saved her life.

“Thanks.”

The police finally show up and Katlain explains what she did after she came out of the bathroom. She didn’t know the guy was there and just reacted. The officer taking her statement looks at her “Thank you for stopping this, guy. He’s robbed four other convenience stores in the area in the past twenty-four hours.”

“I’m glad I could help, Officer Badillo.” Katlain throws away the empty coffee cup and the wrapper for the bear claw.

She goes to the bathroom one more time before leaving the store. She needs to go in and get a checkup. She was going to the bathroom too much. She gets into her Jeep and gets back onto the Interstate.

An hour later, she arrives at Central State Prison. She looks at the place as she parks her jeep and gets out. She hasn’t been up here since her parents got arrested. Her father was in this prison, along with her uncle Charles Salerno. He was the mob boss of Atlanta, Georgia, before an undercover FBI agent busted him and several of his men. The rest managed to get off the charges they were arrested for, but not her uncle and his top four men. The government had a serious hard-on for them and they ended up being separated and sent to different prisons. Her uncle, however, was sent here along with her father.

She checks in with the prison guard and undergoes a search. The last time she came here was when she was just twelve years old. Her father wanted her to smuggle in some drugs for him. He knew the guards would never strip-search a child.

She is taken to the visitation area where a wall of glass and a phone are hung. She waits as the guards bring her uncle into the room on the other side of the glass. She could tell he was looking good.

Charles had wondered who was coming to see him. He never got that many visitors, so to his surprise, when he walked into the visitation room, he spotted his niece waiting. A smile appears on his face because he has been hearing a lot of things about her.

He sits down and picks the phone receiver up. He watches as she does the same.

“Hello, uncle. You’re looking well.” Katlain figures she should start politely before asking her uncle questions.

“So, are you dear? I heard you adopted a little girl and got married. Is that true?” Charles heard about the hit on Katlain’s husband.

“Yes, here’s a picture of my little angel.” Katlain shows a photo of her daughter and husband. She knew the guards would take her cell phone, so she brought a photograph of her family with her.

“You’ll have to bring her up here for me and your father to meet, dear. So, what brings you to a terrible place like this?” Charles figures it had to be about her husband.

“I was wondering if you might know who put the hit out on my husband and several truck drivers as well.” Katlain knew this was shot in the dark, but her uncle had ears inside the prison.

“Why does it matter to you, if a few truckers are killed?” A puzzled look appears on Charle’s face.

“Because they were friends of my husband, now what the hell is going on?” Katlain wasn’t going to play this mouse and cat game with her uncle.
Charles's face becomes a little angry with his niece’s tone “Watch who you are talking to, Katlain, or this meeting is over.”

Katlain takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. She looks her uncle right in his eyes through the glass separator “I don’t take kindly to people killing people I consider friends. I also don’t take very kindly to someone killing my husband either. If I remember correctly, that was something even you were against. So, you know how I feel right now.”

Charles looked into his niece’s eyes and could see that she meant business. He wonders if she can deal with the new group that has expanded into Georgia.

“I don’t know who put the hit out, but why they put it out. Your husband and the other truckers who have recently died are members of a group of truck drivers that help trafficked women. Since the police can’t be everywhere, and since there are more truckers than cops.”

“Which means truckers can do more for these women. So, whoever is going after truckers like my husband and his friends, it’s out of revenge for them sticking their noses into their business.”

“Right, which means you need to be careful. Because these people aren’t afraid of cops and feds. They will come at you when you less expect it.” Charles would hate to see his niece murdered.

“Do you know how I can get in contact with whoever received these orders?” Katlain knew there had to be a place or person who received these jobs.

“Go to the dark web and you’ll find it.” Charles knew you could find almost anything on the dark web.

“Thank you, uncle. I owe you one.”

“Remember that when I come to collect. Now, why don’t you tell me why you are on the other side of the road?” Charles wanted to know why Katlain was no longer stealing cars and doing a few other things.

“Because, I grew disenchanted with that lifestyle, uncle. I have a daughter now and I had a wonderful husband. I wanted to do right by them. I don’t want to end up in a place like this like the rest of my family who choose this lifestyle.” Katlain knew this life wasn’t for her. Stealing cars and other things was a thrill that she was addicted to.

Drugs and dirty bombs weren’t what she was into. Nor was forcing women to sell their bodies for pimps either. She could have gone into any of those fields, including selling illegal weapons.

“I never thought you would end up like me or your parents, you're way too smart for that. Even when you used to be the opposite gender.”
Charles remembered when Katlian had been born a boy, but he never had the same interest as the other boys in the family. He was always different.

Katlain stays until she is told her time is up. She would hug her uncle, but couldn’t. She watches as he is escorted away. She gets her things returned to her and walks out to the parking lot.

Just as Katlian emerged from the prison gate, and was walking back to her jeep. A figure dressed all in black and riding a motorcycle comes speeding into the parking lot. The figure aims his sub-machine gun at Katlain and fires at her. The first shots miss her, but the next three shots hit her.

The bullets hit her left shoulder, right above her heart, and her right shoulder. She drops to the ground as the person rides off. She hears the guards sound the alarm as several guards come out to her.

Katlain tries to stay conscious, but finds it hard to do. She passes out from shock and blood loss. She opens her eyes temporarily and notices lights overhead, and passes out again.

The next time she wakes up, she is hooked up to a bunch of medical machines. A young woman is sitting next to her hospital bed. Katlain didn’t know who she was or why she was in her hospital room.

Kelli had gotten a message from Taylor about his cousin being shot. He was her emergency contact, but couldn’t come to the hospital where she was. So, he asked if she could go to the hospital and check on her.

Kelli didn’t mind checking on Taylor’s cousin. It was just another favor he owed her. She lied and said that Taylor was her husband and said he was unavailable to come.

She looks over at Katlian and notices she is awake. A smile appears on her face. “Well, welcome back to the living, Mrs. Zane.”

“Where am I?” Katlian felt a tightness in her chest.

“You’re in Bell Haven Hospital. You were shot three times; luckily for you, two of the bullets went straight through. Unfortunately, they had to remove a bullet from your chest area. You’re extremely lucky that the bullet didn’t hit your heart.” Kelli had spoken to the doctor who operated on Katlain.

“Who are you? And where is my cousin?” Katlain had no idea who this young woman was sitting next to her bed.

“I’m Kelli Hart, and I work for your cousins. They are paying me to be your bodyguard, and they said this isn’t negotiable.” Kelli had been given a breakdown on who Katlain Zane was.

“I don’t need a bodyguard. I’m capable of taking care of myself.” Katlain tries sitting up, but falls backward.

“Current events would suggest that isn’t true. Look, I know you’re a cop and a former car thief, but that is all and good. However, you seemed to have drawn the attention of a dangerous group, and they want you dead. Your cousins are concerned for your safety and don’t want their niece to lose her mother.” Kelli had heard rumors that Katlain was responsible for stopping a dirty bomb attack by a white supremacist group, bringing down a powerful drug leader down, and for jailing several corrupt police officers.

“Fine, since I don’t have a choice in the matter.” Katlain hated backing down, but her cousins and Kelli both had a point that if something happened to her, Katherine would be left without a mother. Katherine just lost a father; she couldn’t let Katherine lose a mother as well.

“So, what do you have in mind?” Katlain looks at Kelli for an answer.

“First, you’re going to heal up some before you go back out in the field. While you are healing here. Give me the information you have, and I’ll check into it while you recover here.” Kelli figures Katlain would be safe in the hospital.

“Okay. Take my jeep, it's lightly armored and will protect you. There’s also a weapons locker in the back compartment with a sniping rifle and a few other weapons, including grenades and flash bangs.”

“Where did you get…, never mind.” Kelli didn’t want to know where Katlain got the weapons she described.

“Good answer.” Katlain knew the paramedics would have put her items in the nightstand next to her bed.

“The keys should be in the nightstand with my other items.” Katlain looks over towards the nightstand.

“I thought with you being a former car thief, you wouldn’t use just a key.” Kelli opens the drawer on the nightstand.

“I don’t. There’s a hidden switch on the floor that looks like the old-style headlight switch. Most people have forgotten about those. You need to step on it for the jeep to start.” Katlain wasn’t going to tell Kelli she also had a kill switch app on her cellphone in order to cut her jeep off and lock the person in the car.

“That is sneaky.” Kelli forgot about the old floor switch used to flip the headlights from low beams to high beams.

“Oh, I have more tricks up my sleeve, but I’ll save those for later.” A smile appears on Katlain’s face.

“All right, now I need to know what you were going to do next.” Kelli knew that with Katlain being a cop and a former car thief, she would have connections.

“I need to talk with a friend of mine, who is a computer hacker, to find out who I’m dealing with. My contact in the prison said the contract was put on the dark web.”

“Who’s your computer hacker friend?” Kelli had a good memory and didn’t need to write anything down.

“He goes by his online name of Rat.”

“Rat? Seriously? Why Rat?” Kelli wonders why anyone would call themselves a Rat.

“Let’s just say, he isn’t very social. Also, I never bothered to ask him. However, once he befriends you, he cherishes that friendship.”

“Well, I will need to talk with him.” Kelli likes meeting people face-to-face.

“I’ll arrange it.” Katlain reaches for her cellphone, but winces in pain.

“Here, let me.” Kelli hands Katlain her cellphone.

“Thanks.” Katlain accepts it. She takes a picture of Kelli and texts Rat about meeting with Kelli. She sends the picture, so Rat will know what Kelli looks like.

Kelli notices what Katlain did with taking her picture. She figures it was for her friend Rat.

“I take it that was for Rat?”

“Yes, like I said, he’s not very social and doesn’t trust many people.”

Rat’s Place, Augusta, Georgia:
It was late in the afternoon when Kelli arrived at Rat’s Townhouse. She had driven Kat’s Jeep and hit the kill switch. She gets out and looks at the brick townhouse in front of her. She could hear club music coming from inside. She also spotted a hidden camera looking towards her.

She walks up to the storm door and notices Rat has one of those new Ring doorbells. She presses the silver button and waits for him to answer. She noticed the neighborhood he lived in had neatly trimmed lawns and cars that very from midsize to trucks and SUVs.

Rat gets a notification on his computer screen letting him know someone was at his front door. He clicks on the alert and spots a young woman with shoulder-length light brown hair standing outside his front door. He compares the video to the picture that Kat sent him. It matches the picture. He pauses the search he was doing and heads towards the front door.

Kelli breathes in and listens to the club music playing behind the door. After a few seconds, the door opened, and standing on the other side was a young man around her and Kat’s age. He had unkempt grey hair and pink color eyes.

“You must be Rat, I’m Kelli.” Kelli holds her hand out to shake.

Rat looked at the young woman and saw that she had hazel eyes. A cute face and a nice body. He reaches out and shakes her hand. “How do you know Kat?”

“I work for her cousins.” Kelli figures honesty is the best policy.

“Come in.” Rat knew Kat’s cousins and had done jobs for them off and on, including doing DJ jobs at some of their other clubs.

“Thanks.” Kelli walks into the townhouse and waits for Rat.

Rat shuts the door and leads Kelli into his private office. He had used the remote to turn down the music playing in the house.

“How is she?” Rat was a close friend and Kat meant a lot to him.

“She’s recovering. She’s going to be in the hospital for a few days.” Kelli looks around as they pass a few rooms and notices the house is kept extremely clean. She figures Rat must suffer from OCD.

“Kat speaks very highly of you. How long have the two of you known each other?” Kelli was curious about Kat’s and Rat’s relationship.

“Since we met at one of her cousins’ clubs. I was DJing the music there.” Rat ushers towards a seat in what was to be the den, but was filled with all sorts of computerized equipment.

“She never said that you were a DJ.” Kelli noticed all the equipment in the room. She sits down in a chair near Rat’s desk.

“She doesn’t always tell everything. However, what she had me look into goes back to a case I worked with her on.”

“Oh?” Kelli was surprised.

“Yes, the person who has taken a contract out on her is Ventusky Ricci.” Rat found the information after reaching out to a friend who also had a black site.

“Okay, so if he put a contract out on Kat. Who put the contract out on her husband?” Kelli was curious.

“There’s been chatter on the dark web about hits against a group of truckers.” Rat had found a couple of offers to kill certain truckers.

“Do you know why and who was posting the request/offer?” Kelli was curious.

“No, but I am hunting them down right now. Whoever they are, they have some serious computer training.” Rat taps a few keys on his keyboard.

“So, the person who came after Kat was hired by Ventusky Ricci. And the person who killed Kat’s husband and the other truck driver was hired
by someone else. Now, that brings up the question of why?” Kelli wanted to know who had a grudge against Kat’s husband and the other truck drivers.

“You might want to see if Kat might know.” Rat turns and looks at Kelli.

“I think you're right.” Kelli stands up and looks at Rat.

“Do you mind if I stay in contact with you during this investigation and afterwards?”

“I don’t mind. I’ll keep digging to find out who is going after truckers.” Rat wasn’t going to give up.

“Okay, thanks. I might know someone who might be able to help as well.” Kelli had a few contacts among the different truck stops and repair shops in the state.

Kelli lets herself out and walks towards Kat’s Jeep. She gets in and drives towards the nearest truck repair shop that she had a contact at.

Katlain wasn’t happy when she learned who had put a hit out on her. Kelli had called her when she left Rat’s townhouse and informed her who had put the hit out on her, as for her husband and the other truck drivers. She was still looking into that matter. Kelli had informed her that she had a contact who worked at one of the most popular and busiest truck stops around and could ask them about the hits on the truck driver.

Katlain didn’t like what she learned and grabbed her cell phone. She scrolls through her secret list of contacts until she finds the ones she was looking for. She knew a few people as well and could help Kelli. She hated that she was restricted to the hospital for a few days while her body healed.

Katlain dials the number and waits for the other person to answer. She knows the person is busy, and where they work has a lot of noise, so they might not hear their cell phone ringing.

Earl’s Truck Repair:
Owen was working on an old Freightliner semi when his cellphone started vibrating in his pocket. He stops and wipes his hand before pulling his cellphone out to see who is calling him. He notices it was Katlain’s number and presses accept on the screen. “What’s up, Kat?”

“Hey, Owen, are you busy right now?”

“I’m elbow deep under the hood of a Freightliner. Why, what’s up?” Owen was wondering why Katlain was calling him.

“Have you heard anything about those truckers who were murdered in their truck?” Katlain knew Owen talked to a bunch of truckers every day.

“Can’t say I have, Kat. I’ve been busy working late and passing out as soon as I get home. Why?” Owen figures Kat must have a reason for calling him about those truckers.

“I knew some of them and was wondering if they were involved in anything illegal. You wouldn’t happen to know if anything is going on among the truckers that pass through the truck stop there?”

“Not really, Kat. You know, some of these truckers make extra money hauling additional loads or giving runaways rides, or preaching to anyone who might listen.”

“Is that it?”

Owen thinks for a minute to see if he heard anything, then something about a truck driver he spoke to a month ago surfaces.

“There was something a trucker said to me about a month ago. He said he recently joined a bunch of truckers who formed a group to help some of the women who come out and sell their bodies. You know, some of them are forced into that life.” Owen met a few who were pimped out by men pretending to be their boyfriends or even their husbands to do that type of work.

“Yeah, I know. I wonder if that was the reason my husband and those other truck drivers were killed.” She could see her husband joining a group like that to help women or even some gay men to get away from that life.

“That’s all I can think of, Katlain. I don’t know if that was what you were looking for.” Owen never knew what Katlain wanted.

“It will have to do for now. Keep your ears out for me and call me if you hear anything else.” Katlain wonders if that was what got her husband killed.

“I will. Talk with you later, Kat.” Owen ends the call and gets back to work.

Katlain wonders if her husband had any connection to that group and if he and the others pissed off someone important? She knew her husband had a soft spot for women being exploited. What Owen said about some of those women being forced into that type of life was true.

The Black Orchid Club:
Keli looks at the text she received from her lawyer, saying that Mr. Knight’s relatives were shopping around for a judge who would rule in their favor. She couldn’t believe how desperate the family was to get Mr. Knight’s business and money. None of them cared about him as he was dying, and now they wanted what he had built with his own two hands.

She looks down at Katherine as she lies in her car carrier. A smile appears on her face, and she wonders what type of life this little girl will have. She knew her cousin Katlain would do anything for her daughter, but would that be enough? Mr. Knight once told her he made a lot of mistakes with his children and that was the reason they were, like they were.

She figures it contributed to it, but somewhere along the way, the children decided to take the easy path. As for the rest of Mr. Knight’s family, they were envious of what he had acquired and built on his own. The greed inside them came out, and all they wanted were material things.

“Why do people feel the need to have so much, Katherine?” Keli smiles and lets Katherine play with her finger.

Keli plays with Katherine for a little while and feeds her afterwards. She figures that with her uncle’s help, she can get through this mess. She burps Katherine afterwards and lays her back down in her car carrier.

She was a little worried about her cousin. Who would go after Katlain and why? She knew Katlain hadn’t always been a good person, but she never did anything that would warrant someone trying to kill her. Her cousin had been a model and worked at the race track, plus stealing cars. She knew her cousin only stole cars from people who could afford them. She never stole from people who couldn’t afford them.

Keli looks over towards her uncles and notices that her uncle Trevor has left the office. She wonders where he was. “Uncle Taylor, where is Uncle Trevor?”

Taylor looks up from the books he was working on. “He went downstairs to talk to the manager. He’s informing him about some people who are banned from the club.”

“Does that happen often?”

“Not normally, but sometimes we get a few people who either try to cheat us or get too handsy with some of the waitresses. We don’t allow that.”
Taylor had a thing about people touching his wait staff and being abusive towards them.

“I bet your employees appreciate that you guys look after them.” That’s one thing she was going to do with Mr. Knight’s company. Become involved with it, so she gets to know the employees working for her.

“We try our best.” Taylor felt he owed his employees for all their hard work.

Outside The Black Orchid Club:
Felix looks at the time on his watch as he spots the woman he had been sent to kill. She was with two other gentlemen, and they were getting into a limo. It looked like she had a baby carrier in her arms. He wonders if she was screwing the other two men, and also where she got the baby from.

He follows the limo, keeping a decent distance from it as it drives down the street and then onto the highway. He notices the limo getting off the highway. He keeps his distance from the limo as it heads into a wealthy neighborhood.

Keli covers up a yawn as she leans against the side of the limo wall. She looks at her uncles, “How do you two pull such long hours?”

“We’re used to it, Keli. Don’t worry, we’ll be back at the mansion in a few minutes.” Trevor saw how tired his niece was and couldn’t believe what she told him about the text she received. He and his brother, Taylor, have already gotten their lawyers involved in the problem.

Felix watches as the limo pulls up to a gated entrance and enters the property. He pulls his car off to the side and gets out to scout the area. He notices the entry box has a small camera built into it. As for the fencing, it was wrought iron and had very sharp points on the top of each bar. He knew there was no way he could climb the wall.

He follows the perimeter of the wall on the outside. He manages to find a spot where he can get a clear shot. He wasn’t going to take her out tonight, but instead was going to watch her and see what her routine was and inquire about the two men she was staying with.

The next morning, Kelli shows up at the hospital and picks up Katlain at the entrance. Once Katlain was inside the Jeep, she looked towards Kelli, “What did your informant tell you?”

“That a price has been put on the heads of a bunch of truckers that belong to a group of truckers belonging to a group named Brotherhood of Highway Truckers. Ever heard of it?”

“No, my husband never mentioned it to me. Did you find out why there is a price on their heads?”

“Yes, and why the person broke into your garage and was trying to download data from your husband's GPS.

“Okay, spill.” Katlain looks at Kelli, since she wasn’t driving.

“Your husband helped set up most of the safe houses and had the names of several truckers who were part of the group. He was a high-level member and coordinated everything this side of the Mississippi.” Kelli was surprised Katlain didn’t know any of this.

“And I guess the other truckers that were killed were members as well?”

“Yep! So, not only do you have someone trying to kill you, but also killed members of this group. I suspect they might make another run on your husband’s truck.”

“They won’t find anything. I erased the information from the secondary system.”

“Then, I guess you just became the next target.” Kelli glances towards Katlain.

“Great! I love being a walking, breathing target.” Katlain relaxes against the seat.

“You are a cop; you should be used to it by now. Don’t cops walk around with a huge target on their bodies?”

“In some cities and states, yes.” Katlain hated when things became complicated.

“So, where to now?” Kelli turned her attention back to the road.

“Back to my cousin’s place. They are probably worried about me, and I know Katherine will be.” Katlain closes her eyes and thinks about everything. She needed to set up the person trying to kill her and find out who hired Murder Inc. to kill the truckers.

“You know, your buddy Rat isn’t that bad. I was under the impression he was anti-social. As it turns out, he’s not.”

“There are times he can be. Normally, when he is DJing, it doesn’t kick in. But sometimes out of the blue, his personality will switch, and he’ll become nervous and withdrawn.”

“Sounds a lot like he might be Bipolar.” Kelli knew some people like that.

“I think he might be. As long as he takes his medicine, he is fine.” Katlain watches as several cars and trucks pass them.

“LOOK OUT!” Katlain braces herself as a black Chevy truck slams on its brakes right in front of them.

“Too late!” Kelli tries to avoid the truck in front of them.

She sideswipes the passenger side of the truck bed as she maneuvers the Jeep to the shoulder. The driver's side reinforced bumper corner and deer catcher tears through the truck bed like it was paper. Katlain turns around to look back at the truck. It got spun around and avoided being hit by an eighteen-wheeler. Kelli pulls over and looks at Katlain, “Stay here.”

Kelli gets out and walks towards the truck that tried to brake check them. Several other motorists got out of their vehicles to check on the driver of the pickup truck. As Kelli got closer, she saw that the driver was bleeding from his forehead. She pulls her cell phone out of her back pocket and dials 911.

Several state troopers show up and get everyone’s statement. An ambulance shows up to transport the driver of the pickup truck to the nearest hospital. Katlain stayed inside her jeep, watching everything. She was wondering why the jackass tried to break check them.

After speaking with the troopers, Kelli comes back to the Jeep and gets in. She puts her seatbelt on.

“Did the troopers say anything?” Katlain was curious.

“Nope, he just said that the other person was lucky that we only damaged the truck bed.” Kelli puts the Jeep in gear and heads towards Taylor and Trevor’s place.

By the time Katlain and Kelli arrived, the sun was barely down. They stopped at a Taco Bell and had lunch. Katlain enjoyed the tacos she ordered. She was tired of hospital food.

Felix watched the mansion all day long. He was lucky that he brought some bottled water with him. He mostly munched on trail mix and beef jerky. He did one of the guys leave the mansion and return an hour later. As for the woman he was hired to kill, he saw her in the backyard, swimming in the huge pool.

He had fantasies of what he would do with her. Later in the evening, a black tricked-out Jeep Wrangler entered the property and parked in front of the garage door where the limo was stored. He watches as two women get out and notices that one of the women is moving slowly.

Kelli and Katlain walk up to the main door and enter the mansion. As Kelli closes the door behind them.

“Honey, I’m home.” A smile appears on Katlain’s face when she says that.

Keli heard her cousin's voice and came to see how she was. A smile appears on her face, “Welcome home. How are you feeling?”

“Like someone shot me.” Katlain walks towards her cousin and hugs her.

Keli returns the hug. She was happy Katlain was alright.

“Where’s Trevor and Taylor?”

“Upstairs in their office. You might want to wait a few minutes before interrupting them.” Keli heard Taylor screaming at whoever had called him.

“That bad?” Katlain wonders what was going on.

“Don’t know, but I have never heard my uncle holler before.”

“If Taylor is hollering at someone, then it must be bad. He never loses his cool.” Katlain knows her cousins pretty well.

“I’m going to go and fix myself a drink.” Kelli starts walking towards the den where the twins kept their booze.

“I think I’ll have one as well.” Katlain follows Kelli.

Keli follows behind Kelli and Katlain towards the bar.

Felix kept watching the house after it got dark. He notices that the two women who had shown up earlier hadn’t come out. He waits until three in the morning before pulling a mask out and covering his head. He makes his way down towards the house, bypassing the fence and the security lights.

Felix stops and looks around the outside of the place. He figures the owners of the place would have the front door wired with some sort of security device. He makes his way around the house towards the back, where he saw his target earlier. A smile appears on his face as he notices that they have sliding glass doors.

He pulls out some lock picks and manages to crack the door a little. He pulls out a collapsible mirror and manages to get through the crack and search the door, locating a security sensor. He manages to disable the security device and slip inside the mansion.

He keeps an eye out for motion detectors, and when he finds one, he disables it. He had to give the owner of the place credit for the security they had. He slowly makes his way up the stairs and tries to locate which room his target is in. The first door he cracks open is one of the women he saw who arrived in the tricked-out jeep.

He quietly shuts the door and moves to another door. Inside, he spots a baby crib and the other woman. He shuts that door and moves on to another door. When he opens the door, he spots his target sleeping. He starts to slip into the bedroom.

Taylor leaves his office and was going to go downstairs to grab another bottle of Willett 19-year-old Whiskey. He and his brother kept their high-end alcohol down in a secure room. Just as he steps out of his office, he spots a person stepping into Keli’s bedroom. He shuts his office door gently and moves slowly towards the person. He knew it wasn’t one of the girls, because the person was dressed in black and there wasn’t any hair.

He moves closer and closer before the man can slip completely into Keli’s bedroom. He shoves the man because he knew how the bedroom was set up. He dives towards Keli’s bed, pulling her with him towards the other side of the bed.

Felix was about to shoot the young woman, and was drawing his gun to do it. When he feels himself shoved towards the wall in front of him. He braces for the impact as he hits the wall. He manages to stay on his feet as he spins around to shoot whoever pushed him.

He spots one of the men he saw earlier dive towards the bed, grabbing the young woman he had been sent to kill. He points his weapon towards them as they roll off the bed on the other side.

Keli wakes up from the noise in her bedroom and is surprised when she is grabbed by her uncle. The two of them roll towards the other side of the bed and fall off, with her uncle protecting her. She looks up at his face with fear in her eyes.

“Freeze, asshole!” Katlian had heard he commotion and woke up instantly.

She had grabbed her gun, which was lying under her pillow, and jumped out of bed. Since Keli’s bedroom was across from her bedroom. She saw the bedroom door already open and a guy dressed in black pointing a gun towards the other side of the room.

Felix glances towards the bedroom door and spots the second woman he saw, pointing a gun at him. She was barely wearing anything, and could see her nipples poking against the fabric and her large areoles through the material covering her body.

Taylor heard Katlian’s voice, “I would do what she says, if you want to live.”

“I agree.” Trevor heard the commotion out in the hallway and grabbed the shotgun he kept in his bedroom.

He walked out into the hallway and spotted not only Katlian pointing her favorite gun into Keli’s bedroom, but Kelli standing nearby in only her panties and camisole.

“Are you okay, brother?” Trevor was concerned about his brother and Keli.

“I’m okay, but I think one of us had an accident.” Taylor could feel wetness near his groin area.

Felix looks at the woman, pointing her gun at him, and the shotgun being pointed at him. The woman had moved aside to let a man with a shotgun stand near her.

“Give it up, asshole. You’re out gunned and fucked.” A predatory smile on her face.

“Okay, Okay.” Felix places his gun on top of the mattress and steps back.

“Kelli, grab my handcuffs from my bedroom.” Katlian didn’t take her eyes off the shooter.

“On it.” Kelli ducks into Katlian’s bedroom and notices Katherine is still asleep.

She spots Katlian’s handcuff case and pulls out several zip cuffs and takes them back to Keli’s bedroom. She hands them to Katlian, “Here.”

“Thanks.” She hands her gun to Kelli and walks into the bedroom.

Trevor doesn’t move, but helps cover Katlian along with Kelli. He watches as she roughly puts the zip cuffs on the intruder. When the guy was secured, Katlian pulled the mask off the guy’s head.

Felix looks at everyone as his mask is pulled off his head. A smile appears on his face, “I guess you'd better call the police now.”

“I’m already here, asshole.” Katlian smiles at him.

“Take him to the garage, Katlian. I want to know who hired him.” Trevor hasn’t interrogated a person in a long time.

“On it, cousin.” Katlian forces the guy to stand up.

“I’ll help you, Kat.” As she steps into the bedroom and helps drag the man down the hall.

Taylor stands up first and then helps Keli up off the floor. She had a huge wet spot on the front of her nightgown. Her face turns bright red as she looks at her uncle, “Sorry, Uncle Taylor.”

“It’s okay, sweetie. Go and clean up.” He kisses her forehead.

Taylor follows behind his niece as she leaves the bedroom. He stops when he comes face to face with his brother, “Let me change, and I’ll join you in interrogating that hitman.”

“Okay.” Trevor turns and walks back to his bedroom to secure the shotgun.

Taylor walks past him to his own bedroom and steps inside. The drink he wanted was going to have to wait.

The next morning, Trevor and Taylor come walking into the kitchen with their knuckles all bloody and swollen. They were bare-chested and tired.

“Come on over here, cousins, and let me tend to your fist.” Katlain grabs a cheap bottle of liquor to pour over Trevor and Taylor’s hands.

Trevor and Taylor stand still as Katlain pours the liquor over their hands. They wince from the stinging sensation caused by the liquor hitting their open wounds. Afterward, cleaning their wounds, Katlain wraps them up.

“Thanks, cousin.” Trevor walks over to the house phone and dials a number.

Taylor looks at Katlain, “That family of the old man Keli was nice to hire that prick to kill her so they would inherit his business and money.”

“Why can’t they be happy with what they got from him?” Katlain wonders why people are so fucking greedy.

“Think of the advantage of having an established security firm that can give you the dirt on your clients and enemies? I bet there are things about that guy's relatives they don’t won’t give out.”

“Well, they are going about it all wrong. Because I bet you’re going to leak some of that information?” Katlain looks at her cousins when she says that.

“I’m hurt, Katlain. I would never do anything like that. But, Trevor, on the other hand, well, he’s going to do it. Keli, Trevor, and I are going to fly out to St. Louis and handle this once and for all. Will you be okay until we get back?”

“I’ll be fine. I have my shadow watching me. What are you going to do with your intruder?”

“He’s your problem now. Just make the story sound reasonable.” A smirk appears on Taylor’s face as he walks off.

“Oh, goodie.” Katlain wonders how she should explain this to her office.

She pulls her cell phone out and dials the precinct and has them send a radio car out to pick this prick up. She fixes herself some more coffee while she is waiting for the car to arrive. She figures by the time the police car arrives, she’ll be done with her third cup of coffee.

Of course, when a patrol car arrives to take the perp down to the police precinct to be booked. She gives a colorful explanation of what
happened. The cops picking up the perp know whatever Katlain tells them is more than likely not the truth. However, she’ll have to be the one to fill out the paperwork.

After the wannabe assassin is escorted to jail. Katlain checks on Katherine and finds her wide awake. “Do you need your diaper changed, young lady?”

Katlain checks Katherine’s diaper and notices it needs to be changed. She goes about changing Katherine and feeds her. If her cousins are heading to St. Louis, she’ll need a new baby sister. She scrolls through her contacts until she finds a person she can trust her daughter too.

She dials the number and after three rings, a young female voice answers, “You’ve reached furry central. How can I help?”

“Hi, this is Katlain Zane. Is Rebecca Goodwill available?”

“Let me get Becca for you, Mrs. Zane. Please hold.”

Katlain looks at her daughter as she holds her. She never thought she would be a mother, but someone left this little darling in front of her garage door. Now, she can’t imagine her life without her.

A few minutes later, another young female voice answers the phone. “Becca here, what can I do for you, Katlain?”

“Becca, do you still babysit?”

“For you, yeah. How is Katherine doing?” Becca has babysat Katherine a few times for Katlain.

“Thanks, I’m working on a case and can’t take my sweetheart with me.” Katlain was relieved that Becca could watch Katherine while she tracked down the person who killed her husband.

“You’re welcome; just let me know before you bring her over to the house.”

“Okay.” Katlain ends the phone call and starts packing a diaper bag for Katlain.

Kelli sticks her head into the room. “So, I take it you found another babysitter for your sweetie there?”

“Yeah, an old friend of mine who is into the furry culture. She runs a day care and sometimes, depending on the person, she’ll babysit for them as well.”

“Has she babysat Katherine before?” Kelli was curious.

“Yep, she has, and she loves her. It seems this little sweetheart can charm anyone.” Katlain looks down at Katherine’s sweet, innocent face.

“She is a charmer, I’ll give you that.” Even Kelli was falling for Katherine’s charms.

Katlain goes back to packing Katherine’s diaper bag and making sure she has everything she needs for her little girl. After that, she helps Trevor and Taylor with their luggage. She knew the two of them were useless without her help. Kelli helps Keli with her bags. Taylor calls a cab driver he trusts to take him, Trevor, and Keli to a private airfield to board their plane.

Katlain and Kelli drop Katherine off at Rebecca’s daycare and promise to be back before they close to pick her up. They had a few leads they were going to check out.

Kelli couldn’t believe the energy of Katlain as she started hitting up every snitch or information broker she knew in the city. She had to push herself to keep up with Katlain. Sure, they were pushing the limit of the law. She was told to protect Katlain, and if that meant breaking those same laws Katlain was sworn to uphold, she would.

They went to one establishment where Katlain told her to wear her vest. Also, bring extra ammo clips. The establishment was a meeting place for several top hitters in Augusta. Katlain busted the door down and walked in. Kelli was guarding her back, making sure reinforcements didn’t come in.

Katlain walks over to a stone-faced man who was known for chopping people up for fun. The thing was, it could never be proven that he did it. However, Katlain knew and had barrels of some of his victims' preserved just in case she needed to blackmail him.

“My, my, my, what do we have here?” Katlain looks around the illegal poker table at the men sitting there.

Several of them she knew either from their wanted files or from meeting them before she became a cop. She stole a few items for them and helped a few busts into places they couldn’t get into.

“Is it me, gentlemen, or do I smell pork in the room?” Louise Coll looks at Katlain as she walks around them.

“That is so funny, Lousie. You should have become a stand comedian, instead of a hired gun.” Katlain stops near Louise and looks down at him.

“What do you want, Katlain?” Freddo looks at Katlain and watches her facial expression.

“I want to know who hired Murder Inc. to kill my husband and why?” Katlain looked directly at Freddo when she responded.

“Because your husband and his trucking buddies were hiding and protecting women. Women who made a lot of money for certain people. They
didn’t like it when you interfered with their business.”

“Okay, now tell me who hired the group.” Katlain wanted answers.

“You know I can’t do that, Katlain.” Freddo pulls his gun.

“I wouldn’t do that, pretty boy.” Kelli had her gun pointed at the back of his head.

The next thing that happens, one of the other guys playing cards fires at Katlain under the table. The bullet grazes Katlain’s thigh as all hell breaks out. Bullets were flying everywhere from outside the place and from inside. Kelli got hit a few times in her vest and went down.

Katlain managed to find cover but took a bullet to her right thigh and upper shoulder. She shot back and killed two of the top hitmen in the room. As for the person who shot from outside, Kelli nailed the person. She shot the bastard in his left leg, down near his ankle.

Someone heard the gunshots and called the police. Katlain looked over towards Louise, “You know, this could have been done without all of us shooting at each other.”

Lousie coughs up some blood, “What fun would that have been?”

“You are one sick person, Louise?” Katlain couldn’t believe what Lousie thought was fun.

“The same could be said about you, porky.” Lousie rests his eyes and passes out.

Katlain is tended to when the cops show up. After Kelli and Katlain are tended to, Katlain stops and picks up her daughter and drives back to her cousin’s place. Her house was still being cleaned and fixed.

“Sorry for getting you shot, Kelli.” Katlain opens the front door and walks in.

“It’s alright, Katlain. I knew what I was getting into with you.” Kelli followed behind Katlain as they walked into the house.

“I wonder how your cousins are doing in St. Louise?”

“Probably arriving at their hotel room.” Katlain fixes herself a bourbon.

“You want one?” Katlain looks over at Kelli when she asks.

“God, yes.” Kelli could use a drink after everything that happened earlier.

Katlain pours both a bourbon. She hands the second glass to Kelli.

“Thanks.” Kelli takes a sip of it.

Katlain takes a sip of her drink and sits down in the chair in the room. She twirls the liquor around in her glass. She watches as Kelli sits down on the leather love seat in the room.

“So, what is your next move?” Kelli knew Katlain wasn’t going to rest.

“Set a trap for them and try not to kill them.” Katlain had a plan brewing in her head.

“Sounds good, but let’s try not to get shot this time around.” Kelli was glad she wore her vest.

Kelli and Katlain stay up for a while drinking the bourbon before heading to bed. Katlain makes sure her little angel is sound asleep before passing out. She was going to get this bastard who took her husband away from her.

She stripped out of her clothes. She carefully put her nightgown on and tucked her pistol under her pillow, making sure the safety was on. The last thing she needed was to blow her head off while she was asleep.

Kelli uses the bathroom and changes into her night clothes as well. She couldn’t believe what happened tonight. She wonders how Katlain got to know some of those hitters. After doing her business, she walks back into her bedroom and crawls under the covers. The bourbon helps her sleep, but she knows she is going to have nightmares when the liquor wears off.

The next morning, Katlian gets a text from one of her snitches. He has the location of where Murder Inc. was working out of. He was willing to give her the location for a price.

She wakes Kelli up to let her know she had a lead. Once Kelli is awake had her coffee, Katlian text her contact back to let them know she’ll meet up with them. She’ll pay a little more what they wanted, if the information is good.

Katlian knew most of her snitches were good people who were just misunderstood. She didn’t deal with drug users, because they could always be used to set her up. That happened once to many times, and she almost got herself killed.

Kelli looks at Katlian once she was ready “do you trust this person?”

“Yeah, I do. They know if it is a setup, and I survive. I’ll come after them and make them pay for it.”

“Okay, how do you want to do this?” Kelli looks at Katlian to see if she had a plan.

“I want you to be my overwatch. If they plan on ambushing me, I want you to disable them. Don’t kill them but disable. They will still have information that is valuable.” Katlian has used this tactic before when she didn’t trust someone.

“Alright, let’s go and do this.” Kelli checks her guns.

“We have one stop before we do this.” Katlian leads Kelli out to her wrangler and get in.

“Okay.” Kelli wonders where they were going.

Katlian drives to one of her secretive warehouses. She bought a few new buildings and has been renovating them for some of her more valuable vehicles and illegal weapons she has managed to get her hands on. She presses a hidden remote in the wrangler as she gets close to it. By the time she arrives in front of the new bay doors. She drives inside and parks her wrangler.

“We’re taking the beat-up Maverick over there.” Katlian points to a beat up looking dark color 1972 Ford Maverick.

“Are you sure about this?” Kelli walks over and looks at the thing. In her opinion, the thing should be in a junkyard.

A smirk appears on Katlian’s face “there’s more then meets the eye.”

“You do know that is from Transformers, don’t you?” Kelli transfers her gear to the Maverick.

“Nope! I didn’t know that.” Katlian has never seen any of the movies or even read the comic books when she was growing up. She was to busy learning about cars and stealing things.

Katlian double checks the Maverick to make sure it still had her sniping rifle in it. She also makes sure all the other weapons and gear she kept in it was there as well, before leaving. She makes sure the garage door is sealed and locked before leaving.

Katlian leaves Kelli with the Maverick and walk towards where her contact was supposed to be meeting her. She walks into the dead-end alleyway carefully, watching everything.

“Tyrone, are you here?” Katlian continues to walk into the alley carefully.

“Yeah, I’m here, Kat.” Tyrone steps out from between two large dumpsters.

Katlian notices Tyrone was wearing a dirty military jacket, camouflage pants and several worn t-shirts. His full grey beard covered the bottom part of his face.

“So, what do you have for me, Tyrone?”

“I have the information you want, but I want all of my payment up front, first.” Tyrone knew he was sticking his neck out to help Katlian.

“Just give me the information and I’ll make sure you get paid the full amount. You know how I operate.” Katlian has worked with Tyrone before and trusted him.

“I do know, but this time it’s a little more dangerous.”

“For whom?” Katlian steps closer to Tyrone.

“For the two of us.” Tyrone knew if the people at Murder inc. found out that he helped Katlian, they would come after him.

Katlian thinks about Tyrone’s request. She knew he was sticking his neck out for her.

“Fine, but this information better be good.” Katlian pulls a prepaid card out of her pocket and hands it to Tyrone.

“It is. I’m going to disappear after this.”

“All right, lets have it.” Katlian listens closely to Tyrone.

Tyrone starts talking telling Katlian everything he knows. The location of the headquarters of Murder Inc. Itself and where the members of the company like to hang out. He gives her the names of some of the top hitters in the company.

“Thanks, Tyrone.” Katlian watches as Tyrone walks away from her.

Katlian turns and walks out of the alley. She makes a motion with her hand to let Kelli know to meet her at the car. She makes sure she isn’t followed. Just as she is about to make the final turn towards her car, she spots someone following her.

An evil smile appears on her face, as she takes a different turn and hide in the shadow. A few seconds goes by and the person following her turns the corner. She steps out of the shadow and knock the person down to the ground.

“I wouldn’t get back up if I were you.” Katlian had her gun out and pointing at the person.

Jacob couldn’t believe he had been outsmarted by a white woman. He turns over and spots the woman that he knew was marked for death.

“Why were you following me?” Katlian looks down into the young man’s face.

“Why do you think?” Jacob wanted that money placed on this woman’s head.

“You made a big mistake coming for me.” Katlian knocks the young man out and secures his hands behind his back.

Katlian calls 911 to have him picked up. She moves quickly and heads towards the Maverick.

“It took you long enough. What happened?” Kelli was waiting for Katlian.

“Some young punk thought he could take me.” Katlian gets in the car.

“So, what now?” Kelli wonders what Katlian’s next move was.

“Now, we go knocking on their door.” Katlian puts the car into gear and drives towards the location of the headquarters.

Industrial Warehouse, Industrial area, Augusta, Georgia:

An older man wearing leather briefs brings his arm back, which holds a leather whip, and snaps it forward towards a young woman tied to a post. Her whole back, ass cheeks, and the back of her legs were already covered in bloody whip marks. When the whip hits the woman’s back again, another bloody mark appears.

Hanging upside down was another woman secured by her ankles and a chain. Her wet hair hung down, touching the top of the water in the clear container filled with water. She was being slowly lowered into the container.

Near her were an old couple facing each other. Behind them was a rack that glowed red-hot. The bars on the rack slowly moved forward, squeezing them, while burning their backs. Near them were two huge guys assaulting a young girl. She was suspended between them by a harness as they took her from the front and the rear.

Katlian had managed to climb to the roof and found a way into the warehouse. She was suspended high above the people below and had her sniper rifle out. She wasn’t going to kill the person right away. She knew there were several other rooms in the warehouse where other people were being tortured. One room had a person suspended off the floor by his arms and being skinned alive.

The man she saw doing the skinning was enjoying himself. She took him out fast and silently. She didn’t use her rifle, but the specialized air gun she was carrying. It fired a metal ball covered in a highly concentrated acid. She wanted him to suffer, like he was doing to the man being suspended by his arms.

As for the other people torturing and abusing other victims. She took them out quietly, either by dropping a knockout gas grenade or with a tranquilizer dart from her air gun. She looks at her wrist at the time and counts down when Kelli delivers the message out front.

Outside the Warehouse:
Kelli was leaning against the Maverick, waiting for the time Katlian told her to cause the distraction. She couldn’t believe Katlian had a fucking law rocket in the trunk of the Maverick. When she saw it, she was about to ask Katlain where she got it from. When Katlain said, “You're better off not knowing.”

She hears a beeping sound coming from her cell phone. She shuts it off, opens the trunk, and pulls out the law rocket. She closes the trunk and walks to where she can get a clear shot at the front of the warehouse. “Knock! Knock! Motherfuckers.” As she presses the fire button.

The rocket erupts from the launcher and heads directly towards the front of the warehouse. A large explosion erupts as the building rocks. The man whipping the young woman is shocked when the building shakes and a large explosion occurs. Fire alarms go off as the sprinklers in the place start shooting water down.

Katlain fires the sniping rifle at the guy’s legs first, then at each of his hands and arms. She secures a hook on one of the support beams and drops the rope down to the floor, and slides down the rope. Her hands were covered by her gloves. Once her feet touch the floor, she walks over to the guy who killed her husband as he lay on the floor bleeding from her shots. The fifty caliber round that had hit his hand took them completely off.

She kneels in front of him and lifts his head off the floor. “You should have killed me, instead of my husband.” As she slams his face into the concrete floor.

Kelli pulls her gun and walks into the ruined building. She saw several men missing body parts as she put them out of their misery. She heads deeper into the building, finding some of the victims Katlain informed her about. She calls 911 and informs them that they need at least six or more ambulances and the fire department.

Katlain started helping the victims in the room she was in. The young girl who had been suspended between the two men had a metal O-ring that held her mouth open. She also had a hook that went into her nose and pulled her nose up like she was a pig or something.

The two men, she noticed, had huge, thick cocks. The poor girl had been forced to take their cocks. In her mouth and down her throat, and in her vaginal and anal openings.

When the men went to attack her, she knocked them out. She was tempted to remove their manhood and let them bleed out. Instead, she checked on the poor girl who looked like she had been drugged. She saw track marks on the girl’s arm.

As for the man who hired Murder Inc. to kill her husband, she tracked him down and broke into his house. She noticed he had two boys and a young man at his property. The two boys had their faces made to look more feminine and had their testicles removed. He gave them breast implants that were a little more than their slim bodies could handle.

As for the young man, he was made over to look like an Asian woman. Every part of his body had been changed. He had been given a vagina and breasts that a natural woman would kill for.

When Marshal Williams arrived home and walked through his doors, he was expecting his wife to be waiting for him and his two-house slaves. Instead, they weren’t waiting for home. He was going to have to punish them for their disobedience.

He searches the house looking for them, but doesn’t find them. Instead, he spots a woman wearing a black military-style body suit in his home office, looking at his computer. He goes to pull his handgun from behind his back.

“I wouldn’t do that, Mr. Williams.”

Marshal hears a female voice coming from behind him. He wanted to turn around to see who it was, but his attention was on the other woman sitting at his desk. She had looked up and immediately knew who the woman was.

Katlain looks at Mr. Williams with a blank look on her face, “You know there is so much evidence here to put you away four times over.”

“It won’t stand up in court, Mrs. Zane.”

“Who said you were going to court or jail, Mr. Williams? I have other plans for you.”

“And what is that?” Mr. Williams knew he could buy his way out of anything Mrs. Zane did to him.

“You’ll find out. But before we end this. I have some papers for you to sign.” Katlain motions for Kelli to bring Mr. Williams forward.

Mr. Williams felt the gun touching the back of his head. “Move!”

Mr. Williams walks forward towards his desk and sits down in the chair in front of his desk. He watches as Mrs. Zane slides a stack of papers
towards him. “You’re going to sign every piece of paper giving me everything you own, including the money and property you own overseas.”

“Why would I do that?” Mr. Williams sneers at Katlian.

“Because if you don’t. I’ll use this drug to make you.” Katlain holds up a syringe filled with some sort of liquid.

“And what is that?” Mr. Williams never saw anything like it.

“It’s called Devil’s Breathe. It will make you do whatever I say. I also added a unique side effect to it. It will also destroy your ability to ever get excited again.” Katlain was bluffing, but she had her poker face on.

“Doesn’t it have the side effect of driving the person mad if it is injected?” Kelli was suggesting more, so it scared Mr. Williams more.

“You know, I think it does.” Katlain looks seriously at Mr. Williams.

Mr. Williams looks at the stack of papers and at Katlain Zane. He knew she wasn’t a person to go to extremes, even with her being a cop.
What he learned about her before he had her husband killed. She had connections in the black market and used to be a criminal before becoming a cop.

He leans forward and starts signing all the forms. He knew he had no choice. He’ll find a way to get even with her.

“There, they are signed!” He shoves the stack of papers towards Katlian.

Katlain checks them over to make sure everything is in order. Once she was done, she looked back at Mr. Williams. “Now, for your punishment.”

When Katlain says that four guys with bread and dressed like bikers come walking into the office. They stop behind Mr. Williams, “Gentlemen, he is yours now.”

Two of the men pulled Mr. Williams up out of the chair. Just before he is hauled out by the four men, “I’ll get even with you, bitch.”

“I seriously doubt it, Mr. Williams.” Katlain watches as the four men with Iron Skull patches on the back of their cuts/vests haul Mr. Williams out of the office.

Kelli puts her gun away and sits down on the chair Mr. Williams just vacated. She looks at Katlain, “What are you going to do now?”

“Cry for a week and make sure all the victims we found are taken care of. And hold my daughter.” Katlain felt exhausted now that everything was done for now.