?


    Day Sixty-Five…


    ~~*****~~


    Nathan chose to give Joker another chance. But he let Axel deal with him, beating him a little bit as a form of punishment for hurting Chantha. Aside from that, this was also part of their n so that Joker would have a reason to contact Vincent and ask for his help.


    Axel brought Joker back to the east seaport, battered and wounded. "Don''t you dare betray and hurt ourrades again! The next time you do that, I will kill you." Axel warned Joker once again.


    Joker nodded his head as he looked at him apologetically. "Again, I apologize for what happened to Chantha. I''ll ask for her forgivenesster. But for now, I have a mission to do. I won''t be able to show up in front of everyone. Please send my regards to Spider. I know he will scold me once hees back."


    Axel''s anger toward Joker lessened a little bit since he could see that he regretted his past actions. But he didn''t want to lower his guard down. He won''t trust Jokerpletely.


    "Shoot me!" Joker requested Axel. "To make it look convincing and real."


    Axel frowned. He already beat him up. ''Do I need to shoot him as well?'' Axel hesitated for a moment. However, Axel looked straight into his eyes and urged him. "Do it. I''ll be fine. This is one way to convince King Stallion Mafia that I became your enemy."


    Axel picked up his gun, aiming at him. Joker just closed his eyes, waiting for Axel to fire his gun.


    Bang!


    "Argh!"


    Axel pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Joker''s right shoulder. "Now, RUN!" Axel told him.


    Joker grabbed his wound and he ran as fast as he could. Axel fired another gunshot but he intentionally missed him. They were just making evidence of the scene so that it would be believable that Syphiruz Mafia was chasing after Joker.


    With his wounded right arm, Joker tried to flee. He immediately contacted Vincent. The phone rang several times before it was answered.


    "Well. Well. Well. I thought you would never contact me again." Vincent mocked him.


    Joker could imagine the mocking smirk of this guy. "Help me. I''ve been shot. The Syphiruz is chasing after me. I changed my mind. I''m going to join you. I don''t want to die in their hands." Joker sounded so desperate.


    Vincent arched his eyebrow. He was suspicious of Joker''s sudden change of heart. When hest talked to him, this man was so stubborn, refusing to join his organization.


    ''Hmm. Am I overthinking? Maybe he just wants to live.'' Vincent tried to erase the slightest suspicion he had for Joker.


    Besides, he needed him. Joker was a branch leader. He knew a lot of things about the Syphiruz Operation. He could use him to attack and destroy the Syphiruz. Furthermore, he would like to ask him if he knew Phantomke''s whereabouts. Was she inside Syphiruz''s Medical Facility?


    "I''m going to send my men. Give me your exact location." Vincent nced at Phoenix who was standing next to him. He motioned for him to get ready.


    "I''m in the east seaport. They blocked my escape routes. I need your help!" Joker emphasized that he had no way out. He was in a desperate position right now.


    Fortunately, Vincent bought Joker''s lie. He ordered Phoenix to rescue Joker. His men responded quickly. As he waited, Joker tried to stop his bleeding. He was doing a dangerous mission. He would invade the enemy''s territory, and once his cover was blown up, he would die.


    Joker heaved a deep sigh just thinking about those possibilities. But he didn''t regret his decision this time. He wanted to redeem himself and be worthy of Nathan''s trust again. By aplishing this mission, he could face Spider, Chantha, Violet, and Axel again with no more guilt.


    ''I''ll do my best.'' He thought to himself.


    Joker immediately informed Axel and Nathan that King Stallion Mafia were on their way to fetch him. This only meant that the King Stallion members were here in Country M.


    ''Does it mean the King is also here in Country M?'' Nathan thought to himself after receiving Joker''s message. ''The guy Phantomke is looking for.'' Nathan didn''t know what to feel about this.


    A few minutester, two ck sedan cars arrived at the east seaport. They encountered Axel and his men. The two factions exchanged fires. When Axel witnessed Joker being transferred to the ck sedan car, he ordered his men to retreat, returning to the Syphiruz Mafia headquarters.


    Stage one of the mission was aplished. They just hoped that Joker would be able to fulfill his duty.


    After securing Joker''s safety, Phoenix''s men brought him to the hospital. His gunshot wound needed to be treated. Aside from a gunshot wound, Joker was also beaten up badly.


    *****


    [ Back at Syphiruz Mafia Headquarters… ]


    Aiden was sulking in the corner. Nathan smacked his head a while ago when he said something that provoked Nathan and changed his mood. When Axel came back, that was the time Aiden got the courage to approach Nathan, hoping that his mood finally improved. He just stood at the back, listening to their conversation.


    "Sir, are you sure about this? What if Joker will flee with the help of King Stallion Mafia?" Axel was still uneasy about this n.


    "Yes. I agree with Axel. Before letting him go, you should have invented the Anti-Traitor Bomb Chip first," Aiden butted in.


    "Anti-Traitor Bomb Chip?" Axel looked puzzled when he heard that.


    Nathan just rubbed the space in between his eyebrows and said, "Just don''t mind him."


    Aiden pouted his lips as he put on a pitiful face. Nathan kept ignoring him.


    "I need to get information about the leader of King Stallion. This is the closer we can get to them. I want to gamble on Joker. My guts tell me that he won''t betray me this time." Nathan reassured Axel. He was so determined to find out the identity of the King. He might be rted to Jane. What if he was the father of Jane''s child?


    ''The leader of King Stallion Mafia… is he a formidable opponent I should be cautious about? Phantomke failed to kill him. And she suffered because of him.'' Nathan mused to himself.