Punikon''s grandfather gave his approval.
"He wants revenge? Let him have it. It''s a good opportunity to teach him that in the world of fighters, the strong rule!”
"And let it be a message to everyone else. No matter who you are, if you harm someone from the Punikon family, you will pay a heavy price!"
“Find a chance and take that kid Evan out! Once the hatred is deep enough, we won''t have to worry about Tarquin backing out of the challenge!"
The fighter on the phone replied, "Understood!"
After hanging up, he turned to his partner.
"The old man gave the order. We can''t touch Tarquin for now, but we can get rid of that Evan kid!"
His partner gritted his teeth. “Let''s grab him and hand him over to Punikon. Let him have his fun!"
"Yeah! We''ll go to the hospital and have Punikon lure him out. We''ll make sure it''s a one-way trip."
Past eleven at night, The Blissful Pub was still buzzing.
But since Elysia had to head back to Oceanopolis the next day, it wasn''t a good idea to stay out all night, so she and Tarquin left early.
Winona and Blossom stayed behind. They were on Keaton''s turf anyway, so there was no need to worry about them. Keaton would look after them.
On the way, Lowell was driving while Tarquin and Elysia sat in the back.
"I''m not going to Oceanopolis with you for the break," Tarquin said. "I''ll arrange a private jet for you all tomorrow. Have a great time.”
Elysia was surprised. "Is it for work?"
"Yeah, some things came up that I need to handle. It''s time-sensitive, and I need to head down to Border City for a few days."
Afraid she wouldn''t believe him, Tarquin added, "We''ve got a lot of new projectstely that I need to oversee personally."
Elysia''s heart ached for him. "You work so hard for us," Elysia murmured, her heart aching for him. "Always carrying the weight of the world."
Tarquin smiled. “It''s worth it. I''d carry it twice over as long as I get toe home to you."
Up front, Lowell cringed at the cheesy-sweet talk and quickly raised the partition between the front and back seats. Ignorance was bliss.
Once the partition was up, Elysia whispered, "You''re turning into quite the smooth talkertely. Who are you and what have you done with my husband?"
"I read online that sweet nothings are the spice of a rtionship,” Tarquin said. "You''re supposed to say them often."
Elysia smiled, snuggling into his embraces Well, I''ll be heading back to Oceanopolis with the kids and my parents tomorrow. You have to take care of yourself while were gone okay?"
Tarquin stroked her hair gently. "I''m not a three-year-old, you don''t need to worry about me. But I''ll definitely miss you."
Resting in his arms, Elysia tilted her face up and yfully scratched his chin. "I''ll miss you too."
Tarquin leaned down and gave her a kiss. They were as affectionate as a pair of newlyweds.
After getting home, Tarquin tucked Elysia into bed before quietly slipping into the study.
He made a call to arrange for the private jets for the next day.
One would fly to Silver City.
The other would fly to Border City.
Elysia and the children would fly to Silver City first to see Emmett''s sister and grandfather, then continue on to Oceanopolis with yton Hawkins.
He and Lowell would fly directly to Border City.
While researching the Punikon
family, he had discovered an old master who had once fought Punikon''s grandfather to a draw And that old master was from
Border City and still lived there now.
The old master had nothing to do with the real 8th generation virus, but Tarquin
could use the pretense of seeking him out to begin his search for the virus.
Everyone would think he was going
to Border City just to find a trainer for the uing challenge match.
No one would suspect his true purpose. Not even the mysterious man.
That''s why when he saw the Punikon family''s challenge today, he wasn''t angry. He was pleased. This challenge gave him the perfect excuse to go to Border City.
Once he found the real 8th generation virus, he could finally settle the score with the mysterious man without any reservations.