6 Starting the Operation

Despite her killing herself, the sympathy didn't go towards her.

It went to me, the victim of her infidelity, the person who "loved" her and now has to deal with the consequences of her action.

At her funeral, hosted by her family who still had love for her because of shared blood, I went there, pretending to be heartbroken.

People saw me as this saint-like person who was willing to attend the funeral of the person who ruined his life because of the kindness of his heart.

"He's a better man than me," someone whispered. "I would've never attended my ex's funeral after she cheated on me."

No, my friend. I'm not a better man than you. I'm just here to make sure that the bitch is dead. That's all.

Tears in my eyes, I buried my face in the arms of Maelle's mother. She comforted me, apologized for the actions of her daughter, and informed me that if I needed anything in the future, I could go to her.

After the funeral was over, I hopped into my car and drove off while laughing profusely.

"Ha... I didn't know revenge felt so good."

Tonight's sleep is going to hit differently. 

Continuing to maintain my false sorrowful facade in public, behind the scenes, I was continuing the expansion of my stock market manipulation with small, inconspicuous investments that would eventually add up to a large sum.

It was officially month one of the year that remained before the apocalypse started.

With no more girlfriend to deal with, I had all the time in the world to myself. I spent the first week of freedom developing a strategy to diversify my investments in various industries. I'd already been doing this since I came back to the past but now, I was going bigger and better.

To hide my growing wealth, I even set up offshore accounts.

I continued to monitor the state of the world, identifying whether or not I was in potential danger from certain governments I was screwing over.

As my illegal funds started to pile up, I needed to wash it clean so I could start using it.

What I did was contact a person that I knew from the future.

He wasn't a friend so he wasn't a part of the notebook.

We also had some altercations that could've resulted in one of us dying but that didn't make us enemies either.

He was a money launderer who went by the name "Friday". That wasn't his real name but whatever his real name was, nobody knew, not even myself.

After tracking down his location, I began awaiting him.

With a ski mask on, I had a pistol in my hand.

How long does one need to shit? Hurry up and get out of the bathroom.

That's right. I had broken into his house and was standing outside of his bathroom as he relieved him.

I listened to the sounds on the other side of the wall. From the occasional laughter, the short videos he was watching, and eventually, the sound of the sink being turned on.

As soon as the door opened, I pressed the gun to the side of his head.

"Woah!" he yelled.

"Don't move or I'll shoot."

"Woah woah woah... calm down. I won't move!" he screamed the last word as he turned around and tried to grab the pistol out of my hand.

Slow.

I dodged his arms and smacked his forehead with the gun.

"Ow," he said as he stumbled to the ground, stunned by the strike. "That hurts. Why would you do that?"

"Try that again and next time, it'll be a bullet that goes through your forehead."

"Okay... okay okay," he surrendered himself, raising his arms into the air as he stood up. "What do you want?"

Look at the audacity of this dude. 

He was acting as if the power dynamic wasn't in my favor. 

"You better listen carefully, Friday. I know who you are and I don't have any patience left for your antics. I need you to help me launder some money."

Looking at me with a confused face, he said, "Whoa, whoa, hold on! Laundering money. What in the world are you talking about? I don't do those kind of things. I think you have the wrong person. It's too risky."

This bastard really thinks he can lie like this.

I shot the ground between his feet, causing him to jump into the air.

"Whoa! Calm down, friend. Calm down."

"You think I care about entertaining your lies right now? Friday, you're better off doing this thing for me. At least then, you can keep your life while getting rich. Otherwise... things are going to get ugly real fast."

Although his eyes told me that he was scared, he still kept up the tough guy act. "Okay, okay. Let's not do anything rash. Tell me what you've got."

"Good. I've got five million in cash, all dirty. Another ten million in an account. I need all of it cleaned up and I need you to do it without leaving a trace," I answered.

Friday gulped.

The numbers I was giving him were numbers he'd never dealt with before. The most he had to launder for a customer was a couple of hundred thousand.

He took a deep breath. "You understand that what you're asking me to do won't be easy, right? That's a lot of money to launder. It'll take time and a lot of work."

Smirking, I responded, "Trust me, I know. But I came to you for a reason. You're the best of the best in the market, are you not?"

Hesitantly, he nodded his head.

"I'll sure you're well-compensated."

Curious, he asked me, "Well-compensated? How much... are we talking about here?"

Picking up a briefcase that I'd left at the entrance, I opened it and revealed a stack of hundred-dollar bills.

"This is just a small down payment. A hundred thousand dollars. All clean too. Consider it a sign of good faith from me," I said.

It was an expensive gift but for his talents, it was worth it.

Friday's eyes widened as he stared at the money. "That's... that's a lot of cash."

I closed the briefcase, the loud sound made him jolt and then look back up at me. "That's just the beginning. If you help me with this operation, we could be moving millions each month. You'll get a substantial cut each time and you won't have to worry about money in your life ever again."

Hesitating, Friday was seriously contemplating the offer I had put on the table for him.

"Millions? That could set me up for life."

"Indeed it can."

"How do you know that I won't run away with the millions you give me and disappear to another country?" he asked me.

What a bold question to ask the person with a gun.

"Because you're a man who keeps your word. You have a code of honor, do you not?" I asked.

He nodded his head.

"So what do you say? Want to make some money?"

Nervously, he licked lips, stared at the close briefcase then back up at me. He nodded his head.

"We've got a deal, then?"

"Yes. We've got a deal. But you better keep your end of the bargain or I'm going to report the both of us to the authorities."

Holstering the gun, with a sly grin, I lightly chuckled. "Friday, you won't regret this decision. You'll remember this day as the day I changed your life."

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes. "You keep calling me but name but I don't even know yours. I don't even know what you look like."

Taking off my ski mask, I said, "The name's Fox."

"...Fox. Nice to meet you, Fox."

A week later, the money had been cleaned and I used the money to purchase a nightclub. With the help of the versatile Friday, I was able to get the club up and running in under three days.

The nightclub was an investment to help launder even more money while at the same time, making legal money.

In the midst of doing some pull-ups at the office of my nightclub, Friday had entered, a little tipsy.

"Were you drinking?" I asked.

He nodded his head and then spoke cautiously, "Listen, boss, I've been thinking. To handle this kind of money you're talking about... I think we'll need to expand our operation."

"How do you suggest we do that?" I asked as I pulled my head over the bar.

"I want to bring some of my trusted allies into the picture."

Dropping down to the ground, I picked up the towel on the desk and began wiping the sweat off my body.

"Looking good, boss."

"Thank you."

"So, what do you think about my proposal?" Friday asked me.

Over the past week and a half that we knew each other, his attitude had changed especially as I helped him deal with some issues.

I had gone into a room with a group of men who were interfering with the operation and was the only one to come back out.

It seems that my fists spoke more than words and he deemed me worthy of following.

I nodded my head. "I figured as much. Especially as the amount increases. Alright, Friday, do what you need to do. But remember... if any of them messes up, it's on you, and all of you will be responsible. I don't take kindly to mistakes. Neither of us is in the amateur league anymore. This is the pros."

Any mistake too large to fix and we would all be placed behind bars.

In a serious tone, he replied, "I understand the stakes. I'll make sure they all know. My people are professionals. I trust that they won't let us down."

Pausing for a bit, I smiled. "Good, because there's a lot riding on this. We've got a good thing going and I don't want anything jeopardizing it."

Relieved to have permission to bring his people in, he said, "You won't be disappointed boss. We'll handle your money with care."

Raising an eyebrow, I asked him, "And just how many people are we talking about here?"

"Five, including myself. All of us have been in the business for years, and I trust any one of them with my life."

"Five it is then. But remember, the more people..."

"...The greater the risk," he finished my sentence for me.

"Keep them in line."

"Yes, boss. I'll keep them on a tight leash. We'll make sure that this operation runs like clockwork. You won't have to worry about a damn thing."