by Jack Parker
I huffed in exasperation. The Phantoms really ought to get more sun, I thought.
I immediately froze as the murmuring sound from earlier made itself known again. It came from right outside my door, and if the shadows from underneath the door were reliable, there were two people outside.
I grunted as I slowly pushed myself back against the corner furthest from the door. I had absolutely no intention of making myself so easily visible to an intruder.
The murmuring stopped, and the door creaked open.
I remained as still as I could.
A figure stepped inside as the door closed, and took the short steps to the center. "You've been a bad girl, Agent Moore." The figure commented.
I nearly rolled my eyes at my incredibly bad luck. Of course it had to have been Shadow of all people.
"Why did you have to make our lives more complicated than they should be?" The man asked.
I snorted. "You know me, always happy to screw you over."
The Phantom agent turned towards me. "Now that's just plain rude, Agent Moore. Do you remember how I said I'd fix that trait of yours?"
Shadow took a few steps towards me, and grabbed me roughly by the hair, forcing me to look up at him. "Your little scheme earlier gave us an unnecessary headache. Do you really enjoy pissing me off?"
I spat at his face. "Go to hell, you Phantom bastard." I snarled.
I inwardly smirked at my move, but my confidence quickly turned to fear as the Phantom agent's plasma-like eyes stared at me venomously.
What happened next caught me in a daze.
One minute I was face to face with the man, the next I was slapped so hard that my nose began to bleed.
The pain didn't stop there; the Phantom continued to kick me all over, repeatedly on my stomach and legs.
I groaned as I gestured to cover my face, but realized that my hands were tied up once more.
I inwardly swore at my disadvantage.
"I'm getting extremely tired of your lack of cooperation. The more you disobey, the more unnecessary pain you put yourself through." To emphasize his point, the Phantom kicked my head which caused me to nearly black out for a moment.
Tiny stars orbited in my vision.
Mercifully, the Phantom stopped his aggression, and took a step back. "You've forced me to take drastic action, Agent Moore. The outcome will not be so good for you."
I snarled once more. "You think a petty threat like that is going to scare me? The Seekers will stop you, and I'll be there to put the much deserved bullet in your head."
"Oh really?" The Phantom replied mockingly.
He leaned down at my level, and looked into my eyes. "Even though your emergency beacon has been activated, the Seekers won't be saving you any time soon. They've got bigger problems of their own."
My eyes narrowed at the Phantom's statement. Emergency beacon? "What are you talking about?" I asked.
The Phantom merely chuckled, and ignored my question. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Besides, you're popular right now, Agent Moore. You have a guest." With that, he stood up, and walked towards the door.
As he opened it, he looked back at me, and smirked before he walked out.
Despite Shadow's words, I half expected the door to close. It, however, was held open as a new figure stepped inside.
My whole body shivered subconsciously as the figure stared back at me.
I was able to distinguish the signature electric blue eyes even in the darkness that surrounded the figure. "Agent Moore." The figured started. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
I snorted. "Can't say the same thing for you."
Unlike Shadow with his violent nature, this man was calmer and actually chuckled at my comment.
He took something out that I recognized it to be a cigarette. He lit it up, and took a deep inhale.
After a few puffs, the man finally spoke. "Do you know who I am?" He asked.
Despite my situation, I couldn't help but be sassy. "Can't say that I do. If I did know, you'd already be dead."
I could practically hear the amusement in the man's voice. "Many people want me dead. They have tried to kill me in the past, yet none of them were successful. You'll fail as well." He replied calmly.
"We'll see about that." I whispered.
Whether the man heard me or not, I couldn't tell, nor did he suggest that he had.
Instead, he continued to smoke his cigarette.
From what I could have dimly seen, the man was leaning against the door casually.
He appeared oblivious to the fact that I was even there as I laid on the cold floor completely exhausted after the numerous beatings I received. He also seemed awfully at ease despite the fact that I had alerted the Seekers of our current location.
It was then that an idea clicked.
"You're the leader, aren't you?" I stated.
The man released a few puffs, one of them was directed at my general area, and flicked the cigarette away.
He focused his attention on me.
Despite all of my training with the Seekers, I still shivered in wariness as the man looked me over.
The man dropped to his knees, his glowing eyes observed me like a lab rat.
I glared at him with all of my might, but the man merely chuckled. "You certainly are intelligent, Ms. Moore. I can see why he is interested in you." He commented. "It's a shame that you oppose my organization. You would have made an excellent agent."
I clenched my teeth in anger. "I would never work for you, not after you took everything away from me!"
It seemed that my hatred for the man only amused him. "You allow your emotions to control you too much. If you were to let go of them, imagine the potential you could gain. You would truly bring peace to this world."
I snarled at his ridiculous statement. "Your pal, Shadow, is the one who cuts off fingers at the slight hint of disobedience, and you say that I'm the one with emotional issues? Do you really think that by losing the one thing that makes us human, a person could bring peace? Look at your organization; look at all the lives it has taken. That's not peace, that's genocide!"
The Phantom leader didn't even flinch at my outburst.
Instead, he reached for my neck, and swiftly ripped off the simple silver necklace. He twirled it in his hands as he studied it under the glaring light.
All the while, it just pissed me off even more.
"This is a worthless responsibility that you have put on yourself. Even after all these years, you still carry your mother's necklace?" The Phantom leader started, and shook his head before proceeding. "I remember your parents. Nothing significant about them, but they were hard working civilians. At least, that's what strangers would think. You and I, however, both know the truth behind their facades."
I didn't respond to his statement. Instead, I merely glared at him with all of my might.
"All those years ago, your parents certainly took on a dangerous pass time. They became very active in the politics of the time. Didn't they even, dare I say it, help form the Seekers?"
Once again, I stayed quiet.
Apparently, the Phantom leader didn't mind, for he continued. "They certainly became very busy after that. They didn't have much time for you or your brother. Isn't that why your brother always did whatever he could just to get your attention?" He paused as he stared at me expectantly.
I felt an eye twitch as the man started to hit sensitive nerves.
Either he was oblivious or just didn't care, but the man continued. "As your parents rose in power and popularity, so did their ambition to take us down. With their inspiring words and dedication, the Seekers were born, and my organization faced several assaults from them. They were like a pest that would never go away." He dryly said.
I took my chances and made another sassy remark. "I'm sorry they didn't kick your ass to the next century."
"Oh, but they did." The Phantom leader bluntly acknowledged. "I wasn't down for long, though. You know what I'm talking about. It was
a year later on that faithful day that I personally gave the order for their assassination. You were just a teenager at the time. We never did anticipate your brother's presence. Shame that he had to die along with them."
All I saw was red as my nerves finally snapped and I yelled out in anger.
I tried to move towards the man, but unfortunately, my bounds prevented me from moving more than a centimeter from where I was. "I'LL KILL YOU!" I screamed. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
"Hate me all you want, Agent Moore, but they got in my way. Individuals who do that all share the same fate," the leader replied cruelly. "You too share the guilt of their deaths. Remember your first mission with the Seekers? What was it like to have to kill your own family members?"
"They weren't my family!" I shouted. "You turned them into monsters!"
I shut my eyes tightly to fight back the heartbreaking memories that threatened to break free of their mental cage.
"Hardly," the Phantom leader replied. "They were improved for our purposes."
"The purpose of what? Gaining world domination at the expense of human freedom?" I said.
"Each society has a built-in hierarchy. Those who are smart enough to extract it will succeed. We're merely doing what nature had intended. Even your Seeker organization has one. The higher ranked agents are considered to be Warriors, Guardians, Assassins, etc… The rest, just like yourself, are considered to be of the lower ranks. You're not important to the Seekers; they found you so weak that they assigned a Guardian to look after you."
My eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What do you know about my Guardian?" I asked.
He chuckled. "Oh, I know a lot more about him than you do."
I was about to ask him how, but the man got up, and shined my mother's necklace in the light.
He shook his head. "The sense of finding comfort in material goods is a waste of time. Instead of mourning the past, you have to focus on the future. 'Never let anything stand between you and your mission's goal'; isn't that what the Seekers taught you?"
I stayed silent.
The Phantom leader shook his head again in disapproval. "And here I was so sure that you of all people would understand that moral."
At that remark, I snapped. "What do you know about morals? All you care about is gaining power, even if it means taking away our freedom to get it. You know nothing about being human, even if the answer was right in your face." I paused as I took the time to observe his reaction.
When he showed none, I continued. "You would never understand what it's like to be free, and to show love for the ones you care about. You're a monster!"
Silence filled the room as it enveloped it in an eerie atmosphere. "Is that so?"
I shuffled nervously as he knelt in front of me. "I believe it's time that I've let you in on a little secret."
He then pressed his lips against my ear and whispered.
My eyes widened in shock, the blood in my veins felt like it turned to ice. My vision then became red with fury, and my heart accelerated like a running train speeding down its tracks.
The combined reactions caused my entire body to shake uncontrollably to the point where I would have fallen over if I wasn't already on the ground.
I wanted to scream, to claw at the monster's face in front of me for daring to commit such an inhumane and horrific crime. He's alive, I thought in disbelief. He's alive…
The Phantom leader smirked in amusement, and cocked his head. "Do you really know who I am, Agent Moore?" He asked again.
Before I could reply, the man harshly grabbed my face and forced me to look at him.
For the first time ever, I finally had a good look at his illuminated face, although what I saw took me completely by surprise.
The man regarded me with a knowing smirk.
I stared back in shock. He had his eyes.
Chapter 32: Family Ties
"NO!" I screamed. "IT CAN'T BE!"
"Oh, but it is." The Phantom leader replied calmly.
"No!" I repeated. "He's not like you; he's different!"
"I made him; he is my own flesh and blood." The Phantom leader said. "He may work for the Seekers, but as the expression goes: 'like father, like son.'"
I shook my head in defiance. "You may be his father, but he is most certainly not like you. He actually values human life, unlike you. Whenever you were mentioned, he always cringed at the thought."
The Phantom leader tossed his cigarette to the side. "I'm not surprised about that." He simply replied. "However, I hold more control over his life than even he knows. He will do as I say, or else."
"Or else what?" I said, though I dreaded the answer.
The man chuckled briefly. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that. His problems will 'cool' over if he does exactly what I say."
It took a moment for my brain to connect the dots, and when it did, my eyes widened as I realized what he was talking about. "You're a monster!" I shouted.
The man chuckled once more, as if amused by my anger. "It seems that you know about my former wife. She never did agree with my ideologies about the future. She even reacted the way you are now."
I huffed. "For good reason, you psychopath. You're the one who wants to bring Armageddon!"
The Phantom leader stared at me, his glowing eyes swirled as if deep in contemplation. "No…" he trailed. "I'm bringing peace."
He stood up, and leaned against the wall to get comfortable. "I believe that if humans didn't exist, than this world would be close to perfect. This matter has no true right or wrong answer because everyone has their own point of view of what is perfect and not."
The man pushed himself off the wall, and started pacing carelessly around the tiny cell. "Without a doubt, humans allow their better judgment to be clouded by their emotions. Their only concerns are for themselves; every human being has evil within their hearts, but there is still potential for something pure. That's why I'm here; to put an end to the corruption of mankind in order to release the true serenity that this world deserves."
My face scrunched up in confusion as I wondered if I heard him correctly. "Peace?" I asked in disbelief. "This is not peace. What you and your organization have done is further reinforce the corruption. As humans, we're all different. If people learned to accept the differences, then there would be fewer wars over money, religion, and power. There would be a unity of understanding and equal ground." My eyes then softened slightly. "Humans are born with free will and the ability to be who we can be. You don't need to kill in order to restore order."
The Phantom leader was silent for a few minutes as he carefully reflected on my words.
At last, he answered. "I agree that humans are born with free will. However, it's because of this free will that misguided choices have been followed which often lead to unnecessary bloodshed. I admire your faith in humanity, however, that ideology is completely naive. Humans will never stop their corrupted ways. A higher force needs to put them in their place. That is why the Phantoms exist."
The man knelt down once more, and looked directly into my eyes.
I still couldn't get over the fact of his resemblance with him…
The Phantom leader hummed in thought. "I'm afraid that there's no other solution to this dire problem. Domination is the only solution."
"I don't believe that!" I said firmly. "There's got to be another way; one without bloodshed."
"And that is exactly why your parents died." The Phantom leader replied bluntly. "They paid the ultimate price for trying to defend such a disgusting species. Shadow will ensure that my son accepts our offer. If he refuses to cooperate, then I'll kill him."
I sneered at the Phantom leader in disgust. "Jeesh, most parents just ground their kids." I said.
The Phantom merely raised an eyebrow at me. "By now you should realize that I'm not exactly a 'normal' father. Shadow is a far more faithful agent, however, he's not natural. I want my son."
Both of my eyebrows rose up to my forehead. "What do you mean by no
t natural? He was ripped out from his mother or something?"
The Phantom leader hummed in amusement. "I wasn't aware that you enjoyed Shakespearean plays," he commented. "No he was not 'ripped out' from his mother. In fact, he doesn't have any parents. He's my, how should I say it, replacement of a son until my real one joins."
My eyes widened. "Yikes, no wonder Shadow is a sadistic bastard. You're just using him to get your son back. Why the hell is he still working for you?"
"Who says that he's aware of that?" The leader replied. "It's a need-to-know basis. I want the real deal, not a clone."
I snorted. "Good luck with that. He doesn't seem to be the type of person who can be taken down easily. And the Seekers are always prepared for an attack by your organization."
"Quite true." He said.
He took out a pocket watch to check the time, before quickly placing it back in his pocket.
He turned to me. "It has been a pleasure talking with you, Agent Moore. Perhaps we can continue this conversation another time." The leader said.
He tilted his head in a salute, and left the cell.
The door shut behind him with a loud slam, and I was alone in the darkness once more.
________________________________________
An undistinguished murmur interrupted the dense silence. "Rachel?" A voice whispered clearly.
I opened my eyes a bit as I tried to pinpoint where the sound came from.
"Rachel?" The voice said again slightly louder.
The door suddenly opened, and I was once again blinded by the glaring light from outside.
A figure covered in numerous cloaks came in.
Once my vision adjusted to the increased light, I looked up to observe it.
"Rachel? Are you alright?" The figure said.
My eyes widened as I couldn't believe who it was. "John?" I whispered as I tried to keep my excitement at bay.
"It's all right, Rachel. I'm going to get you out of here." John leaned down, and cut the bounds that held my hands together.
I let out a half gasp, half laugh as I was overcome with joy at the sight of John. He must have received my signal.
Not being able to help myself, I threw my arms around John, and hugged him tightly.