The Phoenix Blade: Project Justice

by Andrew Hess

  I thought about the Benefactor’s proposal. We could do some good in the world for a change, but at the same time I could lose everything I love.

  Chapter 5

  The Benefactor scurried to his private office. It was his sanctum; one that very few people knew about. It looked like an old log cabin you would find in the woods, but this hidden by trees and dirt roads; making it feel like the middle of nowhere in Baltimore. This was where he felt most comfortable and helped keep his personal life separate from his business.

  He entered the large glass doors and nodded to his busty blond secretary as he passed; talking quietly on the phone as he removed a small silver key from a chain around his neck. He slid a wooden panel aside and used the key to unlock a metal door.

  His office was dark, but like the exterior, reminded him of his days hunting in the woods with his family when he was younger. The shelves were lined with books about War and politics; giving him insight into the great minds that once protected the country. A large mahogany desk sat in front of the window with the curtains drawn; letting a soft glow from the sun peak its way in.

  “Are you still there,” he asked into a small cell phone that clung to his ear as he approached the desk.

  “Yes,” said the man on the other end. His voice quivering as he replied.

  “Good, I need the numbers.” The Benefactor pulled the leather chair away from the desk and sat down as he pulled open the top drawer and removed a notepad and pen.

  “Are you sure you want to go through with this?

  The Benefactor looked at his Armani watch nervously. “Our investors will be here any minute and the first recruits have been contacted. There’s no turning back now.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “Just make sure those transactions go through undetected,” the Benefactor snapped. “We don’t need anyone catching on to what we’re planning. All of us have something to lose.”

  The Benefactor hung up the phone and turned his computer on. A picture of a man with grey hair stood in a suit with his arm around a pale woman with auburn hair and a small boy that bared a resemblance to the man in the picture. He pulled up the files marked Project Justice and sent them to the printer.

  He buzzed the intercom three times; alerting his secretary of his urgency to see her. The door slowly opened; revealing the tall busty blond from the front desk. She sashayed into the room wearing a tight white half buttoned blouse and short red skirt that left little to the imagination.

  “Yes sir. You wanted to see me.”

  “Joyce, I need the conference room set up immediately and the papers from the printer placed at every seat.”

  “Is there anything I can do for you after that,” she said seductively while leaning a hand gently on the front of the desk.

  “Hold all my calls. I don’t want any disruptions.”

  Joyce leaned over the desk; letting her breasts come down to his eye level and grabbed his hand.

  “I’ll get right on that.” She sauntered out of the room; letting her hips sway from side to side.

  “Oh and Joyce… I want to see you in my office after the meeting.” He cleared his throat loudly. “I’ll be conducting your performance review.”

  She looked back and smiled at the Benefactor before closing the door. He waited to hear the click of the door shutting before reaching for his phone.

  “Agent Fields here,” the voice said as the call connected.

  “It’s me. Did you get the file I sent over?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Good. I need you to deliver that along with the care package to the address I sent you. I need you there by tonight and be very discrete.”

  “I’ll be there in two hours. I won’t let you down.”

  The Benefactor hung up the phone immediately as the buzzer from the intercom echoed loudly in the office.

  “Sir, I wanted to let you know your guests have arrived.”

  “Send them to the conference room. I’ll be there shortly.”

  The Benefactor looked at his computer screen and found a new email from someone called the Principle. He opened it; finding three sets of numbers. He printed them out and exited his office; finding the door to the conference room wide open.

  There were a dozen men in well-dressed suits sitting at a glossy golden brown table.

  “My friends, you know why we’re here; so let’s get down to business. The first recruits have been contacted for Project Justice. One of our assets will be delivering their first mission and supplies tonight. This will be a costly project, but will benefit the country in the end. If you would kindly open your files, you will see our current expenses and future expenditures. All money will be allocated to an offshore account which will be monitored by our own personal accountant. Any questions?”

  The group shook their heads no as they watched the Benefactor walk around the room. As he turned to take a seat at the front of the table a handle rose into the air.

  “With all due respect, why were these recruits chosen?”

  “Pardon me?”

  “I mean, none of them have military training or combat training. So why were they chose?”

  “If this fails, it fails because of them. If they get caught, who would believe them when they say the government made them do it. It’s why the first mission is set for Mr. Lancaster to get revenge for his mother’s death. It will solidify them to our cause.”

  Chapter 6

  It was my worst fear was confirmed. Someone finally told me the one thing I knew in my heart; my mother was murdered.

  A few months after my mother’s death, my father started dating a woman by the name of Mona Jenkins. At the time, she was a woman in her late thirties with long blond hair. Her clothes were designer made and make-up was perfectly done; highlighting her features as if she was a model walking off the set of a photo shoot. She married my dad within a year and forcefully took over our lives; barking orders at Steven and me as if we were her servants instead of step-children.

  I was thankful when I graduated high school. I was thankfully accepted at the University of Buffalo. It was lonely up there, but it became home quickly. Steven couldn’t wait to escape Mona either. He chose to go to a local community college while working for Chase. They paid him well; which he saved and moved out on his own by the time he was nineteen.

  My mind was made up. I wanted to know the truth, but at what cost? Mike and Lilly were stuck in the middle of this due to my demented thoughts. How could I ask them to do this? How could I ask them to help me kill people?

  Mike has always been like another brother to me. We met the first day of high school and bonded over watching pro wrestling. We were the class clowns; making jokes during class, convinced the teacher to let us run the class, and even took our final wearing giant sombreros for our computer science class. Despite the great memories we shared, he was there for me when my mom died; cheering me up, getting me drunk, and spent hours hanging out at pool halls with me until they closed for the night.

  Lilly was a different story. We didn’t do anything reckless or dangerous. Instead, we sat at her house watching movies. I met her two months before my mother’s accident. She became my rock. We spent several nights on her porch; staring at the stars in the sky. I didn’t need anything but her to feel at peace, but I never found the right time to tell her. I was always afraid of risking our friendship on the chance of us dating.

  But now everything has changed. The Benefactor’s call was about to turn our lives upside down. The chance to tell her how I felt vanished before my very eyes.

  I watched the clock; eagerly waiting for someone to arrive. My heart slowed to a crawl with every passing minute. Until finally; there was a loud knock on the door.

  Chapter 7

  I stood in front of the peeling white door; feeling the cold draft blow on the tiled floor beneath my bare feet.

  “Who-who is it,” I asked with a quiver in my voice.

  There
was no answer. Maybe he thought no one was home and walked away I thought. But knocking continued moments later. I reached for the fake gold handle and opened the door. An instant wave of cold slammed into my body; making my skin feel like I had been outside for an hour with no coat on.

  “Get in quickly,” a man’s voice said in a hushed tone. My guest was average height with bright blond hair. His suit tried hard to remain pressed, but had little wrinkles on the white sleeves and black pants.

  “Can I help you,” I asked.

  “Mr. Lancaster I presume.” The man stood in front of the door with a black briefcase. He waited for me to nod yes before reaching into the inside of his suit jacket. “I am Special Agent Fields with the FBI.”

  My heart was beating faster than a snare drum after someone called for a drum roll. Was he the man the Benefactor told me about, or was he here to arrest me?

  “Uh, how can I help you?”

  I held out the briefcase. “The Benefactor sent me here to give you this.” I reluctantly took the case from him. “This is everything you’ll need to know for your first mission.”

  “But I didn’t agree to..”

  He waived me off instantly. “None of that matters to me. The information in that briefcase is classified. I suggest you look it over before he contacts you again.”

  Agent Fields opened the door and vanished from the doorstep as if he fell through a hole. The cold air hit me hard again; sending a shiver down my entire body. I looked around for any sign of Agent Fields, but could not see anything but a parking lot full of cars.

  I closed the door and hurried upstairs; nearly tripping over the last step as leaped up two steps at a time in anticipation of learning the truth about my mother’s death.

  I opened the briefcase; finding five manila folders piled on top of each other in a neat pile. A black divider kept them in place; leaving room for three new licenses and cell phones.

  The first file was a single sheet of white paper. The typed words were bold and told me how serious the Benefactor was.

  Mr. Lancaster;

  The information in this file is highly classified. You have been recruited to serve your country. Do not take this lightly. You and your friends wanted to make the world a better place and here is your chance. You will receive evidence proving what the targets are guilty of; evidence that is inadmissible in court. Each target must be eliminated without hesitation or it could cost you your lives.

  The Benefactor

  I threw down the file; wanting to throw up at the thought of killing another human being. I joked about the world being a better place without all the evil people being in it, but never wanted to be the person that had to kill them. We were quickly becoming pawns; mercenaries for some politician’s hidden agenda. Was I ready for this?

  The next file caught my attention before I could think about making my decision. A black and white photo was sticking out of the second file. I pulled the picture and saw an old burned up Honda on its roof. I opened the folder and found several pictures of the car that once belonged to my mother. There were scattered car parts all over Sunrise Highway; a picture of the chard inside after the body was removed.

  I couldn’t contain myself. A tear droplet fell from my cheek; landing on the last picture.Then I saw it. A handwritten note pinned to the back of the folder.

  Andrew, your first mission will be to obtain revenge for your mother’s death. You will eliminate her murderers; Kenneth and Mona Lancaster.

  Chapter 8

  I sat there in silence. I couldn’t speak. I don’t think I even knew the words to express how I was feeling at that moment. My hands balled into fists; crumbling the paper in my grasp. I wanted to drive down to Long Island that night and rip their heads off, but I couldn’t; know yet.

  I forced myself to continue reading the papers that lined the manila folder. The next was a copy of the police report. I skimmed through it; ignoring the minor details and looking for what caused the accident. There was nothing on the first page telling me anything more than it being a tragic car accident with the victim being stuck inside as the car caught fire.

  “I know all of this already,” I whispered as if the paper could talk back. I flipped to the next page and found a report from a crime scene analyst.

  The car was towed to the Bayshore Auto Center for a mechanic’s opinion. According to the mechanic, the rear axle seemed to be broken before the car spun out of control. In fact, it may very well have been the cause. There were remnants of a sticky substance on the end of it as if someone kept it in place with duct tape or some other temporary solution. The passenger side rear tire had very low air pressure in it. Upon closer examination, there was a small hole in the tire; causing a small leak. This was no accident. Someone tampered with the car prior to the crash.

  There were almost half a dozen pages containing information regarding the accident. Some were from crime scene reporters others from detectives, but then I found what I was looking for.

  One of the detectives had made a notation in his notepad which was copied and posted into the file.

  I met with Mr. Lancaster today; he was very uncooperative upon questioning on his whereabouts the night before and the day of the possible homicide. Further questioning is required and a possible search warrant needed. Mr. Lancaster remains the primary suspect at this time.

  Someone knew he was behind it. The evidence was in front of them, but somehow he managed to weasel his way out of being a suspect and make them believe it was an accident. I just didn’t know how.

  The next two pages felt like a slap in the face. The first was a copy of a calendar entry; listing a job interview with Mr. Lancaster. I found it odd at first, but the second page answered nearly every question I had.

  It was a new report entry from one of the detectives.

  There is new evidence that supports a defect in the vehicle. The husband’s alibis have confirmed his whereabouts during the nights in question. He left for a business convention two nights prior to the investigated time frame, and did not return until after the time of death occurred. Mr. Lancaster is being removed from the suspect list and closing the investigation.

  The rage built up inside me like a volcano about to erupt. There was only one more page listed in the file. I didn’t want to read anymore. I was sick to my stomach. I wanted nothing more than to hurt them as much as they hurt our family. But there was one final note I needed to read.

  Andrew, I located the lead detective from your mother’s case, and had my people personally interrogate him. We attained the information privately which led to the Intel provided. We also procured his employment history at your father’s company. His official start date was a year after your mother’s murder; however he was listed on Mr. Lancaster’s payroll the day after the interview. The former detective is currently in our custody and confessed to the cover up. Everything has been kept off record up to this point and the decision to move forward is entirely up to you. I will call you soon in regards to the mission

  The Benefactor

  As I read the last lines of the note, a loud ring came from my computer; letting me know there was a new message. I turned the screen on and found an email with the subject Project Justice; reply yes or no.

  I knew if I replied no we risked going to jail, but none of that mattered. There was only one thing I wanted; revenge.

  Chapter 9

  The emails were engrained in my head. Thinking my father was responsible made my blood boil. How could he do such a thing to someone he claimed to have loved?

  `My hands trembled as I reached for the phone. A sense of repulsion and anger flowed through my veins making me double over; clutching at the stabbing pain in the pit of my stomach. I closed my eyes, tried to breathe, but all I could do was cry.

  I sent a text to Mike and Lilly; telling them how a FBI agent appeared at my door; how serious these men were and finally about who killed my mother.

  I’m here for you bro. I got you
r back; whatever you need. Mike kept his words short and sweet. If we were still being monitored, he didn’t want other people to know how he really felt.

  I sat in silence for a half hour. The quiet apartment no longer felt like a sanctuary to me. Instead, it felt like a cage holding me back from doing what I needed to. It took my phone’s loud obnoxious ringtone to bring me back to reality.

  “Hey Drew,” Lilly’s soft sweet voice said as I answered the phone. “How are you holding up?”

  “Did you get my texts?”

  “Yeah, but I think you’re going about this the wrong way.”

  “I can’t let them get away with what they did.”

  “Take the evidence the Benefactor gave you and bring it to the police. Let them handle it.”

  “I can’t. They’ll ask too many questions that I don’t have answers for. They won’t arrest them and they’ll skate by it again.”

  “So what are you gonna do; kill them? That’s not who you.”

  “Justice needs to be carried out. They need to pay for what they did. They all do.”

  “And who’s gonna do it? You have no training, no special skills, and don’t know if you can trust this Benefactor guy to help you.”

  I knew she was right, but someone needed to stand up for what was right. Someone needed to hold people accountable. That someone had to be me.

  Chapter 10

  December 23rd, the day I returned to Long Island. The day my life would change forever. I popped the trunk; leaving my apartment early in the morning. I found several black duffle bags and a glass case; leaving enough room for one last bag to be placed on top before the trunk was packed. I knew Agent Fields must have put them inside sometime the night before, but I wasn’t ready to open them; not in the open. I packed the back seat full of presents and a light blue bag that had a few clothes in it.

  I drove for several hours from Buffalo to Long Island and sat in bumper to bumper traffic on the Southern State Parkway as everyone hurried home; knowing they were about to be off for the next two days. I turned the volume knob on the radio, but found the sound crackling as the speakers cut out for the hundredth time; leaving me in gridlocked silence.

  “Come on, move it already people.” I knew shouting wasn’t going to make the cars move any faster, but I had been driving for six hours, needed sleep, and needed to see my friends before accepting the Benefactor’s offer.