Phantom Keys: The Story Begins

by Vernon Scott

  I saw something glistening inside the lava and decided to retrieve it. I thought about how the diamond appeared in my hand which brought about a brilliant decision. A diamond is made by subduing molecules of dirt under a large amount of heat and pressure. I called for dirt to cover my entire body. My first layer of protection from the immense heat of the volcano was a steel coat. And my final layer was made of diamond.

  I forced myself to jump into the burning lava to retrieve the glistening item which to my eyes somewhat resembled an Elementum Vox. The lava began to tear my outer layers apart one by one. By the time I reached the Elementum Vox I noticed that my layers were completely burned away, yet I survived. I should have realized that since I’ve mastered my power over fire, it would no longer burn me. Once I grabbed the Elementum Vox I some how was back at the mouth of the volcano. I looked down at my hand to see them glowing red. The volcano that I created somehow lowered to the ground and disappeared. All of the images around me began to get blurry and fade away. It was as if two realities were beginning to mix themselves. I turned around and saw that I was in the same spot that I was in when my mother brought Gigi and I to this world the first time. I turned back around and got the surprise of my life.

  …

  I saw Giovanni wearing a blue robe standing on a huge bolder with a face that spoke of great dignity and responsibility. As I looked at him, the ground beneath my feet began to rise but this time without me manipulating it in any way.

  I was now eye level to Gigi. “Giovanni, what’s up with the robe?”

  “I was going to ask you the same thing,” he replied. I looked down and saw that I was wearing a red robe. It actually looked stylish but it wasn’t for me at all.

  “Hello, my children,” said mother and Mrs. Chambers in unison.

  “You two are now officially guardians of this realm,” said mother. “You, Giovanni, have conquered all of your abilities, the power over water, wind, ice, and thunder. As for you, Gwendolyn, you’ve conquered all of your abilities as well, your power to manipulate fire, earth, metal, and crystal. From this day forward we are equals in this world.”

  “Mother not to seem as if I’m not grateful,” I said, “when do I get to leave because I truly miss Marcus?”

  “You shall leave momentarily,” said Mrs. Chambers. “There are some things I must talk to you about. Gwen, you musn’t let your guard down at anytime because you are foremost the guardian of this realm. And Gigi, whenever your sister may call you do not feel as if the tasks at hand are not important. If you are in the middle of an important heist and Gwen needs your help, you must come to her rescue.”

  “I understand,” Giovanni and I stated in unison.

  “But I have a question,” continued Gigi, “What is the name of this realm?”

  “Oh I’m so sorry,” said mother, “I cannot believe I forgot to tell you two the name of this realm. It is Ayeguam. And Gwendolyn, I will not be sending you and your brother home this time. You must discover how to get back on your own. To be completely honest, you should know how to get home. I believe it is called instinct.”

  At that moment my mother and Mrs. Chambers left. I thought about it for a while and looked over at Gigi. As soon as I looked over at him he too disappeared. I decided to concentrate on all that my mother has told me. She said that I know how to return home based on instinct.

  I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was in Marcus’s room. In the exact spot I was standing in before I went off to improve my skills. Marcus was still in his bed sleeping. I looked at the clock and realized that only ten minutes had passed since I had left.

  Chapter 12

  Infiltrating the Enemy

  Now that I was done with my training to become a guardian, now I can prepare my first heist. I planned to do something that is quite easy. My plan was put into effect last night. The only thing left for me to do was to put everything into action.

  I drove to Chuck’s shop so I could pick up a costume that I had preordered. It was a policeman’s uniform. I was going to pose as a policeman for a while, in order to do that I needed to have a uniform.

  I had my alias covered. I was posing as a NYPD transfer officer. I was practicing law enforcement since I was sixteen. I was awarded five metals of duty by the age of nineteen. And to put at least one drastic measure into my phony transfer papers, I added that my ‘chief’ was transferring me because my longtime best friend and partner had been shot in a cross fire between myself and many gang members. For a final touch I put that the ‘Chief’ thought it would have been better for me to be away from New York or it might cause some psychological problems and affect my job performance.

  Everything was going as planned. I was expected to arrive at the station at two o’clock. I was to be welcomed by no more than ten police officers, which made it so much better for me to go through with by plan.

  I drove to Mrs. Chambers’s mask shop and picked up a special mask that I ordered. It was a fake face; well it was someone’s face but just not mine. I had thirty more minutes to get to the police station, more time than I actually needed.

  …

  I arrived at the precinct, about a block away from it to be exact. My plan was going perfectly. The ten police officers were outside waiting on my arrival. A few of them turned my way wondering why I was walking instead of taking a cab and I waved at them yelling, “Sorry guys. The cab driver had to drop me off down the street because I didn’t have enough money for the fare.”

  Seeing how they all had their attentions set on me I decided to move one to the second phase of my plan. I froze time for a while and ran to the top of the building. Noting exactly where I was standing, I threw a bottle that had a letter on the inside. So the bottle wouldn’t fall I placed it in the suspended reality as well. I then ran back to where I was standing and unfroze time. The bottle began to sway away from the designated fall point so I had to manipulate the wind a little. The bottle had then struck me across my head and I fainted while many of the officers rushed to aid me.

  My plan was going just as I planned. I had a little bit of blood flowing down my forehead once the officers arrived. I falsely regained consciousness and pointed to the top of the building yelling, “That’s the guy who’d thrown the bottle! I’m okay, get him dammit!” As they turned to see what I was pointing at, I once again froze time and ran to the top of the building. I unfroze time and made a hasty escape with five police officers running towards the building. I had then frozen time once more to return to my position on the ground.

  “Are you okay,” asked a female police officer.

  “I’m swell,” I said with sarcasm. I looked around the ground and found a letter and asked, “What’s this here, a love letter on my first day?” I opened the letter and faked an astonished face. With seriousness I said, “I must speak with the chief.”

  It was then time to move on to my final phase. Now reaching the chiefs door which read “Head Chief of the Georgia State Police Office Commander Williams”, I realize that there is no turning back, as if I would want to.

  I knocked on Commander Williams’ door and heard a husky voice say, “Come in.”

  “Hello Commander,” I said clearing my throat. “I’m DeAngelo Glen Mauntrice, I was sent here from New York.”

  The chief looked up with excitement. His excitement soon turned into dismay. “My boy, what has happened to you? Did you get into a brawl or something? I’m sorry that your first day here has been so traumatic.”

  “I’m okay sir,” I started, “It’s nothing but a scratch. I heal quickly anyways.” Reaching into my pocket I said, “Sir, I’m actually worried about you. Upon my arrival I was hit in the head by a bottle. The bottle had this note within it.” I handed him the note.

  He began to read the note aloud:

  “Dear Commander Williams, It is with great honor for me to write to such a man of your stature. I’ve heard through the grape
vine that you are a man that is not to be trifled with. To me those words are nothing but a challenge. It is as if you are challenging me to a duel, a duel that I shall win. Be prepared for I shall steal your heart on tomorrow’s night, at the stroke of midnight. Yours Truly, Phantom Keys.”

  Chapter 13

  Never Dying Trust

  I woke up to the smell of bacon cooking on the stove. I got out of bed and put on my house shoes. I walked toward the smell of food. When I walked into the kitchen I saw Gwen standing over the stove cooking. She looked magnificent. I had never tasted Gwen’s cooking before. I hope she knows how.

  “Breakfast should be ready in about three minutes Marcus,” said Gwen. “You should go wash up.”

  I did just as she asked. When I reentered the kitchen, I saw the most wonderful arrangement of food. Gwen had cooked scrambled eggs, bacon, pan cakes with fruit and syrup, oatmeal, and to complement the meal, Gwen poured me a glass of milk and a glass orange juice.

  “Gwen, this looks magnificent,” I stated in awe. “I had no idea that you knew how to cook.”

  “Of course I know how to cook. I have to do something when I get bored.” She grinned and sat down across from me. “It looks as if you don’t cook that often. Or do you clean up your kitchen very often?”

  “I cook when I have time,” I said. “But I’m grateful of the compliment. I rarely have time to clean up my house so I hired a butler. He comes and goes when ever he pleases. That might be the reason I hired him.”

  “Oh, that is interesting. Do you enjoy having a butler to take care of your home?”

  “In a way I do. I enjoy the helping hand but I’ve always been independent while growing up, even though my parents wanted me to be one of those children who waited for their inheritance. Having a butler sort of takes away some of that independence because I don’t get the chance to clean up my own home.”

  “How come you keep him around then?”

  That question was unexpected. I had never thought of that before. “Well…I really don’t know. It might be because he does a nice job.”

  She then smirked at me, “Well as long as I don’t have to fight for your attention, I guess all is well.”

  Catching on to her joke I replied, “No need to worry about that. You will have mostly all of my attention.”

  “Mostly,” she asked quizzically.

  “Someof my attention needs to go towards work,” I had then looked at the kitchen clock which read 9:45 am. “Speaking of work, I have to get ready to go to the office.” On that note, we finished our breakfast, jumped in the shower, got dressed, and left my house heading in opposite directions.

  I arrived at the office and saw that I had a client waiting. I hurried to open the door so that my client wouldn’t leave. When I unlocked the door, I entered and awaited for my client to enter. He took his time and paid close attention to the cars that passed him by. When he had finally got up the nerve to come into the office, he ran as fast as he could.

  “Is this Rivera’s Detective Agency,” asked the man. He looked frightened. He had on a black suit and was looking slightly pale.

  “Yes sir,” I answered, “how may I help you?”

  “My nephew has been kidnapped,” said the man. “I was too scared to come see you because the kidnappers left a note saying that if I didn’t pay them the sum of thirteen million dollars, they were going to kill him.”

  “When are you suppose to deliver the money?”

  “The note said within forty-eight hours and they are suppose to send me a drop-off location today at one o’clock. I have been to the police and they said they’ll do as much as they can to find the culprits. The police have no leads at the time that’s why I decided to come to you.”

  “Well sir, I feel honored that you chose me to help you in your time of crisis. I would gladly assist you in finding the persons responsible.”

  “Thank you sir. He is very special to me. His parents died in a car wreck a few years back and I have no clue what I would do if I lost him.”

  “I understand sir. Can you fill out these sheets of paper with your information?” He did as I said and quickly ran back to his vehicle.

  …

  “Gwen,” I began while talking into my cellular phone, “I have a big case today and I’ll call you when I get back in.”

  “Okay,” she replied, “make sure you stay safe. I love you.”

  “I love you too,” I said before hanging up.

  I was on my way to my client’s, Mr. Smith, house. He called me and told me that the kidnappers gave him a location. I gave my old boss, Commander Williams, a call to inform him where the transaction is said to be taking place. He said that he’ll be sending four of his best men over to the location.

  I arrived at Mr. Smith’s house. His vehicle was parked in front so I new he was in the house. He left me an earlier message saying that once I arrived the door would be unlocked and I could enter.

  I entered his house to find a scared Mr. Smith hiding behind a sofa sitting in fetal position. The kidnapping must have both made him paranoid and scared for his life.

  “Mr. Smith,” I said calmly, “It is me, Marcus Rivera. Please come from behind the couch. I need you to be brave for your nephew. The police have sent some of their best men to the location to snoop around the area; everything’s going to be okay. So can you please come from behind the sofa?” After calming down, Mr. Smith came from behind the sofa. “Thanks. Mr. Smith do you have the ransom money? We have to leave quickly because it’s almost time for the drop-off.”

  Mr. Smith hurried to his closet door and retrieved a brief case and a slip of paper. With no haste, Mr. Smith fled to the vehicle.

  Once I entered the vehicle Mr. Smith gave me a slip of paper. “This arrived in the mail today,” he said. “The location I gave you was to a mansion. It seems that the kidnappers are having some sort of formal party. They said that I was to arrive with the brief case and they were going to release my nephew Kevin once they’ve retrieved the brief case. In the letter they said that I had to leave the brief case with the doorman and he was going to put it with the hats and coats. I’m guessing that they wanted me to contact the police because on the invitation it says that I could bring another guest.”

  I sent word to the Commander and he said that he had a plan for that. We arrived shortly after the event began. It was being held at some old mansion that apparently no one lived in. We did as they had instructed. The doorman didn’t ask us for our name nor did he ask to see our invitations so we walked into the dining room which had no more than fifteen people in it. I looked around the mansion to see if I could spot any suspicious characters.

  At that moment, all of the lights went out. There was a sound of glass breaking, a rumbling noise that came from above along with a crash through the window, and I turned and saw a glistening light in front of me. Then the lights came back on. I heard a piercing scream from a woman. I turned towards the front of the dining room and saw Mr. Smith murdered.

  …

  I heard foot steps coming from the stairs. It was one of the police officers sent by Commander Smith, holding a boy in his arms that looked no older than seventeen. “State your name officer,” I said.

  “My name is officer Mauntrice,” said the officer. “I noticed a shadow in a bed room upstairs. When the power went out I heard a crash and enter the window and found this boy tied up in ropes. I believe that this is the child that was kidnapped.”

  “What is your name,” I asked the child while dismissing the officer.

  “My name is Kevin Smith.,” answered the boy. “Well my last name was Henderson but it was changed once my uncle adopted me. Where is my uncle,” he asked with fear in his voice. He looked toward the dining room, where there was a lot of mumbling. The boy ran into the room and fell out crying.

  I looked around and found the officer who brought the boy, “Officer Mauntrice, get that b
oy out of here. Take him to the precinct. And on your way there, get a forensics team out here stat!”

  “Okay,” replied Mauntrice. There was something about that guy that seemed familiar. He had a look that seemed close to someone that I knew. It is as if this was not our first time meeting.

  I turned my focus back to the crime scene, “People, you must not panic. You are not to leave this mansion because this is a crime scene and you are all suspects.”

  “What do you mean dude,” said a young looking man. “We aint did nothing wrong!”

  “I’m sorry,” I continued, “but as far as I know any one of you could have pulled this stunt. You will all be interrogated through out the night.”

  I had then looked over and found another police officer, “Can you call officer Mauntrice and tell him that he should bring the boy back here immediately. Tell him that I was not thinking straight and that I was being a little too emotional.”

  The officer nodded his head and did as I instructed. A few minutes later Mauntrice arrived with the boy at his side. The forensics team arrived shortly afterward.

  I gave them their time to examine the body and once they’d finished I took my chance at examining it. All of the party goers were being interrogated one by one in the room next door. So far all of them had the same alibi. Somehow they were invited to the house for a get together and were asked to bring someone along with them. The only thing that the suspects had in common was the fact that each person was a member of a rival company. It seems that Mr. Smith bought off many of the party goers companies and they lost their jobs. That was a clear motive for murder but no one admitted that they had a grudge against him.