The Phoenix Blade: Project Justice

by Andrew Hess

  Anthony and Tom didn’t know what to make of seeing Mike and his abrupt change of heart towards them.

  “Sounds good to me,” Tom replied.

  “Yeah, it’ll be just like old times,” Anthony continued.

  “Then it’s settled.” They exchanged numbers before Mike walked off. I could see Tom and Anthony whisper to each other; staring at Mike as he entered the crowd.

  Tom glanced towards the tall brunette again; thinking he still had a chance to score, but I knew how to stop him in his tracks. My fingers lightly touched the red square panel; gently pulling the white handle down and set off the fire alarm.

  “Not tonight boys; not ever again.”

  Chapter 28

  It felt as if my head just hit the pillow when I heard Lilly’s sweet voice echo through the halls of my mind.

  “Wake up,” she said while gently shaking my body. “C’mon, you said we needed to get up early today.” She continued shaking me until my body crashed to the floor with a loud thud.

  I grabbed the side of my head; feeling a small lump on the side where I landed. “What are you trying to do kill me?”

  “No, that’s my job,” Mike’s voice mumbled as he stumbled into the room. I heard the rustling of the duffle bags and the sound of the bed springs collapsing under Mike as he threw himself onto the mattress.

  I crawled to the bags and pulled a clean pair of shorts and tank top from the ones Lilly bought yesterday.

  “Give me a half hour to get ready.” I entered the bathroom, but could hear everything through the paper thin walls.

  “You guys got in late last night. What happened?”

  “We found them,” Mike muffled through the pillows. We’re becoming best buds again.”

  “Sounds like your plan is running smoothly.”

  I opened the bathroom door; dripping wet from the shower and peaked into the room. “Everything is on right on schedule. Now we just have to move onto phase two.”

  “Which is?”

  “We’re breaking into their house.”

  “Wait, why? I thought we were supposed to check out the buildings we saw yesterday.”

  I continued to towel off behind the bathroom door and explained how we needed to find concrete evidence that incriminates Tom and Anthony beyond what we saw last night.

  “Just let me know when I can kill them,” Mike groaned as he barely lifted his head from the pillow.

  “If all goes like I plan, you’ll have the green light by tomorrow morning. We just need a way to get you your weapons.”

  “I’ll just grab a gun like I did last night.”

  “And tell them what when they find it? We can’t have you kill them before we get there, and you can’t kill them in public.”

  Mike looked at me suspiciously. “What are you planning?”

  “You need to convince them to bring you back to their house tonight.” I unveiled my plan of killing Tom and Anthony before going after the Governor.

  “You better find something,” Mike began. “Or they won’t be the only ones I kill tomorrow.”

  “Nah, you wouldn’t have much fun without me,” I replied while pulling the rifle’s scope from the bag.

  “Yeah, plus I’d have to answer to someone else.” Mike nodded towards Lilly as she bent down to get the camera.

  Lilly quickly looked up to see Mike staring at her. “And who would that be?”

  “No one, he was just messing around.” I put a hand on Lilly’s back; ushering her out the door. “We should get going.” I shot Mike a dirty look as we exited the room in which he responded with a smile before putting his head back on the pillow and fell back asleep.

  Chapter 29

  Lilly and I pulled up in front of the olive green house I found last night; belonging to Tom and Anthony. The house appeared bigger in the daylight; no longer hidden by the night sky and lack of street lights.

  I pulled open the glove box and pulled out the scanner. “Keep this on. We don’t need any nosey neighbors screwing this up for us.”

  Lilly pursed her lips together and kept her focus on the windshield. Her hand reached out; pulling the scanner from my hand.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  I laced my fingers with hers; brining her attention to me. “I know it’s dangerous, but we’re sending Mike in alone tonight. We need to know what he’s dealing with and where to meet him in the morning.”

  She knew I was right. We couldn’t sit around wasting time until we eliminated our targets. I exited the Malibu and ran across the street finding a tall white fence; keeping on lookers from seeing the beautiful backyard.

  As I reached up to unlock the gate, my eyes locked onto multiple windows on the side of the house. I pressed my body against the green siding and cautiously made my way to the back of the house; finding a brick patio leading to the back door with a makeshift bar sitting next to sliding glass doors. The rest of the backyard was spacious; fitting three long tables and several chairs set ten feet away from a silver barbecue. Further back had two black metal benches underneath trees; facing a mini waterfall and a pond.

  I was in complete awe of their house; thinking this would be the type of home I wanted to share with my future wife, but for now it would have to be a statement of our revolution.

  I looked back at the sliding glass doors; thinking if there was any chance of getting inside this was it. My hand reached for the grey handle; finding the door unlocked and hearing the whooshing sound as the glass moved aside.

  The kitchen had a white tiled floor; leading to the main hallway. I peered around the corner; finding nothing but four doorways and hardwood floors. I walked through quietly; checking each room as I passed until I reached the guest bedroom at the end of the hall.

  It was smaller than the rest of the bedrooms. There was a thirty two inch TV plastered against the wall with an old dresser pressed underneath it. There was only one window in the room; found next to the bed and overlooked the white gate.

  I quickly returned to one of the larger bedrooms; finding a queen sized bed sitting on dark purple carpets. The matching curtains were drawn over the windows; blocking any light from entering the room. My hand groped the wall; finding the switch a few inches from the door. It clicked on and helped me find a dresser and nightstand located near the bed.

  I ripped through the drawers; finding nothing but clothes, socks, and underwear.

  “Great, I’ve been in here for twenty minutes and can’t find anything linking them to the rapes.” I wanted to give up; thinking maybe last night was a coincidence, but that wouldn’t be good enough for Mike.

  I entered the final bedroom; finding a king sized bed with a sky blue comforter. There were two dressers on opposite sides of the room and a walk in closet next to them. I threw open the first set of drawers on the closest dresser; finding lace undergarments, tight revealing negligees and garter belts.

  “Shit, someone else lives here.”

  I hurried to the other dresser; throwing the clothes on the floor until I found a little black box with two small cylinders inside. I knew what they were and didn’t want them to use those on anyone else. I poured out the liquid from the cylinders into the sink across the hall and filled them back up with water.

  As I placed them back in the box and fixed the clothes, I felt a vibration from my pocket.

  “Lilly, what’s wrong?”

  “A red Cobalt just pulled up with a tall brunette inside. She’s heading for the front door right now.”

  I could hear the keys jingling in the living room. There was no time to get to the guest room or get back to the kitchen. There was only one way to get away without being seen. I dropped to my knees and slid underneath the king sized bed as the woman’s heels tapped against the wooden floor as she made her way through the house.

  My head just cleared the comforter as a pair of ruby red pumps entered the room; resting inches from my face.

  “I just got home,” the woman said sweetl
y. “Do you want to stay in or go out for dinner tonight?” I didn’t know who she was talking to or how much time I had before they got home too. “I’ll put some chicken on the side for later. What time are you and Anthony coming home? Okay, I love you.”

  The woman turned on her heel and entered the kitchen. The clicks of her shoes hitting the wood and tiled floors told me where she was. I wouldn’t have the chance to get out; not yet. I moved slowly to inch my way towards the edge of the bed; ready to make a run when possible. There was a loud thud; most likely her closing the freezer, taking the chicken out and putting it on the counter.

  The ruby red shoes entered the room; stopping five feet from the edge of the bed. She kicked them off; displaying her freshly painted pink toenails. She moved closer to the bed; dropping her grey skirt to the floor covering her tan bare feet. Her pink thong fell to the floor; landing inches from my face. The woman stepped away from the pile of clothes and walked towards the front of the house.

  I could hear water splashing into the base of the tub. It was my chance to make a run for it. I pushed myself out from under the bed; creeping towards the bathroom until I was able to peer around the corner.

  The woman was a tall brunette; looking somewhat familiar at a glance. Her tan naked body stood on a towel covering another white tiled floor as stepped into a Jacuzzi sized bathroom tub. I jumped to the other side of the door; making sure the woman entered the tub and headed for the front door.

  Lilly stared at me as I reached the car; panting from the brisk run. “What took you so long?”

  “I hid under the bed until it was clear. And I…kinda…caught a strip show.” I laughed but Lilly didn’t seem to find it funny.

  “What are you talking about?”

  I tried to launch into my explanation; telling her what I found and the layout of the house until the woman arrived. But as I began telling her of last ten minutes, her eyes squinted and was biting the inside of her cheek.

  “Never mind, spare me the details. What did you do to the evidence?” Lilly turned the ignition and began driving.

  “It’s gone now, but we need to get back on schedule.”

  Lilly shot me a dirty look before returning her focus to the road. I knew this was going to be a long day.

  Chapter 30

  Lilly and I returned to the motel room as the sun set; finding Mike buried face down in a pillow with the sheets pulled up around his neck.

  Lilly brushed her hand on the back of Mike’s head. “Wake up sleepy head.” Her voice was sweet and soothing, but did not wake Mike up.

  “Yo, wake your ass up,” I shouted while kicking the bed.

  He let out a deep agitated moan as he raised his head. “What the hell man? You couldn’t wake me up nicer?”

  “I tried but you wouldn’t move,” Lilly exclaimed.

  “Besides, it wouldn’t have been much.” I watched Mike roll to his side and pull the covers back. “We need to go over what we found before you get ready.”

  I took out the camera and showed him the pictures of the buildings nearby the Governor’s Mansion. There were several houses a few blocks away, but appeared to be too far of a shot. Mike clicked back and forth; cycling through the photos until he stumbled on one he liked.

  “How far away was this one?” Mike pointed to a picture of a brick building with a red awning.

  “It’ll be hard to access. It’s a store front that’s sitting behind a barricade of trees. It’ll be nearly impossible to take the shot from there.”

  “Maybe not.” Mike stared at the picture and devised a plan in his head; nodding every minute as if agreeing with himself. “If we park by that building and jump the wall, I can climb one of those trees and take the shot.”

  “We can’t take that risk. You’ll be out in the open and only a block away from his office.”

  “It’s the best shot we have.” Mike checked out the camera and looked up momentarily. “What happened at the house?”

  “They had a few vials of some kind of clear liquid in a black box in their dressers. I disposed of them.”

  “Great, what’s the plan?”

  “Get them to bring you back to their house tonight. There’s a guest bedroom with a window just above a white gate. I need you to be there and ready by eight tomorrow morning. I’ll be there in the morning with everything you need.”

  Mike stood up and handed me a duffle bag filled with his thirty eight caliber, rope, duct tape, and his sword which rested in between the handles.

  “This should do. Is there anything else I should know?”

  “Someone else lives with them; a woman. I believe she’s Tom’s girlfriend.” We watched as Lilly crossed her arms and entered the bathroom; slamming the door shut.

  Mike shrugged off Lilly’s outburst and refocused on his questions. “What did the girl look like?”

  “I never had a chance to see her face.” I described how I had to hide under the bed until she got undressed and went in to take a bath.

  Mike couldn’t contain his laughter. “So that’s why Lilly’s upset.” He had an ear to ear smile on his face. “At least one good thing came from all of this.”

  “Yeah, we know the layout of their house.”

  “No, now you know how she feels about you.”

  It felt as if someone smacked me upside the head with a book. Everything finally made sense to me; Lilly refusing to let us go on the missions alone, the way she looked at me in the bar, and her jealous reaction to the woman inadvertently stripping in front of me. It was a great feeling to know the truth, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

  “You need to get ready. We leave in a few hours.”

  Mike smirked as he exited the room; giving me a moment to breathe. I knew there was one last thing to do before setting the plan into motion. I needed to call the Benefactor.

  I was met by his calm bold voice. “Good evening Mister Lancaster. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “The plan is a go for tomorrow morning. We’re hitting Tom and Anthony’s house at eight and gunning for the Governor immediately after.”

  “Splendid, that’ll put us ahead of schedule. I’ll dispatch my men and have them meet you in the morning. They’ll take care of any loose ends”

  Chapter 31

  Mike walked into the sky blue lit bar at ten that night and hid in the shadows as he followed Tom and Anthony. He didn’t trust them and had no one inside to watch his back, but that wouldn’t deter him from his mission.

  “Two nights in a row,” a woman’s voice said as she passed by. It was the tall brunette he met the night before.

  “Anna, right?”

  “You remembered.”

  “Of course; you made quite an impression last night.”

  “As I recall, you were the one putting the moves on me.” Anna swirled the last of her drink around in her glass. “I guess it’s my turn to buy you a drink.”

  Mike smiled; thinking there was something special about this woman; something he wished he could explore. “I guess one couldn’t hurt.”

  They walked back towards the bar. Mike wanted to keep Anna out of Tom’s sight; knowing he would try to go after her again like he did the night before. He knew Andrew emptied the vials he found at the house, but there was no telling if Tom and Anthony had any more lying around.

  “So you never told me why you’re in town.”

  “Mostly business.”

  “What kind?”

  “I wish I could tell ya, but it’s not something I can talk about.”

  “Oh a mystery man; I like that.” Anna signaled for the bartender; catching the attention of the woman behind the bar. “Can I get another vodka cranberry and a beer for my friend?”

  Mike could feel someone watching him from a distance. He quickly turned to see Tom staring at him with his head slightly tilted to the side.

  “So what was with your friend last night?”

  “I wouldn’t really call him my friend. We used to be acquaintanc
es, but we have some issues to work through.”

  “Well, from what I saw he’s a creep.”

  Mike laughed and wanted to tell Anna how she would never have to see Tom again. He felt strangely comfortable around her as if they had known each other for years.

  “Unfortunately, he’s here tonight. I have to finish up my business with him and his friend.”

  “My offer still stands. Give me a call when you ditch the creep.” Anna leaned in; kissing Mike gently on his lips before walking off with her drink.

  It was a spark Mike hadn’t felt in years, but couldn’t focus on. Mike spotted Tom and Anthony glancing back from the dance floor. He hid his hatred as he walked towards them.

  “Seems like you were having a good night,” Tom smirked as he looked around for Anna. “What happened; you stuck out?”

  “Yeah, she couldn’t my sexiness so I had to let her go.” Mike looked around the bar with a fake smile on his face. “Let’s have some fun boys.”

  Chapter 32

  I came back to the hotel after dropping Mike off at the bar. Lilly was sliding under the sheets in her plaid shorts and black tank top as I entered the room.

  “Hey, I just wanted to let you know I’m back.” I started backing out of the room but hesitated.

  “Wait, where are you going?”

  “I figured I’d take Mike’s room since he’s out for the night. I think we both need to get some sleep before tomorrow.”

  “I was kinda hoping you would stay here tonight. Maybe we could talk for a bit.”

  I took one look in her eyes and couldn’t resist. “Sure, what did you have in mind?” I closed the door and moved closer to the bed.

  “I wanted to see how you were doing.”

  “I’m fine,” I replied.

  “No, I mean how are you; really?” Lilly took my hand in hers; inching closer to me on the bed. “You just killed two people and one of them was your dad. I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now.”

  There was anger building up inside. I didn’t want to talk about how it felt to kill them, because I didn’t know how I felt. There was still rage burning inside. Their deaths couldn’t cure the anger and hatred that was now boiling through my veins.