Chapter 20: Wild hunt II

At the edge of the city, right in the limit of the coastal zone, stood an awfully old building. It had been a mostly ignored landmark for decades in Seagate’s westernmost region, located around a few small, barely visited beaches, and in high proximity to an extensive cliff, leading right into the cold waters. They called it the Richards-Jackson edifice.

It had twenty stories in total, to be precise. Contrasting with most other buildings around it, which in their contemporaneity could be described, at first glance, as massive prisms of glass by anyone else, the rustic-looking building right atop that cliff looked far more akin to some feudal western mansion from the pre-war period, although the same could not be said of its internal structure. The general layout on the inside had received a slightly more modern touch. The antiquated atmosphere that surrounded that building was due more to its appearance and texture than its actual multi story format.

Regardless, there it remained, frozen in time.

In spite of the fancy locks and varied security systems, the main entrance, including the bulk of the gateway leading to it, seemed just as decrepit and faded as the walls all around it, and the dusty windows lacked any kind of reflection, even at high noon. Albeit, it was truly still quite resilient, even on its own.

The inside of the building had an entirely different feeling to itself, however. Emptiness. That would be an accurate description.

Time and again, countless people would back away from the original Richards-Jackson premises, threatened by their own imagination as they dreaded whatever presence could be confined within. But in actuality, past those ominous walls one would only find airs of tedium and lethargy, quelled only by the occasional set of rushed footsteps and voices throughout the modestly lit corridors.

Not tonight, however. Tonight,  there was movement, and a lot of it. The building was not empty at all.

At last, the Phantoms had found a reason to actively mobilize.

“Boss! We’ve lost contact with squads 3C, 2C and 4B, right in the middle of the Center!”

“What?”

The pale girl got up from her chair in a jump. Jade had just barged into the large office room she’d taken for herself right at the top floor, all to give her this warning.

“It was fifteen minutes ago, ma’am. We thought it was just an error in the communications department, but when the guys down there tried to fix it, it turned out to be a total cut of contact.”

“I see.” she nodded, the right side of her lips curling up slightly.

“We thought it was just some dumb prank by squad 3C, so we sent the other two to investigate, but we lost contact with them as well! This means those guys must be either trying to defect the Phantoms, or…”

“…Or our mystery man finally showed up.”

Her mouth curled up even further, showcasing sharp teeth.

“Round up our best forces here, let them know we’ll be leaving right away. In the meantime, I want all nearby squads spread out around the Urban Center to leave their posts and head to the 3C’s site in the interior of that zone.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Jade hurriedly ran out through the large doors, taking out a small device from her pocket, and the White Lady would follow her out into the old, extravagant corridor shortly after.

It was about time.

***

While casually traveling through Seagate, one would very rarely notice any significant barrier or landmark separating both the Social ‘Hoods, the Suburban Sector and the Urban Center, as they mostly flowed seamlessly from one to the other in a gradual transition, at least taking in their buildings’ outer appearance.

You are reading story Crimson Phantom at novel35.com

Regardless, it would be rather easy for a local to just spot where exactly one zone ended and the other started, even without any kind of drawn line, seeing as the atmosphere in each of them would speak for itself.

This, of course, was a rule applicable solely during the daytime. Once the sun went down, the Urban Area would be filled to the brim with what many dubbed as mildly controlled anarchy on the streets, while the other two areas remained mostly deserted and silent, an eerie contrast with the other half of the rotation period.

That night, however, would have to be considered an exception.

“Grab that thing, now!!”

“Don’t let him escape!”

That night, the filthy streets that connected the Hoods to the Suburbs were just as noisy and messy as the ones in the Urban Center, with shards of glass, crimson lakes, and countless maimed bodies piling up all the same around any place.

“Don’t leave them any room! The boss promised a bonus for whoever brings his head back!!”

The so-called ‘Ripper’ now ran and leapt randomly from street to alley to roof as many more Phantoms followed through, dead set on finally taking down the dreaded enemy. They’d been hearing about them for nearly half a month now, yet that had been the first sight they’d had of their, until then, hypothetical target.

It hadn’t taken the White Lady much to motivate her subordinates, however. The mere mention of a high monetary prize would usually be enough to make anybody take even the most absurd of orders without questioning. If she wanted them to bark like a dog, then so it would be. If she wanted them to bow down and lick the floor at her feet, then her wish was their order and they would follow through, so long as their efforts paid off at the end, which they knew always did.

The criminal themselves had chosen to attack a major vantage point at the far edge of the center, and the nearest squads to the place had almost immediately reached the site to intercept. Even as the black figure escaped, running haphazardly through the city, more and more squads had joined the mindless chase, not slowing down for even a second.

It was obvious. In that city’s underworld of crime, the unwritten rule was that someone’s loyalty could never be earned, only bargained, bought and bribed.

The White Lady had money and resources, therefore she had power. She could use that power to make yet more money and resources, and therefore obtain even more power, and thus the Phantoms would go on.

The figure leered under the black mask. It was simple in hindsight, yet so efficient. Just what would one need to do to break such a well-woven paradox? In the end, it would be far easier to just break a specific object once one knew how it actually worked, not only in theory but in practice as well. In order to shatter the balance of the Phantoms and achieve the intended goal in the long run, some matters needed to be handled directly.

Leading the chase all the way from the back, Aaron had spotted their target moving farther away, leaping off the streets and away onto the far roofs as they made their getaway.

But like hell he would allow that! He signaled two of the gang members right at the front of his squad as they ran along the streets, and without questioning their command once, they leapt right after the criminal as well, jumping from wall to wall and through balconies, fire escapes and odd railings as they made their way upward after their prey.

Aaron squinted his eyes, not stopping just yet. The criminal seemed to have… given up, for some reason?

No. That wasn’t quite right. They seemed to have landed on one of the fire escapes for a quick rest. As though they were catching their breath. The young man couldn’t help but snort as he approached. Was this really their dreaded enemy? This insurmountable, undefeatable beast he’d been led to believe in was now getting exhausted with just a simple jog!?

Still, it didn’t matter as long as he was able to capture them. They were closing in. One his guys was already closing the gap, two meters separating him from the criminal. He ran over the railing of a nearby parapet as he readied his claws, likely aiming to strike at the target’s chest or abdomen.

Standing weakly in that place, Aaron had thought them to be done for, without any way to avoid his men’s ire. However, the criminal wasn’t done yet.

With a movement fast enough that the young man’s eyes could barely even keep up with, the thing with the black mask pulled down the zipper on the narrow nylon case at its back, taking out a long, metallic object, which it carefully aimed at its pursuer’s wide chest. The deafening noise of gunfire filled the alley, and immediately its eventual attacker had started to convulse with pain, falling limply from the railing and onto the foul lane down below.

You can find story with these keywords: Crimson Phantom, Read Crimson Phantom, Crimson Phantom novel, Crimson Phantom book, Crimson Phantom story, Crimson Phantom full, Crimson Phantom Latest Chapter