𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭. 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚗

00.08

     Sunlight barely peeked through the edges of Bruce's curtains, but Lennox knew the sun had long since risen. She was in that hazy sort of awareness, not asleep but not quite awake, either. Bruce's arm was curled around her waist, holding her tightly to his chest. She traced a gentle finger across his sleeping face and smiled to herself. Slowly, she untangled herself from the man and got out of bed, opening the curtains.

     "Lennox, come back." She turned to see Bruce reaching for her. His voice was thick with sleep and his eyes were half-lidded. The white light streaming in cast a halo around his figure. 

     Lennox padded over to the bed and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I have to go do some things downstairs." Bruce groaned and jutted out his lower lip. The woman straightened and sighed. "I'll see you later okay?" With that, she left his room and walked to her own. 

     Lennox had elected to ignore her prior decision to mill about the tower today. Instead, she opted to track Kinsie down. She flung open her closet doors and pulled her suit and cloak on. She carefully crept out of her room and down the hall to the Cave. Once she reached the bottom, Ghost relaxed a bit and got in the car. She had found out from the database that Kinsie lived uptown. It appeared that being a police officer and a murderer paid well.

     The loft was on a relatively quiet street and no one was outside, making the job much easier. Creeping around the back, Ghost felt anticipation rising. She opened a window quietly and slipped inside. She looked around the loft, observing her surroundings and scanning for possible weapons. She heard running water and presumed Kinsie was showering upstairs. Following the sound led Ghost to a bedroom.

     It was disastrous; as if someone had turned everything over in rage. She opened drawers and checked beneath mounds of clothes, searching for any sort of evidence. She looked under the bed and found a curious bag. Picking it up, Ghost realised it was her phone.

     Hastily, she unlocked it, seeing several missed calls from Annika. She went to her voicemails and listened. It was gut-wrenching to hear the fear and desperation in Annika's voice. She heard Kinsie and Falcone both interrogating the Russian girl. Annika was pleading with Falcone, who promised he wouldn't hurt her. Then she heard Annika scream. The hair on Ghost's neck rose and tears pricked her eyes at the realisation that he suffocated her.

     Ghost was absolutely furious. She didn't realise when the water shut off or when Kinsie entered the room. She was running on autopilot before noticing Kinsie's body on the floor. She stopped and tied his hands behind his back. "Don't you fucking move, Kinsie," she spat. She quickly gagged him and lead him to her car.

     Roughly, Ghost pushed Kinsie in the backseat before driving to the warehouse. She pulled up and grabbed Kinsie, leading him to the elevator. She pulled him to the edge of the roof and pushed him to his knees. "I have some questions for you, Kinsie." Her whisper caused his brows to raise. "You're going to answer, and you're going to answer honestly," she said, flipping the signal on. Kinsie's eyes widened in fear of what that would mean.

     Ghost laughed, "Don't worry about him," she gestured to the light. "He isn't the one you need to fear. He has morals, you'd live. I have none!" Ghost giggled, wicked and cruel.

     "So, Mr. Kinsie, why did you kill Annika Kosolov?" She pulled his gag down and looked him in the eyes. Kinsie said nothing, only stared at Ghost. She huffed. "What did she know, Kinsie? Why did Falcone want her dead?" she shouted.  Kinsie refused to answer so she leaned him over the edge.

     "Why did you kill Annika Kosolov?" she yelled.

    "Because Falcone told me to." And he said nothing more. Ghost groaned in frustration. She landed blow after blow on Kinsie until his face was bloody.

     "Ghost," came a voice behind her. "Stop." She turned to see Batman and Gordon standing at the elevator.

     "He had my phone, Vengeance. He was there that night. Annika called me, she called me that night." Ghost fished her phone out of a bag and played the voicemail. It was no less sickening a second time and Ghost doubted she'd ever forget the sound of Annika's screams. 

     "Jesus Christ," Gordon started, "he had her suffocated."

     "Falcone is behind all of this," Ghost whispered. "He had Annika killed. You heard it. She knew too much and he killed her." She stared at Kinsie, who wore no remorse on his features, and she snapped. "I'm gonna kill you, son of a bitch." She tried to grab him and throw him off the roof, but Batman caught her.

     "Don't do that, Ghost," he said. Batman had such high morals and refused to kill. Unlike Ghost, who was driven by emotion.

     She sat Kinsie down and pulled her arm from Batman's grip. "He killed Annika. If I can't kill him, I'll kill Falcone. I have plenty of justification in that."

     "Ghost," he put his hands on her shoulders. "Don't throw your life away, please." She could see the concern in his eyes, but too much rage flowed through her veins.

     She pulled away, "Don't worry, darling, I'm a Ghost. I'm already dead.

03/17/22