The Spectre

Chapter Nine

"Are you in position?" Jez asked through the Communicator, watching the tall building closest to him. "Yes," said Michelle, Merlin, Matthew and the Black Knight, and Jez nodded to himself, reminding that it would be ok. "Sir, how come you brought two swords with you?" asked the Black Knight, and Jez realised he must have noticed before they parted towards their position posts. "Just in case I need two," Jez replied simply, not wishing to reveal the real reason why he thought that he would need two of the deadly weapons. "Are we sure the Army isn't watching too?" Michelle asked, and Jez was unprepared to answer. "We didn't check," he mumbled, quickly looking around as the black clouds blocked the moon from sight and rumbled loudly. "Check your positions!" Jez hissed, quickly looking around to make his own was secured.

"Ok, Matthew and Michelle, you two move in. Make sure the surrounding area is locked down. We cannot have the Army interfering." The two confirmed what Jez said, and then their Communicators briefly went offline. "Sir, I am not sure this is a good plan. We need a bigger crew," the Black Knight said. "Remember I am in charge. I saw that we have been watching his movements for a week. We still dunno where he lives, but trust me, he will be here tonight. I guarantee it." The Black Knight hissed with frustration, but then Merlin cut through. "Guys, look! The top of the black building!" Jez looked up and gasped. A figure in a bright blue suit was leaping onto the roof of the tall building and then running down its side! "Merlin, Black Knight, Michelle and Matthew, set a perimeter outside the building and alert me if anyone else enters. I'm going in."

The others let sounds of surprise emit from their Communicators, but Jez moved away from his position, slid down a ladder at the side of his own building, and then sprinted towards the entrance. There was a loud splat, and a body hit the ground right next to Jez. Blood splattered the walls, but he ignored it, entering the building and then quickly scaling the stairs closest to him, climbing higher and higher towards the floor he was sure the figure had entered. "Jez!" shouted Merlin as Jez arrived on the second floor, and he activated his Communicator, stopping to catch his breath. "What is it?" he asked through pants, and Merlin sounded anxious as he said, "Someone in a red suit just entered the sixteenth floor!" Jez groaned, deactivated his Communicator, and then continued climbing the building, each step feeling like a challenge as he now arrived on the fourth floor.

"They're talking! And someone else just entered the room!" Shouted Matthew as Jez staggered onto the sixth floor. "I'm going as fast as I can!" Jez grunted to himself, now reaching the seventh floor and proceeding onto the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth. "A few Zodiacs just entered the room, the other two left and now the Spectre is fighting them single-handedly!" the Black Knight exclaimed. Even Jez was impressed by how long this Spectre was lasting. "Where are you now?" Michelle asked, and Jez, through a constrictive throat, groaned "Fifteenth!" He stopped, letting his breath return, and then he made the final climb onto the sixteenth floor. He stopped beside the opening to the sixteenth floor, seeing a Zodiac with a knife fall to the Spectre, his mask on the floor and his face exposed. Jez was mightily impressed, so he started clapping.

Clap...clap...clap...clap...clap. The slow, repetitive clap filled the room, and the Spectre turned to face him, his eyebrows raised. "You come for more?" he snarled, reaching up to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and Jez shook his head. "I just came to give a warning," Jez said, bowing his head in a sign of respect before saying, "The General sends his regards." He saw the Spectre flinch, as though the word General brought back a memory, or something similar. "Who are you?" the Spectre asked quietly, running a hand through his bright blue hair, and Jez shrugged, unzipping his black jacket and throwing it aside, revealing his muscled torso covered only by a vest. "To give a warning. I will not be the one to kill you. I'll leave it for the General, so he can finish his job."