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“Alright,” a voice came from the earpiece, “-General Miller just told me that he will be doing the negotiations.” Focused, Staxius’s eyes closed. ‘One, two,’ the closer they got, the more aura he saw.

“Boss, we’re landing in three minutes,” voiced the pilot who struggled in the harsh condition.

“I’ll leave it to you then.”

Sat harshly on the seat, Courtney’s curiosity piqued, “-what’s the matter?”

“The Western Kingdom is indeed a threat,” the crimson eyes burnt. Jumped from one soldier to another, Staxius got a general layout of the area, it didn’t come as a surprise to see more than a few hundred men standing by. ‘General Miller,’ he thought whilst staring out the victim’s eye. What came to pass was secretive documents and reports of necromancy. Research in making undead fighters. The General had no problem shifting the pages as if to brag about what he had accomplished. ‘You’re indeed a fool,’ thought Staxius, the plane lined itself with the runway.

“Alright people,” he spoke through the earpiece, “-the moment we land, it’s showtime. Make sure to not raise your weapons. Scatter and don’t stay grouped if we get out, stay least a few meters apart. Yves, you’re the first point of contact. The moment it goes loud, everyone open fire; we’re neither friend nor foe – survival is a priority, do I make myself clear?”

.....

“Yes, boss,” a simultaneous shout.

“Elliot,” spoken in a separate channel, Staxius’s mind worked at full-throttle, “-your priority is to make the first shot. I care not, do not kill the general unless I give the order. Typical army men will have at least a Commander by their side. He will most definitely give the order to shoot. Monitor his mouth, you’ve mastered the art of lip-reading.”

“What if they have another signal?” asked Elliot who felt pressured.

“We’ll focus on the obvious, what is simple is often what is true and efficient. If there is a convoluted system, it will take time for response,” to which he turned to Courtney, “-that’s your cue, Shadow, kill them all.”

A bump followed by a screech, the TU-03 landed. Already, the feeling of unrest rose from within. Flags of their monarch stood religiously at every few intervals. “That’s general Miller,” pointed Yves, “-that’s the man I have to deal with?” he sighed and got his mind together. The first impression meant everything, Yves, out of all of Phantom, was an average man. Scared to shoot a gun and even more at the sight of blood, despite that, something stood out. A special talent, the talent of getting out of any situation. A master at the ways of thwarting traps. His talent came painfully obvious on an assassination job. Godfather Stanley at the end of his rope, had sent countless assassins after him. Even so, he’d always make it out alive with wit, quick thinking, and resourcefulness. Jason played a big part in catching such an elusive fish; it had been more than a few months. Recruited when Staxius was out on Kreston, he dealt nicely with negotiations and tough situations.

‘Let’s see you in action,’ All-seeing eyes activated as Staxius surveyed the area.

Opened with a click, the staircase lowered gently. The General stood before a black-shiny car with twenty men lined in rows of four. As predicted by the Boss, a commander did in fact stand a few meters away from the general.

“Good afternoon, General,” spoke Yves, “-the weather in Easel Run-Gard sure is picturesque.” Out, the beauty of the continent grew obvious, mountainous with trees and snowy peaks. Remote as the populous lived further inland; the side of the continent was subject to regular hurricanes. Tough to settle when winds tore down houses in one swoop.

“You haven’t seen the gist of it,” laughed obnoxiously, Miller was of a big and plump stature. A sign of being well-off for food was abundant in a time of war. Curly hair, pimpled riddled face, and white lips. The trouser’s zipper was down with his white drawers barely showing.

“I’m sure there’s more than I’ve not seen,” walked Yves with short hair, round glasses due to poor eyesight, a custom-fitted suit as he was skinny.

“Do apologize my asking,” in range of a handshake, Yves stopped, “-I’d like to cut right to the chase,” serious, “-I’d like to discuss the matter at hand in the open. The negotiations for 804,000 Gold worth of arms.”

“I see,” he mumbled under his breath, “-could we at least have the decency of speaking in a place less noisy. The wind is one of my enemies,” to which the General turned and moved.

‘How do you get out of this, Yves,’ asked Staxius, ‘-Miller is smart, standing out in the open will prove disadvantageous to the snipers he’s got guarding the office towards the right of the facility.’

“I do beg your pardon, sir,” Yves stood firm, “-I’ve got a better proposal, why not examine the product before we discuss the matters of money. It’s better to see the equipment first hand, isn’t it?”

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Miller forced a smile. The commander’s face changed from ease to cautious. “Squad one, go with the general,” said Elliot who lipread.

“Open the Cargo door,” waved Yves as he turned back. *Clang,* the back opened. Followed, four armed men with the general. Stared from a distance, “-I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Snipers; set your sight on the Phantom’s men as well as the pilot.”

“They’re closing in fast,” whispered Courtney stood above the cargo bay, the guards readied their guns.

‘We’ve got their King,’ thought Staxius, ‘-they know that we can’t kill the general. Taking out ours is a good idea. This might turn into a firefight soon. Damn it, if only we had someone who could hack into their broadcast, sending a threat that way would be so much simpler.’ Ignoring the what-ifs, ‘-there’s no way we’re getting out of this without a fight. Best make the first move while we have the advantage.’

“Stand at the ready, the general approaches, eliminate his guard unit if they point their guns,” ordered Staxius, *snap.*

Close, the shadow of the plane helped in shielding the sun. Stuck, Miller’s forehead dripped with sweat. “Excuse me,” he spoke, “-are you sure this is wise?”

“Wise?” stared over the shoulder, “-are we not going to discuss a business deal. What is wise about that, you’re going to examine the arms we have.” A few meters away, “-could you wait here?” requested Yves, “-I’ll have someone bring out the crate.”

‘Nice,’ thought Staxius, “-assist him, Yves’ got the better idea.”

“Hold fire, I repeat, do not fire. Squad-One, stay on guard, the general might still be in danger. We’re dealing with cunning individuals. Snipers, lock sight on the plane; watch any and all movement,” spoke Elliot. The marksman was hidden in plain sight. Concealed using magic, he laid and stared out the door left open.

“Here we are,” five guards helped in sliding one of the crates down. Gazed against the Western Army, a mental battle of which Phantom won.

“Go on,” smiled Yves, “-examine the weapon,” he handed a magazine, “-take some shots and feel its power. The Antis-2 is sure worth the money.”

*Bang, bang,* shot the General out into the nothingness, “-It packs a punch,” he laughed. “Should we discuss the payment?” On that, his phone rang.

“General Miller speaking,” he stopped as the crates were taken back into the cargo hold. Secretively, the Western Army only saw ten men moving around, the rest were concealed. A false sense of security that had them on ease.

“Greetings, General Miller,” spoke a deep voice, “-Shadow here, Leader of Phantom. I’ve gotten notice that my representative is ready to deliver the product. We’ll accept payment by card, is that an issue?”

“Shadow,” he smiled, “-it does surprise me that you weren’t present for the exchange. Not to mention that you’ve sent a measly ten men. Do you have that much faith in me?” laughter followed.

“It’s not a matter of faith and trust,” sharp, “-I sent the number of people I deemed sufficient to handle the deal. Are you implying that we’re weak?”

“That certainly isn’t my intent,” they walked away from the plane, “-the arms have been examined, I wish I could stand and chat, however, we need to finalize the deal,” the call ended.

Midway from the plane and car, Miller turned and asked Yves to wait. “I have to check with if the money has been arranged for.”

“What do we do?” asked Courtney, “-this game of cat and mouse is driving me crazy. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO START SHOOTING,” screamed across the general channel, the guards breathed chuckles.

“Calm down,” voiced Staxius who sat crossed legged, eyes closed, the entire airfield became a part of his mind. Every breath, every action made, the All-seeing eyes watched. “Get ready Elliot, this is the crucial moment.”

“Understood,” whispered Courtney when they locked eyes.

“They don’t seem to be heavily armed. Squad One could easily take care of the guards, they seem to be amateurs,” their conversation was broadcasted across the channel by Knightfall, she took over the duties of lipreading.

“General, we should go ahead and pay them the money. Phantom is rumored to be allied with the Dark-guild. If by chance one of their men die by our hand, we could have the whole organization turn against us. The spy we sent to check on the information about Port Elte turned out to be true.”

“Why are you so scared,” laughed Miller, “-we outnumber them ten to one, it should be a simple clean-up duty. Tell the snipers to aim, we get free arms and save 800,000 gold coins. More the better, we could get fighter-planes.”

“General, I strongly advise against such a move in greed.”

“Commander, do you wish to defy the chain of command?”

“No sir,” reluctantly, “-Squad one, stand at the ready. All forces, gather up on point Delta, we’re going loud in three, two, one,” *BANG.*

*Ancient Magic: Teleportation,* blood sprayed across windows, “-Commander, give the order to shoot,” ordered Miller sensing an ominous silence.

“G-general,” in a blink, the commander’s leg blew out completely.

“General Miller,” voiced Yves, “-it’s not nice to betray a deal,” behind, four headless corpse of squad one laid at his feet.

“SNIPER SQUAD,” yelled Miller with his back against the wall, “-SHOOT HIM,” no response, the clopping of high-heels echoed from behind. White hair ending with blood-red, “-I’ve had enough of this little game. Are you going to buy the arms are do you wish for me to end the life of your men,” a laser marked his chest. From ten, the guards ran out on the runway, “-no chain of command means that an army is worthless,” laughed Yves.

‘Checkmate,’ smiled Staxius, ‘-the king is cornered.’ Initially, the deal was to happen peacefully. However, the moment Yves asked for the general to examine the products first, everything changed. A concealment spell to hide the guards and appear weak – a play to ignite the self-destructive nature of jealousy. The Commander understood what was happening, despite this, the General gave into his nature. The exchange of glances was for Courtney to take out the snipers. As for squad one, the guards made quick work of them.

“G-general,” alive the commander spoke, “-i-it’s over, raw strength can’t win against wit. They spared my life once, it’s not going to be the same result,” referred to the laser, the plump man fell to the floor. “Retreat men, do not open fire.” The total time was less than a minute. In jest, Yves turned with a thumbs up. Phantom had conquered a foreign airfield with the combined wit of its members.