The building on Franklin street had been abandoned for ten years. Loran always thought that it was an old hotel, but now, being so close to it, she could tell it was just an old office building. Some of the kids around the area spread a rumor that the place was haunted, and after seeing it Loran considered it might be. Loran wandered to the front door; it wasn’t much of a door it was more of a metal brick with hinges. After getting closer to the door she noticed a latch so that it could be locked from the outside- Loran took note of it.
Inside, the building really opened up. Loran took a moment to take in the scenery, then she was pulled from it by the slam of the metal brick and the slide, bang of the latch. The noise of other doors locking echoed in the building; it was a choir of slams, slides and bangs. When the choir was hushed some lights turned on and Loran noticed small speakers hung up around the first floor of the building. Immediately a voice emerged from the speakers, “Ahem, ahem. Are these working? I can not be a hundred percent sure, there is always room for error.”
Loran knew who was talking; it was Ghost- he had set a trap.
Loran faced the closest speaker and started yelling, “Ghost! What are you doing,” she didn’t slow down, “What do you want? Are you going to kill me?”
Ghost let out a polite chuckle and calmly said, “Loran, Loran. Please calm down. What I am doing is talking to you. You dying is up to you. And I want to make a deal with you.” Loran was baffled, “I don’t- I don’t want to make a deal with the devil. You kill people.”
Ghost started to sound agitated by something she had said, “Yeah, I kill people,” he paused, “who deserve it.”
Loran clenched her jaw and argued, “The High class may be unfair but they don’t deserve to die! Do you just kill them to steal money? If that's your reason why don’t you just go back to your cyber attacks? Why do you kill them?”
Ghost responded nonchalantly, “First off, I take one tenth of the money and give the rest to the poor. Secondly, I still do cyber attacks.” Loran could not believe this guy. How could he act like this? What has he been through to make him like this, like such an ass?
Loran pushed further, “So if you don’t kill for the money then why?”
She could hear a scoff from Ghost then him say, “What? Do you not know? Does she not know,” there was a pause and what sounded like a muffled response, “Wow you do not know. Are you sure we need her,” there was another muffled response-
Loran interrupted the conversation, “Who are you talking to? You work with someone don’t you?”
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“Um yes. Anyway the reason I kill them is because the law fails to take them.”
“Excuse me.” Loran was vividly offended
“Okay, let us take a look at good ole Mr. Smith, for example. Now, Mr. John Smith was a lovely man,” Loran fumed at the word ‘was’,"he would kidnap children off the streets of the Low class and sell them into human trafficking. When the law finally caught up to him he paid them off and Mr. Smith got away,” Loran could tell he was having some fun with this, “You see, I did give him about an hour to turn himself in- like a warning of sorts. But, sadly, he refused, and he got what he deserved.” Loran stood there, her mouth slightly open and silent for the first time in a while. She took a moment to process this new information- how did she not know about this? Were some of her friends like this? Did they keep things under the radar for money?
“Who do you work with,” is all Loran could manage to say.
“You can know, if and only if you accept my offer?”
“What is this offer you keep talking about?” Loran was beginning to understand; Ghost really might be a vigilante.
“Join us,” Ghost said like he was inviting her to his birthday party, “Apparently we need an insider from the police for our next ‘project’. I think we could handle it ourselves, but he thinks we need you.” Another surprise for Loran- tonight was the night of surprises. Could she join Ghost? She now understood his reasoning but could she be involved in it? Besides, who even was Ghost? If he told the truth about being in the war then there was only one possible person who it could be, right?
“What happens if I refuse your offer?”
Ghost responded without hesitation, “You die.”
As expected. Loran wanted to stall a bit longer to make a decision, “Great range of choices you’ve given me.”
“I know, right! Oh, and since you are taking so long to make a decision I am only extending this amazing offer for ten more seconds.”
Well her plan had failed and now she had only ten seconds to decide, “ten… nine,” Loran was conflicted, and stubborn. Could she trust Ghost? If it was the person she thought he was then maybe, “five… four,” God! She didn’t know what to do, “two… one!”
Loran had given in, “Okay! Okay! I give in. I’ll join you!”
“Great! First order of business…Tobias is innocent. Second order, see you around,” following Ghost’s decrees, was an explosion above her, then another, then another. Ghost was collapsing the building on her- he had, once again, tricked her.
As debris started to fall around her, she bolted for the door she came in through. Running and reaching desperately for the exit, then, with the door just out of reach ten feet away, some of the collapsing building surrounded her leaving her with a hole just big enough to see the door open. Outside of the building stood the silhouette of a man with the sun rising behind him. The man turned so that Loran could make out his profile, and before walking away he gave her a smirk and then, with the sun reflecting off of them, pushed his glasses to his face. Loran screamed, “Ghost, you bast-”
Loran was cut off by the piece of falling building.