Chapter 1 - The Delivery - Phantom

A figure was sat in a high backed mahogany armchair, placed in the far corner of the comfortable lounge area of the V.I.L.E headquarters. The room was large and in almost complete darkness because, for an overly paranoid security measure, all the blinds had been closed. The only light came from a small red, flashing LED that gave momentary glimpses of the room. The man's face was half illuminated by the cherry glow from the thin cigarette, the man was smoking. The man's head was completely encased in bandages, with his eyes covered in thick, tinted, wrap around spectacles so no part of his face was actually visible. The only gap came from a half centimetre slit around his mouth so he was able to smoke but even that was hidden in the shadows. The man twitched, his unseen eyes darting around the room, he could see ever corner of the room from this location and all the entrances and exits. Though he had excellent night vision he could see no-one but he could sense another person was in the room and he always followed his gut instinct. His eyes continued to scan the room inch by inch, and then he saw it. A quick flash of scarlet, whipping out passed the door. That's when the package caught his eye, sat on the little mahogany table, next to the antique lamp, which was never on, was a scarlet coloured envelope with a wax seal positioned in its centre. The seal was that of Carman Sandiego, this put him at ease slightly for he hated to admit that someone managed to ‘get the jump on him' but given that it was Miss Sandiego he could let it slide for now. His hand came lazily to his lips and removed the cigarette, re-adjusted the bandages to cover his mouth again, extinguishing it into the ornate crystal ashtray. Lately every little action took allot more effort than it should Lifting the envelope, it seemed heavier than usual, meaning the job was going to be a big heist and it might actually be worth his skills, lately the last few jobs were well below his capabilities, he was under the impression Carman had lost faith in him. Reaching into his jacket his gloved fingertips rested on a thin silver blade, its handle inlayed with ivory skulls. Removing it slowly from its scabbard, it effortlessly sliced through the paper, revealing its contents. His eyes skimmed across the pages within, flitting back and forth as he took in the magnitude of the heist and with a long, drawn out sigh, through it into the ashtray. The reaction between the dying embers of the cigarette and whatever substance coated the letter was instantaneous and within a second, it was reduced to a fine white ash. He watched for a moment as a slight draft had produced a tiny tornado within the crystal surround, it was oddly hypnotising. With a minor effort the man rose from the comfort of the armchair, releasing a groan as he did so, pocketed the bizarre flashing contraption, took one pace backwards and was lost to the shadows.