Chapter 14 : The Phantom vs The Phantom Thief (5) : The Paradox Play
Royal Exhibition Hall - Control Room - 8:50 pm - October 19th
Inside the room there was huge tension. There were Dorian, Sir Vincent, Luke, John and Edmund.
"Where's Mr Langley?" John asked
"I don't know, I'll call him." Saying so Sir Vincent pulled out a bulky cellular device from his coat. The Antenna snapped with a click
"Langley," he asked, "Where are you, we were expecting you by 8:40?"
A pause, then a voice crackled through the line
"Traffic's thick, I'll be there shortly."
"Understood"
He hung up. "Langley's caught in traffic. We'll have to begin without him."
"Alright, I'll go for a final inspection check." Dorian said
Royal Exhibition Hall – Press Observation Room – 8:55 PM
Rows of chairs. Cameras. Static hum from the old-school projector.
A select group of journalists sat inside — notepad in hand, coats pressed, eyes fixed on the large analog screen up front.
The screen showed the vault's interior — smooth, clean, untouched.
"Five-second tape delay," the technician reminded them from behind a glass booth. "For your own safety. And ours."
A sharp-eyed woman from The Times adjusted her glasses. "No tricks this time, hmm?"
Someone chuckled nervously.
Outside the hall - 8:59 pm
The crowd was massive.
Civilians stood pressed against barricades, staring at the large outdoor TV screen mounted on the exhibition's outer wall — grainy CCTV footage flickered on it.
Vendors hawked newspapers. Photographers jostled for position. The media vans hummed, waiting to go live.
A young boy whispered to his father, "Is he really going to steal it?"
The father replied "I don't know son. But time will tell."
Then Began the countdown
"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1" The crowd said in unison
Suddenly—
CRASH!
Glass shattered from the replica section, someone or something burst through the ceiling.
Alarms started going off.
Before anyone could react —
Blackout.
All lights off. Cameras dead. The screens in the control showed darkness.
Gasps echoed through.
In the control room Everyone was in absolute shock.
"You've got to be kidding me — that fricking son of a b!tch" Luke growled
"Get the freaking Lights back on" Dorian snapped.
In just 5 seconds the power was back on.
During that time heavy footsteps Echoed. But no one could see anything.
Edmund gazed at the monitors. He was still trying to process what happened.
Outside the crowd was silent
The Lights quickly blazed back on.
The officers rushed to the vault. Their boots slamming against the tiles. Edmund didn't move. His fingers were trembling slightly. His jaws clenched as he muttered. "This doesn't make sense...."
The museum floor was empty — no intruder in sight.
But, a figure stood in front of the vault—frozen mid step, it was not a man, it was not a thief.
It was a robot. It stood motionlessly with one mechanical arm held high. A necklace gleamed between it's fingers
Control room - 9:01 pm
Edmund stared at the CCTV screen. "A robot....?" He whispered.
His eyes shifted to the replica section.
Empty.
"The necklace is gone..."
There was a pause.
Then—
Crash.
A chair flew across the control room, shattering against the wall. It was hard enough to leave a dent.
"Fck—!"
Edmund's breathing became haggard. His hands trembled. His hair became messy. A never before seen uncomposed look appeared in his face. His voice dropped — not rage, but despair.
"I underestimated him again."
He stared at his reflection in the dark monitor. He took a deep breath "Not the time for a tantrum." He said to himself.
Edmund turned towards the broadcast microphone on the panel.
His hand hovered over it. One press and it wasn't just the officers — it was the crowd, the press, the world. No turning back after this.
"He made me set the stage."
"He made me narrate his trick."
He laughed — a short hysterical laugh.
"I'm dancing in the palms of his hand."
"...F**ck it."
He pressed the button.
Public Broadcast - 9:03 PM - Full Volume
"This is The Phantom speaking"
"The Real Emperor's Tear is in the hands of that robot."
"I repeat - The Necklace is real. CATCH IT NOW."
The moment Edmund's voice resounded across the hall there was silence. Not confusion or panic, just stillness as if the people couldn't believe what they heard.
Then the murmures started. Disbelief, shock, mockings.
"He what?"
"The real necklace?"
"You bastards had one job."
Edmund quickly rushed to the vault. He reached the vault as quickly as he could, his breathing heavy.
He saw the officers trying to catch the necklace but to no avail. The necklace was held high and the Robot's height was huge. There were many bullet shells down on the ground as well.
"Ah the Phantom," A mechanical voice resounded from the robot.
Edmund froze
"Bravo Phantom, you caught the ghost, but missed the fire."
There was a slight pause
"You guarded the wrong treasure..."
The robot straightened, something in his chest began to blink
"This is My Paradox Play."
"Farewell."
Three beeps
Then—
BOOM.
Scattered metallic parts on ground, wounded officers and the real Emperor's tear....
Edmund hit the ground, his ears ringing. A high pitched sound sang in his skull. He pushed himself slowly while groaning, his eyes became blurry and he became dizzy. He had scars over his body, his clothes were tattered. His black mask had broken a bit, but not enough to see his face.
"Wh... Where is the robot." He said his voice weak
In the centre of the blast
Nothing.
No robot.
Outside the crowd turned hostile
Laughter and outrage mixed.
Someone threw a pamphlet at the screen. Others shouted "Fraud!"
Reports shoved towards the barricades shouting "Is this all the Phantom was for?"
The crowd screamed
"Frauds!"
"Liars!"
"Bring Aeries in, he's the only one doing his job!"
Luke's face turned pale, his mouth opened to say something but no words came out.
John broke the cigarette he was smoking.
Dorian fell to the ground. "It's over..." He muttered.
The entire view was of a destroyed place, debris lying down, scraps of metal, injured soldiers, the explosion had caused a huge breach over the wall and the crowd could be seen. The entire scene was chaotic. Dorian covered his face with his hands.
To Aeries this was just a game, but to the SDB this was their entire life of blood and sweat crumbling in front of their eyes.
Edmund slowly woke up, he was holding his right arm which was heavily wounded. He gritted his teeth, there was intense pain assaulting him but this moment of pure rage and numbness was keeping him going. He was walking weakly through the debris as he tried to exit the building but was quickly spotted by the crowd.
Instantly the crowd revealed their true colours.
"The SDB's secret detective. All that hype for nothing."
"What a joke. "
"Hmph, can't even stay conscious and trying to stop Aeries."
Edmund heard all this, he thought "A show, I was part of a show, where we were the clowns meant to fall. This wasn't a theft, this was a stage to humiliate us, break us." His jaws clenched like a ticking bomb, he felt a fire crawling up on him burning away all logic. His hands shook with fury, eyes blazing with an inhuman intensity, as if he were a tiger who got outplayed and was looking for revenge.
"Listen—" Edmund said, barely standing
"Liar!" Someone screamed.
"Go back to where you came from, you fraud."
The crowd had drowned Edmund. But before he could say or do anything, Edmund had finally reached his limits and fell unconscious due to the extreme pain.
There was a moment of silence, but the waves of chaos struck even harder. Officers quickly took Edmund to a hospital.
Luke tried to talk but got drowned by the crowd as well.
Sir Vincent was sweating intensely due to the damages.
Dorian was blamed for his incompetence.
But somehow after all this John was calm. He lit a cigarette. He just watched, calculating.
"He didn't steal a necklace. He stole our name."