Fan Fiction: Crossovers
In the Midst of Shadows
by Greg Daulton
Chapter 5
All was quiet at Britt Reid's apartment, as he and Kato, seated at the kitchen table, were going over the night's plans.
"Remember Kato, just a quick sweep of the city. We need —."
Britt Reid's words were suddenly interrupted by a loud, shrill beeping noise, coming from Reid's bedroom. The two men raced to the bedroom, where Reid immediately deactivated a faux smoke detector, that served as an alert for the Green Hornet. Pulling the lever behind the tie rack, they quickly entered the dimly lit hall en route to the building that served as the Hornet's hideout.
Upon entering, Reid immediately noticed a green LED that hung on the far wall was flashing. This LED was triggered by a small wire-transmitter that Lenore Case kept in her purse. Britt Reid panicked, as he knew that his secretary only set off the device when she was in danger.
"It's Miss Case!" Kato realized as he looked at the flashing light.
"Yes Kato. Get the gas gun ready. I'll drive. We can track her signal on the scanner."
With that, Britt Reid moved to his arsenal and began suiting up. Then, once he and Kato were ready, they swiftly entered the Black Beauty. As the car roared to life, the Hornet activated the scanner. Once the access door opened, the car zoomed out of the back alley, like a bat out of hell.
Minutes later, the group of goons from the restaurant sat nervously at a large table in a boardroom at an old, abandoned cathedral on the outskirts of town. The men were waiting on their boss, when suddenly he rushed frantically into the room and approached the large table.
The leader of this jewel gang, aptly named Johnny Sapphire, was a petty car thief, before being involved in a horrific accident that cost him his left eye. He did time in prison for three years, where he developed a love for gems. After escaping, the desperate criminal formed a heist gang and soon was at the top of Detroit's underworld.
"All right, boys, it's done. I locked the girl in the basement myself. She's a beauty too," Sapphire informed, rearranging his artificial eye that was made from a precious blue sapphire jewel.
Staring at their boss, the men cringed. The man's eye was difficult to look at directly. Everything about Johnny Sapphire was flamboyantly decadent, from his slick black hair to his finely crafted bright blue suit. A tall man with a love for jewels, he wore a sapphire necklace and sported diamond rings on each of his chubby digits.
"Listen, Johnny," one of the henchmen spoke up. "Why did you decide to bring us to this musty old church?"
"Is there a problem, O'Neil?"
"No boss, it's just that this place kind of gives some of the boys the creeps."
"What? Now my gang has become a bunch of pansies, is that it?" the gangster declared madly.
"No, boss it's the cops and the Hornet. We're like the biggest news that Detroit's had for three months."
"This place was the most inconspicuous joint I could find. Plus, you don't need to worry about the cops remember. We bought the Mayor and the Commissioner off last week. That's why their boys went to every paper in town and forced them to stop printing about us. That's why we kidnapped that broad from the Sentinel. She's insurance."
"And what about the Green Hornet?" another hoodlum muttered.
"If the Hornet and his gang butt in, I'll fry 'em. That is unless he's got a proposition and wants to help us. Listen boys, don't worry about nothin'. We almost have the entire city's jewel trade in our grasp."
Abruptly, a goon raced into the room panicking. "Boss, Vince just saw a long black car pull up outside the church."
"Oh?" Sapphire spoke with confidence. "It's the Hornet's car. How the hell did he find us? No matter. I was hoping he wouldn't find us, but now we may be able to do business."
"You want us to hold him off?" another thug asked.
"Let that rat come. I'll make sure we deal with him one way or another."
Moments later, the Green Hornet and Kato strolled confidently into the boardroom. Various members of the gang sat at the board table, while Kato kept still at the door, watching everything. The Hornet and Johnny Sapphire talked, pacing about the room, keeping the conversation strictly to business.
"So, you want in on my operations?" the mobster said proudly.
"Yes, but you can keep your rocks Sapphire. I want a cut. I'm asking for half of everything."
"Fifty percent? Are you nuts. No partner is worth that much, even the Green Hornet," Sapphire pronounced angrily.
"No? Well now Sapphire, you're the typical gangster, with a full compliment of goons to your credit. If I'm to protect you from rival gangs and the police, my services won't come cheap."
"I won't do it Hornet, it's highway robbery. Besides I've already bought off the cops."
"Well, that's interesting. Tell me how did you do it?" the Hornet sounded intrigued.
"I just paid the Mayor and the Commissioner well, and their guys went around to the papers with orders."
Suddenly, as Sapphire spoke, a weird, chilling laugh resonated throughout the church."
"It's that laugh?" a goon said glancing around, recognizing the menacing laughter of The Shadow from the Gray Street Jewelry Store.
"That ghost is back," another declared.
"He ain't no ghost. He's a trigger happy freak. Boss, it's that guy we were telling you about."
"How'd he get in here?" the head mobster wondered.
"He's been here since your men came back with that girl," the Hornet informed.
"Where the hell are you? Come out," Sapphire uttered as the laughter continued.
"I'll cut you a break since you've already taken care of the cops. I can call him off, if you give me thirty-five percent Johnny," the Hornet promised.
"You're in cahoots? What is this a double cross?" the gangster wondered worriedly.
"He's a member of my gang Johnny, posing as a gangbuster. You better agree to my terms."
"Fine. We have a deal as long as he doesn't shoot up my boys," Sapphire sighed. "Now make him come out."
"All right Shadow, come out," the Hornet commanded.
Suddenly, as he had done many times before, The Shadow appeared out of a dimly lit wall in a far corner of the room. The Shadow walked over to the Hornet, glancing ominously at the gangsters seated at the table.
"The Shadow. I heard some boys in the joint talk about you. They said you was the scariest man God ever put on this earth."
"We're done here," the Hornet stated to The Shadow, who ignored Sapphire's comment.
"All right, so you'll keep the headlines busy Hornet, while we continue our robberies?"
"That's right, Sapphire. And as my first official act as your partner, I'll take care of the girl you abducted tonight."
"But I need her for insurance so that those damn papers don't start up again," Sapphire argued.
"She'll squeal. We can't let her live," the Hornet countered abruptly.
"Well, you are ruthless, Hornet. All right, but make it look like a suicide."
"Whatever you say, Johnny. Kato, fetch the girl."
With that, Kato left the room.
"Until we meet again Hornet," Sapphire whispered, while his thugs looked on.
"Later Johnny," the Hornet uttered as he and The Shadow simultaneously nodded to every gangster in the room. And with that they were gone.
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