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Fan Fiction: Short Stories
Chapter 2: A New Agent's First Mission
A few days following her encounter with The Shadow, Alanis Wattanabee sat in the crowded kitchenette of her apartment eating a bowl of breakfast cereal. Still very shaken up from her meeting with the mysterious Shadow, she recalled the cab ride back to her apartment and the instructions he gave her - she was to wait in her apartment until further notice. Trying to comprehend everything he told her, she couldn't help but feel both scared and excited at her new life ahead. Having saved her mundane life, he offered a better one, which she accepted. Later that night, Alanis walked to the west side of town searching for some unfamiliar local bar called The Big Mug. The crowded streets were full of people, from hoodlums to prostitutes and gang-bangers, Hearing from some shady characters as she asked for directions, she knew that only lowlifes and criminals frequented most of the bars on the West Side but they informed her that this old tavern housed the worst of the scum and to stay clear. Ignoring a homeless man's gesture, she continued down the streets, bombarded by scores of pimps and men selling fake jewelry. Finally from across the street, she saw a brightly lit orange sign across the street. The Big Mug, it read in flashing neon lights, drawing her attention as she jaywalked across the street. As Alanis entered the vile joint, she noticed from first glance that despite the new fangled materials and lights on the outside, the inside was more like a saloon from the old west than a modern barroom. It had all the usual refinements but the décor gave the place a nostalgic sense that further helped its visitors to escape from their busy if not problematic lives. Directly before her were several round and squared-shaped tables, some occupied with drinking men and women, others vacant. Steering clear of the rambling men, she noticed a bar to the left and to the right was a small wooden stage meant for entertainment. To the back of the club and to the right of the bar was a lone door, leading into the area where she assumed The Shadow wanted her to go. Sauntering toward the bar like some sort of femme fatale, she sat a few stools down from other customers and hesitantly asked the bartender for a Vodka Spritzer. As the bartender made her the drink, she analyzed the old man closely. He made her nervous with his shifty eyes and outlandish build and manners, but then again, everything about the bar made her uneasy. Batting her brown eyes, she inquired with a long sigh, "Say bartender, I assume you get a lot of dames coming in here asking for work. But I also understand that you get a lot of hoods around these parts. Ever hear talk of any 'secret mafia business'." Slamming the drink down hard on the bar table, the bartender's shifty eyes glanced at a couple of men in the back of the room. Not responding to Alanis' question, the tall, slender gentleman quickly exited into a back room via a door next to the bar. "Was it something I said," Alanis verbalized, smiling and looking around to the other patrons of this sleazy pub. She continued drinking her Vodka Spritzer as two men walked out from the back room. They sauntered behind the bar in her direction. These men were definitely lower level thugs because they were dressed in classic mobster garb. The tall one sported a blue pinstripe suit and fedora while the shorter, stockier man wore a black suit with his black hair slicked straight back. "The bartender says you been asking some questions," the tall goon uttered in a slow drawl. "That's right," Alanis uttered, trying not to sound nervous. "Who wants to know?" the short man butted in. "Are you some kind of snitch?" the tall man asked cautiously, eyeing her up and down in her black dress and jacket. "Now listen gentlemen, I ain't nothing of the sort. I don't want any trouble. I just wanna know if you have some room available. See, I'm new in town and if I can join in your racket, I'd make an interesting player," she responded, tapping her painted nails against the counter as if she was bored. "Who sent you?" the tall man uttered. "No, nobody, it ain't like that," Alanis said. "Yeah I don't believe you," the tall man pronounced, "Get her Frenchy!" the goon ordered to his shorter counterpart. Suddenly, the smaller goon lunged for Alanis. She picked up a barstool and threw it at the goon but to no avail. From out of the back came the bartender and a couple of other goons. "No, get away from me!" Alanis shouted as she ran to the opposite side of the pub, knocking over chairs in her wake as the tall man chased after her. Suddenly, terrible laughter overtook the crooked joint as gangsters and patrons alike froze in surprise and fear of the horrible, menacing laughter. "What the hell is that?" one of the many goons exclaimed, looking around. "Who cares, grab that nosey broad," the bartender ordered but as the goons proceed towards Alanis, a voice echoed from a shaded corner. "Stop," the voice demanded, "Get away from that woman." "Who's there" the bartender demanded, "come into the light." "I am right here, in the light gentlemen, you can not see me." "Wait a minute, I heard of you. You're that ghost everyone's talkin' about; the one they never see," the bartender muttered with fright. "I assure you, I am no ghost. I am The Shadow. Now gentlemen, tell me, who is this Mad Doctor?" The Shadow groaned, his voice bellowing around the room. "Oh my God, he knows about the Doc," the tall man declared to the bartender. Abruptly loud moans and whispers of certain patrons bombarded the mobsters' senses as they questioned to their drinking partners about someone called the Mad Doctor. "That's right gentlemen, tell me who he is and what his plans are," the Shadow demanded. Suddenly the larger goons from behind the counter sprang into action as the bartender quickly exited into the back room. Each goon produced a snub-nosed revolver, ready to fire. Without hesitation a rush of wind embraced the goons as The Shadow began to make fast work of these vile men. Punching one in the nose, blood trickled down into the gangster's mouth as his eyes burned with tears. Swiftly, The Shadow delivered a hard, right kick into his gut, sending him plummeting towards the floor. Throwing him like a bag of grain over his head and behind the bar, the Shadow easily evaded the other goon's left hook. Sending the pitiful buffoon into unconsciousness, he threw the large thug into an empty table, on the far side of the tavern. Having disarmed such inferior weapons from the two large thugs, the common customers of the tavern finally took The Shadow's heed and rushed from the place in fright. Meanwhile the tall mobster and the short one, known as Frenchy, each withdrew a pistol from inside their jackets. Two more mobsters appeared from out of the backroom, each wielding shotguns. The suited mobsters with pistols dove behind the bar, giving the bigger guns an opportunity to have it out with The Shadow. In a flash The Shadow produced his own weapons: two identical .45 automatic pistols. Outmatched as he was with shotguns pointed his direction, he blasted them away before they even had a chance to fire. As the big goons fell to the floor, blood oozing from their skulls, the two suited gangsters made a hasty exit to the back room. "Get out of here Alanis," The Shadow suddenly ordered to his agent. Without hesitation, she bolted out the door, racing past several onlookers who crowded in front of the bar, staring in through the murky windows at the shootout. The Shadow moved unseen to the backroom of the joint. As he entered the backroom he noticed that he was in a storeroom; there were barrels and bottles of liquor crowding the room. As he glanced out a nearby window, he spotted two men entering a black car, in a parking lot directly behind the bar. The two men fleeing the scene were the suited gangsters from the bar: the tall man and Frenchy. The Shadow moved to the storeroom exit and noticed the bartender hastily entering his car, in an obvious attempt to avoid him. Just before the nervous bartender started his vehicle, the driver's side window was shattered. The poor man was torn from his leather seat and thrown to the solid ground below. The man tried to stumble to his feet but was seized by the Shadow. Throwing him up against the tavern's brick structure, The Shadow pinned him on the wall, his feet dangling sporadically. "Oh my God," were the only frantic words that escaped the bartender's lips as he realized that The Shadow was no longer an invisible ghost but a horrible figure cloaked in omniscience. "I know you are involved with the Mad Doctor," declared The Shadow, staring intently into the bartender's eyes as he clasped the man's throat tighter. "And that means what to me?" the bartender questioned, barely able to breathe. "It means I'm on to you. I know that your bar harbors illegal activity. Who is he, this Mad Doctor?" "You don't know s---," claimed the bartender. "You think you can come into my place and bust everything up." "Shut up!" The Shadow ordered in a menacing tone. "Who is he?" he asked, lifting him away from the wall slightly to pound him even harder again. "Nobody knows," the bartender stated, wincing in pain. "No one has ever seen his face. He runs the Zerrini Crime Syndicate. He gives the orders to Carlos Zerrini and he and his gang carries 'em out. That's all I know, I'm just paid by Zerrini to keep my bar open for their operations." "I've dealt with him before….Up to his old tricks again! Where do I find Carlos Zerrini?" demanded The Shadow, his eyes burning with fire as he locked his gaze with the frightened man. "I don't know, I swear to Christ, man. I just see him when he comes in the bar." Not a moment later, The Shadow threw the bartender into the gravel parking lot. Allowing the pathetic excuse of a man to stumble back to his car, the bartender reached into the floorboard for his rifle, but as he turned back around to face his terrifying assailant, The Shadow was gone! The next evening, Alanis Wattanabee was at home. She decided she would wait until The Shadow beckoned her again, to go out looking for trouble. She spent the morning resting in bed and playing with a stray cat that she fed on her windowsill. The cat laid across her lap as she listened to the radio in her bedroom. Tuning the station, she was able to pick up a news report that detailed the events of last night. Four men killed, two hospitalized, names not yet released to the public. After many people exited the shady tavern known as The Big Mug, a woman was seen exiting minutes later and disappearing. She is wanted for questioning. Witnesses described her as being in her mid-twenties, nearly six feet tall with fair skin and curly hair pulled back by a hair band. If anyone knows any... Alanis switched off the radio. Shocked that the police wanted her, she was thankful that they didn't have any information on who she was. They don't know where I live or who I am. I'm in the safe, the clear. Besides, I am an agent of The Shadow...they won't get me, she thought confidently. Not wanting to worry, she moved the sleeping cat off her lap to dress. Craving fish, she decided to stop by a fish market on her way to the grocery for milk and eggs. Allowing the cat to leave the apartment before she closed and locked all the windows, she took a transit to Brooklyn's fish market: Ching's. Looking over the variety of fish, she finally decided and waved down an Asian clerk. "I'll take two pounds of the whitefish Sir," Alanis told the man in a white apron behind the counter. "Two pounds! Whitefish!" the clerk yelped to a young boy who gathered the fish to be weighed and chopped. "That be three dollars Ma'am," the clerk mumbled as the boy finished wrapping the cuts. Handing the man the money, she grabbed her bag of fish and was off. Leaving the market, she walked a few blocks and entered a family owned grocer. Minutes later, she reappeared on the street with another bag in hand. Not wanting to wait half an hour for the bus, she began walking towards Third Street and off to home. With it being near dusk, she noticed a pair of beaming lights, not far behind her. As she walked, she would periodically glance back to see if the beams had disappeared. She then recognized that these beaming lights were a car's headlights… she was being followed. She gave no thought to whom it might be following her and kept her steady pace toward home. As she came upon a gloomy alley that she remembered was a shortcut to Third Street, she quickly entered. As she walked through the foggy passage, she noticed that a black car obstructed the other side of the alley. She began to get frightened, and started to back out of the alley. Suddenly, one of the doors to the car opened. Out stepped a tall man in a blue pinstriped suit. She quickly recognized the man as her offender from the bar the night before. She turned to run, as panic came over her. Suddenly another man stepped out from the other side of the car. It was Frenchy, the tall mobster's accomplice. The two men darted after her. As she ran, she tripped and fell to the ground. The tall goon grabbed her. Suddenly a bright yellow taxicab that appeared brand-new rolled up alongside the dark alley. A man rushed out; it was Moe Shrevnitz, one of the Shadow's agent's. The goons hastily tried to drag Alanis to the car. Moe dove for the tall man, knocking him down, forcing Alanis free. She tried to escape, but Frenchy grabbed her forcing her to the ground. Moe pulled a switchblade knife, heaved the tall goon from the ground and put the knife to his throat. "Now," said Moe, "I've got your friend, you give me mine," he said addressing Frenchy the goon. "Do what he says," the tall goon ordered. "Quiet you," Moe said pressing the blade harder into the goon's neck. Frenchy thought for a moment, then released Alanis from his grip. Moe threw the goon to the ground. Quickly Alanis charged Moe, as the goons made a mad dash for their car. "Are you alright?" Moe asked Alanis. "I'm fine, thanks to you," she replied, picking up her groceries that she spilled throughout the alley. "I'd been following you," Moe exclaimed, "by order of The Shadow." "Well, he needs to learn I can take care of myself." "You're new at this. The boss just wants to look out for his agents until they get used to this life," Moe informed. "C'mon, let's get you home," he said, as they walked back to the cab. |
© copyright 2003 - Present
The Shadow: Master of Darkness
The Shadow is copyrighted by Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc. Disclaimer
The Shadow: Master of Darkness
The Shadow is copyrighted by Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc. Disclaimer