Fan Fiction: Short Stories

The Red Talon
by Corey Christopher

  Dr. Tam lowered the bunsen burner to a soft blue glow. "Tell me Dr. Longfellow," Roy Tam began.

  "Please call me John."

  "Very well then John, what exactly is the VX Formula?"

  "Well Dr. Tam, the history behind it actually came from a German scientist who defected right after the war broke out two years ago. He was unfortunately assassinated in a secret government lab by German agents who infiltrated it a month ago.

  "But how did you get the formula?"

  "I too was working in the same Lab but was at a conference when he was killed. The scientist who was murdered had left instructions in case of the event of his death. They were to send the formula, which was written in code, to my home address in New York. I received the package a week ago and was continuing the development of the formula.

  "What does the formula actually do?" Tam asked.

  "Well it is a crystalline rocket fuel that starts out as a solid and slowly develops into a liquid during the rockets' flight, allowing for a rocket to fly intercontinentally."

  "Amazing!" Dr. Tam responded. "Why, the Germans could attack any where in the world from Berlin!"

  "Exactly." Dr. Longfellow replied.

  "The VX Formula allows for a rocket to carry three times the amount of fuel as the ones in the developmental stage.

  As the immense power of the new fuel impressed itself upon Dr Tam, the importance of this mission finally hit him. He knew that only one man could pull this off, the weird being in black who saved his life years ago...The Shadow!

  *Click*

  Somewhere in Manhattan, in a room where darkness and silence fought for a complete hold, was a blue shaded lamp that hung over a well-polished table. The click was the first signal that a hidden presence had entered this abode. Walls lined with black velvet and an equally inky carpet sucked up all light, save for the blue rays from the desk. A low laugh broke the silence. Two long white hands that hid more power than they showed, worked deftly and efficiently with envelopes on the desk. The left hand bore the identity of the persona in the room. This ring was the symbol of The Shadow. A rare fire opal, the girasol glimmered its ever-changing hues. From fiery crimson to deep blue the girasol pulsed like a living coal. For those who dared to look upon it, it was almost trance-inducing and hypnotic in its rhythm. Strange as the jewel was, its owner mimicked its mystery and power. The Shadow was in his Sanctum!

  Papers with coded words written in vivid blue ink fluttered to the table. The Shadow read the lines without difficulty as they faded line by line. These were reports from his agents. Cliff Marsland, his operative in the underworld, had given him news about the raid at the Metrolite Hotel. The mob had found no traces of their targets, and was planning a stakeout for Harry and the professor to return. Most of the details were not news to The Shadow. He had other ways of knowing what was going on in the underworld.

  Another letter, this one from Vincent. The formula was complete! It only required testing and would be ready for use. The professor had finished faster than The Shadow had planned. With Tam and Harry helping he must have found the final link. Here was important news! If gangdom found out that it was finished, they would stop at nothing to get it and the professor. He was the last link in their chain of evil plots. Somehow he fit in with the other missing inventors. But how? The Shadow had already divined that thought, as it was signified by his mocking laugh. His plan was in motion, ahead of schedule even. The pieces were in place, he only needed to make his move and the game would be set.

  The light clicked out. Darkness reigned. A laugh shuddered off the walls and its echo sounded as if a host of demons had taken up the cry. Silence returned and the room was empty. The Shadow had departed. Only he knew the next location where his presence would manifest.

  What action will he set in motion? What of Harry, Cliff, and the professor?

  Only the Shadow knew...

  A car with two men in it sat across the street from the hotel in which Harry Vincent was staying. One of the men was the right hand man of a well-known crime boss who was working for some unknown leader. The leader said he'd pay them all handsomely for information on a Dr. Longfellow who had recently come to New York.

  The other man in the car was Cliff Marsland, who knew they wouldn't see Harry that night. He had already warned him to take another route so he wouldn't be discovered by the crew. He sat back in his seat and kept his eyes and ears open for any thing unexpected.

  At that time Harry Vincent moved undetected in the shadows behind his building. He climbed up a fire escape up to his floor and went in through the window. As a precaution Harry walked down the hall to look out of the window opposite to where he came in from. He spotted the car, right where Cliff told him it would be. It seemed that Harry's entrance had gone unnoticed by the gangsters.

  Dr Longfellow was safe staying with Dr. Tam. In the morning he was to go and see if they were still all right. But for now he had been put off duty and decided to get some sleep.

  As his standard signal to The Shadow, Harry kept the little desk lamp burning to indicate where he was. He turned off the rest of the lights and went to bed.

  "Are we really going to sit here all night?" Cliff made his voice sound irritated. " If he has come in yet, chances are he's gotten wise to us and has gone somewhere else."

  "You heard what the boss said. Besides, this is the easiest pile of mazuma I've ever made. All we gotta do is stay here and watch the place. We followed that scientist here and we saw what this other bird looks like. If anyone goes in, we'll go up and nab 'em!"

  "I just didn't want to have to stay up all night. A man has to get his sleep."

  "Fine, fine. We'll take shifts. I'll stay up till dawn and you can stay up till noon. But we are stayin' right here 'till we see those guys."

  "Fine with me Bones."

  At least Cliff knew the time where Harry would be on the move again. He figured that Vincent had already got in somehow and was sleeping about now. 'Bones' wasn't going to see anything tonight.

  Cliff put his hat over his eyes and settled down to get some shut-eye until the dawn came. And with the dawn comes a new day. A day that he is uncertain about. One that may be filled with danger, and risk. But to Cliff, a life with excitement, danger and a chance to risk it for an honourable cause was exactly what he got when he chose to aid The Shadow.