csyphrett

Secret Service 1938- 6 Rafferty took up a spot outside the pub where he could see the two doors available as exits. All he had to do was wait and hope that no one saw him loitering. The costume was a dead giveaway that he was up to no good. If he went in, he would have to fight the whole pub. None of the people inside had the look that the casino players had. They would all turn on him to protect Bones. Waiting was the best thing to do. He didn’t like it. He would rather force things to happen. If the spy boys were right about the connection to the Jerries, it was worth it to see how much he could disrupt. If they were wrong, Bones’s girlfriend was just guilty of hanging out with a bad crowd. He didn’t think they were wrong, but he had no way to prove anything. And he had no connection to Brown. They could imply anything, but that wasn’t proof. The Intelligence people weren’t going to stand in open court and declare how they hooked everything together. He had to make the connection, but beating a confession out of Bones was not going to hold up in court either. Any sign of coercion and the case would be destroyed before it could be argued in front of the judges. And he doubted he could scare Bones enough to profess all of his knowledge of the underworld to the local copper. Maybe he could trick the woman into notifying her boss if she saw him being picked up. The agency would have to be ready to listen on her phone call. He didn’t see that happening fast enough to catch her. He considered breaking into her place and looking around. That might get him something. He didn’t know what. It would also blow any surveillance Six was doing, unless he arranged for them to chase her down after she discovered him going over her secret messages. Five would be mad that no one had handed them a spy on domestic soil since it was their job to hunt such people down. How did he use any of this? Acting as a vigilante meant punishing people in the act. Bones had done nothing provable, nor was he a threat while he was in the pub. Waiting for him to get orders and go after someone else seemed the only way to solve things so that the regular police could do something. Maybe he should go in as himself and spark a confrontation. Maybe that would get him something he could use. Then Fletcher and the auxiliary could watch the woman and see what she did. Rafferty considered the plans. They wouldn’t get him closer to proving Bones killed Corklin. Punching him in the face was tempting, but he couldn’t think of a way to turn that into a cell and a day before a court. Capturing him was well and good. It was up to the Yard to deal with him. Would Hawley have enough evidence to charge Bones? Would he walk away clean? And there was no way to connect Bones to Brown. That was the most important part of things. If Bones was taken with the gun that killed Corklin, that would be proof that he had killed the witness. The problem was he could claim a crazy masked man had given it to him after taking him from his favorite pub. So the plan was to wait and have a little talk with the hitman when he came out of the pub. A ride in the trunk of the car would follow after that. It seemed better than letting everyone know he had the man. It obviated the need to explain where the evidence came from and how it got in Bones’s possession. And it kept his girlfriend in the dark unless she showed up to meet him. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was better than nothing. Rafferty waited patiently in the shadows. The pub started emptying out. Where was Bones? Did he have to go in and take the man? The pub stood empty. All the customers had left. The bar man put chairs up on the tables as he started cleaning up. Where had Bones gone? He would have to go in and ask around. That was the total opposite of what he wanted to do. He checked the Webley. No one said being a masked government requisitioned vigilante would be easy. At least the business was exciting so far. Rafferty went to the pub’s doors. He tried the knob. It was locked. The pub man looked up and saw him standing there. He didn’t look happy at the masked man looking into the room at him. Rafferty smashed the glass inset out of the door with the Webley. He opened the door as the man ran to the counter. The detective fired one shot into the shelf behind the bar. “Bones,” said the masked man. “Where is he?” “He went out the back,” said the bar man. “There’s a door behind the building. It lets out in the alley between the pub and the book store.” Rafferty grimaced. He went out the front. He walked to the corner. He noticed the green sedan had lights on. He wondered if that was Bones’s car and if he was behind the wheel. He rushed down the street. The green sedan started to pull away from Fletcher’s town car. He had to make a decision. Did he shoot, or let the car go? He paused long enough to take aim and fired the Webley. A tire expended all of its air out of the hole that appeared in its side. The car dragged the rim for a few feet before the driver gave up. Rafferty ran across the street. He used Fletcher’s car as cover as the driver of the green sedan opened his door and got out. A pistol barked as the detective ducked behind the trunk of the black vehicle. He didn’t want to kill Bones before he had some clue to what was going on. On the other hand, he wasn’t going to let the man keep shooting at him. Rafferty slid down to the corner of Fletcher’s car. He peeked around the side. Bones searched for him over the trunk of his car. The masked man smiled. He was searching in the wrong area. The detective took aim and shot Bones in the leg. The man collapsed to the sidewalk. His pistol bounced once before settling on the concrete. Rafferty rushed forward. Bones reached for the pistol where it lay on the sidewalk. A boot to the head fixed that. The detective stepped back. He had a wounded captive now. What did he do with the man? He muttered an expletive. He had captured Bones, but he didn’t have anything to tie him to the killings. What did he do now? He had burned down an illegal business and shot a suspected gunman. He didn’t have a lot for his actions. Fletcher arrived from his phone call a few minutes later. He looked down at the wounded man. He scratched his head as he considered what he found. “What have you done?,” he asked his agent. “I kept this man from bleeding out,” said Rafferty. “And now I must go. Tell the police whatever you feel will sell the story. Tell them I was afraid of you.” Sir Laurence looked around. No one was on the street. The lights were out at the pub. He frowned. Bones seemed to be out. “Anything else?,” asked Sir Laurence. “See if you can get them to test his pistol against the bullets from the house,” said Rafferty. “That might be enough to lock him away for something.” “Call in in two hours,” said the knight. “I might have something we can use to plan our next move.” Rafferty retreated from the scene. He pulled the mask down as he vanished into an alley across the street from the block of buildings they were interested in. Sir Laurence hoped he didn’t shoot anyone else before they knew what they were doing. The note about Bones’s woman had thrown things into uncertain areas. Once they knew what she knew, they could proceed with their campaign against Brown. What did the Jerries want with Brown? Sources doubted he would work with them. Maybe people were wrong about him. Sir Laurence checked his watch. His watcher would be on the scene in minutes. Did he dare leave Bones on his own to call the police to pick him up. He had to do something. The man needed to be taken to a hospital. The knight put the man in the back of his green car before going back to the phone booth he had used earlier. He called the detective he had tasked with comparing the bullets from the house shooting. He explained the situation and asked the man to come down and pick up Bones. He walked back to the green sedan. Bones was still breathing in the back seat. He was happy about that. A whistle blew in the distance. The local police were on the way. He could ask the constable to secure the scene while he went about his business. He realized he might be stuck for more than two hours trying to explain all this to the Yard. They definitely needed to work on procedures so he wasn’t involved in missions. The agency was supposed to act behind the scenes, not take the roles of witnesses to manufacture crimes against its targets. The cases should survive the court process without his input. Now he was on the hook as a witness to something he didn’t witness taking place. Perhaps he had been wrong about Rafferty. He hated to admit something like that. It opened the question of what else he had misjudged. Sir Laurence saw a constable running down the street. He waved a hand to direct the man closer. He needed to hand over Bones and get to work on the rest of the problem he was trying to solve. He still needed to put the auxiliary in place on the woman. Where did she fit in? “What’s going on, sir?,” asked the constable once he arrived by the green sedan. “I found this man shot,” said Sir Laurence. “I put him in the car to make him comfortable. This gun is his, I assume.” He pointed at the revolver lying by the sedan. The constable pulled out a handkerchief and picked up the revolver. He sniffed the barrel and wrinkled his nose. He put the revolver on top of the sedan. “Are you armed, sir?,” asked the constable. Sir Laurence raised the tails of his jacket to show he wasn’t carrying a firearm. He turned in a circle so the man could see that he didn’t have any obvious weapons. “I’m going to have to write a report to file for whomever takes over and looks into things, sir,” said the constable. He pulled out a pad and pen and held them to write down the facts. “What’s your name, and how did you find this man?” “I’m Sir Laurence Fletcher,” said the knight. “This is my car. I had been called here to meet someone about a job that I needed done. So far he hasn’t arrived. I waited for a bit, but I stepped away to call my office. I heard shots. When I came back to my car, I found the wounded man laying on the ground. I did a home bandage which will not last long and put him in his car.” “How did you know this was his car?,” asked the constable. “The door was open,” said Sir Laurence. “When I arrived, the car didn’t have anyone inside it that I could see. This man wasn’t here. When I came back, he was laying down beside his firearm. And there’s the bullet holes.” The knight waved at the small marks on the car from being used as cover. A car from the Flying Squad arrived. Two more constables got out on the street. The first constable went over and told them what had happened. One of the men reached inside and called back to headquarters. They assured him that an ambulance and more men were on the way. Sir Laurence made a note that he needed to outfit his commandoes with similar devices so he could contact them in the field. Communications with Rafferty had seemed simpler when he had thought of the operator system. Now he knew he needed to keep a tighter rein on his agents so they do things like sticking him with a wounded mobster and police scrutiny for the next few days. He couldn’t run his organization and dodge detectives interested in what he was doing. He put false credentials on the list of things he might need in the future. “Constable Wombell has told us your statement,” said one of the new constables from the Flying Squad. “I’m going to need to look at your credentials to show that you are who you say you are.” Sir Laurence pulled out the leather folder he kept for his papers. He handed it over. The constable looked things over before handing the wallet back. “We don’t need to keep you any more tonight,” said the constable. “There will be some questions when we figure out who this gentleman is, and how you can help us narrow down things.” “My office will be open to you, gentlemen,” said Sir Laurence. He wondered if any of the three men worked for Brown, and if they knew that someone was looking for Bones. Could a trap be made from the wounded Bones and the uncertainty of what he had revealed after getting shot? Everyone knew a mad masked man had been looking for Bones. Would they think he had given up after finding the man? Would they think he would move to another target and wreck things until he found the right man? How could they use this to force the Brown crime organization to move to better climes and stay in exile? He didn’t have a solution yet. Maybe Rafferty would come up with something with his targeting of Billy Bones only leading peripherally to something major. They needed to confirm the woman knew something about what was going on, and that evidence was worth something to put people in prison, or hang them. Sir Laurence got behind the wheel of his car and backed away from the green sedan. That had been bad luck parking behind Bones’s car. At least Rafferty hadn’t shot his car up when he had attacked. He made a note that he needed a personal car he could call the office from while he was out on business. He turned in the street and headed pass the pub. The lights were off now. Had the owner and servers hunkered out of the way when the shooting started. Someone might have seen him talking to Rafferty. He couldn’t help that. He had to keep working. He spotted his investigator standing on the next corner. He pulled over at the curb. He doubted the man wanted to be seen by the police while they were looking for a shooter. “How’s it going?,” said the auxiliary. His hair had turned gray while young, wrinkles from exposure dotted his face, his suit looked like it belonged to his father. The eyes were sharp and clear. “Get in, Harry,” said Sir Laurence. “I have a job for you, and I don’t want to be seen with you by the police.” Harry got in the town car and settled into the seat. He leaned against the door as the car started rolling again. “This is the situation,” said Sir Laurence. “Billy Bones has been shot. He is on his way to the hospital. I have been told he has a girlfriend that works at the Yellow Rose. The only name I have is a Margaret, or Maggie. I want you to find that girl and make a note on everyone she talks to until I tell you to stop.” “So I need to identify this woman, confirm her occupation and relation to Bones, and identify everyone she talks to until you say stop,” said Harry. “You’re looking at a big undertaking as far as following the woman and identifying her contacts.” “I’m looking for someone with connections overseas, Harry,” said Sir Laurence. “He will probably be using an alias and a false history.” “I’ll look into it,” said Harry. “Do you have a home address for this Margaret?” “No,” said Sir Laurence. “Put that down on the things you have to find out and report.” “Police involved?,” asked Harry. “They are transporting Billy Bones to the hospital in the hopes he survives the gunshot wound in his leg,” said Sir Laurence. “I believe they think I will be identified as the perpetrator since I called for assistance.” “The easiest solutions are the best,” said Harry. He smiled at the thought of Sir Laurence ever dirtying his hands enough to shoot someone. “Thank you for that vote of confidence,” said the knight. “You probably won’t be able to do anything on the block with the police there. If you want to start tomorrow night, that’s understandable.” “Don’t worry,” said Harry. “I’ll call your office and report anything I find out.” “Thanks, Harry,” said Sir Laurence. “You might want to stay under cover until the police are done looking for suspects. You don’t want to be taken in over this.” “It’s no problem,” said Harry. “Let me off in the next block. I have to make some calls to get started.” Sir Laurence pulled to a curb to let his investigator out. //166422

i know but it would be okay to me that the one crime he committed that he could have gotten away with if he was competent was the one crime that led to removal or jail. CES

Willy Mangam is the shapechanging Fluidronic Man. Liquid in form, he can go anywhere, take almost any damage, and be as annoying as he wants. CES

Right now, I am hoping that Stormy Daniels wrecks Trump just from the WTFery of it all. CES

if it makes you feel better, he pled guilty in another case and is up for sentencing in the summer. Hopefully, they'll stack the sentencing. CES

This is the biggest dinner I have ever caught CES

A liberal arts major would be a bard/alchemist from the Wiki description. Mix in some six string samurai and you have a guy who can do musical tricks on one hand, fast talk a little, and blow things up when things aren't going great. CES

Sherman hates to fight, but when push comes to shove, she will attack brutally with her liquid steel powers. Burning down the opposition was the only way to make sure they didn't come back to keep fighting. CES

Argyle is a limited magician, putting his powers into living spells. They operate to help him get to where he needs to go, solve puzzles, and defend him. When the magic took notice of the end of the world, the servants began pointing their master down the path he needed to walk if he wanted a chance to influence the future. CES

he does embody the seven sins so i guess that's something CES

Thanks, Dan. I have been interested in this movie and watched the trailers and the easter egg things. The fact they brought back the Iron Giant is like whoa. CES

Did the telecom try to kill the players, Dan? That seems to be one of the things going on in the trailers. I did like the part with the Spartans from what I saw. CES

The end of the world is coming. The Last Chance formed to defeat the prophesy. Hailing from different areas of study, these six heroes hope to avert the wave of destruction on the way. (lets have one archetype each for this team. one magician, gadgeteer, blaster, etc) CES

We need an engineer for this group. The hero known as Weyland is able restructure items into performing more than their original concept. He is makeshift gadgeteer compared to his friend Mike, who can build things from parts that he has. The two work well together for concepts and executions. CES

Sorry to hear about this, Pariah. April is the start of camp. I can run a draft on the side if no one wants to take up the challenge. CES

Watched Justice League Action. Uses the Jim Lee designs but that's okay for the most part. Mr. Terrific is in the opening but isn't in the show. Space Cabby is in two set in space, naturally. Batman, like his Brave and Bold counterpart, is the guy to beat. Favorite scenes: Earlier Batman ejected Green Arrow from the batmobile for being annoying. Athena is riding along on a mission in a later cartoon and being annoying. The camera focuses on Batman looking at the eject button for her seat before he decides not to dump her. Plastic Man is happy that Brainiac upgrades his threat status from a 4.6 to an 87 and the declaration he will be the first to die. Plas is so happy he takes a selfie with the league and Brainiac in his jar. CES

Sam Nunberg evidently called Trump an idiot while drunk for interviews on news shows about his subpeona and search for email trail. CES

There was a TIger Man from Atlas Comics. CES

secret service 1938- 5 Sir Laurence listened with dismay as his erstwhile agent informed him of the night’s doings so far. He made notes as he decided what options he could employ to turn things to achieve his goals. Rafferty might force things if he stayed out in the open. The knight told Rafferty to hold on. He moved to another phone on the desk. He had to make two calls. Fletcher made the first call. It was to a detective they had on their payroll. He asked the man to collect the bullets at the house of the shooting mentioned by Rafferty. He asked the detective to compare the bullets to Corklin’s murder if he could. He also asked for comparisons to any unsolved murder in London. It was better to throw a net wide enough to net a lot of fish, than trying to just net one. The detective acknowledged the order. Sir Laurence called a stool pigeon he used to keep tabs on the underworld next. The man was not reliable, but sometimes he came up with something useful. The knight asked him about Billy Bones and his relationship with Mick Brown. “Well, Guv, Billy Bones keeps to himself,” said the informant. “Almost no one knows what he looks like. He supposed to have some woman in the north part of the city.” “Do you know the name of the woman, Sam?,” said Sir Laurence. “It might be vital to my business.” “Not really,” said Sam. “I heard it was something like Margaret, Margie. She works at a clothing shop named Yellow Rose.” “Thank you, Sam,” said Sir Laurence. “Your payment will be left in the usual place.” “Thanks, Guv,” said Sam. The knight hung up. He went back to the open line where Rafferty waited for him. “Rafferty?,” asked Sir Laurence. “I’m still here,” said the detective. “One of my informants gave me the partial name of a woman associated with Billy Bones,” said Sir Laurence. “A Margaret. She works at a clothing store called the Yellow Rose.” “I’ll look into it,” said Rafferty. “I suppose there’s no home address.” “The informer didn’t know it,” said the knight. “What are you going to do?” “I’m going to see if I can find this woman,” said Rafferty. “Is there anything I need to know before I get started?” “I have someone trying to match the bullets from your shooting to the Corklin murder, and any other murder that might be filed at the Yard,” said Sir Laurence. “I will let you know if there is news.” “Thanks,” said Rafferty. “I’ll call you when I know something.” Sir Laurence put the headset down at the end of the call. He rubbed his chin. He had expected Rafferty to start rapidly, but not like this. He might have to rethink his project strategy. “Let me know if he checks back in, Greer,” said Sir Laurence. “I have to do some paperwork.” “Yes, sir,” said Greer. The operator checked his notes. He began typing up what had been reported by Rafferty. He shook his head at the burning down of the casino. He made a note to get a report from the fire brigade when possible. Sir Laurence settled behind his desk. He looked at the reports on his desk. He grimaced. Where did he start? He decided to start with the candidates from Glasgow. The operation wanted to set up offices in other parts of the island and Ireland. He weeded the files down to two. He needed to contact one of his assistants to let them know to keep his candidates under watch. As soon as Rafferty had things in hand, he could talk to them and see if they would be interested in the job. He sorted messages from various sources. Some of them were not that important, but could use a little checking. He might put Rafferty on those to clear them up. A message from MI-6 reported a sighting of a spy activity. They didn’t have any real suspect yet. They thought the Yellow Rose was involved. He paused. Where had he heard that name before? He stood and went to the door to the outer office. Greer worked on his notes. The operator looked up from his typing. “Sir?,” said the operator. “Yellow Rose?,” said Sir Laurence. “It’s the place you sent Rafferty to look for Billy Bones’s girlfriend,” said Greer. “Problem?” “Perhaps,” said the knight. “I have to go out. If Rafferty calls in, tell him to watch out at the Yellow Rose.” “Understood,” said Greer. Sir Laurence picked up his hat and cane as he left the office. He put the hat on as he headed for the elevator. What was Billy Bones’s girl doing with a connection to a foreign government? What had they sent Rafferty to do? He found his car. He got behind the wheel. He had sent his driver home for the day before he had realized he would need him. Things were moving too fast. He smiled to himself. He had wanted Rafferty to stir the pot until he could get more agents into the field. The detective was doing that right enough. He reviewed the facts in his head and he didn’t like the implications that were in the things he didn’t know. How big a problem had Rafferty triggered by going after Bones of all the people associated with Mick Brown? The shooting after the meeting must have been what triggered Rafferty. How had he decided on Bones over the rest of the associated pack of wolves? That was a question for another day. What they did about the Yellow Rose was a more immediate concern. Anything they did could cause the spy apparatus detected by MI-6 to fold up and move. That would waste months of work by the other agency. He couldn’t allow that. He didn’t see how he could stop it with Rafferty already in motion. The best he could do was try to mitigate things so MI-6 still had their trail to follow. Sir Laurence drove through the streets with care and precision. He found the shop tucked between two other clothing places. A small pub was on the corner of the block. He glanced at the window, but didn’t see Rafferty in the crowd. He drove down the block, pulling in at the curb behind a dark green sedan. Where was his agent? Sir Laurence scanned the street on all sides of his car. He didn’t see anyone close to Rafferty, or his masked persona. What was his next move? He decided that he should check the inside of the pub. Maybe Rafferty had stationed himself inside and away from the glass. At the very least, he could get something to drink while he was looking. The knight walked to the pub. He supposed he was looking at a minor center for the local criminals. He made sure his wallet was where no one could get at it before he stepped inside. He didn’t see Rafferty as he walked to the bar. He decided to take up a position at the bar. He could keep his eye on the rest of the room, and the windows from the end. And it let him blend in with the people already there. He ordered a glass of beer and took it to the end of the bar. He could be wrong. Rafferty might be waiting for the next night to break into the place. He might be taking the rest of his first night waiting to see what would happen after he smashed open Brown’s casino. He dismissed that speculation. Rafferty had moved by reflex after deciding to take the job. He had a clear wedge he was trying to push. He wouldn’t stop now except to rest and evaluate his next target. Where was he examining the Yellow Rose? He had to be close by to watch the shop. He didn’t have to be in the street. Maybe one of the roofs overlooking the block held a good spot to watch the street. Sir Laurence appearing on the scene might give him pause. The agency could not destroy an MI-6 operation without getting something to give back. MI-5 and MI-6 covered most of the intelligence gathering for the Crown. Another agency ripping their apparatuses apart would not be appreciated. How did he stop his agent from doing that? He sipped at his beer and watched the other patrons. No one came close. They seemed involved in the conversations they were having. Some asked about him to their friends. He was an oddity at the neighborhood pub. The locals didn’t like that, but they weren’t ready to do anything about it yet. A familiar face entered the pub. Sir Laurence sipped his beer. At least he had confirmation that Billy Bones hung around in the neighborhood. He didn’t see a woman with him. Where was this elusive Margaret? Once the pair were together, he could follow them out of the pub to wherever they were going. Then he could see if there was evidence connecting Bones to Corklin, or the attempt on Rafferty. How did it all tie in with the suspected spy ring, and Mick Brown? Sir Laurence saw an army uniform through the window glass. He stood and drank part of his beer before heading for the door. He checked as he went. No one moved to follow him. He stepped out on the street and looked both ways. He saw the uniform down the street. He walked down to the end of the block so he could have a chat with his new employee. “Mr. Rafferty?,” whispered Sir Laurence. “We need to talk.” “What are you doing here?,” asked Rafferty. He had his mask up to protect his face. “The Yellow Rose is a suspected spy nest,” said Sir Laurence. “I saw the notification and came down to warn you that it was being watched by Intelligence.” “Right,” said Rafferty. “How does it connect to Brown?” “I have no idea,” said Sir Laurence. “Bones and his paramour are in the pub. How do you want to handle that?” “I’m going to wait for them to come out, and then I am going to talk to Bones,” said Rafferty. “I don’t know what to do about the woman. If she is a spy, we’ll need more evidence than MI-6's say so. We need something we can follow to the source.” “Take Bones,” said Sir Laurence. “Find out what you can from him. We want to concentrate on Brown, and Corklin. Drop him somewhere the police will find him.” “What about the woman?,” said Rafferty. “If I take Bones in front of her, that might cause her to flee.” “That would be fine,” said Sir Laurence. “I’m going to find a phone booth to ask for an auxiliary to help us. Take Bones, I’ll follow the woman until the auxiliary can take over.” “So we’re going to use Bones to try to find out what the woman is doing,” said Rafferty. “I don’t see how it will work.” “It might not,” said Sir Laurence. “We just don’t have anything to lose by letting her go so we can follow her.” “Right,” said Rafferty. “Better make that call. There’s no telling when they’ll leave.” Sir Laurence walked off in search of a phone he could use to call his contact.

Writing more Omes and Witsend stories next month. Will have to take a month off from my one million word project to make goal CES

The trailers are full of refs to video games and movies. At one point, there's a JOUST knight and ostrich. I haven't read the book, but the trailer makes the setting look like One Piece, and the authority is trying to keep their telecom company to themselves instead of letting some kid win the prize. As an aside, One Piece starts its age of piracy the same way as Halliday. Roger tells the world that he gathered all of the treasure he stole and buried in one piece. That sets off every rival pirate looking for it. CES

I voted also and someone wants me to expand on the Showdown/Kubo world at FFNet. I'm trying to think of ways now. CES

You can get a boxed set for all the episodes. Saw it at the walmart CES

Secret Service 1938- 4 Rafferty found the place snuggled in an address that should have been for a boarding house. He inspected the street from his car. He saw one lookout on the street. The man leaned against a stoop, smoking a cigarette. A whistle hung around his neck. If the police arrived to raid the place, he blew the whistle and fled. Someone inside the gambling den would be alerted to usher people out the back way, or through some hidden exit, while the casino was converted back into an empty storage area. No one wanted a petty gambling charge on their record. Rafferty smiled. How did he get in without attracting attention? He should take out the lookout, and then see if there was a way inside the place. After that, he would have to play it by ear. He pulled his mask up to cover his face. The bottom was long enough to tuck in the collar of his shirt. He scanned the street again. He spotted another man in the shadows behind his car. He had to do something. He wasn’t going to get through the front door without a ram. How did he get by security? He decided to keep driving. He rolled along slowly, as if looking for an address. He turned and headed over to an adjacent street. He found a spot between buildings to park his car. He had at least two lookouts covering the front door of the place. How many were covering the back? Was there a way into the casino from the back? How did he find it? Rafferty inspected the street before getting out of his car. He pulled on the uniform cap as he thought about his next move. How did he find the casino and get in? He walked to the back wall of the house. He examined the bricks for something he could use. He pressed several in sequence. One moved under his gloved hand. He smiled as he pressed it all the way down. A door sprang open for him. Rafferty entered the secret room. He pulled out his lighter and flicked the sparking wheel to get a flame. Another door led deeper into the house. He felt around until he found a switch to turn. The inner door popped open. He stepped into a short hall that ran behind the main room of the house. He heard laughter and the click of glasses. He waited for a moment. Ambient light drifted from holes in the walls. He looked around until he found another switch. That one opened a spot behind a bar. He struck one of the bartenders with the Webley before he could react to the uniformed presence. The other man started to turn. The masked man threw him over the counter of the bar. He hit the ground and rolled. Rafferty grabbed the other man and threw him on top of the second man before the other could get to his feet. He smiled underneath his mask as more security approached the bar. He swept the alcohol off the shelves on the counter and floor. Some of the bottles broke open. He used his lighter on the spilled liquor. The bar went up in an explosion of flame. Everyone paused as the flames spread from the initial contact. The thugs moved to put the fire out. The customers started toward the door. Both groups hampered each other’s efforts. Rafferty picked up a bottle that had survived his initial arm sweep. He popped the top and threw it across the flames. He smiled at the trail of fire that ran after it until it landed on the carpet. “Anybody here seen Billy Bones?,” shouted Rafferty. He spotted security breaking free of the crowd. They would want to stop him and put out the fire. He didn’t see any guns, but that didn’t mean that much. He needed to spread some more panic so he could move forward from where he was. As long as he was behind the bar, there was no way to get into the crowd and find someone he could question. Rafferty grabbed another bottle from the shelf. He popped the cap as he hopped over the bar. He threw the bottle across the room. Fire followed the pouring liquid as the bottle sailed across the room. The masked man looked around. The crowd still pushed for the front door. He needed someone to talk to and ask questions. Who could he grab? One of the guards made that choice for him with an angry rush. He went down under the weight of the man. He responded with an elbow to the neck. He pushed the man off and pummeled him before he could get his breath back. Rafferty looked around. A lot of the security was being pushed away by the fleeing crowd. He and his captive, and the two bartenders were all that was left in the room. “Where’s Bones?,” Rafferty asked. He pulled the security guard to his feet by his neck tie. “Where?” “I don’t know,” said the guard. He tried to swing a fist into the face of his enemy. He hit a shoulder. That freed his neck tie. Rafferty punched him in the face, then kicked him in the shin. He grabbed a chair and slammed it against the guard’s face. The man went down. The masked man looked around. He shook his head. There was no one close by for him to question. At least they knew he was looking for Bones. That might draw attention to the hitman. What did he do now? He decided that he couldn’t let the bartenders die from burning. He looked down at the guard. He couldn’t let him die. He could but he doubted Fletcher would like it if he did. He grabbed the guard and threw him through the closest window. He went to bartenders and dragged them out of the back door. He closed the secret door and pulled them out of the building. Rafferty dropped the men in the yard. He looked around. He didn’t see anyone in the back lot. He needed to make a call to make sure the burning house didn’t take the rest of the neighborhood with it. He went across the street. Lights were on in the house. He banged on the door. He waited quietly. The door opened to reveal a dowager looking out at him. “What you want?,” she said. “What’s that on your face?” “You have a phone?,” asked Rafferty. “Sure, I do,” said the woman. “Why?” “Mick Brown’s gambling house caught fire,” said Rafferty. “I think someone should call the fire brigade.” “And you think that someone should be me?,” said the woman. “I would but I don’t have a phone,” said the masked man. “Could you please do that for me?” “All right.” She turned from the door. “Hugh, some idiot pretending to be the flag is wanting us to call a fire brigade.” “Really?,” answered someone who could only be Hugh. “What’s he playing at, do you know?” “No,” said the woman. “He says Mick Brown’s place is burning down.” Rafferty walked away while they were still talking. Other lights were coming on. Someone must have seen what was going on and the word was spreading. He headed for his car. He could call the Operator and see if she could get someone down to the house. Fletcher might want to know what was going on. Rafferty got behind the wheel of his car. He looked around. People were in the street. No one seemed to be looking his way. He pulled out of the alley. He headed down to the end of the block. He needed to get out of the costume until he was ready to do more damage. How was Brown going to take the burning of his casino? Would he levy his troops to look for the masked man? Who would he call to help in his search? How could he leverage this into something he could use against the gang lord? Who would take sides? Should he call the Operator? Fletcher might not know that he had burned down the casino yet. Had he put Billy Bones on the spot? What would the hitman do now that the rumors would fly that someone was looking for him? Would he start looking for Rafferty to stop the detective from burning down any other place owned by Brown. How many could he wreck before Brown started increasing the security to keep him from doing that? He needed to take time to plan an approach where he could get his hands on any paper evidence. Where would Brown keep any books for his enterprises? Rafferty pulled under a bridge. He changed clothes and stored everything in the trunk. If someone stopped him and searched the trunk, his secret would be out. That would be the end of his short career as a vigilante. Fletcher would have to recruit another disgruntled policeman to carry out his missions. Rafferty found a phone booth after some minutes driving. He didn’t know where Brown was, or Bones. One of them would show up eventually. He had to be ready to prove they had committed the crimes he accused them of doing. Right now, if it was proven that he had burned down the casino, he would be brought up on charges of arson. It was bad enough to think he was suspected of taking bribes from Brown’s rival to put him away. Adding other crimes to the pot would get him extra years in prison. At least the mask made it hard to prosecute for the arson. He had the motive, means and opportunity, but anyone else who hated Brown could have the same thing. Maybe he could pin the crime on someone that worked with Bones. He needed a likely suspect with no alibi that could be framed for the crime. He doubted anyone like that would stand out. He stepped into the booth. He dialed the number for the Operator. He watched the street as he waited. He didn’t want to be caught in the phone booth if someone decided it was the perfect chance to get rid of him. At least the car acted as a partial shield from where he had parked it at the curb. “Operator, state your name,” said a different voice. So the organization was bigger than he had thought. “Rafferty,” said the former detective. “Hold for Fletcher,” said the Operator. Rafferty considered hanging up. He didn’t need to talk to the man himself. He just needed to know if Brown had been sighted anywhere that Fletcher’s people had a watch. “Mr. Rafferty,” said Fletcher. “What are you doing?” “I am looking for Billy Bones,” said Rafferty. “You wouldn’t happen to know where he is at this moment?” “Why are you looking for Bones?,” said Fletcher. He muttered something away from the phone. “He is a gunman that specializes in shootings from cars,” said Rafferty. “I would like to talk to him about a shooting that happened after our meeting.” “Give me the details, please,” said the knight. //161520

Camp Nano is coming up. Is anybody taking the challenge this year? CES