Part 2 - The Howl of the Banshee

8/2/2019 Part 2 - The Howl of the Banshee

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The Shadow Watchers

Part 2-

The Howl of theBanshee

A Crime Fighter Serial by Andrew Roberts



Lucky Luke’s Bookies, Pleasure Circus, Rockwell Bay

“What kind of junkie would blow up a drug lab without stealing the product or the money?” Luke

asked. “Maybe he’s part of some police death squad.”

Henry rooted through the body’s coat, finding the Skull’s fearsome arsenal. “Holy shit.” He said,

“Maybe this guy is some kind of special agent.”

“Hang on,” Tommy interrupted, “Why isn’t he bleeding?”

Henry moved his hand to where Tommy had shot the Black Skull’s chest. He saw the bullet

embedded in the spot. “It’s a flak jacket!” he cried. The Skull awakened and lunged at Henry,

grabbing his arm and twisting it, forcing the gun out of his hand. Tommy raised his gun, but was

knocked down before he could fire when the Skull threw Henry into him. Luke and Jimmy aimed

their pistols at him when a bright light shone behind them. As they turned around, a car with a

terrifying skeletal design on the bonnet raced into the alleyway and hit them.

The Skull ran past the dazed mobsters and climbed into the driver’s seat, speeding out of the

alleyway and onto the main road. By this time, the fire service and the police had responded to the

explosion. The Skull pressed his foot against the accelerator. The engine screamed like a

banshee as the car took off down the main road, the police cars not far behind. Noticing them, he

pressed one of the buttons on the elaborate set of controls. Smoke billowed out of two concealed

pipes behind the rear bumper. The pursuing cars swerved and broke hard as they entered the

blinding cloud of the smokescreen. When the smoke had cleared, the officers looked around the

street to see that the car had disappeared.

“Who the hell was that guy?” One of the officers asked.

“I don’t know.” His partner replied, “But whoever he is, he’ll be going down.”



“I already talked to your masked freak.” The dealer sputtered out, “He tried to shake me down

about my supplier.”

“What do you mean our masked freak? He ain’t a cop.”

“It was some guy in a trench coat with a steel pot and a gas mask. He broke my fingers and asked

me where I got my stuff from.”

“Was this in the Hives?” Jiménez asked.

The dealer shook his head. “No. I swing in Pleasure Circus.”

McCredie and Jiménez looked at each other in amazement. “So that’s why the search in the Hives

turned out empty.” McCredie said.

“Dios Mio .” Jiménez said softly, “This guy probably hunts around the entire city. What did you tell

him about your product?”

“I directed him to the drug lab at Lucky Luke’s.” the dealer said, absolutely terrified. McCredie

perked up again.

“So that’s what the bombing was about.” He said. The two detectives left the interview room.

“You can process him now.” Jiménez told the officer guarding the door.

Returning to their car, the two detectives were met by Thornton again.

“Are the suspects still at the receiving hospital?” Jiménez asked.

Thornton nodded. “Sorry, but they’re not awake yet.” He said “What did you find out from the

dealer?”

“He said that the vigilante shook him down for info on his suppliers. He said he directed him to

Lucky Luke’s.”

“That was the bombing target. That seems to fit. Leave the suspects at the receiving to me. I’ll

interview them when they’re awake.” Thornton told them.

“Who was the first officer at the scene of the bombing?” McCredie asked.

“I think it was Officer Yates. His beat’s on Pleasure Circus.”

The pair watched Thornton climb into his 1976 Lincoln Continental and drove away. McCredie

looked at him in disgust.

“What cop drives a car like that?” he muttered to himself.

“Let’s head to the morgue.” Jiménez suggested, “Maybe we can look at those victims.”



Elsewhere, an armoured car was being driven from the wharves at Anchor Jetty to the National

Bank, escorted by two cars driven by private security guards. As it moved through an intersection,

a large semi-trailer rolled in and rammed the lead car off the road while simultaneously blocking

the van’s path. Two SUVs raced to the scene. Several men in a variety of sports masks jumped

out, firing Kalashnikovs into the air. The guards in the two cars and the van were hauled out and

herded against the semi-trailer.

“Open the doors!” one of the robbers screamed. Two of the others opened the doors to the van

and pulled the guards out, wrenching their shotguns from their hands and throwing them to the

ground. The lead robber stepped inside and began to offload the boxes inside. Opening them up,

he discovered that they were full of precious stones.

“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend…” one of the other robbers commented.

“Shut up and start loading them!” the leader ordered. The gang began to grab the crates and load

them into the semi-trailer. “You four, keep the guards here until we’ve gone!” he ordered once the

diamonds were loaded.

As the robbers were starting to leave, an ear-splitting howl was heard. The Black Mask’s car, the

Banshee, screamed as it charged towards the robbers. They opened fire with their Kalashnikovs,

making a break for it as the bullets bounced off the demonic figurehead. The Banshee rammed

through the robbers as it pursued the fleeing semi-trailer. The rear doors of the trailer opened up

and two of the robbers opened fire on their mysterious pursuer. The Black Skull pressed another

one of the buttons on the dash board controls. The skeletal claws on the figurehead extended,

revealing two concealed .50 calibre heavy machineguns. Bullets sprayed the semi-trailer, slicing

up the two tail gunners, but the trailer continued. The Skull pressed another button, launching two

missiles from the Banshee’s headlights. The trailer was obliterated, but the truck continued tomake the escape. As the police began to close in on the pursuit, the Banshee raced ahead and

released an oil slick from a spray hidden beneath the rear bumper. The truck span out of control

and overturned.

A short while later, McCredie and Jiménez had arrived at the scene of the carnage following an

emergency call over the dispatch. As they arrived, Thornton was waiting for them.

“What’s this about sir?” Jiménez asked, “Isn’t this Robbery’s case?”

“We had a sighting.” Thornton explained, “That vigilante attacked the robbers with some kind ofillegally-modified vehicle outfitted with military armaments. All the more reason to get him.”

McCredie and Jiménez looked at him in surprise. “It looks like we’re finding a Batmobile.”

McCredie commented sarcastically while viewing a photo of the Banshee.



As night fell on Rockwell Bay, Lieutenant Thornton pulled up outside the remains of Lucky Luke ’s

in Pleasure Circus. The building was boarded up and the officers had gone, but the alleyway had

been closed off with yellow tape. Exiting his Lincoln, Thornton noticed that the yellow tape had

been cut. He drew his Smith and Wesson Model 19 and approached cautiously, spotting a black

1968 Rolls-Royce Phantom. As he spotted it, he saw two men approach: A slender, almost dandy-

looking man in his late forties wearing a black Kashmir overcoat with a matching pork-pie hat.

Behind him was a younger man with longer hair, a battered grey raincoat and a black trilby.

Noticing the revolver, he trained a Colt M1911 at Thornton.

“Don’t get jittery Eddie. Put it away. I ’d do the same if I were you Thornton.” The first man said

bluntly. The other two holstered their respective weapons.

“I thought you’d want to meet here Troy.” Thornton murmured, “What’s on your mind?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Troy Dundee hinted, “I want to find out who bombed my bookies.”

“I’m working on that. Some dealer said he directed this masked avenger guy to here.”

“How are my boys?”

“They’re in Receiving. I’ll interview them when they recover.”

Dundee handed Thornton a small, yet bulging envelope. “If you don’t mind, I want hear what

happened. That’s a little ‘Get Well Soon’ card for the group.” He said, winking.

Thornton opened the envelope and saw the card, along with a large wad of dollar bills. He smiled

as he pocketed the money. “Very well.” He said, “They’re still unstable, but once they’ve been

good boys, so they won’t be in custody.”

“That’s what I like to hear. It ’s nice to know they’re keeping out of trouble.” Dundee said with a

sinister grin. His bodyguard, Eddie, opened the rear passenger door for him. As Dundee climbed

into the back of the Phantom, Eddie climbed into the driver’s seat and drove off. Thornton watched

him leave.

What are Dundee and Thornton planning to do with the Vigilante Squad? WillMcCredie and Jiménez learn of their superior’s corruption? Who is the Black

Skull, and where is he from? Find out soon!

Part 2 - The Howl of the Banshee

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Transcript of Part 2 - The Howl of the Banshee