Superman and The Shadow Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 0.5 15/26
Rated PG-13
/ “text”/ indicates telepathic communication
*text* indicates bold
<text> indicates thoughts
{text} indicates over the telephone
Universal Locator designation Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Prime
Universal Locator designation Alpha 025 x Gamma - 086 x Tau 142 Alt 25 Shadow
Preeviously
Lois didn’t want to say too much, but she felt that she had to say something in Lamont’s defense, “Don’t dismiss Lamont out of hand. Appearances can be deceiving, you know. There’s a lot more to Lamont Cranston than what he lets the public see.”
Derisively with a dismissive shake of his head, he said, “There would have to be.”
“I’m serious. You know the old saying, ‘Still waters run deep.’ Well, that’s how it is with Lamont. He does help the police, you know. He’s a friend of Commissioner Weston. We had dinner with him and his wife the other night. They are a lovely couple.”
“Well, I see that you are a skilled conservationist. You steered us onto a new topic, very tactfully. Okay, I won’t pry and I will take your advice about Lamont. Now, about tonight. When should I expect you?”
“I should be here by 6:30.”
“Fine. I’ll look for you then.”
“By the way, what gave me away?”
“Margot hasn’t called me Daddy for years. Not sophisticated enough for her. She always calls me ‘Father.’”
Faux Margot, smiled and said, “I will see you later, Father.”
He smiled and said, “I would almost have been fooled.”
Faux Margot made her way out of the building and as she emerged, Shrevvy folded his paper and fell into step behind her. As they approached the cab, he stepped ahead so that he could open her door. When he was in the driver’s seat she said, “I need to go to a toy store, please, Shrevvy.”
“Sure ting, Miss Lane. I know just de place, I’ll have you dere in a jiff. How was yer folks?”
“Only my father was at home. He’s fine. We’ll be coming back later tonight.”
“Sure ting.” True to his word, a very few minutes later, he parked in front of a department store. “You can wait for me here in the car, Shrevvy. Not much chance of me being injured between here and the door.”
“Whatever you say, Miss Lane.” He picked up his paper and actually began reading it as she exited the hack.
What she had seen in the Lane apartment had given Faux Margot and idea. She found the toy department quickly, made her selection paid for it and left.
She was carrying a medium sized package as she returned to the cab and said, “Back to the penthouse, please, Shrevvy.”
Pressing on the starter, Shrevvy said, “Sure ting, Miss Lane. I’ll have you dere in a jiff”
When faux Margot arrived back at the penthouse, Lamont was not there so she settled down on the couch and pulled out her purchase. It would require some modifications if it were to serve its purpose. Looking around in Margot’s room she found a pair of scissors and went to work. Once she was finished with the scissors, she started removing some of the stuffing.
Once she was finished she had a doll with an almost bald head that was on the lean side rather than ‘baby chubby.’ Holding up her handiwork she checked it from various angles. She applied the scissors again and removed some more of the stuffing before she was satisfied. She cleaned up the residue, then placed the finished product into its bag and moved it to her room.
Returning to the living room, she turned on the radio and allowed it to warm up. Once the tubes were warm, she started turning the tuning dial. Suddenly she heard some familiar music and feeling in the mood for some classical music she stopped and listened. To her surprise the music was simply the theme song for a radio drama, one that had survived through the years, moving to television. The radio program was
The Lone Ranger. She sat down and listened to the program. She enjoyed a leisurely half hour reminiscing on the TV programs she had watched as a kid starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels..
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 15 –
1937
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Prime
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Shortly after the Lone Ranger radio program finished, Lamont returned.
“Well, did you ‘case the joint’ as you had planned?”
“Yes, and I met my ‘father.’”
Lamont quirked an eyebrow as he asked, “Oh, how did that go? Did you fool him?”
In a self-deprecating tone, she replied, “Yeah, for all of about
three seconds. As soon as I opened my mouth I gave myself away. I called him Daddy, which is what I call my father, but apparently that isn’t sophisticated enough for Margot. She calls him ‘Father.’”
“Did you convince him of your bona fides? How much of your story did you have to tell him.”
“I told him some of it, but that wasn’t what convinced him.”
“Oh, what did?”
“Would you believe, the pictures in my wallet.”
“Oh, what pictures. You haven’t shown them to me.”
Crossing to her bag, she delved into it and pulled out her wallet. Opening it to her pictures, she handed it to Lamont.
He examined them closely and musingly said, “Hmmmm, color pictures, and not colorized black and whites. That must be the modern emulsion you mentioned. Another thing … the plastic sleeves that they are in. We don’t have plastics of this fineness of quality. I can see why he was convinced. This would convince anyone. It is obviously from a more technologically advanced culture.” He handed the wallet back and she replaced it in her bag.
“Have you decided what you are going to do to protect your father?”
She nodded and said, “Wait right here. I’ll show you.” She disappeared into her room and returned bearing the bag from the store. Pulling the doll out, she asked, “What do you think?”
Looking at it skeptically, he said, “It is too small to fool the shooter.”
She smirked and replied, “Not if it is used the proper way.”
“All right, your father and I will have to trust you.”
“What are your plans for this evening?”
Looking at the time, Lamont strode to the phone and looking back at her said, “Time for dinner. Any preferences?”
“Do you have pizza?”
“My dear girl, you are not so far back in time that your arrival predates that of pizza. What would you like on it?”
With a delighted smile on her face, she replied, “Pepperoni, mushrooms, green pepper and olives.”
As he dialed a number, he said, “Coming right up.” When he was finished ordering, he hung up and turned to her. “Any idea as to where he will shoot from?”
Remembering the layout, faux Margot reported, “Both of the living room windows face on the building that is under construction. My best guess is that he will be there. It will be tricky because they haven’t filled in the flooring that high up yet. It’s just bare girders.”
Shaking his head, Lamont said, “Not ideal for sure. Depending on how my interview with Dwayne Power goes, I will try to be there to help prevent another murder.”
“Oh, Lamont, it’s going to be dangerous up there on the bare steel. You won’t be able to duck and cover if he starts shooting. You could get shot.”
He shrugged and replied, “It won’t be the first time and I hope it isn’t the last. If you know what I mean.”
In a heartfelt tone, she replied, “Oh, I know all right. Let’s hope it isn’t the last time, not that I want you to be shot.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After dinner they each left on their respective missions.
When faux Margot arrived she was greeted at the door by Sam Lane. “Good evening, Lois or should I call you Margot?
“Father, by now you should know your own daughter’s name.”
Startled, he blurted out, “Margot? Is that you? When did you return?”
She laughed and replied, “Actually, it is Lois, but you should call me Margot.”
“Incredible, you actually had me fooled. The resemblance is uncanny.”
“I hope that Margot is doing as well in my place. She has a lot more people to fool than I do.”
“How so?”
“I work for a newspaper. I worked there as an intern before I became a reporter. I’ve known those people for many years. They will be hard to fool. If I know Clark, he’ll come up with something to explain any memory gaps. Amnesia possibly, I don’t know.”
Looking around, she said, “We’re going to have to move a few things to get ready. Do you mind?”
Shrugging, he replied, “Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”
Faux Margot moved a lamp and a chair so that the light from the lamp illuminated the chair and threw a shadow on the window shade. The first thing she did was to roll down her pants legs and remove the skirt so that she would have freedom of movement. Then she pulled the doll out of its bag and squatting down, moved it side to side, as if Sam were pacing and throwing a shadow on the shade. With some practice, she made it look very realistic. By controlling the distance the doll was from the lamp, she controlled the size of the shadow. Before she was done, she knew just where to place it so that the shadow looked like it was being thrown by someone standing close to the shade, while she was several feet away and off to one side. The next thing they had to do was to wait.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lamont arrived at the hospital at 7:00 and entered stealthily. He had on his hat and cloak and was exercising his powers so that he would not be seen. Hospital staff moved around him, unawares as he checked the sign-in sheet and saw Dwayne Powers signature and the room number. He moved down the corridor to the side wing where the room was located. Since it was a recovery hospital and not acute care the staffing was light. He let himself into the room and saw someone in the bed.
Moving over next to the bed, he said, “Dwayne Powers.” He waited a second and repeated, “Dwayne Powers.”
When he didn’t stir, he reached out and shook the arm. Through the sheet he felt cold flesh. He pulled back the covers and used a flashlight, hooded by holding his fingers over the lens to limit the light. What he saw didn’t really surprise him. It was the corpse of Carlton Powers in the bed. “That is how he has been able to be in two places at the same time. If they check his bed, it is occupied and the similarity in appearance would convince anyone, especially in the subdued lighting. This means that Dwayne Powers
is the killer and he is on his way to kill Sam Lane.” Dousing his light, he left the way he had come and entering his car, drove at break-neck speed to the vicinity of the Lane residence.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Darkness had fallen outside and before faux Margot went into her act she turned on the lamp.. By making the shadow on the shade move around, she gave the illusion of a living person moving around the apartment. When her arms got tired, she made the shadow appear to leave the room. Occasionally she would have it sit in the chair. It was nearing the time of the previous shooting and she decided to give the shooter a tempting target. As she had practiced previously, she moved the doll until the shadow on the shade was close to the size it would be if a man were standing right in front of it. She moved it slightly, as if the person were rocking on their heels.
Suddenly, there was a shattering of glass, the window shade puffed into the room and a hole appeared in the center of the shadow. The bullet buried itself in the wall opposite the window.
Faux Margo was startled by the shot and dropped the doll, which it turned out was just the right thing to do since it looked like the subject had been hit and fallen to the floor.
Thinking quickly, faux Margot doused the light, avoiding placing herself between the light and the shade. She ordered, “Stay here and stay away from the windows,” as she ran out the door. She knew that Lamont was planning to be there to try to catch the shooter, whoever it might be.
There was a guard immediately outside the door whom she passed. She ran down the stairs because she would have had to wait for the elevator. She was exiting the main doors as the police were entering. Recognizing her as Doctor Lane’s daughter, they didn’t stop her.
More police were converging on the apartment building as faux Margot ran for the construction site. As she did, she heard a second shots ring out. It just so happened that she had been looking up at the time of the second shot and saw that the flash was pointed away from the apartment building. A feeling of dread overcame her. There could be only one reason for that shot being pointed away from the Lane apartment, Lamont was up there and he had been detected.
When she arrived at the base of the construction site there were numerous and various pieces of equipment. She decided that her best course of action was to wait for the shooter to descend and try to disarm and subdue him.
She found a series of ladders that she was able to take up several floors, but then they stopped. When she had gone as far up as she could, she stopped and listened. She could hear movement above and to one side. Deciding that the shooter would be heading for the ladders to descend to ground level, she found a corner to hide in. Delving into her bag, she pulled out and donned her ski mask and gloves. Delving into her bag once again, she grasped and withdrew her collapsing baton. She extended it and grasped it by the small end while she waited.
Her wait wasn’t very long before it was rewarded by someone sliding down a girder near her. Her unsuspecting quarry started to pass near her when with a flick of her wrist she struck! Even in the dark, the pale, pale skin of the talcum covered face stood out giving her a perfect target. When she swung, she aimed her blow for the side of the head, just above the ear. The heavy end of the baton did its duty.
Her foe dropped to the temporary flooring, stunned. She quickly took advantage of his stunned condition and pulling a length of sash cord from her bag, tied his hands behind his back. She didn’t know how dexterous he was so she crossed his wrists and took two turns around them before taking two loops between the forearms and hands, tying the cord where he couldn’t reach. Complicating this was the fact that he had a rifle, slung over his shoulder. She was careful not to touch the rifle because she didn’t want to leave any fingerprints on it. Taking another length of cord from her bag, she bound his ankles together. The last thing she did was to gag him with a rolled up handkerchief in his mouth, held in place by one tied behind his head.
Fairly certain that her captive wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon, she decided that she needed to search for Lamont. She had been away from the artificial lighting of the apartment long enough for her eyes to become dark adapted and the moonlight was enough for her to see clearly. The use of a flashlight would counteract that adaptation and besides, she had a feeling that she would need both hands. Looking around and up, getting her bearings, she decided that she needed to move almost all the way to the opposite side of the structure and several floors up because that was where the shooter’s additional shots had been directed. Faux Margot, Lois, was happy that she had spent so much time at the dojo and the gym working on her upper body strength, she had a feeling that she was going to need it. Staying on the temporary flooring until she was in the area that she believed that the shooter had been targeting, she picked a girder and started to climb. Fortunately there were many cross braces that she could use as foot and hand holds and as places to stop if she started to tire.
She had ascended three floors when she saw a dark mass about twenty feet away, it was only visible as a more profound black against a black background. She made her way, crab-wise, to the side and called softly, “Lamont?”
She was rewarded by hearing a groan. She was relieved, at least he wasn’t dead. If she had to she could get help getting him down, first she had to determine the extent of his injuries. She completed her trip a finally was within arm’s reach. She reached out and touched his arm. When she did, he groaned again. She closed the distance and asked, “Lamont, can you hear me?”
All he did in reply was groan again.
First she secured her position, bracing herself in a corner between two girders so that she could use both hands freely, then she started to examine him, by feel. She felt a wet patch of clothing near his shoulder. When she found that he groaned again, more loudly as she pressed on it. She realized that they were probably one or two floors below where he had probably been when he was shot. That meant that he had fallen a story or two before ending up where he was. That meant the possibility of internal injuries.
While she was mulling this information over, he suddenly spoke, “Margot … must … get … down. Doctor.”
“Lamont, you need a hospital!”
Weakly, but emphatically he replied, “No! Doctor. Shadow’s … doctor. Contact … Burbank. Need .. oooohhhh … need … Jericho and … Cliff … to get down. Too much … too much … for … for you … you alone.”
“Let me try.”
He gasped out, “No. Ribs … ribs broken. More … more … more than … than you can … handle.”
“Okay, I’ll call Burbank, but I’ll be right back. What do I do with Powers?”
The tone of surprise was evident in his voice, even though he was in pain, “Powers? You caught him?”
“Yes, I have him trussed up like a Christmas turkey. He’s not going anywhere.”
“Leave him … leave him there … until … until you make call. Ooooohhhhh.”
“Lamont?” She shook him. “Lamont?” He had obviously passed out again. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can.” She bent close and kissed him before she moved from her secure position. "Don't you die on me." She commanded.
As quickly as she could, she slid down girders and inched across horizontal braces until she finally was standing on the temporary flooring once again. Before she started down the ladders to the ground, she checked on her prisoner. He had come to and was struggling with his bonds. She pulled out her baton and touched the side of his head with it; in the same spot she had used to K.O. him, then bent close and asked, “Do you want me to knock you out again? I will if you don’t stop struggling.”
Her words had an immediate effect in that he stopped moving.
She unhooked the sling from the rifle stock and removed his rifle and set it aside, out of reach.
She said, “Behave and I’ll go easy on you. Try anything and you’ll be sorry. I’ll be watching.”
She dragged him into the shadows and positioned him so that he couldn’t see the top of the ladder. Then as silently as a wraith, faux Margot descended the ladders to the ground. She pulled off the ski mask and gloves and stuffing them into her bag ran for the Lane apartment.
The police were swarming all over the apartment looking for evidence. When she appeared she was detained by the cop at the door, but Doctor Lane said, “That’s my daughter, you can let her in.”
“Okay, doctor. Sorry Miss I didn’t know. You can go in.”
Since she had been concerned with other things on her previous visits, she hadn’t particularly noted all of the furnishings, so she pulled her ‘father’ aside and asked, “I need to use the phone. Where is it?”
He led her over to the device and making sure that she wouldn’t be overheard, dialed the number and heard, {Burbank} In a hushed tone, she commanded, “Orders, Have Jericho and Cliff meet me at 346, East 52nd Street. The Shadow is hurt. They will need ropes and pulleys to get him down. Alert his doctor. He’s been shot and has internal injuries. Hurry.”
{Orders received. They will be there shortly.}
“I’ll meet them outside.”
{Understood.}
With a sigh, she hung the phone back up.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Descending to street level, faux Margot found Shrevvy and said, “Jericho and Cliff are on their way. Come with me.”
Shrevvy was quick to comply and followed her to the structure. Together they ascended the ladders. Faux Margot pulled a handkerchief from her bag and staying behind him used it to blindfold Powers. Previously she had worn her ski mask, but she wasn’t now and Shrevvy was not so equipped and she didn’t want Powers to be able to identify either of them.
Once this was done, pulling Shrevvy aside she said, “We need to get Powers into your hack. Can you do it?”
“Sure ting. Just help me get him up on my shoulders.”
She helped get Powers into a fireman’s carry and Shrevvy started down the ladders.
Faux Margot waited impatiently until finally, Shrevvy returned with Jericho and Cliff following him. He explained, “Dey drove up just as I was finishing up, so dey came wid me.”
She breathed a sigh of relief and explained the situation. “We have to climb a few stories. The Shadow is wedged up there in and angle formed by the girders. We will need to sling a pulley above him and get a rope around him to lower him, without aggravating his injuries.”
Cliff acted as spokesman and acknowledged her leadership. “Lead on Miss Lane. We’ll do whatever you say.”
Faux Margot led them in the climb. Once they were in position, Cliff, being the most agile, went above to tie off the pulley. He threaded the rope through and lowered it to Jericho. The other end Shrevvy and faux Margot fixed around The Shadow using three bowlines. Two to form a seat and one under his armpits to keep him upright.
Then Jericho’s great strength came into play. He first raised The Shadow to get him from that notch and then started to slowly lower him with Shrevvy and faux Margot guiding his body. Jericho had his legs wrapped around the girder he was sitting on so that he wouldn’t be lifted by the weight of The Shadow.
They were able to lower him two floors before they had to reposition the pulley and repeat the process. Finally they were on the ground.
As they had passed the area where she had captured Powers, she picked up the rifle.
Jericho and Cliff carried The Shadow as gently as they could and placed him in the back seat of the cab. Faux Margot looked at the pair and said, “Thank you. I couldn’t have gotten him down alone.”
Cliff, as usual, acted as spokesperson, “No thanks are necessary. We’d do anything, for him.”
“I guess we are done here. You can go back to what you were doing.”
As they turned to go, Cliff said, “If you need us again, just call Burbank.”
“I will.” Faux Margot, looked quizzically at Shrevvy and asked, “Where’s Powers?”
“I figured dat he didn’t need a soft seat so I put him in da trunk. Dere’s plenty o’ room in dere.”
Faux Margot said, “The Shadow said something about his doctor.”
“Dat would be Doc. Sayre. Hop in. I’ll have you dere in a jiff.”
She climbed into the back, placed the rifle on the floor and pulled Lamont into a loose cuddle to help keep him upright.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When they arrived at Dr. Sayre’s office, faux Margot and Shrevvy managed, by each taking one side, to get The Shadow into the small surgery.
Seeing who his patient was, he directed, “Place him on the operating table. Miss Lane, I’ll need your assistance.”
“Anything, doctor. Just tell me what to do.”
"How was he injured?”
"He was shot then he fell a story or two before he hit and was wedged into a notch in some steel girders.. I believe he was hit in the shoulder.”
“Okay, let us see, shall we. Help me remove the cloak, and his clothes. I need to examine him and they are in the way.”
Between them they removed his cloak, jacket, twin shoulder holsters and shirts.
Lois was struck by his physique. He was a match for Clark in every aspect save one. Lamont had a number of scars from previous bullet wounds.
The doctor, before proceeding any further washed his hands and then picked up a sterilized probe, but stopped before probing, he examined Lamont's back and saw an exit wound, the bullet having passed completely through. Taking a quantity of sterile gauze, he packed the wound and said, “This should slow the loss of blood. We can deal with this wound later, it is not life threatening.” His hands moved down The Shadow’s sides until he winced from pain. He stopped and looked closer, noting some discoloration. He pointed this out and said, “He’s starting to bruise.” Using his fingers he started putting pressure on various spots around his chest and abdomen. At some points his probing elicited a groan of pain. After a few minutes, he pronounced, “I think there are some broken ribs, but they have not pierced the lung. The spleen may be bruised, but not seriously. He’s been very lucky, this time. I’ve seen him in worse shape. I think we can close those bullet wounds, strap up his ribs and send him home to recuperate.”
He removed the gauze and saw that the wound had stopped bleeding. He said, “Good, no major vessels were hit.”
Pulling out a surgical set, he prepped a needle and suture thread. Then to make sure that Lamont didn’t suffer any more than necessary pulled out a can of ether. He prepared a sieve with a gauze liner. Handing that to faux Margot, he said, “Hold this so that it covers his face. A few drops each minute. Don’t get too close and breathe it in. I don’t need a second patient, I need an assistant.”
Faux Margot smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll stay clear.”
Once he was sure that Lamont was unconscious, the doctor swabbed the area with alcohol and after pouring in some sulfa powder, started sewing up the wounds. When he finished, he covered each with a sterile dressing.
Once he was finished with that, faux Margot was relieved of her duties as anesthetist and she helped get Lamont into a sitting position. Kneeling on the bed behind him, she held him stable while the doctor took a large quantity of roller gauze and circled his body, at chest level numerous times and followed that up with yards of adhesive tape.
As he was finishing up with this, Lamont started showing the signs of returning consciousness.
The doctor stood back to evaluate his handiwork. Satisfied, he said, “He’ll do. It may take a couple of weeks for him to heal and it will be your job to see to it that he behaves himself and rests.”
“Whatever you say, doctor.”
“Okay, get him out of here. If he needs me again, call Burbank. I’ll come to him.”
Shrevvy, who had been standing near the door the entire time, came over and gathered up Lamont’s clothing. Faux Margot rescued his cloak and swept it around his shoulders then she and Shrevvy assisted him from the office.
Once they were at the cab, they could hear a thumping coming from the vicinity of the trunk. Shrevvy asked, “Wha youz want done wid da passenger?”
Lamont answered, “Normally we would do one of two things, I’d turn him over to Slade Farrow for rehabilitation or the police for incarceration, but in this case I feel that we need more information. Take him to Slade, but there is to be no attempt at rehabilitation. Slade is to simply keep him in custody. In a few days I will question him. Let’s go to the apartment, Shrevvy.”
“Sure ting, boss. I’ll have youz dere in a jiff.”
“Use the basement garage. That way I can return to the apartment without going through the lobby.”
“Got‘cha.”
Shrevvy drove to the apartment building and passed the main entrance. As he entered an alley he turned on his shortwave and broadcast on a certain frequency. That triggered the hidden garage door and he drove into the underground garage.
After he had helped faux Margot get Lamont into bed, he left on his other errand.
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