Chow Yin was walking back to the alley where he had left Joey earlier that night. He hoped that Joey was all right. He didn't want to leave him alone, but the big guy said to. Chow Yin, being the leader of his little group, had to follow the orders.
As he approached, he could see the police cars several blocks before he reached the alley.
Oh, no! Chow Yin thought. Joey!
Chow knew that Joey was dead. It was how the big guy operated. He used you until you served no further purpose.
Chow Yin turned and ran as far away as he could. He knew if he approached, the police would somehow find out that he was elsewhere, selling opium to the highest bidder.
But he still couldn't shake the feeling that opium was what the operation was about. It had to be a cover. That's why the big guy hired Chinese boys. He must think that because we are Chinese ourselves, then we can get the opium easier, Chow Yin thought as he ran through the streets of New York City. He had to find the other boys, so they could plan their next move.
Working for the guy was not a good thing anymore. Even though they could get all the drugs they wanted, they didn't like the risks.
The next morning, about ten, Lamont met his female companion Margo Lane for a late breakfast and then drove to the police station.
"So, Lamont," Margo asked Lamont, who was driving. "What are you going to be bugging the commissioner about today?"
"I do not bug the commissioner," Lamont said.
"Well, I think his job is difficult as it is without a wealthy young man and his female companion coming in to try to solve a crime," Margo said with a smile.
Lamont smiled. "But that 'wealthy young man' happens to be the Shadow."
"Weston doesn't know that."
"But you and I do."
"Oh, Lamont," Margo said, in a playful tone.
At that moment they pulled up to police headquarters.
"Here we are, Margo," Lamont said, as he turned the car off. "Let's discover the mystery of the day."
Interlude
Somewhere . . .
To some he is the "big guy." To others he is the supplier. Whoever he is, he is evil.
He is standing in a dark lab, looking at the contents of the package he received the night before.
First, he slides what appears to be a dog tag into a special device with a viewing screen. Several patterns and words come up. He takes the first one out and replaces it with a second. This process continues for about ten minutes; take one tag out, put another in.
After he is done with that, he picks up the vial and looks at it. He decides that it is good. He then opens the vial and places a drop of its contents on a slide, which he looks at under a microscope.
As the slide comes into focus, the man is happy.
"Yes!" he says. "At last! I have found it!"
End Interlude
In a warehouse on the east side of Manhattan, facing the water, Chow Yin called a meeting of his little group.
For now, the three Chinese boys were the only people in the warehouse. They knew that it would all change come nightfall. This was the warehouse that all of the opium was processed. This was the warehouse that the boss conducted his really dirty business.
"Thanks for coming," Chow Yin said to his two partners. "I found out that Joey was killed last night."
"By the big guy?" one of the druggies asked. He was also Chinese, about twenty-one years old, with black hair and black eyes, standing about six feet tall. His partner sitting beside him was the same age, with black hair and brown eyes, standing five-foot-ten.
"Yes, Song Chen," Chow replied. "I now believe that the big guy, whoever he is has gone too far. His opium ring is a cover. There's something bigger here than simple drugs."
"What can we do?" the second dealer, Fen Chan asked.
"Well, this warehouse seems to be pretty important. Something could accidently happen."
"Explosion?" Song Chen asked.
"No," Chow Yin said. "An explosion would just bring cops. That could ruin the whole thing. No, we want to send him a message. Then, I just think it might be time for us to leave the city for a little while."
Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane walked into the office of Commissioner Weston. As they walked in, they saw Weston was on the phone. When he saw them come in, Weston waved hello and gestured for them to take a seat. Lamont and Margo seated themselves in the chairs in front of Weston's desk.
Within a minute, Weston's phone conversation was completed. Weston put the phone down and looked at his guests.
"Cranston," he said. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, Commissioner Weston, I was just wondering what the NYPD was up to," Lamont replied.
"To tell you the truth, we were a little busy last night. Some kid was killed in an alley last night."
Lamont and Margo pretended to be shocked, since they both knew what happened the night before.
Lamont shook his head. "Was it drug related?" he asked.
"Why, however did you guess?!" Weston exclaimed, somewhat surprised that Cranston would know these things.
"I've heard of a lot of drug use and gangs recently," Lamont replied. "It just made sense that this case would be a result of drugs." As he was saying this, he thought, I know because I was there as the Shadow, but you'll never know that.
"It's awful," Margo said. "It's so awful that people will kill others over something as stupid as drugs."
"I know, Miss Lane," Weston replied. "But, according to what we found out, it was the supplier who ordered the kid to be killed."
"Now, why in the world would a supplier order one of his own to be killed?" Lamont asked.
"I don't know," said Weston. "Maybe he knew too much."
"Do you know who the supplier was?" Margo asked.
"No. He stayed in the darkness, that not even the Shadow could discern his identity!"
"The Shadow!" Margo exclaimed. "But I thought he was a wanted vigilante!"
Weston groaned. "Well, he is, but several of the boys on the force are warming up to him. I'm starting to realize what a valuable asset he is to our force, even if his methods are a little . . . brutal."
"Regardless of that . . . Even the Shadow was baffled?" Lamont asked, feigning bewilderment.
"Yes, he was at that," Weston answered. "The Shadow said that the man stayed so far in the shadows, that even he couldn't see the man's face."
"Really!" Margo said. "Maybe the man had no face!"
Lamont shot Margo a look which meant "Stop your foolishness!"
Commissioner Weston smiled. "Maybe, but I don't think he would waste his talents on drugs, when he could use them to make more money in the movie business."
"Well, Commissioner, thank you for your time," Lamont said, standing up. "Come on, Margo. We should let the Commissioner get back to work."
Lamont dropped Margo off at her house and then drove to his apartment where Weapon X had spent the night. After he got out of the car, he walked over and opened the trunk. He pulled out his Shadow outfit, closed the trunk, and walked into the building, changing on the way up. As he walked into the third floor room where he brought Logan the night before, he was greeting by Weapon X.
"So?"
The Shadow walked over to his desk. "We work tonight," he said. "We're going to the warehouse that the dealers use."
"Did the Commissioner tell you anything?" Logan asked.
"Nothing that I didn't know. However, a friend did come up with an outrageous theory that the man had no face."
"Could be possible . . . " Weapon X said.
Six o'clock. Most people were home from work at that time. But for a group of people who chose to operate on the wrong side of the law, the work day has just begun.
The warehouse on Manhattan's east side was now coming to life. Several tons of opium were expected to be produced that night. However, as the workers came in, they found that the warehouse was in shambles. Equipment was torn up, boxes were scattered, and unprocessed opium was spilled all over the floor.
As the workers came in, they murmured among themselves. The general idea of their thoughts were "Who did this?" followed by "Had to be someone on the inside. No one else knows where we operate."
High above all of the workers, the Shadow and Weapon X were hiding on a catwalk. No one was able to see them. The Shadow was using his cloak of invisibility, while Weapon X was relying on stealth. His uniform was doing its job well. The Shadow was carrying a small shortwave radio, so he could call Margo for backup.
"Who ya think trashed this place?" Weapon X whispered.
"It had to be someone who isn't happy with the business," the Shadow replied.
"Inside job?"
"Possibly."
"Could it have been Joey's friends? The ones you've been tailin'?"
The Shadow hesitated. "I don't know. It's possible. They could have a motive."
"But it all depends on what their relationship t' Joey was. Business partner, fall guy, true friend?"
"Or maybe they didn't know what the 'big guy' was going to do. I doubt that maybe people in this organization have met the supplier/boss, whatever he is."
"Th' main man."
The Shadow smiled. "That's one way of putting it."
The two men stopped talking and looked back down at the workers coming in. Most of the people entering were Chinese men, but some were American.
Weapon X looked at where The Shadow was. "Why d'ya think they use so many Chinese men?"
"Probably to pay less, but get more work in return. Maybe the boss thinks they can get the opium easier."
"I still can't shake th' feeling that this is a cover operation for somethin' else."
"I have that feeling as well."
Weapon X changed subjects. "How much of a setback do ya think this is?"
The Shadow looked around. "Maybe a day. However long it takes them to clean up."
Weapon X looked around the upper part of the building. "I've been in these situations before, and I know that there has t' be a control room somewhere around here. Y'know, a place that the boss can sit and watch."
"I know, Weapon X, but I don't see one yet."
Weapon X continued to look around. He saw the far end of the warehouse. Something looked odd about the wall.
"Hey, Shadow, come here. I think I see it," he whispered.
The Shadow moved to where Weapon X was. "Where?"
Weapon X pointed to the place in the wall. "Straight ahead. See how the wall looked different. I bet there's a secret room back there."
"If we crawl around the catwalk, we can get around to it. You can't let anyone inside see you."
"I know, I know. But why d'ya need t' crawl?"
"They might hear my footsteps."
Both men laid down on the catwalk and began to crawl around to the odd spot on the wall. Halfway there, Weapon X's boot got caught. He tried to get it out, but when he finally got it out, it made a small crashing sound.
"What's that?" someone down below shouted.
"It's probably just some rats!" another man shouted. "Get back to work!"
Weapon X breathed a sigh of relief. He started crawling again.
Ten minutes later, Weapon X and the Shadow had crawled around the catwalk. Weapon X slid closer to the wall to examine it. He saw a crack. He followed the crack with his eyes up and around the wall. He turned to where the Shadow's scent was coming from.
"It looks like it comes out."
"Why would they have a moving control room?"
"Mebbe they don't. Mebbe it's just a fake panel in the wall that they remove so they can hide it." Weapon X paused. "But that brings up the question: What's hidden in the control room?"
Suddenly, they heard gears start to move. Weapon X began to crawl back into the corner behind boxes to watch. The panel that Weapon X had just examined rose up and disappeared into the ceiling. From his vantage point, he could see inside the control room. It was just like he pictured it, a metal room with a glass window. Then, he saw who was in it and his expression changed to shock, as he saw who was in the control room.
The man inside was very pale looking and had a slim, nicely trimmed black mustache. His hair was jet black and he had a strange black diamond on his forehead. He was wearing a red and blue outfit with a blue cape.
"What is it, Weapon X?" the Shadow asked.
"Ya know how we've been sayin' that the opium is a cover?"
"Yes."
"We were right. That man in there, th' boss, don't care about drugs. All he cares about is genetics, specifically, the x-factor."
The Shadow remembered the conversation the night before. "You mean the special gene that gives you your mutant powers?"
"That's the one," Weapon X said. "He lives an' breathes genetics. I've had some run-ins with him, but I'm not sure what his motives are."
"Well, who is he?" the Shadow asked.
Weapon X's face changed from showing shock to showing anger. His eyes narrowed into slits and he gritted his teeth as he revealed the man's identity to the Shadow. "Sinister," he said. "Mister Sinister."
"You say this man deals in genetics, correct?"
"You know, that explains the package that Joey gave him last night!" Weapon X whispered.
"What do you mean?" the Shadow asked.
"Mr. Sinister collects biological matter as part o' his research. That means that the vial was someone's genetic material!"
"But what about on those dog tags?"
Weapon X looked around to see if anyone was coming. "I don't think those were dog tags. I think that they were some type of disk with genetic information."
"What kind of genetic information?"
"I don't know. It could be anything."
Both were silent for a minute, watching the control booth.
"So, Shadow, what's our plan?"
"I need to get into that control room, but I don't know how."
Weapon X looked straight at the Shadow. "Ya need a diversion."
"Can you create one?"
*SNIKT* Weapon X popped out his claws. "I think I c'n manage."
"Good, you go down there and make one. I'll be up here. When Sinister comes out, I'll go in. When he comes back in, he'll answer to me."
"What if he don't come out?"
"Then I'll have to help in that diversion."
"Good. Let's go!"
Chow Yin and Song Chen stood behind the warehouse, waiting for their third partner, Fen Chan. They were the ones that had caused the damage inside. When they came up with the idea, it seemed like a good idea. Now, it didn't seem like the best idea. They needed to do more.
Song Chen was looking inside when Fen Chen came back.
"You got 'em?" Chow Yin asked.
"Yup," Fen said, opening his coat and showing the pistols he carried. "Three of 'em. All beauties."
"Perfect," Chow said as he walked over and took one. He aimed it and pretended to fire. "Song, get one of these."
Song Chen turned from the window, walked over and picked up a gun from Fen Chan. He admired it for a minute.
Chow Yin looked at his partners. "Both of you know that what we did this afternoon wasn't enough. They lose one night's work. Big deal. But this," he said, lifting up the gun, "this'll get us some respect. We need to start a riot. See how the big guy likes that!" He lifted his gun above his head. He motioned for the others to do the same. The ends of all three barrels touched, and they all said a Chinese prayer.
Weapon X was waiting behind a stack of boxes on the floor of the warehouse. It had taken him ten minutes to climb down from the catwalk unnoticed. He knew that eventually someone would walk by. When they did, Weapon X would be ready.
Within in five minutes, some poor soul did walk by with a broom, sweeping up the spilled opium. Weapon X reached out and grabbed the boy before he was seen, making sure that one hand was over the boy's mouth. When he got the boy behind the boxes, he backhanded him, knocking him unconscious. The boy went limp and Weapon X dropped him. He pulled back his own mask and proceeded to put the boy's clothes on over his own. It was moments like this that Weapon X was glad he was short, since that made him about the same size as the boy he had just knocked out.
After he changed clothes, he grabbed the broom and stepped out from behind the box. He pretended to be sweeping the floor, and just walked randomly. He knew that soon enough he would run into someone. The perfect way to start a senseless fight.
Five minutes later, he ran into someone. The person appeared to be an American, about twenty-five years old.
"Hey, old man," he said. "Watch were you're going!"
Weapon X dropped the broom and stood up to the man. "Hey, yerself," he said. "Why don't you watch were yer goin'!"
"That's it!" the younger man said, and brought his fist back as if to hit Logan.
In a flash, Logan's fist was in the man's gut and he was bending over. Several of the man's friends saw this and ran over to help. They all piled on Weapon X, trying to subdue him. Weapon X let them push him down for a while, and then he lifted up and dropped all of them.
Meanwhile, all over the warehouse, fights were starting. Men and boys everywhere were either throwing punches or being knocked down onto the floor.
Ten more guys were charging at Weapon X. Weapon X braced himself, and when they finally piled on top of him, he was swinging. However, they were pushing him down.
Only one way to end this! Weapon X thought.
*SNIKT*
Weapon X popped both set of claws out and began swinging at everyone.
"Hey, this guy's a freak!" someone yelled.
"Oh, crap, man! Freak's got claws!"
When Weapon X heard this, he ran over to the guy and held his head between two claws of his right hand.
"Hey, bub. I got three claws on this hand. You know where two o' them are. You wanna know where number three'll end up? That's right, it'll go straight through your head!"
The guy turned pale and fainted. Weapon X picked him up and threw him at the foursome rushing at him. All five ended up unconscious. Then Weapon X ripped off the clothes he had "borrowed."
Just then, Chow Yin and his friends charged through the door, guns ablaze. Several of the workers tried to rush after them, but most ended up getting shot.
The Shadow looked down at Weapon X and saw that he was having fun. This must be a typical barroom brawl for him, he thought.
"Head for the catwalk!" Chow Yin told Song Chen. Song Chen ran to the catwalk and stood where Weapon X and the Shadow were when they found the control room minutes before. He aimed his pistol and shot at the glass. The glass shattered.
This is it! the Shadow thought. Sinister has to come out!
Sure enough, the door to the control room slid open. Mr. Sinister stepped out, followed by two men who looked similar to the two who killed Joey. Sinister walked to the railing of the catwalk and leaned against it. As he did this, everyone quieted.
The Shadow took this opportunity to run into the control room.
Sinister began to speak. "People! Please calm down! There is no need for violence!"
As he said that, the back wall of the warehouse exploded. Someone walked in. Someone who looked a lot like . . . Joey?
"ESSEX!" he shouted.
Joey? the Shadow thought. Impossible!
The man continued to speak. "You killed my little brother! And now, I'm gonna kill you!" He raised up a machine gun aimed directly at Sinister.
Sinister appeared to be shaking. "No," he whispered.
The entire warehouse was silent. No one dared move.
No one . . . except Weapon X. Stealthily, he walked over to the catwalk and climbed up. He walked over the Song Chen, who still had his pistol aimed at Mr. Sinister. Weapon X retracted the middle claw on his right hand and put the other two around his neck.
"Don't, bub," he said. "Not now."
Song Chen lowered his weapon and Weapon X retracted his claws.
Joey's brother walked closer. "You have thirty seconds to give me a reason to spare your worthless life."
Weapon X was now at a crossroads. Should he stop Joey's brother from killing Sinister, or should he do nothing?
"Twenty seconds!"
Sinister stood, at a loss for words. "I . . . I . . . " he stammered.
"Ten seconds!"
The Shadow knew he had to do something. And he only had ten seconds to save Sinister's worthless life.
"All right, Essex. Time's up!"
The Shadow laughed his trademarked laugh, and then shouted "Sinister!"
Mr. Sinister turned around. "Huh?"
Joey's brother started firing, but missed when Sinister turned around.
"Sinister!" the Shadow repeated. "Tell these people how you used them, how you're going to leave them behind when the cops come!"
People in the crowd started asking themselves "Is this true?"
One man yelled, "Who's saying that?"
The Shadow walked closer to the edge of the catwalk. "I am . . . the Shadow!"
Murmurs of awe ran through the crowd.
"It's the Shadow! Get him!"
"No! Get Sinister!"
Suddenly, all of the men and boys started a charge up the catwalk. Joey's brother dropped his machine gun and pulled out his own personal weapon. Sinister, when he saw this, tried to ran out the back of the control room. Weapon X saw this, and knew he had to stop it. He grabbed a rope hanging from the ceiling and swung to the other side of the catwalk. He landed right it front of the control room and ran after Sinister.
Mr. Sinister had fled to a flight of steps. Weapon X chased him, and jumped down the steps to the bottom, where he met Sinister. He popped his claws back out.
"Sinister."
"You again! Will you and your vile friends ever stop tormenting me?" Sinister exclaimed.
"Sorry, we're not allowed."
Sinister reached into his jacket and pulled out a vial of acid. He popped the cap off and flung the contents onto Weapon X's face.
"Arrgh!" Weapon X cried, as the acid burnt the right side of his face.
Sinister ran away, but only a few steps later, Weapon X tackled him, and pinned him down.
Sinister looked up at his attacker's face. "Your face! How?!"
Weapon X's face was mostly healed. "It's called a healin' factor, bub. I'm not sure how it works myself."
Sinister found he was able to move his knees, and so he kneed Weapon X in the balls. Weapon X cried out in pain, and fell off of Sinister, who ran off into the night.
Meanwhile, inside the warehouse, the Shadow was holding off a few hundred men, as police sirens were getting louder in the distance. Fortunately, none of them could see him. He decided that the best course of action would be to run out the control room, like Weapon X.
He ran into the control room and found the buttons to close the door in front of him. Then, he ran down the steps that Weapon X and Sinister had run down just a minute ago.
The Shadow came out to find Weapon X trying to get up, but Mr. Sinister was nowhere in sight.
"Weapon X! What happened?" the Shadow asked, at the same time, dropping his cloak of invisibility for Weapon X.
"I had Sinister pinned, but he kicked me in the groin," Weapon X said, getting up.
"Coward."
"Who, me?"
"Of course not. Sinister."
"Oh, well. I guess it was destined."
Just then, the police pulled up to the front of the warehouse.
"Wait here for one minute, Logan," the Shadow said. "I must tell the police what happened."
The Shadow walked over to the police cars as Commissioner Weston stepped out.
"Commissioner. The man in charge got away," the Shadow said.
"Oh, you. The Shadow!" Weston exclaimed, not so enthused. "I should have known you were here."
"It is only natural that I try to rid the world of the bitter fruit of crime."
"You know, maybe you're not that bad. But, the truth of the matter right now is that we had a man on the inside the entire time, so we don't need any information from you."
"But we will meet again, commissioner." With that, the Shadow turned and walked back to Weapon X.
Weapon X put out his hand. "I guess this is it," he said.
The Shadow dropped his cloak of invisibility. "Must you leave now?"
"Yeah. I gotta get back to base and let them know about this latest incident with Sinister," Weapon X said. "Besides, they're probably worried sick, wondering where their best agent is."
The Shadow took Weapon X's hand and shook it. "Good-bye, Logan. It was an honor to work with you."
"Same with you, Shadow."
Weapon X turned and began walking away. The Shadow watched until he was out of sight.
Epilogue
Nathaniel Essex sat on the train back to L.A., thinking. The New York operation wasn't a total waste. He did get quite a bit of genetic information.
And he learned of that healing factor. It must be the result of a mutation. He would have to look for it in the coming years.
The rest of the train ride was spent studying his notes.
Next issue: Bob Young returns with another great Shadow arc!