Superfreaks/ACRA: Silver Age Superfreaks #3

[Martin Phipps]

Jim Morgan and Colin McKenzie: detectives.  Craig
Franklin and John Phelps: police officers.  Quinton
Macy and Jack Greenspan: medical examiners.  Darren
Kent and Alan Russell: lawyers.  These are the men who
are truly our last line of defense.  But what about
the capes whose cases they have to investigate? 
Should they be considered a help or a hindrance?

                Silver Age Superfreaks #3

                        High Noon

                         PART I

9:35 am

  "What do you have?" Detective Jim Morgan asked.
  Jack Greenspan shrugged his shoulders.  "The poison
used was a kind that The Kidder is known to have used
in the past."
  "So it _was_ The Kidder who did this."
  "Not necessarily.  It's not like a fingerprint. 
Anybody could have used this poison.  Although it does
suggest that The Kidder may have been involved if only
as a supplier."
  Jim nodded.  "I want you and Quinton to do whatever
you can to figure out who did this."

9:44 am

  "I call to order the first meeting of the Extreme
Force Six," Night Man said.
  "Hold on," The Archer said, "I haven't decided if I
want to join this group yet."
  "Why the cold feet?" Mr. Quick asked.
  "I just don't know what it is we're supposed to
accomplish."
  "In a perfect world, we wouldn't be needed," Amazing
Woman said, "but this is not a perfect world."
  "In a perfect world you would have leaders who would
tell everybody what they are supposed to do," Water
Lord said.
  "Now hold on," Extreme said, "let's not go there:
we're here to decide how to best protect the world,
not take it over."

9:52 am

  "Hi.  I'm Amazing Girl.  Amazing Woman's sidekick."
  "I'm Moon Boy.  Night Man's sidekick."
  "Yeah.  I know."
  "You do?"
  "Yeah.  You guys are famous."
  Moon Boy shrugged his shoulders.  "But I've only
been his sidekick for a few months."
  "I've been thinking that maybe the five of us could
form a group of our own.  I mean, if there are menaces
so great that all six of them would join forces to
face them then surely there would be menaces that we
could face on our own."
  "Yeah," Arrow Boy said.  "It would be great.  We
could call ourselves, I don't know, Electric Youth, or
something like that."
  "I don't know," Moon Boy said.
  "Why not?" Amazing Girl asked.  "What are we
supposed to be doing while they join forces to save
the world?"
  Moon Boy smiled nervously.  "I'm not Night Man.  I
don't fight anywhere near as well as he does."
  "None of us are our mentors," Water Boy pointed out,
"for if we were then we would be them and not their
sidekicks."
  "Yeah, um, what he said," Quick Boy said quickly.

9:58 am

  "I need you to take over this case."
  This was the first time Alan Russell had been in
Mayor Alfred East's office.  He wished it had been
under better circumstances.  "I'll do my best."
  "You'll do your best.  And you will win.  The city
is counting on you.  We can't be held hostage by
Eaglone any more."
  "I appreciate your confidence."
  The mayor smiled.  "Let me put it this way: you will
win this case and I will appoint you as the next
District Attorney."
  "And if I lose."
  The mayor shook his head.  "I said nothing about
'if'.  You _will_ win this case and you _will_ become
the next district attorney.  You understand?"
  "Okay."
  "That's what I want to hear!"

                       PART II

8:45 am (three weeks later)

  Alan Russell was approaching the courthouse on the
day of the Eaglone trial when he spotted an old
friend.  "Leroy Laurel!  So _you_ are representing
Eaglone?"
  "Why are you so surprised?"
  "I would have thought that Eaglone would have paid
for a lawyer with more experience."
  Leroy nodded.  "I wasn't his first choice.  He did
approach Maury Pearson."
  "And what did he say?"
  "Apparently Maury told him that he only defends the
innocent."
  "I see.  And you?"
  Leroy nodded.  "I'll defend anybody.  It's my job. 
I'm not here to make moral judgements but to do my
duty as a lawyer for a client."

9:31 am

  "Mr. Russell, you may call your first witness."
  "I call to the stand Officer Craig Franklin."
  Craig got up and approached the bench and was sworn
in by the bailiff.
  "Officer Franklin, can you tell us in your own words
how you came to uncover evidence against Eaglone?"
  "I had been working undercover as part of The
Kidder's gang when a raid by Night Man and Moon Boy
got me arrested.  After I was released, I went to
Eaglone and told him that I had been working for The
Kidder.  He introduced me to The Porcupine."  The jury
gasped.  "It was while I was working for The Porcupine
that I found all those incriminating documents."
  Alan addressed the jury.  "Ladies and gentlemen,
photocopies of those documents have been provided for
each of you to examine at your leisure.  Note that
these documents provide details of drug shipments 
specifying things like the kinds of drugs being 
shipped, the quantities of drugs being shipped, the 
names of the dealers being delivered to, the ammounts 
paid and the estimated street values of the drugs... 
and that Eaglone's name is all over these documents.
  "No further questions, your honour."  He sat down.
  "Mr. Laurel, do you wish to cross examine?"
  Leroy Laurel stood up and said "I do, your honour." 
He approached the bench.  "Officer Franklin, did
Eaglone actually say that The Kidder was working for
him?"
  "No."
  "Did he say that The Porcupine was working for him?"
  "No but..."
  "Just answer yes or no.  Thank you.  Did either The
Kidder or The Porcupine say they were working for
Eaglone?"
  "No."
  "I see.  So the entire case is based on those
documents that you claim are genuine."
  "No."
  "Really?  What else do you have?"
  "I know that The Porcupine is a murderer.  I saw him
kill a man with one of his quills."
  "That may be but The Porcupine isn't on trial today,
Eaglone is.  And Eaglone is not The Porcupine, is he?"
  "No."
  "What happened to The Porcupine, Officer Franklin?"
  Craig grimaced.
  "Please answer the question."
  "He's dead.  I shot him in self defense."
  "Did you?"
  "Of course.  He wouldn't have hesitated to kill me
if he knew I was an undercover cop.  And he became
suspicious when he saw me going through his desk."
  "Do you have any witnesses to back up your story?"
  "No."
  "Why not?  What happened to all the men working for
Eaglone?"
  "They're all dead."
  "Really?  How did that happen?"
  "They were going to kill me.  I had to fight my way
out of the building."
  "Couldn't you have called for backup?"
  "There was no time.  They were on me as soon as they
heard me shoot The Porcupine."
  "So you killed all the witnesses that could have
confirmed that The Porcupine was working for Eaglone?"
  Craig didn't answer.
  "No further questions, your honour."
  The judge addressed Officer Franklin.  "You may step
down."  Franklin returned to where he had been
sitting.  His wife gave him a hug.  "Mr. Russell, you
may call your next witness."
  "I call to the stand Pepperton Chief Medical
Examiner Quinton Macy."
  Quinton got up and approached the bench and was
sworn in by the bailiff.
  "Mr. Macy, Officer Franklin claims that The
Porcupine killed one of his own men.  Can you confirm
that part of the story?"
  Quinton nodded.  "Yes.  The body that Officer
Franklin later identified to be the man he saw killed
by the Porcupine had a quill in his neck that was
identical to the quills growing from the Porcupine. 
We concluded that blood loss as a result of being
stabbed in the neck by the quill was the cause of
death and that this man was, indeed, murdered by the
Porcupine as Officer Franklin described."
  "I see.  No further questions, your honour."  Alan
went to sit down.
  "Mr. Laurel, your witness."
  Leroy Laurel approached the bench.  "Mr. Macy, do
you have any reason to believe that the quill wasn't
taken from the Porcupine and used by somebody else as
a murder weapon?"
  "Yes, Officer Franklin's testimony.  He described
the Porcupine taking out one of his own quills and
throwing it at the victim."
  "Any chance it could have been an accident?"
  "Even if it were an accident, you would think he
would have called an ambulance.  Instead, the body was
dumped on the street.  We found blood matching the
victim in one of the Porcupine's cars and on the floor
of the Porcupine's office."
  "I see.  No further questions."  Leroy went back to
sit down.
  The judge addressed Quniton Macy.  "You may sit
down."

9:15 am (the next day)

  "Has the jury come to a verdict?" the judge asked.
  "We have, your honour?" the jury foreman answered.
  "Would you please read the verdict?"
  "We find the defendent guilty on all counts for
which he is accused."
  Alan Russell breathed a sigh of relief.  He actually
thought his opponent had made a better case but
apparently the jury believed Officer Franklin was
telling the truth.

                        PART III

7:01 pm (later that evening)

  "I'm so proud of you!" Craig's wife, Adrienne, told
him.  They were standing in their living room in front
of the window.  "Johnny, tell your dad how proud you
are of him!"
  "I'm proud of you, Dad!"
  Craig smiled.  "You know, I've always wondered if
all those years of working undercover were worth the
sacrafice of not getting to spend time with my family.
 Now I know."
  Suddenly, a hail of bullets smashed through the
window.  Before anybody could run for cover, Craig was
hit in the stomach, Johnny was hit in the head and
Adrienne was hit twice in the chest.
  "Ahhh!" Craig screamed.  Even with a bullet in his
stomach, Craig managed to dive for a gun.  He shot
back outside the window but soon realised that the
pattern of bullets spread around the room suggested a
drive by shooting: the shooters were long gone.
  He looked around the room and saw his son with a
hole in his yet.  "Johnny... no.  No no no."  He then
saw his wife lying on the floor bleeding from her
chest.  "Adrienne!  ADRIENNE!"  She didn't answer. 
Criag rushed to the phone to call 911.
  "Hello.  This is Officer Craig Thompson.  I'm at
home and I've been shot.  My wife has been shot.  My
son's been shot.  Send an ambulance.  Please hurry!"

7:32 pm

  Curly was moving up in the organisation.  Now he
reported directly to the boss, the _real_ boss.
  "Mr. Goodman, Sir?"
  Edward Alexander Goodman looked up from his desk at
Curly.  Goodman's bald head reflected the light from
the flourescent bulb above him.  "Yes?"
  "The package has been delivered as you ordered,
Sir."
  "Are the recipients fully satisfied?" he asked.
  "I promise you we will do our upmost to see that
they are."
  Goodman smiled.  "Excellent.  Keep me informed."

7:50 pm

  Jim Morgan arrived at Craig Franklin's house. 
"Craig, are you alright?" he asked.
  Craig cringed.  "My son's dead.  My wife is dying. 
I've been shot myself.  What kind of question, is
that?"
  "We'll get you and your wife to the hospital as soon
as we can."
  "It was Eaglone's men.  Had... to... be..."  Craig
fell unconscious.
  Jim caught him before he hit the ground.  "Oh God! 
Hurry!  We need to get this man to the hospital right
away!"

                   TO BE CONTINUED

Martin



 
____________________________________________________________________________________
Need Mail bonding?
Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users.
http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396546091