REVENGE OF THE MASKED GHOST
Chapter 21
“A Ghost for a Ghost”
(Copyright 2011 Kevin Paul Shaw Broden)
by Kevin Paul Shaw Broden
The darkness ebbed and flowed like a thick fog bank rolling over a vast shore.
“Hi, buddy.”
“Adrian?”
Standing in front of Donald Raymond was his brother-in-law Adrian Brown, dressed in the suit, hat, trench coat, and mask of The Masked Ghost.
“But… but you’re dead.”
“Ya, I know.”
“Does that mean I’m dead?” Donald asked.
“Don’t think so, Donny. You’ve got too much left to do yet.”
“Then I must be dreaming.”
“Looks that way,” Adrian said, his bright smile fading from his face, “I’m really sorry for everything I’ve piled onto you and Maggy.”
“I can’t say that I’m all that happy for being thrust into all this danger, but I know Margaret wants me to find out who killed you.”
“Thank you. That’s why I chose you to become the Masked Ghost.”
“Oh, no. When this is over with, the Masked Ghost will go away forever.”
“Being dead, I won’t argue, but you’re wrong. Whatever happens, Donald, promise me you will look after Maggy.”
“You don’t have ask, I’ll die to protect her.”
“I know you will,” Adrian said, “as I know she would do the same for you.”
SMACK!
“What was that?” Donald asked, surprised.
“It’s time for you to wake up.” Adrian said and faded into the fog and darkness.
# # #
SMACK! The Masked Ghost’s head flung to the right as the massive hand struck his face for the third and forth time. SMACK!
“Wake up, bastard!”
His vision cleared. Donald hurt all over as he looked about. The Masked Ghost was tied to a chair in a massive room filled with large shipping crates. He surmised that it was the warehouse building he had seen while exploring the grounds of Spade Import & Exports.
He was not alone. Along with the muscular thug who got a sick enjoyment out of hitting him, there were five others that he could see. Beyond them, the rest of the building fell into darkness.
“Enough of that!” A pudgy looking man with a pot marked face and swollen cheeks gave the order, “He’s obviously awake now.”
“Whatever you want, Mr. Spade.” The thug stepped away.
“So this is the man that has been giving me no end of trouble for the last year?” It sounded like he was talking through a mouthful of cotton.
Donald didn’t know what to say? What would Adrian’s have said? What did the Masked Ghost sound like? He didn’t know, so just adlibbed the best he could and forcing his throat to make a horse whisper.
“The wicked will forever be haunted by their deeds.”
The man looked down at the masked vigilante who didn’t appear to be any threat now tied to that chair. He began to laugh.
“I don’t know who I should be more angry at, little man. You and your persistent annoyance,” he paused and then shouted at whole room, “or my own men who haven’t been able to swat an insignificant flee like yourself.”
“You promised!” One of the other men started shouting and ran at the Masked Ghost. One of the guards grabbed hold of him. The Masked Ghost recognized the man as the one that arrived in the touring car, and had a pretty good idea who it was. “You promised to stop them. You promised you’d pay them back for what they did to my little girl.”
It was Sheila Brewster’s father. After they wouldn’t speak any longer to the man they blamed for their daughter’s death, Adrian must have paid Brewster a visit as the Masked Ghost.
“Oh, so you were trying to betray me,” Spade turned to strike Brewster.
“Don’t hit him!” Donald shouted, not even attempting to create the voice of the Masked Ghost.
Spade looked at his captive with quiet angry, “so this is how you found out about my plans to own this city. Ol’ ‘Pockets’ here spilled the beans like he freely spilled out the money for us?”
“Not so fast, boss,” police detective Dodds stepped forward. The man, who wore a shield of Justice, now hid no secrets as to was was his real master. “Before you kill him, and I’m all in favor of getting rid of this little vigilante, shouldn’t we find out exactly who he is?”
“I’d rather have him dead now and out of the way forever. That ugly mask can wrought with the rest of him.”
“And it will, but think for a moment. Both your men and my police have been hunting him for months now. There must be some way he’s been able to avoid us?”
Spade thought for a moment.
“Alright, have your fun, Dodds.”
The crooked police detective, in the badly worn suit, turned towards the Masked Ghost.
“You’ve been a thorn in my side for far too long.”
“With your size, how would you notice a thorn,” Donald tried to be flippant to cover up his own fear. He knew he was about to die.
Dodd’s grabbed the side of his face, and yanked the crimson mask away.
They all looked at him in startled wonder.
“Who is that?”
“But… but I thought…” Brewster’s voice trailed off. He didn’t recognize Donald either.
But Detective Dodds did recognized him, and a wide sinister grin formed on his ugly mug.
“So you were simply misleading the police were you, Mr. Raymond?”
“Raymond? Who is this bastard, Dodds? If you knew something about him.”
“Oh, quiet down, Mr. Spade. I didn’t know anything about who the masked man was. That was the whole point wasn’t it, Raymond? You poured that blood all over your own penthouse, to make it look like the Masked Ghost had broken in, then escaped again just before my men arrive. Here I thought he was dead only half an hour earlier, but no. None of us would suspect a criminal vigilante was actually a millionaire playboy?”
“Hey, I’m no playboy. I’m a happily married man.”
The detective slapped him hard across the face once more, “now let’s see how much blood you’ve got to spill.”
Brewster stood frozen to the spoke as he shook in fear as he watch the criminals move in to grab the Masked Ghost. There would be no more delays in killing him now.
Donald knew this was the end, and sent up a silent prayer as he thought of his wife Margaret.
Suddenly the sound of a wind whistled between the crates, followed by the slamming of a heavy metal door.
“No one can kill a ghost!”
It was a whisper, like Donald had attempted earlier, and yet it echoed through the warehouse, as if from everywhere at once.
Spade and his men turned in search of the invading voice.
Donald gasped as The Masked Ghost stepped out of the darkness.
To Be Continued…
