Film Noir: Enter the Shadow

[labcoatgirl]

Betty Ross walked a determined pace along the sidewalk, holding her notes and purse snugly under her arm. The weather looked about to turn inclement so she wanted to get home as soon as possible. There was an uneasy feeling carried on the wind, a typical California phenomenon called a Santa Ana. Betty was a little more uneasy as she walked, distracted by her thoughts of work.

She was so distracted in fact, that when she saw an opportunity to hail a cab, she ran right into a man exiting one of the many clubs on the strip. Her papers all went to the sidewalk. "Oh no!" Betty scrambled on her knees to try and collect them before the wind could take them too far to catch.

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[sable_cloak]

"Miss Ross." Lamont reaches out mentally, hoping he can help with clearing that groggy feeling. He doesn't have a need to do such things often, at least not when chemistry is involved, so if it doesn't work he's not going to be surprised. Margo's hypnosis had been one thing, this was another.

He gritted his teeth in concentration, the ropes around his wrists creaking slightly under the increasing pressure applied to them.

[labcoatgirl]

The grey mist starts to clear for her, Betty starting to open her eyes and blinking over at him in the dim light. It takes her a moment to remember the voice and face. "...Mr. Cranston?" Confusion setting in. "What...what happened?"

[sable_cloak]

"Well, I believe we've been kidnapped." He gave a wry smile, and then winced briefly, the ropes slowly gaining slack but at the cost of the skin on his wrists. It was a small price to pay. "I would...like to know why those men were following you though."

Might as well get to the point, learn what he can of the situation and figure out a way to resolve it. Clearly this was trouble worthy of The Shadow's intervention, but he couldn't go quite head-first into it without understanding the nature of the people after Betty.

[labcoatgirl]

Betty's eyes widen at the word. "Kidnapped??" Who would do such a thing? But she was starting to remember as she tries to sit up and finds her wrists restrained behind her back. "I don't know, I'd never seen those men before in my life."

There's a nagging thought though, Betty getting a worried look again. "Have they said what they want?" It could be the new polymer she was integral in developing. Quite a few people would want to get their hands on it.

[sable_cloak]

"Not a word. Granted, they only just put us in here a moment ago, but they don't seem like the type to talk much." Good, his knots were slowly stretching out and now he rolled over a bit and started to work a hand free while he talked to Betty. Better she focus on him, than the fact that he was quite an escape artist.

"They're probably going to wait and let the chloroform wear off before they come back. They didn't seem to go after your papers, so either they didn't care what was on them, or figured they can get whatever it was they wanted from you. Which leads me..." Another wince and then a coy smile, he was very nearly free. "...to believe that whatever was on them, you must be quite knowledgeable about."

Pointedly avoiding calling her out on the scientific knowledge that had peppered the papers he'd only too briefly viewed.

[labcoatgirl]

Despite their situation, she had to agree with his assessment. Betty nods, giving up on sitting up and testing her own bonds with no give found in them. "I'm...well, I'm part of a research team. We've been working on some new chemical compounds..." She hesitated to say exactly what chemicals, they were supposed to be a secret after all. Even if he had tried to stop her from being kidnapped.

"I'm sorry you got caught up in this, I had thought someone had rifled my notes but I didn't know why."

The floor suddenly dips lower as the boat starts to leave the dock. Betty tries to turn on her side towards him. "They're taking us with them? We need to find a way out of here." Preferably before they came back or got too far from shore.

[sable_cloak]

"I rather made myself a part of it, really. I hope it's better than being alone, at least." He pauses at that sensation, the fact that the boat would be moving out to sea was not lost on him. It bespoke trouble, and criminals well-versed in effective disposal methods. These were more than standard NYC goons that tried dumping unlucky physicists off of bridges.

"You must be quite a Chemist, Miss Ross." He compliments her warmly and it's as heartfelt as he makes it sound. He respects her decision not to go into detail, too many questions from him and he'd come across as a plant. He had to earn her trust, and hopefully, they could work together to save themselves, and stop whatever plot that was at hand. "Unfortunately, I don't have much to offer aside from my company for the time being, but I have a friend who might be able to help us get out of this."

There. He felt a hand slip loose, but didn't show Betty while he worked to get his other wrist free.

[labcoatgirl]

Her heart sank with the realization that the farther out to sea they got, the less likely they would ever be found. By the police or anyone else.

"You...got caught on purpose?" That was very chivalrous but it could spell disaster for him as well as herself. "That was very brave of you," her worried smile trying to thank him for the effort.

There didn't seem to be any tools down here that they could use to cut their bonds. Just a few crates and the light overhead. "A friend? Did they see us get taken?" That would be helpful, maybe they were contacting the police. Hopefully in time before they were fish food.

[sable_cloak]

"They did, and he's always come through for me in the past. I owe him my life many times over." He finally had both hands clear of the ropes and finally betrayed his freedom with a smile as he curled up his knees to work on undoing the binds at his ankles, his girasol flickering in the dim light.

"But he taught me a few tricks, so I don't think I'm completely useless."

[labcoatgirl]

Betty smothered a sound of surprise, lest she be heard at his success. She kept her voice a terse whisper. "Please hurry, who knows when they'll be back and..."

There was footsteps coming near the door, the sound of a key turning in the lock. Betty looked to the door, her heart now in her throat. They were going to discover that he had slippery his bonds, there was no time to hide or free her as the men from before came into the room.

[sable_cloak]

He had his feet free just as the key clicked in the door, and the turn of Betty's head gave him the opportunity he needed to slip into one of the dark corners in the room, taking his ropes with him. There, the dim lighting cast weird shapes and hid the only mark of his presence.

Leaving Betty on the floor was less than ideal, but it would further confound the villains. Stepping in, they almost tripped over each other when they saw that the spot where Lamont had been placed was vacant.

"Where is he!?" One of them walked over, standing in the exact spot and then looking around the room.

"I trussed him like a turkey! Houdini couldn't get outta those ropes!" A comment was made that at least Betty was still there, but with a potential troublemaker unaccounted for and the room otherwise empty, the majority of the group filed back out the door to search for Cranston.

[labcoatgirl]

Betty was just as surprised to look back and find an empty space where Mr. Cranston had been. But while she didn't know where he had hidden himself so quickly, Betty could see how smart a move it was, splitting the goons attention into finding him.

Unfortunately that didn't leave her out of the equation yet. She was pulled up onto her feet, the bonds cut so she could walk and was pushed along in front of a thug with a gun to her back. Her hands still tied tightly. "What is this about? Why are you doing this??" she tried to get answers as she was marched out of the room and towards the upper deck.

"You'll find out, just shut your yap before I do it for you," the man said threateningly, keeping a tight hold on her tied wrists as he maneuvered her up the stairs. Betty tried to resist and stall him. "Let me go, I didn't do anything!" The guy gets fed up with her slowing him down and shoves her against a wall, one burly hand around her throat, the gun in his other hand. "You want to do this the hard way, doll-face?"

[sable_cloak]

Lamont let them take her from the room, following at a distance and maintaining his invisibility. He wanted to know where she was being taken, clearly someone was to interrogate her, but who and where on the ship were they?

Her stalling puts a kink in his plans, but it's nothing he can't adjust for. When that one thug pins her to the wall though, he's not about to let it escalate into physical violence against her for the sake of his curiosity.

A sibilant laugh issues forth, quiet at first, but clear and audible. The ship's corridors help the already uncanny sound bounce weirdly around the thugs, making them look around as the chills creep along their spines. It was unfortunate Lamont hadn't recognized the criminals, so he couldn't call them out by name, but that wasn't about to cripple the effect.

Because a moment later a disembodied fist came out of nowhere, a sort of black fog following in its wake and hitting the thug holding Betty to the wall and knocking him clear off his feet before it disappeared into thin air. That laugh only became louder, filling the air with its mirth.

[labcoatgirl]

Betty keeps still, not sure what was going on. The laughter was so ominous and undefinable, it was enough to make even the hardest criminals hair stand on end at the back of their neck. The thug turned to scan the corridor with his gun, his other hand still on Betty's neck. But he didn't even get a chance to say 'who's there'.

He went down hard, Betty suddenly free to act. She backed up two paces, trying to work out if she just missed seeing who punched the man or...

That laugh again. The thug jumped to his feet, Betty forgotten for the moment as he turned wildly to get a shot at whoever slugged him, getting angry with himself at being taken by surprise. Betty stayed still, torn between escape and the fear and curiosity of the unknown.

[sable_cloak]

Lamont wasn't about to let the thug shoot blindly in the hallway. The cramped corridors was rife with surfaces for bullets to ricochet. The other thug was backing up, his gun pulled out, but too fearful of the invisible force attacking his partner to figure out where to shoot.

That was when he struck, a nebulous, dark form emerging but never quite coming into focus as he shoved the other thug bodily against the wall. Desperation flashed in the man's eyes, Lamont's face was fully changed, a cruel set of eyes glaring back at the crook. And then they were gone again as Lamont hauled the thug back against the opposite wall, his laughter ringing out. Crime would be denied it's ill-gotten pound of flesh tonight, even at the cost of knowing the reason behind the evening's events.

[labcoatgirl]

The second man turned to see his partner being held against the wall by....nothing. Too scared to fully pull the trigger, he was a sitting duck for Betty, who had finally pulled her wits together and had picked up a metal bar from the deck with her tied hands. She swung as hard as she could and thug number two crumpled like a sack of potatoes to the floor. The one the Shadow had in his grasp was so terrified, he actually fainted.

She kept the bar in hand, not knowing if the mystery assailant would finish with the bad guys before having a go at her as well. Her eyes searching to try and see an invisible man. The metal bar lifted over her shoulder. "Whoever is there..." she started braver than she felt. "...don't try anything funny."

[sable_cloak]

That was Lamont's cue. He released that darkness, but only once he was back behind Betty. He poked his head out from a nearby hall, a place that would theoretically never have allowed him to engage in the fight and called out quietly.

"Miss Ross!" He had his ropes in hand, looking around in a somewhat urgent manner. He made his way over to her, holding out a hand so he could undo her binding. While he does, he gives a nod toward the unconscious thugs. "I see you've met my friend. Come on, we need to get to one of the life boats before the ship is too far out into the bay."

[labcoatgirl]

She whirled, nearly swinging her weapon in his direction when she saw who it was. "Oh, Mr. Cranston!" Betty quickly hurried over, relieved to see him in one piece. She put out her hands so he could untie her. "I don't know what happened..." Technically the bad guys had been beat up by nothing more than a shadow. That laugh still felt like it was lingering around. "That was your friend?" Betty giving him a worried look. "I would hate to see your enemies."

[sable_cloak]

There's a coy grin that flashes on his face, but then he smiles down at her hands once he has her free. He slides over to the thugs, trussing one of them up quickly.

"I think his enemies would be more worrisome." He gave the knot a cinch, and then moved on to the next thug. "But I owe him my life, many times over. Come." Even with the thugs trussed at his feet, he holds out his hand as if he were merely leading her out of the Cobalt Club and onto the streets of New York. Still all poise, and a gentle grin staying on his face.

"I have a promise to keep, and it was getting you off of this ship safely. I am under the distinct impression that you have found a friend tonight, as well."

[labcoatgirl]

She was exceedingly grateful that the thugs had been dispatched with before anything bad had happened. Betty takes the offered hand, stepping over the trussed up thug as she follows him up towards the main deck. "But...who was that?" she insists in a half whisper so as not to be heard by anyone up there. She was a scientist after all and what she just witnessed flew in the face of conventional science.

[sable_cloak]

He may be gallantly leading her onward, but he still keeps a low profile, not the sort to let conventional courtesies get in the way of safety and stealth.

"He calls himself The Shadow. If your experience is anything like mine, this won't be the last time you see him." He pauses, and gives a low chuckle. "Or won't see him, as it were." A finger is lifted to his lips, his ring winking faintly in the dim light as footsteps draw near. They've cleared the hallway with the thugs, but until they can reach a lifeboat, and get to shore, they're not in the clear yet.

[labcoatgirl]

Betty has more questions, but all of them will have to wait. Right now they had bigger problems to solve. As they step out onto the deck, staying low so as not to be seen, it was apparent they were very far from shore. Much too far to swim.

There were guards with semi-automatic weapons in hand, watching and patrolling back and forth. Betty held to Lamont's hand a little tighter, glad that she wasn't alone in this dilemma. These guys still wanted her, for what purpose, she didn't know. But the sooner they were off of this ship, the better. In a quiet whisper near his ear, "Maybe we need a distraction?" If the guards were looking elsewhere, they would have a better chance of getting away.

[sable_cloak]

"Agreed, but I think someone's a step ahead." Lamont ducked down by a doorway, pressing close to the wall but keeping his eyes ahead. So far Betty didn't seem to be aware of the psychic energies being thrown around, but it was still a risk to use them right next to her. He motioned for her to stay down as he peered around a corner.

His eyes took on an almost metallic color as they glinted like his ring earlier. There was a faint echo from across the deck as he reached out, creating a prickling along the neck of every thug on the deck. And then that laugh rang out loud and clear, it's location impossible to pinpoint as it seemed to issue from every corner of the deck. A flashlight turned on, and in the quick sweep of it, a shadowy figure appeared and then was just as quickly was gone. It was enough, and the thugs took off after the apparition.

[labcoatgirl]

One thing was for sure. Betty was glad this Shadow character was on their side.

Every man with a gun froze in step and aimed their gun at where they thought the laugh might have come from.

"What was that?!"

"Wait, there he is! Get him!"

Betty peeked over the railing to see every person on deck heading in chase of the shadowy figure. Despite the scary laugh and the feeling of unease, she couldn't help worrying that someone was risking their life to help save them. She quickly gets up and moves along the deck towards the lifeboat without invitation. Assuming that Lamont would be close behind as she tugs at a rope tied to the deck. "How long do you think they will be?"

[sable_cloak]

Lamont lags a moment, clearing his own mind and hoping the push is enough to keep the thugs busy until they can at least reach the water. He's moving up alongside her, freeing up the other side of the boat. He's glad to have someone along who's proactive, it's a pleasant change.

"A few minutes, but it should be enough." There was a shout and a single report of gunfire from the other side of the deck. Lamont didn't flinch, but it was worrying, because it meant the thugs would be spreading back out sooner to search for the shadowy figure. "After you Miss Ross." With the pulleys readied, they only had to get in and lower the ropes.