StarFall Comics
A Division of Pullemouttayerhat Productions
A Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of StarFall Innovations
Proudly Presents:
City Streets
#11: Road Trip
cover: A beat-up van roaring towards the reader, the driver has a maniacal grin. Several police cars behind the van.
What Has Gone Before: After discovering that Harnagorn is only one member of a presidential assassination conspiracy, Josh, Lee, and Robin have decided to head to Washington, DC, to dig up more dirt.
Barrelling down I-95 doing 120 miles per hour in any vehicle is not a good idea. Doing so in a beat-up van with blue smoke pouring out the exhaust is an accident waiting to happen. Even more so, if Lee Patterson is behind the wheel of said van.
"Lee!" Robin yelled. "SLOW DOWN! You're about to.... You passed a cop."
Looking into the rear-view mirror at the flashing red and blue lights behind them, Lee smiled a cat-like grin. Reaching down under her seat, she adjusted a knob.
"What're you doin'?" Robin asked.
"Strap yourselves in," Lee replied, "and hang onto your lunch."
Slamming her fist on a red button marked "Don't Panic", the van lurched forward at almost two hundred mph.
"Push the Button, Frank," Josh muttered from his spot on the floor at the back of the van.
Lee simply cackled with glee, as the police car disappeared in the smoke.
Back in New York City, in an abandoned subway station, the members of the Urban Renewal band rehearsed for their next gig. Dropping the beat, bassist Frank Dietrich faltered, dragging the rest of the band to a halt. Casting a sharp glance at Frank from her keyboards, Allison Bailey spotted Allan and Heather waiting at the entrance to their pad.
"So," Brooke asked the pair as the band put their instruments away, "what brings you to this pothole?"
"We're in a bind," Heather explained. "We need someone to keep an eye on who goes in and out of the South Bronx Orphanage for a few days."
"So why us?" Rick Zeto asked. "We're just a garage band on the lam, not a spy ring."
Chuckling to herself, Allison scribbled on a piece of scrap paper. "'Garage band on the lam' ain't a bad song title," she muttered.
"Simple," Allan explained. "We have a friend who can get you steady gigs. First one's Friday at the Loose Goose. Interested?"
"Huddle," Brooke called out.
Conversing amongst themselves for a bit, Urban Renewal ran through their options.
"So," Brooke asked a few minutes later, "where's this Orphanage?"
Hours later, the van stashed in a parking garage, a set of stolen plates masking it's origins, Josh and the twins strode up the steps of the Capitol Building.
"Don't look so nervous Rob," Josh said. "We're among our peers here. All the best theives come to Washington."
"Yeah, but most of them have an alibi."
As the two bantered back and forth, Lee gave her thoughts over to how they should start gathering the information they had come for. Obviously, they should monitor the traffic going through Senators Broderick's office, and maybe plant a bug in a flowerpot or something. Lee discarded the last idea as she realized anything living probably couldn't survive long near Broderick.
"...yeah, right! While we're at it, let's swing into the National Archives and grab the Kennedy files!"
"Robin!" Lee exclaimed, her expression brightening. "That's BRILLIANT!"
"Huh? What'd I say?"
"We'll grab someone's Archive access, and get the dirt there!"
"Okay," Josh stated, his mind thinking, "who's do we grab?"
"Broderick's, of course!" Lee chortled, smiling. Josh simply groaned.
After finding a copy of that day's Federal Register, as well as a photo of the Senator, a plan was hatched.
"Hello, Senator," Josh stated, as he passed the Senator in a crowded hallway. Rounding a corner, he grinned as he viewed the wallet in his hand.
"You're ours, bub."
Wheeling himself into Harnagorn's office, Joe Smale stopped in front of the desk.
"Still unable to link with your brother?" Harnagorn growled.
"I'm doing my best," he replied. "However, I have an idea. It's obvious why our efforts with Danette failed. But if we were to initiate someone who's powers had already manifested...."
"I'd be successful," she finished. "Put your link on the back burner for right now, and get cracking."
Outside the office door, Runt listened intently.
Oh, shit, she thought. Allan's gonna wanna know about this.
Sneaking out the back door, she walked right up to Rick Zeto's hiding spot.
"Got some information for ya," she whispered, pretending to lean against the dumpster he was in. "For the right price, of course."
Pouring over documents in the National Archives, Josh, Lee, and Robin wondered if they'd ever find the dirt they needed.
"I think I got something," Lee stated, holding up a photograph. "Seems Broderick and Harnagorn were best buds back during 'Nam. She... entertained him and his pals in Japan. And some of this stuff indicates they kept in touch ever since."
"Who's that other guy in the photo?" Robin asked, pointing to a young man in an Air Force uniform.
"Lieutenant Victor Mussmoth," Lee replied, reading the caption. "Some of the stuff in this pile refers to him as well."
"Where's Mushmouth today?" Josh asked.
"Just a sec." Tapping furiously at a computer console, Robin pulled up Mussmoth's stats. "We're in luck. He's a Brigadier General at the Pentagon. 'Director of Special Operations', it says."
"Looks like this goes a lot farther than we thought. No wonder Jack was so up tight about my asking," Josh commented, leaaning back in his chair. "Let's pay the scumbag a visit."
Another three hours later, the trio snuck into the Pentagon through a garbage truck.
"This ain't gonna work," Robin muttered.
"Keep it down," Josh hissed. "It'll work."
When the truck had come to a halt, the three scrambled out of the bin and quickly found a hiding place behind an air conditioning unit. Wondering how they were going to get any farther, their attention was drawn by a loud gust of wind. Looking toward the sound, they saw what appeared to be a metal woman ripping open an elevator door, and descending down its shaft.
"That's one hell of an entrance," Josh muttered. "Let's book."
Racing across the hallway, the trio barely made it into an office before the crowd came to its senses.
"There's an awful lot of civilians here," Josh muttered. "Blend in, try not to look conspicuous. We'll meet back here in an hour."
An hour later, the three turned in their stolen guest passes as they strode out the front door.
"Learn anything?" Lee asked. "I didn't."
"Don't worry about a thing, sis," Robin said with a smile. "I grabbed us enough dirt on our scumbags to make even CLINTON resign."
Laughing, the trio headed back to the van.
"Next stop," Lee chortled, "NEW YORK CITY!"
Josh and Robin made certain they were both wearing seatbelts.