StarFall Comics
A Division of Pullemouttayerhat Productions
A Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of StarFall Innovations
Proudly Presents:
Swamp Patrol
#9: (no title given)
cover: (none described)
Donna sat at her desk trying to stay awake. She told herself for the thousandth time that she should not have gone with Frank and Brill on that stake out. With as burned out as she was she managed to get her eyes to focus on her test.
Multiple choice! she groaned. Why'd it have to be multiple choice?
Starting into the exam with all the enthusiasm of a teenager (heh, right!) she failed to notice that her answer sheet was upside down.
Frank waited patiently, arms crossed as Caruthers looked over the documents that had just been handed him. It was easy to see that up until now Caruthers had been having a bad day. The expression on Caruther's face, however, started to become less stressed as he read the papers in front of him.
Glancing up from the documents for various illegal transactions and a hard copy of the e-mail that Shelly had recieved, Caruthers asked almost disbelievingly, "That cat burglar just handed these to you? Are these the only copies you know of?"
"Not that I'm officially admitting to, but they are the only copies I have for you."
"Right. What're they teaching you in that law course you're taking? Obscurity 101?"
"More or less," Frank grinned.
"Heh. Anyway, you better head back to your friends, I'm gonna go get warrant. Mr. Carter Stevens is gonna have some questions to answer."
Another day, another ill-fated outing with Maggie. Janice and her mother sat at a table in a local chop house, presumably having lunch. As was typical, Janice was not enjoying herself, and Maggie was trying her best to patch up their suffering relationship.
"I was only 13 then. Can you blame me for being frightened and confused? I wanted to keep you, but your grandparents said..."
"They said I 'was a disgrace to have around', that I was 'a blight on the family tree'. Why? Because I was born too early for their convenience?"
"Janice, please, we're in a public place. Can't we just talk about this quietly?"
"How about not at all. You've been hounding me for so long I barely have any private life! Why don't you just get out of my face and leave me alone?"
Margurite sat quietly, determined not to let this turn into another arguement. She had not meant to tell her daughter, but it seemed that it might be the only way to calm her down enough to keep her from running out again.
"I thought you might have rather been surprised, but I might as well tell you. Jimmy and Dawn are coming in tomorrow for a visit."
From across the table, Margurite watched a surprized smile flash across the younger woman's face, then vanish in a deep blue funk of depression. Margurite wished that there was some way of making Janice understand what she was feeling, but knew it would just incite another arguement.
Pulling the Jeep up to the curb in front of the garage, Frank noticed some activity in the back lot, near the spot where Brill typically kept his Honda 650 Custom parked. Going through the gate in the fence around the lot, he saw that Ted was using his powers to take potshots at the bike, and missing by mere inches. From where he stood, Frank could see that Ted was in a bad mood.
"Ted, why are shooting at Brill's cycle?"
Startled, Ted's hand jerked, sending his next shot into the front wheel hub.
"Wha...?! Sheez! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Looking at the impact point, Ted moaned, "Man, Brill's gonna be ticked!"
The wheel would definitely need replacing.
"No kidding," Frank said. "Still, wasn't this rather irresponsible to be doing?"
"Please, don't start! I...yeah, it was." Looking at his older brother, Ted knew Frank was right, and even more that he wanted his respect.
"Come on," Frank told him. "If you want something to shoot at I'll take you out to Dead-Man's Swamp. There are plenty of dead trees and things to practice on. But in the meantime, you'd better go tell Brill about his bike."
Ted winced at the thought of Brill's reaction, but resolved to do it.
"And when you're done, call the others. There are things to discuss with the 'ghosts'."
Ted perked up a bit at that. There was going to be some action.
Doppelgänger wondered how she had let herself get talked into an other night operation. Sometimes she wondered if Brill wasn't a hypnotist or something, the guy could be so convincing. Shifting from a great bird back to her human form, she jimmied open the second floor window that she had landed at. The ledge wasn't very wide, but she didn't really have to worry about that. With some minor shifting of body mass, and she could balance just about anywhere.
The window was open, and she slipped quickly inside, after signalling the others that all was clear. Moving one by one from their hiding places in the shrubbery, they climbed into the mansion by a rope ladder that Donna had let down. They were in, now to find out what was going on, and why Carter Stevens had called for help.
"Brill, Pete, Jan, you take the upstairs." Frank ordered. "Ted, Donna, and I will take the ground floor. If you find anything, call out. Shelly, you reading us alright?"
Through earphones from the CBs the group was wearing, Shelly called over, "Loud and clear. But try to keep down the loud."
"Heh. Will do," Pete responded. "Everyone ready?"
The group split up and began their search through the house. Donna and Pete were somewhat nervous, and had the feeling that they were doing something wrong. They had just illegally entered a residence, and now were skulking about the place like theives. Ted was having similar feelings, but they were drowned out by an over all excitement.
"Nice place," Ted muttered. "Stevens must pull down what? At least a hundred grand a year?"
The floors were covered all in deep, plush carpetting, with expensive easy chairs and couches lining the walls and center floors. There was a crystal chandalier hanging over the front steps in the foyer, and the walls were hung with numerous paintings.
"Probably," Frank replied. "But let's keep the line clear. We may have to leave in a hurry and miss the 'get out' signal."
"Guys! Come here!" Donna hissed into her radio. "I'm in the kitchen."
For the first time, the two men realized that Donna was not with them, and started looking for the kitchen.
"What'd you find?" Frank asked when they found her. She was in her basset hound form, sniffing around the kitchen's dumwaiter. Shifting to human form, she pulled the dumwaiter's slide door open, and looked inside.
"There's something wrong with this thing. It's not just a food elevator."
Taking a look, Frank was inclined to agree with Donna. Searching around the device's floor, he found a catch and switch. Pulling it, the dumwaiter's walls and floor pulled back and down, forming a two-man elevator car.
"Very nice," Frank breathed. "Everybody, get down here to the kitchen. Ted, go out there and show 'em where we are."
Caruthers looked at the justice expectantly as she went over the material he had presented as evidence justifying a search warrant. Putting down the last file, she looked at him, and frowned. Caruthers was certain he was not going to get the necessary papers.
"The information you've given me isn't a lot to go on, Joe. But I think you've got a valid case. Don't make me regret signing this."
"Thanks, Carrie, I'll make sure it's done by the book."
The Swampers took in their surroundings, and moved down the narrow passageway that the hidden elevator had brought them to. Donna was in her panther form, and on point. It was a nuissance to keep having to fix her radio securely every time she changed, but necessary to keep her in contact with the rest of the group.
Being underground, they had lost contact with Gabbie, but that had been expected. Leaping down the corridor, Donna was already a good way ahead of the others when she came to a door in the far end after a turn. Sniffing around it, she wrinkled her nose in agitation. It was so sterile.
When the others had caught up with her, they tried openning it. The door was locked, so Janice tried her lockpicks. She wasn't having much success, and Ted was becoming impatient.
"Get outta the way," he growled, pointing his capgun at the door.
"Ted, no!" Frank shouted, too late. Jan slid away from the door as Ted blasted the lock, which promptly became a rather unsightly hole.
Grabbing Ted by the shirtfront, Jan hissed, "If you ever do that again, I'll break your arms!"
"That's enough, people. We'd better get inside before whatever's in there isn't."
Frank pushed the door open, and stepped in. The sight that met him was astounding, almost straight out of a science fiction thriller.
There were racks of data storage banks everywhwere, and cables running from wall junctions to a large console in the center of the room. And in the middle of it all stood a tall, wide cylinder filled with a bluish liquid, and a man with cables running from the base of his skull to a jack in the console.
The man openned his eyes, and a monotone voice came over a hidden loudspeaker.
"Are you here to help me?"
Caruthers and his men pulled up the driveway to the Stevens Estate, and stopped at the mansion's froint door. Ringing the bell, he got a voice over the intercomm next to the doorjamb.
"Can I help you?"
"Uh, yes. This is the police. We have a warrant to search the premises."
The door swung open, and the police stepped in. Looking rather confused at there being no one there to give the warrant to, Caruthers ordered his men to fan out and search the place.
"And if you find the joker with the door remote, lemme know, stat!"
"Yes. We're here to help." Brill said. "But there's a few things I'd like to know. Where's Carter Stevens and Jerome Kay?"
"I am Stevens. As for that piece of trash Kay..."
"I am right here. Thank yuou so much for the introduction Mr. Stevens, but you could have chosen a kindlier description."
Stepping out from behind a storage rack, Dr. Jerome Kay went to the console, and began typing.
"No. Stop him." Stevens said. His voice was still a monotone, but somehow he managed to emote a hint of urgencency.
Ted brought up his capgun again, but was beaten to the punch as Brill placed a right hook squarely on Dr. Kay's jaw. Sprawling against a wall, the scientist lay still, trying to make his head stop spinning.
"That wasn't a very civilized thing to do. Stacey!"
A young girl, about Ted's and Donna's age, stepped out from behind another storage rack. She was slim and had a rather boyish face, and held a semi-automatic rifle in front of her. Despite the weapon, her demeanor was one of concern, and Frank, Brill, and, Pete were sure that they could have disarmed her with minimal effort.
"Stay where you are. Are you alright, uncle?" she asked.
Getting up from the floor, Kay sneered at the Swampers, and said, "I'm no worse for the wear, my dear. Now if you'll just eliminate these pests, we'll be on our way."
"I wouldn't," Frank countered. "We're not alone here. The police are likely here already, thanks to the information I gave them."
"The police are here." Stevens droned from his cylinder. "They are on their way down now. You'll pay for lying to me, Kay."
A wave of panic swept over Stacey's face, but Kay remained calm.
"Very well. We'll let you live, but we're leaving. Come along, Stacey."
With that, the two backed away into the storage racks, and through a small door in the wall behind them. Rushing after them Janice and Pete found the door locked, and the villains gone.
"Crud! We'd better get out of here, too." Pete groaned.
"Right. Stevens, is there any other way out of here?" Brill asked.
An other door opened in the north wall. "This leads to a service tunnel to the surface. Hurry, the police are almost here."
It was a half hour hike from the service tunnel adit to the Jeep, but the group was glad to have managed the whole affair as well as they had. Reporting in to Shelly, they returned to Frank's appartment to discuss the one loose end remaining. Alley Cat.