Sorry for the delay in Chapter Five. It will be up on this coming Sunday, if not earlier. Be sure to read it since it introduces a new cast member.
Well, the moon mini-saga is almost at an end, and we'll soon be revisiting out hero on the Earth. One of the reasons I had them go to the moon was to invoke the classic sci-fi feel of the 1950s, which dominated movie theaters soon after serials were retired. The Commander Cody serials of 1950s were some of the first serials I ever saw.
The plummeting aircraft is another common cliffhanger. In this case, I changed it into a flying saucer, but the same principal nonetheless.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Rick Daring and The Brilliant 5 – Chapter Four: Crash Landing
OLD TIMER – with Teresa and Johnny Highpitch go to the moon in order to secure the mysterious Compound X
OX – Is caught stealing Compound X, and in the resulting struggle, brought the ceiling down on top of everyone.
There was only darkness and silence.
Then, there was a slight hissing sound.
“Give me a light,” said Teresa. Johnny cracked open the emergency light on his suit’s belt. Looming over them was Ox; his fierce muscles the only thing preventing the large pile of boulders from crushing them all. Old Timer was lying by Ox’s feet. Teresa crawled over and pushed her hands on top of a small tear in Old Timer’s suit.
“Tape!” she shouted. “Hurry!” Johnny complied, pulling the sealant from his belt. After a few tense seconds, they mended the rip, but Old Timer was still unconscious.
“So, now what?” asked Johnny. “We only have so much air, and our large friend here has only so much strength.” He didn’t mention the fact that Ox could easily kill them both if they were not in this predicament.
Teresa picked up the ray gun. “Don’t lose hope yet,” she said. She started to take apart the gun and pulled out various items from her suit pockets. After fifteen minutes of tinkering in dim lights, Teresa presented them with a strange looking contraption.
“I’ve increased the output on the ray gun,” explained Teresa. “It may be abl to burn a tunnel through the rubble. Unfortunately, I don’t know how long it will last before the battery dies.”
“We’ve got no other choice but to try,” said Johnny. “We need to get Old Timer back to the saucer as fast as possible.”
“Please hurry,” rasped Ox. “It’s getting awfully heavy.”
“But which way should I start? I don’t remember which way was the entrance,” said Teresa.
Johnny pressed his helmeted head against the wall and pounded the wall. “There’s a hollow area, maybe 10 meters away.”
With that, Teresa turned on the device, and they watched as it started to shoot rays that melted through the rock. Teresa carefully aimed the device until it burned a hole just large enough for Ox to fit into. She ducked down into the hole in the wall and let the device burn further and further into the rumble.
When there was enough room, Johnny entered the makeshift tunnel, dragging along the unconscious Old Timer. That left Ox alone, carrying the weight of the ceiling on top of him. He hesitated, thinking of the two thugs crushed to death, before squeezing into the tunnel after Johnny; the collapsing rocks sealing the tunnel after him.
They slowly edged their way through the tunnel. They could feel the raw heat from Teresa’s device through their suits. It seemed like an eternity crawling in the cramp tunnel, until, suddenly, the device died. Teresa and Johnny grasped at the wall, trying to tear it down with their gloved hands. Johnny squeezed in front of Teresa and put his shoulder into breaking down the wall.
On his third try, the wall caved in, and they found themselves in tunnel leading to the entrance to the mine. They were soon met by the local authorities, who helped Johnny bind Ox before he could get away. Teresa immediately took Old Timer back to their saucer. Once inside, she took him out of the suit, and placed him in the medical bay. She placed an oxygen mask over his face and watched the sensors report that his condition was stable.
Johnny brought in Ox, sat him down, and stripped out of his spacesuit. He went into the cockpit and started the saucer’s engine. The craft lurched upward, and soon they were making their way back to the planet.
Ox sat quietly, staring at the heavy-duty handcuffs clamped onto his wrists. He had made no attempt at escape since the cave-in. He knew that he had failed his master in stealing the precious Compound X, and even if he did escape, there would be nothing but punishment awaiting his return. He was much safer in jail than he was a free man.
But as the saucer was completing re-entry into the planet’s atmosphere, Ox had a new thought. Clearly, his captors were extremely intelligent, far smarter than him at least. When they got back to their base, they would surely interrogate Ox, and sooner or later, Ox would incidentally mention something of importance that would lead them to his master.
This sort of mistake was unforgivable, and the only punishment was death. Ox realized with a fury that he had to get free. There was a small hope that his master would give him a second chance, but he had to act quickly before he compounded his troubles.
With a tug of his superior muscles, the handcuffs snapped into two. He silently stalked throughout the saucer until came about Teresa, still tending the unconscious Old Timer. Ox rushed her, and before she could open her mouth, he knocked her out. He then made his way to the front of the ship, towards the cockpit area.
Johnny Highpitch turned as the door behind him opened. Being agile, he was able to jump out of the way as Ox lunge towards him. Unfortunately, this was exactly what Ox wanted. His large hands ripped into the controls, tearing it apart.
“Stop!” shouted Johnny. “You don’t know what you’re doing!” Johnny tried to pull Ox away from the saucer’s control, but to no avail. He dodged one of Ox’s blows and punched him in the stomach. It felt like punching a wall.
Ox grabbed ahold of Johnny and threw him into the wall. Ox took one look back at the trashed controls and then fled the cockpit, leaving a unconscious Johnny as the ground behind grew larger and larger in the windshield as the saucer plummeted to the ground.
Click Here to Go To The Next Chapter
Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.
OX – Is caught stealing Compound X, and in the resulting struggle, brought the ceiling down on top of everyone.
There was only darkness and silence.
Then, there was a slight hissing sound.
“Give me a light,” said Teresa. Johnny cracked open the emergency light on his suit’s belt. Looming over them was Ox; his fierce muscles the only thing preventing the large pile of boulders from crushing them all. Old Timer was lying by Ox’s feet. Teresa crawled over and pushed her hands on top of a small tear in Old Timer’s suit.
“Tape!” she shouted. “Hurry!” Johnny complied, pulling the sealant from his belt. After a few tense seconds, they mended the rip, but Old Timer was still unconscious.
“So, now what?” asked Johnny. “We only have so much air, and our large friend here has only so much strength.” He didn’t mention the fact that Ox could easily kill them both if they were not in this predicament.
Teresa picked up the ray gun. “Don’t lose hope yet,” she said. She started to take apart the gun and pulled out various items from her suit pockets. After fifteen minutes of tinkering in dim lights, Teresa presented them with a strange looking contraption.
“I’ve increased the output on the ray gun,” explained Teresa. “It may be abl to burn a tunnel through the rubble. Unfortunately, I don’t know how long it will last before the battery dies.”
“We’ve got no other choice but to try,” said Johnny. “We need to get Old Timer back to the saucer as fast as possible.”
“Please hurry,” rasped Ox. “It’s getting awfully heavy.”
“But which way should I start? I don’t remember which way was the entrance,” said Teresa.
Johnny pressed his helmeted head against the wall and pounded the wall. “There’s a hollow area, maybe 10 meters away.”
With that, Teresa turned on the device, and they watched as it started to shoot rays that melted through the rock. Teresa carefully aimed the device until it burned a hole just large enough for Ox to fit into. She ducked down into the hole in the wall and let the device burn further and further into the rumble.
When there was enough room, Johnny entered the makeshift tunnel, dragging along the unconscious Old Timer. That left Ox alone, carrying the weight of the ceiling on top of him. He hesitated, thinking of the two thugs crushed to death, before squeezing into the tunnel after Johnny; the collapsing rocks sealing the tunnel after him.
They slowly edged their way through the tunnel. They could feel the raw heat from Teresa’s device through their suits. It seemed like an eternity crawling in the cramp tunnel, until, suddenly, the device died. Teresa and Johnny grasped at the wall, trying to tear it down with their gloved hands. Johnny squeezed in front of Teresa and put his shoulder into breaking down the wall.
On his third try, the wall caved in, and they found themselves in tunnel leading to the entrance to the mine. They were soon met by the local authorities, who helped Johnny bind Ox before he could get away. Teresa immediately took Old Timer back to their saucer. Once inside, she took him out of the suit, and placed him in the medical bay. She placed an oxygen mask over his face and watched the sensors report that his condition was stable.
Johnny brought in Ox, sat him down, and stripped out of his spacesuit. He went into the cockpit and started the saucer’s engine. The craft lurched upward, and soon they were making their way back to the planet.
Ox sat quietly, staring at the heavy-duty handcuffs clamped onto his wrists. He had made no attempt at escape since the cave-in. He knew that he had failed his master in stealing the precious Compound X, and even if he did escape, there would be nothing but punishment awaiting his return. He was much safer in jail than he was a free man.
But as the saucer was completing re-entry into the planet’s atmosphere, Ox had a new thought. Clearly, his captors were extremely intelligent, far smarter than him at least. When they got back to their base, they would surely interrogate Ox, and sooner or later, Ox would incidentally mention something of importance that would lead them to his master.
This sort of mistake was unforgivable, and the only punishment was death. Ox realized with a fury that he had to get free. There was a small hope that his master would give him a second chance, but he had to act quickly before he compounded his troubles.
With a tug of his superior muscles, the handcuffs snapped into two. He silently stalked throughout the saucer until came about Teresa, still tending the unconscious Old Timer. Ox rushed her, and before she could open her mouth, he knocked her out. He then made his way to the front of the ship, towards the cockpit area.
Johnny Highpitch turned as the door behind him opened. Being agile, he was able to jump out of the way as Ox lunge towards him. Unfortunately, this was exactly what Ox wanted. His large hands ripped into the controls, tearing it apart.
“Stop!” shouted Johnny. “You don’t know what you’re doing!” Johnny tried to pull Ox away from the saucer’s control, but to no avail. He dodged one of Ox’s blows and punched him in the stomach. It felt like punching a wall.
Ox grabbed ahold of Johnny and threw him into the wall. Ox took one look back at the trashed controls and then fled the cockpit, leaving a unconscious Johnny as the ground behind grew larger and larger in the windshield as the saucer plummeted to the ground.
Click Here to Go To The Next Chapter
Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Rick Daring and The Brilliant 5 – Chapter Three: Buried Alive
DEKKER – Is caught stealing a large amount of tertainium for a local warehouse.
DARING – Is shot while trying to prevent Dekker’s getaway.
The sounds of gunfire attracted Junior’s attention. He raced toward the offices, letting the two battered cronies escape. Upon entering the room, he glimpsed Dekker jumping out of the window. He started to pursue the villain, when he came upon Daring’s body.
“Daring! Are you okay?” he asked, crouching over the prone hero.
“It’s a good thing we came prepared,” coughed Daring. Junior ripped open Daring’s shirt, revealing a bulletproof vest. “Still hurts, though.”
“You just rest here, boss,” said Junior as he heard the truck’s engine roar to life. “I’ll go after those guys.” Junior leapt out of the window, just in time to see the truck pull out of the parking lot. He ran over to the roadster, jumping into the vehicle and quickly started off after them. Putting the pedal to the floor, the car zoomed after the truck. Luckily, the large truck was conspicuous, and soon, Junior caught up with the truck as they raced around the twisting roads.
The two thugs appeared out of the back of the truck and started to fire upon Junior. Junior was safe as long as he stayed behind the roadster’s bulletproof windshield. He tried to get beside the truck, but the truck would swerve from side to side, blocking his every attempt. Junior was just about to open the roadster’s hidden compartment of switches, when he noticed the two thugs had stopped firing. He glanced up to see the two men were lugging one of the large crates.
His foot hit the brakes just as they threw the crate out onto the road in front of him. The crate shattered open, spilling out its contents all over the road. Junior frowned as he watched the truck disappear over the hill.
“Old Timer’s got to have better luck than me,” he muttered.
“What do you mean, we’re late!?” hollered Old Timer through his spacesuit’s speaker. He, along with Johnny Highpitch and Teresa, stood in front of the Compound X mine, speaking with the mine’s overseer. Their giant space saucer was parked in the distance. Earth hung over them in the sky.
“All I’m saying is that there was a group of individuals with the exact same paperwork that came through here about an hour ago,” he explained. “I assumed that you were with them.”
“Good sir,” interrupted Johnny. “Are you insinuating that these men are still down there?”
“Unless there’s some back way out that I don’t know about,” replied the overseer.
“Thank you for your time,” replied Johnny. He ushered his two companions to the entrance of the mine.
“Doggone rattlesnakes,” muttered Old Timer. “They beat us here!”
“But they don’t know we’re here,” stated Teresa. “The element of surprise is ours!” They continued inward, until they came to a fork in the tunnel.
“Which way?” asked Teresa.
“Wish I knew,” muttered Old Timer.
Johnny Highpitch shushed his compatriots, attuning his super-hearing to the passageways ahead. There was dead silence as Johnny listened intently. After a long pause, he said, “This way.”
They followed him down the right tunnel, and soon enough, they came across a light in the distance. There, they came upon three men working the wall of the mine. One of the three men was mammoth, tossing aside boulders as if they were pebbles. On the table was a small cylinder filled with a glowing substance. This substance was the unstable mineral known as Compound X.
The trio slowly crept up on Ox and his men. Ox turned at the sound of Johnny’s voice as he said, “Put down your tools and come with us. We have some questions needing answered.”
Instead of complying with johnny’s order, Ox shouted, “Get them!” His two minions rushed Johnny and Old Timer. Each member of the Brilliant 5 are trained in 5 forms of self-defense, but wearing bulky spacesuit greatly diminished their fighting form. The result was a pair of men tossing around the ground, their fists glancing off of each other’s helmet.
Fortunately, Teresa had anticipated this. She had brought along a pneumatic gun, no bigger than a derringer. It contained a small capsule of knock out gas. While the thugs were busy tussling with Johnny and Old Timer, Teresa came up behind them and injected the gas directly into the thug’s air hose. Within seconds, they were out cold, leaving Ox to fend for himself.
Ox didn’t mind the three-to-one odds, but even he needed to breathe, and Teresa’s knock out gas gun would work just as well on him as it did his minions. But Ox’s master had planned for every eventuality. Ox pulled the ray gun from his belt, but before he could fire it, Old Timer tossed a stone at him. The stone knocked the ray gun out of his hand.
Angry, Ox grabbed the thing closest to him and threw it back at them. The item, in this case, was the canister of Compound X. The unstable mineral exploded upon impact, bringing the whole ceiling down on their heads.
Click Here to Go To The Next Chapter
Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.
DARING – Is shot while trying to prevent Dekker’s getaway.
The sounds of gunfire attracted Junior’s attention. He raced toward the offices, letting the two battered cronies escape. Upon entering the room, he glimpsed Dekker jumping out of the window. He started to pursue the villain, when he came upon Daring’s body.
“Daring! Are you okay?” he asked, crouching over the prone hero.
“It’s a good thing we came prepared,” coughed Daring. Junior ripped open Daring’s shirt, revealing a bulletproof vest. “Still hurts, though.”
“You just rest here, boss,” said Junior as he heard the truck’s engine roar to life. “I’ll go after those guys.” Junior leapt out of the window, just in time to see the truck pull out of the parking lot. He ran over to the roadster, jumping into the vehicle and quickly started off after them. Putting the pedal to the floor, the car zoomed after the truck. Luckily, the large truck was conspicuous, and soon, Junior caught up with the truck as they raced around the twisting roads.
The two thugs appeared out of the back of the truck and started to fire upon Junior. Junior was safe as long as he stayed behind the roadster’s bulletproof windshield. He tried to get beside the truck, but the truck would swerve from side to side, blocking his every attempt. Junior was just about to open the roadster’s hidden compartment of switches, when he noticed the two thugs had stopped firing. He glanced up to see the two men were lugging one of the large crates.
His foot hit the brakes just as they threw the crate out onto the road in front of him. The crate shattered open, spilling out its contents all over the road. Junior frowned as he watched the truck disappear over the hill.
“Old Timer’s got to have better luck than me,” he muttered.
“What do you mean, we’re late!?” hollered Old Timer through his spacesuit’s speaker. He, along with Johnny Highpitch and Teresa, stood in front of the Compound X mine, speaking with the mine’s overseer. Their giant space saucer was parked in the distance. Earth hung over them in the sky.
“All I’m saying is that there was a group of individuals with the exact same paperwork that came through here about an hour ago,” he explained. “I assumed that you were with them.”
“Good sir,” interrupted Johnny. “Are you insinuating that these men are still down there?”
“Unless there’s some back way out that I don’t know about,” replied the overseer.
“Thank you for your time,” replied Johnny. He ushered his two companions to the entrance of the mine.
“Doggone rattlesnakes,” muttered Old Timer. “They beat us here!”
“But they don’t know we’re here,” stated Teresa. “The element of surprise is ours!” They continued inward, until they came to a fork in the tunnel.
“Which way?” asked Teresa.
“Wish I knew,” muttered Old Timer.
Johnny Highpitch shushed his compatriots, attuning his super-hearing to the passageways ahead. There was dead silence as Johnny listened intently. After a long pause, he said, “This way.”
They followed him down the right tunnel, and soon enough, they came across a light in the distance. There, they came upon three men working the wall of the mine. One of the three men was mammoth, tossing aside boulders as if they were pebbles. On the table was a small cylinder filled with a glowing substance. This substance was the unstable mineral known as Compound X.
The trio slowly crept up on Ox and his men. Ox turned at the sound of Johnny’s voice as he said, “Put down your tools and come with us. We have some questions needing answered.”
Instead of complying with johnny’s order, Ox shouted, “Get them!” His two minions rushed Johnny and Old Timer. Each member of the Brilliant 5 are trained in 5 forms of self-defense, but wearing bulky spacesuit greatly diminished their fighting form. The result was a pair of men tossing around the ground, their fists glancing off of each other’s helmet.
Fortunately, Teresa had anticipated this. She had brought along a pneumatic gun, no bigger than a derringer. It contained a small capsule of knock out gas. While the thugs were busy tussling with Johnny and Old Timer, Teresa came up behind them and injected the gas directly into the thug’s air hose. Within seconds, they were out cold, leaving Ox to fend for himself.
Ox didn’t mind the three-to-one odds, but even he needed to breathe, and Teresa’s knock out gas gun would work just as well on him as it did his minions. But Ox’s master had planned for every eventuality. Ox pulled the ray gun from his belt, but before he could fire it, Old Timer tossed a stone at him. The stone knocked the ray gun out of his hand.
Angry, Ox grabbed the thing closest to him and threw it back at them. The item, in this case, was the canister of Compound X. The unstable mineral exploded upon impact, bringing the whole ceiling down on their heads.
Click Here to Go To The Next Chapter
Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Comments on Chapter Two
Rick Daring and the Brilliant 5 are more or less based on the Doc Savage archetype. Our hero, being a man who has no special abilities other than his highly trained mind and muscles, is backed by his assistants, each a specialist in their own field. junior and Old Timer could be considered the "Ham" and "Monk," the two main sidekicks. Their age difference was more of an homage to old westerns, particularly Hopalong Cassidy, that used an old and young sidekick whose arguments would provide a comedic atmosphere among the tense drama.
The resolution of last week's cliffhanger was the use of a safe to protect our hero from an explosion. I'm pretty sure that this is a pretty commonly used device, but i can't think of any serials off the top of my head that used this. The most recent example of this can be seen in the latest Indiana Jones movie, where Indy climbed into a lead-lined refrigerator to escape from the aftershocks of a nuclear detontation miles away.
The resolution of last week's cliffhanger was the use of a safe to protect our hero from an explosion. I'm pretty sure that this is a pretty commonly used device, but i can't think of any serials off the top of my head that used this. The most recent example of this can be seen in the latest Indiana Jones movie, where Indy climbed into a lead-lined refrigerator to escape from the aftershocks of a nuclear detontation miles away.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Rick Daring and The Brilliant 5 – Chapter Two: Doorway to Disaster
DEKKER – Assigned by his Mysterious Master to obtain secret plans from Professor Jones.
DARING – Stumbled upon Dekker in the act of stealing the documents and caught the fire caused by the ensuing fight.
Old Timer and Junior slowly got to their feet. The explosion had consumed all of the oxygen, suffocating the flames that were ravaging the laboratory. As they entered the remains of the room, they could find no sign of their friend, Rick Daring. The explosion had hurled Jones’s safe through the window and was lying on the lawn, burnt but intact. In the distance, they heard the sound of tires screeching. Whoever killed Professor Jones and attacked Daring had escaped.
There was a faint knocking coming from the safe. Neither man said anything. They busied themselves prying off the safe’s door. Inside, cramp and crowded but alive, was Richard Darington, AKA Rick Daring.
After dusting himself off, Daring met with the security detail and related his tale of the intruder. Once they got his statement, Daring gathered the late Professor Jones’s colleagues, so that he could question them.
The three scientists sat in lounge chairs in the building’s rec room. Doctor Terrance Sergoff was a middle-aged man with grey hair and a bushy beard. Professor Walter Scott was a stout man who spoke little unless needed to. Doctor Paul Edwards was a well-groomed man with a distinct voice.
“By God,” muttered Sergoff. “Jones was right. I wouldn’t believe it.”
“What my colleague is saying is that we agreed with Jones for additional security,” said Edwards. “But we didn’t totally believe that there were people out there, after us.”
“Of course, there’s always a possibility of espionage, but still…,” stated Sergoff.
“They killed him,” added Scott.
“I am sorry we weren’t able to save him,” said Daring. “I need to know what was on the plans that got stolen.”
“Fortunately, we broke up the plans into four parts, so that no one man have the complete plans to the project,” stated Sergoff.
“I believe that Jones had the list of construction parts for the machine,” remarked Edwards.
“And what are those?” asked Junior.
“The, er, machine is mainly composed of tertainium, which is supply to us by a local shipping company. The other element is Compound X, the unstable material from the moon that fuels our creation,” explained Sergoff.
Daring signaled Junior and Old Timer that he wanted to speak to them alone.
“What’s the plan, boss?” asked Junior.
“I think we should start taking the offensive,” replied Daring. “There’s a good chance that whoever stole Jones’ part of the plans will go after these materials. Junior and I will check out the warehouse where the tertainium’s being kept. Old Timer, you go back to the Institute and use the saucer to go to the moon and check out the Compound X mine. Better yet, take Johnny and Teresa with you.”
Old Timer said nothing. He was quietly stroking his beard.
“What’s eating you, old man?” asked Junior.
“I don’t like it, Daring,” said Old Timer. “We wuz submitted to every kind of inspection before we could even breathe the same air as those scientist folks. So, yer telling me some dang blasted man, got by all of that, all by himself?”
“You think it’s an inside job?” asked Daring.
“Yer durn tootin’!” replied Old Timer.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough information to go on your hunch, Old Timer. Right now, we’ll stake out these locations, and if we’re lucky enough we might just catch someone who can fill us in on what’s going on.”
Sometime later, Daring’s roadster pulled up to the warehouse in question. Daring and Junior leapt out of the vehicle, when they noticed that a large, nondescript truck had been pulled up to one of the warehouse’s docks. Sneaking into the warehouse, they soon confirmed their worst fear. The man Daring identified as his attacker was standing near the back-end of the truck. A number of boxes were already loaded into the truck. The guards were bound and unconscious.
Daring pulled out a gun from his inside breast pocket and slowly approached Dekker.
“Hands where we can see them,” commanded Daring. Dekker did as he was told. “Not so tough when you aren’t ambushing people, huh?” Dekker didn’t reply. “Let’s start with who you’re working for, and then work our way towards why you’re stealing top secret government documents.”
“Should we drill them now?” came a voice behind them. Watkins and Davis, two of Dekker’s cronies, stepped into the warehouse, guns drawn. Daring and Junior looked each other with resignation. Daring tossed the gun to the ground. As the men approached, he pressed a hidden button on his watch. The “gun” exploded with a loud flare, blinding the evil men. Daring and Junior both came prepared with specialized contacts and earplugs that made them immune to the effects.
Junior grabbed the nearest thug by his lapels and slugged him in the face. The punch spun Davis in his place, quickly collapsing into a pile of crates. Dekker staggered off towards a cluster of offices. Daring started to pursue, but Watkins managed to grabbed ahold of him. Daring struggled to break his hold. Watkins pushed Daring off balance, and they both fell to the ground. Daring managed to kick Watkins off of him. Getting to his feet, Daring gave the thug a solid punch right to the jaw. Watkins slumped to the ground.
Daring ran after Dekker. He stopped at the doorway where he saw Dekker halfway out of a window. Daring already started to move towards Dekker, hoping to close the gap between them. In those precious seconds, Dekker drew his gun and fired at Daring.
Three slugs impacted Daring in the chest. He stumbled backwards, collapsing to the ground.
Click Here to Go To The Next Chapter
Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.
DARING – Stumbled upon Dekker in the act of stealing the documents and caught the fire caused by the ensuing fight.
Old Timer and Junior slowly got to their feet. The explosion had consumed all of the oxygen, suffocating the flames that were ravaging the laboratory. As they entered the remains of the room, they could find no sign of their friend, Rick Daring. The explosion had hurled Jones’s safe through the window and was lying on the lawn, burnt but intact. In the distance, they heard the sound of tires screeching. Whoever killed Professor Jones and attacked Daring had escaped.
There was a faint knocking coming from the safe. Neither man said anything. They busied themselves prying off the safe’s door. Inside, cramp and crowded but alive, was Richard Darington, AKA Rick Daring.
After dusting himself off, Daring met with the security detail and related his tale of the intruder. Once they got his statement, Daring gathered the late Professor Jones’s colleagues, so that he could question them.
The three scientists sat in lounge chairs in the building’s rec room. Doctor Terrance Sergoff was a middle-aged man with grey hair and a bushy beard. Professor Walter Scott was a stout man who spoke little unless needed to. Doctor Paul Edwards was a well-groomed man with a distinct voice.
“By God,” muttered Sergoff. “Jones was right. I wouldn’t believe it.”
“What my colleague is saying is that we agreed with Jones for additional security,” said Edwards. “But we didn’t totally believe that there were people out there, after us.”
“Of course, there’s always a possibility of espionage, but still…,” stated Sergoff.
“They killed him,” added Scott.
“I am sorry we weren’t able to save him,” said Daring. “I need to know what was on the plans that got stolen.”
“Fortunately, we broke up the plans into four parts, so that no one man have the complete plans to the project,” stated Sergoff.
“I believe that Jones had the list of construction parts for the machine,” remarked Edwards.
“And what are those?” asked Junior.
“The, er, machine is mainly composed of tertainium, which is supply to us by a local shipping company. The other element is Compound X, the unstable material from the moon that fuels our creation,” explained Sergoff.
Daring signaled Junior and Old Timer that he wanted to speak to them alone.
“What’s the plan, boss?” asked Junior.
“I think we should start taking the offensive,” replied Daring. “There’s a good chance that whoever stole Jones’ part of the plans will go after these materials. Junior and I will check out the warehouse where the tertainium’s being kept. Old Timer, you go back to the Institute and use the saucer to go to the moon and check out the Compound X mine. Better yet, take Johnny and Teresa with you.”
Old Timer said nothing. He was quietly stroking his beard.
“What’s eating you, old man?” asked Junior.
“I don’t like it, Daring,” said Old Timer. “We wuz submitted to every kind of inspection before we could even breathe the same air as those scientist folks. So, yer telling me some dang blasted man, got by all of that, all by himself?”
“You think it’s an inside job?” asked Daring.
“Yer durn tootin’!” replied Old Timer.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough information to go on your hunch, Old Timer. Right now, we’ll stake out these locations, and if we’re lucky enough we might just catch someone who can fill us in on what’s going on.”
Sometime later, Daring’s roadster pulled up to the warehouse in question. Daring and Junior leapt out of the vehicle, when they noticed that a large, nondescript truck had been pulled up to one of the warehouse’s docks. Sneaking into the warehouse, they soon confirmed their worst fear. The man Daring identified as his attacker was standing near the back-end of the truck. A number of boxes were already loaded into the truck. The guards were bound and unconscious.
Daring pulled out a gun from his inside breast pocket and slowly approached Dekker.
“Hands where we can see them,” commanded Daring. Dekker did as he was told. “Not so tough when you aren’t ambushing people, huh?” Dekker didn’t reply. “Let’s start with who you’re working for, and then work our way towards why you’re stealing top secret government documents.”
“Should we drill them now?” came a voice behind them. Watkins and Davis, two of Dekker’s cronies, stepped into the warehouse, guns drawn. Daring and Junior looked each other with resignation. Daring tossed the gun to the ground. As the men approached, he pressed a hidden button on his watch. The “gun” exploded with a loud flare, blinding the evil men. Daring and Junior both came prepared with specialized contacts and earplugs that made them immune to the effects.
Junior grabbed the nearest thug by his lapels and slugged him in the face. The punch spun Davis in his place, quickly collapsing into a pile of crates. Dekker staggered off towards a cluster of offices. Daring started to pursue, but Watkins managed to grabbed ahold of him. Daring struggled to break his hold. Watkins pushed Daring off balance, and they both fell to the ground. Daring managed to kick Watkins off of him. Getting to his feet, Daring gave the thug a solid punch right to the jaw. Watkins slumped to the ground.
Daring ran after Dekker. He stopped at the doorway where he saw Dekker halfway out of a window. Daring already started to move towards Dekker, hoping to close the gap between them. In those precious seconds, Dekker drew his gun and fired at Daring.
Three slugs impacted Daring in the chest. He stumbled backwards, collapsing to the ground.
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Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.
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