Disclaimer: Emergency is the property of Mark VII Productions and used without permission or intent to profit. "The Phantom" is the creation of Lee Falk and also used without permission or intent to profit.
"Many Men"
by J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'
The door opened and the catapult that had been rigged inside the locker launched its rubber-contained liquid payload, the water balloon hitting the man who had opened the locker, bursting and soaking him.
"Gah!" John Gage exclaimed, "Chet! How could you do this today of all days?"
Chet Kelly shrugged, "Don't blame me, Johnny. It was the Phantom."
"You and your Phantom both can just go soak your heads," Johnny snarled, "I had a date right after shift today and now I have to go home to find a change of clothes. I'm going to be late picking her up and do you know what that means, Chet? The whole evening just starts spiralling down."
"Well, gee, Johnny, maybe you should take this as a sign that your date's not meant to be," Chet answered with a butter-wouldn't-melt expression, then leaned forward conpiratorially, "And I wouldn't mock the Phantom if I were you. The Phantom knows."
Roy Desoto spoke up from the other side of Johnny's locker, "Hey, Kelly, I thought it was 'The Shadow knows'?"
"Oh, you don't want to underestimate the Phantom, Roy," Chet grinned, "There's an old jungle saying about the Phantom knowing about it whenever anything happens, they say the jungle itself tells him."
"Now, Chet," Johnny gave an exasperated sigh, "We're not in the jungle, we're nowhere near a jungle, so how can there be an 'old jungle saying' about this Phantom of yours?"
"Los Angeles is an urban jungle," Chet countered.
"Yeah," Johnny shot back, "Los Angeles city, Chet. In case you forgot, we're in Los Angeles county."
"County, city," Chet shrugged, "What's the difference? How many times have emergency services from both worked together, huh? Or have you guys forgotten your LAPD buddies already? What were their names, Reed and Malloy?"
"I'd like to forget you," Johnny snapped back.
"Oh, that's good, Gage, real good. I take it you'll have another comeback that good in, say, three months?"
"That's enough, you twits," Captain Stanley's voice cut in, "Fall out for roll call, and Kelly? You just earned yourself latrine duty as well as cleaning the locker room."
"Aw, come on, Cap," Chet moaned, "One or the other, please?"
"You should've thought of that before your latest stunt, then," Stanley shook his head.
Chet sighed, "Whatever you say, Cap, you're the Cap."
Chet waited until everyone else had cleared the locker room, then opened a small chest in his locker, taped to the inside of the lid there was a picture of himself and an older man - his mother's father, his grandfather Kit Walker - smirking to himself at the sight of his favorite relative in the purple and black outfit that he and his ancestors for twenty generations had worn in their duty, the purple hood and black mask off so that his face could be freely seen, despite some 'old jungle sayings' about seeing his face. In the chest itself, laying on a bed of dark velvet was a small disk attached to a chain as though a necklace and on the disk was a simple symbol of four swords touching at the tips and forming a pinwheel shape - the Good Mark. The Mark that declared the person was under the protection of the Ghost-Who-Walks.
"After all, Gage," Chet touched the medallion for good luck, "'The Phantom is many men'. Maybe even me, someday, if it comes to it."