JSA: Land Of The Thuggee
By Bruce Wayne
Justice Society of America created by Gardner Fox
Dedicated to ME, who has taught me more about being philosophical than anyone.
DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters portrayed in this story are copyright by DC Comics, an AOL/Time/Warner company. They are used without permission for entertainment without profit by the author.
Chapter 12
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Hawkman?" Rod Lawson demanded, stunned by the Winged Wonder's invitation to Bahir Khan. "What do you want to talk to a cutthroat hill bandit for?"
"Exactly what I told him I wanted to talk about," the Justice Society chairman replied. "A business deal."
"I don't think I have to tell you we can't trust a dangerous bandit chief," Hourman remarked. "Are you sure it's a good idea to make a deal with this fellow?"
"You said it yourself, Hourman," Hawkman began. "We can't trust him. If we just let him ride off, he might head straight for the Thuggee stronghold. Sonoka said the bandits know these hills better than anyone else. That means Bahir Khan could probably reach the Thugs before we could find their headquarters, especially if we tried to find the base on our own."
"Merciful Minerva," Wonder Woman groaned. "You're not thinking of a deal to get these bandits to help us find the Thugs? That's a questionable idea. What's to stop them from turning on us when we find the base?"
"Look," Starman said, pointing at a lone figure who descended a rock formation. "The guest of honor has arrived."
Bahir Khan climbed down the stony surface as easily as a man on a flight of stairs. The bandit leader wore canvas trousers and a dark green cotton shirt with a goatskin vest. His boots were made of deer hide with rabbit fur around the ankles. The bandit carried two revolvers thrust in his belt. A large knife was sheathed at his right hip, and the brass handle of a scimitar jutted from a scabbard at his left.
Bahir Khan carried a pole over his right shoulder with a dirty white cloth tied to one end. He did not wave the crude flag, apparently confident that the JSA would not harm him. The bandit climbed to the base of the rock wall and held the banner forward.
"I am Bahir Khan," he announced. "I come in peace."
The bandit's face did not belong to a pacifist. A dark green turban was bound around his head. Bahir Khan's left cheek had been slashed by a knife, the scar extended from below his eye to his beard. His smile was confident, perhaps arrogant, and his pale hazel eyes revealed natural cunning and shrewdness.
"You may call me Hawkman, Bahir Khan," the JSA leader declared. "I assure you that your white flag will be honored and we will respect your truce."
"If you fail to do so," the bandit replied with a smile, "I have men with rifles watching at this very moment."
"We rather assumed you did," Hawkman said with a shrug.
"You have been wounded, Mr Hawkman," Bahir Khan remarked, noticing the crimson stain at Hawkman's thigh.
"Great Hera," Wonder Woman rasped. "Let me take care of that Hawkman."
"Later, my friend," Hawkman told her. "The wound is nothing. Had it been a couple of inches higher, then I might have a real problem."
"This is so," Bahir Khan said laughing. "Injury is not new to you, I see. You all dress very oddly. Those ... those wings ... can you really fly with them?"
"I fly as easily as a bird," Hawkman confirmed. "We are both veteran warriors, Bahir Khan. We do not make idle theats and accusations. That is the job of politicians. Nor do we lie about conditions of peace or terms of business agreements."
"Ah, business," the bandit smiled. "Now what sort of business shall we discuss? You said something about a profit, yes? Now that is interesting."
"Then let's get to business," the crimefighter replied. "First, how much is Vandal Savage paying you to protect his base and the Thuggees at the mountain of Kali?"
"Vandal Savage?" Bahir Khan raised his eyebrows. "You are well informed, Mr Hawkman."
"We try to be," Hawkman replied. "How much does Savage pay you?"
"He is supposed to give me a hundred tolas of gold," Bahir Khan admitted. "So far, I've only received thirty."
"A hundred tolas," Hawkman frowned. "A tola is only about eleven grams, correct?"
"Eleven point seven to be exact," Bahir Khan answered.
"That's less than half a Krugerrand," the Justice Society chairman remarked. "We can double that. Two hundred tolas of gold ought to be an attractive offer."
"Very attractive," Bahir Khan said as he smiled. "I'd consider that ample compensation for the loss of my men. Of course, Vandal Savage has already hired our services. Not very professional for us to cancel a deal after we've received partial payment in advance."
"Vandal Savage only paid you thirty tolas," the Winged Wonder commented. "They owed you that much for the men you lost today."
"This is true," the bandit agreed, easily accepting Hawkman's logic. "Vandal Savage should have told us how well you fellows fight. I blame them for the deaths of my men. You were merely acting in self-defense."
"I'm glad you feel that way, Bahir Khan," the JSA commander stated. "But of course, if you're to earn two hundred tolas of gold, you'll have to help us accomplish our mission."
"And your mission is to launch an attack on the mountain of Kali?" the bandit chief frowned. "That is impossible."
"Nothing is impossible," Hawkman insisted. "Some things are just a bit more difficult than others."
"You don't know what the mountain of Kali is like," Bahir Khan told him. "Vandal Savage's men are well armed. They have machine guns and explosives and there are more of them. You would also have to deal with the Thuggees. They are total fanatics and very dangerous. Don't underestimate them because they do not carry guns, my friend."
"We've encountered Thugs before," Hawkman said. "We know what they're like."
"There could be more than a hundred Thuggees at the mountain of Kali," Bahir Khan stated. "There are never less than thirty or forty assembled there."
"We'll take care of the Thugs and their allies," the crimefighter assured him. "All we want you to do is help us find the base."
"You talk as if you've been there, Bahir Khan," Starman remarked.
"I have been to the mountain of Kali," the bandit confirmed. "I have lived in these mountains all my life. My father was a tribal chief in the Benares during the occupation of the British. This is how I learned to speak English. Sometimes my father fought the British, sometimes he worked with them. My family has always recognized the need to remain flexible when dealing with others."
"Is your goofy biography leading somewhere or do you think we're really interested in your family history?" the Atom asked, clearly annoyed.
Bahir Khan smiled. "My point is, I know these mountains very well. I knew the place that is now the mountain of Kali before Vandal Savage came with his machines to dig through rock and build a tunnel inside the mountain. I can take you there, but I warn you it will be very dangerous. Some of my men will not assist us. They believe Vandal Savage has brought some sort of dark magic with him. And they may be right. Very strange things happen at that place."
"Such as a living statue of the goddess Kali?" Hawkman inquired.
"Don't laugh, my friend," the bandit said grimly. "I saw it myself. I am a Moslem and I do not believe in the gods of the Hindus. My Gurkhas are Hindus, but they do not believe in the legend of Kali. Shiva is their main god. They no more believe that Shiva had a daughter than I believe Allah had a son named Jesus."
"Then why does the mountain of Kali frighten them?" Hourman asked.
"If magic exists," Bahir Khan replied, "it is either the power of gods or devils. You can not kill a devil with a gun, my friends."
"Don't concern yourself with such matters," Hawkman stated. "All you have to do to earn two hundred tolas of gold is take us to the mountain of Kali. We'll take care of the rest, including the devils."
"You must think me a superstitious fool," Bahir Khan said with a sigh. "Men such as you do not believe in devils?"
"Evil exists," Hawkman remarked. "All of us have seen it being carried out by ambassadors of wanton destruction and senseless death. Many of these people are pawns of evil, but there is always someone responsible pulling the strings. Maybe these manipulators justify their actions by some sort of idology that they genuinely believe excuses their conduct. But the results of this evil, the reality of it in actual practice, remain the same. So I guess we do believe in devils, Bahir Khan."
"Let me assemble what remains of my men," the bandit leader declared. "Then we shall discuss business in more detail."
^J^ ^S^ ^A^
Sergeant Kurtz noticed a large blip on the screen of the heat-sensor- activated land-radar scope. The ex-military technician checked the location of the object and switched on the telescope surveillance equipment in that area. A radio-operated robot camera with a telescopic lens mounted at the peak of a tall rock formation slowly revolved on its pedestal.
"Where are they?" Kurtz wondered aloud.
He watched the television monitor, viewing the terrain of the Benares mountain range through the eyes of the robot telescope two miles away from Vandal Savage's base. Kurtz saw only rocks and sand. The sergeant patiently waited for the camera to revolve a second time. A group of figures moving along a narrow pass appeared on the screen.
Sergeant Kurtz reported his discovery to Captain Tito, the second in command of Vandal Savage's security detail. Tito was a former officer in the Yugoslav army.
Captain Tito had been chosen as second in command of the security detail because a number of former military personnel were involved. Tito really didn't like Vandal Savage. He despised the man's arrogance even though he paid well. But the captain really didn't like this job and he hated India.
"It's a bunch of crap," Tito remarked as he looked at the eleven men on the TV screen. "Bahir Khan and his crap."
Tito always referred to Indians as "crap."
"But Bahir Khan has more than fifty bandits under his command," Sergeant Kurtz commented. "I wonder if the rest of his men were killed fighting that super-hero team from America."
"Don't be absurd," Tito snorted. "There are only five unarmed Americans in that team, and one of them is a mere woman. They couldn't possibly survive an ambush against ten-to-one odds."
"Perhaps not," Kurtz replied. "But they may have whittled down the number of bandits before Bahir Khan could kill them. After all, sir, it appears they wiped out all opposition at Ram Sonoka's palace."
"Well, it certainly looks as if those bandit trash are heading this way," Tito admitted, gazing at the monitor. "Better inform our fearless leader ..."
"I'm already aware of what's happened, Captain," Vandal Savage said dryly, stepping behind Tito. "But I'd like to see the monitor, please."
"Certainly, sir," Tito said, stepping away from the screen.
Savage gazed at the monitor. The figures on the screen were dressed in peasant shirts, baggy trousers and dark turbans. Two men rode horses. The criminal mastermind recognized the rugged, bearded face of Bahir Khan. The bandit chief sat proudly in the saddle, leading his ragtag group.
"He shouldn't come here now," Savage said, frowning. "Shastri is preaching to a congregation of Thuggees. Bahir Khan was supposed to contact us by radio if he had anything to report."
"Perhaps his radio is not working. sir," Sergeant Kurtz suggested.
"Whatever the reason," Savage replied, "we can't allow that idiot to bring his men here during Thuggee services. Those fanatics would have a riot if a bunch of outsiders showed up. Captain, go through the emergency tunnel and stop Bahir Khan before he can get close enough to the Thugs to cause an incident."
"Me?" Tito glared at criminal leader. "Why send me? I don't speak their barbarian language."
"Bahir Khan speaks English," Savage replied. "According to your file, you also speak English fluently. I'm certain you two will have a nice little chat."
"Bahir Khan and his crap scum are cutthroat gangsters," the security force captain complained. "Who knows what they might do? Those savages may have been using hashish or opium ..."
"I'll send three of our best men to protect you, Captain," Savage said with a sigh. "But I want you to do something useful for a change. Go talk to Bahir Khan. That is a direct order, Captain."
"Yes, sir," the captain said with an angry salute.
^J^ ^S^ ^A^
Captain Tito and three of Vandal Savage's security men marched across the dry rocky surface as the afternoon heat burned down at them. They were accustomed to the cool interior of the hidden base inside Kali mountain. Tito mopped his sweaty face with a silk handkerchief and muttered complaints and curses under his breath.
Half a mile from base, the four security men found Bahir Khan and his group. Tito groaned with disgust when he saw the bandits. It was humiliating to have to associate with subhuman garbage such as these, the captain thought.
"Bahir Khan," Tito announded in a hard, commanding voice. "I order you to halt!"
"Who are you?" the bandit leader asked, sliding down from his horse. "You are not the man I usually talk to."
"That was my good fortune until today," the captain said gruffly, thankful for the three men armed with assault rifles. "You're not supposed to be here. Why haven't you followed orders and reported to us by radio?"
"My radio was broken in the battle with the Americans," Bahir Khan said with a shrug. "Most of my men were captured or killed in the fight. See how few I have left ..."
The bandit chief suddenly threw himself to the ground. Four of his men did likewise. However, the other six whipped off their mountain clothes in front of the startled security men. A figure wearing a red costume with a large star on his chest aimed a strange-looking gold rod and a blast of light emanated from it.
A security man cried out as the blast of light smashed into his chest. The man collapsed. The other two security men tried to dive to the ground, hoping to return fire with their assault rifles. A bandit with tremendous wings on his back swooped into the air and covered the short distance in the blink of an eye, smashing the head of one man into the ground.
A beautiful woman with long dark hair stepped forward with tremendous speed before the last man put the stock of his rifle to a shoulder. The woman punched the security man in the face twice and he was knocked out cold.
Captain Tito gasped in horror and fumbled for the button-flap holster on his hip. The security officer was trying to draw his pistol when a large man in black and yellow punched him hard in the chest. Tito fell to his knees, moaning in pain. The beautiful woman dressed in red, white, and blue approached him.
"Whore!" Tito snarled with contempt as he yanked the pistol from leather.
"Brute," Wonder Woman replied.
She hit the man with a fist between the eyes. He layed spread-eagle unconscious on the ground.
"By the Prophet's beard," Bahir Khan commented. "You fellows guessed right. Vandal Savage did know we were coming."
"With all these peaks for observation points I'd be surprised if they didn't have spy cameras set up," Hawkman declared. "Especially since Savage had some top electronics personnel and robot technicians stationed here."
"Yes," Wonder Woman remarked. "And Vandal Savage is probably watching us right now."
"Probably," Hourman agreed. "But he'd find out eventually."
"That means we can expect a warm reception at Kali mountain," Starman added.
"Well," the Atom said with a shrug, "if you can't stand the heat ..."
"Shit," Rod Lawson muttered. "It's too late for me to get out of the kitchen now, but if I survive this crazy mission, I sure as hell plan to resign from the CIA. This is too much for me."
"I've done my part," Bahir Khan declared, climbing onto his horse. "My men and I are leaving now. If you fellows come out of here alive, don't forget the gold you owe me."
"We may even throw in an extra tola or two for a bonus," Hawkman assured him.
"May Allah bless you," the bandit chief said with a smile. "And if you die, may Allah give you a nice place in paradise."
To be concluded ...
By Bruce Wayne
Justice Society of America created by Gardner Fox
Dedicated to ME, who has taught me more about being philosophical than anyone.
DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters portrayed in this story are copyright by DC Comics, an AOL/Time/Warner company. They are used without permission for entertainment without profit by the author.
Chapter 12
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Hawkman?" Rod Lawson demanded, stunned by the Winged Wonder's invitation to Bahir Khan. "What do you want to talk to a cutthroat hill bandit for?"
"Exactly what I told him I wanted to talk about," the Justice Society chairman replied. "A business deal."
"I don't think I have to tell you we can't trust a dangerous bandit chief," Hourman remarked. "Are you sure it's a good idea to make a deal with this fellow?"
"You said it yourself, Hourman," Hawkman began. "We can't trust him. If we just let him ride off, he might head straight for the Thuggee stronghold. Sonoka said the bandits know these hills better than anyone else. That means Bahir Khan could probably reach the Thugs before we could find their headquarters, especially if we tried to find the base on our own."
"Merciful Minerva," Wonder Woman groaned. "You're not thinking of a deal to get these bandits to help us find the Thugs? That's a questionable idea. What's to stop them from turning on us when we find the base?"
"Look," Starman said, pointing at a lone figure who descended a rock formation. "The guest of honor has arrived."
Bahir Khan climbed down the stony surface as easily as a man on a flight of stairs. The bandit leader wore canvas trousers and a dark green cotton shirt with a goatskin vest. His boots were made of deer hide with rabbit fur around the ankles. The bandit carried two revolvers thrust in his belt. A large knife was sheathed at his right hip, and the brass handle of a scimitar jutted from a scabbard at his left.
Bahir Khan carried a pole over his right shoulder with a dirty white cloth tied to one end. He did not wave the crude flag, apparently confident that the JSA would not harm him. The bandit climbed to the base of the rock wall and held the banner forward.
"I am Bahir Khan," he announced. "I come in peace."
The bandit's face did not belong to a pacifist. A dark green turban was bound around his head. Bahir Khan's left cheek had been slashed by a knife, the scar extended from below his eye to his beard. His smile was confident, perhaps arrogant, and his pale hazel eyes revealed natural cunning and shrewdness.
"You may call me Hawkman, Bahir Khan," the JSA leader declared. "I assure you that your white flag will be honored and we will respect your truce."
"If you fail to do so," the bandit replied with a smile, "I have men with rifles watching at this very moment."
"We rather assumed you did," Hawkman said with a shrug.
"You have been wounded, Mr Hawkman," Bahir Khan remarked, noticing the crimson stain at Hawkman's thigh.
"Great Hera," Wonder Woman rasped. "Let me take care of that Hawkman."
"Later, my friend," Hawkman told her. "The wound is nothing. Had it been a couple of inches higher, then I might have a real problem."
"This is so," Bahir Khan said laughing. "Injury is not new to you, I see. You all dress very oddly. Those ... those wings ... can you really fly with them?"
"I fly as easily as a bird," Hawkman confirmed. "We are both veteran warriors, Bahir Khan. We do not make idle theats and accusations. That is the job of politicians. Nor do we lie about conditions of peace or terms of business agreements."
"Ah, business," the bandit smiled. "Now what sort of business shall we discuss? You said something about a profit, yes? Now that is interesting."
"Then let's get to business," the crimefighter replied. "First, how much is Vandal Savage paying you to protect his base and the Thuggees at the mountain of Kali?"
"Vandal Savage?" Bahir Khan raised his eyebrows. "You are well informed, Mr Hawkman."
"We try to be," Hawkman replied. "How much does Savage pay you?"
"He is supposed to give me a hundred tolas of gold," Bahir Khan admitted. "So far, I've only received thirty."
"A hundred tolas," Hawkman frowned. "A tola is only about eleven grams, correct?"
"Eleven point seven to be exact," Bahir Khan answered.
"That's less than half a Krugerrand," the Justice Society chairman remarked. "We can double that. Two hundred tolas of gold ought to be an attractive offer."
"Very attractive," Bahir Khan said as he smiled. "I'd consider that ample compensation for the loss of my men. Of course, Vandal Savage has already hired our services. Not very professional for us to cancel a deal after we've received partial payment in advance."
"Vandal Savage only paid you thirty tolas," the Winged Wonder commented. "They owed you that much for the men you lost today."
"This is true," the bandit agreed, easily accepting Hawkman's logic. "Vandal Savage should have told us how well you fellows fight. I blame them for the deaths of my men. You were merely acting in self-defense."
"I'm glad you feel that way, Bahir Khan," the JSA commander stated. "But of course, if you're to earn two hundred tolas of gold, you'll have to help us accomplish our mission."
"And your mission is to launch an attack on the mountain of Kali?" the bandit chief frowned. "That is impossible."
"Nothing is impossible," Hawkman insisted. "Some things are just a bit more difficult than others."
"You don't know what the mountain of Kali is like," Bahir Khan told him. "Vandal Savage's men are well armed. They have machine guns and explosives and there are more of them. You would also have to deal with the Thuggees. They are total fanatics and very dangerous. Don't underestimate them because they do not carry guns, my friend."
"We've encountered Thugs before," Hawkman said. "We know what they're like."
"There could be more than a hundred Thuggees at the mountain of Kali," Bahir Khan stated. "There are never less than thirty or forty assembled there."
"We'll take care of the Thugs and their allies," the crimefighter assured him. "All we want you to do is help us find the base."
"You talk as if you've been there, Bahir Khan," Starman remarked.
"I have been to the mountain of Kali," the bandit confirmed. "I have lived in these mountains all my life. My father was a tribal chief in the Benares during the occupation of the British. This is how I learned to speak English. Sometimes my father fought the British, sometimes he worked with them. My family has always recognized the need to remain flexible when dealing with others."
"Is your goofy biography leading somewhere or do you think we're really interested in your family history?" the Atom asked, clearly annoyed.
Bahir Khan smiled. "My point is, I know these mountains very well. I knew the place that is now the mountain of Kali before Vandal Savage came with his machines to dig through rock and build a tunnel inside the mountain. I can take you there, but I warn you it will be very dangerous. Some of my men will not assist us. They believe Vandal Savage has brought some sort of dark magic with him. And they may be right. Very strange things happen at that place."
"Such as a living statue of the goddess Kali?" Hawkman inquired.
"Don't laugh, my friend," the bandit said grimly. "I saw it myself. I am a Moslem and I do not believe in the gods of the Hindus. My Gurkhas are Hindus, but they do not believe in the legend of Kali. Shiva is their main god. They no more believe that Shiva had a daughter than I believe Allah had a son named Jesus."
"Then why does the mountain of Kali frighten them?" Hourman asked.
"If magic exists," Bahir Khan replied, "it is either the power of gods or devils. You can not kill a devil with a gun, my friends."
"Don't concern yourself with such matters," Hawkman stated. "All you have to do to earn two hundred tolas of gold is take us to the mountain of Kali. We'll take care of the rest, including the devils."
"You must think me a superstitious fool," Bahir Khan said with a sigh. "Men such as you do not believe in devils?"
"Evil exists," Hawkman remarked. "All of us have seen it being carried out by ambassadors of wanton destruction and senseless death. Many of these people are pawns of evil, but there is always someone responsible pulling the strings. Maybe these manipulators justify their actions by some sort of idology that they genuinely believe excuses their conduct. But the results of this evil, the reality of it in actual practice, remain the same. So I guess we do believe in devils, Bahir Khan."
"Let me assemble what remains of my men," the bandit leader declared. "Then we shall discuss business in more detail."
^J^ ^S^ ^A^
Sergeant Kurtz noticed a large blip on the screen of the heat-sensor- activated land-radar scope. The ex-military technician checked the location of the object and switched on the telescope surveillance equipment in that area. A radio-operated robot camera with a telescopic lens mounted at the peak of a tall rock formation slowly revolved on its pedestal.
"Where are they?" Kurtz wondered aloud.
He watched the television monitor, viewing the terrain of the Benares mountain range through the eyes of the robot telescope two miles away from Vandal Savage's base. Kurtz saw only rocks and sand. The sergeant patiently waited for the camera to revolve a second time. A group of figures moving along a narrow pass appeared on the screen.
Sergeant Kurtz reported his discovery to Captain Tito, the second in command of Vandal Savage's security detail. Tito was a former officer in the Yugoslav army.
Captain Tito had been chosen as second in command of the security detail because a number of former military personnel were involved. Tito really didn't like Vandal Savage. He despised the man's arrogance even though he paid well. But the captain really didn't like this job and he hated India.
"It's a bunch of crap," Tito remarked as he looked at the eleven men on the TV screen. "Bahir Khan and his crap."
Tito always referred to Indians as "crap."
"But Bahir Khan has more than fifty bandits under his command," Sergeant Kurtz commented. "I wonder if the rest of his men were killed fighting that super-hero team from America."
"Don't be absurd," Tito snorted. "There are only five unarmed Americans in that team, and one of them is a mere woman. They couldn't possibly survive an ambush against ten-to-one odds."
"Perhaps not," Kurtz replied. "But they may have whittled down the number of bandits before Bahir Khan could kill them. After all, sir, it appears they wiped out all opposition at Ram Sonoka's palace."
"Well, it certainly looks as if those bandit trash are heading this way," Tito admitted, gazing at the monitor. "Better inform our fearless leader ..."
"I'm already aware of what's happened, Captain," Vandal Savage said dryly, stepping behind Tito. "But I'd like to see the monitor, please."
"Certainly, sir," Tito said, stepping away from the screen.
Savage gazed at the monitor. The figures on the screen were dressed in peasant shirts, baggy trousers and dark turbans. Two men rode horses. The criminal mastermind recognized the rugged, bearded face of Bahir Khan. The bandit chief sat proudly in the saddle, leading his ragtag group.
"He shouldn't come here now," Savage said, frowning. "Shastri is preaching to a congregation of Thuggees. Bahir Khan was supposed to contact us by radio if he had anything to report."
"Perhaps his radio is not working. sir," Sergeant Kurtz suggested.
"Whatever the reason," Savage replied, "we can't allow that idiot to bring his men here during Thuggee services. Those fanatics would have a riot if a bunch of outsiders showed up. Captain, go through the emergency tunnel and stop Bahir Khan before he can get close enough to the Thugs to cause an incident."
"Me?" Tito glared at criminal leader. "Why send me? I don't speak their barbarian language."
"Bahir Khan speaks English," Savage replied. "According to your file, you also speak English fluently. I'm certain you two will have a nice little chat."
"Bahir Khan and his crap scum are cutthroat gangsters," the security force captain complained. "Who knows what they might do? Those savages may have been using hashish or opium ..."
"I'll send three of our best men to protect you, Captain," Savage said with a sigh. "But I want you to do something useful for a change. Go talk to Bahir Khan. That is a direct order, Captain."
"Yes, sir," the captain said with an angry salute.
^J^ ^S^ ^A^
Captain Tito and three of Vandal Savage's security men marched across the dry rocky surface as the afternoon heat burned down at them. They were accustomed to the cool interior of the hidden base inside Kali mountain. Tito mopped his sweaty face with a silk handkerchief and muttered complaints and curses under his breath.
Half a mile from base, the four security men found Bahir Khan and his group. Tito groaned with disgust when he saw the bandits. It was humiliating to have to associate with subhuman garbage such as these, the captain thought.
"Bahir Khan," Tito announded in a hard, commanding voice. "I order you to halt!"
"Who are you?" the bandit leader asked, sliding down from his horse. "You are not the man I usually talk to."
"That was my good fortune until today," the captain said gruffly, thankful for the three men armed with assault rifles. "You're not supposed to be here. Why haven't you followed orders and reported to us by radio?"
"My radio was broken in the battle with the Americans," Bahir Khan said with a shrug. "Most of my men were captured or killed in the fight. See how few I have left ..."
The bandit chief suddenly threw himself to the ground. Four of his men did likewise. However, the other six whipped off their mountain clothes in front of the startled security men. A figure wearing a red costume with a large star on his chest aimed a strange-looking gold rod and a blast of light emanated from it.
A security man cried out as the blast of light smashed into his chest. The man collapsed. The other two security men tried to dive to the ground, hoping to return fire with their assault rifles. A bandit with tremendous wings on his back swooped into the air and covered the short distance in the blink of an eye, smashing the head of one man into the ground.
A beautiful woman with long dark hair stepped forward with tremendous speed before the last man put the stock of his rifle to a shoulder. The woman punched the security man in the face twice and he was knocked out cold.
Captain Tito gasped in horror and fumbled for the button-flap holster on his hip. The security officer was trying to draw his pistol when a large man in black and yellow punched him hard in the chest. Tito fell to his knees, moaning in pain. The beautiful woman dressed in red, white, and blue approached him.
"Whore!" Tito snarled with contempt as he yanked the pistol from leather.
"Brute," Wonder Woman replied.
She hit the man with a fist between the eyes. He layed spread-eagle unconscious on the ground.
"By the Prophet's beard," Bahir Khan commented. "You fellows guessed right. Vandal Savage did know we were coming."
"With all these peaks for observation points I'd be surprised if they didn't have spy cameras set up," Hawkman declared. "Especially since Savage had some top electronics personnel and robot technicians stationed here."
"Yes," Wonder Woman remarked. "And Vandal Savage is probably watching us right now."
"Probably," Hourman agreed. "But he'd find out eventually."
"That means we can expect a warm reception at Kali mountain," Starman added.
"Well," the Atom said with a shrug, "if you can't stand the heat ..."
"Shit," Rod Lawson muttered. "It's too late for me to get out of the kitchen now, but if I survive this crazy mission, I sure as hell plan to resign from the CIA. This is too much for me."
"I've done my part," Bahir Khan declared, climbing onto his horse. "My men and I are leaving now. If you fellows come out of here alive, don't forget the gold you owe me."
"We may even throw in an extra tola or two for a bonus," Hawkman assured him.
"May Allah bless you," the bandit chief said with a smile. "And if you die, may Allah give you a nice place in paradise."
To be concluded ...