Chapter Seven
The Black Beauty was back on the streets, racing the impending dawn as well as any police who might be around. People would soon start to rise to prepare for the day ahead, and some neighbor might see the notorious automobile while retrieving the morning paper or taking the dog for a pre-dawn walk. Prior to their departure, Britt developed an alibi for Frank, should anyone report seeing the Green Hornet: star witness Britt Reid had been dropped off at the District Attorney's house by the criminal who had kept him hidden through the night.
The phone in the back buzzed. The Hornet turned to see which light was blinking, an indication as to who was calling. An automated switching device that Kato designed and installed on Britt's phones at home forwarded calls to the Black Beauty. The system also scrambled the signals, making tracing or recording the calls impossible. Two main numbers were used, one by Frank and the other by Casey, although calls to Britt's other phones, or even his Sentinel private line, could be forwarded as well.
"Yes, Frank?" the Hornet said after lifting the receiver to his ear and pushing the blinking button.
"I just heard from the transportation office," Frank said. "In that three-minute space there were a total of four trains at or near crossings in the city. One was at the airport, taking freight to a cargo plane, so we can throw that one out. If Reeves had been there, we wouldn't have heard the train for all the airplanes."
"Right. What about the other three?"
Frank slid his glasses onto his face to read the notes he had scribbled. "One was downtown," he said, "near the armory. The second was on Cherry Street, in an older neighborhood. The last one was on Ford Avenue, near the police station."
"I'll check that one first," the Hornet joked.
"You do that," Frank said sarcastically. "I'm not working enough overtime thanks to the Tillman case. I need the extra workload with the Green Hornet getting caught."
The Hornet laughed. "Thanks, Frank. I'll see you in court." The Hornet hung up the phone. He inspected mental snapshots of the vicinities Frank had mentioned.
Kato watched the Hornet's face through the mirror. "Where to?" he asked.
"Frank gave three areas," the Hornet said. "Let's try Cherry Street first. It's not too far from St. Luke's hospital."
While Kato steered the Black Beauty toward the first locale to be checked the Hornet picked his phone up again. He pressed the button that automatically dialed, via the phone in Britt Reid's den, the main switchboard number of the Daily Sentinel. "Tim Wilson's desk, please," he said when the operator answered the phone. Because of the late hour when the Hornet and Tim briefly met in the diner, the Hornet was slightly surprised to hear Tim's voice on the other end of the line, answering his phone. "Tim? This is Britt Reid."
"Mr. Reid!" Tim shouted joyously. "I'm so happy to hear from you!"
"Believe me, it's good to be heard from after someone puts a contract out on you. That's why I called. I wanted to let you know I'm alive."
"I already knew that, sir."
"How?"
"Please don't tell Mr. Axford I said this, sir. I ran into the Green Hornet overnight. He told me."
"Why shouldn't I tell Mike?"
"Well, the Hornet wasn't all that mean. He even broke up a robbery at the diner I was at. He told me he didn't like small-time hoods, so his chauffeur beat the daylights out of the guy. Anyway, he told me he had you in 'protective custody' after the attempt on your life, but he told me not to tell anyone until I heard from you."
"Guess what, Tim, you still can't tell anyone. I want it to be a complete surprise when I walk into court later this morning. Let the staff know, but tell them no broadcasting the information."
"How did the Green Hornet get involved in this, sir?" Tim asked.
"Tillman ordered his right-hand man to hire him to kill me."
"And he didn't? Wow!" Tim mused the final word almost to himself.
The Hornet smiled at Tim's reaction. "Fortunately, for me, the Green Hornet hates Carl Tillman more than my editorials. Apparently he suspected Tillman's men weren't going to pay him. They said they didn't have the money to pay him when they first met, and it was obvious that if they didn't have the money at seven, after the banks were closed, they weren't going to have it at ten, after I was dead. So, he warned me about the assassination attempt."
"May I ask something, sir?" Tim said. "With everything that I've heard about the Green Hornet…well, the question is: did you have to pay him?"
"No. The only payment he wants is my testimony against Tillman. That's why you have to stay quiet until the trial resumes."
"Will do, Mr. Reid. I'll see you there!" Tim hung up and left his desk to share the joyous news with a somber Sentinel staff.
After the Hornet hung up he turned back toward the front of the car. Kato's eyes were waiting for him. "Why stay silent about being alive?" Kato asked.
"I'm assuming Reeves picked up Mike at the hospital, so they must've heard that he was there over a police scanner. They know, or suspect, that the Green Hornet held Mike hostage at one point during the night. If word gets out that Britt Reid is still alive, they might accuse Mike of having some knowledge of the double-cross and kill him. Even if they don't harm Mike, they might try something at the courthouse, and some innocent bystanders might get hurt."
"And Tillman's men have already proved they don't care who gets hurt," Kato commented. He took his eyes off the road as long as he dared in order to study his partner's facial expression. "If we can't find Mike, are you still going to testify?"
"Let's find Mike," the Hornet replied, "so I don't have to make that decision."
The four members of Tillman's gang congregated in the front room. Porter and Delmore lounged at opposite ends of the sofa in varying stages of sleep. Reeves' form slouched in the upholstered chair, leaving the last member of the gang to stand watch over Mike. With the reporter secured to the chair he sat in, Mike scarcely needed guarding. The only movement from Mike was an occasional roll of his neck as he attempted to find a position conducive to a little sleep. Boy, Mike, his sleep-deprived mind chided, you blew it this time. When will you ever learn to listen to Britt? The Green Hornet was gonna release me. There's no way Reeves will. I know too much. He's probably gonna throw me out there on those train tracks, and…
The exploding door lock disrupted Mike's thoughts of finality and remorse. The door flew open, freeing the space for the Green Hornet to enter. In the dimly lit living room the Hornet appeared more in darkness than light, but there was no mistaking the imposing figure.
The noise jarred the criminals out of their complacency like an earthquake. The man near Mike instinctively turned the gun that had been pointed in Mike's general direction toward the door. In response the Hornet aimed the Hornet Sting at the gun. The revolver was as helpless against the bombardment of the Hornet Sting's ultrasonic beam as the door lock had been. The gun barrel disintegrated and the man dropped the gun in surprise.
"Okay, Reeves," the Hornet growled, "you owe me a hundred thousand dollars. I want it, either in cash or in flesh." The Hornet closed the Hornet Sting with a deliberate loudness.
The four men recovered their senses from the relatively serene sleep that had vanished when the Hornet charged into the room. The formed a small pack, huddled together as much for a sense of protection as out of fear. They focused their attention singularly on the masked man at the door.
Reeves sensed that he would lose a battle even thought the opponent was outnumbered. Reasoning with the angered man seemed the only option, although the steely stare from beneath the fedora indicated the Hornet was in no mood to negotiate. "Listen, Hornet," Reeves stammered, "I wouldn't double-cross you on my own. I was only following orders from Cornhusker."
"That's a lie!"
The stern declaration from Mike Axford startled everyone in the room. All eyes turned toward the reporter. "He called the District Attorney," Mike said to the Hornet, "pretending to be you. He told him you had killed Britt Reid, and that you and Tillman were forming an alliance once Tillman was acquitted."
The slightest hint of a smile appeared on the Hornet's lips in reaction to Mike's unprecedented move of being in the Hornet's corner. "Bad move, Reeves," the Hornet said. "Tillman's behind bars right now, so you're safe from him." The Hornet took two steps toward the man. "You're not safe from me."
The loud shout from behind the group pulled the men's collective attention off the Hornet and toward the source of the noise. Kato charged into the room from the back of the house, where he had entered through a rear door that had offered little resistance to a well-executed gung fu kick.
Reeves put his hands up in reaction to a blow he thought was coming. Kato saw the motion and sprang into action. He leapt into the air, aiming his foot at the nearest opponent. Porter happened to be the unlucky individual. Kato's imprinted his footprint on Porter's back, directly between the shoulder blades. Porter fell forward from the force of the kick.
The man who had been guarding Mike picked up an end table and threw it in the general direction of the Hornet. The movement took enough time for the Hornet to anticipate it and take evasive action. The small wooden table sailed over the Hornet's head as he ducked, crashing into pieces against the wall. The Hornet moved toward the man while still crouched down. The Hornet stood up with an uppercut successfully aimed at the man's chin. The power jerked the man's head backward and his body followed suit.
On the floor, Porter recovered and grabbed the Hornet's feet. The Hornet softened his stance to allow a controlled fall to the floor. As the Hornet fell Porter released his legs and started to get to his feet to take a stand over the Hornet. As Porter managed to pull himself to his knees the Hornet shoved both feet firmly into Porter's stomach, knocking him off balance.
Kato moved toward the front of the living room to join his partner in the fight. As he did the man the Hornet had punched tried to get to his feet. Kato shot his left foot out behind him, giving the man a taste of the leather shoe on his foot. The man collapsed quickly to the floor in an unconscious heap.
Reeves, thinking Kato was distracted, moved toward him. In a black flash Kato's left foot was back on the ground. He spun and provided Reeves with a similar introduction to his foot. Reeves spun to his right from the force of the blow but maintained his balance. Delmore caught Reeves and the two of them started toward Kato together. Kato smiled at the two advancing men, causing a nervous twinge in their stomachs. In an instant Kato had given both men body kicks.
Delmore left Reeves to fend for himself against Kato, choosing to take his chances with the Hornet. He fared no better, finding the Hornet's black gloves pounding against his stomach, chest, and face. Delmore managed to take just one wild swing at the Hornet. Delmore's only contact was with the Hornet's hat, a swing that barely moved the fedora. One more blow from the Hornet sent Delmore to the floor.
Reeves stood near Kato, no longer bold. Kato moved in without hesitation, each of the four chops accompanied by a shout. He finished Reeves off with a blow to the neck.
Porter returned to his knees and put his arms into the air to surrender. "Please, Hornet," he said, "I'm just a foot soldier, honest. Please don't kill me." The Hornet pulled out the Hornet Gun. The sight of the weapon caused Porter's shoulder's to slump. The sight of gas instead of bullets relieved the man in the instant before he fell unconscious.
Kato stood in an attack position in the center of the room, watching for a hint of movement. Only his partner and the hostage were capable of moving. The Hornet visited each of the other fallen criminals, putting a puff of green gas beneath their noses to keep them unconscious until the time the police could arrive.
The Hornet adjusted his hat then returned the Hornet Gun to his inside coat pocket. He moved toward Mike, anger evident in the cold stare aimed at the reporter. "You called the cops in the hospital," the Hornet growled, "didn't you?" Mike looked away in embarrassment as he tried to decipher how the Hornet knew. The Hornet grabbed Mike's shoulders and provided a firm shake. "Didn't you?" he repeated forcefully. Mike gave an affirmative nod of his head as his eyes rose no further than the green tie the Hornet wore. "I hope Reid chews you out so hard you can't sit down for a week," the Hornet snapped as he released Mike's shoulders. He turned toward the door. Kato walked past the unconscious men who lay strewn about the floor like litter to join the Hornet.
"Hey!" Mike called. The two masked men turned in unison. "What about me?"
"What about you?" the Hornet asked sarcastically.
"Are you gonna untie me?" Mike said.
"No, I'm not," the Hornet replied.
"But…"
"I offered you a ride to the courthouse, Axford. You turned it down. I'm going to place an anonymous call to the police. You can get a ride from them." The Hornet turned toward the door and left, Kato two steps behind him.
The Hornet picked up the phone as soon as he settled into the back seat of the Black Beauty. Kato shut the door for the Hornet as the phone on the other end connected. "Scanlon."
"Frank? Pick 'em up at 331 Cherry Street."
Frank wrote the address down. "Got it."
"We left Mike there for the police to free," the Hornet said, "and as a witness."
"I'll get some squad cars out there right away. See you in court."