Troubling Information

Lamont Cranston finished wrapping the deep red scarf around his prosthetic nose and putting the Shadow's slouch hat over his black wig. While his powers were strong enough to suggest seeing a different face, he preferred keeping his energies on more important things.

Like convincing the criminal element that he wasn't there.

He sensed Moe's cab stop outside the Sanctum. Time to go. He thought as he cast the clouding suggestion and left the Sanctum.

Moe, while having a strong extra perception sense, wasn't as powerful as Conway, Marguerite and the Shadow. Hence, he didn't sense the Shadow until the door opened and closed seemingly on its own. "Drive." The Shadow ordered as he slowly manifested in the backseat of Moe's cab.

"Where to, boss?" Moe asked as they pulled out of the alleyway.

"Warf's Gate." The Shadow said. "Conway has a warehouse there. Apparently, supplies are going through."

"Any idea what they are?" Moe asked.

"We'll find out." The Shadow said, taking a deep breath and preparing his mental energy to strike.

The Shadow had Moe drop him off a block or so from Warf's Gate. This was to not only protect Moe but himself, in case somebody was watching. Warf's Gate was abandoned at night but he wasn't going to take chances. "Boss, be careful." Moe said as the Shadow got out of the cab.

Always am. The Shadow said telepathically, closing the door and recasting the clouding suggestion before beginning his walk.

Seagulls cried above him in the muggy August air. While his prosthetic nose essentially blocked his sense of smell, he could still detect the faint motes of salt water and tar. As predicted, the dock was practically deserted.

But the Shadow could still sense that Conway's warehouse was full of people. People with guns.

Whatever Conway's shipping in has to be very valuable.

Which means then it was paramount that Conway not catch him. While the Shadow hadn't taught him everything, the man still knew how to sense things that weren't there.

The Shadow came upon a door. Gently tugging on it confirmed it was unlocked.

But it was easy. Too easy. While he could project his mind outward and see what was on the other side…he knew that would open up the risk of Conway being able to detect him.

Might as well find an alternate route. The Shadow thought as he walked around the building.

Sure enough, he found a staircase leading to a vent. The cover was rusted. Perfect. He thought as he climbed the stairs and carefully began tugging on it. The last thing he wanted to do was get a cut. It took a little bit of effort but he managed to get it loose enough to slip in.

The Shadow began crawling through the vent. He felt his heart pounding, anxious that he was going to be found. Granted, he knew he was invisible. But he didn't want to take chances. He was more or less an animal in a trap with only an inch of metal protecting him and the only known exit a long way behind him.

He found a vent covering and looked through it. The vent overlooked the whole warehouse, giving him a bird's eye view. Wooden crates were stacked everywhere. Light bulbs dangling overhead gave the room a dim look. Right below that was a stack of boxes. Was it safe to use? He wondered as he gently pressed on the vent. Sure enough, it gave way and he gingerly stepped onto the crates below.

Grateful for his spy training, the Shadow carefully climbed down the crates. After making sure that he was still hidden, he began slowly walking through the warehouse to where he hoped the office was.

Heart pounding, he kept to the shadows, out of any light source. The last thing he wanted right now was to be caught.

It would be fatal. Conway was capable of anything.

His sharp hearing picked up the sound of somebody coming close. The Shadow stopped and waited for whoever it was to go walking by. A skinny little shrimp of a man, must've been no older than a teenager walked right by. In his arms was a Tommy gun.

The Shadow sensed that the teenager's mind was weak and easy to control. Perfect. He thought as he stepped behind him.

You will not say anything. The Shadow telepathically connected with the young man's mind.

The kid jumped, clearly anxious. Turning around, he came face to face with the master of darkness himself. Black cloak. Red scarf. Slouch hat. Beak nose. Black eyes.

Using his girasol ring, the Shadow managed to get into his mind, prepared to control it.

Where are the supplies that came in at midnight?

"In the back. By the office." The man said in a mindless voice, his brown eyes almost lifeless.

Is Conway here now?

"No. He's spending the night with his girl, going to give her the time of her life was how he put it."

An alien feeling pricked at his mind. Shaking it away, he continued his interrogation. Which one?

"Somebody he's been seeing for a while." The man said.

The Shadow inwardly sighed. Conway had only been seeing Marguerite for the last few days. But now he had to take care of this young man and find out exactly what Conway had shipped in.

You are going to forget telling anybody what you told me. The Shadow mentally said as he cloaked himself

Soon enough, he found the office at the end of the warehouse. In front of it were boxes, their shipping information still visible on top. Checking it confirmed the Shadow's suspicions.

These were the supplies that Conway's note mentioned. They had arrived from St. Thomas Island in the Caribbean. The Shadow's sharp eyes noticed a hole in the top. Risking a chance, he got out his flashlight and turned them on.

The only thing inside were vials and vials packed amid the straw. What's this? The Shadow put his hand inside and carefully took out one of the vials.

Inside the glass vials was something that looked like water. But there was no label or anything like that.

A name and face came to mind. Dr. Roy Tam. A chemistry professor living in Chinatown. He should be able to tell him what this is. Quickly pocketing the vial, the Shadow turned his attention to the office.

There were lights behind the frosted glass windows of the office. Perfect. Somebody was inside. The Shadow thought as he knelt beside the door. Now he can overhear them.

There was a lackey talking on the phone. "No boss, it's as quiet as a tomb here. Yes, we have two men stationed by the front door. If the Shadow tries going through that way, he'll be blown to pieces."

It was a good thing he didn't go that way. The Shadow thought with relief. But it seemed easy…maybe a little too easy. There's something deeper at work. He was so concentrated in his thoughts that he almost missed the next part of the lackey's words.

"…you're sure that's a good idea boss? I know how fond you are of her. Oh…that explains a lot. You want me to come down and help? Ok, just be careful. You know Moorehead Road is close to the Commissioner's house."

Moorehead Road. That's where Marguerite was. The alien feeling came back. It was threatening to eat him up inside.

Walter and Annie had died because of the Shadow.

There was no way he was going to let Conway destroy their only child.

His thoughts were interrupted by a bright flash of light. "Hey! Look who we have here!" A loud voice cried out from above him. The Shadow looked and saw his shadow up against the wall. A literal bull's-eye.

He started running as fast as he could as a hail of bullets began raining down. He quickly disappeared into the shadows. Now that they knew he was there, he had to get out of there as quickly as possible.

He ducked behind a collection of crates. But he needed to find a way out. The vent he had climbed down through was too far away and he didn't want to risk going out any doors.

The Shadow heard the office door open. "What the hell is going on here, Charley?" The man he had heard on the phone shouted from the doorway.

"It's the Shadow! He's here! In the warehouse!" Charley responded back. The Shadow identified his voice as the man who had shone that light on him.

"Get out your flashlights! Find him at any cost!" The man from the office shouted.

Now he had only minutes to find a new escape route. Just then, he noticed a partially open window a few steps away. Perfect. Now to distract them long enough for him to get out.

The Shadow took out a little vial full of powder out of a fold in his cloak. Devil's Whisper. The chemist he studied under in France called it. A little bit on his thumb and forefinger before snapping his fingers would cause a bright flash of light and a terrific bang. Great when he needed to cause a distraction. Too much of it could cause an explosion similar to T.N.T.

But he didn't have a choice.

Clutching it in his fist, the Shadow chucked the vial far away from him, in the same area as the men looking for him. As he did, he covered his eyes to protect them from the blast that he knew would come.

BOOM! A terrific bang followed a bright flash of light. The Shadow's ears rang. "Over there men!" Charley shouted and the Shadow heard the Tommy guns going.

As he was about to make his escape, he noticed something behind the stack of crates nearest to him.

Huddled in the shadows, clutching his gun tightly was the young man he had run into earlier.

The look on the young man's face brought back uncomfortable memories for the Shadow.

A young man hiding in the Verdun trenches as artillery rained down on them. He was wearing a uniform that looked too big for him and carrying a gun bigger than he was, making him look like a kid who is playing soldier.

But this was no game.

Lamont Cranston had seen many young men like the man before him.

Frightened. Alone. Wanting to go home.

Seconds were ticking away. Eventually the men would figure out the ruse and continue searching. He had used all the Devil's Whisper he had.

But he couldn't leave the young man behind.

Grabbing the young man's coat, he began pulling him out the open window. "Come on!" The Shadow barked. Frightened and confused, the young man did as he said.

By the time their eyesight and ears had adjusted, the Shadow and the young man were halfway down Warf's Gate and to the safety of Moe's cab.

"You ok, boss?" Moe asked as the Shadow and the man got into the cab. "I heard gunfire a few blocks away."

"Drive to Moorehead Road." The Shadow ordered. Faithful cabbie he was, Moe took off.

He wasn't going to take chances in case Conway was after Marguerite.

As they made the drive, the Shadow studied the young man beside him. His large brown eyes showed the effects of shell shock and his pasty black hair seemed to stick to his sweaty face like it had been glued down.

"Jesus…oh Jesus…" The young man said, clearly shaken.

The Shadow used his powers to infiltrate the young man's mind. "You're Maxwell Grant, a high school dropout. You took the job with Oscar Conway to provide for your mother and younger brother but had no idea what you were getting yourself into."

"How'd you know that?" Grant asked.

"There isn't a lot I don't know." The Shadow said. The young man did owe him his life after all. "I saved your life, Maxwell Grant. It now belongs to me."

"Anything." Grant said.

"You will become one of my agents. Like dozens of others all around the world." The Shadow said, still looking forward. "You will speak of me and my work to no one. To the whole world, I don't exist."

"I understand." Grant said, still shivering due to the adrenaline.

"Here we are, boss." Moe said, stopping outside the brownstone where Marguerite lived.

"Take him home." The Shadow said, not too concerned. He knew Moe would give the man the rest of the spiel as well as the ring that now marked him as an agent of the Shadow.

Right now though…he had to make sure Marguerite was safe.

A/N: So here's our first real action packed chapter (unless you count the first one). Just so you know…the Devil's Whisper was an actual compound the Shadow used in his early days of the pulps in order to escape and it was indeed said to be as powerful as T.N.T.

Walter B. Gibson (an accomplished magician in his own right and was a ghost writer for the famed Harry Houdini) actually didn't give the Shadow psychic powers at first. That was an invention for the radio show in order to explain how the Shadow was able to hide and escape. For a pretty good chunk of the pulps, Gibson's Shadow used simple magician's tricks in order to accomplish his missions. After a while, Gibson was pressured to include the psychic powers in order to match the radio show.

I consider that very ironic though that the radio Shadow didn't use magician tricks because the most famous actor to portray the Shadow (Orson Welles) was an accomplished magician in his own right.