Chapter 4.
APRIL 29, 1990
The flight to Gotham City was made from east-to-west via Heathrow Airport. With Joel Goldschmidt V bidding au revoir and bon chance to Sherry Belmont and Brago after first introducing them to his second-in-command and chief field operative, David Chrissley.*
"My administrative responsibilities preclude me from any further direct involvement in this matter. So, David will assist you from this point forward. You can have total faith in his abilities, just as I have total faith in yours!"
With that, he had disembarked from the Red Shield's private jet. A custom-restored Concorde SST with the Goldschmidt family's coat-of-arms ("Hephaestus with hammer, anvil, and tongs, all Or, on a shield gules") painted just forward of the port and starboard wings.
"Tell me, M'sieur Chrissley. . ." began Sherry.
"David, please!" he replied.
"Tres bien. Tell me, David, what makes Chiropterans different from the vampires my family have so often hunted?"
The thirty-something Caucasian-American (brown eyes, short blond hair, and a mustard-yellow suit with matching tie and white shirt) carefully considered his words before replying.
"I guess the best way to put it is that the vampires your family hunts were initially humans of comparatively more recent vintage. Whereas, Chiropterans seem to represent a much older form of the species. A race of bat-like humanoids as opposed to anemic-looking humans with unusually long canine teeth! There's also a difference in social behavior. Vampirized humans are not only rendered sterile by the hemophagic virus. But, also, anti-social. At least, to the extent that none of them gather together in any greater strength than small loose-knit packs (a la wolves). Whereas, Chiropterans seem to have a hierarchy similar to beehives. With only the alpha females, or queens, being fertile. Although, that fertility is more akin to that of certain lizards, in that the queens can only reproduce... parthenogenically."
Sherry gasped. "Mon Dieu! And it was one such queen that Prof. Goldschmidt's great-great grandpere unearthed in Greenland?"
David nodded, adding. "What's worse? We have evidence that she might have been the younger of a pair of identical twin sisters! The first-born twin most likely being the literally bloodthirsty 'demoness' of ancient Egyptian mythology known as... Thoth- Khapera."
GOTHAM RITZ-CARLTON,
GOTHAM CITY, N. J.
APRIL 30, 1990
(11:59 P.M./EDT)
Kiyo Takamine looked over Drake Anderson's right shoulder as Drake Anderson completed the computerized fabrication of the latter's pseudonymous credentials.
"Who's Jack Ryder?" he asked.
"A local reporter," replied the special agent. "Currently working as a free-lance correspondent, or 'stringer', for a satellite TV news service in your country. Some outfit called J-Star?"
Kiyo nodded, to show he had heard of them. So, Anderson continued explaining.
"I left a message, earlier this morning, with Wayne's butler, requesting an interview with his boss on behalf of J-Star's business editor. Wayne got back to me a couple hours later, with a 'yes'. So, eleven hours from now, the three of us will show up at Wayne Manor. With me, as Ryder; with you, as my cameraman; and with Zatch as our... electrical technician."
Zatch Bell chuckled, for all Mamodo had super-powers that were unique to each of them. And, in his case, Zatch was bio-electrical!
Two minutes later, at Gotham City International Airport, a JAL flight that had flown west-to-east via Alaska and Canada finally touched down. Among the passengers who disembarked was a lovely young woman in her late teens. With her long black hair draped down over her left shoulder in a pony-tail that was held in place by a scrunchie resembling nothing less. . .than a black rose.
She noticed the dark-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian, holding a white cardboard sign with her name painted in flawless kanji, almost immediately.
"Ms. Kodachi?" he ventured to ask with a courteous smile.
"Hai!" she replied with a bow: "You are Ryder-san?"
"Yes, ma'am. Jack Ryder! My boss, at J-Star, asked me to serve as your guide and interpreter while you're in town."
"Domo arigato, Ryder-san. Where do we go from here?"
"Well, as soon as you claim your luggage, we can hail a cab and have it take us to the local Ritz-Carlton. Where I've already reserved you a room."
Kuno Kodachi smilingly bowed, and thanked him, again.
Meanwhile, a red-eye from Brazil had just landed. Fifteen minutes later, one of its passengers (a Caucasian-American with reddish-orange hair, matching mustache, and wearing a green business suit with matching tie and white shirt) claimed his luggage before heading to the nearest pay phone. There, he dialed the special telephone number he had been sent in a telegram, twenty-fours earlier. A phone number he had carefully memorized before burning the telegram!
"Tony? It's me. I just got in."
"Good! I'm waiting in the short-term parking lot across from the arrival terminal. Section M... for 'Matches'."
Michael B. Malone chuckled in flattered amusement. "Good one!"
GOTHAM RITZ-CARLTON,
AMBASSADORIAL SUITE
MAY 1, 1990 (12:05 A.M./EDT)
A bone-white hand reached down to answer the cellphone with the muted ring-tone of an old-fashioned rotary dial telephone.
"Hai?"
"The genin monitoring the tap on Zucco-san's phone have reported in, milord. It is as you feared."
The caller heard the heaving of a frustrated sigh, before his lord and master added. "Very well. Bring the car around, so that we may pay him a much-needed visit."
"Hai, Yama-sama!"
GCPD HEADQUARTERS
(TEN MINUTES LATER)
Commissioner James Gordon looked skyward at the luminous circle with the red capital "x" superimposed over the more usual silhouette of a bat.
"For some reason, I feel like I'm committing sacrilege," he muttered.
"Think of it more as a necessary evil, Commissioner. The best way to insure he gets here as soon as possible. "
The man who had just made that reply was dressed in a trench coat much like Gordon. But, where the latter sported a silvery-white mustache, the former had a black beard that was only starting to go gray due to being ten years younger. He also wore a brown fedora atop his head.
"Then consider it no longer necessary!" declared a harsh whisper from behind both of them.
Sure enough, it was The Batman.
"What's the meaning of this, Commissioner?"
"It seems like your theory of a gang war provocateur might have some basis, after all," replied Gordon. "This is Inspector De Tector of Interpol. And he thinks he knows who's trying to oust both Stromwell and Thorne."
"I more than think it," replied the Interpol official. "I'm dead certain of it! Tell me, Batman. Have you ever heard of a yakuza faction called 'Zugaikotsu-no Ichizoku?' "
"The Clan of the Skull?" the Dark Knight instinctively translated. "Vaguely. Their oyabun is said to spend half his waking moments dressed like a medieval painting of the Grim Reaper. Hence, his nickname: Yama-sama. "
Inspector De Tector nodded, adding in loose translation: "Lord Deathman."
tbc
GLOSSARY
Au revoir: French for "see you later".
Bon chance: French for "good luck".
David Chrissley: my own in-joke reference to Christopher Nissley, who does the voice of David for the anglo-dubbed version of BLOOD+.
Or: heraldic synonym for "gold" (usually capitalized so it won't be confused with the identically-spelled conjunction).
Gules: heraldic synonym for "red."
Inspector De Tector: my own in-joke reference to the chief police contact of the eponymous protagonist of the anime SPEED RACER.
