Bait
Chapter 4 of The Blue S
The drive in Lois' convertible wasn't the hair-wrecker it might have been. Kara's brown wig was braided, and Lois wore her customary white hat perched far back. Jimmy, the junior member of this caper, was relegated to the back seat. Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight" had just finished on the radio.
Lois switched if off while turning down a seedy street. "I'm going to park here, close to the main road, so we'll have a couple of blocks to walk. At least we'll have tires when we come back."
If Kara expected a sign akin to "The Dragon's Breath", none was to be found. The clack of the ladies' heels was out of place on these untidy sidewalks. Nearby construction workers whistled, and Lois ignored them.
The door flanked a window on which was painted "Dave's Den". Jimmy looked ill at ease from the stares focused on them as they walked in. The smack of billiard balls competed with thumps from a low shuffleboard table. Loafers at the bar turned to regard them.
Jimmy looked about anxiously. "Jeepers, Miss Lane, how did you get out of this place unmolested?"
"I was with Clark, and we only stayed long enough to drop off a message."
Their arrival was expected, and a burly bartender sauntered over to their booth. "What'll it be, ladies? I'll bring milk for junior."
"Make it a beer!" Jimmy blustered.
"Nothing for me," Lois said." The bartender looked at Kara.
"Cointreau," she said.
The man's eyes got big. "You think this is the Ritz? You want a beer?" His norther accent pronounced it as beeyah. Kara nodded yes.
While he was away, Lois pretended to fiddle with her purse. "The Chiller knows we're here. I expect one of his bravos to show up with an offer. But first, they'll check out the street to make sure no police are ready to barge in."
The bartender brought two beers, and Kara made a show of downing hers in one go. "You're all right, lady," he said approvingly. He left without offering a refill.
"Ugh!" Jimmy grimaced. "How do people drink this? It tastes like sea water!"
Just then, a wizened little racketeer sidled up to Jimmy's side and muscled him over, commandeering his beer. "The doctor will see you now. Call me Rico. Why don't we take a ride? Not you, sister," he said to Kara. "What kind of jimoke do I look like? You're a cop!"
"What do you mean?" Lois protested. "She has a press card!"
"Dime a dozen." Rico waved airily. "Take a hike, copper. Anybody tries to follow us—these two get it." He parted his coat to reveal a chrome revolver. "Nice and casual, now, out the back way." He jerked his head toward the front door, and Kara had no choice but to exit.
Outside, she cast about for a distraction. A trash can across the street made a nice target for her heat vision. Once it blazed up, someone shouted "Fire!", and all eyes turned that way.
Few saw Kara fly up onto the roof, where she quickly gained the back side and looked down into an alley. Lois and Jimmy were hustled into a getaway car. Kara flew high enough to be only a speck as seen from the ground. It was a simple matter to follow the car. A twenty minute drive brought it to a secluded, wooded chalet. An incredulous hawk came near, and Kara chased it away with a hand clap.
Far below, a man with binoculars kept watch in front of a shed. Kara's X-ray vision revealed no sign of Lois or Jimmy at first. Closer inspection showed an underground room with a lead ceiling, which had rocks and brush piled on top. A passing scan by Superman would not have seen it.
Dilemma. Should she go find Clark? No—they needed hard evidence to nail the Chiller, to prove he ordered this abduction. Kara spiraled down to land on the back side, away from the road. They were within reach of bagging the Chiller on this unrelated charge, just as Al Capone had been brought low by tax evasion. She decided the direct approach was the only way to get access.
"Hey, you!" The sentry trotted over when she came around a corner. "Private property!"
"It's the Chiller's property, to be exact." She patted the windblown wig back into place. "I followed his men here when they kidnapped Lois and Jimmy."
He drew a pistol. "Yeah? You better come inside." Motioning with the gun, he directed her into the great room, where Rico and another man lounged by an unlit fireplace.
Rico leapt to his feet. "Are you nuts, bringing a cop in here?"
"She said she followed you," the sentry said defensively.
"No way she followed us! I didn't see nobody!"
"Yet here she is. The boss won't like this."
"Shut up!" Rico barked.
"So then," Kara surmised. "The Chiller isn't here. And he's the one who ordered this abduction."
"Try to prove it, sister," Rico challenged. "Now he's got three of ya to bargain with. He's gonna get a deal from Superman and the cops to lay off. They do that, you live." He motioned to the sentry, who escorted Kara to a hidden door at the paneling. He unlocked it and pushed her inside.
Kara reached the bottom of the stairs, hearing the door lock behind her.
"Kara!" Lois rushed to her in the glare of an overhead bulb. "We weren't sure what happened after we got separated. What's the plan?"
Kara had been scanning the space. "They didn't bother searching me, since it's obvious this blouse and skirt aren't concealing a weapon. But they don't know about my wig, or the tape recorder inside."
"Wow!" Jimmy crowed. "This is real Sherlock Holmes! Have we got enough to fry the Chiller?"
"Not quite, James, and there are other problems. First is the bomb overhead." Lois and Jimmy cast a fearful glance upward. "If I deactivate it, they'll know. And if I force my way out a wall, these clothes will be shredded. So what we'll do is take the stairs."
"Now we're talking!" Seeing no response from Kara, Jimmy added, "Aren't we?"
"It depends," Kara said. "Would you be willing to stay awhile longer? I intend to keep the Chiller from oozing away from me again."
Lois retrieved her purse. "After being kidnapped, we're in all the way, Supergirl."
Kara led them upstairs and smashed down the heavy wooden door, confronting the astonished gangsters. "I'll need your guns." She moved toward Rico, hand extended.
He wasted six bullets on her before dropping the gun from a nerveless hand.
Kara picked it up and crushed it small as a golf ball, then handed it back.
"Supergirl!" the sentry gasped. He and the other man surrendered their guns.
Jimmy herded them downstairs. "All right, punks! Now we wait for your boss to show!"
Rico looked over his shoulder. "He'll show, kid. And he might have a few surprises."
End chapter 4