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boys.”
    The fat man nodded to his counterparts who were behind the mystery man. The shadowy character felt a man coming up steadily behind him. The thug swung a baseball bat, brining it downwards with such power that it splintered on the ground as the ‘shadow’ sidestepped. The thug let out a painful, “Ooff,” sound as the other man spun round and elbowed him in the back of the neck; this motion knocked the bat-wielder off balance and he then received a knee to the face as his head travelled downwards.
    The air was filled with an eruption of blood and bone as the man’s nose exploded from the impact. Another guy rushed forward, slashing blindly with a large blade. Instantly the Shadow blocked the hand wielding the weapon, dragging his attacker’s arm underneath his own armpit so that the outstretched arm was in a lock. There was a brief moment before the stranger pulled down on the arm, and snapped it at the elbow. The thug screamed and the knife fell straight into his adversary’s hands. “Stick around, we haven’t finished yet,” called out the fight’s winner. The newly-acquired blade whistled through the air and embedded itself into the back of Vince’s knee, the fat man creaming in agony as the steel cut through muscle and met bone. Vince hit the ground with a crash, reeling in pain.
    The Shadow turned, only to be met by two more men, one with a bat and another with a pistol.
    The bat was swung at head height, but The Shadow leaned back just as the business end sailed past so close that he felt the displaced wind tickle his nose. As he came back up, he used the full force of his body, to drive his forehead crashing into the face of his attacker. There was a sickly crack, like snapping twigs, as he shattered the man’s nose. The thug stumbled, but not too far from reach, as The Shadow used the falling man as a shield from the remaining attacker, who had a gun. The armed man bobbed and weaved, trying to get a drop on him, but The Shadow pushed the batsman towards his mate, then rushed him. There was a scraping sound as The Shadow slid across the floor, knocking his enemy to the ground, then in the blink of an eye, using one swift punch, the man was out cold.
    Vince scanned the alleyway, still lit by the flickering TV images, but saw nothing. He called for his crew but there was only silence. Crawling forward, leaving a trail of fresh blood on the dirty ground, Vince went to see if his boys had got the man shrouded by shadow, but all he saw were bodies lying motionless across the passage, bodies that were all familiar to him.
    “Where the fuck are you, jerk off?” he screamed, his head dancing backward and forward checking everywhere, except...
    Behind him, a shadow loomed over him like a phantom, a long coat moving with the wind, like some beast clawing at the breeze. “Now where were we?” The Shadow said. “Oh yes.” A scream filled the alley but it was drowned out by the nearby festivities of the night. The TV flickered on, lighting up the alley and after one more scream, it flickered no more.
     
     

NINE
     
     
     
     
    The morning tabloids were packed with tales of a psycho killer at large in the city, and the police had released a statement but had supplied only enough detail to feed the press’s appetite, rather than satisfy demand.
    Sam McCall read the article and chuckled to herself, wondering how long the vultures had waited before printing, but she was more interested in the sports page to be bothered about what was fact and what was fiction. Today was Saturday, and tomorrow she would be at her mom’s for the usual family get-together, Saturdays were her ‘kick back and recharge her batteries days’, and she was going to enjoy her relaxation time.
    Why not , she thought? The bad guys were not going anywhere and her two colleagues were more than capable of handling things; on the other hand she had left instructions for someone to notify her if she was needed.
    McCall sat down on her