Flynn lay on his back for a long moment, protecting his head with upraised arms. His entire body felt hot but he didn’t think he’d been burned…
“We need to get back to civilization,” Kaslov was saying though Flynn had trouble hearing him over the ringing in his ears.
Looking about, Flynn saw that the mysterious Shinigami was nowhere to be seen. “You think he’s going to come after us again?”
“We’re not his real targets. We never were.” Kaslov helped his friend to his feet, looking towards the burning wreckage of the Yeti temple. “He slaughtered those creatures for sport while waiting for us. And he would have done the same to you and I… just to provide a warning to his real target.” The Russian turned his piercing blue eyes upon Flynn. “We must warn the Peregrine.”
CHAPTER V
Messages in Blood
January 27, 1940
5:35 PM
Atlanta, Georgia
Max Davies stared into the eyes of his son, marveling at the bright young intelligence that his son possessed. Though less than a year old, young William was already an inquisitive little thing with a penchant for climbing into trouble at every possible opportunity. At the moment he was covered from head to toe in confectionary sugar and flour.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Davies, but the boy’s as fast as a snake!”
“It’s okay, Nettie,” Max said, reassuring the frail little black woman who served as his maid. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. He’s ruined tonight’s dessert.”
Nettie chuckled as she set to cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. She’d been busy preparing the family’s evening meal when little William had crawled his way into the room and managed to stand on tiptoes next to the table. He’d snagged hold of the lip of the tablecloth and given a mighty yank, covering himself in sweetness. “Things happen, things happen,” the old woman muttered to herself good-naturedly.
Max handed the infant off to Nettie after she’d set the kitchen back in order and watched as his son disappeared around the corner to get washed up. He was cleaning off his own hands when the back door opened and his wife stepped in. Evelyn looked beautiful, curvaceous and fair-skinned, her auburn hair hanging in ringlets around her shoulders. Any change to her overall appearance since giving birth to William had been for the better and she’d been pleased to find that there were just as many stage and movie roles coming her way as before.
Sadly, the quality of said roles had not improved dramatically.
“Max, you wouldn’t believe what Sal just told me.”
Max smiled, picturing the portly man who served as Evelyn’s agent. He was a good fellow but his many oft-mentioned contacts in Hollywood proved, more often than not, to be a lot less solid than he’d always claimed. “Tell me,” he responded, kissing his wife on the cheek.
“He just showed me a new script that he thinks I’d be perfect for.” Evelyn held up a stapled-together manuscript with the title
The Peregrine Takes Flight
. “He says it’s based on a series of pulp novels that are being published about Atlanta’s vigilante supreme. Can you believe it?”
Max took the script and flipped through the pages, chuckling. “What do you know?”
“That’s your only response?” she prodded.
“What else do you want me to say? I can’t very well sue them for capitalizing on my name. Secret identity and all, you know.”
“People are going to believe this drivel about you! It says you were raised by a strange cult of raven worshippers in South America who sent you back to the States to battle the rising tide of Fascism.”
“Certainly not the worst origin I’ve ever heard…”
“Max!”
“Honey, what do you want me to do? I think our only option is to simply laugh it off.” Max suddenly thought of something. “What role did they offer you?”
“A femme fatale named the Minx.”
“Adorable.”
“Max!” Evelyn laughed, shaking her head. “Well, if you’re going to be like that, maybe I should take it.”
“You should. Besides, you’d be able to serve as a technical advisor on the project, telling them all the things they have wrong.”
“I can’t do that without revealing my relationship to the Peregrine,” she pointed out with a smile. “But you know that already.”
The ringing of the phone in the study ended their banter and Max gave his wife one more peck on the cheek before moving to answer the call. The voice on the other end of the line was familiar and comforting. “McKenzie!” Max said with a grin, picturing the handsome young police chief in his mind’s eye. McKenzie was one of the Peregrine’s stalwart allies and had become a fixture around the Davies home in recent years. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m over in the Techwood Homes area. There’s something here you need to see.”
Max’s good humor faded quickly when he heard the terse nature of his friend’s words. “I’m on my way,” he said, ending the conversation without further conversation. It was time for the Peregrine to take wing.
* * *
Techwood Homes was dedicated on November 29, 1935 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, though work on the area continued until some time in 1936. The first public housing project in the United States, its stated purpose was to eliminate the slums in which Atlanta’s poor had been living in, but there were already signs that the area was going to become just what it had been intended to fight. Violence, rampant alcoholism and prostitution were all alive and well in the Techwood Homes community, which meant that the Peregrine was often in the area. When not confronting the denizens of the supernatural, Max focused much of his attention on commonplace street crime and thus he’d become a hero to the more pure-hearted of Techwood’s residents. If there was any place in the city where the name of the Peregrine was held in higher regard, Max didn’t know of it.
The Peregrine’s modified roadster pulled in to a darkened alleyway near the New Blessed church of Atlanta, outside of which McKenzie’s patrol car was parked. The handsome young blond officer was standing on the front steps, looking haggard and worn. He smiled wanly as the Peregrine approached, looking mysterious in his long coat and bird-beaked mask.
“What’s wrong?” the Peregrine asked, looking around to see that there were no witnesses about. This struck him as strange since Techwood residents were notorious for being busybodies.
“There’s a message for you in the church.”
The Peregrine hesitated, wondering about the somewhat sickened expression on McKenzie’s face. The man had fought at his side against vampires and ninja… there was little in the world that had seemed to frighten him. But there was fear in his eyes now, clear as crystal.
Max and McKenzie entered the church and the smell of death hit the Peregrine immediately. He saw that a body had been draped across the altar that sat just before the choir section. As the Peregrine moved closer, he recognized the young black man who had been brutally murdered. His dark skin was stained red and his white shirt was ripped open, to reveal a deep knife wound in his chest. His neck was set at an odd angle, indicating that it was broken.
“Jefferson Cross,” the Peregrine whispered, rage beginning to burn in his heart. “He was an informant of mine. Good kid. Dreamed of being a lawyer but there’s too much good old boy left in this country to let that happen. He wanted to clean up his hometown. I wanted to help him.”
“I figured it was something like that,” McKenzie said. “This note was attached to the body when he was discovered.”
The Peregrine took a small slip of paper and read its contents with mounting gloom:
ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WILL DIE.
“Who could have done this?” McKenzie inquired, looking back towards the door into the church. The coroner had arrived with a couple of other officers. The men stared open-mouthed at the Peregrine, who was almost an urban legend to them. He usually appeared only to close allies… or wanted felons.
“I think I have a clue,” Max whispered in response. “Thanks for calling me.”
“If you need help… don’t hesitate to call.”
The Peregrine looked at him earnestly. “Contact everyone you can think of who might have assisted me since I came to Atlanta. Tell them to take care. No one’s safe.” The Peregrine sighed, not wanting to do what must come next. “Give me a few moments alone with the body.”
McKenzie nodded, moving to escort the others outside as well. When they were gone, the Peregrine reached out and touched the dead man’s arm. He called upon his mental abilities, trying to bring forth the oft-times painful but useful images of the future.
At first there was nothing but then… it came to him. He saw a man wearing a skull mask snapping Jefferson’s neck… and then he saw Leonid Kaslov standing face-to-face with the Warlike Manchu… Evelyn holding the baby tight against her breast, fear evident in her eyes… and the specter of death hanging over the city, as the Peregrine rushed to stop something awful from taking place.
Max yanked his hand away as if burned. He was panting, confusion making him stagger about wildly. As his heart rate began to slow, he heard a ghostly whisper in his father’s voice:
Kaslov is at your house.
The Peregrine whirled about, looking for some sign of his father, but there was none. He cast one last look at the dead man and swore under his breath. “I’m going to avenge you, Jefferson. I hope you’re in a better place.”
He marched from the church, ignoring questions he received from McKenzie. If Leonid was here in Atlanta that meant that the Peregrine wouldn’t have to face the Warlike Manchu and his new soldier alone. “I’m going to need all the help I can get,” Max muttered as he sat behind the wheel of his roadster.
Within moments, he was well on his way home, unaware that Shinigami watched his every move from the shadows of a nearby bordering house.
CHAPTER VI
Knowing the Enemy
January 27, 1940
7:05 PM
Atlanta, Georgia
Upon returning to the plantation home, Max slipped into the Peregrine’s Nest, located beneath the main house. Once he’d removed all traces of his nocturnal identity from his body, he ascended the stairs and entered the study, where his family and friends were gathered. Evelyn sat on the couch, baby William in her arms, talking animatedly to Libby Raines, who looked as curvaceously lovely as ever. Standing a few feet away were Flynn and Kaslov, whispering together in low tones.
Max noticed that Libby’s eyes remained fixed on Kaslov even as she talked to Evelyn, a sure sign that the torch she carried for her employer was still burning bright. The girl was a bit shapelier in the hips and breasts than Evelyn but both women shared an attractive heart-shaped appearance to their faces.
“Max. It’s good to see you.” Kaslov strode forward, looking handsome but reserved in a black suit and tie. He shook Max’s hand and detected the tell-tale signs of stress in the other man’s eyes. “I take it you know why I’m here.”
Max nodded, looking at his wife and child. “You need to get someplace safe. My identity’s compromised.”
Evelyn looked alarmed, pulling William tighter against her. “Are we in danger?”
“I think it’s the Warlike Manchu. One of my informants was killed tonight and there was a message there, warning me that my family and friends were next.”
“I have dire news, as well.” Kaslov clasped his hands together behind his back. “While in the Himalayas, Flynn and I were attacked by a German who bore a name with Japanese origins: Shinigami. He made it quite clear that he was attempting to kill us before we could offer you aid. Furthermore, I noticed that his fighting style matched yours in several key points.”
“The Manchu’s got a new student,” Max reasoned. “All the more reason to get Evelyn and William to safety, then. I had a vision of them both in danger.”
Kaslov placed a hand on the Peregrine’s shoulder. “I think it best if we alert the police chief and allow both him and Mr. Flynn to protect them. This would free you and me to locate the men behind it all and stop them.”
“That’s fine—but they can’t stay here. Even Josh and Nettie will need to be moved.”
“Max,” Evelyn said, moving from the couch to stand next to him. William looked sleepy and was resting his head against her shoulder. “We’ll be okay. Besides, if we go into hiding, it’s just going to make it harder to find these men. Staying where we are makes us targets… but you can use that.”
“I’m not going to treat you like bait!”
“They won’t strike here,” Kaslov interrupted. “Because we’re going to take the battle to them rather than waiting for them to take action. In the vision you mentioned, did you see anyone actually moving against Evelyn?”
“No… I just saw her with William, looking afraid.”
“Then let me watch over them,” Flynn said, looking confident. He flashed a cocky grin at Libby. “I’ll protect both ladies. You’ve got my word of honor.”
“And I’m certain you have defenses set up around the property, making them doubly safe. Am I correct?” Kaslov asked.
“Yes.” Max sighed, running a hand through his dark hair.
“Then let’s retire to the Peregrine’s Nest and begin our planning.”
Max leaned towards Evelyn and kissed her hard on the mouth. “I don’t want to lose you. Not yet.”
“You won’t, you silly man. Not if you stop moping and put a stop to the Manchu and his friend.”
* * *
Moments later, the Peregrine and Kaslov were downstairs. Max had donned his vigilante attire once more, finding that it soothed his nerves somewhat to be behind the mask.
“I’ve heard of the Warlike Manchu,” Kaslov was saying, removing his jacket and shuffling through a number of photographs and papers that Max had put out on a table. A low overhanging light illuminated the papers, revealing several pictures of a man who was lean and somewhat feline in appearance with high shoulders, a close-shaven skull and a long, drooping moustache. “But seeing him puts all the stories into a new perspective. He seems to radiate intelligence and evil in equal measures.”
“Keep in mind that he’s ten times more impressive in person,” the Peregrine pointed out.
“Tell me about him.” Kaslov studied his friend’s body language, sensing the energy that was about to explode.
“Read it yourself!” Max snapped. “I don’t want to waste time.”