Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2003 19:31:15 -0800 (PST) From: Author James Subject: The Shadow Chapter 3 Gimme Gimme Gimme A Man After Midnight Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. I do not know the sexual orientation of any of the celebrities who will be appearing in the story. WARNING: The character does not have a happy life and will not have very many happy events in his life. If this kind of stuff bothers you, I do not recommend reading. Otherwise, enjoy. The Shadow created by Street and Smith, Walter B. Gibson. Copyright Advance Magazine Publishing Inc. Author's email address: authorjames2002@yahoo.com Chapter 03 Gimme Gimme Gimme A Man After Midnight For the next few weeks, the Shadow patrolled the streets every night thwarting evil deeds and building a network of informants. Moe had become a regular assistant in that any time the Shadow needed a ride, Moe would drop off his fare and drive for the Shadow. The Shadow's presence created rumors amongst the underground as one who would fight any darkness that entered the city. New York was a huge city and he couldn't protect everyone, but whenever he heard of something going down, he would be there to save someone. And the person he saved, whether a top scientist, forensic police officer, or average citizen, would become one of his informants owing the Shadow his or her life. And he collected whenever the need arose. One evening while the Shadow practiced with the punching bag, Jonesy, his trainer, approached with the newspaper. "Hey, did you see this concert in the park thing?" Jonesy asked. The Shadow turned and looked at the headline. Then he returned to his boxing. "I thought you might want to see this. Most kids your age like their music. If you ask me, though, most of it is fluff with no soul to it. No depth." 'Most kids my age aren't rapists,' the Shadow thought to himself. He would never dare to let Jonesy or anyone else know. It didn't matter to them. It wasn't important to them. He could care less. Eventually the gym cleared out and the Shadow went to the showers to get cleaned up for his nightly stint. While washing, his mind went to the newspaper Jonesy showed him. Central Park was having their annual concert in the park throughout the summer. They had rounded up some A-list performances, all of which the Shadow remembered enjoying in his former life, B.C. (Before Crime). The newspaper listed the performers and his mind went over the list: The A-Teens, Nick Carter, O-Town, and NSYNC. They were all favorites of his. He had always thought Nick Carter was cute, even back when he was a Backstreet Boy. One time, one of the Shadow's friends in High School called them the Backdoor Boys. That was because his friend didn't like BSB. But the Shadow would blow off his opinions. Of course, the Shadow was going through his own ordeal at the time. The church he had gone to disapproved of secular music. He kept his liking of those bands to himself, as well as his other secrets. While washing his genitalia, the Shadow thought about Dhani and Amit from the group A-Teens. Those two would always be fantasies he dreamt of. As he thought about them and how attractive he found them, his genitalia swelled to attention. His mind focused solely on Amit and was reminded of the guy he raped, relating the singer's features to the person he raped. The thought and connection had an effect on his body and his genitalia softened instantly. 'I can't do that,' the Shadow thought. 'I don't have that right to feel good.' The Shadow finished up, suited up, and strapped his guns to his belt. He got the guns from a gun shop owner whose life he saved one night from a burglary. The guns were silver with pearl handles. He was proud of them. Jonesy had taken the initiative and taught the Shadow gun safety as well as target practice. After placing the red scarf over his face and the goggles over his eyes, the Shadow went out into the night. His patrol eventually led him to Central Park where the summer concert was going on. He recognized the sounds of the A-Teens singing and couldn't help but investigate. It cost money to get in, a commodity he did not have. So he stuck to the Shadows and snuck in through the back. He recognized the song as he got closer. It was "Slam" from their third album "Pop 'Til You Drop!". Everybody do the slam Stomp your feet and clap your hands Boys and girls in every land Anyone can do it The Shadow bobbed his head to the music. Then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Two security guards were talking to a man in a suit and sunglasses. 'This late at night, why would he be wearing sunglasses?' the Shadow thought. He thought of his own goggles and realized the person wanted to hide his identity. The man chatted with the guards then turned peering into the shadows as if he could see the Shadow. The Shadow remained still. Any sudden movements would alert the man to his presence, and he didn't want that. The man looked for a few seconds more, then turned and finished his conversation with security, and then he turned and left. The guards peered into the shadows and one pulled out his nightstick approaching the location of the Shadow. The Shadow waited to see if the guard would stop. Unfortunately, he didn't. As he got closer, the Shadow moved deeper into the darkness and found a tree branch to climb. The guard lunged in his direction. The Shadow grabbed the tree branch and swung his legs, connecting with the security guard and knocking him out of the underbrush. Then the youth pulled himself up into the tree and climbed higher. The other guard rushed in and checked his fallen comrade. He drew his gun and searched the darkness only to find no one there. He holstered the gun and went back to his friend. "Someone was there," the fallen guard said. "He was right. Someone was watching us. This may not bode well for the plans, especially if whatever it was heard anything that was said." "We'll stay alert, but we have to let the plan go forward," the second guard said. The first guard nodded and got to his feet. The two returned to duty for the remainder of the concert. Two hours later, the concert ended, and the A-Teens were escorted from backstage to a waiting limousine. The Shadow watched as the two guards kept an eye on the group. When the group was safely in the limousine, one of the guards pulled the walkie-talkie to his mouth and said something in it. Then he and the other guy left. The Shadow made his way to the waiting cabbie Moe Shrevnitz and climbed into the back. "Follow that limo," the Shadow said. Moe complied and followed the limo through downtown New York. He kept an inconspicuous distance from the limo for the fifteen minute drive. Then the limo pulled into the parking garage. "Let me out here," the Shadow said and Moe pulled beside the parking garage in a dark alley. The Shadow climbed out and stayed close to the wall. He climbed the fencing around the parking deck and flipped over the wall into the parking garage. He saw the limo on the lower level and the four singers got out and headed inside. The limo then pulled away from the drop-off site. Taking a deep breath and making sure no one was watching, the Shadow ran toward the drop-off. There was a guard in the room keeping watch. 'How do I get him to look away?' the Shadow thought to himself. He kept an eye on the guard and waited for almost ten minutes before the guard left the station. He took the opportunity and ran inside. Stepping inside the booth, he checked the computer for the A-Teens and what rooms they were staying in. After getting the room numbers, he snuck out of the booth. "Who the hell are you?" the guard said standing on the other side of the door. The Shadow laughed and pushed the guard out of the way, heading down the corridor. "Hey!" the guard said spilling his hot coffee over his shirt. He grabbed his radio and alerted the other guards of a conspicuous young man in a black cloak, scarf and goggles. The Shadow turned several corners and saw a laundry cart. He jumped into it and pulled the dirty sheets and wet towels over his head and body concealing him from any passersby. He heard the sound of footsteps and then the cart started moving. "Hold it right there," a voice said and the cart stopped. "What?" said a young male voice with a Spanish accent. "What do you have in the laundry cart?" The Shadow realized this was a security guard. "Laundry," answered the young man. "Did you happen to see anyone come through here wearing a black cloak, hat, scarf and goggles?" "No," the young man replied. "If you do, call security right away." Then the Shadow heard the feet stomp away. The young man pushed the cart and entered a service elevator, whistling all the while. The doors closed and the elevator descended. When it stopped, the cart moved again and entered a very hot and humid room. Then I stopped and the whistling faded away as the young man left. Listening to be sure he was alone, the Shadow climbed out. Looking around, he had an idea. Quickly, he threw off his cloak and hat and put them in a laundry cart. Then he found a white smock and put it on, placing his goggles and scarf in the pockets. The name badge on his smock read "John" and he noticed it was like a key card. This would give him access to any room for "cleaning". He smiled and pushed the cart to the elevator. Pressing the button, he waited for the cart to open. A short while later, the Shadow made his way along the hallway searching for the appropriate room. When he found it, he listened to see if there were any suspicious sounds coming from the room. Nothing. He placed the card in the magnetic lock mechanism and heard the click. He slowly turned the knob and entered. Before him lay a vast sitting room with a kitchen to his immediate right. To his left rested windows with large curtains. Through the curtains, he could see a balcony. Across the sitting room were the bedrooms. Next to them was the bathroom and a nightlight came from a wall outlet. The Shadow wanted to check things out even though all seemed quiet. He walked over to the couches and saw a note on the table. He looked at it and read a short note: Record channel 69 The Shadow looked at the VCR and saw that it was recording even though the television was turned off. Curiosity got the best of him and he turned the television on. The sound was very quiet and he heard some grunting and groaning. He moved closer to the television as the picture faded in. To his surprise, on the screen was Dhani and Amit completely naked and masturbating each other. The Shadow's own dick started to grow as he watched the two on the television screen. Even though he was being stimulated by what was happening on the screen, he was able to think. 'Why are they doing this?' he thought. 'If they want to have sex with each other, fine. But why record it?' The Shadow went to the bedrooms and listened. The sounds weren't coming from the bedrooms. He slowly opened one door to find the room empty. After checking the other one and finding it the same, he went back to the living room where Amit was having his orgasm on the television. Cum shot in the air and landed on his chest and face. It was a very powerful orgasm. "Where could this be going on?" the Shadow thought. "It has to be somewhere in the hotel. They all got in the limo and got out at the same time. And why are they recording it? Could this be what the guards were talking about with the guy in the suit?" The Shadow turned off the picture and walked over to his cart. He reached down to his belt and unhooked the cell phone. He dialed a number and Moe answered. "Moe, I need you to do something for me. Contact the tech guy, Jared. I need to see him tonight." "Do you want me to pick him up and bring him here?" "Yeah. I want to talk to him on the roof. Have him bring his portable computer. I need him to get into the system." Moe hung up and went to work. The Shadow went through the hotel room thoroughly trying to find some other clues but found nothing. He exited the room with the cart and put it in the laundry elevator while he donned his cloak, scarf, goggles and hat, and went to the roof to wait for Jared. Ten minutes later, Moe and Jared arrived on the roof. "Uh, hi," Jared said appearing nervous. "I have a job for you." "What?" "I need you to hack into this hotel's systems and find out where channel 69 originates from." "It should all run through the satellite." "This isn't your typical set up. Get to work." Jared nodded and sat down on the roof. He pulled his bag from off his shoulder and opened it. Moe helped hook up several wires and he began his hacking. Shortly thereafter, he got into the system. "I'm in," he announced. "Good. Channel 69. Now." Jared nodded and started typing. "It has been diverted from the satellite dish. I'm attempting to locate where the signal is coming from. Damn!" "What?" the Shadow asked moving closer. "The signal has been changed back to the satellite." "Can you find out where it was?" "No. Whoever did this cleaned up the tracks. The only way to find out is to hack in while the signal is broadcasting." "Then this is what I want. I want you here tomorrow night doing exactly what you did. Monitor channel 69 and locate where it is broadcasting from within the building." "What is this about?" The Shadow just stared at Jared. "That's right. No questions. Okay. I'll be here. What time?" "Right after the Concert in the Park," the Shadow answered. Jared nodded and packed up his things. He and Moe left and the Shadow stuck around on the roof still puzzled by what he saw. 'There is definitely something not right going on. Why make a porn video when you have a great music career that is making you more money than the porn ever could? I couldn't imagine it being a back-up money maker. It is too risky. If it got out, it could ruin their music career. There is more going on than meets the eye.' To Be Continued... Do you have any ideas what it could be? I'd love to hear your thoughts about the storyline or what you think of the character and story as a whole.