Tales of the Red Panda: The Android Assassins
Page 19
“He did seem to like being asked,” the Flying Squirrel smiled.
The Red Panda nodded. “More adventure than a Wentworth James sees in a lifetime,” he agreed. “It'll give him something to bore the people at the club with for the next few decades.”
“Unless he gets a taste for it,” she teased.
“God help us all,” he smirked.
“Boss,” she said, pointing to the door of Spiro's gym below. “There's our boy.”
He nodded. “Looks like he's turning up the alley. That's as good a spot as any.”
Two minutes later, the masked marvels hit street level on either side of a very startled Tank Brody.
“Oh, it's you,” the boxer said. “I guess I should have expected someone.” He reached into his pocket and produced the set of electric knuckles that had been issued to him a few nights earlier. “These were fun to play with, but I'm just as glad to know there aren't any floating around out there.”
The Red Panda held out his hand and took the devices from Brody. “No indeed,” the masked man said, “but you certainly put them to good use.”
Brody shrugged. “I was glad to help,” he said. “To feel like I was doing more than running and hiding. Been a long time since I felt like that. I ought to thank you both.”
The Red Panda looked serious. “And what have you been running and hiding from, Tank Brody?”
Brody shifted slightly. “Does it matter?” he said curtly.
“Normally, no,” the Red Panda said. “Today it might.”
Tank held the gaze of the blank eyes in the bright red mask as long as he could. His eyes finally shifted to the girl in the grey catsuit who looked just as serious, but nodded at him encouragingly.
Brody sighed. “There was a lawman in a little town out west,” he began. “Thought he ran the town and owned all the people in it. I tried to help them. He trumped up a bogus manslaughter charge against me, and I've been running ever since.”
The Red Panda nodded. “The experience hasn't put you off helping people, I see.”
Tank nodded. “Maybe not,” he said. “Maybe I just got too thick a head to learn what's good for me. So what happens now?”
The Red Panda raised an eyebrow. “Now is the part where I tell you that the sheriff who ran you out of that town was jailed in disgrace over a year ago, Morris Brody. And the charges against you were thrown out when his corrupt reign ended. The people that you tried to help took inspiration from you even in defeat. They stood up and fought for you as you had fought for them.”
The three of them were silent for a long moment. It was Brody who spoke first. “You sure about this?” he asked, his voice almost breaking. “How could you know?”
“It is my job to know things,” the masked man said simply. He looked at the girl standing to his right. “My partner took a chance on you and you didn't let us down. Indeed, you passed every test with flying colors. If you have a mind to keep helping people, I think we can certainly help that to happen.”
Brody blinked at them. “Work for you?” he asked. “Like the others?”
“You could go back if you wanted, Tank,” the Squirrel offered. “There's nothing stopping you. You don't have to run any more.”
Brody shook his head. “If I went back, I'd just be running again. Running back to a place that is probably better off without me. If I stand and fight here, at least I wouldn't be doing it alone.”
“Never,” she promised with a grin.
“So… what do I do?” Brody asked awkwardly.
“Keep training,” the Red Panda said, melting back into the shadows. “Spiro says your uppercut needs work.”
“And I say you lead too much with your jaw,” the Flying Squirrel said, darting up the brick wall of the alley at astonishing speed.
“We'll be in touch,” said a voice from nowhere.
And with that, Tank Brody was alone. But not really alone, not anymore.
Never.
--THE END--
About the author:
Gregg Taylor has been creating new stories in the pulp tradition since 2005 with the Decoder Ring Theatre, for whom he fills the functions of writer, director, performer and chief bottle washer. The radio-style adventures of the Red Panda and the Flying Squirrel can be found for free download in mp3 format at www.decoderringtheatre.com, together with Taylor's detective series Black Jack Justice and other programs.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two