A powerful word slammed into his brain: Sovereign.
Suddenly, it was all over and Tony Quinn was left alone in the alley. He was breathing heavily, as if he had just finished running a marathon.
Looking around, he saw that Slim was gone. While he was disappointed to have lost his prey, he knew how lucky he really was. He would have been helpless to defend himself had Slim chosen to attack.
He thought back to what he had just seen. Sovereign. Was that a reference to Sovereign City? Under normal circumstances, he would have taken off to investigate this but he had an important case beginning in the morning that he simply couldn’t miss.
Perhaps he should reach out to one of the other heroes that he’d encountered in recent months: Thunder Jim Wade, Leonid Kaslov or even The Domino Lady. He’d even heard tales of a skull-and-crossbones type known as The Black Terror….
With grim determination, The Black Bat fell back into the shadows, allowing himself to vanish from sight. Even if he couldn’t handle it on his own, he would do what he could to make sure that justice was done.
Leonid Kaslov was of Russian descent, with close-cropped silver-blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore a well-tailored black suit, a white handkerchief perched dashingly out of his breast pocket and a golden ring set with a pale red stone shone on the little finger of his right hand. His teeth were pearly white and very regular, helping give the impression of a man who came from impressive stock.
Kaslov was further blessed with a washboard stomach and remarkable grace, making him an easy target for the wandering eyes of women. Though he appreciated the interest, he rarely returned it with any real fervor. He was dedicated to his work and he found that romance had a way of distracting him from the things to which he had dedicated his life: namely, the betterment of mankind and the exploration of the unknown.
In pursuit of those two goals, Kaslov had spent years honing his body into physical perfection and had mastered numerous sciences. Newsworld magazine had named him Man of the Year twice in the last decade, making him one of the most famous men in the nation. His most recent award had been announced just last week at a star-studded press conference in Manhattan.
He entered his office building, nestled between two other businesses. Elizabeth “Libby” Raines was seated behind the desk in the lobby, her blonde curls hanging in ringlets around her shoulders. She looked up with a smile, her blue eyes twinkling as she took him in. Her ample curves were barely contained by a tight sweater and, despite his lack of interest in the opposite sex, Kaslov was attentive enough to notice that she leaned forward in greeting, obviously hoping to catch his eye.
“Good morning, Mr. Kaslov. An attorney by the name of Anthony Quinn is waiting in your office. I just gave him a cup of coffee.”
“Thank you, Miss Raines.”
Leonid moved into his office and before the door was even shut behind him, he felt the cold barrel of a gun placed against his temple. He reacted with astonishing speed, ducking down while seizing hold of the hand that held the gun. He gave a twist and hurled Tony Quinn across the office, noting with pleasure that the seemingly blind attorney executed a perfect acrobatic flip that left him upright.
Quinn hurled the gun with pinpoint accuracy, nailing Kaslov across the chin.
Wiping away a streak of blood from the wound, Kaslov was nonetheless able to block Quinn’s next attack, which consisted of a roundhouse punch.
The two men grunted as they exchanged a series of blows, each strike showing the marked difference in their fighting styles. With Tony Quinn, it was all about brute power and force, while the much larger Leonid Kaslov utilized a martial arts style that had been taught to him in the Orient.
Quinn stepped back, panting. His hands were going numb from striking Kaslov’s thick torso. It was like punching a frozen slab of beef. His eyes were hidden as he said, “I can’t believe you’d strike a man wearing glasses.”
Kaslov relaxed and both men adjusted their ties. “Mind telling me why you put a gun to my head?”
“Just wanted to make sure you weren’t going soft since being named Man of the Year.”
“I appreciate the concern. Did I pass muster?”
“And then some.” Tony dropped down into a chair. He waited until Kaslov had taken his customary spot behind the desk before adding, “Miss Raines looked especially attractive today.”
“You’re blind, remember?”
“I’d have to be to not ask her out. What’s your excuse?”
Kaslov sat back and studied his friend. “Why are you here, Anthony? It’s not like you to make a social call.”
“You and I have worked together on enough cases that I feel comfortable coming to you with this but I wouldn’t admit to it to anybody else.”
“I’m flattered.”
“You should be. I had a vision last night.”
The Russian leaned forward with interest. It wasn’t like Tony to speak of spiritual or supernatural matters. “Tell me about it.”
Tony did, leaving out no detail. As a trained lawyer, he was a master at remembering and delivering testimony. When he was finished, he waited for Kaslov to digest all that he’d shared.
“You’re not alone,” Kaslov answered. “I was reading through a series of newspaper clippings last evening. Psychics the world over are reporting such things. In fact, I’ve heard rumors that the rash of suicides in Sovereign might even be related.”
“Do you think this could be the end of the world?”
“Only if we don’t take the warning to heart and do something about it.” Kaslov opened a drawer of his desk and took out an atlas. Several pages within were marked by strips of paper that stuck out the top of the book. “I was planning to journey to South America, actually. According to what my contacts are telling me, a series of Aztec statues have come to life and are terrorizing the populace of several small towns. It’s probably not related to the central threat that your visions referenced but I think we’re seeing an upsurge in supernatural events as a side-effect.”
“Maybe you should abandon that trip and head to Sovereign instead.”
Kaslov considered it. “No matter what, those poor souls down in South America need help. With your permission, I’d like to send a full write-up of your vision to Doc Daye. He’s already in Sovereign and is probably well equipped to handle something like this.”
“He’s out of town. I checked.”
“In that case, Assistance Unlimited seems like a good option. I haven’t worked with Lazarus Gray before but from all accounts, he’s a good man.” Kaslov glanced at Tony and asked, “I assume that you’re not going to Sovereign yourself?”
“I can’t. The Gilbert murder case begins today.”
Kaslov nodded. He wasn’t going to mention it to Tony, but he’d heard from others with similar stories: Ascott Keane and Ravenwood had both sent him warnings that something unusual was occurring. “I appreciate you coming to me with this. When all is said and done, we should get together and compare notes.”
“Assuming the world isn’t about to go down in flames,” Tony muttered. “That man I saw, the one with a skeleton face… he was insane. Utterly. I believe he’d kill every man, woman and child on earth if he could.”
Kaslov stood up, his handsome face set with stony determination. “Then let’s make sure that doesn’t happen. I’ll make sure that Assistance Unlimited knows that if push comes to shove, you and I will do everything we can to help. Is that all right?”
“You know it is,” Tony replied. “I hate to sound pessimistic, it’s really not in my nature. It’s just that what I saw… I’ve never had an experience like that. I’m not even sure why I would. I’m no mystic!”