Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 13:08:21 -0800 (PST) From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com> Subject: The Shadow Chapter 8 The Name of The Game 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 8 The Name of the Game The Shadow emerged the next day and went straight to working out. He had moves to learn and skills to hone. As he worked with the punching bag, the door opened and two young men entered. One was recognizably Arsenal, the guy he met last night. The other guy had long black hair pulled into a pony-tail. 'He must be Nightwing,' he thought. He finished his punching and moved to the showers. As he lathered the soap, Jonesy came in and told the youth that he had some visitors. The Shadow, however, ignored him. "Is there a problem with these guys? Have they been harassing you? Is that why they are here?" "I'll be out in a minute." Jonesy turned and left the showers. The young man finished his showering, dried off, and dressed. Then he went out to meet the two guys. "Hey, Sha..." Arsenal began but Nightwing put his hand over the red-heads mouth. "Not here." "Come back here," the youth said escorting his visitors back to his small room. "How did you guys find me?" "It isn't hard when I placed a camera outside the building to monitor it. We don't want Harris to get into trouble." Nightwing stepped closer with his hand out. "I guess we should introduce ourselves properly without the masks. I'm Robert Lakewind. This is my boyfriend, Roy Harper." The young man looked at Robert's outstretched hand and turned away. "Did you guys find anything?" "Man, what manners," Roy replied. The Shadow turned around. "I'm not here to have manners or be nice to people. This is something I have to do, not want to do. You might look at this as something fun to do or as a calling to do. I don't." "Then why do you do it?" "Because I have to. And that's all I have to say on the matter." Robert and Roy looked at each other, sighed, and then Robert spoke. "Patrol came up empty. But Harris found something." The Shadow's eyes widened as seriousness came over him. "What did he find?" "Jared had been monitoring their vitals at different points in their concert the night before he died. Evidently, he went to find out when the drugs kicked in. It was right after their song 'Can't Help Falling in Love' and 'Closer to Perfection'. I think something is up with those songs." "They might have some significance. Did they drink anything between those numbers?" "Jared's records didn't say. Did they display any of this behavior before?" "I discovered them doing it when they were here. I haven't been following them around on their tours. The only other way to know is to ask them and the other singers in their group. I can do that tonight. If Harris knows how to continue monitoring them, have him do so." "Harris said he has their tour locations on his hard drive in case you want to look at them," Roy finally chimed in. The Shadow nodded. The room was silent for a moment. Then he looked up and asked, "Is there anything else?" "Not that I'm aware of," Robert replied. "Do you have anything you want to tell us?" "No," the Shadow stated. "If I find out anything, I'll let you know." Roy stood and left without saying "goodbye". Robert watched him leave and then headed to the door. "See you tonight." And then he was gone. After sunset, the Shadow made his way to the concert in the park where the A-Teens were singing their last song. The song was entitled 'The Name of the Game' I've seen you twice, in a short time Only a week since we started It seems to me, for every time I'm getting more open-hearted I was an impossible case No-one ever could reach me But I think I can see in your face There's a lot you can teach me So I wanna know.. What's the name of the game? Does it mean anything to you? What's the name of the game? Can you feel it the way I do? Tell me please, 'cause I have to know I'm a bashful child, beginning to grow And you make me talk And you make me feel And you make me show What I'm trying to conceal If I trust in you, would you let me down? Would you laugh at me, if I said I care for you? Could you feel the same way too? I wanna know.. The name of the game (Your smile and the sound of your voice) Does it mean anything to you? (Got a feeling you give me no choice) But it means a lot, what's the name of the game? (Your smile and the sound of your voice) Can you feel it the way I do? Tell me please, 'cause I have to know I'm a bashful child, beginning to grow And you make me talk And you make me feel And you make me show What I'm trying to conceal If I trust in you, would you let me down? Would you laugh at me, if I said I care for you? Could you feel the same way too? I wanna know.. Oh yes I wanna know.. The name of the game (I was an impossible case) Does it mean anything to you? (But I think I can see in your face) That it means a lot What's the name of the game? (Your smile and the sound of your voice) Can you feel it the way I do? (Got a feeling you give me no choice) But it means a lot, what's the name of the game? (I was an impossible case) Does it mean anything to you? (But I think I can see in your face) That it means a lot. As the Shadow listened to the words, he noticed both Dhani and Amit look up at him in the trees, as if they knew he was present. He thought it odd that they would know where he was and that they would look up at him during certain parts of the song. The group finished and the crowd went wild. The A-Teens bowed to the fans and headed off stage. The Shadow did not request Moe to take him to the hotel. He knew the location and headed there right away. As he entered the front door and headed up the elevator, the car jerked to a stop. However, the doors didn't open, keying the Shadow in that something was wrong. Our hero reached over and pressed the "Door Open" button several times. The doors started to open but then stopped. He hit the "Pass" button hoping it would resume and skip the floor where he intended to exit. Nothing, however, happened. 'This isn't good,' he thought to himself. He grabbed the elevator doors and tried to open them even more, but he was not strong enough to do so. Then he looked up and saw the service hatch available. He jumped up and grabbed the handle, turning as gravity pulled him back and the door opened. "Yes," he exclaimed. And he climbed out. The elevator creaked as he stood on the roof of the car. He looked around to find any identification marks of his location. 'Yes,' he thought when he saw he was only two floors away from his destination. Grabbing a nearby ladder rung, he climbed up the side of the shaft to the floor he was headed to and hit the button accessing the doors to open. He dove inside and rolled to his feet assessing the corridor. Several men in tuxedoes had their guns drawn and aimed at the elevator. The sound of the arrival of the "car" along with the doors opening caught their attention and alerted them to the "threat" they've been after. "He's still here," one said to the others. "He can make himself invisible somehow." "Then how do we shoot him?" "Look for any signs of rippling in the woodwork or tables. He may cause a ripple effect if he moves." "Didn't the master give us any indication about this guy?" "The master is as surprised as we are at his presence." Without warning, a lamp flew down the hall and the nearest guard in the head. The impact knocked him unconscious and he dropped his gun. "You can't hide from me," the Shadow said. Being invisible, his voice echoed down the corridor, not giving any of the guards a focal point to fire their weapons. "You can't hide from evil." "You're evil?" A flower pot flew from the other side of the room and hit a man on the head knocking him unconscious. The door across from Dhani and Amit's room opened up and Marie looked out. "What's going on?" she asked. Without warning, something hit her knocking her inside the room and the door slammed shut. "He went in there," one of the men shouted. Marie felt something grab her and pull her up. "Who's here?" she asked. She moved over to the light switch and turned in on. She jumped when she saw a young man in a cloak, goggles and scarf standing before her. "Who are you?" "I'm here to protect Dhani and Amit. Where are they?" "They should be in their room." The door thumped as someone rammed their body into it. Marie jumped. "I'm going to hide. If they ask where I am, tell them you don't know what you're talking about. If they ask about you falling, tell them that you slipped and kicked the door. That's why it closed." Marie nodded and the Shadow ran into one of the bedrooms. The door thumped again and Marie asked who it was. "Let us in!" the man ordered. She placed the chain on the door and opened it so she could see out. "Where is he?" the man asked. "I don't know who you are talking about." "We saw you fall over. Someone tackled you. Where is he?" "I slipped and fell. My foot kicked the door and shut it." The man eyed her. Then a sound came from Dhani and Amit's room and they turned. "He's in there!" someone shouted and the men turned to go to Dhani and Amit's room. Marie slammed the door shut and bolted it, making sure no one was coming in. She turned around and saw the dark figure standing near the bathroom. "They're gone," she said moving toward the man. "What are you doing here? What's going on with Dhani and Amit?" "Have you noticed any strange behavior with them?" the Shadow began. "Not since our first concert? Normally we go out after our concerts, but they didn't want to. They said they were tired and wanted to sleep, so they went into their suite and we didn't see them until the next day. "Oh, God, is it drugs? They're not doing drugs, are they? Damn them! I've told them over and over, as has Sara. Why don't they listen to us?" "It isn't drugs," the Shadow stated matter-of-factly. "At least I don't think its drugs. So far there is no evidence that drugs are causing what's happening. "You're sure they haven't been acting strangely around you?" "They've acted giddy at certain times. It started after the first concert. Sara and I thought it might have been the city at first, being here and all. I mean, this is New York. But the newness of the city hasn't worn off. They are still giddy. It should have. Sara and I think that maybe they've met someone. But they won't tell us if they have." 'Met someone?' the Shadow thought. 'And the timing with the songs when they looked up at me. Dhani asking me to sit with him all night. Him not having any problem with me seeing him naked. Could it be that they have developed feelings for me?' The Shadow wandered away from Marie toward the balcony. "What's going on? What do you know about them?" "They'll be okay," the Shadow muttered as he walked out the balcony door and climbed up to the fire escape. Sitting a top the rooftop of the building where our story began, the Shadow came to a decision that, whatever Dhani and Amit might be feeling for him, it could not happen. He was not on the market to date. Earlier in the day, Roy had asked the Shadow what his reasons were for doing this. His response was that he had to, and left it at that. Even though he dared not tell anyone his reason, it was always before him. Every waking moment he felt guilt for his crime, and every sleeping moment he saw the victim of his crime. The name of his game was penance. He dared not let anyone get too close to him. And so, his decision was made. Standing, the Shadow headed back to the apartment building, only this time he went to Dhani and Amit's suite. He landed on the balcony and tried the door. It was open so he entered. Dhani came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist as he dried his hair with another one. Amit came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist as well drying his hair with a second towel also. "Uh, hi," Dhani said. "Hi," the Shadow replied. "This is kind of awkward," Amit replied. "After everything that has happened to you guys this week, you have no reason to feel awkward. I don't judge what's going on." "It...uh, it doesn't make us feel any less awkward standing here with only a towel keeping us modest," Dhani said. "Please, let me say what I've come to say, and then I'll go. You won't have to feel awkward." "Uh, okay," Amit said. "Do you want to sit down?" "No, I'll stand." Amit and Dhani sat down on the couch and looked up at the Shadow. "I've talked with Marie earlier. And she says she thinks you two have found someone that you both have developed feelings for. I want to tell you that I'm flattered, but it just can't be. I...I'm not on the market for seeing anyone. I don't want what you guys are feeling for me to hinder your friendship with each other. That's the last thing I want to happen." Dhani and Amit looked at each other, cleared their throats, and looked back to the Shadow. "Again, the awkwardness," Dhani said. "We...hmmm, we have found someone special but...well, we decided to give each other a try for a relationship more than friends. What happened with you this week, I want to apologize if it gave you the wrong impression. I had asked you to stay because I was afraid. You seemed to know what was going on and, well, I felt safe." "Oh," was all the Shadow could get out. "We went out after the concert," Amit said. "The first time since we arrived. We feel great now. We feel safe. And whatever it was that was scaring us, well, it isn't around any more, at least as far as we can tell." "We, um, just got done having...uh, being intimate in the shower," Dhani said. "That's what made it awkward." The Shadow turned and went to the balcony. "Hey, where are you going?" Without answering, the Shadow disappeared into the night. To Be Continued...