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Post by Adminenkainen on Jun 1, 2016 21:32:25 GMT
Captain Avenger Richard "Rick" Murphy was proud to serve. U.S. Military Intelligence Service had created several "superheroes" of their own, plus recruited others, to help with the war cause, both overseas and at home. Lt. Richard Murphy was assigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps and reported to Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. George V. Strong. Lt. Murphy was one of three officers in defense command, with seven enlisted men under his command. Or at least this had been the case until January 9, 1943. Lt. Murphy was handed an envelope from Major General Strong with instructions to fly at once by plane to Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was to operate as Captain Avenger at his discretion, but to reveal to no one he was with the CIC. His mission was to guard the Minneapolis Great Northern Depot and thwart any actions of enemy agents to sabotage the train station. And that was it. His instructions seemed curiously vague. But orders were orders. January 10, 1943. Sunday. Wold–Chamberlain Field Lt. Murphy stepped off a commercial airplane onto the tarmac of the Minneapolis airport. He was in plainclothes, but had his Captain Avenger uniform packed in his luggage. He had an address for the Minneapolis Great Northern Depot, but nothing else to go on -- no timetable, no descriptions of enemy agents to look for -- nothing. It was up to him to decide what to do next. Minneapolis looked to be a quiet city -- or maybe it seemed that way because it was a cold (22 degrees F), snow-covered Sunday in January. The air escaped in little clouds of fog from Rick's mouth.  |
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Post by Adminenkainen on Jun 2, 2016 0:33:15 GMT
The Cabalist Howard Feinstein was playing the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. It was an okay gig on the vaudeville circuit. For Howard, the thrill of performing was seeing the captivated audience marveling at his tricks, and giving them some momentary relief from the war news that was everywhere, as well as from the harsh Minnesota winter. Veronica, his assistant, just liked being paid regularly. January 10, 1943. Sunday The Orpheum "Ticket sales are good tonight," Al B. Keith said to Howard. Al was a veteran showman himself, now a portly, double-chinned man with white hair and a thick mustache. "Thinking of accepting my offer and staying on another week?" It was backstage, two hours before showtime. Al had paused in his speech because June McCroon had just walked past. Billed "the swingy sister of sweetheart songs", June was a pretty young blonde who looked as good as she sang. "Hello, Mr. Keith!" June said merrily while on her way to Sid Manly's dressing room. Sid was her musician partner and fiancee. "I'm going to need a new star act around here," Al continued, quietly, a moment later. "Sid is leaving for the Army soon. June is talented, but I frankly don't think she can pull off a solo act." Veronica was around the theater...somewhere. Howard still had to find her and go over their act for tonight.  |
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Post by Adminenkainen on Jun 2, 2016 1:05:57 GMT
Orpheus Jack Andrew Montgomery was a family man, through and through -- literally, he had family inside him! But he was also good to his mother. His mother, Margaret, often needed Andrew to run errands for her, or perhaps just chose him over asking his father, Bill. Bill was...well, "lazy" was a charitable word. He did work -- in a factory (Minneapolis Moline), which had converted from making farm tools to making shells for the war. Bill would come home after a long day at work, kick back in a chair with a newspaper or listen to the radio, and say he was too tired when asked to do anything. Which was why Margaret had preempted Bill this time and asked Andrew to run the errand before Bill even came home. She had some groceries she wanted from Brix Meat and Grocery -- Brix, specifically, because it had short hours of operation on Sunday afternoons. January 10, 1943. Sunday West Broadway Street It was a cold winter day. The sidewalks were shoveled, but the air was biting (22 degrees F). Andrew was dressed for the weather and keeping the shopping list in his coat pocket, when he heard a familiar voice in his head. Hey, slow down there, Andrew. It was his dead uncle, Jack. Andrew almost never heard from Jack at times like this, who "slept" most of the time when Andrew was doing "boring stuff". Take a look at that poster so I can see it better.There was indeed a poster tacked to the telephone pole they were passing. It was a wanted poster with three mug shots on it. The wanted men were Bruce Dayton, Irving Robinson, and Clark McInerny -- all three wanted for armed robbery, and with a reward of $150 each for their capture. Ha, that's Clark! What a sorry pair of jokers he fell in with. Probably penny ante robberies, too.  |
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Post by Orpheus Jack on Jun 2, 2016 6:46:23 GMT
"Friend of yours, Jack?" Andrew asked quietly. His words making clouds in the frigid air. Not exactly, kid.
"Well, 150 bucks ain't too bad. These hoods must be making a fair bit of trouble."
You get impressed too easily. 150 is nothing.
That kind of money might not have been much to the ghost of a bootlegging hustler, but it would mean the world for Andrew's mom. He pulled the shopping list out of his pocket and stared down at it. The store would close soon and his mom would be awful sore if he didn't come home with the groceries. But she'd be be pretty darn happy if he came home with a stack of cash. Andrew stuffed the shopping list back in his coat pocket and looked up at the wanted poster. "Jack, you have any ideas where Clark might want to hole up?" Orpheus Jack Andrew Montgomery was a family man, through and through -- literally, he had family inside him! But he was also good to his mother. His mother, Margaret, often needed Andrew to run errands for her, or perhaps just chose him over asking his father, Bill. Bill was...well, "lazy" was a charitable word. He did work -- in a factory (Minneapolis Moline), which had converted from making farm tools to making shells for the war. Bill would come home after a long day at work, kick back in a chair with a newspaper or listen to the radio, and say he was too tired when asked to do anything. Which was why Margaret had preempted Bill this time and asked Andrew to run the errand before Bill even came home. She had some groceries she wanted from Brix Meat and Grocery -- Brix, specifically, because it had short hours of operation on Sunday afternoons. January 10, 1943. Sunday West Broadway Street It was a cold winter day. The sidewalks were shoveled, but the air was biting (22 degrees F). Andrew was dressed for the weather and keeping the shopping list in his coat pocket, when he heard a familiar voice in his head. Hey, slow down there, Andrew. It was his dead uncle, Jack. Andrew almost never heard from Jack at times like this, who "slept" most of the time when Andrew was doing "boring stuff". Take a look at that poster so I can see it better.There was indeed a poster tacked to the telephone pole they were passing. It was a wanted poster with three mug shots on it. The wanted men were Bruce Dayton, Irving Robinson, and Clark McInerny -- all three wanted for armed robbery, and with a reward of $150 each for their capture. Ha, that's Clark! What a sorry pair of jokers he fell in with. Probably penny ante robberies, too. |
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Post by majorvictory on Jun 2, 2016 11:52:59 GMT
Captain Avenger Richard "Rick" Murphy was proud to serve. U.S. Military Intelligence Service had created several "superheroes" of their own, plus recruited others, to help with the war cause, both overseas and at home. Lt. Richard Murphy was assigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps and reported to Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. George V. Strong. Lt. Murphy was one of three officers in defense command, with seven enlisted men under his command. Or at least this had been the case until January 9, 1943. Lt. Murphy was handed an envelope from Major General Strong with instructions to fly at once by plane to Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was to operate as Captain Avenger at his discretion, but to reveal to no one he was with the CIC. His mission was to guard the Minneapolis Great Northern Depot and thwart any actions of enemy agents to sabotage the train station. And that was it. His instructions seemed curiously vague. But orders were orders. January 10, 1943. Sunday. Wold–Chamberlain Field Lt. Murphy stepped off a commercial airplane onto the tarmac of the Minneapolis airport. He was in plainclothes, but had his Captain Avenger uniform packed in his luggage. He had an address for the Minneapolis Great Northern Depot, but nothing else to go on -- no timetable, no descriptions of enemy agents to look for -- nothing. It was up to him to decide what to do next. Minneapolis looked to be a quiet city -- or maybe it seemed that way because it was a cold (22 degrees F), snow-covered Sunday in January. The air escaped in little clouds of fog from Rick's mouth. Murphy decided that if there was no hurry and no clear order then he might as well get a cup of coffee before he headed out to figure out what to do next. Maybe ask for directions on how to get to the Depot. |
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Post by dtspurrier on Jun 3, 2016 5:49:14 GMT
Howard Feinstein smiles at the offer and says "thank you for the gracious offer. Once Ed goes to the military, i would be happy to accept the offer. Having such a fine playhouse such as this as a permanent place is nice indeed. Let me go over the offer with my lovely assistant veronica and I am pretty sure she will agree that the offer is sound. We will have to go over salary, advertisement, and business details. Well the show will be starting soon. Let me now get with veronica and prep for tonight."
Howard feinstein goes to Veronica to go over the show and the offer from Al.
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Post by Adminenkainen on Jun 3, 2016 16:06:38 GMT
That kind of money might not have been much to the ghost of a bootlegging hustler, but it would mean the world for Andrew's mom. He pulled the shopping list out of his pocket and stared down at it. The store would close soon and his mom would be awful sore if he didn't come home with the groceries. But she'd be be pretty darn happy if he came home with a stack of cash. Andrew stuffed the shopping list back in his coat pocket and looked up at the wanted poster. "Jack, you have any ideas where Clark might want to hole up?" Jack went quiet in his head for a moment, no doubt recalling horrible things fondly. But Clark, Jack continued a half-minute later, he loved trains. Some days he would just sit all day at the Minneapolis Great Northern Depot, watching the trains come in. |
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Post by Adminenkainen on Jun 3, 2016 16:26:24 GMT
Murphy decided that if there was no hurry and no clear order then he might as well get a cup of coffee before he headed out to figure out what to do next. Maybe ask for directions on how to get to the Depot. The 5-8 Club was a hamburger diner near the airport. Murphy ducked in and ordered a cup of joe. It just sat there in his throat like an uninvited guest. Minnesota coffee was going to take some getting used to, apparently, but at least it was hot. And the burger was really good. Two guys at the bar were discussing the weather. "Did you read that the average temperature is six degrees lower this winter?" "Six degrees isn't going to kill anyone." "You tell that to my turkeys. My turkey farm has lost five turkeys to the cold so far this winter." The other man turned and looked at Rick. "I hope you got a warmer coat than that, Mister. I hear it's gonna get plenty cold tonight." |
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Post by Adminenkainen on Jun 3, 2016 16:47:51 GMT
Howard Feinstein smiles at the offer and says "thank you for the gracious offer. Once Ed goes to the military, i would be happy to accept the offer. Having such a fine playhouse such as this as a permanent place is nice indeed. Let me go over the offer with my lovely assistant veronica and I am pretty sure she will agree that the offer is sound. We will have to go over salary, advertisement, and business details. Well the show will be starting soon. Let me now get with veronica and prep for tonight." Howard feinstein goes to Veronica to go over the show and the offer from Al. "Well..." Al said first, before Howard could leave. "I didn't say permanent. I'd try you on as the head act for a month and see how it affects ticket sales. A probationary period, if you will. But yes, we can discuss the other incidentals later." Howard found Veronica in a dark corner of the backstage area, smoking cigarettes with a good-looking young stagehand. The stagehand excused himself as Howard approached his pretty assistant. Veronica kept smoking while she listened to everything Howard had to tell her. "Stay here?" she asked, sounding mad. "In Minneapolis? Howard, I thought we were gonna do New York someday! I'm sick of the Midwest." They started to go over their routine, though Howard could tell Veronica was crestfallen and not really paying attention. Maybe if he shook things up and tried something different tonight...? |
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Post by Orpheus Jack on Jun 3, 2016 17:48:09 GMT
Back in the day, me and a lot of the boys used to hang out at the St Paul Hotel. All the big shots used to hang out there. But then they went legit, I think. Oh, and Nina Clifford used to run a brothel on Washington Street, but they tore that down! Sad days to be a gangster, I'll tell ya...Jack went quiet in his head for a moment, no doubt recalling horrible things fondly. But Clark, Jack continued a half-minute later, he loved trains. Some days he would just sit all day at the Minneapolis Great Northern Depot, watching the trains come in. "Well, that's where we'll start then," Andrew said. He wasn't sure if he was talking to Jack or himself. Or if there was even a difference anymore for that matter. Andrew hustled down Broadway to Washington Avenue, figuring he could catch a bus there that would take him most of the way to the depot. |
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Post by majorvictory on Jun 4, 2016 2:31:25 GMT
Murphy decided that if there was no hurry and no clear order then he might as well get a cup of coffee before he headed out to figure out what to do next. Maybe ask for directions on how to get to the Depot. The 5-8 Club was a hamburger diner near the airport. Murphy ducked in and ordered a cup of joe. It just sat there in his throat like an uninvited guest. Minnesota coffee was going to take some getting used to, apparently, but at least it was hot. And the burger was really good. Two guys at the bar were discussing the weather. "Did you read that the average temperature is six degrees lower this winter?" "Six degrees isn't going to kill anyone." "You tell that to my turkeys. My turkey farm has lost five turkeys to the cold so far this winter." The other man turned and looked at Rick. "I hope you got a warmer coat than that, Mister. I hear it's gonna get plenty cold tonight." "Thanks for the tip. Can you tell me where I can purchase one" |
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Post by majorvictory on Jun 4, 2016 2:33:08 GMT
"BTW can you tell me how to get to the Great Northern Depot?"
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Post by dtspurrier on Jun 4, 2016 2:44:20 GMT
Howard practices the act and says " right now this gig is pretty steady. Besides New York is much colder and probably more snow then here. Let's ride this out and then we will head there later, perhaps in the spring. We really don't want to go there broke do we."
Howard finishes the prep work and comments" OK we have everything in place. Oh one thing for the "sawing a woman in half trick" I want to use a volunteer instead of you this time as to spice the act up a bit. Also when we do the card tricks we do this in the audience instead of the stage. This makes interaction with the audience better and should get better tips. For these two tricks I want you to pick the volunteers."
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Post by Adminenkainen on Jun 6, 2016 1:53:10 GMT
"Well, that's where we'll start then," Andrew said. He wasn't sure if he was talking to Jack or himself. Or if there was even a difference anymore for that matter. Andrew hustled down Broadway to Washington Avenue, figuring he could catch a bus there that would take him most of the way to the depot. The Minneapolis Great Northern Depot was a sandstone fronted building, with colonnades and a great stone arch facing Hennepin Avenue on one side, and the mighty Mississippi flowing past the other side. The tracks ran northwest and southeast, between the building and the river. The depot itself was bustling with humanity. One hundred twenty five trains a day passed through this depot, moving passengers or freight. A people watcher could spend all day here. It was warm here too, so it was a good place to get out from the cold. And, of course, Jack could think of other reasons to hang around here. Great place for picking pockets... he brought up, as if Andrew wanted to hear it. An hour passed. Hey, I didn't say he spent all his time here, did I? Jack asked, getting defensive. You sure you don't want to pick a pocket to help pass the time?After two hours, Andrew noticed a pretty blonde in a heavy coat and muff walking quickly across the station, being followed by a broad-shouldered man with a black mustache, in a Fedora, black winter coat, and gloves. "Please leave me alone!" she said to him on one occasion, when she was close enough to Andrew to be overheard. (( rolls: 3, 2, 5))  |
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Post by Adminenkainen on Jun 6, 2016 2:00:06 GMT
"BTW can you tell me how to get to the Great Northern Depot?" Rick already had the address, but it was good to find out how cooperative the locals would be. The guys here, at least, were being honest. "The Depot is on Hennepin Avenue; you can't miss it. As for a coat...try Hubert White on 6th and Marquette." It was a good tip. Hubert White was a men's cloth's shop with high end merchandise and dark cherry furniture. "This coat suits you, sir," a well-groomed salesman with slicked back hair was telling Rick. "It's $12, but has duck down padding and is guaranteed to keep you warm, even in Minneapolis in the winter time. Here on business, sir? From your accent, I could tell you're an out-of-towner." |
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