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Post by Adminenkainen on Mar 4, 2022 18:45:21 GMT
Hour-Man
SIX DAYS LATER
Tuesday, May 2, 1940 Appleton City Rex Tyler's Home
"To the oppressed: Young man anxious to help the oppressed, offers services free to all who need him. Apply box 25, post office"
That's what Rex's perpetual classified ad read in the newspaper. It was intentionally vague, as only those most desperate for help would surely respond. And yet, Appleton City seemed to be full of desperate people. Most weeks, Rex received a dozen letters. Most of them, initially, were from crackpots. But rumor was slowly starting to circulate that the Hour-Man would show up to those who sent these letters...
Today, Rex was thinking of his jealous coworker, John Finch, and wondering what he could do to mitigate problems between them, that seemed to have only worsened in the past week. And then he found a letter when he checked his P.O. Box.
It was from a Thomas Lytell. Of Lytell's Department Store, downtown? Yes, according to the return address, it was! Thomas' letter read:
"Dear sir, or Hour-Man, as I am hoping this is: I have received threats to my business from a wholesaler who I believe is crooked. Though his prices are higher than our current wholesaler, he insists we need to order directly through him from now on. His threats are always veiled in such a way that the police do not take it as a serious threat, but I am convinced otherwise. He means my store harm if I do not comply. If there is anything you can do to scare this man off, or make him leave us alone, I would greatly appreciate it and compensate you accordingly. I can be reached through my store."
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Post by Adminenkainen on Mar 4, 2022 18:54:56 GMT
Captain Desmo
SIX DAYS LATER Tuesday, May 2, 1940 Appleton City The apartment of Captain Desmo & Hobbs
It was a relief to find Whispering Jack and Marie were both fine. Everyone Captain Desmo had contacted had been fine. Only Hop Harrigan was proving elusive to track down, but Hop was frequently flying all over the country so naturally it would be hard for anyone to pin his location down.
Lacking an immediate threat, Captain Desmo & Hobbs found lodging. Hobbs got a part-time job to help with rent. So far, Hobbs had not once complained about the lack of adventure. To him, just exploring Appleton City was the adventure. It was hard for Captain Desmo to find a job; there weren't many places where you could wear goggles all the time.
In their free time, they kept tabs on all of Captain Desmo's old friends. They all had phone numbers they could use to reach Captain Desmo. Though money was tight, they were considering hiring an answering service company to take messages for them.
There was also the issue of the Sikorski. The R.A.F. plane was still sitting in a hangar at the airport, graciously provided on credit, but a bill that would come due soon. Should Desmo keep the plane longer, in case he needed it? Surrender it to the authorities? It was a tough call to make.
Speaking of tough...it was driving Captain Desmo crazy that the attacks had not come yet. What was slowing the assassins down? Was this intentional, to drive him crazy?
In a lot of Desmo's free time, he kept tabs on his friends by going along with them places. It was also helping him reconnect with his old friends.
Today, he had an invitation from Marie to go together to Lytell's Department Store, downtown.
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Post by dtspurrier on Mar 5, 2022 15:18:36 GMT
After finishing work, Rex leaves his home and uses a payphone. He tells the operator to connect him to Thomas Lytell at his department store. Once there is an answer he says, " hello Thomas Lytell this is Hour-man. I understand there is a problem you are having. Are you available to talk in person and if so what time?" Hour-man waits for an answer.
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Post by Adminenkainen on Mar 7, 2022 23:44:12 GMT
After finishing work, Rex leaves his home and uses a payphone. He tells the operator to connect him to Thomas Lytell at his department store. Once there is an answer he says, " hello Thomas Lytell this is Hour-man. I understand there is a problem you are having. Are you available to talk in person and if so what time?" Hour-man waits for an answer. Hour-ManTuesday, May 2, 1940 Appleton City Payphone near Rex Tyler's Apartment "Hour-Man!" Thomas Lytell said over the phone. "So the rumors were right; I am so glad to hear from you. Yes, this is something I need to talk to you about in person. Can you come to the store ...right now? Or do you only operate at night?" Thomas' pleading moved Rex to make an emergency trip downtown ((in costume, or plainclothes? By taxi, train, bus, or his Plymouth?))...
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Post by Adminenkainen on Mar 7, 2022 23:52:45 GMT
Captain DesmoSIX DAYS LATER Tuesday, May 2, 1940 Appleton City The apartment of Captain Desmo & Hobbs It was a relief to find Whispering Jack and Marie were both fine. Everyone Captain Desmo had contacted had been fine. Only Hop Harrigan was proving elusive to track down, but Hop was frequently flying all over the country so naturally it would be hard for anyone to pin his location down. Lacking an immediate threat, Captain Desmo & Hobbs found lodging. Hobbs got a part-time job to help with rent. So far, Hobbs had not once complained about the lack of adventure. To him, just exploring Appleton City was the adventure. It was hard for Captain Desmo to find a job; there weren't many places where you could wear goggles all the time. In their free time, they kept tabs on all of Captain Desmo's old friends. They all had phone numbers they could use to reach Captain Desmo. Though money was tight, they were considering hiring an answering service company to take messages for them. There was also the issue of the Sikorski. The R.A.F. plane was still sitting in a hangar at the airport, graciously provided on credit, but a bill that would come due soon. Should Desmo keep the plane longer, in case he needed it? Surrender it to the authorities? It was a tough call to make. Speaking of tough...it was driving Captain Desmo crazy that the attacks had not come yet. What was slowing the assassins down? Was this intentional, to drive him crazy? In a lot of Desmo's free time, he kept tabs on his friends by going along with them places. It was also helping him reconnect with his old friends. Today, he had an invitation from Marie to go together to Lytell's Department Store, downtown. Before agreeing, Captain Desmo touched base with Hobbs at his job ((any input on what that is?)). Captain Desmo arrived there ((via bus, train, taxi?)) and waited for Hobbs to have a free moment to talk to him. "I get off work at 5 and can check on Sister Maria and Jack again after I eat something. If you wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon with Marie, I have no problem with that." Hobbs put a hand on Captain Desmo's shoulder. "How are handling this? I know you're stressed, waiting for the shoe to drop, as it were..."
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Post by dtspurrier on Mar 8, 2022 22:33:08 GMT
Rex who lives in the outskirts drives downtown in his plain clothes with his costume underneath. He parks his plymouth in a public spot about a block away and finds a discrete place to change ( phone booth, ally, backseat of his car if need be). He then locks and exits the vehicle and hikes it to the store in costume. When he enters the store he will observe the store setup, the pricing and also how busy the store is. He will make a mental note of this and also try to avoid being cutoff by the citizens.
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Post by Tim_Fox1002 on Mar 9, 2022 1:24:40 GMT
Desmo managed to walk to Hobb's place of work because it was not that far from their apartment. Captain Desmo was quite surprised at Hobbs' job as a part-time secretary to a venerable Dr. Fenton Grussbaker, PhD at the Museum of Natural History. Dr. Grussbaker, who must have been in his late 70s, was a very distinguished bookish gentlemen who wore a 3 piece suit, glasses, and had a Darwinian long white flowing beard. He had proposed to Hobbs an extra job of butlering at his home a couple days a week when his nurse maid was out. And Hobbs was still considering this additional work, so Desmo thought he might keep the plane at the airport a little longer, and talk Hobbs into working the extra hours to get more money. The Dr. had written many books on dinosaurs and human evolution. He was an expert on Homo Neanderthals and Homo Erectus, and was exceedingly erudite about his knowledge - Hobbs said annoyingly so. Hobbs and Desmo had learned the word "erudite" from the Dr. the last time Desmo met him, and how the Dr. prattled on if he decided to engage you. Luckily he didn't today, and he could have a quick talk with Hobbs. Desmo agreed to the plan to meet after his work, and assured Hobbs he was fine although the rings under his eyes betrayed otherwise. Desmo then headed over to Lytell's by bus as a subway would have been a bad place to be what with a gang of assassins about! Marie wanted his help to get a present for his uncle-like pianist and radio personality friend Jack. It was Whispering Jack Smith's 50th birthday this coming weekend. Desmo would help pick up a nice new bowtie for his piano concerts and chip in a little if Marie would let him.
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Post by Adminenkainen on Mar 9, 2022 5:54:01 GMT
Rex who lives in the outskirts drives downtown in his plain clothes with his costume underneath. He parks his plymouth in a public spot about a block away and finds a discrete place to change ( phone booth, ally, backseat of his car if need be). He then locks and exits the vehicle and hikes it to the store in costume. When he enters the store he will observe the store setup, the pricing and also how busy the store is. He will make a mental note of this and also try to avoid being cutoff by the citizens. Hour-ManTuesday, May 2, 1940 Appleton City Lytell's Department Store People stopped shopping and talking and walking and turned to stare when Hour-Man strode through the front doors of the store. No one knew quite what to make of him; the name of Hour-Man was slowly becoming an urban legend in Appleton, but no one identified a costume with him. It was a spacious, four-story store with cavernous rooms with giant rotating fans over each giant room. The merchandise was largely high-end, a little pricey. When he identified himself to the staff, they nodded as if expecting him. He was led to Thomas Lytell's office right away, before crowds could gather around him. Thomas' office had books, a globe -- it was the room of a scholar. His hair was slicked back tight and his mustache was clipped immaculately thin. He wore pince-nez-style glasses. "Sit down," Thomas Lytell said, "I'll tell you the situation. I have had three visits from a representative of Bentley Wholesalers that have gone increasingly badly. He has gone from subtle innuendo to barely veiled threats. His last visit was two days ago and he warned me that if we do not make huge purchases from them that something unpleasant might happen to my store. I have told the police, but they refuse to do anything about it because I had no evidence. "I know I could have hired a more traditional service, like a private detective firm, but I heard the rumors of the Hour-Man and ...I want to take a chance on someone who can operate completely outside the system. Do you...have any experience with extortion rackets?"
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Post by Adminenkainen on Mar 9, 2022 6:17:59 GMT
Desmo managed to walk to Hobb's place of work because it was not that far from their apartment. Captain Desmo was quite surprised at Hobbs' job as a part-time secretary to a venerable Dr. Fenton Grussbaker, PhD at the Museum of Natural History. Dr. Grussbaker, who must have been in his late 70s, was a very distinguished bookish gentlemen who wore a 3 piece suit, glasses, and had a Darwinian long white flowing beard. He had proposed to Hobbs an extra job of butlering at his home a couple days a week when his nurse maid was out. And Hobbs was still considering this additional work, so Desmo thought he might keep the plane at the airport a little longer, and talk Hobbs into working the extra hours to get more money. The Dr. had written many books on dinosaurs and human evolution. He was an expert on Homo Neanderthals and Homo Erectus, and was exceedingly erudite about his knowledge - Hobbs said annoyingly so. Hobbs and Desmo had learned the word "erudite" from the Dr. the last time Desmo met him, and how the Dr. prattled on if he decided to engage you. Luckily he didn't today, and he could have a quick talk with Hobbs. Desmo agreed to the plan to meet after his work, and assured Hobbs he was fine although the rings under his eyes betrayed otherwise. Desmo then headed over to Lytell's by bus as a subway would have been a bad place to be what with a gang of assassins about! Marie wanted his help to get a present for his uncle-like pianist and radio personality friend Jack. It was Whispering Jack Smith's 50th birthday this coming weekend. Desmo would help pick up a nice new bowtie for his piano concerts and chip in a little if Marie would let him. Captain DesmoTuesday, May 2, 1940 Appleton City Lytell's Department Store It was a spacious, four-story store with cavernous rooms with giant rotating fans over each giant room. The merchandise was largely high-end, a little pricey. Bowties were going to be in the men's department. Marie, however, had been waffling about what to get Jack the whole ride there on the bus. "I don't know..." Marie said as they walked in. "Maybe I should get him something practical, like a shirt...or something we can both do, like a puzzle...or something just for him, like...cologne? Oh, Des, what should I do?" Captain Desmo was distracted by all the people whispering. He assumed at first they were whispering about him and his goggles, but then he overheard odd snatches of conversation. "Did you see how he was dressed?" "Who was that?" "That yellow cape-" "-masked man." Masked man? Was the store being robbed? But where? There was no sign of the thief...
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Post by Tim_Fox1002 on Mar 10, 2022 3:23:29 GMT
"Auntie Marie, hold on a sec," said Desmo trying to think of clever way not to alarm her. "I have a hunch about something that might be related to my mission, so I'd like to keep an eye on the door for a minute. You go on up to the Men's Department on the 3rd floor and I'll join you in about 10 minutes, ok?"
Captain Desmo pretended to browse, but was actually looking carefully at everyone on the 1st floor. He finally told the the greeter / guardman at the door that he had business with a masked man with the yellow cape. Desmo asked where he went, (and if necessary, claimed he was a friend of the masked vigilante and needed to speak to him). At this point, Desmo was so desperate for any leads - even if this caped man turned out to be one of the assassins himself!
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Post by dtspurrier on Mar 11, 2022 18:34:31 GMT
Hourman takes a seat in the owners office and listens to the owners story. He asks, " what did Bentley Wholesalers want you need to buy? This looks to be a specialty store so does this wholesaler buys what you sell? Did the representative leave you a business card or their name? I will also need the business address? Also any recent hiring of your store? If I have Other then that if I have questions and or get more evidence I will call you. I am not a detective agency so I do not charge or bill, fighting crime is my duty. Let me take a brief tour of your store as well."
During the meeting Hourman will see how the man's response to his questions and also try to psychological determine if he will feels upset and danger from this business ( checking the emotional response as well as honesty).
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Post by Adminenkainen on Mar 11, 2022 21:04:10 GMT
"Auntie Marie, hold on a sec," said Desmo trying to think of clever way not to alarm her. "I have a hunch about something that might be related to my mission, so I'd like to keep an eye on the door for a minute. You go on up to the Men's Department on the 3rd floor and I'll join you in about 10 minutes, ok?" Captain Desmo pretended to browse, but was actually looking carefully at everyone on the 1st floor. He finally told the the greeter / guardman at the door that he had business with a masked man with the yellow cape. Desmo asked where he went, (and if necessary, claimed he was a friend of the masked vigilante and needed to speak to him). At this point, Desmo was so desperate for any leads - even if this caped man turned out to be one of the assassins himself! Captain DesmoTuesday, May 2, 1940 Appleton City Lytell's Department Store The doorman was incredulous. "This is a respectable department store, sir, not a place for costume parties. Perhaps you should go in and get your friend and then leave..." Before Captain Desmo could respond further- BOOM!The building was rocked by an explosion! Other than things being shaken off their shelves, there seemed to be no damage down here - until Captain Desmo looked at the ceiling and noticed huge cracks - that kept cracking and getting worse...
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Post by Adminenkainen on Mar 11, 2022 21:14:26 GMT
Hourman takes a seat in the owners office and listens to the owners story. He asks, " what did Bentley Wholesalers want you need to buy? This looks to be a specialty store so does this wholesaler buys what you sell? Did the representative leave you a business card or their name? I will also need the business address? Also any recent hiring of your store? If I have Other then that if I have questions and or get more evidence I will call you. I am not a detective agency so I do not charge or bill, fighting crime is my duty. Let me take a brief tour of your store as well." During the meeting Hourman will see how the man's response to his questions and also try to psychological determine if he will feels upset and danger from this business ( checking the emotional response as well as honesty). Hour-ManTuesday, May 2, 1940 Appleton City Lytell's Department Store "Well..." Thomas Lytell said, "this is a department store, so it's practically the opposite of a specialty store. The suggestions made in conversation were for men's clothes, bedding, and women's furs, but the implication seemed to be that we were to order all our goods through this wholesaler, or else. He did leave me cards-" Thomas produced a business card, though one rather unprofessional-looking. It only had a name -- "Joe Smith" -- and a phone number -- "Bowling Green9-9971" -- typed on it from a regular typewriter. "Recent hires?" Thomas asked after it was brought up. "I'm not sure what that has to do with...but yes, a couple. Here, let me get their files..." He went to his desk and buzzed for his secretary. "Miss Plunket, would you bring in the personnel files for any employees hired in the last month?" While they were waiting- BOOM!The building was shook as if from an explosion! Where ever the explosion was centered, it was not near this office, as the room was undamaged.
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Post by dtspurrier on Mar 12, 2022 1:16:14 GMT
Hourman says "great scott what was that. If you have any emergency protocols you should initiate them. I am going to check it out what happened. Call the police and if possible get your employees and customer to a safe location." Hourman steps out of the office and heads where the explosion occurred.
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Post by Tim_Fox1002 on Mar 12, 2022 3:01:12 GMT
Captain Desmo's ears rang for an instant and he was sure that the explosion was none other than the insidious actions of the assassins - perhaps this masked man with the yellow cape. Seeing the impending disaster, he quickly got ahold of his senses. "Quick everyone out!" yelled Captain Desmo trying to look calm and authoritative. "The roof's going to collapse!" For what he thought was a while but was actually only a minute or two, he helped usher people trying to get out the doors in a mad panic. But then he suddenly thought of his Auntie Marie, and for an instant his heart stopped. Quickly, he pushed his way through the crowds, much like a strong and determined fish migrating upstream, and dashed for the escalators to take him up in the direction of the Men's Department on the third floor to rescue Marie.
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