Patriot City Nights - part 3
by Law2

"What is this you say?" asked El Diablo. "You laughed in my face and made me feel like the tonto you had me thinking that I was loco. Now you tell me that you knew I was right all the time. You have some serious splaining to do senor! Percy Smith might not be the only one to burn tonight." El Diablo raised a flaming fist. Detective O'Brien reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a cigar. He bit off the end, spat it out, and lit the cigar on the burning fist of El Diablo.

"Thanks for the light kid."

Rage swelled in El Diablo like floodwaters. He had been patient and respectful towards Detective O'Brien and received ridicule and humiliation in return. He could take no more. The time for words and diplomacy had passed; it was time for action, quick and decisive.

He still had a flaming fist close to Detective O'Brien's face. He knew it wouldn't take much effort to swiftly punch him in the mouth. El Diablo swung in a hooking motion. He was surprised that he missed. Detective O'Brien had dodged the blow as if he knew it was coming. Before El Diablo could reset he was caught with a blow to the left kidney followed by a knee below the belt that made him wince in pain and forced him to drop to his knees. He then felt the pressure from the barrel of Detective O'Brien's revolver against his head and the sound of the hammer pulling back.

"Stop!" yelled Alche-Miss, "Please don't kill him."

"Then maybe you should teach him to respect the law. " Detective O'Brien lifted his revolver.

"Are you okay El Diablo?" asked Alche-Miss. As El Diablo got back to his feet thoughts of getting back at Detective O'Brien flooded his mind.

"Respect," said El Diablo. "How about you put away your gun and earn some respect mano a mano?" He stood face to face with Detective O'Brien and made sure he was close enough so that their noses almost touched.

"That suits me just fine. It's been a long time since I've had me a good brawl. I dropped you once and I would be happy to do it again!"

"It was a lucky punch!"

"You really think so? I bet..."

Before Detective O'Brien could finish Alche-Miss and Liberty Lad intervened. Alche-Miss got between El Diablo and Detective O'Brien. She grabbed El Diablo and pulled him away, Liberty Lad did the same with Detective O'Brien.

"Have you two lost your minds?" said Alche-Miss, "We've got a murder to solve and Pan could be loose again. Ah don't know what happened in that crime scene alley, but you two better put it aside or both of you will answer to me! Is that clear?" Alche-Miss was looking in El Diablo's eyes. He knew she wanted an answer, but he was in no mood to give one. Instead he willingly backed down.

"We should check on the guys that Detective O'Brien shot on top of the buildings," said Liberty Lad.

"I doubt they're alive," said Detective O'Brien while raising his revolver. "This here is a Model Twenty Nine, Forty Four Magnum. The most powerful handgun ever made; best investment I ever made. Saved my arse more times than I can count. "

"Keen," said Liberty Lad. Detective O'Brien tossed the gun to the excited youngster. Liberty Lad caught the weapon and began playing with it.

"Can you check on the men on those buildings El Diablo?" asked Alche-Miss. Without answering, El Diablo took flight and headed for the location of the gunmen.

There were four bodies, two on one rooftop and two on another. From the air they appeared lifeless. El Diablo landed on one rooftop for a closer look. The bodies lay in a pool of blood and the guns were close by. El Diablo despised Detective O'Brien. However, looking at the dead gunmen made him realize that Detective O'Brien may have saved his life.

The scene on the next building was nearly the same as the previous. The two gunmen lay lifeless on the rooftop. However, El Diablo felt a slight pulse on one of the men. He leaned towards the man's mouth and heard shallow breathing.

"Get an Ambulance!" he yelled. "One of these men is still alive!" He lifted the injured man and flew him back to the others.

"That's the best I can do for him," said Alche-Miss, "I can keep him in purgatory until an ambulance arrives. His condition should remain the same."

"It'll have to do," said Detective O'Brien, "We need to find out how we got ambushed."

"Being ambushed isn't the only explanation we need right now," said El Diablo, "You still have to tell why you now claim that Percy Smith was murdered." He was anxious to hear Detective O'Brien explanation.

"Aye, I knew it was murder shortly after I arrived at the crime scene. I was called in about an hour or so after the body of Percy Smith was discovered. When I arrived and got a good look at the area I noticed that there were no signs of a struggle."

"A struggle?" said Liberty Lad, "he committed suicide. Why would there be a struggle?"

"Let him finish," said El Diablo.

"I've never lit my whole hide on fire, but I've been burned a few times by touching something hot and even had me clothes on fire a couple o' times; and every time I moved non-voluntarily. Percy Smith was propped up against a wall as if he had just sat there, lit himself on fire, and continued to sit there. Then there was that phony suicide letter. I checked up on Percy Smith and it turned out he had quite a rap sheet and that according to records he couldn't read or write too much beyond his own name. I knew then that I was gonna need myself a little non-union help. So I called Minute Man and he suggested that I call you kids."

"What are you saying?" asked Alche-Miss.

"Wait a minute," said Liberty Lad, "the man-bull is starting to come to."

"Do you think you can put him purgatory too?," asked El Diablo.

"You got it sugah." Alche-Miss proceeded to place the beast in a purgatory field. The body of the beast was lifted off the ground and he was suspended in mid air. The purgatory field caused him to phase in and out of sight.

"Is there anyway you can make it so that we can still talk to him?"

"Ah can try, but maintaining it is going to be hard especially since ah'm keeping the other guy in purgatory as well." El Diablo watched as the beast stirred to consciousness.

"Where is Pan?," he asked.

"I don't what you're talking about chico." said the beast, "I am El Toro."

"Do not lie to me. You are one of the man-bulls of Pan."

"Unless Pan spoke Spanish," said Detective O'Brien, "I don't think he's lying."

"Alright then," said El Diablo, "if you are not one of Pan's man-bulls then where do you come from."

El Toro laughed.

"I was created by Freedom Force."

To be continued...