Nighthawk

24

20th July 1958, Chicago, 11:14 AM

The two criminals and the detective set out to find their target. "Why don't you just kill Lex?" One of the criminals asked the detective. Erasmus spread his arms out, suddenly stopping them both. He stooped down, taking the miniscule clue and stood up, turning to the criminal, reaching out to him.

"Is this a piece of your brain?" He asked and then put his hand down. "What the hell do you think I've been trying to do for the past two days? If you really think that it is that easy, then please, be my guest." He turned around, hunting around for more useful clues.

"Alright, listen." The second criminal said. "If you were running from the law, where would you go? The police have probably closed the borders off, meaning that Chicago is now a prison. You can't skip states so the only reasonable decision would be to hide somewhere, but where?"

"How many abandoned buildings do we have here?" The first criminal asked.

"Not many." Erasmus answered. "The only ones that we have are multiple warehouses and other houses that are up for sale. We could try a warehouse or something like that."

"It's worth a shot."

They all walked further on, past a couple of smoking men in trench coats and fedoras. One of the men looked up and tapped his friend on the shoulder. The bounty hunters both proceeded to tail their suspects. Suddenly, there was a light ruffle in the breeze and Erasmus stopped, followed by both the gangsters. The detective turned around, seeing the bounty hunters pointing their guns at them. The two criminals and Erasmus drew their guns out and a firefight ensued. They all dived for cover and proceeded to fire bullets at each other. Erasmus spotted the two gangsters and gestured to them, shaking his head. They both nodded, understanding, and they all made a run for it. The bounty hunters pursued after them and turned a corner, quickly dashing their heads about. The street was empty, save for a small bunch of people going about their daily lives. The bounty hunters walked down the streets, searching for their targets. Meanwhile, Erasmus and the two gangsters found themselves standing in a giant warehouse, stacks upon stacks of wooden crates in front of their eyes. One of the criminals looked at him.

"That's the first time I've seen you smile." He said. "A small smile, but a smile nonetheless. What's up?"

"Lex could have hidden the cognac here. Of course, it would be the perfect place to hide something. Only she would know exactly where it is. It would take days to search through all of this."

"So you suggest that we go through all of this?"

"We've got time, don't we?" With nothing else left to say, Erasmus proceeded with opening the crates, searching through them. The two gangsters looked at each other and one of them shrugged to his partner. They then followed suit. Moments went by, and all they found were useless trinkets wrapped in hay. Suddenly, the doors opened up. Reacting, the detective and his two new companions hid.

"What the hell is going on with this city?" The man at the front of the group asked. "I mean, all of this chaos, all of this madness, for some cognac that no one can drink. Well, you can drink it, but it would just be a waste, don't you think?"

"Yes, indeed boss." One of the suited men replied. The boss was dressed in a sharp pinstripe suit and a fedora, a long overcoat draped around his shoulders, flowing like a cape. He had a fat face, and a fat nose to complete his look. But that did not make him all the less intimidating. The other men around him were all dressed in pinstripe suits and fedoras, also complete with trench coats and leather gloves. "But why are we also searching for it if that is the case?"

The boss stopped and turned to him. "Well, it would be nice to have that decanter on a shelf, don't you think? Let it sit there in all of its glory. And then, when there is a large celebration, say, the end of a war, or a marriage, then we can have a small toast."

"Very good."

Erasmus stood and held his hands up. Within seconds, the boss and his men all had their guns out and pointed their weapons at him. The two criminals also stood up, surrendering. "Please," Erasmus told him. "don't shoot."

"You have ten seconds to explain what you are doing here." The boss said.

"We accidentally overheard you talking about the cognac. Well, we can help you find it. I propose an alliance."

"An alliance, you say?"

"I was a detective in the past, and now I am just like you, a gangster. Well, with my brains of tracking things down and your ruthlessness as gangsters, this alliance could go well and we would be able to find the cognac in no time."

"And then what do you suggest we do when we find it?"

"We could set up an illegal auction and we would be able to rack up hundreds of thousands for it. We will split the money fairly and there will be more than enough for all of this. I doubt that the police would be able to tie us into this entire thing, so we would be fine."

One of the gangsters looked over to his boss. "I say we just shoot him, right here –"

"Did I ask for your opinion?!" He suddenly shouted at his henchman. The man did not say another word, even flinching at the sentence. After a small moment, the boss put his gun away and nodded to his men, who also put their guns away. Erasmus and the boss walked up to each other. "The name's Elden Gatewood."

"Erasmus Levitt."

Elden reached his hand out and Erasmus shook it, sealing his fate.