Ghostwriter

Chapter 18

Red Hood glares down at the drug shipment before him. Lotions in small bottles and pills in baggies, both labelled "Compliance", clump together in large boxes. Light reflects off the water of the docks and dances on top of Transfuses' logo, a white circle with a green leaf inside (purity or whatever). Darkness hides everything else, including his perch on top of a neighboring ship.

Shipments have been coming in for a while now. He blew up the first one, burned the second, and dumped the third into the toxic waste dump.

Once Barbara found out, she insisted that he when sacked the next one he should steal samples and take them to the tower for analyzing. She's right, it is probably connected to the Transfuse case, but Jason still thinks that it's best to destroy whatever it is before it gets out onto the streets.

Goons guard the area, armed with various guns and knifes. No problem. What could pose a problem, on the other hand, are the two hired guards dressed like green ninjas with swords strapped to their backs. Not the League, but they move with the kind of liquid grace only training brings.

Red Hood slides his gun out of the clip and jams the silencer on top. He waits until some unsuspecting idiots stumble near, then jumps down on top of guy one. The man's head slams into the pavement, and he's out cold. Jason swipes the feet out from the other and shoots him. The gun makes no sound, and neither does the Red Hood.

He creeps towards the shipment, using the shadows to his advantage. The large red and blue metal crates stack high on either side of him, giving him plenty of coverage.

Red Hood ducks to avoid the beam of a flashlight. The light hovers in the area for a second or two, then moves left, right, up, and down. Jason rolls out of the way each time.

"Do you think the Hood'll show?" A young voice. Late teen.

"Maybe. I hear he's been going heavy on Black Mask for a while now." Older, gruffer, sterner.

"Yeah, but not on all the shipments, right?"

Oh, he's hit on all the shipments, alright.

"You new or something?"

"Y-yeah."

"Grow a pair and move on, then."

They pass. Dark eyes flash through Red Hood's mind, and he figures that he'll give the kid a scare, but he won't kill him. The kid has probably just hit a rough patch in life. The kid'll be young, inexperienced, easily scared off. Maybe Red Hood will dig up answers involving the next shipment from the kid, but likelihood has it that the newbie doesn't know anything.

Red Hood darts around the other shipments and sneaks towards Transfuse's ship. He dodges the light and slips past several more guards. One of the two special guards watch over the entrance. Hired hands pour in and out of the ship, sweating under the weight of the wooden crates that they carry. The other green guy sits on top of the truck that's being loaded.

Red Hood looks for an alternate entrance into the ship, but finds none that won't be just as exposed as the main one.

So, he cocks his gun and charges.

4 goons go down before people start to react. Both ninja-wanna-bes leap towards him. Their swords gleam in the artificial light. The goons scatter.

Red Hood shoots the first ninja in the knee. The second goes in for a high kick. Red Hood ducks. He swipes the feet out from under the green guy. The ninja flips to avoid face-planting. The first one swipes at him with his sword, leaning on his good leg.