The Sleuth's Apprentice

The Sleuth's Apprentice - Part 1 of 17

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The Sleuth's Apprentice - Part 1 of 17
Superboy, Superman, Batman and Robin are Copyrighted and owned by DC Comics.

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The Sleuth's Apprentice
A Superboy Jamie story

Creation date: Nov. 1, 2005, Edit completion date: Dec. 27, 2005.
Nanowrimo 2005 winning story submission



The Sleuth's Apprentice

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
-1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)


Carnaville, June 3, 2:07PM.

The sun was burning high overhead as both lanes of the highway filled up with cars. The exodus from the city was swift and sudden; only the day before had the coming of a major hurricane been announced in the media. With recent hurricane events being so frequent, dangerous, and even deadly, the residents of this sleepy town decided not to take their chances, and to flee from the destruction of a category-5 hurricane.

All the streets in the city and in the neighborhoods were empty. The entire town had been deserted. A few people decided to stay and hunker down, hoping to ride out the storm and to make it through alive. They had stocked up on bottled water, batteries, flashlights, canned food, and kitchen supplies. The local news was full of hurricane news, while the cable service of other channels and stations had been disconnected. For most residents, the threat of a hurricane was great and needed to be taken seriously.

The word all over the news was to evacuate, and to take measures to save lives and protect property. People had bought sheets of plywood to board up the windows of their homes. They had taken down any loose items from the yards, and they had shut all the doors and windows to their homes. This wasn't just any little storm. This was a hurricane, and a category five was the worst kind. Nobody had ever pondered the possibility that the hurricane warnings, which had been shown over and over again on the media, could have been part of a man-made scheme to commit the largest robbery in history.

With dark clouds looming overhead, the empty streets were the only indicators that the town had been abandoned. The power had been cut off hours before, there was no telephone or Internet service that was working in the city, and all gas stations had run out of fuel. Everyone was gone. There were dark clouds overhead, which were used to provide visual evidence of the oncoming storm. With a year of having at least three strikes in the state, by oncoming hurricanes, it didn't take much effort on the media's part to stir up enough panic in the news, to get all the residents to flee. The city had been deserted. The lights were out all over town.

Suddenly, out of one of the highway exits, a series of buses pulled into the city. The bus drivers were all masked or hooded. They drove their buses to specific pre-determined locations within the city, with only one objective in mind: To rob, to take, to grab, and to steal anything of value. The greatest heist ever was about to take place within the city limits of Carnaville, and there was nobody around to stop it.

One bus pulled up and parked right before the large display window of a well-known jewelry store. The masked driver got off the bus, holding a gun in his hand. He stood before the display case, studying the display, which contained numerous rings, necklaces, watches, and other kinds of jewelry. Then, he raised his arm, pointing the gun at the window, and fired a single shot, which caused the large, glass window the crack. With one swift kick, the entire window came crashing down and breaking up into a stream of small glass fragments. To the man, it didn't matter. He wore thick, black gloves and he was holding a large, long bag which was made of a sturdy fabric. The man reached in and grabbed each item that was in the display case, tossing it in the bag. Then, he stepped up into the display, and walked into the store itself.

Using his gun once again and again, he shot his way through all the display cases which were positioned throughout the store, emptying out each one, while filling his bag with the precious jewels which had been stored in them. The heist was quick and complete. The store was left behind as completely empty, with nothing but shattered glass to show that valuable items were once there. There was no power, no alarm, and no police. The city was abandoned. Everyone was gone. The masked man grinned, when he examined the contents of his bag. This was only the beginning, and there was a lot more work to be done.

Several blocks away, other buses had parked at key locations throughout the city. One was positioned in front of the large Central Bank. He used a long, metal bar to smash his way through all the glass and the closed doors. Again, there was complete silence. There was nothing there to indicate that a vicious robbery was about to be committed.

Carrying a large, empty bag, the man made his way to the vault and unlocked it. He opened the vault, and grabbed a fistful of one-hundred Dollar bills, neatly wrapped in counted packets. He didn't care how much money there was. He wanted all of it. Grab now, count later. Within minutes, he had filled up his bag. He turned around and ran out the door, hauling the large back over his right shoulder. He left behind a vault which was completely empty. All the cash was gone.

One bus pulled up in front of a bank, which had been a familiar part of the driver's life. The bus driver was a seventeen years old, and he wore a ski mask over his head. Holding on to a hunting rifle, he hopped off the bus and stood before the glass doors of the bank. Without hesitation, he aimed his rifle and fired several shots, shattering all the glass doors and windows. The noise didn't matter to him, for he knew that the power was gone and that all the police officers had left town. After all, the people of the city had evacuated, so they could get out of the way of this deadly hurricane. It was a perfect hoax.

The young man knew his way around the bank. After all, he had grown up visiting the bank often, because his own father had been working there from the time he was born. He knew the way to the vault and he was well aware of the combination, to unlock the door to the safe. Once he got the door open, he quickly stashed all the money, which had been neatly packed into the vault, and had carelessly tossed them into the large, white bag.

He had filled the bag and emptied the vault. Mission accomplished. Suddenly, he heard a sound. Was there someone else in the building?

When he turned around, he saw a man standing before him, wearing a suit and tie. He was dressed up in a business suit, and he had a gun in his hand.

'Drop it, or else I'll shoot!' the man said angrily.

The robber just stared at him and smiled.

'You can't shoot me'' he said, in a chilling voice, which sounded all too familiar to the man in the business suit.

'Oh my God'' the man whispered.

The robber set the bag down and removed the ski mask from his head, revealing his face. The young man had green eyes and wavy, light brown hair. To the banker, the man standing before him just looked all too familiar. The man lowered his gun.

'Michael' my son' Where have you been for the last two weeks?' the man said, in a shivering voice. He was so happy to see his son, who had apparently run away from home. On the other hand, the banker was so shocked to see that his bank was being robbed by his own son.

'I'm not your son anymore!' the boy shouted back. 'I work for Master Wancho now. This money will be divided up among all of us!'

'What are you talking about?' the banker shouted. 'That's not your money! That belongs to the investors and the clients of this bank, and to all the account holders. That isn't your money to begin with, nor is it mine! Put it back' NOW!'

'Not in your life, dad'.' The boy replied slowly.

The boy then swung the large, white bag over the shoulder and slowly began to walk out the front door of the bank.

'What are you doing here, anyway?' he said to his father. 'Why haven't you evacuated? There is a huge hurricane coming this way!'

'It's a lie! It's all been one big lie! There is no hurricane!' he said to his son.

'Brilliant, dad''

The boy continued to walk through the shattered, glass doors of the bank.

'All those years of school' Is this it? Did I spend all those years raising a thief?' he shouted.

The boy continued to walk towards the bus, ignoring the words from his dad.

'What happened to you? Where have you been? You can't do this! You can't come in here and rob your father's bank!' he cried out.

The boy just kept on walking.

'Don't walk out of here with that money! Those are the assets of the bank' Of my bank! One more step, and I'll shoot!'

The boy continued to walk towards the bus, which was parked out front.

The banker continued to aim the gun at the back of the man who had just finished robbing the bank. His finger pressed against the trigger. He had closed his eye and his aim would ensure one direct hit. But no, he couldn't pull the trigger. The man who he was about to shoot in the back, was his one and only son.

He started to sink to the ground. Is this what has happened to his son? Had he joined the underworld, since his disappearance? All the years of schooling' and this was it? He came to the realization that he had spent the last seventeen years of his life, raising a kid who would end up as a cold-hearted bank robber'.

The banker ran towards his car, and started the engine as soon as he hopped in the blue sedan. He headed for the highway, hoping to get far enough out of the city, that he could still use his cell phone and be within the range of a relay tower, so that he could make a phone call.

After driving for ten minutes, he pulled off the side of the road, and dialed a number on his cell phone. He knew the man who was the Commissioner of Police of Carnaville, and he had to do whatever it takes, to get a hold of him.

'Yes' Is this Commissioner Sherwood? This is John Stevens, from the Carnaville Central Bank. The hurricane has been nothing but a hoax, fabricated by the media and used by thugs to commit hideous robberies around the city during an evacuation. It's one big lie! Come back to the city! We're being robbed by our own kids!'

'What? What are you talking about? Was your bank robbed today? Didn't you evacuate?' the Commissioner asked him.

'No, I decided to stay behind. I got robbed by a kid wearing a ski mask. When I confronted him, he removed his mask. It was Michael, my own son!'

'How is that possible? Didn't your son run away, just over two weeks ago?'

'He's working for Wancho now' He came to my bank, and''

Suddenly, there was a noise, which came from the distance. It was the sound of something large, heavy and mechanical, which was coming towards the man, who had pulled over by the side of the small highway.

'John? Are you there? John?' the voice on the cell phone asked.

The banker looked up and he could only see two bright lights, which were coming from a large, metallic object. This metallic creature was coming towards him at a rapid pace!

'John! What is happening over there? Where are you? Come in, John! Answer me!'

The banker only gasped out loud, when he caught a glimpse of what was coming at him. It was large and silver. It was over nine feet tall. It resembled some sort of giant robot, and it was coming straight towards the banker's car. The man frantically tried to open the driver's side door to his car so he could get out and run away, but it was too late. The large, metallic monster delivered a crushing blow to the car, by firing a missile at it. Within seconds, the car was engulfed in a sea of flames, and the man was killed instantly. The Commissioner, who was on the receiving end of the cell phone call, could only wonder in shock and disbelief, what had happened to the man, who had spoken his last words to him over the cell phone'

'Something weird is going on here'' Commissioner Sam Sherwood said to the officer, who was sitting in the police car next to him. 'We're supposed to be sitting here and wait for a hurricane to pass''

'It was all over the news, sir'' the officer replied.

'This has been a horrible week. Last week, the bus company closed, leaving people stranded throughout the city. Then, the radio stations went off the air. And now this hurricane came, which supposedly was going to make a direct his at our city. And now, this' How is it possible, that we could have been tricked in such a big way?'

'Tricked?' the officer asked him.

The Commissioner took the microphone in his hand and pressed on the 'Talk' button.

'All units, this is the Commissioner' Head back to the city, immediately! I repeat, head back to the city and report to your district on the double. Patrol the area that you were patrolling, before the evacuation orders were given by the mayor. If you see anything or anyone that may seem suspicious, then you are authorized to open fire! This is not a drill, I repeat: Return to your region and patrol the area. We have reason to believe that the hurricane is nothing but a hoax, used to get us to issue an evacuation. There have been several robberies throughout the city. Be on the lookout! I repeat''

Hours had passed by, and the people of Carnaville had slowly begun the return to their beleaguered city. They all came to realize, however, that the big menace wasn't a hurricane at all. It was a gang of thieves, who had somehow devised a master plan to commit the greatest robbery the city has ever faced.

When people checked their homes and businesses, they found that everything had been smashed, broken into, and stolen from there. Jewelry stores were empty, banks had been stripped of all the cash, which they had stored in their vaults and many large homes of the rich and wealthy had been robbed as well. The hurricane ended up being nothing more than a hoax, a trick, and a trap. People began to wonder what, or who, could have taken control of the media, the utilities, and the public transportation system in the city, in order to pull off such a large-scale operation?

The Commissioner drove around the downtown area of the city, stopping at every scene where it appears that there had been some kind of looting going on. The power was still gone, there was no telephone service, and people were looking on at hopelessness and disgust, upon seeing the complete destruction which had been left behind by these ruthless robbers.

'What are we going to do, sir?' the young police officer asked the Commissioner.

'We need to get help, and fast. I need to place a few phone calls. We're going to need the best detectives that we can find, so that we can find out what on earth has happened here. This is unbelievable''

The Commissioner took the cell phone in his hand a dialed the number of some of his colleagues in Gotham City. He needed all the help he could get.

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