Episode 081 Previous Episode	Next Episode
Stickin’ it to the man Crimson Rose Current Occupation – Vigilante Martial Art – Shaolin Kung Fu, Krav Maga, Tricking Weapon of Choice – Rapier, paired tonfa, assortment of miscellaneous gadgets Marilyn stared fearfully at Everett as her feet dangled over the edge of the building, the pavement two stories down. She was still, holding his arms as she tried to make herself as light as possible. Next to Everett, Ledger shifted, staring at Marilyn in the Crimson Rose outfit as if he was staring at an Escher painting. “Huh,” he finally pronounced, sticking his tongue absently against his left cheek. Slowly, Everett stepped back, drawing Marilyn over the side of the building. Once he put her feet on the solid tar texture of the roof, she pushed away from him, still terrified. “Marilyn,” he said, as if the name was alien to him. “You’re the Crimson Rose?” She tried uncomfortably to smile. “The Crimson Rose,” Everett stated absently, trying to wrap his mind around what he was dealing with, “is you. You’re the Crimson Rose.” Ledger turned to Everett, confused by his confusion. “The Crimson Rose is you,” Everett repeated, his voice getting louder. “You’re the Crimson Rose.” In a flash, Everett grabbed Marilyn by the shoulders, startling her. “Do you have any idea who you are!” he screamed, shaking her violently. “Aiight boy, calm down,” Ledger said, putting his hands on Everett’s arms, disengaging him from Marilyn. Everett’s arms dropped along with his jaw. His entire brain came skidding to a halt as he stared at Marilyn, completely at a loss. “You…” he whimpered in defeat. “Okay, Ev,” Ledger said, unable to get his friend to even turn to him. “Look, I’m as shocked and…shocked as you are by this little turn of events, but there’re still a bunch of cops on the street who want to arrest the Rose and, well, probably us for collusion or interfering in a police investigation or something else that sounds a lot less scary when it’s said by Denny Crane.” “You…” Everett said, still staring at Marilyn. Ledger looked at her and sighed. He grabbed Everett by his shoulders and tuned him to face him. Ledger stared at Everett for a moment, then slapped him. The blow nearly knocked him over, the impact startling Marilyn. “Now wake up,” he barked. Everett shook off the blow, working his jaw. “Thanks, buddy,” he said. He looked back at Marilyn. “Alright. What in the world possessed you to do this?” “Are you kidding?” Marilyn asked. “Yeah, man,” Ledger agreed. “It really was a matter of time before she did something stupid like this.” “Stupid?” she exclaimed defiantly to Ledger. “Yeah, stupid,” he repeated to her. “Marilyn,” Everett said, “I never would have thought that you would go so far as to…” A bright light shown over the edge of the building. “This is the police,” called a magnified voice along with the light. “Aw, hell,” Ledger cursed. He tossed the Crimson Rose helmet back to Marilyn and she slipped it on as Everett rushed to the ledge, glancing quickly and subtly over the side. “What’ve we got?” Ledger asked. “Two squad cars down there,” Everett said, coming back to join them. “I’m guessing at least two more surrounding this block of buildings.” He turned to survey the assorted buildings that were densely packed against one another. As he did, Ledger took off his jacket, then the dark blue shirt beneath. He wrapped the shirt over his head. “What do you think? Split up?” he asked. “No,” Ledger said, tying the shirt into a ninja-like mask. “I say we stay together. Let me take point and you bring up the rear.” He slid his jacket back on over his thin, but muscled frame. “And cover your face, man.” Everett pulled his undershirt collar up over his nose and began to button his trench coat. “Don’t give them anything that’s too easy to identity,” he reminded Ledger. He walked towards the fire escape and glanced down to see two cops waiting. “This place can’t be surrounded.” “I know how to get away,” Marilyn spoke up, her voice modified by her mask. “There is nowhere for you to run,” the middle-aged cop said into the blow horn, reading off a small, laminated sheet of paper. He looked across the car’s roof to his partner as he watched the edge of the building with his standard-issue pistol. “If this is another punk, I say we roll him and…” “Look out!” his partner shouted. The officer looked up to see a hail of waded-up, white pieces of paper come flying over the side of the building. The officers ducked behind their doors as the paper hit the pavement, causing a cascade of explosions and flashes of light. “We’re under fire!” yelled the cop, diving into the car with his partner. As the two pairs of cops leapt into their cars for cover from the firecrackers, the Crimson Rose sailed down from the rooftop. Landing with the aid of a suspension wire, she yanked on it once as the minor explosions subsided. The wire unraveled and coiled onto a spool in her belt. She turned as the cops looked and went running straight towards them. The four got out of their cars, but not before the Rose leapt up onto the hood and went running over the vehicle. Landing in the middle of the street, the flashing lights of the squad cars behind her, she ran into the farthest alley, disappearing into the night. The sound of small explosions, almost like gunshots, caused the two cops at the fire escape to turn. With their pistols drawn, they started towards the edge of the alleyway, towards the two waiting squad cars in the center of the block. With their attention turned, neither officer saw Everett leap over the side of the building onto the fire escape and slide down the metal ladder. Dropping the last ten feet, he landed in a crouch, his hand by his side. He readied to draw his sword defensively, only to find it missing. Whispering an angry curse under his breath, he dashed down the other side of the alley. “Central!” yelled the lead cop of the four by the two squad cars on the far side of the city block. “We are hearing explosions. It sounds like gunfire. We think maybe officers…” Ledger leapt over the side of the building. The four cops all looked up, too astonished to move. He dropped over the side and caught himself on the flagpole just a few feet down from the ledge. Remaining there for less than a breath, he swung his feet out, using their momentum to hurl him over towards the tall, striped awning that extended over half the block. He landed with a bounce and let himself be rolled out to the edge before sliding over the side, catching himself to dangle just a few feet over the street. He dropped down and turned to the cops with a dramatic pose, his hands held out like angel wings. The four cops stared, all in awe. “Cabious,” he called. “Tonoriosiavas.” The four cops fell over, unconscious before they hit the ground. Ledger was still. He glanced around the street, seeing no one else. He glanced into the cars, seeing the security cameras that were monitoring the cops. Ledger stared at the fallen policemen with worry and glanced over his shoulder to make sure he was alone. Cautiously, mindful of the security cameras built into the dashboards, he approached the closest of the four officers. The man had fallen where he stood, his hand still clutching his pistol. He was completely still. As Ledger approached, the man rolled over onto his back. Ledger froze, but the officer sniffed absently and scratched his chest as he began to snore. “He’s asleep,” Ledger connected. He looked at the four cops. “It really worked.” Worry hit him like a freight train. “How the hell did that work?” He looked behind him again, checking the alley. The police voices coming over the cops’ radios got his attention. Ledger checked around him one last time and began for the nearest alley, disappearing into the darkness within.
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