Chapter 5

The first night we were back in LA, we dressed in our new outfits and went looking for trouble. Our first stop was at the convenience store where we had met the four Sharks a few days earlier. We were wearing our full regalia, including the masks. A woman was behind the counter, and she said, "I know you. You are the wonderful people who kept my husband alive four days ago. Thank you so very much."

"How do you know us?" I asked with some trepidation.

"Oh, it's not because I can see through your outfits. You just have an aura about you that screams that you want to help anyone in trouble. Anybody who sees you will know that about you. That is something that you will never be able to hide.

"Actually, I am very glad to see you because Sharks have been walking by all day, and I am afraid that they will visit me tonight. This is the first day that I have seen so many of them, so that is why I am worried."

"Okay, we will hang around for a while to make sure that you are not bothered. By the way, we call ourselves Grey Ghosts. We will stop by again in a few days with a telephone number that you can use to send us a message if you are harassed by the Sharks.

"On another point, do you have any gray paint. I want to paint a mark over your door to signify that we are protecting you and your store. I want to emphasize to the Sharks and any other trouble makers that we will respond if they continue to bother you. Such harassment is certainly not good for business."

"I don't know if I do have any gray paint in the storeroom. Let me check. It will only take a minute."

She returned in a few minutes with a sad look. "No, I couldn't find any paint of any sort. I'll get some tomorrow and have somebody paint the door lintel gray. That should be enough to tell anybody that I have your protection. Oh, dear sir, you can't know how much I appreciate what you are doing for me."

"It is our pleasure to help. Oh, what is your name, if you please. I would like to know in case your name comes up in conversation."

"My name is Hazel Glueck, and my husband's name is Otto. As you can probably tell, we are from Germany. We have been citizens for just over seven years. Everything we own is sunk into this store, and we would have nothing if we lost it." With that, she started to cry, and Jenny grasped her in a hug while she cried herself out.

She was just about to run out of tears when four men in the Shark's tee-shirts came barging in. They ignored all three of us as they went over to the counter and banged on the bell to call for service. Hazel almost fainted when she saw the four men there. Jenny whispered something to her, and she straightened up to go to talk to the man pounding on the bell.

"I know that you are Sharks from you shirts. Are you here to buy something, or are you here to make trouble?"

"That depends on you, Old Woman. We are here to collect your protection tax. I hope you have it ready with a 20% penalty for not paying up four days ago. Give me the money, and we will leave. Otherwise, you are in a world of trouble."

That was when I spoke up. "Oh, no, you have it wrong. It is you who are in trouble. My partner and I are the Gray Ghosts, and this store is under our protection. Now get out before we teach you some manners."

"Bullshit, you Halloween freak. You are the one in trouble. Shorty, you and Zeke take the other one. This one belongs to Sam and me." The group split up and two men moved toward Jenny. The other pair moved toward me. I was too near a display rack, so I moved toward the pair headed my way. That seemed to surprise them. Both men brandished wicked looking knives, and I would have been frightened of them if it were not for my skin's protection.

When I got close enough, I lashed out with both of my hands and chopped on each wrist holding a knife. As usual, bones shattered, and there were screams of pain. I grabbed each one under the chin, but was careful not to choke them. Both were held a few inches off the floor. These guys were tough. Both of them tried to kick me in the crotch. They failed largely because they got in each other's way.

I held them for a few seconds until I was sure of my balance. At that point, I kicked each one in the knee hard enough to shatter the joint. I placed them back on the floor, and, of course, neither one could stand. I let them fall to the floor and said, "That's all I'm going to do to you two today, but I will crush your balls if I ever see either one of you again. Now, make sure that your gang knows that this store is under the protection of the Gray Ghosts, and we will not tolerate any further harassment of the owners or anyone else who works here. Do you understand me?"

Neither one of the thugs answered me, so I kicked each one hard enough in the hip to break that joint, too. "Now do you understand me?"

That produced a groaned "yes" from each one, so I picked them up one at a time and threw them out into the street. Any car coming by was going to have to be careful not to run over them.

Meanwhile, Jenny had done similar damage to the two men who had approached her with harmful intent. She had said the same thing to them, and they, too, were pitched into the street.

Mrs. Glueck was standing there looking at us with complete awe. "Thank you so very much for protecting me. I don't know what I would have done if you had not been here. You can be sure that the lintel will be painted tomorrow. I hope to see you again soon under more pleasant circumstances. Thank you, again."

We bid her goodby and headed out to look for more trouble. I don't know if I could say it didn't take us long to find it or should I say the opposite. We just didn't have much data on the crime rate in this area. In this case, it was a simple mugging, if one can say that about a situation so frightening to the victim.

An elderly woman was walking along using her walker to help her manage her steps. Two young men stepped from an alley and accosted her. She was obviously frightened from the moment the two men appeared, and she had every reason to be scared. Her purse was hanging from the crossbar of her walker with the carrying strap snagged on the lever used to release the right side piece for folding. One of the men pushed her to the ground while the other man untangled the purse from the walker. He went tearing through her purse, throwing to the ground anything that he was not interested in.

This is where we came in. We saw enough to know immediately that a mugging was in progress and we started running toward the scene. We can run at 40 MPH, so it took us less than a minute to arrive. It happened that I was closer to the man going through the purse, so I took him and Jenny took the other guy. He had just pulled the woman's billfold from her purse when I hit the thug in the side with my shoulder. I hit him so hard that I could hear his ribs crack from the impact.

He literally went flying through the air for about 12-15 feet and landed on the sidewalk in such a twisted way that his neck was broken in the process. I looked at him and sneered—what can I say? Any able bodied man who would attack a disabled woman more than twice his age deserved whatever unpleasant happened to him.

I picked up the billfold where it was lying in the gutter and dropped it back into the woman's purse. I picked up the other stuff that was scattered about and also dropped it in with the billfold. When that was finished, I tipped the walker back to its upright position and reattached the purse.

Meanwhile, Jenny had taken care of the other mugger. He was dead, too. She had helped the woman to a sitting position and made sure that she was not seriously injured. When the walker was back in its useful position, Jenny helped the woman to her feet, and I pushed the walker to within reach.