Chapter 6

"Beelzebub, I have called you and Tezcatlipoca here to discuss the problem you are having with the two human superheroes. Tezcatlipoca has been very successful with his escapades, but you are starting to lose influence on events as they become better acquainted with the situation. Therefore, Beelzebub, I want you and Tezcatlipoca to cooperate on getting rid of these troublesome creatures."

"Yes, Dread Lord Satan, we will work together to further Your designs. You may depend on us!"

"Very well, Beelzebub, I will take you at your word, but I expect to see results in the near future! You two are dismissed."

The two demi-devils discussed the problems posed by Fire Bringer and Shadow. Each one proposed plan after plan for dealing with their adversaries which the other was able to poke numerous holes through. Finally, they agreed that the best way for them to attack their problem was head-on. They would lure the two superheroes into a position where the two demi-devils could be confident of winning a frontal attack.

Meanwhile, Shadow and Fire Bringer were diligently at work getting rid of the lower level politicians that they had sworn to displace. Shadow and Fire Bringer had to laugh at six of the politicians who had become so jealous or irate at each other that they had fought duels to the death of one or both of the politicians. They both wished that they could get the other politicians to do the same thing, but most were so cowardly that there was no chance of that happening. However, on three occasions, one politician had another assassinated, so that was just as good.

In most cases, they just had to do the hard work of finding ways to entice the politicians to resign, and that was impossible to do for most of the crooks. Most of them had no pride in themselves, so they could not be shamed into leaving office. It looked like a long, hard road to clean up Texas politics and return it to the state of mild anarchy and corruption that had existed before Satan had taken a direct interest in Texas politics. And they still had 12 more states to try to clean up after they had finished with Texas. Something had to be done to move the process along at a faster clip!

At present, the only easy way to get rid of the crooked politicians was to kill them, and Shadow and Fire Bringer were reluctant to do that. However, most of these politicians had caused enough misery and pain that they certainly warranted killing. Shadow and Fire Bringer were reluctant to set themselves up as the ultimate judge and jury, but, in some cases, it looked like they would have to.

A minor case in point was Bubba Simpkins, the probate judge in Morris County. Bubba actually took pleasure in finding ways to cheat widows and children out of their inheritances by playing games with the law when it came time to probate a will. Usually, Bubba would "tax" an inheritance until it was a mere pittance of its original value. He pocketed the "tax," except for a small percentage which he sent on up the line to his political patrons. Several of his victims, widows who had no means of earning a living, committed suicide when they found out what they were actually going to get from their husband's estate. Children were dumped on the street, destitute and unable to care for themselves.

Fire Bringer heard of the sins of Bubba Simpkins and nearly exploded in indignation. He was so mad that Shadow had to use all of her wiles to calm him down. She pointed out that Fire Bringer could do more harm than good if he simply killed Bubba out of hand. They had to find a way to make Bubba's death look accidental.

The opportunity arose when Bubba decided to take a vacation in a cabin he kept in the woods. His "vacations" usually took on the form of "inviting" some very young girls, 10-14 years old, whom he had forced into poverty, to join him at his retreat with the promise of money. After the "vacation," the girls just disappeared.

On the next such occasion of Bubba taking a vacation, Fire Bringer showed up before the girl arrived and whisked her away to the Flying M Orphanage. When Bubba showed up and the girl was nowhere to be found, Bubba swore dire vengeance on the girl for frustrating his fun. Bubba was about to return home in annoyance when Fire Bringer showed up with fire in his own eye.

Fire Bringer forced Bubba to sit in a chair and fastened his wrists and ankles to the chair with the kind of TKed bonds that could never be broken. Otherwise, Bubba was free to move around as much as he liked. Fire Bringer explained to Bubba what was about to happen to him and why it was happening. Bubba was surprised that anyone could have the temerity to question his actions; he believed that he was personally beyond having to answer for his deeds.

Fire Bringer started a small fire in the rug in front of Bubba and let it burn toward the seated man. The fire crept up Bubba's pants legs and caught the rest of his clothes, which proceeded to burn off his body. Bubba was painfully burned by the ordeal, but not dead, yet. The fire was then spread to surround Bubba in his chair, but not to actually touch him. The heat was slowly raised until Bubba's skin began to peal off as he began to bake. When the air temperature reached 250 degrees, Fahrenheit, Fire Bringer let Bubba simmer. At this point, the flames never touched his body, but fat began to drip from the open wounds where Bubba's skin had flaked off. The fat puddled on the floor, but was never allowed to reach the flames. Just a Bubba was about to die from the slow roasting, Fire Bringer let the fat on the floor catch fire. Bubba was consumed by the flames from his own burning fat. To make sure that the real cause of death was never discovered, Fire Bringer removed the bonds that were holding Bubba in the chair and had the fire completely consume the cabin and its contents.

Fire Bringer left the scene with no great pleasure at what he had done beyond a true belief that justice had been served!

Finally, enough good men had been elected to state offices that it was possible to correct some of the worst miscarriages of justice. Beelzebub and Tezcatlipoca were pushed into their direct attack on Shadow and Fire Bringer. Only because they wanted to attract Shadow and Fire Bringer to a known location at a specific time, Beelzebub and Tezcatlipoca instigated an attack by Cheyenne and Sioux warriors on a small town in northern Colorado. The town had no other significance, the whole operation was simply to draw the superheroes into battle.

The Indians attacked the unsuspecting mining town one morning in the dead of summer. The weather was so hot that the town's residents were looking for any excuse to loll in the shade and hope for cooler temperatures. Why, it must be over 85F! The Indians rode through town, shooting and yelling, and scared all of the residents "out of a year's growth!"