"Congratulations on having the largest media company outside of New York, Charles," a short man said.
"Soon it will be much more than newspapers, television, and radio," Renfro said. "I have my eye on this lab on the westside. It's not doing so well but this doctor there has a formula that could put it on the map."
"A pharmaceutical lab?"
"Yeah," Renfro answered.
"Criminals," a voice said nearby.
"Wha...?"
"You act all high and mighty but you're just a pack of criminals," the voice continued. All the men pulled out guns. "Gun-toting criminals."
One of the men finally got a good look at who was talking to them and infiltrating their get-together. "It's Magic Man," he pointed out. They all turned and saw the giant blue and white 'M' that had become well-known throughout Chicago.
"He's not bulletproof," Renfro said. They all prepared to open fire but all of the guns were lifted into the air and then were crushed into a ball of metal. Within seconds, the other men were taken out and only Charles remained standing. "Why don't you face real criminals? The Italians and the..."
"You are a criminal," Magic Man said, picking Renfro up. "You act like you are better but you are just as bad. Maybe worse since people expect more from you. They expect you to be a decent person. At least with an actual criminal, you know what you're getting."
A security team came in and saw Magic Man lifting Renfro over his head. "Freeze!" one shouted. "Put him down."
"Certainly," Magic Man said and stepped off the edge of the building. Magic Man and Charles fell to the street below. Magic Man calmly fell while Renfro panicked and went as white as a sheet. Suddenly, Renfro jerked to a stop. He and Magic Man were in midair. Renfro was still panicking and sweating even though he was now being gently lowered to the street. "Are you going to run your companies honestly?"
"Y-Yes," Renfro stammered.
"Are you going to quit bilking and lying to your customers?"
"Yes, yes," he cried.
That night, on the ten o'clock news, Charles Renfro admitted his guilt and that he was selling off his newspaper and television companies and that any and all future acquisitions are cancelled.
"No," Dr. Conner shouted at his house. His phone rang, he ran to pick it up. "Hello?"
"What does this mean?" the voice on the other end growled.
"It means we'll have to go with plan B. There is no way Abell will sell the company now so we'll just have to take it from her," Conner said.
Winnette Abell had just taken over her father's pharmaceutical company, Abell Labs, after his sudden death a couple months ago. The Labs weren't doing great when her father was alive and she was looking at selling so her father's research could at least live on. Now that Charles Renfro was no longer interested, Winnette didn't know what to do now.
Winnette was alone in the lab looking over the numbers. Winnette was schooled as a lawyer so most of this was over her head. She didn't understand the science behind what the lab did but she did understand that it wasn't feasible. Was this place always in the red? Did her father ever turn a profit?
Outside, three men found their way inside. They found Winnette in her office. "Don't worry," one said. "We don't want to hurt you."
They took her to another room while one stayed behind and began setting up explosive charges. Then, to get attention, he set one up at the main entrance to the building and detonated it.
The situation was all over the news in a matter of minutes. Police surrounded the lab and waited for an opening. Silas turned on the radio and heard about the news. He threw on his Magic Man outfit and flew to Abell Laboratories. "What do you know?" he asked someone who looked in charge.
"Three men, one hostage. All the men have guns and said that they've set up explosives. At least one went off," he nodded at the smoldering debris of the entrance.
"Where are they in the building?" Magic Man asked.
"This side," he pointed to the east wing.
"Then I guess I'll go in through the west doors," Magic Man walked over to the lab building. When he got to the door, he created a protective shield around him and then magically opened the locked doors.
He cautiously walked through the lab, listening for sounds of people. He finally heard the muffled sounds of the perpetrators in one of the offices in the east wing. Magic Man listened at the door for a bit trying to decipher their talking.
"Magic Man?" someone exclaimed off to the side. Before Magic Man could do anything, the man pressed a button and one of the explosives went off. It killed the man instantly and pushed Magic Man back.
"I guess the element of surprise is out," Magic Man blew the door off the hinges.
"Magic Man? What's going on?" another man asked.
"Your third partner freaked out and set off an explosion," Magic Man said. Another explosion occurred, bringing part of the wall and ceiling down. "Ms. Abell, are you okay?" Magic Man shouted.
"I think so," she answered loudly.
Magic Man extended his magical shield around Winnette, along with himself, and held out his cape to expand the shield more. The last two explosions went off and buried the four of them in debris. When the dust settled and the police began looking through the rubble, Magic Man pushed his way through the rocks and helped Winnette up.
"Are you still okay, Ms. Abell?" Magic Man asked softly.
"Thanks to you," she smiled at him.
"Head over to the ambulance and they'll make sure," he didn't want to stop looking into her beautiful eyes. "I hope I'll see you around."
"I hope so, too."
