“Fine by me,” said the Shadow, “If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have swapped the first two rounds in Flipper’s gun with short loads and plastic dummies. I figured two should be enough. Any more would have thrown the weight off by enough to notice. I put two rounds in the wall the other day. This looks like what it was. Flipper shot at you, and you shot back. He didn’t get lucky. You did. It’s all over but the shouting. But you should know. This isn’t going to go easy. The cops won’t be friendly, to you or to me. Flipper owned them. He’s been a rising star for a while. That’s why he had you guys cleaning up his basement when he moved up from the Cat Jugglers. He’s got people above him who can make things happen. Or did, anyway.”
“Fine by me,” said the Shadow, “If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have swapped the first two rounds in Flipper’s gun with short loads and plastic dummies. I figured two should be enough. Any more would have thrown the weight off by enough to notice. I put two rounds in the wall the other day. This looks like what it was. Flipper shot at you, and you shot back. He didn’t get lucky. You did. It’s all over but the shouting. But you should know. This isn’t going to go easy. The cops won’t be friendly, to you or to me. Flipper owned them. He’s been a rising star for a while. That’s why he had you guys cleaning up his basement when he moved up from the Cat Jugglers. He’s got people above him who can make things happen. Or did, anyway.”