The Spider's Web: Trapdoor Spider

[telerib]

The bars fell quickly, and two alligators fell upon the group! One managed to give the Scorpion a savage bite, but that was all these fell creatures were able to do before the knives, guns, and fists of our stalwart heroes did them in.

Those trapped wriggled or finessed their way free. Greta snatched some documents from the desk in the room, certain they were important. A quick glance told her she'd snagged some damning evidence, indeed! And personal contact information for many of the ranking hoodlums in the city.

The escape truck was gone, taken by Adam. The heroes escaped the burning building, taking refuge across the street. Reg took over a phone booth and started waking up every politically or socially important person he knew, attempting to make Adam Archer's life as miserable as possible, starting immediately. Dr. Olsson returned to the car, and Greta headed for the Smythe-Worthington Building on her own, to get started on developing her photos.

So it was Max and Phineas, bandaging up Max's leg, who caught sight of the very large man who was watching the warehouse burn. They collected Reg and walked over to find: Don Bruno Paruzzi, back from the dead!

The kingpin managed to miss them coming; his hand darted for something inside his coat, but Phineas already had an array of steel out. Bruno relented, but then accused Reg of burning the warehouse!

After some confusion, it all fell out: Bruno, now under a new name, had only just returned from his near-death experience in the Mediterranean. He'd come to check up on his "business interests" only to find them in flames. The party told the Mafioso that his group had splintered and that the Spider - Adam Archer - was moving in on his territory. Adjourning to a diner, the group agreed that they had common cause. Bruno would use his remaining contacts to see if he could locate the Spider's stronghold and get back to the others the next day.

After this long, long night, the group finally got back to Reg's penthouse. Greta hollered from the darkroom not to open the door. Reg, a wee bit paranoid, starting searching room by room, looking for traps Adam may have left. Opening the library door, he found...

Adam Archer!

A tanner, unshaven Adam Archer, to be sure, and one who was demanding to know why he'd been abandoned in St. Thomas!

There was quite a lot of shouting, and gun pointing, and recriminations all around. Adam explained that, as far as he could remember, he'd scouted ahead to look for Ms. Bezzi-Scalli when he was caught and "ensorcelled" by some sort of voodoo priestess - Miss Tuesday, in fact! He only shook the enchantment a few days ago and returned to NYC post-haste, wondering why no one had come to look for him.

The group explained that, as far as they were concerned, he'd never been missing!

A truce was eventually reached, although the group insisted that Adam keep the beard, so they could tell him apart from the Spider. Dr. Olsson also stained some of his skin with iodine as a backup marker.

The next day, Reg started the long process of calling off the dogs he'd set on Adam the night before. Finally, Bruno called, and the group (in two parts) returned to the diner. Bruno was there with the Weasel, a sniveling little guy who'd been apparently working both sides. Confident that the Weasel's self-interest was a potent incentive to the truth, Bruno gave an address where the Spider could be found. He only asked that he be given some time to try and extract two of his captains who were working for the Spider - he felt that they were only "misguided" and ignorant of his continued existence. He would, in turn, reluctantly give up the opportunity to make an example of the man who would burn down his liquor warehouse.

Max was very unhappy with the whole deal, fretting about double-crosses and aiding his nemesis. But in the end, the plan went through.

Adam, with Greta as a "building inspector", marched right up to the brownstone and knocked. The mooks inside were surprised to see their boss, but were quick to let him in! The pair were looking around downstairs when...

The rest of the group, in the alley behind the house, created a "distraction" by throwing a grenade at the large loading door there. It blew. The mooks in the house went nuts, rushing to defend their "boss" on the first floor, and following the real boss's orders on the second!

The group made quick work of the first-floor mooks and leapt to the second story. There, a woman who could only be The Machine was leading a formation of suits to the stairs. Adam tried to bluff her, shouting about an impostor; uncertain, she edged back to an office and looked through the door. Max and Phineas took advantage of this distraction and played "bowling for capos" and The Machine soon found herself looking at the business end of Reg's shotgun. Her normal command voice didn't seem to be enough to make him drop it, and she surrendered.

The Spider was gone, though, through a secret door in his office. Foiled again!