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DEO Agent Harold meets two uniform police officers at a sewage plant in California. The officers show Harold the decaying body of former Manhunter Chase Lawler laying in a drainage ditch in full costume. Harold calls in Agent chase and tells her to come to California.

Exiting the Nevada state line, we see former Manhunter Mark Shaw traveling in a truck with his Manhunter costume in a duffel bag on the seat next to him. Shaw's thinking to himself about how DePaul blew him off when he tried to warn him about the Manhunter killer, "he deserves whatever happens to him."

Kate is finishing up breakfast with Ramsey at Mel's Diner when Dylan (who is a waiter at the restaurant) delivers Kate a secret message along with her check: "Finished servicing staff, found something odd. Call me later. --D" Kate crumbles up the note and throws it on her dirty plate. Unbeknownst to her, she was followed to the diner by Ted Shoemaker, the tabloid reporter, who walks up and retrieves the note, musing to himself about becoming the first tabloid reporter to receive a Pulitzer.

In San Francisco, Kirk DePaul, Manhunter of The Power Company, receives a phone call purportedly from Agent Thomer of the DEO, warning him about the Manhunter killer. DePaul brushes him off saying he can take care of himself, but unbeknownst to him, he was talking to the killer himself.

Cameron Chase on a flight to California complains about being stuck in coach. She calls Kate and leaves her a message saying she needs to discuss an open investigation with her and then goes over her files on the Manhunters and their killer. That is until the fat guy next to her tries to sneak a peek.

As Peter Robinson picks up Ramsey from school we see the man claiming to be Kate's father watching them. The man thinks to himself "Hope he's usable. I like having as many options as possible." As they leave, the man questions the crossing guard about Ramsey and how a few days ago he was using a cane, the guard responds that it's amazing how quickly youngsters bounce back from things.

Kate, trying to forget about the botched job she did on the Shadow Thief trial, asks Damon if he wants to go to dinner. Damon declines, saying he has a date. So, Kate checks her voicemail and hears the message from Chase. Worrying about whether she'll have to lie to Cameron, she calls Dylan about his message from the diner, only to find him preoccupied with a lady. Grossed out, Kate tells Dylan to call her tomorrow and hangs up.

As Kirk DePaul exits a restaurant with his date, Victoria Tate, she is suddenly shot in the shoulder by a sniper on a nearby rooftop. DePaul gives chase after the assailant, complaining about being weighed down by the food and wine from dinner. As he moves across the rooftops, DePaul trips a wire that sets off an explosion which blows DePaul to the feet of the Manhunter killer, now revealed to be Dumas, the old nemesis of Mark Shaw! Out of respect for DePaul, Dumas tosses Kirk two katars to give him a chance to fight for his life. DePaul remarks about how much of a pompous ham Shaw always said Dumas was, and that he was ready for a fight. After a brief struggle during which DePaul is able to stab Dumas in the shoulder, Dumas injects something into DePaul's bloodstream using a hypodermic needle. DePaul remarks that no poison is strong enough to overtake his healing factor and punches Dumas in the face knocking his mask to the ground. DePaul is able to see the face behind the mask and calls out, "You?? How could--Ack!" Just then DePaul begins to suffer a stroke as Dumas reveals that what he injected him with was no poison, but an air bubble. The massive stroke would kill him in minutes, but out of mercy and respect, Dumas would end it quickly, decapitating DePaul with one of the katars and throwing the body and head from the roof. "See if you can heal from that," boasts Dumas. Dumas then walks over and picks up his mask, then after he puts it back on he says....





"Three down....




Two to go."




To be continued

Characters:

DEO Agent Harold (first appearance)
Chase Lawler (as a corpse)
Mark Shaw (former Manhunter)
Kate Spencer/Manhunter
Ramsey Robinson
Dylan Battles

Ted Shoemaker (Tabloind Reporter)

Kirk DePaul/Manhunter
Myra (DePaul's secretary; first appearance)

Dumas

DEO Agent Cameron Chase
Peter Robinson

Walt (Kate's "father")

Damon Matthews
Victoria Tate (DePaul's date; first appearance)


Notes:

Writer Marc Andreyko used the name of a Manhunter reader for the identity of the DEO Agent that Dumas posed as during his call to Kirk DePaul. "Agent Thomer" got his name from reader Brian Thomer.

Issue summary written by: Brian Thomer