#21, August 1996
Sand and Stars: Part Two

We start with Jack and Wesley going over the details of the case. The murdered man, John Blaine, was an investor in a project to create viable airships. The police arrested John's wife, Helen Blaine. Helen had been having an affair with a younger man and was on a skiing holiday out of town at the time. This would have been a good alibi, had the police not found documents detailing that Helen diverted most of her husband's money. There was also $250,000 sent to a Swiss Bank Account and notes regarding the hiring of an internationally famous assassin. Jack, Dian and Wesley split up: each covering a different lead.

Jack goes to the apartment of Helen's gigolo, Jason Turner. Soon after Jack gets in place to watch Turner, the masked man from before appears and kills Turner. Jack gives chase, but the masked man escapes again just as police sirens become audible in the distance. Before they get there, Jack turns on Turner's computer and reads his diary.

Wesley talks to Warren Gayle; Blaine's partner in developing the airship. Gayle and Wesley discuss the murder, Gayle saying that he's not sure what to believe. Wesley says he has a superhero friend who could investigate the murder. Gayle refuses the offer, saying the investors wouldn't like a hero snooping around their affairs. He then notes that he's already hired several hi-tech armored guards for security. Wesley asks Gayle why he feels he is in danger if Helen killed her husband just for the money and not for any other reasons. Gayle is hesitant in giving an answer.

Dian talks to Helen Blaine. Helen notes that she had no reason to kill her husband for money, since she could divorce him, and get half his property. Even half John Blaine's property would be enough set her up for life: why risk life in prison when she could live comfortably on alimony?

Jack and Wesley regroup, Jack revealing what he found on the computer. It showed that Turner was the one who diverted John Blaine's money, but that he had been helped and was diverting the money for someone else.. The $250,000 in the Swiss Bank Account was Turner's fee for doing so. But he wanted more, so he threatened to expose the scheme. The assassin killed him to stop that. The diary also said that a team had been hired: not just the one assassin, and that one member of that team worked for Warren Gayle. The plan was to bring down Gayle by casting suspicion on him. Turner also noted that the assassin he talked to was a Gemini. Wesley notes that Gayle knows more than he is telling, leading Jack to volunteer to break into Gayle's compound and search the employee records for all employees with a Gemini birthdate.

The three heroes drive to the compound, Wesley having a dream about his first adventure with Ted on the way up. Wesley tells Jack the story about his father's brief affair with Diana Lance: The Golden Age Black Canary before giving Jack a gas-mask to wear inside the compound. Jack passes most of the obstacles inside easily, ducking under lasers and crawling through gas fields. The story ends with Jack being knocked out by a guard with a tazer.