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Capital City, Capital City Mysteries, Eboni Stone

It was obvious that this young lady had been waiting to tell their side of the story. With the news implying his guilt, things hadn’t been easy for his family.

“Mike is a good man, Miss Stone. Sure he may have gotten into a little trouble when he was younger. But that was all in the past,” Cherry shared.

“Trouble?” Eboni interrupted, “What kind of trouble did he get into?”

The room fell silent for a few moments. Cherry Ann looked as though she’d said something she shouldn’t have. It seemed like the ladies were holding back, worried about whether Eboni would take their case or not.

“Listen Ms. Stone,” the elder Mrs. King chimed in, “I’m not a wealthy woman. However, I have a little something stashed away. I’m willing pay whatever you might charge to find my son and exonerate him from these charges.”

Eboni took a deep breath before responding. She wanted to choose her words delicately. These women were obviously concerned about the well being of their beloved Michael. She didn’t want to rub them the wrong way, or add any more stress to their lives.

“I want to help you Mrs. King. And I appreciate what you said about my fees. However, I can’t give you a guarantee about clearing his name – at least not until I know for certain that he is innocent. But trust and believe me, I will do everything I can to get to the bottom of this. And that includes finding Mike and proving his innocence. But you must be absolutely honest with me. I need to know all of the facts, ok? Don’t leave anything out. Even if it’s embarrassing, just give it to me straight.”

The air in the room stood still. There was tension in the air as Eboni’s potential new clients solemnly thought about their options.

Mrs. King sighed deeply and decided to break the silence. “When Mikey was a teenager, he started hanging around with the wrong crowd. I tried to get him to understand how his choices would affect the rest of his life. When he was sixteen, he got caught stealing cars with a gang of kids. He was arrested and had serve a few months in the young folks rehabilitation program. But he never got into any real trouble after that… not really.”

Eboni sat quietly pondering over the information. Sounds from the street flowed up through the windows. The sound of her stomach rumbling became louder and louder. Hopefully, her lunch order would arrive soon.

She began to speak, interrupting the awkward silence.

It seemed like this Michael King case held more than meets the eye. Eboni hoped and prayed that he was innocent. She really wanted to help these ladies.

To be continued . . .

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Adroit Comics, Eboni Stone

Eboni Stone is a complicated lady. At first glance she might look like just another pretty face. But Mrs. Stone comes with many unexpected layers. She’s a lady who’s life has been far from smooth, and anything but easy. From her early years on the Capital City Police Force, to becoming an undercover private eye, and now novice protector of the realm — she’s seen more ups and downs than she cares to count.

“How did I get here?” is a question that rings out in her mind, more often than not. Every once in awhile, when she finds a rare, quiet moment, Eboni reflects on her past. She gives the deepest of thought to the whys and hows of her life. Unfortunately, she’s yet to find truly satisfying answers. All she can do is her best to make things better.

Never in a million years did she think her life would be like this. Since she’d met Max, Pops and Likka, her life had become surreal. Filled with top secret royal conspiracies and super powered humans hailing from ancient bloodlines, its like something out of the tabloids.

Back in the day, she and her husband would argue over whether Adroits were real.
He believed. She didn’t. Boy oh boy would he have been excited to say “I told you so!” Her parents had spoken of ancient family legacies, but only in passing. It
had all sounded like children’s stories as far as she was concerned. Dennis had always been more open-minded than she was. Oh, how she missed him. There wasn’t a day that went by without her thinking of his laugh.

It had been five years now. Though the pangs of loss had softened, they had not gone anywhere. But alas, there was much work to do, and Eboni Stone has never walked away from a challenge. Investigating her husband’s death was tough one for her. The answers she found weren’t pretty. However, she soon realized that investigation was leading somewhere she wasn’t ready to go . . . At least not yet.

Nowadays, Mrs. Stone is a private investigator working to help local folks who need her help. But now, things are getting crazier than she could have imagined. As someone who didn’t believe in all that Adroit hoopla, she’s certainly all in now. As the official guardian of her niece and nephew, she has no choice but to believe. The disappearance of their parents came as a shock to everyone. Now, Eboni is working to keep them safe. . . and get enough clients to keep the bills paid.

Everyday her to do list grows longer. But she’s focused. The twins need her guidance and help finding their parents. Pops and Likka are training her to be as strong as possible, while Max needs her friendship and a partner on his undercover missions. And now she’s somehow gotten sucked into an unending trail of conspiracies. That’s unfortunate for the bad guys because Eboni Stone can’t stop until her case is solved.

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Capital City, Capital City Mysteries, Eboni Stone, New Arkton, New Sienna

The young Mrs. King was visibly nervous, but she pushed through.

“Well, you see, Ms. Stone, Micheal has always been a good man. Sometimes he may get a little ahead of himself with all his crazy schemes and ideas, but he’s a good man,” she finished with an awkward chuckle.

Michael King, Michael King? Eboni’s focus shifted away from what Cherry was saying. Our detective was sure that she’d heard that name before.

“Michael King,” she interrupted, “ Sorry to cut you off, but I’m sure I’ve heard that name before. Cherry looked over at her mother-in-law nervously.

Eboni continued to think aloud, “Hmmm, didn’t I hear about him on the news? That’s right. If I’m not mistaken, his name was mentioned in a story about a paper company shipping stolen goods…”

Suddenly the elder Mrs. Duke rapped her cane on the wooden floor, making a loud thud.“My son is innocent!” she said in a surprisingly loud voice. Eboni was taken aback. She could see that this woman was passionate about her son, his innocence, and his whereabouts. Eboni only hoped that there was a happy ending to this tale.

“Well ma’am, I can say this. I don’t know your son personally, but it’s clear to me that he has at least two strong fighters in his corner,” Eboni said with (what she hope was) an encouraging smile.

“Can we count on you Mrs. Stone? Will you help us find my son? I don’t care what those police, or those know-it-alls on that television set have to say about my boy! I gave birth to him! Don’t you think I would know what he is and is not capable of?!”

Mrs. King eyes were pleading, though her voice tried to have some semblance of decorum. Eboni could tell that manners and propriety were highly important to her. So the emotion that she was showing certainly pulled at the detective’s heart strings.

Eboni sat silently for a moment, wanting to be delicate about her next words. She knew she couldn’t say what she was thinking — that many criminals had mothers who couldn’t believe it was true. A sigh escaped her lips as she silently prayed that this son would be an exception. “Alright, she began, “ I can’t make any promises. But, I can disregard whatever I may have heard on the news and listen to your story. I just need you to tell me everything you know, even if you think it looks bad for Mike. I give you my word that I will do whatever I can to help. I take it, you’re confident that he is innocent?” she asked, though of course she already knew the answer.

Cherry’s eyes lit up. It was obvious that she had so much to say, but wasn’t sure where to begin. However, Mrs. Edith’s face held a shadow of embarrassment.

“Ms. Stone,” she began, “I’d like to apologize for my outburst. I’ve just been so upset by the entire situation!”

“I can certainly understand Mrs. King. No apology needed. Believe me, I want to help. Just tell me what you know and we can go from there,” Eboni replied kindly.

They both let out a sigh of relief, she could see that they believed her. It was good they did because she meant every word. Cherry opened her mouth and a floodgate came rushing out.

To be continued . . .

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Adroit Comics, Capital City, Capital City Mysteries, Clopton, Eboni Stone

It’s a sunny day outside and birds are chirping in the trees outside of the main window of The Eboni Stone Detective Agency. She could hear the laughter of happy people parading down the avenue. It was the type of day that should make anyone smile.

Eboni wanted to smile, but she just had so much on her mind. She was feeling more than a little overwhelmed by all of the Adroit insanity that had taken over her life. And to think, she’d never believed those Adroit tales she’d heard as a kid. Boy, had she been wrong!

The truth was that chasing after Ralph and Rebecca was more than she’d bargained for when she first agreed to be their guardian. It’s been almost two years since her sister and brother-in-law had left them in her care. It was no easy task and she was still trying to get the hang of this pseudo-parenting thing.

Now she’s sitting in her office, thankful to have a bit of peace and quiet. The twins were at school, and Eboni was hoping that some new business would come her way. Opening up this agency was a crazy idea for her. She’d always been pretty practical, straight-laced, and goal-oriented. But never did she think a detective agency was in her future.

Well the future had become her present, and as unexpected her life journey has been, she’s working to make the most of it.

“Finally, a little peace and quiet,” she proclaims, as she puts her feet up on the desk.

With a sigh, she places her hands be hind her head and leans back with a smile. After a moment, her eyes narrows as she realizes there is one pressing matter that must be resolved immediately. She sits up, opens a desk drawer, and pulls out an old tattered folder. Thumbing through the folders contents she asks a very important question, “What’s for lunch? That’s the mystery I want to solve right now!”

After flipping through twenty or more delivery menus, she decided to order from Flausheen Express, the new take-out spot near her building. After placing her order, Eboni placed her hand behind her head and resumed her lounging position. She tried to take a moment to just let her mind rest. It had been running so wild these past few months.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

“Sheesh, that was fast! They said it would be here in no time. I guess they really meant it. Sitting up quickly she shouts, “One moment!”

Reaching for her pocket book, she notices the silhouettes standing in front of her door.

“That’s no delivery guy,” she surmised.

Just then a sweet, little, timing, country voice attempted to shout back, “Yes ma’am! Thank you!”

There were two figures outside of her office door. Both were small and female. Unexpected guests didn’t stop by often, so she was definitely curious as to who they were. Her office had only been open for a few months, and she hadn’t really had a budget for advertising. So every client she’d had so far, had come via word of mouth. Perhaps some of her most recent clients had been moving their lips to spread the word. A new case wouldn’t be too shabby. The bills had to get paid somehow.

Quickly, Eboni walked over to the door, grabbed the doorknob, and welcomed in her guests.

“Good afternoon ladies,” she greeted with a smile.

Two quiet, prim, and proper women stood in her doorway. They were dressed prettily, as though their church service, or an afternoon tea party was on their itinerary for today.

“Good afternoon replied the younger of the two. She looked no older than twenty on years. At her arm stood a woman old enough to be her mother. She wore her age well, with a regal and confident look on her face. However, her face also showed her worry and concern, all too clearly.

“I’m Cherry King,” and this is my mother-in-law … well, she’s more like a mother to me that’s my own mom you know,” she said quickly and nervously, wanting to make sure she didn’t say anything wrong.

“I understand,” Eboni replied with a reassuring smile. “It’s so nice to meet you both,” she continued and shook their hands. “Why don’t we have a seat?” She asked gesturing to the two simple chairs sitting in front of her second hand desk. She thought to herself that the chairs were also second hand, shoot, everything in the office had come from a second hand shop, not that it really mattered. Starting an agency with little to no budget had been no easy challenge. Hopefully these ladies were able to pay some real fees.

With a polite smile and nod, her potential new clients sat down daintily.

Cherry began speaking again, “Ms. Stone, you see, Mother King is one of my very best friends. When I met Duke years ago, it’s like she just took me in as her own daughter!”

“Well I can see you’re far from the mother-daughter-in-law-stereotypes! That is good news! I’d love to get to know you both better, but I’m sure there’s a reason you came to visit me today,” Eboni replied.

A look of sorrow consumed their faces, “Well, Cherry began, It’s my husband, and Mother King’s son, Mike. He’s gotten himself into some trouble, and now he’s missing!” It was easy to see that both of these women were beyond distraught. This Mike fella was certainly blessed with a family who loved him, that’s more than many people could claim. But she just hoped that his trouble wasn’t too deep, and this story could have a happy ending. Sadly that wasn’t always the case in Capital City.

Eboni grabbed her notepad and began to write down the most pertinent details to this case. She realized that this probably wouldn’t be the high-paying case she was hoping for, but she never got into the business for the big bucks. She started her agency to help local people who were in trouble. And she was determined to do just that.

“So,” Eboni asked, with the kindest voice she could muster, “Why don’t you tell me what’s been happening with Mike?”

To be continued . . .

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Adroit Comics, Capital City, Capital City Gazette, Capital City Mysteries, Crimson Hawk, Curtis Perry, Eboni Stone, Guardians of New Sienna, International News, Local Government, Max Norton, National Government, New Sienna

The year is 3073.
The nation is New Sienna.
The city is, you guessed it, Capital City – “The City in the Center of the World.”

This metropolitan epicenter is renowned across the realm for its sights, industries, and sophistication. However, there is a darker side to this fair city.

The authorities are overwhelmed with all the calls reporting crimes of all kinds. It’s simply far too much for the Capital City Police Department to handle. Many people are realizing that they must do something to change things. And there are a select few who have what it takes to truly make a difference.

In such a huge city, there are many stories we can follow, but there are three that stand out from the rest: Eboni Stone, Curtis Perry, and Max Norton. Each of these detectives are on a mission to uncover the truth and bring the bad guys down.

Join us as we explore their tales, and discover what secrets the streets of Capital City hold.

Eboni Stone

Each and every person has their own tale to tell, many of which are filled with challenges. Some people fold in the face of adversity. Others might crawl into their shell, hoping that everything will get better. Eboni Stone is not one of these people. She’s been through so much in her life, yet she’s never given up.

A former CCPD officer, she left the force years ago after a tragic loss. Brave and dedicated to serving the community, she soon became frustrated with the ways things worked in the system. After turning in her badge, Eboni set her sights on serving the people in a different way. That’s when the Eboni Stone Private Detective Agency opened its doors.

She spends her days and nights searching for clues to solve her clients’ cases. With all her years on the beat, you’d think she’d seen it all. Ha! Not even close. Missing persons, stolen property, corporate espionage — the list goes on and on. That’s not even touching on the craziness with Hawk and her niece and nephew. But is she ready to solve the biggest mystery yet? Only time will tell.

Curtis Perry

The streets are filled with secrets. Curtis knows this to be true. He’s uncovered so many, he just can’t stop now. Everyday he beats the pavement, chasing down the clues to his biggest story yet! Tirelessly he does his best to expose the truth. Unfortunately, he and his editor don’t always see eye to eye.

Curtis is obsessed with fighting against Royal conspiracies, governmental, military, and corporate wrong-doings. However, the publisher of his newspaper could care less. The Capital City Gazette existed to please the advertisers . . . period. Furthermore, they would never publish any stores that could upset anyone too powerful . . . Or dangerous.

Curtis cares nothing about that. He’s on a hunt for two things, the absolute truth, and proof that Adroits are real. Though his paper may not want to publish the hard hitting stories, he’s making them public one way or another. He’s tired of playing games with these fools. Curtis has dedicated himself to exposing the truth to the free world. There are plenty of people who want him to keep quiet. But Curtis has never been one to do as he is told.

Max Norton

While most detectives are doing their sleuthing for clients, or to break some big story, Max has a more personal motivation for his work. His very existence is riddled with riddles. His life has taken more twists and turns than even he can remember. During the day, he is Max Norton, a simple, ordinary man who runs a tow truck company. But by night, he is Crimson Hawk, an anonymous defender for the citizens of Capital City . . . and beyond.

His cases are complicated and lead to bigger bad guys than most folks would want to tangle with. At times it seems like his adopted home is under siege. With crime on the rise, its becoming harder and harder to find exactly what he’s been searching for all of these years.

One of Max’s biggest problems is that he can’t say no if someone needs help. Even if it’s to his own detriment. But while he’s helping save citizens in the streets, he’s also tracking down the past that was erased from his mind almost ten years ago. But that’s one mystery that extends far beyond him. Max knows that this is one case that could impact the entire realm and change the course of history forever. He prays and believes that he is up the the task.

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