Miss Fury #7 — Nick Peron

Aug 8

Aug 8 Miss Fury #7

Reading a newspaper report about an earthquake that occurred in the Brazillian mountains, Erica Von Kampf gets a good laugh as she is convinced that Bruno is now dead. However, her joy turns to sadness and remorse when she finds a picture of Bruno in her belongings. Realizing that she actually loved Bruno she breaks down in tears. Hearing Erica crying, Colonel Prussia enters the room and is furious to see her crying over a photo of Bruno. She tries her best to diffuse the situation, as Wolfram is drunk. Realizing that he made a mistake siding with her, Prussia decides to go back to Bruno and explain everything. When Erica tells him to do just that, he insists that she is going to drive him there. Not wanting to go back to the base in case anyone survived to punish her, Erica agrees but plans to get the drop on Wolfram. However, despite the fact he is drunk, Wolfram easily disarms Eric when she pulls a gun on him. When she hits him with her suitcase it snaps open spilling all her stolen money on the floor. When Wolfram begins asking her where all this money comes from, she strikes him over the head, knocking him out. She then gathers up all the money, then opens the oven door and flips on the gas before leaving.

The next day, Marla Drake is leaving the hospital after visiting Fingers and runs right into Gary Hale. Hale is so happy to see her he kisses her right away. He insists that they go somewhere to talk about why she hasn’t been answering his letters. She tries to explain herself, but Marla cannot get a word in edgewise. Things get awkward when they run into Dan Carey. The two men have met previously, remembering how they were both involved in the Miss Fury case. Clearly seeing what’s going on, Dan tells Gary to say hello to his wife for him before leaving with Marla.

The day after that, Marla gets a phone call from Gary who tries to set up a date with her, but she tells him that he is very busy. He insists that there is something very important that they need to talk about, but she has nothing more she wants to say to him. When he tries to stop her when she leaves her hotel, she tells him that she has an appointment and is running late. At the hospital, Fingers and Dan wait for Marla to arrive. Realizing that she is late, Fingers wonders if Marla is out with the guy she saw him with the day before. Dan tells Fingers that Gary was actually engaged to Marla that was broken off over a misunderstanding. He admits that Gary came from a good family and that after Marla rejected him he moved to South America where he got involved with and married Erica Von Kampf, the Nazi spy.

Somehow, by this time, Gary has convinced Marla to go dancing with him but she insists that she needs to get to her meeting as she is already an hour and a half late. While back at the hospital, Dan thinks that perhaps he should let Marla go. He points out that once the war is over he’s going to go back to being a New York detective a job that does not even compare with the fortune that Marla had inherited. He also points out that Dan also has a similar upbringing to Marla and they share the same hobbies. Fingers tells his friend not to leave Marla to that fate, reminding him that Gary is married to a Nazi spy and that could bring future scandals and blackmail. Dan agrees and decides that he will talk to Marla about their future when they meet up this evening.

Later when Dan goes to pick up Marla at her room, she confirms that she did see Gary the evening before. Thinking that Dan is being jealous, Marla gets upset with him. Dan just wants to know if Gary annulled his marriage to the Baroness as she may cause trouble for him down the road. Marla surprises him by saying she looks forward to Erica turning up again because she will be the one causing trouble. Realizing there is nothing more he can say, Dan admits that he is in love with Marla and leaves so she and make up her mind over who she wants to be with. That’s when Gary calls to ask her out on more dates. As he pleads with her, he is unaware that Erica has tracked him down and has been following his movements through the city. Marla tells Gary that she is not breaking any of her previous dates as they are all with Dan Gale and hangs upon him.

After hanging up the phone Gary is approached by Erica who tries to use her good looks to manipulate him. He tries to give her the cold shoulder, even though she is staying in Granada like Marla. Realizing that Gary isn’t budging, Erica pretends to faint and, sure enough, Gary carries her into a handsome cab and orders the driver to take them to her hotel. Passing the carriage is a car containing Doctor Diman Saraf and his man. One of them points out that the woman in the carriage is his beloved Erica Von Kampf. Seeing another man with Erica angers the doctor and he tries to drive the carriage off the road. The men convince Doctor Saraf to calm down and he agrees. After confirming the man she is with is her supposed ex-husband, Gary. They follow the carriage until the couple gets out and Doctor Saraf sends three of his men that Erica won’t recognize to get close enough to listen in on their conversation. Eventually, Gary takes Erica back up to her hotel room unaware that Saraf’s men are following them. They soon return to Diman’s car to tell him where her room is. Upstairs, Gary continues to give Erica the cold shoulder and he gets even more upset when he sees her framed picture of Bruno. He is furious that she would have a heart-shaped picture framed containing a man in a Nazi uniform. She tries to convince him to stay as outside the doctor’s men wait outside with a needle.

At that moment, Marla and Dan have ended their evening and he leaves to go home. Shortly after he leaves, Gary storms out of Erica’s apartment and is lured into the stairwell by Saraf’s men who then inject him with a needle. That’s when Marla realizes that Dan forgot his gloves in her apartment and goes out to see if she can catch him before he leaves. Instead, she hears noise in the staircase. Despite being stuck with a needle, Gary continues to fight. When one of the men notices they have an eye witness, he tries to chase after Marla but she knocks him out with a blow to the head with a fire bucket. She then takes the emergency fire hose and uses it to spray the last of the men that are fighting Gary. She is surprised to see him in the stairwell. Seeing how injured he is, she carries Gary back to her apartment.

Meanwhile, Dan realizes that he forgot his gloves and decides to go back for them. On the way to the hotel he decides to buy some expensive flowers to surprise Marla. Unfortunately, he arrives to see her helping Gary into her apartment. Thinking she is two-timing him, Dan leaves the hotel, giving the flowers to a shoeshine boy. By this time, Doctor Saraf gets a status report from his men and learn that another woman, an American, interfered with their attempt to deal with Gary Hale. Hearing how Hale was injured, the doctor decides to use his credentials to get close enough to him and finish the job. Approaching the desk clerk, he convinces him to ring up to the only American in the hotel that there is a doctor to see them. When Marla answers the phone she thinks this is a stroke of good luck and tells the clerk to send the doctor upstairs.