Britt and his date Elaine stop at the newspaper kiosk of Apple Annie and Britt orders a copy of The Daily Express, the Sentinel's competition. A truck comes by with a shipment of Sentinel papers, and Annie spots the Black Beauty approaching. The car opens fire on the truck, destroying it and killing the driver, and then drives off.
Later, Britt meets with Scanlon at his penthouse. He admits that the Black Beauty he saw was an exact copy of his, and he wonders who the phony Hornet is and why he attacked the Sentinel truck. Mike calls from the Sentinel and complains that they're not putting out an extra. The phony Hornet walks into Mike's office, tosses a grenade and runs out. Mike takes cover as the grenade goes off, and Britt heads to the Sentinel.
When Britt gets there, he finds the police security the crime scene. Casey arrives in response to Britt's call, and Mike complains that Hornet has gone too far. The phone rings and Casey answers it. Hornet has hit two more of their trucks but no one is too hot. Mike figures that Hornet has declared war on the paper for making the town too hot for him.
Britt and Casey go to Britt's office and Britt figures that someone has declared war on the paper. Scanlon arrive and Britt tells him to call the police guard off of the Sentinel trucks so that he can protect them as the real Hornet. Former Sentinel reporter Dan Scully, who now works for the Express, calls and says that he has a tip about the attacks. Dan asks to meet Britt at the Pony Room in an hour.
Later, Britt meets with Dan, who says that he's not happy at the Express. He admits that he might not be happy with the managing editor, Sabrina Bradley. Dan describes Sabrina as tough and ruthless, and warns that she doesn't care how she makes the Express the number one paper in the city. The publisher and owner, Simon Neal, is too busy living it up and Sabrina runs the show. Dan warns that he can't prove Sabrina is responsible but wanted to share his suspicions with Britt.
In her office, society columnist Felix Garth arrives in Sabrina's office. He pecks the secretary on the cheek and goes into Sabrina's office. She says that Simon is giving a party at his house the next night and Felix assures her that he'll cover it. Sabrina gives him the guest list and tells him that Simon may have an announcement to make. Felix assures her that he already is and offers hic congratulations on Sabrina's engagement to the publisher.
Casey calls and gets Sabrina's office. The secretary informs her that all of Simon's calls are transferred to Sabrina when Simon isn't in, and Casey puts Britt on the line. Sabrina refuses to talk to Britt and orders Felix out. Once he leaves, Sabrina takes out blueprints of the Black Beauty and tears them up.
That night, Hornet and Kato hit the streets and send up the scanner. They spot the phony Black Beauty waiting for a Sentinel truck. As the heroes head there, the phony Black beauty closes in on the truck. When the Hornet at the wheel spots the heroes approaching, he breaks off his pursuit and drives off. The two cars go through the street, but the heroes lose it when a truck cuts them off. Hornet picks the phony up going into a car garage and they move in. As they arrive, they hear a gunshot inside and blast their way in. There's a dead man, Joe Kellogg, on the floor. As sirens sound in the distance, the heroes leave
The next day, Britt meets with Casey and Mike. An invitation to the party at Simon's house arrives, but it isn't signed and there's no name on the envelope. Britt insists that Simon wouldn't be part of a plot to destroy the Sentinel, and hopes he can talk to the man at the party, but Mike isn't convinced.
Felix talks to the Simon's niece, Melissa, who is setting up the party, and asks when she thinks Simon will be making the engagement announcement. Melissa says that he isn't because there is no such engagement, but insists that it's between Simon and Sabrina. The butler, Willoughby, comes in to tell Melissa that there's a call for her. Once Felix leaves, Melissa takes the call and says that she understands. In the next room, Felix picks up the extension and listens in.
That night at the party, Simon amuses himself shoving girls into the pool. Sabrina reminds him about the announcement, but he runs off. Britt and Casey arrive, and Britt sends Casey off to mingle and find out who sent the invitation. He approaches Sabrina and Melissa, and Melissa quickly excuses herself. Sabrina notes that Melissa is Simon's only relative and they're very close. She points out that Britt inherited the Sentinel and didn't have to work to acquire it. Britt goes over to greet Simon and asks to talk privately.
Before Britt can talk about the plot against the Sentinel, Sabrina comes over and reminds him that he wanted to meet the mayor. Simon leads Britt to the front where the mayor is pulling up, and Simon doesn't admit or deny that he and Sabrina are getting married. The phony Black Beauty pulls up and the fake Hornet gets out. He shoots Britt, who jumps at him. The fake knocks him aside and drives off, and Simon goes down dead from the seemingly stray bullet. Melissa blames Britt for getting her uncle killed.
Back at his penthouse, Britt reads an Express article about how Hornet shot the wrong man. Scanlon arrives and Britt suggests that the fake may have intended to kill Simon all along. The attacks on the Sentinel were intended as a smokescreen to make it look like the murder accidental. Scanlon warns that he can't move on Dan's claims, but Britt says that the real Hornet can and will.
Written by Gadfly on Aug 7, 2017