Noir Oracle - Down These Mean Streets

...for In a Wicked Age

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1,A private detective, who's partner has just been murdered. 1,A femme fatale, with a lie for every occasion. 1,An amnesiac, awakened suddenly in a strange place. 1,A critically ill heiress, out to have a last fling before her death. 1,An escaped convict, on the run, trying to prove his innocence. 1,A back room card game, frequented by cheats. 1,A valise full of money, neatly strapped and in serial-number order. 1,A mysterious parcel, delivered in the middle of the night. 1,A thug with a cheap suit and a chip on his shoulder. 1,A foreigner, smelling of cologne and desperation. 1,A yacht, of foreign registry. 1,A ‘girl Friday’, more loyal to her boss than is wise. 1,A corpse; probably killed by someone he trusted. 1,A bored housewife, trying to keep her infidelity secret. 1,A businessman, embezzling from his partners, and fearing that he has made a mistake in his cover-up. 1,A policeman more interested in making a collar than in solving a crime. 1,A car-chase through darkened streets. 1,A meeting between a group of rivals, running out of time. 1,A skyscraper, towering over the downtown skyline, headquarters to the elite and powerful. 1,A crusading journalist, struggling with his personal demons. 1,Gangsters, in search of ‘the big score’. 1,G-men, fighting crime and resisting corruption. 1,A speakeasy, frequented by the city’s elite and trendy set. 1,A hotel detective, willing to look the other way for a bribe. 1,A wealthy collector, for whom money is no object. 1,A newspaper editor, alternately worried about his paper’s reputation and his reporter’s safety. 1,A prostitute with a heart of flint. 1,A veteran, still haunted by what he experienced in the war. 1,A late-night stakeout, where long-simmering resentments finally flare. 1,The patriarch of a wealthy family, struggling to protect their facade of respectability. 1,A den of iniquity and heroin, run by a madam who has seen everything there is to see. 1,A naive heiress tricked into posing for smutty pictures. 1,A fraudulent company set up to sell shares in a get-rich-quick scheme to which there is no substance. 1,A steamy greenhouse, now the only retreat for a dying cripple. 1,The only witness to a Mafia hit; now the hitman's next target. 1,An elderly professor with the plan for a perfect robbery, but who cannot make it happen alone. 1,A businessman from out of town, victimized by a charming con artist. 1,A prizefight, attended by the wealthy and the disreputable alike. 1,A safe-cracker, who just can't seem to stay on the straight and narrow. 1,A pair of murderers who carry bubonic plague. 1,A mysterious woman, accused of poisoning her blind husband. 1,A dark and dangerous cityscape. 1,A veteran returns from the service to find that his home town has turned into a corrupt, vice-ridden jungle. 1,A purse containing valuable classified microfilm. 1,A man making a tragic, ill-fated attempt to break from his lower-class background. 1,A punch-drunk boxer whose next fight might be his last. 1,Two police detectives recover a suitcase full of stolen money. 1,A killer plays for time working on a small fishing boat. 1,A rain swept city street, deserted of people. 1,A desperate chase across the rooftops at night. 1,An accused murderer trying to prove his innocence. 1,A private dick with a short temper. 1,A British nobleman who is obsessed with his deceased former wife. 1,A deserted house hides a dark secret. 1,A glamorous singer framed for robbery by her manager. 1,A star reporter investigating his own murder. 1,A .45 automatic...still warm to the touch. 1,A wine glass with a unique color of lipstick. 1,A witness in a murder trial recants his testimony. 1,A spotlight cuts through the fog on Pier 43. 1,A black and white, responding to a domestic violence call. 1,A shoeshine running numbers for the local boss. 1,A fancy dame with a tear-streaked face. 1,A soda jerk who doesn't miss a thing. 1,A glamorous nightclub owned by a mobster. 1,A taxi driver who stops for coffee and pie every night at 11. 1,A telephone cord, wrapped around the next of a bookie. 1,A dead woman wearing nothing but high heels and an entry wound. 1,A motion picture camera containing a reel that could put the mayor away for life. 1,A fall from a fifteen story building into a heated pool. 1,A jewel thief with a diamond necklace he can't unload. 1,A Mexican cop crosses the border to hunt a murderer. 1,An abandoned late-model convertible by the side of the road. 1,A wife visits her husband in prison, for the last time. 1,A .38 Police Detective Special, with the prints wiped off. 1,A pair of nicked-plated handcuffs, locked to a bedpost.
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