Brand of the Metal Maiden
by G. T. Fleming-Roberts writing as Brant House
A nameless mystery man with a wartime past, backed by a shadowy group of powerful philanthropists, Secret Agent “X” took on the toughest assignments of the dirty thirties. Operating out of the half-haunted Montgomery Mansion, “X” was also known as the Man of a Thousand Faces. A past master of disguise, he infiltrated the Underworld to crush crime in all of its hideous manifestations.
A music master was the Emperor Zero––master of murder music. For his pupils danced a mad rhythm into the grave. Young people they were; but as they danced they aged––the years blended into seconds. Young faces became furrowed with the mark of time. Their hair became white as frost. Mummies they became–– in silks and satins and modern dinner coats...Secret Agent “X” hurled his crime-crushing organization against the Emperor Zero. However, Agent “X” found himself and enmeshed in the hilarious dance to hell.
The enigma of enigmas, Secret Agent “X” has been deputized by a high government official to battle the darkest, most diabolical enemies of America before they sink their poisonous fangs into the nation’s healthy core. Faceless and unsung, “X” infiltrates these threats in a bewildering array of disguises.
Operating out of the supposedly haunted Montgomery Mansion, Secret Agent “X” ventures forth in a bewildering array of false identities to infiltrate the darkest underbelly of the underworld—and destroy it from within. A master investigator of a thousand guises and surprises. The only clue to his true identity is his haunting whistle…..
No one knew who Secret Agent “X” really was. Not his readers. Not his editors. Not even his writer, conceivably. To this day in the 21st Century, his true identity is still a deep mystery. That’s keeping a secret!
Follow the Man of a Thousand Faces as he confronts the menace of Brand of the Metal Maiden, ripped from the pages of Secret Agent “X” magazine, January 1936 and read with chilling intensity by Milton Bagby.
Chapter 1: Hell From the Heavens
Chapter 2: Man-Trap
Chapter 3: The Squaw’s Dive
Chapter 4: The Bat-Men Strike
Chapter 5: Death at Dewarren’s
Chapter 6: The Mark of X
Chapter 7: Emperor Zero
Chapter 8: Day of Doom
Chapter 9: The Zero Hour
Milton Bagby is a veteran radio announcer and voiceover specialist who first turned to audiobooks in 2010. Since then, Milton has worked on close to two hundred audiobook projects and is a 2017 Audie Awards winner, the audiobook industry's highest award. Drawing upon years of stage acting and the occasional bit part in films, Milton uses his experience to create characters that stand out in the ear of the listener.
“I am very much aware that a perfect stranger is going to invest many hours listening to me tell a story. I do my best to give the listener an experience in which the characters in that story come alive and sound real.”
When not behind a microphone, Milton is a writer. In addition to the well-received Rick Burkhart crime novels, Milton writes a line of 1950s style pulp stories, and is the author of dozens of magazine articles and two non-fiction books. Milton and his wife live in Nashville.
