There are a few different things going on here. The man in white is the main character of the story and seems to be wandering around by himself on the waterfront. All of a sudden, the man in red (who is narrating) falls out of a warehouse, pursued by men with guns. And then a ship with yet more guys with guns shows up. It’s very much a case of “when you don’t know what to do next, have someone with a gun show up.” Considering that the whole strip has a hard-boiled detective aesthetic, it works. It makes no sense, but that’s not what hard-boiled stories are all about.

(Heavy Metal issue #99, June 1985 – Page 31 The Whisper Mystery by Torres)