A piece of interactive fiction vs. role-playing game, where you get to suggest the next move and influence how the story progresses.
#34. Washed up
Monday, October 31, 2005 You come to, washed up against a muddy bank, probably miles down stream. Zoe is nowhere to be seen, and your shoulder aches. You try and move it, and the pain just increases, it probably came out of its socket.You pull yourself up the bank and cough up some water. It's a miracle that you didn't drown, but someone is on your side up there. You pick yourself up, and suddenly feel a hand on your shoulder, and the resulting pain floors you once more. You scream out.
"Oh my god.. sorry Mason.. I .. I.."
It's Zoe, waterlogged and still teary eyed.
"Zoe, are you okay?"
"I'm okay. Wet, terrified, but okay. I think we lost the guy. He fired at us a few times, but once we were swept away, I don't think he could see us anymore"
"Who was he?"
"I've no idea." Zoe trembled.
You pick yourself up once more, Zoe grabs your arm to help, but you just grimace with the pain.
"I think we should still get back to the apartment, just choose our drivers more wisely" you say
"Won't they be waiting for us there?"
"Maybe, but I need to find out who I am" Zoe looks at you inquisitively
"..who I am up against" you finish your sentence quickly.
Clambering up the bank, you manage to hail a cab fairly quickly, checking the driver for any familiar or goon like traits before climbing in.
"Kings Avenue, again please"
The cab driver grunts, and for the second time today, you're on your way home.
#33. Another fall from grace
Friday, October 28, 2005 You leave the club, and there is fortunatly already a cab with its For Hire light on, waiting outside. You both climb in the back. Before you get a chance to say, Zoe leans forward to the driver and speaks."Kings Avenue please"
Prestigious sounding address. Probably a hole though. You spend the start of the journey looking out the window as Zoe is snuggled up sat next to you, saying nothing. You speed through the streets, traffic being quite quiet, until Zoe looks around.
"That's strange."
"What?" you ask
"We're going north, its not the right way"
Zoe leans forward again, and speaks to the driver.
"Hey, Kings Avenue, down in Ellesmere, you're driving north?"
The driver says nothing.
"Hey, are you listening?" Zoe says again. Your heart rate starts to pick up a little, you scrutinise the face of the driver in the mirror. You recognise him from the club, the business man who sat at your table.
"What the..." you start to speak, but the driver pulls a gun from the glove compartment, and rests it on his lap.
"Just be quiet, and we'll have this all sorted out in no time" he says calmly.
Zoe turns to you, her face whitened with fear. You think quickly. You still have the pistol in the back of your belt, but any movement to grab it may alert the driver, and his hand is ready to pull the trigger. The car bumps across a pothole in the road, and you look out of the window. You're crossing the river to get to leave town. Much longer, and you'll be out of reach of anyone useful. You gently nudge Zoe. She looks at your with glassy tearful eyes, and you motion with your head out of the car. Her eyes widen, but without a second though, you kick open the rear door. The wind rushes in, and the driver swerves on the road a little as he realises what is happening, but you've already jumped and hit the road, hard, shoulder first and roll into the gutter. A searing pain in your shoulder makes you cry out, as you see the car screeching to a halt, and Zoe a few yards in front of you. You pick yourself up and run towards her, helping her up from the roadside. The car starts reversing with smoking tires, and you grab Zoe and run towards the edge of the bridge. Looking down you see the fast flowing river and take a deep breath.
"Come on" you say to Zoe, and she nods silently, tears streaking down her face, and you both leap over the barrier.
The wind rushes past your head, screaming in your ears, and everything starts to slow down. The sound stops and you feel like you're just hanging in mid air, not falling at all. Suddenly, blackness.
suggests...When you come too you don't know where you are but it's dark, you've got a really sore head and Zoe's nowhere to be seen.
Then suddenly the taxi driver / business man reappears, followed by Greg and Lena. None of them look very happy. You realise you're in BIG trouble.
suggests...Get back to your apartment and find out more details about yourself, but be careful there, they're bound to be waiting for you.
#32. A Little Fumble
Thursday, October 27, 2005 "Let's get out of here, can we go to your place?" the girl says."Yes!" you say a little too quickly. If you can get to your pad, there is bound to be a plethora of clues as to who you are, and start to finally solve this mystery.
"Okay, give me five minutes to get changed"
She wanders off out of the curtain, and you start mentally twiddling your thumbs, looking around the room you're standing in. There's no doubt what it is usually used for during most hours, and your stomach sets on edge a little.
The girl comes back quicker than you'd have expected, and dressed in far more unrevealing clothing, simple jeans and a t-shirt, knee high boots with some serious heels, a light jacket, and little handbag.
"We'll go out the back way, oh.. hold on, I need to let one of the girls know I'm gone. They're being more careful these days, what with me getting attacked, Lena disappearing." she nips out again, leaving her bag on the side. You immediatly pick it up and try to find some ID. The least you can do is know her name. You find her driving license. Zoe Haynes. You stuff the purse back as Zoe comes back in. You pass her the bag, and she smiles at you.
"Thanks, lets grab a cab" and you wander out of the club to hail a car, although you're not sure where to ask to go.
suggests...When you see a cab you hail it then grab your mobile and say that you've got to ring your sister quickly, can she deal with the cab? That way you don't have to worry about directions, and you can pretend Katy was engaged or something.
Do you have any keys for when you get there?
#31. Attacked
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 "Sorry baby, things have just been a bit crazy for me over the last couple of days, I haven't really been myself. What's been going on?" you ask the girl, not even sure of her name yet. Strippers tend not to wear name badges, being a distinct lack of material to pin anything to."You tell me!" she starts sobbing. You're starting to feel you have this effect on girls. "I get attacked a month ago, and you dissapear the next day.. who was a I meant to turn to? Where the hell did you go?"
"Who attacked you?"
"If i knew, maybe the police would be able to do something, but the bastards aren't even looking for anyone. They reckon it was just a violent, horrible mugging or something. But you tell me, how many muggings take a fucking finger? Christ Mason, why didn't you even call??"
"The truth is, I got attacked too. I'm not sure how or why yet, but I don't remember the last month."
You suddenly feel you've given away a little too much, and regret admitting it.
"Cut the crap Mason, oh whatever, you're back now" and she starts kissing you again. It doesn't seem like she swallowed the truth, but nor does she seem too concerned over it. For a girl who had a finger cut off just a month ago, she seems strangely calm. Maybe in shock still.
You take a breather from being connected face to face.
"You're back at work now though?"
"Well, someone has to pay the rent, not that I can see it paying for much longer if they close down the club." she explains.
"Close down the club?"
"Yeah, rumours are Mr. Bendini is being pressured to sell, move on to another joint I guess"
Things start ticking over in your mind.
suggests...Ohhhh the plot thickens, i think you took the finger and you don't care about this dancer girl, you love Lena and sacrificed this girl's digits for the greater love.
It does imply though that you live together, maybe you should suggest you go home and see if anything there gives any more clues.
#30. Behind the velvet.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005 "I thought you wanted to be alone!" the guy from the bar shouts, still being obnoxious.You glare at him and walk towards the back of the club. He follows you with his eyes, but you slip between the curtains before he has a chance to say anything.
You suddenly feel an almighty sting across your face, you blink in the darkness and see the girl standing infront of you, after giving you a flat handed slap. Four fingers or not, she can hit.
"What the -" but you're silenced as she moves in and starts kissing you deeply on the lips. You resist at first, but within seconds you feel at home, as if you've been kissing this girl your entire life. She pulls away from you.
"Where the hell have you been?!" she asks. A sense of deja-vu washes over you, and whilst you don't feel like covering the same ground as you did with Katy, you feel as if you owe this girl something, if not a finger.
What should you explain to her, what should you ask?
suggests...You should kiss her and say something like: "sorry baby, things have just been a bit crazy for me over the last couple of days, I haven't really been myself. What's been going on?" that way you're not lying and you're giving her the chance to tell you all of her news, cos she's bound to have some.
suggests...I think Catherine's female perspective is an unbeatable answer... if anybody knows the best next step she will!
Giving the dancer the finger, her finger(?) probably won't pay off in any of the possible connotations of the phrase!
#29. Intimate Stranger
Monday, October 24, 2005 You sit down beside the stage, closer to the blonde who's not quite all there. You make eye contact a few times before she moves towards your side of the platform, continuing her, at times acrobatic, but mostly overtly erotic dance - but what the hell else would you expect. You're in a club called the Pink Kitten, and there can be no ambiguity as to what mostly happens in here. Women free themselves of their clothes, whilst men free themselves of their cash, generally to the aforementioned women. Infalliable system.The girl is ravishingly attractive. Dirty blonde hair and huge blue eyes which sparkle under the harsh spotlights, which are designed to highlight the rest of her talents, which, as the dance progresses, are becoming more obvious by each minute.
You smile at her, and she returns the favour, holding your gaze whilst she gyrates around the stage and its shiny scaffold. The music and dances comes to an anticlimatic end, and punters around the club clap half-heartedly. She gives you a wink, picks up her discarded robes, and wanders off stage into the back of the club. You suddenly realise that you've been holding your breath, and let the air out of your lungs in a heavy sigh.
"Yeah, she's quite something isn't she?" says a guy in a business suit and tie. You look over at him, top button undone, a suitcase on wheels next to his table. "Two dances from her already tonight, and I ain't done yet. Oh yeah.. She's a hot one." he licks his lips, and you turn away from him in disgust.
He picks up his drink and sits beside you, uninvited.
"You from out of town too?" he asks you.
"What?"
"I said, are you from out of town? I'm just here on business, every couple of weeks it seems nowadays, but always time to pop in on my way back. Gives the old boy a little boost before going back to the wife and kids, you know what I'm saying?"
"No, I'm sorry, I have no idea. I'm just trying to have a quiet drink." you try and end the conversation before it goes somewhere.
"Sure sure.. I know the score. Everyone here's the same.. we all just want a quiet drink, nothing more. We all come here for the quality of the drink, right?" and he winks at you.
"Look, I just need some time on my own right now, so if you don't mind, this conversation is over."
"Fine, fuck you buddy. I'm just trying to make polite.. jeez" and he finally walks over to the bar, no doubt to get another of what he just knocked back on the way.
"Want a dance?" you hear a breathy question from behind you, and flip around. Whilst you were watching the jilted business man wander away, the girl from the stage has found her place at your side. As you're sat and she's standing, you find yourself rather embarrasingly for you staring directly at her breasts, and quickly lookup to her face. She giggles.
"You like those? Come on, have a dance" you find it hard to speak and simply nod and stand up, to go find a dance floor somewhere, at which she giggles again. "Not that sort of dance", and she pushes you back into your chair. Within seconds, she's leaning over you wafting her heavily perfumed hair in your face, and wiggling inbetween your legs. You swallow a nervous breath, but soon relax as she peels off layer after layer in front of you, whilst moving to the pacy rhythm of the music in the club.
Three and a half minutes later, she stands away from you, fully naked and smiles. You don't really remember the last few moments, mostly a blur, but as far as memory loss goes, upon which you're becoming quite an expert, this is the good kind. She puts back on her clothes not looking you in the eye, and wanders off. "Maybe another dance later?" she says, without looking over her shoulder, and crosses the bar towards a velvet curtain. You follow her with your eyes, your breathing starting to shallow a little. She never looks back until just before disappearing behind the curtain, when she turns around and beckons at you with her finger.
Do you go behind the curtain and find out what more she has to offer, or do something else? You ponder your next move.
suggests...Dur! Go behind the curtain!
Although, keep an eye on if anyone is watching you.
suggests...If you're not careful, this story is going to get blocked by my office's blue screen of pr0n filter.
1 - Check pockets for Smint/Extra Strong Mint.
2 - Pop one.
3 - Go behind the curtain checking for all possible exits on your way through.
4 - follow her but try to initiate conversation before she causes more memory loss!
suggests...She knows something, she knows you, she knows the whole thing. Follow her but stay realistic, a lap dancer hasn't just fallen in love with you, she's involved in the scam and knows you are too. Roll your tongue back into your mouth, get back there and talk business with her.
#25. Gentle Persuasion
Tuesday, October 18, 2005 "Hey..." you look down at the guard's badge "..Doug, how've you been?"Doug, the guard, looks at you inquisitively.
"Fine, and you?"
"I'm good thanks.. how's the family?" you ham up your charm.
"Have we... err.. do I know you?" the guard isn't giving anything away
"Sure sure.. its me ... Steve... we, met at the garden party last year. Man, we all got so drunk.. great time though" you keep your eyes locked on his.. hoping he'll fall for the act.
"Riiight... what can I do to help you anyway... Steve?"
Simply not working, so you try another tactic.
"Well, its like this.. I dumped a whole load of.. well, my housemate, dumped a whole load of.." you're broken off mid sentence by an explosion outside.
"What the.." Doug rushes around the counter and to the door of reception, his adrenaline kicking in for some action. You see your opportunity, and grab a heavy padlock from a wall display, run over to Doug pressed up against the window, and bring the weight down upon his head. He slumps immediatly to the floor with a grunt. You peer out to make sure no-one has seen you, and drag his limp, but amazingly heavy mass behind the counter. You grab the keys and swipe card from behind the counter and pocket them. You look down at Doug. He's out cold, but you don't know how long for, so grab his pistol and stuff it behind your belt.
You take a deep breath and move towards the door behind the counter, leading to the warehouse space. Each of the keys has a letter associated to it, presumably a skeleton key to each of the containers in that block. It takes you another five minutes to reach the container denoted by the second group of the code on the paper. You pull out the skeleton key and unlock the padlock, push up the shutter and walk into the container space. It is still dark in there, but you can make out a bunch of boxes, some racks and general mess. You hunt around for the light switch, but as you are looking for it, you hear footsteps moving quickly towards you. You dive to the shutter and noisily pull it closed, then climb behind some of the boxes. You are hidden in darkness, and try to steady your breathing, but your heart skips a beat when the shutter is pulled open once more, and a figure enters the container.
You're hidden in darkness, but you have clear sight of the back of the intruder. You put your hand on the pistol, and consider your next move.
#24. Security
Monday, October 17, 2005 You trace your finger across the map, the first part of the grid reference points to a warehouse "atlantis". The second part, perhaps a container or room within the warehouse. The whole area hadn't been a live dock or shipping port for a long time now, but converted into self-storage warehouse units, the sort of place you could rent for a week, a month, a lifetime - and put anything you wanted hiding away. Most poeple would probably only use this place for old sofas, boxes from college, aged tape collections, but you think something more sinister is likely to occur when you reach the end of this trail of clues.You wander over to the blocks you identified on the map. It's already quite busy, people in heavily laden cars driving up to each unit's reception, signing up to long and short term deals, being shown the security in place, and generally shifting their crap from one location to another.
Atlantis warehouse looks the same as all the other warehouse frontages, but you recognise it from the photos in the security deposit box. A small shop front next to the warehouse reception, serving coffee, cold drinks and snacks has a few people sitting sipping at drinks whilst they wait for their partners or friends to complete off loading. you walk into the reception area - piped music plays whilst you stand at the desk, waiting for someone to come and answer your enquiry. Behind the desk is a bank of CCTV monitors, steadily switching from shot to shot of the interior of the warehouse, showing black and white images of corridors and rows and rows of shuttered doorways into containers. You can see numbers on the front of most container doors, and quite obvious heavy padlocks to keep you out.
You look down at the desk behind the counter, and see another bank of lights and buttons, as well as a bunch of keys and a swipe card. You wonder if that, quite literally, could be the key to getting inside, as you sure as hell don't currently have any other way in. The desk clerk walks back to the reception area, more a security guard than receptionist, carrying a pistol on his belt. He looks like the sort of guy who probably couldn't hack it in the army or police, so turned to a small security firm to get his authority fix.
"Can I help you sir?" he asks, and you wonder what to do next.
suggests...Not sure what to do you just mummble hello and shuffle your feet, then the guard says: "hey, don't I know you, weren't you here with that guy the other day, do you want to go see you unit?" Not knowing if you can stop this now you say hello to the guy in a more affirmative way and say yes you would like to go the unit but your friend has the key, could you get a spare.....?
#23. XY
Thursday, October 13, 2005 You decide to check out the map reference. At the moment, you're one step ahead of the game. The ransom note has probably only just been delivered, if at all, and they'll be on their way to find the first set of clues in the bank vault. If you or Greg has been leaving a trail of clues, the map reference will be the next step in finding Lena.Katy passes you a city map, and you find the location on the map which was circled.
"The harbour area" Katy says, "take my car", and she passes you the keys.
Within half an hour or so, you're near the docks. Whilst you know the rough area the map pointed too, you just don't know which building you need to be looking at. If only you had the SIM card from the bank still. There are bound to be further instructions... but then again, they were only going to call you anyway. You think back and work out how on earth you'll work out which warehouse to go to. Time is ticking away.
You walk over to a pontoon, which has a map of some of the dock area.
Thinking back to the reference on the slip of paper with the map, your mind starts to work out which warehouse you need to find.
suggests...There will not be an episode tommorow, as i'll be on a flight, and they generally don't have internet access.. booo :(
I'll write a bumper episode for monday though.
suggests...That slip of paper said A66C74, so I reckon you want to go to Atlantis, as it's in row A and contains numbers 61-90. Does the C74 refer to a container inside that warehouse?
#22. Family Ties
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 "We should call Greg" Katy suggests"Greg? I didn't mention a Greg" you defend the last part of the story which you didn't tell
"Tom's brother."
Oh Christ. If her very own boyfriend is wrapped up in this, Lena doesn't have a chance.
"Katy, i think there is something you need to know"
You tell the final chapter of the story, where Greg met you outside the shopping centre and took the details from you. Her jaw drops, and she starts to shake.
"Greg knew you were in love with Lena, why the hell has he got you caught up in this?" Katy sobs once more.
"I don't know.. but i need to start following the clues. Maybe I can find Lena before Greg finishes what he has planned. If he's removed a finger, I don't think he's too concerned about the rest of her"
You think back to the contents of the safety deposit box. You clearly remember the map reference, and the photos. You have a wallet, mobile phone, and now dry clothes. You are standing with Katy in her kitchen.
suggests...You could check out the map reference but it's unlikely they'd be holding her at the drop off place. I still think there might be a clue at your flat. That's two options, now I've run out.
#21. twentyone questions
Tuesday, October 11, 2005 You take a deep breath."First, How do you, me, Tom and Lena know each other?"
Katy just stares at you, and her eyes start to moisten.
"What's happened Mason? Oh my god, what happened?"
"I don't know goddamit, if I knew that, perhaps I could start working out what the hell is going on here, I've only just learnt my name for chrissakes" you storm out of the front room into the kitchen. The kettle is still steaming from making drinks.
You walk over to the fridge and rest your head against it. It hums gently, almost comforting, but not enough to appease your frustration.
"Gah!" you kick the fridge and a couple of items attached to the door with magnets fall off. You bend down to pick them up. Another photo of you and Katy. You're holding it in our hand as Katy walks into the kitchen. You turn your head to face her whilst still crouching over the fallen items.
"Who am i?"
"You're my brother, Mason. I'm your sister, Tom is my husband. And Lena is Tom's brother's girlfriend, and you've been in love with Lena from the day you met her." Katy sobs, and slumps onto a stool.
"Oh, god.. Katy i'm sorry. I just don't know you."
"Who did this to you Mason, who? Where have you been?"
"I don't know, but Lena is in trouble, and I know I need to get to the bottom of this before midnight."
"Lena's in trouble? What sort of trouble?"
You explain the past hours that you've been through, from the moment you first remember in the alleyway, to the contents of the security deposit box at the bank.
"So, what did the map say? Where are they holding her? Who the hell are 'they'?" Katy asks, hurridly.
"Exactly! Was there anyone who would want to hurt Lena?"
"No, of course not... I mean.. I suppose anyone pissed off with her dad might want to get at her to get to him.. but ..."
"Her dad?"
"Yeah, big time lawyer, criminal connections they say.. you know, gets paid off for securing a 'not guilty'verdict" Katy explains.
"What about me? Anyone who'd want me out of the way?"
"You? God knows, you never tell me whats going on.. and by the sounds of it, plenty of people"
"Thanks" you say, half sarcastically, half geniuine.
suggests...You could try to look over some of the recent cases Lena's dad's work on, what he might be doing now, see if there's anything in there that rings any bells, see if Greg's name or picture appears anywhere. If you can find out why somebody might be using Lena for cash you might be able to find out why you're involved.
Also, you could try going over to your flat, Katy could or tell you where it is, and maybe some clue might be awaiting you.
suggests...If Lena is Tom's brother's girlfriend, what's Tom's brother called? Greg, by any chance?
#20. A warming thought
Monday, October 10, 2005 You're sitting in Katy's front room in front of the gas fire, in your boxers and t-shirt, your clothes are on a drying rack beside you. Katy is in the kitchen making you another drink, despite your assurances that you don't need one.You stand up and walk over to the window, where a number of photoframes are sitting. You see photos of Katy, sometimes with a group of girls, other times with a man, you presume 'Tom', just as you finish peeking around, you catch an image of you, Katy and another girl standing at a funfair. You lean in closer, and look at the trio. You mind rips you back to the photo of the girl tied up and gagged from the envelope in the safety deposit box. Katy walks into the room.
"Heh, you remember that trip? Great weekend.. must have been two, three years ago" Katy says, passing you a cup of coffee.
"No, I don't" you say
"What's that?"
"I don't remember the trip, I don't remember you, that's the thing.. I don't remember anything" you explain, and sit down sipping at the coffee.
"Hehe, okay.. where's the punchline?" Katy asks.
"Look, I'm sorry, I don't know you, I don't know who that other girl is, I don't even know who I am. Your number was just in the phone, and I rang it.. I need some answers from someone"
"You're scaring me Mason, what on earth is wrong??" She edges backwards a little.
"I'm caught up in something I don't understand, and I want out, but I get the feeling I need to resolve some things first of all. Who is this in the photo?", you point at the third person.
Katy laughs nervously
"Lena, its Lena. How don't you know Lena? You've only been in love with her for as long as I can remember"
You look down at the photo, fingering the edges of the frame. That feeling of recollection, but no real hard idea of why, starts nagging at you once more. You try desperately to remember her, who she is to you, why she's sitting somewhere bound and gagged, but nothing comes to the surface. You swallow.
"Okay. Lets start from the top. I want to know three things..."
What three things should you ask?
suggests...1. Where does Mason live.
2. Is Lena his girlfriend, just a friend, somebody else's girlfriend, or none of the above.
3. What is Mason's job, what does he do and how did he get caught up in this.
#19. Another brew
Friday, October 07, 2005 You start to shiver from the soaked clothes, so drink a long drink from your coffee, the liquid warming you from inside, and giving you a slight kick from the caffeine. You feel like you're running out of options, and the coffee shop is simply a dead end until midnight, which is some 14 hours away.You pull out your mobile phone, and start to flick through the address book once more.
Al's
Flat
Greg
Horses
Lena
Sat9pm
TomKaty
Voicemail
You call 'Flat', perhaps a message on the answerphone might have your name.
"I'm not here, you know what the beep is for". You sniff at your lack of originality, and don't bother to leave a message.
You ponder calling Greg, but he's not massively happy with you, and you want to investigate this on your own for a while. Greg isn't the sort of person you thought you'd usually want to be around.
Horses, the password to the bank, you check the number. Just a zero.
Lena, the Pink Kitten club's number. Not much luck there, but perhaps a visit might start answering some more questions, despite the threat you've already received.
Sat9pm, the time the potential ransom payers will be calling for more information of where to put their cash.
TomKaty, you have no idea. You press call, and it rings
"Mason! Christ baby, where have you been?" a woman's voice. You presume Katy.
"Katy?" you ask, tentatively
"Of course, where are you?" Katy asks
"In a coffee shop, near the Manley Shopping Centre.. could you pick me up? I need to talk to someone"
"Sure, I know the place. Give me twenty minutes", and she rings off.
Half an hour passes, and the door to coffee shop opens, in walks a girl, late twenties, jet black hair in a black rainmac. She sees you sitting at the counter and runs over, throwing her arms around you.
You take a deep breath. You have no idea who Katy is, but she knows you. Hopefully she'll be able to answer some questions, just what to tell her, and what to ask? Choose wisely. You still don't know if you can trust her.
suggests...Sticking with my favourite 'not feeling well' line I'd tell her you're having some problems and need to talk to her but not there, could she take you to your flat (maybe you can get changed there), or go to hers - maybe seeing somewhere you've been before might bring some memories back??? It might be worth finding out as well who 'Tom' might be as her number in your phone is TomKaty it might be that you are not the only love in her life?
suggests...Get her to take you back to her place, ostensibly so you can get your clothes dried out. While you're there, take the opportunity to snoop around to see if you can find out whether she can be trusted.
#18. A short chase
Thursday, October 06, 2005 You run after the guy dodging through traffic as you try to make out which direction he ran in. Currently Greg, if that is Greg, is the only one with any real information as to who you are, and what plot you're entangled with.He's fast, and you lose him in a crowd of people.
"Damn it!" you shout, and stand dripping wet, breathing heavily.
You look around and find a coffee shop to regroup in.
You're sitting at the counter, with a cup of black steaming liquid. The past few hours have flown by, but you're not really any further with understanding your situation. You take a moment to go back over what has happened.
It is safe to assume that Lena has been kidnapped, held to ransom using an sick if not obvious ransom note, but it hasn't been delivered to her father or whoever is going to be paying the bill - that was your job, and you failed. At some point there is going to be a large amount of cash deposited in that bank vault security box, and then they'll start following the same clues you're chasing to find Lena. What you haven't got a clue about, though, is why Greg can't do this on his own. Later today, you'll be receiving a phonecall, but what you have to say is still a mystery. In any case, kidnapping is not your forte.
You're sitting in a coffee shop. You are wearing a damp suit, with your wallet and mobile phone.
suggests...At midnight, when you take the call, offer to help the guy whose daughter has been kidnapped. Confess your insomnia and explain that you're not a gangster, just some random person caught up in all this.
In the meantime, perhaps you could go and see a doctor to see if you can get some answers on why you can't remember anything.
suggests...I think Slim's suggestion is a great one but I might refrain from confession to insomnia and rather confess amnesia???
Alternatively you could try calling some of the other random numbers in the phone - like FLAT maybe - and try to establish where to live, maybe you've got a girlfriend or person you live with you can help you?
suggests...Just two things to consider from me. Firstly, you never really investigated the "strangely compelling" fire escape. Why was it compelling? Might be worth a look.
The other thing is that you've got a number called 'sat9pm' in your phone. This will be the number for the person you're trying to get ransom money out of. They will hold the answers to who Lena is. Might be worth calling - but from a payphone, not the mobile, and be ready to get the hell out of there if the call is traced.
#17. In the rain
Wednesday, October 05, 2005 Leaving the store, you decide to get to the location on the map, to start trying to resolve this mystery. You walk out of the shopping centre, and walk to the main road to hail a cab. It's still raining, and bitterly cold, and as a cab pulls up to take you on to the address, you feel a hand on your shoulder."What the fuck are you doing?!"
You spin around, to be confronted with a man, not too dissimilar from you in age, but has obviously been out in the rain for some time.
"Eh?"
"I said, what the fuck are you doing? Why the hell are you taking the stuff from the bank?? Christ man, you're not getting nervous on me are?"
"I er..."
"Fuck, this whole thing needs to be smooth, I need to rely on you man, I can't have this going wrong... Why the hell are you messing with the plan? They've got the finger right? You've done that part right?"
"The finger, I er.. no, its.. I've got the finger"
"Oh WHAT THE FUCK!! Shit man.. its almost 10am, and you've not even sent the FUCKING RANSOM NOTE!? Give me that shit here", and he rummages in your pocket pulling out the finger.
"Shit, this fucking stinks.. man, I can't believe you. Look, give me the paperwork, I'll get it back to the bank, and I'll get the finger to our girl's daddy.. You just get your ass back on track, and wait for the phonecall, that's all you need to do.. And be careful yeah? They've already taken out Mickey C, but I need you to take that phonecall, you know i can't do it.. they know my voice, and where would that leave us? Huh?"
The guy punches you in the arm and smiles.
"Come on man, its all good.. this'll all be sorted by midnight, and next time, answer my call yeah?"
He takes the envelope and CD from you, and crosses the road, disappearing into the rain. You stand, dumbfounded, pondering your next move.
suggests...Chase after the guy and find out who he's sending the finger to
suggests...Chase after the guy and say you've not been feeling well, can you run through the plan again, don't let on that you know nothing but see what else you can find out - maybe find out where the girl is and maybe you can release her?
suggests...give hin a rim job
suggests...Take that phone call at midnight, when you should take the opportunity to double-cross him and offer to help the guy whose daughter has been kidnapped.
In the meantime, go and buy a newspaper and see if there's a story about a kidnapping. You need to find out who Greg really is.
suggests...listen to slim.
#16. Aural Stimulation
Tuesday, October 04, 2005 A phonecall is a little too much to handle right now, so you leave it ringing and put it back in your pocket. If Greg wants to leave a message, you'll deal with it later, bigger fish are waiting to be gutted, filleted and fried, and you're still not sure if you're a guppy or Captain Birdseye.You wander into the shopping centre, and find a store locator map, hunt down the list, and find a hifi shop on the 2nd floor. Being in a place where piped musak hangs in the air, and fake plastic plants adorn every walkway seems almost too surreal after the past few hours. Its only still early in the morning, so few people are around, and some of the shops are still closed, but as your rise in the lift two floors up, you can see the audio store and its shutters rolling open, a few young looking staff mingling around the lot.
You go into the store and find a particularly stupid looking zitted employee for help.
"Hi there, i'm looking to try out some headphones"
"Sure, any particular ones in mind?" the boy squeeks, no doubt trying to stabilise his voice pitch shifting from high to low brought on by his hormonally inbalanced state.
"Er.. Yeah, those?" and you point at a large set of headphones hanging on the wall.
The kid grabs the pair and walks you over to an amp set up in one corner of the store.
"I've um.. got my own CD to check it out with.. I'm in a band, and well, they're for that.. so I want to know how it sounds" you say
"Sure" the boy trembles, and takes the CD from you, puts it in a deck, presses a few buttons and hands you the headphones.
You start to hear your own voice:
"You've got the first bit right, now leave the money here, and go to the location circled on the map. Take the SIM card, and put it in a phone. At midnight, call the number in the addressbook, not a minute before. We'll give you the next set of instructions then."
You pass the headphones back to the youth, and take your CD. The next move is down to you.
suggests...Check out the locaiton highlighted on the map but try to do it so you can see the location but you're not actually in it, maybe try and get above it, or get in a car near it and hide - surveillance might be the key for the moment....
suggests...Find out the number in the phone's addressbook. Is it your own phone number?
If so, put all the stuff back in the bank's safety deposit box and wait until midnight to see if you get a phone call from whoever it is that you appear to be holding to ransom.
#15. Treasure Hunt
Monday, October 03, 2005 You leave the bank, carrying the envelope and its contents, and try to hail another cab as the doorman nods to you on your way out. Its started to rain, and cabs ready to hire are few and far between, but eventually one pulls up infront of you and you climb in."Where to?"
You pause and realise you're not actually sure where you need to go next. You think about the contents of the envelope.
"I need an audio store, you know, some place that sells hi-fi equipment"
"Okay, there's a shopping centre about five minutes.. you'll probably find something in there"
"Sure"
and the cab leaves the bank. The traffic is pretty heavy, and whilst making your way to the shopping district, you pull the envelope back open again and leaf through its contents.
The photos show a selection of things. A storefront, a dock warehouse, a woman tied up in a chair and the final image shows two well dressed men drinking coffee outside a cafe.
The map has a location circled in red marker pen ink.
The slip of paper has A66C74 written on it in the same red ink.
The newspaper cutting is an article on the topic of a judge discussing some case he'd been working on.
You reach the shopping complex and stuff the items back into the envelope. As you get out of the cab, your phone rings, with "Greg" flashing on the screen. You hesitate, not knowing who Greg is, you're naturally cautious.
suggests...Just for the sake of diversity I'm going to say don't answer it, reject the call and hope Greg leaves a message.
Get to the flat, without Zoe knowing have a look round and see if things look familiar at all, how long have you got til your midnight call? Maybe have a look at some of your old bank statements if there are any clues about if you're the person giving Lena the money to pay her blackmailer, or if there are any big deposits to show that you are the blackmailer??