Saturday
Go time!
The three friends got up early, going over the plan one more time. They had three different appointments. Cleo and Chris dressed as a Acouple. She wore a corporate gown, curled her hair and applied makeup to make her look older. Chris on the other hand wore a suit on top of his corporate shirt and pants.
12pm
Chris and Cleo were seated in the waiting room in Hardy Enterprises. The plump secretary eyed them suspiciously. They smiled sweetly.
"Mr and Mrs. Hunter" the plump secretary called"Mr. Hardy is expecting you"
"Thanks" Cleo said as Chris led her into Mr. Thomas's office. Thomas Hardy was a tall muscular man in his early forties. His curly black hair packed in a ponytail. His unique sky blue eyes shinning as he watched his visitors. His handle bar moustache widened as he beamed. Cleo looked around. There were various posters of probably past owners of Hardy Enterprises. A pale green rug lay in the center of the spacious office. His cherry wood desk was neatly arranged having various pens in a cup. A name tablet that had Thomas Hardy inscribed on it sat on the desk. A cup of coffee in his big hand.
"Mr and Mrs. Hunter. Please have a seat.You must be exhausted after your long journey. Care for some coffee."He offered politely
"Thank you"Chris said."We're okay"
Thomas shrugged. He looked at his visitors.
"I didn't know both of you were so young. "
"We married early" Chris said.
"Interesting." Thomas said sipping his coffee
"Mr. Hardy can I ask you a question?" Cleo asked deciding to do all the talking.
"Please. Call me Tom"
"Okay, Tom. Aren't you bothered about the missing Barcelona heir? It may have a toll on your business empire considering your personal vendetta with the Barcelonas."
Cleo watched him. His expression was blank.
He sighed
"It might. The family business may shut down if the heir isn't found."
Tom took his seat placing the cup of coffee on the desk
"I know I haven't been in good terms with the Barcelonas but I can never do that. And besides, I'm quite fond of the heir. She's delightful"
"So you are assisting the police in the investigation?"Chris asked.
"Of course. Anything I can do to help"Tom said. It sounded so genuine. It was impossible to be an act.
Cleo sighed.
"Tom, I think Anabel and I should leave. We can't discuss business in your condition"Chris said.
"Yes" Cleo agreed taking Tom's hand.
"Show us around. Give us a tour of the enterprise. I hear it's very fascinating."
Tom smiled broadly
"Well I suppose "
"Come on. Let's go"she said dragging Tom out of the office. Chris texted Anida.
Anida crept silently through the vent. She paused waiting for the janitor to leave. Carefully she pulled down the metal covering of the vent. She scanned the office avoiding the CCTV cameras. She logged into the computer reviewing the files.
No sign of any illegal business involvement. She downloaded the files disappearing into the vent replacing the metal frame. She texted them as she crawled out of the vent.
Cleo's phone buzzed.
"Thank you so much for your time Tom. I think people should come here more often"Cleo said gratefully.
Tom kissed her hand
"I enjoyed my stay with both of you"
"Likewise Tom" Chris said shaking Tom.
"Goodbye"Cleo said waving.
They had an appointment scheduled for two in the afternoon. They rushed quickly to the location.
Someone would have asked. How did they pose as three different couples and what happened to the main couples. Easy. The main couples were asleep temporarily, just for the entire day. And with no memory of today. Even if they remember it would seem like a déjà vu.
2:00pm
Cleo and Chris were in Nathan Parker's office. Nathan looked younger than Tom. He had white blond hair and emerald green eyes.
"Would you like coffee?"He offered. What is it with coffee?
"No thanks"Chris declined for the second time today
Cleo questioned him, like Thomas Hardy, he was concerned about the welfare of the Barcelona heir and also would assist in her finding. Time for more acting.
"Honey you don't look good. What happened?" she said feigning worry.
She winked at Chris. He understood. She touched his forehead. She gasped. Nathan stood in alarm.
"What is it, Natalie?"
"I don't know but he's running a fever. Please take us to the emergency room."
Anida came in again disguised as a janitor. She logged into Parker's system and with the flash drive Cleo left she transferred all the data. She peered into the screen. Bankruptcy?
If Parker industries was bankrupt isn't it obvious that be kidnapped the Barcelona heir?
She stopped. She heard footsteps. Someone was coming. She hid behind the door. The male clerk looked in
"Mr. Parker?" he called. No response. He shrugged, resuming his work. Anida went out unnoticed. Cleo's phone buzzed again.
"Thank you so much. I'll take George to the hospital"
"Please do, your appointment will be rescheduled for another time"Nathan said,leading them out.
"Thank you"
Finally. The third and last suspect.
Jonathan Crew
3:00pm
After another investigation session, it was just like the other two and by the looks of things they had an alibi during the night the Barcelona heir was captured. It was getting quite annoying and hopeless. They were tired and hungry. It was time for their final and last act of the day. Cleo let the fake diamond ring she wore slip. Chris hid it in his pocket.
"My ring...It's missing"Cleo cried
They knew Jon would help. He was a real gentleman.
"I think I saw it roll into the hallway." Chris said looking out the door.
"I'll help find it"Jon said. Anida got in through the vent, downloading the information into a flash and disappeared as she came. When Anida left, Chris flipped the fake ring from his pocket. Jonathan heard it, spotting the ring he crouched and picked it up sliding it into Cleo's slender fingers.
Cleo felt overjoyed
"Thank you so much, Jon. Barry would definitely want to bear hug you. Wouldn't you honey?"
Chris shook his head.
"I think I'd-"
Jon had Chris in his muscular arms squeezing him. Chris felt like dying. Cleo chuckled.
They waved at Jon and both left the office finally done for the day.
****
Anida put in the flash drives it's contents appearing on two screens.She started analyzing the information. Chris dragged Cleo outside.
"Dude, what's your problem?"
"Cleo seriously. Jon almost killed me back there"
"Did you have any better ideas?" Cleo asked as a matter of factly
"No but wasn't it too dramatic"
He mimicked Cleo
"Oh my dear Georgie! He's running a fever"
She laughed
"I do not sound like that"
"Cleo, you would have at least given me awesome name. Instead Barry, George " he shuddered "Paul"
"Chris, we had to act. And they bought it. So why is it ticking you off?"
"Well, I wanted to do all the talking" he pouted.
"Chris honey, desperate times call for desperate measures"
"Please don't call me that" It was awkward. "Cleo, you're awesome and all but please don't call me honey"
"But I'm your wife. Christian Squires!" She gasped, pretending to be offended.
"Yeah, no!"
Anida called
"Guys come see"
They ran in
"What's up "Chris asked looking at the screen.
"Based on the information. Only Nathan was bankrupt making him the obvious suspect. But then he just like the other two suspects, he showed genuine worry for the barcelona heir. And there was no record of Parker industries engaging in illegal or shady business. That's clearly making them innocent"
"And they had alibis" Chris added.
The three came to a conclusion. The butler
"But we have no proof. It's just a silly assumption" Anida said
"It's called gut feeling Anida"Chris said
"I think Chris is right. Let's investigate the butler. Afterall he's the only one left" Cleo said agreeing with Chris
****
The night fell and the three friends stood on top of the huge barcelona fortress. It was surrounded by armed guards. The Barcelona's were accommodated somewhere else since their house was the crime scene. The only way in was the chimney. Chris shook his head
"No way I'm going in first. Ladies first"
Anida shrugged.
"You don't have to"
"Really!" he said, his eyes shining.
She grinned "Just kidding."
Anida pushed him down the chimney. Chris shouted as he went down landing with a thud!
Anida went next, snickering. Cleo followed, shaking her head. Once inside and covered with soot, they split up deciding it's best to cover more ground. There was no butler. She searched the butler's room. She had a hunch that there was a secret passage somewhere in the room. But where? She searched and finally spotted a vase. It seemed suspicious. Slowly she pushed the vase. It revealed circular flights of stairs.
She signalled the others. They went in after her. The flight of stairs vanished as they went deeper, closing the only source of light. Chris got a handy flashlight from his pocket. He switched it on.
Drip...Drop... Drip... Drop
Cautiously they followed the sound. They heard a scream that stopped them in their tracks.
"Help me... Someone please... Help!!"
They guessed that tiny voice belonged to the heir. They went ahead, stopping when they found the heir tied up with the what?!
Cleo's eyes widened in shock. The butler?! Then who's the bad guy? She suddenly felt electricity flow through her. She saw a figure emerge. Everything went black and she fell unconscious.
****
Cleo opened her eyes. Chris, Anida and Melissa, the heir were beside her. She tried to move but discovered she was chained heavily to the others. Chris and Anida woke up, confused.
"What happened? "Chris whispered.
Anida shrugged.
Someone emerged from the shadows
"What do we have here?"A deep sinister voice asked. He had on a black hood, shielding his face.He grinned, wickedly
"Who are you?"Anida asked squinting her eyes
"And what did you do to the butler?"Chris demanded
He paced, his knife at Melissa's neck. Melissa shivered. He revealed his hand. Cleo noticed that he had a tiny drill in the middle of his finger.
Creep!!
"Let me guess you call yourself drill finger"Chris said dryly remembering the villain Drill finger from the show, Henry Danger.
"No. It's the drill!!" He yelled
He laughed coldly.
"Do you know why the call me The Drill?"
Chris rolled his eyes
"I'm pretty sure it's not the fact that you have a drill in between your fingers" Cleo stifled a chuckle, earning a scary glare from the fiend. He ignored them as he turned on the light. There lay the butler, pale and lifeless. A huge hole in his chest. Melissa screamed. Tears rushing out. Anida swallowed her vomit. Chris and Cleo cringed. They don't call him the drill for nothing. He drilled the butler's heart out. Literally!
"I don't work with traitors. He kidnapped the heir but refused to do away with her. So I drilled his heart away" He cackled.
"Very funny. Joke of the century" Chris said, his voice dripping with sarcasm
"Now I have three shadow brats, I would be more than happy to drill their lives and for little miss sunshine here. She'll help me get all the riches I ever desire. "
Cleo quickly took her medallion from her side pocket carefully cutting the chains. Chris had to distract him.
"So..Drill, how did you get the drill anyway?"
The drill smiled
"Nice that you asked. I lost my finger in a lab accident. They couldn't fix my finger back since the bone burnt along with it. No one could do anything about it so I decided to install a drill in the empty space between my fingers. And my first victim was my wife."
Chris shuddered
"Did you have a reason for murdering your wife? Didn't you love her?"
"I did. I adored her but she left me to have an affair with her partner. After all I had done for her. I killed him afterwards anyway. "
"So now you had some sort of deal? Do the dirty work and get paid."
"The drill works for no one!"
He laughed.
"I enjoyed your company. So sad it had to end this way. I really liked you"
Chris felt like vomiting. He preferred Jordan liking him to this dude.
Cleo had cut the chains and quickly picked their locks.
"You are a psycho! "Chris spat.
The drill shrugged, unamused
"You're not the first one calling me that. Bye bye."
The tiny drill swirled. The drill had a sinister grin as he approached Chris. Anida free of her chains kicked hard at the fiend. The drill flew back. Anida looked pale, having a greenish hue. She looked sick.
"Anida, take Melissa out of here"Cleo shouted
"What about you guys?" she asked, worried
"Go. We'll be okay" Chris assured.
With a last look at her friends, she took Melissa to safety.
Chris and Cleo got ready. The drill got up, wiping the blood that streamed from his nose. He grinned, charging at them. He punched and kicked. His opponents ducked easily. He grabbed Chris with his massive arms, pushing him to the wall. His drill spinning. Cleo thinking fast kicked the Drill. He groaned letting go of Chris. He was on his feet in no time.
"We need to get rid of that drill"
"On it" Chris said swirling his staff. He knocked the drill over. The drill yet again grabbed Chris's leg throwing him to the wall. He groaned. Chris managed to stand. A heavy punch from the drill brought him right down. Chris spat blood, weak he couldn't defend himself. The drill came closer a sinister grin on his lips. He grabbed Chris holding him to the wall. The staff on his neck,practically strangling him. His face was pink. His eyes bulged, dilated with fear. The drill pushing his finger close. Cleo gasped.
Quickly, she attached her zip line to the ceiling. She pushed herself back and forth while the drill for dramatic effect slowly pushed the drill forward, laughing like a maniac. She kicked pushing the drill into the wall. Chris dropped to the floor gasping. The drill emerged again
"You think that will stop me" he sneered.
Cleo looked above. The ceiling had cracks indicating its lack of youth and the tendency of falling. She shot an arrow towards the drill. The drill laughed
"Missed"
She smirked "Did I?"
The drill heard the sound of the wall cracking. Stones fell in huge heaps burying him under, silencing his screams. Cleo sighed. She ran to Chris
"You okay"
He put up a thumb
"Let's go home"
She helped him up and together they left the Drill and the dead butler buried under the rubble
****
Anida delivered the Barcelona heir safely and waited patiently for her friends. She turned on the news. The drill had been arrested.
"Good riddance to that" she said thankfully. She became anxious and started pacing, she paused not wanting to assume the worst. Soon Chris and Cleo came in. Unharmed, just bruised. They had with them a box of pizza and three bottles of soda. Anida ran to them, close to tears.
"Did we miss anything?"Chris asked raising a brow
"We just bought some stuff. You thought we were dead" Cleo teased.
"No"Anida lied. Cleo and Chris gave her the
We're not buying it look
She sighed
"I was scared okay. I thought he drilled your hearts out" she admitted.
Cleo hugged Anida.
"We're okay"
Chris watched them, a slice of pizza in his mouth. They glanced at him
"Oh sorry. I was really enjoying the drama"
The girls sighed"Oh Chris"
Then they laughed
"What?"Chris said still eating his pizza. Anida and Cleo joined in ravaging the pizza.
Sensei Timothai smiled as he watched his students eat and tease each other. They still had a long way to go both in training and retrieving the floating sword wherever it may be. He closed the door silently, as he walked into his room.