36: The Logical and the Emotional part 2

“I am really sorry that happened to you,” Drino said.

“Now that you’ve heard of my story, it’s time to eat.” He placed their food on the floor. “We can’t untie you, so please find a way to eat. I’ll be back after you’ve finished eating.”

“Doofus… I mean, Sir, saying this won’t give you enough justice, but we’ll address your problem properly. Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. I hope you won’t lose your trust working with us once again.”

Doofus left them with a heavy heart.

Drino is surely hungry because he wasn’t able to eat last night.

“I’m not flexible enough to bring my arms from back to front,” Ashmille mumbled. “I’ll feed you like this.”

They fed each other, and Drino came first. She scoops food from the paper lunch box from her back, and Drino sits behind her, moves his head down to meet halfway with her hand, and eats.

“They fed us with a packed lunch in a paper box and commercial plastic bottled water. They didn’t prepare it, but bought it somewhere. Maybe in a nearby eatery and a sari-sari store. There can be a commercial space and other residential homes along this street.”

A sari-sari store is a small, local, family-owned neighborhood store that sells everyday necessities such as snacks, beverages, basic groceries, and toiletries.

“You’re right.”

“Let’s write something on this paper lunch box. Something like SOS. We don’t have any pens. We can use our own blood.”

“We need a sharp thing… over there!” Drino saw a rusty wire and metal nails at the corner of the basement.

“We can’t risk getting tetanus.”

“You’re piercing your fingers?” he asked when he saw Ashmille trying to pierce her right index finger with her right thumb.

“I can’t spike it. My nails are too short. How about yours?”

“Same with mine.”

“Bite my finger.”

They couldn’t bite their own fingers with their hands tied behind their backs.

He flustered. “No, I can’t, you’ll get yourself hurt.”

“That’s not the point, but our goal is to produce an alternative ink.”

“Bite mine instead.” He stood up, turned his back to her, and wiggled his right index finger.

“A-Are you sure? There’s still a possibility of getting tetanus from a human bite.”

“We have no other choice. Better to try it.”

The rope that tied their hands is too thick and knotted well. She kneeled and opened her mouth, leaned closer to his finger. She bit with an ample amount of strength, not to hurt him too much, but enough to pierce his skin.

“Alright, I got it,” Drino wrote on the back of the paper lunch box

HELP! 2 PEOPLE KIDNAPPED BY 3 MEN WEARING ALL BLACK IN A BLACK VAN. ABANDONED BUILDING BASEMENT. 09542189235 CALL DRINO MONTEZALES PARENTS

They folded the paper lunch box back and waited for the kidnapper to clean up. They checked the basement’s windows and one door to see if they could escape.

“This feeling… is familiar,” she muttered, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Have you been in this place before?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Or maybe you’re familiar with which province we are right now?”

She fell silent, trying to remember what it is.

“You can do it,” he cheered her.

“An escape room! This seems to be playing a survival game in an escape room.”

Drino scoffed. “Now that you mentioned that this is like an escape room, you wrote Solve a Mystery date for our seventh date.”

“This is a real-life mystery!” She couldn’t contain her excitement, she exclaimed.

“Right. You’re into this stuff. Shall we consider this as part of our date?”

“A date?”

“Yup,” he nodded and smiled.

“A k-kidnapping date?”

“We don’t have to consider it if you don’t want…”

“That sounds so cool! This might be the coolest date we’ve ever had.”

He chortled at how excited she was.

“Sorry, this isn’t the right time to be excited about something that could kill us.”

“We’re not gonna die,” he rebuked her. “We’re solving this and will leave this place alive.”

She sighed.

“I’m also quite amused that we got kidnapped. This is about solving a mystery for you, but for me, it's a break from the stress of entertaining at least 50 people. My parents weren’t there, so I had to do it all by myself. Besides, the party is for me. Dealing with many people 24/7 is fun and tiring. This is the only time I get to rest without dealing with people.”

“But I’m still here. You’re still dealing with me.”

“Then that’s better. Recharging with you like this is liberating.”

“You think so?”

“This is not the type of recharging I was anticipating, but it has become better than expected,” he smiled wryly.

He has his online and face-to-face fans. He’s working with his co-actors, co-artists, and co-founders. His agency and manager are keeping a close eye on his actions. It is indeed an exhausting world.

“Anyway, enough of the drama. We need to come up with something, some sort of an escape plan, like the escape room you mentioned.”

“Disclaimer: the fictional escape room is very much different from the real-life one.”

“I agree. But I believe that we can do this, Detective Feder.”

She looked at him. “Why Feder?”

“Officers are usually called by their last name, aren’t they?”

“A-Anyway, I’ll entrust you, Mr. Montezales, with being my assistant detective on solving this locked-room mystery and escape plan.”

“Aye-aye, Detective!” he raised his right hand to salute.

“Before we proceed with that, we should trace back to the roots.” She looked at him from head to toe. “You have the latest phone, you’re wearing an expensive-looking watch, and your clothes must be a luxury brand.” She pointed at his tuxedo. “What’s that logo?”

“It’s a logo of the best fashion designer in the country. This watch has diamonds on it. And yes, I just bought the latest phone.”

“With maximum features?”

“With maximum features. Wait, do I have to toss those things away to prevent further kidnapping cases?”

“That’s one of the ideal moves not to attract robbers. But if they researched your background, no matter whether you looked homeless or not, there’s still a chance of getting kidnapped for ransom.”

“That would be a waste not to use all of it. Those are pricey, and many of them were gifts… I’m gradually feeling the cons of being born like this.”

“Kind of a late bloomer for rich people like you.”

“But I don’t blame anyone for being born like this.”

“There seems to be a fourth kidnapper. It’s like they’re waiting for someone before asking for ransom money. Tres implied that their primary operation would conclude once they received the money. But they have an additional task to finish if they want to earn more. If that’s the case, the fourth kidnapper wants more than just your money.”

“And if I remember correctly, there was someone with a white face mask who came to us before I lost my consciousness in the black van. He murmured something about…” he recalls. “Teaching me a lesson. His voice was also weird.”

“That confirms my theory. Good job remembering a vital detail.”

“Glad to be of help.”

“Actually… I’m aware of the possible case your company will face.”

“You know about the homicides and robberies?”

“And the allegations the public has that the Drino company’s employees, specifically the drivers, are part of the crime.”

“There’s also a significant cybersecurity breach.”

“It can be someone near to you.”

“You mean this is a work of an insider?”

“A possibility. It can be one of your relatives.”

“No, no, no, they can’t be,” he refused to believe her.

“How sure are you?”

“It’s because we’re closely related. My parents, my aunt, and uncles are on good terms, so there’s no way they will betray my family and me,” he pouted and frowned.

“Alejandrino, I understand. But this is no time to be emotional. Anyone around your circle can be a suspect.”