5 Chapter 4: No Use Crying Over Spilled Coffee

11… Er, 12? I honestly have no clue what the time is, how long was I out? God, my head's pounding… The last thing I remember is seeing all that coffee, and then everything went black… Someone must have knocked me out! I try to get up, but I'm unable to move. It's too dark to see, but it seems like I'm tied to a chair. I feel the thick, itchy ropes bind my wrists and ankles, irritatingly digging into my skin. To make things worse, all my stuff is gone! My jacket, my hat… all I have on me is my white undershirt and polka-dolt underpants!

I start to panic a little, droplets of stressed sweat roll off my forehead. The air is thick with an arid intensity, a dreaded darkness surrounding me on all sides. My breaths start to get heavy and rapid. My heart is pounding. I want to just scream into the dank void around me, demanding answers for simple, by-the-book questions. But I try to keep myself calm. I shouldn't try initiating any conflict with my aggressor; I must be cool and controlled. If I can keep a level head, I know I can find a way out of this! … Hopefully.

Suddenly; a blinding bright light is shone in my face. I can see the strict woven ropes restraining my wrists and ankles, as well as the uncomfortable wooden chair I sit in. Now that I get a good look at them, they seem to have been tied quite amateurishly. The light's almighty reach illuminates the walls of the room I'm in, revealing the packs of coffee I saw before getting attacked. Before I can begin plotting my great escape, a shadowy outline of a man appears just outside of the light's encompassing brilliance. I gulp a little at the sight; this must be who attacked me! I open my mouth to speak, but the shadow beats me to the proverbial punch.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't mista' detective man!" The shadow speaks with a mocking tone. Hold on… that voice… that accent…

"Y-you?!" I ask, flabbergastingly glaring at the shadow with my mouth agape. "S-show yourself!" I demand, trying to keep up a tough demeanor despite my bindings. The shadow scoffs; but obliges, stepping into the light. Just as I thought… it was Cole, the security guard from the factory!

"Shocked?" Cole asked in his cocky Cockney accent. A metal baton perched over his shoulder proudly glimmers in the light, specks of crimson lingering on the spot he must have whacked me with. He stands with a slouch in his shoulders, still a little groggy from his wake-up call. "You… you just had to stick your nose where it didn't belong, huh? Well congrats! You found our secret hiding place; congratu-freakin'-lations!" Cole smirks sheepishly, a sense of arrogant pride on his voice.

"O-our?" I reply. Does that mean Cole and Randy were in cahoots? Or… maybe Cole was using Randy? Honestly, Cole's smarter than I gave him credit for! "What's your game?" I snarl, glaring up at him in hopes of him spilling the beans of his grand plan. From what I've seen in cartoons, these types of criminals are too overzealous for their own good. But Cole just laughs at my question, a smirk spreading across his face.

"Right, like I'd tell you our plan!" Cole responds, giving his baton an arrogant twirl before setting it down on a crate. His high-and-mighty nature is starting to tick me off, but I guess it's warranted. He got me pretty good, after all! "Though, I do have to give you credit. I honestly thought you would have closed the case after Randy got exposed!" Randy admits, giving an idle shrug. Was his face always so punchable? A small 'ding!' Plinks out from behind Cole, making him turn around and enter into the abyss once more.

He returns a few seconds later, holding a pot of sweet, steaming coffee in his hand. Cole takes a greedy, long sip and sighs happily. "Oh yeah, that's the stuff… Ya know, I gotta hand it to that Mr. Brew... We might be trying to shut em' down, but he makes a damn good coffee!" Cole smirks, taking another, longer sip. I could really go for some coffee… Hey, that gives me an idea!

"Really? Truth be told, I've never had his brand before… mind if I have some?" I casually lie. Of course I've had Pick-Ya-Up coffee, it's the best around!

"E-excuse me? That's gross man, go get your own coffee pot! … Oh wait, you can't!" Cole taunts, childishly giggling at my misfortune. "But… You did come a lot farther than I thought you would… Fine, you get one sip!" Cole reasons with himself, bringing the pot of coffee to my lips. It's SCALDING! How could he drink this stuff? He's gonna burn himself! Still, I do my best not to swallow it, subtly storing the java between my jaws. This plan is exceedingly stupid, but it just. Might. Work.

A muffled 'Bebobebop! Bebobebop!' Rings from Cole's back pocket. He sets the pot down on the floor and pulls out an old, navy blue flip phone. He flips it open and puts the phone to his ear. "There you are boss! I've been trying to call you for like, the past half hour! What took you so long? He talks into the phone, acting like I suddenly don't exist. Boss? There's ANOTHER perpetrator?!

"... Right, right. Yeah I know you were in a meeting, but this is urgent! … Yeah, so you know that detective guy? Brown Jacket, dumb hat? Well I caught him snoopin' around the warehouse, so I knocked him out!" He explains, shooting a glance my way. "... Did I use a weapon? I mean, I had my baton so I just… W-what? Evidence? I… I guess if the police got their hands on it… Right, right I'll get rid of it, what about the guy? … ... Y-you want me to do WHAT?! I-I don't… … Y-yes boss, right away…" He sighs, hanging up and closing his phone. He's… frowning. W-what did the boss tell him to do?

Cole turns to face me, a gloom look in his eyes. "W-well uh… so the boss told me to… erm… 'get rid of ya', so to speak. But uh, I don't know… that seems a little… extreme?" He explains, scratching his scalp. "I mean, they just said this was gonna be a bit of theft and corporate scandalism, they didn't say anything about murder!" He rambles, reaching to pick up his weapon. "But… oh well. I wont kill ya, just knock you out and dump ya somewhere!" He sighs, raising his baton to strike. Now was my chance! I puckered my lips, looked up at him with an angry glare, and spat out the hot coffee right in his face!

"OH GOD, WHAT THE HELL?!" Cole shouts, dropping his Baton and putting his hands to his face in a desperate attempt to wipe the coffee off. Not wasting any time, I throw myself forward! "W-WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH-" Cole starts, getting knocked to the floor as I topple into him. He hits his head on the floor, snarling in anguish. "W-why you little!" He angrily shouts, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a knife! I panic for a moment, my mind racing on what to do. I decide to 'use my head', and give him a powerful headbutt to the noggin! Cole lets out a pained yell, and drops his knife. He's out cold! I… I did it! I actually did it!

With a bit of effort, I manage to grab Cole's knife and use it to cut my ropes. I get up with a groan, still able to feel the itching on my writs and ankles. That… was… terrifying! I thought for sure I'd die! That was easily the single most intense thing that's ever happened to me, and I never wanna go through it again! That being said… this is HUGE! This warehouse is a treasure trove of evidence, and Cole's a prime suspect for sure! And… the boss…

I don't know if I should feel comforted or worried that there's a definitive ringleader behind all this. A mastermind is pulling the strings, establishing a web of lies that I've been tangled in. Just imagine how many other people they must control! But… if I manage to take down this boss, then the whole evil operation will surly fall apart! I turn off the blinding light that first greeted me to my precarious situation; and stumbled around in the dark until I found the light switch. Now that the lights are on, I spot all my stuff on a nearby crate. I put them on and pull out my phone, calling the police to explain the situation. They knew that I was on the case, so they should be here soon!

In the meantime, I may as well conduct a bit of investigation of my own. I finally get to use my detective kit! I pull out a miniature briefcase from one of my jacket's deeper pockets, flipping the latches off and opening the case up. Inside are several essential tools for all my crime-solving needs! A magnifying glass, evidence holding bags, a camera, binoculars, gloves (Can't get my fingerprints on anything now, can I?), and anything else I might need. Before doing anything, I take out the pair of handcuffs I left the office with and cuff Cole. I seat his unconscious body on the chair, tying him up with some of the excess rope lying around. Hopefully that'll keep him still until backup arrives!

Now that Cole's taken care of, my first order of business should be to take pictures! With the camera, I snap pictures of the baton and coffee. I figure I don't need to do too much, as the police will take care of most of the forensics. But… there's one more thing I'd like to check: Cole's phone. I don my gloves and pick up the phone from the floor. Flipping it open, I sit down on a crate and start conducting a thorough search of the device. The phone seems to be brand new, likely brought just to be used for this mission and discarded. His camera roll is empty, his texts are barren, and he doesn't even have any games! There's just one more thing I want to check: His calls. If his boss just called him, then the number surly must still be on his call list! I open the call list, go to the menu labeled 'recent calls', and took a look.

There was only one call in the menu, the rest probably being deleted for security reasons. I'm tempted to call the number on Cole's phone, but I resist the urge. Suddenly, I recall the slip of paper Randy had. It's a bit of a long shot, but… I pull out the slip from one of my numerous pockets; and with a quick check of the two numbers, my suspicions are confirmed. They're the exact same! This confirms that Randy is a part of this crime, AND gave us a direct line of contact for the boss! That urge to call the number is still strong within me. Sure, they didn't answer my calls on the way here, but if I call on Cole's cell… But I know if I do that, they'll get rid of the phone, leaving me with nothing! So I'll wait… for now.

I still got some time until backup arrives, so I pull out my notebook to update my list of findings; including Randy's involvement, the slip of paper, the warehouse, machinery, stolen coffee, Cole's involvement, Cole's phone, the bosses number… Wow, that's a lot of evidence, huh? I'm starting to feel a second wind flow through my lungs. A game plan is starting to be drafted in my head: I'll take a trip down to the police station they took Randy to and attempt to get some answers from him. From there, I'll pull everything together and maybe, just maybe find a culprit!

The wails of a police siren ring out in the distance. They're here! I get up from my crate and glance back at Cole. The sirens seem to have woken him up. He doesn't say anything, but shoots me a nasty glare. I give him a sassy shrug before turning my head to the door. I can hear footsteps from the other side of the door! I smile slightly, feeling a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

The real investigation has begun.