The Face Issue #2: Road to Disaster: Episode 9
The helicopter had already parked on top of the roof when Kaitlyn Grimm, in her ruby-red dress, and white gloves, stepped out. That girl really knew how to make an entrance. "Now dat's de most armazinist ting I'be eber sin," Bradley said in awe. Upon her exit, another figure followed her out of the door. It was another exeptionally large man, just like the one who had helped Miss Grimm out of the helicopter beforehand. "Dose are some mahty big fellas!" Bradley pointed out. "Hmmm." Tim thought. "I hope they know we're getting her interview today." Tim hoped. "If not, this could lead to trouble." We watched as the company of three entered a rooftop door and descended down a flight of stairs. "Now's our chance." Tim said. "We can get the interview and make large sums of money from the boss, and get a lead on this case!" He explained. "That's a great idea, Tim!" I agreed. But before we began the mission, I needed to know something. "Uhh, Tim. Remember the mask you gave me?" I asked. "Oh yeah, pretty sweet huh. Really freaks people out eh?" He asked. "Oh yeah." I said, playing along. Then I burst, "BUT IT WOULD WORK A LOT BETTER IF I COULD SEE THROUGH IT!" Tim looked at me like I was crazy. "Ooooh! You mean the no-eye thing." He realized. Tim swiped the mask away from me, and examined it. "You see here," Tim pointed out to a tiny flap about the size of a calculator button. "This is a flap that controls the layers upon which your eyes are supposed to be. As you can see, if I pull down, the layers diverge, leaving you with some very unnoticabe eyeholes. Simple as pie," He explained. "That would've been helpful, before we got into this whole mess," I said, annoyed, while swiping the fixed mask. "Cud, I hep wit anythin? Mars Tim?" Bradley asked. "Why yeah, you can! You can get this thing on tape. And get this, you can get paid 33 bucks!" Tim exclaimed.
"Oh boy, what great charity," I began sarcastically. "Bradley, I think your luck has changed for the better. You may be able to get your ticket to Japan after all...." After hearing these "enlightening" words, Bradley jumped into the air in delight, and kicked his feet together. "Yahoooey!" He cried aloud. "Suddern Samri Stadus, here's I come!" "Quick, go get your camera! I'll see if I can get to Kaitlyn!" Tim instructed. So Bradley and I opened the back of his van, and began setting up all the equipment. Meanwhile, Tim strolled casually inside the cafe.
Tim, nonchalantly, placed his hands in his pockets, and began to whistle the tune of the Andy Griffith show. He looked around the large den of the cafe, to try and spot Kaitlyn. The entire building was packed with people, and he couldn't seem to find her. Finally, someone on the stage began to speak on the mic. "Attention, customers! We are proud to present, the famous renowned actress, who has played a minor role in a MidWinter's Day Dream, and has appeared in many various Westchester movie productions......Kaitlyn Grimm!" A burst of snapping fingers rumbled through the area. "And now, we are also proud to have.....Samantha Winkle of the Daily Times here to interview the famous celebrity......live on television!" A roar of chants and ecstatic shouts came from the audience. Tim was in trouble, for he knew Samantha would not appear due to her elongated trip to the Vatican. "Uh-oh." Tim said to himself. Just then, a bell sounded as Bradley came in through the door of the cafe with the camera, while I followed, holding a large microphone overhead. "And here are our tv crew members right now!" The announcer yelled. Even louder roars of excitement blared through the air.
Tim, realizing in what a predicament he was, quickly provided a quick fix. He ran up to the stage, and seizing the mic, shouted, "Hey all. Are you ready to rock!? Yeah, baby!" Sounds of confusion and befuddlement echoed from the crowd. They didn't know who this guy was, or what he was doing on stage. "Get off the stage, you heckler!" One Grimm fan cried. "We want Kaitlyn, We want Kaitlyn!" A surge of shouts were chanted by the people. "We want Kaitlyn, we want Samantha!" Apparently, for some reason, Samantha had become quite the icon ever since, unbeknownst to us, she became a television reporter in the last day or two. Tim tried to gain his composure. "Ahem!" He coughed. "I'm sorry to tell you this.......but Samantha will not be joining us today. Uhh...errr.. because she had to take an "unscheduled," last minute trip to Europe," he chuckled to himself. "But, I.....I, Great chief editor in training, Tim Higher, will be interviewing Kaitlyn....live!" He yelled confidently, bending his arms to his hips. Loud boos roamed the area. "You're a fake!" An angry fan yelled. The crowd soon began to yell angrily at Tim, throwing cans and food at him as well.
Tim, thinking quickly, tried to dodge all the airborne items. He worked as best as he could. An apple, was thrown at his forehead. He dodged. "HA, buddy! You missed! You stink!" He taunted. A full pepsi can was aimed toward Tim's right leg. He picked his leg up, and the can missed. "Is that the best you can do!?" He jeered. "Come on! Gimme your best shot!" Tim yelled. That, was his first mistake. All of a sudden, a giant watermelon came hurling his way. Watching as it flew towards him, Tim asked, "Now who in their right mind would bring a waterme...." BLAMMO! Tim's overtalkative ways had landed him a painful trip to the ground. He was covered in pinkness, greenness, and seeds. "OOooh" He moaned, rubbing his aching head. "Now hold on!" The store owner/announcer said. "Let him have a chance! Excuse me, sir, but do you by any chance have an ID to verify yourself?" He asked Tim. Soaked, and agony-stricken, Tim fumbled to find his ID. He emptied his pockets and found nothing. "Confound it!" He said to himself. "It had a good picture of me, too!" He snapped his fingers in disappointment.
"Well, we'll give you one last chance. Let's see what Miss Grimm's bodyguards have to say." Shouts of excitements reverberated from the crowd. After the words, heavy footsteps could be heard approaching from the back of the stage. The crowd became deathly quiet. The entire cafe shook, as the large figures marched onstage. To Tim's dismay, it was not only two large bodyguards that headed his way, but a whopping four large figures, each having the build of heavy-weight trainers.. "Is there a problem, here, clerky?" A heavy, low, voice asked. "This man here claims to be the news reporter that will be interviewing Miss Grimm tonight. What do you have to say?" One of the herculean like protectorates stooped down to examine Timothy as he sat on the floor, covered in watermelon. The giant figure stroked his chin.
"Hmmm," He thought. "The news reporter we heard that was comin was supposed to be a girl!" He denied Tim. "This guy...ain't no girl!" He roared. Then the loud roars thundered about once again. More chants echoed throughout the stage. "Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight!" They cried. Tim, disbelieving what he was hearing, cried, "Are ya kidding me!?!?!?!" But it was too late, the lead guard picked up Tim by the shirt collar and lifted him off his feet. "The rest of you guys get back to your posts. I can handle this no problem." He asserted. The other three bodyguards fled to the back of the stage, while the leader pulled his arm back, with Tim's collar still in place, and threw him off of the stage. The crowd cleared as Tim fell to the ground with a loud thud. "This just isn't my day," he said to himself. The muscle-man then roared loudly like a maniac and leaped off the platform like a crazed wrestler to quash Tim under his stomach.
Near the back of the crowd, Bradley and I could hear Tim crying out loudly in pain. "AAAghhh!" We heard. The sound of bones cracking also reached our ears. "Dat duzn't sound gud a'tall." Bradley said. "Tim's a survivor. He can handle it." I said, although relatively unsure of my own words. I saw this time as a good chance to try and question Kaitlyn, even if I didn't get it on television. Unfortunately, there were still three guards left to take care of. Perhaps I could handle one, but three, I know, was impossible for me. So I decided to use Bradley as a decoy. I explained to Bradley what I wanted him to do....create a diversion by any means necessary. Then, thinking creatively, Bradley took up the challenge. "Awright, Benny. Ah sees wuts u wants mee tah doo. Ah gawt et awl undah controw." Upon finishing those words, Bradley quickly rushed through the crowd, pushing people out of his way. He made his way up to the stage, as I watched anxiously, waiting for the right time to move. Bradley stood on stage bravely, facing the curtains that led to the back. He yelled over to the bodyguards, who were guarding a door to Kaitlyn's private room.
"Ey yall!" He began. "Yous bes' be gettin awt heah! Ah's chellunj yall to a duwal!" There was no reply. Bradley brought about all the brainpower he could muster. "Wat's de mattah yall? Yall afred?! Gots col' feets do yas?" The ears of the bodyguards perked up in interest. "HEY!" One of them said. "Do you understand a word that guy's saying?" he asked. "Uhh....no idea." Another replied. They listened intently to try and translate Bradley's messages. Meanwhile, Bradley himself, tried his hardest to coax the protectors out. "Ya knose wut we cawl yall in de South? We calls yas yelloh-bellehs! Das rite! Yella-bellehs!" Bradley accused. "Yellowbellies!?" One of them cried in shock. "Is that what he said?" another asked in astonishment. "I swear that's what he said!" The first one cried. "Maybe he said, Hello Kelly....you know, to you, Kelly." A third bodyguard chimed in. The first one said excitedly, "Oh really? I never get visitors on duty!" So he walked outside onto the stage, waving his hand to Bradley. "Hi!" He said happily. "Did you call for me?" Bradley saw the bodyguard coming onto the stage. "I knews ya wudn't bak dawn frum a challunj!" He shot at him.
"My name is Kelly, did you ask for me? Let me guess...you want an autograph right?" He wondered. Bradley looked at him. "You's got da name, Kelleh? Bet dats a gal's nem! Yous a prissy lil skool-gerl!" Kelly may have not have understood what Bradely said before, but he surely knew what "prissy-little-school-girl" sounded like due to years and years of childhood torment. His eyes grew red in rage. His muscles began bulging from his suit, and all his veins began throbbing rapidly. "I.....AM NOT, A PRISSY LITTLE SCHOOL GIRL! THAT'S WHY I BECAME A FLURBIN BODYGUARD! WHY CAN'T YOU PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT!?" He yelled in a low, horrific, monstrous roar of rage. Bradley wouldn't step down, and he got into his fighting stance. With fists held high, he would never feign away from a challenge....too bad he was no match for the overpowered, overangered, ill-treated bodyguard. In a fit of infuriated rage, the bodyguard slugged Bradley's face using his extremely powerful right fist with an inconceivable amount of speed. Bradley was knocked high into the air and down into the circle surrounded by the crowd of enthusiatic, violent people. The arrival of famous renowned actress, Kaitlyn Grimm had turned into a Friday-night slugfest.
Two bodyguards were out of the way, and there were two left. However, I did not want to risk having the same fate as Bradley or Tim, so I decided to think of a stealth-involved plan, which would make Bradley's previous distraction null in void. Searching around, I found an air vent near the entrance to the cafe. I decided to navigate through the vent, and miraculously find my way to the passage that led to Kaitlyn's room, just like on television. So quietly, I crept over to the vent, and struggled to open the lid. I then slid inside to maneuver myself through the pipes. The halls of the vent smelled like old, rusty metal. The putrid scent of corroded material entered my nostrils. 'Twas not pleasant. After a bit of self-relied navigating, and trusting television, I made it to the vent above Kaitlyn's room. I peered down through the ventholes and saw not one, but two people. It was Kaitlyn, and another man, holding her hands against his.
"I told you, I'm not with them anymore! Now can we please move on? This is your big night here in....whatever this town is called." The man said. "I know, but....I just never want to go through that ever again." Kaitlyn replied. "You promise you're not in the mob anymore?" She asked. Then it hit me, my eyes searched for the gold pendant that was supposed to be on the man's neck. I was correct, it was the mob man I had previously seen at the bridal store. It was he who was Kaitlyn Grimm's boyfriend. Thoughts and possibilities rushed into my brain. Then all of a sudden, a strange sound interrupted my train of thought. Then I realized something. According to television, this is about high time when the vent snaps open and I fall through the ceiling into the room. My deduction was correct. The vent-cover I was on suddenly snapped, and like Wile E. Coyote, I found myself falling to the ground.
Kaitlyn and her boyfriend looked up to see what the sound was, only to see me falling. Fortunately, before hitting the ground, my fall was cushioned by the man with the gold pendant. A loud thud impeded upon the floor. "Ouch." I said. In rapid movement, I put my mask on. Then, quickly easing myself back into casuality, I kneeled on top of the mobster and said, "Ahem, yes, excuse me ma'am, I'm a detective here sent by....the....uhh Daily Times Mystery Inc. And we've here got ourselves a common criminal." I explained.
"What the!? Who are you? My boyfriend's not a criminal!" She argued. "Guards! Seize him!" Hearing these words, the two guards that were left rushed inside to see what was going inside. Then, all of a sudden, I am pushed aside, and punched quite hard in the face, by the angry gold-pendant wearing man. He swept up to his feet and darted out of the door. "Wait!" Kaitlyn cried. But it was no use, he had already fled, but he left his pendant upon the floor. This was a predicament, because I knew not what to call him by anymore.
"Deal with this spy!" Kaitlyn ordered. And the guards came rushing over. Realizing what bodily harm could be done, I thought fast and yelled, "I know something about your boyfriend!" Kaitlyn looked at me in bewilderment and put a hand up to stop her bodyguards. "What exactly do you know about my boyfriend?" she asked me. I stood up and dusted my trenchcoat off with my hands. "Well, you're not gonna like what I have to say, but, I saw him......consorting with some mob members....in their secret hideout.....in the bridal store next to this cafe." Kaitlyn was tapping her foot on the ground. "You expect me to believe that? What bull-caddy!" She cried.
I began to plead with her, "It's true! You have to believe me!" I looked over to see the bodyguards growling and pounding their fists into their hands. Kaitlyn looked down to the floor in disbelief. She had lowered her voice. "But.....he promised me he had quit the mob....." She argued. I replied, "He's lying. It's the truth. I saw him with Johnny, Shep, and Barney, the whole gang." I explained. Kaitlyn's eyebrows folded and she looked at me suspiciously. "How do you know who they are?" she asked. I explained myself once again. "I was eavesdropping on them. But that's beside the point. I'm looking for someone who's been missing for quite a while now. This is very important. I think this mob group is holding her for ransom." Kaitlyn was struggling to take it all in. "It couldn't be my boyfriend. He would never be involved in such nonsense. Who's missing?" she wondered.
"I believe you know this person....her name is.....Landra Lawson," I said. Kaitlyn gasped in horror and clasped her hand to her mouth. "Not Landra!" she cried. "She's like my best friend!" Her voice lowered once again. "But....I just spoke to her a week or two ago." "Where? What time? When? Please you have to tell me!" I pleaded. Kaitlyn's voiced raised once again. "Wait, a minute, how do I know you're telling the truth, and not just making this whole thing up? Are you trying to involve my boyfriend with this ludicrousness in an attempt to get revenge on him. Maybe you're part of the mob!" She accused. "Believe me! I saw him with them! He is still a part of the mob. I heard it with my own ears." I said. Kaitlyn was still not convinced. She tried to test me. "Alright, since you know my boyfriend so well, then what's his name?!" She asked.
Yep, at that point I was in a bind. I truly didn't know what his name was, nobody had ever pointed it out directly toward me, and he didn't wear a nametag. Sweat began to form upon my head as I saw the bodyguards from the corner of my eye ready to pounce and beat. Hoping to get lucky, I replied to her question with, "Uhmmm.......the man with the gold pendant?" Unfortunately, that was a useless answer since he did not have the pendant any longer. "Come on, Kaitlyn! Do you really think I'd be making this up!? A woman's life is at stake here!" I tried to convice her. I could see that she was coming around. It seemed as though her mind was struggling to decide what was best to do. Finally, she came to a verdict. "Alright," she said softly. "I'll help you. What do you need to know?" she asked. I put my finger to my chin and thought for a minute. "When your boyfriend was in the mob, did you know of any secret headquarters or any concealed main bases that he used to go to? Or maybe anything unusual?"
Kaitlyn looked at me with her brow raised. "If they were secret, or concealed, I wouldn't know, duh." She folded her arms. "But wait a minute....whenever he was on the phone, he would always say he would meet the person he was talking to at "Arthur's,"" she explained. "And...now that you mention it, sometimes when he came home at night, he smelled like smoke. Not like cigarette smoke, but some sort of burning smoke." "A...burning...smoke eh?" I asked a bit puzzled by her remark. "The rest are good clues." I reasoned. "Maybe Arthur's is some sort of secret code for something," Kaitlyn concluded. "And I noticed, on the Caller ID, at some occasions when he called, it came from Manchester. But it also came from Westchester, Pertville, or Centerville. He had been to so many weird places that I had never heard of before." She said.
These leads were promising. If I could find their secret headquarters, then maybe I could find Landra. "This is some great stuff, Kait, now tell me..." All of a sudden, I saw Tim run in and enter the doorway. He was huffing and puffing. He stood there, hands on his knees for a few seconds then cried, "Hey! My part of the hoax is far done! I'd say it's OVERdone, how's yours going!? We really need to get outta here!" Kaitlyn sprang up in a fit of rage. "Hoax!? What does he mean by hoax!?" Tim didn't know what was going on. "Hey, I just wanted to sound cool," he said. "But if you really must know, you see, we planned this elaborate scheme to take out this news reporter and prevent her from interviewing you...." Quickly, I interrupted him. "TIM! I cried.....NOT NOW!" I said trying to refrain from parting my lips. Kaitlyn began to speak, "So....this was all a hoax. And that's why my INTERVIEW DID NOT TAKE PLACE!?" I tried to smile one of those fake-polite smiles at her. "Eh-heh?" I tried to chuckle. "You back-stabber!" She screamed. "You're trying to ruin my career! Soil the reputation of my boyfriend will you!? To think that I trusted you! You liar! Guards! Beat them both!" She yelled angrily.
"Run, Tim, Run!" I cried while speedily scrambling to my feet.
