When consciousness first returned to Clover, her first impression was that she was back in her bed at the penthouse. But as she groggily rubbed her eyes, the memory of what happened swiftly returned and she shot up in the bed with a start.
She was surprised to find herself sitting up in a rather comfy bed inside what appeared to be a really swanky hotel suite bedroom, complete with stylish lamp stands, expensive-looking cupboards and drawers, and a large HD Television on the wall. As Clover looked around she noticed that there were no windows of any kind, but there was a door in one corner of the bedroom.
Jumping out of the bed, she dashed over to the door and grabbed the brass handle, though she fully expected it to find it locked. However, to her surprise, the handle moved with ease and the door easily swung open to reveal a rather posh-looking living room, just as tidy and friendly looking as the bedroom she had just woken up in.
"Like, what the heck is going on around here?" Clover wondered aloud as she looked around the cosy and well-ordered area. She jumped slightly when she heard another bedroom door open and she turned to see a somewhat woozy Daphne step into the living room, still clad in the dress she had just bought at the Groove.
"Oh, where are we?" she groaned. "Last thing I remember was this weird guy at the mall, snagging us in a oversized fishing net."
Clover dashed across to her unsteady sister and helped her sit down on the sofa that dominated part of the room. Clover's years of experience as a WOOHP agent had made her used to being knocked out and then waking up abruptly, but Daphne had no such experience, so it was a bit harder for her to get her thoughts together.
"How are you feeling Daph?" asked Clover, concerned for her sister's wellbeing.
"A little sleepy, but otherwise okay," replied Daphne as she pulled herself together. "But where are we?"
"I don't know," said Clover, "but I think it's a fair bet to assume that we're no longer in the Groove and wherever we are, it's way classy!"
Suddenly, the living room TV switched on by itself and an image of one of the masked kidnappers appeared on the screen.
"Good evening, Ms Starr," said Jarvis over the speaker systems. "We trust you and your companion are feeling refreshed after your, err, evening nap."
"NAP?!" yelled Daphne at the screen. "Dude, you totally drugged and kidnapped us! That is like so not cool!"
"Um, I don't think he can actually hear you, Daph," said Clover as the masked man continued speaking.
"Now, we feel you ladies are perfectly entitled to an explanation, so here it is. You have been selected by 'Kidnappers Incorporated' to be the latest guests in our luxury holding chambers, where you will remain until a suitable payment has been arranged for your release. Until then, please feel free to make full use of our first class accommodations, which includes an 'all you can eat buffet' and a magnificent spa chamber, which includes a swimming pool, a sauna and a Jacuzzi."
Daphne could not believe her ears. "Seriously? This guy expects us to lounge about while we're being held to ransom? How shallow and gullible does he think we are?"
The man on the screen continued with his well-spoken speech.
"In case you are afraid that members of our staff will intrude on your solitude, let me assure you that Kidnappers Inc. respects the privacy of our guests, and so no cameras and listening devices have been installed in your accommodations. They are unnecessary, as a reinforced vault door covers the only way in and out of these chambers. To break out would require a powerful explosive, which you ladies do not possess, so escape is impossible. We have also confiscated your mobile devices so you may not be inclined to be unwise and try to call the authorities for assistance. You may rest assured that no harm will come to either of you, so please just sit back, relax and enjoy your stay here at Kidnappers Incorporated. Thank you very much."
With that, the TV screen abruptly switched off and the two sisters exchanged equally astonished looks with each other.
"Oh, this is just great," muttered Daphne. "Are we really going to just sit around here while we wait for someone to bail us out?"
"As if! Come on, let's have a look around and see if we can find this vault door of theirs," said Clover who was already crossing over to one of the nearest doors to see what was on the other side. She was still trying to get her head around the irony of being kidnapped by the very same criminal organisation that she was supposed to be helping Sam and Alex investigate. Talk about a major coincidence!
"Wow, they weren't kidding about the catering," remarked Clover as she found herself in a reasonably sized dining room, which was mostly dominated by a large table that had plates of various delicious food and glasses of refreshing drinks placed on top.
"Nor the spa! Gosh, it's humungous!" exclaimed Daphne, who had tried another door and found herself looking into a enormous chamber consisting of a large swimming pool, a bubbling Jacuzzi and a sauna room.
"I'm beginning to see why the other celebs weren't that bothered," commented Clover. "This place is amazing!"
"Yeah, it sure… Wait a sec! What do you mean by 'other celebs'?" asked Daphne, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, err, I heard about it on the telly," explained Clover hastily. "According to the news, this has happened to some other celebrities."
"Really? I don't remember reading about this in any of the headlines," remarked Daphne. "Anyway, we can't let ourselves be seduced by all this sweet pampering. We're still hostages here, I have a photo shoot to attend tomorrow before the fashion show and I've got a son to get back to! Now let's find this exit and get out of here!"
It had taken Sam and Alex the best part of two hours to reach Ransom Manor as Alex's jetpack had developed a fault from the ice cream crash and they had to land midway to make repairs. However, once the repairs were done, they made up for lost time and zoomed over the towering buildings of Los Angeles, before finally landing at the driveway double gates that led to the estate of Lord Alfred Ransom.
"Now that's one amazing house," observed Alex as she peered through the gates and surveyed the large mansion with awe. "These baddies sure go in for style."
"Not to mention tough security," added Sam as she surveyed the area with the Infrared Motion Detector Sunglasses. "The whole estate is filled with some really nasty booby-traps. One wrong step and you'd suddenly find yourself getting zapped by an electrified bear trap!"
"Oh, that's so utterly cruel!" grumbled Alex. "What did cute and adorable teddy bears ever do to annoy these guys?"
"There are also a lot of security cameras about the place," continued Sam. "If we tried to fly over the field to the manor, they'd easily spot us and be ready to pounce before we've even landed."
"So how are we going to get in without being seen?" asked Alex.
"Easy, we just tunnel our way in!" answered Sam as she activated her Titanium Drill Heel Boots and began to start digging into the ground.
"Hey, this looks more like it," said Daphne as she opened another door in the luxurious prison that she and Clover were currently occupying. This time, instead of another elegant room in which guests could indulge themselves, Daphne found herself facing a solid steel door, which was covered by the other wooden door so that it would not look out of place with the rest of the room.
Daphne pressed her palms against the door and tried to give it a push. Clover came over to give a hand, but no matter how hard the two sisters pushed, the door would not budge.
"Oh, it's no good," sighed Daphne despondently. "We'll never get this thing to open without help. We don't even have a crowbar for leverage."
"There's got to be some way of breaking through!" said Clover with a note of determination in her voice. She looked closely at the vault door. It was sturdy, but as the kidnapper on the TV said, a well placed explosive could blast it free no problem.
"Say, the Incendiary Earrings could do the trick!" thought Clover as she suddenly remembered the WOOHP gadgets that she was currently wearing. "But how am I going to explain to Daph why I'm wearing miniature bombs on me?"
But as Clover tried to think up a plausible excuse, her musings were abruptly interrupted by the muffled sound of her compowder ringing from inside a nearby drawer in the main living room.
"Say, what's with that ringtone?" asked Daphne, already crossing to the drawers. "I thought that guy said he had taken both our phones away."
"Oh, maybe it's room service calling!" suggested Clover quickly. She started to dash across, but Daphne had got to the chest of drawers first and was already opening the top one, which contained the personal belongings of both of the girls, including Daphne's purse… and Clover's compowder.
"Say, what's this thing?" queried Daphne as she picked up the compowder and looked it over. "Since when are compacts so high-tech?"
She opened up the compowder and was immediately startled when a hologram of Jerry appeared before her.
"Clover, thank heavens I reached you. I…" Jerry suddenly stopped as he realised that the girl he was talking to was most definitely not Clover. "Oh, I do beg your pardon, young lady. I, err, must have the wrong number."
Clover quickly took the compowder from her sister and addressed Jerry. "No Jerry, I'm here. But your timing is way bad!"
"Clover, what the blazes is going on? Who is that old bald guy?" exclaimed Daphne in wide-eyed amazement.
"That's balding," muttered Jerry. "Clover, we've managed to get a fix on your location and are doing all we can to rescue you. Sam and Alex are tunnelling their way to you as we speak."
"Thanks Jerry. We're pretty well locked up at the moment, but I'm going to try and use the Incendiary Earrings to break out. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to explain a few things to my sister."
Clover closed the compowder and turned to face her sister, who had her arms crossed and a glowering look on her face.
"Okay Clover, spill the beans! Just what exactly is going on here?" demanded Daphne a little icily.
Clover gulped and shuffled her feet uneasily. "Well sis, there's something I've been meaning to tell you…"