TW: Attempted poisoning.
"I can't help but think that this is a very bad idea." Fresh said, clearly concerned. He kicked an empty can, which flew across the road before spinning a few times before stopping.
"Come on, man. I mean, what am I supposed to do now, huh?" Jake kept his hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans as he shrugged. He stared at the floor in front of him while walking alongside his friends. "Come back home and pretend that nothing has ever happened? I know what I saw."
"I partially agree with both of you. I mean, I see where you are coming from, Jake." Tricky looked at him and sighed. "But at the same time, we don't know how he will react. Plus, what can we do to help him? We are just kids. Nobody will listen to us."
"I know. But seriously guys, I don't know what to do. This whole situation is surreal. I am just trying to do the right thing." Jake mumbled.
"There is no right thing to do." Commented King, in a cheerful tone. That boy really looked like he didn't have a single worry in the world. "Because whatever choice you will make, it will always be the wrong one."
The rest of the group turned their heads to stare at King with a questioning look on their faces.
"I mean-" Yutani awkwardly patted King's head, trying to don't make him feel embarrassed. "There are surely consequences for every choice you make. But I agree with Jake, we currenly have no other option." She gave an encouraging smile to the group. "Maybe if we go deeper into this mess, we might find out more things about the turbine. Maybe it's even cooler than what we thought."
"I really hope so."
Since Fresh was the fastest, he ended up stopping before anyone else got to their destination. "Well. We will soon find out."
They all raised their heads and looked at that old house near the railway. The strawberry-coloured roof, once probably cheerful and showy, was now covered with a layer of dirt that made it appear reddish and dull. Even the wooden planks that on the walls seemed to have seen better times: many were loose and hanging, others were scratched and in some places were even missing. Every step they made caused the porch to creak, producing a mournful symphony. A faint light illuminated the curtains of the house, giving warmth to the seemingly abandoned environment.
Jake took a deep breath before taking a step closer to the door. "Alright homies." He glanced at his friends with an unsure smirk. "It's showtime." He quickly knocked on the door.
The first thing they heard was a dog barking furiously. They all waited a couple of seconds before hearing a tired voice coming from behind the door. "No press. I already told you that. Go away."
"Hey! Old man, it's just me. Well, me and Tricky, Yutani, Fresh and King. But yeah, no press." Jake did his best to sound confident and cheerful, but he was feeling quite uncomfortable. Maybe Fresh was right, maybe it was a horrible idea. "We want to talk to you. Please. Just a moment."
The door finally opened with a loud click. "Alright." The guardian whispered in an embarrassed tone. "Please, come inside."
They exchanged one last glance between them before entering the house.
As soon as they saw the inspector, they could tell he was not doing well at all. He looked emaciated and tired. His eyes were puffy, as if he had been crying for a hours. He glanced at his dog and stroked him weakly. The dog responded by giving him occasional kisses on the hand, although he did not stop looking at Jake fiercely. "Let's talk in the living room. Unfortunately, I have not enough chairs, so someone of you will have to sit on the couch. I am sorry."
Tricky shook her head and gave him a shy smile. "Don't worry, the couch will be perfectly fine. Thank you for your hospitality and sorry for the bother."
Ted nodded and accompanied them into the living room, where he allowed them to sit where they wanted to. "I was about to prepare some tea. I will put more water in the kettle, then." He simply stated, before entering the kitchen. As they waited, they cast anxious glances at each other. Fresh turned to Jake and quietly exclaimed, "I told you so!". Jake shrugged. Tricky rolled her eyes. King tried to pet the dog, but got a low growl in response. Yutani simply observed the living room. It looked much nicer than the outside of the house. It was a living room like any other, with generic decorations and plants. However, it was cozy and clean. Her gaze lingered on framed photos resting on the bookcase... she seemed to catch a glimpse of a woman and an infant in one of them. Did the guard have a family? Where were they?
The inspector came back a few moments later and sat down on the last free chair. He looked slightly annoyed, clearly not understanding why those punks decided to pay him a visit. Did they want to mock him for what happened? Spread even more harmful rumors about him? "If you want to ask me to give you free alcohol, you are in the wrong household. I am not that type of person."
"We know." replied Jake and quickly glanced at his friends. "I mean, we know what happened. We just wanted to tell you that we believe you. Well, kind of. Fresh and Tricky still have doubts, but I totally believe you. I think you fell into that bad guy's trap! So, I would totally go to the police or to the press to support your version of the story. I think my mom would too."
"No offense kid, but I don't really care about what you or your friends think of me. Nor I think you have any power to help me. I have bigger problems to deal with." Ted said dryly. "I am currently at risk of losing my job. My boss is not sure if they should keep me or not after what happened. I need money to survive, so I would appreciate if you wouldn't spread this story even further." He sighed deeply and shook his head. "I cannot afford to risk it."
"But-" Jake widened his eyes, genuinely disappointed in the hopelessness that the inspector was conveying. "What about your duty to keep this place safe? I mean, I also wanted to tell you that I saw that guy again! He is still around, doing who knows what! We must do something!"
"The police must do something. They laughed at me as soon as I tried to explain what I saw. They just treated me as a delusional imbecile. At this point, I did what I could. I am not a superhero and you aren't either. I told you to forget about this whole story before it gets even worse. Now I have to keep a low profile if I still want to have food on my plate." The man replied in a bitter tone.
Jake opened his mouth to say something back, but got interrupted by Tricky. "Mister Lutz, may I ask you something? What happened before the policemen found you? Do you remember anything?
Ted shook his head. "Not much. I remember I was walking... that my dog was sniffing something, then I think I tripped over something. Then the void." The kettle started to emit a loud, penetrating sound. "Please excuse me a moment." He stood up again to go prepare some tea.
"Wait for me, Mister! I wanna help!" King followed him and smiled sweetly. "I always help my mom with the tea. I am a good helper!"
Ted nodded slowly. A small smile appeared on his troubled face. "Thank you, young man." He replied, as he started to pull out some cups from the cupboard. They were all random and unmatched: some of them were very big, some of them tiny and some of them had some corny catchphrase or random dogs painted on them. Before starting to pour the boiling water into the cups, Ted closed the window. For a moment, he was surprised to find that it was open... He did not remember opening it in the kitchen. But soon his thoughts were diverted to the boy with the funny paper crown on his head. Ted could not help but think about his son. When he was little, he loved to go around the house with random helmets and headgear made of paper too.
Ted carefully poured the water into the cups before placing a tea bag in each. He smiled again at King and took four cups with his big hands. "You can take the last two and bring them to your friends. Thank you for your help."
King nodded proudly and did as he was told. Soon, each person had a warm cup to hold between their hands.
"Mr Lutz, Jake told me that you saw a mysterious man performing some tasks with a weird object and that you saw some things float. I am passionate about science and technology, so I would appreciate it if you could tell me everything you saw. Even the smallest detail would be precious to me." Yutani immediately asked. The thought that the turbine could have hidden functions wouldn't leave her mind.
Ted described everything he saw while he was secretly observing the mysterious man. Yutani did her best to write everything down on her phone, trying to don't forget anything.
"But man, really, It's just unfair that your reputation is ruined because of some masked freak! I want to do something to help you, really! Please, tell us how what we could do!" Jake exclaimed, full of frustration. He oddly felt somewhat responsible for this whole mess. Maybe the inspector would never have met that man if Jake would have stayed at home that night.
Ted was about to give him another lecture on the dangers in insisting on investigating this situation, when he got interrupted by Fresh.
"I am sorry Mr Ted, but may I have a different tea? This one smells like almonds and I am allergic to them. Sorry." The man brought the cup closer to his nose and inhaled deeply, just to make sure he wasn't smelling something else.
"Almonds? No- there-" Ted stared at Fresh with a clearly confused expression. That tea shouldn't contain anything with almonds! What kind of tea did he bought this time? Maybe he accidentally purchased an odd brand with an exotic taste?
"Almonds?! Wait a second! Everyone! Don't drink that tea!" Yutani suddenly screamed and glanced around frantically. Luckily nobody did take a sip yet! The girl immediately rummaged in a pocket of her funny insect costume and pulled out a small device with a funnel on the surface. She gently tipped a sip of tea into the machine under the astonished gaze of those present. She anxiously bit her lower lip as he waited for the results.
When the machine began to beep, Yutani made a shocked expression and turned the monitor towards the others so they could read what was written on it.
[CYANIDE]
A terrible, scary word written in big red letters on that small screen. "Cyanide. There's cyanide in this tea." Yutani explained with a knot in his throat, as he stared at the inspector with pure terror.
The group slowly turned with a frightened expression towards the inspector. Ted looked at them completely bewildered, he didn't even have the words to express himself at that moment. Cyanide? How could there be cyanide in the tea?
"Guys... I ... I - I don't know how- I didn't.."
He did not even have time to articulate a sentence when they jumped up, someone dropping the cup directly on the floor causing a hellish noise.
"Guys! Out, out!" Tricky shouted, signalling the others to run away. Jake stared at Ted with a startled and confused expression, still not even fully realising what was happening. He could only feel the heart in his chest beating wildly.
Only Tricky's voice made him move. He ran out the door with his friends, turning only for a moment to take one last look at the guard before disappearing into a side street.