Seeking An S.O.S.: Behind The Scenes

14. The Interrogation

Walking back and forth with his half eaten drumstick in his right hand, Mantel sighed. He couldn't figure out why the casino's guards couldn't just handle a simple burglary case on their own. 

The guards approached him in the middle of dinner when he was about to have a tasty chicken meal the casino chefs especially made for him for his birthday. Mantel didn't appreciate it when the men barged in and interrupted his peaceful time to relax.  The guards always needed him for every decision they made and it annoyed him. Therefore, Mantel often felt that he should hire someone new with more intel: one who happens to be decisive and has more guts to handle certain tasks properly.

A thought bubble came to his mind and wondered if the muscular man standing before him would be interested in the job. Mantel considered the idea of talking to this man about an open job position afterwards.

"Believe me Mr., um what did you say your name was again?"

"Roman Grendel".

"Thank you." Mantel stopped walking and continued on with his lectures. 

"As I was saying Mr. Grendel, we would all like this case figured out as soon as possible. Now please sit back down and please be patient. This interrogation will take longer, if we become agitated, so let's try to calm down."

Mumbling curse words to himself, Roman became disappointed since they wouldn't let him leave. He believed it must be easy for the casino owner to say anything that would cause a convict to simmer down, since he's not the one being investigated.

"Now Mr. Grendel, who is the man sitting next to you?"

Roman panicked as he didn't know what to say. He was thinking of a clever way to tell the manager that he simply met the stranger a while ago, but all that came from his mouth were the words,"I have no idea."

"And you expect me to believe that?" Mantel smirked.

"Please sir, you got to believe me! He bumped into me , we fell to the ground and next thing I know was your guards apprehended me when I did nothing!" Roman pleaded and kept his arms up.

Looking at Clyde, Mantel shook his head to the side as the fool placed his head on the table as if he were sleeping. Clyde instantly woke up once a small bell chimed, as Mantel brought the object with him in order to surprise people who  didn't follow orders.

Looking straight toward him, Mantel beamed.

"Are we sleeping? This is not the time to do such things!"

Mantel's roar frightened Clyde that he fell back from his chair, but caught himself from falling backwards by holding onto the table's handlebars.

"I'm sorry sir. I ... I'm just .. um nervous." Clyde gave him a sly smile, where one side of his mouth rose, and the other side pulled downward.

Chuckling at his response, Mantel turned toward his guards who were chatting with each other.

"Am I interrupting something important Jenson? Do you care to share the news if you and Chavez need to gossip like ladies?" Mantel asked satirically.

Both guards nodded their heads sideways. Embarrassed that they were caught red-handed, Chavez decided to fetch the gift shop's camera to their boss, hoping that would mellow down the rich Australian man's temper.

"I'm gonna see if the cashier has the camera ready for us to claim. She briefly closed her shop since we are handling this investigation, Sir."

Mantel agreed with the plan and allowed the lanky guard to leave. Throwing away his chicken bone in the wastebasket with force, Mantel eyed the guard that was left behind.

"And Jenson remind me again why you believe it's these two nitwits who robbed the gift shop ?"

Roman had his mouth wide open as he heard the word "nitwits". Many thoughts came to his mind, but he didn't think the crazy owner would start name calling them. 

The nerve of this man.

"All  we know is what the cashier told us is by the style of their hair ... long and the other was curly. Apparently that's what these two have. Not good descriptions, but we didn't stay long to hear what else she had to say, since the perpetrators were on the run by then" Jenson replied.

After hearing the comment about the long hair, Roman sighed. It's his own fault on why he never allowed a barber to cut his shiny mane.

"Were they both men? Because  you do know a man can also have long hair like a woman. Let's take Mr. Grendel for example," Mantel pointed to Roman facepalming himself due to Jenson's stupidity.

"I had no idea sir!" Jenson remained still, yet after he noticed Mantel's body movement, he was rather  anxious to leave his spot.

 "Well then, once Chavez returns; let the camera speak for itself! Jensen, you have to get all of the details before you apprend someone. For all we know now, you captured the wrong perpetrators!"

The guard went silent, closing his eyes and impatiently waited for his co-worker to show up.

Chavez entered the room with a disc and flopped into a computer without waiting for orders because he didn't want to hear the daunting voice of his boss. Milo Chavez was always picked on for being slow. 

Ten years ago, he got into a car accident which left him half blind and to lose part of his hearing. Thus, he lost his job as an Engineer. It took him several years to recuperate, and with the help of some medical staff, Milo was back on his feet again. And that's where Enrico Mantel offered him a job as a security guard. It didn't pay much, but it's a salary that helps him pay the rent for his apartment.

Pointing to the screen, Chavez took the opportunity to tell Mantel what he knows, as Milo felt that the boss was getting weary of him. It might be his partner in crime that is at fault, but he didn't want to take any chances.

"Boss, you are looking at the footage where the perpetrators ran from the gift shop. As you can see the man who is sitting face down on the table is the person with brown curly hair. If I stop this picture, we can actually get a snapshot of his face."

With his arms folded, Mantel directly looked at Clyde. 

"Well, young man, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Clyde gulped. He knew the camera wouldn't lie, so he didn't have any other choice but to plead guilty. Nearly crying, he faced Mantel.

"Yes, I confess, it was me ! But Mr. Grendel is not my partner in crime. He's telling the truth. I just bumped into him. My girlfriend is the one you are looking for. She's hiding somewhere in the casino. Her name is Bonnie Ackles and I am Clyde McCarthy."

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Feeling cold fists touching him, Roman woke up from his reverie. Slowly opening his eyes, he tried to wipe the hands away, but the person's fingers wouldn't budge. And that's when he realized who it was.

"Earth to Romeo! Come in Romeo! Stop daydreaming wise guy!"

He smiled, as only one person called him by that nickname. Harley ... his step-sister that he learned to get along with, even though she would act like his mom - a busybody. She had to know where he was all the time. With her hands on her hip, Harley began to scold him. 

"Roman, Martina and I have been waiting for you for the last five minutes to open the door. What's up with you? Furthermore, who are these people?" Harley pointed to Bonnie and Clyde, who were walking back and forth thinking that their getaway plans were doomed.

"And don't try to play games with me Roman, but what is this I hear? Are you going to a casino?"

Roman wished he could go back to his dreams again then hear his sister nag, but he knew he was caught. And now he had to make the decision on whether or not to bring the two thieves along for the ride.