Killer Bay

Smart Money

"Adalet, welcome to Innovation Valley, land of high-tech! Here, anything is possible... as long as you're an expert in computer science!" Andrea adds, "we've got an exciting assignment today. Have you heard of Meteor Systems? They're behind many of the devices we use every day!"

"Like this one!" Hannah appeared beside the Chief wearing a pair of triangle-shaped glasses that had an attachment on top of the right lens, "hey there, Adalet! Look at my new tech glasses! With these beauties on, I can browse the Internet while talking to you- isn't that amazing?!"

"They certainly allow for a lot of multi-tasking!" Adalet remarks.

"I'm just so excited we've moved to Innovation Valley! Technology is SO advanced here! Expect your mind to be blown away, Adalet!" she says, "well, blown by human standards..."

"I'm sure I'll be amazed," she replies with a chuckle.

"Hannah, I'm sure you'll be a big help in this district, but I'll have Amy tag along for this assignment... We've been asked to supervise a party for Meteor Systems, and I don't trust Frank around booze," Andrea rolls her eyes, "Meteor Systems is celebrating the successful takeover of Drone Zone, a promising start-up. The party will be held at the Drone Zone office. Adalet, Amy will meet you at the Drone Zone office. Make sure everything goes smoothly!"

Adalet salutes, "you can count on me, Chief!"

At the Drone Zone office...

"Hello, Adalet! Check out this hip office! Andrea told me we're supervising a party to celebrate Meteor Systems buying out Drone Zone?" Amy says as they enter the spacious office, "the party should start in a bit... We could check out the snacks while we wait for the guests to arrive... "

Adalet held out a hand to stop Amy from moving, "hold on a sec, Amy... Someone's already here and I don't like the looks of them!"

She frowns, "someone's already here? And they don't look well? Uh-oh... you know the protocol. Let's search the place!"

Approaching the person Adalet had spotted, they quickly realized it was worse than they predicted. The man was laying on the ground propped up against a beanbag chair but was obviously dead if the wads of cash shoved into his mouth were any indication. If not, then the paleness of his skin and his lifeless eyes confirmed their suspicion.

Looking around the area near the body, Adalet spotted what looked like a drone sitting on one of the glass coffee tables, while Hunter was sniffing an ice bucket that was tucked behind one of the couches.

"What the... Was this man stuffed to death with money?!" Amy exclaimed, seeing the green bills tumbling out of the man's mouth, "how dreadful! Who would kill someone in such a way?!"

"It's definitely a first for me," Adalet says, pushing aside the bills to get a better look at the man's face.

"Oh, my!" she gasped, "I almost didn't recognize him without his glasses... The victim is Ernest Turing! He is... was the CEO of Meteor Systems! People called him the "King of Tech." He founded Meteor Systems when he was in his twenties and turned it into the world's biggest electronics firm. Maybe whoever stuffed him with money was jealous of his wealth... Let's have a look at the clues!"

"Well, I found this drone," she says, going to pick up the ice bucket.

"A drone? You mean one of those devices which fly around in the air?" the blonde examined the screen on the drone, "you should try to unlock it! And this ice bucket looks like something Frank would have picked up... But if something's hidden inside, you'll find it!"

Adalet cleared off one of the other glass coffee tables and dumped the contents of the ice bucket onto it. Thankfully the table was designed with a lip on it, so they wouldn't have to worry about water dripping onto the floor. Sifting through the pieces of ice, wet napkins, bottles of beer and the odd lemon or two, they found a plane ticket. Sadly it had been in the water too long, so most of the information had washed away.