“The host lady, she’s the wife of Coli. She must know him, right?”
They go back to the main room and approach her
“Oh, you’re back, um, i hope the room was … business appropriate”
“Ah, yes, yes!, very appropriate, we did a lot of business!”
“God, Oliver…”
“… Are the sheets, um”
“We were just chatting! We needed a private room to discuss our joint business!”
“This is true. I have never seen this man naked in my life”
“Thanks. For that input. Oliver.”
“… Right. Is there anything else you need?”
“Yes, answers, specifically about husband”
“Are you some sort of reporter? A cop?”
“We are not cops!! We are private investigators!”
“Lady, we suspect that your husband might have used this event for his own plans”
“…That’s a fair assumption”
“So it’s true?”
“Why do you want that information?”
“Because I was also invited you-!!!”
“Hey hey hey partner, this is not an interrogation.
Excuse my silly friend here. He’s not very experienced.
The truth is, miss, we see that this is a museum funding, but the number of people does not seem to reflect that.
Seeing as the man that invited us with such a weird letter is nowhere to be seen, and the last time someone heard from him was right out of jail, we fear that this might be a plot to harm everyone here.”
“I know this sounds farfetched, which is why we are currently investigating his previous crime, We were wondering if you anything about the speedrunning incident?”
“… So this is a plot.”
“Uh, could you elaborate?”
“The museum wasn’t supposed to be here.
The previous owner, Dr. Díaz, wanted this building demolished, so I planned it to make it in the village”
“But one day, the people in the municipality received an email from Eugene saying that we are working together and that we should use this house instead to preserve history or something.
Of course, they believed him.
I didn’t think much of it. Well, I didn’t want to think much of it, I just wanted this done, even with his meddling.
If this really is some giant secret project by him to do who knows what, I wouldn’t be too surprised.”
“But why would he do something like that? Aren’t you his wife?”
“Ex-wife, and to annoy me, I guess.
He might talk about himself as a self-made man, but truly, all his projects had me involved.
When I decided to settle down and focus on our children, he got really angry that I wouldn’t keep aiding him in whatever crazy stunt he wanted.
He seemed betrayed, the dickhead.
So he’s probably angry at me doing big projects again after we divorced and is trying to sabotage it”
“Wow, what a child”
“But to cause harm…?”
“Miss, he has harmed multiple workers already. This is, frighteningly, possible.”
“… I don’t know why he did that.
He cared a lot about his public image, so I don’t know why he would do something that would make him look like such a fool. It’s very unlike him”
“That puts us in a spot. If he changes his behavior so easily, we might need alternative methods to deduct his next moves.
How can it be that there’s no motive? Is he really just a big fan of speed running?
Although there is another possibility.”
“Mr. Oliver?”
“Ah, yes?”
“Is he really going to hurt us?”
“Kill us?”
“…We think so.”
“There is something I would like to ask of you”
“Um, right now?”
“Seeing as this might very well be my last night on earth, I have some issues to solve with certain people.
While I talk with someone here, could you please bring me my children? They are in the mansion, but I don’t know where. Or if they even would talk to me if I went to them.”
“We can do that”
“And something else, you are a man of the law, are you not?”
“… I know the law, yes”
“If anything happens to me, could you take care of them?”
“Wha- You want me to adopt them?!”
“Not necessarily.
If I’m gone, then his father would be in charge of them. In that situation, I need you to fight so his sister, Nina, gets full guardianship of them. A man that’s been in jail so recently will not be seen as suited for children.
If both of us are gone, then…
Would you make sure they go somewhere nice?
Owen is a great friend, but his family is not suited for raising 2 more children.
Simon is just 15. He’s a nice boy, a bit shy but very kind and helpful, he loves cooking! He might even surpass my own!
He’s in that age where he gets in all sorts of trouble. He and Owen are banned from 3 supermarkets just from messing around with the shopping carts. These kids, I swear.
He… He needs someone to care for him, someone who will see him for who he is and love it, without conditions or compromises.”
She’s starting to tear up
“And Nadia, she’s 17 now. That’s a very difficult age for anyone. She wants to be a film director, you know! She has all kinds of cameras!
She got most of the traits of her father, his determination, his passion, his ambition.
His eyes.
But don’t let that fool you. She’s a complete cuddle bug and Nina’s girl.
She’s still growing, trying her best to thrive in a world that gets more and more difficult, I dont want her to go through it alone.
She needs someone to support her, someone who will see how great she is on her own and be there to help.”
“They are my little berries”
“I know I ask for a lot, but you understand, right? The need for your children to be okay?”
“…Yeah, I definitely understand”
“But it won’t be necessary. We’ll get to the bottom of this, so no one gets hurt”
“I hope so, not to bring you down, but sometimes it really feels like we’ll get hurt regardless.
Like we were already hurt.”
“Ah, you imagine death so much it feels more like a memory?”
“Is that a common phrase?”
“Uh, I dont know, I just saw it in a funny sonic video…”
She laughs, and smiles
“Im glad to know they will be in good hands. You seem like a good man”
“I wish they had a good man as a father”
They say their good-byes and go to find the teens
“Oh. Uh oh. Oh no.
This is bad. This is a terrible moment for that fear to appear.
Why now?? I know it comes and goes but why now???”
“You seem worried”
“I am being haunted by thoughts”
“I wouldn’t mind said hauntings to be shared, I mean, we are being hunted for sport. What could be more worrying than -”
“Fatherhood”
“Oh. Yeah, no, that’s bad”
“Not to, you know, move the problem from ‘being hunted for sport’ to 'Adult life is getting to me’, but you dont mind if we worry about normal things while we walk?”
“I love to ignore my current problems with another”
“Exactly! So you see, I am 28, all my friends are getting married and having kids, my parents were already having their own house at this age and all I have to show is a boring Grinder profile that I use to order food.
How am I supposed to do all that adult stuff when Im not even sure I would be a good romantic partner? Let alone a good father??”
“Don’t ask me, the closest thing to a father figure I had was a history teacher and a life-size statue of Ronald Mcdonald.
You seem like the type of guy who has a decent father, shouldn’t you know?”
“Well, he would pat me on the back and go fly kites with me and tell me not to act too gay or fidgety in school”
“Oh, so it’s not too different”
“Was Ronald Mcdonald also midly homophobic?”
“I mean, someone wrote gay slurs on him one time, so pretty much the same thing”
“Are we supposed to be homophobic now??”
“I don’t know! Do the parenting books say so?”
“All parenting books say different things!”
“Alright, alright, don’t panic, I have a plan”
“First, we find a pre-child, something that’s like a baby, but to its bare essentials”
“A cat”
“Exactly”
“I already have a cat”
“Really? What’s the name?”
“Alright, we get another cat with an equally silly name”
“Then we find a parenthood book and use all the hacks they have”
“Oh, I see, then we see the result and try another book with another cat!”
“Yes! eventually, we will have enough knowledge for the ultimate parenthood guide”
“What will we do with all the cats?”
“Donate them to Vivi”
“Then we get a child?”
“Yes, then we get an actual child”
“What if, hypothetically, the child does not behave like a cat”
“Then we come back here, lay down and wait till the maniac kills us”
“Oh yeah, that guy, you think any parenthood guide has anything to deal with being hunted for sport?”
Ángel can’t keep the bit going and breaks in laughter
“Wow, this guy has a terrible sense of humour”
“…I’m glad. It’s nice to see him happy. He deserves it”
“It really is a nice smile…
He has nothing to worry about. He would be a great romantic partner”
“Hah, it really seemed like we were talking about getting kids together”
“Or cats.
It would be nice to have a cat with him…”
“In a completely friendly platonic business way, of course. With a fellow colleague.
This is not the time for feelings. The only feeling allowed is adrenaline, and that’s not even a feeling! That’s how banned they are!!”
They walk to a lounge area and find Simon with Owen.