Part 1
“Mommy, look it's a Monkey!” shouted young Poppy.
“Wow darling, look at him swing around!” her mother replied. Her older sister though was clearly not having it. “Ugh, this is so boring mom. Who still goes to the zoo in 2027?!” “Beatrice, it is your sister's birthday today, and she chose to go here. It is not my fault that you would rather be at the indoor skate park, riding your hoverboard.”
A moment later, a voice spoke over the zoo radio. “Alrighty everyone, that will be it for today. We will be closing. The zoo opens again tomorrow at 9:30am. Make sure that when you exit the premises, you don't forget your VR Goggles, your E-Vests etc…”
As the zoo started to empty out, the zoo owner Jonah Whitlock pulled out his phone and typed in a number. He put his phone to his ear and heard a voice: “Hello, you have reached CNC London Cleaning services! How can I help you today?”
Jonah replied: “Come on, you know me, just the usual, could you please send over the cleaning crew today.” Then he hung up the phone. Jonah was just thinking about his family, his two sons, Jax and Steph, and his wife, Ravenne, as a few minutes later the cleaning crew arrived. Jonah opened the door and greeted them.
“Yo, Jamal, what's up my man! Long time no see! If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna head out, gotta go to my family, you know.”
Jamal replied, “Yes of course, just hand us a key and we will lock up when we are done.” Jonah handed them a key, hopped into his Nissan GTR that he got for his birthday and turned on the motor. Well, at least he tried because his motor stalled, and Jonah heard a quiet beeping sound. It was coming from the motor, and as Jonah tried to step out of his car, it exploded. His car was engulfed in flames and Jonah could not make it out in time.
The zoo was closed for a year after the tragic incident, because the police were not sure how or what had caused this tragedy. That’s why the FBI brought in their best detective, the one and only Inspector Charles Log. On his first day inspecting the case, Log arrived at the crime scene in his 1989 Lamborghini Countach, which he won at the BTA Awards (Best Detective Acknowledgement). Log was from Melbourne, Australia, so he had a bit of an Australian accent.
“Good day boys, how's it going?” he asked his coworkers.
“Haven't found anything yet," said John.
“Have you questioned any witnesses?” asked Log.
“Yes, but so far he won't say anything”.
“Where does he live?” Log replied.
“Down the road,” said John.
“Alrighty, I'll go talk to him.” said Log.
When Log arrived, he knocked on the door and a man around the age of 24 opened. He was shocked.
“Well, that's great to hear, but I wanted to ask you something else. Did you notice the car that exploded in the zoo yesterday?”
And so the man started telling him everything he saw.
“So across my window I saw a man, heavily covered in black, he was holding a sniper, the one that shoots sticky bombs. We made eye contact, and then he just disappeared!”
“Just disappeared out of the blue?”
“Yeah, I was shocked as well!”
“Hey, what is your name?” asked Log.
“Paul Miller.”
“Alright Paul, let me tell you something. I know that you like my stuff, and you seem like a good detective. Last week I went to the tech expo and met Rajon Zonya. He works on that kind of stuff, teleporter suits, invisibility cloaks, you know what I mean, he is a smart guy. What do you think if we, as a team, work this case and solve it?”
Paul was in shock.
“Y... Yes please, I would love that!”
“Alright, I’ll pick you up here tomorrow at 9 AM sharp. We will go to Zonya's Lab and question him.”
The next day, Log pulled up in his Countach at the crime scene, and proceeded to go to Paul's house, but John stopped him.
“Hey Charles, what are you doing?” he asked.
“Oh, just going to pick up Paul,” he replied.
“The witness? You are going to work the case with a kid?!”
“I mean, he is a fan of my work, so yes. I don't care about your opinion, ok? I know what I'm doing. And the last time I checked, I am the only one here that has won a DOTY (Detective Of The Year) award.”
As Log arrived at Paul's house, the door was already wide open.
“Hi Inspector Log! How did you sleep?" Paul asked.
“Uhm, yeah good. Are you ready to leave?”
“So ready!” he replied.
“Hey, uh, Paul. Do you live here alone? I mean where are your parents?” Log then asked.
“They both passed away in a shark attack two years ago.”
“Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that.”
Then they were in his Countach, just driving in the wind, chatting and chilling. Log found out that Paul is a 16-year-old college dropout who resells football jerseys for a living. He made so much money from this that he could afford his own house. His parents died when he was 14, and for two years he lived with his best friend Zayn.
TO BE CONTINUED...