Strangulation Point

  Chief Inspector James Courteny-Everard met the Alpha and Beta teams within the red brick fishery on Cannery Row. Careful searching had led them to a single room. Alpha team leader Ranophe Bell was the first to go in. Sara Rhee’s Beta team brought up the rear. Last man Alberto Sphingo reacted too late as the door locked itself behind him.

        They took a look around. The room was small. On the left wall were three people who were barely alive. They had been strung up by cables. One cable ran around each neck. The cables fed into a central computer. Opposite them were small boxes. Alpha team, Bell, H.Spears and Gus Pesa, investigated the cables. Meanwhile, Beta team’s Rhees, Sphingo and Epi Duso raced to the boxes.

        This left Everard with the computer. He had a sinking feeling as he withdrew a white paper ticket. One word was on it; “Listen.”

        A voice like unrefined gravel scraped out of hidden speakers, “You are trapped in a room 587cm times 477cm times 428cm. To escape and save these victims you must enter the four passwords. Two are nine digit numbers. Then there are two monstrous words of seven and six letters respectively.

        “Now let me introduce the victims. We have Dora Pandleson, seventy-five, born; twenty-seventh of January, Thirty-one. The century isn’t important now is it? Next is Joe Dans, forty-three, born; ninth of November, sixty-three. Last is young mother Amy Manewarring, seventeen, born; thirteenth of June, eighty-nine. Add them all together and you have a nice collection.

        “Now, this is a rare opportunity for you cops. You have the chance to save lives instead of investigating murders. However, you only have twenty minutes. I have given you plenty of enough clues. However, just in case its not enough you can check the boxes. One for each person. Though one will prove to be totally useless. Oh, spread yourselves now. Each team can figure out a password. Good luck.”

        They all glanced at each other. Everard flicked open his notebook then chewed on his biro, “Check those boxes.”

        Straggly haired Dora’s box contained Poker chips, an eye patch, a dead snake, wig and her red ring. Next to the box was a walking stick. Joe’s box contained a horoscope with Aries circled, a belt with a dragon on it, a snake’s tail, guidebooks to Greece and a pair of walking boots. Amy’s box contained children’s clothes, a pub crawl guidebook, a bottle of whiskey, a plastic nose, a cigarette lighter, a toy lion, a toy horse, angel wings and a doll’s head.

        Everard gave a rare smile, glanced at his notepad then looked at his team, “I’ve got this one. Have you?”

Number 1: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Number 2: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Password 1: _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Password 2: _ _ _ _ _ _

19mins 59seconds remaining…
 

Reviews

[TLK]

The first paragraph is unrelentingly boring. It's hard to go on after that.