PART 3 (contd.)

The next day, Herb tried to get some information of the man named Larry Jones from the mental patients but all effort was in vain. Fortunately, after a few days, he managed to get information from a man working there. It was known that he escaped a few years ago. After knowing the truth, Herb was thinking of a way to escape from the place of madness. He saw guards with tranquiliser guns. Even if he gets past them, there were many watch towers there, ready to bring down any man who escaped the prison. Although there were many obstacles, Herb needed to have a shot at escaping.

When all the lights were turned off at 10, Herb used a small knife to cut through the thick cloth fibers which restricted his mobility. Then, Herb took a large piece of sodium from his pocket which was the product of an experiment in the asylum. herb stuck the white solid to the wall with glue. Water was poured to the white solid which created a large explosion. However, the result of the explosion was just a small hole not even a third-grader couldn't fit. Herb kicked the 100-year-old walls of the asylum with all of his might to bring it down.

While he was kicking, the guards were alerted by the strange noises from Herb's cell. The heavy and thundering footsteps of the guards made Herb panic. He used some long broken chains lying on the cell floor which once confined his father's best friend to whip the weakened wall open. Herb knew if would he be caught escaping, he would be tortured like an animal. After having a hole big enough for him, he looked down to the depths below. Below was a steep cliff face with millions of pointy and jagged knife-like rocks below.

As the sound of the guards' footsteps became louder, Herb spread his arms wide, closed his eyes shut and prayed hard. The rocks down there were as if welcoming him to them, wanting his life. When the guards arrived, with hopes of making it safe, Herb jumped down...

PART 3

Lizzie helped him to makeup and in no time, he looked exactly like a lunatic destined for the mental institutions. Lizzie called the asylum which was situated on one of he islands in Queens to bring Herb back. "Do you think this is a good idea?" Herb asked. "Sure," Lizzie replied with a nod. An ambulance siren was heard and a doctor with two nurses arrived to take Herb to the asylum. In the ambulance, his limbs were tied up so that he couldn't move.

When they arrived at the asylum, the main door opened and Herb took a peep inside. A patient was grabbed by a few asylum staff while another staff injected tranquiliser to his arm. He screamed and struggled before fainting. "This will happen to you if you don't listen to what we say," a nurse warned. Then, they pushed Herb into hell. Herb was placed into the same cell that Larry Jones once lived in.

In the cell, the walls were covered with markings of number 10, written in different sizes and colours. He also saw some broken steel chains lying on the floor. What a sad life, Herb thought. When lunch time came, a plate of rice, cold chicken and mushy vegetables were thrown in. Herb hesitated, but was forced to eat the yucky food to have energy to escape.

PART 2 (contd. again )

Ten days after the first robbery, another one happened. On this occasion, the victim was Standard Chartered Bank. Another 110,000 dollars were stolen, with the same denominations. This frenzy of robberies went on for weeks. The New York Stock Exchange was plundering as many foreign investors mainly banks were pulling their investments from New York City. One day after another robbery happened, Lizzie received a call from Chief Inspector Brown.

"Elizabeth, I have something to ask you and your three friends, Could you recommend a good place to meet?" he asked. "Sure. Angelo's Place in Bronx," Lizzie replied. "Alright. Today, 3 o' clock."

It was already 3.30 when the police officer arrived at the restaurant. Herb was sipping on his second strawberry milkshake while Lizzie was busy talking with Angelo about his life in Italy. Johnny and Kim was busy with their Nintendo DSs. "Sorry, kids. I had a meeting to attend," he said while shaking the rain droplets off his umbrella before wiping the rain of his jacket. "What are you going to tell us, sir?" Kim asked while popping a small handful of French fries into his mouth. "Guys, all of you have to help me. I've got my warning letter. If the robbers are not caught by Halloween, I'm finished. So, please help me!" the man pleaded. He then opened his umbrella before walking out from the restaurant.

Back home, Herb did not know what to do to help Chief Inspector Brown. He took his father's diary from a large, old trunk. His father, Robert Naughton was an ex-Marine who served his time in Iraq and died after an assault on his camp. He hoped that he would find motivation and advice through the diary, and hopefully, some clues. As he was flipping through the brown pages of the diary, something caught the attention of his eyes. His father wrote in page:" Dear Diary, today's the eve before our troops' deployment to Iraq. I spent my time with my lovely wife, with my son, Herb still in her womb. I hope to come back quickly to see my baby boy. Unfortunately, my commander called me and told that Larry was sent to an asylum just now. I don't know what's happening to him. He was such a good field commando and friend to me. Maybe his emotions became unstable after his wife died. We went to the same school since preschool. Commander Hawk said that he was sent there because he was starting to cause harm to people. He keeps telling me 'Number 10, Robbie. Always have everything in 10s'. I don't know what he meant since the start."

After reading the diary, he texted Lizzie, Johnny and Kim to go to his house. After examining the diary, Lizzie said, "Herb, you're good in disguising right?" "Yes. But I'm not dressing up like no mad man. NO!" Herb shouted.

(Part 3 & 4 will be posted tomorrow. Enjoy!)

PART 2 (contd.)

They walked for around 15 minutes before reaching a restaurant called Angelo's Place.Lizzie pushed the glass door open and called out to the boss. "Uncle Angelo!" she exclaimed when the boss appeared and they hugged each other before exchanging kisses on the cheeks. "Who's he?" Herb whispered while pointing his finger towards the short , plump and slightly bald Italian man with a beard. "Guys, meet Uncle Angelo, my dad's friend. Uncle Angelo, these are my best friends," Lizzie said. "Sit down, children. Let me treat all of you to a dinner of pizza and ice cream," Angelo said. The four youths sank down at Angelo's Place's cozy seats. Photos of Angelo in Italy's scenic countryside were hung at the walls in the restaurant. Herb almost fell asleep as fatigue was eating into his body.

Twenty minutes later, the man was holding a pizza on each of his hands. "Guys, I think this case would not be easy. Have to be more alert," Herb warned. Herb's cellphone suddenly rang. "Pardon me, guys. Chief Inspector Brown calling," Herb said. After a short conversation, he hung up. "What did he say?" Johnny said curiously as Angelo served a basket of onion rings. "Victim's autopsy report coming out day after tomorrow," Herb explained. "Okay. Now who wants chocolate ice cream?" Kim asked him other group members.

On Monday, only Herb, Liz and Johnny went to the police station after school because Kim was busy with his distant relatives from Korea which were visiting his family. They made their way to Chief Inspector Brown's office in the NYPD's headquarters. the place was like a huge maze and it took them about half an hour to locate the office. When they saw a plaque with the words " Chief Inspector M. Brown", they had a sigh of relief and went in.

"Oh, you're here. Let me show you the report," the middle-aged man said. "Shot at ten different major blood vessel," he added. "Amazing," Lizzie said. "No one in this police department can shoot that well and accurate," he added. A police came in with a file for Chief Inspector Brown. "Sir, these are all the notes' denominations that they had stolen," the man in his mid-20s said. "A thousand 100 dollar bills, a thousand 10 dollar bills and a thousand 1 dollar bills. "Ingenious and smart," Herb said.

(To be continued...)

PART 2

The following is the continuation of the last post:

He arrived at the scene, with all his friends and fellow detectives already there investigating the case. About 9 police cars were parking at the compound of the crime scene, with many police personnel and inspectors searching for clues. When Kim saw him, he handed a pair of gloves to Herb and said, "Hard case, this is." "Found any clues?"Herb asked. "Nope, not even one. The security cameras were shattered and the camera tapes prior to the robbery was missing," Johnny cut in. "Well, I guess it'll be a long day," Herb whined.

The four youths continued their search for clues, helping the NYPD with the investigation. They even tried to find for clues from witnesses, but all of them were too scared to look at what happened. After a tired day of solving the mystery, Kim suggested, "How about a nice Korean dinner at..." "Oh no, not again!" the three other members objected. "Why not we'll eat at a place that serves nice food, like pizza and burgers. We can also have our favourite chocolate ice cream there which they serve it well," Lizzie said. "Well, not bad. Let's go!" Herb and Johnny said. Kim looked dejected.

New Series

A new series of short stories will be coming out soon in my blog, starting out with this one which I have written in my examination. This is a edited version of that story. This story is the second story of the series. The following is the first of five parts of this story:

Part 1:

It was a busy day in Citibank. People were queuing up in the bank's 20 counters to deal with their money. Thousands of dollars were exchanging hands between the bank tellers and the hundreds of customers. Then, suddenly...

BAM! BAM!

Two rounds of gunshots were heard. Five men, dressed in full black costumes with iron masks covering their faces. All the people in the bank went lying on the smooth, cold marble floor of the huge bank. There was great despair in the building. A taller man, with a sledgehammer in hand, smashed up all the CCTVs in the bank, erasing all evidence of the notorious robbers. "IWe just want all the traditional loot, jewellery, cell phones, and of course money," said the chief. A teller crept out of the counters and tried to wrestle with one of the smaller-sized robbers. Unfortunately, the man was shot before he could even go near them. The chief, along with his partners-in-crime, grabbed as much loot as possible, filled their gunny sacks and drove away in their blue van.

* * *

"What the hell?!" a boy around 16 shouted. He was lazing on his cozy bed, and it was just 8 o' clock in the morning. It was a Saturday and it was his only time for him to wake up late as he has church to attend on Sunday. The mobile phone was ringing non-stop when he picked it up. He wearily and unwillingly picked up his mobile phone. It was Kim. When he pressed the 'Accept' button, he immediately said, "Please don't recommend me another place for excellent kimchi, please!" "No, Herb! We have to go to 46, Big Apple Street in Manhattan. Johnny and Lizzie coming too. Very big case," the Korean boy said.

It had been 4 months since Herb and his friends started to study in Victoria High School. They were now celebrities since solving their first mystery which was the brutal murder of a teacher in the school. Herb got himself dressed up, called a cab and went to the destination. He was thinking of his time when he and his good friends successfully solved the mystery and the criminal was put to jail to be prosecuted. When he stepped down from the taxi, he couldn't believe his eyes...