Colette was embarrassed upon the realisation that her mature and elegant voice had reverted to this... this... unfamiliar high-pitched one.
"Little girl you can trust me, I'm a good guy."
"Trust?? You?? Hahaha what a funny joke." Colette sarcastically jested.
'Does he think that I'm a fool, on what basis should I believe a stranger that I've met on a random island?? In the midst of committing a crime even! Those lines too...exactly the words of a creep especially if he decided to add a little chuckle at the end or something.'
The large man sighed as he realised how stupid he sounded, he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck as he tried to portray his good intentions again.
"Little girl, how about you tell me why you're on the island? It's quite dangerous here ya know? Crazy killer chimpanzees that will rip you a part and eat your flesh. Dangerous terrain where you might slip and break your arm or leg which could permanently impair you. Oh maybe even permanently damage your spine! " he gently said as if coaxing a child and the enthusiasm in his voice. He...messed it up again... totally the wrong tone... (Author: *face palms*... not very appropriate for this situation...)
"..." At his words Colette's lip twitched, she was unsure of how to react to his umm... kind warning??
'Well, that's one way to start off a conversation with me, a young girl...is he trying to scare me? More importantly, why would he say those words in such a gentle tone unless, he's one of those villains from anime, the ones that give a sweet smile while saying really messed up sh*t?' Colette shivered at the thought of having to converse with such a perverted creep.
Unfortunately for the man, Colette has labelled him as a perverted creep and this will stick with him for many years to come.
So now she has unconsciously raised her guard against the burly man higher, the atmosphere became increasingly tense, before she decided to break it.
"What are your plans?" Colette asked him curtly, observing his actions, if he tries anything funny she'll throw dirt into his eyes.
She gathered some before as she was stabilising herself when he let go of her, Colette had stumbled and pretended to use the ground to support herself, grabbing a handful of dirt.
"*sigh* I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you the truth, although it is suspicious that you're here. I'm an undercover officer that's currently locating an underground auction. As you may have guessed in the upcoming auction they will be selling the chimps on this island, the other man I'm with is not an officer but a trafficker. I'm officer Lenny by the way, Mike Lenny, call me Mike or Lenny, whichever you prefer. Now, young lady, care to explain how you got here? As far as I know you would need a map to make it here, you shouldn't be snooping around like this. You definitely came after us and judging from your clothes...did you possibly come from a ship wreck and drift ashore?" After introducing himself Lenny rapidly questioned Colette, in attempt to analyse her situation.
"How... trusting of you to reveal your identity. I'm Colette, my situation is slightly complicated, I was basically thrown overboard and have made it to the island by chance. I happened to see the trap as I was exploring the island, so I did what most people would've done, free the chimp." Colette decided to cooperate with Lenny after all, if he really wanted to kill her then and there, it was a simple task.
As Colette waited for Lenny's response she started to calculate ways to escape however, after much pondering the success rate is quite low, as the island is relatively small, they'll be able to find her in no time.
While Lenny observed her for any abnormal behaviour that might indicate that she purposely came to the island with another intention, however he decided to let it go, a bit careless of him but it seemed that he was running out of time to find the location of the underground auction.
He didn't have time to deal with detours that might cost him than gaining.
'If I wait for Timothy to take me there directly it may be too difficult to immediately get an audit and take immediate action... let's take option 3. Hehe my favourite.' Lenny's internal thoughts had somewhat translated onto his face, displaying an unsettling smile.
His smile had alarmed Colette, what did his smile mean? It doesn't look like something good is about to happen, this hardened Colette's resolve, if he approaches her she will throw the dirt into his eyes and bolt. This will give her a head start by at least a few seconds, which should be enough for her to locate a hiding spot, surely they wouldn't waste their time to look for her.
Colette then positioned herself in a stance ready to take action, with an air of hostility leaking out. Sensing her hostility Lenny snapped back to reality.
"Ah sorry little girl, I know this is a little abrupt but will you follow me?" Lenny asked in all seriousness.
"I'm sorry, what??" His words confused Colette, like he left half of his words back in his head and only verbally said one half.
"I want us to work together, since you've already tied that guy up let's interrogate him! I was initially planning to extract some information from him through casual conversation. However, the situations different now." As Lenny was briefly explaining his plan he rubbed his hands together keenly.
Colette just nodded absentmindedly and followed Lenny who had taken off to the direction of the hideout.
As she was following behind Colette realised she was drained, her initial happiness was only the momentary excitement and nostalgia of returning to the island but after planning and the confrontation with Lenny, she felt like her energy was sapped from her.
She didn't know why she felt this way, was it because she was physically and mentally exhausted by the rapid events?