Contract: Poetic Justice

[Benzo]

Attempting to enter the split hallway, a resort guard on the other side looks at you and quickly motions with his head. Just as quickly, the man in front of you turns around and holds out his hand.

"Private guests only beyond this point, sir." he instructs, little room for argument in his voice.

[snowy happy]

I stop, stare for a second, then retreat back downstairs. There must be some way to get past this guard.

I could possibly observe which kimonos mean which level of access, and then attempt to steal one? I haven't seen anything of the like thus far, but I'd assume there's a form of laundromat in the resort.

[Benzo]

Venturing back downstairs and past the general lobby, you slowly explore the rest of the first floor, passing by several smaller sets of stairs tucked away in various nooks of the resort. Glancing down one such step, it seems to lead into a stone basement with various resort staff ducking in and out of the rooms below. All of the resorts services except the kitchen seemed to be down there.

Speaking of which, as you duck back into the general area before being spotted, you see a woman in a red kimono quickly walk past, a large chef hat decorating the top of her head.

[snowy happy]

I watch the woman to see if she enters a private or otherwise secure room without being stopped (in secrecy, of course).

[Benzo]

Following the woman like some kind of serial killer, which would be fitting given the circumstances, you soon find yourself entering the restaurant area as she walks around back to the kitchen. Luckily, the resort seems to have an ooen-windowed kitchen, allowing you to eavesdrop on her conversation. While unfortunately she starts speaking Taiwanese, you hear the voice in your ear begin quickly translating;

"Where is the pufferfish being held at?" you hear her ask, almost demandingly judging by her voice.

"Back storage, to be disposed of. You know we-" another tries to respond.

"Save it. We're not losing a VIP guest because of one death in ten years. Do you know how much Mr. Cross is paying to stay here?"

"I don't-"

"No, you don't. Now go get it out of the freezer and pray you don't repeat the last chef's mistake."

[snowy happy]

Aware of the poisonous powers of raw or incorrectly cooked pufferfish, I think of ways I could manage to take the pufferfish. Maybe steal it from the freezer before the person reaches it?

[Benzo]

"The secret to a good-tasting pufferfish is their venom." the woman in your ear explains as the kitchen conversation fades away. "A skilled chef will nick the venom sack to get just enough to numb the mouth. Due to its toxicity, any more than that will kill the consumer, leading preparation of the fish to be outlawed in several countries, and responsible for well over a thousand yearly deaths."

[snowy happy]

I listen to the woman before leaning ever-so-slightly to see if I can spot the aforementioned freezer in the kitchen.

[Benzo]

Looking into the kitchen, you see several men and women dressed in red working with various foods and utensils, but no freezer to be seen. Leaning further, you see a back room where staff members occasional pop in and out of, usually holding some kind of packaged food as they exit.

[snowy happy]

The freezer may be in there. I assess my surroundings and try to figure out a time when I could quickly crouch-sprint my way into that room based off of when the staff aren't in there.

[Benzo]

Waiting for the opportune moment, you quickly and quietly make your way into the back room and duck behind a counter as you find it has one other current occupant, her back currently to you as she fidgeted with something on the table before her. On your left and between the two of you, you could see a large sink of steaming water with a suspended dish containing several spiked fish resting inside.

"You'll need to let them thaw, first." your Guardian says quickly. "The best way to inconspicuously ensure a successful poisoning may be to inject venom from one directly into the others, and dispose of the evidence... You need a syringe."

[snowy happy]

"Alright. I'll look around and see if there's any places I could get a syringe from."

I look around the room and wonder if this resort has a proper hospital. Maybe a first-aid room?

[Benzo]

Looking around quickly, you seem to be in luck as you notice a first aid kit mounted on the wall. Unfortunately, it rests eerily close to where the woman currently was.

[snowy happy]

I'll wait to see if the woman leaves the room within a few minutes.

[Benzo]

Waiting patiently, it isn't long before she concludes her business and leaves. Just as you move to enter, however, you hear a set of faint footsteps clicking behind you and slowly drawing closer.

[snowy happy]

I quickly rush to the first aid kit, make as little noise as possible when opening it, and luckily enough find a syringe. With no time to lose, I quickly grab the syringe, close the kit and dive under the nearest table.

[Benzo]

Diving under the nearest table and hugging the wall, you see the legs of two people walk over to the sink. You then hear the rustling of plastic as they begin to speak. Your Guardian informs you of it being mostly gibberish until announcing that they are giving the pufferfish a few more minutes in the fridge.

Watching their legs, you see them walk past and disappear into a walk-in refrigerator, then coming back and departing from where they had initially entered.

[snowy happy]

I attempt to use my current point of view and see if there's anybody else in the refrigerator. If not, I can quickly run in when the time is right.

[Benzo]

Peeking through the heavy fridge door and finding the room empty, you enter and quickly find the three pufferfish resting in their bowl, cold to the touch but mostly thawed.

[snowy happy]

I ignore the general cold of the room and grab one of the pufferfish.

(uh, i'm a little confused. what now?)

[Benzo]

(Pffft, ask your Guardian, not me. That's why you've got an earpiece; Otherwise you'd be on your own.)

"You have the syringe, right?" the familiar voice in your ear asks. "The venom sac is near center of the fish, just below the muscle. Fill the syringe, hit the others, and make sure you get rid of that one." she then instructs quickly. "We don't want Mr. Cross getting lucky."

[snowy happy]

(Ha, right.)
"Ah, okay."
I try my best to accurately hit the venom sac with the syringe. After a try or two, I have a sufficient amount of venom in the syringe and I gently divy the venom between the other two pufferfish. Now for the one that I injected...where do I put this?

I refer to my earpiece.
"If I need to dispose of this without evidence, the women who were preparing it will notice that there's less then what they started with."

[Benzo]

"Hmm, a good point..." she says in thought. "My concern is the chef noticing a ruptured sac upon preparing the drained piece. At best, maybe a kitchen aid gets scolded."

[snowy happy]

I look at the injected pufferfish. "Scolded?"

[Benzo]

(You really want me to use Google for you? You know, scold; Lecture, berate, uh... A stern talking-to?)