Call of dead robot

We saw a robot lying down with red paint smeared on its chest. On its head was something resembling a clock, ticking continuously. Every now and then, the robot uttered in a broken, lifeless voice, "Find… my… killer…"

Rima asked me, "I don't understand, what game are we supposed to play now? And who would kill the robot? If someone did, would the robot even care to ask who killed it?"

I replied, "Maybe this is our game. I don't see anything else here."

Hasan added, "Yeah, there's nothing else."

Suddenly, a light fell on a white cloth on the wall behind us. Another projector? Haha! When the screen turned on, we saw a man sitting on a chair with three other people standing behind him. It was clear that the seated man was their leader. All the games here were designed by him. But their faces were masked.

After a while, their screen turned off, and another screen came on.

We saw Rima tied to a chair, struggling desperately to escape.

This screen, too, switched off, and a new one turned on.

The man sitting on the chair said, "Welcome to my thrilling 'do or die' games. My name is Ishtiaq Ahmed. Congratulations on clearing round one, but now you'll understand why I call these Do or Die Games."

I asked, "Why have you detained Meem?"

Hasan said, "Let her go. We'll pay you whatever amount you need."

The man laughed loudly— "Hahaha"—and said, "I need entertainment. If you can entertain me, I'll release the girl."

Was this guy some sort of psycho? For entertainment, he could've gone to a comedian. I asked, "What do we have to do?"

The man replied, "Finally, the right question. Very… good. You don't have to do much. Just find the robot's killer. That clock on the robot's head? It's actually a time bomb that will explode in exactly forty minutes. If you type the killer's name into the robot's chest, the bomb will be defused. Otherwise, Hahaha."

Laughing maniacally, the man turned off the screen.

In a hushed, trembling voice, Rima said, "A bomb! They're toying with our lives! Will we ever get out of here?"

Hasan said, "Are they insane? If the bomb explodes, won't they get hurt too? Why would they take such a risk?"

Rima said, "Hmm, definitely psychos. Even on TV, I've never seen such demands for ransom games. But why a bomb? If it explodes, we'll die for sure."

I told them, "We don't have much time. Search the room thoroughly. Let me know if you find anything. I'll check the robot."

As I inspected the robot, my mind kept drifting back to Meem. Her distressed face on the screen replayed in my head. She must be suffering so much! I must reach her quickly, no matter what.

Suddenly, Hasan called out, "I found an envelope here."

Rima and I quickly rushed to Hasan. I took the envelope from him and opened it. There were several photos and a piece of paper listing twenty names along with their professions, ages, and marital statuses.

On the back of one photo was written, "The robot's name is Rubel, and he died on the 25th."

We examined the photos. Each one had a number, date, and name.

I picked up the first photo. It was taken on the 10th. Four young men and six young women over the age of 25 were in the picture. The women had side bags slung over their shoulders. One of the side bags had a visible strap. Its owner was Rina. Apart from her, two other women were named. One was Shrabonti, and the other was Barsha. These three women had rocket-shaped pendants hanging from chains around their necks.

I set it aside and picked up another photo, dated the 20th. It showed a man, a woman, and a child. Likely a family. Upon checking, we found their names: the woman was Shima, the man was Ashiq, and their six-year-old child was Polok.

Setting it aside, I picked up another photo. It featured 15–16 year-old boys and girls in school uniforms. A healthy boy named Arik had his arm around another boy named Kawsar. Next to them were Rubel, Rina, and a girl named Kulsum. Rina had a bag slung over her shoulder.

Hasan held a photo that piqued my curiosity. I said, "Let me see that photo."

Hasan handed it to me.

It was taken on the 26th—the day after Rubel's death. Two young men and three young women aged 22–25 were in the photo. A man named Rafik held a guitar, and next to him was a bespectacled man named Sohan. Among the three women, one had short hair and long fingernails painted pink. The other two women had appeared in previous photos: Shrabonti and Rina. Shrabonti wore a chain around her neck, and her hair was dyed yellow. She seemed to have joined some music band with the others. Rina, however, showed no changes. But I suddenly noticed something—Rina was no longer wearing her chain.

I picked up another photo. It showed four men aged 30–35. From previous photos, I could identify the man in black as Rubel. He had a phone in his hand. He is also using a strap as a mobile holder. It seems like I saw this same strap somewhere a while ago. The other two were bearded and wore Topis with Panjabis. The fourth man wore a cap and a T-shirt.

The next photo showed a heavy bulky man with Rubel on his right and the man's son on his left. Rubel had his arm around the man. His name was Montu. I'd seen the boy in another photo earlier—his name was Arik.

There were more photos. We examined them too.

We had only three minutes left when Rima suddenly asked, "Sakib, look at this photo. Why would an unmarried man have children's toys in his home?"

Hasan said, "Where? Let me see."

The photo showed Rubel's room. There were indeed children's toys. We continued analyzing other pictures until we noticed a small, broken piece of metal next to Rubel. Everything became clear to me.

Just then, the screen came on again. Ishtiaq Ahmed said, "Only one minute left. After that—boom! Haha ha."

He disappeared again.

Rima and Hasan panicked. I approached the robot and said, "Mystery solved." I quickly typed the killer's name into the robot's chest. The robot stopped ticking. Immediately, Rima and Hasan sat down, taking deep breaths. I, too, let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close," Hasan said, collapsing onto the floor. Rima looked as if her blood pressure had spiked.

The screen came on again. The man said, "Congratulations on clearing this game."

Meanwhile, Hasan and Rima asked, "Who was the killer?"

I said, "Rubel's girlfriend, Rina."

The man was surprised and asked, "Oh! Very good. How did you figure out Rina was Rubel's girlfriend?"

I held up a photo and said, "In this picture, Rina's bag strap matches the strap on Rubel's phone. Only girlfriends and boyfriends use matching items like this."

The man said, "Oh, interesting observation."

Rima then asked, "But how was Rina the culprit?"

I explained, "In every photo taken before the 25th, Rina wore a locket on a chain around her neck. But in the photo from the 26th, her locket was missing."

Hasan was stunned. "The locket!"

I showed them the pictures and said, "When Rubel was attacked, he tried to defend himself. In the process, he likely ripped Rina's chain off. Rina later disposed of the broken necklace, but a small piece of that chain remained behind."

I pointed to the photo and said, "If you look closely, this tiny piece of metal is part of that necklace."

Both of them finally understood. Just as I was about to tell them to prepare for the next round, I noticed their anxious faces.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so gloomy?" I asked.

Rima, looking pensive, said, "I don't understand one thing."

"What?" I asked.

She replied, "Why would a girlfriend kill her boyfriend? It's so mysterious."

Annoyed by her curiosity, I said, "7 years ago, Rubel had an illicit relationship with a married woman named Shima."

Both Hasan and Rima were shocked and asked, "How do you know that?"

I pulled out a picture and showed it to them.

Rima said, "Here's Shima with her husband and their child in the photo. What's the problem here?"

 I replied, "The child in the picture is Shima and Rubel's."

 Hasan, surprised, asked, "What are you saying?"

 I explained, "Every child's ears resemble their father's. Look at this child's ears—they're quite similar to Rubel's." (I showed them the photos for comparison.)

 Rima asked, "So, does the husband not know that the child isn't his?"

 I said, "I can't say for sure, but it's likely that he doesn't."

Hasan inquired, "How did you figure out that they were involved in an illicit relationship 7 years ago?"

The hint was the child's age. Rima and Hasan checked the child's age.

I asked, "How old is the child?"

Rima and Hasan said together, '6,' and as soon as they said it, they exclaimed, 'Oh!!'"

 Hasan inquired again, "But why would the current girlfriend attack her boyfriend for his past relationship?"

 I replied, "Because their relationship is still ongoing."

 Rima and Hasan exclaimed together, "What?"

 I added, "The proof is this toy car. It belongs to the child and was probably forgotten here. This means Shima often met Rubel with her child, and Rina somehow found out about it."

 They seemed satisfied with my explanation. Then I said, "Now let's prepare for the next game."

 Rima and Hasan still seemed worried, so I asked, "What's wrong now?"

 Rima, exasperated, said, "How many more games do we have to play? I've never faced such high-pressure situations in my life."

 Hasan agreed, "Exactly. One after another, and each game is harder than the last."

 Rima said, "Can we even entertain them properly? And will we ever get Meem back?"

 "I know we're all going through a tough time. But remember, Ishtiaq Ahmed is somehow connected to Hasan's uncle, the police officer. So, if we want to get Meem back, we need to stay calm and cautious."

 "Will we even succeed in completing the next games?" Rima asked in a despairing voice.

 "Not only will we succeed, but we'll also return home together with our friend."

 Hasan said, "You're right, bro. I almost forgot that this kind of thing is a piece of cake for you."

Suddenly, a message appeared on the screen: "Congratulations for solving the game. Now enter the next room."

 At that moment, a door beside the wardrobe opened. We entered the new room.

Inside, there was no staircase leading out, only a path that ended at another door. Beside the path was a table with a peculiar computer and six ornamental plants placed at intervals. Three dim lights illuminated the pathway, and the floor was covered with red carpet, littered with colorful paper scraps.

We walked along the red carpet to the door, which appeared to lead to another large hall. Upon reaching it, we found it locked. The door we entered through also shut behind us.

 Rima nervously asked, "Did they plant another bomb here?"

 Hasan replied, "Could be."

 I told them, "Stay calm. We need to check the surroundings for a key. It must be somewhere in this room."

 Both Rima and Hasan nodded, saying, "Okay."

We began searching for the key. I started near the door, Hasan headed to the table, and Rima searched the middle area. It felt like finding the key would be as difficult as discovering a gem in a desert.

After a while, Hasan said, "I found a piece of paper on the table."

 I didn't go near him but called out, "Read it out loud."

 Hasan read the note: "To receive information, you must anger me."

 Rima asked, "What kind of clue is that?"

I rushed to Hasan and took the paper. Then I asked, "Does anyone have a lighter?"

 Hasan replied, "None of us smokes."

 I said, "Don't worry; me neither. But we need to find a matchbox or a lighter."

 Rima asked, "What do you need a lighter for?"

 I calmly replied, "I'll show you a magic trick. So, hurry up and find one."

We started searching again, and after five minutes, Hasan found a lighter in a drawer. I lit the lighter and held it close to the paper.

 Rima asked, "What are you doing?"

 I replied, "Making the paper angry."

 Hasan suddenly said, "Is this like the paper we found at home?"

 I said, "Yes."

 Hasan added, "But we didn't need a lighter back home."

 I explained, "The light in the house was brighter than this, so it wasn't necessary there."

As we watched, hidden text appeared on the paper: "Get the token to get ready for a battle."

 Hasan shuddered and asked, "A battle? Again?"

 I said, "Who knows?"

I was intrigued by the mention of the token. Looking around, I saw a coin on the table. Picking it up, I realized it resembled an arcade game token. Understanding that it was meant for the computer, I turned to Hasan and asked, "Do you know how to play arcade games?"

 Rima asked, "Why are we talking about games now?"

 I showed them the token and said, "This is for playing a game."

 With full confidence, Hasan replied, "Leave it to me. In school, they used to call me the game master."

 I handed him the token and said, "Then I'm counting on you."

 Hasan smiled and said, "Rest assured, bro."