Part 128: Crawling

Music: Deep Distrust
Back to the question of how do we get into the secret room...


You guessed correctly in that the game won't let us just bust through the wall with the crowbar.

Even if the game lets us do that, I'm pretty sure Mags would sue us for property damage if we do that which would lead to a Game Over.


The stuff about the elevator is pretty close.



Fun fact: the elevator button in this floor still works even though there shouldn't be any electricity here.





Hmm... That lock looks suspicious. Let's see if the key Mags gave us is for this lock.

Use small key on lock

The moment of truth. Time to use this key.

I use the small key and open the cover.



What the...?





Switch There's a tiny switch in the place where the button came off.

What's this?
It looks like some sort of control switch.

I switch it on.



With the switch turned on, we can press the other buttons without getting the elevator to react.

We CAN turn off the switch during this minigame and press another button, but that'll just get us off the elevator as usual.



What we need to enter is written in this code. The Condor's body points to the square and its head points to the symbol within the code.

The number shows the order of the button press. That means we need to press 3, 1, R, open, 2 and close in that order.

Huh?

The elevator starts to move.



Wait. It's stopped! Where is this?



(But why's it stopped here?)



No clocks or safes involved, but this guess is very close.

*Some sound*

(Huh?)



Maybe it came from outside?

I press the button, but nothing happens.
Is this thing broken?

If it's not from outside, then...





Bench There's an L-shaped bench in the corner of the elevator. A small hatch has opened up on the side of it.



Keyhole There's a small keyhole in the opening.

(Quite a place to find a keyhole.)
(Could this be...)

We do have one more unknown key.

Use Condor key on keyhole

Maybe if I try this key...



It worked!

I lift up the side panel of the bench.



(Looks like a hidden entrance of some sort.)
(Looks like it goes in quite a way.)
(Nothing for it but to go in.)



Alright! Found it!



(There's no mistaking it, this must be the place. This is where Condor sold their stolen jewellery.)
Right, time to look around.


Typewriter I'm not gonna try typing on this thing. Dust would fly everywhere.
(It must have been a really long time since this was last used.)
Stationeries A load of papers are scattered about on the desk.

Papers Some sheets of writing paper have been left here. Damn, the handwriting is too smudged to read.
Ink It's an inkwell.
(It won't open. The ink must have hardened.)
Book There's a kind of ledger on top of the table.
What could this have been used for?
Let's see...

Gold, Silver and...Scarlet.
Looks like I've struck the mother lode here. It's an item-by-item list of jewel sales.

Pen stand There's a pen stand on the desk. No pen in it, though. Only dust.
Clock There's a clock on the desk, but the hands have stopped. Kind of sad really.
Phone There's an old-fashioned telephone on the desk. No cord though. Guess I won't be making any long-distance calls.
Lamp A lamp that clips into the edge of the desk. Looks like it should be part of an interrogation.
Table A large wooden desk with a drawer. I'll see what's inside.

Pens Three marker pens in different colours: red, black and blue.
Envelope Inside the drawer is an old, brown envelope.
(Is there something inside?)
What's this?

At a closer glance, it appears to bear the words "Los Angeles Police".
It's an LPAD badge.
Why the hell would something like this be hidden here?
(There's something else inside the envelope.)

The photo shows three men. As I stare at the photo, I realise that I recognise the man wearing a hat on the right. I saw another photo of him before, in Mags's room.

(It's George Patrice!)
On the left-hand side of the photo, there's a man wearing a tuxedo. He's got a name tag pinned to his chest.
(That tag...)

is the name "Michael McGrath".
(I see. So this is Michael McGrath.)
There's a worried-looking man in the centre who George has his arm round.
(Who is that man?)
I stare at the man in the photo. Suddenly, there's a flash of realisation and I know who he is. I recall where I saw him before. He was featured in that TV show...

(It's a young Hugh Speck.)
This photo shows just how Hugh Speck and Condor are connected. Now I think I know the meaning of the police badge, too. It's for collateral, and as a sign of his devotion to their cause.


Looks like we found what Frank was searching for!




Picture It's a framed picture of the classic card designs for the aces.
(It looks really old.)




Front chair The poker table is surrounded by wooden chairs.
Table A round table covered in green felt. The classic poker table.
Cards Three hands of cards are sitting face-down on the table. They look like they've been left mid-game. For quite a while too, judging from the dust.
Chips Poker chips are piled up in a few places on the table.
Back chair The poker table is surrounded by chairs. They're very dirty and look pretty unstable. Yeah, I think I'll just stand...
Dartboard There's a dartboard on the wall. No darts in it, though. Never mind... I'm more of a billiards man anyway.
Boxes Some wooden boxes with text stamped on them are piled up next to the sofa. They're nailed shut.
Sofa There's a sofa over by the wall. It looks like some of the colours rubbed away.




Lamp There's a lamp on the wall above the painting.
Painting There's a framed painting on the wall.

Zoomed-in lamp The light is turned off.
(Is the light just there to illuminate the painting?)
Zoomed-in painting The painting is of a ship traversing the waves while a lighthouse guides the way.
A boat and a lighthouse...
(There's a lamp on the wall just above the painting. Is that a switch below the frame?)
Switch I switch it on.

Damn, that's bright!
(What's the story with this?)






Shadow There's the shadow outline of a condor on the wall.
What's up with this shadow?
(The beak of the condor is pointing at a card.)
(What could it be trying to say?)
Picture It's a framed picture of the classic card designs for the aces.
(Interesting.)
(A shadow of a condor has appeared underneath the cards.)

There's nothing here anymore, so let's leave.

I leave the hidden chamber.