Welcome to Outsmarted, a show where wits are put to the test in real high-stakes situations. On this episode, I became my best friend's worst nightmare by trying to kidnap him three different times. Check it out here:
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My name is Mike and this is my BFF, Ben. We've been friends for the past two years through work; however, we've been spending less and less time together. I miss our interactions and I've finally found a solution.
The most logical way for us to be together was to physically take him away against his will. Thus, I challenged Ben to partake in my strange video.
After speaking to a legal team, I learned that a literal definition of kidnapping is when a person is taken out of a room against their will. For our entertainment, we settled on a bet where if I failed, Ben would get the pleasure of shaving one of my eyebrows. If I succeeded, Ben would get a tattoo of my choice.
What Ben didn't know was that I had already prepared three co-workers dressed as a barbershop quartet to kidnap him once he had legally accepted the challenge.
Ben, a smart man, thwarted my plan by only agreeing to sign the contract outside of the room. This angered me greatly, but I refused to give up.
My second strategy was to bring my barbershop quartet to Ben's desk. There I would forcefully take him away into another room. It worked like a charm.
The next day, Ben's paranoia kicked in just as I had expected.
What Ben did not know was that I've been planning my next attempt for the past two weeks. I was going to hit Ben where he would least expect it: his love for acting.
I asked a mutual coworker, Henry, to have Ben play a part for a script that I had written seven years ago. Ben, happily, agreed to act in Henry's video.
In this script, Ben would be speaking to two shirtless men. What he didn't know was that these men were actually weightlifters I hired to kidnap Ben. I was very excited.
Just as I had expected, Ben was caught off guard in his dialogue and carried out against his will. Success!
I had one more kidnapping to go, and I was going to make this last one epic. I planned to exploit where Ben was most vulnerable: his home.
My plan was to sneak into Ben's apartment at 4 in the morning while he was sleeping and kidnap him. How was I going do this? A week ago I enlisted the help of Ben's girlfriend, Annie.
At 4:00 AM, I snuck into Ben's apartment with the spare key that Annie had provided me. Helping me in my venture were the two weightlifters from my last kidnapping and a professional Katy Perry impersonator. (side note: Ben's biggest celebrity crush is Katy Perry)
Everything was going perfectly. I was ready to capture Ben and finally taste the sweet nectar of victory. I crept into Ben's bedroom an slowly pulled down the sheets - WHAT?! This wasn't Ben!
I was double-crossed by Annie! Ben had even left me a video. In this video, he explained how he had discovered my plan through his loyalty with Annie. Good one Ben, you may have won this battle, but the war is not over.
The next day, I was ready to set a new strategy in motion. I enlisted our mutual coworker, Kelly, to lure Ben into a meeting. Ben would be forced into a confined space where I would finally kidnap him the third and final time.
The next day we had rigged cameras all around the meeting room. Kelly would call me when Ben was in the room. I had invited four big-boned coworkers to be my accomplices. We were ready to rock.
Ben casually walked in and sat down. Kelly gave us the call and we rushed in to grab our target. This was too easy - WAIT, this wasn't Ben! Who is this?
Kelly double-crossed me too! After our conversation, Kelly texted Ben about my masterplan and ultimately allowed Ben to outsmart me.
Time was ticking on my 7 day challenge and Ben was still loose. Brute force had worked, why not try again. With this plan in mind, I gathered my accomplices to grab him where his girlfriend Annie sat.
Wait, what was that? While we were walking around the soundstage, we heard Ben's voice from less than a couple feet away. He was gloating and vlogging on how he escaped my last two attempts. I quickly ushered my accomplices to surround him from all sides.
1,2,3, GO! And...JACKPOT! We caught him!
Victory was mine and I was ecstatic. Time to punish my best friend with this...
This entire journey allowed me to reflect on my friendship with Ben. Was I really trying to give him a horrible tattoo that he would be embarrassed about and hate me for the rest of his life? No, the only reason I did this video was so my best friend and I could spend more quality time together. That is why I gave him a tattoo that he would never forget.
A DNA helix with the word "loyalty" inside. Throughout this journey, Ben has taught me the value of loyalty. From his interactions with Annie and Kelly, his companions were truly loyal to him. I understood that this characteristic played a huge role in his life and that it was, like his favorite song DNA by Kendrick Lamar, in his DNA.
Although we had a great time in this cat-and-mouse game, kidnapping is a real crime. Therefore, please visit this website for more information on how you can stop child-abductions.
