Prologue
Coolsville, 2009.
Nestled at the heart of the Californian coast line, about 200 miles south of Los Angeles, this modestly sized town is fairly typical of similar port towns in the state. It's inhabitants were firmly divided into the 'have's and the 'have -nots', disgusting wealth and absolute poverty with not much in between. Recently, the town had also developed a darker underbelly, a drugs war waged under the cover of the night, the police were fighting a losing battle, too many turned a blind eye and then things got properly WEIRD. Like seriously, properly weird. More of that later, it's time to meet the young protagonists of this particular tale.
Currently of the 'have-nots' and very much wanting to be of the 'have's again, 19 year old best friends Frederick Jones and Norville Rogers both used to reside firmly on the privileged side of the Coolsville coin. 'Fred' once had it all. The star quarterback, he had the looks, the money and the girl. His life seemed to be one perfect stepping stone after another, until it all blew up in his face last year. Years of avoiding taxes finally caught up with Fred Jones Snr. and things fell apart in a big way. His father went to prison, his mom fled in shame, the family were declared bankrupt and without money, the once respected Jones name was mud. Goodbye college and with it the glittering dreams of his future disappeared in smoke. The girl was gone too, Amy didn't stick around after Fred was forced to sell his Porsche and take any job that was offered his way just to make the rent on the tiny apartment that had become his new home overnight. He had tried to run away too but he hadn't got very far, the world was a scary place for an 18 year old who suddenly had nothing.
So life had dealt Fred something of a cruel hand, this however was nothing compared to the absolute shitty misfortune that had befallen his childhood chum just a few short months later.
Norville Rogers was the antithesis of Fred Jones in every way, they were the stereotypical chalk and cheese and on the surface it was hard to see how they could possibly be such close friends. Norville was gangly and awkward looking, while Fred had abs and perfectly coiffed carefully combed and styled blond hair to go with the rest of his All American poster boy looks. Norville had long, unruly, straggly untamed brown hair that had probably never seen a comb in his life. He had little talent for sport beyond a remarkable turn of pace and the less said about the hippy way he dressed himself the better. But, they were the best of friends, and damn he was a happy kid, he had a brilliant sense of humour, was always the first to help anyone in need and everybody loved his dog. He wasn't from the richest family in Coolsville but they got by, he was more than happy with his lot in life.
Until fate dealt the cruellest of blows and that 'happy go lucky' kid was gone, possibly for good. Susanna and Bill Rogers got on the wrong plane at the wrong time and suddenly Norville was alone in the world save for his dog, facing the prospect of burying both his parents at just 18 years old. His parents had looked after their only child well in life and even in the event of their untimely deaths, they had been well prepared for the unlikely eventuality, with a will in place that would see their son right in material wealth for the time being at least. Or so they thought. Their deaths hit their son hard and Norville had soon frittered away huge chunks of the money and pretty much hit rock bottom.
With Norville spiralling fast, it was Fred who helped save his buddy from the depths of despair, pulling him from an endless cycle of pain and misery and a bond that was already pretty strong from their high school mismatched friendship, was cemented forever as they dealt with their respective falls from grace in very much the worst way they possibly could.
They turned to crime. Not overnight, although Fred had dabbled a bit on those nights he had spent away. They tried to make an honest living at first, really they did. Norville had taken a job in the kitchens of the finest restaurant in town and Fred lurched from one job to the next, before eventually settling for making a fairly honest living as a mechanic. There was one undeniable truth though, the money was running out and if they wanted to stay in the comfortable apartment the remainder of Norville's inheritance had helped secure, they were going to need more money from somewhere.
So, they dipped their toe into crime. A con job here, a breaking and entering there, these were two broken souls but even so, despite it becoming abundantly clear they were pretty skilled and successful criminals, they didn't enjoy it, it was only ever a means to an end. Neither of them had the desire to be a criminal their whole lives.
Nevertheless, as their heists became that bit more daring and successful, Fred couldn't help but dream big. Disillusioned with his life in the shadows, convinced that one day the law would catch up with them, he began to privately hatch a plan for their most ambitious crime yet. If they pulled this off, Fred knew they would have enough money to leave Coolsville behind for good, they could move to a big city where no one would even care about how they got their riches, they could start afresh, new identities, new life. For Fred it was the perfect solution, a final fling. Unfortunately for the pair though, Fred was dreaming so big, and the plot was so madcap that even for a man with such intelligence, the plan was certain to fail. Once Fred hit upon a scheme though, he was committed to it and after much pleading and cajoling he had finally managed to talk Norville into joining him. To even have a chance of pulling off something so ridiculous, Fred knew it wasn't a two person job, it probably wasn't even a measly three but three was all they had to work with, and there was certainly no guarantee they could even get her onboard, it pained Fred to even admit it to himself but he knew they needed Velma for this.
'Dead eyes' Dinkley as Fred had privately dubbed her, was a brilliant criminal. If Fred was merely 'intelligent' then Velma was easily in 'top 2% of the country' territory. Her crimes were flawless, barely leaving a scrap of evidence behind. Some days they were so subtle, it took days for her crimes to even be discovered. She masterminded everything to the finest of details and came up with brilliantly secure, foolproof plans.
And Fred hated her for it.
She was snarky, cold and pretty unapproachable. They had first met when they both turned up at the same target and out had come this polished act; this was the first time she had ever done anything like this, she had a sick sister you see, she was in a desperate position. Could they team up?
Even in his fledgling flirt with crime, Fred had never encountered a female thief and he would openly admit, that night, Velma had done him up like an absolute kipper. He had been pretty enamoured with her since the moment she batted her lashes at him, she was mysterious and dangerous and Fred was swept up in the drama. Until she double-crossed him, leaving him moments away from being caught. He learnt a harsh lesson that night about letting a woman cloud his emotions at a crucial point. Well, he thought he had learned that lesson...
Anyway, subsequent meetings, accidental or otherwise with Miss Dinkley revealed her true personality – a permanent scowl, an air of superiority and cold as ice. His initial attraction to her had long since faded, he had never forgiven her for that humiliating first meeting but his begrudging respect for her remained.
The feeling was not mutual.
Velma had something of an obvious disdain for the pretty boy jock who had fallen on hard times. He was clumsy and careless and had very little redeeming features in her mind, beyond an eye for a good target. There was however one reason why Velma continued to put up with the occasional team ups with the insufferable blond. He brought along his best friend, Norville Rogers.
Now him she had a soft spot for. For him, she let her guard down a little. He really did have reason to be resentful of the world and yet he wasn't. She had relaxed into his company very easily, taking any opportunity to pair off with him, leaving Fred with the dog. Of course, Fred had noticed this, bemused at first, he soon learnt to use it to his advantage. Like now for instance, when he needed to recruit this ingenious, sarcastic young lady for a crazy scheme, and she hated his guts. No, it was a no-brainer to use Norville to entice Velma to meet him.
Now, Norville Rogers liked Velma Dinkley, she was easily the cleverest person he had ever met and she was pretty too, she had shoulder-length brown hair and wore glasses that framed her face perfectly. It was something of a rarity to see her smile, but when she did, Norville thought it was beautiful and lit up her whole face.
She got him too, she was pretty much the only other person in his life that mattered, beside Fred. Fred didn't know it but they had once met up in the daylight for a coffee. He had never told Fred about that meeting, he knew Fred respected her but always remained wary of Velma so they had met in secret one day while Fred was at work.
Velma had listened while Norville had poured out his heart to her, telling her his story of woe. He spoke of how his parents' deaths completely floored him, and how he was left with no other family but his dog. How he struggled to cope in the days and weeks immediately after and how it was Fred who saved him from himself when it seemed he had no way out. Velma had said very little but Norville knew she was perfectly concentrating on everything that he had said. Her hand rested lighted on her chin, expressive eyes gave him her full, undivided attention. When he had finished, and realised his hands were shaking unconsciously, she had simply reached across the table and stroked his palms gently. It was the simplest act of intimacy he had ever experienced and that was the moment he knew her ice maiden routine was simply an act. He vowed one day to uncover the real Velma Dinkley but for now, they needed that cold, calculating, master manipulator, who didn't let things like emotions cloud her judgment.
He stood nervously in the moonlit, creepy Coolsville graveyard awaiting her arrival. It was almost midnight and the location was all her idea of course, she seemed to live her life in the shadows. Norville did not mind admitting to himself that he was absolutely terrified. If there was one place in town that he hated it was the graveyard. A lot of that should really have stemmed from the fact that he had buried both his parents here while he was still just a teenager but the very atmosphere of the place frankly gave him the heebie jeebies. It was so eerily quiet, there wasn't even so much as a breeze to rustle the trees and it was so dark, he couldn't help but imagine what could be lurking in the shadows waiting for a chance to grab him. He had an overactive imagination anyway but reserved a special corner of horror for things that go bump in the night which was unfortunate given his extracurricular activities exclusively took place at night.
Still, at least he had his dog to protect him.
He chuckled and looked down to Scooby whose whimpering and clinging to his leg confirmed exactly what he thought – his magnificent and huge Great Dane was one big cowardly pooch.
Scooby Doo was bought by his parents as a puppy when Norville was 8 or 9 to act as the family guard dog. Buying a breed like a Great Dane seemed like a safe bet for the purpose but this was a big mistake. It became apparent from the off that this particular Great Dane was not and never was going to become a guard dog. He hid behind the couch when someone banged on the door, he jumped at his own shadow and he was terrified of the dark. What he lacked in ferociousness, he more than made up for in affection and appetite. He was a loving ball of energy who was the heart and soul of the Rogers family and when Norville's parents were so cruelly taken from them, Scooby had stepped up to support his master, who he adored. Norville, in turn adored Scooby back, Scooby sat at his feet now, his ever faithful companion, not willing to let his master go out alone despite the fact they were both scared of the dark. Norville gave Scooby a reassuring stroke, and leaned casually against the maseleum, hoping Velma would show up soon.
He used the time to reflect on Fred's plan. It was seriously off the scale crazy and so far beyond anything they had even attempted before, if it went wrong, they were seriously in the shit. So reckless and dangerous, he needed his head testing for even considering it. The reward that Fred had successfully sold was too tantalising to behold. It was a prize beyond words, the chance to start afresh and become a normal citizen again, to get away from this town with it's bad memories and awful people. It was exciting and yet still went against everything his rational mind was trying to tell him.
He had said no at first, told Fred he was insane and had a death wish, retreated to his bedroom and slammed the door in his face but Fred, as he usually could, talked him around. It would actually be easy with the right level of sophisticated planning and nobody would get hurt, this was a key consideration for Norville, and was something Fred was also passionate about. They weren't hardened criminals who would do anything to get what they wanted, this heist involved people for the first time but they did not have it in themselves to hurt anyone. They had never used violence to achieve their targets and Fred fully intended to keep it that way. Maybe that was what had helped convince him in the end despite his many doubts but Norville had finally agreed and now had to hope Velma would too, they needed her.
"Norville?" The voice seemed to come from nowhere and caused the dog to jump into his master's arms. No mean feat and extremely comical of course given Scooby's size. Shaggy dumped the dog back onto the floor just as Velma rounded the corner of the masuleum. Her hair, as usual hung loosely off her shoulders, she was wearing a long black overcoat and black boots, a lit cigarette dangled between her lips, she looked annoyed. "Why did you ask me here?"
Norville's brain clicked back into gear after being momentarily stunned by her appearance, she stood before him, hands on her hips expecting a reply. He cleared his throat apprehensively. "Fred...sorry we actually..." he scrambled to correct himself, "have an er, business proposition for you."
"No," she immediately said, cutting off Norville's anticipated protest. "I'm sorry Norville but I vowed not to get involved in anything with Fred again, especially not one of his hare-brained schemes. Am I right?"
"Oh yes, this is literally the craziest plan he's ever come up with in a colourful history of crazy Fred Jones plans," Norville agreed. "But wait!" he cried seeing her turn away. "Like, you've got to hear him out on this Velma, it is crazy but I think it's good."
She looked back at him, her interest piqued slightly, "what's in it for me, Shaggy?"
"What?" he asked immediately perplexed.
"What do I get out of this deal?" she clarified.
"No, not that, what did you just call me?" he demanded.
"Oh," she said, a soft smile playing on her lips. "I called you Shaggy. It's kind of the nick name I've developed for you," she confirmed looking affectionately at the tall, long haired boy before her. "Your hair. It's cute like that, all shaggy."
"Oh," Norville exclaimed, not sure whether to be embarrassed or not. "What's Fred's nickname?"
She laughed. "That's X-rated! So, er this plan?" she deflected, trying to steer the conversation back on track before things went too far into a territory that frankly scared her as she wasn't fully in control of her senses when she ventured there.
"It's best that Fred is the one to explain it to you, " Norville admitted. "He just sent me tonight to see if you will agree to meeting him to discuss it."
"I see, " Velma replied non-committally.
"It's risky," Norville warned, "and pretty dangerous!" he added for good measure.
"You know that doesn't faze me," Velma said coolly, "why do you need me?"
"We need a cool head," Norville smiled, "an excellent planner with a smart brain."
"I'm flattered you thought of me."
"It has to be you Velma! Listen, this isn't like our usual heists at all. The 'goods' are somewhat er, unusual but the riches are beyond anything you or I could dream of."
"Really?" Velma said, the surprise evident in her tone of voice, "exactly how much are we talking here?"
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars" he said. "Maybe even a million."
"Wow." Velma looked suitably impressed before a dark cloud crossed her face. "Wait is he thinking of a bank robbery? Because you need more than just brains for a bank robbery you need muscle and lots of it." She looked dubious once again.
"It's definitely not a bank robbery," Norville reassured. "Just hear him out Velma, if we pull this off, we could all get out of this town...Um like not together," he added quickly and somewhat sheepishly.
"Okay," she agreed, "I'll meet him and hear this crazy plan of his but there's no guarantee I'll say yes," she warned. "Tell him I'll meet him tomorrow, 10.30pm, at your parent's warehouse, this is against my better judgement so it better be impressive!"
"Great!" Norville enthused as she prepared to slope back into the shadows.
"Bye Scooby, "Velma shouted to the Great Dane back over her shoulder just before she disappeared. "See you tomorrow...Shaggy," she winked before vanishing from sight.
Norville found himself immediately blushing as Scooby gave him a questioning look as if to to say 'Shaggy?' Norville fixed the dog with a stare that simply urged him not a word Scooby whilst he secretly rolled the nickname on his tongue, Shaggy? Shagg-ee. Hmm. Dare he say it, he quite liked it, anything had to be better than freaking Norville!
The next night, Freddy, Velma and the newly christened 'Shaggy' (after much hilarity and teasing from Fred, it had actually stuck) met up in Shaggy's late parents' warehouse to discuss Fred's grand plan. To her great credit, Velma listened without interruption whilst he laid out ridiculous scene after ridiculous scene in front of her. The blond looked to her expectantly when he finally finished speaking. "So, what do you think?"
"No, NO! Absolutely not!" Velma was vehement in her early admission against the plan. "Are you crazy?!"
"That's what I first said to him." Shaggy confirmed with a nod, leaning against the wall, watching the anticipated fireworks between the volatile pair with interest.
"This is so far out of our league this is unreal! We're just thieves! We're not the master criminals we would need to be to even have a chance of pulling something like this off!"
"Velma," Fred attempted to soothe, "this actually isn't as difficult as you might think, I've already done a ton of research on the target...it's totally do-able."
"Oh well if you've done research, say no more that obviously makes it OK!" she snapped, incredulous, still not quite believing what she was hearing. The arrogant and pompous Fred Jones had now finally lost his marbles. "What you're suggesting is just slightly above robbery and burglary don't you think?"
Shaggy couldn't blame Velma for reacting the way she did, it had pretty much been his reaction when Fred had told him his idea. As much as Velma disliked Fred, he was still confident that Fred could change her mind.
"She won't get hurt. I completely guarantee that. We'll just do what we have to do, get the money and then never see this town again."
"Oh you make it sound so easy, Fred!" Velma said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "What about the mental impact of this idea? Have you thought about that? That you're going to scare the absolute shit out of someone?"
We'll make this as comfortable as can be," Fred said defiantly. "We'll..."
"Give her her own bedroom? Tell her it's all just a joke? You're talking about kidnapping someone Fred! There's never been such a thing as a comfortable kidnapping!" Velma spat out, getting no disagreement from Fred.
She sat down, feeling her head spinning, she understood why ruthless Fred was doing something so bleak but how he had embroiled a gentle spirit like Shaggy? But, on the other hand, Fred was right about one thing, the riches for pulling it off would be mind-blowing.
"Who are we talking about?" she asked curiously.
Fred swallowed a little, before answering, he hadn't even shared this information with Shaggy yet, just the outline of the plan.
"Daphne Blake," he admitted timorously, immediately looking down to examine his shoes.
"DAPHNE BLAKE!" Shaggy and Velma shouted in unison.
Shaggy stood bolt upright, Velma stared at Fred, appalled, before bursting into laughter.
"I get it! This whole thing is a joke right! You just wanted to see how I reacted, I mean there's no way this is serious, kidnapping Daphne Blake of all people, you can't be."
"I'm serious Velma," Fred stated.
"Okay," Velma said, standing abruptly. "I am outta here, good luck kidnapping the daughter of the richest man in probably the whole state, let alone Coolsville."
Despite being the same age, none of the kids knew Daphne Blake personally, she had gone to boarding school or been home schooled while they were at elementary school and Coolsville High but everybody knew of her.
The only daughter of Coolsville's first self made billionaire, she lived a life of luxury the three of them could only dream of. The evidence was splashed all over the local papers, high society function after high society function. She had recently returned to Coolsville to 'give back' and was 'working' for the Coolsville Chronicle in what Velma suspected was some blatant publicity stunt.
"Freddy," Shaggy asked, "how the hell do you think we could pull this off?! It's one thing to say, we would kidnap someone for ransom, it's quite another for that person to be Devon Blake's daughter!"
"It isn't as impossible as you think guys!" Fred argued. "I have properly looked into this and she isn't as well guarded as you might think she would be. We would have plenty of opportunities to grab her."
"Okay," Velma said, wavering in the entrance hall to humour Fred. "Supposing we did manage to 'grab her' where exactly would you plan on keeping her without arousing suspicion?"
"Well, I was thinking here."
"Here?" Shaggy repeated, "you want to hold her here?"
"Why not Shaggy?" Fred questioned, "it's secure, and it's pretty secluded too, no one else really uses this warehouse district any more, I think it's perfect. I'm not denying there will be challenges but when I said this would be our last big feat, I meant it, it doesn't get any bigger. She will command the highest of ransom, it's go big or go home," he looked pointedly towards Velma.
Velma closed the door emphatically, standing back in the room, her arms folded. "You may well be able to pull this off against all the odds but I still stand by what I said. What you are planning to do is horrific Fred, it really is. That poor girl."
"That poor girl?" It was Fred's turn to be incredulous now. "Get off your unbearable high horse Velma! There is nothing poor about that girl and you know it. You can't deny girls like her made your life a misery at school. That you didn't dream of having everything you ever wanted just because you were daddy's little girl. I mean look at her! Doesn't it make you feel sick?" He thrust a photo of Daphne and her dad arm in arm at a charity ball, in her face, the necklace on her throat probably cost more than her house.
"I am not talking about harming this girl in any way. We just bring her here safe for a day or two, collect the ransom and then we let her go, no damage done! By the time she raises the alarm we will be long gone and she will probably be no worse for wear than being slightly shook up by it all and will get over it within a week."
Velma had to applaud Fred for his amazing cold heartedness in this moment. The irony that he of course was once of this kind of elite, just a daddy's boy wasn't lost on her but even so he did have a point, she had to concede. She did hate those kind of girls who made her life a misery at school for daring to be a bit different. A small, evil part of her mind was actually beginning to contemplate Fred's plot. Though she did not know this particular rich girl, she had yet to find one that wasn't the same vacuous, self centred bimbo she had always despised. Wouldn't it be nice to get a bit of revenge for once? She couldn't believe she was even considering this but she wore no halo, did she really have it in her to contemplate doing something so wicked? A memory of the most popular girl at school, completely humiliating her in front of everyone popped into her head, followed by a thought of what she could do with they money and outrageously her decision was made.
She strode purposefully back to Fred and Shaggy. " Okay," she declared, not even quite believing what she was saying, "count me in."
"Yeah?" Even Fred was staggered by the speed of her turnaround. "We're really going to do this?"
"We're going to do this," Velma agreed. "But we split exactly three ways and we take a LOT of time to sort this out. There can be absolutely NO fuck ups this time Fred. I cannot stress that enough. If we mess this up, then we are probably dead."
"I know, Velma," Fred exclaimed, "that's exactly why we asked you to help us. I know we can do this, with minimal fuss."
"Right," Velma said, sitting down to get to business with the boys and taking temporary charge. Fred didn't even try and complain. "There are three key components to this plan being a success."
And, well into the small hours of the night and for the next three weeks, three young criminals plotted to carry out their ultimate crime. On paper, it did look almost foolproof, the scheme was totally controlled, the extraction was planned to the finest detail, there was no way things could go wrong.
But unfortunately for our naïve trio they did. Catastrophically so. The biggest failure? Completely misjudging their hostage to be, to say she ended up turning all of their lives upside down is the understatement of the century. The drama begins right here.
