Ch. 29 Culprit Caught

Every squad had gathered into DECA's large conference room. The conference room was set up just like an auditorium with a low level stage at the very front of the room. One wall of the auditorium was made entirely out of glass allowing the city to be viewed from the room. Currently, only the raging storm outside could be seen from the massive window. Each squad had a designated table for the members to sit at plus a few extra seats along the edges of the room. One table at the very front of the room was designated for the commanders, marked with the DECA logo. The commanders took their spots in front while Kroger took a seat at one of the side seats near the window. Dr. Antonio and Veronica took a seat at the other end of the room with Louie sitting between them. Albert and Mayra came onto the stage quieting everyone in the room.

"Well, we're glad everyone could meet here so urgently. We feel that after the recent events, it's time we solve the little problem DECA has been dealing with over the last few weeks." spoke out Albert first.

"I hope you don't mind but Emily and Edward are away running an errand for me. They will be back shortly" said Professor Kroger.

"That's fine, they don't have to be here" smiled Mayra sweetly.

"To begin, fill in everyone here on what's been going on just so we are all on the same page" suggested Commander Aria.

"A few months ago, some equipment from our main lab disappeared. It wasn't too big a deal at the time since sometimes we accidentally break equipment then don't report it and order newer equipment to replace it. Heck, Mantis squad can't go a month without breaking something important in the lab" laughed Albert.

"One time… I break a welder one time and y'all never let me live it down" growled Javi as his squad mates chuckled a little bit.

"We brought that average up to every two months thank you very much" added Terriermon from his Digivice.

"Anyways, things started to get a little stranger when some computer files on old cases at DECA vanished along with all the books we have in the library on nanotechnology" continued Mayra. "Anything important about those books and files you'd like to share Erin"

"We don't have any records of the books being checked out and those files seemed to just vanish like they were deleted from existence. If I remember correctly, some of those books that vanished were pretty technically. If you studied one of them well enough, you could probably make your own robotic, microorganisms" answered Erin.

"Not many people here can actually understand those books" spoke a voice from Erin's Digivice

"Last thing to be reported stolen were some pharmaceutical drugs stolen from the pharmacy in our Medical Ward. Remember what they were Alissa and can you tell everyone what makes those really different from the other drugs we have stored there?" questioned Albert turning his attention to Shark Squad's table.

"Umm… I can't really remember the technical names for them but I do know almost all of the stolen drugs are very strong, powerful steroids and vitamin mixes. The last drug stolen was kind of a weird fit. That drug was a pretty strong sedative. The case reports I read on it say that people who are exposed to the drug have almost their entire body go numb minus systems necessary for living like their circulatory system and respiratory system. I think that covers it" responded Alissa though she sounded a bit nervous to talk in front of everyone.

"That's a great summary, thanks" smiled Albert.

"You're learning you're stuff pretty well" complemented Michelle.

"You're gonna give Michelle a run for her money soon" added Gabumon as Alissa just blushed a bit.

"Now that you summed up all the missing item reports, fill us in on the odd incidences that have occurred" instructed Commander Aqua.

"We can't talk too much about Lion Squad's disappearance since no one here other than the commanders know what their mission was. We'll get to that cloaked nut job running around here a little later. For now, we want to focus on the incident with Ernie and the little explosion with the translator Mantis Squad made" started Mayra.

"I'd tell you more about what happened if I could but I can't really remember much from that day" frowned Ernie.

"It's all still pretty fuzzy" spoke out Agumon.

"It's cool, we learned everything that we needed to know from your blood work" said Albert. "Turns out, small samples of those missing drugs were in Ernie's blood. Someone might think Ernie took these drugs himself then tried them but there's a problem with that idea. I bet Louie can point it out" said Albert.

"He can?" asked Patamon sounding confused.

"Oh, is it because only my mom and dad have access to those drugs along with the commanders and Professor Kroger?" answered Louie after thinking things out for a bit.

"Yep, that hit it right on the nose little buddy" spoke Mayra.

"Next up is the little incident with the exploding translator. When we looked over the burnt remains we found that…" started Albert before pointing to TJ in the crowd.

"The wiring was cut through with probably something sharp like a knife" responded TJ confused.

"The cut was to clean to be anything else" spoke out Guilmon.

"The recovered, missing surveillance footage showed a cloaked figure messing with the main wiring to the translator. That same figure was also caught picking Ernie's locker and spiking his vitamin water with what we can assume was a mix of the stolen drugs. So far we've only reported the facts but we have our culprit pretty much figured out right Albert?" said Mayra.

"That we do, Professor Kroger. Mind telling us how Edward could be returning books to you that were reportedly missing?" asked Albert.

"How about telling us how that antique knife he grabbed from your office for you was burned right around the blade. Like it had cut through something with an electrical current" added Gaomon.

"Better yet, why did Emily have the missing surveillance footage and say she was taking it to you?" finished Biyomon from her Digivice. Everyone in the room started to turn their attention to Professor Kroger. All Kroger did was let out a small laugh before he spoke.

"What active imaginations you kids have. The books Edward was picking up for me were going to be donations to the DECA library since our editions went missing. I found exact copies of them at a conference I went to a few months ago and ordered them. They were just delivered to me a few days ago. The knife is an antique from my childhood home; unfortunately a small fire broke out in my old home and managed to burn the blade. Luckily the fire was put out before any more damage could be done to that precious family heirloom. My dear granddaughter was able to discover that missing surveillance footage and I was going to personally analyze it to do my part in finding our dear Lion Squad"

"I'm afraid the evidence you have brought before us is not enough to incriminate someone you two" spoke out Commander Titan. The tone of his voice almost sounded disappointed.

"I figured that might happen so I have one more thing to show everyone." said Albert coolly. He pulled out a small vial from his pocket filled with a clear liquid then opened it and began to pour its contents all over his right hand. Mayra reached for a flashlight attached to her belt then held it for everyone to see.

"This flashlight is a little different from most, rather than producing white light it produces a black light. Pretty handy if you're doing CSI like investigations on the go." explained Mayra. She then turned her attention to Albert. "The liquid Albert just poured on his hand actually fluoresces when exposed to a black light. Oh, here's a neat bit of a trivia about it for you all. It can take about a month for that compound to be fully shed from human skin"

"Everyone that helped chase that cloaked figure to the elevators saw that me, Mayra, and our partners threw vials containing this same liquid onto our visitor, pretty much drenching him" said Albert. "Hey Clarissa, mind killing the lights for us?"

"Sure thing," smiled Clarissa flipping the light switches near her. Mayra switched on her flashlight and first shined it onto Albert's hand. His hand glowed in a bright green color when exposed to the black light. She then began to scan each person in the room with the black light showing that none of them of them fluoresced in the same way as Albert's hand did. Mayra finally reached Kroger and smiled when she shined the light on him.

"It's over Professor Kroger!" yelled Mayra as everyone saw the professor almost completely glowing in green. Clarissa quickly flipped the lights back on, everyone's attention, anger, and surprise all focused on Kroger. Professor Kroger began to laugh slowly then let it grow more and more until it became cynical. He clapped his hands as he walked onto the opposite side of the stage from Albert and Mayra.

"Congratulations kids, you managed to outsmart me. If only you had figured this out a bit sooner Lion Squad would be here with us" laughed Kroger.

"Where are they you sick, twisted, evil, little man?" roared Diandra. Michelle quickly grabbed Diandra before she could rush the stage.

"What the hell did you do with my brother!" barked Gerald. AJ and Fabian tried their best to pull back their squad mate.

"All in due time my dear children, I really thought I had all my tracks covered but alas, I was wrong. You two turned out to be quiet the detectives. I should have expected as much from the oldest members of DECA. It's a shame you three were split apart from the old squad all those years ago. The three of you were very, very strong back them" sneered Kroger.

"We still are," growled Albert.

"Really now? If that were so then figuring out and catching me should have been easy to do. Why did it take so long to catch me?" asked the professor. Albert and Mayra couldn't come up with an answer. They just continued to glare at Kroger.

"I took all those books from the DECA library then deleted all those files just to make sure nobody could figure our my plans. I had our faithful doctors order those rare medicines with the excuse that I was going to use them to improve our treatment protocols for our innocent, little teenagers. I let them sit around then managed to swipe them when the time was right. The little concoction I prepared with them for my research needed to be tested, and who better to test it than one of the more athletic members of DECA. After I spiked Ernie's drink, I had Emily remove the surveillance footage from the cameras. When I heard you brats found a fast way to decode that accursed journal I had Edward sabotage that, I must admit, creative machine. Little did I know you brats would be lucky enough to find the missing footage Emily edited to cover my tracks. Everything was set for my master plan but I needed to steal a few last minute items from the vault."

"I've always known you were creepy. This just proves it. Professor Kroger, we're putting you and your grandchildren under arrest for… well it would be easier to list what crimes you didn't commit." spoke out Commander Pyro.

"I'm afraid you can't do that, my master plan has just begun. Time to start the show!" cried out Kroger extending his arms. As if on cue the great glass wall shattered from a nearby explosion allowing the outside storm's winds to cause chaos in the conference room. Everyone was scattered to one side of the room by the explosion while Albert and Mayra were sent tumbling to the ground. Edward and Emily swung in from the shattered opening followed by three figures decked out in armor like, body suits. The suits were pitch black with a white colored stone on the chest plate and outlined in silver. The helmets appeared to have an almost, demon like appearance with tinted visors blocking the wearers face. Edward and Emily now wore a strange device on their right arms. The device was box like in design with a slot that appeared to have a deck of cards loaded into it. A red colored dome was situated on top and a slot that looked like it could shoot some type of projectile was on the front. The twins gave their grandfather a similar looking device.

"It's been fun peasants but we have much work to do" smiled Emily wickedly.

"We thank you for your hospitality. Hope you don't think ill of us" laughed Edward.

"If you'll excuse us, we have a few more tests to run in the city" spoke Professor Kroger pulling out a few small orbs from his pocket then quickly threw them to the ground. In a quick flash, Kroger and his twisted team had vanished. Michelle and Diandra ran over to Albert while Clarissa and Pricilla did the same for Mayra.

"I knew that guy was a monster" said Pricilla helping Mayra sit up.

"Tell us if anything hurts to move" spoke Clarissa checking Mayra for injuries.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me" assured Mayra.

"You ok Albert?" asked Diandra sounding very concerned and helping Albert sit up.

"Anything hurt or broken?" asked Michelle checking his wounds.

"No… I'm fine…" groaned Albert. TJ and Cody ran down to the stage to help Albert stand. JR and Eric managed to get to the stage and help Mayra off the ground.

"This isn't over yet" growled Agumon.

"They couldn't have gotten too far" added Jackie.

"If we act quickly we can still catch them" spoke out Hawkmon.

"Squads, you did a great job tracking Kroger and exposing him. Now we need to…" began Commander Titan but was cut off. Multiple alarms were ringing all throughout DECA HQ. Commander Aria pulled out a palm pilot from her pocket and began to review each alarm. Her jaw almost dropped to the floor after reviewing some of the alert messages.

"We've got multiple Digimon appearances all throughout Cyber City. There have been Digimon appearances in the downtown distract, in the bay close to our building, and in the park in front of DECA HQ. I can't tell if these are all coincidences or if the Kroger's are responsible"

"Everyone, join up with your squads and split up to take care of each appearance Digimon break out. We'll stay here and get things back in order here at headquarters" instructed Commander Aqua.

"Make sure you give the Krogers some pay back if you run into them" added Commander Pyro.

"Sir yes sir!" shouted every DECA member in the room.