Chapter 12

Fred: So Daphne was right all the time? I think it's time to make her be part of our NYPD team. She's way better than us, Velma.

I nodded and confirmed with a smile, Daphne just blushed to hear the compliment. Fred took one hand off the steering wheel and caressed her face, trying to make her stop blushing. Daphne tried to disguise her shyness and shuffled her papers nervously, looking for the card found at Applegate Bank. When the card was found, she handed it to Fred's free hand, and Scooby-Doo stomped on me and Shaggy, trying to reach the card and smell it once more.

Velma: I think the card is really the key to solving this mystery. See, Scooby can't stop sniffing it out, and he's a K9, there´s something odd!

Fred: The card must be the key to solving the murder mystery, because the financial mystery we´ve already solved when we talked to Mr. Applegate. It is clear that these VIPs are a mafia, they make illegal activities to get money, and elaborate scams to get rid of their competitors.

Daphne: Gang, what if that card is the mafia's business card? I don't know, it must be some kind of code they use between them… those symbols on the cards must have some special meaning…

Daphne's idea was so ingenious that we all looked at her in awe.

Velma: Jinkies! What if the numbers are geographic coordinates?

Shaggy: Geographic coordinates of, like, Silmido, South Korea?

Shaggy showed us Silmido's geographic coordinates at his cell phone screen, and the final four numbers of them (the seconds and the minutes of the latitude and the longitude) were exactly the numbers that appeared on the back of the card Applegate Bank card: 2406-2630.

Shaggy: Like, but I don´t know why the hell the cordinates´ degrees are missing… like, 37º and 126º…

Velma: Maybe because whoever has made the card didn't need to know the degrees…?

Shaggy: …because that person is in a place that has the same degrees of latitude and longitude?

Shaggy then pointed the geographic coordinates of Seoul, and they had the same degrees of latitude and longitude as Silmido: 37º and 126º.

Fred: So, the answer to our mystery is really at this fucking island?

Daphne: Wait, gang, I don't remember seeing exactly these numbers on the card I´ve found at Liberty machine... If I remember right, it has a different number sequence… the first one was 8!

Daphne went through her papers to find the first card, but she couldn't find it.

Daphne: Jeepers, I think I´ve left it at home!

Fred: So, let's go there and get it to confirm.

Fred turned the next corner to go to Daphne's apartment and get the card.

Velma: Gang, I have to say that this can be just a coincidence… we need more analysis before drawing any conclusion. These numbers can be anything, a phone number, a geographic coordinate, an encrypted phrase…

Fred: …or the secret password that VIPs use to make illegal bank transfers that no one can trace.

Velma: Jinkies! Good idea, Fred! That card was found at Liberty's casino, a very suitable place to make to launder illegal money.

Shaggy: Like, I love our gang!

Daphne: If the numbers of the cards are different, can be both things. One card can be the password, and the other, the place where the mafia operates.

Shaggy: Wait, gang, like, the first thing we need to find out is why the hell Scooby-Doo sniffs out dead bodies at this seemingly defenseless card. And why he gets so agitated when he´s next to it.

Velma: Well said, Shaggy. We still don't quite understand this.

Daphne: Plus, Scooby sniffed out the victims' blood on Applegate card, not on the card found at Liberty. I think this shows that the cards are similar, but not exactly the same.

We were interrupted by Shaggy's cell phone playing Bob Marley´s song "Is this love?" while a picture of Crystal appeared on the screen. Automatically, he blushed and tried to mute the music to not make it more evident that he was having an affair with the Golden Retriever´s tutor. A video call started and Crystal greeted us before starting to speak.

Crystal: Hey, I´m glad you're all together! We ended the investigation here at Liberty. Just take a look at this, how odd!

Crystal pointed the screen of her cell phone at the mini-bar´s, and inside it, we could see a brick wall covering the secret passage. We got surprised when we saw that.

Daphne: Jeepers! How did they close that so fast?

Shaggy: Zoinks! Like, gang, it means they know we were there! They must be watching us!

Fred: They can build as many walls as they want, we have a concrete proof that they´ve committed serious crimes, and we'll get them all.

Velma: Well, the problem is that they´ve just destroyed our crime scene, Fred! I hope the clues we´ve found inside that place lead us to some great conclusion, because the fresh cement won´t let me get more forensic evidences…

Crystal: There is more, gang. The elevator now has a single Button, and it only takes us to the underground casino. We couldn't go up because there are neither stairs, nor other elevators. By the way, did you know that this elevator is armored? The agents couldn't even open the upper part of it to go up the buildng throught the elevator cables. So, we weren't able to take the dogs upstairs and get the Frostbit machines you´ve mentioned.

Shaggy: Like, having a single button is a huge improvement, Crystal, believe us!

Velma: And I'm glad to hear you guys didn't have to go upstairs and play those crazy games.

Fred: Did the dogs find anything, Crystal?

Crystal: Not much… only the evidences Scooby-Doo had already found. They sniffed out a trail to the mini-bar, then returned to the front door. All the dogs have signaled the same thing…

Daphne: So, it´s possible that the victims arrived at Liberty alive, then lost their lives inside the secret passage?

Velma: Certainly. It would be very difficult to carry adult dead bodies into that mini-bar.

Shaggy: Zoinks! Unless…

Fred: What?

Shaggy looked at all of us in silence and held my arm. Immediately, we understood what he meant, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

Daphne: Unless… the victims… arrived… in smaller parts…? Or… they arrived alive and entire but... left… part by part...?

The idea was so horrid that even Crystal got speechless. Fortunately, our leader broke the disturbing silence that invaded the place.

Fred: Ok, gang, at least we know that all the victims were there, and that's a big blemish on Liberty's public image…

Daphne: We need to find out if Alan was there, right? Scooby, Shaggy, would you do this for a box of cookies?

Daphne took the suit sample out of her bag and handed Shaggy, but he paid more attention at the cookie box's flavor specifications. Scooby bit the box and Shaggy struggled to get it out of his huge mouth with only one hand, while the other hand held the cellphone and the sample.

Crystal: Great! Amber and I are waiting for you here at Liberty. I was going to ask you to lend me Norville, I won't be able to put all the dogs into the vans alone.

Velma: If you don't mind, I'd like to analyse the trail the dogs have sniffed out. The main hall was smelling like bleach, maybe luminol will reveal some drops of blood there. I'll ask Miller to meet me there in half an hour...

Daphne squeezed my hand and looked at me seriously. She blushed and her eyes flitted from me to Jones, and I understood that she was asking me to not leave her alone with Fred.

Velma: ...I mean, I´ll do it after I get the card at Daphne's apartment.

Daphne thanked me over text message and Fred changed the way again to leave Norville and Scooby-Doo at Liberty. Then, we headed to Blake Tower. Fred didn't want to park in Blake Tower's garage (because parking in Blake Tower´s garage meant: showing IDs, license plate and driver´s licenses to security guards, losing 15 precious minutes with the guards´questions and in the end, every Blake alive being aware that Fred Jones parked his car in Blake Tower for some reason) , so he left Daphne and I in front of the building and decided to wait for us in the van. Daphne talked uncontrollably about the way Fred touched her face, and I answered her monosyllabically while I was reading Marcie´s messages. When the elevator finally arrived at the correct floor, Daphne opened the door and we were both startled by what we saw.

Alan: Hi Daph! Wow, you're late! I usually see you here before 7pm, where were you?

The adrenaline of seeing an alleged murderer mobster in front of us left me in a state of shock. I hesitated to enter the apartment and looked around for objects that I could use as a weapon. Daphne was braver, feigned tranquility and dared to face Alan Mayberry.

Daphne: Alan! What are you doing here? This is invasion, and invasion is a crime! I never gave you the permission to come!

Alan: Oh, sorry Daph, I came here without your permission because I thought we were close enough for it. After all, you´ve visited my office without my permission, you´ve ripped my suit without my permission, you´ve violated my financial privacy without my permission… that´s why I thought I could do the same to you…

Daphne: Alan, I can explain…

Alan: Are you scared, Daphne? Why?

I was scared too. Alan came in our direction and gave us a menacing look that made me sure he would kill us.

Daphne: I'm not scared! Listen, Alan…

Alan: That's exactly why I'm here, Daphne. I want to hear what you have to say about it all. After all, I can sue you for that. You're a lawyer, you know it better than I...

Daphne: I'm sorry if I´ve crossed some boundaries, but all I did was to gather evidence for your lawsuit against Liberty!

Alan: But… will you really sue Liberty? Or will you sue me? After all, you took off a piece of cloth from my suit, it makes me think that you consider me a suspect…

Daphne: I know what I´ve done was not right, but I'm a lawyer, I need to see the big picture in order to make better decisions about your case…

Alan: So that's why you were listening all the bullshit old Applegate has to say about me, right? Then you´ve gone through Applegate safes and offices… hmm, I think it´s a crime, isn´t it? I mean… is it vandalism? Invasion of private property? Theft? What do you think, lawyer?

Daphne: I di… didn´t… I didn´t do that!

Alan: Oh, Daphne, so beautiful, so naive… do you really think that a hippie gamer would be able to interrupt the security system of one of the biggest banks of the United States?

Daphne: So, you're one of the VIPs that Mr. Applegate has mentioned?

Alan: Do you think I´m a VIP?

Daphne: It doesn´t matter what I think… I assumed that by the things you´re telling me…you know things that only a VIP would know...

Alan: Why? Did you see my name at those doors? Did Steven tell you about me? Or was it just that stupid dog that sniffed out the piece of cloth you illegally took from my suit?

Daphne: Alan, I'm not accusing you, I´ve just asked if you're a VIP...

Alan: Oh, you are not accusing me! So why did you decide to put your father's lawyers after me?

Daphne: All I did was hear Dad´s point of view about your case, and he told me you had stolen his money… after that, he has certainly informed his lawyers to take some action...

Alan: Oh, "he told you I´d stolen his money", right… he only did that because you first violated my financial privacy and showed him the receipts, right?

Daphne: Alan, the receipts prove you did that! I know the method I used was wrong, but it doesn´t change the fact that you had stolen my father´s money and had lied to me about this lawsuit! I could have asked NYPD to arrest you immediately for this crime, but instead, I declined your calls because I'm trying understand this mystery better before taking some action...

Daphne was brave enough to raise her voice against Alan and show how angry she was. Alan faced the harsh accusations in silence.

Daphne: Look, I'm not accusing you of anything, the evidences are doing that! I really want to help you and Dad, and it will only be possible if you be honest with me right now. No secrets between lawyer and client, ok? This case is getting more and more confusing and serious, so your help is essential to solve it.

Daphne managed to calm down not only Alan, but me as well. The situation became less frightening, and I was finally able to think of a different outcome than my body (and Daphne's) killed on that millionaire marble floor.

Daphne: Tell me the truth, please. Did Liberty really steal your money?

Alan: Yes.

Daphne: How much?

Alan: Two million.

Daphne: Did Liberty really steal 36 million from my dad?

Alan sighed and rolled his eyes impatiently, showing he was uncomfortable with the question.

Daphne: Alan, I'm sorry, but I have enough evidence that proves the opposite. And my NYPD friends have a very different theory than the version you´ve told me, so please, I need you to be honest. Please, let´s solve this mystery now! If you don't tell me, unfortunately, you will face the legal consequences that Liberty will surely suffer...

Alan sighed once more and started to speak.

Alan: Your father never used Liberty's services, I was the son of a bitch who took his money to pay Liberty. I lost a lot of money with cryptocurrencies… I was in huge debt and that was the only alternative I´ve found to recover all I lost. I didn't tell you because I had the intention to return the money soon. And if it weren't for you meddling ones, George wouldn't even suspect...

Daphne: If you were so in debt, how did you manage to invest 2 million in Liberty?

Alan: I owed Liberty a huge amount of money, but they owed me too. Many of my investments were dumbly lost by Liberty´s managers, so I'm claiming back the price of their irresponsibility

Daphne: You mean: the amount you took from your clients and now you have to pay them back, right?

Daphne confronted him with the information the cybercrime department gave us. Alan's eyes widened, showing he was impressed that Daphne knew so many details.

Alan: Yeah, apparently I won't be able to hide anything from you. That's it, I need to return the money to my clients. I can't make Liberty to pay me amicably, so I'm resorting to legal means.

Daphne: Any other secret? What about Cho Sang-woo? Was he the one who lost your money?

Alan: Yes. He made my money disappear.

Daphne: Can you explain how he did it if he's been missing for almost a year?

Alan: It was way before he disappeared…

Daphne: So why you´re only suing Liberty now?

Alan sighed, and that was a possible evidence that he was lying.

Alan: It was a desperate decision… As I told, I needed to pay my clients, and I couldn´t raise enough money…

Daphne: And why didn´t you use the 36 million you stole from my dad? After all, you´ve transferred that amount…uh… about a month ago?

Alan sighed once more, crossed his arms, but he didn´t answer the question. I could see he was kind of nervous, yet his face was struggling to not let it so evident.

Daphne: Alan, you´re lying! I can´t help you if you lie to me! Tell me! We know Dad´s 36 million and your 2 million were transferred to several Applegate Bank accounts at a mysterious island called Silmido, in South Korea! Did you do that? If so, why? Because I know it wasn't Sang-woo who did…

Alan: Look, Daphne, I don't have all the answers...

Daphne: So why did you mention the island when you told me about your case? You knew about the money transfer, just tell me why and how!

Alan: I know because I worked for Blake Bank and Applegate Bank, ok?I know Liberty´s owner in person, I know the investments that his clients make… is there anything illegal about that?

Daphne: So it means you're one of the VIPs, right?

Alan: Is being a VIP illegal?

Daphne: According to Mr. Applegate, yes. He´s told us the VIPs ruined his business.

Alan chuckled, making fun of what he'd just heard.

Alan: Daphne, Daphne, so beautiful, so naive… We're in America! Since when is free competition a crime in this country?

Daphne: That's not what Mr. Applegate told us…

Alan: I bet he didn't tell you how he went bankrupt with wild speculation. Or did you really believe in the version in which he was a poor victim of it all?

Daphne: I believe in the version that says the VIPs stole Steven´s money to invest in illegal activities, then they used Applegate Bank to launder their money… also, their fintechs benefited from Applegate financial scandals…

Alan: The fintechs were successful because the clients realized that Steven was creating a speculative bubble...

Daphne: Steven can´t understand technology, Alan! How could he do that? It´s clear that the VIPs took advantage of this fact and…

Alan: …just like your father took advantage of his bankruptcy, bought all Applegate´s stock and merged Applegate Bank into Blake Bank! Tell me, is that a crime? That's how business works, Daphne, the best companies eliminate the the worst ones… ask your dad! Unless you think he's also a "criminal" like the VIPs...

Suddenly, that menacing look returned to Alan´s eyes again. Daphne was speechless for a moment and looked at me asking for help.

Velma: Thanks for the explanation, Mr. Mayberry. It's good to hear the facts from a different point of view. As a member of NYPD, I analysed your testimony and I assumed that there must be some misunderstanding. Apparently, there is nothing wrong with the VIPs…

Alan: Certainly not.

Daphne: Okay, no more questions. Right, Velma? I think Alan has properly answered all the doubts we had… RIGHT, VELMA?

Daphne emphasized my name and looked at me angrily, expecting me to agree with her. When I looked at her, she looked quickly at the clues and paper she had in her hands, and I understood she was afraid of Alan seeing them.

Velma: Yes. And we need to go now, right, Daphne?

Daphne: Yes! We have an appointment now, Alan, sorry, I can't stay... can we meet tomorrow for a coffee or something?

Alan: Appointment? It's almost 8 pm!

Daphne: Oh! it's an… appointment… uh… with our high school friends… for… uh…our graduation´s 10th anniversary, you know?… and now I have to go and I need to lock the apartment…

Alan: Are you trying to hide something from me, Daph?

Alan was frightening and menacing again, and once more the terrible image of me and Daphne murdered on the floor became a possibility in my mind.

Daphne: Hiding? No! It's not a secret! … it's just… a private event, you know? Just for the ones… uh… from Crystal Cove High, class of 2011, so… sorry, we can´t take you with us…

Alan: Private event? Well, seems to me that you are making up dull excuses to cover a secret up…

Alan seriously gazed at us, and that made Daphne freeze. Then, he approached her and looked at the paper she had in her hands. In a deep panic, I backed two steps and scanned him up and down for guns, knives, or anything that he could use to hurt us.

Alan: Come on, Daph, a lawyer can´t hide secrets from her client! And we are already quite close, you invaded my privacy without my permission, I invaded your apartment… now we just need to be honest with each other…

Daphne: I´ve already told you, Alan, Velma and I have an appointment…

Alan: DON´T LIE TO ME!

Alan raised his voice and gripped Daphne's right arm. I could see fear in her eyes and I felt frustrated for not helping her. Inevitably, I started to think about rational, successful methods to kill a man a foot taller than me (and several pounds heavier, and infinitely stronger, too).

Daphne: I'm not lying Alan, let me go!

Alan: Now I'm the one who asks the questions, Daphne. Are you hiding something from me?

Daphne: Alan, you're hurting me!

Alan: Yes or no? Answer me!

Alan's harsh, loud words startled both us. Daphne sighed, and with na incredible courage, she did what he wanted.

Daphne: No.

Alan: So, what is this in your hands? Let me see!

Velma: Alan, take your hands off her immediately, or I'll have to call the police department! You're crossing the line!

The phrase seemed much more effective inside my head, and luckily, it had an effect. Alan let go of Daphne's arm and started to laugh.

Alan: Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot NYPD was here! Don't worry, agent, my lawyer and I are very close, I would never hurt her! I just want to hear the truth...

Daphne: These are bank receipts and lawsuit´s details, Alan, there is no secret here…

Daphne flipped through the stack of paper quickly and nonchalantly, trying to make him give up looking at them sheet by sheet. I knew the card found at Applegate Bank was among those sheets, but I couldn't think of any strategy to hide it.

Alan: No, not like that, lawyer honey! Show me paper by paper… I want to see all the details… after all, if there is no secret, you won´t mind showing them…

Daphne looked at me in trouble. With no other alternative, she took the first paper from the stack and handed it to Alan.

Alan: Ok, a deposit receipt! From Liberty to accounts at Silmido Island… what did you write here? Come on, I want details!

Daphne: "The secret key doesn't belong to Sang-woo"...

Alan: Ok, Liberty's secret key… it means nothing, after all… come on, next paper!

Daphne handed him another sheet against her will.

Velma: Mr. Mayberry, Daphne and I really need to go. We can meet tomorrow at NYPD, and I´m sure she will show you all the details you want…

Alan laughed again and made a mocking gesture at what I said. In the end, I felt more ridiculous and useless than I was already feeling.

Alan: Noooo, I've already seen those sheets! My bank transactions, my loans, my debts... let me see the other ones, c´mon...

While he said that, he discarded about six sheets of paper from Daphne's stack without even looking at them. Daphne panicked and her hands were trembling, by that, I understood that the next sheets had details we didn´t want to share with him.

Alan: And this one? "30 Frostbit 1000 machines, 23 slot machines…", what the hell is that?

Daphne: These are the objects we´ve found at Liberty building this morning…

Alan: And what does it mean?

Daphne: It means exactly what you're reading Alan, just interpret it...

The answer irritated Alan, so he gripped Daphne's arm again and glared at her, threatening to do something worse with her if she cracked wise again.

Velma: It's a forensic report, describing what we´ve found at Liberty. The amount of slot machines and coin miners, the next sheet has the exact amount of money we´ve found at the slot machines…

I played it smart and answered him with as little confidential details as possible. I didn´t expect my strategy to work, I just wanted to protect Daphne from Mayberry's anger.

Alan: Agent, please, let my lawyer talk, I'm sure she knows the details I want to hear...

Daphne: What details do you want to hear? That Liberty has an illegal casino? That it steals its clients and invests in cryptocurrencies? Or that it must be a sinister private club that plays weird games?

Alan mockingly applauded after the answer.

Alan: Very good! I knew you were the best lawyer in NY! You´ve discovered all this by your own in less than a day, wow! So, come on, I want more, show me how smart you are!

Daphne looked at me with tears in her eyes. By the color of the header paper I concluded that the next sheet would be one of the blood samples´ exam.

Alan: Come on, Daph! What is this, a blood test? Whose exam is this?

Daphne: It's a sample of blood drops that we´ve found… at… at…

Velma: At Liberty's elevator!

My calm answer helped us sustain the lie.

Velma: Actually, Mr. Mayberry, we´ve sprayed luminol inside the elevator andm all around the lobby because we smelled bleach, then we´ve found some strange stains and the tests confirmed it's human blood...

Luckily, he believed me.

Alan: So, a crime happened there…?

Velma: Actually, we can't say that. The stains were very small and isolated from each other, they can be anything, like: an injured person took the elevator, for example… after all, it's a casino, certainly some fights happen there.

Fortunately, he believed again.

Alan: All right, next sheet…

I knew the next ones would be way more compromising. And by my life experience, I knew scientific language causes sleep, boredom, and inattention in normal people. So, I did the same thing I usually do when I want to repel people: I spoke Science.

Velma: Oh, glad you asked, that's my area. I´ve dated the samples using a radioactive carbon isotope, then I did mass spectrometry with an accelerator just to find out the radioactive decay was not enough, haha, can you believe how stupid I am? Well, in the end I diluted the sample to try it throught spectrophotometry and…

Fortunately, it worked once again and Alan didn't pay attention to neither what I said nor the details of the papers. I interrupted my explanation when I realized the card was in the middle of the next two sheets, then I took the opportunity to end the conversation.

Velma: Well, that's all we've found so far, Mr. Mayberry. If it is of your interest, I can forward all the information to your email address. Now, we end here, Daphne and I are late…

Alan: Thanks, agent, you're dismissed! But I'm not done with my lawyer yet. Come on, Daphne, there are still three sheets left, you owe me the details…

Velma: Mr. Mayberry, I emphasize that we´ve showed you all the information! And I can send you th…

Alan: Shhh, agent, please, don't say anything! Now it´s Daphne´s turn… come on, honey, show me those sheets...

Daphne's looked at me in panic. That was the right time to fight the son of a bitch and get the hell away, but surely we both wouldn't have neither the strength nor the proper training to stop him. Daphne decided to continue my plan to speak using scientific language, so she mentioned two dozen difficult scientific names – and d̶u̶n̶c̶e̶ Alan didn't even realize that none of them made sense. He kept asking for more and more details in that scary, psycho way, so… suddenly, Daphne smiled. Then gestured, and ruffled her hair, and smiled again, and said some legal words about the investigation, and told silly stories about Law college, and laughed, and smiled again, and mentioned Liberty's investigation, and... I finally realized she was using the kind of strategy that never fails: she was flirting with him. I didn´t even have time to think that was a stupid idea: apparently, Alan was way more stupider and started smiling at her after some minutes ̶(̶m̶e̶n̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶d̶i̶o̶t̶s̶)̶. After that silly game, I thought he would forget about the remaining paper, but some lapse of consciousness made him grab the sheets from her hands and… smile. In fact, it was a silly laugh, like a dog that grabs your keys then pleadingly looks at you with its eyes saying: "c´mon, come and get!". Daphne laughed and grabbed the paper back, and I had to watch that puerile game until the moment Alan caught the stack back and turned his back to her. Fortunately, Daphne didn´t let him start reading the first line, suddenly, she tugged at his tie until his lips met hers. Her left hand released his tie and grabbed the back of his neck, trapping Mayberry in an intense kiss. Then her right hand pulled the remaining sheets away from his hand, and used an impressive agility to release the mystery card from the stack and drop it on the floor. I surreptitiously moved some steps forward and stepped on the card, so it could not be seen. Luckily, the quick, unexpected kiss enveloped him so much that he didn't suspect me.

Velma: Oh, fine, you´re welcome, just forget I'm here watching everything...

My sarcastic comment made Daphne released him with a smile on her lips.

Daphne: This was the last detail I had for you. Enough for today. Now Velma and I have to go.

Alan smiled at what she said, he was so stunned and confused about what had happened that he didn't even remember to ask us about the last paper. Daphne and I looked at each other and smiled, because our plan had worked. Nonetheless, our joy lasted a split second: Daphne's facial expression changed from joy to horror immediately, and her mouth uttered a mute "Freddie!" that her voice could not verbalize. My joy lasted a fraction longer because I didn't quite understand what had happened, I only understood the scale of the problem when I heard the explosive noise of the door slamming right behind me. When I turned, I saw a distraught Fred leaving the apartment. Daphne's eyes were filled with tears, but she still had to act out the role that saved our lives and our mystery.

Alan: What happened, Daph? Seems like you saw a ghost…

Alan didn't see what Daphne and I saw, so he thought the kiss had sparked something else between them (like I´ve said, men can be really stupid sometimes). Daphne, stunned, rejected Alan politely, then talked to him just to make him walk out that door and leave. When we saw the elevator going down, Daphne locked the door, I removed the card from my shoes soles and we both sighed. Daphne´s hands were still trembling and my stomach was killing me, but it was relieving to know the danger was gone. Apparently, Daphne wasn´t relieved at all, because she sat down in the nearest armchair and burst into tears.

Thanks for reading!

As the gang gets closer to the insane games, chapters will be a bit longer to fit all the things that will happen to them, I apologize for that. And I also apologize for eventual grammar/translation mistakes, I´m trying to do my best, yet somethimes I know my best is not enough because my native language and English are so very different from each other.

In the next couple of days I will be out of internet creating new chapters for this story and for Girl, Pitstopped in my native language, so I will only post chapter 13 next week. My translations are quicker now and I think I´ll finally be able to post a new chapter in 7or 10 days… lets see if it works.

Thanks again for you support!