Chapter 15
When we arrived at Shaggy's apartment, Crystal opened the door and Amber, the golden retriever, immediately jumped on us demanding attention. The small table (which was littered with garbage yesterday) had Daphne's paper on it and the two cards. Crystal and Daphne were trying to decipher them. In one corner of the room, there was a computer connected to some unknown devices, and Shaggy was typing incessantly on the keyboard of this computer. On the opposite side, Sugie was doing the same on a notebook majestically connected to other strange devices, while talking to someone through the microphone of her colorful unicorn-shaped headphones. Daphne smiled at Marcie and me, but ignored Fred's presence. Crystal ousted Amber from the couch and let us sit. Scooby was sad because he was trapped behind a small metal gate in the hallway. He was howling and desperately looking at the mysteryous cards found at Applegate Bank, and I understood he was there because he could´nt stop sniffing out the cards.
Shaggy: Hey, gang! Like, are you ready for the invasion?
Before we could answer, Sugie turned her laptop screen towards us and removed the headset from the computer. On the screen was a short, young Asian man with a slightly disheveled black hair, he looked like, at the most, 22 years old. The man greeted us shyly and introduced himself as agent Flim Flam. We greeted him back and introduced ourselves.
Daphne: Hello, Flim Flam! What time is it there in Beijing? I hope I haven't forgotten about the time zone differences again and I haven´t gotten you out of your bed…
Flim Flam: Hi, Daph. Thanks for remembering our 13-hour-difference this time, it means a lot to my sleep. As for the time, here is Shaggyleaks operation time!
Daphne: Operation Shaggy what?
Flim Flam: Shaggyleaks…
Sugie: I insisted it should be called Shaggyhacks…
Shaggy: Like, why does it have to have my name if it was YOUR idea, Flim Flam?
Sugie: Because are you the one invading, duh!
Flim Flam: Because it was my idea, so I have the right to name it whatever I want.
They started arguing about pointless things, and I doubted that an operation that looked more like a gamers´ live on Twitch would bring us serious results to our case.
Crystal: Hey, shut up! Let's focus on the operation, please!
Shaggy: You're right, Crystal. Like, can you explain them the operation, Flim Flam? And you can call it whatever you want.
Flim Flam: All right, gang. I´ve received your samples and I´ve checked some databases, but apart from Cho Sang-woo, I´ve only found two matching results. Two South-Korean highly wanted criminals: Jang Deok-su, Park Ja-Hyoung…
Velma: What kind of crime did they commit, Flim Flam?
Flim Flam: It's easier to tell what crimes they haven´t committed, Velma. The list is extensive: embezzlement, theft, assault, gang formation, murder, involvement in drug trafficking and gambling, disruption of order, vandalism…
Daphne: Well, it fits the profile of a person that would be involved with Liberty's services and with the VIPs...
Flim Flam: Absolutely, Daphne. So, it wasn´t a big surprise that they were the victims of our VIP killer. However, I kept thinking: do all the 35 victims fit the same profile? And I was frustrated when I couldn´t find anything about them anywhere… and that made me think that – maybe- the other victims are not criminals at all…
Velma: Well, we´ve found transplant reports with DNA records matching the DNA of some victims, but the death certificates were all fake, so we don't know the true identity of these people...
Flim Flam: The victims' identities are an essential part to unravel this mystery, and the only way we can discover them is through a large civilian genetic database. That´s why I thought about those sites that make genetic records of families. I think they are the most accurate non-criminal genetic database we can find, so I asked them formally to have access to their information. However, I realized that it would take them a few months to grant me with this permission, so I decided to access their data in a more exciting way…
Daphne: Are you sure this "exciting way" won't send us to prison?
Flim Flam: Naahhh, we will not copy, steal or leak any personal data, we will neither change the structure of the site nor remove anything from it. We'll just log into the admin account and dig through all the genetic data their customers have. Well, of course, if the admin gets upset about it, he might sue us, but that's where the excitement of it all lies!
Shaggy: Like, they can sue us only IF they find out who we are...
Sugie: Right… the closest they can get right now is finding out Shaggy is… uh… "fuckuall1993"…
Shaggy: WHAT? Like, this is your username, why did you chose it for me?
Sugie: No, I´m "fuckuall2000", I´m 7 years younger than you…
Shaggy: HEY, I´M THE INVADER, WHY CAN´T I CHOSE THE NAME OF THE OPERATION AND MY OWN USERNAME?
Sugie and Flim Flam: Shut up and focus!
Sugie: Well, I bet there are loads of usernames like this all over the world, so they will take a few months to sue us…
The horror on Daphne's face showed that she wasn't that excited about it, however, she didn't say anything. Like all us, she just wanted to solve the mystery as soon as possible.
Sugie: Are you ready?
Flim Flam: Yes, we can start…
Shaggy: Okay. Like, in five seconds I will get in the first site. Sugie will take care of our security and Flim Flam, you will sift through Velma's data...
Flim Flam and Sugie: Right!
As soon as Shaggy let us know about the invasion, agent Flim Flam started typing wildly on his computer keyboard and we could barely see his face through the screen. Marcie and Crystal watched the scene in awe, as if they were watching a rocket launch. Daphne didn't take her eyes off her paper, and I realized she was trying hard to not look at Fred. Nonetheless, Fred could not take his eyes off Daphne, and it was visible that he was making a huge effort to control his body and not approach her. At some point, Fred's body gave up, he left the couch and sat down next to Daphne on the floor. Still, she didn't look at him, so he took the cards he'd found and placed them next to the two cards she was analyzing.
Daphne: They're identical!
Daphne's announcement brought Marcie and Crystal's attention back to the cards, and we all approached her.
Daphne: Look, the card I´ve found inside the slot machine is identical to the cards Fred has found!
As he heard Daphne say his name, Fred smiled and looked at her, but she didn´t look at him.
Velma: And what are the numbers on them?
Daphne: "8650 4006"
Velma: Apparently, these numbers are not the minutes and seconds of some geographic coordinate in Silmido, since the first number is greater than 60.
Daphne: What if they are the degrees and minutes of a geographic coordinate somewhere else?
Velma: Then we would have at least 4 regions on the map, since we don't know if latitude is north or south, and longitude is east or west. Plus, without the exact seconds, we'd just have a large area and, literally, it could be anywhere… so I think these numbers are not a location.
Fred: I don´t think it´s the bank transfer key VIPs use either. I only took a dozen cards, but there are hundreds of them inside those boxes. If the password is a secret, why would they make so many copies?
Daphne: Because it must be a phone number. If there are hundreds, then they are business cards… maybe Liberty´s business cards?
Fred: And this is the number customers call to hire the illegal services that Liberty provides…?
Daphne: How about a South Korean number?
Daphne showed the research she had done on her cell phone, which said that South Korean telephone numbers are eight digits long. Fred smiled and approached her, Daphne stil couldn´t look at him, but she shyly smiled back.
Fred: Okay, I'll ask Seoul Police for information about this number…
Velma: What if it's a Silmido Island number?
Flim Flam: Eureka!
The growing approchement between Daphne and Fred was abruptly interrupted by Flim Flam´s excited shout, and our attention returned to the notebook screen.
Flim Flam: One of the samples matches the DNA of a Seul doctor… his name is Byeong-gi…
Flim Flam shared a screen with us where Byeong-gi's photo and some personal information appeared, and I photographed as much information as I could while Daphne googled the victim's name.
Daphne: Hmm… apparently, he's not a mobster... he had an impeccable academic performance... he is a professor at Seoul Medical College... by the number of positive reviews, his clinic seems to be very famous and respected... oh, wait, I think he has some lawsuits, let me turn on the translator…let´s see… medical error…medical error…
The list of lawsuits Byeong-gi had for "medical error" was so extensive that Daphne repeated "medical error" about fifteen times.
Fred: He's not a mobster, but he's certainly a criminal for committing so many medical errors… he must have ruined many lives…
Shaggy: Gang, like, he's been missing since June 2020...
Our attention turned to Shaggy's computer screen and he showed us a facebook post of a young woman looking for her father, Dr. Byeong-gi.
Flim Flam: According to this newspaper, local police said Dr. Byeong-gi was last seen near a Marina in Seoul, security cameras showed he was standing in front of a store, then he suddenly got into a Hyundai SUV…
Fred: He and Sang-woo disappeared in the same month. And I´m starting to think it´s not a coincidence…
Flim Flam: An Interpol source says "Cho Sang-woo was last seen in Seoul in June 2020". His mother provided this information. And check it out, Jang Deok-su and Park Ja-Hyoung also disappeared in June 2020… in Seul…
Daphne: So it´s definitely not a coincidence!
Velma: Well, I think it´s secure to say that the crime happened in June 2020 and Sang-woo didn't do Liberty's millionaire transactions last month. But I just can´t explain how their blood is inside a secret fridge in New York… or how their organs are in America right now… someone kidnapped them in Seoul?
Marcie: And they woke up immersed in a bathtub full of ice, like the fake news say?
Flim Flim: You mean, third world citizens becoming healthy organs to be sold to first world sick wealthy citizens? Its not a silly creepy pasta, it happens more than your innocent mind can imagine…
Velma: But isn´t it supposed to happen to very poor, anonymous people? I mean, our victims are: a renowned doctor, the manager of a big investment company and two famous criminals… they´re far from being potential victims…
Daphne: Velma is right, Sang-woo is Liberty´s manager, he surely knew the company trafficked organs, why did he become a victim?
Flim Flam: I agree with you, but what do a manager, two thieves and a doctor have in common? What made them search for Liberty? And what made them victims of the VIPs? The only thing that comes to my mind is organ trafficking… I don´t know, maybe they were compatible with some American tycoon and someone decided to take their lives to sell the organs needed…
Velma: Jinkies! That´s it, organ trafficking! The doctor removed the organs, the criminals trafficked, the manager took care of the finances…
Daphne: Then why was the doctor killed too, Velma?
Daphne cracked my theory so quickly that I didn't even have time to finish my reasoning.
Flim Flam: Hey, gang, I´ve just found another one! And this one is really, really interesting… Min Seok-jin… a fervent pastor of the Seoul Baptist Church…
…and soon after, Flim Flam's discovery ended up shattering it completely. I photographed Seok-jin's information while Daphne googled him.
Daphne: Yeah, this time we don't have anything at all… he was truly a saint! No crimes, no lawsuits... there are only praises and people reporting the blessings he has done in their lives...
Crystal: What would drive a pastor to a casino? Don´t religions generally have problems with this sort of thing?
Velma: One more reasoning successfully lost, welcome to the beginning again!
Flim Flam: And that was all. There is no longer any compatible genetic profile on this site. Can we move on to the next one, Shaggy?
Shaggy: Sure, Flim Flam.
Fred: Wait, if this mystery has feds, bank managers and corrupt investors involved, why wouldn't we have a corrupt pastor?
Sugie: Hmm… wikileaks agrees with you, Fred. It seems that Min Seok-jin has taken his church's money, see...
Sugie showed us some documents she'd found, and I had to squint my eyes to read the small print. Among other evidences, there were Min Seok-jin's church bank receipts, and they showed multimillion-dollar transactions to overseas accounts.
Fred: Great! He fits our victim profile. It´s possible that they have used Liberty´s services to get richer, then ended killed when they demanded the money Liberty has lost…
Velma: Just like Alan? That´s ridiculous, captain, he´s surely not a victim here!
Fred: Well, maybe he is suing Liberty because he is afraid of being killed too…
Velma: I don´t think so, he didn´t seem to know about the other deaths… I don´t really think he fits a "victim" profile… the more I know about him, the more I think he is by the VIPs´ side…
Daphne: What about the doctor? He doesn't have financial crimes, and he can't be linked to organ trafficking because he was killed too… Plus, why would such a renowned university doctor need other means to get rich? It's clear he had a lot of prestige...
Fred: Gang, there must be some bond between them that we still can't understand…
Shaggy: Like, about this pastor, has anyone found a missing person report?
Daphne: I couldn't find anything, Shags, but his Facebook account´s last updates happened June 20, 2020… a little suspicious, no?
Velma: Guys, check this out! The last review about his church on Google dates March 2021… and in it, a faithful says: "I miss Pastor Min Seok-jin"… so, I think we can conclude that Seok-jin is no longer a pastor in Seoul…
Flim Flam: I haven't found anything about the pastor's whereabouts, but you're going to freak out about what I´ve found now. Two samples are compatible with this couple here.
Flim Flam shared the screen with us, and on it was a picture of a man and a woman, both Asian, who looked to be in their fifties. Daphne copied their names and searched for them, but she found nothing other than the couple's personal facebook page.
Daphne: A housewife and a mailman? Why would they get involved with cryptocurrencies and casinos?
Flim Flam: The correct question is: how the hell a South-Korean mailman and a housewife would have millions enough to use the services of a stockbroker at NY?... well, before them, we had a bank manager, a doctor, thieves, a corrupt pastor, people who could get some millions somehow… but now… how could a mailman be corrupt and earn millions? Stealing Amazon packages?
Marcie: Or how could a housewife get so much money? She is not even paid for the work she does!
Velma: Have I already said that I hate this mystery? If I haven´t, I'm saying right now; and if I´ve already done, I'd like to emphasize it...
Fred: Calm down, gang, there must be some obvious bond here... has anyone found anything about this couple? Crimes? Maybe a secret life, drug involvement, a string of lovers…?
Daphne: No, they're harmless… their few online facebook records are kitten videos… and pictures of their grandchildren…
Fred: Were they reported missing by the family?
Shaggy: Like, I couldn´t find anything...
Velma: Neither did I...
Sugie: Nothing here...
Flim Flam: Practically, they don't exist on the internet...
Daphne: Last photo posted on June 12, 2020…
Shaggy: Like, 8 days before the pastor´s update…
Daphne: And the same period of Sang-woo's disappearance...
Velma: Awww, this damn June 2020! Again! What happened in this shitty month in Seoul that we can't understand?
Fred: Despite not being very active, they were constant on facebook… look, their account was created in 2014 and since then it had posts and photos every three or four months…
Daphne: But it has no posts since June 12, 2020, 12 months ago… so… surely, something happened to them and they couldn´t post anything else…
Fred: Is there anything else about them? Lawsuits? News? Obituary?
Daphne: Check it out! I´ve found a fundraising page for them… they were planning to raise 4 million wons…
Fred: For?
Daphne: Nothing was mentioned there… but, apparently, they were in debt…
Shaggy: Like, I looked their credit score up and it's worse than mine and Sugie's combined...
Sugie: Trust me, this is really bad…
Daphne: Oh!… look, some companies gave them a bad credit because they missed some payments… and they also have a mortgage… and a power company debt… a debt with a bank in Seoul… a health plan debt… poor ones, their financial life is ruined! They must be really desperate… so they… Jeppers, what if Liberty lent them a loan?
Velma: Jinkies! That's it! They're all in debt, that's what they have in common! Look… Alan Mayberry… Cho Sang-woo… the pastor… this couple…
Daphne: And the doctor too! He must owe thousands of wons to the patients he has injured, after all, he lost all the medical error lawsuits!
Flim Flam: Surely, Jang Deok-su and Park Ja-Hyoung have debts too, they were involved with gangs and drug dealing…
Fred: Great, gang. Now we just need to understand how each one of them got in debt with Liberty…
Daphne: What if Liberty also acts as a company specialized in credit recovery? That is, it buys debts from other companies and becomes their creditor…
Velma: That would make these people in debt with Liberty, not with the companies they´ve gotten in debt… well, it´s a good hypothesis… and I think we're finally solving this mystery!
Shaggy: Hey gang, like, sorry to interrupt, but Sugie and I have an emergency and we need to end the operation immediately…
Flim Flam: What happened, Shags?
Shaggy: We´re starving!
Sugie: And Lexington Ave´s Taco Bell closes in half an hour…
Flim Flam: I think we can really end. There are no more compatible records here. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information about the identity of the others… neither about the owners of the transplanted organs…
Shaggy: Like, thank you so much for understanding.
Shaggy got up quickly and ran towards the door, Sugie released Scooby-Doo and both them ran after him immediately.
Flim Flam: Well, I guess I'll leave you too, I need to report our discovery before the end of the day. See you in Seoul in two days?
Velma: What?
Flim Flam: I'll have to go to Seoul to notify these families about this sad discovery... specially Sang-woo's mother, she needs to know the truth about her son...
Daphne: Flim Flam, we can't reveal what we've done, we can go to prison!
Flim Flam: Relax, Daph, I'll find a way to explain everything legally… so, can I count on your help? It's more than clear that all the answers we need are in South Korea... I won't be able to do everything by myself, and it's obvious that you guys have much more experience than I do in many areas...
Velma: I´m sorry, but we just can't... this case is in FBI´s hands right now...
I gave Fred a fierce glare and he lowered his eyes in embarrassment.
Flim Flam: You mean, the case is in FBI´s hands in the United States, right? Outside USA, it belongs to Interpol, which is technically the FBI of the world, so… technically, I can steal their case…
Velma: You can, but we're not Interpol!
Flim Flam: Well, literally speaking, you aren't, but… technically...
Daphne: Oh no, Flim Flam, you are up to something, aren´t you? Don't you dare defrauding Interpol licenses, that's an international crime!
Flim Flam: Okay, but if you saw the beautiful pictures I´d put on your fake licenses, you'd change your mind!
Daphne sighed and rolled her eyes.
Flim Flam: Just kidding! What I mean is: I'm taking on the case, so I'm going to South Korea... and the FBI won't suspect if four friends on vacation go to Seoul visit a friend who works for Interpol, you know? FBI covers up the case in the USA, we solve it in South Korea…
Marcie: Well, Velma was really frustrated for having to spend her whole vacation at my parents' amusement park… so, I think a trip to Seoul would be great for her!
Marce's support would be very mature and encouraging on any other occasion, but on this one, it was just a pretty, polite excuse to kick me out to a foreign country while she´d be taking care of her parents' problems. Suddenly, I found myself in bad mood and I sighed loudly to show my impatience. Then I committed the terrible mistake of looking at Daphne's Shrek kitten´s facial expression before questioning Fred if we should really accept such a thing. At the end, I felt so sorry for her that I couldn't refuse.
Velma: Well, I do have some airline miles to use… and like Marcie said, I can´t use them if I get stuck in an rusty amusement park in Florida all month…
Daphne: Thank you, Velma! I think Dad wouldn't mind if I borrowed his plane... after all, we're going to help him recover his reputation…
Fred: Shaggy won't say no, so I won't be the one who will refuse…
Daphne couldn't thank him in person, she just smiled so beautifully that Fred felt like thanking her for being so pretty.
Flim Flam: Great. See you in two days. Bye!
As the coffee´s effect ended, I felt exhaustion take control of my body and I couldn´t stop yawning. Involuntarily, I leaned my head against Marcie's shoulders and my eyes closed automatically. The sound of the door slamming after Sugie and Shaggy arrived with several packages of food (and Scooby with a bottle of soda in his mouth) woke me up some time later. I thought I would have a late night snack, but they ate everything before I could rub my eyes and really wake up.
Fred: Well, gang, it´s late, I need to go...
Shaggy: Like, are you crazy? We are investigating a crazy case in which the criminals are so eerie that the FBI itself is afraid of them! Like, we're refugees now, we can't be alone in our homes… if we split, we might not wake up again… and, like, we might become unidentified organs at some hospital…
Crystal: Shaggy is right. And it's too late. Please, stay here.
Shaggy was right, but what scared me most was the idea that I would have to sleep away from my bed and my things, in a place that didn't follow my personal hygiene and organization protocols.
Sugie: Like, I sleep with Scooby and Amber in Scooby's bed. You can have my room. I think you girls can share my bed. Unfortunately, Fred will have to sleep on the couch.
I'm totally against sexism, but for a moment I allowed the thought of "Sugie's room is cleaner and more organized because she's a girl" comfort my desperate heart. However, the thought disappeared when Sugie opened her bedroom door, and I realized the idea of relating a person's gender to their sense of cleanliness is really a stupid idea. Well, I´ve mentioned before that I'm not a fucking cupid, but in that moment, I played the role of one. Actually, it happened for selfish reasons: I played a cupid role because I got frustrated and I wanted others to be frustrated too. What did I do? As soon as Sugie offered her room (̶a̶s̶ ̶c̶l̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶d̶o̶g̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶l̶t̶e̶r̶), I took Marcie by the hand and said "Ok, so good night, gang!". Then I locked the door without caring where exaclty Daphne would sleep. She didn't beg us to come in, but when she heard our giggles, she sent me 57 whatsapp messages with angry emojis and childish curses. Tiredness had us lying down immediately, and Marcie slept in less than five minutes. Despite being exhausted, the adrenaline rushing through my blood vessels didn´t let me sleep, so I decided to take a look at Applegate Bank photos to calm myself down. I lost almost an hour of sleep googling each one of the names I photographed, and I found absolutely nothing relevant. I was surprised by the total lack of public records, after all, those men are very qualified people in the financial world. Mr. Applegate mentioned they were the best students at the best colleges, the best investors… so why there were no academic records for any of them anywhere? And no LinkedIn records? Then I realized that all those names were pathetically eccentric. Okay, my name is Velma Dace and I'm totally aware that I don't have morals to say someone else's name is eccentric, but those names seemed way too eccentric. Inevitably, my favorite game as a child came to my mind: assembling anagrams. This was the game that showed me that, ironically, it is possible to write "Forensic Jerk(ed)" with the letters of Frederick Jones' name (that random revelation made me understand that even chance knows how ̶u̶s̶e̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶p̶i̶d̶ "hard to work with" my captain can be sometimes), so I thought it was a trustworthy tool. At 4:30 am, I started to assemble anagrams with the help of an anagram app (that I think I am the only one in the whole world who have downloaded it). My immediate findings were hundreds of funny combinations and swear words, but among thousands of nonsense combinations, one of them caught my attention: when I typed "Brayman Leary", the app revealed the anagram "Alan Mayberry".
Velma: JINKIES!
My vocalization made Marcie open her eyes, but she was sleeping so deeply that she didn't even wake up. I was so elated with my discovery (in fact, it was just the confirmation of something we´ve already suspected) that I got up and left the bedroom. I walked towards Shaggy's door and luckily, before I could knock, my Asperger sensor beeped and made me realize how socially inappropriate it was to knock on the door of a friend who was in a private space sleeping with his girlfriend at 5am, so I gave up. Mainly because I wasn't psychologically prepared for what I would see if I opened that door. I didn't have the same respect for Daphne and Fred, after all: Reason 1- they were in the living room, a common space; reason 2- they are not in a relationship; reason 3-Daphne owns the fucking case, she needs to know; reason 4- Fred is the fucking captain and he also needs to know; and reason 5- my discovery was awesome. However, when I got to the living room, I saw something much more awesome than the news I had to tell them. Daphne was sleeping peacefully on the couch, like a red-headed version of Disney´s Sleeping Beauty, while Fred was all curled up on an armchair, sleeping tensely, as if he couldn't relax even during his sleep. And between the armchair and the couch there was a bridge that joined them two: his hand and her hand together, holding each other tighly, and not even the deep sleep was able to separate them. My Asperger sensor beeped one more time and warned me that it would be not only socially inappropriate to interrupt such a beautiful scene, but it would also be inhumane. I can't explain why, but I felt peace after I saw that, so much peace that I even felt sleep slowly envelop me. Then I decided to go back to the bedroom (and kick Marcie out of my space in bed, since she was sleeping like bear rug in the whole bed) and leave the good news for the next day. I think this mystery can wait one day or two to be solved. But I think Daphne and Fred's love can't wait more to happen.
Thanks for reading and for your support!
Well, the gang will be in Seoul in 2 days, so we will have some long chapters ahead! I apologize for that.
I decided to keep this story rated T until chapter 22. From chapter 23 on, the story will be rated M, because I think the description of each game of Squid Game challenge is too violent for teens and children. I know a lot of teens (and even kids) have watched Squid Game, but I´m thinking about the ones who didn´t watch and may be sensitive to such descriptions.
Sorry, I´m having tests right now and I´m late with my readings/reviews. During the next week I will have some recess and I will be reading and posting my comments, I´m sorry for not doing this before. I will also post a new Girl, Pitstopped chapter asap. I know its been a long time.