Author's note:
I do not own Scooby Doo and Squid Game.
This chapter is very long, so I´ll post it in 2 parts.
English is not my first language, so I will certainly make mistakes while translating. I apologize for this and thank you for pointing out corrections.
Chapter 5 – Part I
I arrived at the Liberty building at 8:40 am and took the opportunity to drink the coffee I bought six blocks ago. I noticed, in the surroundings, the discreet presence of several NYPD agents in plain clothes, and part of my forensics team. Liberty was apparently operating normally, the lights were on and the panoramic elevator was going up and down, so I understood why there were so many NYPD people there. Someone from the Emergency Services Unit discreetly approached, asked for procedural instructions, and I was confused. For the first time, I didn´t have a slightest idea of how I should proceed.
Velma: As far as I know, we should search for some embezzlement evidences. This company was accused of diverting money to foreign accounts, so I think we're just going to get their computers and get our asses out of here.
Daphne: In fact, the court order says "illegal activity", since they don't have business licenses or such records. There is also a search and seizure court order to gather evidence in connection to the financial cyber crimes. So, yes, you will take all their electronics, including the security cameras.
Fortunately, our nosy lawyer knew more than I, the forensics chief, so I was able to give clear instructions to my subordinates. I love when Daphne Blake knows more about our work than ourselves, it says a lot about our professional competence. When the clock was 5 to 9am, my anxiety arrived to make things harder. It made me think about all the possibilities that could happen during the invasion, from physical fights and gunshots to a bunch of coin incels resisting to give us their money-machines. And made me think of how shitty my work will be, searching for evidences in a 650ft tall building, then searching for digital evidence in every electronic inside it. Jinkies, mom was so right, its easier to win a Nobel Prize. When the clock finally showed 9 am, NYPD agents started to move around and my anxiety made me paranoid that Liberty's workers would suspect and hide all the evidence. Then I looked by my side and noticed Daphne was still ignoring me, so my anxiety had one more subject to torture me.
Velma: Jinkies, where are the boys? It's 9 o'clock!
I tried to act normally, but she just shrugged her shoulders.
Daphne: Shaggy didn´t hear the alarm, but he´s coming. Don´t you dare to ask me about Fred as if I should know…
Velma: I won´t. But I thought that maybe you both have met last night, maybe you have talked and… maybe… haved fixed everything?
Daphne: Only this…
The way she said "only this" clearly showed it was not "only this". And I sighed.
Velma: And…?
Daphne: And it´s none of your business, by the way…
Velma: Jinkies, seems like someone just woke up on the wrong side of Fred´s bed this morning…
Daphne: Velma! Objection! Relevance…
Velma: It matters! Oh, how it matters! A lot!
I looked at her eyes and she sighed. My mental judge just told me: Sustain it.
Velma: It´s not my business, Daphne, but it´s yours! You cannot keep doing the same thing, the same way, and keep expecting something different to happen! Fred thinks you are ok about this "special friendship" bullshit, don´t you think you should tell him about how you feel?
Daphne: I know! But I think Fred is not the only one fearing changes… I… don´t want… to ruin our friendship with something else… In fact, I don´t want to change everything we have… I´ve been thinking about what he said…about my family and everything…and jeepers, he´s so right… it hurts, but he´s right…
Velma: I know, I feel the same about Marcie, but yesterday I´ve learned that changes won´t hurt if we have love.
Daphne: I´m not sure if Fred loves me…
Velma: He does, Daph, but he´s just not able to admit it… I´m sure somehow he does love you, and he shows it in a cold, weird, confuse, immature way… the same way he was taught by his father…
Daph: Well, I´ll never be sure. But I love him enough to not scare him with my feelings.
That phrase was so intense that hurt me, so I hugged her to give her some comfort.
Daphne: Hey, this hug doesn´t fix anything, I´m still offended! You owe me an apology for what you´ve said. And for wearing these lovely kitten heel flats with such horrid uniform pants.
I giggled and I could see a shy smile on her face too.
Velma: I'm sorry. Really. I din´t want to argue or hurt you, I just wanted to help, I swear!
Daphne: I know. And you did help. At least he knows how I feel… I mean… now, at least he has an idea about it… thanks to you…
When she finished her sentence, I saw Captain Jones getting out of a taxi, an evidence that proved that my "only this is not only this" theory was right. Judging by his sleepy face and by the hickey on the right side of his neck, I was only wrong when I said Daphne woke up on the wrong side of his bed. In fact, clearly he woke up on the wrong side of her bed. My mental judge didnt care about it at all, and the mental court decided the verdict: Velma, please, mind your own business.
Fred: It´s 9 o´clock, girls, let´s go!
My clock (and everyone else´s) showed 9:13, but if the captain said it´s 9 o´clock, it´s 9 o´clock anyway. After all, the captain himself getting late says a lot about our professional competence.
Velma: But what about Norville? The K-9 Unit has not arrived yet.
Fred: It's embezzlement, Velma, not murder. We don´t need dogs to find computers.
Daphne: Shaggy is on his way, Freddie. We have a missing person, remember? We need the dogs.
Fred: No one confirms Mr. Cho's disappearance in New York, Daph… I´ve searched for his name in Missing Person Dept´s records…
Daphne: Interpol says his last bank operations occured last moth in this branch, Freddie, so this is the last place where Cho Sang-woo was "seen" before dissapearing. We need the dogs, let´s wait.
As I said, our pet lawyer knew more about the case than our own captain did, and it also says a lot about our department's competence. Daphne showed us a stack of paper to prove what she was saying. Of course, her last name helps her to obtain easily much of the information she needs in her cases, but her golden cradle isn´t the only responsible for the quality of her work. She could have been an amazing co-worker if she hadn´t given up when she found out that NYPD women don't wear high heels or elegant clothes like they do on TV shows.
Fred: Daphne, it´s 9:18! We can´t wait forever for Agent Rogers!
Suddenly, the first K-9 Unit van parked at the corner near Liberty, followed by two other vans that did the same at the next corner.
Fred: Three vans full of K9s? Are you crazy? This is not a fucking 9/11, Dinkley, we don´t even have victims!
Velma: I didn't ask for that, Captain, I just told Agent Rogers to come and…
Fred: AND WE JUST DONT NEED DOGS, Dinkley! It´s a bunch of computers! Can you imagine how much this will cost? And how many useless forms and reports I'll have to fill out to justify it?
Velma: I have no idea, Jones, because I'm not a stupid administrator, so I dont care. I just follow the confusing orders of an immature captain, who arranged a nonsense inspection just to impress Daphne while a gorgeous CEO was flirting with her.
I didn't see Fred's reaction because I immediately turned my back on him, but I could see Daphne with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. Norville was waving happily at me, so I approached the K9 van.
Shaggy: Like, hey Vel! I´ve told you a zillion times that your songs dont wake me up! I need something heavier, like, Metallica´s "For whom the bell tolls"! Daph called me and…
Velma: What the hell, Norville! You'll have a whole month to sleep as much as you want, why you decided to oversleep today? Come on, it's almost nine-thirty! And Fred is in a bad mood!
My words clearly showed that Fred was not the only one in a bad mood. Norville didnt give a single fuck about it and just started to take the dogs off the van.
Velma: 3 vans? I was clear that you should only bring Scooby-Doo!
Shaggy: Like, relax, Vel, I will only take Scoob! I brought the rest of the kids for a walk! Like, you can't take one kid and leave the others in the kennel, it's like having a favorite child!
Before I could argue, I was surrounded by dogs. Crystal was holding Scooby´s and a female golden retriever ´s (that Norville calls Amber) leashes, when the K9 agents got distracted, Agent Rogers kissed her quickly and said goodbye. I sighed and made my way back to Liberty, to my surprise, there was no one left in front of the building. Apparently, Captain Jones had started a forensic inspection without the forensic unit chief, an incredible thing that also says a lot about the competence of our department. I looked back and realized there was no one left around the vans either. The K-9 agents and the dogs were blocks away (yes, apparently they were there for a walk, a fact that says a lot about the kindness of the K-9 Unit chief).
Confused, I ran back to the building. A few seconds after I was overtaken by Scooby-Doo running and Norville running after him with a leash in his hands. Liberty's door was automatic, so Scooby didn't have to stop running to get in, but when Norville and I arrived, Fred and the others weren´t there. The lights were on, the place was very clean – smelled like fresh concrete and bleach -, there were loads of cameras, cables, routers, modems, computers, sensor, but there were no chairs, tables, coffee machines and other things that offices full of employees usually have. Scooby-Doo slowed down in the middle of the Hall and assumed the same lunatic behavior he had in the restaurant: he started barking and growling, when he stopped, he sniffed every inch of that place. Norville and I looked at each other.
Velma: I think he´s found something, Shaggy.
Shaggy: Like, can you smell that? I don't know, it´s a chemical, synthetic smell…
Velma: Yeah… looks like… bleach… acetone… I can't say exactly.
Shaggy and I spent minutes sniffing the air trying to define exactly what that smell was, meanwhile Scooby sniffed around. When he started scratching the floor, we ran to the spot he was scratching, but the ground was firm and had nothing underneath. Shaggy bent down to check for loose tiles or something, but Scooby started running again, approached the elevator, the automatic door opened and, in the same way, it closed, taking Scooby to the basement. Shaggy and I looked desperately for a staircase, but there was no other way to get to the other floors. Also, there was no elevator button to make the elevator return with Scooby. After a few minutes, the door opened itself, but the elevator was empty. Norville screamed when he realized that Scooby had disappeared, I comforted him with a hug and pulled him into the elevator with me. Inside, there were no floor buttons either, neither a panel to show which floor the elevator was on. Suddenly, the elevator door closed and took us several floors up, Norville grabbed my arm, dreading what was happening.
Velma: Calm down Shaggy, it must be a smart elevator, a computerized system or something...
I invented an explanation to make the situation less tense, but I was scared too. Shaggy was calling Scooby-Doo and screaming for help, but nobody answered. I assumed that there was some sort of soundproofing inside that elevator, since Shaggy's screams didn't echo as they should. Inside the elevator, the chemical smell was stronger and suffocating, for a moment, I thought that Norville and I would get trapped there and we would die of asphyxia.
Shaggy: Like, it must be a secret drug lab…
Velma: Well, if it´s a drug lab, our money laundering theory is true…
When I finished, the elevator stopped, the door opened and revealed a floor as cold as a refrigerator. Hundreds of Frostbit 1000 machines were scattered around the room, their green lights were flashing, indicating they were working. Each machine was connected to several cables, and the network of cables ended in a large metal box, similar to an electrical panel.
Shaggy: Zoinks, Velma! coins!
Velma: Yeah, apparently, Fred is right, it's really a financial fraud…
Shaggy: Like, we don't need to look for the stolen money, I bet all those millions are here! These machines are expensive as hell…
Velma: Ok, let's take them.
We both walked around the coin machines looking for clues, Norville admired them and talked loads about their incomprehensible technical specifications. I tried to send a message to captain Jones to let him know about it, but inexplicably, my cell phone was dead. So, I asked Norville to contact Jones, but his phone had no service either. Then I remembered the buttonless elevator, and a ton of panic just fell over my shoulders. There was no cell phone reception, no stairs, no elevator buttons, so we were stuck there. Fortunately, I didn't need to explain verbally that we were really trapped,Shaggy just realized it, ran to the elevator and started kicking the door and screaming desperately.
Velma: Dammit, how could I be so stupid? Surely someone wanted to trap us here!
Shaggy screamed loudly when I suggested that someone was coming to get us, I just tried to stay calm and find a rational solution. Suddenly, the elevator door opened, Shaggy and I looked at each other, fearing boarding again, but when the doors started to close, we decided to get in anyway. Unfortunately, we went up and up. I couldn't count how many floors exactly, I think it was about five floors up, then the elevator stopped again and the doors opened. The room was completely empty, but in the end of it, there was a door. We ran as fast as we could to that door, wishing we would find an emergency staircase behind it, and we really found a staircase, but… hell, not in the way a staircase should be. When we opened the door, the view was something like a coloured version of Escher´s print "Relativity". Several staircases - painted in pink and green- were arranged up, down, left and right, leading to doors in all directions (and some staircases led to nowhere). Those staircases continued several floors up and several floors down, it was impossible to see the beggining or the end of them, but I could see that the we were in a very high floor. The view caused me vertigo – and I am not affraid of height. Plus, all the stairs were very narrow and there were no security bars on the walls, so, if we stumbled, it would be a fatal fall. The staircase right in front of us ended in a door about 30ft down. Shaggy immediatley grabbed my arm, violently – I could feel he was shaking – and pulled me back to the door, but I insisted that we should walk through those stairs.
Shaggy: Velma! No way! You wont get my ass out of this floor!
Velma: We need to go down and find Scooby, remember? The elevator is only going up…
I knew that Norville would agree if I mentioned Scooby -that´s what I did that – but I myself doubted that we would find anyone in those paths. Then, I extended my hand to make him feel secure to continue, but he decided to walk in front of me, so he could guide me and protect me from any kind of danger. We went down the stairs very quickly, but when we opened the door, we found a very long and dark corridor, with a weak red light above a door in the end of it. Shaggy immediately tried to return to the stairs, but he was so nervous that he accidentally slammed the door and it locked – and we realized that there was no doorknob in that side of the door. He whimpered in deep despair and I had to push him til the end of that place. Fortunately, the door beneath the red light had a doorknob and we opened – just to find out we were back to the weird place full of staircases, but now, we were about 40ft higher than the door that first led us to the that place.
Shaggy: Zoinks! This makes no sense at all! We went down those stairs, how can we be in a higher door now?
Velma: I think it´s some kind of illusion, Shaggy, we can´t be really higher than before…there must be some sort of logical explanation for this…
Shaggy wasn´t convinced about my "there must be some sort of logical explanation" theory, so he tried to return. Unfortunately, the door had closed mysteriously, and there was not doorknob in that side of the door either. Shaggy said a compilation of curses while I pulled him again through the staircases that led us to a higher floor.
Shaggy: Like, we can´t continue, Velma! This place is scary!
Velma: So, do you have any other idea about how we can get out of here? It´s obvious that someone wants us to go ahead, all doors are locked, we can´t return anymore!
The door in the end of that staircase led us to an identical corridor with a door in the end of it, but this time there was a green light above the door. Shaggy tried to hold the door to keep it open, but some sort of magnetic system made it so heavy that Shaggy couldn´t stop it from moving. Immediately, I pulled his hands off the door – and in the following second, the door closed so violently that it could have cut off his fingers if they were there.
Velma: Are you crazy? I just told you we have to go on!
I didn´t have to pull him – he was so grateful for still having his fingers that he moved through the corridor by himself, but I had to take his hands off the green-light door when we opened it. Yes, the door led us back to the weird staircases place – now, inexplicably, we were many feet down.
Velma: Jinkies, someone is joking with us… How is this possible?
Shaggy: Like, I told you! We are stuck in this labyrinth!
This time, there were two paths: one leading to a long staircase that ended some feet down, and the other leading to a door just some steps away on the left. Shaggy couldn´t choose a path, so he looked at me wainting for instructions
Velma: We´ve already tried to go up and down and all those paths brought us back to this horrid place, so let´s choose the left door.
It was a stupid choice, anyway. We ended in a dark corridor and there wasn´t any door in the end of it. In fact, I couldn´t even call that a corridor: it was warm, wood covered, very narrow and had lots of spider webs, something pretty similar to a cavity where the house´s thermic insulation goes.
Shaggy: Like, I never thought I would miss those freaky stairs!
In panic mode, we started to hit and kick the walls until we found a loose board. We pushed it and found out that, in fact, it was a secret door. It was relieving to be out of that cavity yet the room where we got into was even more frightening. It was all painted in white, the ceiling had big led lamps and the walls had no doors and no Windows. The place was very cold, empty and a strange repetitive noise kept coming from the end of it, the noise sounded like an electrical equipment.
Shaggy: Like, now I miss those doors too…
Velma: The control panel of those coin machines must be here, can you hear this noise?
Shaggy: Like, invisible control panels? Cause I see nothing but fear and danger...
I sneered at Shaggy, but before I could answer him I felt… funny. I felt some numbness in my hands, a weird shiver ran through my entire body and the noised increased.
Shaggy: Velma, are you feeling weird too? Like, feels like I'm floating, I can't explain it, my body is numb, feels like something is pulling me...
It was exactly what I was feeling, but I couldn't admit it. I needed to comfort Shaggy and keep the control, if I admitted, he would have a panic attack.
Velma: Shaggy, you're having a panic attack. All the symptoms you´ve described are compatible with panic and anxiety symptoms, and you know you have such disorders frequently, so the logical explanation is physiological and… ahhhh!
Suddenly, I was violently thrown against one of the walls and I got stuck, with no possibility of getting my body off that wall. I couldn't see properly what was going on since my glasses were gone, I only saw a large, panicking blur stuck in a wall a few feet away from me and I deduced it was Shaggy. I tried to think fast and I soon realized that the parts of my body that were stuck were exactly the ones that had metallic components: my watch on my left wrist, NYPD badges, the bra frame, bulletproof vest´s buckles, my belt´s and my shoes´ buckles.
Velma: Shaggy, quick! Take off all metallic stuff you have! We are in a magnetic field!
I think the room heard me, because the intensity of the attraction increased and the noise got louder. I removed the shoes and the blazer with the badges easily, but it was impossible to get off the watch (all metal) and the other things . I realized that Shaggy was also trapped by just a few objects.
Velma: Keep calm, Shaggy! Let's think rationally, okay?
And there I was again, pretending to be Fred Jones and trying to take the reins, even though I had no idea about what I should do. Fortunately, I didn't have to think too much, suddenly - and inexplicably- a large colored blur just appeared from the ceiling, hanging on a rope, and it kept spinning slowly, like those damn piñatas we were forced to destroy in our childhood´s birthdays. My free hand searched for my acrylic-framed glasses in my blazer, so I confirmed: it was really a piñata, shaped like a smiling horse, made of cardboard and colored crepe paper. However, it had a red button written "off" in place of nose.
Shaggy: Like, a piñata! I can't believe I'm trapped here and I can't destroy it to get all the candy!
Shaggy has a teenager´s mind and a 6yo´s heart, so, to him, that piñata was as therapeutic as the lollipop doctors give children right after examining the throat.
Velma: Forget the candy, the piñata has a button to turn this crap off, look at the horse's nose!
Suddenly, the noise stopped and we could get off the wall. We had no time to celebrate: seconds after, the noise returned and we were thrown against the damn walls again. About a minute later, the noise stopped, Shaggy said a compilation of curses and I quickly ran to push the button, but when I was close to it, the noise returned and we got stuck again.
Velma: Shaggy, listen, it´s a game and someone is surely having fun with us, I think the only way to get out of here is pressing that button...
I couldn't finish: we were released again and we both ran as fast as we could to acchieve the button. Shaggy - faster than me - made it to the little horse, but when he was about to press the button, the noise returned and we were thrown again. This time, the impact was so violent that my acrylic glasses fell and shattered, I felt some blood trickle down my nose and Shaggy looked at me with concern.
Shaggy: Velma, like, I think they're increasing the field, please don't leave the wall anymore! I counted 15 seconds to get to the piñata, I can do it!
Velma: Shaggy, no need to run, just get rid of the metallic objects.
Shaggy looked at me with a "seems so simple, yet not so simple" face, and I only understood what he meant when the noise stopped and I took off all the metallic stuff I had. When I got my metal glasses back - in better condition than the acrylic ones-, I looked at myself half-naked and totally regretted taking a decision based solely on science (and regretted not thinking about how totally inappropriate this decision could be). Shaggy was more careful: he got rid of his watch and vest and kept his belt, believing he could break Usain Bolt's speed record before being thrown back again. We waited for another noise on/noise off cycle and we ran as fast as we could, but we ended up stuck once again due to the metal objects we still had.
Shaggy: Like, I counted less than 15 seconds this time, whoever is playing with us is changing the rules of the game! It can be dangerous, we´d better hurry.
Shaggy was the first to get rid of the metals, he ran to the piñata and pressed the button. Fortunately, the magnetic field ceased and a small part of one of the walls opened and revealed the elevator. Shaggy and I quickly grabbed our belongings and we got into the elevator, as we entered, we could hear Scooby Doo barking. The doors closed and the elevator took us some floors up, Shaggy tried to turn on his cell phone to access his canine language app, but after so much exposure to a magnetic field, his cell phone was dead. Before I could test my own cell phone again, the elevator stopped, the door opened and Daphne and Fred were there. Shaggy had an emotional reaction and ran desperately into their arms, my reaction was more restrained, despite I was feeling the same relief. Apparently, Daphne and Fred didn't have such bad experiences, yet they were happy to see us too. Shaggy and I tried to get out of the elevator, but Fred said there was nothing to do on that floor.
Fred: Unless you want to knock down cans, there's nothing to do on this floor.
Daphne: Yes, we´ve only found boring amusement park games… this is the third time!
Daphne had three teddy bears in her hands, a proof that their challenges were simpler than the ones Shaggy and I had to go through. The traces of Daphne's lipstick around Fred's mouth and neck showed that, yes, they had a lot to do on that floor. And the silly smile Daphne had in her mouth was a proof that the games she had played were not so boring at all.
Shaggy: Like, you are so lucky! Vel and I found a creepy labyrinth made of stairs, then we played piñata, but in a psychopathic version in which some psycho turned a magnetic field on and off and made us crash into the wall like a slice of cheese falling off a hamburger! BTW, have you seen Scoob? I can´t find him!
Fred: We heard him barking, I thought you were together…
Velma: We were together before you left us behind! Why the hell were you here? And alone? Where's the rest of the team? Why didn't you wait for us, Fred?
Bitchy Velma was back, furious, sore and demanding explanations. Daphne's smile faded and I could feel she was formulating an answer less pathetic than "Fred Jones asked to be alone with me and I said yes". Fred, the unshakable Fred, was less insecure than her and answered immediately.
Fred: Because you brought dozens of dogs without my permission and delayed my operation…
Velma: Oh sure, YOUR operation! Due to that, you thought the most appropriate thing to do would be leave everyone behind and disappear with Daphne?
Fred: Daphne has all the information about the case!
Velma: I have the information, Norville has the information, Agent Collins has the information, everybody here has the fucking information, why did you only bring Daphne? And why her lipstick is in your face?
Daphne stopped formulating a good answer and looked at me with a "please STFU" face. However, I was too bruised to care about other people's facial expressions.
Velma: Fred, this is not a joke and you both are not in high school anymore! Whoever is behind this crime is a dangerous person, look what he did to us! Those challenges were creepy, we could have died! Also, Scooby-Doo and the rest of the team have disappeared and we're stuck in a buttonless elevator! Can you take it seriously, please?
Fred: The way Miss Always-right talks shows she has found many important clues, right? Way more than the captain?
Then I had to swallow my anger, along with my pride. Very hard to admit that I let Liberty people play me for a sucker.
Velma: Wrong. We´ve found a room full of coin machines and we assumed they´re responsible for the financial fraud… they´re very expensive, maybe Liberty used Mayberry´s money to buy all them… Shaggy and I were taking them off and…
Shaggy: bwahaha, like, we were taking them? Naaah, we´ve only admired them, Vel, remember?… before we could do anything, we got stuck in a freaky labyrinth and we couldn´t return…then, the piñata game has started…
I had no intention to mention that part of story, but…
Velma: Shaggy, these details dont matter… what about you, captain? Any real clue while searching Blake area?
Fred literally rubbed some paper in my face. I could read "Cho Sang-woo" in a sheet or two.
Fred: Our last floor was an old office, guess who worked there…
Daphne: All dates before June 2020. By now, we can assume June 2020 was the last time Cho Sang-woo was here…
Suddenly, the door opened and three members of our team desperately got in, pushing us against each other.
Collins: Close this elevator door, quick!
They started to hit the elevator walls, looking for a button to close the door. We only understood their despair when a terrifying humanoid robot-doll with twintails and a yellow dress emerged from the back of the room and approached in slow steps, saying "Simon says wait".
Collins: That doll forced us to play "Simon says" in a horrid way. And she is always Simon!
Luckily, the door closed before the robot reached us and the elevator continued up. On the next floor, three more colleagues joined us in the elevator, and it was unbearable to breathe and move inside it.
Steward: A robot voice instructed us to play a-tisked, a-tasket, but the handkerchief blew up…
When the doors closed, the elevator took us down. Steward and the others were bleeding and it was an empirical proof that, yes, we could really have died in that building. Fred looked at me and I could see some guilt in his eyes. He was not responsible for all the sadism in those "games", but he was the one that left everyone behind. I couldn´t say anything – I was the shortest sardine in that effing can -, but the tallest did…
Shaggy: Like, things could have been different if we were together…
… and everyone agreed. Before Fred could explain himself, the doors opened and a huge, elegant floor was revealed. Apparently, it was below the big hall where we first entered Liberty building. I tried to ressurect my cell phone and, curiously, the signal worked normally in that place. Shaggy shouted his lungs out Scooby-Doo´s name, and his screams made everyone look at us – then made them realize we were in our underwear. So we awfully remembered that we needed to put back our pants, bulletproof vests and shoes, and quickly did it. However, Daphne was faster. Of course she would not let it go.
Daphne: When I saw you, you were alone with Shaggy in an elevator… with no pants, no bra under your shirt, full of bruises and your glasses were broken... aaaand you dared to ask about my lipstick?
Velma: Can you give me a logical explanation on how your lipstick got into Fred's face?
Daphne: Can you give me a logical explanation on how your pants were taken off? It's even more embarassing than my lipstick on Fred's face, don't you think?
Under the normal conditions of temperature and pressure, I would have taken that discussion much further. At that moment, though, I was too happy (for being alive) to fight with my best friend.
Velma: In my case, strong magnetic fields. And in yours, apparently, a different kind of magnetism.
My answer made Daphne blush and, thankfully, the discussion endend in smiles. While walking through that place, I realized it was pretty similar to a cassino. A big bar counter covered one of the walls, there were poker tables everywhere with whiskey bottles on them, dozens of slot machines and some ATM machine. Luckily, the rest of NYPD agents were there, alive and safe.
Steward: I can't believe you guys were sitting here drinking and having fun while a psychopath was playing with us!
The whiskey glasses and hundreds of coins showed that Steward was right.
Fred: So, that's it, gang! This is a fucking illegal casino... full of weird games that should attract way weirder people... that´s the only clue we have at all…and after three hours of work!
Velma: You mean, this is the only clue besides the fact Liberty people knew we would be here and they clearly tried to kill us?
Daphne: Dont you say that! We´ve found Cho Sang-woo´s office, remember? Now we know he really worked here and Alan was telling the truth…
Fred: Yeah, but nothing confirms Mr. Cho is part of this case, Daph…
Velma: And it´s such a small clue… it´s frustrating! I thought we would find many answers for this case, but now I only have questions…
Shaggy: Like, don´t you forget the coin machines! It´s a good clue, isnt it? Maybe they have the answers we need…
Velma: It´s a clue, Shags, but it doesnt change the fact that our mission has completely failed…plus, how can we get them? The building is huge and that elevator doesnt even have buttons, we have no idea where they are…
Daphne: Velma is right, we can´t return! It´s dangerous…
Fred: So, it's a weird casino, with freaky games, with a crazy elevator and coin machines… I bet this is the most bizarre case of the year, gang. What could be worse?
Unfortunately, Fred´s question had an answer. Suddenly, Scooby-Doo appeared, jumped the bar counter and started barking in that insane way. Shaggy ran to him, but Scooby didn't wait for him, he darted through a minibar door and disappeared again.
Shaggy: Scooby-Doo, where are you?
We could hear Scooby´s barks inside the minibar, so we followed him. Through the little door, we could see a larger space on the inside, and we concluded the fake minibar was a secret entrance to somewhere. The secret place was cold and lit by white lights, its walls were painted in light blue. Scooby insisted on calling us, and we looked at each other before getting into that place.
Velma: Oh no, no way! I went through crazy staircases, a buttonless elevator and a magnetic piñata! I'm not getting in!
Daphne: Velma's right Fred, it can be dangerous!
Fred: But we can find the clues we need! Scooby wants to show us something…like yesterday, in that restaurant… maybe drugs?
Velma: Or maybe he´s found some meat, just like yestarday…
Shaggy: Hey, gang, c´mon! Scooby is calling us!
Fred: We can´t get there, Shags, the door is tiny… we need someone 5ft tall… Velma?
Velma: I can slice you until you fit, Fred, I dont care…
We were interrupted by Shaggy, who pushed us out of his way and jumped into the fridge.
Shaggy: Can´t you see Scoob can be in trouble? C´mon, Fred, lets help him!
Fred and I sighed simmultaneously and Fred followed him, squeezing himself throught the minibar´s door. Daphne did the same, Fred tried to stop her, but she ended up jumping into his arms. And I rolled my eyes when I realized that I would have to follow my stupid friends into yet another stupid forensic mission in a stupid place. So I threw my evidence collection suitcases inside – to make it clear how upset I was – and asked my team to follow me.
The place was a long, narrow hallway, about 8 ft high and 3 ft wide. The walls were made of Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (a substance ordinary people call EVA, but chemistry PhDs like me make a point of calling this copolymer by its full name, yet IUPAC prefers but-3-enoic acid ethene). I first thought that place was a large fridge, made to refrigerate exothermic chemical reactions during some drug manufacturing process.
Shaggy: Hey Vel, do you remember that chemical smell when we arrived? It was coming from this place!
Shaggy was right, the place was tainted with that synthetic smell. I don't have enough sense of smell to tell an expensive wine from a grape juice, but the synthetic smell was like…
Daphne: It's nail polish remover! And… acetone… or solvent…no! More like… formaldehyde!
I trusted Daphne's sense of smell not only because it was exactly the smell I was feeling, but also because she knows how to tell an expensive wine from grape juice. For a moment, I thought the smell was coming from the wall covering, before suggesting this hypothesis I did some quick chemical reactions in my mind (to find out some volatile compound) and found no scientific basis for my theory, so I didnt say anything. As we walked through the hallway, the smell got stronger and there were no windows and no ventilation.
Fred: I think we should return, this smell might be toxic. Let´s interdict this place, then we come back with proper masks.
Once again Scooby-Doo proved he could understand our language: he bit Fred's shirt and pulled him to the end of the hallway, Shaggy followed them and so did the rest of us. We ended up in a large room full of big black boxes that looked like huge gift boxes. Scooby-Doo barked insanely at all parts of the room, especially at the black boxes, and that made Shaggy tell and hug me.
Shaggy: Like…gang! Is…this…what I'm thinking? Those boxes…are…are coffins?
