A/N: Okay, so I'm going to do something a little a bit different now and it might not work but I'm about to switch up the narrative significantly.
Up until now, we have pretty much seen Daphne and Fred's 'adventure' side by side with the time passing in America too and at the end of the previous chapter we finally had the two parts of the gang making contact with each other at last. We will see the outcome of that phone call eventually but what we're going to see first is a jump of 24 hours.
Basically, in these 24 hours, a LOT has to happen and rather then let it just unfold, I've decided to tease it out a little more so we will see the AFTERMATH of this day first and then slowly but surely the events that took place will be woven into the present. The reason for this is, there are some pretty seismic events to come and I thought it would be fun to slowly build up in this way with little glimpses and clues offered and then piece it all together, just like you too are Mystery Inc ;)
So, last time we saw Fred and Daphne, they were almost certainly going to enter into an argument, with Fred adamant they were staying put despite putting their lives at risk by doing so. Instead, we pick up exactly 24 hours on from this. The 'missing' day timeline will still be told chronologically and will all be in italics. So... "what the heck happened?" is going to be the question as you read...and all will slowly be revealed. I hope this isn't too confusing and be assured if it's hated, I will bin it, never to be repeated ever again ;)
Hong Kong – Present: 7.30 am
Fred was the first to wake up. He yawned and stretched, for a moment forgetting where he was, and almost rolled off the bank of airport seats he had been resting on. He jolted a little, his immediate reaction being to then look around for Daphne. He was relieved to find her curled up just behind him, on the opposite bank of seats.
He sat up and reached over the seats to wake her, startled when his clothing squelched loudly when he moved. His hair felt damp, straggly and untamed and when he swung himself fully around on the seat, an unmistakable stench then hit his nostrils, and he realised with some embarrassment that the smell was generally him, and almost certainly Daphne too.
It clung to his clothes, which were also damp and had tears in, and he realised that in addition to the sewage smell, he couldn't remember the last time when he actually had chance to shower. Normally neat and clean-shaven, when he touched his chin, he could also feel the harsher bristles of stubble, the tiny hairs clinging to his skin. It all contributed to his unkempt appearance.
"Daph," he shook her, wincing as he got closer to her, recognising the same smell emitting from her; her hair was flat and mussed and yesterday's make-up was smudged and barely visible on her face. "Daph, wake up," he insisted.
Daphne frowned in confusion at first, and then in repulsion as the smell immediately assaulted her senses, and Fred gently kissed her cheek. "I think the smell is probably even worse than we think," he murmured in her ear softly, and Daphne looked over his shoulder to see the passengers staring at the pair of them in disgust. Despite there being plenty of space around them; they were choosing to squeeze in to more densely occupied seating areas, anything to avoid the couple who looked like they had been dragged straight from a sewer.
"Oh god Fred, I'm so ashamed," she said, trying and failing with her fingers to untangle the knotted and unkempt mess that was her hair. She fumbled in her ruined jeans for a tissue, and the small compact mirror she always carried in her handbag. She opened the mirror, and quickly recoiled in horror at her appearance. "Jeepers, I look such a state!" she moaned, while frantically dabbing at her face to remove the remnants of make-up and look halfway presentable again.
"Don't sweat it Daphne, you'll always look beautiful to me," Fred said loyally.
"You're sweet Fred," Daphne sighed, standing up with a grimace now; god, her legs ached. She laid a hand on his good shoulder before swiftly removing it, feeling a sticky residue she didn't want to even think about. "But we do both actually smell like a toilet. Come on, we NEED to get a wash before boarding."
They gathered up their meagre belongings, surprised when they found a bag that didn't belong to either of them.
Immediately suspicious, Fred poked at the carrier bag with his foot, surprised when a dress, jeans, men's T-Shirt and two pairs of Converse spilled out.
"Someone's looking after us," Daphne commented, eagerly picking up the dress.
Fred eyed the clothing dubiously, surprised at how easily Daphne seemed to be accepting it.
"We're really not going to talk about what happened?" Fred asked her quietly, and Daphne's eyes instantly glazed over a little.
"We promised not to, remember?"
"But this is insane Daphne!" Fred exclaimed, grabbing her arm, "I can't believe that we're just going to pretend that everything is okay!"
Daphne looked down at his outstretched arm clutching hers, instantly noting the angry red marks around his wrist, a scarring that couldn't be so quickly forgotten or hidden. She calmly fingered the scar, the latest addition to Fred's souvenirs from China.
"It's pretty far from okay, let's face it," she said softly. "Things are never going to be the same again. In some ways I wish we had just got straight on a plane yesterday. Never done we what did, never found out the truth."
"Your intentions were good Daph, we could never have foreseen that things would turn out like...this."
Hong Kong, Yesterday 7.30 am
They faced each other in the alleyway, a little distance between them now, it reflected the distance in their thinking. Right now, they were as disconnected to each other as they had ever been.
Daphne gave a little snort of derision in response to Fred's statement. Her eyebrows were raised and her hands rested on her hips in the same way she always stood when she was annoyed about something. "Oh, I'm sorry Fred, there must be something wrong with my hearing because I thought you just said we aren't leaving?"
"I did," Fred nodded seriously.
"Right," Daphne nodded slowly. "In that case, I think you better call Mei Ling back immediately."
"Why?" Fred asked, looking genuinely puzzled.
"Why?! Because you're obviously suffering from concussion after all! You have to be if you think staying in Hong Kong is even an option for us after that note," Daphne exploded all of her anger at him now.
Fred angled his chin defiantly towards her, ready to stand his ground. "We're not running away this time Daphne. I'm tired of running in fact."
"It's not about running away, Fred!" Daphne turned on him in despair. Her hands beat gently on his chest as she desperately tried to make him see sense. "It's about staying alive! They made it clear what the consequences would be, they will KILL you."
The naked fear on Daphne's face broke Fred's heart inside, but he remained resolute in his belief.
"I don't care," he vowed, to her utter disbelief. "I don't care how much they threaten my life anyway."
"Well I care!" Daphne responded furiously. "I fucking care Fred! Why do you always have to play the hero? Doesn't witnessing what they did to Ethan make the threat even more convincing? Why do you always have to be so stubborn?!"
She looked him squarely in the face now,her anguish all too visible on her own.
"It's exactly because of what happened to Ethan, which is precisely why we shouldn't run. These animals MURDERED him in cold blood, and as if that wasn't enough, they then sent you the proof. They REVELLED in his death, taunting you with it, and then threw out a threat to kill ME to keep us in check...so that we'll back down? So they can get away with it? Sorry Daphne, but that cannot happen. I won't allow it to happen. We owe it to Ethan to finally nail this bastard once and for all." Fred spoke with true venom, causing Daphne's anger at his pigheaded attitude to waver a little, she knew Ethan's death would have hit him almost as hard as it hit her.
"I understand that, truly I do. But I CANNOT lose you too Fred," she said desperately, tears openly running down her cheek now.
"And you won't," Fred said, his hands clasping either side of her face now, he used his thumb to brush away her tears before speaking again. "Think about this Daphne. This mystery actually doesn't make sense! Think about all the opportunities they've actually had to hurt us. To kill me. Mei Ling was right; if they truly wanted me dead, they've had ample chance to make sure of it. But they didn't. I don't think they actually do want to kill us after all, in fact."
Daphne stared at him, feeling truly speechless for a moment while she processed what he was saying.
"That's a pretty bold gamble to make!," she eventually spluttered. "Up until now, maybe they've let you live; but ignoring this threat, it's so dangerous, it's so goddamn reckless!" She tried to turn away, unable to look at him.
It's so us Daphne," Fred said gently, grasping her shoulders now, forcing her to look straight at him. "It's what we do. We take risks, we ARE reckless. We never run from the danger. We run headlong into it. Always. We're not going to start running away now. That's what they want us to do, are you really going to let them win like this? What is it they always used to say to us - 'I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you meddling kids.' We can't suddenly let them get away with it now Daphne. We cannot let them get away with what they did to Ethan."
Hong Kong, Present.
Vengeance. She knew that was all that had been driving herself and Fred along this whole time. A desire to see justice done. She remembered her conflicted feelings as she had stood there in that alley. Fred's words were heartfelt and impassioned and they had certainly had an effect. Her fear for Fred's life had threatened to overcome all her other instincts, including the sizeable one that had her thirsting for revenge. She had known then without a doubt that staying would be the single most audacious decision they had ever made. Back then, she didn't even begin to comprehend the consequences such a bold action would bring. She knew now of course. But yesterday, there was such a breathtaking naiveity to both of their actions.
Despite Fred's incredibly strong bluster that the threat wasn't all that severe, she knew even he couldn't be sure. Couldn't be truly sure what reaction their defiance would provoke their enemy into making, and perhaps if they'd known, she would have dragged him kicking and screaming onto the plane herself. But she didn't. And as usual, emotion won the day, and was very quickly followed by an unexpected but welcome passion.
Hong Kong - Yesterday morning
Daphne stood in his arms, lost in thought as she wrestled with her conflicted emotions. Staying now in open defiance of the clear threat; they could be as good as signing their own death warrants.
But, Ethan had been stolen from her in the most unimaginably horrific of ways, had been executed at his own uncle's behest. A man who after darkening their lives so completely had inexplicably come back for more. More torture. More death. More suffering. Why should he get away with it? Why should he get away with murder? Why should they be cowed by his threats?
She realised if they left now, regardless of what happened later on in Coolsville, his death here could remain unsolved forever. She didn't want that, she couldn't bear that thought in fact. Losing him was painful enough, but never being able to seek justice against the ones who had taken him away?
Her head snapped up now and she looked Fred fiercely in the eye. He knew her decision had been made and she confirmed it now, typically defiant.
"You're absolutely right Freddy. We cannot let them get away with murdering Ethan. We need to stay to get justice."
Fred hugged her to him, stroking her hair, murmuring a promise into her ear. "I'll still keep you safe, I promise."
"And I'll still be here to keep you safe," she countered gently. "Remember you aren't invincible," she added, placing her hands around his neck and resting them lightly on his damaged shoulder to remind him.
Undoubtedly the close proximity was a factor to what happened next; they were virtually nose to nose now but there was also an element of fear for the unknown, they had just made a shocking vow of defiance that could have placed them into unparalleled levels of danger, like nothing they had ever faced before. They needed each other now like never before.
Fred looked at her for silent encouragement and then placed his hand on the back of Daphne's neck, drawing her into him. He kissed her greedily, deeply, an intoxicating lust that had taken over his whole body.
Daphne responded too with an urgency she hadn't felt in a long time, her hands moving from his shoulders to caress through his hair, pulling him even closer.
Fred responded eagerly to her desire, deepening the kiss and pushing her hard against the wall as their passion grew. Hands were groping everywhere now and they were closed off to everything around them. They just needed each other right now, an uncontrollable need and lust that had built like a fire between them. All of the pent up fears they had harvested while their lives had been threatened, it all came to the fore now in an intense, urgent and fiery need for each other. For those precious, magical moments, all there was; was each other.
Daphne smiled wistfully, remembering that moment, the passion in those few seconds, fearing their lives were in danger and not knowing exactly how much time they had left, would they ever reach that level of desire again?
Fred saw the smile tug at her lips. "What are you thinking about?"
"Yesterday," she replied, causing him to raise his eyebrows slightly.
"Oh yeah, which part?"
"The good part," she whispered, kissing his cheek and Fred instantly knew what she meant. It wasn't like there were too many good things about yesterday to want to relive.
"Oh, that. I enjoyed that part," he grinned.
"I know," Daphne said flirtatiously but instantly regretted it, catching hint of the awful smell again as soon as she moved. "Look," she sighed. "I know we can't pretend that everything is okay. Every time I stop and think about everything that has happened in the past 24 hours, my brain feels like its turning to mush. There will be time to reflect on everything but for now we need to focus on the here and now, and right now, that involves getting ourselves cleaned up!"
She snatched the dress and Converse from the carrier bag, thrusting the rest of the contents towards Fred, before turning on her heel and marching determinedly to the nearest restroom. She tried not to let it bother her as people visibly stepped away from her as she passed but it only got worse.
Several women actually held their hands to their face in disgust when she walked in and Daphne rolled her eyes at them in the mirror as she stood at the sink.
"Oh come on! It's not that bad really."
The rapid exit of the women and about turn of a lady and her young daughter about to enter, said otherwise. Daphne shrugged and turned the water on, immersing her dirty hands in the welcoming flow again and again, and soaping up until they looked clean again.
Like Fred, her wrists were sore and marked and bore the tell tale signs of restraint but there was no scarring on her part.
Next, she lathered up with soap and water again to scrub at her face, relishing in the feeling on her tired and worn skin. Stripping away her old make-up and freshening up her face again made her feel a hell of a lot better about everything that had happened, but what about the rest of her body? The only showers available were for incoming passengers. She caught a whiff of her own armpits and knew she had to do something drastic.
She glanced towards the door but as nobody had come in in the last five minutes, she guessed word had quickly got round to avoid the restroom while she was in there.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she took a deep breath and awkwardly peeled off her crusted jeans, boots and T-shirt until she was standing in just her underwear at the sink, she began to wash herself.
She had just about finished freshening herself up when the door swung open and a young girl stood there open-mouthed at the sight of the dishevelled redhead standing half naked at the sink, a foul smelling stench coming from the pile of clothes by her feet.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Daphne said, mortified. "I thought word had got out to avoid the restroom, and I guess I kind of took advantage and I know I shouldn't, but I had a really rough night last night and I just really needed to freshen up before our flight and..."
"Hey, it's okay," the girl said kindly, interrupting the rambling woman after she had got over her initial shock. "Rough night you say?"
"Oh like you wouldn't believe," Daphne said, hastily pulling on the clean dress that had been left in the lounge."I'll get out of your way now..." she said apologetically, trying to squeeze past the young girl.
"Hey, no rush," the girl replied in a friendly manner, staring at Daphne's bird nest hair. "In fact, let me help you..."
Before Daphne had chance to politely decline, the American girl had pulled open her cabin bag and was setting out a raft of items onto the sink counter. There were various lipsticks and mascaras, a round hairbrush and comb, and most desirably of all for Daphne, cans of deodorant and dry shampoo.
Daphne eyed the haul like it was the best Christmas gift ever, and the girl nodded her head towards it.
"Go ahead, I can't take half of his crap on board anyway because of restrictions. I was planning on dumping most of it in here anyway so, help yourself."
"Thank you SO much," Daphne said gratefully, grabbing the deodorant and spraying liberally all over. "You are an absolute guardian angel..."
"Jess," the girl said with a smile. "Here, let me help you with that hair," she suggested, shaking the dry shampoo can vigorously. "This stuff is an absolute godsend, no hair disaster this baby can't save."
Jess sprayed into Daphne's hair and Daphne slowly teased the hair free with the comb until she was satisfied it looked presentable again. Jess handed her a hair tie and Daphne gratefully swept her newly freshened and unknotted hair up into a tidy ponytail.
She grabbed the pile of clothing, wrinkling her nose at the pungent smell, but also taking a brief moment to mourn a once favourite pair of boots, before pushing them deep into the bin. Jess sprayed the deodorant over the top and throughout the rest room before tossing that in and closing the lid firmly.
"Thanks again," Daphne said, bending down to lace up the Converse. She made as if to leave but Jess handed her a lipstick, mascara and perfume.
"I insist, it's practically the sister code," she declared with another smile.
Daphne quickly applied a coat of mascara and lipstick, and sprayed the perfume decadently on her wrists, rubbing it behind her ears, before handing everything back to Jess and hugging her.
"You have been a lifesaver Jess, thank you."
"It's just a little human kindness. I recognise a damsel in distress when I see one," she joked. "Hey, I didn't get your name?" she said as they walked out together.
"It's Daphne," Daphne smiled, as she saw the confused look on Fred's face when he took in her more than very freshened up appearance.
"Safe travels Daphne, where you headed?"
"Home," Daphne replied wistfully, giving her a little wave as Jess took off in a different direction.
Hong Kong - Yesterday morning
The passion in the alleyway threatened to consume Fred and Daphne. Tongues wrestled for control, and hands found increasingly more daring holds as clothing loosened. They were completely caught up in one another now, groans of pleasure escaping their lips as they essentially devoured one another. They forgot their dire situation. They forgot they were groping in an alleyway in the rush hour in Hong Kong like a couple of inebriated teenagers in their first relationship.
Someone loudly clearing their throat, followed by a second person's wolf whistle were the cues which had them crashing back to reality.
At once, they sprang apart guiltily, to find to Daphne's intense shame, quite a little crowd had gathered open-mouthed at the top of the alley to watch their display.
A group of young boys sniggered behind their phones. A man in a business suit with his wife, who was shielding their two young daughters, had an expression of utter fury on his face. Face fully flushed now, Daphne discreetly adjusted her hair and part of her clothing without saying another word. Fred grabbed her hand and they walked swiftly towards the gawpers, as they had to pass them to get out. Daphne could feel the eyes of the onlookers boring into her, and she kept her eyes steadfastly glued to the ground as Fred dragged her past, unable to make eye contact. She thought they had at least escaped without comment, when the woman simply uttered the word 'shameful' loudly after them, her voice dripping with disapproval, and Daphne cringed into her shoes while they walked faster.
Hong Kong, Present
"Wow, Daphne, you look incredible," Fred marvelled as she came back from the restroom. "That's quite some transformation." He greeted her with a hug, inhaling her fresh fruity scent. "You smell amazing, do they sell all that stuff in the restrooms now?"
"No, I had something of a fairy godmother," she admitted. "She let me use a ton of her stuff."
"No way!" Fred exclaimed before his face soured a little. "It's so different for girls. In the men's, I had to beg someone not to call security on me. So convinced they were that I was some hobo, I barely got chance to get changed let alone freshen up properly."
She took a cautious inhale of him and forced herself to smile. "You do smell a little better."
"A little? Gee thanks Daph," he replied ruefully. "Man, I just wish we had been able to take our bags when we snuck back into the hotel...all my lovely fresh clothes just sitting there."
"You know we couldn't risk that, too much suspicion, we could only grab just the essentials." Daphne patted the small bag containing their travel documents, passports and money.
"Yeah, I know, I know. Grave danger and all that..."
Catching the sarcastic tone, Daphne turned to Fred imploringly. "I know this is crazy Fred, but this is our only option. I'm not sure that I understand everything yet either, but going home is got to be a good thing surely? We need Shaggy! We need Velma! If we are to have any chance of beating him, we need to do this together."
"Speaking of which, isn't it about time we called them again? And maybe you know, tell them the truth this time?"
He framed it as a question but Daphne caught the bitter tone to that last part, she had made a choice when they last spoke to Shaggy and Velma. She hadn't regretted it yet.
"Sure Fred, if you fancy telling them the truth this time, be my guest. Good luck."
Fred bristled at her aggressive tone but nevertheless, made the move to call them anyway. He hoped it would go better than their first attempt.
Hong Kong - Yesterday morning.
When they were far enough away, Fred turned to her and burst into uncontrollable laughter. Despite the shame and mortification, Daphne had felt at the time and very much still did, she laughed too. It was too long since she had heard that melodious laughter coming from him and she relished in it for a few seconds before playfully swatting his arm.
"Stop it Fred! That was mortifying!"
"God, did you see the way that woman was looking at us? Anyone would think we were actually having sex in the alley in front of her children," he grinned wolfishly at her.
"Well," Daphne looked up at him through her eyelashes. "It did get pretty heavy, let's be honest. If they hadn't alerted us, I'm not entirely sure where things could have headed..."
"Ah, this must be the 'our lives are in grave danger again' make-out session," he said charmingly, moving to kiss her neck again, causing her to tingle all over.
"Fred!" She reluctantly pulled away, turning her head away. "Be serious. What should we do now? We've moved too far away from the hotel to risk it again at this moment."
"Hmm you're right, we'll have to sneak back later."
"I think it's about time we checked in on Velma and Shaggy, don't you think?" Daphne suggested as their immediate next course of action. "Before we do anything else."
Fred was relieved by her suggestion and became excited at the prospect. "God you're right Daphne, it will be so good to hear from them again, though obviously I'm nervous at to what they might have found in Coolsville."
Daphne nodded thoughtfully, with everything that had happened in China, it had been easy to forget about the dreadful situation back home that was the catalyst for their trip in the first place.
"Let's just hope they're OK first before we have to worry about anything else," she declared.
Daphne dialled her best friend's number which she knew by heart and leaned back against the wall as she waited for her to pick up. With every unanswered ring, her imagination was running wild with all the worst case scenarios of what could have happened to them. Her eyes met Fred's sorrowfully as she shook her head 'no' at the lack of response.
Just when she was about to give up, the beautiful sound of a subtle click, indicated that the call had been received after all and she heard Velma's excited voice call her own name.
"Velma! Oh my gosh, you wouldn't believe how good it is just to hear your voice again," she told her, almost on the brink of tears. She felt Fred place his hand on her back comfortingly.
Both halves of Mystery Incorporated were eager to check in on each other's status and it was Velma who got in first.
"Are you guys OK?" she asked Daphne cautiously. Daphne knew they had been out of contact for a lot longer than planned, and Velma and Shaggy would almost certainly have the same concerns about their safety, that they carried about them. The thing to consider though was, how much should they tell them about what had happened. They didn't want to worry them too much knowing that there was not a lot that they could do from the other side of the world. She raised her eyebrows in silent question to Fred, who shrugged, leaving it up to her to decide how much to tell their friends.
"It's been a bit of a whirlwind Vel," she finally started. "I want you to know that we are fine and please don't freak out with what I'm about to say..."
She heard Velma move the phone away from her ear, and the sound of shuffling in the background. "Hang on Daph, I think Shaggy wants you on speaker."
Daphne decided to just come straight out with it, wincing as she heard herself declare it so matter of factly. "Velma, Fred got shot."
Velma was obviously in the process of putting Shaggy into the call too but gasped aloud, thinking she must have misheard her friend.
"Fred got what?!" she screamed and Daphne heard Shaggy's muffled outburst in the background too. "What the fuck!?"
Hearing the outraged shrieks of his friends, Fred took charge of the call now, taking it from Daphne's palm before she could protest.
"Guys, I'm fine," he tried to reassure them. "It was just a graze to the shoulder, it's really no biggie," he said, watching Daphne roll her eyes next to him at his false bravado again.
"No biggie?! Fred, I can't believe you got shot!" Shaggy exclaimed. "What the hell happened?"
"Listen Shag," Fred sighed. "I'm not gonna lie, it's been rough for Daph and I since we got here. We've been caught up in a few, er hairy moments. Some extremely dangerous people have been after us."
"Jesus Freddy! And you've been silent all this time? Please say you at least have someone helping you?"
"We've been kinda busy," Fred said a little defensively about the lack of contact, realising they had forgotten to call the night they landed, and hadn't had time to even breathe since. "But yeah, yeah we had some help, from an old friend actually."
Shaggy didn't get chance to question Fred further on what that cryptic comment meant as Velma's voice cut in again.
"Promise me you're both okay?" she pleaded. "And don't you try to bullshit me Fred Jones. Tell me how you really are."
I've missed that Velma Fred thought at how forthright she was, bullish and demanding the truth. He decided not to sugar coat it for them, the lump on the back of his head was beginning to throb again. He began to document their many woes for her.
"Okay Velma, here goes. I want you to know that we are both fine right now, so although this is going to scare you, know that we're both here together and we're doing good."
Velma felt incredibly nervous after that introduction he gave but urged him to carry on.
"We were pursued from pretty much the moment we got here. At first we thought we were just being paranoid but then...someone tried to push Daphne in front of a train," he announced solemnly, hearing both Shaggy and Velma gasp. He carried on not giving them time to react properly. "Then, someone tried to run our cab off the road...and then later that same day...that's when we were shot at...after investigating Ethan's apartment. I was shot in the shoulder. And um not long after that...I was knocked out, and almost kidnapped I guess," he added sheepishly.
"WHAT?!" Shaggy and Velma's disbelief was in unison now.
"Uh, yeah, they knocked me out and put me in their car but they must have changed their minds or whatever because they just dumped me and drove off."
"Fred, give Daph the phone now!" Velma tried to calmly instruct but it came across as a panicky demand.
Fred shrugged, and handed the phone to Daphne.
"I'm back," she told Velma.
"Daphne," she demanded. "What the actual hell?! Please tell me Fred is joking?"
Hearing Fred lay it all bare like that, Daphne realised they had endured actual hell over the last few days. It was the equivalent of the culmination of several dangerous moments in several mysteries all rolled into one. "He's not joking," Daphne confirmed. "That all happened."
She heard Velma suck in a sharp breath on the other end of the phone. "And you went through all that alone?!"
"Like Fred said, we had help from..."
"I don't care about 'Fred's old friend'!" Velma snapped. "What about us? Your actual friends? You should have called us the second something bad happened!"
"And what exactly would you have been able to do?" Daphne challenged, stung a little by the anger coming over the line but it wasn't unexpected, Shaggy and Velma were never going to just accept what had happened to them.
"I don't know Daph but we shouldn't only be hearing about this now. In all this, you've failed to talk about the reason why you went in the first place. Have you been able to find out what happened to Ethan?"
At this, Daphne bit her lip hard to stop the tears she was about to automatically release. She realised she couldn't actually say it out loud, couldn't confirm to her friends that he was in actual fact, dead. "We haven't actually. I'm pretty sure that's why what's happened to us has been happening, someone really doesn't want us to find out the truth about Ethan."
"It sure seems like it," Velma agreed with a sigh. "So you're coming home right?"
"Yeah, soon," Daphne lied, catching Fred's eye. "Just as soon as we can get a flight out, we're heading to the airport now actually."
"Good," Velma said, her chest heaving with relief. "I'm sorry you couldn't find Ethan but it sounds way too dangerous for you guys to be out there now."
"I know Velma. So we've said our piece, don't you think it's time to fill us in on all things Coolsville?" she asked, grateful to be able to flip things over to them. "Are you guys safe?"
"Pretty much," said Velma swiftly. "Things are bad here though Daph. When we got here the whole town was evacuating like it was some damn zombie apocalypse. It's awful. Devon's got the whole town on strings."
"Shit," Daphne exclaimed. "But you and Shaggy are safe? You found shelter?"
"Yeah, we also found some help from an old friend actually. He saved us from a tight spot."
"Aw that's good to hear, what have you managed to find out about the explosion?"
It was Velma's turn to feel upset and awkward. She had a choice to make, burden her friends with some news to make their already awful situation even worse or offer some kind of hope. The lie was out of her mouth before she even had chance to think about it.
"Not much. We haven't been able to find out anything about Stella or Will yet," she said, not able to see him, but knew the disapproving glare Shaggy was giving her right now.
"Huh, with the lack of luck Fred and I are having here, and you and Shaggy back home, maybe we've lost our touch as investigators?" Daphne lightly quipped.
Velma gave a nervous laugh, fully seeing Shaggy's disapproving expression now and gulped in alarm. "Aha, ah yeah, sure we'll all come good in the end, we always do. Listen Daph, we might have a lead so we gotta go, let us know when you get a flight yeh? See you soon."
Daphne blinked in disbelief at Velma ending the call so suddenly.
"Well, that was abrupt," Fred commented. "Why did you lie to them Daphne?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe I just didn't want to say it aloud. It makes it seem more real somehow, telling others," she reflected.
"I guess you're right, you told them we were coming straight home though, they'll figure that lie out pretty quickly!"
Daphne shrugged. "I had to give them something positive, we don't need Velma giving us a lecture to tell us about how reckless we are being in staying. We know that already. Besides, don't you think that they're hiding something too?"
"She did squirm and finish the call very abruptly after telling us not an awful lot about what's going on Coolsville," he considered. "It does worry me Daphne but we've got to focus on ourselves right now. I'm confident Shag and Velma can handle themselves with whatever is going down there."
Hong Kong, Present.
This time, there was no nervous wait for them to answer, Velma picked up instantly, and Fred could sense the cool hostility straight away.
"Oh my god Shaggy!" she spat out with sarcastic cheer in her voice. "Guess what! Fred and Daphne must have finally got a flight! It's a goddamn miracle!"
Fred sighed, "I know we deserve that Velma."
"Damn right you do Fred! I should have known your stubborn pride would have meant that you never really did have any intention of leaving China. Not when a mystery remained unsolved. Not even attempts to kill you could make Fred Jones just leave a mystery."
"It wasn't like that Velma, we did what we had to do."
"And that involved lying to Shaggy and I, did it?" Bitter, vindictive. Hurt. Fred hadn't heard Velma like this in forever and it cut to the bone.
"There was a reason for that, reasons for everything but we can't get into this now. You deserve full explanations and you'll get that, but not now, not like this. It will make a lot more sense when we get home..."
"Oh so you are coming home this time? Well, don't expect a welcoming committee, Shag and I have our own stuff to deal with here. Which we'll tell you about when you get here."
Stalemate. So much animosity between them. It had only been a few days since they separated but it felt like a lifetime. So much had happened since then, on both sides of the world it seemed. He just hoped their friendship wasn't damaged beyond repair.
"So, what time?"
He blinked at her question, he had been totally lost in his own thoughts for a second there. "What time?" he repeated stupidly. He could visualise the dramatic eye roll Velma was undoubtedly doing right now.
"The flight." She said in an exasperated tone. "What time are you landing?"
"We'll be there ah, around mid afternoon your time I think? We leave around 10 am. We're flying direct."
"Okay," Velma said curtly. "Well there's a curfew. Just so you know. So you might need help from someone to get back into Coolsville. See you soon," she added without any warmth whatsoever.
"It's not easy to do in a phone call is it?" Daphne said, noting he had been unable to 'tell them the truth' after all.
"It needs to be face to face," he reasoned. "It's a lot to drop into a single phone call."
"I don't disagree. So,what should we do now?"
Fred glanced at her, it had become a pertinent question over the past twenty four hours.
Hong Kong - Yesterday morning
After the phone call to Velma and Shaggy, Daphne had questioned Fred on his plan for what they were going to do next. If they were staying they needed to do something useful, luckily Fred was on the same wavelength.
"We will have to go back to the hotel for our documents at some point but getting this evidence to the authorities has got to be our priority now," he said referring to the USB in his pocket. "Then, no matter what happens to us, Ethan has a fighting chance of being avenged. You've got to hope there will be some big clues in the footage for them to eke out. We have to hope it's significant."
Daphne nodded silently, letting out a little breath. They knew the moment they handed the video over; it was painting an even bigger target on their backs than before. She knew they had to be careful how they did this.
They walked over to a busy part of a nearby park and Daphne took a seat on a bench while Fred kept a watchful eye on their surroundings. She retrieved the business card Detective Farshan had given them from her purse, and then dialled his number.
"This is Farshan."
"Mr Farshan, it's Daphne Blake. We need to meet." She listened to his predictable suggestion to come over to his office immediately and shook her head in frustration. "No, we can't Mr. Farshan," she told him politely but firmly. "This matter is too sensitive. Look, it's regarding a vital piece of evidence about Ethan. Could you please arrange to meet us? We'd really appreciate it."
She looked towards Fred a few feet away, still guarding her while she waited for Farshan to give an answer. He mouthed 'did he say yes?' and Daphne shrugged back at him.
After a slight pause, fortunately for them he agreed and she smiled in relief at Fred, nodding her head to show their plan was a go. They quickly settled on a public area nearby that was away from prying eyes. Though they believed they could trust the Detective, they weren't in a position where they could fully conform to that just yet and weren't willing to meet him somewhere isolated.
Fred and Daphne waited nervously in the bustling fish marketplace they had chosen and slipped into a fairly secluded table but somewhere they would still be able to create a scene if Farshan did turn on them.
A million other worries about being otherwise ambushed or followed, flew through Fred's head and he checked around them like a man possessed as they walked the short distance from the park to the fish market by the docks.
Presently, Farshan appeared, the unassuming Detective striding towards them with purpose. Glancing around him, Fred deduced he truly was alone and quietly beckoned him over to their table, his hood now pulled up around his face.
"Friends," Detective Farshan greeted them warmly. "I do not know what the need is for all this cloak and dagger stuff. I'm quite sure the office would have been perfectly safe."
"We don't know who we can trust," Fred admitted with a grimace and Farshan finally noticed the rough shape the boy was now in, since the last time he had seen them.
"Are you hurt?" he asked in concern. "What is going on?"
"I'll live," Fred replied gruffly and Daphne visibly shivered next to him.
"Mr Farshan, the people who killed Ethan, they've been pursuing us all over Hong Kong," she revealed in a low voice. "Last night, they attacked Fred and left him for dead but also left us something else."
Farshan barely had time to react to the astonishing news about the young couple being pursued and attacked, before the boy grimly produced a small bag from his pocket and pushed it across the table.
Hiding his surprise, Farshan was immediately professional and snapped on gloves before opening it, carefully sliding out a USB and small folded letter. He set the USB to one side and unfolded the letter, reading it with a furrowed brow.
"I see," he said with little emotion. "And you're sure you're okay, son?" he said to Fred.
"I'm fine. Our fingerprints will be on those," he said regretfully, "but hopefully you can still pull something from them."
His arm draped around Daphne and they both watched Farshan react to the USB, picking it up cautiously.
"And this contains?"
"All the proof you need that Ethan was definitely murdered," Daphne replied viciously, taking him aback somewhat.
It was the first time she had been able to say those words aloud and it immediately conjured up feelings of anger rather than grief. "And hopefully it gives you everything you need to nail the bastard that did this."
The young woman looked fierce now, determined. Farshan couldn't hide his surprise.
"You two are very brave. Thank you. I will get my team onto this straight away. You really do need to go home though," he instructed. "This is dangerous and far beyond you kids."
"Don't worry Mr Farshan," Fred declared breezily. "That's exactly what we're going to do." He stood up to shake Farshan's outstretched hand. "All we ask Mr Farshan is that you bring Ethan's killer to justice."
Mr Farshan knew he couldn't promise them this but nevertheless spoke with conviction in his reply. "I will do everything in my power, Mr Jones, Miss Blake. I bid you farewell, safe travels."
Daphne and Fred got up to leave and Mr Farshan also left the fish market, he followed them from a safe distance for a few minutes before it became clear they were not going to follow his advice at all, far from it. He sighed, reaching for his cell, his eyes still on the couple. "Hi, yes it's me, listen, we might have a very big problem..."
And that feels like a good place to conclude the first part of this narrative bending experiment. I hope it wasn't too confusing. There's a second part to come to conclude all the events of the missing 24 hours, then we will get back to the regular structure I promise! Do let me know what you think!