A/N: Thank you so much for your feedback on my little narrative experiment and I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! Was just an idea I hit upon and I felt it worked well for this stage of the story. So lots of little clues were scattered in the 'Present' timeline about what occured in the last day in China and those answers are now coming!
This chapter is a long one, I'm quite sure it's the longest one I've written so far but there was so much to pack in, I didn't think I could miss anything out! So set aside some time, get comfy, and enjoy!
Hong Kong – Present.
Daphne could tell just from Fred's part of the conversation that it had not gone well with Velma. If it was possible for it to be even more strained than the first phone call she had held with her, it seemed likely he had actually achieved that.
"She was angry?" she asked, though she knew it was a silly question, Velma's rage had radiated through the phone.
"I think she was hurt more than anything," Fred admitted with a heavy sigh. In all of the secrets and lying that had been going on recently, lying to each other was a new low.
"I didn't mean to deliberately lie to her about Ethan or give her hope we were coming straight home, it just felt like the right thing to do," Daphne reflected mournfully. Like Fred, she was worried about the damage to their friendship at a time when they were going to need each other like never before very soon.
"They'll come round," Fred said with false cheer, aware Daphne was becoming upset by the whole situation. He put his arm around her shoulder, hugging her tightly. "We're finally going home," he whispered contentedly into her ear.
It just didn't feel real to Daphne that they were finally going to be leaving China and flying back to the States. They hadn't even been here that long; less than a week in fact, but so much had happened in that short space of time. Without even counting yesterday's events, they had been relentlessly pursued, attacked and threatened. It was a LOT for them to try and come to terms with, and the worst thing was they knew it wasn't even close to being over yet.
Regardless, Daphne was looking forward to having some safe time to begin to reflect on it all on the long flight home. They had stumbled from one thing to the next without ever really being able to pause for thought. They had stumbled straight from last night's events into sleeping at the airport, for example. Last night still didn't even feel real, and she doubted it would do until they were safely back in Coolsville.
She stood restlessly with Fred, unable to stop herself from the habit of constantly looking around for danger. She found she suddenly had a lot of nervous energy as the prospect of actually 'escaping' became ever closer.
"Are you sure you have the tickets?" she asked Fred for the second time since the phone call had ended.
Fred couldn't even feel frustrated, and he once again took out the first class tickets that were now in their possession, he was still as disbelieving as Daphne that this was actually happening. He carefully checked the details on them again and again until he was sure they were definitely theirs. That they were able to escape the country at all was an absolute miracle, let alone to begin to come to terms with the fact they were going to be able to do it in such style. As recently as yesterday afternoon that seemed so far away.
Hong Kong – Yesterday afternoon.
After handing over the evidence to Detective Farshan, there was almost a temporary air of relief for Fred and Daphne. No longer were they in possession of some horrific but incriminating footage, so they definitely felt something of a weight lifted off their shoulders. But whilst they had physically unburdened themselves, they knew their actions were inviting a whole other kind of scrutiny upon themselves. They had not left as instructed. Not only that but they were actively still continuing to 'meddle'. They both knew it wouldn't be long before their defiant stance would be discovered, but they both intended to deal with this in very different ways.
Since leaving Farshan, Daphne had become very quiet as they attempted to move through Hong Kong as inconspicuously as possible. Fred had the hoodie pulled up tightly around his face, mostly to not attract attention to his bruised face. The cuts and scrapes from the car incident were healed, but more prominent now and would lead to unwanted attention as people would inevitably start to wonder if he was okay. It was bad enough for Fred that he couldn't move as freely as he wanted; still restricted by his pretty useless shoulder. In his head, he began to devise a plan to seek shelter, but instead, was massively caught off guard when Daphne finally spoke again.
They were walking through crowded streets in the centre of Hong Kong, making it harder to detect anyone who might be paying them any interest.
"I've been thinking about it Fred," she said turning to him with a guarded expression on her face. "Getting the evidence to Farshan was a huge relief, and let's hope they can do something with it. I got a vibe that he might not be entirely trustworthy though. So, I think it's about time we did our own detective work again, don't you think? I want to know what Ethan has really been doing the past two years."
She wore such a look of determination now much to Fred's instant discomfort. She was intent on getting herself caught up right into the cross hairs again! He tried his best to gently dissuade her.
"But Ethan's laptop is dead now, remember?" he argued as they continued to move down the bustling street together. "What other lead is there in Hong Kong, that we even know of?"
"Well," Daphne said. "There is one place we can try." Fred looked confused and apprehensive, but she pushed ahead anyway. "We didn't get chance to look around properly before..."
Fred immediately stopped dead, almost causing a pile up behind him. He grabbed Daphne's arm, steering her to the side so they were out of the way. "The apartment?!" he hissed, looking utterly aghast. "Daphne, that is a crazy idea!"
"You were the one who wanted us to stay Freddy," she pointed out, shrugging herself out of his grip. "If we're going to stay here, we might as well do something useful."
Fred tried his best to stay composed as he made his point to her. "Getting the video to the authorities was a calculated risk I was willing to take," he explained. "And I totally stand by that we shouldn't just scuttle straight off home like good threatened little victims, but I actually intended to lie low for a while. Not immediately put ourselves right into the middle of it all again!"
"You were absolutely right with what you said this morning though Fred!" Daphne's eyes were bright now. "We can't let them get away with it. I want to know what Ethan sacrificed. He had been living a lie for two years. I need to know what happened."
Fred had a horrible feeling he knew where this was heading, but tried to get her partially on side whilst still making his position very clear.
"I understand your need for answers, I truly do babe, but going back to the apartment is far too dangerous!" he pleaded for her to see sense. "I mean damn, we might as well just paint a neon sign on our backs saying, 'come and get us!'"
Daphne frowned at his strong resistance to her plan. "You refused to go to a hospital as you said they would be looking out for us there. I actually happen to think this is the last place they would think to look for us. Who would even go back to the scene of the crime?" she smiled up at him.
"Um, the killer?! In just about every scary movie we've ever watched ever?!" Fred was now utterly staggered by her sudden reckless abandon, and promptly wished he had now insisted on going home after all.
"Oh Freddy," she said dismissively. "That's just in a movie! In reality, no one would be expecting us to return to the very place where you were shot."
"Good job no one here knows you like I do then," Fred retorted with a sigh.
"I'm going Fred," she said, suddenly serious again. "You know that I'll go, with or without you. I can't just accept losing him like this, I've got to get some answers." She fixed him a piercing stare he knew very well.
There she is, he thought. My stubborn little spitfire.
Flaming red hair to match her fierce personality. Woe betide those who crossed her. She was formidable now in so many different ways. She had always been strong-willed, a fighter; they knew that from their ill-fated plan to abduct her all those years ago. But Fred had also seen a real change in her in the last few months,a harder edge to her than ever before. He knew what he could trace it back to; the night Mario Materazzi had held her captive and done goodness knows what to her. She had always refused to speak to any of them about the finer details of her ordeal, though she insisted he hadn't truly harmed her, and maybe he hadn't physically, but what about mentally? Fred also couldn't shake his nagging doubt about whether she was being truly honest. He remembered his nightmare on the plane then, and immediately shook his head to rid himself of those unwelcome images. He didn't want to think about that awful night again now. He couldn't think about that night again, it had haunted so many of his dreams as it was.
He looked at her now, his beautiful stubborn queen. Her hands on her hips, lips pursed, just daring him to disagree.
But they both knew he would go with her.
He would have to lie down his own life before he would allow her to attempt such a dangerous mission alone.
"Let's get going then," he simply said without emotion, taking her hand in a firm grasp once again. Fred Jones would always lead the way, even when he knew in his heart it was the wrong decision.
Hong Kong- Present.
"They're all here, safe in our name," he reassured her. "Forget about the other luxuries that comes with travelling First Class, I'm just glad we get to sit next to each other this time!"
Daphne forced a smile but remained on edge, she kept glancing around and Fred sighed.
"C'mon babe, you know we can't do that, they said not to look for them," he reminded her.
"I know, but it's just so hard knowing..."
"I know," Fred agreed. "Like you said though, we can't pretend everything is normal but that IS exactly what we've got to try and do. We can't draw any more attention to ourselves, and we CANNOT keep looking around. It puts everything at risk."
Being reminded of the danger they were still facing had Daphne quickly accepting reality. From the moment they changed clothes, they had a role to play now, and nervous and jumpy would just not cut it. They didn't want to look like they had just come off honeymoon either but had to strike something of a happy medium right now, anything else would rouse suspicion.
Agreeing to keep a low profile, they went to queue for check in. When they reached the front, the smiling assistant took their tickets and boarding passes with a complete air of professionalism as she tactfully avoided saying anything about the man's rough appearance.
She glanced at the boarding passes, then gave a small chuckle. "Oh sir, don't worry it's a common mistake as people don't realise they really are all done!"
Daphne and Fred stared blankly at the assistant, causing her to falter slightly. Still, it was a new system and many passengers were still getting to grips with it.
"As you already checked in your bags at our handy remote check in option at the train station earlier, that's you all done now. You can head straight on through to security," she smiled widely.
"Pardon? Remote check in?" Fred looked instantly alarmed. They had NOT done any remote check in and their bags, as far as they knew were still in the hotel.
The assistant looked a little worried by his obvious confusion and laughed nervously. "That's right, it's a little new but when you check your bags in, even though you're not here in the airport that's it, no need to queue here too. We've received your suitcases."
Fred looked violently ill by her revelation and was going to dispute it. "But we didn't..."
Daphne took one look at his pale and alarmed face, and knew he was in danger of drawing some very unwanted attention. If the assistant believed his reaction proved that he wasn't the one who checked in their bags after all, it would generate a massive security alert they really couldn't afford.
Painting a radiant smile on her face to mask her own concerns, she nudged him hard. "We didn't think that was truly possible! Wow, see I told you hun! That's it! Done and dusted. I can't wait for the States to follow suit, we love your innovation!" she gushed, looking to Fred and begging him for him to play along.
Fred's eyes held real worry but he forced himself to react accordingly.
"My gosh darling you're right, aren't you people just marvellous! What will you think of next?! Well, we won't hold up the line any longer, to security it is!" he declared with a silly, almost manic look on his face.
The assistant laughed along uncertainly, there was no doubt in her mind, the man was drunk. It was beyond her pay grade to intervene at this stage, she knew security would take care of him before he got into the lounge if they decided his state made him a flight risk.
Instead, she smiled brighter and handed back their tickets and documents. "Well, after security and immigration, our First Class lounge will be just up the escalator on the left hand side. Please enjoy your flight and thank you for flying with Cathay Pacific Airlines."
Daphne and Fred had kept the pasted smiles on their own faces for as long as they remained at the desk, but as soon as they moved away, worry clouded both of their expressions.
"It had to be them, right?" Daphne asked him in a hesitant whisper.
Hong Kong – Yesterday afternoon/early evening.
After Fred had reluctantly agreed to Daphne's plan, they decided to catch a cab that would take them half way towards Ethan's apartment again. Taking the subway was out of the question, and it was much too far to walk all the way there, so they needed some form of transport. Fred reasoned that a half way drop off was the safest method, as that way, even if the cabbie remembered his passengers and was asked where they were heading, the answer wouldn't be close enough to the apartment to raise suspicion that's where they were definitely going.
They still had almost an hour to walk and it was tiring, especially for Fred with his injuries. He stopped once to take some further painkillers for his head and shoulder. It was starting to rain now, and they had long lost the umbrella they bought. Not wanting to stop again, they ploughed on relentlessly instead, both of them getting significantly wet in the rain.
Only when they reached the markets by Ethans (that they had run through to escape the assassins last time), did they actually allow themselves to stop.
Always thinking of the practicalities, and knowing it was starting to get dark, Fred stopped at a kiosk to buy a couple of flash-lights. He then made a couple of further stops, filling their small bags with water, matches, some small snacks and spare chargers for their phones.
Such a little boy scout! Daphne thought, looking at him adoringly and found herself then briefly imagining what a cute little boy scout he undoubtedly would have been. He always led them on their mysteries so fearlessly now, he had really grown in to his role after a rocky start. Despite the fact that searching Ethan's apartment was her reckless plan, he once again led the way.
He was still dressed in the comfortable sweats that Mei Ling had given him last night, and Daphne was still in the same clothes that she had dressed in when they got up at the hotel just yesterday morning. It felt like a lifetime ago in all honesty. She desperately craved getting a hot shower, having being too stressed about Fred's condition to get one at Mei's. She pondered the possibility of doing so at Ethan's.
Supply run done, they passed through the markets with the crowds beginning to thin as the evening descended, and they moved closer to Ethan's apartment.
Stood outside the front of the smart building, Fred looked up towards where he knew Ethan's apartment was. It was all in darkness inside, but he could make out something fluttering in the rain, flapping incessantly on the balcony. He realised it was tape and beyond that, he could see the now shattered windows from where the assailants had shot their way inside.
"Place is definitely a crime scene," he confirmed to Daphne grimly, pointing out the visible crime scene tape. "We might not be able to get in," he warned.
"Well, we have to try," Daphne replied resolutely and he nodded his head in reluctant agreement.
Grateful to be out of the rain, they managed to walk into the apartment building unchallenged. While the police had undoubtedly been there, there was no one there now and it seemed the shooting had caused the neighbours to flee, or otherwise barricade themselves away in fear. There was no one going about their daily business.
Fred pulled upon the door to the stairwell and saw more evidence of crime scene markers. There were indentations and markings on the wall to show where the bullets had hit. He glanced upwards and saw the mazy staircase once again and immediately felt a wave of emotion hit him. Instead of the staircase being empty, he was suddenly transported back to that night as they had fled for their lives. He looked up and saw again the masked assassin lock eyes on him, only his eyes and mouth were visible. Fred saw the man lift the gun as he frantically urged Daphne to move faster down the staircase. He saw again the cruel smile on the man's face as he pulled the trigger. He remembered the pain as it rippled through his shoulder, as he instantly knew he had been shot and recalled the agony of that pain as he forced himself to move for Daphne's sake. They were both running for their lives.
Instead of climbing the staircase now, his eyes instead landed on a small, dried residue on the floor and he realised with shock it was almost certainly his own blood. He froze mid-step, breathing deeply, and Daphne's arms were instantly around him, holding him up as he visibly stumbled.
"Fred, are you OK? I'm sorry, I didn't think. We should have used the elevator," she said with concern in her eyes.
She turned to steer him back the way they had come in, but he stopped her, instead resuming his position in the lead. "No, it's OK, I had a bit of a flashback but I'm OK now, I promise, let's go."
He began the climb up with determination, more sure footed now and Daphne followed behind, ready to catch him if he faltered again, but they made it onto Ethan's floor without any further hesitation from Fred.
The corridor sounded quiet but they opened the lobby door cautiously to find more crime scene tape adorning the corridor, and finally at the end of it, across Ethan's open doorway.
They walked hesitantly towards his apartment and stood outside the open threshold.
Daphne made a move to duck under the tape, but Fred grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She thought he was going to panic about entering a live crime scene, but he handed her his backpack to hold open and rooted around for the small flash-light he had bought. "Me first," he whispered, placing the torch between his teeth and sliding under the tape as gracefully as his injured shoulder allowed him to. Daphne soon followed him into the fully dark apartment and they began moving around silently, guided only by the dim glare of the flash-lights. They were both very careful not to flash the light towards the outside balcony, where anyone on the ground would be able to see the apartment was suddenly lit up again.
They communicated with hand signals, feeling that was safer than talking, and Daphne pointed towards Ethan's bedroom to indicate that was where she was going to search. Fred gave her the thumbs up and continued to thumb through some documents he had just found under Ethan's coffee table.
Daphne moved to the bookshelf in Ethan's room, slowly going through his books, until her fingers settled on an envelope tucked between two large volumes. Inside the envelope, were a stack of photos, and though she didn't have time to study each one properly, she recognised they weren't exactly fluffy tourist snaps, and stuffed them carefully into her bag.
Lowering herself to the floor, she repeated Fred's flash-light in the mouth trick, and checked under Ethan's neat bed. Tucked into the far corner was a small shoe box sized box and she strained to reach it, just managing to get a tight enough grip on it to slide it toward her. Inside the box were obvious surveillance style photos of a man and various pieces of papers with notes and numbers scribbled on. She had just poured everything from it into her now bulging bag, feeling satisfied with her haul, when she heard Fred hissing her name urgently.
Hoping he had just found something, Daphne hurried back towards the living room.
Fred stood with his finger to his mouth and pointed urgently towards the open front door and her heart sank when she heard it. The sound of the lobby door squeaking open slowly and then closing just as lightly. It was followed by very light whispering that she had to strain her ears to hear but it was definitely present.
They both knew it was unlikely a resident would take such cautious steps to sneak around their building, and grimly Fred switched off his flash-light and Daphne quickly followed suit. They then heard the footsteps sneaking carefully along the corridor towards the apartment, and that's when Fred mouthed to her 'we have to get out of here.'
She nodded, her heart rate already accelerating with fear, and went to join him by the door. Fred had inched forward slowly and pressed himself against the side of the door frame. He poked his head out as much as he dared from the cover of the dark apartment. Instantly, his heart deflated and he cursed inside his head.
Though the corridor was quite long, and Ethan's apartment was at the very end of it; at the other end and blocking their escape to the stairwell, or indeed the elevator, was what most people would commonly be described as a nightmare, but was the kind of situation that had become all too real for them.
Slowly inching their own way across the corridor were two men dressed in what looked like some kind of robes. Instead of being able to see their faces, they had gruesome white skeleton-like masks on that covered their whole face.
Fred desperately tried not to panic in front of Daphne, but could see little way out of their dire situation. There was no other escape route from the apartment, as they were far too high to attempt any kind of daring descent from the balcony. He briefly considered hiding but knew that would only slow down their being discovered not prevent it. There was nowhere to go. He mournfully assessed the situation on the corridor and his heart sank further when he saw them getting closer. He looked around desperately by Ethan's apartment again and then he saw something that caused his eyes to light up and a crazy plan began to form. He put both hands on Daphne's face to calm her.
"Do you trust me?" he whispered and she nodded fearfully in response.
"Always."
He kissed her softly before taking her hand, continuing to whisper. "When I say go, I need you to run out and turn left OK? In 3...2...1...GO!"
Hong Kong – Present.
As they passed through security and immigration, at every step, Fred feared they would be stopped but they passed through each section without any intervention, although Fred did feel staff seemed to scrutinise him a little before letting him proceed.
Once they had made it through those final vital checks, they headed towards the First Class lounge to while away the last couple of hours they were to remain in China. They were disturbed by the fact someone had checked in their luggage but this was actually a good thing overall, especially for Fred. For all the worry about the identity of who had checked them in, his over riding emotion was just relief that the ring was once again safe.
The lounge was beautiful, more like someone's living room than a passenger rest stop, it was tranquil and quiet and the few other passengers there were keeping themselves to themselves, which was for the best.
They hadn't long taken possession of what looked like a very comfortable couch when Fred turned to her with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"You know, seems as though we're trying to not draw attention to ourselves, maybe we should go get some stuff from the gift shop? Buy some books or something to read while we wait. Anything to make us look more chilled and relaxed?" Fred suggested.
"Hmm," Daphne considered his idea. "Just this once, that's probably not a bad idea Freddy," she said, a tiny smirk forming on her lips. "It's certainly not the worst idea you've had since we've been here."
The barb she added was said in a playful and innocent enough tone but Fred knew she was going to carry a real, genuine grudge.
"You're really not going to let me forget about that are you?" Fred asked, knowing her response.
She replied instantly and with a deadly serious expression on her face now. She started to trail a sharp fingernail up his arm, starting from his scarred wrists. "Fred, you know I love you. But THAT was the single, worst, EXCRUCIATING couple of minutes of my entire life. And knowing my life like you do, you know how bold a statement that is to make, right?"
Fred nodded, unable to take his eyes off Daphne as she slid into his lap now. Planting a smile on her face, she leaned in very close to him, placing her hands lightly on his shoulders. She dipped her head to whisper in his ear.
"Know this Fred Jones," she instructed firmly, her hot breath tickling his ear, causing him to flush and then struggle to keep himself in check. In control Daphne was the best kind of Daphne, he would be lying if he didn't say he was aroused in this moment.
"It might not be today, it probably won't be tomorrow, but I WILL get my revenge on you." She said it with such unwavering menace, without humour that he felt a genuine thrill go up his spine. To emphasise her point further, instead of continuing to be gentle with his injured shoulder as she lifted herself back off him, she deliberately applied a tiny bit of pressure with her fingers. It wasn't enough to give him serious pain, but it was a shock that caused unnecessary discomfort and he actually whimpered, sucking back a gasp of pain while she smiled sweetly before standing. "How about we get those books now?"
The sensation of her fingers pressing hard on his shoulder still tingled, and he tried not to grimace and give her the satisfaction.
Ouch! I'm not sure I deserved THAT! He thought. Was what I made her do REALLY that bad?
Hong Kong – Yesterday evening.
When Fred said 'Go', they barrelled out of Ethan's apartment together, stunning the 'skeleton' men as they suddenly appeared on the corridor. Fred prayed the element of surprise would give them enough time to get to safety before the men got their guns out. There was just enough distance between the danger and themselves to give them a fighting chance of escaping so long as they were quick.
Despite urging her to turn left only, Daphne couldn't resist a curious glance to her right and let out a scream when she caught sight of the terrifying looking men. Fred though, wasted no time dragging her towards his planned escape as the startled men also mobilised themselves now.
"Hey! Stop!" one of the men shouted, and Daphne couldn't help but note the clear American accent as they started to pursue them.
Why aren't they shooting at us? She wondered as the men merely ran after them, but was of course, grateful they were not.
Fully focussing on just the 'left' now, she realised Fred's crazy plan as soon as she saw it and moaned in dismay.
"Freddy, no!"
Fred knew she wasn't going to like it but they were pretty much out of options now with the men closing in.
"Daphne we don't really have a choice right now! Think of all the garbage chutes Shaggy and Scooby have had to go down? It's not that bad."
He jerked his head around and saw them get closer, but like Daphne, had noticed they had no intention of going for a weapon.
Maybe they don't want to cause another disturbance at an active crime scene? He briefly contemplated before opening the chute hatch. The smell hit both of their nostrils instantly and he grimaced. "Look Daph, it's either a little bit of garbage, or they catch us. What do you prefer?"
Giving Fred a look of utter contempt, she prepared to climb in. "I'll get you back for this Fred Jones," she promised savagely before pinching her hand over her nostrils and disappearing inside.
The 'skeleton' men seemed surprised they were actually willing to use the garbage chute as an escape route, pausing in shock as the redhead disappeared, swiftly followed by the blond. Coming to their senses, they turned tail and rapidly began the descent back down the stairs again.
The journey in the garbage hatch for the pair was swift and mercifully short-lived, but the smell itself was unholy, causing both Fred and Daphne to gag repeatedly as they hurtled towards the bottom. Catching sight of the huge trash bags at the bottom that were going to cushion their fall, Daphne screamed as they then slid into the giant dumpster, one by one.
Thankfully for them, most of the bags were tightly sealed shut so most of the garbage itself didn't spill onto them, but oh my god, the smell. Daphne didn't think she was going to be able to forget that smell as long as she lived, and it was already beginning to cling to her clothes.
Fred's hoodie was slightly ripped now and had various remnants of 'things' attached to his clothing, but he was already on his feet and dragging himself out of the dumpster. He then reached a hand back in to help Daphne, who was still dry heaving at the smell.
"That," she seethed to him as he pulled her out, "was the single worst plan you have EVER come up with. And the bar was set pretty high on that, let's be honest!"
Fred helped her jump down and grinned at her. "Come on, it worked didn't it? And besides, the smell is not that bad really!"
"Fred, we smell like we've been swimming inside a sewer," she snapped irritably at him. She reached forward to knock something off his hoodie and he gently removed a stray banana peel that had unknowingly clung to her hair. "Eww!," she complained, repulsed again before her expression changed completely and she was looking at something beyond Fred's shoulder. She looked completely alarmed. "And uh, I don't think it DID work, look!"
She pointed in despair behind Fred and he snapped his head round to see the same 'skeleton' men, who had now just entered the back alley.
"Come out," one of them called out, but didn't use anything more forceful than words.
"Daph," Fred said to her quietly. "I'm pretty sure they're not armed. There's only two of them. We could fight them?"
Daphne immediately looked appalled. "Pretty sure?!"
"Like 90% sure, they would have shot at us now if they had a gun, I'm positive."
"Say you're right about that, but fight them?! Fred, you only have one good shoulder and was knocked out cold not long ago!"
"I can still fight," Fred said confidently. "And you can fight. There's a reason Velma dubbed you 'Buffy' when we first met, and you've only got stronger from there," he said affectionately, and with pride. "It's either fight or surrender."
Daphne didn't even take a further second to consider this. She shrugged off her already ruined purple jacket, letting it slide to the floor by the dumpster. "We fight."
Hong Kong – Present.
They bought books and sat passively together in the First Class lounge, willing the time to go quickly. They were both now incredibly anxious to leave China and get back to Coolsville. Velma's assertion to Fred that her and Shaggy had 'stuff to deal with' had them worried about how much exactly their friends were trying to handle, and with what level of support. There was also the fact that their entire visit here had been a disaster with some awful memories to look back on, they just wanted to be gone now.
Thankfully for them both, time did seem to be moving fast and it wasn't long before they were standing at the gates, ready to board.
When they did finally set foot aboard the aircraft, Daphne had to pinch herself a little that they were entering First Class. The friendly and attentive stewardesses greeted them enthusiastically and showed them to their seats. Daphne and Fred stared open-mouthed as the stewardess directed them to their own little 'booth' with a pair of leather reclining chairs, table and mini TV screen.
They both sunk luxuriously into the leather, marvelling in the absolute comfort that the seats offered.
"Please enjoy the flight," the stewardess beamed.
The plane began to fill up and Fred and Daphne were aware of other passengers around them, but they were ensconced in their own little bubble, they weren't noticeable at all. When it was finally time to take off, Daphne sank back against the generous headrest and closed her eyes. She felt Fred weave his fingers into hers and she turned to him, feeling a wave of emotion as the plane left the ground.
"Can you believe it?" she whispered. "We actually did it."
Fred too felt strangely tearful as Hong Kong started to disappear below them. "We did it," he repeated, a beleaguered smile starting to appear on his face.
Hong Kong – Yesterday evening.
Fred gave her a quick peck on the lips before they both braced themselves for battle.
"Hey!" Fred waved over to the men, with a cheeky grin. "If you want us so badly, come and get us!"
Undoubtedly, the men were surprised by their prey's spiky resolve, but still rushed forward intending to just grab their targets. Fred and Daphne however, were ready. They were ready to literally fight for their lives.
As one targeted Fred, and the other Daphne, she allowed the man to come close enough to try and grab her arm. As he did so, her hand locked on his wrist and she managed to bring him to the ground instead. On his knees now, Daphne used her full height advantage to kick him squarely in the stomach, which sent him sprawling backward in shock.
Fred meanwhile, had engaged in hand to hand combat with his opponent. He had blocked a couple of punches and was holding his own against the man, when the man got in a crushing blow to his stomach. Winded, Fred felt the pain but recovered quickly as they spiralled into a full on brawl, taking punches but also able to dish out plenty of his own.
After his initial shock at her strength and sheer willpower, Daphne's assailant was starting to have the upper hand and despite her fighting valiantly, Daphne was starting to tire.
Sensing this, after getting her half way to the ground again, the man suddenly grabbed her, his arms encircling her waist and pulled her up firmly. He was holding her in the same way Mario had grabbed her outside the museum, and for a couple of seconds she froze in shock, and allowed the man to passively carry her, holding her tightly to his chest.
Seeing Daphne grabbed, had Fred momentarily distracted, and his opponent took full advantage to deliver a crushing kick that sent him crashing to the ground.
"Daphne!" Fred screamed, seeing her lifted off the ground, for a second, he was paralysed with fear but quickly recovered to get back on his feet.
As the man attempted to haul her away, Fred's yell fully energised Daphne again and her spirit returned, she kicked out her legs, trying to loosen his hold on her. As they passed the tall dumpster, she suddenly braced both of her feet on the side of it and pushed back hard, sending her shoulder into her captor's face, forcing him to let her go. As he staggered around, holding his aching face, Daphne delivered a couple more kicks and he slumped to the ground.
Having seen Fred also getting the better of his man, while she was fighting to get free, Daphne felt victorious, and immediately turned around to shout gleefully to Fred.
"Did you see that Fred? I got him!"
But her joy was short-lived as she couldn't see Fred any more and was now aware of the van that had pulled up at the mouth of the alley some minutes ago while they were distracted fighting.
She immediately looked around frantically for Fred; seeing the man that Fred had fought, lying sprawled on the ground, gave her rise for cheer but it didn't last long.
"Fred!" she screamed, petrified now and suddenly she did see him, emerging from behind another dumpster. Her relief lasted mere nano seconds when she saw he wasn't alone.
A third 'skeleton' man had appeared at some point when they were distracted fighting the other two guys, and it was immediately clear this one was not messing about.
Fred had managed to fully get the better of his opponent, sending him to the ground without reply, but he had barely any time to savour his victory when he was suddenly viciously grabbed by the third man, his hand crushing tightly over Fred's mouth as he watched Daphne kick her opponent down.
Any hope of fighting this man too went out of the window the moment he heard the cocking of a trigger by his head and the simple warning – 'Don't.'
Dragged out in the open, a beefy arm wrapped around his neck and a gun held at his temple, Daphne was shattered the moment she saw Fred again. All her fighting instincts deserted her in an instant and she dropped to the ground, defeated.
"It's over, Red," the man holding Fred, calmly addressed her. "Get up and get in the van please."
Daphne nodded her understanding, her eyes filling with tears, as she meekly stood and walked to the van.
The man she had fought had recovered now, and he grabbed her arms, keeping her still. He reached into his pocket for a bandana which he tied over her eyes and then guided her into the van.
The man with the gun then dragged Fred over to the van, also tying a bandana as a blindfold, before placing him next to Daphne. With them sat next to each other, the men zip tied a hand each together before sliding the door closed abruptly.
Their abductors were anxious to be on their way, aware the loud disturbance in the alley would almost certainly have been witnessed.
Sitting together in their own darkness, Fred and Daphne were grateful to be still close to one another, and their tied hands clasped together tightly, despite being unable to see each other.
Fred was the first to speak, predictably blaming himself.
"I'm so sorry Daphne, I should never have been so arrogant to think we could win this."
Daphne stroked his thumb and across his knuckles gently. "Don't Fred, I made this choice too. I don't believe it was the wrong one. Getting justice for Ethan is all I care about now. I knew the risks of staying. Besides, it was my idea to go back to the apartment, remember? This is not on you."
"I realise now what Ethan would have wanted above anything and everything else," Fred hollowly replied. "To keep you safe. I've failed him, I've failed you."
Tears sprung again to Daphne's eyes and began to soak her blindfold, it destroyed her to hear him so shattered and defeated but they both knew this was it now. They had played with fire by staying despite the warning. Not only that, they had continued to poke their noses where they were firmly not wanted. This was the high price they now had to pay.
Present – Somewhere above the Pacific.
Daphne knew this was now the only time in the past few days, they could truly relax. They were safe for the next ten hours but relaxing was proving difficult. It wasn't easy to just forget everything that happened and as for yesterday, for their own safety, they weren't even allowed to talk about it! She actually hadn't even been able to ask Fred's thoughts on the whole episode yet. She looked across at him and saw him dozing. She smiled, he deserved the rest. She stood up slowly and stretched and decided to take a walk down the plane, she suddenly felt thirsty so headed towards the generous and spacious bar.
She pulled herself up onto the high stool, aware in doing so how much her legs still ached from the fight yesterday. She ordered herself the most decadent sounding cocktail as a treat, and sipped it at the bar.
She was in a world of her own, lost in her own thoughts and fears about what would happen next so she didn't notice him at first. Presently though, she clocked the young man staring at her from his business class seat. He had a drink in his hand as he sat with a companion she couldn't see from her position, and he cocked an eyebrow to her as he lifted his own glass up in a silent toast. Daphne tried to appear as casual as possible as she raised her glass in his direction in cheery acknowledgement of his gesture. He tried to smile in response but Daphne saw the flash of pain as he tried this simple gesture. It obviously wasn't so easy with the bruised, split lip and heavily marked cheekbone.
Hong Kong – Yesterday evening.
It didn't feel like they had travelled very far at all before the van stopped. The doors slid open and the zip tie connecting them was cut loose. Their hands were roughly wrenched apart as their captors firmly removed them from the van, dragging each out by their elbow. The man holding Daphne guided her somewhat carefully to make sure she didn't stumble but was not displaying any overt kindness either.
Fearing they may have been separated, she heard Fred desperately call out to her.
"Daphne?"
"I'm right here Fred," she replied trying to sound calm and reassuring.
"Cute," Daphne's captor commented with a chuckle, before adding 'chair' as a warning, as she was forced to awkwardly sit down without seeing what she was sitting in.
Feeling him then kneel in front of her, she sensed an opportunity, and sent her own knee crashing forward into what she thought was his face.
The indignant scream of pain signalled she was indeed correct and she felt a second person take over while he was obviously incapacitated.
She smiled smugly to herself as she felt her wrists be held down and secured with plastic zip ties to the arm of the chair. From the sound of his heavy breathing, she knew Fred was still right alongside her and this gave her some comfort. She heard the snap of further ties and realised they were doing likewise to Fred.
After a few minutes, and with their captors satisfied they were secured, footsteps shuffled away and a door closed. They remained blindfolded.
As soon as he was completely sure they had gone, Fred immediately tested the strength of his restraints, and let out a little yell of frustration when there was very little give in the bonds.
Daphne knew she had to try and keep his spirits high, despite her own fears. "Know how I know you're still here babe? You absolutely stink."
Fred gave a dry, throaty laugh, before resuming his loud and frantic efforts to free his wrists.
She tried to keep her voice steady as she called out to him, fearing he was about to start blaming himself again.
"Fred, it's okay. This was a choice we made together. We both knew the extraordinarily high risk we were exposing ourselves to by taking the action we did. And at least this way, there is a stronger chance of justice."
"We had the chance to get out, to leave with our lives intact! I should have taken you to the airport, the morning that we left Mei's."
"Please don't berate yourself Freddy. I'm at peace with the decision we made...Fred?"
Daphne could hear him manically now trying to free his wrist from the confines of the zip-locks, letting out another frustrated cry when they wouldn't budge.
"It's over Fred," Daphne said quietly. "We aren't getting out of this one."
It was a stark realisation for both of them. For all of their near death moments and the miraculous escapes, they both knew there could be no timely rescue this time. This was how it was going to end for them.
For Daphne, this realisation came with a level of quiet acceptance. For Fred however, it wasn't in his nature to just give up and he continued to fight to free his wrists from the restraints until blood ran freely down the chair from his wrists, with the restraints no looser than before he started. It was a sadly futile exercise.
And that realisation was simply devastating for Fred.
He began to breathe erratically, shallow at first, but then deep and gasping, and to Daphne's horror, she realised he was suffering a panic attack.
Back in the early days of their investigating, she had witnessed him have a panic attack a couple of times before, but on each occasion, she, or someone else, had been able to calm him. To hold him, to look him in the eye, slow his breathing and calm him again.
She thought about calling for help but quickly realised that if they were intending to kill them, they were very unlikely to care. She was completely robbed of the ability to physically calm him. She couldn't gently stroke his hair, she could provide no tactile comfort. She couldn't hold him, she couldn't even see him, her only asset she had left was her voice.
"Fred," she kept her voice soothing, masking her own panic for him. "Fred, it's okay. I'm right here. Just listen to my voice and breathe with me, slowly. Come on baby...be still, please be still." She heard the frantic shuffling slow down and knew he was desperately trying to do exactly that.
"That's it," she encouraged. "That's it Freddy, now breathe with me...slowly in...and slowly out again."
He exhaled noisily and after repeating the technique a few more times with him, she had got his breathing back under control and she breathed her own sigh of relief.
"We'll be okay, I love you," she whispered as they both heard the sound of someone coming to the door.
"I love you too Daphne," he replied but his voice was broken and hollow. Defeated. It tore Daphne's heart into a million pieces.
But when the door opened again, his spirit had returned and he immediately started pleading again.
"Please, whoever you are, please spare her. She was ready to leave, she took this seriously. I was the one who forced her to stay here in China! Let Daphne go. Please!"
The plea was met with silence at first before they heard a long, dramatic sigh from an American voice. "Permission to gag him Sir?"
"No, that won't be necessary," a new voice they hadn't heard before replied. He had a clipped English accent and spoke with measured authority and calmness. "Please leave us now."
They heard the sound of people leaving and then the door closed, leaving just the English man behind.
His footsteps echoed noisily on the tiled floor as he walked from behind their chairs to a place somewhere in front of them. There was the sound of a chair being dragged into place and Fred realised with dismay, the man had sat himself down for a chat.
"Buddy if you're going to give us a whole villain victory speech, please just spare us the tedium and skip straight to the end."
"You are arrogant to the bitter end Fred Jones. Tell me, how did you think you were going to win this? This is not one of your silly little mysteries."
Mentioning their mystery solving, put Fred further on edge, it further confirmed that their abduction was linked to Devon Blake. Regardless, he called the stranger's bluff.
"And how would you know about what we do?" he asked.
"Oh, I know more than you would even believe. I know you call yourselves Mystery Incorporated. I know your other members are Velma Dinkley and Shaggy Rogers. I know your mascot is a 'talking' Great Dane."
The statement turned Fred's stomach to ice but he couldn't resist reacting to that slight against Scooby Doo.
"He is far more than just a mascot!" Fred spat out.
"Yes, I suppose he is. That doesn't concern me right now. That should be the least of your worries. Your arrogance really is breath-taking. Anyone else would have scuttled off home but not you two. It's admirable really but regardless it is problematic. It's very problematic in fact. I'm not sure you really realise what you have got yourselves into. It's why I'm going to give you one final chance."
Daphne snapped to attention now after tuning out the verbal sparring between the two men.
"What final chance?" she asked with trepidation.
"To leave. To leave China. To never speak of this ever again. There's two plane tickets in your names to leave tomorrow morning. First class no less. It is a more than generous offer. There is just one major bit of pesky terms and conditions."
"Which is?" Fred asked testily.
"Everything that happened here. You mention to no one. What happened to your brother Daphne will remain a remarkable mystery forever. You never saw that video. Your trip was a failure. You will tell no one about this. Not Velma, not Shaggy. NO ONE. Obviously this is a big decision so I'll give you both a few minutes, we'll ask you both separately. You both have to agree. We're not just going to send one of you. Think carefully about this. This is your final chance to escape. I trust you will both come to the correct decision. You have 5 minutes."
Somewhere above the Pacific – Present.
After finishing her drink, Daphne headed back to her seat, to find Fred now sitting up watching TV. He took off his headphones and smiled at her.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah, I just went to get a drink at the bar."
"Yeah I know, I checked where you were as soon as I woke up and found you gone," he sheepishly admitted.
Given everything they had been through, it wasn't surprising.
"Are we ever going to be able to stop looking over our shoulders?" she asked with a sigh.
"Only when this is finally over," he replied grimly.
Daphne decided not to say anything about the 'interaction' at the bar. It was the proof at least, that they were telling the truth. They were on the flight too.
Hong Kong – Yesterday evening.
After the ultimatum, the English man left, leaving Fred and Daphne to reflect on what he had asked of them. She knew what her response was going to be, she hoped Fred would be similarly forthright.
"Daphne," he started. "You know what we have to do right? It shouldn't even be a debate at this stage."
"I know."
"So you'll do the right thing then?" Fred asked eagerly.
"Of course," she assured him. "It's not even in question."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
The man re-entered after exactly five minutes, and it seemed like he wasn't alone.
"Ladies first," he stated cheerfully, before turning to someone else. "Please remove Mr Jones from the room."
Fred tried to protest, but felt his chair tipped back with force and his feet were lifted off the floor, as someone literally dragged the chair out of the room.
Daphne gritted her teeth at the sound of Fred and the chair being forcibly dragged from the room, before the door closed with a swift bang.
"Well, do you have an answer for me?" the man asked pleasantly.
Daphne nodded her head and then uttered her one word reply.
The man did not react at all, only clapped his hands to indicate the others to come back in.
Fred was dragged backward on the chair this time, tilted behind the man pulling the chair. The man carefully set him back in place before turning to the girl. He reached under the side of her chair before delicately lifting the whole chair up over his head. The girl screamed in alarm at the sudden movement and Fred thrashed in his chair again, beyond frustrated he couldn't even see what they were doing.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
"Oh settle down Fred, Daphne is fine." He waited for the door to close again before addressing Fred. "So, same question to you, same offer, what will it be, Fred?"
Somewhere above the Pacific – Present.
Travelling in First Class, even with all the uncertainty hanging over them was obviously conducive to a more pleasant flight. Either that or exhaustion at the past few days exertions finally caught up with them both. After valiantly trying to stay awake watching the in flight 'entertainment' about a pair of brothers who had jump started the actual Apocalypse, they both gave in and drifted off into the most peaceful sleep, either had experienced in a long time. They fell asleep with Daphne resting her head on his shoulder and with his arm around her side securely. Even in sleep, Fred was not relinquishing in his duty to keep her safe and protected.
They weren't aware of the man Daphne had spotted, walking over and simply observing them with his companion. He stood thoughtfully, sipping his drink.
"They're stronger than even you thought possible," he stated to his companion.
"Yes, yes they are," the second man agreed. "They're going to need to be, with what's coming next," he warned.
The man nodded in agreement and they headed back to their own seats, leaving the sleeping couple to stir; Los Angeles was finally in sight.
Shortly before the official announcement about landing, Fred slowly came round, surprised that not only had he slept virtually the whole way, but unless he had forgotten them, it had not been peppered with nightmares either.
He tried to sit up without disrupting Daphne, aware they had fallen asleep in quite an awkward position, his neck felt especially sore. As soon as he adjusted his body though, she too awoke, her eyes fluttering open and smiling as they settled on him.
"We will shortly be landing in beautiful Los Angeles, 14.15 hours local time. Please take your seats. Thank you for flying with Cathay Pacific Airlines and we hope to see you again very soon."
Not in my lifetime! thought Daphne, and saw Fred was grinning stupidly from ear to ear now.
"We're back in the States!" he declared happily as they fastened their seatbelts for landing.
When they exited the plane a few minutes later and were setting foot on American soil again, Fred and Daphne felt weirdly emotional. They had been gone for such a long time and at one stage, it looked like it would be very doubtful that they would ever get to come home again but here they were. If there weren't so many passengers around, Fred thought he might actually get to his knees and kiss the ground itself.
They walked formally with everybody else from their flight through security, immigration and then luggage pick up. It really was their suitcases. After checking they hadn't been at all tampered with, they took them gratefully and made their way towards Arrivals. Various people ran forward to greet some of their fellow passengers, a mass of kissing and hugging and Fred and Daphne had to keep side-stepping them as they hurriedly headed for the exit and taxi rank. No-one was going to be here to greet them and that was fine.
Except that wasn't entirely the case. As they stepped past the final wave of people assembled by the barriers, they saw the dog first. On his hind legs, paws on the barrier, his tongue lolling out happily when he saw them.
Daphne and Fred paused in astonishment at the sight of Scooby Doo, and their eyes naturally travelled to the figures stood either side of them. Daphne felt her legs buckle but willed herself to keep moving to the barrier.
They stopped wheeling their cases and stood a few centimetres away just staring at their friends in confusion, who seemed similarly emotionless.
Unlike the joyful reunions taking place elsewhere in the airport, the two sets of friends merely stared at each other from a safe ditance, nobody wanting to make the move toward the other or even speak it seemed.
Finally, a gobsmacked Fred broke the unnatural silence, the first words spoken in person to each other for well over a week. "I thought you guys couldn't make it?"
"Well, we decided we couldn't have you arriving alone, you've travelled such a long way," Velma replied stiffly. Her arms resting firmly on the barrier.
"Thanks," Fred said in simple polite acknowledgement.
They continued to stare at one another awkwardly, Scooby Doo absolutely broken by the horrid, formal reunion. Shaggy had been silent until he too offered a small greeting, almost timidly. "Like, it's good to see you guys."
Velma kept up the stiff formality for a few more agonising seconds before she really took in their appearance properly. Daphne looked drained, her eyes hiding a sadness. Fred's face was horribly bruised. They both looked like they had lost weight. As Fred had approached, she had noted he moved awkwardly, obviously as a result of being shot, she had thought rationally and then shook her head. As a result of being shot. Your friend was actually SHOT.
Her best friends had been through hell and back and here they were just standing awkward as fuck right in front of them like strangers. Daphne's bottom lip wobbled uncontrollably and Velma knew she was on the verge of tears.
The cold dispiriting atmosphere was broken at the same moment. Unable to stand it any longer, Fred and Daphne suddenly rushed forward, and at the same time, Shaggy and Velma dropped the tense guard and their arms held open for a proper greeting. Daphne and Fred didn't need a second invitation.
The gang held onto each other tightly, Scooby Doo right in the middle, tears flush on everybody's faces, there was undoubtedly still a tension that hung over them all, lots of questions remained on both sides but now wasn't the time. Shaggy had one arm around each of the girls, Daphne one arm on each of the boy's backs, Fred holding Daphne and Velma and Velma holding Shaggy and Fred. They clutched each other so tightly, tears streaming down each of their faces that any passer-bys might worry whether everyone could breathe alright.
Finally they did pull apart, and everybody was smiling at each other now. Anyone looking on, would see an obviously joyous reunion, and while many might smile and then quickly move on from the group of young friends, a couple of people were watching with GREAT interest. They had kept a safe distance from Fred and Daphne as they left the plane but also kept them in full view. Now that they were all in Coolsville, things were about to get very interesting indeed.
Hong Kong – Last night.
After Fred and Daphne had both given their answers, Daphne was brought back into the room and her chair was once again set side by side with Fred.
A tension now hung in the air and the English man finally spoke.
"So, a very generous offer was presented to you both and you gave me your responses. They were exactly the same as I instructed, but unfortunately, your infernal stubbornness knows no bounds."
"I will never stop trying to find out what happened to my brother," Daphne boldly stated.
"And that goes for me too," Fred defiantly agreed. "He was my friend."
The man sighed loudly. "Your responses were disappointing but I cannot be too surprised. Every action you have taken here, your recklessness just FLOWS from each of your veins, it's remarkable that you're still alive even now. Your loyalty really is something to behold."
He paused as if he did really admire their principled stand before sounding jaded as he continued.
"But all actions have consequences, as I'm sure you are well aware. You turned down my final offer which I'm afraid gives us very little choice now. I am genuinely sorry it has come to this."
Fred felt his insides twist inside in fear, and that was only heightened when he heard a surprised yelp from Daphne.
"No, let go of me," she squealed.
"Let go of her you bastards!" he screamed in fury as he heard the sound of her restraints been cut free now.
He pulled at his own wrists frantically now, the plastic was cutting deep into his veins but he didn't care one jot.
"Freddy!" she screamed in alarm as she was dragged from the chair now.
"No!" He cried. "Please, don't do this!"
"I didn't want to have to do this," The man stated sounding genuinely sorry. "But your own actions have led to this. You give us no choice right now. Please escort Daphne to the white room," he said.
The instruction sent a chill through Fred, and a wave of panic crashed through him as he futilely tried to break free again, his tears also falling freely now. "Please!" he begged brokenly over again but the room had fallen silent now. He was all on his own. Completely broken-hearted.
I've failed her.
Daphne, meanwhile had been dragged from the room but rather than anyone making a move to hurt her, she was walked along briskly and then stopped outside a door.
As she heard a key turn in the lock and the door open, she was pushed forward slightly and the blindfold was suddenly untied from behind her head, and before she could react further, the door shut.
She blinked a few times to adjust to the sudden light, going from darkness to any light would be a tough adjustment but the white light in this room was stark and unforgiving.
She slowly moved away from the door and took in her surroundings. The room was completely white, the walls smooth. There wasn't an awful lot she could even see in there except a giant TV screen, that was switched off.
After a few minutes, the door suddenly opened and she shrank back in fear, backing into a corner as a man in the same robes as before walked in. This man, instead of wearing the same white skeletal masks of the one's who had abducted them, wore a golden one. It made him seem even more intimidating.
He walked towards her but made no move to come close to her.
"Please don't kill me," she begged, hating the pathetic whimper in her voice.
The man reached out his arms in a placating manner, he spoke with the same English accent they had heard in the other room but he was undeniably gentler this time.
"Daphne, I'm not going to hurt you," he stated carefully, causing her to recoil in confusion.
"But you told us, you had no choice now, why else would you drag me out of that room?"
The man could see the confusion in her face. "The defiant actions of yourself and Fred have undoubtedly led to this moment," he told her mysteriously. "But I haven't brought you here to kill you." He paused, letting that sink in. "I brought you here Daphne, because you do indeed give me no choice...but to reveal the truth," he declared, his hands reaching up to remove the mask.
DUN, DUN, DUN! We didn't quite get the full 24 hours in the end, those final hours that reveal all will be in the next chapter, sorry. It seemed the perfect place to leave it!