A/N: Hi! I'm making it my lockdown mission to get this finished so here we are again. This is a long chapter and probably the darkest one yet as we depict the moments Devon Blake finally went over the edge and the devastating consequences that came with this...

October 2010 – Two weeks before Halloween:

Devon Blake was sitting in his luxury headquarters in Sao Paolo going over his latest shipment details, when there was a knock at the smart office door.

"Come in!" he yelled hastily, he had been anticipating this latest update, he was feeling almost ready to put his plan into action and he felt positively giddy at the prospect.

"Sir?" one of his crew nervously stuck their head around the door and this timid attitude was getting increasingly irritating to Devon. Sure, he knew the mask and scarring made him appear imposing to his enemies, but was he really that intimidating to those who actually worked for him? The boy continued to stand on ceremony, waiting for an invitation, hugging a laptop to his chest apprehensively.

Oh for goodness sake! Devon internally bemoaned, he stared at this particular boy, trying to place him. Was he new? He wasn't entirely sure, he had so many people working for him these days, it was hard to keep track. This was all a far cry from his small but loyal band of acolytes he had kept by his side in Coolsville. Every week here however, there seemed to be a new drug runner foisted on him and was it his imagination or were they always getting younger too?

"Come to the desk," he commanded sharply and the boy slowly edged forward uncertainly. "Can I ask you something..." he didn't even try to recall the boy's name and waved his hand towards him in exasperation.

"G-Gabriel," the boy helpfully supplied with a nervous stutter.

Devon smiled encouragingly but on the inside was still irrationally infuriated by the kid's pathetically weak demeanour. "Gabriel, tell me, how long have you worked for me?"

Gabriel's face scrunched up in concentration as he thought about the question. " Around 6 months sir."

Christ, really?! I would have put money on you being a newbie! Devon's fake smile didn't waver. "And in all that time Gabriel, have I ever done anything to frighten you or leave you intimidated in any way?"

Gabriel swallowed hard and tried to look at the painting behind Devon's head; anything to avoid looking at the sinister half-masked American. Somehow, the fact he was smiling but only half of his mouth could be seen, made him even more creepy.

"No sir, not to me," he tried to say confidently. This part was at least true for Gabriel; as much as Devon unnerved him, he hadn't done anything to him personally. The same couldn't be said of some of his lesser fortunate friends however...

Devon's smile widened, and he jumped out of his chair so abruptly that Gabriel had to suppress a squeak of alarm as his boss crossed around the desk briskly, and put his arm on Gabriel's shoulder merrily.

"Thank you Gabriel! I just don't understand why so many of you seem to tiptoe around me. I didn't think I was that scary! Let me guess... it's the mask isn't it?" he dead-panned.

Gabriel tried desperately not to look at the disfigured flesh that Devon often covered up on his arm and hands but which was uncovered now. He didn't know the exact details of how he had got those horrific burns but some of the other 'runners' claimed it was the desire of gaining some kind of 'revenge' for what happened to him in America, this was what was now consuming him and leading him to take his eye off the ball.

It had been a deadly lapse of judgment and one that had dire consequences as they suffered unnecessary losses after a run in with a rival supplier; losses that barely figured in Devon's increasingly singular mindedness. All they had heard from their esteemed boss in the last few days instead was, 'Coolsville this and Coolsville that.' Today, young Gabriel had landed the short straw to provide Devon with the latest daily 'update' on the godforsaken town, and for the life of him he just couldn't fathom what the boss' game was here, it was incredibly disappointing.

Devon had arrived in Brazil to much fanfare and quickly built up an impressive empire and crew to match, yet recently he was losing his grip and everyone was concerned, some had even jumped ship already to rival gangs. It didn't seem like Devon had even noticed or cared. They carried on their work, with the risks Devon expected them to make, becoming even more and more precarious. This continued miserably for a few weeks until one of their braver boys, Diego, dramatically confronted him on his lack of care, furious at both the money, and the men they were suddenly losing. It was the last they were to see of him. Diego's body was subsequently found in the harbour two days later, any theories about Devon becoming a 'soft touch' were quickly quashed and then some.

After Diego's suspected death at the hands of Devon, everyone got on with their jobs quietly, even if they vehemently disagreed with it. It was an atmosphere of misery and fear, and suddenly Devon was back to baring his teeth again and cracking the whip viciously. This was illustrated most starkly when two boys made a small but costly mistake and Devon shot them both there and then in the warehouse and made others bury the bodies. Since that night, Gabriel and the others had tiptoed around Devon with absolute fear. It most certainly was not the mask. Despite all of this, Gabriel didn't know what possessed him but he was feeling brave all of a sudden and cleared his throat to speak up.

"Um sir, if I may, it's probably because you have suddenly got very er..." he made a cut throat gesture against his own neck, causing Devon to laugh loudly.

Of course! I almost forgot! Those idiots had it coming though, surely he can see that? Do your job, survive. Simple.

"That's it? What did you think I would do to disloyal or incompetent runners?" It did amuse Devon to think how much he had shied away from the 'messy bits' in Coolsville, but he had certainly made up for it in Brazil. He knew that it kept a healthy level of fear both amongst his own organisation and his rivals, knowing how merciless he was. Thinking about it though, it probably had been even more disproportionate of late. His temper was shorter, he had become much less forgiving, more brutal and ruthless. He knew why he was suddenly so distracted.

Gabriel looked like he wanted to cry so Devon rolled his eyes and squeezed the boy's shoulder hard before letting go. "Don't worry Gabriel, you have nothing to fear, continue to do your job and we shall have no problem. Now, PLEASE could I have that update already?"

Gabriel noted the impatient note so shakily set the laptop down on Devon's desk and brought up a webpage.

"Of course sir, you might be interested to know there's actually a video too this time."

Devon visibly brightened at this announcement as he settled himself back into his chair to watch, as Gabriel set up the video hesitantly. This was about the fifth or sixth 'update' Devon had demanded of this bizarre amateur crime fighting group, and Gabriel and the others were truly baffled as to why. However, these updates seemed to bring Devon the most joy these days, and after Diego's grisly demise, nobody dared question anything. Instead, Gabriel obligingly pressed 'play'.

"Oh, full house!" Devon grinned, exclaiming loudly as he read the small description that accompanied the video. Gabriel smiled back in response but had no idea what on earth Devon meant by that. He found himself watching the news clip again curiously, just who the heck were these Mystery Incorporated kids anyway and why did Devon care so bloody much?

The clip opened in front of an ordinary looking warehouse that was now adorned with crime scene tape and with several police personnel that could be seen mingling in the background. Most eye-catching was the man dressed in what looked suspiciously like a Native American costume and who could be seen being handcuffed and put into a patrol car. As the previously silent clip suddenly came to life with audio, it was filled with the sounds of dogs barking, and the camera swung around to show crate after crate of various yapping excited dogs. The footage was soon accompanied by an equally infectiously excited male narration.

"Coolsville, do we have a treat in store for you today! I can exclusively reveal that the lucrative dognapping ring - that has brought fear to the streets of our town and saw owners keeping their prized pooches indoors indefinitely – has now been dramatically smashed.

As you can see, the police are right now in the process of rescuing all the dogs and beginning the sure to be lengthy process of reuniting the dogs with their frantic owners. We are hearing there could be as many as fifty dogs of varying breeds. If you believe your dog might be here and you have already reported them stolen, you are being urged to remain patient and you will be contacted in due course.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I promised an exclusive and an exclusive is what you shall have! Just moments ago, the ringleader of this distressing dognapping caper was arrested and we can reveal it is none other than Buck Masters who you will recall was interviewed just three nights ago as the latest 'victim'.

Hot off the press to explain exactly what the heck has gone on here, I am absolutely thrilled to be able to interview Detectives Stella White and Will Barnum fresh from the scene, and if you haven't figured it out by now, I can confirm that, yes, once again their investigation was aided by Mystery Incorporated who have also agreed to stick around for a little chat and... there they are!"

"Pause it there!" Devon suddenly interrupted gruffly, leaning forward to get a better look at the four youngsters that had sheepishly just appeared on camera. "Well, well look at you smug lot now," he muttered darkly to himself, hatred suddenly overcoming what was visible of his face. Gabriel found himself staring at the group again curiously. Just how could such an innocent looking group of young people ignite such naked fury in a crime lord like Devon?

Frozen on the screen now were two boys and two girls. They looked like completely ordinary American youngsters to Gabriel's eyes. They were perhaps in their early twenties but no older. He observed Devon's hand curling up and thumping loudly on the desk. "Please continue," Devon then instructed harshly and Gabriel nervously pressed 'play' again.

"Fred, I gotta ask you, as the leader of 'Mystery Incorporated' can you describe what it feels like to capture this mysterious "Witch Doctor" figure and bring an end to the latest terror that has plagued Coolsville once again?"

Gabriel quietly observed Devon digging his nails ferociously into the table, as soon as the blond on camera spoke calmly and modestly all the while with an arm around the pretty redhead's waist. He could hear Devon breathing hard as he watched the screen rigidly as the interview played out.

"Bringing the witch doctor to justice was so important to us personally, this particular crime wave has brought so much devastation in such a short amount of time, that we were absolutely determined to uncover the truth."

"As usual Fred, I'm sure this capture was anything but straight forward, right?"

From the way the blond smiled at the unseen interviewer and the relaxed manner he was answering the questions, Gabriel got the distinct feeling that the reporter and 'Fred' knew each other personally.

"That's right Ethan, this particular mystery needed some very careful planning including a risky decoy strategy that happily paid off for us but wasn't without dangers."

"Yes, Shaggy I understand you offered your beloved dog Scooby Doo to act as a decoy to get a handle on the base of this operation, that must have been terrifying?"

The tallest of the group, swallowed nervously, clearly uncomfortable with being on camera and nodded. "Losing Scooby, even though it was part of the plan was so hard. I was so relieved to get him back and even more so that it worked out and we were able to locate all of the other missing dogs too."

"Girls," the interviewer said, and the camera angle switched obligingly to zoom in closer on the attractive female members of the quartet. "My understanding is that this case had particularly dangerous moments for the two of you?"

The girl with dark hair and glasses seemed to visibly shiver and did not seem to appreciate being reminded of something. "All of our cases carry a certain level of danger and it's certainly something each of us have faced, but yes, this time Daphne and I did find ourselves at the mercy of our assailants at one point. We got very lucky indeed."

The interviewer did not press this point further and Gabriel got the sense he was probably nodding in sympathy with the girls.

Devon seemed to find amusement in this and snorted loudly. "Well I guess it makes a change for Jones not to be the damsel," he chuckled to himself.

The redhead finally opened her mouth to speak and Gabriel saw Devon's whole demeanour shift instantly, he no longer looked as murderous as when the other three were speaking, instead he was just fully focussed on her. Gabriel had to admit she certainly had a captivating nature about herself. As she spoke Gabriel noticed the little cut above her lip and the scratches on her cheek for the first time.

"Both myself and Velma are fine, but that's not what's important right now. We're just beyond grateful to have captured Buck and ended his heart-breaking scheme, recovering our dog and many others in the process."

She looked to the blond for reassurance who very subtly and gently squeezed her shoulder before looking into the camera with an earnest expression on his face.

"We have to be honest that this case has hit a little harder than some of our other more recent ones. Dognapping is such a distressing crime and we were determined to reunite the dogs with their owners as quickly as possible. After all, Scooby Doo is a dog and we love him very much."

The camera then panned down quickly to the Great Dane sitting proudly at their feet, before flashing back up to the quartet.

"Heartfelt thanks once again 'Mystery Incorporated,' and I'm sure many of you at home will join in with that sentiment. Thank you guys. Before we end this live blog, we promised you a quick word with the Detectives themselves. Let's go catch up with them now." The camera jerked as the reporter and his assistant jogged over to grab the attention of a man and a woman before steadily focussing on the pair. "Detectives, you must be absolutely thrilled to bring an end to this dreadful dognapping business?"

The screen was now filled with an embarrassed looking male detective in his late thirties or early forties and a softer looking younger brunette. "Any criminal apprehended is a huge victory but especially one that has brought so much misery to so many, it brings great satisfaction," the man said curtly, clearly not at all thrilled to be interviewed.

"DS White, could you perhaps put into words what the support and skilled assistance of 'Mystery Incorporated' brings to helping restore justice to Coolsville after such a rough year?"

DS White's face lit up with a swelling of pride and gratitude that she conveyed in her subsequent speech. "Absolutely, DS Barnum, myself, and everyone in Coolsville PD cannot even begin to adequately express how grateful we are for their support. Mystery Incorporated have brought light and hope to a community that was devastated by the consequences of an ugly drugs war and the horrendous crimes of a certain Devon Blake last year, that unfortunately sparked a tsunami of copycat criminals."

Gabriel's head snapped up to stare at Devon in shock, who didn't even flinch. Gabriel had never bothered to play the entire boring clip all the way through to the Detective's interview so had never caught that comment before. Things might just be beginning to make a bit of sense now! he thought.

Detective White continued to speak into the camera sincerely. "I'm sure all of Coolsville will join me in the sentiment to thank our friends of Mystery Incorporated - Fred, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma and Scooby. Coolsville would be a much darker place without them and I cannot imagine the town without them. Keep fighting the good fight! And to anyone out there thinking of jumping into the void left by our Witch Doctor friend here, I will warn you now, you will not succeed so don't waste your time. Evil will never win in Coolsville."

"Amen to that Detective," the young reporter grinned, finally appearing on screen himself, "thank you for tuning into this exclusive live blog, I've been Ethan Dillon for the Coolsville Chronicle."

"Not for very much fucking longer you will be!" Devon seethed angrily at his first proper glimpse of his very much alive nephew, slamming the lid down on the laptop and dropping it to the floor with a sudden furious crunch that made Gabriel jump about a metre into the air.

"Thank you Gabriel, now get out!" Devon raged and Gabriel didn't need to be told twice, quickly scrambling out of the office whilst an emotional Devon took stock of what he had just seen.

Over the last six months, he had read plenty of reports about the gang's exploits but until now he hadn't actually seen their faces again and wasn't prepared for the sheer level of rage it brought him. The whole thing still seemed unbelievable to him but it was true. The three of them had left behind their criminal pasts to team up with his wannabe crime fighter niece and nephew and suddenly assist the police, who undoubtedly had no idea about some of their little heroes' dodgy backgrounds.

Seeing Fred Jones on screen in particular - looking so smug and happy - had immediately ignited a fury within him. That kid should be dead! That he had survived the deadly grain trap was a miracle within itself but the fact he escaped unscathed from the subsequent fire, whilst he himself was left looking like this, conjured up feelings of such unimaginable abhorrence. He couldn't wait to wipe that smug smile right off his face.

Also provoking unbridled vexation of the 'walking dead' variety was Ethan. Seen only briefly on screen at the end, Devon knew that was the moment he had truly lost it. Of all the unbelievable ways his perfect scheme had imploded so spectacularly on that night, Ethan still being alive was undoubtedly the crowning lowlight. To this day for Devon, it still defied all belief and logic. Once Daphne had fled after the bizarre kidnapping episode, targeting Ethan had been a no-brainer of a decision for Devon. He knew his nephew would either prove useful in immediately giving up Daphne's location or as a valuable hostage to lure her to him. He was however never supposed to survive this thing one way or another, and even though it hadn't exactly gone to plan, there was still no doubt dearest Ethan should be long dead.

Devon had also quickly clocked Daphne's obvious affection for the ringleader Fred, and had decided to get his revenge for the blond's attempt to renege on their deal whilst also smartly doubling down on his insurance policy. When the boys made their ridiculous bid for freedom together, he had already come to a stark decision; he now only needed one of them for his majestically planned grain trap 'finale'. He hadn't actually decided which at that point, he knew either would achieve the goal of hurting Daphne, but Rick vindictively stabbing Ethan in the stomach hastened his decision. Ethan was undoubtedly already a goner one way or another now, it became most prudent instead to secure Fred. He had done exactly that and then gave Cain the simple job of finishing Ethan off.

Every time Devon thought of Cain's betrayal, his insides twisted furiously. Cain for whatever reason had let him go. It was the single moment that he knew had turned the tide firmly against him. Ethan survived. More than that, Ethan thrived. Though it was ultimately Cain's failure that was the catalyst for the turnaround, Cain was dead now anyway so instead Devon poured all his scorn and hatred into Ethan. Ethan, who despite the beating and significant blood loss, had also recovered well enough to appear grinning and healthy on camera. He clearly hadn't suffered at all.

Not like Devon.

Well he would suffer now, of that he would personally make sure of. Fred Jones too. They both deserved to die horribly. Seeing the likes of Shaggy, Velma and the two detectives, initially he had felt much more indifferent towards, but he soon realised they had all very much played their part too. Velma with her little shipping manifest 'switcheroo' and epic drugs bluffing. Shaggy and the dog actually managing to rescue Fred from the silo. The Detective duo's massive assist to save everyone (courtesy of Ethan of course). Yes each and every one of them were equally culpable. Each and every one had happily played a part in his downfall. Therefore none would be spared his impending vengeance now.

Of course, the most jolting thing of all for Devon was seeing her again. He wasn't at all prepared for the tide of conflicting emotions that washed over him after seeing Daphne again. Why hadn't he felt the same level of animosity from seeing her as he did from seeing Jones or Ethan? Surely it was she who should provoke the strongest feelings of anger and resentment from him? She had provoked this whole drama with her incessant snooping and yet try as he might, he just couldn't find it in his heart to truly hate her in the same way as the others.

Especially now; she had blossomed from a teenager into a confident and beautiful young woman and her likeness to Eve was even more obvious. He felt such confliction, it was so painful for her to remind him of Eve, of everything he had lost. A heart-rending reminder every day that it wasn't him who Eve had truly loved. Daphne was instead a walking, talking lasting legacy of Matt, the brother he so despised. He should have hated her from the day he found out her true paternity, and sure his level of love and utter devotion waned when he found out but could he actually go ahead and kill her? The 'decoy vampire' plan he had put together was so close to being put in action right now but he knew there was still time for last minute tweaks.

He quickly grabbed his phone to contact his little follower, some putz he had recruited online (from the next town over from Coolsville) called Casey Costello. Casey, a budding young criminal, who hated the world was very easy to manipulate and more than willing and eager to carry out his staged mystery plan. When Casey had revealed in his angry rants about his father, that his dad actually owned a small shipping business, Devon had had to stop himself from jumping up and down and rubbing his hands in glee at how damn perfect this set up was.

Casey was a dangerously dark soul and was already spitefully using his hated dad's shipyard to stash drugs, he had barely batted an eyelid when Devon suggested using a Halloween costume with the specific aim of this luring in some private investigators. He DID hesitate when Devon unveiled his plan that he actually wanted them dead and Devon had to give him the whole story.

Rather than this putting Casey off, it only seemed to ignite his excitement as he became proud of the fact such a notorious and deadly criminal had recruited him. The kid had anger issues by the truckload and it seemed was more than willing and able to become a killer. Last week, he had gleefully taken receipt of Devon's original costume, and he knew Casey was gearing up for his first attack. Casey seemed more than enthusiastic about being given the job to kill and had banded together his own assortment of disaffected youth; it seemed like the plan was a go.

Of course, Devon would have loved nothing more than to see their demise at his own hand but it was just too risky. He might well succeed in taking them out but he would almost certainly get caught too. He was content to get his revenge on them before returning to unleash his vengeance on Coolsville itself when they were sure to be still reeling from losing their 'protectors'. Devon was fully committed to the plan in every way except one, he knew he still needed to buy himself time on that, and made one quick rash revision to the plan with Casey.

"Are you almost ready to go?" He asked urgently. "I have one final adjustment for when they eventually get involved. It's important. Do what you must to the others but the redhead? She's mine. I need you to procure her for me. Do you understand that. She is to be unharmed."

"Sure boss whatever you say," Casey replied cheerfully. "Gosh, I'm so excited!"

"Yes, yes, it's truly 'exciting'," Devon replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the kid's youthful exuberance. He hoped he hadn't made a mistake selecting him and that he did have the sufficient mettle for the job ahead. There were a million other ways he could fuck with them but he knew this would mess with their heads the most. Even so he didn't have complete faith in the kid's ability to pull this off and so it came as little surprise then when it did fall apart.

That night in Oakland.

The kids took the bait of the vampire attacks as planned but cracks in the plan immediately began to form when Ethan was a 'no show' in Oakland.

That news instantly enraged Devon and threatened to derail his plans altogether as he angrily cursed his nephew's absence.

"Well where is he?!" he screamed down the phone to the hapless young Casey Costello, secretly already bitterly regretting this plan.

"How the hell am I supposed to know," the young teen replied dismissively. "I got the others here didn't I?"

"You were supposed to get all of them! I gave you everything you needed! You can expect a cut on your payment for this!" Devon seethed.

"Fine," Casey responded uninterested and Devon wished he would show some kind of fury and spirit. He had seemed so into the plan in the beginning and Devon had raised hopes of something of an apprentice in the making but this was quickly being eroded by the kid's laissez faire attitude.

His mood wasn't improved when Casey's next report was that the whole 'gang' were no longer present by the time Casey's 'team' had belatedly arrived.

Idiots. How could I ever think I could trust these brats?! At that point Devon was ready to press 'abort' on the whole wretched plan but then Casey had raised his spirits somewhat when he called back a short time later.

"It's her," he confirmed. "We have Daphne Blake and Fred Jones trapped right now. Permission to proceed as planned sir?"

A delicious thrill of excitement ran through Devon when he received that call. Finally.

"Yes," he grinned. "You bring her to me unharmed and you will get your reward. I shall give you further instructions once you've safely left Oakland."

"And him?" came the urgent voice of the young drug runner again. "What do you want us to do with him?"

Devon allowed himself to think about all the trouble that Fred Jones had caused him last year, how he had got away from it all barely unscathed while he was scarred for life. How smugly he had appeared on his TV screen as he led his little 'mystery' gang in an act of pious redemption. He didn't even take a second to reconsider. "He dies," he confirmed firmly. "I want you to twist a knife in his gut slowly. Do you think that you can do that for me Casey?"

There was a slight pause before Casey replied a little breathlessly. "Of course. Consider it done."

Devon waited an hour and nothing happened. An hour soon crossed into two and there was an inevitability about the situation now. He couldn't even feel angry about the kid's failure. It was a terrible plan in all fairness, he would have been much better taking his own chances.

The next few days brought confirmation that Casey and his team had all been arrested. It looked like a full on rescue special from the 'Dynamic Detective duo' from all accounts and once again the kids were unscathed. Or were they? Devon couldn't even feel disappointment or anger at the failure of his plan, as news soon reached him of a very interesting development regardless.

Whilst Fred Jones had escaped the adventure relatively physically unscathed, the same perhaps could not be said for his mental psyche. Word on the street was that Coolsville's troublemakers had been given something of a reprieve as Mystery Inc had been placed on temporary hiatus 'because the leader had checked himself into rehab.'

After the collapse of the Costello plan, Devon had already made tentative moves to return to the USA, the news of Fred's 'unfortunate' setback escalated these plans tenfold as Devon plotted a more ambitious return. He made a phone call to a trusted associate, his mood improving instantly as he gave the instruction. "Get me all the way back into Coolsville. I'm ready."

February 2011 – After Ethan departs for Hong Kong and the gang for London:

"So sir, on reflection, how do you think things are going?"

Devon tried not to be irritated by the question, it was fair of his team to ask what was going on. Once again, things had not exactly gone to plan for the last couple of months. Devon never made it back into Coolsville. Developments meant that he was in serious danger of losing grip of things altogether and despite his desperate thirst for revenge, he reluctantly had to scale things back. That didn't mean taking his eye off the ball altogether. He orchestrated a cheeky trojan horse trick to try and remove Jones from the equation but never had any real faith that it would succeed. Over the last few months, one thing had become increasingly apparent to him – how damn good at their jobs Stella White and Will Barnum were. It caused him to significantly alter his focus.

Even before she smashed the Oakland affair, Devon had heard of nothing but strong leadership and competence from Stella White. She was fiery and intelligent and her partner seemed equally impressive. When he heard the pair had visited Casey Costello in prison just one week later, he feared the kid had sang like a canary but was assured Casey had given up nothing significant, other than his involvement. (Casey knew little else anyway – a mere patsy in this game)

The interesting piece to the puzzle was Ethan. He had seemed to work closely with Stella from what Devon could tell, but abruptly accepted a job in Hong Kong, a startling coincidence given that some of Devon's newest deals were with China and specifically in Hong Kong. He pondered the possibility of Ethan, the intrepid journalist having discovered this, and decided it was wholly unlikely, even so, it didn't hurt to be cautious and he made plans to keep tabs on his nephew's new venture.

Most intriguing of all was the direction the amateur ghostbusters had taken. By all accounts they were just going on a vacation after they had reunited with Fred coming out of rehab, but it had been over a month now, and according to his well placed sources in Coolsville,they had yet to return home.

Unable to let go, he found himself trawling every corner of the internet for any mention of them and was rewarded by a British local newspaper's article on the 'plucky young Americans' who had solved the mystery of the 'Beast of Bodmin' and he offered himself a smile. Vacation my left foot! It was obvious they had caught the bug now and he had to admit to himself that they were rather competent at this. He had really inspired a whole bunch of charlatans and misfits to rise up in Coolsville but apparently it seemed this was a worldwide affliction. Over the next few months he managed to catch several mentions of them (in various translations) all across Europe. They had truly gone global and moved so quickly, it was truly a waste to even attempt to try and track them. He had the resources to locate them and ensure they met with a 'nasty accident' but it just wasn't worth the effort. Let them carry on their amateur sleuthing, Devon had a new focus now, the time was right for him to finally return home after lying low in Brazil for so long. He already set the seeds in motion for a devastating return, recruiting as many to his cause as possible and they had begun to wreak havoc already but it was now time for him to tackle Detective White and Barnum personally, and reclaim Coolsville for the underworld that was already slowly rising up under his remote command.

Present timeline. A few weeks before.

Two years later, and the new world Coolsville disorder was going spectacularly well from Devon's point of view. Fear had completely overwhelmed the town and Devon thrived on the chaos and the terror. He was completely in control despite not always being there in person, he knew he had the whole town on strings, especially the dear detectives. If Devon thought messing with the kids was fun, the cat and mouse game he had engaged in with Stella and Will was every bit as gloriously satisfying. Every reprobate the town had ever produced had came to bat for his side and the destruction they weaved was a sight to behold. What started quite small scale had dramatically escalated and eventually Stella, Will and the police team were fighting a losing battle. Every night as darkness hit, it started again, becoming increasingly violent, shootings became a nightly occurrence as a rival gang came to town to take part in the fun.

And throughout all this, Devon wondered would they come. The devastation was garnering real headlines beyond just local ones now but still they remained absent. Nor was there any sign of Ethan who Devon had continued to monitor. It was obvious now his Hong Kong job was no coincidence as things started to turn against him on the China front too and there was no doubt in his mind this was led by Ethan. He had finally had enough of the resistance provided by the police and Ethan, and privately set plans in motion for an ambitious double attack that would fully remove both from the equation, leaving just the kids who he wanted to leave until the very end.

That didn't mean he was taking his eye off the ball when it came to Mystery Inc. however, he continued to keep tabs on their movement around Europe, last hearing of their presence in Romania curiously enough. Was there no where in this world that didn't have an endless run of unscrupulous people exploiting local myths and legends? Following that case, things went very quiet and Devon wondered if they actually were on their way back to the States which would be a satisfying if wholly unprepared coincidence. He was yet to set out his plan for destroying Mystery Inc and instead had been fully focussed on developing imminent attacks in Coolsville and Hong Kong.

The possibility of an unexpected return did force him into some important research, well it forced his trusted associates into some important research anyway. Just days before his planned action, he got the report back on their familial connections that painted a very bleak picture.

"Hit me with it Brad," he demanded of the young tech that worked for him, who he had charged with finding the information.

Brad, with his dark hair and black rimmed glasses, looked like a stereotypical tech geek who was a whiz with computers and probably an adequate rival to one Velma Dinkley, which was handy given she was one of the lives he was trying to drill down into. He cleared his throat and glanced down at his notes. "Uh, so Fred Jones, 22. Only child. His father, Fred Jones senior was jailed for tax fraud when he was 18 years old. His mother Nerys Jones abandoned Fred shortly after this. Hasn't been seen since. Father is still in prison, up for parole next month."

"Interesting," Devon commented. "And I trust you have made attempts to track this 'Nerys'?"

"Of course sir, there was a paper trail for a couple of months and she used her bank cards in Las Vegas for a time but after that, she went completely off radar. We don't believe she has made any attempt to contact her son, not even after his well documented troubles and later, glory."

"Okay, so we shall just keep tabs on Mr Jones, should be easy enough. Next."

"Norville Shaggy Rogers," Brad intoned almost robotically. "Also an only child. Parents Susannah and Bill Rogers were both killed in 2008 when they were passengers on Flight 452 that crashed in Arizona."

"Gosh, more tragedy! No wonder they all found each other," Devon said uncaringly and then added a further callous comment. "Which is majorly inconvenient for me, doesn't give me much in the way of options," he mused. "Anything else to add?"

"Um, his parents owned a small business and and are still proprietors of this warehouse. Norville didn't want the responsibility and sold the business but still owns the deeds to the warehouse which are right here." Brad handed him a sheet of paper which Devon examined with great interest.

"Oh I could make use of this, yes indeed." he grinned. "Now what of our lovely enigma Miss Dinkley?"

"Well, like you advised, she has been at absolute pains to keep her private life, well private, she lives alone. It took a LOT of digging but I got there. Her mother was taken by cancer shortly after giving birth to Velma's sibling."

"Holy shit!" Devon interrupted. "These kids are just absolute misery magnets aren't they?! I might even feel sorry for them. There's barely a normal family relationship between them. Let me guess, the reason Velma is alone is because the sibling died in some heart rending tragedy and the father offed himself because he couldn't take the pain any longer?"

Brad raised an eyebrow at how much Devon seemed to be enjoying this but then reminded himself how much of a sadist Devon Blake really was. He tried to put his disapproval aside, this was just another job for him, albeit a very well paid job. "Well, no," he replied. "The sibling is alive, her name is Madelyn but not much is known of her. She lives with her father John Dinkley. I'm just in the process of finalising the location. The family history is pretty sketchy and weird. John was a prominent inventor but went quiet some years ago, people believed he must have left the country, amid rumours of a financial crisis."

"Gosh, what a mystery you continue to be Velma," Devon mused, becoming fascinated with this girl. A 'straight A' student, destined for greatness by all accounts and had her pick of the Ivy League's didn't even go to college in the end, instead taking a low paid job as a librarian immediately after leaving school. At some point later, Devon knew she had joined Jones' merry little band of reprobates but why?

He theorised that it must have something to do with the sister, why would she and the father suddenly go into hiding?

"Good work Brad," he acknowledged. "Keep working on that address and try and find out as much as you can about this Madelyn. It seems she is likely to be a far more viable target than Jones' mother it seems?"

"Negative on that one for sure. The trail is stone cold."

"Fair enough, I suppose I should also consider that threatening her might not have the desired impact with Frederick, whereas I get the sense Velma has been at pains to hide Madelyn. I'm wondering if her friends even know of her existence."

Brad shrugged and Devon knew it was the end of the conversation.

"Let me know as soon as you get that location," he instructed him, walking away with the information on the Rogers' warehouse in his hand. He quickly produced his cellphone. "I think I finally have found the perfect location," he said into it gleefully.

Three days later, and Brad had come up with the goods and traced Madelyn and John Dinkley to a farmhouse property just outside Coolsville, which surprised but nevertheless pleased Devon enormously, things were falling into place now.

Overnight, he took charge of the Rogers' warehouse, moving all of their current operations in but not before secretly rigging the place with explosives he had recently taken receipt of. There was no doubting now just how brutal his plans were. This was most starkly illustrated by the fact he had never shared his true intentions with his team. He knew that even the most hardened of his loyalists would recoil at the thought of being a 'cop killer', it seemed to be a line you did not cross and he knew his planned murder was something else altogether. The brutality might have given him pause for thought a couple of years ago but he was too far gone now. He had become utterly merciless in Brazil and he merely saw it as fixing a problem. The Detectives were in the way, he needed them removed. He convinced his team they needed a new base of operations and they were too dumb to question why, only Brad knew why he had chosen this particular base and he knew he would say nothing. It was betraying their trust but Devon had no loyalty left to anyone, if he lost some of his side in the crossfire, so be it. There were always casualties in any war and this battle had been raging too long, it was time to end it.

He felt a nervous excitement at the dire run of events that were set to unfurl, if it all went as scheduled, he knew it wouldn't just be Mystery Inc. on his case, he would probably be one of the most despised men in the whole of America. The thought made him tingle in anticipation and he found himself craving the notoriety. By tomorrow night it would all be over and the only players left on the board would be the ones that started it all.

"Go and get the girl, the dad too if need be," he instructed two of his goons after Brad had provided the address. Devon was confident that once the news spread of the imminent attack, that alone would be enough to lure the gang back. But it certainly never hurt to have an insurance policy and this one was perfect.

He excused himself to secretly make the phone call that would send all of the dominoes crashing down. "Send the tip-off to our super spy friend in Hong Kong – Rogers Warehouse. After you're sure he's passed on the message, you know what you then need to do there."

His associate confirmed he would relay the message and Devon sat back waiting for it all to unfold. Sure enough by the evening he received a panicked phone call from one of his team as he sat in his car, watching from a safe distance.

"Devon! The cops are here, what the fuck is going on?!" Gary, one of his lackeys hissed in a panicked whisper into the phone.

Devon smiled broadly to himself, he couldn't contain his relief that the bait had been taken perfectly. He hadn't heard from Nick and Paolo who he had tasked with grabbing the girl, but he wasn't too concerned there.

He forced himself to sound aggrieved as he listened to the hapless Gary.

"Are you fucking serious?!" He demanded. "Someone has ratted me out?!"

"God, boss I think so, there's LOADS of them. What the fuck are we going to do?! It looks like an entire freaking S.W.A.T team out there!"

"Where are you?" Devon barked. "Who's there now?"

"I'm upstairs, most of the guys are here. What should we do?! We have guns but we're massively outnumbered boss. Some of the boys are pretty scared."

Devon could hear sounds of disturbance in the background and his heart began to race as he took the small device into his hand in anticipation. There was the unmistakable sound of fire arms discharging.

"Gary, speak to me! What's going on!?" He sounded frustrated and panicked but in reality a calmness had settled on Devon. "GARY!"

"They're in boss," he whispered. "Fuck, I think we're surrounded. Who could possibly have told them?! I think some of the boys are making a run for it. Oh god it's such a mess, thank fuck you're not here though!"

"Oh I know," Devon said smoothly, he no longer sounded furious at all which unnerved Gary. "Gary, tell me something, can you see the Detective?"

"What? White?" There was the sound of static and more sounds of yelling and shooting before Gary's breathless voice was heard once again. "Yeah, she's here."

Devon took a long deep breath. "Excellent," he said with a nervous laugh.

"Boss?!" Gary said in confusion. "You want her to be here?"

"Yes Gary, in fact..." He paused dramatically imagining he was delivering the killer line on stage. "I was counting on it."

Devon knew from the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone that the little braincells Gary possessed were ticking over furiously now as he considered that statement.

"You son of a bitch, you set us up!" he accused angrily now. Devon toyed again with the device in his hand.

"If it's any comfort to you, this was nothing personal," he said swiftly before hanging up. He knew it was now or never and he began psyching himself up. His palms sweated and he felt his knee twitch uncontrollably. This was it, there was no going back now.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he jabbed the button hard without even thinking about it. For what felt like a lifetime nothing happened but then before his very eyes as he sat in the car across the river facing it, the ground shook with an almighty tremor and the sound of an explosion sliced through the previously still night sky with a deafening boom as the bomb in the warehouse exploded from within. He had no doubt it could be felt all over Coolsville and probably for many miles further, sirens seemed to wail in response almost immediately. The sky had been dramatically lit up with an orange glow that bathed the entire area around the warehouse, and Devon watched in grim fascination as ash rained down so frenziedly, it was like a volcano had erupted, and flames leaped dramatically into the air.

He got out of the car and was mesmerised by the incredible scene for probably five full minutes, the screams of terror and despair from across the water were even filtering across to him now. He pictured a scene of utter chaos and devastation. He grinned widely. It was better than he had dared to even imagine. Beyond satisfied, he tossed the detonator into the river, and whistling contentedly, climbed back into the car and calmly drove away, passing several emergency vehicles as they squealed past in the opposite direction heading towards the tragedy, but barely even giving him a second glance.

A.N. Yeah, what a prince hey? :D And this is the guy the gang have just bravely decided to challenge alone. Eeek.