Chapter 8: In the fish processing plant
(Fred and Velma)
After being left alone and gagged in the room, Fred tired to figure out an escape plan. However, his hands and feet were tied tightly to the chair and he doesn't have anything sharp on his person or close by that could help his escape.
"I've got to get Velma and I out of here!" He thought. "But the rope and the gag are too tight for me to move or make a noise!"
As he struggled against his bonds, he thought his foot made a tapping sound that seemed loud.
Seeing Fred tapping his foot, Velma thought of an idea and decided to tap her foot in Morse Code.
"Freddie!" She tapped. "We may be gagged and tied up, but we can communicate with each other in Morse Code."
"Great!" Fred tapped back. "Can you figure a way out of here, Velms?"
"No, Freddie." Velma tapped. "We're tied up tight to our chairs and I don't see any sharp objects around that are within reach."
"Looks like we will have to make a wish that someone comes to rescue us." Fred tapped. "I hope Shag and Scoob are okay."
(Shaggy, Scooby, Tom and Jerry)
It didn't take long for Shaggy, Scooby, Tom and Jerry to arrive at the abandoned fish plant, which was located a block away from the Harbor Convention Center.
The main entrance was opened, but the four knew that they have to be careful and be prepared for anything they may encounter.
They hid behind a wall near the main entrance with Shaggy silently peeking into the plant, armed with a pair of binoculars.
Looking around, he made sure that there was no one who could see them, and he also made sure that he and the boys aren't in the view of a nearby surveillance camera.
Seeing that the coast is clear, Shaggy turned back to face Scooby, Tom and Jerry and nodded, as if to tell them that the coast is clear.
Waving his right hand, he made a gesture as if to tell the boys to follow him.
The four managed to sneak into the plant silently and as they made their way down the hallway, they saw the two figures Tom and Jerry had recognized from the night before patrolling the area far ahead.
Hiding behind a support column, Tom and Jerry gave hand gestures as if to tell Shaggy and Scooby, "Those two men over there are the men that kidnapped your friend last night!"
"Like, you're absolutely sure?" Shaggy whispered.
Tom and Jerry nodded as if they were saying, "Positive."
Shaggy was silent as he tries to think of something. They've got three items in mind: Find Fred and Velma, find Daphne and find out who the kidnappers are.
It didn't take long for him to come up with a plan and he signalled Scooby, Tom and Jerry closer for them to listen. They all nodded when he finished outlining the plan.
A few moments later, James and Joe were still patrolling the main hallway when they heard something crashing.
"You hear something, Joe?" James asked his partner.
"Yeah, it's coming from that support column near the entrance!" Joe replied. "Perhaps we've got snoopers!"
"Right. Come on!" James nodded as they rushed off, keeping their hands gripped on their handguns as they went.
The two henchmen rushed over to the support column where they believe the crashing came from. But when they took a look, they saw no one.
"What the?" James asked. "I could've sworn there was someone here a minute ago!"
"As do I." Joe agreed, unaware that at the very moment he was speaking, Shaggy and Scooby silently sneaked by them and hid behind the wall as soon as they made the turn onto the adjacent hallway, nor did they notice a figure armed with a frying pan was fast approaching him at that same very moment.
"Well, we'd better..." James was speaking just as he heard a "WHACK!" and paused, in time for him to see a foolish look on Joe's face.
His partner then slumped to the ground, revealing Tom and Jerry with the former armed with a frying pan.
"You!" James exclaimed when he recognized the two silent witnesses. "Snooping around and trying to be the heroes, eh?"
The frown on Tom's face grew as he gripped the frying pan.
"Well, it's not going to happen, my friend." James says as he pulled out a gun. "Drop that frying pan before I decide to blast you with my..."
He didn't have a chance to finish his threat, as Jerry managed to climb onto his pants, armed with a nail, and poked his rear with it, leading the criminal to exclaim, "Yeow!"
As Tom and Jerry kept the two henchmen occupied, Shaggy turned to Scooby, "See if you can sniff out Daphne's scent, Scoob?"
"Right away, Raggy." Scooby nodded just as they heard another whack before Tom and Jerry joined them after whacking out James.
"Did you guys took care of those two men that did the kidnapping?" Shaggy whispered as he turned to the cat and mouse.
Tom and Jerry both nodded, with the latter making hand gestures as if he was saying, "They're out cold and won't be waking up for another hour or so."
"Good." Shaggy said. "Now let's get to work and find our friends and get the big fish involved in this racket!"
Scooby, Tom and Jerry nodded their heads firmly as they carried on. A few minutes went by before they heard some tapping coming from a nearby room.
"Like, did you guys hear tapping?" Shaggy whispered as they stopped.
Scooby peeked up and listened before gesturing towards a nearby room and said, "Rit's coming from rat room!"
"Let's go and find out!" Shaggy said quietly as they followed Scooby. "And be careful, in case it's a trap!"
As they reached the door leading to the room in question, Jerry silently sneaked into the room while the other three looked on.
Inside the room, the mouse saw two figures both tied up to chairs.
Making sure that there is no traps around, he whistled his comrades, signalling them in.
As Shaggy, Scooby and Tom entered, the former turned on the light and recognized Fred and Velma tied up and gagged.
"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed. "Freddie! Velma!"
The four moved quickly to free their friends.
"Shaggy! Scooby!" Fred exclaimed as his gag was removed.
"Tom and Jerry!" Velma added as she was being freed. "That was perfect timing!"
"Like, what happened?" Shaggy asked as Scooby managed to free Fred.
"We were checking the plant and found this particular room that has a brand-new-looking doorknob." Fred explained.
"And you know that this plant has been closed down for a while." Velma interjected.
"Right. So we checked out the room and saw Daphne tied up and gagged on a chair, except that it was a trap." Fred continued. "As soon as we entered, someone threw something into the room behind us and slammed the door."
"The thing exploded and released knockout gas." Velma said. "Then, everything went black until we woke up and found ourselves tied up."
"Zoinks!" Shaggy said. "I'll bet that Lieutenant Titley ordered those thugs to do that to you after he dropped you off here."
"Wait, Lieutenant Titley's involved in this?" Fred asked.
"That's right." Shaggy nodded. "He's the security chief of Jelenic and he actually planned all of this!"
"No wonder that operation at Ruby and Silverman crashed and burned this morning." Velma remarked.
"Anyways, we'd better find Daph!" Shaggy said. "Before Jelenic figures out that something is amiss. The guys knocked out his two henchmen earlier when we came in."
"Wow." Fred remarked as he turned to Tom and Jerry. "For someone who doesn't speak at all, they sure are brave and resourceful."
Soon, the six made it out of the room where they find themselves trying to think of somewhere to go to find Daphne.
"Looks like we're going to have to split up, gang!" Fred said. "Velma, you come with me and we'll search the north side of the plant, while you guys take the south side."
"Right." Shaggy nodded. "Let's go!"
Will the gang rescue Daphne in time? Stay tuned, and please read and review!
