Author's Note: In the process of remastering The Mark of the Werewolf, I have came to the conclusion that it would be best if the two parallel storylines I initially had planned out for The Falcon Begins, one about the gang looking into the match-fixing and drug-supplying ring tainting the high school football matches and the other about Radley Crown's first case as the Blue Falcon, be split into two separate stories.
Combine that with the inspiration to continue to base these entries on the three entries of Batman: Earth One, on top of detailing how the gang came to acquire the Mystery Machine in this reality, I have decided to put in Riddle of the Syndicate as the second entry of my City of Mysteries series (and third entry for Dimension Seven overall when accounting for A Study in a Missing Will on FictionPress, published as Garfield Wu's origin story in this reality.)
In any way, this entry is based on Volume Two of Batman: Earth One, as well as incorporated elements from the Batman Beyond episode The Winning Edge and picks up a few months after the events of The Mark of the Werewolf.
I don't own Scooby-Doo. Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros. does.
Previously on City of Mysteries...
"Mom!" Shaggy screamed as the Falcon came onto the path of a speeding tractor-trailer, followed by a loud honk from the truck's horn right before the collision.
Seven years after surviving that car crash, Shaggy was at the dining table one morning, holding a glass of water in one hand and a couple of painkiller pills in another.
As soon as he gulped down the pills, it immediately shifted to him getting slammed against the wall by Fred.
"Let me say this only once, Rogers." Fred snapped. "Either you lock your pills up at home properly, or I will go to Principal Deedle and see to it that you get suspended or even expelled for bringing controlled substances to school."
"Maybe try not being full of yourself for a change here at the station, it won't do you any good, especially when your school grades could be better." Daphne then added later at the radio station as he stood by the vending machines.
The scene then panned to the newspaper on the nearby coffee table with the headline, "NOT AGAIN!
Nineteenth girl snatched from home with claw marks on wall, police still investigating"
Also on the front page was an article detailing State Senator Barty Daggett gearing up his campaign for the House of Representatives in the upcoming November elections, and the scene instantly zoomed onto the photo and into Daggett thanking his staff at his campaign office.
"It's because of your efforts and hard work that makes my election to better represent the constituents of the 3rd Congressional District at Capitol Hill possible." Daggett declared while Shaggy simply sat at the desk.
"May G*d bless America." Daggett then added in a voice-over from his campaign rally.
"You do realize that should all of this comes to light, your political career would be finished and you'll be spending the rest of your life behind bars." George Blake later snarled at Daggett in the meeting room.
The shadows in the meeting room soon shifted the scene to the dark, hidden room in the abandoned cabin near the Fred Quimby Park, in which a girl, tied up to a chair, was whimpering in fear at the sight of the Werewolf approaching her menacingly.
"Please..." She pleaded as the Werewolf approached her. "Let me go...I want to go home."
"It's just going to be you and me." The Werewolf said as it revealed its claws in the moonlight.
At the school cafeteria, Velma was saying to Fred, "This better be good, Jones."
The scene instantly shifted to the park, where the gang were in the process of discovering the shoeprint in the bush.
"I was hoping you'd be interested in helping me getting to the bottom of these werewolf sightings." Fred said in a voice-over.
"Sure, though do you really think we're gonna find something that the police missed?" Velma asked. "After all, we're just a bunch of high school students."
"And a dog." Shaggy added.
Following the scene shift to Shaggy's house, Daphne asked him, "Scooby likes bones, does he?"
"Of course he does." Shaggy nodded. "Dogs like bones, don't they?"
Daphne continued, "Then imagine a situation. You're a doctor and you normally take your dog out for walks in evenings, and you let your dog go out into the hills to play. The dog comes back with a bone, and you don't know where it is from. What would you do?"
The scene then jumped to the police station, in which Shaggy was saying to the sergeant, "I was, um, walking my dog at the Fred Quimby Park earlier and we, uh, spotted some bones near the trails."
McBride adjusted his glasses briefly before he nodded understandingly. "What sort of bones are we talking about here? Human?"
"Uh...can't say for sure." Shaggy replied. "They looked a little human to me, but I'm no doctor or scientist, so can't say for sure."
"What the h*ll is going on here?" Sam asked when he arrived at the front desk. "Were you and Norton in that conference room speaking to that Blake daughter, Detective Neville?"
The lieutenant then sternly addressed Shaggy as he said, "I want you to provide a full explanation on what were you doing here at the station with those two first thing when I get home tonight."
Later outside the station, Daphne asked Shaggy, "What's the issue with your father?"
The interchanging scene shifted back to the Raider task force raid during the Battle of Iwo Jima, in which George demanded, "What the h*ll have you done, Rogers?"
"Blake, you stay the h*ll away from my family." Sam responded in his confrontation with George years later at the hospital as he tugged Shaggy away.
Stopping by Fred and Velma, the lieutenant then added, "As for you two, make this the last time you play detective."
Shifting to the days prior, Benson was saying from his hospital bed, "I was one of the arrestin' officers that took part in the bust, and boy, did s**t hit the fan after that."
"How bad are we talking about?" Fred asked.
"We're talkin' about the theft being a inside job involving a network of employees at the plant, a network that goes straight up to management." Benson frowned. "Naturally, when word of the theft got back to Vincent Crown, he was not happy one bit, least by the fact that he was swindled by Barty Daggett and Blake Enterprises."
"He became suspicious that Blake Enterprises may be up to shady business, and so he hired someone to look into the plant's finances." Shaggy offered.
"That, he did." Benson nodded. "Finances, transactions from the agreement, you name 'em. In fact, shortly before his murder, the forensic accountant Mr. Crown hired came to him with numbers that paints a very disturbing picture on the nature of Blake Enterprises."
"One that would suggest that Blake Enterprises has been embezzling funds and engaged in fraudulent transactions with a heavy focus on real estate development speculation." Fred suggested.
"Yes." Benson nodded again. "In particular, under Daggett's leadership, Blake Enterprises has been acquiring land cheap, often with questionable methods, and combine that with the speculation for real estate development, the company has profited significantly from the subsequent development and land sales."
In a subsequent cut, Benson continued, "Funny thing is, prior to the acquisitions, the residents in the area have reported lots of suspicious wolf sightings, and several of the Werewolf's early victims were snatched from those neighbourhoods."
"But after the land was acquired by Blake Enterprises and redeveloped, those snatchings and sightings stopped." Shaggy said.
Benson nodded as he said in a voice over, "It's more of a matter of when the feds get to me after Daggett f**ked up."
"F**ked up, like how?" Fred prompted.
"Whether be the Gotham-based Falcones or Maronis, or the Oakley Gang here, they have covered the debts sustained by Daggett when he started up Blake Pharmaceuticals." Benson explained.
"The same group that also wouldn't hesitate to have Vincent Crown eliminated after he stumbled upon not just the embezzlement and fraud, but also the mob holding Daggett's debts." Velma said, connecting the dots.
Benson then stared at Shaggy as he said, "As a matter a fact, there was one doctor who caught onto the fraud seven years ago. She stopped prescribing anti-depressants and was on her way to the Coolsville General Hospital when the brakes of her Falcon failed, and it collided with an eighteen wheeler."
As Benson made the remark, Shaggy was reminded of the horrific tire-screeching accompanied by the truck horn blaring from that fateful accident seven years prior.
The tire screeching, horn-blaring and subsequent collision continued to play in the background as Benson warned Daphne, "Barty Daggett has involved Blake Enterprises in deep, shady s**t, and should time comes for the feds to swoop in, your old man might get caught in the crossfire."
The screeching and horn blaring swiftly shifted back to the hidden dark room in the abandoned cabin, in which Maggie grabbed her makeshift weapon and shouted, "Stay away from me!"
Over at the kitchen, Sam was listening to the phone with a horrified look on his face as Pistol said at the other end, "If you wanna see your daughter again, you put the d*mn file back."
"I did it to keep my children and our family dog safe." Sam said to Chan after that phone call. "They're all I have left, especially since..."
He then turned towards Shaggy as he continued, "...I've came close to losing my son Norville in that same accident that killed my wife."
"If you're going to continue to judge me for what my father has done, then by all means." Daphne was saying to Sam. "The least I could do is to be of any assistance in helping you rescue Maggie."
As Sam nodded, Fred and Velma located the safe behind a painting in Benson's apartment.
"Do you think that the insurance policy documents are in this safe?" Velma asked.
"Only one way to find out." Fred responded as he reached for the combination lock.
"Freeze!" Chan shouted later as he aimed his weapon towards the Werewolf. "Don't move, you freak!"
The shots that rang out were soon replaced by Fred slamming the frying pan on the Werewolf multiple times while it was gagged by his ascot by Velma, followed by the creature slamming onto the floor, unconscious.
The slamming was then superimposed by handcuffs clicking around Daggett's wrists as Special Agent Grogan said, "Bartemius Daggett, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit fraud, corruption, murder and treason."
"This isn't over, Blake." Daggett hissed as he was escorted by the agents and stopped by George.
The scene subsequently zoomed in on George at the airport a week later as he greeted Radley with a handshake and brief embrace.
"That's about to change soon." George said to Radley, who responded with a firm nod.
"It's okay, son. Dad's here with Maggie and Scooby." Sam said to Shaggy in a voice-over. "You don't need to face all of this alone."
As Sam, Maggie, Scooby and Daphne all comforted Shaggy, over at the diner with Fred on the phone as he said to Velma, "I think someone's involving the team in some match-fixing ring in exchange for PEDs."
Chapter 1: End of day and a vicious beating
March 11, 1969
It may have been almost six months since Sam and the task force, with help from the gang, successfully closed the Werewolf case, but the fallout from the case has continued to linger on to this very day.
Chief among them being the dramatic arrest of then-Chief of Police Louis "Lou" Strickland, alongside then-Mayor Francis Jones and then-State Senator Bartemius "Barty" Daggett, by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the trio were subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, embezzlement, money-laundering, extortion, racketeering, murder and corruption.
As a result of the indictments, Strickland was replaced by Rupert Gosnell as the new chief of police, while in the mayoral election that followed, Jones' chief critic in the City Council, Councilman Kevin Stoughton, was elected mayor.
And as Sam has predicted, Chief Rupert Gosnell was as much of a politician and bureaucrat as Strickland was.
Even so, with his plate full in dealing with the fallout from Strickland's indictment, Gosnell was often called away from his office during daytime, which also takes him off Sam's back.
To Sam, containing the fallout from Strickland's indictment was a welcome distraction that drew Gosnell away and off his back, as he has better things to do than worry about Gosnell breathing down his neck, and the past several weeks was an indication of that.
The detective bureau of the Central Division has find itself stretched as investigators caught case after case, and Sam has find himself having to keep track on the progress of at least a dozen cases.
At least Sam was able to get a relief a couple weeks ago, when another detective was added to his roster of investigators in a move that has raised some eyebrows among the squad of the predominantly-white detectives.
Detective Nelson McCormick was the latest addition to the Central Division's detective bureau, having had spent the past ten years down in Los Angeles at the homicide table of Hollywood, from what Sam had gathered.
The circumstances leading to McCormick's transfer to Coolsville were murky, though Sam gathered that McCormick was involved in an incident where he jumped at a supervisor who didn't fully appreciate his skills as an investigator during a case down in LA.
Apparently, there are plenty of those in blue that have issue with the colour of McCormick's skin, his former supervisor in LA included.
Leave it to me to prove to the brass that the non-whites are just as capable as their white peers. Sam scoffed as he thought to himself. What the h*ll is wrong with those people? They'd never know how capable these very good men are just because of the colour of their skin.
Having McCormick partnered with Detective Chan, Sam soon began referring to them as his "Dynamic Duo" as a result of their ability to get cases done with remarkable results.
Sam was put out of his thoughts as Chan and McCormick approached his office door and the former knocked on it gently.
"That the murder book for the Weiner Case?" Sam asked in greeting.
"Indeed, sir." McCormick nodded as Chan handed him the binder. "Wrap-up investigation and paper work all completed."
Sam took the binder from Chan, put on his glasses, flipped the book open and scanned the case summary at the front page, then he looked towards the duo.
"Excellent work, gentlemen." Sam said. "Don't suppose that the culprit is going to see the light of day outside of bars again, eh?"
"I don't think so, sir." Chan shook his head. "Not after what he's done, sure hope the judge and jury agrees and keeps him locked up."
"Hmm." Sam nodded. "Anyways, you gents are done for the day, eh?"
"Indeed, sir." McCormick nodded as he and Chan took their leaves. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow." Sam nodded back.
After the two investigators have left, the lieutenant sighed as he put back on his glasses and resumed reading the binder.
A short while later, Sam glanced at his watch and, upon noting the time, decided to call it a day.
On his way out of the station, Sam stopped by the watch commander's office, where Sergeant Daniel McBride was reviewing a deployment chart.
"Callin' it a day, sir?" McBride asked in greeting.
"Yeah, think I've seen enough from what my guys has reported for the day." Sam replied. "Getting slower, though."
"Which couldn't come at a better time." McBride nodded. "I've been trying to juggle my guys around, we're gonna be short on the desk for the next couple weeks."
Sam nodded. With officers on sick leave, vacation or court appearances, McBride has to juggle officers around by pulling them off the desks and onto patrol cars for deployment, which leaves a skeleton crew to handle any form of calls, especially if said calls were tips for ongoing cases.
"Appreciate the heads up, sarge." Sam said before he glanced at the time on the clock and added, "I better be off now."
Before McBride could respond, their idle conversation was interrupted by the telephone, and the sergeant promptly reached over to answer it.
"McBride, Central Division watch office." McBride responded, and Sam promptly paused and turned around, in time to see the look on the sergeant's face turn serious.
"Oh, is that right?" The sergeant asked. "G**amn. I'll be sure to dispatch someone to the scene right away."
"What's going on?" Sam asked as the sergeant hung up the telephone.
"Victim of physical assault found on Friedman Road, just near the crossing with Constitution Boulevard." McBride reported. "Concerned citizen has called for an ambulance."
"Hmm..." Sam grunted. "Have a patrol team track down Detective Silverman and have them meet me at the scene. I'm heading straight over."
"It happened...so fast." The victim reported as Detective Silverman jotted things down on his notebook. "H*ll, I didn't get...a good look of...the fiends that did this."
As Sam looked on and surveyed the scene, the victim was in the process of being loaded onto an ambulance while Silverman was jotting down notes.
Several patrol officers were securing the scene and looking out while Silverman's partner Welker was conferring with crime scene investigators that were pouring through the scene for evidence.
Just then, Silverman called over to Sam and reported, "Sir, the vic would like to speak to you."
"Oh?" Sam arched his eyebrows as he joined Silverman at the ambulance.
Turning towards the victim, the lieutenant asked, "What is it that you would like to speak to me about, son?"
"I...know that your son...doesn't think of me...highly 'cause of what...I did..." The victim winced. "But let him...and his friends know...that the hooligans that...did this...warned me that...if I don't follow through with..."
Before the victim could continue, he started coughing, prompting the paramedic to step in.
"Save your strength, son." Sam urged. "You are gonna need the rest-"
"No, you need to...hear this, sir..." The victim cut in. "There's some sort of...match-fixing goin' on...in our high school football matches...and the hooligans that did this...wanted me to throw the match against...Ridge Valley."
"Which you refused." Sam interjected as Silverman looked on.
The victim nodded. "Wasn't gettin' my...fair share for throwin' the past...couple matches as...promised. Wanted out, and...you know the rest..."
The minute Sam returned home, he marched straight to the kitchen and reached for the telephone.
Shaggy, Scooby and Maggie all stood by, knowing better than to ask, given that the look on Sam's face says it all.
Without missing a beat, the lieutenant dialled a number and placed the ear piece by his ear.
When the party at the other end answered, Sam was straight to the point.
"Hey Jones." Sam said. "You may wanna let your son Fred know that Randolph Herring is currently in the ICU at the Coolsville General after being subjected to a vicious beating in an alleyway."
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