They abseiled down to their room and disconnected all the rigging from the balcony above then securely locked their balcony window. After the abseil Shaggy needed some Scooby Snacks to calm his nerves. He watched some TV whilst Velma locked herself in the shower until every last trace of make-up and hairspray was gone. Shaggy could hear her complaining about make-up, hairspray and how long it was taking to clean all the stuff off. All of a sudden the bathroom door was opened and Velma came out of the bathroom, dressed ready for the next day, towelling dry her hair

"Ugh! Why do people spray that stuff on themselves?" she said

"Dunno Velms not my scene, I'm next in the shower" replied Shaggy

"OK I'll check the weather in the local area for tomorrow, we don't want to get caught out" she said throwing the towel in the washing basket.

"Two points!" said Shaggy as he entered the bathroom

Velma smiled and started to check the weather for the local area and the team email, no ransom demand had been made yet. Don't think they will send any demand until they have collected all the Mystery Inc set. She cleaned her glasses till they were crystal clear, that always seemed to help her think. Her thoughts were interrupted by Shaggy stumbling out of the bathroom with a towel round his waist

"Man, must remember to take fresh clothes in the bathroom in future. Ow, now I've got soap in my eyes, this stuff stings"

Velma watched in amusement as he fumbled around in the suitcase for his clothes, while he was rummaging around his towel kept slipping. In frustration he dumped it on the ground and grabbed a handful of clothes. He stood up clutching the bundle and turned around "Velms, don't forget to unpack the cereal bars and fruit, we'll need something to eat in the morning. I hate to think what time we're going to have to get up and I doubt the bad guys will stop for breakfast on the way" he said in the general direction of Velma.

"Sure… thing… Shag" she replied quietly

"Are you OK?" he asked "You sound quiet" He walked up to her and gently stroked her head.

"Fine, never better" she whispered "never been better"

Spellbound Velma watched him return to the bathroom and pat the door closed with his backside. A few seconds later she heard a muffled 'zoinks!' from behind the door and smiled.

"Velms, did I just do what I think I just did?"

"Yes" she replied carefully "thank you"

Shaggy sighed, was it because he was so used to sharing a hotel room with Fred or was this Mr & Mrs Rogers business becoming all too easy all too quickly?

After Shaggy had changed and having made it clear to Velma that the 'towel' incident was never to be mentioned to Daphne, they settled down for an indeterminate wait. A chair was pushed under the door handle of their room to prevent anyone surprising them. All there was to do then was the waiting; they lay awake on the bed, dressed, ready to move at a moments notice. Velma recalled talking to an FBI field agent once; they described how waiting for things to happen was, in many ways, the most difficult part of the job. Having to be alert despite the boredom... and watching the Cooking Channel with the sound off isn't helping matters! Velma decided that if she did become Mrs Rogers they would have at least two TV's in their house, and she'd keep the remote control to one of them under lock and key. She looked at the time and yawned, Shaggy is still awake... It can't hurt if I close my eyes for just a few minutes...

Shaggy started awake man, like so much for me staying awake and keeping watch he thought. Velma, still sleeping, had wrapped herself around him. He looked down and gazed at her; she looked so peaceful and so beautiful. He gently caressed her head and back; she made little sleepy noises and snuggled closer into him. Shaggy crossed the Rubicon; it would be a tough call between Fred and Scooby over who would be best man. Looking around the room everything seemed to be in order, the status read-out from the decoy showed noting but green lights and none of the alarms had gone. It's all peaceful and quiet so... His Shaggy sense was telling him something bad was about to happen, years of running away from monsters had made his sense of danger razor-sharp so he wasn't that surprised when a few seconds later the intruder alarm to Velma's room went off. Velma began to stir "Velma, time to get moving." he whispered. She awoke just as the knock-out gas alarm on the decoy went off. Fully awake they sat up and waited, eating some breakfast bars to give them energy for the task ahead. A couple of minutes later position updates began to arrive. "Its show time" whispered Velma "No one kidnaps our friends and get away with it." Just as they were getting ready to leave position updates from the Mystery Machine also started coming in. The co-ordinates were almost identical.

Using the updates from the decoy and the Mystery Machine they were able to follow the crooks at a safe distance.

"Looks like they are heading for that house on the hill surrounded by some woods" said Velma looking at the directions the readings where heading.

"That's good as I'm not sure we'll be going much further" said Shaggy

"Why?" asked Velma

"Well we're loosing oil pressure, engine temperature is rising and that bit on the road behind us looks like part of the engine me and Fred fitted a few weeks ago." he said. In the end both of them were right. The Mystery Machine did stop at the house on the hill and the decoy was moved inside. The History Machine made it as far as the bottom of the hill before it gave out. The pair got out of the pick-up and stared at the assortment of engine parts that trailed behind it.

"Well it's the Ancient History Machine now" said Saggy sadly

"Never mind, we can always get a tow-truck and the Mystery Machine is not that far away. Besides it got us this far, the rest of the gang must be in the house of top of that..." Velma looked up "...very steep hill" she looked again at her net book display, "why do hills look so much easier on a computer" she muttered starting out on the path.

"Not the path Velms, we should stick to the wood, no one will see us coming up the hill if we use the wood for cover" said Shaggy "Me and Scoob learnt that lesson a long time ago. Oh Scoob, don't worry old pal, we're coming" The pair set off up the hill keeping to the wooded area as Shaggy suggested even though it made the going more difficult. Dawn was breaking, the house would be in the light first and they would remain hidden in the gloom.

"There are times I would give anything to be Daphne," panted Velma

"Why? I think you're perfect" gasped Shaggy "Man, the hills are getting steeper these days."

Velma smiled "That's sweet of you Shaggy, I was more thinking that Daph is probably tied to a chair at the moment, you know, forced to sit down and not climb anything. There's something to be said about being the one in need of rescuing." she paused and stood up to stretch her back "Ow! I don't think my back should have made that noise. People never think about what the rescuers have to go through to do the rescuing." she smiled at him "I'll try to arrange to be held prisoner somewhere flat next time I'm in need of rescuing."

Daphne had in fact been kept locked in a basement room, chained to a pipe by her ankle. She could have escaped but not knowing where Fred and Scooby were had stayed her hand. She had got free a couple of times to try to find out where they were but to no avail. As vague threats had been made against both of them if she had not co-operated she had decided to play a longer game until she could get more information as to their location. She was wondering about Shaggy and Velma, she had got part of the message through, at least enough that Velma would know to alert her father. Part of her hoped they wouldn't come to their aid. Velma would be still worn out and Shaggy would be more worried about Velma that he might be overcome by nervousness like he was when he was younger especially as Scooby wasn't there. She also knew that they would come and they would try, but as to what they could do by themselves she was at a loss. The door was unlocked and light flooded into the basement, Daphne shielded her eyes trying to see who was there, was she to be rescued? Her heart sank as she recognised the silhouettes of her captors. She was unchained and dragged out of the room and up stairs. "Time for you to earn your keep princess" growled Rocky. This wasn't a good sign as far as Daphne was concerned, she needed to think of a plan quickly... genius! she thought and cleared her throat to speak...