The further Zack and Cody ran down the stairs, the darker it got, adding to the already-creepy atmosphere.

"Is it just me, or did things get not funny anymore?" asked Cody.

"No," said Zack, shaking his head. "It's not just you."

The boys made it to the bottom of the stairs. They ran straight into the lobby...and froze about nine steps in. There was a group of men standing all around the lobby in a circle, each holding one of the people dear to Zack and Cody's young lives close to them with a knife at their throats: Carey, Mr. Moseby, Esteban, Muriel, and...

"Maddie!" cried Zack, running straight into the circle before Cody could stop him. Just as the two boys made it to the center, the one person not holding anyone, a ski mask hiding their identity, hissed, "One more step, and your little girlfriend dies!"

Zack and Cody froze in their steps. Zack slowly turned around and said, "I know that voice. It's...it's..."

The person lifted the ski mask off of their face to reveal an evil-looking Patrick. "Me," said Patrick with a malicious grin across his face. "Surprised to see me? I'll bet you never expected that after being gone for so many months, I would come back...with a vengeance!" He let out an over-the-top evil laugh.

"Okay, wait a minute, wait a minute," said Cody, confused by the whole thing. "So what's going on here again?"

"As Mr. Moseby oh-so-kindly tattled in his letter to you," said Patrick, glaring at Mr. Moseby, who chuckled nervously, beads of sweat pouring down his face. "Karl James was a criminal. He started his own little crime ring where various members would commit stealthy robberies and kill anyone who got in their way. Mr. Moseby was a loyal member to this crime ring until, in a freak accident involving a can of soda, he quit. But no one ever quits. Do you hear me? No one. Ever. Quits."

"Wait a second," said Cody, realizing something. "Those two guys who were robbing the hotel last year...did they come from the crime ring, too?"

"Precisely!" hissed Patrick. "Everyone thought they went to jail when in reality, we killed them right before their trial began and made it look like an accident. We can't afford to have imbeciles in our ring, after all."

"So don't hire us," said Muriel dryly. The man holding her growled and she said, "Okay, okay!"

Patrick went on: "Mr. Moseby was good, but we needed another member: Dear beloved Jack. Jack, being the saint that he was, refused." He tutted and said, "That just would not do. And so, Karl hired me to kill Jack in the dead of the night. Who could do the job better than his own, dear brother?" Looking around at the shocked faces, he laughed, "None of you ever did learn my last name, did you? I'm Patrick James, twin brother to Karl James."

"I knew there was something I didn't like about you!" Zack dramatically declared.

"Well it's too late to do anything about it now," sneered Patrick.

Hoping to stall for more time to figure out what to do, Cody said, "So what about the other guys?"

"The young gentleman holding your beloved girlfriend is the one and only Hugh Hampton," said Patrick curtly. "Hugh has been a devout member of our crime ring for years. So devout in fact, that when his younger brother stumbled across one of our plans one day, he decided to drown him in the pool. He knew Maddie was smitten about him enough to claim she was the one there that day and say it was an accident. Having served her purpose, Hugh left Maddie to further focus on his own career."

"Isn't this romantic, darling?" sneered Hugh, pressing the blade to Maddie's throat. Maddie whimpered and her pleading eyes moved over to Zack, who could only whisper, "Maddie..."

"The two men holding Esteban and Muriel," Patrick went on, "are the Norfe twins. They befriended Esteban and Muriel to gain their trust over the past few months, swearing them to secrecy over their friendship, claiming to have a lifelong animosity with Mr. Moseby. Today was their birthday, as a matter of fact."

Zack turned to Esteban and Muriel. "So that's what you were so secretive about yesterday!" he exclaimed. "You were getting a surprise birthday present for the twins!"

"You have caught me, little blonde peoples," said Esteban guiltily. "Muriel and I—we were sworn to secrecy. We couldn't let anyone know. We wanted to surprise them with a nice, big birthday present, but we spent too much. And so, a cheque was written to Muriel from one of the twins to pay off her debt, on the condition we keep it a secret."

"Yeah, and all of a sudden, you guys don't deserve a birthday present!" cried Muriel. "You're almost as bad as that thief I used to like!"

"Muriel!" hissed Esteban, gesturing for her to stop talking. "Not helping!"

"And last, but not least," said Patrick, taking a dramatic pace across the room, right up to the person holding Carey. "This is my twin brother, Karl. Say hi, Karl."

"Hi, Karl," said Karl with that same Norman Bates-like grin across his face.

"Ha-ha," said Patrick dryly.

"What about London?" said Cody, stepping forward. "What did you do to her?"

"She went on a cruise two days ago," said Patrick, taking the dramatic pace once again. "Oh, don't worry; none of us killed her. But we did arrange for her cruise to go for at least a week, meaning that by the time she gets back, she will find a pile of horribly mangled bodies in the lobby!" He let out an evil laugh. And this laugh did not have a cough, suggesting he was very serious.

"Zack, Cody, forget all those times I chose the reward money over the safety of my own children and run!" cried Carey, but Karl snarled, "Shut it, girly."

"Wait, what about the guy holding Mr. Moseby?" asked Cody.

"Him?" said Patrick. "Oh, there's nothing too special about him. In fact, we don't know if he even has a name. Or if it's a 'him' after all. But that doesn't matter." He whipped out a knife and pointed it at Zack and Cody, coming closer and closer, ignoring the faint sound of something starting up in the background. "Now," he said, slowly raising the knife above the two boys' heads, glad to see they were too scared to move, "Say your prayers, boys."

Before he had a chance to do anything, Arwin came flying down the stairs, his rocket pack strapped to his back, screaming like a little girl, knocking over (and knocking out) each gang member in the process, causing them to let go of their would-be victims.

"HOW DO YOU STOP THIS THIIIINNNG!" cried Arwin, steering his rocket pack in the other direction. "MOMMMMMY!"

Patrick ducked, but only for a moment or two. By now, Arwin had given up trying to steer. He closed his eyes and clicked his heels five times, muttering, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home..."

Patrick slowly stood up just in time for Arwin to scream "There's no place like—HOOOOOMMME!"

PLUNK!

Arwin landed on top of Patrick, his rocket pack smashing into Patrick's head, knocking him unconscious. Miraculously enough, it also caused Arwin to stop flying. He stood up and said, "Hey, what's going on?"

"My boys!" cried Carey, running over to Zack and Cody and giving them both a tight hug. "I'll never choose Hawaii over my own boys again, never, never, never!" She let go of them and said, "Arwin, you're my hero!" She gave Arwin a full kiss on the mouth, causing him to let out a happy note before collapsing in Carey's arms.

"Zack!" cried Maddie. She ran up to Zack and scooped him up in her arms. She planted a kiss on his forehead and said, "I'm so, so sorry."

"It's all right, Maddie," said Zack gently. "It's over now."

Not knowing where they belonged, Esteban said awkwardly, "Uh...Muriel and I are going to go call the police."

"Best idea anyone's had in...no wait, this is the first good idea anyone's had around here," remarked Muriel, following Esteban to the nearest phone.

Mr. Moseby cleared his throat. He straightened his tie and walked up to Zack and Cody saying, "Well, boys, I would just like to say thanks. You may not have taken those criminals out, but you did manage to get one step closer to solving this mystery." He shook hands with both of them. "Job well done."

"It's been a pleasure, Mr. Moseby," said Cody formally.

"Of course, you do realize that by this time tomorrow, I'll be wrecking the lobby," joked Zack.

Mr. Moseby smiled. "After the glum atmosphere during the past few hours, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Hey, Moseby!" said Arwin, leaping out of Carey's arms and towards Mr. Moseby. "I've been wondering what to name my new jetpack all day and I think I have a good name for it now: The Deus Ex Machina. What do you think?"

Mr. Moseby smiled wryly. "Brilliant."

Hours later, after being interviewed by the police and the local news stations, Zack and Cody were in their room, sitting next to their story.

"Today's been a long day," sighed Zack. "But I think we ought to finish this story for tomorrow. And you know, I think I have the perfect ending in mind."

He whispered the ending in Cody's ear. Cody said, "That's insane!" He grinned. "I love it!"

"Good," nodded Zack. "Now let's begin to write the end..."