Author's Note: The copyright of the lyrics in italics belong to Sonny and Cher, who made their guest appearance in The New Scooby-Doo Movies Season One episode The Secret of Shark Island, which is one of my most favourite episodes of the series.
Chapter 16: Epilogue and a pickup at the airport
October 24, 1968
While the newspapers and local radio news channels became buzzed by news of the recent indictments of Mayor Francis Jones, State Senator Barty Daggett, District Attorney Dayton Knight and Chief of Police Lou Strickland on a staggering list of federal charges, much of the city remains as business as usual.
Well, business as usual would be a rather stretched way to describe matters at both City Hall and Coolsville Central, considering the arrest of the mayor and the chief of police by federal agents.
From what Sam gathered as he arrived at work that morning with a package, the police department has already had Deputy Chief Rupert Gosnell, the chief of personnel, lined up to replace Strickland on a permanent basis.
Gosnell was, in many ways, worse than Strickland, though Sam wasn't exactly concerned with he could be capable of.
With everything that has unfolded the previous day, Gosnell has his hands fall in trying to contain the fallout, and having had regained his confidence, Sam has made no secret to the incoming chief that he won't go down without a fight should Gosnell try to take on him.
And having had witnessed Strickland's fall from grace, Sam figured that Gosnell should be smart enough to not stand in his way.
As he made his way into the police station, Sam's main concern has more to do with the package he was carrying.
Many in the station were going about their usual routine and business when Sam arrived at the squad room, and when he slammed Pistol onto the floor, he immediately drew everyone's attention.
Claphammer happened to be walking by when Sam slammed Pistol onto the floor, which prompted him to turn towards the lieutenant and ask, "What the h*ll happened to him, Lieutenant?"
Sam didn't mince any words as he replied, "F**ker walked right into my car, that's what the h*ll happened, Claphammer."
By this point, several more people were starting to gather around Sam and Pistol.
"Uh...pardon for asking, Lieutenant, but..." Detective Wilkinson nodded towards Pistol as he continued, "...what are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Sam scoffed before nodding at Pistol and said, "Scumbag's under arrest."
"Under arrest?" Detective Claphammer asked. "You can't be serious, sir. He can't be arrested!"
"Says who?" Sam abruptly turned towards Claphammer and leaned too close to the detective.
Claphammer immediately shuddered, and the lieutenant turned towards the others as he barked, "Who the h*ll says that this f**ker can't be arrested?"
When no one answered his question, Sam stared at each of them squarely as he raised his voice.
"Is there any of you who's cowardly enough to continue to be f**king complicit in allowing criminal scumbags continue to own this city and prey off it?" The lieutenant demanded, his glare cooling down the squad room by ten degrees.
Calming down, Sam then said, "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm no longer one of those cowards."
The lieutenant then proceeded to make his way to his office as he added, "And someone's gonna have to wash the puke off my trunk!"
As Sam stormed his way to his office, he paused briefly to curtly nod at Chan, who nodded back at him.
Also watching the drama unfolding in the squad room stood Sergeant McBride, who briefly nodded at Chan and Neville as well.
November 1, 1968
(Shaggy's Point of View)
It might've been more than a week that we successfully took down the werewolf at that cabin near the Fred Quimby Park, yet it sure was clear that what we saw in the basement isn't leaving my mind any time soon.
I tried not to think too much about the implications of what we've saw, yet the sight of Maggie reminded me squarely just how dangerously close she is in becoming wolf chow, in a matter of speaking.
It doesn't help with the fact that the werewolf that has terrorized the city in the past few weeks was, in fact, a serial killer fantasized with wolves and was an escapee from the insane asylum in the county.
Jeez, at least by now, the werewolf has been taken down and the culprits involved in this conspiracy has been indicted on federal charges.
Even so, the indictments brought no closure to me, especially when the murder charges the culprits faced didn't include that of Mom's murder in that phony "accident", not to mention the fact that it was that "accident" that led me into this wreck that I've taken a long time to sort myself out of.
D*mn, now that I think of it, it feels like another relapse is on the horizon in my dependency for the painkillers that has mitigated the pain in my left arm for quite some time since they botched the surgery.
Either way, I try my best to not think too much about all of that as I went through my day at school and at the radio station, as I've always had done in the week that followed, and then eventually came my time to head home for dinner.
I know for a fact that Fred has his football practice as usual on Fridays - in fact, I gathered that there's an afternoon game against Crystal Cove today, and there's many at school who's staying late to watch the game and cheer on Fred's team, not that I'm a religious follower of high school football.
Likewise, Velma has her science club meeting today, and with Daphne on her internship at the paper, that pretty much leaves me alone with my thoughts as I headed straight home after my goodbyes to Mr. Kasem, Mr. Butler and Mr. Messick.
I sighed as I tried my best not to think too much of all those thoughts that came rushing into my mind since that take down at the cabin, and subsequently the showdown at City Hall last Wednesday.
The last thing I need is for these nightmarish memories to trigger a relapse that would lead me back to the old habits I've been trying to kick since last spring.
Following the 10-minute bus ride, my hair swayed with the cool autumn breeze as I walked down the sidewalk from the bus stop to my place, during which I've noticed that many of the leaves on the trees were in the process of turning red.
At least Coolsville doesn't get as cold as New York does by this point of the year, where the temperatures reach the low-50s at highest as far as I remember.
As I made the turn onto Maple Street from Union Avenue, I squinted my eyes when I saw a familiar-looking figure walking towards my house, which is located just three houses down from the intersection.
What do you know? Daphne Blake was heading straight to my house, and I raised an eyebrow as she turned onto the walkway leading to the front door of my house.
Daphne was staring at her wristwatch as I approached her, then she looked up and blinked briefly.
"Shaggy." Daphne said to me in greeting.
"Daphne." I replied as I stopped in front of her. "I...wasn't expecting to see you here."
As the redhead placed her hands on her hips, I continued, "Thought you'd be heading home by now."
"Actually, my place is just a couple blocks away at the end of Easy Street, so I'm pretty much in the neighbourhood, Shag." Daphne as she nodded down the street towards where the intersection between Maple and Easy is at.
"Oh." I nodded understandingly. "Even so, I thought you'd wouldn't want to be here after what we saw happening last Wednesday..."
I kinda trailed off, not wanting to invoke those dark memories again, though Daphne immediately raised her hand up and said, "No need to remind me."
Nodding again, I exhaled before I asked, "But anyways, what is it that you would like to discuss?"
Daphne said, "Figured that I could use someone to talk to, considering everything that has happened over the past couple of weeks and where does it leave us."
I nodded thoughtfully before I gestured towards the front door and asked, "In that case, you mind if we head inside to talk?"
"No problem." Daphne replied, and I reached into my pocket to grab my keys to unlock the door.
But just as I inserted my keys into the lock, the lock on the other side turned and the door pulled open.
"Pops." I said as Dad stood at the other side of the door.
"Norville." Dad nodded before he saw Daphne and added, "I see you've invited Daphne over."
"Actually, I was just here to speak with Shaggy about-" Daphne spoke up, only for Dad to wave his hand.
"No worries, I actually have something I figured you would like to know, Daphne." Dad said, prompting Daphne to arch her eyebrows briefly.
I nodded as well before I gestured towards the door and said, "In that case, ladies first."
Daphne smiled as she walked into the house, and then I followed her close behind.
As Dad closed the door behind us, Maggie, who was in the kitchen preparing dinner, came out of the kitchen as soon as we entered.
"Oh, you're just in time, Norville." Mags said to me as I stepped into the kitchen. "I need help with the pasta sauce."
"On it." I nodded as I rushed over to first wash my hands before putting on an apron and took over chopping the onions and tomatoes.
While that was happening, I heard Scooby rushing to the front door, barking softly as he stopped at Dad and Daphne.
"Hey there, Scooby." Daphne said as she rubbed Scooby's head. "How's your day?"
Scooby panted enthusiastically and barked twice, and Daphne beamed. "My day's been well."
After being petted by Daphne, Scooby then turned towards Dad, who then rubbed him on the head as I headed up the stairs to my room.
As I climbed down the stairs, I saw Daphne seated at Mom's usual spot while Dad sat at his spot beside her.
"So how are you feeling over the past week, Daphne?" I heard Dad ask.
Daphne exhaled before she responded, "Honestly, it was quite the emotional roller coaster with everything that has happened, what, with all those girls snatched by the Werewolf, uncovering lots of secrets and coming to the rescue...I must say it's a lot to take in."
"I can imagine." Dad nodded. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but how are things between you and your father since then?"
Daphne sighed again, and this time she took longer to answer Dad's question.
"Sorry, I was just wondering." Dad quickly added. "I mean, it must've been a lot to uncover a lot of secrets about your father's company and your godfather-"
"No, no, it's okay, Mr. Rogers." Daphne quickly responded. "It's just that...to be honest, even before all of this blew up, my Dad and I never really talked much."
"Oh?" Dad raised an eyebrow.
"Mostly it's on account of him largely working, plus he seems to be more at ease with my older sisters, who are further ahead on their studies and career paths, whereas I'm the only one who has yet to finalize my plans for after graduation." Daphne admitted. "Let's just say he's got plenty of expectations for me to follow through with my sisters' successes."
"I see." Dad nodded thoughtfully. "If there's one thing I've learned from your father during the war, it's to never be afraid to put in the efforts to meet your goals and the expectations set. Even if you don't meet the expectations in the end, it's the effort that counts, right?"
Daphne nodded silently as Dad continued, "And to be honest with you, before all of this blew up, I have to admit that I've been struggling to find my way through this world after Norville and Margaret's mother was killed."
As Daphne looked at Dad, he continued, "You wouldn't imagine the number of sleepless nights I had, struggling to figure out if I am doing enough to look after Norville and Margaret. Scoobert may be around in giving me some relief from time to time, but those thoughts just keeps on...coming."
"Based on what you were arguing about with my dad at the hospital the other day, it would seem to me that the...self-doubts you had may have lingered by what you've witnessed during the war." Daphne observed.
Now it was Dad's time to be silent, but as I continued to watch them at the dining room, Dad was in a thoughtful mood.
"True." Dad finally said, slowly. "I guess what happened during the war will be a story for another time. For now, I have something you would want to hear."
Dad then looked up to me and added, "That includes you and Margaret, Norville."
I turned towards the kitchen to see Maggie turn to heat down before she walked into the dining room, and Dad motioned for us to take a seat.
"So how are you feeling, Margaret?" Dad asked once Maggie and I took our seats and Scooby have joined us at the table.
Maggie exhaled as Daphne and I turned towards her and I placed my hand on her lap. Scooby then moved to brush himself by her leg.
"Well, I am doing alright, Dad." Maggie said slowly. "Um, I am still having some cold night sweats, but compared to the nightmares I had the first few days since the rescue, it's been swell. Been sleeping well the past couple of nights."
"That's good to hear." Dad nodded before he turned towards me and added, "What about you, Norville?"
I sighed. Should've figured it was only a matter of time before I became the focus of the talk, though to be fair, I think it is long overdue for me to tell Dad and Mags how...I've been feeling.
"Like...I honestly don't know where...to start on this." I said slowly, during which Maggie reached over to place her hand on mine and Scooby rubbed himself on my leg.
"Take your time, son." Dad said softly.
Swallowing, I continued, "But what I saw...in that basement last week...it felt like I was trapped again in that wreckage...with Mom."
"It's been triggering those painful memories from that day, hasn't it?" Dad asked, prompting me to nod.
"It's like...everything's come back to me again." I said as I feel my eyes welling up, prompting Dad to reach over to place his hand on my shoulder. "The pain...the addiction...like everything since that...crash..."
Dad gently squeezed my shoulder. "It's okay, son. Dad's here with Maggie and Scooby."
As Daphne passed me a handkerchief, Dad added, "You don't need to face all of this alone."
After I wiped the tears off my face, Dad said, "I guess...I should apologize for not being there for you, son. To be honest, since your mother died, I myself have...struggled to cope with the grief."
"It's not your fault, Dad." I said as it is me and Maggie's turn to comfort Dad.
"If there's one thing we've learned from the Werewolf affair, it's that we're all learning about our place in society and the world, and it's a learning process that never stops." Maggie added.
Dad nodded as he gently closed his eyes, then he opened them and turned towards Daphne and said, "And I owe you an apology for the way I treated you, Daphne. Must say I let myself get carried away with my unfinished business with your father."
"No apologies are necessary, Mr. Rogers." Daphne quickly said before she turned towards me and reached my hand and added, "I should also apologize to you for being...judgmental towards you, Shaggy."
"All is forgiven, Daphne." I smiled. "The journey we took...making new friends and clearing whatever misunderstandings we had...was worthwhile."
Daphne smiled back as she gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm glad you think so."
Dad and Maggie both smiled, which is when we heard the steam from the pot coming out, prompting me to stand up and race to the kitchen.
"Drat, I forgot to turn the heat down for the water for the pasta." Maggie said behind me as I turned the heat down.
I only did some dental clicks as I turned towards the onions, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and beef, which were sizzling in the pot.
After opening a jar of pasta sauce, Mags proceeded to pour the contents of the jar into the pot.
As I stirred the sauce, Mags moved to add some water into the empty jar to mix with the leftover sauce from it before pouring it into the pot.
"Like, make sure you don't add too much water, Mags." I instructed as I stirred the pot. "Last time you made it, the sauce was too soggy and wet."
Once Mags poured the remaining mix into the pot, she walked over to Daphne as she watched us.
"Does your brother..." Daphne was beginning to ask, only for Mags to answer swiftly.
"Yeah, he does most of the cooking." Maggie replied. "Norville's got a thing for it."
"That's good." Daphne responded.
Maggie then lowered her voice to say something, though in spite of the boiling of the pasta sauce, I can make out what she was saying to Daphne.
"...watch out for his wardrobe." Maggie was saying.
Like, I don't see anything wrong with my wardrobe. Is Maggie talking about those T-shirts I've collected?
"I heard that." I called out. "Like, come on, Mags. There's nothing wrong with those T-shirts I've saved."
"That's what you always say, Norville." Maggie retorted, prompting me to scoff and shake my head.
After lowering the heat to let the sauce simmer, I turned and saw Daphne is once again speaking with Dad as Maggie went to get the pasta ready.
"I appreciate it, Daphne." Dad was saying. "If you kids are insisting on continuing with your work, at least I can rest easy that someone is looking after Norville for his recovery."
As Daphne nodded, Dad continued, "In the meantime, I have been informed by the bureau that in thanks to your father's efforts, the grand jury has successfully indicted State Senator Daggett and co. on a long list of federal charges, which included conspiracy to commit fraud, breach of trust, murder, extortion and corruption."
"I guess that chat I had with him last week pushed him to do the right thing and cooperate." Daphne said. "Though as I said, I don't suppose you could image the case getting to this stage if it continued at its current pace."
"No indeed." Dad agreed.
A short while later, the pasta was all set and as we prepare to set the table, Dad asked, "Before you head home, perhaps you'd like to grab a bite, Daphne?"
He was looking at Daphne expectantly, and Daphne arched her eyebrows as she looked at him.
Her eyes darted first towards Maggie, and then me, and then back to Dad before she nodded.
"I don't suppose there's a way for me to say no to that, Mr. Rogers." Daphne replied.
Dad smiled. "Then, let's get the plates ready."
As Daphne and us began setting the dinner plates, the song I Got You Babe began playing on the radio.
The introductory notes began as Dad passed the plates to Mags, and she set off to set the table for the four of us.
"They say we're young and we don't know..." Sonny began. "...we won't find out until we grow."
As Daphne set the forks and napkins, Cher took over as she sang, "Well I don't know if all that's true, 'cause you got me, and baby I got you."
And then as the instruments began playing the main theme, the duo sang, "Babe...I got you babe...I got you babe"
The song continued to play as we finished up with the pasta and placed all the pots on the dining table, and then the four of us proceeded to take our seats and serve ourselves.
I also served a dish of our pasta to Scoob's bowl and placed it down on the floor beside the table as Sonny and Cher sang, "I got you to walk with me, I got you to talk with me. I got you to kiss goodnight, I got you to hold me tight. I got you, I won't let go, I got you to love me so."
Eventually, the main lyrics "I got you babe" began alternating with the main instrumental theme and gradually fade out as we dug in together.
(Third Person)
Meanwhile, the high school football match between Coolsville Central and Crystal Cove had went into overtime with neither side appeared to be on the verge of scoring the winning run.
At present, both teams were having a time out and were gathered around their respective coaches.
Fred listened intently as Coach Clay barked out his usual orders, and he glanced around and noticed that Troy Drake, the quarterback, wasn't among the players gathered with them around their coach.
The blonde frowned as he wondered where Troy was, and then when they were dismissed by the coach and returned to their positions, he spotted the quarterback crouched behind the bench.
Unaware that Fred was observing him, Troy poured something into his water fountain, replaced the cover and shook it gently before opening it and gulped the water down.
Fred didn't think much about what Troy just drank until when a member of the opposing team managed to grab the ball from Red and raced towards the goal post.
Without warning, Troy slammed into the player in question with a check that was so hard that the player ended up flying towards the opposing team's bench.
The Crystal Cove players, upon seeing their teammate flying towards them, swiftly got off the bench and moved out of the way, just in time for the player to slam right into the bench and snapped it in half.
As Fred stared at the scene in disbelief, the referee blew the whistle while rushing over to the players from the opposing teams who were now crowding and arguing about what Troy just did.
Almost immediately, Coach Clay got onto the field to escort Troy off-field while barking at the referee, shouting, "Big deal. That was just a check."
However, it was what the coach said to Troy as he led him to the lockers that led to Fred's frown deepen.
"Nice move, kid." Clay said to Troy, who nodded and grinned maliciously.
Even though he was a good distance away from the duo, Fred could tell what the coach was saying to Troy based on the pat on the back and Troy's grin.
A short while later, after Coolsville Central scored the game-winning touchdown, the football team headed their separate ways after getting changed in the team locker room.
In spite of his growling stomach, rather than heading straight home, Fred decided to follow Troy, especially after Troy took a turn and headed the opposite direction towards where his home was at.
Silently shadowing Troy from a distance, Fred maintained the frown on his face.
What the h*ll was it that Troy added to his water that led to him getting the strength he needed to slam the opposing player into the benches, snapping it in half? Fred wondered to himself.
After what seemed like forever, Troy eventually arrived at a dark alleyway near the outskirts of downtown and rounded the corner.
Unaware that he was being followed, Troy relaxed as he approached the pair of goons.
As Fred peaked around the corner and looked on, Troy said, "Hey guys."
The first goon stepped forward and shook his hand. "You got the stuff?"
Troy reached into his school bag, pulled out a full paper bag and shook it gently.
At the sound of the metallic cling from inside the paper bag, Troy replied, "It's all here, just as you've asked, Andy."
Andy nodded as he took the paper bag from Troy, opened it and peeked inside. Then, he nodded and snapped his fingers.
Right on cue, the second goon stepped forward and handed another paper bag to Troy.
"Should be enough for you to keep your team on a winning streak, kid." The second goon said.
Fred's eyes narrowed as he watched Troy accepting the paper bag, during which the second goon added, "Boss is gonna be happy when you help him win a windfall in betting on your team."
Without missing a beat, Fred stepped back and swiftly headed the opposite direction before stepping into a nearby diner.
Reaching the counter, the blonde asked, "Mind if I borrow your phone? Just need to make a quick phone call."
"Of course." The cashier nodded.
Fred placed a $5 bill on the counter and said, "Keep the change."
The cashier stared at the blonde suspiciously briefly before accepting the bill and looked up, saying, "Got some dirty dishes to clear."
Once the cashier was out of earshot, Fred glanced around before picking up the earpiece and dialled a number.
When the party at the other end answered, Fred said, "It's me, Velms. I hope I'm not interrupting your dinner time."
A pause went by before the blonde scratched his head and said, "Yeah, listen. I think Red Herring's gonna be the least of your worries if you decide to do this with me again, Velms, so hear me out."
Another pause went by before Fred said, "I think someone's involving the team in some match-fixing ring in exchange for PEDs."
Meanwhile, over at San Francisco International Airport, George Blake was waiting patiently at the arrivals terminal as he consulted the time on his watch.
The former Marine Raider sighed as he noted the time, and his eyes wondered to the departures and arrivals display board.
He was focused on one particular flight that was arriving from Vancouver, British Columbia, and as he scanned the board, he noted that the flight in question, operated by Canadian Pacific Air Lines was in customs following arrival five minutes ago.
Tapping his foot, the businessman reached into his suit pocket and took out a pipe and placed it in his mouth.
Then, he struck a match and light the flame in the chamber of the bowl before shaking the flame out and produced a couple of puffs.
It may have been a day since the federal indictments came through that saw Barty Daggett indicted on charges of money laundering, conspiracy to commit fraud, breach of trust, corruption and murder, and George was feeling that a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.
But even so, he can tell there are dark clouds forming in the horizon regarding the future of Blake Enterprises.
Specifically, he knew that Oakley is going to want his investment back now that Daggett has been indicted, and Oakley's rivals are probably going to move in with the piece of the action.
While he trust that Sam Rogers would come through in doing the right thing, he also knows that it won't be an easy feat for the police department to adequately deal with the mob, nor was he keen in getting the bureau further involved, not when the director seemed eager to sweep the existence of the Mafia under the rug.
Which is why he is waiting at the San Francisco airport at this very moment, waiting for what he would describe as...a wild card. Someone who has the motivation to rid this city of the organized crime that has placed a stranglehold on it.
And someone who would be of great assistance to his youngest daughter and her friends in fighting against the criminal dominance of this city.
Several moments went by before the passengers from the flight began descending towards the luggage claim area, and he paused and glanced at his watch again.
Another few moments went by before a man with brown hair and wearing a tan suit began approaching him, pulling a suitcase.
Huffing out the smoke from his pipe, George smiled as he opened up his arms.
"Radley." George exclaimed as the man in front of him smiled back and walked over.
"George." Radley nodded back as the two men shared a handshake and a brief embrace. "It's been a while."
"Indeed it has been." George nodded. "I take it that your trip overseas was a breeze, eh?"
"Yes, they were." Radley replied as George lead him towards the exit. "I don't suppose Coolsville has changed much during my years away, eh?"
"Afraid not." George shook his head as he lead Radley to his parked car. "Though I suppose that's about to change soon."
Radley didn't say another word as he got his luggage onto the trunk, then he got on the car and George drove off.
Throughout the two-hour drive back to Coolsville, Radley was busy staring at the surrounding scenery.
As the car drove past the "Welcome to Coolsville" sign, the look in Radley's eyes darkened as the familiar-looking night time skyline of the city began to turn up.
The night time skyline was a painful reminder of the traumatic event that occurred sixteen years ago in the city, an event that subsequently fueled the fire for the new crusade he is about to embark on.
The car then drove across a bridge, during which the scene shifts to the creek the bridge crosses over of.
Under the shadow of the darkness, a falcon can be seen diving towards the river, where it subsequently scoops up with a swamp rat.
And so we've come to a close to this story, though as you all can see, folks, the final sections of this chapter overshadows the events that have yet to occur in the course of the series.
In fact, you can say that the gang's adventures are just beginning, adventures that will continue in D7 City of Mysteries: Riddle of the Syndicate.
Please read and review!