Chapter 21

During the ride to the second place, Daphne rejected dozens of calls from Alan, and Shaggy endlessly scolded the poor dog - with his dog-language app on, so he could understand the meaning of Scooby-Doo´s sounds. When Daphne's cell phone rang for the twentieth time, she accepted the call

Daphne: Jenkins, what a surprise! What´s going on?

Jenkins: Your father has asked me to take you to Monaco immediately, Ms. Blake… he is waiting for you there…

Daphne: What? No! I can't, Jenkins, I'm going to Seoul with the gang tonight… we… we will…

Daphne looked at us desperately, asking for an acceptable lie to justify our trip.

Fred: We will spend our vacation around Asia…

Daphne: We will spend our vacation around Asia, Jenkins, I´m sorry, I can't cancel the trip now… can´t dad postpone this trip?

Jenkins: Unfortunately, it´s not possible, Ms. Blake, he was very clear about getting you out of the country immediately…

Daphne: Why, Jenkins, what's going on?

Jenkins: The FBI will interrogate you about the Blake-Applegate case…they´ve kept Delilah all morning, and you father is afraid that you´ll be the next. That´s why he wants you to leave the country immediately, whether to Monaco or to Seoul…

We looked at Daphne with empathy. Scooby-Doo put his sad head on her shoulder – to comfort her, and also to ask for some comfort, since Shaggy was being mean to him. She looked at us with sadness and asked what she should do.

Fred: I think we'll be ready to leave in two or three hours…

Shaggy: You mean four or five hours, right? Don´t forget lunch time, I will not board a plane without lunch!

Fred: Ok, tell the pilots to be ready in five hours…

Jenkins agreed and I shuddered when I realized that I would be in Seoul sooner than I expected. When I noticed, Fred parked a few meters away from the "Christian Association". In front of the place, there were some people handing out leaflets to passers-by, and in the background, I could see Liberty´s building.

Fred: Why don´t you get off here, gang? I'll look for a more discreet place to park. We´re too close to Liberty, the feds might see us.

We all agreed and Fred left us. Scooby-Doo seemed resentful of his owner, because he was close to me during the short walk, and he offered his leash to Daphne and let her lead him. During the period of Scooby's doggy snub, Shaggy petted him, but the dog completely ignored him.

Daphne: Ok, gang, what´s our plan now? Are any of you a devout christian? Or do you know something about the bible? My parents are Catholic, but I´ve never learned much… after all, everyone knows the official religion of the Blake family is the money…

Shaggy: Like, I just know that Jesus was a fucking nice guy…

Daphne: Shaggy! We are in front of a church! You can't say such words here!

Velma: It's not exactly a church, Daphne, it's only a Christian association...

Shaggy: Like, but there's a cross there…

Velma: Because it's a CHRISTIAN association, duh! According to Google and the social networks, it is philanthropic organization, so I think we can just go there and donate some money… and by the way, God doesn´t exist… the Bible is just an anthology of fiction authors describing their perceptions about the world… and there are plenty of empirical evidence that Jesus was a character created based on pagan myths…

Daphne: Velma! Don't say that God doesn't exist in front of his son!

Shaggy: Yeah, Velma, like, the guy is fucking nice! Don´t mess with him just because you're an atheist!

Daphne: Shaggy! Don't use such words!

I rolled my eyes and sighed when I realized that discussion would be as productive as the effects of religious fanaticism throughout human history.

Velma: Okay, forget it, I have a plan… according to Flim Flam, Gi-Hun has made a big donation to the association, so I think we should do the same to find out whatever he has done in that place…

Shaggy: Like, good idea! I have, like… one… two… three… three fifty… three seventy five… four dollars and ten cents…

Velma: Wow, a donation that ends with "ten cents"! If I were God, I would certainly punish you...

Daphne laughed while Shaggy scowled at me. Scooby-Doo just approached, grabbed one of the action figures inside the pocket of his tutor's pants, threw the toy in our direction and looked at us with joy.

Shaggy: What? Now you want to donate them, Scooby-Doo? I should have left you in the kennel!

Scooby started barking at him and their argument restarted when Norville's app revealed exactly the meaning of those barks. Before Daphne and I could do or say anything, Fred appeared.

Fred: Gang, it´s our lucky day! In a few minutes, the Christian Association will hold an addiction support group meeting… take a look at this leaflet…

Shaggy: Like, and why are we fucking lucky about it, Jones?

Daphne: Shaggy! Stop saying these words!

Fred: We are lucky to have an infiltrator at that meeting...

The awkward smile in our faces while we looked Shaggy up and down was enough for him to understand that, once again, he would be our bait.

Shaggy: What? No! No way! Like, why do I have to be the bait? And why do I have to play the stoner role, that's a fucking prejudice, dammit! Anyone can use drugs, personal appearance has nothing to do with it!

Daphne: Shaggy's right, gang, we're being judgmental...

Velma: Oh, come on, gang, we´re not raising any kind of prejudice! Considering the four of us, it's obvious that Shaggy is the one that seems to be a stoner… Fred and Daphne look too healthy, and I look like someone who knows all the chemical reactions to produce meth…because, in fact, I really do… so…

Shaggy: What? Like, I remember Ms. know-it-all smoking once during high school!

Velma: Once! But you´ve been smoking since high school…

Fred: I think we can use Dinkley as a bait... her leftist politics books are really a drug... a hallucinogenic drug, I'd say...

Velma: "Hallucinogenic" is to remain republican election after election, Fred, you conservative asshole!

Shaggy: Ok, I´ll do this shit, like, anything is better than your boring political discussions. Now shut the fuck up!

Before Daphne could offer him a cookie, Shaggy snatched the package from her hands and walked towards the association. Scooby-Doo accompanied him, expecting a cookie, but Shaggy ignored him the entire way. We watched him play his role, and as we'd suspected, his appearance created an immediate bond with those people, including the Christian ladies handing out leaflets. Daphne forwarded the videos of Ga-yeong´s testimony to Flim Flam while she ignored more calls from Alan Mayberry. An unconfortable silence reigned between Fred and Daphne until Fred dared to break it.

Fred: So, did… did you…uh... sleep well last night?

Daphne didn't look at him, she just nodded.

Fred: And… uh… did you… like… the… the bed?

It was a stupid Fred Jones question in Fred Jones style, of course, but I admired the fact that Fred was, at least, trying. However, Daphne showed no admiration.

Daphne: No, it was the worst bed I've ever slept in my life...

Fred chuckled nervously and tried to work around the offense… in Fred Jones style, of course.

Fred: No, you're saying this because… because… you were on the wrong side, the side where Velma slept is better and… maybe… if you…uh… stay there… other times you'll change… you know?… your mind…

Fred trying to express his feelings by talking about beds made me feel such a secondhand embarrassment that I gave some steps forwards to stay away from that conversation. Daphne followed me, trying to escape from the question, but she returned when she formulated a good answer in her head.

Daphne: No, I won't, the bed really sucks… the only good thing about it is that it smells like you…

Apparently, the "good answer" made more sense inside her mind. When the words – and the Freudian slip - came out, they both blushed and Daphne got annoyed. Before Fred could react, she continued.

Daphne: Oh, what a stupid question, Frederick! Why don't you put your bed on Trip Advisor and let the hundreds of women who have slept there give you star ratings?

Daphne´s face was as red as her hair. She didn't wait for an answer and left us, and Fred followed her with his eyes, with a silly smile on his lips.

Velma: Do you always talk about beds to ask women out? Or it was just a special occasion?

Fred: Do you always faint when you hear about people using masks or it was just a special occasion?

I scowled at Fred and his goofy smile widened.

Fred: Seriously… are you okay?

Velma: Who are you and what have you done with the asshole I know by the name of Fred Jones? First, you´ve started a weird conversation about beds, now you´re worried if I'm okay…?

Fred: Please answer before I regret asking...

We both laughed, but we were interrupted by non-stop barks from Scooby-Doo. Shaggy tried to calm him down, but Scooby started chasing one man in front of the Christian association.

Thomas: Hey, this guy with the dog is from DEA! I remember him when one narcotics agent arrested me five years ago! I bet he's trying to infiltrate our group!

The accusation made all eyes focus on Shaggy and Scooby-Doo - and Scooby barking at those people just confirmed he was really a K9. Shaggy smiled awkwardly and tried to explain himself, but the Christian ladies asked him to leave immediately. Annoyed, Shaggy came to us dragging Scooby by the leash and muttering swear words.

Velma: What happened, Shags?

Fred: Did you find something out?

Shaggy: Like, not much. I´ve asked those ladies if they know my good friend Gi-Hun, then I showed them his picture. One of them recognized him, and she´s said he was here yesterday, attending the grief support group… then he asked permission to use the restroom, and he stayed there during the entire meeting. When he finally returned, he donated some money and left…

Daphne: Grief support group? So we can consider he is grieving the loss of someone…?

Shaggy: I don´t know! Like, maybe the loss of his friend Sang-woo…

Daphne: Or the loss of the others… the ones whose families he´s been financially helping…

Velma: Did he leave something there? Did he say something?

Shaggy: I don't think so... like, I didn't even have time to find out... that motherfucker exposed me…

When Shaggy swore, Daphne approached and kicked his shin to make him stop saying such words in front of the church.

Fred: Maybe the answer must be inside the association´s restroom… we need to find some way to get there…

Shaggy: Like, how am I going to do this now? They´ve recognized me from DEA times…

Daphne: I think we should go this time…

Velma: Damn, I´ve already said we don't seem to be addicts! They will realize we are from NYPD, and they will kick us out like they have done with Shaggy and Scooby...

Fred: We don't seem to be addicts, but I think we can have some illnesss… or a child with a disability...

Fred showed us the leaflet with several support groups. He stared at us and waited for our opinion about that extremely nasty idea.

Daphne: Freddie, we can´t lie to these people … they are already in so much pain!

Shaggy: Yeah, like, it´s not nice to fake something like that... it's okay to lie about smoking pot, but fake a cancer?

Then, Fred looked at me – the only one who has morals as practical, controversial and flexible as his.

Velma: Holy shit, Jones, you´ve flunked biology during all high school, do you really think you are able to fake a disease? I bet you barely know all the organs´ functions…

Fred: That's why I'm taking the person who helped me pass with me…

Velma: Fred… Damn… isn't there anything less horrible in this leaflet? Something that we could fit in? I can´t fake something like that…

Fred: Hey, I think this group is perfect, take a look… pregnancy and first-time parents… they´ll have a meeting in two hours… I think we both have a lot to learn about our little Jones, Dinkley…

Fred handed me the leaflet and smiled.

Velma: What? Me? No, no way! Daphne is a girl too, don´t you know?

Daphne: Yes, but I would never accept it!

Fred: Daphne doesn't seem to be pregnant…

Velma: Just pretend she´s just found out about it, you fat phobic jerk!

Fred: Daphne is George Blake´s daughter, if Blake family had another heir on the way, media would talk about it…

Velma: And I'm a Dinkley! My family is the Kardashians of science, if another Dinkley genius was on the way, media would talk about it too!

I realized Fred´s effort to not choose Daphne.

Fred: Velma, no offense, but nobody cares about science... please… we need to hurry…

And I noticed that Daphne was hurt for not being chosen this time.

Velma: You´re expecting people to believe I would be irrational enough to conceive a descendant of Fred Jones, that´s offensive! After all, Darwin says the dumbest are doomed to extinction...

Daphne: Awww, imagine a mini Velma with blue eyes, how cute!

Velma: Awww, imagine a mini Fred with a brain! Oh, forget it, that´s impossible…

Fred: Ok, I´ll consider it a "yes". We'll come back in two hours, then.

Velma: No! The answer is absolutely not!

Fred: Velma, we need to do this! Our visit to Eun-Ji's house provided us a great clue, I bet the final missing piece to solve this mystery is inside this place...

Daphne: Yeah, Velma, please! Remember: the little girl told us Gi-Hun wants help…

Shaggy was checking his cell phone messages and he didn't even notice I was looking at him and expecting a reasonable opinion that would not make me play such ridiculous role.

Shaggy: Like, gang… Flim Flam texted me before taking the flight to Seoul… he´s said Ga-yeong's testimony has made Seoul police monitor the city´s subway, they´re trying to find who is recruiting people for the games...

Fred: See, we're on the right way, our work is helping people! We can't give up now... please...

I took a deep breath and accepted. Then, Scooby gave me one of Norville's action figures (bitten and drooled) to show his gratitude.


When we got back to Fred's apartment, Shaggy and Scooby excitedly ripped the packages of food open. Simultaneously, Daphne and Fred gathered our belongings and packed everything into suitcases. I watched both spectacles with the same horror. The first caused me anger, because something good (my delicious lunch) disappeared. The second caused me anguish, because something terrible (the luggage for that damn trip) was built… but no feeling could be compared to the horrible feeling that was torturing me for days. When Fred called me to go back to the association, I froze. I really wanted to solve that case soon and find an end to all those horrors, but at the same time, I didn't want to know more than I already knew. Maybe because deep inside my heart I knew that bad omen was right. Inexplicably, irrationally right. So right that it seemed to be the truest evidence we had. And, unfortunately, the only evidence that we weren´t taking seriously.

Fred: Come on, Mrs. Jones, our new-parents class starts in twenty minutes...

Fred's mocking tone made Daphne and Shaggy laugh, but I could still see some resentment in Daphne's eyes. Once again, I didn't have neither strength to accept the bad omen, nor the courage to talk about it with my friends. But, at least, I had enough energy to show my middle finger to Fred Jones while we left the apartment. "The secret to acchieve success is taking one challenge at a time", some say. And that's what I´ve done. My only mistake was prioritizing the wrong challenge.


Fred: Hey, Mrs. Jones, how many weeks pregnant of Junior are you?

Fred childishly teased me and snapped me out of my dark thoughts. When I looked at him, he was smiling in the same stupid way he smiles when he does something to piss me off.

Velma: Junior? Seriously? Would you really name your son Fred, while your name is Fred, and your father is also named Fred?

Fred: My grandfather was also Fred… so the baby would be Fred IV…

Velma: OMG, a dynasty of jerks…

My comment was an insult, but it was so sarcastic and creative that we both laughed for a while.

Fred: Wow, what an enthusiasm, huh, Dinkley… without a plan and with all this motivation, they will find out about our lie…

Velma: Yeah, I'm really not that focused today… as for you… for someone who's been avoiding relationships, you seem way too excited about the idea of having a baby…

Fred blushed and all the mockery disappeared from his face. He babbled some lame excuses, and when he realized that he couldn't convince me, he stopped talking.

Velma: Fred, you can deceive some christian ladies with your lies, but you can't lie to me… tell me the truth, why didn't you choose Daphne this time?

Fred: Daphne is not from NYPD... and I right now, I need a forensics scientist…

Velma: Understandable. But in the last ten years, Daphne wasn't a member of NYPD either, nor was she a forensics scientist, and you´ve always chosen her...

Fred: Like I´ve said, she doesn´t seem to be pregnant... people would suspect…

Velma: You didn't choose Daphne because she doesn´t seem to be pregnant or because she wanted to be pregnant?

Fred glared angrily at me and I faced him with a serious look, insisting on the question. Then, he sighed impatiently and looked away from me.

Fred: Velma, I´m trying… really… but I think we will never work our differences out… what she has done this morning… that tantrum… is just an example of how different we are, she is the daughter of a billionaire banker and she is used to slam doors to make people do whatever she wants, and I am just a police officer that…

Velma: It´s funny to hear that… a few days ago, I´ve watched a mayor's son throw a freaky tantrum and give his case to the FBI just because the girl he says he's not that into kissed another guy in front of him... and he is used to do this kind of immature thing to convince that girl to do whatever he wants... so, I see no big difference at all…

My interruption made Fred look away again. I realized he had never noticed he behaves like that.

Velma: Fred, you are alike, and the feelings you have for each other are too… you just live in different circumstances, and that´s ok! If you both share your feelings, you can overcome that with love…

Fred: Oh, sure, we overcame a lot of differences ten years ago, didn´t we? No, I´ve messed everything up, Velma! I´ve ruined everything with my feelings! I can´t do it again and lose her forever… and I don´t care how many door she will slam, it´s safer to keep the things in this way…you know, a good friendship…

Velma: Can´t you see this "safer way" is making you lose her too? Do you really think she will wait forever? Or… do you really think she will be here forever?

I let the last phrase go out of my mouth automatically, and I only realized what I had said when Fred stared at me in shock. Next, a couple of tears fell down my cheeks in the same automatic way - I don´t know if it was due to Fred´s glare or to the meaning of those words. I tried to hide my crying, but suddenly I sobbed and I failed miserably.

Fred: I think I am not the only one who needs to talk about feelings, uh?… ladies first…

Velma: You definitely don´t know when it´s appropriate to be a gentleman!

Fred: Don't make me give up asking...

I looked away, sighed, adjusted my glasses and, for the first time in my life, I prepared myself to talk about things that I couldn't explain.

Velma: I know how hard it is to people like us to talk about feelings because they´re neither rational, nor logical… but I´ve concluded they are a necessary evil, Fred... they are as essential as science... because sometimes they tell us things that our logical reasoning cannot comprehend and... well… when Ga-yeong mentioned "masked evil men", I… I felt something really bad in my heart… I dont know, I got scared, and I felt that something…

Fred: Velma, we deal with masked villains all the time... they're just assholes who wear a disguise to pretend they´re dangerous!

Velma: No! I wasn´t afraid of the masked men… I was afraid… of my feelings… in fact, I felt a bad omen, a strange feeling that something is getting out of our control, and I'm feeling it all the time while we move forward on this case…

Fred: And this feeling is called guilt, we´ve already talked about that.

Velma: No, it's nothing about Marcie, Fred… this bad omen is about… maybe… us! That´s why I´ve inevitably said that phrase…I feel that something is wrong, we´re losing control, and we are taking Shaggy and Daphne with us…

Even though the traffic light was green, Fred braked and looked at me for a while. I could see some tension in his eyes.

Fred: Yeah, I admit this is the most bizarre and the darkest case we've ever taken, but I don't see any reason to be so scared… no matter how evil they seem, they´re still assholes using a disguise… plus, Interpol is helping, in some hours, all the VIPS will be in prison...

Velma: But, if none of these things happen? If… we fail… and we end in that reality show, playing those games?

Fred: Oh, c´mon, are we really taking Shaggy seriously now?

Velma: We should!

Fred: C´mon, you know his experience with drugs has made him paranoid… he´s always afraid of stupid things… once he said our suspect was a creepy werewolf, and it was only a guy with hypertrichosis… don´t you remember?

Fred laughed and expected me to laugh too, but I couldn´t.

Velma: But this time, it´s not only Shaggy… Ga-yeong has told us the same story…

Fred: Really? We will trust a 10-yo, hurt daughter of divorced parents? It´s obvious that she only wants her mother´s attention, Dinkley… she would say or do anything to get it…

Velma: We won´t trust her sanity just because her parents divorced…? How cliché…

Fred: No, it´s not a cliché, I am a divorced parents´ child, and that´s exactly what we do all the time during all our fucking lives, trust me!

Velma: But… but they´re making sense, Fred! You can´t deny they´re making sense! And… and things are getting dangerous…

Fred didn´t reply, but his face expressed a lot of assurance of what he was saying. I just took a deep breath and prepared myself to talk about my dream – and make someone as skeptical as I believe me. I was ashamed of sounding insane, but I needed to make Fred understand the risks we were taking.

Velma: Well, let me try to make you understand… when we interview parents whose children have disappeared, some of them say they had a strange feeling in that fateful day… as if something was trying to alert them that something is wrong…

Fred: Yet another example of a physiological effect caused by guilt... only neglectful parents feel this kind of thing…usually, it happens because they´ve ignored dangerous signs…

Velma: That´s the point: what if we are being neglectful parents, Fred? Ignoring all the signs, taking Daphne, Shaggy and ourselves to a fateful mistake? Look, I know it's weird to say this, but when Ga-yeong mentioned evil masked men, I´ve nearly fainted because… I had… a disturbing dream, in which I saw men with the same characteristics… and in that dream… you… you were dead.

My voice failed when I said "dead", and I felt more tears running down. Fred was serious for a few moments, then a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

Fred: Daphne is broke, you're believing in dreams and Shaggy is making sense... wow, things are more bizarre than I´ve imagined…

Velma: Fred, can you please make some effort to understand me? We know that all those people disappeared and died… should we really go to Seoul?

Fred: And what other choices do we have, Dinkley?

Velma: Stay here, let Interpol finish this case, let George´s and Steven´s lawyers solve their problems… see? We have many options…

Fred: And all them are exactly what the VIPs expect us to do! All them will help them clandestinely kill innocents for fun, while FBI screws up the Blakes´ lives, can´t you see? We can´t give up now, we need to help them!

Velma: Why? Just because this is the "opportunity of your life"?

My anger had made me raise my voice, but when I looked Fred right in the eye, I could feel the reason of that urge to solve the mystery. Then, all my anger disappeared.

Velma: Jinkies, this is really the oportunity of your life, isn´t it? To prove the Blakes you´re good enough?

Fred didn´t look at me, nor did he say a word about that subject, but his head nodded in agreement.

Velma: Fred, look, I understand your reasons… they´re good reasons… but you can´t just put yourself at risk for it! Dont you think you should make something simpler? I don´t know, maybe a dinner? A family meeting? Or maybe you can just introduce yourself to George again, and you both agree to have a new start? It will surely work!

Fred: Surely! It has worked a lot with you and Marcie´s parents, hasnt it? Thats why you are here, giving me your precious advices, while your fiancée is in Florida with her parents! Please, tell me more about your huge, successful experience about it… maybe it´s worth a try…

The sarcasm brought my anger back, but Fred´s mocking smile made me laugh at what I had just said. However, instead of joy, the laugh just created more tears in my eyes.

Fred: Velma, hey, calm down! Think rationally, ok? The last few days have been very stressful for all of us, so it's normal to let the emotions out and allow them to influence your rational side… that's the real reason why you are feeling a bad omen, and why you had a nightmare… it´s not supernatural to react to difficult moments...

His comforting words made my tears dry, until one last sob finally ended my crying. I squeezed Fred's fingers caressing my trembling hand and mumbled a quiet "thank you".

Fred: Right now, we need to be strong and keep our sanity... this case is close to an end, and when it happens, I SWEAR to you that both you and me will be much better people... or, at least, we will be better enough to handle with our complicated feelings in a different way…

Velma: What if… it's too late? I´m afraid it will be too late…

I didn't mean to say that, but the sentence came out of my mouth like a sigh. Inevitably, a tear fell, but Fred wiped it away before it could reach my cheek.

Fred: It's never too late, it will just be the right time... now, I need you to pull yourself together, reset that 32TB NAS that you call your brain and talk about all that stupid biology stuff Professor Ruffalo taught us… I mean, he taught you, I was sleeping…

Velma: If you keep saying stupid things about computers, I won´t pull myself together…

Fred: Great, a snarky comment! You're really getting better... continue, please, exercise your sarcasm…

Velma: I think I´ll keep the rudeness. We need to look like a real couple, so we can't seem very happy...

We both laughed while Fred parked the car next to the Christian Association. We discussed the lies we were going to tell, and the moment I got out of the car, I squeezed his hand again and wished him good luck.

Velma: Fred, you are a good person… a good friend… a good captain… and a good hero… I just want you to know that…

"Before it's too late", was what a sad voice inside my mind said, with the same anguished tone that had made me cry minutes before. Fortunately, it wasn't too late to make him understand: it was just the right time.


Gladys: Hello! I'm Gladys Sullivan and I´m a retired nurse. Welcome to first-time parents group!

The smiling old lady who greeted us was so adorable that I felt like a monster for lying to her.

Gladys: Aww, darling! Look at you, so tiny! You don't even seem to be pregnant!

The compliment made me give Fred a victorious glare.

Fred: We´ve just found out about it...

Gladys: Oh, do I know you, son? I feel that I know you… and well, being so handsome, I´d surely I remember you…

Velma: My husband is the captain of NYPD, Mrs. Sullivan. He's a bit famous because when NYPD forensics team solves a crime, he takes all the credit for himself...

Fred surreptitiously elbowed me and I smiled.

Gladys: Oh, that's it, captain Jones! It´s an honor to welcome you here! I've been your fan since you arrested Stuart Weatherby… good to hear that another Jones is on the way! New York really needs another Frederick Jones...

Velma: Charles Darwin would totally disagree with you, ma´am…

My whisper didn't reach Gladys's elderly hearing, but it did make Fred elbow me again. Then, Mrs. Sullivan showed us the way to the meeting room and mentioned some instructions.

Velma: I´m sorry, Mrs. Sullivan, before I join the others, I'll have to puke one more time...

Gladys: Oh darling, morning sickness is terrible, isn't it? I went through this 60 years ago, five times… the restroom is over there, it's gender-neutral to make everyone feel welcome… so, if you need your husband's help, he can go with you…

I thanked her, and I pretended I was feeling nausea until we entered the restroom and Fred locked the door. The place was slightly larger than an elevator and, apparently, it had no suspicious things. Fred and I looked for evidence, but the walls and the ceiling were intact.

Fred: I'm starting to think that Gi-Hun just wanted to use the restroom... there's nothing here...

While analyzing the floor, I found a familiar thing inside a trash can: a container identical to the ones we´ve found at the airport, with the same label written in Korean and, apparently, with the same substance inside. Immediately, I put on a disposable glove, took the container out of the trash can and showed it to Fred.

Velma: I don't think so... there's something here...

My discovery made us desperate for a clue. We ransacked the bins, removed the mirror, looked under the sink… but found nothing relevant.

Fred: Shit, I should have brought some luminol... there's something here...

Velma: You shouldn't… this is the forensics´ work…

I took the luminol spray bottle out of my purse and I started spraying around. Then, I took my black light flashlight and watched the chemical reaction happen.

Fred: Instead of lipstick, you carry luminol and a black light inside your purse? You are a very strange woman...

Velma: I'll take that as a compliment... sexist, but a compliment...

The luminol revealed a circle, a triangle, and a square on a large tile of the restroom´s floor. Fred smiled and stamped his foot on the stains, but the sound emitted proved the tile wasn't hollow. I bent down to check and I noticed that the grout around the tile was worn out. Then, we used a small knife as a lever to detach it, and we found an old manhole cover.

Fred: Velma, I think we´ll need that flashlight...

Velma: Oh no, sewage no!

Fred grabbed the flashlight and went down. When he disappeared into the darkness, I joined him against my will. The descent was not that long and ended in a one-way tunnel made of 19th-century bricks. Fortunately, there was no sign of human or industrial waste around the place.

Fred: We're lucky. Apparently, it's a decommissioned sewer network...

Velma: I hope the cockroaches, rats and spiders were decommissioned too…

Fred grabbed the luminol spray bottle from my hands and sprayed along the way. A few meters ahead, the luminol reacted and revealed a thin trail. We followed the luminous trail until we found a ladder similar to the one we went down. Then, Fred handed me the objects and went up. The ladder looked much longer than the one we'd gone down, and it also ended in an old metal manhole cover, which Fred quickly pushed. The force Fred applied to the lid pushed a blue plastic flooring and a huge, black gift-shaped box that were blocking our way.

Velma: Jinkies! Are we at Liberty?

The place was similar to the secret corridor we had found at Liberty. And to my dismay, that corridor reminded me of my nightmare.

Fred: That´s what GPS says…

Fred noticed that an intense horror paralyzed me, and he took control of the situation. He searched around for clues and sprayed the walls and the floor, expecting to find something. I grabbed his arm and tried to follow him – I confess that I did it just because I was afraid my nightmare would come true. When I noticed that we were too far from the place we entered, I told him to stop.

Velma: Fred... we can't go on!

Fred: We're close, Velma, we can't give up now! We need to find a clue!

Before I could answer, a very loud crack echoed and made us both freeze. I pulled Fred back to the manhole place and he obeyed with some resistance. But when we arrived at the exit, Fred refused to return. He started searching around, and the noise he made while rummaging through the boxes made my anxiety increase. I got so nervous that I couldn't do anything but look obsessively to both sides of the corridor to see if anyone was approaching.

When Fred opened one of the gift-shaped boxes, he found a piece of the plastic flooring folded in forths, and we noticed tthere was something between the folded layers. Fred carefully unfolded the first layer, ans three photos fell from them. Two of the photos showed very young female faces, with Asian features and short hair, and the third showed a familiar face: a smiling, middle-aged asian man and with red hair. There was something written in the back of Gi-Hun's photo, but when I tried to read it, the loud crack echoed through the hall again. Following the snap, rhythmic step noises emerged, so I put the photos and the plastic inside my purse and helped Fred organize the boxes - so it wouldn't be obvious they'd been rummaged by someone. Then, we went down the ladder quickly, but halfway there, Fred stopped and slowly went up a few steps. The approach of the step noises panicked me, and I tugged at Fred's ankles to make him go down, but he didn't do it. Fear made me go down the ladder pretty quickly, but when I reached the old sewage network, I didn´t have courage to go back to the restroom and leave Fred behind. Luckily, I didn´t need to return, Fred slowly came down, and his face seemed very worried. We didn't say anything while we walked back to the bathroom, though. When we finally arrived at the restroom, my cell phone rang and I saw Daphne's face on the screen. I declined the call while Fred put the manhole lid and the tile back in their right places. Daphne insisted on calling while Fred and I politely thanked Gladys, feigned an emergency and left the place. Fred remained serious the whole way back to his apartment. When we arrived and I left the car, he grabbed my wrist and looked at me in astonishment.

Fred: Velma, please forget everything I´ve said about thinking rationally, finding logical explanations for your feelings and keep your sanity... you´re right… this time, things are just too weird...

Velma: Why?

Fred: Because… the footsteps we heard there… came from two people… and they… they were wearing masks, exactly like you´ve described…


Daphne: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I was worried to death! I called you more than 20 times and no one answered! I was about to call the police!

Velma: We are the police, Daphne...

Daphne: I was about to call the others, anyway… I was desperate, Jenkins has called, he said our flight is ready, we should leave in an hour…

Velma: It's just that things were a little more complicated than we expected...

Daphne: What do you mean?

Fred: That's what we will find out now…

I took the plastic and photographs out of my purse and handed them to Fred. He placed everything on the dining table and waited for Shaggy to join us, but he didn't. Then, we noticed that Scooby was stuck in the kitchen, munching a small, empty water bottle, and Shaggy was sulking on the couch, distracted by some game on his cell phone.

Daphne: I had to separate them... they were still fighting about the action figures…

Fred: Bullshit! They're best friends, they can deal with it… Shags, come over here, we´got something!

Shaggy joined us with a serious expression, totally different from Norville Rogers´ standards of happiness. Then, Fred opened the kitchen´s glass door and Scooby came to us running happily. Shaggy just turned his back to the animal and ignored him. At first, Scooby cried, but when Shaggy picked up his phone and insisted on ignoring him, he started growling and barking. Annoyed, Shaggy threw a pillow at the dog, and he got even more ferocious.

Daphne: Hey, you both, stop right now! Scooby, go back to the kitchen now! Shaggy, put that pillow on its right place right now and apologize! Then turn off this damn cell phone and come to listen to Fred and Velma!

Both them obeyed after such a scold. Fred and I looked at each other in astonishment, and we agreed that things were really weird.

Velma: Wow, you're a good mom, Daph! You should have gone to the new-parents group… maybe soon you will…

Daphne just blushed and didn't react to my teasing. When Shaggy returned, Fred and I explained everything we'd been through, and we carefully unfolded our clue. Apparently, the piece of plastic was taken from Liberty´s walls, since it had glue on one side and blood spattered on the back. In the center of it, something was written in permanent marker: "Cachalot Operation, June 21,2021 10pm", plus some geographic coordinates and the drawing of a sperm whale. In addition, there were more than ten photos of faces, all of them Asian, except a man with Arab features. We could see that each person was wearing a green coat with a white stripe on the shoulders. On the back of the photos, we found sme names, some of them we had already heard: Kang Sae-Byeok, Ali Abdul, Han Mi-nyeo. The discovery caused us the same discomfort, because we remained silent for a few minutes. I didn´t want to be the first to say something, so I grabbed my magnifying glass and my ruler and analysed the shapes of the blood stains. But Daphne couldn't bear the silence for so long.

Daphne: Oh my, they were so young... they looked so happy...

Shaggy showed us his cell phone screen, where the coordinates showed the location of a Marina in Seoul.

Shaggy: Like, this is the place... and it's in two days…

Shaggy's comment restored our shock, and another unconfortable silence took place. Fred was visibly tense, but he tried to feign some optimism.

Fred: Great. This mystery ends in two days.

Shaggy: Are you crazy, Fred? Like, didn't you realize that we were invited to the reality show?

Velma: Actually, I think we were invited to destroy it, Shaggy... don't they call this stupid reality show "Squid Game"? Well, the Physeter macrocephalus, known as cachalot, or simply "sperm whale", is the only animal that devours giant squids… surely, the name of the operation means that Gi-Hun has a plan to put an end to the squid game, and he wants some helpers for that…

Shaggy: Like, what if they put an end to us first?

Shaggy mentioned the doubt we all had, but no one had the courage to admit. Inevitably, the uncomfortable silence returned and I noticed fear in all my friends´ eyes, including Fred. Although I was also scared to death, I decided to restore my rational side.

Velma: Bullshit. Fred is right, this mystery ends in two days. Also, Interpol is aware of everything, the VIPs won´t escape us.

Fred smiled and looked at me admiringly, maybe because he wasn't expecting such a confident response after the emotional storm I went through hours ago. Daphne agreed, but she was still worried. Only Shaggy protested.

Shaggy: Wait, gang! Like, how are we 100% sure that Gin-Hun is our ally? He can be working for the VIPs, distracting and leading us to a trap!

Fred: We have Ga-yeong's testimony… she sounded quite true to me…

Velma: And we have the containers left at the airport… the bleach trail…

Daphne: Gang, Jenkins just told me that the pilots are already waiting for us… we really need to go…

Shaggy didn't agree with us, even so, he gathered the luggage. On our way to the airport, my reason fought hard to keep the control of my mind, but when we arrived, I lost that battle and started to shake. Scooby and Shaggy were the first ones to go aboard – fear brought them together and ended their recent fights. Daphne just followed them and I waited for Fred, but he was talking to someone on his cell phone. Then, I had no choice but go aboard and choose a seat far away from Shaggy and Scooby. To my surprise, Fred appeared and sat down next to me, I noticed that he was tense, despite showing a forced smile.

Fred: I´ve just called my dad... and explained him about our case and our trip... you know... if something happens to us, he´ll be aware of it… I think you should do the same, Dinkley...

Fred's words convinced me to swallow two anxiolytics that kicked in almost immediately. When my eyes got heavy enough to make me fall asleep, I typed a quick message to my parents: "If anything happens, I love you".