Red Dust Imports Ltd. had the look of a hundred other buildings in Chinatown, bright red letters against a beige building with a few ornamental facades which gave the box factory a vaguely oriental flair. Looking back over her shoulder, Velma spied Johnny sitting in the back of the Mystery Machine but had not followed his conversation with Shaggy as her mind had been distracted. Strange dreams, murderous plots, conflicted feelings she thought she had let go, and a hundred other questions wracked her mind, filling her with all the tension which sat between Scooby-Doo and Top Cat occupying the back seat.
"Pull up into that alley over there, that's where I've got my boys." said Top Cat.
Fred brought the van to a stop and everyone climbed out into the alley behind a makeshift barricade of cardboard boxes and half-broken crates. A crew of five cats assembled as Top Cat walked before them like an army officer before his squad.
An orange tabby with a purple shirt handed a file over to Top Cat while a shorter blue cat with a white jacket presented a handful of polaroid photographs.
"Let's see here. Red Dust Imports is a subsidiary of Northeast Shipping, which is a tax-shelter for something called Zanastar Holdings, which is a business partner with Bravo Enterprises." said Top Cat going through the folder, the members of his cat troupe seemed to brim with pride as their boss read the results of their research. Flipping through the photos, revealed a number of unfamiliar faces each with a date labeled within the past week. With a shrug, Top Cat handed the photos over to the others.
"Apparently, your Aunt Joyce has been spotted here a number of times." said Fred, handing a polaroid over to Johnny.
"Technically, Joyce is Johnny's First Cousin." said Velma, correcting the common familial mislabel.
"Their business profile is wild," said Spook, a yellow cat with purple tie chimed in, "the inventory going through this place is either low-end novelty trash, or high-end medicinal ingredients. Apparently after the Steel Ball Run, Bryce Bravo got into business with this place and started importing ginseng and other stuff from China. Recently they've been shifting into more quality stuff like antiques and providing security for discreet transportation."
"I checked the police database, and there's no records about this place ever having any trouble with the law or smuggling. It's nearly as clean as I am." said Fancy, who took a moment to polish his claws on his white scarf.
"Good work boys, I think we'll take it from here." said Top Cat, giving a nod to his crew.
"You too T.C." said Johnny, who was about to cut off Top Cat's protest but with a spin of his cane the cat dashed around the back corner of the alley with a distant call of "good luck then" echoing through the empty passage.
"Rood Riddance." said Scooby-Doo, clearly displeased at the thought of working with cats.
"So, like what's the plan? Should we do a classic number seven?" asked Shaggy.
"Number seven?" repeated Johnny confusedly.
"That's where we show up with seven pizzas pretending to be delivery boys as a distraction to sneak in."
"Not really sure that would work Shag." said Daphne.
"Should we go for Chinese food instead?" asked Shaggy.
"No, because Johnny just crossed the street and is going in without a plan." said Daphne, pointing out that Johnny had reached the doorway leading into Red Dust without a second thought.
"That idiot." said Velma waiting a moment for a delivery truck to pass by on the road before running off after him, with the others right behind her. Johnny's boldness let him easily approach any situation, but when combined with his streak of thoughtlessness, it sometimes made for a frustrating combination.
Opening the glass double doors, the Mystery Gang crammed into the tight entryway which led them through a narrow passage to the left which wound to an ornate waiting room with indoor fountains, red lanterns, and potted plants and flowers kept in immaculate condition. At the help desk, Johnny was chatting with a receptionist who was actually laughing at his lines. As they approached, Velma realized he was speaking Cantonese to her.
"Hēi, piàoliang māmā, qǐng gěi jīnglǐ dǎ diànhuà." said Johnny.
(Hey pretty mama, please call the manager.)
Laughing at Johnny's flirting, the older woman covered her mouth and regained her composure as her supervisor looked up from his desk behind the counter. Standing up, she nodded her head as she welcomed everyone else to the room.
"I'm sorry Mr. Bravo, but the manager is currently not in. Truth be told we're about ready to close for the day, so if you'd like to make an appointment for tomorrow." Still seeming somewhat flattered from Johnny's flirting, the receptionist's attention was focused on Johnny, not noticing Johnny wave his hand behind his back, giving the direction of the staircase leading up to the offices.
"Well I'm still considering my options for overseas transport. Do you happen to have some company brochures or other literature I could read through, Amy?" asked Johnny, reading her nametag.
"Certainly, one moment." said the receptionist, turning around in place before turning back to her desk to grab some pamphlets.
Taking advantage of the split second she was turned around, Velma spied Johnny reach over the top of her counter and mess with her computer before returning to his place. Following Fred's lead, Velma and the others went up the stairs and rounded the corner completely out of sight of the supervisor, who was more focused on his electronic device than his surroundings.
"Hold it here gang." said Fred, peeking around the corner in the upstairs hallway. "Cameras are everywhere up here."
No sooner did Fred warn the gang than Johnny strolled up the stairs and into the hallway past everyone.
"What are you guys doing hiding there?" asked Johnny.
"Hiding from the camera." said Fred.
"Oh, I took care of that. Put the security monitors on pause and unplugged the feed cable from the back of her computer. Told her that you were waiting outside for me. Then I said I needed to use the restroom. I'd say we've got about five minutes to poke around."
"That was pretty smooth Johnny." said Daphne, vocalizing everyone's seeming impressed reaction to Johnny's seat of his pants plan.
"So, where to?" asked Shaggy.
"Let's split up gang." said Fred, eliciting muted groans from the others.
"How about we try these offices?" said Daphne, which met with the group's approval.
Entering the upstairs offices was like walking into a secret vault. Glass cases displayed art and artifacts of Chinese origin, each meticulously labeled and secured.
"They have painting from Zhang Xuan? I thought this place was some second-rate trade house." said Velma.
"For all this, security seemed pretty lacking." said Fred.
Walking over to a window, Velma looked down onto the warehouse floor, where a group of men stood waiting as a truck entered through the loading bay. In a quick moment of fright she feared the light in the room would have alerted them, but realized the window they were looking through was tinted and probably gave off no light into the warehouse.
"Check out the chrome dome down there. He's one of the guys from those cat's polaroids, right?" asked Shaggy.
Flipping through the photos, Velma found the one matching the man in the loading bay. Simply labeled, 'Zanastar?' the alley cats clearly did not have a solid ID on the man just yet.
"What's he waiting there for?" asked Fred.
"Think he's waiting on them." said Johnny, pointing at four large men carrying a large, bronze bowl.
Unlike most bronze works, this one was like the two strange objects they had found thus far. There was no sign of patina on the metal, it was solid but seemed to radiate heat and energy even from as far away as they were. Carefully lowered into a crate, the bowl was sealed shut and loaded into the truck. As the back was closed, the words "Marina Paso Del Norte" were labeled, and Velma took quick note of them.
"We should get going." said Fred, cautious about not wanting to get caught.
"Oh, pardon me, I didn't realize this room was still occupied." Called a voice from behind. Turning around, Velma spotted a dog in a janitor's outfit sporting a large nametag labeled 'Penrod' bringing in a vacuum and a bucket with cleaning supplies. "Typically, these offices are closed by this hour of the day, and an employee would be escorting guests through them, and usually the hallways cameras would be working properly. Especially on days when important and confidential business is being conducted down in the warehouse. But, that's none of my business now, I'm just the janitor."
"Right then, we'll just be on our way then." said Shaggy, casually walking out of the room.
"Reah, ron rour ray." said Scooby-Doo.
Closing the door behind them, the gang spied around for an alternate exit, and found a hallway leading to a fire escape ladder leading to the alley below.
"Stop right there, criminal scum. Hi-Yaw!" shouted a voice from behind as a dog in a red and white karate gi leapt through the air at them.