It was a nearly two-hour drive from Aaron City to downtown Los Angeles, which did not help Velma's fatigue after pulling an all-nighter. Johnny, on the other hand, seemed at peak energy despite taking a beating the other day and was perfectly content with cruising his pink Cadillac down the Long Beach strip.
"Aquarium of the Pacific, probably smart to leave the car here and continue on foot," said Johnny, pulling into the parking complex.
"I'm so used to crawling around abandoned piers and carnivals this will be a nice change of pace," said Velma.
"Well, Long Beach is really more of a tourist trap than a place locals go to. You need to go up the coast for the good ones. Santa Monica and Malibu are the better cities for beaches, but Santa Monica is full of Vampires so you gotta watch yourself after dark," said Johnny as he finally came to a stop.
"Vampires? Honestly?" asked Velma.
"Surprisingly, Lois wasn't even in my bottom ten for bad date experiences," said Johnny, "but I guess you think most of that paranormal stuff is nonsense."
"I used to think that way," said Velma, "but the past few years have been pretty interesting. I've seen vampires, zombies, werewolves…"
"I once dated a werewolf," said Johnny as they made their way outside the parking lot and onto a promenade featuring a massive water fountain.
"I once turned into a werewolf," said Velma, realizing that their conversation was quickly turning into a game of 'can you top this?'
"Aliens kidnapped me because they wanted to experiment on a human male," said Johnny.
"Shaggy once dated an alien disguised as a hippie girl in New Mexico," said Velma.
"I was a Norse god for a day," said Johnny.
"Daphne and I are honorary members of the Themysciran Amazon Tribe," said Velma.
"Lucky. The Amazons I encountered tried to sacrifice me to their volcano god," said Johnny.
Holding back a laugh, Velma swore she would not lose their ridiculous competition.
"The band KISS are interdimensional warriors, but my better judgment thinks that was all special effects," said Velma.
"I've been Santa Claus, twice," said Johnny, holding up two fingers.
"Okay, that one is pretty good," said Velma, deciding it best to let the conversation wear itself out there.
Making their way to a pedestrian bridge going over the coastal road, Velma looked over to the nearby cove and gardens to the north while Johnny's attention was on the piers to the south.
"I have some good memories of this place," said Velma. "My internship at Stanford sent me down here to CSU to partner up with other students in a metahuman, biomedical survey, I enjoyed coming out here, grabbing a tea, sitting over there in the park, and listening to the water."
"That's one reason why I like you, Velma. You give off that first impression of a book worm, librarian who enjoys the comfort and anonymity of an oversized sweater. But you're more of an outdoorsy, night owl, tomboy thrill seeker," said Johnny.
"Guilty as charged," said Velma, "So, what are we after?"
"Over yonder is the Shoreline Yacht Club. That's the spot the secret agent wanted me to look into. Apparently; they smuggle things into the country by avoiding the main harbors and unload cargo from offshore freight ships onto yachts to avoid customs," said Johnny.
"And they're tied in with your family's business?" asked Velma.
"That's the idea. Now, I'm thinking we can go down to the shopping mall, get some clothes for a disguise, and bluff our way inside," said Johnny.
Frowning at the suggestion, Velma shook her head.
"Now that's more of a Shaggy plan. And Daphne would probably bluff and use her family name to gain entrance. What would our style be?" asked Velma.
Leaning against the metal framework of the bridge, Johnny looked back the way they came towards the walkway lined with restaurants.
"How about we get a couple of bento lunches from that Japanese place and eat in the park?" asked Johnny
"And then what?" asked Velma
"Maybe take a little afternoon nap under the trees. I reckon we're both a little tired and could use the rest," said Johnny, already walking off in the direction of the restaurant.
"I'm not overly sold on your suggestion working as an infiltration plan," said Velma, begrudgingly following him.
"Look, I've always been more of a play-it-by-ear type. Plans are for people who have the ability to keep plans in their heads, and that's not the way my brain works," said Johnny.
"At least you're honest about that," said Velma.
"Mama didn't raise me to lie to others, or to myself," said Johnny, giving credit where it was due.
"So, what exactly does your mother do with herself? I mean, your aunt was a landowner, your extended family has overseas trade, and your mother raised you by herself?" asked Velma, taking the stairs back to the sidewalk.
"Part of it was a sizable inheritance from my grandmother Joy, part of it was managing investments my father made. But I've been helping out since I was a teenager, doing odd jobs between chasing women and whatnot. Recently, mama's helped out by being the manager of my dojo/gym… speaking of which, I need to send a text to my top student to get him to take over lessons," said Johnny, bringing out his cell phone and texting in a frenzy.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, Velma and Johnny waited in line to order as the tall, chestnut-haired man in front of them ordered in perfect Japanese. Pausing for a moment, the man checked a ping on his phone and swore under his breath. "I leave town for one week and he's out in public making plays like this?" he said before paying for his order.
"The wait will be five minutes for you Keenan-san," said the cashier.
Stepping up to the counter, Velma peeked out of the side of her eyes to notice the man was reading an article about some race announcement.
"We'll take one A Bento and one B Bento," said Johnny.
"And two green teas to go," added Velma.
"That will be ten minutes," said the cashier, processing their bill.
Taking a seat in the waiting area, Velma pulled out her phone and refreshed her mental map of the area when the man in line ahead of them answered his own phone. Fully knowing it was impolite to eavesdrop, she was quite unable to stop herself.
"Susan. I told you I'd be back in ten. Why couldn't you wait until I got back? No, I didn't hear about the bug or the monkey. Of course, they don't get along, each of them thinks they're the smartest person in the room. No, I wasn't implying anything about you. You already know I think you're brilliant. Look, just take the compliment. It took a lot of work to get all of this talent together and none of us want to blow this because over a matter of ego. I sat in on the merger of Mouse Corp and Vulpine Studios, don't tell me I'm out of my league on this deal, my clients are the ones who set this whole thing up after all. I'll be back in a few minutes with your maki and otoro so just keep it together until then. Okay, bye Susan," said the man.
"Rough day?" asked Johnny.
"You have no idea. Trying to organize a massive joint venture and keep it from falling apart at the last minute and the only one on-site available to run out and get sushi during the lunch rush is the Harvard lawyer, but that's the art of the deal I guess," said the lawyer, not looking up as he tapped out a message on his phone.
"Ooof," said Velma, reacting to the lawyer's reference.
"Thank you for waiting Mr Keenan. Have a nice day," said the cashier, carefully placing a bag filled to the brim with sushi boxes inside atop the counter.
As the lawyer left with his massive order, Velma snapped a picture of the man on a hunch. That name was familiar, as though she had read it in some of the documents they had collected. A quick internet search on her phone cross-referencing Harvard and Keenan produced a match she dreaded to see.
"Johnny. That was Chancellor Keenan. Corporate lawyer to NWP Development, your family's company," said Velma.
"I remember him now. I saw him at the will reading, but he didn't seem to notice me," said Johnny.
"Should we tail him?" asked Velma.
"Yes, but not too closely," said Johnny, picking up their order as it came to the counter.
Digging through the bag, Johnny lifted his bento to his mouth and practically ate it in a single gulp before tossing the container in a garbage can. Having seen enough of Shaggy's food antics, it was not surprising, but familiarity did not lessen the unsettling factor to speed eating.
"You eat your bento while we walk, I'll keep my eye on him," said Johnny, taking a sip of his green tea.
Careful to watch her feet in-between bites, Velma decided to continue their game from before.
"I saw horror writer Ben Ravencroft sucked into a magic book," said Velma.
"I nearly married into a tribe of remote forest dwellers," said Johnny.
"The gang and I were zapped into a computer where we fought a phantom virus," said Velma.
"I was once trapped between dimensions because a Ghost wanted a comic book," said Johnny.
"You know the company that makes Scooby snacks? The daughter of the president dressed up as a Scooby snack monster to try to drum up sales and we had to stop her," said Velma.
Pausing for a moment, Johnny turned to Velma and raised an eyebrow.
"Scooby Snack Monster? Now that's just silly," said Johnny with a chuckle.
"I know, right?" said Velma, holding back a laugh as she reached over to take a drink of her tea.
references: A lot of episodes of Johnny Bravo, Scooby Doo movies, and episodes of various Scooby Doo series.
sorry the past month updates have been inconsistent, I'm up in Oregon and the fires were a little rough.