Jughead stared at the computer in front of him, and Sweet Pea asked the question he had been thinking. "What are we looking at here, Hiram?"
Hiram Lodge, a man they all respected, replied. "This is where Betty Cooper disappeared to."
Jughead's heart fell through his stomach as he gasped. "London, England? She's been there the last two years?"
"Fuck her," Sweet Pea snapped, and Hiram turned a calm eye onto him.
"Ask yourself what could have made Mija run," he said quietly. "What could have made her leave her family in the first place."
"If she was hurt, she should have told us," Sweet Pea said insistently.
Hiram turned to look at Veronica. "Mija, your boyfriend is getting on my last nerve.'
Jughead snorted and then redirected the conversation. "You've been looking for her?"
"Since the night she disappeared," Hiram replied solemnly. "She's a second daughter to me. She's been best friends with Veronica since we've lived here, and I promised Hal I would look after her. So, ask yourselves this: what could have happened to make her run from her family?"
"What happened, Hiram?" Sweet Pea asked quietly.
"I have accrued a video from street cameras," he said. "And I will play them for you. But I must warn you, they're not pretty."
Jughead felt a vise-like grip crush his heart, turning it into dust, and he nodded. "Play it."
Hiram tapped a couple of keys on his computer keyboard and then he was pulling up a video feed. The first thing Jughead saw was Betty and Alice Cooper walking side-by-side, arms linked together. Alice was laughing at something she was saying, and Jughead was mesmerized with Betty's beauty all over again. Then Alice hugged her daughter and walked away. Betty continued to walk for about seven more minutes, and Jughead watched on in tenterhooks. Seven minutes later, there was a second shadow coming up behind Betty, then a third and a fourth. The first shadow – someone in all black and a ski mask – covered her mouth from behind, shoving a rag into it, then he threw her down on the ground. Sweet Pea yelled and Hiram held up a hand. They continued to watch. One figure came and smashed Betty's knee with a baseball bat, another kicked her in the ribs, and the third slammed her head against the concrete. The fourth showed her something on his phone, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Then they were kicking her once more and it was Jughead's turn to cry out. "Get up, Betty, please, get up."
The men left her, and she yanked the rag out. Then the feed stopped playing, and Jughead looked at Hiram in horror. The older man spoke. "She and Alice got her to London, and Alice went to Germany. Apparently, these were men the Ghoulies hired. All four of them have been taken care of."
"And Betty?" Jughead whispered.
"We leave tonight."
XXX
Betty Cooper's P.O.V.
Betty limped her way into the living room, leaning heavily on her cane. Toni was getting her the hot compress, and the two friends were about to sit down to dinner. Well, whenever the pizza got delivered. She knew Andy could take forever. She limped her way to the couch, sitting down, and accepting the hot compress Toni just brought in. "Thanks, T."
Toni and Betty met when she first came to London. She was trying to pick-pocket a pick-pocketer, and the two girls became fast friends. They moved in together and decided to live the right way, so they got jobs. They relied on each other in a way Betty hadn't relied on anyone before. "How's the leg?"
"Stiff," she sighed. "The storm tonight is going to be a bad one."
Toni smiled sympathetically. "We'll get you in bed so you can sleep through the worst of it."
"Thanks," Betty smiled gratefully. She and Toni had become best friends and though she missed the Serpents, it was better this way. None of them were hurt because of her.
"When's Charlie going to get here with the pizza?" Toni groaned. "I'm starving."
The doorbell rang just then. "Ask and you shall receive." Betty smirked as she went to go answer the door.
"How much do I owe you - "she looked up, pausing. "Fuck."
"Hey," Jughead Jones replied.
Betty sighed deeply.
She was so fucked.