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 an airport pickup

October 25, 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.

Instead, the lieutenant's main concern was more to do with the package he was carrying as he entered police headquarters.

Many in the station were going about their usual routine and business Sam arrived at the squad room, and many of them were shocked to see him slamming Pistol onto the floor.

"What the h*ll happened to him, Lieutenant?" One of the detectives asked Sam, judging from the serious bruises on the gangster.

Sam didn't mince any words as he replied, "F**ker walked right into my car, that's what the h*ll happened, Silverman."

By this point, several more people were starting to gather around Sam and Pistol.

"Uh...pardon for asking, Lieutenant, but..." 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 Silverman asked. "You can't be serious, sir. He can't be arrested!"

"Says who?" Sam abruptly turned towards Silverman and leaned too close to the detective.

Silverman 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 Thursday.

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 Thursday..."

I kinda trailed off, not wanting to invoke those dark memories again, though Daphne immediately raised her hand up and said, "Say no more."

Nodding again, I exhaled before I asked, "But anyways, what's up? Like, it seems like you've got something you'd like to say."

"That, I do." Daphne said. "Figured that I could use someone to talk to, considering what has happened and about to happen."

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 and open the door.

"Ladies first." I said as I opened the door and gestured towards the inside of the house.

Maggie was in the kitchen preparing dinner when we entered, and she paused and turned around when she heard us enter.

"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.

I can feel Daphne's eyes on me as she watched me chop those vegetables and slide them into the pot, during which Mags opened up a jar of pasta sauce.

With the onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and beef all sizzling, she then 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."

"Good to know." Daphne nodded thoughtfully. "In the meantime, are you alright?"

Maggie was silent for a brief moment, then she sighed.

"Well...I am really alright, Daphne." She said slowly, and I can feel her turning towards the redhead as she continued, "Granted, I still have the occasional cold night sweat, though it was much more pronounced in the first few days following that fateful day compared to the past couple of days."

"You've been sleeping well lately?" Daphne asked as I put the lid on the pot and turned it to low heat.

"Yeah, I've been sleeping well, especially with Dad being much more confident than he was following our Mom's death." Maggie nodded. "However, I'm sure it's not me that you're worried about, right?"

I was starting to get a feeling that Mags knew that Daphne was here to talk about me as the redhead asked, "What makes you say that?"

Maggie shrugged. "Between the three of us, I'm sure Norville has his moments where after everything we've witnessed last Thursday, the night frights that followed would see him having another relapse in his addiction to painkillers."

I turned around as Daphne nodded sympathetically.

"Have you been sleeping well lately, Shag?" Daphne asked.

I sighed as I stared at them, then I shook my head.

"Not really, especially since what we saw at the basement..." I trailed off briefly, "...kinda reminded me of being trapped...in the wreckage with...Mom..."

"It's been triggering those painful memories lately." Daphne interjected.

"Exactly." I nodded as I wiped a tear from my cheek. "I just...don't know if...I can manage to continue...like this without having to worry..."

Before I could finish, both Mags and Daphne rushed over to give me a comforting hug, and I sighed as a few tears rolled down my cheeks.

After some silence, Daphne said, "That's what I'm here for, Shag. After everything that has happened, my father has agreed, rather reluctantly, to pick up the tab for the physiotherapy and counselling sessions I've decided to have you enroll in."

I paused as I stared at her. "Come again?"

"After everything you've been through, particularly with your mother's death, the doctors botching your surgery leading to your addiction to painkillers and your sister's kidnapping, it's the least I could do to help you kick your addiction for good." Daphne said as she stared back at me.

I exhaled, then I nodded. "Like, I don't know how...to thank you, Daph."

"Wouldn't be necessary, Shag." Daphne said as she broke away from the hug and placed her hands on my shoulders and continued, "Consider this...my apology for the way I've...treated you early on."

I inhaled and smiled gently. "Apology accepted, though it won't be necessary, Daph. I might've made some assumptions about you if our roles were reversed."

Daphne smiled lightly as well, which is when the front door unlocked.

The three of us turned just in time for Dad to step through the front door and called out, "I'm home."

Immediately, we heard Scooby barking as he rushed down the stairs from my room, where Dad greeted him as he took off his suit jacket.

"Hey there, Scoobert." Dad said as he rubbed Scooby's head. "How's your day?"

Scooby panted enthusiastically and barked twice, and Dad smiled. "I haven't felt better in ages."

He then stepped into the kitchen and paused when he saw the three of us standing there, and then he said, "Norville, Margaret."

Turning towards Daphne specifically, he then added, "Daphne."

"Evening, Dad." I quickly said. "And don't worry, Daph's just here to-"

"No need to explain." Dad held his hand up. "In fact, I've got something that I thought your friend here would like to know about."

Daphne arched her eyebrows as Mags and I turned towards her. "What's up, Mr. Rogers?"

"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." Dad said.

"I guess that chat I had with him last week pushed him to do the right thing and cooperate." Daphne nodded thoughtfully.

Dad nodded as well before he asked, "Have you been on speaking terms with your father lately after what happened last week?"

"Well, my father and I never really talked much normally, even before all of this blew up, to be honest with you, Mr. Rogers." Daphne admitted. "You know, with his work and everything, not to mention with my sisters being ahead of the curve in their futures."

"I understood." Dad nodded thoughtfully. "Your father know that you're here?"

"He does, though when I told him that I had something to take care of here, he was on the phone and he only covered the mouthpiece and nodded briefly at me before continuing with his phone call." Daphne replied.

I almost thought that Dad scoffed as he said, "Well, your father sure is a piece of work, I gotta say."

Daphne nodded in agreement, and for a while, there was some silence between the four of us.

Eventually, Dad broke the silence as he said, "Anyways, let's get the pasta ready, and perhaps you'd like to grab a bite before heading home, 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, 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 quartermaster 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.

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 this new series.

In fact, you can say that the gang's adventures are just beginning, adventures that will continue in D7 City of Mysteries: The Falcon Begins.

Please read and review!