Chapter 2
When the SWAT Kats opened the door to the empty warehouse and sighted the four teenagers and their dog, it baffled them.
“Whoops!” T-Bone exclaimed. “It’s not who we thought it was.”
“Are you guys lost?” Razor asked.
“No. We just thought, like, that this place was deserted,” Shaggy replied as Scooby began to shiver with fear, not knowing if the SWAT Kats were good or evil.
After a bit of explanation as to what was going on, and a round of introducing themselves to the other group, Fred concluded, “And, so we were trying to get a look at the armored car that brought all these boxes here so that we could report it to the police. But, you’re not the police.”
“No,” said T-Bone, “but by definition, we are superheroes.”
“Superheroes?” Scooby exclaimed.
Suddenly, police sirens could be heard in the distance.
“Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed. “That must be the police! Or are they?”
“No, they are,” T-Bone replied. “They’re the Enforcers. They’re what you call a paramilitary police force.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means they double as law enforcement and act as a counter-terrorism unit.”
“That’s interesting.”
Into the warehouse came the she-kat now in charge of the Enforcers, Commander Felina Feral, and a few other of her officers. “Oh?” she exclaimed. “Where have I seen that dog before?”
“I’m Scooby-Doo!” Scooby announced.
“Scooby-Doo, huh?” Felina thought aloud. Then it dawned on her. “Oh, wait a minute. Are you Mystery, Inc.?”
“That’s us!”
“Not a good night to be out and about in a place like this, is it?”
“No, not really,” Shaggy agreed, “but, like, we thought the place was deserted.”
“We were also looking for the police so we could report what we saw,” Velma added, proceeding to explain the story of the armored car. Upon finishing, the information was relayed to Lenny Ringtail, who was now working as a police detective while trying to get his life as a stand-up comic back up and running since the public still hadn’t fully forgiven him yet. But, he was getting closer every day.
“Like, weren’t you that crazy comedian that went insane?” Shaggy asked.
“I’d rather not speak about that, but yes, that was me,” Lenny nodded. “It’s a bit scary because I let the spirit of Madkat possess me. After all, he and I had the same face. In any case, that’s all behind me now, and to help me put my life back on track, I’m working as a police detective for the Enforcers.”
“I see; sorry I asked.”
“Now you know. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at those boxes.”
The group walked over to one of the boxes, and found exactly what they had expected to find: cash. It led Fred to point out that Mystery, Inc. had been stuck in a rut lately because most if not all of their cases had been involving counterfeit money.
“Why am I not surprised?” Lenny put in. “Our police department has also been getting complaints for weeks, and they’ve all got the same thing in common. Counterfeit money. It’s possible it’s the same smugglers that have been giving you problems if you say you’ve got a lot of counterfeiters lately.”
T-Bone and Razor got the box open and took a look at the cash.
“I thought $2 bills were out of production,” T-Bone thought aloud.
“They do still exist, and they’re still legal tender,” Felina spoke up. “I happen to have one on me right here.” She showed it. “What do you see there? Plenty of $2 bills?”
“Yes, we do,” Razor announced, “but I swear these counterfeiters are getting dumber and dumber all the time.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t remember Thomas Jefferson in a baseball uniform. Do you?”
“No. Are there any other fake denominations in there?”
The group dug into the cash and found most of the other common factors: 1’s, 5’s, and 10’s, but not a single 20.
“I guess they didn’t get to the 20’s fast enough,” Lenny commented.
Then a few of the lights came on.
“Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed. “Like, we’ve been discovered! Hide!”
The kids and Scooby ran to hide, but the police stayed where they were.
“Who’s trespassing down there? I ought to have the police called on you!” the man shouted.
“You’re going to take that comment back and swallow it because we are police officers,” Felina replied, showing her badge. “Commander Felina Feral. Enforcers.”
“And, we are the SWAT Kats,” Razor added. “We’re also duly deputized defenders of law and order.
“Then who are those idiots over there?”
“The kids and their dog are helping us with an investigation.”
“Oh.”
The kids and Scooby came back out.
“Like, we thought the place was deserted,” Shaggy began, and then the group came to explain what was going on with the armored car.
“I see,” said the man. “I’m sorry I was rude. I just hate strangers, especially when they’re using my business for a hideout.”
“Is this normal?” Lenny asked.
“It has been going for several weeks now. Oh. By the way, I’m Mr. Jenkins. I run the operation Jenkins Beverages, Inc.”
“What is this warehouse used for normally?”
“This place works in conjunction with one of the factories we have that does beverages. We put the drinks in the bottles and cap them off, then label them. Things like that.”
“I see.”
“When did these boxes get here?”
“About 25 minutes ago. It’s full of fake cash in the denominations of 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s.”
“And, the counterfeiters made it obvious it was fake,” Daphne put in, showing Mr. Jenkins each of the bills. “The 1’s have George Washington dressed as a basketball player, while the 2’s have Thomas Jefferson in a baseball uniform. The 5’s have Abraham Lincoln in a referee’s uniform.”
“And what about the 10’s?”
“Hockey.”
“I don’t normally picture Alexander Hamilton playing hockey.”
“Whoever’s doing this sure loves sports, but he still should have known better than to make these fake bills,” Fred put in.
“We don’t know it was a ‘he’ or ‘she,'” Lenny interjected.
“That’s true.”
“Well, he or she couldn’t have been able to deliver the fake cash into the major business districts of the city during the day, or into any of the rural areas leading into town, or we would have known about it,” Felina put in.
“What’s wrong with the rural areas?” Daphne asked.
“The people who live there have a history of being armed to the teeth.”
“Then they’re well prepared, aren’t they?”
“Generally speaking, yes.”
Turning back to Mr. Jenkins, Lenny asked, “Has your business had any problems lately?”
“Well, apart from these counterfeit deliveries, not really. Well, I take it back. We have had people attempt to run us into the ground before, so that they can buy the company out cheap.”
“And then, take all your money as a result?”
“In a way, yes. The same criminals have been trying to rob me and my bank account.”
“Why am I not surprised? You are among the top 10 wealthiest people in the city, and you’ve always run a great business.”
“And, I’m glad for what you do as officers. I sadly don’t pay attention to the news much, so I forgot you had a pair of superheroes and these other kids as well.”
“The kids were just trying to go home for the night when they spotted the armored car. They wanted to do their civic duty, and they did it.”
“I see. Well, I do have to lock up now, but I take back what I said about trespassers. I’m not a trusting person.”
“That’s understandable. You wanted to protect yourself from being robbed,” Fred replied. “Well, we should be getting home now.”
“You do that,” Felina instructed. “We’ll take care of all the fake money. I would like to have you meet us at HQ tomorrow morning, though, since now that we know you’re Mystery, Inc., I think we can employ your services.”
“We’ll be there.”
“We will?” Scooby interjected.
“Yes, we will, Scooby; now don’t go into one of your acts,” Velma cut in. “Just be at HQ tomorrow.”
“Okay.” The group left to return to their homes while the SWAT Kats assisted the Enforcers in taking the boxes full of phony money back to HQ.
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