I. Viper and Her Demise

Detective Justin thought about the two different numbers provided to him. One was Ms. Campbell's number given to him by the nurses, the other was given to him by Viper. The one Viper gave him didn't work, so he decided to use the one in her file and listen to it ring. Something in Justin's heart was telling him that Viper was innocent, even though he didn't yet have the proof to prove her story.

Oak was sitting in her car, sitting a few blocks away from the police station when her phone rang, "Hello, my name is Ms. Campbell of K.C. Queen's Foster Care Facility. How may I help you?" she asked.

"Hi, Ms. Campbell!" Justin perked up. "I'm Detective Justin. How are you?"

"Well! How are you?"

"I'm great," he noticed that she's a very cheery person. "I'm calling you about an inquiry for Viper Lehmann."

"Oh, yes, I saw the news. It's unfortunate to see Viper in the state she's in."

"What can you tell me about her?"

Oak told him what Leech, Swindle H, and Birdie had told him. He thanked her for the information and hung up, feeling frustrated and drained of all energy. He really believed Viper and was sure that she could lead him to the Blue Dragons. Then again, it was easy to blame others. He got up and placed the folder in his briefcase, deciding to leave work early. He told Leech, Swindle H, and Bridie to come with him to pay Viper a visit at the nearest hospital, where she lay in her bed, taking in all the information that Justin fed her as two cops came by and stood out the door, listening evasively.

"What? That's a lie!" she shouted. "They work for Blue, so they're going to do all they can to protect him."

"Viper, you aren't making this any easier," Justin said.

"I can't believe that you're listening to such lies!" Viper hollered. "I gave you Ms. Campbell's number!"

Justin shook his head, "No, you didn't, Viper. The number you gave me was wrong."

"What?" her eyes swelled up.

"Viper," Birdie began, "come with us. We can help you."

"Yes, you wasted this poor man's time," Leech said slowly.

"Please, that statement isn't appropriate," Justin scolded Leech, who stood carelessly.

"Get lost," Viper proclaimed.

Justin opened up the briefcase and held up her fake file. "These three gave this to me, and inside is Ms. Campbell's real number."

"That's bullshit," she spat. "Call her cell phone."

"There isn't a cell number."

"I'll give it to you," she said.

Justin called the number, and the room was silent as the phone rang and rang until a voice was heard on the other side, 'I'm sorry, the number you are trying to call is not valid. Please, try again later,' then, it hung up on its own.

"NO!" she cried. "Blue's up to this! He's trying to ruin my life!"

"Viper, come with me," Justin said.

Two cops randomly walked into the room and grabbed her as she began kicking and screaming. "You'll regret this, all of you will! Those three are lying, and I can prove it, too!"

The two cops stopped and looked at her.

Justin raised a brow. "And how can you prove it?"

She smirked. "I'll show you their hideout."

Leech and Swindle H spiffed as Birdie stiffened up. They didn't expect that to happen. Birdie coughed, but Leech and Swindle H, on the other hand, just smirked.

"Message Oak," Leech whispered to Swindle H as Viper began to tell them that the base was in Manhattan. "Tell her what's going on and report back to Blue."

"On it," Swindle H said. She quietly took out her phone and sent Oak a quick message. Then, she sent Blue a number; it signified that everything was going smoothly.

Viper got dressed and then took Detective Justin and the two cops around New York City to find the base where Blue had kept Ivory and her in. She didn't precisely remember the route to get there, but she did know what it looked like. She kept walking down the streets, passing by other people as she saw an alleyway and remembered running through it with Lucky right behind, almost catching her. But somehow, he lost her and found Ivory.

It seemed like the two knew the alleyways well, and Lucky probably went to find Ivory since Hawks decided to her, so it'd be easier to catch one then the other. Viper narrowed her eyes, realizing that the two set it up that way and mumbled to herself that they're a lot smarter than they appeared.

Hawks proved his intelligence after following Roxie and her and pretending not to know what she was up to so that she would lead him to the police station.

Viper sometimes wished she wasn't so dense.

She looked around some more and remembered a familiar route that Ivory and Hawks would take when running errands. She turned to look at Justin, Johnson, the other male cop, and the female cop.

She smiled, "It's this way! Ivory and Hawks always took this route to run simple errands."

"Didn't you say they didn't let you out of the house?" The female cop asked, crossing her arms. She has blonde hair and brown eyes with a rather large nose.

Viper crossed her arms, "I always saw them walk through here whenever they had to leave the base. Ivory was always supervised by Hawks, one of Blue's favorite workers."

Johnson spoke, "All right, let's see if you remember the base."

Viper nodded and led them down the pathway, then she saw another alley with drug addicts and homeless people dumpster diving, smoking cigarettes, and arguing with one another. Some were sitting down, quiet and calm as they watched the seven come close.

Viper walked past everyone with the two cops and the Detective behind her. No one said a word, and Viper felt her eyes tear up, but she let the tears stay in.

She led them underneath the Freeway tunnel, and the three began to feel nervous, yet exhilarated. They all jumped over the fence and walked down an empty, abandoned road. Nothing was on display. Viper turned a corner and saw the unnamed street sign.

"This is it! It's down this street!"

The three adults looked at their surroundings and looked down the block, seeing nothing. Viper ran down, figuring that the base was further down than she remembered, the others keeping up with her. They noticed smaller, abandoned buildings with broken windows and vandalized with graffiti. Viper knew that the base was coming up, and she couldn't wait for the look on everyone's faces.

"I'll check in one of these buildings," The female replied and ran off before anyone could say anything.

They walked all the way down the block, only to see a dead end.

"No! It was here!"

Viper ran to the exact spot where the base was; nothing was there. The building was gone, any trace of evidence wasn't evident. She looked at the floor, no ashes; nothing. The base once used to be covered with grass, the other abandoned buildings took over. Blue wouldn't have had enough time to get rid of everything and somehow burn or knock the place down; he had people do it for him.

Then Viper's eyes widened, Leech, Swindle H, and Birdie set her up for failure. She looked down and sank to the floor, tears spilling out of her eyes. She was set up. Blue made it look like no one has lived here. Not just that, everyone will think that she wasted their time. Johnson, Justin, and the female cop walked over to her.

Justin sighed, thinking that Viper has lied. "Viper Lehmann —"

"— I don't get it! Why would they set me up?" She sobbed. "Leech and Birdie weren't part of anything. They were barely around. I knew Leech was trouble, I knew it from the first day I saw him! He probably made Birdie and Swindle H help him!"

"Who are these people you speak of?" Johnson asked.

"The people that gave you that fake file!" she screamed.

"Those weren't the names they gave us," Johnson said. "They were wearing name tags, Hannah, Beatrice, and Lenny."

"Those are their fake names! They are sandbagging to you! I swear it was here."

"She really wasted our time," the female cop said. "We need to give her back."

"She has to serve time in jail until she goes back. She will have to go to court and plead guilty to go back to the mental hospital."

"You're under arrest for false information, accusations, and slander," Justin said after taking a deep breath. It was the most challenging "you're under arrest" he's ever said.

Johnson and the female cop grabbed her arms and pulled her off the ground as she sobbed uncontrollably, the sky getting cloudy, screams and cries were heard as the two cops led her back to the Freedom Tunnel. Justin looked at the floor; the one thing on his mind was the three nurses that he spoke to. What if Viper was just manipulative? Could what she be saying really be true? Were the nurses' frauds? Something wasn't right about this case. If she escaped only a few weeks ago, how did she know this part of the city? However, since she didn't have evidence to support her claim, she was guilty.

Sighing, Detective Justin followed everyone else quietly as Viper sobbed.