"Valentin, you have a visitor." Valentin's ears perked up as he glanced at the cougar officer glowering at him from outside the bars. Slowly he swung his legs off his small bed and sat up, taking his time stretching.
"A visitor? For me?" though a lot of the cockiness from before had been removed by the two weeks he had been imprisoned, the power of his blue eyes still discomforted mammals around him; the officer shivering a bit as they landed on him.
"Yes. Get a move on. Visiting hours are only an hour long." Valentin nodded slowly as he rose to his feet, patiently watching the officer unlock the cell and motion him to come out. Valentin did so, curiosity burning inside of him. Who had come to visit him?
For a moment he wondered if it was Aeron but he quickly chased that thought away. Even though he was sure that Aeron would realize that he could never 'go straight', he highly doubted that prideful panther would admit it to him so early on.
His ears perked up as they entered the visiting area, peering around the cougar to see if he could recognize any of the visitors. He quickly did.
Sitting at a far end table was a tan with white spots doe. She was dressed in a tight fitting black skirt, fishnet tights, and a blood red low cut tank top that clashed with the innocence of her form. Her brown eyes met him as a sickly sweet smile crossed her beautiful face.
"Hello, Val." her voice was just as soft and musical as he remembered as the officer led him to the seat across from her.
"The rules are no touching or exchanging of any objects. I'll be watching." and he left. Valentin leaned back in his seat as he eyed the doe in front of him.
"It's been awhile, Veronica." her smile widened as her eyelids fluttered playfully.
"It has been. I was afraid you wouldn't recognize me." Valentin scoffed as he motioned with his paw at her outfit.
"You haven't changed at all. When did you get back? I thought Dange sent you to do research in Bunny Burrow." she laughed a soft feminine laugh but with an edge of danger that would send any mammal on edge.
"That was three years ago, Val. I came back about a week ago and Dange filled me in on everything. I thought they would never catch you." Valentin shrugged his shoulders, doing his best to act non nonchalant though his voice was layered with anger.
"What can I say, the ZPD were more competent than they were six years ago." she giggled, her hooves folding together on top of the table.
"Or maybe it was you who changed." Valentin's eyes narrowed slightly as his ears flicked back in irritation.
"Why are you here, Veronica?" her smile widened to the point of showing off her teeth as she patted her side with a hoof.
"I have a gift for you from Dange. He would have come himself but, as you know, everyone is looking for him." Valentin scoffed as he crossed his arms at his chest.
"So Dange really has taken over. I'm sure he's just over the moon." Veronica gave another giggle as she leaned forward.
"Don't take it so hard, Val. You were a great leader during your prime but all good things must come to an end." Valentin frowned as his ears tilted back more.
"So what is this 'gift'?" she just smiled as she leaned back again.
"You'll see when I give it to you. Just make sure that nosy officer isn't looking. Don't want it to fall in the wrong paws." Valentin's eyes narrowed as his body tensed. Something was up. What exactly was this gift if it was so sensitive? Veronica waved her hoof at him as she laughed.
"Don't be so tense Val! Dange is just being a friend. So am I. We want you out of here just as much as you do." Valentin's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Is that so?" she smiled as she hmmed as her answer.
"Yes and this 'gift' will help you. Just be patient." before Valentin could quiz her longer, an officer announced the end of the visiting hour. Veronica rose to her feet and stopped by Valentin's side as she smiled.
"It was good to see you again, Val." if Valentin wasn't used to her he would have completely missed her lower hoof twitching towards his pocket before she walked away. Valentin grinned as he pressed his paw against his pocket. She still got it.
"Come on, Valentin! Get going!" Valentin gave a devilish grin at the waiting cougar as he rose to his feet and followed him back to his cell. As soon as he was alone he pulled out a small envelop from his pocket.
His eyebrows creasing in curiosity he opened it and a small circular pill rolled out of it. Valentin's eyes widened as he picked it up with his paw. Would Dange really send this to him? Was it really true that they wanted him back?
Excitement surged through him as his old devilish grin took over his face. The game wasn't over yet.
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"Heyy meter 'maid'! Looking good!" Nick's ears twitched irritably as he heard the familiar voice of Officer Delgato yelling at him from across the street. He did his best to ignore him as he finished printing his ticket and placing it on the car in front of him.
"Oh come on don't be like that Nicky! Come show us the uniform!" Nick continued ignoring the teasing as he did his best to focus on listening for another meter to go off. His hearing wasn't as good as Judy's but he could still hear a decent range. However, the consistent ruckus from the police parked across the way was difficult to tune out.
"Come on Delgato, let Nick work in peace!" Nick's ears perked up as his head swung to look at the police car. So she was riding with him for the day. He quickly caught the pair of violet eyes looking at him and he couldn't help but smile.
"Oh finee Hopps...he smiles for you." Delgato was on driver's side, pretending to look hurt. Though his eyes were still not the same as they were before, some of his old personality was starting to come back. Though the teasing was annoying, this made Nick happy.
"Well who could resist a smile from our favorite bunny cop?" he asked, laying his sly smile in place as he crossed the street to them. Delgado gave him a toothy grin.
"True. And if you're going to yell at me now about neglecting my duties blame the bunny, she insisted that we came by and check on you." Nick couldn't help but laugh as Judy shot Delgato an annoyed glare.
"Don't make it sound so serious! I just wanted to make sure you weren't doing anything foolish again. Today is your last day on part time duty and I don't want to see my partner messing it up, again." Nick playfully placed his paw over his heart and gave a dramatic hurt look.
"Madam! Am I the type of fox to do something foolish?" she hooded her eyes at him as she grinned.
"Well seeing as a week ago you damaged your stitches trying to apprehend a car thief by yourself, I would say yes." Nick's ears twitched irritably as Delgato gave a bark like laugh as he slapped the side of the vehicle.
"She got you there, Wilde!" Nick rolled his eyes before refocusing them on Judy.
"So Chief landed you with this oaf?" calling him an oaf ended Delgato's laughter as he gave him a hurt look while Judy smiled.
"Yeah. Delgato just got back from personal leave and Chief figured it would be best for him to hang with me on just a regular patrol day." Nick nodded his understanding as he turned more serious.
"That's right. By the way, how are you doing buddy?" the sadness in Delgato's eyes darkened as his smile faded a bit, his eyes looking down at his paws.
"I'm...functioning. I finally got to the point where I'm starting to feel like I can laugh again without fully forcing, thanks for waking that up by the way." Nick nodded his understanding as he noticed Judy rest a comforting paw on the wolf's arm.
"We're glad to have you back." a soft smile crossed the wolf's face as he smiled at Judy.
"Thanks Hopps. I'm glad to be back too. As for you, Wilde, you better not do anything foolish again any time soon. It sure isn't the same without you." Nick grinned at him as he gave him a thumbs up.
"Don't worry. I'm as good as new and ready to rejoin the search for the DB." he wasn't surprised to see the darkness in Delgato's eyes or the uneasiness in Judy's.
"I still can't believe that we haven't heard anything from them since Redd escaped." Nick wished he could reach Judy at seeing her shiver a bit as she spoke.
"They won't stay silent for long. They'll come back and when they do we'll be ready." Nick's eyes refocused on Delgato, seeing the determination in his eyes. Though the actual culprit of his brother in law's death was now behind bars, Nick could tell that he wouldn't be satisfied until the Devil's Bite Gang was nothing more than a distant memory.
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Chief Bogo glared down at all of the reports from the past month and a half of their struggle with the Devil's Bite gang. It was unnerving him that things were seemingly going back to normal. The tension in the city was calming and there was no sign of the drug anywhere, even with him having his officers looking high and low for it.
He knew better than to believe that this was over. Valentin had made it clear that it wasn't before he had been locked away. Haimes had also expressed his belief that things were far from finished. And if that wasn't enough to convince someone, the fact that Redd had been rescued was even more proof. Though they had struck a devastating blow, the battle was far from over.
So why was there no trace of them? What were they waiting for? He couldn't believe that they hadn't been prepared for something like Valentin's arrest to happen. Though they abandoned the location that Valentin had mentioned he knew better than to believe that they didn't have another one somewhere in Zootopia or close by.
What are they planning? Bogo grunted in frustration as he buried his face in his hooves. He was exhausted. Even with Valentin behind bars he hadn't been able to rest for weeks. Every time he heard one of his officers calling dispatch he found himself terrified that it would be another wounded officer. Or worse.
At least Hopps was completely healed and Wilde would be returning the next day. Those two had been lucky. Or more their attackers hadn't been out to kill like Wolford's murderer had been. How long would it be until another officer faced one of these assholes?
Bogo flinched as his stomach gave a painful churn as he pressed his hooves against his eyes. This stress was going to be the end of him. Was that part of their plan? Leaving them dangling until they're all so exhausted they can't fight back?
It was possible. It sounded like something filth like them would pull. Meaning he just had to make sure that he and his officers rested. For their sake and the sake of the city.
Bogo nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard a knock at his door. His head snapped up as it flung open and a wide eyed Clawhauser entered.
"Chief Bogo!" it had been since Hopps had found the missing mammals since he had seen Clawhauser so rammed up. However, this time it didn't seem like it was good news.
"What is it?" Bogo prepared himself for the worse as he saw those wide eyes lower a bit as Clawhauser fiddled with his paws.
"The Sahara Prison just called. Valentin is dead." Not a lot surprised Bogo but that sent his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"What?" Clawhauser flinched slightly at the volume of his voice as his eyes rose to meet his.
"The guard placed to watch his level found him an hour ago in his cell dead." Bogo's brain fought to process what he was hearing.
"Are they sure?" he knew this was a foolish question of course they knew. A dead body was a dead body. Clawhauser hesitated again as he went back to fiddling with his paws.
"Yes sir. There's more though." Bogo's eyebrows raised. How could there be more than that.
"What do you mean 'more'?" again Clawhauser hesitated, his tail twitching wildly behind him.
"They found a note on him sir." Bogo just stared at him. What was he trying to say?
"A note?" Clawhauser nodded as his paws squeezed together.
"Yes sir. From what they can tell, Valentin was murdered."
Notes: Welcome everyone to part two! I'm sory it took a bit life is getting very busy but it will hopefully die down soon.