"Good evening Wolfsburg, thank you for tuning in to ABC News Wolfsburg. I'm Ralph Beowulf. Today, the city mourns as one of the most respected officers on the WPD force, Larry Blaidd Wild, dies after falling down a 50 foot cliff. Officials say that the lieutenant, soon to be police chief, was commanding a drug bust on one of the top drug lords in the region. The drug bust was a success as the drug lord, identified as Dimitri Rascalov of Pik Medvedya, Siberia, was taken into custody along with his top aides. Regardless, the city now mourns over a fallen idol, and support from around the country has shown, including President Simba who plans on making a visit to the city. More on this story as we…"
"Are you still watching this?" John asked. It was been a little more than a week since the tornado, and a week and a half since the incident. In that time, Scott must have viewed the news stories on his father about 20 times.
"Yeah, I just needed to figure out something."
"What, you think that 'Dim-bulb' there sent a hit on you?"
"What else could explain it, John? Two bears coming in from Wolf Province, who have just been recently shown to have connections to the guy, and seem to have an interest in me. Coincidence is too much to look over here."
"But why would he do it? Isn't the guy locked up in Northpoint, where mammals like him can't have connections to the outside world?"
"Dude, we are talking about a guy was a one point the richest bear in the Polar Region, you'd think he would have connections, especially up at Northpoint."
"Why now, though? Dad's death was a few years ago, and we haven't heard of anything happening to our family back up north."
"It could be a number of things. Might be something I know, something that Dad gave to me, the circumstances of his death, I really don't know right now."
"Ok. Let's just drop it for now. I got to get into work anyhow, I have the nightshift for tonight. I got some groceries in the fridge and the cabinets, and I do have my phone. Call me if you need anything."
"Thanks. I might actually go out tonight. I need to get my mind off of things for now."
"If you're going to go drinking, then let me take you there. That way, you can get a cab if you get drunk."
"Cool, let's go."
In Tundratown, there is quite the selection of bars and pubs to choose from, since many mammals migrated from the Polar Region of the country, and other parts of the world such as Siberia. Scott had recently decided to hang out at a place called the "Vol'fa Den" on Saturday nights, where the best drinks were at low prices. He especially wanted to go since it's really the only night he can let loose, and not wanting to risk breaking the law by drinking and driving, he'd tell the workers that if he got drunk, to call the taxi cab or his brother. Scott soon arrived at the classy joint, and said farewell to his brother.
He got in, got his usual spot at the bar, which was the corner where the TV was the closest, and ordered a few rounds. It wasn't long before mammals around him started to notice who he was, and was greeted by the occasional ZNN watcher. Even the bartender recognized him and said, "Hey, love your weather bit. First round of drinks are on me."
"Why thank you. You're too kind." As Scott would take shots, he would watch the TV, sometimes tuned into sports, and other times tuned into the news. Tonight was news, as there was a special on Zootopia history. As he got drunk however, his mind would start to wonder, and he would think about things he usually wouldn't. He, as he put it, a "deep thinker when booze influences the brain". He would usually spat out some of the craziest things one could ever hear, and sometimes, even he would be surprised by it. It was soon getting to a point where he could feel the alcohol take effect, and let him loosen up. After some shots, he ordered himself a margarita, something to give in to his sweet tooth.
Just then, he noticed a lady walking up towards him. She was a tiger, more so over in the Siberian breed. She looked very professional like Scott was, and started giving him kind of a "flirtatious" look. She sat down, and she soon said, "Hi, my name is Catharine Speed. It's nice to see such a nice generous man on TV here tonight."
"Well, Catharine, nice to meet you. I'm sorry for the slight slur, I've had a few too many already."
"Understandable. Just wanted to come to get some drinks too. You a regular here?"
"Only on Saturday nights. I have the weekend off, so I usually come here when I know I have time off."
"It's just very interesting that I haven't noticed you here until now. I been kind of wanting to meet you for a while."
"I keep getting told that a lot recently. I guess fame spreads rather quickly around these parts."
"Well, I mean you do more than just say the weather at night. I followed your work from last week, and your coverage of the storms were incredible. You think this trend will continue?"
"Possibly. We're in a system of weather that hasn't been seen for decades at this point. I don't know how the whole government and emergency services are responding to this."
"If you're curious, I actually do work for the government. I'm just a congress representative for Tundratown in the national government."
"They actually have a representative for each of the districts in Zootopia?"
"It's a long story. To put it bluntly, it got to a point where Zootopia got so much in population, they thought it be better to have a congress mammal from each respective district, kind of like how cities all over the country are represented, rather than an area."
"Ah, I see. I guess it is quite interesting. Want me to buy you a drink?"
"You don't have to do that."
"Trust me, I can pay for it." Scott then turned toward the bartender and yelled, "Hey Boris! One round for the lovely lady here." He then turned back toward her and asked, "So, I just wanted to ask this right out of the ballpark. Are you single?"
"Unfortunately, yes. The reason why is because I had a nasty breakup with my boyfriend. We didn't see eye to eye anymore, and we went our separate ways. Now a days, I feel like he wants me back, just following me everywhere."
"Man, sorry about that. I guess I know how that feels lately."
"Rumor has it that the great and powerful Rascalov has sent his henchmen to you, while he's at Northpoint. Is that true?"
"It's becoming more and more like it? I don't even know why he has a bone to pick with me, or even why he knows me."
"If you don't mind me asking, who exactly was Rascalov?"
Scott let out a deep sigh, and then continued, "Dimitri Rascalov, a mammal that was known to have unofficial total control of the Polar Region for a time. He wasn't the typical mafia type kind of guy, as he would let anyone know who was boss. He earned his trade through the Faustin crime family, before backstabbing the capo of the family, Mikhail Faustin. This happened longed before I was born, so it was a rumor spread around. What was scarier was that anyone who worked for him would say that if he didn't have a need for you anymore, instead of just letting them go, he would backstab them as well. But the government didn't care, as he was literally funding upwards to 25% of the Polar Region's federal funds. And because of it, he could literally walk around in broad daylight, take things that he wanted to get his hands on, and get away scot-free. That's why he wasn't taken down, at least not him personally. My dad having seen this over and over again on shift decided to do some digging on him, and well, came across some damning evidence of his shifty deeds. He told me personally that when he became Chief of Police, he would send out an arrest warrant personally. But before he could, he was essentially killed during the drug raid that lead to Rascalov's arrest. Since then, he had been put up at Northpoint, everything that he had controlled was lost, and Polar Region had become free at last from his iron grip."
"Geez. I didn't know it reached that far down." Catharine thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you think your father's sniffing around led to his untimely demise?"
"It might have, who knows. All I cared about at least he was able to take down the baddest criminal in all of the North. But, it does raise the question that if he's not allowed to comminute with the outside world, then maybe he was able to have the government get involved in recent events. I know it may sound like one of those cliché stories about corrupt governments and organized crimes trying to take out the good guy, but it's looking to be that way. But from what I heard at the trial, he admitted to most of his nasty deeds, and regretted it whole heartedly. He did however mentioned that my father's death seemed too coincidental, considering he was the one that had the info."
Scott finished up his margarita, and started to feel real drunk and tipsy. He started to stand up, and says, "Ugh, I think I had one too many tonight. I got to call up a cab."
Catharine stood up too, and said, "You don't need to do that. I could take you home."
"Thanks for the offer, Catharine, but I hardly know you. Not to be mean or anything, just after what's been happening, I rather take it safe. But I will say we can hang out sometime again, just not under these circumstances, ok?"
"Oh… Ok. Here's my number." Cat hands him her number, and Scott does the same. He bids her a-do, and leaves the establishment.
Scott was able to hail a cab, and head home. During the trip back, he couldn't help but think of that nice feline that he had just talked to. He reminded himself that in the morning to look her up, and see who she was. He thought about how "too convenient" it was that she wanted to let her drive him home. Maybe she was just nice enough to do so, but even in this time and era, Scott knew that no one he knew could be trust immediately. He eventually got home, so he tipped his driver, headed inside, and crashed on the couch. He was too drunk to even get into bed, so the couch was the next best thing. He passed out within seconds.
"Scott, wake up!"
Scott was jolted out of sleep by his brother, with huge terror in his eyes.
"What is the matter with you, John? Why are you waking me up all the sudden?"
"I just heard the worst news!"
"What? Did someone else in our family die?"
"No. It worse than that. News outlets all over the country are just reporting on this!" John shoves a freshly printed copy of the "Zootopian Times" into Scott's face, and when he read it, he couldn't believe it. The headline, as big and bold as it go said: "Rascalov, Crime Lord, Escapes Northpoint Prison"
Scott's eyes widen open, as he shouts, "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? Northpoint is supposed to be inescapable!"
"I'm not sure. This happened just a few hours ago. Reports say that he's being spotted along different routes going south. And all of them lead eventually to Zootopia!"
"Dude, you are scaring me. This has to be some big joke, right?" Scott turns on the TV, and to his horror, every news channel is reporting on it. ZNN, ABC, K9 News, 5 News, Mice12, every single news channel he could come across was reporting on it. Scott's heart sank as many news outlets were reporting the same thing John just told him: "He was spotted heading south towards Zootopia".
"NOPE! I'm not staying here. I don't feel safe."
"You seriously think he's escape prison just to come and get you?"
"After that incident with the bears, I'm not taking any chances. I'm packing up, getting on a train to somewhere out west," He continues this charade, just as he's opening the door with the luggage in tow, "and I'm leaving town. I don't want a wanted criminal finding me anywhere." He turns around, and he suddenly jerks back as he sees what was behind him. The two bears that came by earlier, and they were with the mammal himself, DIMITRI RASCOLAV.
"Oh god" Scott whispered in fear to himself.
"Hello, little boy", Dimitri started to say in his native accent, "What was that you were saying about leaving town, because of me?" He steps inside, along with the two other bears, who head towards John. "You know it's very rude to just avoid guests that have come to visit."
"I didn't know yo…"
"Shush Shush Shush. You don't need to speak. I've only came here on business. And you my friend have something that I need."
"What are you talking about, Mr. Rascalov?"
"There was a certain item, let's say "inherited", to you from you father. It's very vital to my wellbeing, and without it, I could have died."
"I don't know what you're talking about. Aren't you supposed to be at Northpoint?"
"Don't be stupid, boy. I know that the media is looking everywhere for me. I just had to bribe a few folks to look the other way."
"Wasn't all the money you earned taken from you?"
"Enough with the questions, I had some stored in a safe in an, undisclosed location. Now, you are going to give me that item, or we'll have to deal business elsewhere."
"I seriously d…"
"YOU EXACTLY KNOW WHAT I CAME FOR, YOU HOWLER! THE GUN! NOW WHERE IS IT?"
"You mean my fa…"
"YES, YOUR FATHER'S PRIZED GUN. I NEED IT!"
Scott gulped, knowing what he was talking about, and couldn't find any more excuses to delay the inevitable. He walked slowly over to the desk, pulled the top drawer out, and lifted the gun he had used to protect himself earlier with.
"Yes, boy. Bring it here."
Scott regretfully handed it over to him, and then asked, "What is it about my father's gun you take interest in?"
"It might have something to do with your father's mysterious death a few years back." Dimitri looked long and hard at it. He looked up and still saw the terror in Scott's eyes. After a awkward moment of staring, he said, "Look, I didn't come here to hurt you or your family. If I did, I would have taken out you family back up north a LONG time ago. I only came to clear my name."
"Of what crime in particular?"
Dimitri closed the door, and had the other bears lower the blinds. He asked everyone to sit in the living room so he could explain himself.
"First off, all the rumors of how I got to power were true. Did I regret then, no. Do I regret it now, yes. I'll admit to stealing, illegalized businesses and gambling, and even some bodily harm to those who deserved it. But I believe your father's death was no accident."
"And, why do you of all mammals say that?" John asked in a miffed/scared tone of voice.
"Because, to be honest, I knew he was coming for me. My empire was already crumpling as it was, even without him. If he had lived to arrest me, he could have said a whole lot more about 'certain cases'. Stuff that no average Joe could say without disappearing too easily."
"Government corruption?" Scott asked concerned.
"Yeah. If I can prove something having to do with this gun, it would be the biggest take down of the century. Even bigger than the Vixon and Waterfall Scandal."
"On what basis?" John asked, now more curious than ever.
"If I told you, they'd just come after you too. I'm only alive because of the years of donations I made to their "secret society". But, if you wanted to, I can take you with me to solve the case together. Scott, wasn't it you who said you had doubts about your father's true death?"
"I did, but how would we know you wouldn't just backstab us?"
"Like I said, if I wanted to, you're family up north would have been dead from the start. And so would you guys. I don't wait to take action."
"Ok. I can't believe I'm doing this. So, what first?" Scott asked.
"First, we go back up north to Wolfsburg, and find your father's grave. There, it might lead to something." As Rascalov walked out, he said, "And if you feel uncomfortable at any moment, just run, and don't look back. I wouldn't blame you."
"John, could you stay here? Just in case?"
"Sure." The brothers hugged each other, and soon, were separated.
Scott soon thought to himself, "All this time, he was trying to get my help? If he went out of his way to do this, then it must either be a very good thing, or a very bad thing. Heh, we'll soon find out."