Chapter 7: No Loose Ends
Robert and Loren ran back from where they had been as they searched for their friends. They led Leonard and Jim to the massive room where there machines that made product of all sorts located near the massive window. They turned toward a long conveyor belt and climbed up. Leonard came close to snatching Loren by her feet as the conveyor belt was just two thirds the height of Leonard from the ground, but Robert manages to pull her up in time. Jim climbs on easily and continues after the two as they climb onto another conveyor belt to the left. Jim took a flight of stairs, but didn't make it time to grab either Loren or Robert.
"We're going to run out of machine to climb Robert, we have to do something." She insisted as she breathed heavily running up tilted pipes.
Luckily nearly above half way up the machine was a link to another machine that'll get them away from the cat walks Jim was using to climb, "Quickly over here." Robert signaled to take a right.
The machine creaked a bit from Loren and Robert carefully climbing on it.
"Do you think we should climb after them?" Jim asked Leonard whom was on the part of the machine Robert and Loren had been to get on the other machine.
"Of course! We can't let them get away. The boss will skin us if we fail to get them."
Jim went down and followed Leonard slowly balancing themselves as they climbed there way to their intruders.
Nick and Judy appeared having heard some of the commotion. They searched the machines above and spotted Robert and Loren trying to escape with Jim and Leonard behind.
"Robert! Loren!" Nick called out as he waved with both his arms.
The two friends stopped for two seconds to look down and see them.
"Hey!" The construct of the machine began to big load creaks as it barely moved from the movement the animals were doing on it, "Now's not the time to talk you guys, we're kind of busy as you can see." Robert shouted back continuing to move.
"We have to do something, anything to help them Nick." Judy was worrisome about Robert and Loren.
Nick notices a small hook crane on the ceiling, "I got an idea, follow me."
He searched the room for the controls and finds them at the other end of the room. He flips the switch to turn it on, but nothing happens when he press the buttons, "There's no power running, but where is the power switch?" Nick also looked around for it. Judy notices a lot of wires on a wall and sees a big lever. She ran as fast she could and using her momentum jumps and pulls it down. A few sparks flew from it and soon nearly the whole inside of the facility was lighted up. Her badge had fallen of her shirt, but she did not notice it.
"Go Nick! Use it!" She shouted from her spot.
Nick pressed the forward button and surely enough the hook moved, "Guys, see if you can grab onto it!"
Robert and Loren notice the hook moving in front of the machine. It would be a long jump, but Robert and Loren were preparing for it. Nick presses the button to release the hook to make it fall down, it swung until it hits the floor landing next to one of the machine's legs. As it neared Robert and Loren the hook slides over and hooks itself to the leg. Nick was too busy looking up he did not notice it pulling the leg out from the wooden boards.
Judy, however, saw it and ran back to Nick, "Nick wait!" But it was too late.
The leg bent causing the one next to it to give out as well. Then the hook crane was pulled down breaking from the beams causing a lot of sparks to fall down. It wouldn't be long for the wooden planks to catch fire. The machine began to tilt in various directions, no longer allowing Robert or Loren to leap onto the chain as they had to hang on. Leonard and Jim having cross halfway grabbed onto the edge of the conveyor belt machine as the link had broken, leaving them holding onto the edge.
Nick placed his paws on the side of his cheeks, "What have I done? OK hold on guys I'm going to try something else here."
"No. Nick, Judy, get on out of here. We'll be fine, we'll find our way out." He assured them.
Flames began to grow consuming the wooden boards making a giant hole in the room.
"We will?" Loren asked not knowing what Robert meant scared of their current situation.
"You can't be serious Robert, there's something we can do!" Judy stood helpless below looking up.
"There's no point in all of us perishing here. If there has to be someone to stop these criminals from destroying Zootopia it's you two!"
Judy was starting to make a face of wanting to cry feeling useless in not being able to help her new friends.
"Judy listen." Robert paused, "It'll be okay." He smiled down to her.
Nick grabs her right paw, "Come on, you heard him. It'll be okay." His voiced quivered at the last word as he looked at her and they both headed to the room's exit. Before they could leave they turned around to see what Robert and Loren were going to do. Leonard and Jim manage to get back on the cat walks taking a door to escape the scenario.
"What are we going to do Robert?"
"We're going to use our weight and push onto the machine. It's tilted towards the window. If we can build enough force on it it will crash through it."
"And what about afterwards?"
"I don't know. I guess we'll have to see..." He smiled at her.
As stated, they extended their arms and bent them quickly to get momentum going. They tried it three times and surely the machine tilted towards the window, crashing through the glass. Outside the guards were in disarray standing a far distance calling in the events through their walky-talkies. They saw the machine, but luckily couldn't see Robert or Loren on top of it as it went out the window, half of it splashing into the river.
Nick and Judy then quickly fled after seeing Robert and Loren go out with the machine. Once outside with all the guards fleeing the seen, they manage to get away unharmed. They headed up the hill, but Judy stopped running, looking back at the scene. The factory's blaze was consuming the entire factory, it was bound to attract the ZPD and fire departments.
"I can't believe we just left them Nick." Judy wiped away a tear from each eye sniffling.
"We had no choice. But Robert was right, we had no choice. If we weren't going to be around to stop these criminals, who was?" He held her close to him as they watched the scene together.
"Come on. It's not over yet. We have a crime lord to catch."
Judy straightened up and puts on a confident face, "You're right. We won't let Robert and Loren's sacrifice be for nothing."
They left the scene and headed back to the city.
Back in the river the patrol on a boat investigated the area where the top half of the machine had sunk. There was nothing but debris floating in the water that were all left from the impact. The two security guards lit their flashlight around and noticed bubbles rising near the left side of the boat. One of them, who was a reed cat, kneels down to see if something was going to surface.
"You see something Billy?" his fellow guard, a Zebra, walks beside him to see. Without warning, Robert and Loren grab onto their pants and pull them overboard. The boat driver, a deer, stays behind the wheel shocked at what happened. Before he could grab his walky-talky, Robert quickly climbed on and knocks him off the right side of the boat. He grabs Loren's hand pulling her up and off they drove off leaving the guards behind swimming as they watched in the water.
Back in dug tunnel near the factory that was safe from the fire all the top henchmen from the factory were gathered around a small round table with a smartphone on a mount; included in the group was the panther that chased officer Langening and the leopard Loren had described. Not to mention Jeremy was a bit unstable twitching and squirming holding back the savage tendencies caused by the Night Howler syrum.
There was a shadowy figure who hid his details very well through the video call, "What happened you fools? Our operation in the swamp district has been ruined!" He hit his desk with his left fist.
Jeremy does his best to control himself as he answered, "It was that rabbit officer who solved the Night Howler cases a few months back and our old friend Nicholas. I don't know what they were doing here, but they're clearly onto us. They managed to escape after covering me with the Night Howler pellet's contents." He shook violently quenching his fists.
"What about the factory? Was there any evidence left behind that could lead them to me?" The figure demanded to know.
"Before Leonard and Jim could leave I had them pour fuel in all the offices. The fire consumed everything sir. No evidence leading back to you is bound to be found." The leopard answered.
Back at the remains of the factory, both ZPD and firefighters were gathered investigating the site. Even Chief Bogo was there to see what his officers found first hand, "So what do we have?"
"It looks like the fire was caused by an electrical failure of some sort, but there are signs fuel was used to burn part of the factory as well." An elephant firefighter gave Chief Bogo the details.
Chief Bogo turn to one of his officers, a lioness, who held a clip board with details, "Any chance we caught whom ever was behind this officer McNeely?"
"We manage to arrest a few suspects among the crowds in the amusement park and a lot more in an underground casino sir. We also found the officers that had been reported missing not too far from the site sir."
Chief Bogo turned around quickly to McNeely surprised at the last part of the report.
"Chief! Chief!" A tiger officer called to him as he climbed up the rubble with something in his paw.
"What is it officer Lawrence?"
"I found this..." He handed Chief Bogo a small badge covered by ash. He put on his glasses and was shocked at the discovery with wide eyes looking over the river having wiped off the ash revealing Judy's name on it.
"Do you think she made it out sir?"
Chief Bogo turned to the firefighter, "Any reports of a body found?"
"No sir, nothing as tragic as that has been found nor do we hope to."
Chief Bogo looked at the badge unsure of what to believe.
"Excellent work Edgar. The last thing we need is for our entire operation to be blown." The figure gave a short sinister laugh.
"However, sir, the officers we kept in the cells have disappeared."
"WHAT?!" The figure was truly angry as the news.
"It seems someone was able to make it out of the fire and took one of our boats. They discovered where the officers were and released them. They're all in the ZPD's custody now."
The figure grabbed onto his ears with rage pulling them down, "I should've known better than to have left you three fools in charge! I should've sent Edgar and Louis sooner! So many things I could've done to avoid this!" The figure then took a few breathes to calm down, "Looks like I'll have to take care of whom ever you fools let in the factory myself. No doubt they'll be visiting me soon, so I'll prepare the welcome wagon for them. You all just better hope she hasn't turned in to the ZPD informing Chief Bogo. I've sent our best men to retrieve the device back in the station's evidence room. Soon my plan will be complete and I'll own all of Zootopia." He laughed thinking about the victory he's bound to achieve.
In the train station, Judy and Nick boarded onto a train heading back to Zootopia's city center. They sat in the booth they had when Robert was with them. They were tired from all they had been through the night, resting on their arms placed on the table.
"What do you think the Chief will do to us when we tell him what happened?" He faced Judy with a smile and sleepy eyes.
"I don't know, maybe fire us." She smiled back with the same tired eyes.
"Do you think Robert and Loren made it out alright?"
Judy stood up with her ears on the back of her head thinking about that part, "I don't… I want to say they made it out. They had to have fallen in the river." She sniffled and wiped a tear away.
"You're right. I'm sure we'll meet up with them later, remember these?" Nick pulled out his leaf communicator, "I've been studying mine and it seems if I press this button-" He presses it and a small light began to flash, Judy looking at it raising her ears up, "he can use a computer system to track us. We can track him as well should he turned his on at some point."
Judy smiled at Nick for the comforting idea as he looked down at her in assurance.
Nick took a soft a breath, "Well we should get some rest, we'll arrive at the city center in the morning."
Judy then snuggled by Nick resting her head on the right part of his chest, "Good night Nick."
Nick raised his right arm and wrapped it around her as he rested his head on top of hers, "Night Judy."
Then the train then departed from the station as the city was retiring for the night due to the occurrences.
