Chapter 9: The Hunt
(Part 3: Outbreak!)
Jake was startled as his phone began to vibrate and snapped him back into reality. He looked at the phone number and answered, "Wolford… how's Fangmeyer?"
The wolf's shaken voice on the phone answered, "He's really sick Jake, fever and the shakes. I got him to the clinic and they've called an ambulance. I just heard your message, is it really distemper?"
"Listen to me Wolford! Don't let any felines around him and any who already have need to be immediately quarantined. The ambulance must take him to the University Hospital, not Central. Text me when you get there, you understand?" said Jake.
Before the wolf could answer, Jake took the next call. "Bogo you've got to quarantine any felines who have been in contact with those three kittens or the city is going to have a hell of a distemper epidemic." The voice on the line began to object, but Jake said "Hold on Chief."
He answered the next call. "Yeah, Inspector, wait the river? Otterstown? I'll check and call back. Thanks!"
Jake looked up and the room was now deathly silent as a dozen of Zootopia's most deadly mobsters had all stopped to look at the raccoon. His ears dropped flat and he meekly said, "Sorry Mr. Catpone, it looks like the outbreak has started. Has anyone been to Otterstown lately?"
His phone vibrated again and Catpone smiled at the raccoon and said, "Are you going to answer that?" The other mammals in the room were deathly quiet and watching the jaguar and the raccoon.
Jake gave the Jaguar a frown and replied, "No sir, it's just Chief Bogo again, I'll call him when we find the doctor. Now has anyone been near Otterstown lately?"
Catpone looked at the raccoon, shook his head, and then asked, "Vinnie that's your area, any of your boys been down that way?"
Vinnie Runner was a lean cheetah in a blue track suit and he answered, "Not in a few months, I had some of my boys check out the old town as a smuggler's drop, but they said the place is now teaming with capybara. Also, they said a boatload of wolves ran them off."
Catpone asked, "How soon can we get someone down there soon to check things out?
Ratzolli cleared his throat and stuttered, "Mr. Catpone, my wife has family nearby, she's a swamp rat. I just texted her brother and he said that a doctor has taped off the town off again. He said the doctor was an otter."
Catpone looked at Runner and he growled, "I want your boys to storm that town, now! I want that otter alive and I don't care about the rest."
Jake quickly cut in, "Excuse me sir, but we need to get not only the doctor, but we also need his research. We need health specialists in there before we can figure out what his has been doing. I mean who knows what else he may have created? We need assault troops with hazmat gear and the training to contain anything that they might find."
Catpone looked at the raccoon, smiled, and then said, "So we need to call Bogo and his cops. Better for me and my boys to stay out of the picture anyways, since there may be too many questions asked later. Make the call."
Jake's phone vibrated again, it was Nick. "Sorry bro, I've got no time to talk. I need to talk to Bogo," he paused as he could hear Bogo in the background yelling for Nick to get that damn raccoon to call him now. He could have sworn Nick whimpered as he handed his personal cell phone to his boss. It took fifteen full minutes for Jake to explain what was happening to the now placated cape buffalo. Somewhere early on, during more heated part of their conversation, Jake heard a crunch and Nick's phone went dead. He had to call the Chief back on the station line. Guess I owe Nick a new phone? he thought to himself.
Bogo wanted Jake to bring in everything he had on the case and as he and Ratzolli were preparing to leave, Catpone grabbed his arm. Looking down at the raccoon the mob boss smiled and said, "I guess we have you to thank for saving our combined feline butts this time, Runnel. If you ever change your mind and decide to return back to the excitement of your old ways, I'm sure I can find a place for you within my gang. But if you ever need me or my boys, let me know. Otherwise, I can expect that you will remember that we have never met… right?"
Jake grinned as he shook the Jaguar's paw, "Nope, can't recall ever meeting you sir."
The ZPD's special SWAT team's raid on the Otterstown clinic was by the book, nabbing both Dr. Riverwell and his research. Now it became a race against time for the doctors to develop a cure before anyone else died. A curfew was placed on the city to keep the epidemic from spreading throughout the feline population. Hazmat crews rushed to locate and isolate any infected members of the population. Within days, it appeared that the outbreak had been contained.
The city was reeling in fear over the impact of the outbreak, but slowly some businesses began to reopen even though the entire feline population remained under curfew. Gradually Zootopia moved from being a city in fear, into a city in mourning after the bodies of three more missing kittens and a half dozen local swamp wildcats were found buried in the muddy fields around Otterstown. As more news of the raid became available, Jake found himself being thrust into the spotlight and he was being labeled as a Special Advisor to the ZPD. He cringed as reporters began to call him a hero and his hotel seemed to be under siege by reporters clambering for interviews. Things eased a bit when a couple large polar bears in black suits showed up at the building's doors and explained to the press that they were employees of Jake's company. The raccoon, however found it easier to slip in and out the hotel by climbing to the roof and across a rope to the building next door.
But Jake felt useless, because like the rest of the city, all he could do is wait. He kept visiting the hospital to check on Fangmeyer, who had now slipped into a coma. The tiger's partner, Wolford sat in the waiting room looking worn from worrying about his friend. The tiger's family was in quarantine and could not even come to the hospital. On his third visit, he found Judy and Nick in the waiting room and Judy was holding the tired wolf's paw. After waiting for a few hours with his friends, he left and caught the evening bus to River Street and it was his intention to check on some of his other feline friends. He spent a couple hours locating and digging up few more of his old heist catches and by the time he reached River Street and Channel Street, he had a little over a thousand dollars in his suit pocket. Unlike any of the previous nights when he had been there, the streets were mostly empty.
"Jake honey, where you been?" Candy greeted him. Candy was a russet colored vixen in a skimpy black dress. "If you're looking for Meredith, she's not here and neither is Jerry. The boss has them in lock down with Sheela waiting for all this crap to pass. Things are slow tonight so you want to take a tumble for old times' sake?"
Jake looked her up and down, she was a fine looking fox. He groaned to himself when he realized, hell she looks like she could be Nick's little sister. "Sorry Candy, love you and all, but I'm just too worried about the cats."
"You mean little Meredith, right Jake? Trudy laughed as she joined the two, she was a grey vixen.
Jake smiled at Trudy, "Looking good tonight honey, who's covering the street for Jerry?"
"Red's in charge" Candy cringed. "He's been on our tails about being behind on our take all night. You know when he gets mad he tends to get heavy with the hoofs and calls us useless pelts. " Without thinking, she was rubbing her side.
"He's been hitting you?" Jake tersely asked and both Candy and Trudy cringed even more. "How far are you both behind?" Jake left the girls with the thousand dollars, enough to cover their take for the night.
Red was leaning against a pole just down the street. The big bull sneered as he saw the angry raccoon approaching him and sarcastically called out, "Here comes the city's big hero."
Suddenly the raccoon leapt onto the bull's chest, grabbed his nose ring and jammed a taser baton deep into the larger animal's nostril. Jake hissed, "Don't hit the ladies and don't call my friends PELTS!" and before the bull could react he pressed the baton's button and leapt off. The electric shock knocked the big bull off his hoofs. Leaning over the fallen bovine, Jake growled, "Next time you won't be so lucky Red. Do you understand?" The bull slowly nodded.
It was long after midnight when Jake made it to the run down house where the cats were staying. After he knocked on the door, he heard Jerry call out, "Who's there?"
Jake chuckled as he called back, "Santa Claws and I understand you've been a bad kitten. Who else would show up at this Lion forsake time of night in this Lamb forsaken neighborhood?"
"Jakie darling!" squealed Meredith as she threw the door open and jumped into his arms. "One of my favorite raccoons has come to save me!"
Jake peeked into the room and saw Jerry and Sheela sitting on the floor playing a video game on a very large expensive looking television. There were empty delivery containers strewn around the tables. "But I'm not sure what I'm saving you from?" he asked.
"Boredom silly," Meredith giggled and she began to pull Jake's paw toward the bedroom. "Jerry's too big and Sheela's not my type."
"Wait, Jerry's too big, what does that make me?" Jake protested. "Also, just how many other raccoons do you know?"
"Let's not get into that boyo," Meredith snickered. "You're the cutest and best dressed of all my raccoons. As for size, you're just right." Her paw rubbed the bulge that was growing between his legs.
"Bunnies are cute. I'm handsome, sexy, but not cute," Jake protested as the door slammed shut.
Both Jerry and Sheela began to laugh as they heard Meredith's muffled voice, "Shut up Jake and get undressed!"
The next morning as Jake slowly stumbled into the hospital waiting room, he was bowled over by Judy's hug. The rabbit excitedly shouted, "He's awake! He's awake! The doctors found a cure!"
Jake moaned as Nick offered him a paw up, the fox sniffed him and said, "Geeze, Jake you look like crap and smell like you've rutted with a bag full of wildcats."
Slowly dusting himself off, Jake smiled at the fox and replied, "Fangmeyer isn't the only cat friend I have. What's the story bro, is Stripes really going to be okay?"
Nick stepped back from the raccoon and waved his paw in front of his nose before he answered, "Phew dude! The docs got here with the antidote and it seems to be working. Fangmeyer woke up early this morning and even devoured a couple of whole roasted chickens for breakfast."
"Thank the Lion!" Jake said as he gingerly pulled himself up on an oversized chair. "Now call the ER and tell them they have an oversexed raccoon dying upstairs. Nick, I'm swearing off all females. Give my regards to Stripes and tell him that I'm sorry that I had to die before seeing him."
Nick laughed as his friend curled up on the chair and fell asleep.
It was a few days later when Judy leaned across the restaurant table and picked up the shiny gold plated object. She exclaimed, "I can't believe the mayor gave you a medal, Jake!"
"She gave medals to the doctors and a few other mammals," said the raccoon as he shrugged his shoulders. "They deserved theirs more than I do."
It was a long afternoon ceremony, followed by a press conference with the mayor and the commissioner, and then finally an interview with Jack Zipper of ZNN. Afterwards, Jake invited Judy and Nick for dinner at a popular Cajun restaurant and bar near his hotel, called the South Quarter. The place was overflowing with the after work twenty-something businessmammal crowd. Jake liked this place, because the patrons were more open to his friend's mixed species relationship. Judy had a roasted beet and wilted greens salad with candied pecans, while both Jake and Nick both ordered the boiled crawfish platters. After finishing half his plate, Jake shoved the remainder over to Nick who quickly dug into the pile. While he ate, his tail happily swished back and forth, almost knocking Judy off the bench. Judy giggled and punched her husband lightly, as he teased her that his tail had a mind of its own. Jake leaned back and smiled at his friend's banter. They never get tired of each other, do they? He mused to himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another familiar tail. He leaned over to get a better view of the bar and saw her in the crowd. His ears perked up as he heard someone, somewhere calling his name. Jake sat up straight and looked at the rabbit and said, "Sorry Judy, what did you say?"
Judy laughed, "That was Nick who was talking to you silly."
"Oh!" he said and leaned out into the aisle again. Suddenly the raccoon stood up and started to straighten his tie. He reached into his pocket and threw a couple hundred dollar bills on the table and said, "Sorry guys, but I think I left something at the bar."
Judy laughed some more as Jake stumbled into a chair on his way towards the bar. Standing on the bench she peeked over the top and Nick's head quickly appeared next to hers. They watched their friend walk up to a beautiful young female raccoon. "I think he left his heart at the bar Carrots," snickered Nick.
Marie watched the raccoon approaching her and smiled. She heard one of her friends whisper "Isn't that Jake Runnel? You know the guy on TV who got the medal today? He's cute and was really witty in his interview. He has his own company too."
As Jake got closer, she smiled at him and said, "Well Sugar, it looks like you finally caught me."
"I'm sorry it took so long," stammered Jake. "I was kind of busy."
