Just a quick disclaimer before this chapter.
Why did I publish it now?
Well, I am going away for two weeks, so I decided to give you this, so you won't be as long time waiting. I try to post chapters weekly (no, I totally didn't make a break for like three months time -\_(ツ)_/- ), so when I come back expect one chapter per week.
Chapter 11
The restaurant was really exclusive. The dishes served on porcelain dinnerware, all the cutlety silver and all the glasses high-quality and masterfully incised. All the dishes from highest quality food, cooked by very good chefs, each of them from another region, specialized in its cuisine. After the dishes were cooked a panel of artists made it look perfect. And that was why the prices were so high.
The inside also was very nicely designed. The tablecloths made out of silk, the tables outof extremely expensive wood, the interior designed by world-famous interior designer, with a little stage, for a group of virtuosos, who played while the elites that could afford a meal there ate.
In the table in the corner there was a recognizable mammal, sitting with his fiancée. It was George Hudson, the mammal most likely to win this year's election. He was on a date right now, enjoying his favourite hyena's company.
And it would be a perfect date if not an arctic wolf with a stabilizer around his right knee. He wore formal clothing, with his impressive musculature easily seen even with it on top. It could be seen that he didn't like it, but he could stand that.
The wolf approached the unsuspecting duo and sat on the thrid chair near the table.
"Well, I could say that I hoped I didn't disturb, but that would be a lie, so I am going to cut to the point." he said, with voice loud enough for the mammals to hear but also too quiet for anyone else to eavesdrop
"Uhmmm... Do you need help with anything, sir?" the second wolf asked, fairly confused
"There are two mammals that need help sitting in that table and I'm not one of them. What if I told you that you were to die tonight, in this room?"
"I highly doubt it sir. This perticular restaurant ought to be free from any murderer." the hyena said
"Tell me mr. Hudson, do you know what Tamara Rose does?" the arctic wolf asked
"Yes, I do. I have bought her every book."
"Good, then it's way easier to explain. Tell me, mr. Hudson... Do you think the election would happen in democraric way? That David Jones will let you rule the city without any interference?"
"Well, according to Tamara Rose's research..."
"You don't know that zebra good enough to know, so I will answer for you. No. No he is not going to let you do what you like. You see, you are dangerous for him. You gain public support and he doesn't like it. You propose changes that will make him lose money. An awful lot of money. And he doesn't like it. One, small, bit."
"And you want to say that he sent someone here to kill me?" the second wolf asked ironically
"Look over my right shoulder. There is a panther. He has a gun, if you are perceptive enough you will see it."
"George... He really has a gun. What is going on?" she asked the arctic wolf
"I don't think he is here to kill you. Rather to scare you and take her as a hostage."
"Why?" a simple question came from the smaller wolf
"Psychology. Jones wants you to think he has got you, that he's the superior one, that he's the mammal in charge. A friend of mine would say that he wants to have your balls in an iron vice. Why? To have free... Well, in his case hoof. To do whatever you like. And to see your response. If you keep fighting he'll destroy you, like he did with many others. If you back down you'll just be another figurehead, so it would not be a difference for him." the arctic wolf explained
"He wants my response?" the wolf asked rhetorically, with fires in his blue eyes "Then he'll get it. I will tell that panther..."
"How? You are a politician, you don't have any fighting skill required to take him down. Plus, he is armed with a firearm, so good lick with that." arctic wolf's words cooled down another wolf's anger
"Why do you tell that to us, then?" the hyena asked
"I thought that question would never be asked... I am here to make you a proposal. By this time you should already know who am I with, but better to make sure, than not know." the wolf said and turned his left arm, showing his cuff for the smaller wolf
Shivers went down George's spine when we saw the links, with a picture of a large, orange bird, stretching its wings to the sides, framed by red-yellow flames. The Phoenix.
The wolf got raised in a rich family, but he knew about well-trained criminals wearing the signature of the bird with proud. They almost killed his father when he was nine and that was one of the reasons why he wanted to secure Nocturnal District and eliminate all the crime organizations from Zootopia.
Unfortunately it seemed that he had to ally with one of them in order to be able to fight with the most important enemies at the moment.
"So, how do..."
"I think I'd be better if we talked later, where nobody unwanted can hear us. My name is Dimitri Igorovich, if you wondered." the wolf said and exited the restaurant
Due to the 'interesting' talk the duo could not enjoy their meal anymore. They decided to return to wolf's apartment and then decide what to do next.
As expected when they walked through the door of the restaurant the panthet paid the bill and started to follow them.
"God, where is that wolf now?" George asked, after he imperceptibly checked if the feline kept following them
"Let's turn over here and if he keeps following us then we start to worry, okay?" the hyena proposed
They did exactly that and after some time without the feline they relaxed.
"Well... Now we can enjoy the sunset..." the wolf said, pointing at her right
It was truly a remarkable sight. The sun, illuminating the clouds above, painting them in various shades of orange, purple and pink looked beautiful. The mammals could only stare at it with their eyes wide open, absorbing the view.
"Because of little things like that we move on." the wolf said
"I can not disagree with that." the hyena agreed
When they got to wolf's apartment they finally knew they sould be safe. The estate the wolf lived in was guarded and his door was safe. But after George opened the door they saw the arctic wolf, casually leaning against the wall in the kitchen.
"How did you get here?" the smaller wolf asked "The door was closed..."
"Was that supposed to be a joke? A joke like the lock on your door?" the arctic wolf asked and walked closer to the duo "What was that you wanted to say?"
"Huh?"
"How do I... What? See something? Breathe? Walk so fast with only one leg fully operational?" the arctic wolf asked
"How do you want to ensure my safety?"
"You don't have to worry about that. Just say 'yes' and I'll take care of everything."
"Then I say yes."
"Okay. Then you must know something. From now on you are going to be observed 24/7. We will know when you eat, take a shower, sleep or make out. You will not go to any store. You will have a mammal next to your door who will get you everything. You will go only go to debates and stuff like that. If you want to go to a cinema, or a restaurant you are going to tell us when, where and what are you going to do. In case of emergencies use this." the wolf said and gave them an old nokia
"Is it really necessary?" the hyena asked
"You want to see?" the wolf asked and drew out his hidden pistol "Hide."
"Whoa, what is that supposed to mean?" the smaller wolf asked
"You are hiding. NOW." the second wolf replied, aiming at the door
The duo did that just in time. When the door to wolf's bedroom closed the panther kicked the door, expecting two shocked and suprised mammals. Butthis time he got surprised. The wolf fired only one shot, a very quiet and deadly one. The panther fell on the floor, with a small, red dot on his forehead.
"You see, this is why you need protection." the arctic wolf said, hiding the pistol "Don't worry about the body, I'll have someoneget it out of here."
The arctic wolf walked out of the apartment, leaving the duo alone.
"Oh my God, what have I been thinking... Getting into politics..." George said, grabbing his head
"George, it's gonna be alright, you are fine." the hyena said, trying to comfort him
"It's not about me, I'm worried about you! How can I be su-"
Wolf's talk got interrupted by hyena's kiss. She knew it was the only way to make him quiet.
"Honey... We will be protected. Trust me. I'm going to take a shower now, you can join me when you get a grip on yourself, ok?" she asked, hugging him
"Alright." the wolf agreed
The moon slowly started to enter the sky, formally starting the night. That mattered a lot to the bufallo who stood nearby his car parked next to the perfectly camouflaging bushes. Right now he observed an abandoned warehouse, a place not expected to find in Rainforest District.
"Hi Bogo."
Those two words made the chief of the ZPD's precinct one almost jump.
"Ernest, please don't do this again." the bufallo replied, almost certain he almost had a heart attack "I almost got scared to death."
The wolf sent his friend a toothy grin "If I didn't do it that wouldn't be my style."
"Yeah, that's right. Just remember some mammals don't like when you show-off your sneaking skills." the bufallo replied, trying to catch any movement next to the warehouse
"I don't show-off! It just happens."
"Yeah, yeah. Is this really the place where we will find more samples for Nigel?"
"Not only that. If we get lucky we may also get some nice criminals to interrogate. The sad thing though is that we can't play good and bad cop, since I'm not one." the wolf joked
"That's a shame. You could be both. How do we get in?" the bufallo asked
"I'd pick the door." the wolf replied
"Won't they shoot us?" Bogo pointed at two mammals nearby the door
"They aren't very smart. Alright, give me the tranq gun and let's go, we've wasted enough time already." the wolf said and started to walk towards the warehouse
The bufallo followed him, giving him the gun "Those are the ones for wolves, one will make you sleep for an hour. It also works on other species, but if you use that on a rabbit one will sleep for more time."
"Makes sense." the wolf replied
They didn't try to cover their approach, so when they got closer one of the mammals, a pig interrupted them.
"Hey, you know it's private property, right?" he said with voice suggesting for them to get out
"But we're just playing hide and seek." the wolf replied innocently, not stopping
"And we've just found you." the larger mammal said, shooting the pig, while the wolf shot the second mammal - a skunk
"So, you have sense of humour, Bogo. There's still hope!" the wolf said as he tied up the mammals
"Shut up. The sooner we end the better." the bufallo replied, opening the door without any sound
Both mammals carefully peeked inside, only to see countless boxes made out of various materials covered in dust. After making sure their surroundings were safe they slowly entered the building. Bogo desperatly tried not to sneeze, aspecially after he heard a voice coming from his right. It seemed like the mammals handled the drugs behind a movable, cardboard wall.
"So, what have you got for us today? Same stuff, or something extra?"
"I found stuff that can bounce you up to space! Phoenix's blue juice. Split in ten, only twenty thousand apiece."
"He's selling it mixed with something." Bogo heard the wolf muttering "It normally would be sold around fifty thousand. Can you arrest them off duty?"
"I'm the chief of the biggest police precinct in this city. I couldn't do that?" the bufallo replied "Do we wait though, or do we come in now?"
"They won't tell anything I won't get out of them. You take the left, I take the right."
"Sure. Let's go. Oh and take that." chief said and gave an artificial police officer's badge to the detective
The mammals stood up and saw all the mammals that took part in the market. They saw a dingo, a koala and an armadillo, who probably was the drug dealer. Looked like they finally made an agreement, since the koala shook paws with the armadillo.
"ZDP! Freeze and put your paws where I can see them!" the bufallo exclaimed, aiming at the mammals
Everyone did anything than that. The koala started to run, while the dingo tried to grab as many drugs as he could, with the armadillo trying to stop him.
Both the wolf and the bufallo reacted immediately. The wolf shot the runner, while the bufallo aimed for both armadillo and the dingo. He hit both shots, knocking them out.
"You didn't spend those years in academy for nothing, did you?" the wolf asked
"That's true." the bufallo agreed, walking closer to the unconsious bodies, obviously looking for something
He soon found what he was looking for. A large duffle bag, filled with various drugs. When Bogo took a look inside he knew the mammals who were buying had much more money than average mammal in Zootopia.
He spotted cocaine, LSD, herion and some other drugs he couldn't name. But also there were night howlers.
"I got the sample for Nigel." the bufallo said, picking up a small, aluminum vial "An awful few of pure one, but there's ten mixed. Also something that looks like that Doug used to shoot mammals with."
"Show me." the wolf demanded
He inspected the bullet from every angle amd then put it back in the duffle bag "Looks like Nigel is going to have some fun. This looks like the better version of the bullet Bellwether used. Imagine a tranq dart, but filled with night howler serum."
"Well, then we are back to square one. Wait until Nigel finds something, then make your decisions based on it." Bogo said
"Isn't it normal police work?" Ernest asked, tying up the dingo
"It's similiar." the bufallo replied, tying up the armadillo "But not the same."
"You have to fill up the paperwork too, huh?" the wolf asked, tying up the last mammal
"Why do you think I need reading glasses? After hours of filling in reports, trying to read those small letters your eyesight won't be all right." the bufallo said, picking up unconsious koala
"Makes sense." Ernest agreet, grabbing unconsious dingo
They moved all the mammals to Bogo's car, put the bag in the trunk and drove away.
"Okay. Here's what we are going to do." Bogo said "I'll leave them at your house and take the bag to Nigel. Then I'll drive home and spend the rest of the weekend home."
"You better should. Not only you are still going on only because of caffeine, also your wife misses you." the wolf replied "What do you want me to get out of them?"
"Everything about night howlers and who gave it to them."
"Oh, trust me, I'll do it. They will sing..."
Savanna central's climate wall sure did see better times. When one came closer they could see multiple breaks on the walls, murals and other signs of neglect.
The inside was nothing better than the outside. Old-dated equipment, often not working so well, lacks of required substances and personel which did just fine was the reason why the climate walls didn't work propertly from time to time.
However this time it wasn't an error.
"Hello?" Zootopian Weather Control boss picked up the phone
After a few words his brows went down "No, I don't think I..."
Another few words on the phone and he immediately changed "Well, that could work, but..."
Next words made him sure "Fine. I'll do it. The temperature in Savanna Central will decrease to four Celsius."
ooooooooooo
This night was way worse than any other. It was too cold for any duvet Nick had for summer and too late for her mind to funcion well enough to get a warmer one.
Her mind looked for a easier way to warm up though. It quickly found it. She remembered how warm and comfortable Nick was the night before
With her mind half-funcioning she got out of the bed and walked out of her room. She passed by his couch and entered his bedroom.
It was then when she realized how strong was his scent in the room. Ot literally hit her, filling her nostrils with her breathing.
She went further inside the room, lifted the quilt and crawled towards the fox. She relaxed when she reached him. He felt really comfy. The next thing the sleeping fox did surprised the bunny.
Nick turned on his side and hugged her.
She didn't expext that. Her mind raced, trying to figure out what to do. She like it though. She felt safe and nice there. The bunny buried her face into his fur, breathed in his strong and musky scent and went to sleep.
The arctic wolf stared at the jewlerry store, like it could stare at him too. He eyed it down, trying to see through the walls, to make sure his plan was perfect.
Forty seven. He ended counting as the police car drove before the jewlerry store. The cops looked bored, like most of them while patrolling at night.
"I'm going to open you like a walnut." the wolf stated and went back a bit, in order to see the mammals that accompanied him.
He looked at them once again. All wearing black, rubber-cloth outfitting and a small backapck on their backs. They were to be trusted. He knew them all and saw what most of them were capable of doing. From left to right there stood:
Owen Borsbody, a golden retriever, age twenty five, known for keeping himself cool in dangerous situations.
Elizabeth Youth, a cat, age twenty. Known for her amazing acrobat skills. After Rodriguez dug a bit deeper it seemed that she got fired because of prejudice.
Natalie Freeman, a red fox, age twenty seven. Known for her knowledge about any security system developed after 1999.
And finally there was Ryan, age thirty one, an otter, who was owner's oficially unknown twin brother.
"Okay, here's the plan. Me, Youth and Owen go and throw a rope on the roof and climb in. The rest enters afterwards. Then we open one od the glass panes and drop Elizabeth to the store on the rope. Once she is there she will disable security system. Nat will guide you. Then Ryan uses his similarities to open the safes, we fill our bags and exit. All be done asap, without the cops noticing." the wolf explained the plan
"Easy. I've done harder things." the dog said, correcting his utility belt
"Like what?" the otter asked
"Like the shooting a few days ago." the dog replied
"Okay, stop your shit-chat and let's get to work." the wolf silenced them "Nat, use the common channel to count to forty five from when the crusier hides in the Oak street."
"Got this." a short reply came
After the car hid three mammals ran on the street quietly, with the wolf throwing the line and the dog and the cat to assist him. He threw the rope on the roof and grinned when the hook grappled.
"Your time to show off, Youth." Rodriguez said as he pulled the rope towars himself as hard as he could
"Twenty seconds."
The cat climbed the rope very fast, untied the rope from the hook, tied it to a pipe on the roof and pulled the rope twice, signaling it was safe for him to climb. The wolf got on top and gave the signal to the dog.
"Thirty eight seconds."
All the mammals knew that the dog had not got time to climb. Seven seconds just was not enough. But the dog did not want to give up that easily. He grabbed the rope, threw in on the roof and grinded against the wall, covered by a trash can.
"Forty five."
The crusier drove on the street, illuminating it with its lights. The car slowly drove by the store, observed by four almost invisible mammals. Two cops in the car didn't observe the street, more focused on talking than their job. The dog remained hidden, waited for the car to turn and then stood up. He waited for the mammals on the roof to throw him the line, climbed up to them and then, after the mammals on the other side on the street joined them he retracted the rope and hid it in his backpack.
"Put your masks on, we don't want to leave a single, tiny hair." the wolf said "Nat, Owen it's your turn now, open the roof window."
"Any security systems attached to it?" the vixen asked
"No, but there's a lot of them inside, so save your tricks for them." Rodriguez replied
"I still don't know why you have brougt me here." the otter confessed
"You'll see." the arctic wolf replied
The dog and the fox opened the roof light, not leaving any sign of their activity, neither on the lock or window. They put the pane next to the hole. After that the female fox put her backpack on the roof and picked up a can full of powder from it. She opened it and spilled all of it inside the store, blowing it, so it could reach the furthest parts of the building. Soon after that laser beams showed up, scattered densly around the store. The cat bit her lip. It was her job to get inside and with Nat's instructions disable the security system. Looking at it now, she thought it was impossible to get there. However after a short while she spot a way that she could go.
"I'll do it." she said "It's possible."
Owen looked at her with a bit of disbelief "This? Possible?"
She didn't answer "How do I get down?"
"I will lower you on the rope, you tell me if I keep going or stop." the wolf said, getting it out of his backpack
After he fgot the rope out he also picked up am unusual tool. It was two rods, with a movable connection about in the middle. At the end of the rods the mammals could see small wheels.
"What is it?" the vixen asked curiously
"I'll use it to adjust her position, so she can avoid the lasers." the wolf replied and put the tool above the roof window
"Won't you be busy getting her down?" the dog asked
"I will. It'll be your job to move left and right. Ryan, you take up and down. Do everything Youth says." the wolf said, giving the rope to the cat
"Wait, take that camera." the vixen said, handing the device tp the cat "And this box. I'll use it to guide you when you will disarm the security system."
"What's in the box?" the cat asked, attaching the box to a strip on her chest
"Screwdrivers, picklocks, pilers, etc. Everything you'd need when disabling the security system."
She attached the rope to her utility belt, attached the camera to the strip on her chest and put her backpack next to the tool. She moved closer to the edge and slowly descent in the store. Only there one could see how densely the laser beams were placed. The cat signaled the wolf to stop and looked for the best way to slip in. After a while she told the dog to move her a bit to the left and then she countinued to go down, stopping right above the floor. It was the hardest part. A few milimeters above the floor there was a web of laser beams, with single beams too close to each other for the cat to step between them.
"Try to turn around, show me the inside of the store." she heard Nat's voice in her ear pod
The cat grabbed the camera, unattached it and turned around in her paw, showing the store. Then she reattached it and waited for instructions.
"There's a white panel to your left. You have to get there somehow."
It wasn't a great distance, but the cat had to move not touching the floor and avoid the laser beams. She told the wolf to move her up and then started to lean out forward and backward - like she was on a swing. When she got to the point where she knew she could jump on one of the glass showcases spread out around the store she cut the rope and got on it, barely avoiding one of the lasers. But she achieved her goal, landing on the reiforced glass pane.
There was one more jump to go, though. This one seemed a lot easier, since she could land on a little platform, which wasn't covered by any laser. However there was a catch. If she stood there she would not be very mobile.
Unfortunately it was the only option. There wasn't any other place from which she could reach the panel. She slowly rose up, to the point when she was half-straight. She leaned back a bit and then jumped, landing perfectly on the platform.
"Nat. I'm here. What now?" the cat asked
"Open the panel and ahow the inside to me."
The cat opened the box, picked up a picklock and opened the panel, uncovering a total mix of wires and one keypad.
"Oh, come on..." the cat said, not believing in what she was seeing
"This will be difficult, but I think I'll manage." the cat said "Remove the sleeving from the blue wi-"
"Type 388846195 on the keypad, then press the red, black and green button." the otter interrupted the vixen
"How do you know that?" the cat asked, unsure who to listen to
"I talked with my brother's associate." the otter replied
"And he know that it's us now? Ryan, I told you that-"
"No, he doesn't. I pretended to be my brother and he didn't notice." the otter interrupted the wolf
"Couldn't you tell us earlier?" the golden retriever asked
"It'd ruin the effect." the otter replied
"Okay, shut up and repeat the code." tge cat told
"388846195, then press the red, black and green button." the otter told as the cat typed it
After she pressed the green button all the lasers turned off, making the drop possible for the mammals on the roof. The cat stepped off the platform, as the rest of the mammals got inside the store, driving down the rope the car left earlier.
"Ryan, you go with me. Nat, you mess a bit in the security system, make it look like someone disabled it, except it wouldn't work. Everyone else, open the showcases and get everything from there." the wold said
"What do you mean?" the vixen asked
"I want to make the owner look responsible. He opened the door, disabled the security system and then messed with it, trying to make it look like someone disabled it when it was activated. Except the robber would fail, because the owner knows shit about disabling security systems." Rodriguez explained
"Wouldn't you have to break the door too, then?"
"Later. Can you do that?"
"I couldn't do that?"
The female fox moved to the panel and started to mess with the wires, while the fox and the otter moved to the back of the store, where the workroom and the safe was. The rest of the mammals opened the showcases with picklocks and got every bit of jewelerry out.
Two mammals entered the workroom, passed by some unfinished necklaces and rings and stopped in front of the big, steel door. The wolf grinned as he was rubbing his paws together.
"Told you I'd open you like a walnut." he said and turned to the otter "Ain't she big?"
"She?"
"To get to the heart you have to show her your face and tell her the magic word." the wolf said, ignoring the question "So, are you ready?"
"Yeah. I even had my hair cut like my brother." the otter replied and came closer to the door
He removed his mask and after two exhales he nodded. The wolf pressed the button reponsible for the scan.
"Carnivorous." the otter said, with his voice loud and clear
After a short while a blue diode turned on, signalizing that the door started to open. A few seconds passed by as the safe revealed its inside. Shelves of gold, diamonds, amethysts and other valuable materials, encouraging to come in and take whatever one would like.
The otter stopped the wolf from entering the room and disabled one more safety measure.
"There were smarter than me."
Now the wolf entered the safe, made big enough for two mammals his height to fit in. He went to a wall on the back and pressed a button that was barely visible. After a while the wall went down, uncovering one more room, which seemed more like a vault in a bank. Scattered across the room there were many carts with piles of notes on them.
The otter watched as the wolf came to one of them, opening his backpack and took a big, plastic bag from the inside. He opened it and shoved the money inside, as much as he could. Then, when the bag was full he tied the end and took another one, doing the same.
"It would be a lot faster, if you helped me." the wold said
Ryan blinked, came closer, took one empty bag and did the same as the wolf. A bit more time later they finished with the money, ending with twelve bags filled with 100$ notes. The wolf then opened a locker that stood there, unnoticed by the otter and picked a folder full of documents out of there.
He moved all the bags out with the otter and then closed the room, pressing the button.
"One more thing to do." he said, opening his backpack
He started to get all the valuable materials into it, shoving them from the shelves. The otter soon joined him, emptying the safe in the matter of seconds. It was not as much as it was in the vault, but the price was high, too. The mammals exited the safe, the wolf ordering the otter to meet the others, while he made the door look destroyed, like someone opened it with force. When he ended he took some hair he kept in his pocket and dropped them on the floor. They were owner's hair.
The wolf joined the other mammals, gladly noticing that the dog did what he told him on the side. The glass door were broken and the lock picked, the showcases broken and the security system messed with.
"Okay. Owen, you will hide the tool on the roof. The rest, open the door and the curtain and put all the bags of money and jewlerry into the van that will arrive in a second. Do not move the glass." the wolf said
"Won't there be cops?" the fox asked
"You're catious. That's good. They are distracted right now. I hired two mammals to fight in front of their vehicle, they should be checking their indentity papers right now." the wolf explained
The mammals moved all the bags closer to the door, in order to pack them fast, while the dog put the window back in place. Soon after he came down a van, painted orange drove backside to the entrance. The mammals put all the bags inside the car and after they did it the wolf closed the curtain, got inside the van and they drove away, unseen by anyone.