Napoleon's Promise
Authors Note-Apologies for disappearing for a couple weeks, my dear readers. I had to move in with a friend last week, due to being evicted because of my landlord selling the property. It left me with little to no motivation to write or respond to PMs. But I'm happy to back and hope you enjoy my next chapter.
Review Responses
1-1 Marines-Agreed that Fabienne's position is quite traumatic, though Bagheera is in a pretty bad situation as well, as he's actually under arrest. (We'll revisit them both next chapter) Poor kitties. You've pretty much got the Razorbacks down, and yes they were allowed to operate outside the regular police chain of command. It was a good idea on the APL wearing stolen Militia clothing, thanks for the suggestion. I wanted to the APL to be competent bad guys, since that mixed with their sadistic, violent nature would make for quite a menacing villain group. It's good to hear that shined through. A drone called Scooby-Doo...that would actually make perfect sense if it was a surveillance drone. I've actually considered writing a Justin focused chapter where he'd take Trixie for one last flight, ending with her going out in a blaze of glory. Glad you liked Judy's ass chewing on Nick, it was fun yet challenging to write. While there will be some changes from the original version, the APL will regret taking Nick and Judy prisoner.
colegfree-Thank you
Rip-Rock-Quite true that the Regulators (and a lot of other predators, albeit to a lesser extent) have become what they hate, without even knowing it, sadly. Nick's view of things is starting to change, though it'll be a slow process. He and Judy are certainly going to do everything they can to escape, just have to wait to see if they succeed.
Canadians Rock-Cool, you've got a good eye.
Lone-Wonderer-Glad you like how I'm portraying Nick and Judy. Quite true about Justin, though I've always thought it was obscenely wasteful to just let planes rust in the desert like that. At the very least they could sell them for parts or recycle the materials. Poor Fabienne just can't get a break. We'll revisit her next chapter. Thank you for your kind words and I'm sorry to hear about your story being deleted.
Just a Crazy-Man-Thank you
#*#*#
"We've gotta get that tracker back from the lead warthog," Nick quickly explained, "Then turn it on and survive until my buddy and his Leopard 2 can role in here and deal with these assholes."
"Okay, but how?" Judy asked, "I just swipe it while they're busy torturing you?"
"...yeah, I'd rather avoid that option," Nick said.
Before the two prisoners could speak anymore, the lid of the trunk was yanked open and a pair of warthogs yanked the rebel and militiamammal, both blinded by the sudden light, out into the open.
"HELP!" Judy screamed, just before being bashed upside the head.
"Shut up," the lead warthog snapped. "Everybody round here knows not to fuck with our affairs, so don't bother."
Eh, it was worth a try, Nick thought, begrudgingly giving the rebel rabbit credit.
The APL members dragged the two prisoners into an old office building, past several more stone faced prey. Nick noticed the dark grey lead warthog take the GPS device from his pocket and head into a room before he and the bunny were tossed into a broom closet that was apparently used as a holding cell.
"Your fellow rebels sure are hospitable, carrots." Nick observed as he and Judy examined the room.
"No," Judy snapped, turning from an air vent to face Nick, "No, the Prey Liberation Front is nothing like these psychos."
"Is it now?" Nick asked folding his arms.
"The PLF wants equality for prey," Judy explained, "We don't want to be treated any better or worse then predators."
"Yeah, I totally believe that!" Nick sarcastically replied
"You know what?!" Judy snapped.
"For the love of the gods!" the warthog in the Militia jacket suddenly burst in and snapped, "Shut the hell up!"
The militant swine slammed the door shut again, and the two cellmates stood awkwardly, realizing just how loud they'd gotten. After several long moments, Judy gestured to the cover she'd been examining, much more quietly saying, "I think we can get this vent loose."
The two small mammals began trying to work the vent cover loose, gradually wiggling and turning the screws out. After several more quiet moments, Judy glanced at Nick and spoke up again. "So I can't help but wonder; what happens to me after your mechanized friends show up?"
Nick glanced at Judy, and after a moment replied, "You did me a solid back in the subway. I'll do what I can to see you get out this okay."
"Why am I not convinced?" Judy asked, a bit harsher then she intended, as the pair finally got the vent loose, "What the?"
The militia officer and rebel looked into the air vent to see there were bars welded about a foot into the small rectangular tube. There was a post-it stuck to the bars with the message 'Nice try.'
"Those smug assholes." Nick muttered in irritation.
"Wait, I think I can still slip through," Judy said, hopefully stepping toward the bars.
"Oh hell no," Nick snapped grabbing the bunny's arm, "I'm not letting you run off and leave me with the Bacon Brigade."
"I'll find your locater and turn it on," Judy promised.
"Why am I not convinced?" Nick quoted with a raised eyebrow.
Just then, the door burst open again, causing Nick look toward the warthog in pilfered Militia garb that had entered. "Hey fox, the boss want's to-what the hell!?"
The former Razorback was in mid-sentence when Nick felt Judy yank free of his grasp. By the time the surprised fox looked to the air vent, Judy was already most of the way through and had dashed out of arm's reach by the time he got to the bars.
"I will get your friends to come for you," Judy called over her shoulder, "I promise."
"Bwaaaah-hahahahahaha!" the former Razorback burst out with guffaws, slapping his knee, "D-dude, she totally ditched you! Hehehehe! But, uh...seriously, we're gonna kill you. So, yeah you-you're pretty much fucked."
#*#*#
Sabal lightly knocked on door to Luna's hospital room to announce his presence, smiling as his adopted sister looked over from the TV mounted in the corner. "Hey, Lulu, how ya doing?"
"The drugs keep the pain away, mostly just feel stupid," Luna explained, her ears folding back in embarrassment. Sabal suspected her tail was folded between her legs under her blanket.
"Don't say that," the tiger gently scolded
"I blew myself up kicking a bomb I thought was a soccer ball." Luna deadpanned.
"You were trying to be nice and ended up saving your squad. And it was the Fang Breakers who blew you up." Sabal corrected, smiling when Luna looked to him appreciatively. The tiger hesitated for a moment, then added "Your other brother showed up while you were out."
"Don't."
"What?"
"I really can't take hearing about you and Ari bickering right now." Luna said holding up a weary paw.
"That's not was I was saying, just thought you should know," Sabal sighed, "And it's not my fault he has some problem with me."
"Sabal," Luna half begged, half warned.
"Alright, alright," the white wolf's adopted brother conceded.
"It's not you, not really. Ari doesn't like that I think of you, Mom, and Dad as family." Luna tiredly explained, "Spirits, he was such a little sweetheart when we were pups."
Sabal hesitated for a moment, then reached into his pocket, "Speaking of sweet mammals, I'm sure Mom would love to hear from you."
Luna smiled, grateful for the change of subject and took Sabal's phone to furtime her adopted mother.
#*#*#
Nick was literally carried down a hallway and into a room, an old office if the lieutenant had to guess. Glancing around, Nick quickly noticed his dog tags, phone, and wallet sitting on a desk otherwise covered by a sheet. In addition to the two warthogs that brought him in, there was the dark grey leader, another warthog and a cow. The militant prey tossed him into a chair, with books for him to sit on, and strapped the militia officer down.
Once Nick was restrained, the grey, heavily scared warthog approached. "Do you know who I am, foxy?"
"Do I know your name?" Nick quipped, "No, no I don't, I do know you're a terrorist and a murderer."
"No, I'm-"
"Really fat?"
"No! I'm Lieutenant Napoleon Orwell, of the Razorbacks." the aging warthog said proudly.
"Oh, you're a commander for a defunct death squad." Nick deadpanned
"We preformed a necessary service," Napoleon evenly corrected, "We risked our necks when you chompers showed yer true colors. Like the vicious lion bitch what did all this to me."
Vicious!? Nick thought as the warthog gestured to his ruined eye and scared face and arm. She was probably defending herself!
"Now, you might save yerself some pain and suffering if ya answer a few questions," Napoleon said casually.
"Go fuck yourself." Nick almost snarled
Napoleon's calm demeanor began to fade, replaced by cold rage. "Don't you understand that you can't bet us? Even with you running the show, we've been killin' chompers for years, 'mongst other thangs." The half blind warthog leaned close to Nick's face. "Mark my words, kit, we're gonna put every mammal with sharp teeth back in collars where they belong."
"Doesn't that include you?" Nick asked with raised eyebrow. The fox was doing a good job of covering up his fear.
"What?" Napoleon asked, raising up in confusion.
"Tusks are elongated teeth and they're really sharp," Nick explained, he gestured to Napoleon and the other warthogs in the room. "So are you guys going to collar yourselves?"
Napoleon glanced at the ex-Razorback in the stolen Militia jacket (his second in command?) and after a moment, the two shared a laugh at their own expense. Napoleon turned back to Nick and simply said, "Touche."
Then the large warthog punched Nick between the eyes and the world went dark.
#*#*#
Private Ari Howler was moving with his squad through Prey District 7 when Sergeant Dogg signaled them to halt. The red furred dhole gestured for Howler to come closer as he examined a building, identified by a sign over the door as 'Jumbeaux's Café'. Dogg turned to grey wolf and asked, "Tell me, Howler, anything about that building look suspicious to you?"
"Just looks like an ice cream parlor, Sergeant," Howler answered.
"True enough, but that tag mark gives me a weird feeling," Dogg gestured to a pair of letters in black spray paint on the cafe's wall. "FB; Fang Breakers."
Fang Breakers, Howler thought, his grip on his rifle tightening, "Anyone could of put that there, Sergeant."
"Exactly," Dogg said, looking to the wolf. The dhole turned to the rest of his squad, and addressed his radiomammal. "Morse, radio our location in, tell 'em we're checking out a possible Fang Breaker safe house and may need back up. Biter, take your fire team around the back, you hear anything, move in. Growler, you and your team stay out here and back us up. Howler, you're coming in with me. Sling your rifle and hook your helmet on your belt; act like we just got off duty."
The two canine militiamammals moved casually toward the building as their comrades moved into position as stealthily as they could. Howler surveyed the area out of the corners of his eyes, then softly asked Dogg, "What if this really is just an ice cream shop?"
"Then we'll get a treat." Dogg replied. The two canines entered the shop, several patrons taking note of their uniforms, and walked up to the counter.
The elephant behind the counter, Jerry, according his name tag, cleared his throat and address the two costumers. "Welcome, gentlemammals, what would you like? I've got some great artificial chocolate; same taste but safe for canines."
"Perhaps another time, we'll take two-" Dogg was cut off by Howler tapping his shoulder and followed the private's pointed paw to a poster showing the massive sizes of the megafauna helpings. "One...Junior strawberry, please."
"Coming right up sirs." Jerry answered, then before either of the enlisted mammals could correct him, "Ten dollars."
Dogg paid, then he and Howler took a seat at a booth, the sergeant surreptitiously glancing at a back room one of Jerry's employees seemed to nervously duck into. The dhole looked to Howler and spoke casually. "How's Fangmeyer doin'?"
"She's alright, won't loose a leg," Howler answered after a moment of hesitation.
"That's good, was worried about her," Dogg gave Howler a sincere look as he spoke, then became more businesslike, "Did you notice that back room?"
"Yes."
"Ask the elephant for the restroom key," Dogg instructed, "On the way in, get a look in the back."
Howler nodded and slipped out of the booth. Dogg sat and waited, nodding politely when Jerry's coworker placed his order on the table. The Dhole took an experimental bit, humming in approval at the delicious treat.
That's when gun shots rang out from the backroom.
#*#*#
Nick waited at the bus stop outside his elementary school, eager to get home after a long day at school. Suddenly, the kit felt something quickly smash down on his tail. Nick yelled out in pain and surprise, punctuated seconds later when his Tame Collar sent painful volts coursing through his body.
As the dazed kit began to gather his school books, he glanced over at a pair of chuckling teenage gerbils in a tiny car. The pair fist bumped each other and sped off.
#*#*#
"Now son, who is that?" James asked his son, pointing to the icon on the small shrine in his family's home.
"Robin Hood." Nick answered confidently
"And what did he do?"
"He robbed from the rich and gave to the poor."
"Good boy." James patted his son on the shoulder and turned back to the little shrine "Unlike the other saints, Robin didn't believe in a higher power, that's why he stepped up to protect the poor from Prince John himself. Now his soul watches over the destitute and the downtrodden. That's you and me, Nick."
One week later, James was arrested.
#*#*#
"Even collared, if you really thought we'd ever trust a fox without a muzzle, then you're even dumber then you look."
#*#*#
"No," the father sternly said stepping toward the militiamammal, "My family's not going anywhere."
The puma shot the ram between the eyes before anyone could blink.
#*#*#
"Get in the fucking truck!" an ocelot Militia Volunteer shouted, menacingly raising his bat at a mother squirrel and her weeping children as Nick and his mother passed on their way to their new home in the Predator District.
#*#*#
"But he's a sly fox!" a young dingo said, objecting to Nick's presence at the Youth Corps meeting.
"And what's wrong with being sly? Foxes are cunning, resourceful, and independent. These are traits to be admired, not shunned." The aging panther overseeing the meeting explained. The old feline lifted Nick's chin until the kit was looking him in the eye. "Hold your head up and be proud that you're a fox, little one."
#*#*#
"There's an ancient saying, 'The needs of the Many outweigh the needs of the Few'." The panther MYC leader explained, "Now, that's all good and fine if you're the Many, but what if you're the Few? What if, due to an accident of birth, you will always be the Few? Should you accept it? Just go along passively with a society where you'll never have a voice? Of course not!"
#*#*#
"Mr. Wilde, we were looking over your files, and it says that before your incarceration you applied to...nineteen different banks for a business loan." Duchess said, once again sitting across from the Wilde family, now once again numbering three (soon to be four).
"Oh, uh, right that. It was a dream of mine...to open an amusement park exclusively for predators." James explained, sadly nostalgic, "Wilde Times, I called it."
"Well, the Militia wants to help you make that dream happen."
#*#*#
"It's my honor to present, the valedictorian of his class, Lieutenant Nicholas Wilde." Drill Instructor Polly Brown announced, an unusually warm expression on the polar bear's face. "Hey foxy!"
#*#*#
"Foxy!" Nick snapped out of his haze of memories as Napoleon slapped him across the face. "Wake up! Oh, good, you're back. Was startin' to think I fucked up your brainpan."
"You might as well try again," the fox threatened, "because otherwise, I promise I'll be the one that kills you."
"I don't have to kill you, Foxy." Napoleon said picking something up off the covered desk. The dark grey hog waltzed up to Nick and thrust the fox's phone into his face.
Displayed on the screen was a picture of Nick hugging Lily. "Now who's this pretty li'l thang?"
Nick inhaled deeply, his body shivering with rage or fear. Likely both.
"I'm a patient warthog, Foxy," Napoleon explained, calmly, matter-of-factly. "I'll keep you here for twenty years, if that's how long it takes to finally get a hold of..." he glanced at the picture's caption, "Lily, and when we do, I'm gonna rape your li'l sister in front of you and slit her throat. Or maybe I'll get you to do it. That's why we're gonna win, Foxy; because we're willing to get even nastier then you are."
#*#*#
Judy made her way through the vents, glancing through the various openings into various rooms. Finally, the rebel rabbit found what seemed to be a storage room of some kind. Thinking she'd found her mark. After some wrestling with the cover, Judy was able to enter and scanned the room.
The little rebel's purple eyes were quickly drawn to a weapons locker of sorts. As one would expect, it held several firearms of various models, but there were other things in it as well. An iron, a prod of some kind, pliers, knotted ropes, and other odds and ends. The Bunny shrugged this off as she climbed up onto a chair near a desk up against the opposite wall, hoping her and Nick's confiscated equipment was on the desk.
Judy hopped up and pulled herself onto the desk, only to nearly fall back off again with a shocked gasp. Pinned to a bulletin board over the desk were pictures of predators, all with horrendous wounds ranging from burns to lacerations to severe bruising. Every one of them bad blood oozing from their mouths. Some looked like old police photos, others were newer, taken on polaroid or printed from digital cameras. Judy shuffled away from the grotesque photo gallery until she bumped into something. Looking over, the bunny saw that it was a jar filled with sharp teeth, accompanied by several others. Breath hitched in shock, Judy glanced back at the pictures.
Bleeding from the victims' mouths.
Jars of teeth.
"No," Judy muttered, tears welling in her eyes and shacking her head. "No, no, no."
Judy hated the Militia. If she was honest, she didn't think much of most predators. But she wouldn't wish the kind of gleeful sadism displayed around her on General Khan himself.
The grey bunny took several deep breaths, managing to regain her composure. Quickly looking over the desk's other contents, the rebel spotted Nick's missing locator. Judy quickly grabbed and pocketed the gadget.
Seconds later, electricity surged into Judy and every muscle in her body instantly tensed far more greatly then would normally be possible for her.
