Heh, it appears the tame collar thing really threw some of you for a loop. Probably the most "controversial" thing we've written in so far. But not to worry, it'll all be explained.
Eventually.
For now, more wolves and shit.
Chapter 12: Dogs on Hogs
Rainforest District
Former Parking Garage
4: 05 PM
As a member of a prey species, Judy was the first to respond to the attack. Junior came charging at her, veering to the right at the last second in the hopes of cutting her in two with one of his attached chainsaws. Short as she was, she almost dodged just by standing still, but then noticed that her ears were up in alert and quickly yanked them down as the saw soared over her head.
Two more wolves came for Grizzoli, assuming he would be the most dangerous adversary. The polar bear, foregoing the tranq gun he had originally prepared, charged an oncoming wolf and plowed a white fist into his muzzle. The wolf was thrown off of his bike, which continued forward a bit on its own before toppling to the ground. The other wolf turned on the spot to charge him again, a giant drill on the front of his bike gearing up for action. Not agile enough to dodge this one, Grizzoli planted both feet in the ground and caught the bike by its handles, the drill inches away from his gut. As the wolf growled and attempted to run him down, Grizzoli was pushed back, his footclaws digging into the ground for traction, until he finally threw the whole bike into another of its fellows, both wolves going down for the count.
Judy whipped out her tranq gun and readied it for action when a high-pitched yell caught her attention. Another wolf raced past, this one holding a long chain, wrapped around the ankle of Jimmy Frost. The arctic fox kept screaming as he was dragged along the ground, though it sounded more excited than fearful.
"Jimmy, catch!" Without thinking, Judy immediately tossed the gun to him. Despite his predicament, he caught it and fired at the wolf dragging him, finally freeing himself.
"Owww, that smarts," he said, getting up and dusting himself off. His ears perked up as a loud whirring sounded directly behind him. A larger wolf with a grey jacket and a built-in buzzsaw on his bike grinned at him viciously.
Jimmy yelped and backed away as the wolf came towards him, tripping and dropping his newfound weapon. "Just a little whelp after all. Almost feel bad about flattenin' ya." He revved up the saw. "Almost."
"Jimmy!" Judy shouted, about to race after him.
But as the wolf charged, he suddenly found something small, white and furry flung into his face. "GAH! Git it offa me! GIT IT OFF!"
Unable to remove the vicious Wallabeanie, the wolf crashed, flinging the plush into the air as he did. Jimmy reached up and caught it easily. "Good job, Wallace!"
"Let's kick some ass, Jimmy!"
"Kick 'butt', don't be rude."
Judy sighed in relief, but quickly came to the realization that she had just disarmed herself. Seeing Grizzoli punch out another wolf, Judy sidled up beside him. "Uh...if you're not using that gun…"
"My gun is bigger than your head."
She smiled sweetly, cupping her paws and widening her purple eyes at him. "Pleeeease?"
He grunted and dropped the weapon into Judy's paws. "Knock yourself out."
"Thanks!" She pointed the over-sized weapon into the crowd with only slight difficulty. "Now who wants nappy-time first?!"
These wolves clearly weren't the sharpest tools in the shed (they only stole them), and thus weren't smart enough to take Judy's threat seriously. A grave mistake.
The first wolf didn't even get close enough to strike. The bunny shot a dart straight into his neck, making him veer off course and miss her completely, then run straight into Grizzoli, who backpawed the semi-unconscious wolf into complete unconsciousness.
The second wolf only did slightly better, getting close enough to force her to jump out of the way of his attached sledgehammer. Before he could turn around for another go, the bunny landed on her feet and shot a dart right into his hindquarters. The unfortunate wolf yelped, then fell to the ground, his butt sticking straight up for all to see Judy's handiwork. The bunny blew on the end of her gun smugly.
"I think you might be enjoying this a little too much," Grizzoli remarked.
"What are you talking about? This is strictly professional," Judy replied, grinning at him while twirling the gun in her paws. A third wolf made a go for her, making her raise an arm and shoot him off his bike without looking, or even changing her expression.
"...Can I have my gun back now?"
Riding around the perimeter of all this chaos, Junior watched as his pack was given significantly more resistance than anticipated. "How is this happenin'? It's three o' them ag'nst…" He tried to count the remaining wolves. "...more than three."
The answer to his question was that it was three trained officers of the law against a bunch of dumb hick stereotypes barely even taking it seriously, but that didn't much matter to him anymore. He suddenly veered to the right as a dart went whizzing past his head. "Yipe!"
"Give it up, Junior. We can still settle this peacefully," said Judy, her gun trained on the moving target.
"Peace? Oh, I'll give ya a piece of me!" Junior whirled his bike around and attacked. For someone the bunny had pegged as, to put it nicely, dumb as bricks, he had at least learned from the mistakes of his packmates. Swerving left and right to keep her from getting a clear shot, Junior leaned to the left and swept at her with a chainsaw, low enough to make a clean cut this time. Judy raised her gun, but realized too late that he was too close to take a shot.
With a loud clunk, Junior passed by, looking back to see what was left of the uppity bunny cop. To his confusion, he saw her large tranq gun dropped on the ground, but nothing else.
"You're under arrest!"
"What in tarnation?!" Junior gaped in astonishment as Judy had not only dodged the saw, she was now standing on top of it, her feet planted safely on the guide bar. "You ain't normal!"
"I'll take that as a compliment." Pivoting on one foot, she kicked Junior across the muzzle with the other one, again and again. She had to admit, a small part of her left over from kithood was really enjoying getting to kick the snot out of a canine hillbilly.
"Enough o' this!" Junior took one paw off the handlebar to swipe his claws at her. With the kind of dexterity only a bunny could pull off, Judy jumped clear over his head, landed on the other saw with both paws, and thrust her feet back into his face. "Aggh!"
As the bike started getting too out of control even for her, Judy leapt back to the ground while Junior struggled to reorient himself. The wolf finally gained control again and panted heavily, his face covered in bruising. He rubbed a paw against his bloody nose, in complete disbelief. "Dang! She's scarier than a momma bear with six cubs in a pizza place parkin' lot!"
Judy just stared back at him, narrowing her eyes warningly.
Realizing he was being intimidated by a bunny, Junior shook his head violently, snapping himself out of it. "Oh, you are gonna git it now!" He clenched his paws around the handlebars, preparing for another assault. "GrrrrrRRRRrrrrRRRrrrrRRRRRRR-"
"Enough!"
It was as if time itself froze. Not only Junior, but every wolf in the vicinity suddenly ceased their attack, looking anxiously in the direction of the voice.
Judy followed their gaze and instantly saw why. Riding in on a black bike, that somehow looked more menacing than the others despite its lack of weaponry, was the single largest wolf she had ever seen. This guy was all muscles, wearing a dark blue collared shirt with black jeans and footwraps. His gaze was calm, but unmistakably threatening.
Junior gulped. "Oh, h-hey, Felix."
"What do you imbeciles think you're doing?" he asked slowly.
"Y-Ya mean this?" Junior looked in the direction of the strewn bikes and bodies behind him. "Nothin' much, really. We were just, uh, havin' a little fun."
Felix closed his eyes in a visible effort to remain calm. "Need I remind you that we have enough problems already without you picking a fight with the ZPD?"
At that, Junior suddenly got some wind back in his sails. "Hey, now! It's their fault for ignorin' us all this time! All we get is a few patrol cars passin' through, and the police force around here ain't even botherin'! I just lost ma shop because they don't give a damn!"
Felix rolled his eyes. "Yes, I can't imagine why the police would turn a blind eye to the plights of a crime family." His gaze turned to Judy and the bunny stiffened. If things got ugly, she felt a lot less confident about her ability to take on this wolf. "You there, what do you know about this?"
She glanced back at Jimmy and Grizzoli, who shrugged at her in response. She wanted to warn these guys anyway and now it seemed the opportunity had presented itself. Taking a deep breath, Judy went into a long explanation about the true intent behind the arson attacks, the assimilation of the other crime gangs, and the ones masterminding it. By the time she was finished, she had practically winded herself. "It's not much to go on, but that's what we know."
"We do?" asked Grizzoli. Judy winced, forgetting that she had never gotten to tell him this.
She looked up at Felix, waiting for a response. The large wolf's expression was unreadable, and it felt like an eternity before he answered her. "That's it?"
If she didn't know better, Judy would have questioned if she heard that right. "You...you knew all of that already?"
He scoffed. "Not all of us are as intellectually-challenged as Felix Jr. here." The smaller wolf was currently in the middle of trying to dig something out of his toes, tuning out the conversation. "We recognized the pattern in these attacks almost instantly; we just haven't been fast enough to respond."
"Wait, you're both named Felix?" asked Jimmy. Wallace's head fell to one side.
Felix growled in frustration, clearly having gotten this question far too often. "Yes. Don't ask why. Let's just say our parents' smarts went to Junior."
Said wolf finally withdrew a piece of gunk, sniffed at it, and flicked it away. "Sorry, what were y'all sayin?"
"What I'm saying," Felix answered patiently, "is that we're done here. Let's go!"
The bikers didn't need to be told twice. The ones that were conscious hefted up the ones that weren't and took off in droves, speeding away into the forest. "Wait!" Judy shouted. "We can help! We're after the same enemy here!"
"This is Lang Family business, and we will take care of it ourselves," Felix said simply, turning his bike around. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of our way." With that warning, Felix drove off to join his pack, disappearing into the trees. Junior gave a mocking laugh before he left as well.
Now it was just the three cops, their patrol car, and a bunch of abandoned bikes left behind. Jimmy smiled. "That went well."
"AGGGGGGGH!" Judy screamed in frustration, pulling her ears down over her head.
"Or...not?"
"How long is this going to go on before we make some actual progress?!" Judy paced back and forth, tapping her feet in an entirely different way. "Simon...gets away! Lucy Sang...gets away! Crazy biker gang...GETS! AWAY! Just for once can we catch a break here?!"
A sudden banging came from the direction of the patrol car. "I don't know about a break, but we caught something," Grizzoli said, pointing a thumb towards the car's backseat. Pounding against the window was a wolf with a grey jacket, the one who had been heroically taken down by Wallace.
"Guys! Where didja go?!" the wolf shouted frantically. "Don't just leave me here!"
"Figured if they were going to give us that much crap, we could at least arrest one of them," Grizzoli said. "And for the record, yes, I read him his rights first."
He suddenly found the rabbit wrapped around his ankle, hugging him profusely as her tail wiggled in glee. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Please don't make me regret this decision."
Ex-Burger Alpha
4: 26 PM
Nick was almost disappointed that he didn't wake up in a hospital bed.
It certainly would have been more comfortable than being sprawled out on the backseat without even the luxury of a blanket. Not like they had blankets, but still!
He could see that his uniform was an absolute mess by this point. Getting tossed around a filthy fast-food restaurant and then falling onto the wet ground probably contributed to that. His fur still wasn't dry either, and it wasn't going to get much dryer out here in the Rainforest District. He could also see that his left foot was wrapped up in a bandage, as was the tip of his tail. Compared to the rest of his bandage collection, that didn't particularly impress him.
"Damn, I'm a wreck. What's the damage, guys?" he asked wearily. Logic dictated that if he was in the patrol car, someone else must have been in here too.
But since when had logic ever helped him? "...Hello? Hellooooo? Poor helpless fox looking for some TLC!"
He got no response. "Seriously, what the heck?" Straining himself to get up, Nick peered into the front of the van. No one. "They ditched me. They actually ditched me."
Seeing flashing lights from outside, Nick figured he might as well get some answers the old fashioned way. He put a paw on the door and tried to open it, only to find himself locked in. "Come on, you can at least not treat me like a prisoner!"
A knocking on the window caught his attention, and he reeled back at the sight of Carla Hyenandez. "Never thought I'd be happy to see you, Chortles. Now can you let me out?"
"No."
"Excuse me?"
She crossed her arms. "Can't let you out. Sorry."
"You're not sorry at all, but can you at least tell me why?"
"Take a deep breath. Through your nose."
"Whatever. If finding my center will satisfy you…" Nick did what she said, and almost immediately fell onto his back screaming. "AGGGH! WHAT IS THAT STENCH?!"
"That's you."
"HOW IS THAT ME?!"
"I guess you went nose-blind to it, huh?" She tapped on the glass, obviously enjoying this. "Did you forget about getting skunked?"
"I THOUGHT IT WAS A HORRIBLE DREAM!"
"Well, it wasn't. Don't know how you got that much skunk spray all over you, but that plus the rainfall made you pretty much stink a la muerte, so we threw you in here while the ZPD got everything cleaned up. Aside from that, not much to report I'm afraid. The paramedics just arrived-"
"MY NOSE IS DYING!"
"-and looked you over. Be thankful they even got close enough to take care of your injuries. Delgato didn't get off so lucky. Guy's got some pretty serious burns, but he should be alright. Hmm. Delgato. Delgato…" She put a claw to her chin. "I just thought of it, but do you know if he comes from New Mexicow by any chance?"
"THIS IS POLICE BRUTALITY!"
"Guess not. I'll have to ask Fangmeyer. Anyway, we're about to head out now."
"I'M GONNA-wait, you're gonna what?" Nick sat back up, immediately seeing an unamused Carla. (Also known as typical Carla.)
"We got a spare car so we don't have to smell you." Without warning, she opened the door and flung a set of keys into Nick's face before quickly shutting it again.
"So you're basically making me drive a quarantine bubble," he said flatly.
"Didn't you want your car back?" she asked, turning and walking away without waiting for a response, at least having the decency to leave the door open behind her.
"Hey, you've gotten irony down pat! Just a little further and we can work on puns!" Nick called after her, bitterly getting out of the backseat of the car, climbing around front, and letting himself back in again.
He found a crackling police radio waiting for him. "Wilde! Wilde, are you okay? Say something!"
Nick was almost tempted to rip it from the dashboard, but reluctantly picked it up. "What's the magic word?"
"Nick! I-"
"Wrong." He released the button and put it back down, waiting for Fangmeyer to try again.
"Please pick up the radio!"
He answered it again. "Fine, but only because I don't want to listen to the wolf whine channel. Now, what is it?" If he were feeling more patient, he would've given him the runaround at least 2-3 more times first.
"We already checked out the building and, uh, yourself, but we need a report on what happened. How did you get...like that?"
"Oh, nothing major. I just had a run-in with a skunk. Happens to the best of us."
"Yeah, we know you got skunked, but how did, wait, you mean you actually saw the guy?!"
"Saw him, spooked him, got sprayed by him. And before you say anything, yes, he was an actual skunk. You were right, I was wrong. Enjoy that feeling of accomplishment while you can."
Fangmeyer didn't even seem to care. The nerve of him. "Okay, I've got a notepad. Describe the perp for me as best you can."
Nick found that he made a pretty good police witness after all. Perhaps it was because he had left such an "impression" on him, but he was able to describe the arsonist down to the last detail.
The last detail gave Fangmeyer pause. "I'm sorry, what was that? Did you just say...a tame collar?"
There was notable apprehension in his tone. For most predators, the words "tame collar" triggered immediate chills, even though almost nobody in this day and age had ever actually worn one. They came from a time when Zootopia was a very different city, one that didn't even try to pretend that "Anyone can be anything." He had a feeling Judy knew nothing about them, and he wasn't about to tell her either. Even back before he really knew her, and wanted to break that naive, peppy spirit of hers, that subject was too taboo to breach.
Nick swallowed a lump in his throat. "...Yeah. We'll have to check the database for any skunks committed within the last few years. That collar was no fluke. This guy was a real nutcase."
"Alright. Will do. Good work, Wilde."
Nick looked up through the windshield, seeing the spare patrol car sitting a few feet in front of him. Fangmeyer caught his stare and gave him a thumbs up, Carla sitting cross-armed in the seat next to him. "Sorry about the accommodations, but I have to drive the car...and I need both paws for that...and I have an extremely sensitive nose...I can still smell you from here actually-"
"Quit while you're behind, Whitewash."
"Right. We're going to head back to the station to report in. You coming with us?"
Nick had literally no desire at all to return to the station in the condition he was in. "Yeah, actually, I was thinking of finding a good bar and trying to forget all of this ever happened."
He saw the wolf's ears perk up in surprise. "...Sure, I guess that's alright. You've certainly earned the rest of the day off. We'll tell Bogo about the incident then, while you go get drunk as a sk-"
Nick drove off without another word.
Grizzoli's Patrol Car
4: 38 PM
Grizzoli hung the radio back on its stand, even less cheerful than usual after this latest update. If the fact that Delgato's squad had also lost their target was supposed to make him feel better, it didn't. Especially not with the tiger himself out of commission for the time being.
"Poor Nick…" Judy said glumly. "I guess neither of us can catch a break."
"Where are we going now?" Jimmy asked. "Back to the station to process this guy?"
"That's the plan," Grizzoli answered, glancing back at their prisoner quizzically. As he now occupied the back of the car by himself, Judy and Jimmy (and Wallace) were forced to share shotgun. The latter shifted around uncomfortable, but the former was already used to fox/bunny seating arrangements. "We'll take him back, fill out the paperwork, then in a few hours, we can get an interrogation going-"
"We can't wait that long!" Judy said urgently.
"Excuse me?"
"We have to find Lang fast, or else…"
Jimmy heard a sudden chime in his pocket, and maneuvered around a bit to pull out his phone, seeing that he had gotten a text message from a familiar number.
"hy there, kid."
"Oh. Right. The big crime lord conspiracy you forgot to mention," said Grizzoli.
Judy looked away guiltily. "I'm sorry. I know I should have brought it up sooner, but the chief was kind of against us investigating it anymore."
Jimmy typed out a reply. "Hey, Nick. Are you okay? I heard things went rough for you."
"jst a bit of a hiccup. Nuttin 2 srs"
"I heard ya got skunked. :P"
"Damn it, Fangmeyer!"
Grizzoli glanced at Judy waringly. "So it's just a coincidence that this arsonist case happened to align with the crime lord one."
"Yeah."
He pinched his brow and muttered something along the lines of, "Weeks! We spent freaking weeks, and they just come in and stumble upon…" She assumed she wasn't meant to hear it.
Jimmy glanced over at her, then back to his phone. "Shouldn't you be talking to Judy about this?"
"Iz ^s my trainee? No, no she isn't."
"I thought chief said we weren't supposed to talk much on this mission."
"SCREW WOT CHIEF SAYS! IT'S JST TEXTING!"
"You know, if this was anyone besides you and Wilde, I wouldn't believe it," Grizzoli said aloud. "But rules are rules. I'm heading back to the station."
Judy certainly couldn't blame him for that response. But there had to be a way. "...What if we got something out of him now?"
"You mean do the interrogation in a moving police vehicle? That's kind of unorthodox."
"Who do you think you're talking to?"
"Good point."
"Are you drunk or is this just how you talk over text? XD"
"Not drunk yt. Goin 2 fix dat."
"0_0"
"Of crse Fangmeyer didn't teL u THAT part."
"Hey, Jimmy, what do you think?" Judy asked, nudging the arctic fox in the shoulder.
"Huh?" He straightened up. "Oh sorry, I was talking to Nick."
"Nick? What's he up to?"
"Going to get drunk apparently."
Judy groaned. "We don't have time for this right now! Let me call him." She quickly dialed Nick's number and put the phone to her ear. She got nothing but ringing. "Annnnnd he's not even picking up. We'll just have to hope he can take care of himself because there's bigger fish to fry."
She climbed over Jimmy to glare through the grid into the backseat. The wolf glared back at her, surprisingly quiet given how rowdy he and his fellows had been before. "I hope ya folks ain't expectin' me to cooperate, or you'll be mighty disappointed."
"What is your problem? Don't you want to help your mother?"
"I'm helpin' her by keeping nosy types like you away!" he snapped. "Go ahead and arrest me! It ain't gonna do ya none."
Jimmy pushed her ears aside and peeked over her head. "What's your name?" he asked, smiling.
He blinked, stunned by the non-aggressive response from a mammal he'd tried to maim. "...Timber."
"Hi, Timber. I'm Officer Frost and this is Officer Hopps. How are you feeling?"
"Haven't you heard what happened to Big and Thornbrush?!" Judy pressed. There was a time and a place for good cop/bad cop, and this wasn't it. "These guys know what they're doing and they won't rest until they've gotten to your mother too!"
"She's done just fine so far! These chumps haven't been able to touch her at all!"
"But she can't hide forever, Timber," Jimmy said gently. "Can you really live with yourself if something happened and you could have prevented it? I mean, if it was me, that would be really sucky-"
Timber suddenly lashed forward and snapped his jaws at the grid, making them both reel back. "Y'all don't know what yer talkin' about! Lady Lang cared for us, raised us, taught us the ways of the pack! She won't go down that easily, you'll see!"
"It's no use," Judy sighed, returning to her original spot. "They're too loyal to Lang. We're not going to get anything at this rate."
"I could've told you that," Grizzoli said bluntly. "You think this is the first time one of Lang's boys got arrested? Hell, I doubt we can even hold on to him for long. Evidence against this kind of thing tends to just...disappear."
"Arresting him was your idea!"
He shrugged. "Yeah, but it was more for personal gratification than anything. They tried to drill a hole in my gut. That's not okay."
"Ha! That's nothin'!" Timber shouted boastfully. "Ya should see the derby we got goin' on tonight! That's where the real action is!" Judy and Jimmy looked back and stared at him. "...I shouldn't a' talked about that either, huh?"
"Now leaving: the Rainforest District," Grizzoli announced.
"Actually...I think we have a good enough lead now. Let's go back," said Judy.
With a long sigh, the bear made a U-turn and headed back into the canopy.
"Now entering: the Rainforest District."
The Wolf's Den
4: 44 PM
Two wolves padded down the carpeted hallway, one significantly more anxious than the other.
"Momma's not gonna be mad at us, is she?" Junior asked nervously.
"Depends," Felix answered, not looking at him.
"On what?"
"Are you using 'us' in the sense to refer to you and I, or rather yourself in conjunction with your fellow bikers? Because if you are using the former, then I do not think she will be mad at us, but rather just yourself, in which case you should have instead used the word 'me'. However, if you were intending the latter meaning, then I must concede the strong possibility that she will, in fact, be mad at all of you."
Junior stopped in his tracks, staring blankly at his brother's back, before running to catch up. "Now yer just bein' spiteful!"
"I'm being honest. I don't know what she'll say, but mother knows best."
Reaching a set of white double-doors at the end of the hallway, Felix pushed them open with one paw and stepped inside with Junior.
It was less like walking into another room and more like walking into another world. The office of Lady Lang was kept in perpetual darkness, of little hindrance to her nocturnal family, but effective at keeping most outsiders from gleaning too much information should they happen to peer inside. The ceiling was speckled with a wide array of stars and constellations, furthering the illusion. Lang's desk itself was seated in front of a large tinted window that took up the entire wall, the perfect view for seeing the moon rise over the district each night.
As the doors closed behind the two wolves, the biggest source of light now came from a flat computer monitor sitting on the desk, facing away from them. A figure sat in a suspiciously-leather chair, paws folded as they watched the screen.
"What I am proposing is an alliance," the figure said. "I do not fear for my safety, but this new organization is proving far too adept at disrupting my operations. My entire livelihood is at stake here. It's only a matter of time before they target your own empire, and should they acquire my resources as well, you will be hard-pressed to stop them."
"Alas, señorita, I cannot. My empire, she is a delicate beast, and must be fed always. Always! If I were to lend support to you, I risk losing my own."
"You are at risk of losing your own anyway. Would you rather be in the red or in the ground?"
"Your concern is touching, but do not worry for me. It is a delicate beast, but a beast nonetheless. Anyone who tries to prey on me will soon find out who the real predator is. Still, I am moved by your verbal embrace. My heart, she goes out for you and all of your kin. I must sing for you a song of regret."
"No, no that's really not necessary. I-"
The strum of a violin sounded throughout the darkened room.
"As the daaaaaaay, turns to niiiiiiiiight!"
"I must withdraaaaaw, from this fiiiiiiiight!"
"Oh, Lady Laaaaaang, eyes like the mooooooon!"
"She makes my heaaaaaart, just want to sw-"
The feed was abruptly cut. "Never trust a feline."
Felix coughed loudly. "Miss Lang, we have returned."
"Oh, Felix! I didn't hear you come in." From the chair rose a white wolf, her pristine fur greying with age. She wore a blue button-up shirt under a darker blue blazer, while a black skirt extended down to her knees, ending in a pair of high heels. Her claws were painted a dark blue, matching her eyes. A pair of crescent moon-shaped earrings swayed gently from her lobes.
Annemarie "Lady Lang" Luna smiled warmly at her children. "A pleasure to see you both. Now, what can I do for-JUNIOR!"
Before the younger wolf could react, Lang bounded over and grabbed him by the cheeks. "You're hurt! Oh, my poor baby!" She withdrew a small handkerchief and spit into it, washing away the blood.
"Hey, that's not-ah, quit it, Momma!"
"Don't you talk back to me, young mammal! Now hold still and let me clean you up!"
Even Felix was mildly amused by the sight of Lang wrapping Junior into what was essentially a chokehold and grooming his face. "C-Come on, that tickles! Heehee, stop it! Hahahaha!"
Eventually, she did stop, but not before Junior's face was thoroughly covered in wolf slobber. "Feeling better, sweetie?"
"I...I guess."
"Good."
She punched him hard in the face, sending him to the floor. "MORON!"
Junior coughed, putting a paw to his cheek. "M-Momma?"
"How many times do I have to tell you not to attack the cops?! Do you think we need any more unwanted attention, huh?!"
"I-I-I'm sorry, Momma!"
"You're going to be sorry!" She stood over him, wagging a finger pointedly. "Because as of now, you're grounded! No more biking for a week!"
"What?!" Junior shifted onto his knees in a pleading gesture. "But the derby's tonight! I can't miss that!"
"You should have thought about that before you disobeyed me. Now, go eat your supper before it gets cold."
"Yes, Momma…" Junior got up and slumped out of the room, tail between his legs.
Felix waited until the doors closed to speak up again. "As much as I support you disciplining my baby brother, I believe there are more important matters to discuss."
"Of course," she said, looking to him sternly. "What do you have to report?"
"Unfortunately, much of the same. Junior just lost his chop-shop and we're down one more Burger Alpha."
"No great loss there."
"More troubling is that the ZPD has finally become aware of the plot against you. I warned them to stay away, but I was speaking to the notorious Officer Judy Hopps. I somehow doubt she'll listen."
Lang was silent, walking back to put a paw on her desk. "I see. Then we don't have much time until either the ZPD scavenges enough out of this chaos to arrest me, or this 'Count' gets to me first."
"Do not say things like that, Miss Lang!" Felix growled. "I won't let anyone hurt you!"
She smiled at him softly. "Just once, couldn't you call me Mother?"
"If you command me to, Miss Lang."
"Oh nevermind. I don't suppose Hopps told you anything new?"
"I'm afraid not."
She sat back in her chair, turning away to face the window. "Pity. I was at least hoping we could gain more intelligence on our enemy."
"It is a truly baffling situation," Felix admitted. "Especially with Big and Thornbrush also targeted. Even to gain this much power over the criminal underworld, I don't see why anyone would risk so much-"
"No," Lang said firmly. "I told you. There's more to this than just the power. Think of the previous victims. Mr. Big, iced. Damien Thornbrush, flattened with his own decor. This is not a professional job, but a personal one."
"Forgive me, Miss Lang," he said, bowing in submission. "But I must express that I find your theory of revenge killings to be difficult to swallow."
"How so?"
"Well, it's just that each of Zootopia's crime lords controls their own operations, their own domains, almost entirely separate from each other. It's hard to believe that someone could seek revenge against all of them."
Felix spent a long time just looking at the back of Lang's chair, seeing the end of her bushy tail swish slowly in thought.
"...There is one mammal who might."
He straightened up. "Miss Lang? You really know someone like that?"
"Knew," she clarified. "No one's seen hide nor hair of him in a very long time. But if I'm right, then he would not only have the desire to murder all of us, but to take everything we own for himself."
"How could such a mammal exist?" Felix asked, more to himself than her.
"More importantly, I would know who he's really after."
"...What?"
Lang rose from her seat again. "You mentioned that Judy Hopps was here. Tell me, was her partner, a fox named Nicholas Wilde, also present?"
"I don't believe so, Miss Lang, but I can ask the rest of the pack. If he's in the Rainforest District, someone will have seen him."
"Do that. If he is here, I would like to speak with him."
Felix did a double-take. "I beg your pardon?! You want to bring an outsider here?!"
"Yes," she said simply, tail swishing faster. "Clearly, this situation is not improving with time. If there's a chance he knows something that can help us, I am willing to take it."
Felix looked to the floor, uncertain. But his decision was already made. "I will do whatever you command, Miss Lang. If you want me to bring him here, so be it."
He perked up, surprised to see the old wolf placing a paw on his shoulder. "You be careful now, Felix. It's dangerous out there. I couldn't bear to lose you or any of your siblings."
"Our lives belong to you, Miss Lang. Nothing else matters."
"At least give your mother a hug."
Even in high heels, she couldn't reach his level, forcing him to bend down on one knee. Lang wrapped her arms tightly around the large wolf's head. "I love you, Felix." He tried to get back up, but found that Lang's grip was much tighter than he thought. "Say it."
"...I love you, Miss Lang."
"Close enough." She planted a tender kiss on his forehead and finally released him. Giving one final bow, Felix left the room to carry out his mission.
Alone once more, Lady Lang walked over to the expansive window and placed a paw upon it. The sky outside was getting darker, but it wasn't quite nighttime yet.
"The moon will be up soon. I wonder...how many more times will I be able to see it?"
That enough italic text for you guys? Get used to it. :P
Felix (Sr.) belongs to Mind Jack. Lady Lang belongs to me. I just wish her office belonged to me too because I'm a total sucker for that kind of decor.
Boy, text lingo is fun! And by fun, I mean infuriating! The things we do sometimes…
Since we got some good feedback from our fan polling last time, here's another question for you guys. What voices/voice actors do you picture for each of the characters? We'll post the results next time, including what Mind Jack came up with because I don't really do that actually.