Chapter Twenty: Bang! Bust! And Betrothed!

A/N: Looks like I DID have time to put one more chapter out before Comic Con and this one's a long one! Thankfully, it's one of those that just poured out of me instead of me constantly stopping to try and get the best angle. I do think I wrapped up the action part too quickly, but otherwise, it's good. I'm real close to finishing and this is likely the semifinal chapter. There's still two epilogue stories to go, but it's almost done.

Summary: Delgato and Johnson are caught in the crossfire of a hail of bullets as Weaselton fights Marcos for the love of Juanita. Later on, Judy's upset when she finds out she'll have to leave Michael in the hospital alone overnight.

7:20pm At the abandoned warehouse in the Rainforest District

Delgato and Johnson had their backs against cover as a hail of gunfire came in their direction.

"If we live through this, remind me to strangle that weasel!" Johnson said.

"You'll have to get in line!" Delgato shouted back.

Johnson fired his dart blindly, but it missed and landed near Duke who was fighting Marcos.

Karl aimed his gun at Duke, but Carol stopped him. "Don't waste your bullets on that loser. Marcos will take care of him. Kill the lions!"

Johnson got on the radio. "This is officer Johson! Backup needs to be very careful! There are lethal weapons involved! Repeat! Lethal weapons! We need the SWAThogs! Repeat, we need SWAThogs STAT!"

Meanwhile, Marcos had Duke pinned and was beating his face in. "You never should have shown up! I'm bigger and stronger than you!"

Duke was trying to cover his face, but it didn't help much. "UGH! That may be true, but you...OW! forgot something."

"What's that?!"

"I fight dirty!" Duke poked Marcos hard in the eyes, blinding the ferret and causing him to reel back in pain. This allowed Duke to shove him off and stomp on his groin.

Marcos was down but not out. Duke leaped for the dart on the floor that Johnson left, but Marcos grabbed his leg, dragging him back. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT! ANY LAST WORDS?!"

"Yeah. Night-night!" Duke had managed to grab the dart before Marcos dragged him and he stabbed it into Marcos' neck. The ferret passed out. Duke grabbed Juanita by the paw and pulled her into a hallway, away from the gunfire. "Let's get outta here!"

"Paco! Paco!"

"Dangit! Yer right! Let's find him!" They ran off in the direction the henchman dragged Paco away from.

Several minutes passed. The hail of gunfire finally stopped when they realized Delgato and Johnson had not made a move. "Surrender cops! It's all over!"

There was silence for awhile. It was infuriating Carol. "Where are you?!"

Fnally, they heard a voice coming from high above and in the corner. "Up here!"

"FIRE!" Karl shouted as the henchman shot at the rafters above. They then stopped. Again, there was silence.

"Missed me! You are firing at my echo! With all this loud gunfire, we scattered. This place is so big and spacious, we can be anywhere."

Carol was starting to worry. She quickly grabbed one of the workers and put a gun to his head. Her back against the wall. "Y-You better surrender or We'll start killing the workers! We were gonna kill them all off when we were done anyway!"

One of the immigrants who can speak English overheard what she said. He started talking to the others in Spanish. "What the hell?! She just said she was gonna murder us! Joe, what bullets are you making?"

"Nine millimeter."

"...I'm making some 9mm pistols here. Gimme some bullets and I'll give you a gun. Amigos! Duke and the cops are risking their lives for us! Fight for your lives! Fight for Duke!"

The workers knocked over the work desks and hid behind them, tossing each other bullets and guns. They started firing at the henchman who took cover.

Carol saw what was happening. "No! Nonono!" Her back to a window, it shattered as Delgato smashed through it. Grabbing Carol and the hostage and pulling them out the broken window. Carol screamed. "AAAH!"

Delgato grabbed the gun out of her paw and stuck it to her head. "It's over! Everyone Ow! Ow! Glass! Broken glass everywhere! Drop your weapons!...OOWW! That is SO not like the movies! Broken glass hurts!"

Meanwhile...

Duke and Juanita were running down the hall when they caught up to the badger henchmen who had turned around to find out what the gunfire was all about. They met at the corner by surprise.

Duke didn't know what to do. These badgers were much bigger than him. "Whoops! Uhhhhh...Hello fellow henchmen! Which way to the bathroom?" Duke then quickly grabbed Juanita by the arm. "This prisoner needs to pee."

The badgers took one look at Duke's scuzzy,. ugly face and didn't think of him as anything but a thug."Down the hall to the right."

"Thanks pal!" As Duke and Juanita passed them. Duke turned around and saw the guns on their holsters. He motioned Juanita to follow him. He got one of the guns out of the holster without the guards knowledge, but as he was undoing the other holster, Paco was curious why Duke and his mother passed him by and he turned his head around.

"Momma. What are you doing?"

"MOMMA?!" said one of the badgers as he turned around.

Duke quickly snagged the other pistol and threw it to Juanita. "Catch!"

Juanita quickly caught the other gun. They drew their weapons at the badgers. A smile went across Duke's face. "Freeze dirtbags! Hand over the kid or.."

"BLAM!"

"YEEEOWW!" Screamed one of the badgers who just got shot in the butt by Juanita. He fell to the ground holding his rump.

Duke was surprised. "Jeez! Babe, yer a bit too hardcore! Give 'da poor guy a chance ta surrender!"

"Nobody touches my baby!" Juanita said in Spanish.

Paco ran to his mother. The other badger didn't know what to do.

Duke did. "I'm really sorry pal, but I can't have you following." He shot the badger in the foot and the thug went down screaming.

Duke then talked to Paco. "Find an exit and get yer mudder 'da hell outta here!"

"What are you going to do senor Weaselton?"

Duke raised his gun and smiled. "I'm gonna save my men if I gotta go through hell ta do it!"

"Ooooh! You looked just like that guy from 'Die Herd' when you said that!"

Duke smiled again. "I love you Paco. Now scram you two! And be careful!"

Meanwhile...

It was a standoff. Karl and his henchman had their guns drawn at Delgato and the workers. Delgato kept his gun at Carol's head while the workers pointed their guns at the henchmen.

Carol was struggling. "Karl! Stop aiming your gun at me! It's over!"

"Not necessarily my darling sister. I can still take him out without hurting you."

"You might hit me!"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take not to go to prison. Guys? Kill the cop!...Guys?"

Karl turned around to find the two henchmen flat on the ground with darts in their butts. Johnson had a gun drawn at Karl. "Okay, NOW it's over. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Y-Yes officer!"

"Good." Johnson said with a smile.

Just then, Duke came running out from around the corner with his gun held high. "Everybody freeze!"

The workers pointed their weapons at Duke who quickly dropped his gun. "EEP! I give up!"

The workers realized who it was. "Guys! It's Mr. Weaselton! He came back to save us!" They all started chanting. "Wea-sel-ton! Wea-sel-ton! Wea-sel-ton!"

Johnson was upset as he was pawcuffing Karl. "Hey! We're the ones that saved the day!"

"Well, he DID provide a distraction." Delgato replied. "And we managed to do the bust with no casualties. Let him have this moment."

Moments later, it was all over. When Juanita saw the police officers pawcuffing the criminals, she ran out from behind the corner with Paco and hugged Duke tightly. "Mi héroe! Eres tan maravilloso!"

"Did you just call me a marvelous hero?" Duke asked. "I'll take it!"

The backup was finally starting to arrive. "What you are is reckless!" Delgato said. "I have every right to arrest you for interfering in a bust!"

"And I have every right 'ta tell 'da chief how you let a civilian get involved in a very dangerous mission."

"GRRRR!"

"I can see it all now." Duke puffed up his chest and imitated Bogo. "Del Taco! You're in big trouble for letting that weasel get involved! I'm the buffalo chief and I never crack a smile cuz I'm constipated!"

Delgato started laughing. "That's a pretty good imitation of the chief! You really have been to the ZPD a few too many times! Y'know what though? Deep down, you're okay. You can keep me as a Furbook friend."

"Thanks Del, but what about my guys?"

"What about them?"

"Some of 'dem ain't exactly legal ta be here."

"They are as far as I'm concerned." Delgato said. "You don't say anything and neither will I."

"You're da best!" Duke gave the lion a hug, "Y'know, I always thought 'da police were just an annoyance. Some guys 'dat were in my way of making a quick buck, but now, I see 'dat you really ARE here to protect and serve. Just like 'da side of yer car says."

"Thanks Duke." Delgato replied. He then fished a 'junior officer' sticker badge out of his pocket and placed it on Duke's chest. "Maybe someday, even YOU can be a cop!"

Duke chuckled. "Fat chance! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna say goodbye to some 'agents'."

Duke walked over to where Karl and Carol were. They were pawcuffed and about to be placed in the car by Johnson. "What the hell do you want?!" asked Carol.

"I just wanted ta say as a former fellow crook myself, 'dat I bid no ill will towards ya." He shook both of their paws in a polite fashion. "Goodbye. Goodbye. You played a good game, but you got beaten by the best. ME!"

"You mean me and Delgato!" Johnson said.

"Well...you two did help a bit."

"A BIT?! You almost ruined everything!"

"If you'll excuse me officer, I got a speech 'ta make to my workers and a woman 'ta make love to when I get home." With that, Duke left.

Karl looked at his sister/wife. "Speaking of...honey, we may not get another chance to make love again. Shall we use this back seat to show what we mean to each other one last time?"

"Oh yes darling!" Carol said. "Make me an inbred, cyclops baby!"

"...Okay y'know what? You just killed the mood. I'm starting to think that maybe mating your sister is a bad thing."

Duke went and got Paco. "Follow me buddy! I'll need ya fer translation." He stood on a wooden table that was outside of the building. The workers all gathered around as Duke gave his speech and Paco translated.

"Illegals and Gentlemammals! Today, you were treated like dirt! You were enslaved like...like slaves! Those two foxes used you and treated you like you were less than nothing! Well let me tell ya, you guys are worth a lot more than they'll ever know! More 'dan I can ever pay you, (which ain't much to begin with). But I'm tellin' ya, things are gonna change at Weaselton and Son's construction! From now on, quality is key! We're not using cheap wood and tools any more! Sure, we could rip off our customers, but in 'da end, we'll just get a bad reputation and people will stop using us! So no more will we rip off our clients! The supplier, the union organizers, the IRS and the government sure, but NOT 'da customers! And what's more, not the labor either! You guys are real important to me, so from now on, you're making minimum wage!"

The workers cheered except Rico. "I was making ABOVE minimum wage!"

"Don't ruin 'dis moment Rico. I'm also going to work hard to get your official work visas and green cards so you can all work in the states! What's more, I'll be takin' Spanish courses so I can communicate with both you guys and my lady, Juanita! Once I get your paperwork in order, no more payin' under the table. You'll be payin' taxes like a true patriot of Zootopia!"

"...Yay?" The workers lightly cheered.

"I want you guys treated better 'dan you ever have been. Because yer not just my workers, yer my friends...TU ES MI FAMILIA!"

The workers all cheered, then Rico spoke up. "What about union contracts?!"

"Baby steps Rico. Baby steps. Don't be such a damn party pooper. Now where's my woman? Get up here 'Nita!"

Paco helped his mother up onto the table. Duke then got down on one knee and held her paw. "Baby, these past...seven hours or so have shown me how much you mean to me. I can't afford to lose you. Some of 'da other guys sure, but not you!"

"Didn't you just say they're family?" Rico asked.

"Shut 'da #$% up Rico! Yer killin' da mood! Juanita, I got a surprise for you. Take off that stupid, cheap ring!"

He tried to take the ring off of her, but she wouldn't budge. "No!"

"Juanita it's junk! Look!" Weaselton took off his to reveal some green fur around his finger where the ring was.

"EEW!" Juanita shouted as she took off hers.

"I got better ones. Look!" Duke pulled out two gold, diamond studded rings. They were gorgeous. He placed one on Juanita's finger. Then, he put the other one on himself.

Juanita talked to Paco who talked to Duke. "Mama wants to know where you got these. They're too valuable!"

"Let's just say, a not-so nice couple donated them."

Meanwhile, Carol was talking to Karl in the back seat of Johnson's car as the other officers arrived and were clearing out the building. "Karl! My wedding ring is gone!"

"Mine too Carol honey! What the hell?!"

"It must have been that weasel! He shook our paws! Officer! Arrest that weasel! Those rings are worth two years of your salary if not more!"

"Okay, one. You have no proof. Two, you're not recognized as legally married in this state. Three, even if those rings were in your possession, you're probably going away for life and the items on your person would be in lock up forever anyway and four, I just don't care."

"How dare you!" Carol shouted. "Those rings are priceless! Do you know what we had to go through to stea-...OOOOHH! Nevermind!"

Juanita was crying as she looked at the rings.

"I can't afford ta lose you again, to villains or deportation!" Duke said. "'Da chapel in da local hospital is open until ten. Juanita, will you marry me...tonight? You already yes before, but what 'da heck. Let's make it more official!"

Juanita embraced Duke hard. "Oh Si Duke! Si!" She then pulled the ring off which confused Duke.

"What the heck are ya doing?"

Juanita explained to Paco who explained to Duke. "Mama says it's obvious these rings are FAR too valuable. She says to pawn them and get cheaper rings. We can use the money to help build up the construction company."

"But...but Juanita! You're more priceless 'dan any ring!"

"She says whether its a cheap, movie knockoff that greens your finger or whether it's made of gold and diamonds, it doesn't matter. Because it's a symbol of our love and that will always be priceless!"

Duke kissed his lovely ferret on the lips. "Baby...Yer 'da greatest! Okay guys! Party at 'da Rat's Den bar on Herd street! Drinks are on me!..."

The workers cheered. "YAAAAY!"

"...After I get married and get over 'dere. In 'da meantime, 'dey're on Rico!"

"What the hell?!" Rico shouted.

"Rico! Is that anyway for my new foreman 'ta act?!"

"...New...foreman?"

"Who else?! You know both English and Spanish well and yer a damn good worker!"

"WA-HOO!" Rico cheered. "Drinks are on me!"

Duke walked over to Delgato. "Say, can you give me and my boys a lift back? We're kinda in 'da middle of nowhere here."

"Sure. You can ride in Rhinowitz's van. There's plenty of room in the back."

"Ah, good ol' car 36! Did he ever get the dashboard fixed? I know he was having problems with 'da fuses."

"...DANG! You did get arrested a lot back in the day, didn't you?!"

8:45pm at the Hospital

"I don't wanna do this!" Michael cried as he was strapped to the operating table. "Why are they strapping me down?!"

Judy held the boy's paw. "It's okay honey! It's just that sometimes when you're asleep, you might jerk and move around and they need you to be very still. You'll be asleep the entire time."

"Please mommy! I'm scared I don't wanna have them take out my eyes!"

"Michael! Someone sacrificed their own eye so that you can see! I promise you, everything will be fine. You'll wake up in the morning and you'll get to see my face! You'll get to see the world! Won't that be wonderful?"

"I-I-I guess so. B-But.."

"Don't be such a #$%!...a baby Mike!" Petey said.

"I'm not being a baby!" The doctors started giving Michael his injection to help him go to sleep. "No wait! That pinches!"

"I bet you #$ ! can't even do the alphabet backwards."

"I know what you're trying to do Pete...I did the same thing with you when you got your tongue fixed."

"And it got fixed. Right?"

Michael smiled. "Right. Z...Y...X...W...VEEEeeeeee..." Michael was out.

Spots picked up Petey and kissed him on the cheek "You're a good brother."

A doe nurse came out. "The procedure should take about an hour, but he'll be out for a long time. This way, the eye has time to heal, but it's fast enough that he'll only e here overnight and should be able to see by morning. You'll be able to pick him up then. Just make sure to give him plenty of eye drops and keep him out of bright light for a few days unless he's wearing shades."

"Can you show me to his room?" Judy asked. "I'd like to stay there with him overnight."

"You can't." The doe said.

"WHAT?!"

"Shhhhhh!"

"Why not?!"

"Visiting hours are only from 7am to 10pm The patients need a quiet environment to rest."

Judy nearly in tears. "B-But what if I'm very quiet? I promised him he'd see my face first thing in the morning!"

"Sorry ma'am, but rules are rules. They gave him enough juice that he should be out for a long time. Probably past seven tomorrow."

"Dammit! I.." Nick put a paw on her shoulder and she turned around and cried into his belly.

"Can you at least tell us who the donor was?" Nick asked.

"No, that's doctor/patient confidentiality. What I CAN tell you is that these procedures are much more successful when the donor is a blood relative. That's all I can say."

Judy gasped. "The donor is one of my family?!"

"I didn't say that." The nurse replied. "All I said is that a blood relative's eye would be much more successful. That's all."

"I'd still like to be in his room with him up until ten."

"That's perfectly fine. His room will be in can see him in an hour, but he'll still be under."

"Thank you miss." Judy said and they walked away.

Spots was holding onto Petey and Cotton in each arm. Petey was wondering something. "So...my eye wouldn't have... #$%!...have worked?"

"Not as well, kid." Spots replied. "Good thing ya didn't give it up hunh?"

"Yeah!" Petey replied.

Cotton was worried. "Will Mike be okay? I love him!"

"Ahhh, he'll be fine! I'm sure they'll use the clean spoons to scoop out his eyeball!"

"SPOTS!" Judy yelled a she kicked the hyena on the shin.

"Ow! Okay! Okay! I'm just kidding! They use lasers and even if he was awake, it's a fairly painless procedure. I read up on it."

"Really?" Cotton asked. Feeling less worried.

"Yeah! I was worried too y'know? Even if he's a little jerk."

Nick asked Judy. "Say fluff, why don't we call your house and find out who the mystery donor was?"

"You forget Nick. Dad's a farmer and gets up at 4am. They go to bed around 8 over there."

"Wow! Definitely not your night owls."

"Hardly." Judy replied. As they were walking past the chapel, Judy noticed something. "Is that...Duke Weaselton?"

"What's he doing here?" Nick asked.

"Nick! Judy!" Duke said as he saw them. "I'll tell ya what I'm doin'! I'm goooin' to 'da chapel and I'm...gonnnna get maaaaaried!"

"Please don't ever sing again." Judy requested.

"Ah, you know ya love it Cottontail! Hey! We go back a-ways! Why don't ya come with me and be my witnesses? I'll let Nick be 'da best man and you can be 'da maid of honor!"

Judy was flattered "Oh! Well, thank you! We do have some time to kill before Michael's surgery is over."

"Great! Oh, where are my manners?! 'Dis is my lovely fiance, Juanita and my soon-to-be stepson, Paco."

Judy put her paw out. "Pleasure to meet you!"

Juanita shook her hand. She said something to Paco to translate to Duke.

"Momma asks how you two know each other. She does not trust this bunny."

Duke explained. "Oh! Heh! Well, she used to arrest me a lot. Half the time we were together I was in pawcuffs!"

Paco started to translate when Duke realized something. "Y'know? Maybe 'dat might not translate well."

Paco talked to his mother. "Papa said she used to have him in pawcuffs a lot!"

Sure enough, Juanita attacked Judy and Nick and Duke had to pull them off. "Not those kinda pawcuffs Juanita! I was a criminal!"

Moments later, everything was straightened out. "Sorry about that guys! Anyway, let's go. I got a busy night. Gettin' married, meeting up with 'da guys down at 'da bar and 'den me and Juanita are...well...I can't say in front of kids ya'know? Heh-Heh!"

Nick had an idea. "Hey Duke! Since I'm celebrating the Clawhauser's wedding tomorrow, why not make it a double and I'll make it your reception party too?"

"Really? Aww thanks Nick! Yer a pal! By 'da way, thanks for recommending Delgato to me. He's 'da best! Him and Johnson helped save my men from being enslaved and making lethal guns ta put out on 'da street!"

"Sweet Cheese and Crackers!" Judy replied.

"Haven't used that old chestnut in a while Fluff, but it's appropriate here." Nick said. Then he put his arms around Judy and Duke. "Look at us! Our three sub-plots have caught up and now, we're together!"

"What's he going on about?" Duke asked.

"Never mind him." Judy replied. "He breaks the fourth wall a lot. Speaking of, can we wrap this up? This chapter's taking forever!"

Everyone went inside. Duke woke up the napping pastor and the wedding took place. Tears were shed, kisses took place. Paco flirted with Cotton which Petey did not like. Then it was time for the bouquet toss. Judy and Spots fought over it, but it flew over their heads and landed in Cotton's hooves. She was very excited. Then they said their goodbye's to Duke and his new family and left. All of this the author could have told in more detail, but Judy was in a big, fat hurry to get the chapter wrapped up. Happy now?!

"Yes. Thank you!See you readers in two weeks!"