(AN/ Hey folks it's Garouge/Crewefox here with another chapter of SOC, a big thanks to everyone who liked, followed, faved, reblogged and reviewed the last chapter and as always I want to thank my dev team who help craft the story and beta read the chapters, i couldn't do it without you guys. So without further ado let's get cracking with this chapter...)

Chapter 33- Best laid plans.

1am came and Basil could feel someone else's presence under the dark bridge with him. He didn't act scared, he just spoke aloud "I know you're there, come on out."

A much taller figure emerged from the shadows, wearing an expression of worry and distrust, it looked down at Basil before leaning against the same wall as the mouse "You wanted to see me Mr. Dawson?" Luna Wilde asked nervously.

"Indeed I did," Basil responded "and will you please call me Basil? You're not a child anymore."

"So why'd you call me out here?" Luna asked, looking around to make sure they were alone.

"I need Ceartais' help with something." Basil answered bluntly.

"So why am I here?" Luna queried, trying to appear confused.

Basil let out a tired sigh before replying "Luna, we both know you'd never have come meet me tonight unless you took my threat seriously, please don't pretend that you're clueless; I know you're Andraste."

Luna had expected this but the conformation from Basil's lips made Luna's stomach sink with fear, she tried to compose herself then asked "How long have you known?"

"Six years ago when the heroine made her debut, I had my suspicions, after all you are a red furred vixen who's skilled with a bow and from a lineage of vigilantes. But what sealed the deal was the crime scene at your penthouse, all the evidence pointed to an archer helping out Officer Rojek not Spitfire." Basil explained.

"So why didn't you pass the evidence onto the ZPD?" Luna asked further.

"Because I care about you Luna, you're Olivia's oldest friend, I've seen you grow from a bright and happy child into a smart and successful woman. David and I love you like a niece." Basil confessed "I wasn't about let you get arrested, plus it would break your parents' hearts."

"So why are you blackmailing me now?" Luna sniped.

"I have no intention of passing the evidence onto the police, I only said that to get your attention." Basil promised.

"Well you got it, so what do you want?" Luna asked, feeling a little relieved.

"To see Rattigan rotting in a jail cell. I got some intel from a reliable source about a massive drug shipment being airdropped into Sahara square, we're talking enough drugs to fill three trucks. I want Team Ceartais' help to stop this shipment and stop Rattigan." Basil revealed with a determined voice.

"Sounds like something we could do, but why haven't you gone to my Mom about this?" Luna wondered.

"The Rosethorn op went south because someone in the ZPD leaked the information. If I told Judy about this she'd put together a squad of cops and, more than likely it would get back to Rattigan." Basil explained. "The only time we should get the cops involved is when you've stopped the trucks and restrained all of Rattigan's henchmen."

"Fair enough," Luna accepted "but how do you expect us to bring Rattigan down? It isn't like he'd be with the trucks."

"True but that bastard's ego won't allow this transgression to pass, he's got a volatile temper and he'll be looking for the snitch, but when he's at his sloppiest, he'll reveal his location, I'm sure of it." Basil said, sounding certain.

Luna took note of the spite in Basil's voice when he spoke about the drug lord causing her to ask"Why do you want Rattigan arrested so badly?"

A brief look of panic raced across Basil's face but he steadied his emotions and answered "I made a promise to someone, maybe when this is all over I'll tell you what it is."

"Ok." Luna responded, knowing better than to press the subject "So when is this airdrop happening?"

"Well that's the thing, I don't know, all I know is that it's soon." Basil answered.

"So how the hell are Ceartais supposed to find out?" Luna exclaimed.

"Maybe ask your grandmother for assistance," Basil smiled confidently "yes I know The Maid is Ceartais' tech support and I bet old Robin is on it too."

Luna let out a nervous chuckle "Basil, you sometimes scare me with how smart you are."

"So can I count on your help?" Basil asked.

"We'll help." Luna confirmed "I'll see what my Nan can dig up."

"Thank you," Basil smiled, before going to walk away "and between you and me, I'm actually rather proud that you've followed in your grandparents' footsteps."

As Luna watched Basil walk into the night she breathed a sigh of relief, that encounter could've gone a lot worse. Luna then made her way to her car, she got her phone to check the time and saw she had a new text message from 'A.K'. She opened up the message and became instantly concerned 'Hey Luna, if you're not busy could you come to my place? I got roughed up while looking out for your team and was wondering if you could patch me up – Alice xxx'

It took Luna half and hour to drive to Alice's apartment building, when she parked her Bugatti she had also got the small medical bag out from under her seat in case she ever came across an emergency. Luna expect Alice to be too injured since the nature of the text was more like a kind request than pleading for help, she made her way up to the assassin's apartment and used the spare key that Alice had given her to unlock the front door and was met with the sight of Alice sat at the dining table dressed only in a T shirt and knickers trying in vain to stich up the two slashes upon her thigh. "H-hey." Alice winced, with the suture in her paw.

Luna hurried over while fussing "Jesus Alice, what the hell got you?" inspecting the wounds.

"Your sister." Alice chuckled awkwardly, holding onto her broken ribs.

"You fought Robbie!?" Luna asked, ready to flip at Alice.

"She fought, I got my ass kicked." Alice cleared up "She's gotten a lot better since the last time we duelled."

"You didn't retaliate against her did you? Why?" Luna asked, opening up her medical bag and getting some swabs and antiseptic.

"A few reasons, one; the contract, two; I deserved it after what I did to her and three; it'd be a pretty bad thing to beat up my girlfriend's sister." Alice responded, not flinching when Luna cleaned out the wounds, the rabbit was sadly accustomed to pain.

Luna tensed up at being called girlfriend with her thoughts scattered through her mind She called me her girlfriend, I mean yes I am but it feels weird hearing it. I can't believe I'm in another relationship so quickly after Aleks, maybe it is too soon…No! Stop that Luna! You're going enjoy what you with Alice while it lasts! Luna pushed aside her thoughts and queried "So, did Robbie and the others catch you following them?"

"Not exactly, some mercs were also tracking those kids, they were about to kill Bullet but I stopped them. Your teammates must've followed the noise, because before I knew it, they were fighting the mercs too but when Scarlet had finished fighting them she came straight for me." Alice elaborated "Slashing my leg and breaking my ribs in the process."

"This'll hurt, please try and stay still."Luna advised as she got out a fresh needle and suture and began to stich Alice's wounds "So how did you escape in this shape?"

"I convinced Scarlet to stop, I had to call her by her real name." Alice revealed, sounding guilty, barely registering the feeling of the needle plunging through her skin.

"You did what!?" Luna gasped.

"Relax, I didn't tell her how I knew it." Alice eased "But I needed to mention the protection contract to convince her, her and her friends weren't happy about it but they let me go."

"I'm just glad you're all safe." Luna admitted, continuing to stich up Alice's thigh. "If anything happened I don't…" but she couldn't finish her sentence, the words hurt too much.

Alice saw the fearful expression on the vixen's muzzle and reacted "Hey, don't worry, I won't let anything happen to your sister or your friends." Stroking the fur of Luna's cheek.

"It's not just that, what if something happened to you?" Luna revealed her fear for her lover to see, too shy to look Alice in the eye and instead just focused on stitching.

Alice's pulse quickened upon hearing the affectionate words, she could've replied that there was no need to worry but that'd be a lie instead she just said "Luna if anything happens to me, it'll be my just desserts. I'm not going to pretend that I'm a good mammal because I'm not, I'm a monster, pure and simple, but if I die protecting you and your team, then maybe I can leave this life in the knowledge I died doing something good."

Luna looked at Alice with disbelief before uttering "How can you talk about yourself like that?"

"Because going into battle with the fear of death makes you weak, I've accepted my fate, I'll probably die with my sword in my paw but I'm going to enjoy my life while it lasts." Alice gave a soft smile.

Luna couldn't help but admire Alice's resolve and replied "You're really something else Kirabito." Luna had finished stitching up the two slashes and put a dressing over them "There, good as new."

"Merci, Luna," Alice thanked, kissing Luna on the cheek "sorry to wake you just so you could fix me up."

"I was awake anyway, I was getting some intel about some drugs getting airdropped into the city." Luna explained, gathering up her used medical supplies and heading over to the trash bin in the kitchen.

"Oh you mean the Sahara Square job?" Alice commented casually.

"Wait, you know about it?" Luna asked back, sounding surprised.

"Well sure, I was offered the job, but I had to turn it down because I've already got a hit that night." Alice revealed.

Luna swiftly went back over to Alice and asked in a hopeful voice "Do you know the details?"

"Of course." Alice answered "Let me guess, you want to know?"

Luna scooped up the bunny from the chair and held her bride style before smiling "How about I lay you on your bed, put some ice on your ribs and you tell me all about it?"

"And they say romance is dead." Alice jested, as she was carried into the bedroom by her lover.

000

The next day came and after the younger members of the team had finished school, they arrived in the bunker after Marian had called a meeting. Sasha Jones had tagged along with her big brother because she wanted to get some shots of Robyn's upgraded uniform. The entire team plus Robin sr. Marian and Sasha were sat in the observation deck as Luna explained all the details about Rattigan's drug shipment "So that's everything; the plane will drop the drugs off at 3am on Wednesday morning in the parking lot of the old soccer stadium in Sahara square." Luna relayed the info she got from Alice.

Kion had a very serious look on his face as he thought out loud "Three trucks, all guarded, probably escort vehicles too. It'll be like going against an army."

"We've fought with those kind of odds before, look at what we did at the Rosethorn." Kodi pointed out.

"We got lucky at the Rosethorn," Robyn corrected "and there we had a SWAT team and Ronin supporting us."

"We'd have to stop them before they drive off with the drugs otherwise we'd have to split up and follow each truck." Bullet figured.

"That means laying in wait but that parking lot is massive, they'd see us coming a mile off." Kion remembered.

"You guys will figure something out, you always do." Sasha encouraged.

Luna looked down at Olivia whose face was showing her worry, Luna asked the mouse gently "You doing alright Olivia?"

"I just…I just can't wrap my head around my Dad's vendetta against Rattigan, what is this bloody promise he made? I feel like I don't even know anything about him." Olivia vented.

"Says the girl who moonlights as a mech piloting vigilante." Marian commented "I'm just surprised that Basil knew so much." These words caused Luna to panic a little, hoping that the team wouldn't dig too deep for details.

"But we've also got the added problem that Basil knows who Andraste really is and that the Hood and The Maid are not quite retired yet." Robin sr. mused.

"That's the only identity problem we have," Robyn cut in "that psycho Ronin knows who me and Luna really are."

"Yeah, this whole protection contract thing doesn't exactly put me at ease." Hannah admitted.

"I want to know who hired her." Kodi chimed in.

"But isn't a good thing?" Sasha asked naively "You've got someone watching your back."

"You don't know this mammal Sasha, she's ruthless as they come, she'll kill anyone in her way. Even if they are mercs and hitmammals they deserve a fair trial and not being executed by Ronin." Kion reasoned.

"And what's to stop her turning on us? She's a sword for hire, we can't trust her." Robyn enforced, making Luna look more and more uncomfortable, luckily no one noticed.

Marian cleared her throat to get everyone's attention before saying "Before we get carried away with ways to deal with Rattigan and Ronin, there is a reason I called this meeting."

"Well don't leave us in suspense Nana." Robyn said with a cocky smile.

"As you know tomorrow is the charity auction to help those left homeless by The Wave, I've looked at the guest list and I can't help but feel worried." Marian unveiled "In attendance we're going to have the mayor, the deputy mayor, a few police chiefs, the commissioner, most of the city council and more VIPs than I can count."

"You're worried about The Drowned attacking." Hannah assumed, feeling sure that this is what the old vixen was getting at.

"Yeah and it looks like the cops are too, they're doing security checks at the Opera House as we speak." Marian informed.

"So what are you worried about?" Olivia asked, knowing there must be more to the story.

"I've checked the guest list and found four board members of Phelps Arms will be at the auction including the CEO Eustice Phelps." Marian told.

"And for some reason The Drowned have got it out for Phelps arms." Luna remembered "Damn it, it's too good an opportunity for them to pass up."

"So lemme' guess we're going to be guarding the place?" Robyn asked.

"Yes but it's going to be pretty hard to protect the guests if the attack comes from the inside, The Drowned are master infiltrators." Robin senior reminded.

"Well I'm going to be in there as a guest, so will you two." Luna spoke up, nodding at her grandparents. "We can scout from inside while the rest of the team are on standby outside."

"Three sets of eyes to cover the whole event, sounds risky." Marian voiced her worries.

"Well what about a fourth pair of eyes," Sasha butted in "I'll be at the auction anyway."

Before Marian could respond Kodi just gave a flat "No."

Sasha had clearly expected this reaction from her brother and responded "Barkfeed wants me there to cover the event and Mama has given me permission to be there, it'll be the perfect cover."

"Then you shouldn't be going in the first place," Kodi stated "actually why aren't we telling the ZPD about this so they can cancel the whole auction?"

"Because we have no evidence that an attack is going to happen," Robin sr. answered "at the moment it's just a hunch."

"Look, all I'll be doing is keeping an eye on things, it isn't like I'm going to fight if anything happens." Sasha persuaded.

"No it's too risky, if anything happens-"Kodi fretted but was cut off.

"I'll be there to protect her." Luna interrupted "I'll be there to protect Sasha and anyone else should the need arise."

"I hate to burst your bubble Lu, but you're not going to be able to hide your bow or your daggers in a posh dress." Robyn brought up.

"That's why we're going to inside Opera House and stash some weapons while scouting out the place." Luna decided, while getting out her phone.

"And how the heck are we going to do that?" Kion asked, half laughing.

"You leave that to me." Luna grinned confidently as she selected a number on her phone.

000

An hour later Luna, Robyn, Hannah and Kion were outside the Opera House in the heart of the meadowlands on the north side of Zootopia. Luna had not been invited to the auction due to her being the eldest daughter of the mayor and the chief of precinct 1, she had been invited due to her being a trustee of the Opera House. Now Luna wasn't one for Opera or the theatre for that matter, but her birth mother, Victoria had been and was a lifelong member of the trust and even after her death, a small percentage of her holdings went into keeping the Opera House in money. When Luna got her inheritance at 18, she had decided to keep up the tradition her mother had started. But Luna had used her connections within in the Opera House to organise an impromptu guided tour of the venue under the guise that Luna wanted to make sure everything was up to a high standard, it was time to play the stuck up socialite most mammals thought she was.

"Is this really going to work?" Robyn asked, getting out of the Zuber cab the four friends had piled into (they had to take a cab seeing as Luna's Bugatti only had two seats and Kion was too large to fit in).

"Trust me, I can act like a bitch when I want to." Luna smirked, getting a pair of sunglasses out her handbag and putting them on her face.

"Pfft, Luna you're one of the nicest mammals I know." Kion dismissed "I don't think you could be mean if you tried."

"Oh really?" Luna grinned, arching an eyebrow before snapping in a cold voice "Listen you dumb cat, you're going to scout around the building for hiding spots for the team can your feeble mind handle such a task or is that ridiculous mane of yours putting weight on your brain?!"

The three teens were stunned by Luna's tone and words, Hannah was so surprised she let out a quiet "Oh my…"

Kion brushed off the insult and chuckled "I stand corrected."

"Now run along." Luna waved off, staying in character.

"Yes ma'am." Kion mock saluted before making his way to the back of the building.

"Shall we do this girls?" Luna asked in a snobbish voice before walking up the stone steps of the Opera House.

"Damn Lu, where'd you learn to talk like that?" Robyn asked with amazement, fixing the heavy backpack she was carrying on her back.

"Meh, a little bit from Grandad Robin and Nana Marian but a lot from my birth mother." Luna answered.

"I thought Victoria was a nice mammal?" Hannah asked in confusion, her cane tapping the steps.

"She was, but a lot of Mammals wouldn't even listen to my Mom is she didn't act like this, it was an act but an act that got her respect." Luna explained as they reached the top of the stairs to find a jittery looking male possum in a suit flanked by two Bison security guards. Luna knew the possum from the various galas and fundraisers she had attended through the years, his name was Laurence Treetail and he was the curator of the Opera House.

"Ah, Miss Wilde we have been expecting you and your guests." Treetail greeted, as the two bison opened the glass doors into the grand looking building.

"My name is Doctor Wilde, I didn't go to medical school for seven years to be called Miss." Luna barbed, walking right by the possum with her nose held high.

"Y-yes of course, my apologies Dr. Wilde." Treetail stammered "But I don't believe I've met your friends."

Luna stepped over to Robyn and placed a gentle paw on her shoulder before introducing "This is my beloved baby sister Robyn and the striped lady with her is her girlfriend Hannah, they're tagging along because dear Hannah is such a fan of the theatre."

"Ah well I hope you enjoy this tour ladies." Treetail smiled.

"Thank you, I'm sure it will be lovely." Hannah replied in a polite tone.

"But be under no illusions Mr. Treetail I am here to make sure that my donations are being spent correctly and that the venue for tomorrow's auction is perfect." Luna cautioned in a chilling voice.

"O-of course Mis-, I mean Dr. Wilde." Treetail stuttered in response "So shall we begin the tour?"

"Yes we shall." Luna signalled, watching the nervous wreck of a possum lead the way.

As the group walked Robyn leaned over and whispered to her sister "Don't you think you're laying on this rich snob shtick a little thick?"

"Don't worry Robbie, Treetail is used to it." Luna whispered back.

Treetail stopped and turned back to the three guests and informed "This is the foyer where the mammals invited will present their invitations and go through the ZPD security checkpoints."

"Will this be the only entrance?" Luna asked looking around and already spotting three spots above a sharpshooter could make a nest.

"Yes, we've accepted Commissioner Bogo's offer of additional security, you can't be too careful these days." Treetail answered. "The place will look more like airport security than a gala event tomorrow."

"You can't put a price on safety, you should feel glad that the ZPD are looking out for us." Luna said firmly.

"Believe me Dr. Wilde I'm grateful."Treetail assured.

The tour continued and Treetail showed the three heroines the main theatre where most performances were held as well as the small art gallery near the bar, all the while Luna, Robyn and Hannah were placing small CCTV cameras in concealed spots that linked straight back to the Bunker.

But soon enough they reached the ballroom. It was an impressive size and workers were busy decorating the place as well as hanging up photos of some of the mammals whose lives were cut short by The Wave. "As you know the wonderful Gazelle Jones will be the host for tomorrow's auction and will be stood on the stage while the auction is on and as you can see the workers she has hired have been hard at work to make sure the event is perfect." Treetail explained, stopping by the row of long table that the buffet would rest on.

"Hmmm." Luna sounded with a disapproving look on her muzzle causing a worried expression to appear on Treetail's face.

"Is there something wrong?" Treetail queried with trepidation.

"i 've been coming to this fundraisers for years and you know one thing that bothers me? The buffet." Luna said, taking off her sunglasses to show the seriousness in her amber eyes.

"I promise you the spread is of the highest quality." Treetail reacted.

"That is not the thing that bothers me," Luna shot down "hardly any of the food gets eaten and I bet there are trays full of food in kitchen that never make it out here, so what do you do with the food?"

"Well we throw it in the trash." Treetail answered, thinking it was no big deal.

"You throw it in the trash? When there are thousands of homeless mammals starving in The Wave towns?" Luna barked.

"Well-uh-I…"Treetail stammered, while Robyn and Hannah observed with wonder how Luna could act so venomous.

"I want all the uneaten food sent to the nearest Wave town after the auction, do I make myself clear?" Luna threatened in the bitchiest voice she could muster.

"Of course, Dr. Wilde."Treetail responded, getting out his phone to make a note of it.

"And another thing," Luna yelled, marching over to a sign with directions to places within the Opera house "what the hell is with the sign?"

"What's wrong with it?" Treetail asked, sweating.

"It's not up to code, the law states that any public venue must have signs that have both written words and brail, how are mammals like Hannah supposed to find the bathrooms if they can't read the signs?" Luna asked rhetorically with spite.

Hannah was waiting for this signal and spoke up "Actually, um, where is the bathroom?"

"Robyn will have to show you the way since this incompetent buffoon can't cater for the needs of disabled mammals." Luna continued her barrage, the girls took this as their cue and quietly exited the ballroom as the vixen kept yelling at the possum "Also I have seen no wheelchair ramps anywhere near the steps in this place, what are you going to do about it!?"

As soon as Robyn and Hannah closed the door to the ballroom Hannah breathed "Remind me never to get on your sister's bad side."

"I just feel sorry for that Treetail dude, he looks like he's one step away from a panic attack."Robyn replied "Come on, we still have to stash those weapons."

The two girls had to be sneaky to place the remaining cameras without being seen, the girls then went into both the male and female bathrooms to stash the weapons from Robyn's backpack in the toilet cisterns and the ceiling tiles. The couple were just about to head back to the ballroom when Robyn noticed a door slightly ajar near the staff entrance to the theatre "Hold up, I just want to check this out." She said.

"What is it?" Hannah asked, linking on Robyn's arm with one arm and holding her cane in the other.

"There's an open door, I just want to peek to make sure everything is fine." Robyn answered, leading Hannah over to the door, she opened the door slightly before quietly gasping "Oh my god…"

The door led to the costume department, a massive room with hundreds upon hundreds of costumes for mammals of all sizes. Robyn's navy eyes lit up as she walked into the room with Hannah. The striped hybrid could smell the fabrics and reached out her paw to touch some of the outfits "Costumes?" she asked, wanting Robyn to confirm.

But Robyn wasn't listening she was drawn to a particular dress, she walked over to it with her mouth agape with awe. It was a pink dress tailored in a 17th century style and wouldn't look out of place in the palaces of Europe but all Robyn could see was that it bared some similarity to Princess Aurora's dress, the lynx princess from one her favourite Disney movies; Sleeping Beauty. "Uh, Robyn? You ok?" Hannah quizzed.

Robyn snapped out of her daze and garbled "Oh y-yeah, I'm fine."

Hannah took a step forward and touched the dress that Robyn was marvelling at "You like this dress?"

"…Yeah, it kind of looks like Princess Aurora's." Robyn admitted timidly.

"Well try it on." Hannah willed.

"W-What? I can't, what if we get caught?" Robyn replied, all flustered.

"What the worst that can happen? Luna's distracting Treetail anyway, c'mon put it on." Hannah encouraged.

"I dunno'." Robyn said, thinking she would look silly in the dress.

"How about I put on one too? Then we can be embarrassed together?" Hannah compromised.

"Really?" Robyn gave a small smile.

"Sure, pick me out a dress." Hannah confirmed.

It didn't take long for Robyn to pick a dress for Hannah, it was a strapless crystal blue dress that complement the white of Hannah's fur and reminded Robyn of Elsa's dress from the movie Floatzen. There were two dressing screens in the room and each girl went behind them to get changed into the costumes. Robyn was the first to emerge and couldn't believe how she looked when gazed into the large mirror in the centre of the room "Is that me?" She quietly asked herself as she took in every detail of the dress and the golden tiara she was wearing, she couldn't grasp how good she looked in the dress and felt like she stepped out of a fairy tale.

Of course every princess in a fairy tale has a one true love and luckily for Robyn she was very close by, from behind the dressing screen Hannah appeared and with grace and poise she glided over to the awestruck Robyn who put her paw to her chest in shock and felt her cheeks heat up rapidly "You…you…" Robyn struggled, paralysed by how beautiful her girlfriend looked.

"So do I look like queen Elsa?" Hannah teased knowingly.

"No, you look more beautiful." Robyn replied, then cursed herself for saying something so cheesy.

Hannah didn't seem to mind the response though, she got closer to Robyn and ensnared the love drunk girl in a sensual kiss before pulling back and saying "I don't need to see you to know how beautiful you are, Princess Robyn."

Robyn's heart was doing cartwheels and felt like her cheeks were blushing so much that they were going to set on fire, despite this though she managed to reply "But nothing compares to your beauty, Queen Hannah."

"Oh now that is adorable." A voice cooed from the doorway, the couple turned to find Luna and Mr. Treetail smiling at them.

"I-uh-this is not what it looks like!" Robyn said hastily, looking mortified.

"Um, Princess it's exactly what it looks like." Hannah giggled at her flustered girlfriend.

Luna had a happy look on her face as she got out her chequebook from her handbag and quickly wrote Treetail a cheque "I'd like to buy these dresses if that's ok, Mr. Treetail?"

Treetail took the cheque and his eyes went wide upon seeing the figure "But of course Dr. Wilde."

Luna didn't allow the girls to get changed back into their normal clothes instead she made the teen sweethearts walk through the Opera House in the extravagant costumes earning looks and sounds of 'Aww' from staff. When they reached outside they could see Kion waiting beside a Zuber cab, when the lion saw his friends' outfits his jaw dropped and instantly reached for his smartphone to take a picture. "What are you two-" Kion began to ask with a laugh.

"Not a word! Not a frickin' word asshole!" Robyn seethed at her much taller friend.

Hannah just chuckled and kissed Robyn on the cheek before adding "Is that anyway for princess to talk?"

000

Ten miles outside the city limits was one of the biggest military bases in the United States, North Howard military base was so large it catered to the Army, Navy and the Air force with thousands of military personnel working and living on its grounds. But one hangar near the airfield was the temporary home of Camelot. Aleks Rojek was begrudgingly brought into a nest of elite British and American soldiers, out of the sea of faces he only recognised two; Ray and Zoe. As soon as Aleks' military police escort brought him into the hangar Ray instantly walked over and extended his paw to the silver fox "Thank you for coming Rojek." The white tiger greeted.

"No problem." Aleks lied, shaking the tiger's paw "Are all these members of Camelot?"

"Yes, the best both America and Britain has to offer." Ray said with pride, leading Rojek over to the table where Zoe was fixing up her drones. "We have multiple ops going on at one time and usually stick to teams of three to avoid detection, so you probably never work with these guys only me and Nightfall."

"I still find it hard to believe you want a cop's help." Aleks commented, ignoring the funny looks he was getting from the other Camelot members.

"You're a cop who's a great shot and knows this city better than any of my troops, you may not trust me, Rojek, but I trust you." Ray responded bluntly.

Aleks was about to reply with something smarmy when Zoe spotted him and beamed "Foxy! You made it."

"Hello Zoe." Aleks nodded formally.

"Yeesh you're almost as prim as the big kitty." Zoe mocked "Lighten up, will ya'? As soon as this mission is done you're off to the MCB, so try smiling for once."

Aleks faked a smiled and asked "Happy now?"

"Very, you look cuter when you smile." Zoe flirted.

"Ahem," Ray cleared his throat, signalling Zoe to stop making advances to the fox "did the weapon Aleks request arrive yet?"

"Yup, quartermaster dropped it off twenty minutes ago." The bat answered pointing at the gun case across the table.

Aleks didn't wait for permission he walked over to the gun case, flipped the catches and lifted the lid. He had a genuine smile on his muzzle as he admired the weapon, it was a jet black Remington Modular Sniper Rifle .338 Lapua Magnum, he ran his paw across the rifle admiring the craftmanship put into it.

"Do you like it?" Ray queried.

"It's a work of art, thank you for getting this for me." Aleks answered, putting the lid back down.

"I read your file, you scored best at the academy in the sniper division and on a few police raids your shots were the key to victory." Ray praised "I need a sharpshooter on this op we're planning."

"What exactly is the operation?" Aleks asked.

"We managed to get some info out of a smuggler who operates in the docklands of Tundra Town, turns out he gets paid to leave a truck full of food and water for the Drowned every Friday in the side the shipping containers." Ray explained "The NSA has paid this smuggler off to tell us where the truck is going to be parked and not to tell the Drowned, we're going to lay in wait and track The Drowned back to their hideout."

"And I'm there to help you get through Tundra Town and be your sniper in case the shit hits the fan?" Aleks guessed.

"We SP tomorrow, no later than 0500. I've organised a private room for you on the base, if you bunk with Camelot, they're likely to prank you" Ray said, crossing his paws across his chest.

"I appreciate it." Aleks replied, picking up the case "Where's the firing range? I want to test this rifle out and tune her up."

"Just head through that exit and head east, it's a five minute walk." Zoe smiled, spinning a screwdriver in her claw.

"Thanks." Aleks said before walking out of the hangar, he wasn't in the mood to be stared at by the judging eyes of the unknown Camelot members.

Aleks was wearing a security pass around his neck so he wasn't bothered by any mammals as he made his way to the firing range but as he walked by what looked like a prison block something caught his eye, he spied a pair of young soldiers, one a stag and the other a female puma dragging a goat in handcuffs into a storage shed. As the shed door slammed shut Aleks' gut told him something bad was about to happen, the two young soldiers were not military police so why were they with a prisoner and why did they bring him into the shed. He quickly got out his phone and texted Zoe. 'Zoe call MP, get them to shed near prison block ASAP!' while rushing over to the shed, he quietly set down his gun case outside the door before opening the door slightly and seeing that his suspicions had been proven right.

Dangling from a chain by his handcuffs the goat was being beaten by the stag and the puma, each of the punching or kicking the goat as swung on the chain, he was crying in pain while the soldiers smiled menacingly with delight. Aleks stormed in and hollered "Stop what you're doing!"

The Stag and the Puma looked behind them with initial fear but their fright disappeared when then just saw Aleks "Beat it civilian, we're working here." The Stag brushed off.

"And what work is that?" Aleks questioned, stepping forward, unafraid of the two larger mammals.

"We don't have to explain our orders to you." The Puma blustered.

"So your commanding officer ordered you to beat that defenceless mammal?" Aleks called out.

"This is not a mammal, he's a god damn terrorist, he's with The Drowned." The Stag argued.

"Then he's your prisoner and thus he should be treated within his rights." Aleks reacted, hoping that Zoe had read the text message.

"He lost his rights the minute he joined those psychos." The Puma sniped "Now you best run along Fox if you know what's good for you."

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do if I don't?" Aleks asked boldly.

The Puma replied by getting out her sidearm and pointing it Aleks' head "I'm going to do this."

Aleks retained his fearless composure as he looked at the Soldiers threatening his life, he could see the puma's paw trembling and chuckled "You've never pointed a gun at a mammal before, have you?"

"Of course I have!" The Puma denied.

"No, now that I get a good look at you two you're barely put of basic training, hell I'd say you're both teenagers. Meaning you've not seen combat yet and never had to use that gun." Aleks mocked.

"Shut up!" The Stag shouted.

"Let me guess, you wanted to see some action, to fight the enemy but with no wars on at the moment you decide to get your fix of violence by beating up prisoners…pathetic." Aleks theorized with distain.

"You shut your mouth right now, you hear me?" The Puma warned in an agitated voice.

"Or what, you'll shoot me?" Aleks grinned, before taking a step forward and pressing his forehead into the pistol and daring "Do it, shoot me if you've got the guts." Making the Puma's paw shake even more and her face grow fearful.

But before the Puma or Stag could react the door burst open and in the doorway was Ray with Zoe on his shoulder flanked by four military police officers. "Drop your weapon!" one of the MPs bellowed, the puma instantly obeyed and the four MPs rushed in to arrest the stag and the puma. Aleks unfazed from the experience walked calmly out of the shed while saying coolly to Zoe "Thanks but I had it under control."

Ray and Zoe had equally impressed looks on their faces as Aleks picked up his gun case and continued towards the firing range.

Later, just after 10pm, Aleks was in his private quarters Ray had provided. He was reading a book on his phone and trying not to think about the one thing that was weighing down his heart; Luna. The break up was still fresh and even though he didn't hate the vixen he no longer trusted her or could find it in himself to forgive for cheating on him. Aleks berated himself mentally for being so stubborn but he just couldn't get past the lie, the lie that Luna didn't have feeling for Ronin. He was brought out of his depressing thoughts by a sweet voice "You know, what you did today was stupid."

Aleks looked up to see Zoe sitting on the open windowsill. She fluttered into the room, with the large bat landing on the edge of the bed "Pretty cool, but stupid." She criticized.

"If you're going to give a lecture on how I'm essential to the team and shouldn't take dumb risks, please don't." Aleks responded, putting down his phone.

"Nah that's Ray's job, I'm the sort of girl to say 'I told you so', so when you get killed doing something stupid I'm going to stand over your corpse and laugh 'I told you so'." Zoe darkly joked.

Aleks couldn't help but laugh at the bat's dark sense of humour "I'll keep that in mind."

There was a brief silence between the two before Zoe dragged "S-o…"

"So?" Aleks repeated, puzzled.

"So you've got a pretty girl in your bedroom, who's been flirting with you since we met and you're not even going to make a move? You could at least pour me a drink." Zoe smouldered.

A rare glimpse of awkwardness washed over Aleks face as he tried to form a response "Oh, um…Look Zoe I just got out of a relationship and I'm not sure…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up." Zoe halted "I'm not talking about relationships, I'm just talking about a bit of fun."

Aleks had only had two lovers in his twenty four years, a high school sweetheart and Luna, and both of them had been vixens but that didn't mean he wasn't interested in females of other species. And now that he was faced with a new experience the usually calm and collected fox was fumbling his words "Well, Uh, I've never done it with…."

"You've never made love with someone from another species before?" Zoe guessed "Then let me ask you this; do you want to spend the night with me? No strings, just fun?"

Aleks contemplated Zoe's offer while looking at her enticing form, his depression told him it was too soon but his stubborn side told him he needed to move on from Luna. He gathered his courage and spoke the answer that made the most sense to him at that moment "Yes."

"Right answer, Foxy." Zoe charmed before flying into Aleks' embrace.

(AN/ So what did you guys think? Please please please Review! Next time on SOC; Kiara has a nightmare, Camelot play the waiting game and a secret will be exposed. Please review and c ya soon...)