What happened before:
The hunt continues and developed from a drift hunt into big-game hunting. Our group of agents, now smaller and divided into two teams, with the Gernach brothers on the one side and Arthur, Camila and Jiro on the other are still after Kawasemi and now also the head of the ICOU - Simon Bennett.
The two deer brothers from Bärlin have already taken Simon Bennett, the old and experienced lion, under surveillance. Meanwhile, Arthur made a call to his best friend and ZBI partner. With the help of an old promise, he tried to find a connection to the underworld of Izumo. To be as unsuspicious as possible, Arthur spent with Camila and Jiro a normal day as tourists in Izumo. Just when Arthur had given up for the day and laid already with Camila in his arms to rest, both received a call from a female, that calls herself Void.
Arthur
There are mammals. There are stories. The mammals think they shape the stories, but the reverse is often closer to the truth. - Alan Moore
The clock on Jiro's wrist showed the time 9:45 AM, when he, Arthur and Camila stood in the Southern District of Izumo in front of his old wooden house and waited for a ride towards an unknown destiny. The storm from last night had cleaned the streets of dirt and mud, and the sun had already begun to heat up the city. When Arthur looked at his two companions, their reactions couldn't be more different. Jiro had no idea what was going on and where they would go and to be honest even Arthur didn't know everything, but he learned how to keep calm. What he knew was that someone would pick them up and hopefully bring them to the leader of the local God Paw somewhere in Izumo. Arthur hoped that they could give them new pieces of information that would finally lead to Kawasemi or Bennett. Camila on the other paw was excited about this new development, but her enthusiasm frightened the grey wolf a little bit.
"I still can't believe it! You have a connection to the God Paw. Do you know how long I worked to find a way to them? Four years and I still have nothing," Camila said with an excited tone in her voice and smiled like a little girl who was told that they would visit some kind of theme park today. Arthur knew that the dangerous part would start now and that as soon as they sat in the limousine, no one could help them.
"That I have this connection is more luck than anything else," Arthur explained and took out his package of cigarette. There were just three more cigarettes left. A fact that annoyed him at first but as soon as he remembered when and with whom he smoked the last one his whole face lightened up to a smile. Just for a moment, Arthur's gaze wandered over to Camila. She recognized, of course, his smile and what he held in his paw, it didn't take long before she replied with an equally understanding smile. Without a doubt, he knew that they both thought of the last night and of their time together.
After the God Paw had contacted them, they were too psyched to go back to sleep. They informed the Gernach brothers and got the newest status of Bennetts whereabouts, but everything was unchanged, the lion was still in his hotel room.
Afterward, they laid long awake and talked, while they snuggled up under the same blanket. It didn't take long, and their closeness led to tender touches, which led to kisses and to an hour of passionate sex, but this time without any uninvited listeners. Each of the two felt that their new found partner was long without another mammal and hungry for intimacy with a loved one. In the end, they laid entangled, exhausted but more than happy in the arms of each other. Sleep came fast to both of them and with them pleasant dreams.
In the end, it was a slightly disturbed fox who had to wake them. Why? Because they couldn't hear their alarm clock, which was covered by a pillow from their activities last night. What followed was a breakfast that was even more awkward than the previous. The only one with a smile on her muzzle was Camila, who had as a mammal from South Mammelia a completely different attitude towards sex, and saw it just as something natural.
It was 9:50 AM and the three mammals still waited for their cab, which should be there at 10 AM and Arthur knew it would be there and no second later.
"I don't want to annoy you with any stupid question, Arthur, but...who is the God Paw?"
For a second, Arthur was confused that Jiro didn't know who that was, at least until he remembered that the fox was just a young police officer and no real member of the ICOU or a specially trained agent of any federal agency.
'Just a young and normal fox who wants to make his way in life, nothing more,' Arthur thought.
"The knowledge we have about the God Paw is minimal, but I 'll tell you what we know. First of all, the God Paw is an organization that provides specific services. Some of them legal and some of them not.
The crimes they commit are never investigated, and if someone tries to find something out about them, then you can be sure that there will be no results. To ensure this, they have a lot of connections and make use of them whenever they can. Second, they consist always of four leading mammals and no matter where you are, they always have the same codenames. They call themselves Ubik, Slan, Conrad, and Void. The last name seems always to be one of the leaders of the local branch…," Arthur explained, but Jiro turned with wide eyes to the grey wolf who stood to his right and asked terrified, "Local branch? No matter where I am? What...what do you mean with, Arthur?"
Arthur sighed before he began to speak, "I mean...that they are everywhere, and that is fact number three. As much as we know, The God Paw operates in every city that has at least one million inhabitants, and that's all over the world. Every time the same names and every time the same structure. I don't know of any exception. With this knowledge emerge several questions. Who sends them to the cities? Who commands them? Is there a larger organization behind them? Since when does this organization exist? So many questions and we simply don't know anything about them. Not the ZBI, not the ICOU or any other federal agency...at least as much as I know."
A minute passed in which no one dared to speak, but no matter how much Camila tried to hide her excitement, she just couldn't stop her enthusiasm to take over.
"Okay, Arthur. But how did you managed to get the God Paw owing you a favor?"
Arthur sighed and checked the street left and right, there was still no car in sight. He knew he had time and why should he make a secret where none existed, especially for her.
"At the time, shortly before I began my ZBI training, John and I were still Officers at the ZPD, and we were called to a scene were multiple mammals...well the best word to describe it would be to besiege a car and it's passengers. We could arrest two mammals who tried to break into the vehicle. Two others could escape...and from here on the story started to get a little bit strange. The car, which was at first sight just a black sedan, with multiple scratches and cracks on it turned out to be armored. No matter how long those thugs would have beaten the crap out of the car, they would've been safe. Anyhow, the doors open and two mammals get out. On the left side a shaking antelope, who had the worst day of his life. He wore a black driving uniform and to the right stood a very young looking Red Panda, he wasn't older than eighteen or nineteen, if I had to guess. I didn't know why, but that guy looked interesting for me. He smiled the whole time as if all that happened around him was just one big fun to him. You have to know that the scene we were called to and where their car stood was a construction site, one wherein the near future a bar and club should be built. And surprise, surprise. It turned out that the owner of the construction site and future Club was the young Red Panda himself or that was what he told us, " Arthur explained and looked again up and down the streets, but nothing, "He told us that his code name was Void and that he was the first member of the God Paw in Zootopia. At that time, we had no idea what that meant. He told us that this was no problem, but one day we would understand, and when that time came, each of us could make one demand to him. This here is mine. John still has one left."
"You...you sacrificed the one chance to demand whatever you want for this case, "Camila asked carefully with a slightly open mouth. She couldn't believe that someone would do something like this, because she knew how much worth it had to demand whatever you wanted from God Paw. Some mammals would kill for such an opportunity and Arthur was sure that others already had.
"This all sounds...dangerous," Jiro said and looked down at his feet, to avoid eye contact with his two partners. Arthur understood immediately, "Jiro, you don't have to follow us. We took you already deeper into this than I wanted."
Arthur had just ended his sentence when a black limousine turned around the corner, and the two agents and the police officer turned to their left. Two of them were again wearing suits but Jiro looked back more like a student, but he had made a decision, "No! I came so far. I will close this case together with you two."
Arthur heard the determination in Jiro's voice and couldn't hide a little smile, "Very well, here we go."
The end of the limousine stopped right in front of the three, and the door opened. Two mammals stepped out of the car. The first one was a white wolf in a black suit, black tie, and a white shirt. For Arthur, there was no doubt that he was dangerous. In his left paw, he held a katana. It had a black sheath, metallic paw guard and a black handle. As soon as he had left the car, the only thing the white wolf could concentrate on was Arthur. It was almost as if he met an old enemy, in which he had to keep an eye on. The white canid followed a very grumpy looking male rabbit, who wore a similar suit. His fur was grey, he had black tips at the end of his ears and purple, almost amethyst colored eyes, but his gaze made everyone clear that he clearly disliked the whole situation. He carried a wooden chest in his paws, and it seemed as if he had no weapon with him.
In a bored and monotone voice, and an accent that was clearly not from this town or even this part of the world, the brown buck began to speak, "Okay, Void wants to see you three...and only the devil knows why she wants to meet with two federal agents and a cop. I would've just ignored the call from a minor town like Zootopia, but hey... who am I to disagree...Anyhow, you can call me Ubik and the big guy beside me is Conrad. Do anything that he doesn't like, and you will lose an ear, oppose him and die. Got it," Ubik asked and looked bored from Arthur, over Jiro and finally to Camila before he continued, "Good. Conrad, do you have something to add?"
"Yes," Conrad replied in a rough voice and drew his sword instantly. Bright steel reflected the sun and blended Arthur for a moment in which Conrad needed just two quick steps, and the blade was at his throat. Surprised by the fast attack, Arthur tried his best to press himself against the wall behind him, but there wasn't enough space to escape this grim situation. The white wolf was close, and Arthur could clearly see his light yellow eyes that focused just on him and nobody else, "Listen to me, Dog! If you watch her too closely, make any indecent comment in front of her or by the three goddesses – touch her! You'll be dead, understood?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, buddy," Arthur replied and tried to think about anyway this all could make sense, but there was none. At least not for him.
Conrad just finished his sentence, when everyone could clearly hear the sound of a gun that was unlocked. Camila looked angered at Conrad, while she held her gun against the right side of his head. Arthur could hear how the white member of his own species growled but also began to grin about Camila's reaction.
"Okay, Pendejo. Put your sword back where it belongs, or this will end pretty ugly for you. And don't try to do anything funny, because it doesn't matter how fast you are, my index finger will be faster," Camila said in a sharp tone that Arthur had never heard of her, but he felt that she was ready to pull the trigger at any second for his life.
A loud groan came from the grey buck, who called himself Ubik, before he spoke, "Goddamnit, Conrad, it's not even lunchtime, and you're already in a standoff. Put your damned sword back where it belongs and move on, we have things to do and places to go."
But everything Ubik received was a deep growl from the white wolf, which impressed the buck not in the slightest, "You know...Sis, will not like what you did here. They are level five guests."
For the first time, Arthur saw something like doubt in the yellow eyes of the white wolf, but all he responded with was a short, "Maybe."
"Just put your sword back, and I will not tell her about this little incident," Ubik said, and Conrad replied after a short internal fight, "Fine."
"And our guests? Are they also okay with this procedure?"
Gazes were exchanged, and Arthur nodded, while he said, "Yes, I'm fine with that. Camila? What is with you?"
"I will take down my gun as soon as his sword vanishes into his scabbard," Camila explained with her eyes still fixed on the white wolf, who slowly took down his sword and put it back into the black sheath. Grinning, he spoke some last words to Arthur before he stepped back and besides Ubik, "Good thing you have your kitten with you...but keep in mind what I told you. Misbehave, and you'll pay the price."
Arthur didn't respond, he just watched how the white wolf walked to the passenger door of the limousine and watched the three from a distance.
'Whatever he meant or wanted from me, this guy was serious about this and ready to kill me. Good thing, Camila was here. Those guys are not like the Void I know from Zootopia. They're older and ruthless to the bone. They must've seen and experienced things, I don't even want to know,' Arthur thought and saw how Camila's worried face appeared in front of him, together with two black paws, which searched for deep cuts and blood on his face or throat. When she ultimately couldn't find any wounds, she let go and asked in a worried voice, "Everything okay, Arthur?"
"Yes...thank you, Camila. I didn't think that we would be attacked at first sight. My mistake... this will not happen again," Arthur answered and flashed her a smile, to which she immediately replied in the same way.
'How could I live all those years without her,' Arthur thought when he watched her smile. He stayed with her like this, while Ubik continued to talk.
"You have to excuse him, he's always a little bit uneasy when a new wolf is around Void. You have to understand that she's like a sister to us. So that was nothing personal," Ubik said and saw how the feline and canine looked at each other. With an open chest, he stepped towards the two and said, "Okay, you two lovebirds. If you don't mind, your weapons please,"
"What? You don't really believe that I would give you my gun after one of your friends attacked us without reason?"
"What I believe doesn't matter, darling. There are two options right now for you and your canine lover over here...and of course the shocked fox beside me. Put your weapons in this chest and enter the limousine or keep them and have a nice day. The choice is yours," the grey buck said in the same way as if he explained the quarterly numbers on flip charts during a company meeting.
Arthur knew what Ubik wanted, but even more, he knew what was at stake. So he laid his gun into the chest. Jiro, who took a quick but very intimidating look at the white wolf, followed the example of Arthur and put his smaller revolver beside Arthur's standard ZBI pistol. Both looked to Camila, who seemed to struggle to hand over her trusty weapon.
"Camila…," Arthur said carefully and looked into her brown eyes, "I know, Arthur...Dammit, just take it rabbit and bring us to your boss."
Camila sighed and crossed her arms after she had put her gun to the other two. Arthur had an idea of how she felt, but he knew that any mistake would lead to no information and just more problems. With his paws on the back of Camila and Jiro, he directed both of them to the open door of the limousine. All three entered with Ubik joining them in the pleasantly large passenger compartment of the car after he had a short conversation with Conrad.
"What's with your white friend," Arthur asked and sat beside Camila, giving her and Jiro a quick look and check on their state. Camila was back in her element and didn't show any signs of fear, but Jiro looked nervous around the limousine not knowing what would happen next.
"Conrad?," Ubik asked and laid the locked chest beside him on a seat, while he crossed his legs. One of his paws rested on his knees the other one on the chest, "I've sent him to the driver to avoid another outbreak of solicitude."
A mysterious smirk remained on Ubik's muzzle, but none of the three wanted to ask further questions to this topic. One sword to the throat of a team member was already enough for the day.
A first glance around the limousine and Arthur was sure that a lot of money was spent on this car. Two rows of seats that faced each other were the center of the vehicle. To Arthur's left was a mini bar with six glasses and to his surprise expensive bottles of alcohol, he had waited in Zootopia but not here.
"You and Conrad...you're not from here, right?"
The smirk on Ubik's face shrunk to a smile, "No, Mr. Lynch, we're not from this town or even this continent but don't hope that I would tell you from where we are...you wouldn't believe it anyway."
"Well, you could try," Arthur replied quipping and gave even Ubik a good chuckle, "Good, Mr. Lynch, very good. Maybe this will be a better morning than I thought."
"Where are we driving?"
"Right into the heart of the God's Paw here in Izumo – the red light district," Ubik answered without any further ado, and Arthur recognized how calm the buck was. The ancient times, where predator hunted prey, were long over but he had never witnessed a bunny which sat so calm together with three predators in one closed room. Determined continued Ubik, "The place we're heading to is also the reason why you're not allowed to carry any weapons with you. The red light district is a peaceful area with exotic bathhouses, gambling places and of course many opportunities to satisfy your worldly desires. No one is allowed to carry any kind of gun with you, just our guards are the exception."
"Not even the police," Camila asked interested.
"No, not even them. All the police of Izumo can do is to control the brothels and gambling halls from time to time, but I can assure you...They have never found any problems with any of our places. But enough from me, I think Void will explain everything else. And please, feel free to take a drink," Ubik smiled satisfied with himself and leaned back into the seat.
"I have one last question," Arthur said and pulled the two small microphones out of his suit pocket that somebody from the God Paw had hidden yesterday in his and Camila's clothes, "Where did you get something like this? Those microphones...I have never seen anything comparable in my entire career. Something like this shouldn't even be able to exist right now because of its complexity and compactness, but yet it does. But how?"
The smile on Ubik's face was just fake by now, and both agents knew that he wouldn't give them a proper answer, "Let's just say that we have our sources. And trust me, Mr. Lynch, when I say this, it's better when you just forget about those things."
Arthur knew that the communication device, he and the Gernach brothers had received from Commissioner Sanada were highly advanced technology and maybe some years ahead of today's market but even this was nothing compared with these small bugging devices. They are just slightly bigger than coins, and Arthur couldn't understand how something like this could be possible. For now, he pushed the thought into the back of his mind and watched how the tall buildings, shops, and restaurants were passing by the window. He felt how Camila laid her left paw on his right thigh. Arthur knew it didn't matter how tough or experienced you were as an agent, those moments where you didn't know what would happen or how the day would end, made you wish for someone at your side and it was funny that precisely in this case somebody was here who watched your back even more than usual. A quick and unnoticed squeeze of her paw, that was what Arthur allowed himself before he concentrated back on the streets outside.
The drive from here on was quiet. They passed the inner city and headed directly towards the east. In the far distance and before the ocean began, massive cranes rose above the line of buildings and marked the docks of Izumo with its large cargo ships which transported goods all over the world.
After twenty minutes of their journey, it abruptly ended in front of a massive red wooden gateway like the one in the police headquarter, which led to the office of Commissioner Yukimura Sanada, but in this case, the gate led to the red light district. Ubik opened the door of the car and walked directly towards the entrance. Some meters behind them, Arthur noticed the white wolf who was following them like a shadow.
In the middle of the door, Ubik turned around with full spread arms and said, grinning, "Welcome to Kabukicho, red light district of Izumo and oldest part of this city. As you can see, even cars are forbidden in this part of the town, which is also the reason why we have to walk the rest of the way."
"I...I was never in such a place...I...I mean in private," Jiro said, who walked between Camila and Arthur. With a laugh in his voice, Arthur replied, "Don't worry, I keep an eye out for you."
There was not one building made of stone, concrete or glass in this district. Everything here was built in the old tradition of the eastern region of this continent. No more than three floors, everything made out of wood and the floor of the houses would surely be covered with the Tatami mats, which Arthur already knew from Jiro's home. The streets were smaller and not even made for cars, trams or even trains, but they were clean. Everything here felt like a trip back in time. Arthur saw instantly the reason why this part of town deserved the name red light district. On every house, on every shop, gambling hall, brothel or just to illuminate the path hung red paper lanterns and that everywhere and without exception. Arthur could already imagine the soft red light in which the district would be drenched when at night the lamps would be lit.
The number of female mammals from a young age up to the point where they almost couldn't walk was terrifying, but what was even worse was the vast variety of species. Vixen in colors ranging from red to black over different types of white or creme, female wolves from colorful mixtures to some who had the same appearance as the Sanada family. But those weren't all, female Red Pandas, deers, bunnies, serows, hares and much more. All of them were clothed in colorful Kimonos, fitting to their shape and fur color, living their everyday lives in the streets of the red light district.
But what Arthur confused the most wasn't the diversity of mammals around him or the peaceful atmosphere which reigned in every street through which they walked, it was the fact that most of the females were smiling. And most of the time it felt genuine. It dazzled him to the degree that he even couldn't think straight.
Back in Zootopia Arthur had seen the female mammals which were freed from a life of pain and suffering, when the ZPD had taken down illegal brothels. The females they saved were maybe free but mentally and physically broken. And this was no comparison to Izumo. A lot of the females Arthur saw seemed almost happy about their situation, and what was also strange, no one feared the guards and those ones were in such a situation the ones, who took from the females whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted and without asking, but here it wasn't the case. Here, the guards patrolled in a suit and with a sword at paw but mostly didn't even look at the females around them.
'What's going on here? For the first time, I'm not sure if something is right or wrong...but I know something here is different,' Arthur thought. His gaze went for a moment over to Camila, and could already imagine how she felt. The feline was raging internally, her paws were clenched to fists, and her eyes wandered from mammal to mammal. She could just see the terrible fate those mammals had and how injust everything was.
All three observed their surroundings, while roughly walking two meters behind Ubik. Whenever the grey buck met females he knew, he greeted them and sometimes had even a little conversation as if he met some old friends. Arthur, of course, didn't understand a word, but it seemed that the conversation was more small talk than anything else. Whenever the discussion ended, the females bowed thankfully and wished the whole group a beautiful day or that was what Arthur assumed they did.
After a mile of walking, they reached finally their aim, the tallest building in the whole district a massive and colorful designed Pagoda, which was directly in front of them and was surrounded by ornamental ponds. Whoever lived here or had created this place knew how to represent the beauty of the eastern architecture. The main building could only be entered through one of four bridges which led over the ponds in which lived massive amounts of Koi's and which remembered Arthur of the entrance hall of the Police Headquarter.
As soon as they entered the inside of the palace which had at least eight floors, maybe even more, three vixens in Kimonos walked over to Ubik. They bowed and received some orders from him. Again Arthur's understanding of the language was an obvious problem, but he understood one word for sure, and that was Void. Ubik ended and the three vixens, one red, one white and one in a rare grey tone, that Arthur had never seen before, bowed and hurried into different directions. All of them wore a brown Kimono that had just a sign on the back, which Arthur recognized for the first time. It was a semicircle over a straight line, but both lines were separated by a full point. By then and calm as a shadow, Conrad had joined them again but was surprisingly quiet in comparison to his last outbreak in front of Jiro's house.
Curious about this symbol, Arthur leaned down to the fox and whispered to him, "Hey, Jiro?"
"Yes, Arthur?"
"The symbol on the back of the vixen...what does it mean?"
"Ehmm...I don't know. It's no symbol that is used in my language or has any meaning."
Disappointed, Arthur exhaled profoundly and focused his gaze back at the grey buck with his purple eyes. It was this moment that he recognized that he had never seen before such a unique eye color on a mammal, 'Purple? Never seen before. A dark blue, yeah, that was John's eye color and damned rare...but purple? Well, who knows, not that I would solve this puzzle by myself.'
"We'll go to the conference chamber of the God Paw. Void will join us soon," Ubik said and led them over stairs to the second floor and into a spacious room with four tables and of course, were all four of them designed to sit on the floor.
'They simply love tradition in this town, 'Arthur thought when he entered the conference room, which held a strong resemblance to the one of Commissioner Sanada. He, Camila and Jiro, sat at the table in the near the entrance. The table to their left was for Ubik and the one to their right for Conrad, who laid his two swords in front of him on the table. While they waited, entered two of the three vixens with tea the conference room and stood one cup for every mammal on the table. They placed two cups on the empty table and left the room through the same sliding door.
It didn't take long, and two voices could be heard through the thin wooden walls, walking towards a door behind the empty table. One was rough but still feminine, the mammal who belonged to the voice was clearly in charge of the conversation.
"Ban Tamashi from the district, and if we see him here ever again, then his beloved Tanaka family will lose the right to their gambling hall. Oh! And if he dares to re-challenge me in any kind of way, then I will come for his head and that personally!"
A delicate voice that sounded like silk felt on the body replied to the first, "Yes, your highness."
'Highness? I never heard someone address somebody else with this term...okay, John calls Marie sometimes his highness but that he always says in a mocking tone. But this here was different, the delicate voice meant what she had said.
"Good...How is Eto doing," The first voice became much warmer when she asked this question. Neither Ubik nor Conrad reacted to the talk on the floor and just for a second Arthur was tempted to ask them if he heard right.
"Better, your Highness. She cries less every day and seems to accept Chizue as her new mother."
"Good, " The voice stopped, and Arthur recognized that they stood now in front of the wooden sliding door, "Are they here? Yes!... Good, Open the door."
The doors opened, and two mammals entered the room. Both wore pure white Kimonos with golden sceneries embroidered on the expensive clothing. Just the Obi, the wide belt made of fabric was mainly made of gold, and only smaller parts of white could be seen in it. Arthur had a feeling that the gold that was used for these clothes were real and not just some special yawn.
The first mammal was a black vixen in her mid-twenties, with amber colored eyes which seemed almost to glow in contrast to her dark fur. With both of her paws, she held carefully a katana pressed to her body, that was obviously too big for her to use it. The sword carried like a newborn had a white sheath and handle, just the paw guard and some elements on the sheath, like the tip, were made out of gold. Her gaze was mostly on the floor, but from time to time, she peeked up to check on the mammals in the room.
But there was no mistake, who was the dominant presence in the room, as soon as her gaze had wandered for the first time from one mammal to the next. It was the female wolf with gold-like fur and steel grey eyes which seemed to pierce through every mammal she was looking at. On the right side of her muzzle, she had a traditional smoking pipe, from where small clouds of smoke emerged. She greeted the company of Agents and laid the pipe on the table. While the black vixen sat down in the traditional sitting position, her arms tight around the sword. However, the female wolf made herself comfortable and leaned with her back against the vixen, who didn't move an inch and who also didn't seem to bother about it.
"Ahh, the ICOU, our Knights in shining armor, the savior of the damned and as we know from last night they are also a bunch of enduring lovers. Welcome to my modest home. You can call me Void, and this here is my humble swordbearer and maiden, Slan. I guess you already get acquainted with Ubik and Conrad," Void said and ended with a sarcastic smirk. Arthur didn't react to the insult, but he could hear a slight growl from Camila. They both hated to be bugged, and even her open mind about sex couldn't stop Camila from hating the mammal who listened to their first time together. Arthur grabbed for Camila's paw under the table and gave it a short squeeze before he parted again. For Arthur became this small gesture almost like a little tradition between the two of them, to reassure that there was nothing to fear as long as they were together in this situation. The feline relaxed quickly from his touch, but Arthur knew that even his touch could help just temporarily to keep her temper down.
"We're here…," Arthur began but was harshly interrupted by Void, who laid her tobacco pipe down and took a sip from her tea, "Yes, Mr. Lynch. I know why you're here, the whole underworld of Izumo knows why you're here. You need a connection. A way to talk to the shadows. The pigeons have been chirping this from the rooftops the last two days. But the fascinating question is what you can give me for my services, Mr. Lynch? Maybe the one, who's behind all of these?"
"You want...Bennett," Arthur asked confused but got the immediate response, "Bennett? What in the name of the three goddesses should I do with a narcissistic ICOU traitor? No, I want a fox, and I guess you know which one I mean."
"Why do you want Kawasemi? After everything we know by now he's nothing but a henchman or partner in crime, " Arthur asked back and saw how a smile bloomed on Void's face, "Oh, because I always wanted to talk to a ghost."
"I...I don't understand, " Arthur said and looked to Camila and Jiro, who both just shrugged. Void waited before she answered. She folded her paws, closed her eyes and began slowly to speak, "Does anyone of you know anything about an organization with the name 'The Last Order'? Mr. Lynch or Ms. Sanchez? No? Mr. Nakamura, maybe?"
Arthur and his two companions shook their heads, but Void seemed to enjoy this kind of conversation to a degree he didn't like. She supported her head with her left paw and looked smiling from one guest to the next.
"Of course, you don't know anything about them. Barely anyone knows the God Paw and The Last Order is even more mysterious and harder to find. The fox you're searching for was once an agent of The Last Order. Trained all his life to infiltrate, disguise himself, take on different identities and of course to kill," Void said and took a sip from her tea, smiling at them like an innocent little child.
"What do you want to tell me with this information," Arthur asked. He could feel how he became slowly angry about her little game, in which he didn't want to be a part.
"What I want to tell you is that Kawasemi could be anyone. The postman, some fox on the street or maybe even your young police officer, who sits right beside you," Void said and began to laugh when she saw that Jiro, who just wanted to take a sip from his tea, swallowed severely and began to cough from the sudden accusation. Camila did her best to help him and patted his back until the coughing was gone.
"Better, "Camila asked worried and received a nod and a forced smile from the fox who was still in pain.
"Better, "Jiro croaked, his voice completely messed up from the coughing. Exhausted, he sat there at the table and didn't dare to take another one sip from the tea or to move at all. For once he began to clean his glasses, which became quite messy.
"Jiro? You're kidding, right," Arthur asked Void in a voice that displayed pure disbelieve for what she had just said.
"That was a joke. Even Kawasemi wouldn't be so bold to infiltrate the investigation right at the core, but I guess he's always close. The bomb was the best example for this," Void replied.
"What else can you tell me about him?"
"I can tell you, according to my information which should be the same The Last Order possess, that he should've died in the Zooviet Counter-Revolution, some years ago. To my information was the Last Order even behind the whole downfall of the complete Zooviet Union," the female wolf said with a smirk on her muzzle and waited patiently for Arthur's reaction.
"A country with two hundred million mammals, consisting of a hundred of cities, was destroyed by a single organization? That's ridiculous!"
"Maybe it is, and all I do is lying to you...but the fact remains that Kawasemi somehow survived and is now here, in this city. A ghost. Dead and forgotten...at least by most."
"That's what you meant with talking to a ghost," Arthur replied and tried to think about all the new facts he just got.
'Secret organizations? Agent? A Ghost? What the hell is going on here? As if the fight between Yakuza and police in this town wasn't bad enough. Now this story includes also secret organizations that no one knows and events in which multiple millions of mammals died,' Arthur thought and concentrated back at Void, who began to prepare her pipe. The tobacco she got from Slan, the black vixen, who held a small metal box in her paws which was filled with the brown herb.
"Now, Mr. Lynch. Let's get down to business. How can I help you...I mean exactly," Void asked and stuffed tobacco into the end of her metal pipe. As soon as she was finished with her task, Slan held a burning lighter up to her. Void tilted her body to the left to enlighten her pipe.
"We want that you arrange a meeting with the head of the Tsukiyama family, the ones who hired Kawasemi to eliminate the Yoshimura family. We need to find new information about the fox and maybe even Bennett. I...No, we think they could help us," Arthur exclaimed slightly nervous.
"Ohh, do you," Void asked smiling and exhaled a fine cloud of smoke, "But, what do I get to arrange this meeting?"
Dazzled, Arthur needed a moment to reply, "I...I thought that was part of the request Void owed to me?"
"Wrong, Mr. Lynch. The mammal who claims the name Void in Zootopia for himself kept his promise by calling me. My service whoever isn't for free...So, what can you offer? Money? Services? I guess none of this...but you already know what I want," Void said and observed Arthur with a stern face.
Arthur's mind was blank. Yes, he knew what she wanted but that was something that was out of the question, so what could he offer someone who ruled over a complete part of a town with so many underlings, guards, and connections? What could somebody who is in terms of criminal possibilities well equipped?
"Maybe...Connections to the ZPD and ZBI?"
"Useless...What should I do with those? If I need connections, I order the God Paw in Zootopia. What works in one direction, also works in the other one. Try again, please, Mr. Lynch," Void said and began to smile again.
"Money. We could try to acquire money through different…, " Arthur began but was interrupted by Void, "Ubik? Tell me, do we need money?"
"No, our books are full, and the money laundering department has more than enough work for the whole next year, Sis," Ubik said and folded his paws.
"Weapons. We could surely agree on..." Arthur desperately began anew but was again interrupted, "Conrad, how is the current situation of our weaponry?"
"Swords for the guards, as well as projectile weapons and armors are more than enough available. No need for more, dear sister," Conrad replied and grinned towards Arthur, who had no idea what he should offer a mob leader who could have everything.
'They both called her sister, and they're clearly not related...What in the name of the three goddesses is going on here,' Arthur asked himself and thought on, ' She wants him, she wants Kawasemi and that someone is catching him for her. She needs me as much as I need her.'
"We...we can't give you Kawasemi. We need to take him into custody...we need to make the right thing," Arthur explained but received nothing but scorning laughter from Void, who was more than amused about this answer. But after the laughter was gone, he could clearly hear the growl from Camila, who seemed to be ready to shout back.
"Oh, I forgot. You, the ICOU, are always doing the right thing. The good guys, who help other towns, which gives you also the right to judge every living mammal. Because you know who the good guys are and who the bad. For you, the world is perfectly structured in black and white, with no need to think a second time. You know nothing about the world, and if you knew what was really going on, you wouldn't be part of this organization of good guys," Void ended her rant about the ICOU and inhaled deeply from her pipe. Camila had finally enough from the accusation she received. Both of her paws slammed on the table and directed all eyes in the room to her, while she stared directly at Void.
"At least we are no pimps or mammal trafficker, who get rich from the sorrow and suffering of female mammals! At least we try to make this world a better place and don't just try to control it, but what should somebody like you know about the suffering of others? I saw children out there, living together with their mothers in circumstances which are not acceptable, but I guess that's also not relevant for someone like you," Camila shouted in pure anger.
'That's it we're done,' Arthur thought and laid a paw on her shoulder. The first thing he recognized was the incredible tension in her muscles, which was so high that she slightly trembled. The other thing, Arthur saw or better heard was the calm in the room. The smile, which was until now on Void's muzzle had vanished. Ubik and Conrad looked both on the table in front of them but remained calm. When no one replied, the time was ready for Void's voice, which was slowly rising, until she sounded like a predator, lurking in the dark, just to catch her prey, whenever the time was right.
Void took the sword out of the paws of the black vixen and carried it in her left, her fingers holding the scabbard tight.
"You have no idea what I've been through, but that's what I await from an Agent of the ICOU. Ignorance, a biased mind and no idea how this world works. Let me tell you a story about the red light district and who the female mammals are, which have to live here," Void explained and took one last sip from her tea before she went on. Her face was hard as stone and as it seemed where the memories she tried to recall no pleasant ones, "Even somebody like you, Ms. Sanchez, should know by now that this town is old, some would even say too old for its own good and so are its laws."
Camila said nothing, she just listened to the wolf in the shining white Kimono when Void stepped over her table and strolled towards the table one of Camila, Arthur, and Jiro. In front of them, she sat down in the ideal sitting position of the east. The Katana still in her left paw.
"One law, which this and other towns of the east have is in particular terrible...an old law, of course. It allows husbands and leader of families who have high debts and don't know what they should do...to sell their wife and children to the lord of the red light district or the Yakuza, who then work off the debt of the families. And yes, this is legal since three-hundred fifty years and no one wants to change something. Can you imagine what a female mammal or child is worth here in Izumo, Ms. Sanchez? With such a law?"
"Nothing," Camila answered short and Arthur felt how intimidating Void could be. From this close, he could finally estimate her age. She wasn't much older then he was maybe in her late thirties or early forties. But one thing was sure, she was trained, healthy and seemed as if she had this sword, not just for decorating purposes.
"Nothing...right. If you're born in the wrong family at the wrong time in this town, you're fucked... literally. Eighty-five percent of the females you saw in the streets are brought to us by their own families. Most of the rest have no family and just try to survive."
"I...I didn't know…," Camila began apologetically to explain herself but was harshly interrupted by Void, "Shut up when I try to explain something, do you get me?"
A short nod came from all three guests before Void continued to talk, "Twenty years ago, I came to this town as a new member of the God Paw. I was pregnant and ignorant, but life was good to me when I came here with my husband. When I first stepped into the red light district of Izumo, it felt like I stepped into the second circle of hell. Female mammals were raped in the corner and side streets as if they were no mammals at all. They were broken, violated, and no one cared for them...except for me."
Void inhaled deeply, her grey eyes directly looking into the ones of Camila.
"The God's Paw at this time in Izumo was a useless bunch of idiots, who failed at every part of their job. I should just become the new Slan of this town, but I couldn't. A lot of mammals were suffering at that time, in this district and so I did what I thought was the right thing to do. I killed the member of the local God Paw with this sword and replaced all positions with mammals I trust," Void said, and for the first time, she looked exhausted, "Was it just what I did? No, certainly not. Did I break the rules? Yes, mine, yours and I guess a lot more. Did I paid for my deeds," Camila asked and turned for a short moment her head away, but Arthur saw that she tried to hold tears back, "Yes! Yes, I paid with the highest price there was. But was it the right thing to do? Definitely. Don't get me wrong, if you want you can see in me the monster or the killer, I don't care. And even when those members of the God Paw had never done anything wrong in their lives, they've also done nothing for the mammals in the red light district. They stood by and watched and lived a good life with the suffering females in the streets and I changed it."
"If you could do all of this, why don't you changed the law?"
"Even for me, there are rules I must bow my head to. I'm just a member of the God Paw, no goddess. Besides, why don't you ask your drug lords in Catacas if they stop selling drugs, or weapons or mammals...But of course, you know that wouldn't work. You're no idiot. It's never easy to change things but sometimes it worth it," Void said to Camila as if by now two old friends would talk to each other.
"What did you do to help them," Camila asked, by now she sounded more impressed than angered about the female wolf.
"I banned guns and other weapons in this part of town and created my own army to protect those who don't get any protection. I gave them back a part of their safety and life, but what was even more important for them...I gave them back their dignity."
A minute of silence passed before Void turned again to all three members of Operation Foxcatcher and said, "Enough of that, take this story and do with it whatever you want. Learn from it, forget it...But now back to what I want, "Void made another break and Arthur began to realize, that he had no idea what he should offer her. All the things he mentioned before were meaningless for her.
"Let's stop this teasing of mine...I'll help you three and organize a meeting with the head of the Tsukiyama family. Hopefully as soon as possible. But in return, I want that you verify if Kawasemi is one of the former agents who allegedly died during the turmoil of the Zooviet Counterrevolution. Ask him if he was a member of the Last Order and then report to me," Void explained and waited for a reply from one of the three. It was Arthur who gave her finally an answer.
"If we find him and have the chance to talk to him, do you also want to know why he's doing all of this," Arthur asked and saw how a smile returned to Void's face. When he was looking at her while he waited for a response, Arthur had to admit that she was a beautiful female wolf with her bright and almost golden fur. For a short moment, Arthur even asked himself if she had any relations to the Sanada family, but he couldn't believe that there was any, 'No. They would never accept a crime lord in their family. I'm pretty sure of it.'
"No need for that. I know why Kawasemi is doing what he's doing, but if you talk to him, you could thank him for his help in the local ICOU branch."
"His help? You mean the three agents he killed?"
"The 'agents' or how you call them, were all members of different Yakuza families. They worked together to stay ahead of the game. So that they knew when the ICOU would take action against them. It was a good idea, but they couldn't know that a ghost from the past would come to end their lives."
"They were...Yakuza?"
Arthur turned to Camila, who thought about this new information. Suspecting and guessing, she answered, "They have never taken part in a mission, and I can't remember that I ever meet one of them so it could be possible. I don't say it's true and we have to check this but...it's in the realm of possibility."
"Believe me, Ms. Sanchez, it's true. When we, the God Paw, are sure about one thing, then about the information we share...Anyhow, this was a little free information I gave you. Ubik, would you please escort Ms. Sanchez and Mr. Nakamura to Ichiraku's restaurant? Their meals are on us... I want to have a little private talk with Mr. Lynch," Void said. Her eyes were completely fixed on Arthur. She didn't even look away when Camila raised her voice, "No! I'll stay with him...no matter what!"
"I'm sure that you're crazy in love with this wolf, but I can assure you that I'll not steal him from you. All I want is to talk...that's it," Void replied smiling.
"But!..., " Camila tried to interfere, but this time it was Arthur who turned to her. Almost like a reflex Arthur's paw searched hers and gave it a squeeze, "Camila, don't worry. I'll be fine. I have a quick talk with her and follow you and Jiro into that restaurant. Nobody gets hurt, okay."
Arthur tried to put on his best smile and convince her, but in the end, it didn't work out. Camila looked still worried at him, almost with wet eyes and when she raised her voice again, he knew what he had to do.
"Arthur, I…," Should be all, that she was able to say. Camila's eyes went wide when his mouth covered hers, and his right paw caressed her face carefully. For this short moment, they were alone in the room. Unfortunately, this passionate kiss ended after almost a minute with a dazzled and slightly embarrassed Camila, who realized what just happened. Forehead against the forehead and with closed eyes, they stayed for a moment like this.
"Don't worry. Just a quick talk and I'll follow you... You can't get rid of me that fast," Arthur said, and both chuckled for a moment about his joke. After a nod and a smile, Camila stood up and followed Ubik and Jiro, who waited already for her outside on the floor.
When the wooden doors closed escaped a deep, exhale from Void, and she began again to prepare her tobacco pipe. This time in a fast way, almost as if she needed the nicotine. Done with her task, Void sat on Arthur's table.
"Why do you have to make everything so much more complicated, Arthur?"
"What do you mean?"
"Fire, please," Void said, and Arthur needed a moment to understand what she wanted but held out the ignited lighter after some seconds. The female wolf leaned down to him and took a deep breath of smoke and nicotine.
Void crossed her legs, while she exhaled deeply. Her tail which had a white tip moved slowly from one side to the other, "For example, why do you continue the investigation under Sanada's command? Why couldn't you just stop and fly back to your little Zootopia?"
"You know that I couldn't. Kawasemi is still out there, and he killed Agent Duncan."
"An agent you knew for just some hours...but whom do I tell something like this, mmh? A wolf who fell in love with a fellow agent from another species in only two days. Anyhow...when you're still searching for Kawasemi, why are the Gernach brothers monitoring Bennett? And don't try to fool me," Void said and inhaled another time the grey smoke, while she looked at Arthur and waited for an explanation.
"We assume...that both are working together. Kawasemi and Bennett. That's why the Gernach brothers monitor him, while we try to follow Kawasemi's track into the underworld of Izumo. Our theory is that Bennett hired Kawasemi to steal the encrypted personal information of every Agent to sell them on the black market. How it seems he even wants to kill those agents who once tried to oppose him and wanted to force him to end his career in the ICOU. After he failed in a mission as a leader," Arthur explained and hoped to get a response from her, but Void just shook her head and stared at an old painting at the wall.
"Let me guess the mammals which once were against Bennett are Agent Duncan, the Gernach brothers, and Agent Sanchez. He ordered them to their own death...those poor fools," Void said while she turned her eyes towards Arthur. A slow nod was all she got back, and so she asked the last question she had on her mind, "Did you tell her about this, Mr. Lynch?"
There was no reaction from the grey wolf.
"Mr. Lynch! Did you tell her," Void shouted half-loud at him and just then came his response, "No, I didn't tell her, I...I simply couldn't do it."
The slap came too fast, and Arthur saw none of this coming. Slightly dazzled from the force she used, he fell back and could only support himself with his arms. He could feel the pain and heat coming from the left side of his face.
"Do you know why this world is such a messed up place, Arthur?"
Laying just supported by his elbow on his back, Arthur replied, "I have no idea."
"It's because good things not just happen. We have to work hard for them or even sacrifice something important to us to make them come true. And sometimes, this sacrifice is so big that you make the world a better place, but in the process, you destroy your own...," Void said and looked with a sad gaze at her sword, "...At least that's what the world taught me."
"So...What do you suggest?"
"Tell her, that's the least you can do and try your best to protect her. But if that doesn't work out in the end, don't forget one important thing..." Void said to the wolf who stood up and walked without looking back to the wooden door. His paw was already on the wooden frame, but Arthur stopped and waited for Void's words," And what would that be?"
"Not every mammal on this world is meant to be happy."
Arthur left the room without saying another word. He could just hear Void shouting.
"Stay at Ichiraku's. I'll send one of my mammals to inform you about the meeting."
It wasn't even afternoon, but Arthur was feeling already dead tired, and he wanted nothing more than to lay down with Camila and sleep. No snuggling or kissing, just her by his side and a whole week of sleep.