Chapter 56: Cornered & Caught

Le Rouge is caught, but he gives Jake a warning.

"Your days are numbered Runnel!" the red panda growled as he blocked one of the raccoon's punches. The orangish-red and white ringtailed mammal and the black and gray ringtailed mammal seemed to appear almost dancing in the dark on top of the sagging old tenant building's rooftop as they struck and parried each other's blows. They were both as equally well trained in the art of Red Panda style martial arts fighting as the other. "You have enemies who are hunting you even today, they are just waiting for orders to strike and when they do, you will wish that you were dead!"

"You mean those who were working with Scarface Scaresse and who tried to frame me, Nick, and Al Catpone?" Jake huffed out as he twisted away from Le Rouge just before the red panda's kick could hit him. "They failed to get those charges to stick and as for our intended demise in prison, they underestimated the many friends I have which would come to my aid."

"I didn't think you had the balls to kill Scarface?" Le Rouge panted out as he struck yet again, but his swing was deflected this time by the raccoon's arm.

"I didn't kill him, he fell," Jake replied in a not too convincing tone, causing the red panda to give a thin smile. He knew that the raccoon felt remorse over the large one-eyed tiger's death and that was Jake Runnel's one great weakness…he cared about others.

"Scarface was but a tool for those who are after you!" the red panda snapped as he twisted and kicked out, this time his foot paw caught the raccoon on his chest and knocked him backward.

It had been a long chase from one rooftop to another and even though a tree or two. Below the two ringtailed combatants, a posse of coyotes and wolves chased after them, hunting more with their noses than their eyes. Finally cornered, the red panda turned to face the pursuing raccoon. Le Rouge was cornered and now it came down to who was the better fighter, which was something both knew how to do but had spent a lifetime trying to avoid.

Jake caught Le Rouge's next kick with both of his paws and shoved the now unbalanced red panda backward, "Who are you working for!" he growled as he twisted and kicked out with his own right foot paw, catching the thief across the tip of his muzzle.

Le Rouge grunted as he wiped the blood from his nose, panting on the ground while he looked up at the raccoon who loomed over him. The sounds of approaching police sirens filled the air, along with the whirling blades of a helicopter. Then a bright light from above illuminated the two combatants and the rooftop around them. "I said, who are you working for!" Jake snarled as he grabbed the seemingly defeated red panda's black sweatshirt.

"What are you going to do now Runnel? There are now too many witnesses for you to accidentally cause me to fall from this rooftop like Scaresse did or are you going to leave me to drown in some icy waters like you did that crazed priest?" Le Rouge sarcastically laughed. His words caused Jake to hesitate, giving the thief an opening which he took. The red panda's upward blow caught the raccoon on his chin and sent him staggering backward. "You're too soft!" the thief growled. "You feel too much remorse for your actions to ever be one of us!"

Jake tried to shake off the effects of the blow, but before he could strike back, a reddish-orange paw firmly gripped his arm and pulled him away even as a gray and blue blur raced past them. The raccoon turned in confusion to face his best friend Nick. "We've got him, Jake," the fox said. "Le Rouge isn't getting away this time." Behind the fox stood Fangmeyer and Wolford, but neither one of the police officers were moving forward to arrest the thief and so Jake turned back to see what was going on behind him. Just then he heard the red panda give a grunt and then a curse.

Judy had caught the thief in the chest with her first kick and twirled yet again to land another powerful blow with her other foot paw across his muzzle, causing Le Rouge to stumble and fall shakenly onto the broken tar rooftop. Even before the red panda could recover, she was on top of his back while she pulled his paws behind him as she cuffed him. Then just as quick, she pulled out a long black plastic zip tie and bound the thief's legs tightly together.

"Well that puts an end to his little crime spree," Nick whispered to Jake. "Did he tell you who he was working for?"

"No, but he warned me that someone is out to get me," Jake softly panted. "He knows something."

"You will wish you were dead!" Le Rouge softly chuckled as Fangmeyer reached down and lifted him from the ground. "Dead raccoon! You will wish you were dead!"

"You have the right to remain silent..." the tiger began to tell the thief his rights as he hauled the defeated red panda towards the rooftop doorway.

Jake sat down on the loose gravel and rubbed his chin. Nick took a seat next to him, even as the helicopter's light was turned off and the semidarkness of the city night returned. "What the hell was he talking about?" the fox asked. "Does this have to do with whoever tried to set us up?"

"I don't know, Nick?" Jake wearily mumbled. "I just don't know."

"Well if anyone can get him to talk, it's Bogo!" Judy added with confidence as she joined them.

"You know I chased Le Rouge halfway across Happy Town and fought with him for what seemed like hours," the raccoon sarcastically said with a smile as he looked up at the rabbit, who was standing before him. "Then you came and it took you only two kicks to drop him!"

"You must have already worn him down?" Judy answered with a shrug of her shoulders as she took a seat next to the raccoon and took his paw in hers.

"Carrots was always a better fighter than both you and I combined," Nick softly snickered as he threw his arm over Jake's shoulder. "You already know that, after all she took you down in only two moves that time you and she boxed at the station."

"Shut up fox!" Jake chuckled as he softly elbowed Nick.

The three friends just rested in the darkness as they looked up at the peaceful stars over their heads, not knowing of the profound changes, both good and bad, which the new year would bring for the raccoon and those he loved. As for Le Rouge, he wouldn't talk even when he was found guilty and went back to prison.

Jake fought with the gangster "Scarface" Scaresse in Chapter 29 of Zootopia: A Raccoon's Redemption and the sinister tiger fell to his death during the battle. Documents were left with the dead body of Al Catpone's secretary which falsely implicated Jake and Nick, along with Catpone, of crimes they did not commit. While in detention, the two friends were suddenly transferred in the dead of the night to the Zootopia Maximum Security Penitentiary and left bound in the cafeteria where an old enemy of Jake's named Chopper and his warthog biker gang were waiting. It was the intervention of many of Jake's incarcerated friends who saved them that night.