As the rising sun burned off the morning mist, the approaching island became clearer and clearer as Judy strained her eyes from the bow of the ship. If she squinted hard enough she could make out a port and a bits and pieces of a city skyline beyond that.

"What are you looking for?" Wolfard asked as he walked onto the deck from the berthing below, still stretching.

"I don't know...this is just the farthest I've ever been from home. Leaving Bunnyburrow for Zootopia felt like world travel to me and now...here I am." She shrugged.

Wolfard chuckled, shaking his head.

"Well everyone should take a tropical vacation someday, right?"

Judy snorted a laugh and agreed. What she was looking at was Pawnama City, the largest, and really the only city in Pawnama. Outside of this very northern part of the country, most of the island was covered in a dense, untamed jungle with towns and villages spread far and few between. While she knew from personal experience how dangerous the urban jungle could be, the real deal would present a whole new set of challenges. Hopefully they could solve this case without having to delve too deep into that.

Before long, the rest of the crew woke up and wandered above deck, crowding the front bow to catch a glimpse of the approaching port. The water was crowded with ships of all sizes, everything from dinghies to a small cargo barge. The deck rumbled as the engine powered down and the boat coasted to a stop at dock. The captain came around from his cabin and gruffly announced that this was their stop, before slamming the door shut again. The crew grabbed all their packs and lugged them down the dock to stand slightly bewildered on the pier.

The shabby wooden pier was crowded with mammals and filled with a variety of sights and smells. There were porters calling for others to make way as they wheeled pallets towards waiting ships, street vendors and fish mongers calling out prices for their wares and even a few tourists, looking just as lost as them. Suddenly an energetic goat bounded up to them and got their attention.

"Buenos dias, mis amigos, my friends! You're tourists, yes? Where do you need to go? I'll take you in my van, anywhere in the city you need to go, 500 pesos, best price in the port!"

"Do you know where the Grand Park Hotel is?" Skye asked, remembering the hotel Stagg had listed in his report. Apparently, this was the hotel they were least likely to have their room looted in.

"Si, Claro, I know it. Come on, you pay now, then we go."

Skye obliged, rooting around in her bag to pull out the bills. As it happened, the stacks of bills in the case Stagg had prepared added up to nearly 100,000 pesos and 50,000 Zootopian bucks, so money clearly wouldn't be an issue. The goat snagged the money before jogging off, leading the way to a beat up, but serviceable looking van with long, tinted windows along the side. There was barely enough cargo space in the back, especially with their gear bag, which Nick explained was hiking equipment to the dubious looking driver.

As soon as they were loaded up, the van took off, jostling down a poorly paved road towards the city. On either side, the road was bordered by a thick tropical jungle. All the while, their driver was rattling off all the sights to see in the city, giving no time for a bemused looking Tice in the shotgun seat to get a word in.

Suddenly the driver clammed up, before muttering something underneath his breath. He turned over his shoulder and began to speak louder to the group as a whole.

"Ah, my friends, we're going to hit a...traffic stop up ahead. No worries, but please, no phones, no pictures."

Judy leaned forward, confused when she saw about a quarter mile ahead of them, there was some kind of make shift road block. A pick-up truck was pulled halfway across the road and there was a group of mammals, milling around it. As they got closer, she sucked in a breath when she realized there was a machinegun on a stand in the bed of the truck, with a bored looking mammal leaning against it. Likewise, the mammals loitering around all wore bulletproof vests and rifles lazily slung across their chests. As the van crept closer, a tiger stepped out front and raised a paw. The goat slowed the van to a stop in front of him, and lowered his window as the tiger walked to his side.

Judy tried not to panic as the tiger leaned on the edge of the window to look inside. He shared a quick word in Spanish with the driver, who quickly produced one of the hundred peso notes that Skye had just paid him. The tiger took it with a smile and a nod, slapping the roof of the van and motioning at the pick-up. The truck slowly rumbled out of the road and the van drove by, cruising off down the road. Once Judy felt safe enough to speak again, she leaned forward to the driver.

"Who was that? Was that the police or some kind of military unit?"

"No, nothing like that," the goat answered nervously, "They are...damn, how do you say it in english...cartelos, gang-bangers, you know?"

"Those were criminals?" She practically shouted back, "And they just operate on the side of the road like that? Why don't the police come do something? And where the hell did they get guns like that?"

The goat chuckled nervously, eyeing her in the rear view mirror.

"Señorita, this is Pawnama. The police know they're there, they know they have those guns, but shutting them down would be...bad for business. There are arrangements made, agreements. What, they didn't put this in the brochure?" He laughed drily.

Judy sank back into seat, sharing a look with Nick. Great, now we have to deal with maniac super soldiers, free range cartels and dirty cops, she thought, as the van finally hit the city limits.

To say that Pawnama was completely unlike Zootopia would be an untrue statement. True, they passed through some shanty towns, areas of true poverty the likes of which she had never seen in Zootopia, but at the city center, she probably would've been hard pressed to find a difference. The streets were mostly clean, the buildings were tall, and she even saw a few Snarlbucks stores. Gradually, foot traffic in the area seemed to pick up until finally the van turned a corner and she could see why.

The Golden Orchid gleamed like a beacon, even in broad daylight. Whatever parts of the front facade weren't covered in neon lighting looked gilded, reflecting the morning sun in every direction. Mammals of all walks of life streamed in and out of the front doors, while chauffeurs ran back and forth to the curb to park wildly expensive cars for flashily dressed mammals. Suspended above it all, above the front entrance was a massive sign proclaiming the casino's name in flowing cursive, next to a huge, beautifully painted golden orchid flower.

Everyone in the van stared in awe at the sign, spare Tice who looked at it with something like a sense of dread. The driver looked at his passengers with a grin.

"Yes, this place usually gets tourists' attention. The Golden Orchid is the pride of Pawnama City, highly recommended!"

He cruised past the casino and headed a few more blocks down, pulling around the back of a nondescript building with a modest sign, declaring it the Grand Park Hotel. The goat whipped into a spot and turned around to his passengers.

"Okay, this is the place. Here, take my number. You need to go anywhere, any time, you call Diego."

Skye hesitantly pulled out her phone to copy down his number. It certainly wasn't ideal to have to call and wait for a ride, especially when the driver was a civilian they couldn't afford to wrap up in their business, but it was better than nothing. Nick had apparently had a better idea.

"Say, Diego, how much would you be willing to part with this van for?" He asked, cranking up his con-fox charm. Diego recoiled, almost looking offended.

"My van? Señor, this van is how I make my living. I cannot sell."

"What would you say to ten thousand?" Nick asked, causing Diego to snort indignantly.

"Please. No, I make ten thousand peso in a month."

"How about ten thousand Zootopian?" Nick asked smugly.

The Goat's eyes bugging out of his head was all the answer Nick needed. A quick exchange of cash and one probably illegal title transfer later and Nick was standing on the sidewalk with the keys in his hand, grinning from ear to ear.

"Well congratulations, Nick. You're the proud new owner a twenty year old shitbox van." Wolfard said, trudging by with his luggage.

"Hey!" Nick shot back, offended, "Don't say that about her! Just a little tune up, maybe a fresh coat of paint, this girl is gonna be mint!"

"Whatever you say man." Tice said, shaking his head as he followed Wolfard.

"I think it's nice, hun." Judy said, giving Nick's arm a pat before leaving him in the parking lot, his bag at his feet.

"Hey! Wait up!" He cried, shaking off his new van daze and chasing them into the lobby.

After another cash transaction and a few signatures at the front desk, the crew was checked into a penthouse near the top floor with more than enough room for everyone. Judy supposed it was good they were using cash, they would be nearly impossible to track that way, especially considering that there wasn't even a customs official at the dock. Everyone dumped their stuff off in rooms, with the gear bag stashed away in a locked closet, and flopped down on couches in the living room.

"So what's the next step?" Wolfard asked.

"Well, Tice claims to know our lead. Any ideas?" Skye suggested.

"Well I really don't know that much. I mean, my last interaction with him wasn't exactly a meet and greet. And honestly, I can't imagine how he would be connected to this, we figured after the last time he would've taken the money we paid him and ran. What I do know is that he's a greedy little bastard. When he helped out Black Knight the last time, all he cared about the whole time was getting paid. Maybe that's all we have to do this time? Find him at work, offer some cash, get some answers and be on our way."

"What if he doesn't take the money, and refuses to give any answers?" Charlie asked, causing Tice to shrug.

"Well, we do it the old fashioned way. Wait for his shift to end, throw a bag over his head, take him somewhere and make him talk. Pretty sure I could get the battery out of that old van, find some jumper cables."

"Jesus, Tice. That's dark." Skye said, sounding stunned.

"Okay, bad joke, sorry. I'm kidding about the car battery, I just mean that a guy like him is going to be easy to squeeze. Unless he's seriously changed in the past few years, he's not some hard core gangster. If we put some pressure on him, he'll crack."

"if you say so. But still, that doesn't solve the question of how we're going to get to him." Jack said, scrolling on his phone. "I'm looking at the club he apparently works at and it looks pretty exclusive. Bouncers at the door, pretty extensive dress code, and it looks like there's a guest list. Might be tough even just getting in."

"I should be able to handle that." Nick said confidently. "Believe it or not, I spent more than my fair share of time in some pretty exclusive clubs when I was younger. Rich drunk people make for easy marks." He explained nonchalantly. "I didn't do it wearing a Pawaiian shirt though...we might have to do a wardrobe upgrade. I think I saw a department store a block back."

"Seriously? We're gonna spend ZIA funds on a wardrobe makeover?" Judy asked incredulously.

"It's actually not that uncommon. I've had to do it a few times." Skye reassured her.

With that, it was decided that a trip to the store was necessary. Everyone besides Wolfard got ready to head out. Everyone had agreed it would be a good idea for someone to stay back and watch the gear, and also to stay outside the club for backup, and Wolfard had volunteered.

The walk down to the store was short, and soon Judy found herself in a modern, upscale department store. She couldn't help but feel a little out of her element; she hadn't been dress shopping since her senior prom, but thankfully Skye helped her pick out a dress in a shade of purple that she thought matched her eyes pretty well. It was a little too tight and short for her liking, but it at least wasn't too revealing. She still had her doubts though.

"Skye, how the heck do you operate in something like this? How am I supposed to be able to run?" She asked, looking at herself in the mirror. Skye shrugged, giving her a cheeky grin and shot back an answer that made Judy's ears redden.

"Well, hike that shit up and get to running! A firefight isn't exactly a time for modesty."

As she stepped out of the changing room, back in her normal clothes, Charlie came out of the next room with her selection draped over an arm.

"Ready to go?" She asked.

The girls set off and found the boys already at the register, paying for their own selections. Once everyone was paid up, they headed back to the hotel.

Once safely back in the room, the crew found themselves at somewhat of a loss for what to do next. The ride into the city and their shopping trip had still barely taken them to the early afternoon, and the club didn't even open until ten o'clock. Tice and Jack busied themselves with obsessively checking over and cleaning their weapons, while Skye walked Nick and Judy through the basic functions of how to use their own new weapons. They wouldn't be able to sneak them into the club, but the way things had been going, they would be crazy to not be familiar with how to load them.

When there was nothing left to check over, clean or teach, they finally all settled into the couches, anxiously watching the clock tick past the hours. Room service provided them a late lunch, and they sat around a coffee table in the living room tucking in.

"So about tonight's plan," Jack began suddenly, "I've been thinking. The best way for us to do it is to spread out in pairs once we're inside. The whole group together might spook him. However, as far as the pairs go...I think we might want to keep them a little bit more...orthodox."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, cocking his head. Jack sighed leaning forward on his elbows.

"Alright I'll be honest. A fox couple and a bunny couple might get some weird looks, but two bunny and fox couples in the same club are going to get people's attention, which we don't need. Charlie and Tice can stay together, I guess. An inter-species couple that's at least two predators will turn fewer heads."

"He's not wrong. We've had to do it on joint missions before. It's a little awkward I guess, but as long as Judy doesn't flirt as much that chick Trisha from that arson case we worked we should be fine." She said, with a glare at Jack, who withered under her gaze.

"Wait, so we're going to have to actually act like a couple?" Judy asked apprehensively.

"It's not like you have to go overboard," Jack said, flicking a look towards Skye, "But yeah a little acting never hurt, it makes your cover more legit."

Judy didn't exactly love the idea, but she couldn't really disagree. She looked up at Nick who gave her a nudge and a wink.

"Don't worry, I'm a one female type of fox." He said with a smile.

Trying to throw out her uneasiness, Judy leaned back into Nick as the finer details of their plan were fleshed out. She knew she had nothing to worry about. Well, nothing besides serious bodily harm and possible death. The usual.

Finally the time to get ready came around, and everyone paired off to change. Judy was pleased to see that Nick looked dashing in a fitted charcoal button and slacks, with an emerald green tie that subtly complimented his eyes.

"Wow, that's just about the fanciest duds I've ever seen you in. Why the hell don't you dress up more often?" Judy asked.

"I could say the same for you." He shot back smoothly, getting a generous eyeful of Judy's new look. Skye had helped her put on some make-up, way more than she would ever use on her own, but she did have to admit, she looked good.

Jack and Tice both came out of their rooms, Jack sporting navy blue button down with an off-white tie and Tice rocked a grey button down tie-less. Skye came out of another and practically squealed as she rushed over to Jack.

"Jack, you look so good! Oh you went with the blue, we would have matched!" She said, pointing to her own cobalt dress. She shot a glare over at Nick, clinging onto Jack. "Black and green does not go with my natural coloring, Nick."

"What can I say? I'm pretty much bright red, I don't think we were going to match much anyways." He shot back with his palms raised.

Suddenly, all conversation ceased when Charlie entered the room. She was wearing a strapless black dress that somehow also managed to shine in the light, like threads of gold had somehow been stitched into the black. The way the dress matched her fur combined with the subtle, but effective make-up she used, the overall effect was stunning.

"Hey, Tice." Skye said, eyes still locked on Charlie, "Switch dates with me. Nick's an absolute gentlemammal, I promise."

"Oh shut up." Charlie said with a roll of her eyes and a grin. "Are we doing this thing or what?"

XXXXXXXX

The line to get into club Lotus was obscenely long, as far as Judy was concerned, and security seemed tight. At the head of the line, Judy could see a massive brown bear in a suit checking ID's and checking people off on a list. She was so focused on the bear she didn't notice Nick walk up from behind, stuffing his phone is his pocket.

"Alright, Wolfard has the van just around the block in case we need to get out of here in a hurry. Now when we get up to the front just let me do the talking"

Everyone nodded along tensely, waiting for their turn with the bouncer. Finally the crawling line brought them front and center in front of the bear.

"Name and IDs" He grumbled in accented English.

"Ah, see the thing is, we forgot our IDs but we are on the list!" Nick said confidently. The bear eyed him angrily.

"Names?" He grunted. Nick rattled off the fake names that had been printed on the IDs that Stagg had provided. The bear checked the list for barely even a second before looking back up over Nick's head to the group behind them.

"Not on the list, no entry. Next!" He called out loudly.

"Hey now, let's not be hasty pal, I'm certain we're on there! If I could just maybe take a little...look..." Nick trailed off as he put one paw on the bear's clipboard, getting a positively murderous look in return. After a brief, fearful moment, the bear released the clipboard, which Nick took with a nervous laugh. He scanned the list briefly before digging in his pocket.

"See, this is what always helps me look for something in a long list like this," Nick said, laying a tight stack of Pawnamian bills on the clipboard. "A nice straight edge to block out the other names so I can check them one at a time. Ah, see! Here I am!" Nick said, stopping on a name that clearly was not his own, real or fake. He raised an eyebrow at the bear who stared back at him blankly. Nick made a slight 'Hmm' noise and somehow, by some sleight of hand even Judy couldn't catch, the stack of bills on the clipboard nearly doubled as nick continued 'searching' the list.

"And there we go, there's all my friends on here as well. That's a good little trick right?" Nick finished, giving the bear a forced smile. The best stared at him for another few heartbeats before he snorted, grabbed the clipboard and the cash, standing back up to his full height.

"Get the fuck inside." The bear rumbled as he unhooked the velvet rope, not even sparing them a second look. The crew obediently scampered in, not giving him a chance to rethink his decision.

Inside, the club was like nowhere Judy have ever been. She had responded to clubs on calls before, but generally they turned on the lights and cut off the music if the police were about to show, and she had never been one to hit the clubbing scene. She found herself thrown into a world of sound and light that was almost disorienting. Music slammed out from hidden speakers, the bass making her chest practically vibrate as multicolored lights flashed. They had stepped out onto a balcony level, and down below the crowd was insane, nearly packed wall to wall and dancing feverishly to the music.

Thankfully, they weren't headed down to the wild dance floor, as the balcony led off to the left to a more open lounge area with a bar, booths, and tables that were at least somewhat blocked off from the light and noise. As they reached the lounge, they separated as inconspicuously as possible, with Nick and Skye taking up stools at the bar, Judy and Jack stealing a high table, and Tice and Charlie sliding into a circular, padded booth with a low table in the center.

Judy tried to act casual as Jack walked off to the bar to get them a drink. Nick and Skye were already playing the part, seamlessly putting on a show of being a couple out on a date, and Charlie and Tice were deep in conversation. She continued to scan the room and saw the shadowy form of another huge bouncer, a rhino leaning against the wall.

"I really hope things don't get dicey in here." She said as Jack hopped back up into the high chair, a drink in each paw.

"Talking about that bouncer? I saw him too. It should be all good. Greedy mammals are usually pretty receptive to cash bribes." He said, keeping a neutral face on. "Just try to act casual and we'll be out of her in no time, no issues."

Judy sipped her drink and cast a glance over at Tice and Charlie. Good luck you two she thought silently.

"So where is he?" Charlie asked, looking around.

"Not sure. Stagg's dossier didn't list a position, it just said he works somewhere in here. Hey, excuse me?" Tice called to a female wolf carrying a tray of shots. He pulled a twenty and offered it to her, getting two shots in return. "Hey, is there any chance there's anyone named Scott working tonight? He's a friend of mine, I was wondering if I could steal him for a second."

The wolf straightened up, a confused look on her face.

"Scott? I don't know anyone by that name." She said.

"Scott Underhill? He's a capybara, that ring any bells?" Tice asked, subtly holding out another twenty peso note. Instantly the wolf stiffened up, a tense look on her face.

"Mr. Underhill doesn't take visitors during working hours, unless you have an appointment. If you do have an appointment I'm sure he'll be with you shortly." She said curtly before turning on a dime and hurrying away.

"Mr. Underhill, huh?" Charlie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I guess old Scott has moved up in the world." Tice said thoughtfully. He raised the shot to his lips before he stopped in surprise as a tiny paw landed on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't bother with that, pal. The shots are so watered down, it's hardly even worth it." An oily voice with a Zootopian accent said.

Just like that, none other than Scott Underhill appeared, sliding into the booth across from him, forcing Charlie to scoot over so the rodent didn't land practically in her lap.

Tice slowly placed the shot down and looked him over. Clearly the last few years had been good to him. Last he had seen, Scott had been a low-level pit boss with a cheap suit and a bad attitude. Now the suit he wore looked like it cost more than most mammals made in a month, and gaudy gold rings covered his stubby fingers. He was smoking a cigarette, and he positively dripped with the kind of arrogance that came from an over abundance of cash and power. He leaned forward and carelessly flicked ash onto the table, giving Tice a greasy smile.

"So, how are you and your friends enjoying my club?" He asked.

"Your club? And also, what friends? It's just me and her tonight." Tice questioned back, trying to stay cool.

"Yeah, this is my club. And since it's my club, anyone who comes in here and tries to ask a shot girl for me by name gets the VIP treatment. Especially when they try to lie and hide all their little friends from me. Oh don't look so shocked." He laughed, obviously reading Tice's reaction. "You think I wouldn't know? You pay Sergio five grand to sneak you all in here, I pay him another five for letting me know he did it. So what the fuck are you doing in here?"

"We just want to ask some questions. And we can pay for the answers." Tice said back. This got a dry chuckle from Scott, who answered only after a long drag from his cigarette.

"Questions, huh? Well, I answer a lot of questions. Thing is, you paying for the answers implies these might not be questions I would like to answer. So instead I'll ask some questions. First off, do I look like I need your money?"

Tice gave him a hard stare. This was not going according to plan. Scott laughed in his face again.

"I'll take that as a no. So the next question is, who are you to be asking all these questions?"

Again, Tice just fixed him with a hard stare, determined not to dig this hole any deeper.

"Don't want to answer? That's fine. Let's see." He said, turning to look around the lounge. "Well over there at that table, underneath all that makeup, that looks like the famous Judy Hopps, ZPD. I mean seriously, we have internet here. Not very sneaky of you. And since she's here, I'm willing to bed that red pelt over at the bar is her little boy toy Wilde. How am I doing so far?" He asked with a condescending grin. Tice fought to keep his composure, but inside his head he was panicking as the rodent continued.

"Now I don't recognize those other two by sight, but a little birdie told me that the ZIA has their own fox and bunny duo, so I'm gonna hedge my bets and say they're feds. So I've got ZPD and feds in my club, and then there's you two."

He suddenly scooched closer to Charlie, leaning forward on the table to look at her.

"Now you are a little harder to read. I don't recognize you, but I'm not getting a fed vibe off you. Definitely not ZPD, maybe INTERPOL? Don't know though, you're way too hot to be a fed," He said, reaching toward her with one paw, getting a disgusted look from Charlie, "Maybe you're-"

"Touch her and I'll rip that fucking paw off." Tice growled, leaning forward. Scott froze before turning back to Tice with a darkly amused smile.

"Alright tough guy, I'll start with you. You sure as fuck ain't no fed. You got that jagged edge to you. I work with guys like you. I bet you aren't even the law at all. That's it! You're some hard ass gone soft, gone over to the other side. You snitching for a reduced sentence? Or just turned into a pussy? It's gotta be something like that, tell me I'm wrong!"

Tice felt a growl building in his throat, barely containing his anger as he undid the top two buttons on his shirt. He yanked it to the side and exposed his Black Knight brand and felt a dark thrill of pleasure when Underhill gasped, leaning back into the booth.

"Yeah, you're on the right track." He growled.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Scott hissed, eyes wide with fear, his former bravado all gone. "I told that fucking panther to keep you freaks in the jungle where you belong. He wants more product moved, we go to the meeting site like we arranged!"

"I'm not with that panther. But you're going to tell me where I can find him." Tice said, buttoning his shirt again.

"What the hell do you mean, you're not with them? No one just leaves that shit and no ones crazy enough to walk around with a fake one of those on their chest."

"Well either I did, or I am." Tice said with a sickly sweet smile. "Either way, if you know what that is then you know I could come across this table and kill you before any of your big security guards could even flinch. So you're going to tell me what I need to know, now, before I do anything drastic."

The second Tice mentioned security, he knew he overplayed his hand. The capybara's eyes narrowed as he seemed to remember that he was in a position of power here. He leaned back, looking at Tice murderously for a moment before reaching into his suit jacket.

"Okay asshole, let me teach you how things work around here." He hissed as he pulled a gleaming revolver out and aimed it at Tice, staying carefully out of reach. "You see this? I could blow a hole in your fucking head right now. I could shoot you, this bitch next to me, and all your little buddies in here, and they wouldn't even stop the fucking music. So what's gonna happen now is I'm gonna call Sergio. He's gonna lock the door and get all of his buddies, and then I'm gonna have them work you over for, oh, maybe a day or so, before I turn you over to those savages in the jungle and let them do their thing. How does that sound?"

Oh, fuck, was about all Tice could think as he stared down the barrel of the gun, while Scott pulled out his phone.

XXXXXXXX

At the bar, Skye and Nick were practically putting on a broadway performance. Tice and Charlie has yet to be joined by their rodent guest, and everything still seemed to be going smoothly. Skye had ordered them both a drink, which the yak bartender dropped off before hurrying away.

"What do you think they're waiting on?" Nick asked, whispering it in Skye's ear with a conspiratorial smirk. Skye threw her head back and laughed like it was a flirty joke.

"Not sure, probably waiting for their friend." She said between fake laughs. "Oh and speak of the devil!" She giggled as Underhill slid into the booth. They kept up their facade, playing the part of a couple, until Nick almost stumbled when he saw the rodent looking around the bar clearly identifying them and the rest of the crew.

"Uh oh, looks like their friend might be looking for us." Nick said, forcing a nonchalant smile.

"Yeah, probably because you're not very fucking subtle." A voice with a Zootopian accent said behind him. He spun around to see a sullen looking maned wolf sipping a whiskey on the barstool next to him. When the hell did he get there? He asked himself.

"Excuse me, do we know you?" Skye asked with all the righteous indignation of a girlfriend getting her date interrupted. She froze when she noticed that below the bar, the mammal had a compact pistol with a silencer pointed right at Nick's side.

"No, you don't." He said coolly, finishing his whiskey. "And I don't know you, but you're fucking with something very important right now."

"Who are you? Underhill's security?" Skye asked, keeping her eyes on the gun.

"That, I am not. But mammal is my target, and your friends over there are in my way."

"Your target?" Her eyes widened with realization. "You can't kill him! Look I don't know who you are but this is an official matter, I need you to back off, put that gun away and let us do our jobs." Skye whispered urgently.

The maned wolf pulled out his phone and checked the time before dialing a number.

"Look, I'm out of time and so are your friends." He said with a nod to the booth. Nick and Skye whipped around and saw that Underhill now had them both at gunpoint, a cell phone in his paw as well. Behind him, Nick barely heard him speak into his phone saying "Juan, it's time. Do it."

And then all Hell broke loose.

As Tice was rapidly trying to calculate his options, the lights in the club suddenly went haywire. There was a burst of static through the speakers before several of the lights actually burst, sending sparks showering across the club and catching the ceiling on fire in a few places. The music began to blare even louder than before, but it was a horribly distorted, ragtime version of the song that had been playing, and mammals screamed as the sprinkler system kicked on. Scott's head whipped towards the club, and Tice made his move, diving across the table and pushing the gun upwards, just as Charlie drove a hard elbow into the side of the rodent's head. His paw clutched reflexively and a single shot rang out, causing even more mammals to scream.

Tice wrenched the pistol out of his paw, spinning as the rhino security guard charged from the corner. He fired two shots, both of them finding a home in the rhino's knee, causing him to tumble forward with a bellow.

"What the hell is happening?" Charlie screamed.

"I don't know! Grab Underhill, we gotta go!" Tice said throwing himself out of the booth. He looked around wildly for his friends and saw Jack and Judy running up to him. Over their heads, he saw Nick and Skye both wrestling with a maned wolf at the bar, just as the yak bartender grabbed a sawed-off shotgun from below the register. The wolf threw off the two foxes and fired a pair of suppressed shots into the yak's chest before being tackled again by Nick. He darted across the bar, his friends trailing behind and delivered a mean kick to the back of the wolf's head, dropping him before he could do more damage to Nick.

"Let's go!" He cried, leading the way with Underhill's stolen pistol. When they were almost free and clear to the entrance, Sergio, the massive bear bouncer turned the corner with a massive hand cannon in his paw. Tice shot his firing paw, destroying the weapon before firing another shot into his leg. He finished with a nearly point blank shot to the chest, causing the bear to pitch over backward with a wheeze. He doubted Scott's relatively tiny, low-caliber revolver would kill the bear, but it would sure as shit slow him down. They hopped over the wounded bear and blew through the entrance, into the Casino itself.

The casino was already starting to work itself into a panic. Screaming mammals had already started to stream out of the club's doors, and security was trying to fight through the crowd to get in. Tice ditched the pistol and tried to blend in with the panicking crowd, keeping an eye on his friends as they broke for the casino's entrance. Luckily the club wasn't in the heart of the casino and he could hear Nick frantically calling Wolfard for a pick up as they hustled through the lobby, Underhill still unconscious slung over Charlie's shoulder.

Just as they reached the glass double doors, a round whistled by his head and shattered one of the doors. He ducked and whipped around to see that same maned wolf, looking unsteady on his feet as he aimed a suppressed handgun at them.

"Stop!" He roared, before spinning and dropping another security mammal charging at him. The crew obviously ignored him, piling out onto the sidewalk and streaking for the van as Wolfard slapped on the door calling for them to hurry. They piled in, throwing Underhill over a seat and the van peeled out, burning rubber.

"What the fuck!" Wolfard yelled as he careened out into the street, dodging cars.

"Shit went south!" Jack cried, stating the obvious. "Just get us out of the city before someone stops us!"

Wolfard checked his side view mirror for tails and recoiled as the mirror exploded with a bang.

"Too late for that!" He screamed, jamming the accelerator. Judy looked out the back window and saw a black SUV screaming after them. She screamed and ducked behind the seat as a tiger leaned out the window and fired at their van, shattering the back window.

Wolfard drove like crazy, swerving between cars as rounds pinged off the van and whistled past the windows.

"Someone shoot back for God's sake!" He screamed, flinching as his rearview mirror exploded into shards. Jack scrambled over the backseat to the cargo area, frantically digging through the gear bag until he found a weapon he could fight back with. He popped up into the shattered back window and fired off a few shots, cursing as the SUV returned fire. Again he popped up, but didn't even have a chance to get a round off as a bullet tore into the van and struck him a few inches below the tip of the ear.

"Shit! I'm hit!" Jack screamed, pulling his ear down and holding pressure on it. Skye screamed, reaching back over the seat and hauling him into hers, ripping a piece off her dress off to staunch the bleeding. Tice replaced him in the cargo area and grabbed his rifle. He slammed a magazine home and let loose, yelling in rage. He dropped down, yelling up into the cab.

"Guys, we've got more company!"

Nick could already hear the whine of smaller engines, and he held Judy down low as he peaked over the back of the seat. He saw two motor bikes ripping down the road behind the SUV, cutting in between what few cars remained on the road, causing them to swerve off. As he watched, one of the bikes pulled even with the driver side of the SUV before a mammal on the back seat leaned over and fired a shotgun into the cab with one paw. He gasped as the SUV swerved and smashed into a parked car, rolling onto its side. The bikes then gunned it, rapidly gaining on their van.

Before anyone could react, one of the bikes was in front of them. The passenger on the back seat twisted and leveled his shotgun back towards Wolfard as the other bike slid next to the driver side.

This is it, Nick thought, bracing himself for the inevitable bang and the sudden swerve. He was frantically trying to pull a seatbelt over himself and Judy when he heard a familiar voice shouting through the shattered windows.

"Hey!" The voice called. Nick looked up and was shocked to see the maned wolf from the bar, the faceplate lifted on his motorcycle helmet. He pointed at the lead motorbike and called out again.

"Follow him if you want to live!"

Wolfard gave a shaky nod and the bike fell back behind them, the passenger in front spinning back around as the lead bike took off. They took a crazy route through the city, before finally diverting out onto a road that quickly turned from from pavement, to gravel, to uneven dirt more suited to the suped up dirtbikes they were being escorted by than their own van.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Wolfard called back.

"No idea, but at least they killed those assholes in the SUV Jack groaned, sitting up. His left ear ended in a ragged edge, wrapped up in a bloody scrap of Skye's dress.

"Hush, Jack!" Skye admonished, "Lie down and save your strength!"

"Oh stop, Skye, it's an ear. I've been shot worse places." Jack answered irritably, causing Skye to pout.

"I recognized that one guy, it was the same maned wolf from the club. I think they're after Underhill too."

"Does that make them friends or more enemies?" Judy asked, eyeing the motorbike behind them.

"Don't know, but I'm guessing we're going to find out sooner or later." Jack answered darkly.

After nearly an hour of jolting over uneven dirt roads, they finally began to see light in the distance. At this point, the lights and noise of the city were far behind them, they were deep in the Pawnamanian jungle now.

Up ahead, the lights slowly formed into a small village. Many of the buildings were no more than wooden shacks, and generators could be heard humming away to power streetlights and the occasional light shining out from a building. As they pulled up in front of one of the more established looking buildings, either a church or some kind of meeting hall, a band of armed mammals came out to meet them.

The van rumbled to a stop and they found themselves quickly surrounded by tense mammals in civilian clothes, all holding weapons, whether they were guns or improvised melee weapons. Judy shivered as she saw more than one machete glinting in the crowd. The maned wolf dismounted his bike and took off his helmet and threw open the side door.

"Get out with your paws on your heads."

As they filed out of the van, he roughly patted them down, pulling a pistol out of Wolfard's waistband and throwing it back in the van. One of the crowd rushed forward and grabbed Underhill from Charlie, despite her protests and hurried him away.

"Move." The wolf commanded, prodding they up the steps. They filed into the building, finding it to be some kind of open meeting hall with a cement floor. Chairs were dragged in from somewhere else, and they found themselves roughly pushed into them, sitting uncomfortably in a single line under the sickly glare of sodium bulbs, their captors still behind them with weapons at the ready. They waited nervously, not sure what to expect next. A few flinched as a side door opened and a mammal strode purposefully into the room.

He was an older jaguar, powerfully built and brimming with charisma. He wore a simple white button down and jeans, and a wide brimmed black hat, like a cowboy hat. Laugh lines creased his face, but he was serious now as he pulled up another chair and sat across from them. He regarded them quietly for a second before speaking in a deep, thickly Pawnamanian accent.

"Good evening. My name is Doctor Miguel. And you are?"

The group all mumbled their practiced, fake names. The Doctor listened before giving them a sad smile.

"Ah, my friends, the problem is that I can tell that you are lying to me. It is understandable, but it is not tolerable. You must understand that the only reason I am asking you this, offering you this chance is that none of my men have been seriously hurt by you. If they had, we would not have made it this far. But, if you lie to me, then I cannot trust you, and if I cannot trust you then...it will be the same result. Do we understand each other?"

Everyone nodded along silently, suddenly scared to even breathe wrong.

"Very well. I won't ask your names again. Other questions first, and if we make it through that, we will worry about names later. First of all, what is your business with that capybara?"

"He's a person of an interest in our investigation." Jack said quickly. No one disagreed that now was not the time for lies or secrets.

"And who are you investigating on behalf of?" The doctor asked.

"The Zootopian Intelligence Agency, the Zootopian Police Department, and the Mammalian Military Force."

"Ah...ZIA, this agency has done wrong by my country before, I'm sure you know. But to condemn a mammal for the sins of the past is not my way. Tell me, rabbit, what are you investigating in my country?"

"There's...a group of soldiers. Former MMF, here in Pawnama, that have become terrorists, drug lords. They have murdered their way to the top and now they're pushing their filth into Zootopia. We're here to hunt them down and stop them."

After a heartbeat of silence, a genuine smile broke across the cat's face. The change was immediate, like the sun came out and the room temperature rose. Judy could feel the mammals behind her relax somewhat as the Doctor rose to his feet.

"Yes, Mr. ZIA, now I can see you are telling the truth! And I am happy for it. Allow me to properly to introduce myself. My name is Doctor Manuel Sevilla. I am the leader of the Autodefensas de Pawnama. And any enemy of those drug peddling bastardos is a friend of mine."

He strode forward and stuck out his paw for a shake. Jack stuck out his much smaller paw received a strong, enthusiastic shake.

"My friends, I believe that we have much to discuss." Manuel said with a fierce grin.

Author's Notes

Another chapter in the books. As I'm sure you can tell, the pace is starting to pick up. We're most definitely in the endgame here. I won't get into too much detail so as to avoid spoiling anything.

One other quick note, some of you might have caught it but Doctor Manuel is actually based on a real life person, Doctor José Manuel Mireles Valverde. He was the leader of an autodefensas group in Mexico that fought against the Knights Templar Cartel. He's a pretty badass dude and was featured in a documentary called Cartel Land. It's definitely worth a watch.

Thanks for reading!