Chapter 33: hard tasks
We go the next morning and see both of them with mom and dad. No change. We then head for the precinct and take over conference room one. We bring several files down from our office and lay them out. Shortly before nine, the rest of the personal we had requested walk in. We hug Kathy and give her a chair and a file; she sits down and starts to look over the file.
"Welcome, everyone, glad you could all make it. We will be starting shortly". "Why are we here"? asks the detective from precinct-four who had been investigating the Corleone's. "Well, sir, it's like this, we are going after the Don." He gets a scared look on his face but hides it almost immediately. I think we have just found Don's informer.
We start looking at the support for the Don. We look into his businesses, his finances, the personal that surround him, his friends, and we find his real family. The detective from the fourth precinct gets a scared look on his face, pretending to be sick, leaving the room; Susan follows.
The detective gets about halfway down the hall and pulls out his phone. Susan walks up behind him, "Are you, ok sir"? He turns, shocked; Susan is right behind him. Susan turns on the signal jammer in her pocket; it doesn't have much range, but enough so he can't make a phone call. "why don't you put your phone away, Sir? We need to talk." He notices he has no bars on his phone, so he slips his phone back into his pocket.
"what do you want? "officer," I don't know why you are even in on this." "Sir, I am in on this as I was one of the "Officers" as you put it, who organized this task force." "You want me to believe that you are going to bring down the Don"? "Yes, sir, we will." "Right, a bunny, don't make me laugh." "Sir, if he had just left my family alone, we would not have trouble ourselves with him, but he made it personal by hurting my sister and brother; therefore, we are going to put a stop to him.". "what did he do to you"? "He had my family members thrown under a bus, all for his misguided idea that he needs revenge on my family for the death of his son."
"Who are you"? "Oh, sorry we've never met before; I'm Susan Wilde, the one Darwin tried to rape at the academy." The detective gets a shocked look on his face, "Sir, I know you work for the Don." He starts to laugh, "Me, work for the Don? how ridiculous". He says this, reaching for the concealed trank gun he carries. "Sir, kindly put your paws where I can see them, and no sudden moves." He tries for the trank gun, thinking he was fast, but Susan knocked the gun out of his paw as he drew it and slammed her other paw in his solar plex. He now has a hard time breathing as Susan cuffs him. "Sir, you are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used….". I come out and help get him to his hind paws after Susan finishes reading him his rights. We bring him back into the conference room and sit him down in a chair, still cuffed.
Some are shocked, but most have a hard look in their eyes as I show him the paper with his bank records. He craters as I show him his account plus the one he thought was secret. Chief Bogo is called to come and attend the task force conference room. The chief gets a look in his eye when he looks at the detective in the chair; he had been on the case of the Don for twenty years now. In the chief's eyes, nothing is worse than a dirty cop. We take him to interrogation; we talk to the chief in the observation room. He's not happy but agrees with us. We go in to speak to the former "Detective."
"So, Roger, oh sorry, can I call you Roger"? "You can call me anything you want; you damn fox." He looks at Susan and me with murder in his eyes. We laugh at him. "You'll have to better than that to get a rise out of me, Sir. Now shall we talk about the Don"? "You can talk about whatever you like, doesn't mean I have to answer you." "Your right, but you need to think this through a bit; we are going to confiscate all your bank accounts, this will leave your wife with nothing, and I'm sure you don't want to do that." "What are you offering"? "We are offering to leave the main bank account alone; we will take the hidden one as the proceeds of crime. We will also accept your early retirement from the force. You will still get your full pension. "That's it? Not much of an incentive". "Well, it's better than your wife being destitute, and you in jail for life, and make no mistake about it, we want you to refuse the deal." "So, what do you want"? "We want everything you have on the Don, all the files you doctored and covered up." "Right, I won't live long after that; he'll find me, and I'll be dead in a week." "That may be so, but your other option leaves you in the general population of the prison, how long do you think you would live after the prisoners you put away find you"? He deflates a bit, "All right, I'll play ball, but my wife never finds out." "We can do that, but you need to tell us everything."
Susan stays and asks the questions, and I go to talk to the chief. I'm sitting in his office, with the door shut, and Rick's new countermeasures in the wall. "Sir, he is giving up the Don as we speak." Without a word, the chief reaches into the bottom drawer of his desk, and pulling out the bottle that is there and two glasses, pours himself a stiff one. He offers me a slug as well, but I politely refuse. "Damn it, Daniel, he was a good detective, dirty, but good. How many of his cases are compromised, I wonder,"? He says as he takes a drink. "we'll find out, sir, you know we can." "I want him behind bars; that deal was just too good for him." "It is, Sir, and I would like to see him behind bars as well, but all the cases from the last thirty years that he worked on will come back to haunt the force if we didn't give him that deal. As it is, Susan and I are going to have a hard time straightening out this mess". "Right, do you have to do it alone"? "No, Sir, we don't, but the fewer people who know, the better, it is for the force. Susan and I will go through all his cases and right the wrongs. It will take us some time to make sure justice is served". "Yes, I can see that, but I wish you didn't have to do it." I get up and leave his office. I leave the countermeasures for him, "I have more of them," I tell him.
I go to Susan and I's cold case office and pull up all the files Roger had worked on for the last thirty; I load them in a laptop and take it back down to interrogation and hand it to Susan. I then head back up to our task force. I wrap things up with the task force for the day, saying we should have more info in the morning. No one asks where this new info is coming from, but most have an idea. I then grab some coffee from our office, get lunch from the cafeteria for the three of us, and head back to interrogation. We spend the rest of the day and part of the night in interrogation; I get supper for the three of us from the café down the street. All in all, most of his cases were done right; only the ones concerning the Don were compromised. We left him in a solitary cell for the night.
The next morning, we hand Kathy some more info on Don's compound, Sentries, cameras, motion sensors, she goes back to planning our attack faze. We had the task force some of the information we received from Roger. We fool no one with the new info. They know where we got it. When the rest of the task force finds out about the deal, they're mad but can see why we did it, but they still thought it was too lenient. We get a call from Clawhauser about a witness wanting to talk to us.
We go down to the lobby. The witness has something to do with the Don but has more to do with our sister and brother. The Bearsden family is at the reception desk in the lobby. "We have come today, officers, so our son can get something off of his chest." We can see Dudley is scared, and we project calm to him as we all walk to interrogation. We read Dudley his rights, but as he is a minor, we can't arrest him, but he doesn't know that. He wrings his paws as we sit down. He won't look at us. He stares at the tabletop. He looks at his dad, and his dad motions him to tell. He looks up at Susan and I and tells us his story.
"It was about a month ago when two wolves approached me as I walked home from school. I am very insecure in my skin, and I just longed for friends, but I'm timid, but these two wolf kids made me believe in myself". "Do you know their names, Dudley"? "Yes, they called themselves David and Darwin; I thought they were my friends." He breaks down and cries for a bit. We continue to project calm to him. After a bit, he continues. "They brought me to their home, we played several video games and had snacks; I even had a sleepover with them. Their parents were amicable; Donald and Donna fed us with some meat, chicken, I think, I had never had meat before". "Sorry, officers, our family is vegan." Says Dudley's dad. "Anyway, continue, please, Son."
"Well, after a few weeks, they started to get more aggressive, and because I was their friend, so did I. We bullied some smaller kits on the street, nothing too bad, mostly name-calling. But two days ago, things went bad; they beat on two of my classmates. They told me we wouldn't hurt them, but they did hurt them. They thew them under a bus. They promised me we would hurt no one". He starts to cry; his mom and dad hug him. "Continue, please, son." He gets himself under control and begins again. "I stood there in shock as Darwin and David ran away with their dad. The bus driver yelled at me to stay, but I ran too, I was so scared. I went home, but my mom and dad knew something was up, but I told them nothing. I went the next day to their house, but they weren't there, in fact, the house was empty". "where was this house, Dudley"? "Twenty-three-forty-two sycamore. When I found it-empty, my gut started hurting me, and I felt betrayed. When I got home, I told my parents everything, they were shocked, and I never felt lower than when I saw the look of disappointment in their eyes. I knew I had to do the right thing, so here I am, do with me as the law allows". With that, he hangs his head and softly sobs and cries.
"Dudley, we appreciate your candor, and we forgive you for hurting our sister and brother." All three of them look at Susan and me in shock. "Dudley, we are Elisabeth and John's older siblings Daniel and Susan Wilde. They are not doing well, but they are out of the woods; they are on ventilators and in comas. We don't blame you; you were dragged into something that was put in place by an individual who has a hate-on for Susan and I. I'm sorry you were dragged in, and I'm sure you have learned something from this, don't look down on individuals smaller than you, they may surprise you". Dudley starts to outright ball his eyes out. We both reach across the table and hold his paws. His parents hold him tight; after a while, he stifles his sniffles and looks up at us, "What happens now"? "Nothing Dudley, Susan, and I feel you have learned your lesson; nothing can be accomplished by putting you in the system, go home, try to do one good deed every day for someone else." With that, we stand up, they stand up, and we all exit interrogation. Susan and I grab the recording of the interview, and we head upstairs.
I draw all the wolves that Dudley had shown me. The male matches the wolf Elisabeth had given me. They are passed around, but no one knows them. Roger didn't recognize them either. Roger had agreed to stay in holding; his wife was informed he was undercover. The house address came back to one of the Don's holding companies. He had quite a few of them. Follow the money. It always leaves a trail. We find the second mole that the Don had in the force. He wasn't as lucky as Roger. He was just a lowly beat cop who accessed files he shouldn't have; he was already under investigation by I.A. he had been on the force for only five-years. He hadn't had a chance to doctor anything for the Don. I.A. threw the book at him.
By the end of the week, we are ready to move. Kathy had devised a plan but had to change it when we gave her new info, she wasn't happy, but the information made her plan better. It was the dark of the moon, perfect for the project. Ileana flew a motley grey and black camo "Graviton Troop Carrier" to Don's Property. It was a bare-bones "graviton Craft." It had long center axes, with seats attached to the sides. It was all open. She landed the craft in the gardens; the tack team members fanned out while she sat there. She brought up her trank gun and kept a lookout. After a few minutes, tack team members started to come back with the sentries. The sentries were strapped into the craft. Ileana bounced the vessel up and over four blocks and dropped them off for the wagons. She then went back to the center of the garden. In case a quick escape was needed for tack team members.
Meanwhile… I come up to the sentries at the main gate. "Hello, I need to speak to the Don." "Go away, fox, your trespassing on private property." "Just call the Don, my name is Daniel Wilde, I'm sure he will want to talk to me personally." The sentry is unsure, so he calls. I can hear the exuberance in Don's voice as the sentry holds the receiver away from his ear. They unlock the gate and allow me in. They do a strip search of me and usher me into the study of the Don. He's sitting there behind a big old oak desk and leaning back in his chair; he smiles at me.
"So, the fox walks in the wolves' den; you know you are a dead mammal, right"? "You may believe so, sir, but no, that's not true; in actuality, I'm here to offer you a deal." He laughs, "What can you offer me that I can't take"? "Sir, I can't offer you much if you had just left my family alone, and If you had just accepted the fact that Darwin had died by misadventure, we would not be having this conversation now. But because you involved my family, I want to see you behind bars, but to be fair, I have a deal for you". The Don laughs again, "Let's hear what you are offering; I'll decide then."
"Option "A" you hand over the three wolves involved in the attempted murder of my family member, the ZPD confiscates your bank accounts, and you walk away. Option "B" you hand over the three wolves involved in the attempted murder of my family members, you lose all your money, and you go to jail. Option "C" we take the wolves involved with the attempted murder of my family members, you lose all your money, including the offshore accounts, you go to jail for the rest of your life, and your family is arrested as well. The ZPD feels we are fair, "Freddie Freakin." The Don had been laughing the whole time I was listing his options, but when I said his real name, he stops laughing.
How do you know my name"? "I know a lot about you Fred, I imagine a lot of connotations of you name in high school, and I can see why you would change your name, but come on, a movie name? Well, you know, what's in a name"? he stands up and slams the top of his desk. "You smug little bastard, what do you know? I lived most of my life as "Freaking Freddie" I hated it. The first chance I got, I changed it. This conversation is over. I'm taking option "D." "And what would that be, Sir"? "Option "D" would be me killing you and getting my revenge for my son." "That's not a very good option, sir; it still leaves you with nothing." "Your right, but you get to pay." The door had quietly opened up behind me, and four of his goons had come in. "Kill him, boys," he says as he ducks behind his desk.
I jump out of my chair and, going to the primal side of my brain, project savageness; I then go on the attack. They can see my eyes and feel my savageness, and they are shocked. This is all the advantage I need. I throw the chair at two of them and boost it with power. They try to deflect it, and the one on the far left gets his arm broken. At the same time, I chop the paw of the one on the right; he drops his gun as his wrist goes snap. The next one on the left points his gun at me, and I kick it up as it goes off. I then jam my paw in his solar plex. He falls back, trying to catch his breath. I catch the gun on the way down. I grab the arm of the one to the right of him and, using it a leaver, slam my hind paws in the side of the one on his right. I break a few ribs; he drops his gun. I start to grab guns and unloading them, throw the gun one way, and the clips the other. The first one has picked up his weapon in his off paw, and smiling at me, pulls the trigger. The look of shock on his face as the gun just goes click was priceless. I kick the gun out of his paw and break his other arm. I then pick up his gun and do the same to it as the others.
After hearing nothing, the Don slowly raises himself, he had been looking over the edge of the desk, and he has a gun pointed at me. His goons are all looking at me from the floor. "Well, I'm impressed; where did you learn to fight like that"? "Doesn't matter, sir, it's over." "Really? Who has the only gun pointed at you"? "Won't do you much good, sir; go ahead, pull the trigger." I just stand there, with my arms crossed over my chest. "If you say so," he pulls the trigger; at the same time, five bullets hit the bulletproof windows behind him. Nothing happens except he hears a click. I smile at him as I start to walk over to him. He pulls the trigger five more times, then throws the gun at me. He pushes a button on the desk, and a hole opens up under him. It closes before I can jump it. I speak into a cufflink. "Coming at you, Susan."
"What happened"? he thinks as he runs down the tunnel on all fours. It's about a half-mile jog down the tunnel to the end. He gets there and gets up on his hind paws. He puts his front paws on his knees, breathing hard. Eventually, he stands up, and entering the code in the door, enters the garage. This was his escape plan; the tunnel was built from his mansion to the house on sycamore. He enters the garage and gets behind the wheel of the car that is there. He opens the garage door as he hits the key to start the vehicle. The vehicle winds over. As the door gets high enough, he can see a bunny standing in front of him bathed in some lights from the curb. She is holding a gun on him and the car's spark distribution system in the other. "Sir, you are under arrest; move from the car, and get down on the ground." He does as she asked. "Put your paws behind your back." He complies, and Susan walks over. He jumps up, thinking to surprise her, she is smaller than him. He just stares down at the dart that sprouts in his chest.
The rest of the night is spent going through the mansion; we find the secret panic room and convince the wolves to come out. Susan had joined us all at this point. We arrest the wolves involved in our family member's injuries. We found it was a family of wolves that worked for the mansion as cleaners. Someone had tried to erase the computers of the mansion compound, but the I.T. department foiled that. We found a lot of information on the other crime bosses in Zootopia, including Mr. Big. The next day we arrest all his lawyers working for him. We start an investigation on all his lawyers, looking for more than just the fact, they worked for him. Two of them had defrauded clients of money. The rest turned on Freddie for immunity from prosecution. They were all sitting in jail cells beside Freddie. He doesn't have far to go to talk to his Lawyer.
On Saturday, we are all visiting Elisabeth and John when their monitors go crazy, and they start convulsing. The doctor and nurses rush in. Dad just holds mom with tears in his eyes. "It's ok, mom and dad, they are getting better." They look at us; we all have smiles on our faces. They look back in as the heart rate monitors go back to normal, and they stop convulsing. The ventilators have now been removed; they are breathing on their own. We show mom and dad how to check with their new abilities, and they are amazed. The next day, they are moved from ICU to a regular ward, and mom and dad spent most of the day with them holding their paws.
