Chapter 4

The Findings

Written By: SmilingDolphins

Delphin pushed open the door and stepped into the interrogation room. The white-beaked dolphin from the day before was sitting at the generic white fold-up table, paw cuffs on his wrists and ankles, anchoring him to the floor. The dolphin scowled when he sat down.

"I'm not telling you a thing." He sneered. Delphin set his arms on the table, fingers laced together. He leaned a little bit closer to the dolphin.

"Now you listen here, Eli. You are currently facing a death sentence. Did you know that? We have plenty to convict you like that."

Delphin snapped his fingers. The white beak's scowl didn't waver, but his eyes flashed with a look of uncertainty.

"But, if you help us, and tell us what we want to know, we will take your cooperation into thought. You won't be able to walk free, but depending on how much information you give us, and how valuable that info is, you might be able to bring down your sentence to life with the possibility of parole. It all depends on you. Are you ready to die for the cause you've aligned yourself with?"

The dolphin's scowl disappeared, and he slumped slightly.

"Fine. I'll tell you." The dolphin took a deep breath. "The Black Lion is run by a lion named Dagger. He's, well, a black lion. It the only one I've ever seen. Supposedly he has some disease. Supposed to be the opposite of that one where you're all white."

"That's albinism. Its counterpart is called melanism. Do you know his exact species?"

The white beak thought about it.

"I think he's a Congo Lion. He's very skinny. I've never seen his face, or his mane, though."

"How is that so?"

"He wears a mask. Rumor is that he had a lot of scars. And I think he cuts his mane short to fit behind the mask. The only person that's allowed to see him without his mask on is his barber. Well, he's more like a slave. It's this old flying fox bat, everyone calls him Lucky. Dagger had his tongue torn out, so he can't tell anyone what he looks like. He cuts everyone's fur for them, flying around their heads. His left foot is a stub that connects to multiple tools, stuff like that."

Delphin nodded his head. Flying Fox Bats were the largest bats in the world. They were quite rare to see. Even rarer than seeing a dolphin living on land.

"What do you know about Dagger's past?"

"Supposedly, it's pretty dark. I heard that his parents were treated real bad for how their son looked, with the melatonin."

"Melanism."

"Right. Supposedly, they killed themselves when he was only 3. Shot themselves in the head right in front of him. Dagger killed his first mammal only a year later."

Delphin felt a chill run down his spine. To have murdered at the age of 4 seemed impossible. But seeing the acts this crime syndicate carried out, he could believe it. Delphin stood up from the table.

"Thank you for the information. Someone will be by soon to take you to the cells. Good luck with your trial. You're going to need it, Eli."

Delphin sat at his desk, looking over the transcribed version of the audio recording for Eli's interrogation. He had a bad feeling about this lion. The sun was going down outside, and the sound of footsteps hit his ears.

"Hey, Delphin. Ready to go home?" Pulchra asked, leaning against his desk. Delphin set down the paper and smiled.

"Yeah. This can wait until tomorrow. Head out to the car. I'll meet you in a sec."

Pulchra nodded and walked off. Delphin looked back at the paper. He took a lighter out of his desk and held up the page. He dropped it into the trash can as it began to be consumed by the fire. He closed the lid on the can and stood up. He put on his suit jacket and grabbed his keys. He shut down his computer, and walked out of the office, turning off the light as he did.

"Sir, we found the boat."

"Well?"

"No sign of him. His guards were gone too."

"What are your thoughts, Commander?"

"Either the seller kidnapped him, he and his guards jumped off and drowned, or he was captured by someone else."

"When we find him, I want him killed on sight."

"Yes sir."

"Leave me be."

"Yes sir."

"What is it, Dagger?"

"One of my men has likely been captured."

"If he reveals too much, my plan could be compromised."

"Our plan."

"Yes, yes, of course. You've ordered him killed?"

"Onsight."

"Good. Let's hope he hasn't said anything important."

"Another thing."

"What?"

"I want more funding. We need to become bigger. Right now we are only seen as a crime syndicate. For our plan to come to fruition, we need global support."

"You'll get your funding Dagger. But things like this, important, high-ranking, mammals being captured by potential enemies? It doesn't exactly encourage me."

"Eli was a fool. He only cared about money, sex, and drugs."

"Then why did you allow him into your inner circle?"

"As I said, he only cared about money, sex, and drugs. He would do anything for an hour with some whore, a couple thousand, or a few pounds of crack. He was ruthless and relatively cheap."

"Ironic. A dolphin, seen as such noble creatures, being a dirty criminal. After he is eliminated, what do you plan to do next?"

"I plan to kill whoever took him, of course."

"Obviously you dolt! I meant what is your next target."

"We do not know."

"Well, I suggest you find out! You can have your funding when you give me a reason for you needing it! I suggest something big."

"Fine. We will launch a strike against Lionnon. We will take control."

"Good. Expect your money soon. I expect Lionnon to be conquered. That will certainly get the world's attention."

"We will have it within a month at least."

"I would prefer it sooner, but fine. Just get it done Dagger. I will not tolerate failure."

"Neither will I, Madame B."

If any of you can guess where this is going, you win a cookie! Just try not to spoil it. If you want to tell me your thoughts and guesses, PM me. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. In the next one, we'll see the world's reaction to Lionnon(Lebanon), being invaded. After that, we'll have a bit of a reveal. Anyway, thanks for reading! Leave your thoughts and comments below, they are the lifeblood of an author. Don't forget to follow and fav! Also, go check out my YT channel, SmilingDolphins. I have released a dubbing of the story Zootopia: At The Beginning, By WingedKatt. In case you're wondering, yes, they approved me to do this. Currently, only chapter 1 is available. Chapter 2 will be posted next Thursday. And, a small personal announcement, I got to hold my niece for the first time yesterday. She is so cute! That's all for now!

I love y'all! Stay safe! :Dolphins out!