Chapter 3

.

The interrogation room was quiet for a moment or two before Detective Oates leant down to his side, pulling out a laptop. Placing it down and opening it up, he pressed the start button before speaking out. "Open emails… Open nighthowler pictures. Full screen."

He nodded a little before turning the device around, the screen branded with the image that had shocked Kris just a little while before. His locker, the books neatly stacked, a cluster of refined nighthowler pellets laying on top like a clutch of tiny eggs. The large horse gave Catano a look as she turned on a recorder, stating out who it was they were interrogating, before turning back towards his prisoner.

"That's a big name; Kristofferson," he began, seemingly exaggerating his Texan drawl. "I gather you're from out of town. Isn't that so?"

Kris paused, looking up to his father and Peter Rufu for advice, the latter speaking up. "At this stage, just state your name and current immigration status."

The young silver fox nodded, sounded sensible so he'd follow it. "My name is Kristofferson Emmanuel Silverfox. I've been living in Zootopia for about a year, first coming over so my Aunt and Uncle could look after me while my father was ill."

Oates nodded. "Canidea, correct?"

Kris nodded, smiling a little. "Yes, Prince Edward…"

"-So, you weren't here a few years ago," Oates spoke, cutting Kris off abruptly. He paused, looking down at the laptop, the picture shining out and the horses' voice darkening. "So, do you know what those things actually are?"

Rufu cut in, speaking to his client. "They might try and claim that you knowing what they are is proof you were familiar with them before. If the first time you knew what they might have been was when a cop read you the riot act, then tell them that."

He nodded. "I guess they're Nighthowler pellets. I mean, I'd heard about them in the news, I knew from the reports that they looked similar to blueberries. When the door opened and everyone acted scared, I kind of worked it out."

Kris' lawyer nodded, while Oates' nostrils flared. "Yes, and do you happen to know why they acted so scared?"

He nodded slowly, thinking back to that assembly a few months ago. "I gathered it must have been really rough for everyone living through it." How much rougher was it now, he wondered, given that mammals might be thinking that he'd been bringing some in. He wasn't stupid, he knew that was what those in front of him were thinking, that they were his. "But seeing how much it hurt my friends, I'd have never put them through the same kind of thing."

"And what exactly would you put them through then?" Oates pressed, beginning to lean forward. His head alone was almost as big as Kris' torso and his presence filled the room, beginning to press in on the mammal he was staring down. "Because the way I see it, bringing a few notorious bioweapons into school is sure to cause a bit of a ruckus, don't you agree officer?"

Catano nodded. "This is serious, the laws around things like that are more severe than if you'd brought a gun to school."

"Speaking of which, was that your plan?" Oates asked, looking up in the corner of the room as he thought aloud. "Because I hear an awful lot about what's going on in the States, every month a new school getting shot up by some kid who wants his five minutes of fame and all that. Now, I don't agree with an awful lot that goes on here in Zootopia, but that not happening is quite personally a pretty positive in my books…" There was a pause as he turned down, his eyes boring into Kris' and his voice dropping an octave as it hardened. "Which makes me more than a little angry to hear that some foreign kit might be comin' in to put his own twist on the thing, using our worst nightmare to make it stand out and all."

Dr Silverfox looked at Oates with venom in his eyes, his tail wrapping around his son as he spoke. "How dare you even suggest that my boy would do anything like that!"

"You're not the one that needs to be answering," Oates said. "He is."

"My father is right though," Kris spoke. "-About me never doing anything like that. -I can't even imagine why someone would. I like my school, I like my friends, I wouldn't put them in harm's way. I don't know where those nighthowlers came from or why they were in my locker, I haven't even touched it since Friday."

One of Oates' ears flicked up as he moved to speak. Kris though couldn't help but notice one of his legs brushing up against Catano's, the cheetah immediately blurting in and cutting him off. "-So, you genuinely don't know where those came from?"

"No."

"You have no supplier, nobody you were doing pick-ups or drop offs for?"

"No," Kris said again, glancing over at the picture, still shining out with the pellets on full display. "I mean, if I were why would I place them like that?"

"-That's something I was going to bring up," his lawyer said. "If my client was involved in nefarious dealings, why would he place those drugs in such an obvious place? There is no attempt made to hide them, bury them, disguise them. Indeed, simply opening that locker up would put them at risk of being spotted. In addition, there's the risk of other species smelling them. If this was part of a deal, then arguably only an idiot would bring them into school, yet alone store them like that."

"Well," Oates said, a crap eating grin on his face. "Given that he was caught messing with howlers, I think we can all agree that your client meets that definition."

Kris bristled a little, only for his father to speak ahead of him. "Do not insult my son," he hissed, this time nudging up to him and hugging him tighter, something received with mixed feelings given all that was going on. "Even if you ignore his grades and reports, I've got numerous friends, some of them your own colleagues, who can testify that my son is nothing like that. I don't know how scared he's been today, given what's happened to him, but however much it is I'd appreciate it if you stopped poking him and actually worked on finding out who put them in there in the first place."

Oates shrugged. "In that case, please step back while we ask our prime suspect a few more questions. Now, Mr Refu, in terms of the smell, few mammals know what nighthowlers smell like, especially in the city. I'd agree that if this were somewhere out in Bunnyburrow, you'd have something going on there. As for why they're like that, maybe it's so they're easy to slap your paw down onto, or for grabbing and chucking at a nearby elephant when the time is right. I believe one of the teachers is a bull one, isn't he?"

"My religious studies teacher, who I like and get on with, is one, yes," Kris said. "But I've never seen those things before or want anything to do with them. I just want to clear this up and help you find who really put them in there."

"So, you deny it was you," Oates spoke darkly, Kris noting that, once again, he'd tapped Catano with his foot hoof.

"I've never seen or touched them before."

"Are you certain?" Catano spoke. "If you're just a cog in the machine, manipulated or not, we could strike a deal where you give up those higher up. Given that this is a serious but non-violent offence, you'd probably be in a reform school until you graduate. However, if you cooperate you could potentially earn weekend home passes from the get go. If you were under duress, so forced under threat of violence, you could leave here a free mammal."

Kris' lawyer began to speak, ready to explain what Catano was speaking about, only for Kris to pip him to the post with something completely different. "If I could help you I would but I can't. I know nothing. Someone else must have placed those things there."

His voice echoed around the room, the two officers looking at each other. Catano gave a look to the door, Oates nodding, and they stood up, the latter tapping the recorder off. "We'll just be going out to discuss stuff in private. Ya'll can talk about your stuff in here too. We'll be back in a sec."

"That seems fair," the lawyer said, as the two stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

There was a pause, before Dr Silverfox grabbed Kris' paws, looked into his son's eyes silently for a few seconds before pulling him into his chest, hugging him tight. The young silver fox shook a little before relaxing, his own paws finding his way around his father. "Did I mess up there, at the end?" he asked quietly.

"Not at all," his lawyer said.

"Good," he said, relaxing. "Thought so, but…"

"It doesn't matter," reassured him. "You did well."

Kris smiled. He always valued keeping cool, keeping his emotions in check; heck, it was why his friends jokingly called him Mr Calm.

But today had been rough, and even though he was certain that things were going to be okay, he was surrounded by good people after all, a little part of him was rather utterly terrified. Especially when he feared that he'd tripped up and messed up all the other hard work others were putting in to keep him safe. But it wasn't to be, he'd kept calm throughout and hadn't let his father down.

They held each other close, their lawyer holding off as they comforted each other, taking refuge in those they loved in this most trying time.

.

.

From the other side of the observation screen, Chief Bogo looked on, scratching his chin before turning to see Catano and Oates come in. "Well," he said, looking up at them. "We know how this one is pleading."

The large horse nodded before sitting down, scratching his head with his hoof. "I'm feeling a little rotten going on at him like that, but the way I see it he's either telling the truth or he's got a poker face you do not want to ever go against."

The Chief nodded, before looking over at Catano. "Offering a deal I see. Have the Detectives Dawson been rubbing off on you?"

She frowned distastefully. "No, I just happened to be lumbered playing the good cop this time. Not that it helped us."

"No it did not," the Chief noted darkly, turning back to face his suspect through the mirror. He peered down on the young silver fox, currently being filled in on his rights and situation by his lawyer. He did not envy him right now. "This is the best lead we have right now," the Chief said slowly, turning back to his officers. He couldn't help but kick himself for sending away his two newest detectives, right as everything flared up, but what was done was done. Of course, adding to all of this, was the fact that he'd had to take Wilde and Hopps off the case. Of all the mammals who had to turn up with the howlers in their locker, it was one they knew. Wilde's soon to be godchild's cousin.

But that didn't mean he doubted that they'd get to the bottom of this. Oates was an old hoof at the game but not one to underestimate, while Catano was highly competent in her own right. "I want you to explore every avenue you can with extreme prejudice. Do you understand?"

They both nodded.

"Now, what do you think, and where do we go from here?"

.

.

Meanwhile, across the city, various other little chats were going on. Back at the school, hundreds were taking place as the news spread. Students talked or shouted or argued, staking their claim that one of their own was guilty or innocent. Originally it was only the class in question that was going to be returning home that day, the parents turning up and having their own, worried, chats with their children. However, the news about the nighthowlers had spread and soon more parents, from other classes or years, were turning up, trying to get their children away from any danger that might be present.

"-I mean, who knows if there's more in the school?" a red fox tod said, shaking a little as he pulled his daughter away. That daughter, almost eighteen and with long locks of flowing blonde hair, was uncharacteristically accepting of his concern. "I mean if someone wanted to cause damage, they might have been slipping them into the canteen food. Into the soup or a salad or who knows what."

The vixen in question nodded, finally slipping back and pulling her paw out of her father's as they cleared the school grounds. "I guess so," she said. "But you know I eat offsite."

He paused, looking back at her and nodding. "I know, Brittany, but what if another animal eats them, I… -You know how concerned we were, I was, back then."

She nodded slightly. "I know, we're still getting through the toilet paper stockpile. But that was more because we feared that we might…" She left the rest unsaid.

"Yes," he sighed. "I did too dear, I did too. But I was also scared that I'd be out one day and then a giant lion or a bear might come down on you or me. And now I'm scared that a kid might wait until he's in a crowd to howler himself! Or hit an elephant! And he's in the same room that you are, then…"

This time it was his turn to leave things unsaid. An awkward silence filled the air as Brittany looked around, briefly spotting a younger student from the class she was a prefect in walking on the other side of the road. Her heart flickered with concern as she saw the white ewe trembling and shaking, looking this way and that out of terror. "Maisy…" she called out, pausing as the younger student looked up and jumped in shock, practically running down the street to a waiting car, gleaming in the sunlight where it stood. Someone from inside pulled open the front passenger seat and she leapt in, the door closing as the massive black SUV rolled off into the distance.

"Huh, she was in a hurry," Brittany's father commented, before turning down to her. "Come on, let's go home."

The blonde haired vixen held still for a second or two before shaking her head. "Gah… Yeah, that sounds good."

Off they went again, the air filled with an awkward silence which he occasionally tried to break. "I'm guessing you know her, right?"

"Yeah, she's in the form I prefect for. Some stupid bullies must have made her life crap after Smellwether was taken in."

"You think people might say that she did it?"

Brittany shrugged. "Not the craziest thing. I mean, there's some people going around saying that this other kit in that form, Kris, was the one they found the howlers on." She looked off to the site before barking out a tiny laugh. "I mean, they could at least try to be realistic. Seriously…"

.

.

Elsewhere in the city, three mammals skulked down in a small hidey-hole. They weren't ones who liked to be seen, even as they did what needed to be done. Few mammals would understand their goals, their aims, their enemies. Few here at least. A long time ago in a different place, they'd been heroes, but that was a long and tiring battle won a long time ago. The lead one, his muzzle scowling as his eyes flicked over the incoming reports, let out a little growl. "A kit… He dragged a kit into all this!"

A delicate paw touched over his coiling one and he looked to the side. "Keep calm, dear," she said softly as he broke off, huffing.

"You don't understand, it's not the first time. Back east, our mutual former least favourite Mayor in existence made sure that some kids still in elementary school went to juvie, for years, all to spite me!"

The room fell quiet as she looked around. Whatever happy ending may have come out of those past exploits, that was still a terrible sore spot.

"-It was Halloween, dammit. They were kids, they were just kids…" He paused and sniffed as a third, much larger, paw touched his shoulder in solidarity. There was a deep rumble from behind them as the third, larger, member spoke up.

"I know you still part blame yourself for what happened to them, but it wasn't your fault then and this isn't like that at all."

"-And then there was that teen in Delmar he called by mistake," the first mammal carried on. "He then humiliated himself in front of him, raged on at him for daring to mock him and then sent his lackeys out to bring him in for that little insult! That kit had to flee the state for the whole summer!"

"He literally stayed at a friend's house across the street, and we had it all sorted by summer's end."

The leader waved back dismissively. "Yes, but my point is still entirely valid," he spoke, before adopting a more sober tone. "But, damn, I thought we were past that. I thought with his defeat we were all past that stuff, finally past bringing kits into it, but no. Our new nemesis is into it too. Maybe he did his research, worked out that this was a real sore spot for us, huh…"

"Maybe not," the second member spoke. "Maybe this isn't something personal between him and us."

"It's not your name that he takes in vain you know."

"I know," she said, as he sighed.

"-And I was so close before! So close, but he gave me the slip. I still wonder if I should have broken cover to the Chief, Wilde and Hopps, we were all together… Hindsight and all… But why this, why now?"

The third mammal spoke again. "Well, let's say it's a piece of his puzzle. How does it help him? A distraction maybe? It could be drawing us away right now while they take in that package my brother discovered." He frowned a little. "And after how much I ribbed flyboy for letting the bad guys swipe that, I don't want to make myself look like an idiot too."

"As far as my research shows, that package, whatever they want with the Don's last moments, is still in transit with 'Elsa'," the second mammal spoke. "We'll have some time before we have to deal with it. But that leaves this mystery unanswered. Any thoughts, dear?"

"I wish I knew," the first mammal said, looking back forward as a predatory glean shined over his eyes. "But I'm thinking that some of his lackeys will be out there to guide things along the way that he and his gang wants them to go. We find them, we can follow them back to their leader."

"And the kit?" the female member asked.

The leader looked back to his screen. "I gather he's got some good mammals on his side. Briefly met them myself, same time I almost got him. But we'll make him pay for this."

The figure behind him nodded and smiled. "Shall I get out my big cussin' stick?"

The leader smiled and turned back to the incoming data. "Yeah. I think we're going to need it."

.

.

"What...!"

The exclamation echoed out, its originator's brow furrowing as he read on further. There was a slight clatter from the side, before he noticed someone much larger than him, but not really the person he wanted, enter. "A new problem, dear?"

"No, beautiful, no…" he said, as he opened up his phone and called a very important number. "Not yet at least, though knowing our luck it'll… -Yes! Yes, this is important! Have you heard the news about the howlers and the school yet?"

The response filtered out as he nodded to it. "I hear that's the very basics of it, not that I really care for the kid either way. What I want to know is whether he was one of yours or not?"

…

"Well, I'm sorry you're short-staffed, but as we all say sacrifices have to be made, dear chap."

…

"Well, from some more than others," he said rather pointedly, grumbling a little. He listened on to the complaints coming from the other end of the line, his brow furrowing further before jumping up with a jolt. "-I'll have you know that I'm still perfectly committed to our joint plan, thank you very much!"

…

"-Project Black Phoenix is being done on my own time, don't you know," he spoke, paw going to his heart. "Moreover, I would never go against my word to a fellow miscreant."

What followed were a few little chastisements which he begrudgingly ignored, letting them sail over his head. All part of compromising really. In any case, he only really joined up with this fellow out of respect for the misdeeds he'd done in the past, and what he had planned for the future. Oh, not forgetting his own partner of course, the third side of this little triangle. Now there was a mammal who really could do stuff, and had. Not to belittle the guy he was currently talking to, of course.

Indeed, he'd finally got the answer to his question.

"So then how did they end up there?"

…

"Well, we'll have to see," he muttered, having a various mix of dark feelings about this. Oh, it meant they couldn't be betrayed or tracked back to, but it meant there was stuff going on that he didn't know about. He really didn't like there being stuff going on that he didn't know about, and as he began digging and researching, he swore to himself that he would remedy that situation promptly. "You and your partner will have to do their best to gather up any information on this, you hear!"

…

"Good," he muttered, looking on at the data coming in. Nothing classified yet, sadly. Instead there were the various ripples on the pond of social media, truly a dreary and depressing thing for someone like him to have to filter through. Still, he had to know. Not knowing meant that things could turn and coil up in the dark, striking you with no warning and from the angle you least expected. Knowing, though, knowing could open doors. He knew. It felt so long ago that he didn't know about it, about that dark truth that couldn't be spoken. But he'd found it, and like Adam and Eve biting the apple there had been no going back then. Years travelling, learning, discovering, getting the pieces together as he readied himself to truly enter history. Oh, if his old enemies could know what he planned, if they could begin to see and understand. He was a marvellous villain, if he did say so himself, one of the greatest.

But in the grand scheme of things there was more than that.

With this he would rise up, past the likes of his partners or the corrupt mayors and bloodied dictators, even past those unknown legends in the criminal shadows. He might even find out the identity of whoever ran his arms supplier, one of the great mysteries in the criminal underworld. Those who had been good to him would be rewarded, he was fair, but as for himself…

He hadn't just bitten the apple, he'd harvested a bunch and was cooking them up into a very special baked treat as he spoke. There was one shadow to rule them all and it had once cast long and dark in the blackest of places, its presence even felt unknowingly in the lightest, but its place had been emptied. He would fill it again, and unlike the past occupier, this time he would not stay hidden.

He mused on, quickly piecing together the real name of that anonymous vulpine. "Kristofferson Silverfox," he said, rolling it over on his tongue. It rolled well, and he raised an eyebrow. An errant thought, most would dismiss it as nothing, but…

He typed on further, then further, then further as his brow furrowed and his eyes darted across the screen. There was a nudge from his side as his paramour leant down to get closer look, her eyes widening. "My word…"

He was too busy processing it to spare a response.

"Of all the chances and coincidences..."

"Of all indeed," he said, a hundred different feelings flowing through his mind. Oh, this could be good, very good in fact. He had had no idea and, though things were less than ideal now, he was perfectly forgiving given that he wouldn't have otherwise known. "So, how do we play our cards with this little treat then?" he spoke, smiling.

"Whichever way you feel best."

He smiled wider, turned back down to the screen and let off a wicked laugh. "Oh, little Silverfox, thanks for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm afraid I've got some good news and some bad news. That bad news, unfortunately, is that things are going to get much wronger for you. The good news? Ah, well you see, the good news is for me and, sadly, not for you. But I can assure you that it is very good news."

.

.

"Wait, a fox?"

"Yes, so I've gathered," a white-tailed deer doe spoke. She was not liking this conversation. Indeed, she rarely liked any conversation with this mammal and, as he was technically her boss, she had to go through a lot of them. Thankfully, though, he wasn't lined up to be her boss for much longer. Indeed, were they not caught up in a lot of nasty machinations above their heads then, following the popular sentiment, their positions should be reversed (and staying that way for the foreseeable future). But, in the here and now she had to put up with it. She grimaced at his subdued response, not the kind of one you'd want to hear from someone in his position.

"Pardon me," he spoke, giving a fake cough as he tried to cover up what he'd actually let out. She wasn't fooled. "I think I'll take this from here."

She winced, glancing down to look at the picture on her desk. There she stood, the big burly arms of a mountain lion wrapped around her, his fanged mouth giving her cheek a little bite. "From what I gather, this isn't an adult, it was one of the stu…"

"I'll take this from here," he spoke again, and she winced, not knowing if he sounded frustrated at that development or excited. Were she able to cross her hooflets, she would, hoping for the former.

"Are you certain? I can easily…"

"-I think this needs to be treated as seriously as a scared population would want it to be," he spoke. Again, she wasn't sure if he was angry or excited, though this time she felt that 'all of the above' could also apply. "I mean from someone like yourself, who must have been in so much fear due to a certain mayor's actions…"

She hissed, glancing down to her picture again. After all he'd said, how dare he…

"-Don't you agree?" He asked, this time with a definite glee in his voice.

"I'll be forwarding them on," she spoke plainly, "I see you've smelt blood in the water and are winding yourself up, I can practically hear you salivating. Good hunting." Hanging up, she took a moment to compose herself. She didn't share those sentiments, but she knew that he would be most irritated with her metaphor choice. Small victories and all, but now it was time to get to work. There wasn't anything that she could do and, in any case, his excesses would be hamstrung by the youth protection laws. Regardless, she felt she better warn those on the front line.

.

.

"Kris isn't going to jail, is he?"

Silence filled the room as the various mammals turned to look at Ash. He shied away from their gaze, looking down and fussing with his fingers as he tried to keep himself calm. It was broken off as a red paw touched his, stroking the top before working down and under to grip it hard. "Ash," his father said confidently. "As the head of the Fox family, let me tell you that we'll do each and every thing possible or imaginable before letting something like that happen to one of our own."

Ash held on a little tighter, only to look down at the floor. "Seriously though," he said.

"I… " Mr Fox began, before cutting himself off. He sighed. "We'll fight for him, fight for him hard," he promised, as Ash looked up at him. Their gaze held for a few seconds, the younger fox at least feeling a little less lost, before a new voice spoke up.

"Hey Mr," Nick began, before making a spitting sound. "Things are going to be okay, and even if something goes horribly wrong, which it shouldn't, then your cousin will not be going to jail."

"But…" Ash began, only to be cut off by his father.

"I think he might be right, we've got some pretty good laws, don't we?"

Nick nodded. "I think it was back when your father was off doing his ranger stuff, but back when I was in high school a bad thing happened with the youth justice system…"

"-Was this the thing with squirrel troubles," Haida asked. "I remember my mother pulling my sister from school after the reports began coming in."

Nick nodded, turning to Ash. "Okay, quick primer. Government tries to force red and grey squirrels to get along. Red and grey squirrels do not get along. Suspensions do not work, squirrel parents are happy their kids were fighting the enemy, so, oopsie number one, they let teachers make detentions be spent in Juvie. Oopsie number two, they think that teachers will be reasonable and use common sense. Spoiler, many weren't. Bad teachers with petty grudges made kits spend the night in juvie for basically nothing. The good news is that most people were mad at this, it all got scrapped after a few months. Better news, afterwards all political parties decided to work together for once and update the youth justice laws."

Ash nodded. "Okay, updated them to what?"

This time Judy spoke. "The agreement was that the system should make sure that a hungry orphan street kit, stealing a little bit of food or something, should have no chance of ending up behind bars. For a start, all youth interrogations require a lawyer and legal guardian present."

"Which was why they couldn't start until your uncle came in," Nick added. "Besides that, on the other side of the courtroom fence, they really try to avoid Juvie. When I was a kit, this city had about a dozen. Now they just have one, and only the really nasty kids are sent there. I'm talking about your willful murderers, the mammals who beat others to a pulp, your sex offenders, your triple-repeating offender or escapee. I'm talking the worst of the worst. Your shoplifters, hackers and trespassers can get fines, ankle tracking and community service, while your car jackers and drug dealers can get sent to secure training centres. Reform schools so to speak. Which I've heard are more like boarding schools. Visits are easier, they don't have cells or uniforms, and if the behaviour is good they let you out for weekends or even holidays."

Ash nodded, still not liking the sound of that. They'd still be taking Kris away, from his friends, from his family, from his life and from his father. After all that time worrying and waiting, after finally getting back together again, the two were just going to get torn apart. Again. He brought his knees up and wrapped his tail around his legs, sulking as he closed his eyes, their corners misting up. He couldn't help but remember those angry looks and stares before the event, the look on his cousin's face as he last saw him, and how useless he'd been as he was taken away.

"Ash…"

It was his father, but he shrugged it off. How could he understand? How could he even tell him about how he'd messed up, about how he'd…

"-Listen." It was Nick. "Kris will not be going away. Yes, they found those things in his locker, but do you know how strong that proof is in a court of law?"

Ash managed to peek up a little. "It seems like a lot."

"Does it?" Nick began, "yes, yet it does. But it can't stand on its own."

"After all," Judy continued, "those lockers aren't infallible. We've had drug cases in schools before, and every mammal can argue that someone opened theirs up and put something in. The police were called from outside, right?"

"I guess," Ash admitted. "They just turned up."

"Right," Judy agreed. "It's well known that a mammal could try that sort of thing. After all, I'm pretty sure you've heard of stuff like swatting. A good lawyer, something Kris should get, even before your uncle could hire one, can make that argument. Given that you need proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for a conviction, you need something else too. Most of the time we check cameras, ask for witnesses, investigate the perps home and schedule, even doing a blood test. This usually gives a mix of things that paint the mammal in question as a user or dealer."

"And I know this is different," Nick carried on. "But the same principles will apply and they won't find all that other stuff, which means your cousin will not be convicted. -Unless he actually did do it, which he didn't, of course."

The last bit lightened Ash's mood a little, giving him a brief respite from everything. However, it all began to pool back again, along with another, scary, thought. One that seemed to tear through him, freezing him in terror, as a knock on the door rang out. Ash looked up, breathing in faster and faster as the cheetah cop stepped inside and turned to look right at him. "Hello, Ash Fox? Mind if we have a little chat?"

.

.

"Yes, understood," Chief Bogo spoke, sighing as he put down his phone. He looked up to his waiting pair of officers. "That was Assistant District Attorney Jeanette Deux, just warning us that the DA himself is taking over."

The reaction was more pronounced on the predator of the pair.

"Make of it what you will," he said. The pair nodded, gathering up the files they'd been reviewing and slipping off. Bogo turned and looked on into the interview room. Inside was a new occupant, a new fox kit, looking as scared as he'd expect the true guilty party to be.