The Dreamland Diner did not come across as a place where millions of jellybeans would be handled, laundered, and negotiated. The decrepit, old diner stood nonchalantly tucked away behind the Pajama Place Toon HQ. As most of the darkened buildings had closed for the night, the small restaurant was brightly lit and still filling with a small horde of sketchy looking Toons. Many wore expensive suits, being careful as to not let a speck of a foreign substance infiltrate their presence. For someone unfamiliar, it would seem to be quite a strange sight, however for the residents of the area it was anything but. Every third Wednesday brought together the highest-ranking members of the Donald's Dreamland Brotherhood – the largest gang in Toontown. While the Brotherhood had been a consistent presence in Donald's Dreamland, only within the previous few months had it begun to grow and overwhelm many of the surrounding playgrounds. Most of the staff had been replaced with insiders, or those who were bullied or threatened into silence about the actions and activities that would take place in the homely looking eatery. The center of the establishment had been cleared, with all available tables formed into a large u-formation that would allow for everybody to view the boss. As the last of the members had taken their seats, a short yellow pig drew the curtains closed and locked the doors, nodding to other staff members who expertly choreographed their entrance, placing an array of different fancy bottles, glasses, and menus in front of their distinguished guests. "Thanks, sweetie." Captain Jack gently spoke to a young waitress who had placed his glass down neatly next to him. Reaching into his wallet, the affluent hog dumped out a breathtaking sum of jellybeans and stuffed it into the Toon's apron pocket. "Go home for the night, you've done good." Without a wasted motion, the maroon cat bowed and took her leave, thankful to avoid whatever would be happening.
Since Jack's hasty ascent to the position of Mafia Boss, the Brotherhood had seen their profits soar. High-ranking members were gloriously rewarded, while those who failed to meet expectations would usually find themselves looking at the bottom of The Valentoonian Ocean. It was a thrilling risk and reward that had pushed out many of the previous high rankers, who felt that they were not being adequately included in the decision making. They were quickly outnumbered when the insanity of Jack's leadership began to bring in money and a cult-like following from many of the lower-rankers. "Sir, would it be appropriate to start the proceedings now?" One of the scarred pig's bodyguards stood near him, bowing and whispering in his ear.
"Ah, yes. I think that we can get started." Jack spoke with a purpose, not a sole word wasted or without reason. His tone was an unusual mix of calmness and intimidation that combined with his terrorizing stature was enough to bring everybody to attention without effort. "I hope that everybody has had a wonderful month since we have all last met. I'm sure many of you have heard the news about The Melodyland Crime Sector had been targeting low-level dealers and taking product that they were turning around and re-selling. As of last night, I don't believe that they will any longer continue to be a thorn in our side. That does not mean that I want eyes off of them. They're small enough that we could easily crush them under the weight of our immense numbers alone, but what fun is there in that? Healthy competition is the basis for a capitalistic society to ensure a free and fair market." A few members chuckled, nobody ever really knew when Jack was joking or not, and nobody wanted to be caught with their pants down. "From this day forward, they know that their actions will have severe consequences. If you receive any reports from a lower-ranking official, I want it brought to me immediately. I will personally handle this, and if I find that there have been any unnecessary attacks on them… well I won't be happy."
"Captain, not to interrupt, but how should we in the Melodyland Brotherhood take this? After all, they still have a presence and are eating into our business. Not that I am unable to meet my required numbers easily, but I worry that if we don't put an end to this now, that they will continue to spread and maybe branch out into other playgrounds. We already know they have ties to the Bad Brrrrghothers, an alliance could prove to be unsettling." A lanky orange dog sat on the opposite side of the pig spoke anxiously, immediately regretting speaking without being spoken to. Chattering teeth lightly, the fear-stricken Toon waited with bated breath for a response as the pig took a sip from his glass.
Sloshing around the fizzy drink, Jack placed his glass down. Cross-hatching his fingers, the evil Toon rested his hands on the back of his head, leaning back in his seat, and humming to himself. "Well, I guess we will just have to stop that from happening then, won't we?" A few awkward moments passed as everyone waited patiently for his next words. "That is not our concern tonight though. Tonight we are here to report our earnings. We are still the biggest gang in Toontown, we don't need to worry about how the small fish in the pond act." Staring at the orange dog, Jack raised his eyebrows. "Why don't you lead off tonight, Horacio. You seem eager to speak, so I presume you have good news."
Standing up, Horacio grabbed a file from near his glass and shakingly approached his boss, knowing that he didn't have the numbers that would be needed. "Er, well sir. I think we still had a good month, considering the circumstances…" Placing his file down in front of the boss, he waited patiently while the black pig flipped through the pages. The hog stayed neutral as he scanned over the disappointing text, showing no signs of reaction or emotion that may tip his hand to his underlings. "I think now that we are putting the Melodyland Crime Sector on notice should start immediately paying off into better numbers next month."
"Do you think that none of the other members here have competition that occasionally disrupts their proceedings?" Finishing through the reading, Jack calmly placed the folder down in front of him and looked up to Horacio who was now shivering. "I understand that things have been a bit wild though, friend. Can I get your assurance that you will reach your goal next month?"
"Yes, yes sir. I would bet my life that it will! I wouldn't let you down again!" Horacio spoke in a relieved tone as the pig seemed to lighten his mood, reverberating through the rest of the crew, many who were secretly terrified of the volatile swine.
Holding out his hand, Jack nodded. "Very well, Horacio. Let us shake on this deal." Feeling the tight grip of the canine's clench, Jack squeezed tightly and pulled the dog towards him. Grabbing his knife from its resting place on his napkin, the pig swiftly jammed the sharp tip down into Horacio's exposed palm. "What the hell did I tell you all! I want results! I don't give a flying damn if you die, you will bring me what I tell you! A pittance of fifty-thousand jellybeans doesn't fly here! Anyone under one-hundred thousand in a month will not get off so easily!" Letting go of the whimpering hound, Jack calmly removed his knife that had lodged into the table, pinning down Horacio's bleeding hand allowing the orange dog to lumber backwards, pushing down his hand into his body to prevent further bleeding. "Now, I would probably go see a doctor about that, friend. Wouldn't want you to not be able to meet your obligations next month, yes?" Without another word, the dog had disappeared from sight. Everyone else in the room, including the staff, staring, unblinking, in fear. "Anyways, I'm getting a bit hungry. Why don't we order dinner and we will move on to the rest of our meeting. How does that sound?" Everybody nodded silently, knowing that any of them could be next.
After a mess of coordination efforts, Skids and the rest of his crew eventually landed back inside of the office of Donald Dreamland's one and only Drug Enforcement Agent. "Well, make yourself at home. Coffee is off limits, so don't think about drinking it." Jade took a seat behind her desk as the rest of the Toons crammed in and tried to find a comfortable place to sit down.
"Hey, I was going to sit there butthead." Sprout crossed her arms as The Orange took his place on the couch, the chonky monkey took up almost all of the seating area due to his size.
"Well, I got here first. So, that's just too bad. Just sit somewhere else, we have work to do." The Orange turned and looked at Jade, placing his interlocked hands on his lap and waiting respectfully for the briefing to begin, not noticing the green crocodile who stuck her tongue out at him and found a spot on the floor.
Skids took control and stood towards the small kitchen area where everybody could see him. "Alright everybody. By that I mean all five of us, we are all here because there is an especially important mission that needs immediate attention. However due to the nature of this, we need to keep it on a smaller scale to avoid setting off any suspicion or bringing any unwanted attention to ourselves." Walking over to the wall, the green Ranger stuck a large picture to the wall that had a picture of an intimidating figure, a black pig with one eye. "For you two newbies, this is our enemy. Not just us, but Toontown. A notorious gangster named Captain Jack. He is the leader of the largest gang in Toontown, "The Brotherhood." We believe they are inflicting a disease on Toontown, an epidemic of epic proportions.
Brownie interrupted and pumped his fist. "Yeah, those scum are bringing in a large amount of powdered sugar and killing Toons!"
"Um, well yes. Although from our suspicions it isn't that simple." Jade rapped her fingers on her desk and spoke in a monotone, waiting for her chance to jump in.
"Well, it's a simple explanation yes. We believe that they are using their members as plants to get into local schools, or other groups that may be more vulnerable to taking in powdered sugar. They blend in, and then introduce this highly addictive powdered sugar. Unfortunately it appears that while it isn't always deadly, it can be in very specific circumstances or in large amounts. Unfortunately due to its addictive qualities, many of our victims have overdosed due to sheer volume, as they are unable to stop eating."
Jumping up, Brussel growled and started punching the air. "Just get me in the same room as that stupid pig and I'll turn him into bacon! Can't believe somebody could do something like that!"
Deputy chuckled and patted the chonker crocodile on the shoulder. "Soon enough, young Ranger. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to pin anything on anybody yet. We don't have anybody who is willing to talk to us, and we feel that without a strategy, trying to infiltrate the gang undercover would be too risky at this time. For now, we need to focus on gathering information because we need to build as strong of a case as possible." The lime green dog pointed to the picture. "Now, I think if we can somehow get to Jacky boy, we have a good chance of unwinding the entire organization. He is a frightening figure though, so that is much easier said than done. He will do anything he can to consolidate power onto himself. Violence is second nature to this garbage. Another reason I wanted to keep this small in scale, less chances for somebody to get hurt."
"Mr. Skids, I don't mean to interrupt. But I actually believe that I know somebody who could help us with the infiltration of The Brotherhood. Before I was hired onto the Rangers, I worked for a small detective agency called C.U.M."
"Wait, was that really what it was called?" Jade could feel a migraine coming on, using her pointer fingers to rub the temples on her head. "Dare I ask what that stands for?"
The Orange clapped his hands excitedly and stood up, planting his hands on his hips heroically and looking towards the sky. "We were… The Citrus Uber Mob!"
Sprout quickly dove onto the couch, taking the monkey's spot and spreading out. "He just said he was part of a mob; we need to arrest him!" Unsure herself if she was kidding or not.
"We weren't a mob! We were a detective agency! We specialized in going undercover as well. However, I always wanted to join the Rangers so when the day came, I left my position in the agency. My friends The Lime, and The Lemon still routinely do undercover work, and I'm sure they would be glad to help… and maybe for a discount?"
"Hmm. Well I guess it couldn't hurt to bring two more onboard. However, I would like them vetted first. I don't want to take any chances of this being compromised." Skids turned to the green mouse and nodded. "Brownie why don't you and The Orange go take a trip to our new cohorts and do some research. Before that though, I believe Jade here has something else she wanted to cover."
The pink duck adjusted her firetoon's hat and cleared her throat. "About time, thanks. Since all of you are pretty new to this, I want you to know that this is still my jurisdiction and that I am ultimately responsible for things here. Somebody gets hurt? Well that's on me, and I'll have to explain it. So everybody better be real careful. I want this son of a sow myself. I want him to see my face when he is looking up in his dank, dark, prison cell. They have ruined Toontown for too many. Now, I have a friend who I have known for a long time who tipped me off recently about some going on at this gentleman's club he likes to attend. Says he has noticed a lot of members have been much more energetic lately, whatever that means. Now, he is a pretty innocent Toon, so I can't imagine he is very well versed in the world of drugs, but from that it makes me think that powdered sugar may be filtering its way into his club."
Brownie stroked his chin. "A gentleman's club? What is that exactly? Is that like a dance club? Because I remember me and Skids did a job at one of those a few months ago and the owner was trafficking and selling "Exit TTC." Its basically a drug that makes you feel an immense euphoria, similar to how a Toon who may have just completed their Toontown Central tasks. So I'm wondering if it is a similar situation."
"Unlikely, the owner is dating my friend, and he seems like an exceptionally clean, and straight-edge fellow. They're both quite wholesome and friendly, actually."
"You could take lessons from them." Brussel whispered under her breath, catching a glare from the large fowl.
Deputy stepped forward and interrupted the impending chaos. "Well, it sounds like we might have a couple of leads here! Why don't we break this up, then? Brussel, how about you and Jade go take a visit to the club. Brownie, you'll be with The Orange, and I will go find that bunny that we heard about in the hospital. Stinky Cheeseman? I want everybody to keep their whisper devices on, and ready. Communication is vital. I want updates frequently with your locations if possible. As Jade and I have mentioned, this Jack fellow and his gang are not to be underestimated. I don't want to take any chances of anything going wrong here. Once you have gotten everything you need, come back here, and wait. I want to re-group and debrief before we head home for the day. Does that sound okay to everybody?" The rest of the group nodded their heads.
"So, Jade. Do you know anything about this Gentleman's Club?" The Orange winked at his new comrade.
"Um, not really, to be honest. Cotton Candy Cutie never invites me to go, he just said I wouldn't really fit in there. I think it is a horse thing, so I'm actually kind of excited to go and see." Jade put on a rare smile, that would quickly be stricken off by Brussel Sprout.
The green crocodile groaned and stuck her head back. "Ugh, horses. The foulest creatures in existence. I can't imagine an entire cult of them together in one place."
Deputy winked at Brownie and chuckled. "That's fine, Sprout. Would you like to go with The Orange instead? Brownie would probably like to go; he is a big fan of the club scene."
"Ugh, never mind. I guess I'll just go see the stupid horses. But I expect a raise for this!" The chonky reptile crossed her arms and started walking to the door. "Let's get this over with, Jade."
"Alright everybody. See you in a few hours." Jade stated bluntly as all of the Toons made their way out of the front door, and into different directions to their next destinations. "Good luck, and stay safe."