Deputy Skids wasn't the most intimidating figure. Most of Toontown would probably chuckle at the sight of the easygoing dog aggressively interrogating anybody, let alone two young Toons. Fortunately for him though, neither of them were aware of who he was which played perfectly into his act. He had seen enough detective movies and had enough experience in his twelve years as a Ranger to know when to turn up the heat. Fortunately for Stinky and Gummi, Deputy's natural empathy and kindness still shone through his faux aggressiveness and he had not handcuffed the Toons, instead using the threat of his authority to keep the pair from another butchered escape attempt. "Didn't think I'd ever run across anybody as dumb as you two. I mean, come on… You tried to evade a Toontown Ranger who was here investigating potential Powdered Sugar abuse, so you take some Sugar to try and aid your escape. I don't want to believe that your generation is all this stupid, but I'd likely be disappointed."

"Whatever, boomer." The yellow rabbit curled his lips towards his partner in crime and whispered quietly into his partners ear, catching a sharp glare from the lime green dog who wasn't amused.

"You know, dogs have impeccable hearing, Stinky. For someone which such a big head, you have a pretty small brain. Maybe you should have asked Gummi to hear about that. Get it, hear? Instead of here?" Skids natural dad puns had also found a crack in his otherwise perfect persona, causing an audible groan from the young pair.

Gummi shook his head, himself baffled by the situation. "You don't have anything on us, man. We haven't done anything, just let us go. Don't you have some real criminals to go after? You are just angry about not being young anymore or something? You boomers are all the same., always going after us for no reason."

Skids couldn't help but laugh at the mention of being called a boomer twice. After all, he was only thirty-two. Maybe he was getting old, but it hadn't slowed him down enough to prevent him from catching two sugar-high fiends. "I've been dealing with criminals for a long time. I've been called every name in the book. I'll get the last laugh in though when I'm calling your parents to let them know you've been arrested for drug trafficking, evading arrest, and deserting an incapacitated minor. They'll be glad to see you in jail on your thirty-second birthday. You know when you officially become a boomer?"

"You're crazy, man. I wasn't even there when Ella overdosed!" Stinky cried out, before quickly realizing what he had just said. Quickly backtracking, the odorous rabbit flubbered as his twisted tongue searched for an escape. "I mean, didn't she overdose or something? I don't even know how I know that, I've never met anyone named Ella."

"You idiot." The red dog growled under his breath, realizing that his friend had just given them away. Trying to get in front of the situation, the older of the pair knew he only had one way out of this situation. "What are you talking about? You're the one who was throwing a party. You invited that girl over, Ella? I heard about it from Derek, apparently, she overdosed here. I'm not taking any fall for this."

Placing his fists behind his back in an attempt to hide his feelings, Skids did a quick fist pump. The two were already cracking under the pressure and now Gummi was willing to sell out his friend. "Silly rabbit, tricks for kids like you. They don't work on me. Now, it sounds like you guys already know why I'm here. That will make my job a lot easier." Kneeling next to Stinky, Deputy winked and grinned. "Sounds like your friend here is already pointing the finger at you. So, I guess I don't really need anything else. I'll just let him go and we can take a trip down to the station where we can talk more openly with some of my friends. How does that sound?"

Turning red, the fuming hare turned to his friend and snapped. "Dude, I didn't do anything. Like, whatever I had some sugar, but dude here brought his girlfriend and was pushing it on her. She ain't my girlfriend, I shouldn't be responsible for her. Besides, I helped bring her to the hospital. This dude dipped the second things got hot."

"Oh suck it, Stinky. You're the dummy who bought bad Sugar. I've never had any issues. That's what I get for trusting an idiot to do things right."

"Alright guys." Skids stepped in between the pair of feuding addicts and tried to calm them down. While he was getting a lot of information, it wouldn't be good if while under his responsibility one of them ended up attacking the other. "So it sounds like both of you may have played a bit of a part in this. Now, I think this would constitute a confession, and probably enough to get both of you guys some jail time. Buuuuut…"

The tandem of Toons leaned forward in sync, both mouthing the word the Ranger had just stated. "But?" Gummi inquired.

Standing up and scratching his chin, Skids pulled on the lure, tightening it and ensuring his bait was taken. "But, maybe I'd be willing to make a deal if you two are willing to cooperate a bit with me."

"I'm not working with a pig." Stinky snorted, rolling his eyes at the prospect. "I ain't did nothing wrong. I want my lawyer."

"Hold on a second, dude. Dude is a boomer but he's still a Ranger. Who knows what kind of stuff he can do. He can lie, cheat, or whatever. Might as well listen to what he wants. I can't chance another arrest. I'm not going back to jail, that'd be my second strike, man." Gummi whispered into his friend's oversized ear. Once he received a reluctant nod from his comrade, Gummi struck a more confident pose, feigning an innocent but intrigued tone. "Fine, what exactly would you want from us. Not that we did anything wrong, of course."

Clapping, Deputy extended his grin and sat down on the tattered brown couch where the pair had been confined to through the makeshift interrogation. Putting his strong arms around the scrawny necks of his arrestees, Skids pulled the two closer to him and spoke in a fatherly voice. "Fantastic, I'm glad one of you has some sense in their heads. You see, you two are just a pair of stupid kids who made a mistake. Not something I couldn't find anywhere else in Toontown if I wanted to. No reason for you guys to have your lives thrown around for a bit of powdered sugar. However, you still put a minor into a dangerous position because she ingested some wacky stuff. Someone must have sold it to you guys, you have a connection maybe. A dealer? Someone you can buy from if needed?"

Before his brother in stupidity could stop him. Stinky jumped up, arms flailing around, blurting out a singular name. "Derek!"

"Derek? Hmm. I'm going to need some more information." Skids hummed, slipping his hand into his pocket, and retrieving a pair of handcuffs, slowly pulling them out just enough to make their presence known.

"Derek, I can't remember his last name. Dude is the one who has been hooking me up! He is my connection! I give him the money and he gets me a good deal. Hell, it was him who got me started in the first place!"

Gummi, pondering what his friend had said, joined in reluctantly. "Oh, um, yeah. I think I remember hearing about that. He said he had met someone I think, I remember now that you said that."

Handcuffs fully out, Deputy took a cuff in each hand, wrapping his fingers around the cold, hard steel circles, pulling them apart and allowing the chained links between to clang loudly against each other. The looming threat proving that the canine was in no further mood for shenanigans or a runaround. "Well, it seems like you know him pretty well. You must be referring to Derek Clapton? Funny, I believe I ran into his brother at the hospital the same night that Ella was checked in. I'm sure that's probably a coincidence, right?"

"Doesn't surprise me. Domino has always been trouble. Those pair are just a barrel full of trouble if you ask me." Stinky chimed in, hoping to sway the dog's decision.

"Hmm. Well I guess it couldn't hurt to look into him a bit more. Although I do worry that you may be trying to throw him under the bus a bit, eh. Not a good look for a friend. I don't think I can deal with someone who would do such a thing. Not without a bit more collateral, y'know?"

Gummi, steaming now, pounded his fists into the sinking couch cushion. "Dude, we did what you wanted. You're just abusing your power now!"

Stinky nodded, baring his front teeth before quickly sinking back under the angry eye of the Ranger, who now had actually lost his patience. "Listen here, "dudes." I'm not here for fun and games. I'm here to catch criminals, which you two are. Now, if you want to avoid going to jail, you're going to help me get the information I need. Until I can verify with Derek and find a direct link to who I'm looking for, I am keeping you guys close by." Pulling out his whisper device, Skids held the contraption to his hear and cleared his throat. "Hey, Brownie. Good to hear you. Can you guys come to the address I'll be sending you ASAP, I have a pair of willing participants who would like to help in our investigation!"

"So, drugs, eh? I can't say that's exactly what I was expecting to be getting into. I was thinking more like a missing Toon case or something. Although I guess that beggars can't be choosers." The Lime spun around in a wheely chair, propelling himself with light pushes from his foot pressed against his desk. "It sounds like you don't really have much to go on though. I'm not sure how helpful we'll be without any leads though."

"Well, we do have some ideas. We are actually working with the Donald's Dreamland Drug Enforcement. However, I can't say I'm a big expert on these things. But that's what teamwork is all about, right?" Brownie rapped a pencil eraser against his tongue, wincing at the taste. "I mean, we're pretty early into all of this and we jut are kind of in an information gathering mode right now. Our expert is off investigating some horse club or something, and my partner is looking for a potential lead."

The chunky monkey, the most serious of the bunch, had been gathering meticulous notes of everything mentioned. "Well, I don't think that we're that far off from a lead if they're both talking to other leads. Plus, I believe that Jade mentioned something about "The Brotherhood…"

Immediately at the mention of the gang, the other duo citrus fruits jumped to attention, almost ready for a fight. "Wait, did you say "The Brotherhood?" The yellow deer spoke in a much more serious tone than he had put on earlier. "Dude, you knew about them and didn't bring it up?"

"Oh cog, oh cog, oh cog!" The green dog began pacing around the room, frantically waving his arms in the air.

"How could you not tell us?" The Lemon scowled at his old partner. "After all the work we have done to pursue him, and you knew just where to find him?"

The Orange gently placed his notepad down and stomped his foot. "Hey, just hold on a second. Why do you think I made such an effort to come here and get you two involved? I just found out about this myself. I wasn't just going to spring it on you guys right away, especially right now."

Brownie, out of the loop on the argument undertaken by the three friends, scooched closer and exaggeratedly tweaked his ear to show his listening. "Hold on guys, just wait a dang second. You're telling me you three already know about these guys?"

"Know about them? That's putting it lightly…" Rolling his eyes, The Lime finally took a seat and started breathing deeply, meditating in an effort to lower his blood pressure.

"Don't worry about it, Brownie. It isn't a big deal. Just some loose ends from an old job." The short monkey began trying to contain the damage that he had unwittingly unleashed unto the group.

Not going for it, the chubby mouse crossed his arms. "I'm not Skids, but I'm no dummy either. You guys are all officially tied to this now, and you'd be lying to a Ranger and well, going against your duty Orange."

The Lemon leaned over and whispered. "It's "The" Orange, by the way."

"Yes, The Orange, sorry." Brownie rubbed his head. "Anyways, can you just catch me up." Before he could continue, Brownie's whisper device began to rumble. "Sorry, let me take this and I'll come back and finish my thought." Walking over to a corner of the office, the brown mouse spoke loudly into his phone. "Hey, Skids! Weird timing, I was just talking about you…"

Once the trio were alone, they huddled together and began speaking in a hushed tone. "Dude, what are the odds of all of this happening? This is craziness. What should we do?" The Lime rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We have the Toontown Rangers involved now, I'm not really sure if that's a good thing or not."

"Eh, I mean it is extra resources. Does it really matter how we find this bastard? That one-eyed, evil, disgrace to Toons and he needs to be taken down. As long as I can be the one who slaps the handcuffs on him and give him a smug grin. I mean, just think about The Kumquat. Do you think he cares how we find him?" Nodding along to his own logic, The Lemon looked to the de facto leader.

"Ugh, don't mention him. He's gone." The Orange grimaced at the mention of the name. "Listen, we're all in this now, and we just need to make the best of this. Try to keep the details limited. We don't need to give up too much. Just because they're Rangers doesn't mean we should fully trust them."

The Lime tapped his head with his finger. "Wait, aren't you a Ranger now?"

"Hey…shut up." The Orange retorted unconfidently, as he struggled to think of a better comeback. "We all agreed on it, and while it didn't happen as expected I managed to pull attention towards Captain Jack, we'll find him and then we'll take it from there. Once we find him, maybe then we can worry about The Kumquat."

"I guess. Well, I just hope that all of this isn't for nothing. I want to get back home and see my family." The Lemon curled his lip, wiping a fake tear away.

The Lime chuckled. "Yeah, your video games aren't a family, man."

While the three bantered, Brownie sauntered over and clapped his hands together. "Wow, sounds like a lot is coming together. Deputy has brought in a couple of toonagers who might have a lead to a dealer. If we can get in touch with that dealer, we might be able to get some information about infiltrating the gang and we'll go from there. Plus, we still have Jade and Brussel doing their thing." Pumping his fists, the green mouse did a little dance in excitement. "This is all coming together. "So, about this "Kumquat fellow?"

"It's The Kumquat." The Lime leaned over and whispered to Brownie.

"Ah, yes. The Kumquat. Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. I'm not the most intelligent Toon, but even I can tell something is going on. You guys have a history with this gang, a missing Toon? If we're going to work together, we need a strong bond of trust. Now, tell me about this The Kumquat…"

The thick orange cat could no longer feel anything below his shoulders, which were hanging roughly above his head. The tight, cold, steel cuffs that squeezed his wrists together digging in deeper and deeper by the day, fortunately could not be felt as the numbness overtook the area. How long had he been here now? It must have been months, but after the first few weeks it was hard to keep track. The will to survive inside of the weathered feline was beginning to sag, something he had never thought possible. Especially not when he had a mission to complete. The once overhanging, flabby stomach had withered, and the cat's skin was now pressing tightly against his ribcage, bearing a near xylophonic state. The only sounds to distract him from the otherwise eerily quiet dungeon he had been locked in was his stomach eating away at his own body, desperately trying to keep itself alive. The only respite from madness was the once a day that a shadowy figure would come inside and provide a singular drink of water. Enough to keep the Toon alive, but barely. If Hell existed, the cat was there. In the corner of the room there was what appeared to be a window, covered in bars, much like a jail cell. However, it had been boarded up with wooden planks, and lightly could not break through. The cat's sense of time had all but vanished. Sleep was sporadic, only bringing relief occasionally between the intense pains. While the cat contemplated his escape for what seemed like the millionth time, his ears were intrigued by the sound of a creaking. It was likely the daily drink of water already. Had it been twenty-four hours since the last one? Opening his eyes, the famished feline's blurred vision struggled to see through the shadows, straining just to capture the lightest detail from his captor. "Open your mouth, fool."

Thankful, even if it was fighting the bitter hatred, the cat tilted his head back and opened widely. A polished glass cup pushed down on his lower lip, gushing a small fountain of cool liquid down his parched throat. Sucking on the stream like a baby on its mother's teat, the cat quickly had the glass pulled away. "Please, please just a bit more."

"You'll have more when you learn to cooperate, fool." The figure responded.

"Now, now. Our friend is thirsty. Let him drink a bit more." A tail curling voice cooed out lightly from somewhere deeper into the darkness. It was a familiar, ghastly voice, and it told the cat everything he needed to know about why he was here. "After all, a Toon cannot speak with a dry throat, could he?"

Inwardly arguing whether to accept the drink which was now being pushed into his mouth, eventually the cat opened and allowed the cool drink to fill his mouth. Puffing his cheeks out, he would not allow his throat to be the benefactor of this life-saving liquid. "Whatever you say, boss." The figure emptied the cup and turned around. As soon as he had, he felt the recycled, lukewarm water that he had just poured into the cat's mouth being spat back on him.

Thrashing wildly, kicking out and doing anything he could to rebel against the pair of enemies, the cat had a renewed sense of vigor, anger overtaking him. "I'll never talk to you, punk! Take back your disgusting water! I'd rather die than give you even the slightest bit of information, Jack!"

"Ho, ho, ho. I guess you are more observant than I gave you credit for. However, you seem to be just as idiotic as the rest of your group. You're really willing to die to protect them? Do you think they would do the same for you? They have not come for you in months, and yet you protect them. You must be a bigger fool than I had imagined.

Leaning forward, the cat bared his rotting teeth and pressed his tongue against the back, hissing in hatred. "I'm not a fool you cursed pig. I'm The Kumquat, and I am C.U.M!"