Judy and Nick met Elle in a cafe just over a block from her house. The antelope, wearing a cream halter top and white leggings, gave both of them firm hugs and kisses on the cheek, then they all settled at a table by the window with drinks and a plate of biscuits.
"The wall opposite," Elle told them, simply.
Numerous leaflets, flyers and posters were taped, glued or stapled to it, from snippets of text to simple designs to photographs to explosions of abstract colour and shape. Some were ragged and faded and barely clinging on, others were only beginning to fray and weather, and a few were smart and new. It was one of the latter that finally drew the eyes of the fox and rabbit, a rectangle of rippling rainbow hues with a black, many-pointed shape, all its arms different lengths, at the centre.
"Well, how about that," Nick breathed.
"It appeared overnight," Elle revealed. "Is it what you're looking for?"
"Has to be," Nick averred. "It's actually kind of brilliant. If you know what you're looking for it's a clear signpost, otherwise it's just another scrap of background noise. Guessing the longest point is the arrow."
"Only one way to find out," Judy noted. "But we'd better follow Lina's lead and disguise ourselves, first."
"One of us should," Nick amended. "You. Minimise risk."
"All right," Judy agreed.
"Ral and I can help with that," Elle put in.
Judy looked at her for a moment. "You're sure?"
The antelope nodded firmly. "None of wants to just sit by and hope."
"Then let's go see what we can put together."
Thirty minutes later Judy returned to the street outside the cafe, Ral's make-up having turned her black ear tips paler, and lengthened them, and added a patch of the same hue to the crown of her head, her eyes shaded brown by faintly uncomfortable contacts, and her crop top and shorts swapped for a grey t-shirt and bright blue short dungarees that Juliana had outgrown.
Moving casually, just somebody out for a stroll, taking in the area, she followed the dark star flyers, a chain of four leading her to a shadowy, narrow, and practically deserted side-street lined with mostly dark and silent buildings. Inside one of them, she found a room that contained a light, a small table, a grey book, and a stony-faced capybara.
Judy browsed the book for a little time, then looked up. "No IDs?" she asked, putting a lot of city into her accent.
"Lost the supplier," the capybara responded, gruffly. "Trying to source a new one, but it'll be a while."
"What if I said," Judy ventured, "I know a supplier?"
"Good one?"
"Very. Quality stuff, and quick."
The capybara thought a while, brows knitted. "Gimme a sec."
"All right." Judy watched him leave through another door, then stood for two nerve-jangling minutes until he returned.
"The boss'll meet them," the capybara confirmed. Jotting down some lines on a sheet of paper, he gave it to the rabbit. "Instructions. I don't need to tell you they should bring a sample, and destroy that note."
Judy nodded curtly and left. The walk back to Elle's house was ridden with anxiety, which only relented on reaching the antelope's bedroom, where they were sitting on their bed, Juliana in their arms, and Ral and Nick in chairs. She gave the fox the note, left the borrowed clothes in a basket, then entered the en suite bathroom with the tiger to remove the contacts, scrub out the dye, and relate what had happened.
"Brilliant bunny," Nick approved, once she was done talking. "Thanks to you and Elle, we have a fantastic lead."
"Happy to have made a difference," the antelope responded, "even if it was mostly luck."
"Really want to help," Julie piped, anxiously.
Nick smiled softly at her. "You can help best by being as good a friend as you can for Cody. He'll need all of us." Then focused on Elle. "And as Bogo has noted more than once, always be grateful for luck. The trick is making the most of it." He read the note. "Mystic Spring. Interesting choice of meeting place." He smirked. "Judy, I believe I'm ready to pay my forfeit. Ral, you willing to help me into character?"
The tiger called in the affirmative, then the bunny came up to the fox, her ears and scalp damp, but back to normal. "What are you planning, Slick?" she demanded to know.
Nick grinned. "You'll find out tomorrow."
Judy groaned.
