Phew! I did not intend for this installment to be this long, but when I started writing it, it just kept going and going and going! Well, I certainly hope that you enjoy this, my longest chapter yet, dear readers!

Hall Monitors (Chapter 4)

by

Elite Shade

"Teeth to tails, does that AV club ever take a break?" Vernon grumbled as he carried in the pizzas.

"Oh hush, Puppy," Dawn said, right behind him, with bags of breadsticks and sealed cups of sauces in her arms. "These viewings have turned into a great way for the family to get together. Besides, I saw how proud you were during the big case." Dawn let out a giggle as her mate's tail started to wag at the sounds of children happily squealing.

"Well, o'course I am. My little princess proves herself time and time again to be quick on the draw. I'm just gettin' a little worried she might be startin' to get a little too... obsessive over her hall monitorin'."

"I dunno, Vern," Gus said, the goat walking into the living room with Mel right behind him. He was setting up the projection screen and the surround speakers, to give everything a movie theater feel to it. "It seems like she's just playing a game, really."

Vernon snorted and rolled his eyes. "It stopped bein' a game when her and her friends located a mammal wanted in six countries, includin' the United Fed, fer fraud and murder."

"Well to be fair, that guy was living right in your guys' neighborhood," Mel pointed out, adjusting her glasses. "I just never would've guessed she'd spot such a prolific conmammal in disguise like that."

"Please don't remind me," Vernon groaned. "Dealin' with pups sneakin' in candy is one thang, but locatin' real wanted and dangerous criminals is another."

"Oh, I know, Puppy," Dawn said, setting her bags down so that she could wrap her arms around her mate's waist in a reassuring hug. "But Lily knows to report things to the police and not try to handle things herself."

"I wish that part would at least stay the same when she grows up..." Vernon said, feeling the familiar pit of worry return. He clamped down on it, however, when his ears perked up at the sounds of giggling pups and footsteps rapidly approaching.

"Hi, Daddy!" Lily called out. She smiled up to her father wearing her pink shirt and white shorts, currently her favorite play outfit.

"Hi, Sugarplum," he said, opening his arms in time to reciprocate her hug. "Did y'all pups have fun with yer Gramma and Grampa?" he asked as Paige toddled in, wearing her overalls with a lavender shirt underneath, with Dawn's mother following behind.

"Daddy!" the little sholf exclaimed in delight, running over to join the hug. Her lighter gray wooly fur was freshly trimmed, bouncing in time with the click-clack of her little hooves. She had some purple substance staining part of her muzzle, while her tail was a blur.

"I take it someone got into the blueberries that Auntie Judy sent from her family's farm," Vernon said, making Paige giggle.

"I turned my back for one second, Vern, and she swiped a few good pawfuls," Clover said. The older sheep smiled at her son-in-law.

"Hey, Dad!" Came the voice of Trevor, the young black ram burst into the room, his eyes alight with excitement. He had on his black Samurai Snakes t-shirt and red shorts, now with two green streaks of dye in his head floof. "Auntie Val offered to take me for a ride on her motorcycle! Can I go?"

Vernon rolled his eyes at that and shook his head.

"Absolutely not," he and Dawn both said simultaneously.

"Awww," Trevor said, slinking back into the kitchen just as the vixen in question sauntered out.

"Oh come on, Vern," Val said with a smirk. "I'd go slow."

"I don't think you know the meaning of the word slow, sweetie," Cameron said as he joined his daughter, stepdaughter, and son-in-law in the living room. The older fox walked over to Clover and put an arm around her waist. She beamed as she leaned into his embrace.

"Alright, that does it," Gus said, standing up and brushing his hooves off, "we're all ready to go."

"I'll go get Kodi," Val said, turning and flicking her tail, "he and Ellie are playing soccer with Alice and Marcus." They didn't have to wait long. The arctic wolf was led in by Ellie, the opossum girl was holding back a giggle, while Kodi was clutching a cloth with some ice in it to his nose. Marcus was right behind them, looking guilty.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Kodi," the skinny human boy said. He was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, his shoulder-length brown hair tied in a loose ponytail. Right behind him was Alice, the teenaged black she-wolf was wearing a violet sundress. After hitting her growth spurt, she now was almost as tall as her cousin, despite being four years younger. She smiled gently and put a paw on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Marky," she said, using the nickname she liked to affectionately call him by, "it wasn't your fault." Feeling a tug on the hem of her dress, she looked down to see Paige holding her paws up. Alice giggled and scooped her littlest sister up, cuddling her close.

"That's right!" said Kodi, his voice partially muffled by the make-shift ice pack. "I mean, the ricochet action alone was more impressive than anything. Also, I told ya to just call me Uncle Kodi."

"W-well... okay... Uncle Kodi," Marcus said, suddenly finding Lily tugging on his arm.

"C;mon, Marcus, Uncle Gus is about to start it!" she said, tugging him towards the couch. It was when everyone had found a spot in the living room and gotten plates of food that Gus dimmed the lights and started up his digital projector.

Bad cubs, bad cubs, whatchu gunna do, whatchu gunna do when they come for you?

"Monitors is filmed on location with the boys and girls of rule enforcement. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in the principal's office," said the surprisingly deep voice.

The scene opened on a wide spanning shot of the city of Zootopia, shifting focus from the twinkling snowdrifts of Tundratown to the towering trees of the Rainforest District, and from there to the bustling Canal District. The brief camera tour of the city came to a halt within the heart of Sahara Square. The shifting dunes and glittering skyscrapers that looked like they were constructed from rare jewels in the shimmering heat, the camera zoomed in on a large white stone building, with pillars carved from white marble lining the front at the top of a set of impressively large and wide stairs.

"And remember, class," a chubby water buffalo in a blue three piece suit called out to the assembled students, his polished bronze buttons causing a momentary glare, "to stay with the chaperones and don't go wandering off." The camera shifted to the group of young mammals, focusing on Lily and Paul, with Dawn and Vern visible in the background. Paul was squinting in the bright and searing sunlight, his black fur making him sweat despite just wearing a green shirt and brown shorts.

"Finally, I didn't think Mr. Bubalis was going to stop talking," Paul said.

"Oh, come on Paul," Lily said, grabbing his arm and tugging forward on it, "sure he prattled on a bit about safety, but this field trip is still gunna be purty fun, like a vacation!"

"After that whole basketball betting and rigging fiasco, we sure can use one," Paul said. "Still, I just never really saw the appeal of trains."

"I'll admit that case was a little tough, but once we got Sherman red-handed deflating the balls, rounding up the rest of their group was a piece of cake. Besides, this isn't just any train, Paul! This is The Oribint Express! Famous not only for being the first rail system built to go through every district in the city, but also owned and constructed by the world famous archaeologist and investigator, Alexandre Catel! He was one of the greatest detectives that ever lived! He was even the inspiration for Agatha Grizzly's Hercule Purrot!" Paul smiled as Lily pulled him along with the other students of their class. Behind them, Dawn cooed at the sight, while Vernon grumbled under his breath.

"Dang Nancy Shrew and Herdy Boys' books! They're just a gateway to harder and more serious detective novels." Dawn gave his paw a loving squeeze with her hoof and smiled. The camera panned around the inside of the museum, showing multitudes of mammals milling about, examining displays of outdated tools and clunky turn of the century devices, paintings, diagrams, stopping as Lily and Paul looked on at a miniature in a glass case, showing the old-fashioned train chugging along on its massive four-leaf circuit.

"The Oribint Express was the first ever internal rail system to connect to each and every one of Zootopia's twelve original districts. This included not only Outback Island, but also a portion of the track to go through the nocturnal district, making The Oribint Express the first ever subway system." The voice on the speaker built into the wall above the miniature was a chipper and masculine voice, dripping with excitement.

"This is just so cool!" Lily said, practically bouncing with excitement. The camera then cut to the teachers and students and chaperones walking through a hall and up to a desk where some museum employees, all dressed as conductors, were chatting. Spying the group, one straightened his hat and his tie and stepped up. There were some curious glances to see that this was a human who was to be their tour guide. He looked a tad young, maybe in his early twenties, with shoulder-length blonde headfur.

"Hello, and welcome to The Oribent Express. I am Timothy Sheltly, and I will be your conductor today," Tim said, pausing with his eyes going wide at the recognition of Dawn and Vern. A slight blush formed on his cheeks, but he powered through. "Please, right this way."

Tim went over the construction period and the challenges posed by the project, including working with the rudimentary systems in place to maintain the different ecosystems for the residents of the city. He continued on explaining how with the advancement in modern mass transit systems and more efficient rail-routes, as well as the advancement in technology for the city's different climate controls, The Oribint Express became more and more obsolete. But, it was thanks to the Zootopia Historical Society that championed the train and the rail system built having major historical and cultural significance. When the station shuttered its doors, the ZHS was there with the deed, managing through donations renovations and general upkeep, converting the station into a museum and The Oribint Express itself into the still fully-functioning main attraction/leisure line. Tim brought their group, passing paintings and black and white photographs, blown up of course, of the train and rail system being built by legions of construction crews. In the paintings it showed a radiant blue with a gold trim on its cars, the engine pumping out white clouds.

"And it was all to honor one mammal. The world-renowned, jet-setting archaeologist, founder of the Zootopian Ornithological Association, and the greatest detective of his lifetime; Alexandre Catel!" Tim motioned to a portrait of a smiling binturong, wearing a blue three piece suit and tie, his whiskers thicker and more fluffed out than others of his species, waxed and curled to make an impressively large gray handlebar mustache. In his right paw was his iconic cane, with the silver eagle head at the top.

"In life, as a private investigator, he solved over one hundred cases all over the world, many of which were adapted into Agatha Grizzly novels. It was his love of meeting and exploring different cultures that led Monsieur Catel to settle down in Zootopia upon what would later be called his first attempt at retirement. And it was his love of locomotives that inspired him to invest his savings into purchasing a near defunct rail company. It was thanks to innovations and construction methods he had learned about on his travels that gave him the insight on how to build The Oribint Express and its rail line, as previous endeavors had failed due to the differing environments that a single city-spanning rail line would have to deal with." There was a snort and the camera turned to focus on Mr. Bubalis. Lily turned to look at the mammal only to find him wiping his nose with a handkerchief.

"So why do you like this Catel guy so much?" Paul asked, looking over to Lily who was smiling as she looked at the pamphlet she had picked up.

"Well, I was lookin' up famous detectives one day, and I came across an article 'bout him. I gave it a read and found out that he was born in Bintia, and lived on the streets as an orphan, 'til he was adopted by Gabriel Catel, whose family had immigrated ta Prance ten years prior, and was on a business trip when he caught a dirty l'il binturong boy tryin' ta steal his luggage. Instead of having him arrested or somethin', he adopted the boy. And... well... he was adopted and grew up to become one of the greatest detectives in the world." They came to a stop at a gift shop, with Tim informing everyone that all proceeds go directly to the maintenance of the museum, the train, and the rail system. Lily, dragging an amused Paul, both entered the shop, while Dawn and Vern, smiling, approached Tim.

"Teeth to tails, Honey Lamb, it really is Tim!" Vernon said, his tail wagging. "How ya doin', son?" he asked, looking the younger male over. Tim blushed and straightened his tie.

"Hello there, Mr. and Mrs. Hunter-Bellwether," Tim said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Aw, there's no need fer that. Ya can just call us by our first names. I saw yer uncle the other day, and he said that y'all got a job ta pay fer college. He also said that ya got into Zootopia University!" Vernon's tail was a blur. "Although he didn't say what kinda job ya got, just that he couldn't be prouder."

Tim blushed even more but smiled. "Th-thank you, Mr... uhm, Vernon," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You seem to be doing an excellent job," Dawn said, beaming up at the younger mammal. Tim seemed to grow even more flustered, when suddenly, a voice called out.

"Timmy!" The three looked towards the source of the voice to show a stark white she-wolf jogging towards them. She had a wide smile on her muzzle and her tail was a happy helicopter with one rotor. Her fur was immaculate and looked so soft, and her yellow eyes twinkled with delight. She was wearing a bright yellow tank top and jean shorts, and in her paws was a brown paper bag. "You forgot your lunch," she said, her voice bubbly and excited. The mysterious she-wolf, around the same age as Tim, wrapped her arms around him and brought her lips to his. Almost out of instinct, Tim reciprocated, blushing deeply when they broke apart, his eyes darting between Dawn and Vern and the floor.

"A-Alex, this is Dawn and Vernon. Uhm... their family took me in when I first arrived in Zootopia," he said, lamely.

"Hi there!" she practically yipped, seemingly full of boundless energy.

Dawn cooed. "Oh, your uncle hadn't mentioned you having found yourself a girlfriend, Timothy!"

"Ta be fair, it is a little hard ta follow what that fella says..." Vern pointed out.

"Really?" Alex asked, surprised. "Me and Timmy have been dating since high school!"

"Oh really?" Vernon asked with a smirk, recalling a younger Timothy's adamant refusal at the idea he would date outside his own species.

"Uh-huh! At first, he was such a stick in the mud, but he's loosened up quite a bit! We've even moved in together!"

"Uhm... d-darling? I think that that's a little too much info..." Tim said, to which Alex responded by leaning into him and nuzzling his neck.

"Oh, Sugarfoot, don't be like that! This is news to celebrate!" she was so giddy, she looked like she was ready to burst. It was then that a crushed and empty soda can sailed through the air and just barely missed Tim's hat by an inch. The four turned to see three teenaged lions, barely with their manes coming in, snickering to themselves. All at once Alex's face changed and became a Glare with a low growl that made the three turn tail and run. Once they had rounded a corner, she reached up a little to kiss Tim on the cheek, before she reached down and picked up the can, carrying it over to a recycling bin. It was then that the students and chaperones who had entered the gift shop were starting to exit and reform the group. Out came a giggling Lily and Paul, both wearing identical novelty souvenir big bushy handlebar mustaches, identical to Alexandre Catel's in the oil painting right above.

"Looks like Tim may have been influenced a bit by Ma," Vernon said in a low voice to Dawn, who giggled and leaned into his side. Tim cleared his throat, and gave Alex a kiss on her cheek, before he got back to work, leading the group, now with the she-wolf in tow, towards the train itself. The Oribint Express was a pristine azure blue, polished and shining in the sunlight. Around each of the windows was a gold trim that matched the name printed on the side. The cars all stood taller than the tallest giraffe in the museum, with sizes made to accommodate megafauna, as well as sections of the tops of cars made for rodents and other small mammals to ride safely. In between the cars was a rubbery cover, connected from one car to another, presumably to make traveling between cars safer. Tim pulled from his coat a copper pocket watch. He then smiled and called out.

"All aboard!" He blushed a little when Alex giggled but otherwise maintained his professional demeanor and showed the group on board. "The Oribint itself is one of the largest passenger trains ever constructed. With eleven passenger cars, three restaurant cars, one bar car, two staff cars, and two luggage cars, making this train nineteen cars in length total." They were led on board with Mr. Bubalis right behind Tim, looking around and frowning. The camera panned over the car they had entered, revealing it to be one of the luggage cars. A lot of crates and barrels and steam trunks could all be seen, all clearly props for the exhibit. They were then led through another luggage car, Tim continuing his lecture and explanations, taking questions and answering them. Mr. Bubalis tripped and flailed his arms a bit, knocking into a stack of crates near a corner right up against a wall, bumping a fake sarcophagus in the process. He looked flustered and straightened his coat, reaching down and grabbing a thermos that had fallen out of his coat.

From there they walked into what was the bar car once upon a time. Right next to the door to the car was a lavatory, currently occupied. Tim explained how the museum did not see the need to get a liquor license for authenticity, the only drinks served in the bar car are non-alcoholic beverages. Behind the polished mahogany counter were two cheetahs, a male and a female, both wearing blue vests with yellow bowties over white undershirts complete with aprons. Before them on the bar was a bowl of fruits. The carpeting was a vibrant yellow green, with backed stools lined up in front of the bar, twenty total, all sized to accommodate various species.

A miniature bar lined on a railed ledge across the ceiling, with a pair of mice bartenders, mimicked the much larger furniture. Past the bar were over a dozen soft brown pleather armchairs. It was here that Tim stopped and gestured to a sealed glass case set into the wall, above the bottles of drinks. Inside was a long black cane, the tip of which was a carved silver eagle head. It was about two feet long, and set into the red velvet interior of the display case.

"Here we have the second greatest treasure, Monsieur Catel's walking cane. He never went anywhere without it in life. It was only fitting that it would be placed here on his beloved train," Tim said, waving everyone along. "He acquired it during an investigation in Prance, during the case of The Azure Ghost. It was given to him by Lord Luois Bearnard, a fellow explorer." At that, Mr. Bubalis snorted, following along with the group and looking to the students under his care. Lily looked on in wide-eyed fascination at the cane. Looking to Paul, she noticed just over his shoulder that someone else from her classroom was eyeing the cane closely.

It was Randall Muttson, the local leader of Troop 595 of the Ranger Scouts. He was in full uniform and, when he caught Lily looking at him, the coyote boy flashed her a wink and a smirk. He reached over and grabbed a red apple from the bowl and started to rub it on his shirt. He looked at it again and shook his head, putting it back. Paul saw and frowned while Lily just rolled her eyes. Vernon looked on and frowned as well, but said nothing. She turned just in time for a young zebra girl to bump into her.

"OOF!" Lily said.

"Whoops, sorry" the girl said, stopping when she got a good look at Lily. She turned on her hoof and quickly walked away, weaving through the crowd of students and chaperones, clutching her phone to her chest.

"Who was that?" Lily asked, to which Paul shook his head.

"The transfer student, Gemma, I think," the panther boy offered.

"Oh yeah... I thought she was out sick today," Lily said.

"She's been sick all week," Paul remarked, "I guess she was feeling good enough to come along on the field trip."

They were led through to the two restaurant cars. There were white cloth-covered tables and waiters who bowed as the group was led past. Then they entered the passenger cars, just as the train let out a shrill whistle. At Tim's direction, everyone started to take their seats. Looking out the window, the shifting sands of the Sahara district started to slowly move past, the train gaining speed as it began to chug along. The field trip became quite leisurely, with the students and chaperones chatting, some even going and ordering food in the restaurant cars, escorting small groups of students.

Dawn and Vern both politely sat next to Mr. Bubalis, who regaled them with tales of how his grandfather had helped construct The Oribint Express, all while Tim was fielding questions about the tour. The train passed through Downtown in Savannah Central and roared through the Canal District. The curve of the leaf bent and took them into the Rainforest District, with a light artificial drizzle coming down and streaking past on the windows. Soon the train tracks began to sink lower and lower until they were soon underground in the dark. Into the cavernous Nocturnal District they came, the stalactite and stalagmite-mounted buildings, many of which flashed with bright multi-colored neon lights, lit up the gloom. And then, there was a loud POP, and everyone looked back towards the source of the sound. Billowing out of an open window those looking behind could see what appeared to be green smoke.

"Sweet sawgrass, what is that?" Vernon asked. His eyes went wide as Lily with Paul following right behind ran out of the passenger car full sprint to the source of the commotion. "LILY!" he yelped, trying to follow, but being slowed by the stampede of panicked students and chaperones, Gemma accidentally shutting the door onto his tail, causing another yelp. The camera shot past Vernon, moving above everyone's heads, quickly catching up with Paul and Lily.

"It's comin' from the bar car!" Lily said. They opened the door and stepped into the green fog. It was slowly dissipating. As the air cleared, the two looked around.

"It smells like green apple Jolly Roachers," Paul said, taking a sniff.

"Well no wonder there, Paul," Lily said, pointing to the bar, where there was a large green splotch covering it, and even the bowl of fruits. At the foot of the bar was a plastic soda bottle, sitting in a small pool of green, a large split in its side. "My nose ain't as good as my daddy's, but it's good enough to smell Forest-B2. That's a food additive that works both as a flavoring and a food dye. Remember when Mrs. Foxington went off about flavored food colorings last week?"

"Uhm... well, not the first part of her... uhm... tirade... but I do remember when the principal had to talk with her out in the hall, and then came in to tell us we could use the rest of the class as a free study period," the panther boy said, looking sheepish, while Lily giggled.

"Well, a great use of many food dyes is that they can be used to color smoke, or in this case steam," Lily said as she used a pen from her pocket to pick up the bottle and examine it closely.

"Steam?"

"Yeah, Take a look at the split. The plastic is fragmented, yes, and bent from the force of the blast, curling it slightly outwards. But as you can see, none of it's melted, and there's no melting or scorching of the label either."

"Wait... like a dry ice bomb?"

"Oh, now ya remember Mrs. Foxington's class," Lily chided.

"Hey, it was the first time she made something explode on purpose!" Paul said just a tad defensively.

"Well, anyways, this bottle looks exactly like the one she used," Lily said, setting the bottle back down where it was.

"Fill a bottle with some hot water, mix in some dye, or in this case a lot, and drop in some pellets of dry ice, and voilla, a dry ice smoke bomb."

"You think it was some kind of vandal?" Paul asked.

"I'm gunna have to say no," Lily said, pointing to the display case behind the bar. The glass was smashed in, and the cane inside was gone. There was green splashed all around the outside and smeared inside.

"Oh geeze," Paul said, when suddenly they heard a rattling. Out from the lavatory was Mr. Bubalis, looking flustered and adjusting the front of his suit. Coming out of the lavatory, Mr. Bubalis and his crisp clean blue suit was a stark contrast to the furniture and walls and windows with the green droplets and splotches.

"Goodness, what's happened here," he asked, looking around with wide eyes. "I heard a commotion and decided to stay put until it sounded like it was safe."

"Someone set off a smoke bomb and stole the Monsieur Catel's cane," Lily said with a frown. The young human girl twirled her novelty mustache as she pondered. She looked to the door at the end of the car, opposite the one she and Paul had entered from, and spied some green smearing on the handle. Rushing forward, she grabbed a clean napkin from the bar and used that to grab a small part of the handle that was clear of the green dye that smelled of green apples. She threw open the door and pulled out her phone, turning on its flashlight.

Lily, with Paul right behind her, entered the baggage car. She looked around and spied some more green smears on the stack of crates next to the sarcophagus. Walking forward, the camera entered and panned around, coming back to Lily and Paul, who were looking all over.

"The trail ends here," Paul said, his own phone out and shining a second flashlight to help brighten up the car. Lily's eyes narrowed, and the camera pointed in the direction she was looking, zooming in on the floor in front of the sarcophagus, showing some scratch marks in the flooring in front of it. She stopped as something else caught her eye. A slight twinkle in the dim light, Lily saw something wedged in one of the crates, with a piece of torn blue fabric attached to it. She pulled it out using her napkin, quickly whipping out a sandwich baggie and sealing her find inside. The camera zoomed in on a bronze circle, a button.

"Uh, Lily, why did you have an empty sandwich bag?" Paul asked.

With a smirk, Lily crossed her arms and turned to regard her panther partner. "You never know when you'll find evidence. So I like to carry lots of sandwich bags on my person at all times." Turning back to the sarcophagus, she used the napkin to help her search for a latch, finding one with some more green smudges, and opened the gold-painted container. It was empty inside.

"Now why would the thief waste time by openin' this up just to not put the cane in it?" Lily wondered to herself. She stepped back a bit, and the camera caught her eyes going wide. She turned to Paul. "Remember the soda speakeasy we busted up?" she asked with a smile.

Paul looked confused, before it clicked in his mind. "OH! The inside is a lot smaller than the outside!"

Lily nodded and started to feel around inside. Just as Vernon endered the car, brushing past a frowning Mr. Bubalis, Lily called out in excitement. "AHA! Another latch!" With a creak, the false back of the sarcophagus was pulled forward, revealing the cane, the silver eagle head twinkling in the flashlights. There were green smudges on the cane, but otherwise it was intact.

"What is going on back here?" came the voice of Tim, who shouldered his way into the car. It took some explaining, but Lily and Paul quickly got the human young man up to speed. The camera did a slideshow wipe and soon, Lily and Paul and Vernon were talking with Tim in the bar car. The cane was in a surprisingly large sandwich baggie.

"It's great that you found the cane, Lily," Tim said, "but someone vandalized the train, broke museum property, and attempted to steal one of their prized exhibits. I've just called the police, and they're most likely going to detain everyone. I hope now that management will elect to have cameras installed on the train. But I'm afraid that your school might end up blacklisted because of this."

"I think I can help identify the mammal in question. I just need to be sure," Lily said. Vernon was eyeing the sandwich baggie. "I'm startin' ta have an idea of where all the sandwich baggies yer Ma bought last week went..."

Lily looked innocently at hert father, before turning towards Paul. "Go get Tommy. And have him bring his backpack." Paul grinned and nodded, jogging off. At the end of the car the door was criss-crossed with Hall Monitor Tape, that Pail ducked under. Mr. Bubalis was herding students away from the car, looking back and rolling his eyes.

"Do you believe this Tommy did it?" Tim asked, to which Lily shook her head.

"No. But I think he can help me ta uncover who did," Lily said, just as Paul was running back, carrying a chinchilla over his head. The chinchilla in question was wearing a black t-shirt and khaki shorts, and was clutching a blue backpack to his chest.

"Put me down!" he yelled in a surprisingly deep voice. "Is this the thanks I get for announcing for your guys' show?"

Paul set him down. "Sorry about that, Tommy, but we need your help," Lily said, looking down at her classmate.

"With what?" he asked, looking up at the human girl in suspicion.

"Remember earlier today when ya showed us the different chemicals you got fer yer science fair project?"

"Woah, hold on now, nothing I have in here is even remotely dangerous!" Tommy said, defensively.

"But why did you bring all that stuff on the field trip?" Paul asked, now confused.

"I forgot that we had a field trip today, okay. And I paid for this stuff out of my own pocket, so I wasn't going to just leave it behind at school unattended where anyone can steal it." Tommy said.

"Fair enough."

Lily waved a dismissive hand. "I know that ya got nuthin' on ya that's dangerous. But see around us all the green splotches? That's Forest-B2, which anyone can buy in large quantities at any supermarket, usually just labeled Green Dye."

"So? I don't have any in here, and you can check if you want!" he said, holding open his backpack.

"Thank ya kindly," Lily said, taking the backpack and opening it up. She rummaged around inside, the bottles inside clinking, until she found what she was looking for. "Here we go! Just what I was lookin' fer." She held up a small brown bottle that was clear enough to show a clear liquid inside, as well as a brush applicator. The other mammals looked at the bottle, confused, except for Tommy, who smiled.

"Oooh, I see what you're getting at now! ... I think," said the chinchilla boy.

Another camera wipe and the entire class, all the chaperones, Tim with Alex on his arm, smiling as she rested her head on his chest, and Mr. Bubalis, were all standing in the restaurant car. The train was over the water having just passed through Outback Island, and was back on its way to Sahara Square.

"Now, as y'all know, someone set off a smoke bomb in order ta try and steal Monsieur Catel's signature cane. They did so with a dry ice bomb made in a soda bottle, with a lot of Forest-B2 food coloring in it ta turn the steam created by the dry ice green. They then smashed the case that the cane was in, fled to the baggage car right behind the bar car, and hid the cane in a false back of a fake sarcophagus." As Lily was speaking, Paul and Tommy were handing out empty styrofoam cups to everyone, everyone taking one in confusion. Dawn looked curious as she took her own cup, while Vernon sniffed his.

"Now, there was someone actin' suspicious in the bar car right before the bomb went off," Lily pointed an accusatory finger at Gemma, making the zebra girl drop her cup in surprise, holding up her hooves. "Several students noticed you watchin' the bartenders like a hawk. Ya kept orderin' water, barely sippin it, until they both went on break. Then ya rushed over to the bar and, shortly afterwards, the bomb went off!"

"NO! I didn't steal the cane, I s-swear!" Gemma said, the zebra girl looked scared.

"I know ya didn't," Lily said. "Ya were stealin' info about our school's Espionage Club and passin' it along to St. Maul's club." Gemma gulped while Vernon could be heard in the background saying, "Espionage Club?"

Lily looked in his direction and smiled. "That's right, Daddy! Our school's club has had a very bitter history with St. Maul's Academy's espionage club. And there's a tournament going on right now. Fer the last two weeks, both clubs have been lookin' around the city fer clues to locations fer dead drops. It's here that files with codes on them can be found. The codes are worth points, and they're worth double points if they don't belong to the school the agent that finds them goes to. What's more, each agent has a special codename and codephrase known only ta them and their spymaster. If an enemy agent can steal that info somehow, they get three points fer their team." Lily then went back to pointing at Gemma, who jumped and looked panicked. "And someone's been stealin' info from our school's team and leakin' it ta St. Maul's! That school that Gemma recently transferred from and that her brother still goes ta!"

"How do you know all this?" Paul asked in wonder. "I mean, I've heard about the Espionage Club and their tournament, but not what actually happens."

"I got the info when I was given permission to search through the different clubs from the principal. I've been workin' a joint operation with an undercover agent from the club," Lily explained, pointing to a smug-looking Randall. The coyote boy winked as he looked at Gemma. "I was tasked with finding the mole when it became apparent that we had one. I got permission from our spymaster to bring in Lily due to her impressive detective skills. Giving her access to our files on members, she quickly deduced that the likely culprit was Gemma. So we decided to set up a sting operation usin' the field trip as an opportunity to do so. I was able to set up a secret message for the mole to find, offering to sell out my team for $20. And lo and behold I caught Gemma taking the bait," he said, pointing to his Hidden Camera Merit Badge, which he plucked off his sash to reveal that it was an actual hidden camera.

The video was briefly interrupted by footage, a scrolling white text going across the bottom of the screen stating that this footage was courtesy of Randall's hidden camera. It showed the zebra girl in question walking up to the coyote boy. They were removed from the main group and talking in hushed tones while Tim in the background was explaining about the train.

"Here's your money," she said, discreetly slipping a folded bill into Randall's paw, that he quickly pocketed. "Where's the info?"

"I printed it out onto a QR code on a sticker. I stuck it to one of the apples in the fruit bowl in the bar car," Randall's voice could be heard, as the footage was from his perspective. Gemma nodded and hurried away. The footage cut out and was back to Lily standing amidst the group, pointing to Gemma. Lily then held up the apple in question, revealing the aforementioned QR code.

"It's crazy what ya can store in a QR code these days," Lily said, taking a picture of the QR code on the sticker on the apple. Instantly, up on Lily's phone popped open a file containing names and codephrases, as well as a calendar with information written on different days and addresses. "This here is the list compiled of all the names and code names of every one of our school's team's agents, as well as the dates and locations of different dead drops. Or rather, a fake list. All this info was fabricated just fer this little sting."

Gemma bit her lip and looked around at the accusatory stares. "I-I'm sorry!" she said, tears welling up in her eyes. "My brother, he goes to St. Maul's, and he stole my diary! He's blackmailing me, and will tell m-my secrets if I don't send him info about the club! But again, I swear, I didn't steal the cane!"

"Teeth to tails, what kinda school is this? Candy smugglin', trading card counterfeitin', serial taggin', paintball assassination, and now espionage?" Vernon asked, turning to look at Dawn, who simply reached up and patted the side of his muzzle affectionately.

"It's okay, Puppy, just lambs being lambs," Dawn said, the camera quickly swiveling back over to Lily.

Lily gave the zebra girl a hard stare over her mustache. "I know that ya didn't. You ran through the crowd of mammals to hide in the second restaurant car. You couldn't have doubled-back and hidden it in the sarcophagus." Gemma started to look relieved. "But," Lily said, making her freeze, "I'm still gunna have to inform yer parents and the school about what happened." Gemma looked miserable but nodded, hanging her head.

"If Gemma didn't steal the cane, who did?" Paul asked, scratching his head in confusion. Lily twirled her fake mustache with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Forest-B2 is unique amongst the food dyes not only 'cause it's so cheap ta manufacture, and not also because in large quantities it is used as a food flavoring, as it has the scent and taste of sour green apple. No. What makes Forest-B2 so unique is that, even when ya wipe it off, trace amounts linger. And what's funny 'bout that is that when Forest-B2, even trace amounts, is exposed to another harmless chemical called dodecanol, which is also used as a food flavoring as well as in perfumes, it has an odd reaction. The two substances turn a bright neon red." Lily said, walking over to an uncomfortable-looking Mr. Bubalis. "That's why I had Paul get Tommy. I remembered seeing a bottle of dodecanol in his backpack when he was showing off about his upcoming project. So I borrowed it from him and lightly coated all of the styrofoam cups with a thin layer of it." She then knocked the styrofoam cup from the water buffalo's hooves, revealing bright red splotches on them. "We have our smoke-bomber." There were audible gasps.

"Th-this is preposterous!" he said, pointing at Lily. "I wasn't anywhere near the case or the smoke bomb, you little mongrel!" He was unaware that his hooves were bright neon red. That made Vernon growl and step between Lily and Mr. Bubalis.

"That's enough! No one ever calls any of my pups mongrels, and my little princess caught ya literally red hooved!" It was then that Mr. Bubalis looked at his hooves and winced. Lily beamed at her father before crossing her arms and smirking.

"I suspected you when I found this." Lily held up a sandwich baggie, revealing a polished copper button with a piece of blue fabric, torn, still attached to it. It was a perfect match not only to the rest of the buttons on the coat, but also to a small torn section in the middle. "It was stuck in one of the crates where it got caught and tore right off yer coat as ya were stashin' the stolen cane in the sarcophagus' false back! You yerself said that yer grandfather helped build this train, and therefore ya'd know about a secret compartment in that sarcophagus, which I recognized as being a replica of the one from the movie set Mr. Catel had deduced contained a stolen diamond, in one of his cases! What I don't get is why? The cane itself, valuable yes, is not nearly the most valuable artifact here or in the museum, financially-speaking."

Between the still-looming large gray wolf and all the wide-eyed stares, Mr. Bubalis let out a sigh. "That cane belonged to my family for several generations, until my great great great grandfather had to sell it and some other valuables to keep from losing his home, but then he ended up losing it anyways. It wasn't until after my grandfather passed away that my father saw it after the station shut its doors for the last time that he recognized it from a drawing in dear grandfather's journal. So at first he demanded that our family's property be returned to him at once. He was unjustly refused, and so was prepared to purchase it back. But then the ZHA stepped in and bought up everything and again refused to return the cane to our family. My father let the cane, part of our family's legacy, slip between his hooves, but I wasn't going to make the same mistake when the opportunity arose." He looked from Vernon to the assorted mammals looking at him and continued.

"So yes, I boarded the train with a thermos full of dry ice. I got a soda from a vending machine back in the gift shop. I poured out the soda in the restroom that I went into just as I saw the bartenders go on break, I poured hot water from the faucet into the bottle and mixed it with the dye. I figured if it was green no one would think it was a fire. I then broke some of the dry ice off with my hooves and dropped them into the bottle, put the cap back on and rolled out of the bathroom. I'll admit that it sprayed a lot more of the dye than I was expecting, but when I came out of the restroom and found myself alone, I smashed the case and ran from the bar car to the baggage car to hide it. The sarcophagus was mentioned in his diary, including the false panel, so that's where I stored it. In my haste to run back one of my bronze buttons got caught in that damned crate and tore right off. I then ran into the restroom to wash off my hooves. And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!"

It wasn't much longer when the train pulled back into the station. The camera cut to Mr. Bubalis, in cuffs, being led away by the ZPD, the cane and the button in evidence bags, with both still inside the sandwich baggies. On board, Nick and Judy were taking statements. Vernon was sitting next to Dawn and Lily. He put his arm around his daughter and gave her a squeeze.

"That was real impressive, Darlin'," he said.

"Thanks, Daddy!" Lily said with a bright smile, still wearing her fake mustache.

"I'll say! But why did you pass around all those styrofoam cups instead of just handing the marked ones just to Mr. Bubalis and Gemma?" Dawn asked.

"While Mr. Bubalis was my primary suspect, I still had to try to be as unbiased as possible in my investigation. That's why I coated all the cups in dodecanol! Uncle Yuri always says how important it is to be unbiased in an investigation." Lily said simply.

"That was AWESOME, Lily!" Paul exclaimed, running up, his fake mustache hanging halfway off. Lily giggled, and the camera slowly panned away, the screen fading to black, followed by credits.

"My goodness! That was so wonderful!" Clover said, clapping her hooves.

"Heh, I remember that Bubalis guy back when he taught at my high school," Val said, her tail flicking from where she sat partially sprawled onto Kodi. "He was a major jerk who couldn't take a joke."

"I will say that that takes me back to when I joined my school's Espionage Club," Cameron said, sounding wistful. Vernon snorted.

"So we're just acceptin' that Espionage Club's are normal now?" he grumbled.

"I remember hearing about one back in college, but I never joined myself. You actually had to solve clues and find the right dead drop with the proper passcode in order to receive an invitation," Dawn said, snuggled up to her mate.

"I've actually been asked to join my school's Espionage Club too, Uncle Vernon," Marcus said, smiling sheepishly, "but I had to turn them down as it would interfere with my studies."

"Well good on ya, son," Vernon said, reaching over and ruffling Marcus' headfur, making the human teen smile warmly.

Vernon then spotted Lily looking down at her phone, tapping away at the screen, a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong, Sugarplum?"

Lily kept looking at the screen on her phone without looking up. "I just got a text. Accordin' ta the captain, some monitors who were at some after school club activities, stumbled upon a massive rock candy shipment. It's the same pure blue crystals... it seems like Heiferburg's tryin' ta establish himself as the school's kingpin."

Donk-Donk

"Oh, Cameron dear, the doorbell's on the fritz again," Clover said.

YAY! Thank you so much for reading all of this massive installment! Please feel free to leave a comment or review!