Chapter 18: Into The Depths Of The Black Market! The Search For Legosi!
Alex sprinted through the alleyways of the back alley market, desperately trying to catch onto Legosi's scent trail. However, there were several interfering scents that were making it difficult for Alex to isolate Legosi's scent trail. "Legosi?! Legosi!" Alex yelled, hoping to get a response from the wolf. Unfortunately, he didn't hear Legosi call back to him.
Alex groaned, pulling his phone out and bringing up a picture of the gray wolf. He would have to do things the old fashioned way. Alex began to ask people if they had seen Legosi, showing them the picture of the wolf's head on his phone. Everyone that he asked shook their heads no in response.
After about fifteen minutes of interrogating passersby, Alex was getting annoyed with everyone's nonchalant answers of "no". Legosi was just a kid for crying out loud, he didn't need to be wandering this place! Suddenly, a black figure caught the wolf cop's eye. He saw a black Congo lion walking through the black market. Alex recalled Lem telling him about a black Congo lion that could be a potential ally for him in the black market. Alex started to follow the black Congo lion, discreetly walking behind him and eventually getting close enough that he could touch him.
The lion turned and went around a corner, and Alex followed him. Alex began to slow down when he saw that the alleyway was a dead end. The black Congo lion suddenly whirled around and glared at Alex, pointing a gun at him. "I knew I was being followed. Now, why are you following me?" the black Congo lion growled.
Alex put his paws up in the air. From the way that this lion was holding the gun, Alex knew that the lion was a trained marksman and that he'd probably end up getting shot if he tried going for his taser. "Put down the gun, please," Alex calmly said. The lion tilted his head, in a threatening yet curious manner. "Why? So you can arrest me?" the lion asked.
"No, because I simply wish to speak with you," Alex told the lion. The lion pondered this before lowering his gun, still keeping it out in case the situation turned sour for him. "You are Agata, correct? I'm a friend of Lem's," Alex spoke.
"Yeah, my name is Agata. You think that being one of Lem's friends means much to me? Most of Lem's friends are Cherryton cops, and all of the cops on the city's force aside from Lem are after my ass. The fact that you smell like a cop doesn't help your case either," Agata answered.
Alex nodded his head in agreement. "True, I am a cop, but I'm not on the Cherryton police force. My name is Alex Moon. Me and Lem go way back. We were partners in training at the Zootopia police academy, and partners on the Zootopia police department before he transferred to this smaller city," Alex explained.
Agata stroked his mane thoughtfully. "And you're talking to me because…? You might not know this, but I'm kinda on the outskirts of the law in this city," Agata replied. Alex put his paw out for a pawshake.
"Criminal or not, Lem said that I could trust you. He said you were one of the few good-hearted members of this Shishigumi gang. And I trust Lem's judgement," Alex said.
Agata's eyes sparkled. Alex could tell that he was pleased by the way that Lem thought of him. "Well, I'll be darned. I guess I can trust you. So what do you need me to tell you about? The Shishigumi? The Black Market and its inner workings? Oh, and can you give me Lem's phone number?" Agata responded.
Alex chuckled. He now fully understood why Lem held affection for this black Congo lion. The feline was sweet natured and friendly, with a good heart. This Agata would have fit well in the city of Zootopia. "Perhaps another time you can tell me more about this place and your gang. Right now, though, I need you to help me find someone. Have you seen this gray wolf?" Alex inquired. The albino wolf then pulled out his phone and showed the photograph of Legosi to Agata.
Agata blinked, processing this information and trying to place where he had seen this wolf. It took him a few minutes to remember. "Oh! I think he was being carried off by the panda," Agata responded.
Alex's eyes widened. He had definitely smelled a panda's scent back in the main streets of the black market. "Give me your phone number and I'll text you Lem's contact information," Alex ordered.
Agata listed his phone number off and Alex saved it to his phone's contacts. Alex nodded, conveying a "thank you" with his eyes before dashing off towards the main alleyway.
Alex caught wind of the panda's scent, easily isolating it from the other scents as pandas were uncommon both in Zootopia and this town. Alex pursued the aroma, following it to a small house that gave off a menacing aura.
Alex was sometimes able to read locations the same way that he read animals. At times, it was almost like the exterior of the house was whispering to him, telling him of previous events that had occurred there. He sensed captivity, anger, and fear was etched into the walls of the house. No, more as if one room was emanating those emotions to him.
Alex took a moment to assess the situation. From the emotions the house was giving off, he believed that it was a place where kidnappers in the black market held other animals against their will. Then he had to think of how to deal with the panda bear.
Alex didn't know if the panda was armed or not. Considering the wide variety of animals that were in this black market, it was likely that the panda was armed. Even if this panda wasn't armed, the wolf knew that he'd be at a heavy disadvantage in such close quarters if things turned to paw to paw combat.
This would have to be a stealth operation, then. Luckily, Alex had always been skilled in the art of silence. He had always been able to maneuver his body weight so that he would make the least noise possible.
The white wolf also had training in breaking and entering, having gotten training in thievery from an infamous master thief raccoon and his ragtag team of assorted animals, who came from all different walks of life. Stealth training from the ZPD added onto his abilities in this realm. After quickly formulating a plan, the wolf cop grabbed his taser and charged into the house.
The wolf silently opened the door, noting how it was unlocked. He took a few steps, hugging the walls. Alex tried to be as quiet as possible as he stealthily stepped through the hallways. As he snuck through the old house, he felt drawn to two rooms in particular.
The first room that he was compelled to look in had a crossbow mounted on the wall. Alex poked his head inside the room after listening extremely closely for any sign of movement or breathing. He quickly looked around the room, and saw something shocking. There was a glass case that contained an assortment of firearms. There were pistols, rifles, a crossbow, and even a machine gun! At least one of those guns had to be illegal.
Alex mentally jotted this down and moved on, following Legosi's recent scent. He smelled blood and iron as he approached a secluded room in the back. He heard large movements- the kind that would come from a panda bear. Listening closely, he was able to discern the breathing patterns of two animals: one he was unfamiliar with but assumed was the panda, and the familiar breathing of Legosi.
Alex then reached into his belt and pulled out a squeaking bouncy ball. It seemed like a strange thing for a police officer to carry, but Alex carried a wide variety of tools and objects within the custom made belt his adoptive mother had made him as per his request. This squeaky bouncy ball was the perfect diversion for situations like this. It could be thrown wherever Alex wanted, and it would certainly distract this panda for a decent amount of time- hopefully long enough for Alex to free Legosi.
Alex wound up his pitching arm and tossed the bouncy ball towards the wall next to the door of the room where he thought Legosi was being held captive. "SQUEE! BOINGA-OINGA!" The ball went as it ricocheted off of the walls and down the hallway, away from them. Alex huddled against the wall as he heard the panda bear stomp down the hall to investigate the cause of the noise. Alex seized this opportunity to soundlessly sprint through the corridor into the captive room.
He was horrified to find Legosi unconscious, with an iron muzzle around his face and his paws in shackles, chained to the wall. The white wolf was overcome with rage. What kind of sick, twisted animal would muzzle a predator and chain him up like this for no reason?! The muzzle brought him into a flashback, awakening painful memories within him.
An eleven-year-old Alex was walking around the streets of Zootopia at night. All of a sudden, something came flying out of the doorway to a local community church. A young fox wearing a muzzle slammed into the sidewalk, fear in his eyes as if he was afraid for his life. "Augh!" He screamed as he crashed into the sidewalk. A woodchuck, zebra, rhino, and hippo dressed in scout uniforms ran out of the building and surrounded the young fox. They started to kick him.
Alex ran towards them. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Alex yelled.
The woodchuck, who seemed to be the leader of this group of boys, turned to face him. "We're showing this untrustworthy fox what it means to be a member of Ranger Scout Pack 914," The woodchuck answered.
Alex growled in response. "Why are you doing this?! He hasn't done anything to hurt you!" Alex howled, appalled that an animal so young could do such horrible acts.
"Well, we're teaching him a lesson. He's a fox, after all. They can't be trusted. You know what my mom says? She says the only good fox is a dead fox," The woodchuck sneered.
"I won't let you hurt him any further!" Alex declared, charging forward.
Even at the age of eleven, Alex was good at fighting. You had to be, or else you wouldn't last long living on the streets of Zootopia. The wolf extended his claws, raking them down the cheeks of the woodchuck's head. The woodchuck screamed in pain, running off and retreating to the building.
Alex then turned to focus on the three other animals that were still attacking the muzzled fox. As he ran towards the rhino, zebra, and hippo, he analyzed their positions and the way they were moving. Curling his paw into a fist, Alex punched the zebra in the nose with all his might. A satisfying crack was heard as he drove his fist into the zebra's snout. The zebra turned and ran into the building.
Now for the rhino and the hippo. Alex slashed with his claws towards the hippo, managing to draw blood. Squealing in pain and retreating, the hippo waddled inside as fast as he could. The wolf then faced the rhino, glaring at him. "Scram or I'll slice you!" Alex threatened. The rhino scrambled up the stairs in sheer terror and slammed the door.
The attackers were gone now, so Alex bent down and looked at the fox. The muzzle was too tight for this fox, and he must have been having trouble speaking with it on. "Don't move, I'm going to get this thing off of you," Alex told the fox. He grabbed the muzzle by the iron part, and then lifted it up, pulling it off of the fox.
"T-thank you!" the fox gasped. He clutched his stomach where the animals had kicked him. That wasn't good- he could be bleeding on the inside, or worse. Alex bent over and helped him stand up. When he tried to stand on his own, the fox yelped in pain and keeled over.
"I think I twisted my ankle…" the fox whimpered. The crotch of the vulpine's pants were stained with piss and blood. Alex assumed one of the four had clawed him down there and caused the fox to lose control, wetting himself. A strong blow to the bladder area could do that to young animals, Alex having experienced that a few times in the past.
"That's okay, kid. Lucky for you, there's a hospital a few blocks away from here. I think I can carry you there," Alex reassuringly told the fox. He lifted the fox up and slung him over his back. "What's your name?" Alex asked as he started walking to the hospital, cradling the young fox in his arms carefully. In the library, he had read that you should talk to the injured animals, or else they might go into shock.
"Nick… Nick Wilde," the fox answered as they walked to the hospital.
That day was the day Alex learned of the deep-seated, hatred that part of the prey population held against predators. The albino wolf shook his head, bringing him back to reality. He saw Legosi's eyes flutter open. "Alex! You came for me!", Legosi weakly cried out, happy to see a friendly face. Alex ran over and began to work on the locks holding Legosi's arm shackles.
"Who did this to you, Legosi? I'll eviscerate them!", Alex demanded.
Legosi's eyes widened, looking past Alex. Both wolves heard the heavy oncoming footsteps approaching them. Alex whipped out his taser, whirling around to see the panda bear staring at them. "Who the hell are you, and why are you trying to free my patient!?", the panda bear shouted.
"You're under arrest for kidnapping, possession of class A weaponry, and God knows what else!", Alex shouted, drawing his taser and aiming it at the ursine. The panda bear threw his head back and laughed. Alex fired his taser up.
"I'll deal with you later. I must complete this gray wolf's evaluation.", the panda replied.
The bear swiftly stabbed Alex with a syringe before shoving him. Alex stumbled backwards, falling flat on his butt.
"Paralyzing agent. Nothing too permanent, just an hour and a half of immobilization unless I give you the antidote. Be a good boy and don't try anything stupid.", the bear commanded. Alex was powerless to stop him. "God, Alex… I'm so sorry.", Legosi apologized.
Paralyzed from the serum the bear injected in his veins, Alex searches for a way to convince this panda to back down as the bear proceeds to "evaluate" Legosi. Can Alex turn this dangerous enemy into a useful ally? And why does this panda feel familiar to Alex? All this and more, next time, on BEASTARS: The Divergent Variable!
Chapter 19: Gouhin's Evaluation! The Panda's Past! Escape from the Black Market!
