After surviving a slit throat, a tusk through the torso, and now a hundred foot tumble down the notorious ravine on Founder's Mountain, Bogo was starting to think there was a guardian angel somewhere with a twisted idea of guarding him.
To be fair, he'd only tumbled a quarter of the way down the mountain, coming to a stop at an area of the cliff that was almost flat. It was thanks to his coat that he suffered more bruises than lacerations, the cut on his arm inflicted by that jaguar didn't count, and his naturally tough bulk had protected him from broken bones. Lack of a head injury had suggested to him that it was the shock of the fall that had knocked him out. In any case, he'd gotten lucky. Again. Unless you counted being separated from your team in an incredibly dangerous environment as lucky. Then again he'd insisted on coming here.
He'd woken up to Higgins' frantic voice blaring at him from his radio, which like its wearer had survived the fall. He'd responded blearily, assuring the hippo that he was alright, and then asked about McHorn. The rhino had been sedated, stabbed in the neck with his own tranq dart. Bogo and Higgins had shared the theory that Maria Manchas had had far more insidious plans for McHorn than simply killing him. Higgins had then reported on his own condition; he was sore from the shotgun trap, with ribs almost certainly broken, but he still had his gun and he was confident that he could guard McHorn until he awakened.
"Are you safe right now?" Higgins had asked.
Bogo had taken a quick look around. The rest of the way down was a gravelly looking slope formed from a suspected landslide. "I don't think so. I need to get off this cliffside before it collapses again. I should be able to get the rest of the way down."
Higgins hadn't answered at first. "I don't know about that, Captain."
"You got any better suggestions?" Bogo had asked rather harshly. He'd expected for Higgins to either fall silent or give a better suggestion. Instead the radio had suddenly begun to hiss loudly, any response the hippo may have given going unheard. What followed had been an unpleasant few minutes, consisting of Bogo speaking into and fiddling with the radio before realizing the signal was being hopelessly jammed, then listening for signs of a scuffle up above. He'd heard nothing, but he'd witnessed first-hand that Maria was a prodigious and remorseless ambush predator. He'd called for Higgins, and there had been no answer. He'd pulled out the satellite phone out of desperation, but it had not been as fortunate as his radio.
The collar on his wrist, of course, had survived.
The cliff above was too steep for him, so going down was the only other option. It was times like this that he'd felt pride at being the ace of the Police Academy's infamous obstacle course. As he'd descended, he'd thought about travelling along the ravine in the hopes of getting out of the jammer's range so he could call for help, and that was when he'd remembered the mine McHorn had told him about. It could be the key to getting out of the ravine. It was risky, especially if the mine was as decrepit as he'd imagined, but that voice in his head urging him to play it safe had offered no better alternatives.
And so, after reaching the bottom of the ravine with little trouble and dressing his cut with the small roll of gauze he kept in his belt, he'd walked, aching from bruises all over his body, the sound of the river travelling alongside him soothing to his blade-shaped ears. It was colder down here than it was above the ravine, forcing him to put on the gloves Kathryn had bought him two Winters ago and making him thankful he'd along the flat boots. Every now and then he'd check the radio, only to hear that same interfering hiss. Every now and then he'd look up at the sky to make sure the weather wasn't about to turn nasty, and once he'd seen what may have been a bat flying overhead. His fear for McHorn, Higgins, and Benjamin had grown by the hour.
The first part of the mine he saw was the metal structure stretching all the way across the upper part of the ravine like a rollercoaster track, rusted into shades of orange, brown and black. The beams were thick, like the mosaic-like frame that supported the glass dome overlooking the Precinct One lobby, and that made Bogo more confident above his chances of escaping. As he walked closer, he saw that a small dam had been built over the river almost right beneath the track, presumably to reduce the chances of the water level rising to reach the metal structures and rust them until they were dangerously unstable. Nearby that dam was a ladder fixed to a platform built halfway up the cliff and connected to the track. "Perfect." Bogo muttered, striding to the ladder and testing the rungs. They didn't budge, even when he tugged hard enough to yank McHorn off his feet. He climbed slowly, carefully, sighing in relief when he reached the top of the ladder. He tried the radio again. The random noise was gone, so at least he was finally out of the jammer's range. He called for Higgins, but received no answer.
He examined the track. One end of the track disappeared into a tunnel within the cliff side he needed to be on, but the tunnel was boarded up. Even if he could pull off the boards, there was guarantee he wouldn't get lost in there. The other end, the mountain side, also led into a sealed tunnel, but there was also a metal staircase that zigzagged up into a large wooden building built by the edge of the cliff. Bogo pulled out his gun, just in case, and began his ascent once more. He stopped mid-way up the stairs when he saw spots of blood, too red to be old. Someone else had come up these stairs. By the time he reached the top, Bogo was missing the Precinct One elevator. The stairs had brought him inside what looked to be some kind of mess hall. He saw more blood on the floorboards at the top of the stairs, and a print on one of the tables. It was large, consisting of two fingers and a thumb. Having worked with rhinos since joining the force, Bogo immediately thought of McHorn, but that was improbable. That left either a complete stranger, or the stubby-horned prick that took Ben.
Bogo raised his gun and swept the neglected room. Vegetation was poking through the windows and between the boards in the walls, but no other organic life. Bogo felt exhilaration as he spotted the exit and went to it. Could they really be here? And whose blood exactly was it that made that print?
God have mercy on Cunninghorn's soul if it wasn't his own.
He froze, hoof partially wrapped around the handle, when he heard voices coming from the other side. They were too faint to be close to the door. Bogo spied a boarded up window beside the door with gaps big enough to peek through.
He looked out into what looked like a small industrial town, with wide dirt roads and large wooden buildings. On the other side of the street, nearby a jeep that in this place was a modern anachronism, was a dark figure.
Oh, bollocks.
He immediately recognized the massive form of Sedor Valentino with long coat, wide brimmed hat and plague doctor mask, leaning against the wall beside a set of doors with twisted handles. He kept looking inside the building. Bogo pulled out his binoculars and looked through the open doors into the interior of the building. He saw an empty camp that was as out of place as the jeep, and beyond that, an elevator shaft.
Bogo considered his weapon, remembering the firepower Sedor had endured back at the Arctic House. They had theorized that the massive bear was wearing some sort of body armor, even on his head, which their best explanation for how he had survived that crossbow bolt, the shooter of which they had never found. The buffalo shook his head, mentally advising himself against it. "You're going to need a bigger gun."
The growl on a vehicle engine turned his attention back to the gap in the window boards. The jeep was still immobile- instead a dual-sport motorcycle glided into view, carrying two felines. He could tell they were big cats by their body shape and their long, thin tails. He recognized the driver, Maria Manchas, by her ghoulish mask. The passenger was slightly bigger, wearing a black jacket that looked like it was made from fake alligator skin and a red ski mask. Bogo peered at them, intrigued. The black clothing and masks they had in common indicated a uniform. These mammals were organized, and the way Sedor straightened, taking on an assertive posture, suggested an hierarchy. They were violently insane, with a radical hatred of police officers. Bogo put it all together, sure that he had just found their terrorists.
"It's done, Sedor." Maria said, not looking as submissive as her companion. "The wolves have activated the jammer. Now those ZPDicks can't call for backup." Sedor said nothing, prompting her to add. "But before that I sent the message like you wanted me to, so we're good there. Oh, and we caught the hippo and rhino a couple of hours ago. We're keeping them in the asylum for now." Sedor cocked his head. Maria seemed to interpret this as questioning why the officers were still alive. "I thought that after we find the third, we could have a little fun. No use just lazing around while the Red Queen and those rodents do all the work."
Bogo felt his body tense. His only comfort was that McHorn and Higgins were still alive.
Sedor nodded wordlessly. Bogo wondered why none of them had removed their masks. He growled, a guttural rumble that made Bogo stiffen with primal fear, especially when he saw the aged bone shears in his paw, the closed blades as long as a rapier. He made a slashing motion with the blades. Bogo gasped softly.
Instead of collapsing in a pool of blood, Maria nodded and gave a slight wave. "Wait here in case Bogo shows up and then do what I want with him, got it."
"Speaking of work, how are the repairs coming along?"
Sedor pointed through the doors. Bogo took another look through the binoculars. His eyebrows raised. The first time he hadn't focus on the elevator shaft leading down into the mine tunnels, but now he saw what looked like a shrew working diligently on the button panel that summoned and dismissed the elevator. Standing on the floor beneath him was another masked mammal with the body of what was either a stout ferret or a regular otter. The larger mammal raised a tool up to the shrew so they could finish fixing a button back in place.
Maria put a paw on her hip. "Wow, you're really on edge. Here, Levvar figured you'd be hungry."
The panther tossed him the headless body of a bird. Sedor caught the feathered corpse and regarded it curiously. Then he put away the shears, reached up with his now free paw, and pulled off the mask.
Bogo had already known the identity of Woolton's killer, but it was still a mild shock to see Sedor Valentino's face. His brown eyes were feral, and so dark they were almost black against his fur. He bared his teeth, effortlessly taking a chunk out of the bird. Bogo turned away from the bloody scene, feeling sick, imagining how Benjamin must have felt when he walked in on Sedor feasting on that ram. The blood then had been far more copious.
Sedor rumbled a wordless response that only Maria and her companion seemed to understand, and walked off. "Okay, guess I'm on elevator guard duty now." Maria pulled herself onto the hood of the jeep and sat down, pulling off her mask and munching on a bird of her own. "Roarson, I don't know what the fuck his problem is. When the city goes to hell, it won't matter if the kid testifies or not."
Bogo's collar beeped. Could it be… Sedor was going after Benjamin?
Roarson crouched down beside the jeep. He growled in response to Maria's words, much like that lion that went savage in Sahara Square a week before Woolton was killed, when it had gone out of attack mode long enough for someone to dart him.
Maria kept talking. "Maybe's he's after the rhino. Not even Subject Zero can take on that big bastard." She paused. "It could.
Yeah, it could."
Roarson was on all fours now, his head low to the ground. Bogo heard a crunching sound, but he was more interested in the elevator. He had to get in there. He checked how many darts he had. Fourteen. Maria was the first, and most dangerous priority, and he had to take her out before she knew he was there, and he had to do it before Sedor came back.
He pushed on the door handle very, very slightly. It made no noise. He pushed the door just enough to get a clear view of Maria, whose eyes were watching Roarson as they both fed on the now bloody birds. He aimed with his dart gun, only to lower it again, infuriated. At this range, the dart was unlikely to penetrate. He'd need a rifle to get her.
He saw Sedor returning around the street corner, his maw red with the blood of the bird, and backed away from the door before he could be spotted. Sedor's shadow floated into view. The bear must have seen that the door was no longer closed. He was coming this way. Bogo bit the inside of his cheek and rushed to the nearest hiding spot- under a dirty table.
Sedor's thick legs came into view, stepping into the mess hall. His movements were slow, cautious, like a TUSK Officer searching an apartment for a suspected drug dealer. Bogo backed away slowly so the tabletop completely shielded him from Sedor's line of sight. There was a table knocked on its side close by that would provide more convenient cover, but Bogo had no way of knowing which way the bear was looking.
Think, Mansa, think! There has to be a weak spot! Sedor couldn't have possibly been able to armor every part of his body. Even then, the coat looked too thick to penetrate with the dart. His gloves, perhaps. Into the palms, which were almost certainly unprotected.
Maria Manchas's legs appeared in the doorway, and so did the gleaming tip of the knife she held in her paw.
Sedor snorted. Bogo saw his hat fall to the ground where it was swiftly picked up by Maria. Then he dropped on all fours.
For three terrible seconds Bogo thought he was dead, but Sedor's dark, glinting eyes were on the top of the stairs. Bogo crossed the narrow open space to the spot behind the fallen table while the bear's attention was diverted. He double checked that his gun was loaded. He heard a hoarse sniffing sound, huffing, and other ominous vocalizations. Sedor was slipping deeper into savagery, letting primal instinct take over as he continued the hunt. The sounds suddenly stopped, and then the footsteps started to approach Bogo's position.
Bogo curled himself up into a ball, both hooves squeezing his gun, when Sedor's paws suddenly appeared and gripped the upper edge of the fallen table. He looked up to see Sedor's head turning slowly left to right, searching the room beyond the table. Bogo closed his hoof around the collar on his wrist. If it beeped now, he was-
"Hey, big guy!" Maria yelled. "I think they're done fixing it. You headin' down or what?"
Sedor snorted, then disappeared from sight. Bogo lay on the dirty, dusty floor behind the table, listening to Sedor's retreating footsteps. When he couldn't hear them anymore, he risked a peek. Sedor was on two feet again, taking his hat back from Maria before following her out the hall. The tension in his body vaporized, almost dropping him flat on the floorboards. "That was too bloody close." He muttered. It was another minute before he risked heading back to the door.
Bogo looked again through the binoculars, having to look around for a few seconds before he saw the mammals working on the elevator controls. The shrew was dropping down from the button panel, his assistant packing up the toolbox. They said no words, but evidently repairs had been finished. Sedor strode inside and punched a button, bringing the elevator back up.
Meanwhile Maria tossed Roarson the remains of her meal, which by now didn't resemble a bird at all, and slid off the jeep. "Okay, I'm going hunting. Save that buffalo for me if you see him."
Roarson simply dragged the carcass within eating range and continued eating while Maria walked off. Had Bogo not seen him riding the motorcycle with Maria, he would have thought him another complete savage. These predators were wild, but still possessed varying degrees of reason. Who are these people?
There was a clanking sound as the elevator rose into view and the doors opened. Through his enhanced view Bogo saw that most of the metal grating was gone, torn away like wrapping paper. Sedor stepped inside, evil-looking bone shears in his claws once more, and descended out of sight.
Bogo squared his shoulders. He would let hell freeze over before he let Sedor touch the cheetah again.
All he could see of Roarson was the tail and one of his feet protruding from behind the jeep. If he was going to get a shot at him, he was going to have to leave his hiding place.
Bogo pushed on the door handle. It creaked from rust, and his body tensed. Roarson kept feeding. Bogo slowly pushed the door open, making as little noise as possible. He looked both ways, but Maria was not in sight. The shrew and otter were also feeding, sharing the large bird they'd placed on one of the empty sleeping bags in the indoor camp. Bogo didn't remember birds being part of their species' diet.
Roarson was still feeding, oblivious to the buffalo strafing along the street, waiting for the moment the jeep was no longer between them. Roarson stopped and raised his head. Bogo hid behind the door before the mammal could spot him. Seconds later a bat flapped down and perched on the jeep's hood. He leaned over to Roarson and started whispering what sounded like actual words, then flew off. The buffalo saw bits of reddish-blonde mane poking out from beneath the back of the ski mask. This was a lion. Bogo remembered a Ryan Roarson, a lion, being on the list of missing predators back at the precinct. Sedor was on that list, too, and so was Maria. He could hear her somewhere far away, singing to herself. Bogo kept still as a statue, not even breathing, until the bat finished speaking and flew off. The buffalo glanced at the two predators inside the building, trying to remember if a shrew or bat was on that list as well. There was definitely an otter. Emmitt Otterton, the florist from the Rainforest District. No-one at Precinct One, Bogo included, had anticipated their involvement in this whole mess.
Roarson watched the bat fly away, and then abandoned his meal, got back on his hind legs and ran off, to find Maria no doubt.
Bogo finally stepped onto the street. He kept the doorway in his line of sight, and the two smaller predators inside the building. The ground beneath him crunched slightly as he stepped on a piece of dry earth. Damn it! He thought and dropped behind the jeep before the shrew and otter could see him. They were louder than they looked, he was sure, and he couldn't afford to have Maria and Roarson come charging back.
Come back they did, but they walked instead of charged. "Get your mini-butts out here!" The shrew and otter ran out, leaving their tool box behind. "Our personal informant's got news. Agent Savage is coming back up the mountain, and he's bringing a couple of friends. He also says he spotted the third ZPD officer at the bottom of the ravine, coming this way. Hands up if you want a slice of beefcake." She paused, then automatically decided they were in. "That's what I like to hear. Me and Lidel will search the mine, in case he's already here. You two will head down and search the ravine. You got your scalpel freshly poisoned, Emmy?" The otter held up a scalpel. "The fatal kind?" Emmitt shook his head. Maria smiled, put her mask back on, and patted the otter's head. "You've read my mind Emmy. If you catch him, don't kill him. We're out of the jammer's range, so you can radio us. I think we'd all like to take turns on this one."
The shrew climbed onto Maria's shoulder before she climbed back onto her bike and drove off, straight past Bogo as he remained hidden behind the jeep. He watched through the jeep's windows as Roarson and Emmitt walked into the mess hall.
"Bitch." Bogo growled under his breath as he rushed into the elevator building. Having a sister he loved and respected usually made him loathe to use the word in that manner, but in Maria's case it was apropos.
He pressed the button, the motor above his head groaning as it pulled at the elevator cables.
"In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again."
That had been a quote he'd seen once before, on a loading screen on one of those survival horror games Kathyrn loved to play when she wasn't cutting open patients in the ER. She'd convinced him to play it one day when he was off sick, and during that gameplay he'd seen several other quotes like it. Kathryn had Zoogled it while he was playing and learned that they were all quotes from the Alice in Wonderland book, and surmised that the story had parallels with the player character's only struggles with madness. For some reason it popped into Bogo's head as he stared down into the black hole of the elevator shaft. It was already too late for him. He'd gone down the hole long ago, only it wasn't a white rabbit that he chased but a golden cat. The quote rang in his ears again, like it was chastising him for bringing McHorn and Higgins with him. Well, Bogo was no naïve little piglet. He was going to find Benjamin, find a way to help McHorn and Higgins and then they were going to get the fuck out of the blood-spattered wonderland that was Founder's Mountain.
