Elba woke up with a start when the phone in his pocket suddenly started vibrating. He rubbed his eyes and tried to remember the dream he'd been having before his sleep was so rudely interrupted. He'd been back in Roarcadia, and not five minutes into the dream things had gotten weird. The night sky had turned neon blue with glowing dust particles the size of hailstones, and innocent mammals warped by fire and radiation into skinless abominations had wandered the streets, baying for the blood of the mammals responsible for their pain. Elba had been shooting a poor soul about to maul a little arctic fox when the phone rang.

Pottermass was snoring on the other couch, mouth open wide. Elba felt a thrill of intimidation at the sight of those long, sharp tusks. Llamadeus was still working on his laptop, eyes mere centimeters from the screen. What was so important on that computer that he would forsake REM sleep to complete it? Elba would ask him once he was done with this call. As for Mayor Swinton, she was nowhere to be seen, no doubt still in her office trying to fix her late father's mess. It was a fool's errand by this point; the moles in the ZBI couldn't delay the investigation forever.

He picked up the phone, ready to chew the thick grey buttocks off of Trunchbull if this wasn't important. Except the number on the screen was an unknown number. Frowning, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Evening, Commissioner."

Elba sat straight up on the couch. It was Captain Bogo. He glanced at Llamadeus, who was still engrossed in his work. Best not to mention any names. "Thank the Lord. I was getting worried about you."

"The mission's more or less accomplished, sir. We've found the facility and we've apprehended Dr. Slothfeld."

Elba closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. "Finally, some good news. Is the boy alright?"

"Yes, I found him."

"Thank the Lord again. What other news do you have?"

"Plenty. It seems that not all the predators on the list are involved in the plot. About half of them are in hiding or completely unaccounted for."

"Give me the full details on that later. What else?"

"Wilde's here."

"You found him, too?"
"He found us, actually. Along with Hopps. Seems they started working together to clear his name." Bogo didn't sound pleased at that bit.

"After what happened with TUSK, I'm not surprised. I just hope she doesn't turn in her badge after this."

"Same here. I had my doubts, but she's got the makings of a good officer."

Elba's other first tightened slightly. "Speaking of officers…"

"Cunninghorn's dead. Got torn up by some kind of killer."

Elba tried not to smile. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer traitor. What do you mean 'some kind' of killer?"

Bogo paused. "Commissioner, how much did you know of Theodore Swinton's activities back in Roarcadia?"

Elba's blood ran cold. "What are you getting at?"

"I don't know the best way to approach this, sir."

"Do it the way you do best. Be brutally honest."

"Cunninghorn wasn't killed by Sedor or one of the other missing predators."

"Then what did? A Wendigo?" It was intended as a joke, but as soon as he said it, he felt another chill rushing through his veins. He was still shaken from the nightmare, he told himself. His gut instinct was sending him the wrong message. Knowing a benefactor's darkest secrets would make anyone paranoid.

"Close. It was something else. A monster."

"No…"

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"I hope I don't. I really do."

"Really? Because you were quite close to Theodore Swinton, and it appears that before Roarcadia fell, he was putting his resources into some weird shit. Like… Jurassic World's Indoniminus Rex shit."

Elba pressed his hoof tips into his forehead. "That crazy, delusional old fool!"

Pottermass snorted, but didn't stir. Llamadeus looked up from his laptop. Elba ignored them both.

"So you knew." Bogo said coldly. "What else were you in on?"

"Nothing do to with what's going on now, I swear to God." Elba said. "And that was the only distasteful thing I had been aware of. I wasn't involved, but I knew. Whatever else he'd done, I'm not privy to it."

"How do I know that's not bullshit?"

"Because Theodore would never share his secrets with someone who criticized everything he'd done."

"… Good point. But then how did you know about his experiments?"

"His daughter never agreed with the endeavor. Not for an instant. One night she had a huge fight with him over it. Afterward, she got so drunk she threw caution to the wind and told me everything."

"So, even our shamelessly hypocritical Madame Mayor has standards."

Elba picked up cane. He needed something he could squeeze without breaking something. "How much did you learn? Don't hide it… I need to know… are the tests still ongoing?"

"… It doesn't look like it, sir. The creature that killed Cunninghorn is all that's left of the original Project Twilight. Slothfeld had been hiding it in the old mining town to keep Theo's daughter from finding out and killing it."

A silver lining. Elba would hang on to that. "I needed to hear that, thank you. This isn't something to discuss on the phone, so I'll tell you the rest later."

"Damn right you will."

Elba sighed. First Integrity and Bravery, and now Trust. Now all I have left to lose is the badge itself. "How many loose ends need tying up?"

"We're short a few more missing predators, and that creature is still out there. Right now Savage is trying to persuade Slothfeld to unlock his disc's secrets so we can convince the Red Queen not to destroy the city."

Elba blinked. Savage? "The rabbit's there, too?"

"Another long story. Save it for our face-to-face discussion. The ZBI should be on their way here to take over, so we'll be having that discussion very soon."

"Looking forward to it. Give my regards to the others."

"Hold up. Some predator in with a big X on his face told me to pass on a message."

Gabriel, Elba thought. "And?"

"He found Starlight. That's all he said. Any idea what that means?"

Elba knew full well what that meant, and it made him want to dance cartwheels and throw his cane into the air. He'd found her. She was safe. Had he told her about little Lance yet? "Yes, I know what that means. Best save it for-"

"For the discussion, right. I'll call you back when the ZBI gets here. Or Slothfeld decrypts that disc. Whichever comes first."

"Copy that. Tell the boy I'm glad he's alright."

After the call was ended, Elba sat on the couch in silence, processing everything that he'd learned and confessed. He could have played dumb about the creature's origin, but there was no telling what evidence Bogo and his men had found, and honestly, it had felt so good getting it off his chest. He'd kept the secret of Roarcadia's atrocities for so long. He'd hated himself for being too afraid to say anything, but at the same time he'd hoped that by saying nothing, Theodore's legacy would die along with him. But as it turned out, that legacy wasn't dead yet.

Pottermass grumbled and scratched his chest as he slowly awoke and sat up on the other couch. "What time is it?" He asked.

Elba pressed his cane into the floor as he stood up. "Time to come clean."

"What was that?"

"You heard me. If we're going to have any hope of stopping Radames, we need Swinton to reveal the truth."

Llamadeus turned in his chair. "Are you mad? Even her lawyers somehow get her off the hook, we'll be deemed guilty by association! This disaster will smear our reputations until long after we're all dead!"

Elba scoffed. "You'll cook up a good whopper. You always do."

Llamadeus stood up. "You self-righteous flatfoot! Every story I wrote was for the good of the city."

"Good for the lining in your pockets, you mean. Dear Lord, you're insufferable."

The llama stormed up and poked Elba in the chest. "I don't have to take this! The ZBI will find that crazy bitch any minute now. We don't need to stoop to giving in to demands from terrorists."

"They won't find her in time." Elba said. "They've been investigating for days and they still have no leads. You can thank your Queen of Hearts for slowing them down."

"And now you want her to finally admit that her entire family has been lying to us for centuries." Pottermass said. "No offense, Morgan, but we'd have a better chance of getting your local pastor to admit Christianity isn't the one true faith."

"Unless you have an idea where they can find Radames, this may be the only way to stop her." Elba rapped his cane on the floor. "We have to get out of here and talk to her."

"Let the Feds handle it." Llamadeus said.

Elba thought of the last time they'd all been in the office together, and they'd all discussed the best way to exploit a blazing riot that occurred in the middle of their own city. Then he grabbed Llamadeus and threw him into Pottermass's stomach. The hippo let out a sharp groan, but before he could retaliate Elba pressed the bottom on his cane into Llamadeus's chest, pinning them both to the couch.

"I'm not a fool. I know we're never going to agree on this. And that is why I am going to go up there and talk to her, and you two are going to stay put and not do anything to stop me. Are we clear?"

"You're out of you're-" Llamadeus winced as Elba pressed harder.

"I don't want to hear another word out of you. I am walking out of this glorified panic room, and then you can go right back on that computer and finish writing whatever blasted cover story Tilda has commissioned you this time. Pottermass, you can go right back to sleeping off the booze."

Pottermass shoved the llama aside and glared at Elba. "The hell with that, I'm coming with you!"

"To what? Literally stab me in the back?"

"To tell her that I'm going home! We've supported her family for years and she's treating us like prisoners! And the bar ran out of booze two hours ago, so now I'm pissed-pissed!"

Elba cocked his head. "Are you sure you're not just still intoxicated?"

Pottermass fought his way up from the couch and shoved Elba. "Stop fucking judging me and get up those stairs!"


Elba strode straight past Llater's desk without so much as a good evening.

"Oh shit." Llater shoved his secret headpiece into his desk drawer and ran after him and Pottermass. "Hold on, you can't just barge in… and they just barged in. God, I should have stuck to infiltrating drug cartels."

Swinton's head shot up, the comb dropping from her hoof, her untidy blonde hair bouncing on her scalp. "What the hell, Elba?!"

"Tilda, we need to talk." Elba said.

Swinton retrieved her comb and started fixing her hair. "You've caught me at a bad time, Elba. And what is Pottermass doing here?"
"I'm here because I've-" Elba shot out his arm, cutting Pottermass off.

"Wait your turn." Elba said, then turned back to Swinton. "This has gone far enough, Tilda. We have less than half a day before the Red Queen's deadline, and the authorities have no leads on her whereabouts."

Swinton set down her comb, her locks sleek and sophisticated one more. Her expression, on the other hand, indicated that she hadn't slept since he'd last seen her. "And?"

"And?" Elba repeated, incredulous. "Your city is in danger and all you have to say is 'and'?"

"We still have time. I sent my Assistant Manager to check on something. He should be arriving there soon. I'm just waiting for him to call back."

Llater spoke through her intercom. "Ma'am, Chief Trunchbull is here to see you."

"Send him up." Swinton replied.

Elba watched as she grabbed her phone and checked it. "Hmph." She said. "Nothing from Ramses yet."

Elba scowled. "You know, you never did introduce him to me. Or anyone for that matter."

"Carlton's death left a heavy workload. He doesn't have time for public appearances right now."

"And what exactly is he checking on?"

Swinton leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Not your concern."

"A fugitive scientist hiding on the outskirts of Zootopia is absolutely my concern!" Elba's voice was rising. He couldn't believe how she could act so smug. "That goes to his insidious science project which has so obviously gone out of control."

"He's assured me time and again that he has everything handled. There's been a few problems at the facility, it's true, but-"

"And you believe him?" Elba said.

It occurred to him that her smugness may indeed be an act after Swinton suddenly slammed her hooves on the desk. "Do not mistake what I just said for blind naivete, Elba! If Ramses finds that Slothfeld has fucked up in any way, he'll burn that asylum to the ground with Slothfeld in it!"

"That won't stop Radames, Tilda. Unless we figure out where she is, and soon, we may have no choice but to give her what she wants."

Swinton seethed in her chair. "Not a chance in hell, Elba."

Elba clenched his jaw for a few moments. "You've got to listen to me. It's over. It was over the moment Radames and Valentino escaped from captivity. The best thing you can do now is to come clean. It's for the good of the city."

"It's for the good of the city that I don't let those savages win." Swinton said.

BANG!

Elba struck the surface of the desk with his cane. Swinton leapt back in her chair, which two seconds later was seized by the infuriated water buffalo. Gripping the back hard enough to wrinkle the faux leather, he spun it so he was looming over Swinton's stunned face.

"Enough is enough, Tilda!" He snapped. "You have a responsibility to this situation and it's damn time you lived up to it!"

Swinton quickly regained her composure and narrowed her eyes in defiance. "What do you think I've been doing?"

"Wrong! You've been shirking your responsibility all along! You all have, from the very beginning!" He shot a look at Pottermass.

"Woah, what's that supposed to mean?" Pottermass demanded.

"You assisted Theodore Swinton in committing an international crime without understanding the full ramifications." Elba pressed, locking eyes with Swinton. "You were accomplices in a conspiracy you were entrusted to supervise. You were supposed to regularly check the activities of a mammal who you knew damn well has the ethical standards of Josef Moongele. And by leaving him to his own devices, you allowed him to create the most dangerous threat Zootopia has ever faced. I'd say you've shirked your responsibility."

Swinton swallowed. "You're wrong."

"I'm right, and you know it." Elba said. "This city is a mess, Tilda. Your father's conspiracy is a mess. Go out there and tell the people the truth about the collars. That's all she wants."

Instead of silence, his plea was followed by the instrumental tune of Jerry Vole.

Swinton glanced at the phone on her desk. "Will you get off me so I can answer that? Please?"

Elba released the chair, which rocked back into its correct position, and checked his watch. Eleven and a half hours until the Red Queen's deadline. Plenty of time to convince Swinton. He hoped.

Swinton picked up the phone and frowned at the screen. She pressed the green button and held it to her ear. "Ramses, have you- who the hell is this?"

"Who is it?" Pottermass asked.

Swinton ignored him. Her face contorted. "You." She snarled.

"Tilda, who is it?" Elba asked. Swinton ignored him too. The buffalo snatched the phone and put it to his own ear. "Who is this?"

"Ah, Commissioner. Starlight told me all about you."

Elba didn't recognize the cool, low, feminine voice. "I wish I could say the same about you, your crimson eminence."

"Give me back that phone!" Swinton hissed.

Elba put it on speaker instead. "You know, you remind me of a rather famous fairy tale character."

"I assume you don't mean the Red Queen." Radames said smoothly.

"Morgan Le Fay. Or Morgana, whichever you prefer. She had a grudge against a specific leader as well. They reconcile at the end, but I doubt the same will occur here. What do you want?"

"Less than twelve hours remain until I complete the destruction of the Queen of Hearts's treasured wonderland. Is she ready to confess her family's sins, yet?"

"I hate to break It to you, but we have Slothfeld in our custody."

"… Is that so?"

"It is so." Elba said. "I sent a team of my best officers to Founder's Mountain, and they're already captured several of your fellow terrorists. In a matter of hours, the ZBI will arrive to do the rest. That's a lot of pieces off your side of the board, Radames."

Elba was relieved to hear Cheryl Radames sound genuinely displeased when she replied. "Yes, it seems that way. So, justice it is, then. It's a shame that of all punishments we had planned, the Knave of Hearts will have to suffer the most boring one."

"We have the disk as well. The one you forced Officer Hopps to retrieve for you. Once we convince Slothfeld to decrypt it the truth of the TAME Collars will be revealed to the world, just like you wanted. This doesn't have to end in more bloodshed, Radames."

"First of all, I didn't force Officer Hopps do anything. As the White Queen, she is free to do as she pleases. I simply told her the reality of the situation."

Swinton laughed. "Reality! That's a bit rich coming from a certifiable bitch such as yourself!"

"Ah, I am so glad you are still listening to this, Queen Tilda! For you see, it's not quite over yet. The Knave of Hearts will not give up the secret of the Vorpal Blade easily, and especially not for thousands of mammals he cares so little about. Who's to say you'll get him to crack in time? That is why I'm giving the Queen of Hearts a chance to reveal the truth for him."

"Give. Me. The. Phone." Swinton held out her hoof, and Elba handed it back.

"Take it off speaker and I'll take it right back. I want to hear this." He warned.

For once, Swinton heeded his warning. She squared her shoulders and smiled smugly. "Listen, you little striped pelt, you've got a lot of nerve trying to force me to confess to something I didn't do. Slothfeld turned you into the monsters you always were, not me."

"I lived under the Knave's watchful eye for almost two years. I remember you visited him only once, and watched as he put us through those XIBALBA trials. Do you deny it?"

"If I recall, the Queen of Hearts is supposed to be the judge, not the defendant." Swinton said. "Why don't you come out of whatever black pit you're hiding in and taunt me to my face, you chicken-shit?"

Cheryl chuckled through the phone. "That moment will come, but not yet. Why don't you wake up and smell the roses, Queen Swinton? This dream you and your ancestors created, a dream where prey are the shining angels waging an endless war on the blood-thirsty ungodly, is coming to an end. Why don't you just admit the truth that you deny, even to yourself, and be done with it? What do you say to that?"

"I say you're crazy." Swinton said with a scoff.

"And whose fault is that?"

Swinton hesitated, glaring daggers at her phone. Elba imagined his earlier words going through her head.

"This is not my fault." She said, her voice thick with rage. "Slothfeld was supposed to finish what Cogsworth started and make the new collars perfect. I didn't ask him for monsters." She spat, actual spittle hitting the screen.

"And yet here I am, holding your entire kingdom hostage. It's about time you stopped pretending you're enjoying watching your city fall apart for the sake of hiding your father's incompetence."

Swinton bared her teeth in a crude smile. "I sure as hell enjoyed watching you and the grizzly fuck each other bloody. Being a rapist and a rapee must be really living!"

The phone fell silent.

Elba felt the blood drain from his face.

Swinton blinked, her sadistic grin disappearing as the phone remained as quiet as a child's tombstone.

Outside the office, Llater whispered, "Hoh boy."

An alarm sounded on Swinton's computer; some sort of security system had been activated. Then, with a loud whirring sound like a hornet's death rattle, the shutters closed over the wide window behind Swinton's desk. The computer's painfully bright screen was the only light left in the office.

"Funny…" Radames's voice trembled. "You think you're so… fucking funny... You really are you father's daughter, aren't you…"

Llater ran into the room. "Mayor Swinton, what's going on?! My computer just announced an emergency lockdown around the entire building!"

Swinton cursed and rushed to her computer, but whatever command was needed to lift the lockdown failed to work.

"It's the end for you." Radames snarled. "You're being taken off the board."

"Fuck the board, how did you get into the system?!" Pottermass yelled.

Chief Trunchbull barreled into the room at that very moment, followed by a flustered Llater. "What is going on here, Mayor Swinton?! The lockdown has trapped everyone inside City Hall!"

He got his answer right away. "After a stimulating discussion with your reigning queen, I have realized that I'm playing this game all wrong. I'm done playing fair. I will give you… five hours to find a way to escape. And then Alice's great blue tears will drown you all in a Xibalba of your own making."

"You're making a big mistake! This is not over, Radames!" Swinton swore.

"It is, Tilly, it is. Or did you not know?" Radames was calm, practically gleeful, as if she had further punishment in store for Swinton's vile quip.

"What? You're going to rape me, too?"

"I may have misspoke concerning the Vorpal Blade. The Knave may never willingly unlock the Blade, it can still be unlocked. It will take time, but someone, somewhere, will have the skills to do it." Cheryl definitely sounded gleeful by this point. "Slothfeld is not the most trusting of mad scientists. He especially feared that at some point he would outlive his usefulness. So in the event that you decided you didn't need him anymore, he secretly recorded all of his interactions with you and your degenerate father. When that information is revealed, you and your collars are finished."

In the harsh glow of the computer screen, Swinton turned white as porcelain.

"I thought you'd ought to know." Cheryl said. "God, it feels so good to finally rub your face in it."

Elba stepped up. "Radames, if that's true, you don't have to do this! Please, just lift the lockdown and let everyone go! I'll even arrest Swinton myself! Don't hurt these mammals, I'm begging you! There has to be another way!"

"I never said there wasn't. Only the White Queen can stop me now. You'd better hope she deduces my location, and quick."

Elba swallowed. "You're saying that if Officer Hopps finds you within six hours, you'll give up?"

"As soon as you find me, I lose. So yes, I'll give up. That was always in the cards. Unless, of course, you capture the Red King before then."

"Then I can't wait to put you in checkmate."

Cheryl laughed. "That's the spirit. See you soon, Swin-tart."

The phone call beeped loudly as it ended. Swinton made no move to stop the sound as she stared into space, eyes wide and unblinking.

Trunchbull took a wary step toward her. "Mayor Swinton…"

He dodged to the side as Swinton's phone exploded on the wall beside him. The pig gnashed her teeth as she yanked her desk drawer all the way out and pulled out an expensive custom handgun. "Back to the lounge. All of you." She hissed. "And this time you'll stay there until that bitch is found. Where is Llamadeus?"

A nervous Pottermass told her he was still in the lounge, and the five of them started the long walk back to his location, Swinton leading the way. By now everyone within the building had discovered that they were now virtually trapped, and panic was threatening to set in. Fortunately the security guards were on hand to keep them relatively calm, and Trunchbull quietly told them to tell the civilians that it was a precaution put in place to protect them until the ZBI announced the terrorists' capture. Only time would tell how long that would placate them, or how long it would take for the outside authorities to force their way past the thick steel that barred all the exits.

It didn't help that many of the staff they passed had seen the gun their visibly unstable mayor was now holding.

They found Llamadeus at his laptop, directly facing them but not looking at them; the llama looked like an otaku whose favorite anime had just been cancelled. He was digging his fingers into the disheveled hair on his scalp as he stared at the screen.

"Llamadeus, get up!" Elba ordered. "I said get up! We have a situation."

Llamadeus pounded the table the laptop sat on. "Damnit. Damn it! How did we not-"

"Get off that computer, you slimeball!" Swinton shouted.

Llamadeus finally looked up. His eyes scanned the group, and then suddenly seemed to fix on something.

Sensing that someone was wrong, Elba stepped to the front of the group, in front of Swinton. "Llamadeus, what happened?"

Llamadeus held out a hoof. "Stop right there!"

"Mr. Llamadeus, what's going on?" Trunchbull asked from his place behind the water buffalo and pig.

Llamadeus slowly stood up, keeping the laptop between him and the group. Then he pulled out a gun and aimed, his wrath bringing out the red blood vessels in his eyes.

"Double crosser." He snarled.

Blam! Blam! Blam!

Three shots, before Elba could react. The first punched through the laptop's screen, striking Llamadeus in the gut and dropping him back on the seat. The second hit the laptop's hard drive dead on, obliterating the data it held. The third struck Llamadeus's heart, turning him into a rag doll in his chair.

Elba spun on the spot, so fast his bad leg nearly gave out from under him, but he saw nothing but the stunned mammals behind him also looking for the shooter, and the empty hallway outside the lounge. Trunchbull ran over to Llamadeus's still body and searched for a pulse. Elba didn't need to see his reaction to know the llama was dead.

"Jesus Christ." Llater muttered. "Jesus Christ. I've gotta get back to my-"

He was interrupted by Swinton screaming for security. Four burly guards stormed in seconds later, and she ferociously ordered them to confine Elba, Trunchbull, Pottermass and Llater to the lounge and confiscate their phones and weapons while the rest of the guards conducted a search of the building. Elba doubted they would find her. She'd been one step ahead of them the entire time. Why would this be any different?

And so, with five hours and forty minutes left on the clock, Elba sat on the same couch as before, staring at Llamadeus's cold body with even colder dread engulfing his gut.

Double crosser, he said… So the Red King is among them… A traitor… Who?