Holy bejeezus! This is the third chapter I've written in less than two weeks! I'm loving this! Anyway, thank you all for your support on this. I hope I'm doing better than I have been.
Now, sit back, grab your snack, put on an inspirational song (mine is The Distance by Cake), and enjoy chapter three.
A week had passed since Special Agent Ardenhu Fangman had shown up to Precinct One and started training the officers there. He had been working one-on-one with Benjamin per the request of Chief Bogo. The cheetah seemed to be losing weight and eating fewer sweets than he had before.
When Nick had questioned him on this, Clawhauser had told him, "Since I've been working with the special agent, I haven't had the urge to eat them often." This put Nick off a little bit. He knew Ben loved sweets to the point where he would go out of his way to get them. For him to suddenly not want them often was odd to Nick. He filed it away to remember later and decided to be happy for his friend.
Today was different from the first day of training. After Ardenhu had everyone work on their approaches in fighting, he started pitting everyone against each other. This was the last day of this training and the most anticipated matchup was happening today. Of course, it was going to be the last of the day, but everyone wanted to see it nonetheless.
Nick and Judy were the two who hadn't been up against each other yet although everyone had faced them by now. None had been able to put them down long enough or hit them hard enough to keep them out for at least the match. The only mammal that had given either of them trouble was Francine. Even then, they both opted to wear her out with jabs and moving out of the way.
The russet furred fox's ears perked for a moment as he heard a bell ring to signal the end of the match. Fangmeyer had just finished putting Wolfard into an arm lock. "Good work, Fangmeyer. You've improved." Ardenhu said as the two of them got up. "Now I know all of you have been waiting for this last fight for some time. Hopps! Wilde! In the ring!" He shouted.
Nick sauntered up to the mat and stood opposite Judy. It wasn't uncommon for the two of them to spar with each other. Most of their matches were tied. The only difference with this match was that one of them had to come out on top. There could be no ties. Ardenhu rang the bell and they both rushed forward. Nick went for a sweep to which Judy jumped over and gave him a good kick to the chest. The fox staggered for a moment before recovering and dodging another kick to his chest.
With a split-second decision, he grabbed Judy by the ankle and slung her away. She didn't land out of the ring, but she came close. This gave Nick a chance to think for a second. He knew that Judy was faster than him and he knew he had size and strength advantage. That wouldn't matter if he couldn't hit his partner.
Before he could formulate a plan, Judy started running at him. She went for his midsection, swiping and kicking. It took a great amount of effort for Nick to dodge all of this since it was all rather fast. A few blows did connect with the fox but most being grazes.
With little warning, Nick threw his whole body at the rabbit, using his weight to push her over. She stumbled for a second and that was the only chance he needed to pounce on her. He pinned her arms to the mat and set his feet over her legs so she couldn't move. He also made sure that she couldn't headbutt him by moving his head a little higher than she could reach.
With that, the bell rang and Nick had won. When he let his partner go and helped her up, Nick looked around at all the jaws that were dropped at what they had just witnessed.
"Hopps! You didn't do bad, but you need to work on fighting mammals more your size or a little bigger so you can overcome this. Wilde! Good use of your weight and size, but you need to be faster if you want to hit a small target. The wirier mammals will slip out from under you if you try what you just did." The wolf said. "You're all dismissed!" Everyone broke out into speech when Fangman had let them all go for the rest of the day.
Nick turned to look at his partner and saw the red in her ears. He wished he could read the bunny as well as he could most other mammals. He set this aside and shoved her a little bit on the shoulder.
"You did do well, Judy. He wasn't wrong. It took me a moment to find a way to get past your speed." Nick told his rabbit friend.
"That's not what's on my mind, Nick. I'm okay." Judy said as her ears seemed to get even redder. She left the gym walking rather hurriedly. Nick shrugged it off and followed her out.
Special Agent Ardenhu Fangman sighed as he sat down at the desk that had been provided to him while he stayed at the precinct. It was much neater than his desk at the ZBI building and it almost made his head hurt to keep it that way. The wolf put this aside and grabbed a few files out of his bag. He had received new orders the previous week about the training and any cases.
"Why is it always me?" He asked himself out loud. He shook his head and laid the manillas in front of him, taking the first and flipping it open. Paperwork was one of the things he hated doing the most. It was all boring and tedious. He preferred being out in the field doing something.
His ears perked as the door to the office opened. He looked up to see the chief of police walking in. He had to duck under the doorway so as not to damage the frame. With his acute hearing, Ardenhu could hear the buffalo snorting with effort.
"You mentioned you needed to talk to me?" The chief asked him as he stepped up to the front of the desk. "Something about a breakthrough?"
The wolf stood and closed the file in front of him. Setting it aside, he picked up and handed the next file to him. "That file contains what my supervisor wants you to know about the case currently ongoing about me and my team."
Bogo took the folder and opened it to take a look at it. He read carefully. As he did, his brows furrowed and he scowled at the paper. Fangman let him read the case, waiting patiently. Mentally he had to stop his tail for it not to show his emotions.
"This is interesting. It's what I expect from the ZBI, but it's still something else." The buffalo said, "And these mammals are ones I've never heard of."
"That's the thing, Bogo. Everyone listed there were either assassins working for us or big-name murderers whose stories are under wraps." Ardenhu said. "All of them are dead now. We don't know who's behind it and we want to know." The wolf's tone grew grim. It showed on the buffalo's face that the room grew much colder.
"Not only that but every one of them was mutilated. Delimbed and beheaded then left to rot within a garbage bag on the side of the road." Ardenhu took the file back from Bogo as the buffalo offered it back to him. "We're asking for your departments' help with this case in finding out who murdered all of these mammals."
"I'll send in my best detectives your way. Hopps and Wilde will be included. They're good at finding trouble if there is some to be found. And if you would please have those copied and sent over to me." Bogo said as he turned towards the door. Once more he ducked under the doorframe to leave. Fangman walked over and held the door open.
"I hope they're as good as you say. They've been doing well with the training, as have the rest of your officers." Ardenhu told the buffalo. A smile tugged at the side of his lips and he nodded and he walked away from the office.
The wolf closed the door and sighed heavily, setting his head against the door for a moment. A knock came at his door as he did and he groaned lowly.
"Why me?!" He asked himself before answering the door. What he saw as he opened the door stunned him. The fox standing in front of him was a shining white-furred canine. He could tell she was aware of what she looked like as she wore a rather form-fitting uniform. Her eyes were an icy silver-blue in contrast to the crimson of his irises. Ardenhu quickly composed himself before she could notice.
"Yes? What is it you need, ma'am?" He asked politely. He hoped that the blush he knew was affecting his ears and cheeks couldn't be seen.
"Mr. Fangman, I presume? I was transferred over from precinct five and was told to come to find you. I'm supposed to be your assistant while you're here working in this office." She told him. Ardenhu blinked a few times as he remembered something being said a few days back about it. He had written it off the moment he heard it. He had his team and secretary for things like that, but they were all back at his office in Tundra Town.
"Ah, yes. Please, do come in." He said as he moved out of the way to let her into his temporary office. "I've tried to keep it rather clean." As he looked around he noticed the pieces of crumpled up paper laying near the trash bin. The blush in his ears burned ever hotter as he moved to pick it all up. "What's your name, love?"
"Aria. Aria Snowtail." She said simply. Just as Ardnehu put the last piece of paper into the bin the door opened and a pair of lions brought in a desk. It was rather small compared to the one adjacent to the door, but it seemed perfect for the fox that was now leaning against the said desk. "Over there, boys." She said as she flicked her head to her right. The two of them complied and set the desk down not too far away from a bookcase.
The first two lions left and one entered behind them carrying a few boxes that seemed to carry supplies the fox needed. He set them as carefully as he could on the desk and unstacked them for her before leaving the two alone. The wolf took on a look of curiosity but left the question unsaid. He didn't want to pry.
"You already know who I am, so I'll skip the introduction. Call me Arden." He told her as he walked over to his desk and sat down. By the time he had opened the file on the top of the pile, she had started to unpack her boxes. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her moving things to where she wanted them. He could also see her tail swishing back and forth.
Ardenhu grumbled internally as he felt his tail start to sway back and forth. He wished he could just turn the thing off and leave it hanging behind his legs. The damned thing seemed to get him into more trouble than he wanted. It took an effort to keep it steady when he was undercover as to not blow the mission open.
He blinked a few times to clear his mind some and focused on the file. It was all boring for him, but he needed to look over it. He had been put in charge of the case. Three mammals had been murdered since the first was discovered dead.
Min Checker, a minx with a reputable sniping history. Thirty years in the service and then hired by the ZBI as a hitwoman. Forty-seven confirmed kills with little to no casualties to civilians.
Able Kimmey, lion. Three murder charges and thirty-five years in prison with no chance of parole. According to the defense attorney, he was completely guilty, even by her standards.
And then there was Liara Hearthaven. Ardenhu had known her personally. The two of them had grown up together, their families being very close to one another. Her accomplishments were second to none in terms of completed assassination missions. The first since Arthur Thurvin to complete more than a hundred missions in that field. Just seeing her smiling face made him livid. Nothing had made him angrier than hearing she had been murdered.
The only thing in common these murders had in common was the way they had been killed. All three of them had had their limbs removed before being decapitated. Even Liara had been treated the same way. The only thing that could console him was being assigned to this case. He would find whoever did it and put an end to them.
"Arden, are you okay? You're digging into the wood." Ardenhu bolted upright and stared at the fox for a moment. He looked down and noticed the claw marks in the wood. He sighed to himself and rubbed his eyes.
"Yeah. It's this case. It's pissing me off to no end." He told the fox. It wasn't like him to get this angry over a case.
"Yeah, but this is no ordinary case." His inner voice told him, "You're best friend was murdered. And now we want revenge."
"Yes, but that can wait." He told the voice. To the wolf, the voice sounded like his old mentor back when he was training in martial arts. He left this alone and looked up at the fox staring at him with her eyebrows raised.
"Here. I'll let you in on it as long as you don't tell the public about it." He said to her, picking up the folder and giving it to her. "While you're at it, could you please make a copy of that and give it to Chief Bogo?" The fox nodded at him as she turned away from him to sit at her desk and read through it.
The wolf started wracking his brain for any clue on who might have done this. No big-name murderers came to mind since most, if not all of them, were locked up. He had nothing to go on so far. This had to be someone new that no one had heard of.
Ardenhu pulled out his phone and brought it to life. One look at the time and he stood. It was almost past five-o'-clock and he still had to eat dinner. He put the rest of the folders he had pulled out of his bag and set them in a drawer. He forewent grabbing his bag and walked out of the door to his office.
Okay, so yeah. As I said, I'll be changing some things about this story. This chapter will be the first that changes something major. I hope to flesh the characters I've introduced so far a bit more.
Onto the reviews, though.
Supersegways117: It's fine that you haven't read the original. I deleted the ACTUAL original a long time ago. But I have the first remake still up if you would like to read that.
Wolfx1120: Thank you for the compliment!
GhostWolf88: Again, I want to thank you for the help with formalities in the first chapter. I will keep them in mind for the rest of the story.
With that done, thank you all again for reading and enjoying this story. I've been enjoying writing this as I get the time. While the first remake was super choppy and rushed, I feel like this one is more controlled in its' pace and tone.
May inspiration light you paths,
Leon