It had all started with those feet in his back. That's when everything went wrong. Those poor coffees.
Almost a minute later, Doug Ramses pulled himself up from the ground of the train tunnel, hearing a rumbling in the distance. He saw Woolter running toward him, his shirt buzzed off, belly exposed and red.
"The heck happened to you?" Doug muttered, rubbing his back.
"Almost got crushed by the train car," Woolter panted. "That crazy bunny tried to kill me!"
"Jesse still with the bunny?" Doug started to walk away. Woolter stumbled, but caught up to him. Doug stretched a little. "Mgh, my back... gonna need a massage..."
"Yeah," Woolter nodded. "There's a fox there, too. I wouldn't count on Jesse being with them for very long, though, with how psychotic that bunny was..."
"Two horned rams and you can't take care of a bunny and a fox?" Doug mumbled.
"Gimme a break!" Woolter shrugged. "Not like you fared any better versus that bunny!"
"The bunny kicked me in the back," Doug said calmly. "I didn't have any warning."
"What are we gonna do, Doug?" Woolter wrung his hooves. "Those two goons made off with the whole operation!"
"Nothing in there should be traceable back to me, and I know how to make the goods, if need be," Doug sighed. "You? I'd either skip town, or lay low."
"What about Bellwether?" Woolter sputtered.
Doug looked at Woolter as though he'd lost his mind. "I know you think we're alone, but try to use some discretion. She'll probably take care of 'those goons'. As far as you, see if you can find your fellow goon and stay out of sight until we see how this all goes down."
"What're you going to do?" Woolter blinked.
"Don't worry your small mind about me," Doug said, climbing the steps out of one the abandoned tunnel's closed off entrances. "I'll be fine."
Doug calmly stood at the street corner and took in the news report.
Dawn Bellwether had failed and gotten herself arrested. In apparently unrelated news, there had been an explosion of a train car in an abandoned train tunnel. Doug didn't react outwardly. That definitively took care of anything that could be traced to him. He was always careful not to get a single strand of wool out of place while he worked, but anyone could make a mistake. Doug, however, made very few mistakes.
Doug was as collected as he appeared outwardly. He knew as a sheep chemist and accomplished sharpshooter, he'd always be in demand as a mercenary. Sheep, especially hornless rams, were often decried for being short-sighted, simple, and unassuming. Not to mention to non-sheep, all rams tended to look alike. It was true that the Night Howler gig paid well and made him a powerful acquaintance, but she'd just gone down, and now he needed to make himself gone before anything else happened.
The ram turned to start walking toward his apartment and looked at his phone. There were apartments in the Meadowlands, on the northern outskirts of Zootopia. It'd be easy to blend in there, and the sheep population was even higher than other areas. Doug blinked as his phone rang. It was Dawn Bellwether's number.
Doug seemed momentarily confused that Dawn was trying to reach him. He shrugged and ignored the call. It went to voicemail, which he was sure was scathing, but he didn't care to listen to it. When he was relatively alone, he made his way onto a bridge overlooking a river. He threw the phone down unceremoniously onto the concrete, stomped on it several times with his hoof grinding into it, picked it up, and tossed it into the water.
That was one loose end down. Now he'd have to see about getting his name changed and some documents forged.
A whole year passed.
Doug drove his moving truck back into the Meadowlands from a job he had undertaken in Tundratown. Some work was less savory than others, but with what employers tended to pay him for his skills, he couldn't complain. Everything was done. Every "t" was crossed, every "i" dotted. Another success, every loose end tied up in a nice bow, and it was back to his comfy home in the Meadowlands.
A police siren started to wail, and Doug checked his speed. Two under the limit. He automatically and politely pulled over, but to his surprise the cruiser stopped behind him. A fox got out and Doug felt a mild shot of alarm. It was that fox, the one who had been with the bunny. The two that had finished off Bellwether. Doug's face remained blank. He had heard that the fox had become a police officer, but he was unafraid. There was no way he had anything on him.
"Is there a problem, Officer?" Doug asked the fox as the latter approached the truck with a smirk. One of the fox's ears twitched.
"License and registration please," the fox beckoned. Doug produced these for the police officer. "Reggie Cornrow? Huh, that name sounds oddly familiar. Do I know you?"
"I think I'd remember a fox police officer," Doug returned, shrugging. Nick smiled and nodded diagonally.
"Step out of the car, please," the fox said cheerfully. Doug complied. The fox strolled over to the cruiser and handed over the documents. "Run these, Carrots."
"If you say so," the amused female voice from the car came.
Doug still wasn't worried. He'd tested his documents himself, and they'd checked out and passed a lot of other scrutiny. The fox strolled over, folded his arms, and leaned against Doug's truck. The fox gave him an annoying grin and sniffed dramatically.
"Ahh, smell that fresh Meadowlands air," the fox tsked three times, shaking his head. "Lovely, isn't it?"
"Yeah, can't get enough of it," Doug said blankly.
"Literally, right? What'd we do without air? Die of suffocation, probably!" The fox sharply slapped his own pants. Doug didn't flinch or laugh. "Sorry for the inconvenience Reg; can I call you Reg? My partner should be done soon. Your tail light's out, by the way. That's why I pulled you over."
"Ah, okay. It's no trouble," Doug said politely. "Was just on my way home."
The fox officer's partner, that bunny, poked her head out of the cruiser and motioned over for the fox. Doug strained to hear. It sounded like she said: "Everything checks out. Nothing on the record."
Doug mentally grinned. He was just a few steps away from freedom from those stupid mammals.
"Sorry about the hold up, Reg," the fox officer said, "but while we're here, would you mind facing the truck and putting your hands behind your back? You're under arrest for suspicion of conspiracy to commit a crime."
"What? Why?" Doug mumbled. The fox still looked irritatingly smug, but he took out some cuffs. Doug grumbled and complied. "I haven't done anything wrong. This is police harassment. I'll be calling my lawyer."
"Call whoever you like, Reg," the fox cuffed him and smoothly led him to the cruiser, where he helped him into the back. "You have the right to remain-"
"I know my rights," Doug snapped.
The fox sighed as he got his seat belt on. The bunny at the driver's seat looked at him incredulously.
"What gives, Nick?" The bunny started the cruiser. "He just had a tail light out." Nick made an opening and closing gesture with his hand. The bunny looked confused.
"He's got no reason to arrest me," Doug protested. "This is harassment, and my lawyer will hear of this."
The bunny gasped sharply, then grinned widely and devilishly.
"Karma, my dear Judy," Nick made that "biting" gesture again. "She finally got her teeth sunk in."
"Bet it felt good to cuff him; I'm jealous," Judy smirked.
"Not as good as it did to kick him, I bet," Nick chuckled.
"You got me there!" Judy laughed. Doug felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, but stayed quiet.
"Now are you exercising your right to stay silent, Doug?" Nick burst into a huge, toothy grin, staring at Doug's blank face. "Oh, don't look so surprised... if- if that's what passes for your surprise. I never forget a scent."
"And I never forget a sound!" Judy said airily. "Unfortunately for you, you've already talked."
"Ss-Circumstantial," Doug muttered. "My name's not Doug, it's Reggie-"
"Don't embarrass yourself, Dougie boy," Nick said in a lazy voice. "Dawn is going to be all too eager to give you up. I hope you burned all of your bridges to the very ground, or-"
"I think I heard Bellwether say something about you missing an important phone call..." Judy said with irritating zest in her voice.
Doug swallowed, and his eyes finally went wide.