Smoke Them Out
Judy trudged through the thickening haze beside McHorn. Black smoke billowed up and swelled like storm clouds above the line of trees in the distance. Each intake of breath further dusted Judy's throat with the dirty humid air crawling through the forest. Sloths, young tigers, and elk scurried by in fright and confusion as officers directed them to safety.
"Almost there," panted McHorn. Judy nodded his way, noting his labored breathing. He shook his head and gritted his teeth as they trekked through the steep and slippery forest.
"Officers!" called a scratchy feminine voice.
"What luck!" McHorn steadied his walk as best he could, suddenly looking serious. When Judy looked toward the direction of his scowl through the tilted trees and fog, she saw the source of his change in expression as it ran toward them.
"Dawn Bellwether!"
"Yes!" she said with a smile. "Get me out of here!" She came to a skidding halt near Judy and McHorn. They each snagged an arm and smiled. Bellwether glanced at Judy, then McHorn. Her face twisted with worry.
"You're being taken in for questioning for a list of crimes so large, that if we stood here talking we'd suffocate in this heat. So let's go."
"What? No, I–" She lost her voice to panic and nearly fell to her knees. Judy hoisted her up forcefully and twisted her arms behind her back. "Ouch!"
Judy smiled with selfish pride that it was her paws holding Bellwether in custody.
"About damn time!" exclaimed McHorn.
"This is a mistake!" she cried.
"Give it a rest. Everything will be coming to light real soon." Judy continued to push her forward. Bellwether walked with her head turned back. Something kept her attention, and Judy noted her constant glances backward.
"Better be prepared to confess once you're inside." Each step Judy took away from the flames brought her instant relief. Bellwether sniffled as they guided her to their car. McHorn read Bellwether the rights, and she looked up with closed eyes, sighing heavily.
"Is Manchas okay?" she asked, head still turned skyward.
"Manchas?" Judy glared at Bellwether.
"He...oh." Her voice faded again as she lowered her head and was pushed into the car.
"Judy, come on." Judy's posture bent under the weight of McHorn's hand on her left shoulder. She looked up at him and frowned. "What is it?" Judy looked behind him to the orange horizon dancing with black clouds as twilight battled with the glow of the forest fire for supremacy.
"You go on ahead. I have to figure something out."
"What does that mean?"
"I'm worried about Jack." McHorn looked puzzled. His ears flicked as he looked around then asked,
"Is he really here?"
"I hope not." She whimpered when McHorn didn't create any more distance between them. "I have to know for sure. Please? Just go on without me." He nodded thoughtfully. The seconds of silence felt like minutes. They had their mark, and there really was no need for him to stay with her. She tensed and hoped he would just leave her be.
"Fine. Just don't do anything crazy." Judy let go of a breath she didn't know she held.
"Thank you! I'll be careful." She rushed past him, not making audible sense of his grumbling as he entered the car.
Judy raced across the moist dirt, almost catching up to the rescue teams that scurried ahead with the necessary equipment to put out the flames. Paramedics raced past her going the opposite way, exiting the district with injured victims. Dozens of fleeing mammals breezed past, but no sign of a handsome, striped hare. Her ears ached from all the shouting, sirens and machinery. She stopped to center herself, filtering out the noises bit by bit. Cries for other lost ones chirped up around her. The thick steam that filled the forest was damp heavy on her fur. But she refused to be discouraged.
"Jack?" she called. "Jack!" She passed by the gondolas, cursing them for being shut off and approached two mountains of dirt and moss that split the district into right and northwest halves. "North it is." She followed the same path that she and McHorn turned from just before they ran into Bellwether.
By Judy's estimate, three dozen or so rescue mammals were far in front of her. Hordes of fleeing residents continued back the other way, nearly knocking Judy down as they fled.
"What kind of explosion could cause this?" she wondered. She ducked near a tree to clear away from the exodus stampeding past and reached for her phone.
"Gregory?"
"Ms, Hopps! I found Jack in the water. I'm taking him to Savanna Medical. He was calling out for you."
"Oh, Jack! Alright! Thank you, Gregory. I'll head over." She squeezed back tears of relief as she began her retreat from the wounded forest, glad to escape the heat.
A soundless rumbling filled Jack's ears. He twitched in the darkness. Distant sounds slowly registered in his mind: an unclear voice, scraping, and beeping. He shook his head and blinked several times before his vision returned, surprising him with white walls and light.
"He's up!" said a familiar male voice.
"Jack?" Long grey ears and moist purple eyes suddenly appeared just inches from his face. He sat up in fright, headbutting the rabbit in the process.
"Ah! Shit..."
"Oh!"
"Whoa, easy," said a third voice. "I told you not to reach so far into the bed!" Judy hissed and mumbled from behind a paw,
"It was worth it." Chuckles bubbled up in the room, from what sounded like three other mammals. Jack giggled and groaned,
"Don't make me laugh. My head and back hurt. And...everything else."
"I'll try this again." Judy gingerly reached out once more, closing the distance between herself and Jack. She hovered over him with a big smile.
"Hi, gorgeous." Jack paused a breath and said,
"Sorry." She laughed. He missed that sound.
"I'm okay. We did it." Her voice cracked, "You were right and we did it. We caught Bellwether." He gasped and pulled her in for a hug, pressing his cheek to hers as he sat straight up in bed, ignoring his throbbing head.
"Yeah?"
"Yes! The hard part's over." He loosened his grip around Judy and allowed himself to fall back into the bed. The stiffness of his ribs limited his movement. The brief silence was broken only by the beeping vitals monitor in the room. He turned away from Judy. All at once, thoughts of his pursuit of Manchas and the boat crash came to him.
"What's wrong?"
"I chased Manchas and grabbed a canister of the midnicampum poison from him. I injected myself in our fight and did something...gross."
"Ahem!" That familiar sound again. Jack turned to see Chief Bogo scowling at him.
"Jack, will you care to share what happened?" Jack sighed. He wiped his face with both paws, smoothing down the fur and rubbing his eyes.
"I did some...awful things. He attacked me and I tore out his right eye."
"Oh..." Jack swore he could hear the disappointment in Judy's voice. Then his left hand was taken and gently squeezed.
"You were defending yourself. It's not like they were going to just drop and surrender." Frank Stone shrugged and waved lazily at him, sitting next to Gregory. The seal greeted him with a respectful nod. "Hey, agent." Jack briefly smiled a wordless hello.
"It's not that simple."
"What happened in the water?" asked Bogo. Jack folded his paws on his stomach and turned to everyone in the room.
"I infiltrated a boat loaded with explosive chemicals. They were being transported from Sahara to the Rainforest Docks. Perhaps they chose the water to avoid all the police checkpoints across districts. But I disrupted them. It wasn't as clean as I had hoped. There were too many mammals on the boat. I was outnumbered. I almost got stopped by corrupt cops, fought with Manchas and discovered that Big's daughter was on the boat!"
"His daughter?"
"Family business, huh?"
"The last thing I remember was tumbling into the water when the boat suddenly jerked forward on a wave. I was floating in the water, almost knocked out by the damn boat itself. It wasn't a clean exit. But when the explosion happened and the shockwaves hit the water..." Jack winced at the memory of the pain. The reverberations of the blast carried through the water and rammed into Jack like a dozen elephants kicking him all over. He passed out from the pain and now considered it a miracle his insides weren't torn to shreds. Could that have happened to Frieda? "What happened to Frieda Bigsby?"
Frank shook his head and looked at Gregory. Their expressions were discouraging.
"She drowned. Didn't recover," said Gregory. He stood up, his belly rising like a balloon. "Fuck," mumbled Jack. "She drowned. I'm going to get it good, aren't I?"
"We've all made mistakes," sighed Frank. "Let's deal with the bigger issues first. Then you can worry about your bosses and how they'll react to all this."
"I was by the docks when the boat made contact," said Gregory. "I saw someone fall into the water from behind the boat. I rushed to see what I could do. That was when the blast hit. It came later after the crash and my boat nearly capsized on me. But when I saw Jack and a shrew float up and get pushed back, I paddled over to them and pulled them on. Sir, I'm glad you're going to be alright. Be safe and thank you. You too Ms. Hopps."
"Bye Gregory," she said.
"Thanks for pulling me out." Greg exited the room. His absence suddenly made the room look bigger. Chief Bogo sighed and limped to Jack. Jack lifted his head and gave Bogo his best innocent expression. In a calm manner, Bogo asked,
"Detective Savage, please tell me that you are not responsible for blowing up half the Rainforest District?"
"I..." The question was plain and yet Jack found himself stunned. He tried to put up a confident front with his ears up, but he couldn't remove himself from what happened. "There was a fight in the wheelhouse. Frieda and a sheep attacked me. Jesse was his name. The sheep was handling several colored chemicals in tubes. He was checking data on something. And when I was attacked, I pushed Frieda into Jesse. They fell back into the tubes and spilled the chemicals. There must have been some kind of reaction because a fire broke out." Bogo only blinked.
"Thank you," he mumbled and returned back to his chair near the door.
"I didn't know what would happen. I was high on adrenaline and fi–"
"Not your fault," interrupted Frank.
"What?"
"You didn't bring the chemicals there. You didn't start the fight. Not your fault." Jack sighed then continued,
"I worked to put out the fire after Jesse and Frieda were out of the wheelhouse. But when it was done, I couldn't work the throttle or the wheel. They melted from the damn heat."
"So you couldn't work the boat," Jack warmed to Judy grabbing his left arm and hugging it close to her. "I've had a crazy day on land. Fires, mammals running, police raiding the rainforest looking for Bellwether. Who put in the call?"
"I don't know," said Jack. "Probably someone from my department."
"We got a ton of evidence from the office. I caught a ride with McHorn to the forest, we ran into Bellwether fleeing the flames."
"I saw her from the boat when it was approaching the docks. I suppose the blast left her with no options. Whatever shipment she was waiting for is all gone now."
"See, Chief Bogo? Blowing up the rainforest worked out for the best!" said Frank. Bogo turned to the cheeky meerkat,
"Sir, M.I.C. or not, I'm still going to tell you to shut your face!" Frank laughed,
"Come on. This is good news. Messy, but we caught the main problem. All we need to do is the cleanup. Officer McHorn transferred Bellwether over to Jason and Sedgewick. She is in custody and soon to be interrogated. The rest is just paperwork. Not too bad."
"Geez, you're worse than I am," said Jack. "I take it I was supposed to be interrogating Bellwether?" Frank gave him a thumbs up.
"Don't worry, your bosses will cover for you since you're stuck here."
"Until they hear I blew up the forest."
"It's not your fault!" Judy protested and slapped him on the stomach.
"Umf! Abusive." Chief Bogo stood up and briefly spasmed. He leaned on his better side to keep balance and grunted.
"I will meet with Jason and Sedgewick to see what assistance I can offer. There is still much to do." The pain was evident in Bogo's voice. Jack and Judy shared a concerned look. But the sadness in Judy's eyes hinted at something more. "I want to say congratulations." They looked at Chief Bogo. "All of you." He turned and limped out of Jack's room.
"He's finished, isn't he?" asked Frank. "I mean with an injury like that. He looks tired all the time now. Like he's in constant pain."
"I can't think of anyone more deserving of retirement and honor than Bogo," said Jack.
"Oh, that reminds me, the Mayor! He is on the move doing damage control. But it's not looking good for his chances come re-election. Anyway, I told him about Bellwether and he says 'thank you!' Not often you hear that from Lionheart huh, Jack? He was briefed about all the events leading up to today. At least, from what we know and the information we obtained. Can you imagine the documentary on this? Betrayal, mobs, corruption. Total chaos." Jack sat up, rolling his eyes at Frank's rambling. He edged closer to Judy. A sudden draft up his hospital gown made him shiver. Judy wiped her eyes and sniffled as he hugged her.
"Chief Bogo is going to give the office to McHorn."
"An excellent choice," said Jack in a near whisper to Judy. "Level-headed. Strong, smart."
"Yeah."
"I'm concerned about home. I haven't heard much."
"Where is your phone? I'll check for messages."
"I lost it in the ocean."
"Damn."
"Do you have Fangmeyer's number? Or Nick? Try calling one of them. I need some clothes too. Everything took a beating in the water. I'm naked here in this ugly yellow patient gown."
"Oh, I'll take care of you," said Judy. Frank stood up and stretched, a big grin on his face.
"You did a hell of a job. Mess or no mess. I gotta go. Just wanted to pass on the info about the Mayor to you in person since I couldn't get to you by phone." Judy turned to him.
"Oh, Mr. Stone? Take my number. I'll be by his side at all times."
"Aww! Alright!" Jack shook his head, reflexively smiling. Frank was a piece of work sometimes. But he was always good to have around. When Judy turned to approach Jack, he watched as Frank gave him a toothy grin behind her, winking an eye.
"Okay, okay. Thanks for coming over, Frank."
"Sure, Jack. See you when you're out."
"Yes." Jack rested his head in his paws and let himself fall back into the bed, suddenly feeling dizzy. "Get me some water, please." Judy reached for the plastic pitcher on a table next to his bed.
"Doctor said they detoxed something out of you."
"That midnicampum drug, thank you." He greedily gulped the water then winced. "Damn, that's too cold."
"Oh!" Jack snapped to attention.
"What? What is it?"
"I'm calling Fangmeyer. Important!" Jack grabbed the railing on his bed and braced himself for bad news. "Jennifer I got your message. No, I'm alright. Jack's okay, but we're in the hospital. So he's gone? Where?" As he listened, Jack kept a careful eye on Judy's body language. The twitching in her nose, foot thumping and ears standing. He didn't have the patience to wait for the answer to roll out. He wanted to know if it was good or bad news as soon as possible. She gave him a bewildered look after finishing the call.
"Well?"
"Alright, Jennifer and Nick were at your home when Big's bears showed up. They
attempted to start a fire, but Nick and Fangmeyer stopped them."
"And Selene?"
"Oh, Selene is safe, she left with Nick's testimony and was on her way to headquarters. Your house is fine, but..." Jack sighed with exasperation.
"There's always that one bit of bad news. What is it?"
"Nick killed one of them, then he snuck away with one of the rifles you got us. She doesn't know where he is or where he is going."
"A body was left on my property and the killer, Nick, in defense of my home, who I owe a great thanks to, is now wandering the streets with a high-zoom high-powered rifle? Great."
"Where could he be going?"
"What do we know about Nick? I think we know just enough to figure this out."
"Well..." Judy pensively paced the hospital room. Jack, bed-ridden, joined her brainstorm from his seat on the edge of the bed. Nick had proven faithful to him and Judy ever since they began working together. There was a curious warmness Jack felt for him and only now in a moment of reflection did he come to notice it. His honesty earned him Jack's respect. Occasionally Judy mumbled a thought his way. They traced the history of Nick up to the murder of one of Big's bears. Big, the thorn in the Lion's paw, so to speak, was still out there. And understanding that along with Nick's history, the reason became clear.
"Judy?" She stopped and stared upon hearing her name. He couldn't resist the spark in those purple eyes.
"It's Big! He's looking for Big."
"Yes."
"Sweet cheeses..."
"Go."
"What?"
"Go and protect him. Help Nick. I'm too beat up. My ribs are bruised to shit. I almost drowned. They got me detoxing the drug. I'm not going anywhere for at least two days. Find him. And tell him Thank you. For everything."