A/N: A review on ZNN? Why, thank you! It's quite the good timing that review came out today. I have a brand new chapter for you all and I purposefully waited until the Infinity War premiere to post it. Why? BECAUSE NOW YOU MUST CHOOSE! INFINITY WAR OR CA$H ONLY! MAKE YOUR CHOICE! YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY DO BOTH!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'mma go see Infinity War.


CA$H ONLY
Chapter 7: Con$equence$
By: I Write Big

Of the variously sized cells located in Precinct 1, only three were designed for mammals the size of rodents. They were essentially reinforced, knife-proof, wire cages no bigger than Judy's head with a little handle on the top for easy transport. They're kept securely locked behind a steel door on the far end of Holding which is under constant 24 hour surveillance. Despite the multiple layers of security, Judy felt it necessary to personally stand guard at the foot of Donny's cage. The shrew had openly protested the arrangement, but the bunny simply assured him that she was doing her job.

He'd never admit it, but Donny slept soundly that night.

When Nick came to the room the next morning, he found a red-eyed yet still wide-awake Judy at her post. "Witness Protection is here, sleepyhead," he smirked.

"You're signing me up in that?" Donny groaned.

Judy began releasing the restraints that held the cage to the raised platform, "Don't worry, they'll set you up in a safe place where you and your family won't be hunted down."

"I never made no family… Kinda wish I had the guts to try," she heard him mutter. Her paws slowed their work as his words made her tired mind think of Nick and how she always hesitated in going further in their relationship. "Now, after this, the one family I got will wish I was dead."

She shook the thoughts away; she had a shrew to protect, "Li'l Judy is my goddaughter. That makes you and me family. And I want you to live, Donny." She fixed him with a determined look before unlatching the last restraint and hefting the cage under her arm. Ignoring Nick's offers to help carry the thing, she made her way out of Holding. Precinct 1 was eerily empty. The morning shift was only starting to roll in, Briefing wouldn't start for a couple of hours. Judy appreciated the early start. Getting Donny to safety as quickly as possible would put her mind at ease. Not even Clawhauser's happy good morning and offer of fresh doughnuts could get her to relax.

Stepping outside, she and Nick found two professionally dressed raccoons waiting next to a black van: the Witness Protection Agents. Judy instinctively scanned the surrounding streets for any suspicious mammals. The city was still sleeping, not a soul in sight.

"Officers, I'm Agent Scruff. This is Agent Stripes," the first raccoon flashed his badge and the second offered Nick a clipboard. "If you'll sign the witness into our custody, we'll take him to the nearest Sorting Center."

The fox quickly scrawled a pen across the bottom of the form. As he gave it back, Judy noticed his nose twitch and a serious face of contemplation overcome him. "Nick…?" There was a tug on her side. She looked down in time to see Scruff taking Donny's cage from her. As he did, her uniform snapped out of Donny's claws, leaving a small tear in the fabric. Instantly, Judy's ears flopped down against her back. The look on Donny's face as the raccoons calmly walked away with him… It was true fear.

She remembered… shrews cling to those they feel safest with.

"Judy, they..." Nick's nose twitched again.

Donny wasn't safe.

"They smell like shrews."

"Freeze!" Judy ripped her tranquilizer from its holster and fired. The dart struck Scruff square in the leg. Stripes immediately ducked behind Scruff, drew a hidden tranq and shot back. Academy training took hold and Judy scampered across the exposed stairway, looking for a clear shot. Scruff took several more darts and went limp. Impressively, Stripes dragged the heavy shield the rest of the way to the van and jumped in.

"No!" Judy dove after the vehicle but it peeled off. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" The world crawled to a stop as the van got away. Donny's words echoed like a sad, lonely violin.

'I ain't gonna live to see her. You can't protect me.'

What happened next was pure instinct. Without thinking, her aiming arm relaxed, angled ever so slightly down and her finger pulled the trigger. The dart flew forward, its sharp needle piercing through the air. There was a loud BLAM and the back right tire was gone! In its place came an eruption of sparks! The van turned a corner and vanished but Judy grinned. She had slowed them down and now they were leaving a trail. This wasn't over.

Her radio crackled, "Abduction outside Precinct 1. Black Growler, 2013, license plate F333TRV. Officer down." The voice was tired, slurred towards the end and she could hear it more clearly coming from the top of the stairs. She ran up them to find Nick laid next the glass front door. She pulled the dart out his shoulder, but she knew it was meaningless, one standard dart could drop any mammal. Nick would be unconscious until the drug worked through his system.

"Are you okay? Did you get hit anywhere else?"

"F333TRV, 2013." He was panting like he had won a marathon, "You go' i'?"

She nodded and took his paw as Clawhauser burst out the door and flagged the approaching ambulance. "Black Growler, 2013, F333TRV, missing one tire."

There was a jingle of metal as Nick's shaky arm dropped car keys into her palm, "'En I 'ake u', you had 'etter've 'igured thish crayshee caysh ow..." Nick's head slumped back and a trail of drool began to pool next to him. Judy marched past the approaching paramedics and the frantic Clawhauser and hopped into her police car. Sirens wailing, she zoomed down the street.


Duke was in a trance. He had spent the entire night trekking along the highway towards Zootopia. The hike felt like it took forever and the skyscrapers never seemed to get any closer. Just as the sun was cresting the horizon did he arrive at the furthest district still considered part of Zootopia: Furrton. If he cared, he might've commented on how Furrton was one of many mostly suburban towns on Zootopia's edge meant to house the mammals who couldn't afford to live in the city proper. There was nothing to do in these places except eat, shit and catch the train to your meaningless job. Problem was Duke wasn't in the mood. His eyelids were heavy, his feet ached and his pockets were miserably empty. His last sixty-three bucks were clenched tightly in his fist. He missed the weight of the briefcase that had housed his fortune.

That fortune was so quickly taken away from him by the paint bombs. He didn't know what was keeping him going anymore. Without the cash, what was the point? Not only were the ZPD after him, but Horn had made it clear Duke was on his list. And then there were the goddamn Pickles, Picklles and Pikels! Could something go right for a change?!

"Welcome! How may I help you?" a mechanical recording woke him. Duke's tired legs nearly collapsed as he saw he stood before the ticket machine of the Furrton Train Station. He had wandered aimlessly through the town without any mammal stopping him. In fact, there were no mammals here. He must've gotten to the station before the morning rush. With a little hope, he bought a ticket.

Sixty-one bucks left.

The small platform was eerily empty. As Duke peered down the rails that beelined straight to downtown, an automated intercom announced the rush hour express to Tundratown with limited stops would be leaving in five minutes. He stroked the snoozing furball under his wifebeater.

"Morning."

Duke whipped around, expecting an army of coppers, a squadron of polar bear helmed tanks and at least three helicopters! Instead, he saw a panda sipping a coffee.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Duke looked back at the city and hid his face behind a paw. He hoped she hadn't recognized him, "It's fine, don't worry 'bout it. I didn't expect others ta be here so early, is all."

He heard her humm in agreement and take a deep gulp from her cup, "Usually only the nocturnals use this train, but I got an unexpected early call to take care of a huge mess downtown. Had to run out the door."

Duke's pounding headache from lack of sleep was made 1000x's worse by her nasally voice. He nodded and prayed she would shut up. She didn't.

"But I like these bright and early moments. They give you the time and quiet to think, appreciate the beauty of the world, and contemplate just how are you gonna spend the last moments of your life... Duke?"

The fur on Duke's neck stood on end. Did he imagine that? He risked a peek at the panda. She was looking down at him expectantly, as if she was waiting for Duke to get what she meant. It couldn't be… through his hazy head he recalled what she said. She got an early call but from who? Big? Clawleone? Horn?! Was Duke the mess she had to take care of?! Christ Almighty, it had already started! This panda was no panda! She was a hit panda!

"Da hell's wrong wit ya?" Duke demanded, stepping back, "Dis how yous do dis now? Walk up to a poor fella and tell him it's comin'?"

The panda gasped and blushed, "Oh my, did I come on too strong?"

"Whatever happened ta sneakin' up on da guy when he thinks he's safest and puttin' one in da back of his head?! You're a sick 'n twisted panda for playin' wit yer prey!"

The panda's blush deepened and she proceeded to babble, "Gah! How did you know I fantasize about Pred/Prey Play?"

"...Da fuck ya talkin' 'bout?"

"I mean, I always imagined I would be the prey but never the pred! Maybe I could play the pred but I would be so weird at it!" Duke was beginning to suspect he had gotten the wrong idea about this panda. Thankfully, the express train then halted before them. As leopards, ocelots, tasmanian devils and various other nocturnal mammals piled out, the panda's embarrassment suddenly vanished and was instantly replaced with confidence. "You're right! We must spend every day as if it were our last and experience all that life has to offer! My body is ready! Let's do this, Mr. Weasel!"

The train doors shut with Duke onboard and the strange panda still on the station platform. The train took off. Duke watched houses whizz by in abstract horror. He didn't know what the hell just happened and he didn't want to think about what the hell just happened.

"Duke!" li'l Judy popped her head out and gurgled hello.

"Oh, dat was you who said my name? Christ Almighty, Judy, keep yer trap shut or you'll get me caught." Since his... breakdown over the phone with Horn last night, he'd made it a point to call her Judy instead of Cash. It eased the headache. He patted the baby shrew and tucked her back into her hiding spot. It wasn't really necessary, since they had the entire train to themselves, but Duke didn't want to take anymore risks. All he wanted to take was a comfy seat and let this machine carry him straight to Tundratown.

Well, it had to stop at Zootopia Central first, but after that it would be smooth sailing.


"They're going into Zootopia Central! I need back up!" was the update Judy gave over her radio before she bolted past the abandoned and smoking Growler and charged towards the train station. The morning commute was just now getting started so she only had to dip and dive between a couple of hippos. The stripped tail of the ironically name raccoon was a shining beacon for the bunny.

She soared over the turnstyle, "Sorry, I'll pay for my ticket later!" she called back to the angry moose security guard.

Stripes toppled baggage and tripped mammals in his wake to try to slow her down but his efforts only left breadcrumbs for the unstoppable Judy Hopps! She pumped her legs harder and closed the gap! With one last mighty leap, she tackled the raccoon!

Unfortunately, her rescue attempt launched Donny's cage out either of their grips and the the shrew was thrown down the platform. At this same exact platform, a train came to a brief stop and opened its doors.

"Donny!" Judy gasped as the cage slid into one of the train cars.

The distraction was enough for Stripes to elbow her chin and break loose. He scrambled after the cage and she after him. They both ran onboard right before the train automatically shut its doors and took off.


Duke concluded that he was seeing things. He had to be seeing things. There was no other explanation for why a tiny little wire box bounced into his train car followed by Cottontail wrestling a raccoon. Duke then figured he obviously needed some shut-eye because inside that random box was the crazy shrew who wanted to kill him. Maybe it was a mirage. That totally made sense.

"Uh… my head...wait...Weasel?" the mirage noticed him.

Li'l Judy poked her head out again and cheered at the mirage, "Unky!"

Duke had to admit his brain was doing quite the impressive job of giving this mirage such a realistic rage-filled face with an unquenchable thirst for destruction. Plus, the full-body holds Mirage-Cottontail was putting that raccoon through were pretty complicated. Must be thanks to all the movies he watched.

"I turn myself in…" the mirage shrew snarled, "become a squealer and you bring her back here to Pops' doorstep?! YOU IDIOT!" The shrew rammed his cage, pushing it closer to Duke. He grabbed one of Duke's legs and bit hard.

"GAAAHH! This is real!" shouted Duke. He tried to pry the cage off but this allowed the shrew to latch onto his arm and make his deadly paper cuts! "HELP!"

Judy, who had Stripes cuffed to a leaning pole, perked her tall ears at the yell, "...Weaselton?"

"IT'S WEASELT—...Oh wait, ya got it right." BONK! Duke's vision went blurry after the cage connected with his skull. The shrew had somehow gotten Duke's paw trapped in the cage and was using the momentum of jumping against the box's walls to force the weasel to punch himself with the metal boxing glove. BONK! "Pop goes the weasel~!" Duke deliriously sang as he saw stars.

"Donny, stop it!" Cottontail tried to get a firm grip on the cage but Donny wasn't listening.

"All ya had to do was stay out of the city!" BONK! "Where Pops couldn't find her!" BONK! "And your dumb ass couldn't even do that!" BONK! With every strike, Duke stumbled further backwards until he reached the door connecting to the next car ahead. His tail hit the access button and the door swished open. "Why the hell did you bring her back to Zootopia?!" BONK! A mean uppercut sent Duke sprawling onto his spine partway into the next car.

Duke wheezed as Cottontail pressed her full body weight on the cage against Duke's stomach. She finally had the shrew secured. No more smacks. But the questions the shrew had asked remained. As the three caught their breath, Duke tried to find his answer.

"I'm givin' her back."

The shrew and Cottontail looked down at him in confusion. Duke was pretty confused too.

"What's wit da looks? Dey paid what I asked so I'm… I'm givin' her back. So what if I lost da cash? Dat's not her Mama's fault."

"Mama!" came a chirp from his shirt and li'l Judy crawled up Duke's nose. She eagerly looked side to side for her mama as Cottontail gasped at the sight of her. One of her bunny paws lifted from the cage and slowly reached out towards the baby shrew. A shaky smile spread across Duke's muzzle. This nightmare was over.

"Ya think… ya think juss `cause I made a mistake dat I'm gonna ask fer more? What do I look like ta ya? A bank?"

Suddenly, Cottontail's ears cocked nearly a 180 degrees and her pupils shrank. She belly flopped, smushing even more air out of Duke's gut, and a dart flew over their heads. The bucktooth immediately ran back into the train car. Duke weakly raised his aching head. He saw the copper fighting with the cuffed raccoon over a tranq gun the jackass must've had hidden on him. There was no way in hell Cottontail was gonna lose to this chump. Duke was sure of it. But that didn't mean he couldn't help. After all, he had a metal box for a paw that threw a good punch.

With as much dexterity as he possessed on his worst drinking binges, Duke dragged himself to his feet and leaned against the doorframe. There likely wasn't a chance that he would get out of this without going to jail. Might as well go out a hero.

"Whoa, Weasel, what are you doing?" the shrew asked as Duke raised the cage to punching level and stepped towards the struggle. "There's no floor there!"

Duke looked down and saw speeding train tracks, "HOLY CRAP!"

Cottontail knocked Stripes out cold and saw Duke's car getting further away, "Cheese and crackers!"

Li'l Judy giggled at the sight of big Judy's car getting farther away from their car and proclaimed, "Fuck it!"

Following the locking mechanism that held the cars together, Duke found a lone tranq dart had hit the lever and unlatched the cars. He looked back at the disappearing car to see Cottontail at the doorway, looking like she was figuring out whether she could make the jump. At this distance, he wouldn't take the chance, even with bunny legs. She seemed to think the same and stomped her foot in frustration. Crazy ideas came to Duke. Maybe they could make a bridge with the chairs! What about magnets? Ooh, Duke could throw li'l Judy!

"Did you mean it?" Her call was barely heard over the relentless winds. She watched him with an intense judging glare, "Are you really taking her home?"

Astonishment coursed through his veins. Where was this going? Why did he feel like he knew where this was going? Did he see it in a movie? Duke nodded.

She folded her arms and sighed. Then she said three words Duke never thought she'd ever say to him, "I trust you."

Duke's throat went dry, "WHY?!"

"Yeah, why?" agreed the shrew.

"Yesterday, I was a li'l, dirty, wily weasel and today ya trust me? I ain't ya pal!"

"And I'm not your enemy." The annoying Cottontail only sat in her train car, dangling her feet off the edge, and shrugged. "Not much choice. I'll meet you there." She pulled on something in her car. It must've been the emergency stop because the wheels below her screeched and grinded against brakes. Her car's speed at last waned and she was left far behind. Duke watched her go, eyes locked on her resolute face, hoping to catch another hint that would explain her sudden faith in him.

"I know she saved my fur, but… talk about dumb bunnies, am I right?" the shrew grumbled. Duke ignored the cage his bruised and battered paw was trapped in and sat down. The tiny prisoner picked some of Duke's fur out of his teeth, "You say you're gonna give my niece back but I don't trust so easily. Consider me your escort." The general threats the shrew made went past Duke's ears. He was vaguely aware of li'l Judy scampering down his arm to the cage and snuggling the other shrew she called 'Unky'. Normally he would make cynical gagging noises at the affectionate display. However, the only thing he could think about was what Cottontail said.

"Dis feels… weird," Duke managed to put into words.

The shrew stopped making stupid faces at li'l Judy and raised an eyebrow at him, "What does?"

"Dis! Dat!" Duke frantically pointed towards the long departed train. "Mammals trust me ta pull of jobs, grab da goods, make a run fer it. Coppers don't… It feels… weird in… in here." His free paw patted his chest where a tightness gripped stronger than any of Big's polar bears.

The shrew nodded in understanding, "Yeah, that bunny seems to have that effect." A lecherous smile crossed his face, "Being honest here, cop or not, if she was a li'l shorter, I'd go for it."

"Unky!" cackled li'l Judy.

"Whaaat?" he playfully asked.

Duke actually chuckled at that, "Unky?"

The playful tone immediately shifted to an angry warning, "That's right. Uncle Donny, Unky. So what? You wanna fight about it? `Cause I'd win."

A WHOOSH interrupted Duke's awesome comeback which he was absolutely not too scared to say. A wall of white caked the windows and some powder poofed through the still open door. The air around them chilled and the three saw their breath fog. The intercom welcomed them to Tundratown.

Within minutes, the train hissed to a stop. Keeping the cage hidden behind his back, Duke was able to slip by the crowd of mammals too busy gawking at the train missing its back half. He stepped out of the station and ducked into the closest alleyway, nearly slipping on the ice covered streets.

"Okay, I don't think casually waltzin' down da sidewalk wit a hamster pen for a paw is dat smart," Duke started.

Donny took a firm hold of Duke's trapped paw, "Figure it out, Weasel. You and my niece ain't leaving my side."

A coat could be the answer. A heavy one out of the garbage could cover everything up and then maybe a Zuber driver in need of five stars could give them a lift. As Duke made his way to the dumpster, he heard the hiss of heavy brakes behind him. At the alleyway entrance idled a dark green dump truck. The color was strange, Duke noted. Didn't exactly match the snowy winter wasteland the district was going for. Then the driver door opened.

"Duke!" called the driver.

"Is that your twin?" asked Donny.

"Travis?" The film in Duke's pocket suddenly felt heavy and he climbed the dumpster so he could scale the alley wall. Before he could reach the ledge, arms wrapped his legs tightly.

"Consarnit, Duke, stop! I'm here to help ya!"

"Fuck dat" he tried to kick out of the ferret's hold, "Yer afta' dat film or recipe fer pickles or whatever yer family does!" His one set of claws wasn't enough to drag himself up and he was instead pulled down to the ground. Travis held him still and looked him straight in the eye.

"Now you listen here! Ya ran off 'fore I could tell ya I don't give two flicks of a tail 'bout all that gobbledygook!" The combination of the messy word choice and intense shouting stunned Duke. He didn't resist as he was pulled to his feet and the ferret dusted him off. "I offered my help back at Skoll Canyon and I still am offering. You've had enough troubles. I'm driving you the rest of the way and that's that."


The muffled shouts of questions and clicks of cameras could be heard over the phone. Judy imagined Precinct 1 was surrounded by reporters demanding comments on the shootout that morning. Poor Clawhauser sounded like he was sweating. "Yes, yes, Judy, I've let them know to re-route track 7 and Nick is in stable condition. Oh Judy, what is going on out there? I feel like I'm on display here at the front desk. I might need to change into my spare uniform."

"Don't worry, Clawhauser," she kicked her hanging legs eagerly. "I'm gonna give them something else to write about. Send a convoy to pick my raccoon perp up and take me to Tundratown. We're about to wrap this kitnapping case with a heartwarming bow."

She waited for him to pass the order to dispatch. "They're on their way. Also, that guy you put in an inquiry about last night, Judy? We already got a hit. He's dead."

Her legs froze. "...Say again?"

"I'm sending it to you now."

Her phone rumbled and she opened the attachment. An article of the South Times showed a prominent headshot of a shrew who resembled Donny but with odd ears. Over his face was the headline: 'Legendary Entrepreneur dead at 27.'

"There was a shrew by the name of Michael Hornesto down South and he was the founder of the Phull Muun Brewery. According to his obituary, though, he died a few weeks ago."

Judy's foot thumped in the air. This was supposed to be their mastermind, their big kahuna, the mammal for which Duke was the delivery guy. And he was dead. DEAD! How was this possible? Who else had the means?! The motive?! The resources?! WHO?!


"I knew them dump routes would get me here quick, but I didn't think I'd make it in time," smiled Travis as he steered the truck down the slick road. "Could've sworn that there Catillac you hotwired would get ya where ya needed to go."

"Uh, yeah… dat hunka junk broke on me." Duke explained while pinching his nose. The stench in the driving cabin was driving him mad. How could anyone do this for a living? Donny and li'l Judy were having the same smell problems. From the time they were making though, the stench was worth it. They had passed multiple ZPD patrol cars without a care already. Duke couldn't believe his luck, he'd be at the Big's in no time and li'l Judy would get back to her mama and then he'd sneak away without any mammal being the wiser.

"Travis, I'm sorry, it's just dese pass couple days have been shitshow afta' shitshow. I really appreciate what yer doin'. Yer a true pal."

"D'aw, shucks, Duke. T'ain't nothing."

"The fuck is wrong with you?"

The weasel and the ferret looked down at the shrew still trapped in the cage. He was giving Travis the hardest stinkeye Duke had ever seen.

"What'cha say li'l fell—"

"You heard me! What's your angle?" If Donny wasn't stuck, he'd have probably climbed Travis' fur and gotten real close with that inspective glare. Duke placed a paw on the cage as if he might need it to hold the shrew back. "I heard enough to figure out you're going against what your family wants to help this nobody."

Travis kept his sights on the road, his paws on the wheel. Duke decided that was enough, "Hey asshole, let off, will y—"

A jump against the cage wall sent the box into Duke's gut. The shrew continued with a growl, "Betraying your family takes a whole lot out of ya, ferret, I should know. And I don't see your heart breaking. What's your angle?!"

Duke heard Travis' paws wring the wheel, "That there recipe is nothing but trouble. The darn thing's brought my family only misery."

"Yeah? Then why ya driving away from Big's mansion?!"

Duke flinched. The part of Tundratown they were going through was, he suddenly noticed, unfamiliar. There weren't any clusters of buildings in any direction. No road signs, electrical poles, just a long stretch of road and white mounds to the horizon. He turned to Travis for some kind of explanation.

Travis didn't look at him, he just kept driving. "I-I'm taking a shortcut."

"Bullshit! You want whatever the hell this recipe is." Another jump and Duke was wrenched forward. The cage was now propped on the dashboard where Donny and Duke could look right at Travis

"I don't want that—"

"Ya sure?" Donny pressed his nose through cage wires.

Duke tried to grab the shrew, "Hey, enough—"

Donny kicked the paw away, "Shut your mouth, Weasel! You're clearly too stupid to see when you're being played! This ferret is running circles around you!"

"I'm here to help..." whimpered Travis.

"Help? Who? Yourself? Bet that recipe will still catch ya a pretty penny!"

"Calm yourself, Michael! This was never about the money!"

There were no more shouts from Donny. No more accusations. Because for a sentence, only one sentence, Travis' irritating country bumpkin jibber-jabber broke. It took on an accent with a suave educated air that Duke knew well. The sentence that accent spoke was the same sentence that had been echoing in the back of Duke's mind since the night before...

'This was never about the money…"

On that stretch of highway, over the phone…

'Calm yourself, Duke...'

When somehow, in a matter of hours, his drive back to Zootopia was discovered by...

The garbage truck slowed to a stop and the ferret at the wheel picked at his lucky golden fang. He heaved a weary sigh and regarded Duke with a look that could only be described as... blank.

Empty.

Devoid.

Blank.

Gone was the over-expressive, theatrical grin. The only thing left was…

Horn.

"You are truly a remarkably incompetent thief, Duke Weaselton."

Wheezing coughs escaped Duke's clenched windpipe. He shrunk back against the door, the chilling glass added to the shivers running along his spine. Donny tumbled in his cage from Duke's movements, "Whoa, whoa, what's happening here? How do you know Michael? What's with the plantation owner act?"

"Y-Y-Y-You? Horn? Ya sent me South?"

"I never sent you South, that was your intended destination from the start." Horn cut the engine and pulled out the keys, never looking away with that blank stare. "I simply gave you a package and a vehicle and sent you on your way with my blessing. Paw to God, I never believed you would make your way to the border. From your past employment, I was convinced that the skills to accomplish such a feat were not within your arsenal."

"Seriously!" Donny pressed, "The hell is going on? The fuck's wrong with this ferret?!"

Maintaining the offputting blank look, Horn reached under his seat and drew a tranq.

Duke nearly bit his tongue in haste as Horn pointed the weapon at him, "Ya—wait—ya wanted me ta fuck up?"

"Wanted? Duke, I expected you to fail phenomenally! Correctly, if I may point out. You wholly went off track and your unique brand of chaos managed to keep the eyes of all parties concerned off my preparations. For that you have my gratitude. As I said, you've weathered more than enough troubles." Rather than fire, Horn jabbed his arm forward and nicked Duke's arm. It wasn't a full dose but Duke felt numbness consume the slight pinch and slowly spread across his limb. "As such, and in light of your rather ridiculous notions of honoring a deal, I shall take matters into my own paws." Horn then reached forward and grabbed the sniveling li'l Judy on Duke's head. He pulled and Duke fell over. "What the…?" He pulled again and Duke was dragged up.

"DUKE!" cried li'l Judy.

From what little nerves he had left, Duke was groggily able to tell that li'l Judy had her little dagger claws threaded into his head fur and wasn't letting go. She must've been in there deep because no matter how hard Horn shook, she wouldn't budge.

"DUKE!" she cried again.

With a grunt, Horn kicked open his door and lugged Duke's body out with him. Duke couldn't even feel the snow under his fur as he looked up at the grey sky. He desperately wanted to twist his neck to see where they were but those muscles were gone. They went down an incline and Duke could see the dump truck parked on a bridge over them. Throughout it all he heard Donny's loud protests and screams. Did no mammal see them? Where were they?

BLAM! BLAM!

There was a thick cracking noise and Duke was spun to face the churning water under a fresh hole shot in the river ice. Donny's cage was shoved next to the hole and Horn held it in place with the pointed tranq. "I do believe Big refers to this as being 'iced,' creative and easy to implement. I haven't the time nor the patience. Make the little one let go."

"Shove it up your ass!"

The threats Donny threw back at Horn didn't let up. Duke could see the stress building in Horn's blank eyes. The guy was used to getting what he wanted and fast. The way he was holding his tranq, this shrew was gonna push him over the edge and then they'd both go for a swim.

Duke dragged his heavy tongue across his rubbery lips and muttered, "Judy…" The little paws shuffled forward until her tiny head poked into view, "Listen… You're off ta Great Places… Today is your day… Your mountain is waitin'... So, get on your way." Like a spell, his words made drowsiness come over her and the claws weakened. He slumped from her hold and collapsed into the snow.

The argument between Horn and Donny ended. Duke heard the ferret walk away as Donny roared for him to come back. His arm was jerked as Donny tried jumping against the walls to force them to climb the riverbed. Every few feet, though, they'd slide down some slush and have to start over. Duke wished he could help but he was struggling to keep himself awake at this point. There was a thunk and they stopped sliding towards the river. Hazy ideas that the cage had caught on a rock or something drifted across Duke's mind until he realized he was looking up at Travis...no...Horn standing on the bridge, blankly peering down at them. So many questions presented themselves. Horn wasn't after the money? The recipe? He didn't even need the baby across the border? Then what the hell was he after?

Duke's jaw barely cracked open and he breathed out, "I... don't... under... stand..."

At last, Horn's blank expression was broken by an amused smirk, revealing his golden fang that gleamed in the daylight, "If a neanderthal could piece together my motives, I would not have hired one."

Horn aimed his tranq at something above them and fired. There was the sound of Donny cursing and what sounded like shifting blankets and then a wave of snow entombed Duke head to toe. Dozens, there had been dozens of movies Duke had seen where a character was buried alive. Most died. Only main characters survived but those were movie rules. Thing was... Duke didn't remember any movies where the buried character was also hopped up on depressants. They usually had a tool of some sort or training or contact with the aboveground. Duke had nothing except bruises, cuts, and a paw stuck in a cage.

It was getting harder to think. His mind was swimming through a thick fog and his body for some reason felt warm and cozy. Wow, morphine was great. Nothing mattered anymore. He had forgotten how relaxing being able to not care about shit was. Too bad he was gonna die. At least he wouldn't be able to feel himself freeze to death.

The rumble of the dump truck's engine grew faint and Duke's eyelids got heavy. He didn't know if he was slipping into a drug-induced slumber or a hypothermic coma…

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"HEY!"

Duke's eyes shot open as the world shook. Something massive encircled his entire body and lifted him high into the air. His useless neck slumped backwards and he saw the grimace of the earplug wearing polar bear holding him. The bear extended one of their thick fingers and gave his skull some support, tilting his head back down until he saw the lady-shrew in the bear's other paw. She glared at Duke with a righteous fury on level with an erupting super-volcano.

Duke gulped and the saliva drooled out of his numbed mouth, "...Mama..."

"I found him, Judy. Now get here before I kill him," she hanged up her phone. "WHERE'S MY BABY?!"

END CHAPTER SEVEN

The clues:

END OF CHAPTER THREE: 'The corners of Horn's lips tugged upwards until his LUCKY GOLDEN FANG was gleaming in the TV's reflection.'

FIRST SCENE OF CHAPTER SIX: "Your last bonk nearly chipped my LUCKY GOLD FANG," relented Travis...