Chapter 26- Lost

Judy watched her friends as they bustled about in the motel room.

Barker and Wu had their heads together over a laptop, occasionally murmuring snatches of sentences that made little sense to anyone else. It was not uncommon for police partners, to be able to sense what the other was thinking just from a muttered fragment.

Arrizondo was cleaning their firearms, double-checking to make sure the slides were working.

And Nick was kicked back in a recliner, sipping coffee and humming tunelessly to himself.

Judy felt useless. She didn't like the feeling, so she decided to go talk to Nick.

He blinked as she hopped up into the recliner next to him. "So what's the plan?"

"You keep asking me that."

"And you keep not answering." She poked him in the ribs. "So what is it?"

"It's sort of a work in progress," he said absently. "Hey, what's a KAT?"

Arrizondo looked up. "A cat? Is this a trick question?"

"No, with a K. KAT."

"Oh," she said, looking back down at her work. "Kinetic Anti-Tank. High-powered rifle that fires a projectile at almost relativistic speeds. Used for penetrating tank armor."

Nick blinked. "Wow. Because there's apparently four of them on the shipment we seized. Did Warren do what we asked him to do?"

Wu glanced up from the computer. "He's back at the spaceport. He reported to his contacts in the gun-runners that he hit a snag and will be delayed a few days."

"Great," said Nick. "And we have the buyer's information. I think we've just about got what we need."

"This is really infuriating," observed Judy.

"Yes," he said cheerfully. "It is. But fun."

"Come on, Nick. What's the plan, here? We do a sting on Liu when he gives us the weapons?"

"Sure. But- hmm. Do you know three-card monte? It's where the hustler takes three cards-" Nick pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket and chose three, "-and shuffles them." He leaned over to the coffe table next to the recliner and laid them out. He showed Judy one, the queen of spades. "Like so." He shuffled them around and around, over and on top of one another, until they were thoroughly mixed up. "So? Find the lady."

"I may just be a dumb country bunny," said Judy, slightly exasperated, "But even I know this one. You palmed the queen. There is no lady, right?"

Nick sighed theatrically. "She got me." He turned up one card. "Or did she?"

The card was the queen of spades.

Judy shrugged. "Okay, so maybe-"

Without speaking, Nick turned up another card. It was also the queen of spades.

Judy blinked.

The third card was turned over- the queen of spades. "You can't win in regular three card monte," explained Nick. "But this is a variation. This time, you can't lose."

"Setting up the mark for a bigger loss?" asked Arrizondo, who had watched Nick's demonstration.

"Not quite. But when the mark thinks he can't lose- that's exactly how you win." Nick deftly shuffled the cards back into the deck.

Judy looked at him, amused despite herself. "You are a sly fox."

He smirked. "Yep."

"Hey, guys?" said Wu suddenly. His voice sounded odd. "You should look at this."

Frowning, Judy traded a look with Nick and joined the wolf and human at the laptop. "What is this?" she asked, seeing rows of numbers.

"Accounts of a company that belongs to Liu," said Barker. "We've been going through this data with a fine-toothed comb. This company specialized in pharmaceuticals."

"What, like drugs?"

"Yes, but probably not what you're thinking," answered Wu. "Medical pharmaceuticals, nothing that could be recreational. Including this little cocktail." He highlighted a segment, which appeared to be revenue from a particular series of medicines.

Nick leaned over and read it. "I don't recognize any of those. What's the big deal?"

"This company holds the patent on it," said Wu. "That's the drug cocktail used to cure schizophrenia."

Judy's ears stood straight up. "Oh!"

Arrizondo frowned. "What?"

Wu leaned back. "Hunter was cured of schizophrenia when he was about eighteen. According to the case reports we've received about the incident on Terra involving Lucas, Lucas was in charge of developing that particular cure."

"With backing from someone high-up on Terra," said Nick slowly. "Someone who had the financial and political pull to keep a serial killer out of jail."

Judy nodded. "Liu."

"So Liu was backing Lucas," said Nick. "That's interesting."

"And bad," said Judy. "Very, very bad. Lucas was a psycho." She shivered, remembering the scars on the mammals they had rescued during the Raid.

"Well, one thing's for sure," said Wu. "We can't let Hunter know about this."

"What?" said Arrizondo. "Why not?"

"Because Liu would never make it to trial," said Nick.

"Hunter's on another planet, Nick."

"So?"

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Khabat eyed Castell as he furiously paced the floor. "This is an outrage," he said, for the fifth time. "Just who do these mammals think they are?"

"A sovereign state?" suggested Khabat.

"A naive sovereign state! What, do they really think the Drex, of all beings, are really trying to make peace with them?" Castell shook his head. "It's a trick."

"Well, yes," said Khabat. She leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ambassador. "But frankly, Castell, you haven't been the best ambassador, either."

He stopped abruptly and gave her a cold glare. "Excuse me?"

"They're not children, Castell. They're thinking adults. Yes, they're a bit naive. But you kept throwing that in their face over and over again."

"You're insubordinate, Khabat!" snarled Castell.

In an eyeblink, she had stood up from the desk and come around, inches from his face. "That's Ranger Khabat, Ambassador. And need I remind you that foreign affairs falls under the Security Directorate's aegis?" She shoved him into a chair. "We let you clowns in the Ministry of First Contacts flounder around long enough. It's time you understood what exactly our objectives our."

"Our objectives-" Castell had gone pale at Khabat's sudden change in demeanor. He shook his head. "Our objective was to bring Terra into the fold. Make the mammals our allies- subordinate allies, to be sure, but-"

"No," said Khabat. "That was one possible method. The goal is not to become friends with the mammals. The goal is to regain Terra." She poked Castell in the chest. "Failure is not an option, Castell. We've had a good many of your colleagues shot for their incompetence. One more will not make much of a splash."

The ambassador hesitated. "You can't threaten me," he protested weakly.

Khabat sighed and walked to her desk. She opened a drawer and drew out a gun. "Castell, I'm a Ranger. If I decide you're guilty of treason and incompetence, and shoot you right now, the most I'll get is a chewing-out. And considering how we're now this close to being kicked off of Terra for good, I'll actually probably get a commendation."

The ambassador gulped, his eyes on her firearm. "What- what do you suggest?"

She set the gun down on the desk. "It will take years to regain the Terrans' trust," she pointed out. "Unless something moves them into our camp. Time is of the essence, so I think the answer is obvious."

"Is it?" asked Castell. He licked his lips nervously. "I don't understand-"

"We force their hand. Or paw, I suppose." She smiled.

"It's time to give the Drex precisely what they want."

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"And this is where you'll be working," said Pawsley, the cougar in charge of the impound lot.

Hunter looked around the office. No windows, cramped with a desk wedged into one corner and a tiny chair- he guessed it was intended for one of the smaller mammals- taking up most of the space. An old rusted fan turned lazily, seeming to be more for visual effect than anything else. He craned his neck to look at the computer, which had glowing green letters that gave him a headache to look at within seconds. "How old is this computer?"

"Oh, not that old. Maybe twenty years? I hear it was cutting edge technology at the time."

"Yeah," said Hunter, eyeing it. "I imagine the cavemammals thought it was the bee's knees for keeping track of how many fish they caught."

They had just finished a tour of the impound lot, which had essentially consisted of "here are a lot of cars. Try not to lose any of them." The whole place was rather depressing, especially since many of the cars were being held for analysis and evidence retrieval in fatality accidents.

Of course, most of the rest were being held until their owners could pay the various fees and fines they had accumulated. One such owner was in the lobby of the office. Hunter and Pawsley walked in and he greeted them with a slow, wide smile.

"Hello," he said. "You...must...be...the...new," there was a much longer pause. "Officer," the sloth finished.

Pawsley waved. "Hey, Flash. How's it coming?"

"Moving...right...along. Should...be...done...soon."

Pawsley leaned close to Hunter. "That's Flash. He's been trying to get his car out of hock ever since it got impounded about two years ago."

Hunter blinked. "Wow, it took him that long to pay the fines?"

"Oh, he paid the fines right away. He's just been working on the paperwork."

The sloth very slowly turned over the page he was working on.

Hunter and Pawsley watched as the paper rotated, riffling slightly in the drafty office. "A lot of paperwork?" said Hunter eventually.

"Well, sure. This is all property of someone, after all. Need to keep track of things." The cougar seemed to be overjoyed to get an assistant. He slapped Hunter on the back. "So, glad to see some help arrive. I'll let you get settled in, then you can help me with the SR-123 slash Z forms from last year."

"Oh," said Hunter, feeling a bit queasy. "Yeah, that sounds great." He gestured to the door. "I think I'll just step out for some fresh air."

"Fresh air?" said Pawsley doubtfully. "You know this is basically a short step up from a junkyard. It's where the department stores everything that's outlived its usefulness."

Hunter sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is."

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Captain Warren woke up with a start as his phone started ringing. Only long experience with the narrow bunk he slept in aboard ship kept him from hitting his head as he sat up. Blearily, he looked at the phone, finding the number was unlisted. Okay, so it was either the cops or-

"Warren," said a familiar voice. It was his contact with the gun-runners, known to him only as Caleb.

"Yeah," he said warily.

"You were delayed at the spaceport?"

"Yeah, a problem with the ship," he said. "We've got the part now, though, so-"

"New plan," said Caleb. "We have a customer on Alphacen who wants the goods, so you sit tight with what you got. We'll meet you there."

"What about the buyer?" he said, curious. "On Tejias? Won't they be annoyed?"

"They'll be compensated," Caleb assured him. "The organization is doing so now."

"Oh, okay." Warren nodded. "So just hang out here, then?"

The phone clicked off.

"Guess that's a yes," muttered Warren. He hesitated.

After a moment, he swore under his breath and dialed the number the bunny cop had given him.

"Still can't believe I'm doing this," he said to himself.

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Hunter's new apartment was small and cramped. He'd barely managed to keep afloat financially during his suspension, and though he was back on full pay, he couldn't really afford to rent a house like he'd done before. It wasn't the Grand Pangolin Arms, the apartment Judy had first been in, but it was only a short step up.

He put his key in the lock and turned it- and realized the door was already unlocked.

The cop stood stock-still, listening carefully. There was no sound behind the door.

He put one hand on the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, he twisted it and threw the door open, his eyes flicking around the room.

And coming to rest on the long-legged human sitting in his chair. His one chair. "Amna?" he said, surprised.

She sat with her legs crossed, arms crossed. "Hunter," she said. "You're late."

He scanned the room, ensuring it was empty, as he stepped inside. "There was extra paperwork," he growled. "For my first day."

"At the impound lot," she said, a grimace distorting her face. "Do they know what kind of talent they're throwing away?"

Hunter hung his jacket on a hook near the door. "It's not like policing back on Alphacen," he said, not looking at Khabat. "It's different here."

"You're different," said Khabat, rising from the chair. "You don't belong here."

He looked at her. "Don't I?"

"You're human," said Khabat. "From a much, much different culture. One that has been struggling to survive for as far back as we can remember. We have different values, different beliefs." She reached out and touched his cheek. "Different needs," she whispered.

He caught her hand, pulled it slowly down- but didn't let go. "It's where I am," he said. "It's where I need to be."

She half-smiled. "Is it, though? Haven't you given enough for them?" She took a step back, looking into his eyes. "They're going to ally with the Drex, Hunter."

"What?" His eyes widened. "They can't."

The ranger shrugged helplessly. "They don't understand what I understand, Hunter. What we humans understand. That survival always takes precedence. That victory is the only option, because defeat is final."

"The Drex will betray them," said Hunter with certainty.

"And why should you be here to pay the price when they do?" asked Khabat.

He looked at her questioningly. "What are you saying, Amna?"

She took his other hand- with surprise, he realized he hadn't let go of her yet. "The human delegation will be leaving soon. I want you to go with us."

He shook his head. "I can't. I have promises to keep-"

"Promises?" She shook her head. "You owe them nothing, Hunter. If anything, they owe you!"

"I was a stranger," said Hunter quietly. "And they took me in."

"And cast you out when it turned out how strange you were to them," said Khabat. She moved closer, their faces almost touching. "I never cast you out, Hunter."

He looked away, ashamed. "I left you."

"Yes," she said. She gently turned his face back to look at her. "But I never stopped loving you."

"Amna-"

She kissed him, and for a moment he was back on Alphacen. Back on that confused, mixed-up world with its confused, mixed-up people. Back with Amna, working nights and coming home to their apartment. They had been strange days- he had still been more-or-less a rookie, with only a few years on the department, and had just gotten through his first few shootings. Amna had been there for him, holding him when he shook, reminding him of where and who he was.

Back where he belonged.

When she broke the kiss, he suddenly realized they had somehow ended up on the bed.

"Amna," he said. "Are you sure-"

She was already tugging at his shirt, and suddenly the scent of her hit him, and he realized he could not leave her again.

Not tonight, at least.

He was lost in her scent, lost in the moment, lost...

Lost.

He hadn't realized he had whispered the word out loud. "You're not lost," whispered Amna, her breath hot on his ear. He felt her mould her body against him, the warmth of her body merging with his own, her heartbeat pounding. She took his face in her palms, her eyes warm as she locked gazes with him. "You're never lost, because I will always find you."

He kissed her, hard. And for the rest of the night, and for the first time since he had lost his family, he felt at peace.

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Tavi slammed down her phone. "Why won't he answer?" she snarled.

She was at her home, having just finished with her shift. Nervously, she paced back and forth.

Hunter hadn't answered any of her texts or calls. Normally, she'd call Nick or Judy for advice- but they were light years away.

She started to pick up the phone again, then turned away. All she wanted was for him to explain himself. To explain why.

Well, and for things to go back to the way they were.

She fell back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Hunter was a dangerous mammal, she knew that. But that was to be expected. Even Nick and Judy were dangerous in their own way- not to their friends, but both had gone up against Bellwether, human commandos, and even a tank and come out victors. They didn't look scary, but they were, if you thought about it.

But she tried to imagine Nick or Judy deliberately burning a fellow mammal, just to prove a point, as a warning. The image didn't compute. They'd never have done something like that.

Hunter had. And he'd been convinced it was the right thing to do.

Her thoughts ran in circles. "I need to take my mind off of this," she told herself. She reached for a book she had recently purchased- it was one printed from old human archives, provided as part of the human-Terran cultural exchange program. One that she'd noticed in a bookstore and bought because it had come up several times recently.

Frankenstein.Trying to calm her whirling mind, she opened to the title page.

A second later, the book dropped from her nerveless fingers. "Oh, my God," she breathed.

The door slammed as she raced from her apartment.

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Nick checked his laser- pistol, he supposed, though the chop-shop version Bonaire had given him was only vaguely pistol-shaped. He hoped he could shoot with it, though he doubted he'd be very accurate. Well, it'd probably be at close range, anyway.

He snorted as he noticed the direction of his thoughts. "You know, being a con artist was safer than this," he muttered.

Judy, standing next to him outside the hangar where they were to meet with Liu, gave him a wry look. "Even when you're selling skunk butt rugs to Mr. Big?"

"Okay, most of the time," conceded Nick. He looked at his partner. "You ready?"

She nodded. "FLPD SWAT team is standing by. Shouldn't we be wearing a wire for this?"

"Nope," said Nick. "Too much chance he'd spot it- human detection technology is pretty good, and he's likely got the best. Besides, if this goes well, we won't need a wire."

The door to the hangar bay opened, and a man they didn't recognize stepped out. "Nicholas Wilde? And Judy Hopps?" said the man.

"That's us," said Nick.

"Come with me, please." The man disappeared back into the warehouse.

Judy looked up at Nick. "Well?"

The fox took out his sunglasses and put them on. He smiled down at Judy. "Showtime."