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"Hello!" – normal speech

"Italic on the whole sentence." – thoughts

Italic on individual words – emphasis

The Devil's Justice

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"You are cornered deep inside gangster territory, without having warned anyone back at the Precinct, being threatened by armed thugs, and with only a professional assassin and con-artist on your side. Holy crap, Hopps!" her conscience screamed at her. "Why don't you just use the rulebook as paper toilet, you care so much about it?!"

It had not been the first time that night she gave herself an internal reprimand, and Judy doubted it would be the last. But she was still a cop, and she was damned if she would let these criminals push her.

"I'm Officer Hopps, ZPD!" she informed them firmly. Or as firmly as an upside-down, trapped and drenched rabbit could. "And I'm ordering all of you to drop those weapons or be charged with aggravated assault of a police officer."

Reactions to her order included stony looks from most of the cats, and a disgusted sound from the vulpine suspended next to her. She could almost feel him rolling his eyes.

The tiger she was now sure was the infamous 'Colmillo Rojo' took his golden eyes from Wilde and locked them on her own purple ones, acknowledging her presence for the first time since he arrived. Since that sunny morning when she had trembled before Gideon Gray, almost sixteen years ago, Judy had not allowed herself to be afraid of any mammal's gaze. And this time was no different.

Alfonso Rayas' severe glare came very, very close, though.

Despite that, when he spoke his voice was a velvety purr. "Assault? Oh, but you misunderstand us, Officer." he tipped his hat gallantly to the felids surrounding them. "These brave souls are here for your protection. Our little forest, it is muy peligrosa. Bad mammals in every shadow, they say. And now..."

Suddenly there was a faint sound of vibration coming from inside Rayas' suit. The tiger stopped speaking and calmly fished out a sleek smartphone from inside the pinstriped garment.

"Rayas here."

Judy focused, but even with him standing so close she could not make out the words coming from the speaker.

"Do it." the gangster ordered to whomever was calling. Then he just as calmly put the phone back.

He kept on as if he had never been interrupted. "And now we'll take you and your partner, somewhere safe. For statements, ?" he did not specify who would be taking the statements, but that was obvious enough. "Get them down." ordered the tiger, tone now brisk. He turned his back to them and walked towards his car before she could protest further. "Bring the good officer to me; the zorro takes another ride. And if either of them become too anxious... calm the coneja down."

Most of the gathered cats remained impassive. One jaguar, the oldest-looking mammal after Rayas (and light-furred, unlike Mr. Manchas), drew a knife and moved to cut the vines, while all those who had been aiming at Wilde now trained their guns solely on her. A couple hesitated, however, and one of them decided to voice his confusion.

"Capo?" a younger lynx asked. "Shouldn't we, ah... 'calm' the fox if he moves?"

The tiger did not stop to look at the questioner. "That would be pointless. Do as I say." even a few of the cats who had not questioned the order before traded some curious looks at that declaration. Colmillo did stop before entering his car, looking severely back at Wilde. "Do you hear me, zorro? You try any jokes, and your friend might not find them very funny."

The fox sighed. "I hear you, Rayas."

The gangster only gave a skeptical grunt, eyes narrowed in warning, before going inside.

The vines holding them were swiftly cut, and the rabbit and fox promptly fell to the ground. After they had righted themselves under the thugs' threatening glares (and gun sights, in her case), the same jaguar that had cut their bonds patted down Wilde, looking for weapons, while the lynx that had spoken before frisked her.

She tensed up when his paws ran over her body, but the feline was quick and professional like the best of cops. He took away her zapper, her spare darts and her phone without a word. Search finished, he put his gun at her back and ordered with a clear voice.

"Move."

On her way to the larger car, still under the sights of all the available guns, she looked at Wilde and saw that he was being taken to another vehicle. He gave her a tiny nod back, and a 'keep your cool' look.

She was soon ushered inside Colmillo's black sedan. The interior was comfortable, but not luxurious. She was ordered to sit next to the tiger himself, with the lynx flanking her on the other side. She was not tied up or chained, but the smaller cat still had his submachine gun at the ready, and he never took his eyes from her. Rayas, on the other paw, acted as if she was not even there. He sat with legs crossed and paws still supported on top of his cane. His eyes were closed as if in deep thought. A cougar was their driver.

She evaluated her chances of breaking out, but decided it was too risky right then. She was sure she could handle the lynx, and she could use his gun to subdue the driver, but the old tiger gave her pause. This mammal exuded an aura of deadliness, and she remembered Wilde mentioning he was the Cartel's 'best fighter'.

"Sharp left, uphill, smooth left, sharp right, downhill, smooth left, downhill..." on and on they went. She counted the car's every move, memorizing their path. She heard the sound of running water twice, felt as the car went over a short bridge, and then as they left the asphalt and entered a dirt road. When they finally stopped, she estimated the trip had taken about half an hour, and that they came all the way down to the forest floor.

The lynx opened his door, got out, and gestured with his gun for her to do the same. "Off, coneja." as she did what he said, she heard Rayas' phone calling again.

She saw they had parked inside a clearing. An eerie mist filled the wide space. The trees around it were packed so tightly together, she could not see more then a few steps from the outer edge. Nor could she see the night sky through the dense canopy. But all the headlights allowed her to distinguish a large and dilapidated shack in the middle of the glade. The other cats were getting out of their cars, and it seemed Wilde's escorts were not as confident as Rayas, because the fox had his paws firmly tied. He had his usual relaxed air, not appearing in the least threatening.

At this point, she knew better.

She heard the sound of footsteps and looked up to see that Rayas had also left the car, having finished his call.

"Bring them in." he ordered, as he led the way inside the ominous building.

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"I see..."

By what most would call a personality disorder, and he called an evolutionary edge, the Chemist had a very distant relationship with most emotions. So he was not really affected by the tone in Big Sister's voice.

The Engineer, on the other hand, gulped audibly. His fury at the rabbit cop had abated enough that he could start to contemplate the enormity of their failure.

"I expected better from you. Both of you. You understand the danger this puts our Flock into?" the disappointment pouring through the phone's loudspeaker filled the van. Even Woolter, his cousin, winced from the driver's seat.

The tech-savvy ram threw himself to the vehicle's floor, crying openly now.

"I'm so sorry, Sistah!" he sobbed. "I f-failed you! I-I failed my p-precious little Rackety!"

Doug shook his woolly head. What a pathetic sight.

"There, there, my dear. Shh..." the ewe's voice changed from frustrated leader to comforting mother instantly. Not even the Chemist could tell if it was genuine, or just an act.

Though if he was a gambling mammal (he was not), he would bet on the later.

"It will be fine, it will be fine." the soothing voice continued. "Big Sister will think of something."

She kept repeating empty platitudes, and the Engineer slowly regained control. Now he was only sniffing, but a few tears still fell from below his red goggles and tracked down over his wool.

"Promise?"

"Promise." the ewe reassured. "But I need you to try harder next time, okay dear? Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, Sistah! I won't ever fail again!"

"Good boy."

"And I'll..."

"Big Sister." Doug decided it was time to interrupt, before his fellow ram got in a roll like the drama queen he was. "We need to know who that fox is. The way he fought the jaguar was not natural, that was more than simple skill."

Her voice became serious again. "It just had to be an wretched fox, didn't it? I'll take the matter to our benefactor. Engineer, send me the footage you recorded."

"Righty, Sistah." and he started to type into his wrist computer.

"In the meantime, continue with your routine assignments. I'll call when I need you."

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The inside of the shack resembled a small abandoned barn. It was almost completely empty, with the exception of the row of piled-up furniture along the back wall. In the middle, right below the harsh light of the shack's single lamp, were two heavy metallic chairs side-by-side. Opposite them, on the edge of the lamp's circle, was another chair; bigger and much more comfortable-looking.

In short order, rabbit and fox were put on the seats made for mammals much larger than them. Judy's arms were bound now, while Wilde, on Rayas' orders, had both his paws and his feet tied to the chair. As soon as they were secured, all the cats except for the old tiger retreated to one side of the building. A couple had stayed outside the shack. With the doors now closed and barred, she could no longer see more than a few steps beyond the circle of light, so the thugs were hidden in the darkness.

But Judy could still hear their soft breathing.

"Co'mon, Mr. Rayas! You know I'm going to behave. Is this really necessary?" the fox whined in good-humor as he tugged at his thick ropes.

The gangster captain did not seem to find it funny. Without hurry, he propped his cane beside the larger chair, then took off his hat and the top of his suit, draping them both on the back of the seat. His shirt and vest had no sleeves, and this revealed lean but very well-defined orange-furred arms. The right one had a large scar that went from the elbow almost to the tip of a finger. The left one had a set of three other deep scars, not that much smaller than the first, and what Judy was sure was a mark from an old gunshot wound.

This was no desk mammal.

"I did not survive more than fifty years of this life by underestimating enemies, zorro." he told them calmly, as he made himself comfortable. With legs crossed and paws held together over his lap, he started their interrogation. "When Raphaéla called me earlier, I had a feeling you'd give me trouble. You always do. Well, I was wrong. This isn't trouble, it is un desastre."

"Mr. Rayas, we were the victims there. We..."

The tiger made a sharp gesture that shut the fox right up. "You think I care about your miserable pelts?" he whispered dangerously. "All I care is that Desperado's blood has fallen on the leaves tonight, and such an offense will have an answer. Who will be doing the answering is what we're going to determine." he relaxed again. "Now the two of you are going to tell me everything. What business you had with the jaguar, what led to my watcher's death, and what happened afterwards. Everything. And if I suspect you're lying to me like the zorro you are..." he let the threat linger in the stale air.

"So you're saying you wasn't the one that tried to kill us?" Judy asked, voice full of sarcasm.

El Colmillo just gave her a raised eyebrow. "The driver was under our protection. So were you two, the moment I allowed your free passage inside this forest, and that is not something we take lightly. We would not attack without provocation."

"How am I supposed to believe that?"

"I don't see how you have any choice, policía. Now, start talking."

While the rabbit bristled, her fox companion let out a resigned sigh. He shot Judy a pointed look that she was too riled up to interpret this time, then turned back to the gangster and opened his mouth.

But she was having none of that.

"That is police matter, and you're not entitled to it." she told the tiger with finality. Wilde rolled his eyes again, and she suspected that he would have put a paw to his face if he could. She just gave him a dirty look. "We did not attack your watcher, even though he had us under threat with a lethal weapon. A very illegal weapon, mind you. Everything else in under investigation, and I assure you that the ZPD will do everything in its power to see the guilty parties brought to justice."

Alfonso Rayas slowly turned his body to her, scrutinizing the bunny with his cold eyes. His voice was once again that deadly purr from before. "You still seem to be under the illusion that badge on your vest gives you any power here, chiquita. Well, let me clarify it for you: you're not in Zootopia anymore. You are in my forest, and I am the Law beneath these trees." he inclined his body forward, and his presence seemed to fill the shack. "But you seem much too stubborn for such a small thing, so perhaps a little... motivation will give you a clearer picture, ?"

A little unnerved, but never showing it, she went to retort. But this time it was the fox's turn to interrupt.

"Rayas..." he began very quietly, ears flattened and eyes shadowed, and the small fox suddenly seemed every bit as large as the tiger. "You touch one strand of fur from that bunny, and I promise you there will be more than just one dead cat tonight. Let's not play this game, please."

The gangster looked back to the fox, unconcerned. "Oh, but I love playing games, zorro. So let us conjecture, sí?" he raised one paw, palm open as if holding an invisible weight. "I could rough up your little friend a bit, perhaps remove those adorable front teeth of hers, or one of those big fluffy ears... she has one to spare." the fox twitched, the muscles on his maw working themselves silently. Judy did her best to quench the icy spike in her gut at the words. "And you just stay there like a good little kit until she tells me what I want to hear. Or..." he raised his other paw in the same way. "Perhaps you break out of that chair, kill some of my soldiers and make yet another mess for your old Boss to answer for. But the moment you try, those gentlemammals will start shooting; not at you, but at your coneja; and we both know at least one of those bullets will find its way. You might live, you might not, but she will be dead regardless."

He joined his paws in front of his face, a cold little smile on his muzzle. "You're good, but you're not that good. I thought you'd learned that lesson seven years ago?" he tilted his head in curiosity, calm eyes fixed on Wilde's fierce green ones. After a few moments when the fox remained silent, the old tiger sighed. "You haven't changed a bit, have you cabrón?" Rayas let his dislike for the fox come clear now. "You might have walked away from your past like a little coward, but deep down you still think you're some sort of unsung hero, don't you? A mighty vengador come to punish the wicked, bringing 'justice' to those that had none." he snorted in disgust. "Well, I've told you this once, zorro, and I'll tell you again; you're a spoiled child, that's what you are! And like any spoiled child, you thought you could play in the world of adults. You thought you could pretend to follow our rules while you had your little crusades. You thought you could deal in blood, and still keep your paws clean. And when you finally found that you couldn't; that no one can; did you mammal-up and take responsibility? Did you?! No! You ran away, that's what you did." he finished in a hiss, sharp fangs bared at the fox.

Despite the terrible situation they were in, Judy could not help but listen carefully to the byplay between the two Predators. She had not believed Wilde when he told her he only 'Hunted' other criminals. How could she? Yet here was this crime boss, a real crime boss who had no qualms about little things like torture, claiming that the fox had only been pretending to be a gangster. Even now, the only thing that was seemingly keeping him in place was the danger to her life. And she was the cop who told him with every word that she was going to see him behind bars!

Though being dismissed as the lesser threat, as a bargain chip to keep Wilde in check, did sting her pride big time.

While her mind churned, the tiger once again relaxed against his chair. His rant seemed to take away the edge of his pent-up displeasure, and he had recovered his chill neutrality.

"You have abilities like none I've ever seen, skills I never thought possible for any mammal to possess. But power is nothing without conviction, zorro, and yours is weak as a shallow root. You are a disgrace to all true Hunters."

Wilde's usual lazy voice now had an undercurrent of coldness, too. "A 'true Hunter' would've left your granddaughter to burn inside that wreck." he pointed out.

El Colmillo just nodded. "And they would be right to do so." he shrugged. "I would've killed them myself if I knew, of course, but that doesn't change it that only fools stick their necks out for strangers." he pointed an imperious finger at them, eyes flashing sagely. "Home, trade and kin! Those are the only things worth protecting, and you protect them no importa el precio. Everything else, everyone else, is expendable." the tiger gestured vaguely to the doors of the shack. "Which brings us as back to the matter of my dead watcher. So, are you going to start talking... or will we need to get some tools?"

Fox and rabbit traded looks. Wilde's eyes were still guarded, and she could not even begin to guess at the emotions running beneath them. But this time the message was clear.

"We have no choice, bunny."

She evaluated their options for what felt like the hundredth time, and still the answer was the same; they were at the mercy of these thugs. Put a good zapper in her paw, enough ammo and some decent cover, and Judy could take on all odds. As long as her opponents were not savage jaguars with unlimited endurance or bullet-dodging foxes, of course.

But she had no stunner. Instead, she had a dozen firearms pointed right at her by enemies she could barely see. She had no cover. Instead, she was tied up to a heavy chair. These cats did not give a penny about her status in law enforcement, just like Wilde had said back at Mr. Big's, and she had no doubt that 'El Colmillo Rojo' would make true on his threats. The part of her that rallied at any challenge, the part that allowed her to become the first bunny cop, wanted to see him try. She felt bile rising to her throat by the mere thought of giving up.

But in the end, would defiance be worth it? They knew so little about what was going on. Even if he was involved, would telling the tiger change anything?

To most mammals, it would be a no-brainer. Ridiculous to even ponder, really. But to Judy... never compromising on her ideals had been the core of her life for so long, that she felt this was a road she could never go back from.

The soft voice of the red fox pierced her troubled thoughts. "I'll talk, Hopps." she looked at Wilde, and received an understanding nod. "I know just about everything, anyway. You're in no position to stop me, so no skin off your teeth." and the bunny now understood this had been his intention in the first place, before she interrupted him. He wanted to give her a literal cop out.

He would likely do it regardless of her wishes, which made her angry. But it also reinforced how much this supposedly heartless killer was still doing to try and keep her safe. It mellowed a great deal of her anger, and also reminded the bunny that it was not just her life at stake here.

It would be so easy to take him up on that offer, but it would only be guilt by omission. And Judy Hopps did not do easy.

"The ZPD has been getting many reports of missing mammals in the last month." she began, voice like an ice block. Wilde sighed in acceptance of her stubbornness. "More than usual, and with an apparent connection between them."

There, that was all public knowledge. Safe.

The tiger nodded, resting his head on a closed fist. "All Predators, I heard. And is that the only link, coneja?"

Judy's tied paws clenched behind her back. She took a deep breath. "That we know off."

A tense moment while the felid's eyes pierced her. Then another nod. "Go on."

"I was assigned to one of the cases. My investigations led me to Mr. Manchas, the jaguar who was sheltering inside your canopy. We found that he had been involved in an altercation with the victim, that he had been hurt, and came here to question him about the incident." she took another breath and was ready to describe the following events, but a raised paw from Rayas stopped her.

"Not good enough." he shook his head. "Who is the mammal you're looking for, and where did you pick up this stray." he waved a condescending paw at the fox.

She had feared that first question, but her answer had been chosen from the start. "I can't tell the identity of the case's subject. They are a Predator, and they are missing. That's all you need to know." she raised her chin.

The tiger instantly went back to a dangerous mood. He got up from his chair and slowly stalked to her. "You don't get to decide that." his voice was deadly.

Wilde's ears perked up, eyes fully open. "Wait..." he started.

"Shut it, fox!" she yelled at him.

"Yes, cállate!" Rayas snarled in agreement, never taking his harsh stare from the bunny. "I want to hear this from the coneja."

"You already did."

Soon he was looming over the bunny, completely covering her in his large shadow, golden eyes narrowed to slits. "I can still rip your pretty ears off." he hovered his paw over one of said appendages, the tip of his extended claws almost grazing her fur.

Something primal in the back of her brain screamed at her to coil up, to make herself as small as possible before this dangerous Predator. She told it to shut the hell up. "You can break every bone in my body, sir." she spat the honorific. "That's all you're getting. I'll be dead before I allow a thug, no matter how well-dressed, to hurt a citizen." her purple eyes were stone-hard.

Their staring contest went on for seconds, and would probably extend further if Wilde's sigh did not interrupt them. "Ugh... you realize you're dragging my ass into this too, right?"

She glanced at him. He had a slight smile on his snout and sat perfectly relaxed. But his green gaze was locked onto Rayas' hovering paw, and she remembered his words from earlier. One more sign of protectiveness that made her feel guilty for snapping at him. "I'm sorry, Wilde. But I just can't endanger a possible victim."

The fox shrugged, but his eyes never wavered. "Yeah, I get you."

The tiger looked from one small mammal to the other for some of the longest moments of her life. The gloomy air of the forest shack was heavy with the promise of violence. She felt it from Rayas, from Wilde, from the other cats hiding in the shadows and even, she was a little surprised to realize, from herself. It felt as if they were all surrounded by black powder, and the slightest spark would set the clearing ablaze.

And then Rayas suddenly grunted, retracted his claws, and went back to his chair. "You see, zorro?" he pointed at Judy. "Conviction! Though I do wonder how long it would last..." he let the statement hang in the air for a while, before continuing. "But it's irrelevant. I already know you speak about the florist nutria, the one who went feral." at Judy's shocked look, he gave a felid smirk. "You think I would allow the driver to hide in my forest without knowing exactly why? Por favor."

"He was testing me? Testing us?!" the bunny asked herself, noting the satisfied air around the tiger. "Or just playing with his prey?" she thought darkly.

The captain turned to Wilde. "And where do you come in?"

Wilde shrugged again, his own subtle aura of threat gone. "Saw the otter on the day he puffed out. Fluff here," he inclined his head to her, "came asking about him. I pointed out where he went, then thought it would be fun to stick around." he finished lazily.

Judy's ears twitched, remembering the pains she had to go through in order to rope the fox into helping her. And yet... it was undeniable that, after the initial resistance, Wilde had aided her without complaint and FAR beyond what was required. Had it all really been just for 'fun'?

"Humpf. Helping la policía, bringing them into the heart of our territory, sticking your snout into business that was never yours..." the tiger shook his head. "Your kind is supposed to be smarter than that. Some would be surprised by such foolishness, zorro, but I am not." he slapped the armrest. "Enough about this! Tell me how my watcher died."

So they did. With the occasional input from the fox, and feeling a little dirtier with each word, Judy told the gangster all that happened after they first rang Manchas' doorbell. She tried to be circumspect about the details, like the jaguar mentioning the so called 'Night Howlers', or about Wilde's surprising abilities. But now that it came about information he did not already know, the old tiger revealed himself a patient and shrewd interrogator. Abandoning over-the-top threats, he dissected every one of the bunny's phrases with the cold precision of a surgeon. He always knew when she was being less than forthcoming, hacking and hewing at her half-truths until she had no choice but to be thorough. More than once he guessed exactly what happened before she could even tell, like how Manchas tricked the cougar into thinking he was knocked out, or how Wilde took them both out of there when the lethal flying machine appeared. When she mentioned how she had shot the thing down using nothing but sound as her guide, his eyes flashed for just a second, and that was the only sign of surprise he ever gave.

At one time during the tale, his phone rang again. He took it, looked briefly at the screen, then put it back. Judy caught just the tiniest hint of a satisfied smile while he had checked the message.

When all had been said, Judy was mentally exhausted.

El Colmillo was pensive, eyes closed in thought. By the middle of her tale, he had grabbed his cane and began to lightly tap it against his other paw. Probably a habit of the tiger.

"This is interesting..." he finally spoke. "This machine, you have suspicions as to who was behind it?"

"Aside from you?" the bunny told him archly. "No."

"If I wanted you dead, coneja, your corpses would already be buried beneath a tree." he countered, amused. "No. There was un invasor in my forest, and that does not make me happy." he looked to the side, towards his enforcers. "I'm extending the lockdown to the entire forest. All borders are closed, all civilians are to stay inside their houses until further notice. I want every watcher up into the trees, and every Sweeper out on the streets. Suspect every shadow."

"Yes, Capo!" came the brisk reply from one of the cats. Judy suspected it was the older jaguar.

"Warn them that the enemy has access to high-grade weaponry." the tiger continued. "If they find anything, I want it captured. If that isn't possible, I want it dead." he bared his fangs briefly. "And send someone to see if there's anything left from the machine they destroyed." he gestured to the fox and bunny.

"Yes, Capo." the jaguar repeated, dutifully.

Judy was impressed, and very worried, about the apparent level of organization of these thugs. They really did behave like an army. "What about Mr. Manchas?" she asked. The rabbit did not want to bring attention to the jaguar, afraid of what Rayas would do to him, but she had to ask.

The captain looked at her. "Oh, we already have the driver." he told her offhandedly.

Her ears perked right up. "What?"

"One of my mammals saw him after he left his home tree, and I ordered that he be captured." he elaborated. "It was... challenging. His madness gives him great strength, speed and senses."

It was time for the fox's ears to twitch. "You had to call Violeta, right?" he guessed. "She's the only one who could've caught him that fast."

The tiger just snorted, not bothering to answer the fox.

"Did you hurt him?!" Judy demanded to know.

She got another raised eyebrow. "You are that worried about a Predator who just tried to eat you, coneja?"

The bunny ignored the slightly speciesist tone. That was easy. It was harder to ignore the images of Manchas ripping open another mammal's throat as they kept flashing in her mind. "He's clearly not in control of his actions."

"Many would not think that an excuse." golden eyes narrowed. "And neither do I. The driver will die for this."

"WHAT?!" Judy shouted. This mammal could not be serious! "You can't do that!"

The old tiger snarled. "I can, and I will!" he saw her open mouth, and interrupted. "It does not matter if he's insane, coneja, he killed one of my mine! Blood must be paid, for blood that was spilled!" he finished darkly.

While the bunny tried to think past the rage burning inside her, Wilde looked with half-lidded eyes at the larger mammal. "The old boar will not be happy about this, Rayas..."

"Oh, I'm sure he won't." he shrugged. "But unlike you, zorro, Señor Big understands the importance of rules, and the necessity of sacrifice."

The fox had no counter for that.

"Don't you believe what we told you?!" Judy asked, and she was disgusted by the slight note of desperation in her voice. "Who was controlling that machine? Why were they watching us? Why they only attacked after Mr. Manchas was secured? There is more going on here than we know!"

Rayas tapped his cane again. "I believe you, coneja. Every word." he put the cane between his legs, paws resting on the top. His smile was all fangs. "Which is why I'll offer you a deal."

Judy did not like the sound of that. "What... what deal?"

"You want the jaguar to live?" the tiger purred. "Find someone else to take his place."

There was silence inside the abandoned shack for long seconds.

"You cant' be serious..." the bunny finally spoke.

"A life for a life, policía. This is our Law. You suspect others may be behind the driver's madness, ? Or at least to know the cause? Well..." he looked straight into her eyes. "Then find them." he looked at Wilde's. "Hunt them down." he relaxed on his seat, resting the cane above his lap. "And bring them to me."

Her ears were buzzing. She shook her head. "I'm a cop. I bring suspects to Court. I don't give them to other criminals so they can be executed."

"We will even help you." the tiger spoke, as if he had not heard. "My watchers are looking for our mysterious visitors. If they find any clues, I'll forward them to you." he tilted his head, pondering. "I'll also look into these 'Night Howlers'... and I'll have a medical expert examine the driver."

"I... can't... do... that." the rabbit bit out the words.

"Then, the driver dies." he shrugged. "As things stand... it might be a mercy."

While Judy tried to come up with an idea and only produced blanks, Wilde spoke up.

"You worry about these Predators going savage, Rayas." he stated. He was not using his con-fox voice. This was the Hunter speaking. "You wouldn't let us go so easily otherwise."

The old cat got up from his seat. He calmly put back his suit's top and took up his hat. He came to stand beneath the bright lamp, looking down at them.

"Home, trade, and kin, zorro." he looked to Judy. "This is the deal. You don't think the jaguar deserves to die?" he put the blood red hat back over his ears, his eyes glowing in its shadow. "Then bring me a mammal who does."

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Do you have a plan to resolve this setback, Sister?

Not for the first time, she wondered why their secret helper never communicated with anything but text messages. She was fine with him or her wanting to keep their identity a secret, they had proved their goodwill to the Flock many times already, but why not simply use a voice changer?

It was as easy as downloading an app, after all.

Dismissing the thought, she wrote her answer. With a little difficulty, as she had to maneuver the many report sheets in her arms.

I have an idea to deal with Officer Hopps. But we'll need information on this fox she's partnered with before we can move forward.

A rabbit and a fox. What was their world coming to?

She sent the message, and then also forwarded the footage the Engineer had recorded. One of her coworkers, a golden jackal, nodded and waved at her from the other side of the hall. She gave him a sweet smile.

The filthy Predator.

It took a long time for their benefactor to respond. Much longer than the length of the recording she included. Which was strange, as they were always so quick that it almost seemed as if they knew her questions and requests beforepaw.

When it finally came, the message made her blink and almost drop the files she was carrying.

Deal with the rabbit. Leave the fox to us.

She gaped, she could not help it. This secretive mammal had been assisting the Flock for years, but he or she had never offered such direct help.

So why now?

.

0000000

.

"One last thing, zorro." the old tiger said in an idle voice.

The fox sighed. "Yes, Rayas?"

"Stay out of my forest!" he snarled. Then Colmillo nodded to the two cats flanking him, turned on his heels, and stalked back to his car. Soon, the bunny and fox were left alone.

The gangster captain had been kind enough to drive them back up to the top of the forest. They were now on the wooden platform of one of Rainforest District's many automatic gondola stations, outside of the Desperado's neck of the woods. This one was a small thing, more appropriate for scenic trips than actual transportation, but it would take them all the way to the outskirts of Savanna Central.

Dawn was starting to peek over the canopy, and it bathed the forest in multicolored hues of light. It was a beautiful sight, but his mind was too far away to appreciate it. His bunny companion just stood there, ears down, almost listless.

Nick put a gentle paw on her shoulder. "Car's here, Carrots." he guided the unprotesting doe to the small cablecar, which was painted a cheerful green that had been dulled by time and wear. "In you go." they both got inside, and were on their way.

He left her propped against one side of the car and watched as the doe slid, boneless, to the floor. For a time she just stared vacantly at the brightening sky, while they slowly raised above the canopy. The fox waited.

Finally she blinked, rubbed her eyes furiously with the back of her paws, and looked at him.

"What have I agreed to, Wilde?"

He raised and eyebrow. "You agreed to nothing, Carrots." he reminded her. "Rayas made his offer, you're not forced to take it."

"How can he do this?! I'm ZPD! How can he speak so casually about murdering someone to my face?"

Nick rested his back against the rail opposite the bunny, and ran a tired paw over his snout. "You know, this is my fault. I should have explained better just how powerful the Alpha gangs are. The Cartel, in particular." he looked outside. They were beginning to leave the denser part of Rainforest. He pointed a paw to the way they came. "Back there is Los Desperados' canopy."

"There's also the Hellcats' valley down in the Canyonlands, and the Dreadpaws' island on the other side of the Polar Strait." he continued. "Together, those three are the Cartel, and they are the oldest and most militaristic of all the gangs. We are talking over a thousand well-trained cats here, and even more lesser thugs. The Hellcats are also among the best gunsmiths in the world, so you can add that up." he crossed his arms, looking back at her. "Carrots, when you tried to call your cop friends back there with Manchas, I knew they wouldn't come. Even if your radio had worked. The ZPD will crack down hard on any known member of the Cartel they catch outside of those territories, it's the reason why you won't see a mammal like Rayas just walking around Downtown."

He let out a breath. "But inside those areas? They can do whatever the hell they want. In the city maps, those might as well be black spaces with skulls on top."

The bunny's eyes were wide. "But-but how can that be allowed to stand?"

He shrugged. "Status quo, Carrots. It would take every single mammal in the ZPD, and some very big guns, to try and purge the Cartel's trenches. That would be a bloody enough affair by itself, but then they'd have to worry about all the other gangs."

He could see her eyes start to brighten, as her mind began making the connections. Good, that meant she was getting out of her funk, or at least putting it to the side for now.

"So there's some kind of... tacit truce here? The ZPD doesn't crash down into their turfs, and the cats don't walk around gunning mammals down?"

The fox nodded. "Pretty much, yeah. The Cartel uses the lesser gangs under its control to do most of the footwork around the city. Keep the flow of goods going." he pointed to the retreating forest again. "While the big three focus on production, logistics, and protecting the turfs. And that, Carrots, is why Rayas can go around threatening to torture cops and kill jaguars. Inside the canopy, he's almost untouchable."

She tugged on one of her long ears. It would have been adorable if she wasn't so distressed. "Oh, gods..."

"Just let me say it again, in case you didn't hear the first time. You don't have to play his game, Fluff."

"But if I don't, he'll kill Manchas!" she said, purple eyes angry.

Nick considered lying, but that would not help her. "If a better culprit doesn't present themselves... then yes, he will."

"A life for a life, wasn't it?" she shook her head, absolutely revolted. "Even if the mammal can't be blamed? What kind of evil, stupid rule is that?" grey-furred paws clenched so hard, he could hear the small claws digging into the flesh. "It's self-defeating. It only perpetuates violence."

"These are violent mammals, Carrots." he pointed out calmly. "Blood is their world, it's what they understand. The knowledge that retribution will come for them, no matter why they do what they do, is the only thing that keeps a lot of them in check."

"And you believe this nonsense?!"

He stood looking at the fierce bunny for a long time. The sun was fully out now, and the morning breeze ruffled his fur. Eventually he sighed, and sat down on the floor of the gondola too. It had to be tiring for her to keep looking up.

"I used to, back with the Family." he began, then thought better on that statement. "Not to the extent that Rayas and most of the others do, no. I wouldn't kill Manchas, for starters. I only Hunted mammals I was sure deserved it. But in the end... I did believe in paying blood with blood."

She was frowning hard at him. "And now?"

"Now..." he looked at the blue sky. "Now I kinda try not to think about it. I let the gangs do their stuff, the ZPD do theirs, and try to keep out of the way."

Mostly.

"What changed?"

"...I made a promise."

She blinked, surprised. "A promise?"

"Yes, a promise. And that's all I'm saying about it. Drop it, Carrots. Please."

She opened her mouth, but then closed it with a huff. They sat in silence for a while.

Until she spoke again. "You said I don't have to play Rayas' game. What should I do, then?"

Nick had been idly fiddling with his torn sleeve. Damn, he liked the green shirt. "Oh?" he looked back to her. "Well... you could leave it to me, of course."

Bunny ears went straight up. "What?!"

"I do have some experience with this stuff, Carrots. I think I can track our mysterious friends down."

"You want me to leave my case to you?!"

"I feel bad about Manchas, too." he tried to reassure her. "Not only that, but this whole mess will cast suspicions over Mr. Big among all the Alphas. Remember that both Manchas and Otterton worked for him. I owe the old boar too much to just let this stand."

The bunny closed her eyes and massaged her forehead, as if staving off a migraine. Perhaps she was. "Okay. First, that's never happening! Second, if it did happen, what would you do with the suspects anyway?"

He straightened and looked somberly at her. "Whatever I had to do to keep the jaguar safe."

"Which is exactly why it ain't happening." she scowled at him, arms crossed.

"You know this is only going to get grimmer with every step, Fluff. You could wash your paws off this right now. Walk away from all this dark stuff." he offered honestly.

The scowl deepened. "Turning my back won't make the darkness go away." her purple orbs burned with renewed conviction. "I'll find another way."

Nick wished he had that kind of will.

He watched her for some time, all riled up and ready to challenge the world. Then he smiled, and relaxed back against the gondola's wall.

"Good." he said in a satisfied voice.

Carrots opened her mouth in surprise at his sudden shift in mood, large rabbit teeth showing up. Then, her mind clicked.

"You did that on purpose!" she pointed a finger at him.

His smile widened. "I figured the best way to get you going is to imply you can't do something, bunny." he laughed.

"So that offer was just a twisted pep-talk?"

At that, he got a little more serious. "No." he said. "If you did want to quit, I would see this through." then he smiled again. "But as the great Officer Hopps is still on the case, I'll be happy to follow her lead."

The doe closed her eyes and thumped her head against the wall. "Sweet cheese and crackers..." she sighed. After a while, she asked. "You're going to stick around whether I want it or not, won't you?"

"Yeah, afraid so. I still kinda don't wanna see you die, Carrots. And like I said, I owe it to Mr. Big."

She shook her head. "I don't know what to think about you, fox. I honestly don't." she sighed again. "Why do you say you owe Mr. Big?" by her voice, she was talking more to herself, and did not really expect an answer.

The fox went silent. In the distance, he could hear the rising sound of traffic. The earlier mammals were starting their day.

"Did you know I joined a gang when I was a teenager?" he asked her.

She opened her eyes. "Ah... yes?" she tilted her head, frowning. She must be wondering why he would tell her that.

He wondered that, himself.

"Calling it a 'gang' is a stretch. We were just a bunch of angry kids yelling at the world." his eyes went out of focus, as the fox began remembering those times. An entire life ago. "All vulpines, mostly from Savanna, but also one from the Tundra, and a vixen from Sahara. Finn was sort of an unnoficial member, too." he smiled a little when he remembered his oldest friend. "Heh! Poor guy hasn't gotten any taller since then."

Carrots just looked on curiously, and a little wary.

"Anyway." he cleared his throat. "We called ourselves the 'Foxy Foxies'. Yeah, I know, very creative. Sounds like a bad garage band. But that was the point." he shrugged. "Mammals hated us for being foxes, so we threw our species at their faces just to spite them."

"That's..." the bunny started, face softening. "Actually very brave of you."

He snorted. "More like stupid and selfish. We didn't try to show mammals the best side of foxes, Fluff. We just were not afraid of being loud. As a rule of thumb, foxes try to pretend as hard as they can that they aren't foxes. To outsiders at least. We keep our heads down, act all meek, and use guile and subterfuge to get what other species take for granted." he looked at the faded map on the back of the gondola, showing a very simplified map of the district. "The other kits kinda admired us, in secret, but the grown-ups hated our pelts." he imitated an old voice. "You brats give us a bad name." he scoffed. "Our name was plenty bad already. Mammals wanted bad foxes? We would give them bad foxes."

The look she was giving him, of raising empathy, made him uncomfortable. He would have preferred judgment.

"Did you join that gang because of what happened with those junior Ranger Scouts?" it was his turn to blink in surprise. She waved a helpless paw. "I mean, I know that happened years before, but I kind of think it's related."

He slowly brought his paws up and clapped three times. The doe seemed embarrassed. "Smart bunny." he praised, just a tiny bit of sarcasm seeping into his voice. "Yeah, I guess it all began there."

"What... what happened?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oldest story in the world, Fluff. If you're a fox." he answered flatly. "Näive little kit wants to be a hero. He finds a group of cool chaps, all Prey mind you, who invite him to be one of the good guys." he smiled crookedly. "Then, after the kit's mom uses money she couldn't spare to buy him a brand new uniform, he goes to his initiation only to find that the nice kids just wanted to teach the slimy Predator a lesson. They try to muzzle the kit and beat him up." the smile became feral. "What the kids didn't expect, though, is that this particular fox kit knew a thing or two about playing rough."

"That's horrible!" she exclaimed, aghast. "I mean, what those kids tried to do."

"You believe me?"

Purple eyes narrowed. "The whole thing smelled fishy, even just reading your files." she scowled. "Five larger kids claiming they got mauled by a single, smaller one? You were badly hurt, too. Then a single hearing, and you get anger-management counseling while the other kids go home with pats on their backs?" she hook her head. "That conclusion just doesn't sits well with me."

The fox tilted his head, smirking lightly. "Yeah... But I got them good, all right. Mostly out of surprise." he snickered. "Little bigots were all about 'vicious Predators', and yet they expected me to just curl up and take it? Hah!" then he remembered the following years, and scowled. "I paid for it, though. Half a dozen state-sponsored 'experts' telling me how I should control my 'predatory impulses'; how I should 'put myself in the place of Preys'; how I should not succumb to my 'innate fox'." he sneered. "As if being me was something to be ashamed of."

He looked away from her gaze, it was really making him uncomfortable. "I was always angry. Only my mother ever listened to me, but she couldn't do anything to help. My other relatives only berated me for not keeping my head down. For not taking it. The Law had failed me, the adults had failed me... I spent the rest of my kithood being as nasty as the world claimed I had been with those Scouts. I was... I was a horrible son." with effort, he swallowed to lump in his throat.

"And that never changed, did it Wilde?" his conscience whispered at him.

After a moment, he regained his balance. Though his voice was a little rough. "As soon as I was old enough, I found those who thought like me. And we banded together."

It was so strange, analyzing your own childhood like that. As if it had been someone else's life.

"The files said you guys were anti-Prey..." the doe asked softly.

"We were anti-everyone, Carrots. We stole, we swindled, we conned, and we gave as good as we got to everyone who tried to kick us down. Their species didn't matter."

They went silent. The gondola continued its lazy arch over the city. The morning sun cast long shadows inside it, leaving both of them in a comfortable shade. Nick felt as they arrived at the apex of their trip, and the car started to travel downwards.

"That was how you learned to fight?" the bunny asked suddenly, snapping him from his thoughts. "You guys got into a lot of scruffs, right? Often with larger mammals."

And he laughed. Damn if this bunny hadn't made him laugh more in the last two days than he had in the past month.

Her nose twitched. "What?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Sorry, Carrots..." he calmed down. "No, I didn't learn how to fight back then. I learned how to brawl." he waved a paw at her. "You had professional training. You know the difference."

That appeared to mollify her a little. She nodded. "Yeah, I do."

He nodded back. "Anyways, that came later."

Carrots brought her knees into her body, wrapping her arms around them. She looked very small, sitting like that.

"After you vanished from the records, right?"

"Small, but no less sharp." he thought. He wondered if she was genuinely interested in his story, or if she was just fishing for incriminating evidence so she could prosecute him later.

Likely both.

But he had a point to make. And the nature of the memories he was sharing quickly killed his brief moment of humor.

"Yes. So, one sunny day we saw this very nice car parked in a deserted street up on Tundratown. It was the kind of car you could save your entire year's earnings, and still not be able to buy even the driver's seat."

"We also knew who this car belonged to. A mammal who earned a fortune by making sure everyone else was as poor as possible. A nasty piece of corporate greed, and just the kind of stuck-up asshole me and my buddies loved to take down a peg. So we made sure the coast was clear, and took that fancy car in one hell of a ride. We left it up in the Meadowlands, half-way inside a lake."

The bunny winced. "That couldn't have ended up well."

"No, it didn't. Turns out, the guy had 'connections'. Specifically, with Mr. Big. He found out who exactly had vandalized his property and went to the old boar. He wanted Mr. Big to teach us a lesson, a permanent lesson. Mr. Big refused. Told him he would give us one hell of a scare, but nothing else." he looked fixedly at his paws. "The rich mammal didn't think that was punishment enough, so he paid off a good amount to a trio of freelancers who were, shall we say, far less picky about which jobs they took."

He heard her breath catch. "No!"

"They figured the Law would not care about a bunch of street trash, and they were right. The ZPD sure didn't do shit about it."

He avoided looking at her. He was not trying to accuse her, but his anger could not be completely hidden. He remembered the faces of Everett, Molly, Sam, Pietro, and Smalltoes. He remembered the only time he had ever seen Finn cry.

"Gang war, they said. Case closed. Just a bunch of dead-end teens who bit more than they could chew."

"Nick..."

He still did not look up. "They caught us on the suburb of Savanna. They were grown-ups with zappers and blades, we were little punks with bare claws." he flexed his paws. Open and close, open and close. "Only Finn and I survived. Two, out of seven. I... had to leave the city after that. Finn went to ground down in Sahara." open, and closed. "Finn did not have to hide for long, though. The ZPD might not have bothered with investigating," he left his paws open, "but Mr. Big did."

He hear the sound of shuffling and felt the bunny move. But ignored it.

"The old boar has very strict rules, Carrots. One of them is no harming underage mammals. Ever. When he heard about us, he immediately suspected his business partner. A partner who made him a lot of money, it should be said. A week later, those freelancers went out for a drink and never came back. Two days after that, the rich mammal was found dead. Smashed head-first into a factory wall while driving his fancy car, that he had just gotten back from the repair shop."

He only realized his paws were trembling slightly, when white and grey furred ones touched them. He looked up at last to find Carrots keeling in front of him, ears down and eyes brimming with too many emotions to identify.

"I..." she began, then stopped. She tried to speak two more times, but could not find the words. In the end, she just whispered. "I don't know what to say..."

He looked at her paws on top of his for long seconds, before taking a deep breath.

"Samara, a vixen in my old gang, used to say that 'when God won't listen, the only one you can turn to is the Devil'. I-I don't know if this kind of justice is good enough."

The fox gently extracted his paws from the bunny's.

"But it's the only kind I've ever had."

The gondola finally crossed the border of Rainforest District, passing over the crystalline waters of a wide river. The airborne dew left by the rainy night caused a rainbow to arch over the water, but neither of the small mammals saw it. No more words were spoken until they arrived at their final station.

.

0000000

.

The black sedan crossed the high streets while the old tiger watched the trees pass by, lost in thought.

Until his lugarteniente's voice brought him back to the real world. "Alfonso?"

He looked at the veteran jaguar. "Sí?

"Do you really trust a fox and a Prey to get to the bottom of this?" he clearly did not.

His gaze drifted back to the outside scenery. "I trust that they will try." he said with a shrug. "And of course, we'll get our own Hunters on the job."

"And if those two happen to find the culprits first." he tilted his head. "Assuming there are any to find... do you believe they'll bring them to us?"

Alfonso tapped his cane with a claw as he considered the question. However, further conversation was stopped by his phone ringing.

"Rayas here." he took the call gruffly.

"Señor Colmillo." the deceptively sweet voice of the snow leopardess greeted him. "We have finished securing our hot-headed brother. Had to put enough tranquilizer inside him to knock out an elephant, but he's sleeping now."

"Bueno. Take him to the hideout I mentioned before, and stay close for the time being. At least until we learn how to best keep him contained."

"Naturally."

"Gracias, Violeta."

"Wait for the bill before you thank me, Señor." she laughed lightly.

He did not laugh. "One other thing, treat him kindly. And if the time comes to put him down... make it quick, and make it clean."

"Oh?"

"I remember young Renato." he answered simply. "Never had much of a spine, that one, and he might have chosen to work for the musaraña... but he's still kin."

There was a moment of silence. When she spoke next, Violeta's voice was softer and more sincere.

"Understood, Señor Colmillo."


ANs:

So... one month is better than four, right? Right.

I'm not completely happy about this one. Much like Chapter 4, it feels like too much talk and too little story. But give me your thoughts, please.

Huge thanks to MetalFox2013, Magus Neon, Combat Engineer, car213, Julian The Dreamer, Number 66, Cressi13, Niori, and Cerberusx for their reviews. You guys (and gals) let me know I'm on the right track.

And thanks to all the readers. I hope to see you next time.