Fox Point

by MaveriKat

Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it but so are those who cannot let the past go. With the rise of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative, one vixen is going to be uprooted from what she knew to live and breath the tenants of the ZPD: Trust, Integrity, and Bravery. Even if the city doesn't believe she can. Rated M for Violence, Adult Language, and Adult Situations.

13. Give Pizza Chance

Disclaimer: "Zootopia" is owned by the Magical World of Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios. The "Sly Cooper" videogame series is owned by Sony, Sucker-Punch Productions, and Sanzaru Games. There are also aspects that will be borrowed from or directly inspired from Zootopia's pre-production works and concepts from Nicolaswilde's "Zistopia" Tumblr blog. Said story itself is a fan-based non-profit work of fiction written strictly for entertainment purposes only. Please support the official releases. Thank you.

Fox Point

By MaveriKat & Nanya
Beta Read By Innortal

Chapter 13: Give Pizza Chance

In the passenger area of a limo, four polar bears waited in a tense, alert state as the driver took them to their destination. It was definitely one of their boss's more expensive limousines... the kind that could ruin the bank account of any normal mammal who wanted to enjoy the amenities a party limo could afford them! It had a stocked bar along the left side of the vehicle and expensive leather couch seating all along the right wall. The tinted blue lights were on in the back and the air conditioning high, leaving a chilling fog to roam around the ankles of the four ursine males in somewhat-matching black track suits. They were all the same style and cut but the crown logo of the Tundratown Limo-Service over the left pectoral as well as the pipe lining of the garments were color-coded to their owners' eyes.

The white-pelted ursine who's uniform was accented with blue looked over his cell phone; the screen displaying a latest picture that an informant had sent him just minutes. It was an image of their target: a young, blue-eyed polar bear cub, the boy dressed in a white shirt with long blue sleeves and a gray pair of shorts. He was young, his fur a clean and bright–as if the filth of the world hadn't gotten to him yet–and claws still a pearly white from not having been used. This was an innocent who had not realized the kind of world he truly lived in.

He would be easy pickings.

"No mistaking it," he spoke up, getting the attention of his fellow Arctic ursine. "It's Mr. Cold's kid. We bring him to the boss and Tundratown is as good as the boss's," he said as he held up the cellular device, making sure the trio with him could view it. Getting a nod from their heads, the large predator grunted as he pocketed his cell-phone. "Remember the plan, gentlemen. In and out: we grab the kid and go. His only chaperones are a few vixens and the boss doesn't want us actually firing our weapons unless we have to. That would look bad on his part if we did."

The others nodded their heads in understanding. The Arctic shrew was trying to present himself as a legitimate business-mammal. Having thugs who pulled out and fired guns inside of buildings while dressed in the attire of who employed them was simply bad for business. While pulling out a firearm was the quickest solution they would refrain for Mr. Big's sake... as well as their own. If they did without a good reason, they could expect to be iced for it.

The vehicle coming to a stop and remain there, the leader of the group turned his head towards the partition window between the passenger and driver's section of the limo. "Driver!" He shouted. "Have we arrived?"

"Sí, Señor Raymond!" The voice of the driver up-front chirruped, a panther from the Rainforest District. "We're just outside Largo's Pizza. Do you wish me to return at a certain time or..." he trailed off as the quartet or large Arctic animals stood up to disembark.

"Just wait here and keep the motor running. We will return shortly," the polar bear with blue eyes stated. Without waiting for an answer, he quickly turned about and made his way to the open door of the limousine, stepping down and into the snowy streets. Joining the other three who had exited while he took a moment to instruct the driver, the head of the troupe made his way to the wooden doors of the pizzeria; placing a massive paw on it before swinging the barrier inward. He was gazing around at the mostly empty establishment, taking note of a couple of white-pelted wolves who were sharing a pizza at one of the many tablecloth-covered wooden tables.

It was his fellow soldier Kevin who caught sight of their intended target. "You!" The yellow-eyed polar bear shouted as he raised his right hand and motioned towards the back towards one of the booths, a group of much smaller mammals which included the young polar bear. "Stay where you are!" He shouted as he started to rush into the seating area; scaring off the lupine men who had been trying to finish off their pizza.

Realizing that his usual partner was getting things started already, Raymond looked over to Michael and Leo. Giving them a slight nod of his head, he slide his impressive right paw into his pocket, taking hold of his handgun. Seeing the other two do so as well, the carnivore of cold origin made his way into the patron seating of the pizza parlor to back up his friend adorned in yellow highlights.

Just because they were told not to openly use their guns didn't mean they couldn't use make hints towards them for intimidation.

"Excuse me, but what is going on?" A female voice asked as the four got close to the table. Turning, the four blinked as Carmelita stood there with a serious look on her face. She was hoping that these four weren't going to start anything. While she was off-duty, she wouldn't be any sort of cop if she just sat back and did nothing to try and diffuse the situation ahead of time.

Blinking his flaxen eyes, the polar mammal who had initially started the charge paused in his tracks as the orange-pelted carnivore that threw herself between his crew and the table. "Oh look! It's a fox..." he murmured as he openly gaped at the vulpine woman's curves.

Coming up beside his fellow soldier of Mr. Big, another of the polar bears stopped in his charge to gaze down at her. "Yep," the Arctic ursine adorned in a tracksuit with green and a silver chain with a cross around his neck said as he nodded his head in agreement. It was pretty obvious to anyone that the woman in front of them was a fox.

Looking over to his fellow polar bear, the yellow-eyed carnivore raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Leo, she's hot," Kevin replied before his gaze moved back to the woman who stood firm before them. He had to lick his massive tongue over his muzzle as he suddenly found his lips to be incredibly dry as he looked her over.

Again, the other Mafia soldier nodded his head. "Well, she is warm-blooded," the polar predator in the track outfit with viridian tints replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"No, I mean that she's got boobs!" The head polar bear twitched, forgetting the point of them being there in the first place as he was obviously, 'distracted by the sexy'. Something his fellows had accused him of falling into way too easily on a number of occasions.

Needless to say, Carmelita twitched at the comment about her curves. Yes, she had breasts but they weren't that big a deal! She wanted to hit the guy for that one but at the same time the Interpol Inspector was hopeful she could keep the pair of dolts distracted long enough for the others to flee.

Noticing the vixen's gaze darting back to the table, the Raymond snorted. Reading the signs that she was ready to bolt as soon as fight or flight syndrome set in, he raised his left paw and snapped his fingers before the polar bear in uniform with orange highlights. The amber-eyed ursine nodding its head before making his way around the tables and the arguing pair of idiots to cut their targets off from an easy escape.

As their fellow soldier actually did some work, the pair of ursine men closest to the booth continued to argue, with Leo firmly replying, "Yes. Women typically have those."

Kevin rolled his eyes in complete disbelief as the large polar predator couldn't seem to get the point through his thick skull. What was up with his co-worker on this!? "But they're huge!" He protested in frustration, causing Raymond to raise his free paw to smack himself in the face while Carmelita continued to visibly twitch in rapidly rising annoyance.

The stoic ursine didn't seem to catch onto the frantic reflection of his fellow made mammal's words. "Not too uncommon. Some species have bigger ones than that." Although the polar bear in the ebony tracksuit with green pipelining and crown logo embossed on his uniform had to admit to himself that foxes typically didn't get THAT big. It was something of a rarity to occur naturally.

"...You two done yet?" Carmelita snapped, the annoyance she felt clearly prevalent in the expression her face and the tone of her voice. She was all good for stalling for time but even this was testing her limits. While the canid cop normally considered herself more level headed than this, the fact she had to put up with so many comments along the lines of this earlier in the day had left her tolerance for it at an all-time low. The Latina vulpine could feel herself wanting to blow her top like she used to when she first started working at Interpol.

Looking down at her, Kevin motioned towards her with his free hand as he pointedly added, "Plus she has hips!" He took a deep breath and reiterated his sentiment with the comment of, "Hips for days! The kind of hips that Gazelle claims don't lie about!"

Rolling his eyes as he let off an exasperated sight, Raymond made a sign of the cross, hoping word of this never got back to their mother. Hispanic vixen slapped herself on the face

Raising an eyebrow, Leo took a step back as the female red fox started to become visibly angry. He might have been a larger predator but he knew from experience when cornered, the smaller carnivores could be absolutely vicious. "Yes, mammalian girls tend to have hips..." he trailed off. It was so obvious, so why was his partner saying such obvious things? Anyone who looked at this fox could see all those things!

Taking a deep breath in a final effort to calm herself, the female red fox glared up at the two with a steely brown gaze. "...Done yet?" Carmelita growled out.

"I'd like to breed with her!" Kevin blurted out suddenly without preamble or second thought. Such typically wasn't the kind of thing to just announce in public but the mafia underling was getting frustrated with his co-worker's blasé attitude. Yes, his cousin was something of the straight-mammal but even he should have been able to appreciate a fine example of sultry vixen!

Everyone gathered in the restaurant turned to stare at the polar in utter shock–even Matteo was leaning out the door to the kitchen to make sure he heard that right. It was just so surreal that some had to wonder if this was a prank or not. So shocking was the statement that Carmelita's anger was momentarily subdued, leaving her to stare at the taller predator in bewilderment and disbelief.

Bringing a hand up to his face, the polar bear in the uniform with forest green accents scratched his chin as he mulled over his fellow mafia soldier's statement. "And now I wonder what kind of cubs would come out of that: white foxes or red polar bears?" Leo idly murmured aloud, trying to come to a conclusion out of some morbid curiosity.

The Hispanic vixen twitched. "...I should be mad. Utterly and truly pissed... but that is a good question," Carmelita muttered quietly as she tried to figure it out for herself. If she focused on that instead of the pure unadulterated rage she felt boiling in the very core of her soul, then it was likely she wouldn't set off a firefight by stabbing him in the knee with the butter knife she was firmly squeezing in the grasp of her left hand.

Realizing he had the woman curious, the polar bear with golden eyes looked down to meet the woman's deep hazel stare. "So, will you?" The ursine in yellow-accented ebony track uniform asked, his eyes lighting up with hope. It had been awhile since he had gotten with a woman who had a pelt that wasn't the usual snow white that matched with his surroundings. And if he and the others were going to capture this kid, he could hopefully bring her along to keep the cub quiet before he spent an evening with her.

Her right eye twitching, the Hispanic red fox gripped the utensils she had picked up firmly in her grasp tight enough that she could feel the wood handle begin to crack. What was with this guy!? He was no better than any of the animals she had brought in while working vice! I swear to God, it's like none of these animals have ever seen a female fox! She thought with rage.

As the off-duty police officer fumed silently, the polar bear goon with a uniformed toned with orange finally made his way around to block to closest exit. The taller of the two vulpine men who had remained at the table realized the situation was soon going to degrade into a bloodbath from how they kept pushing Carm's buttons and he better do something and fast! Sure, he may not have doubted the Latina vixen's ability to inflict pain on another animal but the canid con-mammal was certain that one should never bring a knight to a gun fight... particularly a butter knife.

His keen mind working into overdrive, the red fox knew what he to do. Stealing a glance over the gathering of Mr. Big's thugs before him to make certain their attention wasn't on the booth outright, the pawpsicle hustler leaned over his partner's head. Ignoring the grumbling of the desert fox, Nick whispered, "Cherry! Cherry!" Seeing the Arctic vixen turn her attention to him he quietly queried, "Do you have a phone?" When she nodded her head, he told her, "Get under the table with Morris for cover and call for help. I'll try and distract them."

Blinking her bright blue eyes in surprise at what the usually cowardly, self-serving narcissist was suggesting, she whispered back, "How? By putting on a grass skirt and dancing the Hula?"

The male fox shook his head sadly. "That's not going to work. There's no bacon," he quietly replied as he started to slide out of the booth. Coming up to stand beside the vixen on her left, the male fox reached his right hand up and placed it on her shoulder. "Now come on, fellas!" He chirruped in a suave and smooth manner. "You should know that it would be very difficult to manage. I mean, Carm here is a big girl for her species but I doubt she would be large enough where it counts for one of you guys!" He chimed in a complimentary manner. "You need to get with another bear or try a hippo... heck I'd suggest an elephant if I didn't think she would end up giving one of you guys a broken hip!"

His eyes going wide, the polar bear dressed in a uniform adorned with a blue crown tag over his chest curled the left corner of his lip back in a snarl. Making his way past Kevin and Leo, the tall predator mammal broke the pair up and stood before the two foxes, his icy blue eyes glaring down at the smaller mammal. "Nicholas Piberius Wilde!" He called out the male red fox's full name. "I thought I told you never to show your face around Tundratown again!?"

Cringing slightly as he realized the Arctic mammal did remember him, the crimson-pelted canid brought his paws up in a warding manner, motioning for the larger carnivore to reign back his temper. "Easy, easy now Raymond... I can't imagine why you'd be so mad. I mean, Finnick and I gave you all those pawpsicles for free, didn't we?" Left unsaid was, 'in return for losing traction in the snow and slamming the back end of the van into your Mercedes'.

"THOSE PAWPSICLES GAVE ME THE RUNS!" He shouted as his hand gripped the holster of his firearm tightly within the pocket of his jacket. While a bit hypocritical of him to be the one getting trigger happy after warning the others not to be, this one fox was someone who he'd wanted to have a run-in with again for quite some time.

Needless to say, that statement made the male vulpine blink his eyes a couple of times in surprise. He frowned slightly as he considered that. "Really?" Her queried as the gears in his head began spinning. "I never heard of..." his green eyes practically brightened as the proverbial light-bulb went off in his head. "Oh! Are you, by any chance, allergic to red dye number forty?" He queried in a genuinely curious manner.

That admission on Wilde's part made the Latina vixen blink her eyes in genuine surprise. "Red dye number forty?" She parroted in confusion. "I thought you said that your pawpsicles were all-natural?"

His hand still gripping the handle of his firearm, the polar bear furrowed his eyebrows into a hateful glare as he stared down at the much smaller fox. "What does that have to do with anything!?" Raymond roared out at the con-mammal.

Ignoring the hostility directed towards him, the vulpine male decided to answer both a once. "Well, it's a common salt, calcium, and potassium-based food coloring that red-colored sweets have to make them look more appealing. Unfortunately, some mammals are allergic to it. Too much can screw with the digestive system and give you the runs among other things." And Gouda knew those Jumbo Pops were packed with enough Allura Red AC to put down a bull elephant... ironic, considering a family of elephants were the ones making them.

Needless to say, the large polar bear raised an inquisitive eyebrow, widening the patch gray fur that surrounded his left eye.

"Well it's either that or it could be the fact you ate forty of them in one sitting, but hey! Who am I to judge?" The crimson-pelted canid said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Now listen: Carmelita here is paying for pizza tonight! So how about we all just sit down and enjoy a slice of Italian bliss?" He grinned widely, motioning to the vixen. "I did mention she was paying, right?"

Now raising one of her own navy blue eyebrows, the Latina vulpine was turned her gaze towards her friend with an annoyed stare. "Wilde..." she spoke as softly as she could to him through gritted teeth. "What are you doing?" For one thing, it sounded like he was trying to empty her wallet with how he kept volunteering her to pay for people's dinners. Considering how two of the ursine men kept going on about her sexually attractive she was–let alone how all four were packing heat despite being Arctic mammals–she did NOT want to share a table with these obvious criminals.

Giving her a tilted smile and trying to play off the obvious growing rage she was feeling as nervousness, the male red fox calmly chirruped, "It shouldn't be too troublesome, Carm. I mean, it's not like any of us want to have any problems, right?" He lifted his head to gaze up towards the large polar bear, his lips widened across his muzzle to show off all his pearly white teeth. "We're all friends here... right? Right?" Even if rejected, he could hopefully buy enough time for the vixens to send for help. He didn't think Mr. Big's boys would be ballsy enough to start a turf war in the middle of the best pizza parlor in Zootopia!

After a few moments, the head of gathered leg-breaks snorted. As much as they needed to get the kid and leave, he couldn't help but want to take a moment and tie off this loose end once it had presented itself. "Still, you know you aren't allowed to be here, Wilde..." he said in a threatening manner. "So why are you—"

"Did I mention that my best buddy in the whole world got shot in the butt this afternoon and needed a meal to forget that he got shot in said butt?" Nick interrupted and shook his head. "Oh my poor, poor Finnick," the male vulpine tsked sadly as he continued to stall for time. "He's rather lucky it was just his caboose that took that ricocheted bullet. A few inches higher and he could have a broken pelvis... and not from the fun way," he said meaningfully. It might make Carmelita mad but he was hoping to bait the rather horny Kevin. Every second counted!

The polar bear took it hook, line, and sinker. "Even if it's the fun way, it still hurts." Everyone turned to look at him to which, the ursine with golden highlights in his uniform shrugged helplessly. "...One of my brothers went through that," he lied. Truth be told, it was Kevin himself that had gotten with a girl that was a bit... well... TOO big for him when he was younger and cracked his pelvic bone. He was lucky he was able to walk normally after that.

The Latina vixen's jaw dropped as she stared at the cold-based carnivore. Really? Did this guy come from a whole family of perverts? Then again, considering they're part of Mr. Big's crew, I wouldn't put it past them, she thought with annoyance. The female fox remembered how Don Octavio's men were when she had to deal with them in Venice: a bunch of sharp-dressed masked cane corso mutts that thought themselves God's gift to the fairer sex. I only hope they're not as trigger happy as the Vincenetti Gang was.

The vulpine hustler raised an eyebrow in a curious fashion. Really? His brother got a pelvic fracture? "Was it the elephant prostitute I suggested?" Nick chirruped in response, hoping to draw this out for as long as he could. "Or was it one of the regular polar bear ladies I saw hanging off of him?" He paused for a moment as a memory tickled at the back of his mind. "I seem to recall seeing him hang out with one in particular a lot the last time I saw him. Liked to dress in this sequined blue... dress..." he trailed off as mindless muscle of Mr. Big began to shake. "Er... you okay, Kevin?"

His eyes wide enough to show every red vein popping across the white sclera of his optic organs, the polar bear in a gold-accented tracksuit roared, "DID YOU JUST CALL MY SISTER-IN-LAW A PROSTITUTE!?" Sure, he might have made a few comments about the vixen but that's what she was! A sultry fox! To call a loving and caring ursine beauty a whore was too much to bear for the ursine. "VAFFANCULO, WILDE!"

Every muscle in her body tensing up with a sudden burst of adrenaline as the irate polar bear pulled free a gun from his jacket, Carmelita watched with wide eyes as her mind immediately registered the weapon as a Franchi RF 83. An inexpensive service revolver that was known as the Italian .38 Special. Very common over in its country of origin albeit this one was a snubnose variation sized for a polar bear and the barrel was aimed right at the head of her fellow red fox!

Officer Fox didn't even have a chance to think as she tackled him on impulse, the vulpine woman quick enough to push the troublesome tod out of the way as the Arctic predator pulled the trigger twice, allowing for the bullets to pass through the air where Nick's noggin' was a split second prior to the hammer cocking and coming down.

With the first shot fired, all hell broke loose.

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The Snow Palace Hotel, a grand business settled in the heart of Tundratown District, was a resort with a highly-touted five star rated experienced; the building itself a paw-carved structure a miracle of modern animal engineering and finesse that would have been impossible to reproduce through artificial means that made for an exquisite if not intimidating display of wealth and power for visitors. However, besides the icy hotel's quality designs and excellent attention to finer detail that somehow blended aspects of the top of Mount Everest, the Aztec Temples, and the Pyramids of Giza perfectly, the prosperous Arctic-minded resort displayed exemplary luxury across all its areas of operation. Mammalian guests of frozen origins were guaranteed access to and the enjoyment of an extensive range of facilities and comprehensive if not highly personalized services. There were the twenty-four hour Reception and Concierge services headed by a multilingual staff, door-mammal service with valet parking, luggage service, a spacious reception hall with several seats and beverage service, a fully-stocked and diverse breakfast buffet, a personalized greeting for each guest with freshly carved ice sculpture and a present in the room, a telephone and television in every room, rich leather-soft Corinthian Kevlar furniture, minibar and food and beverage offers via room service twenty-four hours a day, personal care products in every bathroom, internet connectivity, a room safe, an on-call ironing service, shoe polish service, turn-down service in the evening, and a chocolate mint on the pillow every night just to name but a few of the many aspects that earned the premiere hotel of Tundratown its much-lauded praise and success.

Its founder and owner, Mr. Kozlov Kholodno, would settle for nothing less when it came to making a new life for himself and his family in Zootopia.

However, the Ice Palace was also known for the highly revered Aysberg Sady Spa. It was an upscale luxury enterprise where mineral-rich waters were used in a facility that was designed to allow its visitors to indulge in an excess of beautification, pampering, and health. A place where an animal could revel in the wondrous relaxation of fine soaking, aromatherapy, various body wraps, diverse styles of massage, splendorous grooming, and magnificent manicures and pedicures for fine claw care. Upon entering such facilities, one expected certain things: a puff of steam whenever the entrance or a door within was opened, oppressive humidity, and the smell of sweaty fur to hang in the air.

But this was Tundratown. In the frozen reaches of Zootopia, a simple 'hot spring' was a body of liquid that had non-frozen water. The temperature in the room could be slightly above freezing or way below it, depending on what they put in the water to keep the tubs clean from whatever they washed off. As long as they had genuine water for use, the patrons of the Snow Palace could enjoy the grandeur of a fine, easing soak to loosen knotted muscles and temper anxiety.

But even then, one particular room of the Aysberg Sady–Russian for Iceberg Gardens–was special.

The main spring–which was reserved for the special clientele and those who funded the resort–was built with sheer excess and opulent luxury in mind.

The room was taller than a normal fake spring would be; ceilings four stories above the floor. In the back, beyond a small alcove, were tall sculptures. But whether they were polished glass or ice was hard to say, without getting up close to them. The carved figures carried a Russian theme, with many polar bears dressed in fashioned garb and style of figure that would have been more akin to a presentation of Pyotursine Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite than present day sensibilities. Even though the numerous statues were larger than life, the display was something of a classy acknowledgement to the founder's motherland, to be certain

As for anything else in the private spring, whatever wasn't the smoothed stone walkway was made to look like the town's namesake: covered in snow and scrub plants. Such was the only vegetation hearty enough to survive the sheer cold of its environment and the salt content of the water that did exist for its use and the small dash of green was seen as a very bold statement in an otherwise wintery atmosphere. Only the best for those who had the Snow Palace's financial interest and success at heart.

Currently, the main spring was in use by the resort's owner and a pair of VIP's. The owner of the Ice Palace, Kozlov was settled in the back of the spring, opposite to the icy steps that lead into the slightly above freezing water. The polar bear was pressed up against the exposed stone base beneath the epic ice carving/grand glass sculpture, his arms spread out at either side of him and on the ledge of the chilled water, allowing the tundra mammal to spread out. Although the orange swimsuit he wore was the only clothe item, the ursine was decked out in quite a bit of bling: a pair of gold watches on either wrist–set to London, Moscow, Tokyo, and Zootopia time–thick banded diamond-encrusted gold rings on each of his fingers, enough gold chains hanging from his neck that he would leave Mr. T blushing, and a custom prescription pair of Costa Del Mare polarization and UV protection goggle sunglasses. The predator had a Cuban cigar held between his index and middle fingers that he would take an occasional puff from.

To either side of the hotel owner were his fellow Russian polar bears. To Kozlov's left and leaning back against the edge of pooled cold spring water was the retired Lieutenant First Class Maykl Silovoye. A former member of the now-defunct Spetsnaz Soviet Special Forces, the heavily muscled and visibly scarred polar bear was in similar attire to his host: the same orange swim-trunks that bore the logo of the Ice Palace and numerous pieces of jewelry, albeit to a much lesser extent. A multifunctional titanium military watch on his left wrist, a diamond stud in his left earlobe, a gold wedding band on his left ring finger, and a gold chain that had a trio of pendants: a gold cross, a silver cornicello, and his old steel military dog-tags. A trio of empty vodka bottles had piled up behind the animal while he had a fourth in his right hand; the mammal preferring to drink directly from it than a tiny glass.

Off to the resort owner's right was the other old school ursine individual, the highly-esteemed Captain Uilyam Zhelezo. The vacationing elder–but still solidly muscled–arctic ursine was an active member of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. He might not have seemed as imposing as the other two polar bears at first glance thanks to a belly that was far larger than his fellow Arctic animals', yet the faded tattoo on his right bicep spoke volumes. The sword and shield emblem that marked the polar bear was a memento of his days as a secret police-mammal of the USSR and a reminder of a time when his current office was known as the Committee for State Security. Or as the Capitalists Dogs–literal canine bureaucrats–referred to them: the KGB. He was choosing to remain silent as the other two talked business, a tactic made easier as he stuffed his face. A pile of fish-bones was steadily rising up behind him as a seal attendant kept coming over with plates of fresh fish for the hungry Russian servicemammal.

Fortunately, the ursine Uilyam arrived with was more than eager to fill in the silence. "I don't get it, Kholodno," the former Special Forces polar bear began as he motioned over to his fellow somewhat overweight ursine. "You have all this wealth and prestige in Zootopia. You followed and succeeded at the so-called, 'American Dream'. Why do you need us to send you some of our best animals?" He chuckled as he swirled the vodka he had inside of the half-empty bottle he held. "Granted, you are doing a fantastic job of kissing tail and I am likely to say yes but you have me curious as to your need for more muscle. You were the Derzhatel Obschaka for one of the largest Russkaya Mafiya in all the country. You have more than enough Bratok to cover your bases in Tundratown so why do you want to hire on my former comrades? I mean, we're older now. We're not likely to keep up with you cubs." He took another swig of his bottle before using the back of his left paw to wipe his muzzle. "We would rather sit on our asses while drinking and sharing old stories of glory than going back to our former ways."

His eyes narrowing behind the thick orange lenses of his special sunglasses, the businessman gazed over to the once proud soldier of mother Russia. "Because my men need training, comrade," the ursine adorned in a large amount of material wealth replied. "You might not be up to being the mammal in the field but you and your men have the knowledge and knowhow to train us up. To make us even tougher than we already are."

Crunching down on a mackerel, the Captain chewed thoroughly before pulling on the tail and slipping the fish's skeleton out of his muzzle. As the head of the aquatic creature came free from his lips with an audible pop, the KGB-turned-FSB threw the waste over his shoulder onto the steadily growing pile of bones as he interjected, "It sounds to me like you're getting ready to go to war, comrade Kholodno." The older bear's attention was firmly on the Bratva Boss as he reached over to the plate the marine mammal was balancing on his nose, the white-furred ursine with a fully gray muzzle added, "You were the one who said he was retiring from the, 'business' after your last Pakhan was killed. It was why the government let you and your Brotherhood leave the country in the first place."

Glaring down at the fish his elder was shaking at him, Kovloz raised his head to meet the older bear's steely gaze with his own. "I assure you Captain Zhelezo, that... person was no Pakhan to my family's syndicate. He killed my father, ignored the hierarchy and treated all of us as slaves instead of brothers. His death was the best thing that could have happened to the Kholodno Bratva and frankly, after he dragged our name through the mud my men and I were glad to retire from the family business to start something a bit more legitimate."

"Hard to call it legitimate when it was founded on stolen wealth," Uilyam pointed out but said no further as he brought the fish up to his lips and chomped down firmly. Holding the stare with the former mob boss as he chewed what had to have been his fortieth mackerel this hour, the Russian government official grasped the tail tightly only to snap it off. Making a show of his aggression by chomping down on the skeleton and swallowing it whole, the Federal Security Service agent told the supposedly retired mafia head, "Oh we know all about the frozen assets you've stored but frankly, since a number of that was taken was from the motherland's enemies we couldn't have cared less. The fact you gave us a considerable chunk of change on your way out made the government decided you and your people weren't our problem anymore, comrade Kholodno but I should warn you. If you insist on getting us involved you'll be a very sorry mammal."

"The captain speaks for himself of course," Maykl interjected as he held up his now empty glass bottle before turning about and settling it behind him with the others. His torso turning back about to face his fellow polar bears, the retired soldier continued, "My brothers-in-arms and I are already of a different mindset." He smiled gratefully at the female seal whom slid into the water with another bottle of vodka on her nose. Taking it and giving her a nod of his head in gratitude, the white-pelted ursine began to pull on the cork as he explained, "We are itching for action, even if it is trying to train some Braok into their title's namesake. We just want to know why." Pulling the cork free, he then raised his free paw in a quieting gesture. "And yes, I heard that you want us to make your men stronger but why?"

Taking his arms off of the ledge, Kozlov placed the lit cigar he'd been smoking into the silver ash-tray on the ledge behind him. The large polar predator then leaned forward into the cold spring. Bringing his paws together atop his abdomen, the male ursine explained, "Tundratown is suffering from an infestation. Some vermin have begun to settle in with the Italian minority of the District and have begun to make waves. They wish to restart their criminal empire and think me to be some grand mob boss standing in the way." He snorted at how asinine such a thought was. Sure, he may have run a heavy-handed loan office on the side but he was no criminal... in the States. "I'm tired... so very tired. My men want to live peace in return for the decade they spent in service to such a bastardly Pakhan while I wish to raise my son in a safe environment. This idiot, Don Grandé believes he needs bloodshed to be the, 'big boss' even when told we don't care if he wants to be some grand boss. We have enough of our own money and prestige that we couldn't care less about the infamy of being a mafia gang again!"

Nursing his bottle for a moment, Mr. Silovoye pulled the neck free from his lips for a moment to question, "Don Grandé? You mean to tell me the so-called, Mr. Big of Little Rodentia is the animal giving you trouble?" At the local's nod, the ex-Spetsnaz irritably snapped, "He is but a mere shrew! Just step on him and be done with it!"

"Easier said than done," the owner of the Snow Palace replied. "You see, that little shrew bastard succeeded in integrating himself within the Little Italy section of the district thanks to having purchased the Tundratown Limo-Service..." he snorted. "He's not only brought in mammals from outside of our frozen home that don't share our values but he has managed to gain a lot of local muscle as well. Mammals who would rather follow a quick buck then value the solidarity they had with their ursine brethren."

"Ah-HA! There we go," Maykl said with a chuckle. "You can't step on him because the vermin got some real muscle to protect him! No surprise, really. Mercenary work has always been plentiful in this world, no matter what people say." Taking a moment to drink from his vodka, the former Special Forces operative then tilted the bottle away from his lips and queried, "So you want some help training your men to take on some of your fellow polar bears? You provide us drinks and a comfortable place to sleep and that should be doable." He grinned deviously as he held up his glass container a bit higher. "Skoal!" He cheered before tilting his head back and drinking heartily as the female pinniped came back with yet another bottle for him.

Frowning as the retired Lieutenant First Class drank like a proverbial fish, the aged Russian agent turned his attention back to the mobster who had supposedly withdrawn from the life or organized crime. After a few moments of staring at the much taller polar bear, Uilyam replied in a guarded fashion, "Well the Spetsnaz are an officially retired branch of the government so they are free to make choices of their own accord..." he trailed off as he reached over to the offered tray of fish the seal, picking up a pair of the meaty refreshments in one massive paw. He then begrudgingly offered, "I will see what I can do to speed up things the clerical end of their travel and work visas to get them preferential processing if you wish."

Watching as the older polar bear then stuffed both fish in his impressive maw before crunching down in a rather ravenous if not forceful fashion, Kozlov nodded his head in return. "Spasibo," he thanked in their native tongue. "That would be appreciated, Captain Zhelezo. I can't tell you how much of a help that... will... be..." he trailed off as he saw a dark-furred female sable open the door to the private room. Recognizing her as one of his many employees, he polar bear breathed deeply. "Dalida..." he said the girl's name slowly in a careful fashion; it wouldn't do for his reputation to get mad at the help in front of important guests. "What have I told you? I did not want to be interrupted unless it was an—"

"Pardon Mr. Cold, but this is an emergency!" She said in a firm tone that brooked no room for argument as she made her way down to the stone path and to the cold spring. Walking around the ledge as quickly as she could without slipping into the waters, the mustelidae offered the cell phone to her boss. "Take it!"

Surprised at how adamant the Russian mustelidae was being with hime, the polar bear brought the small communications device to the side of his head. "Hello. Kozlov speaking..." he greeted in a neutral tone, unsure as to what was so important.

The ursine male got his answer when the familiar voice of Cherry, one of the Aysberg Sady Spa's best comfort vixens came over the line. "Boss!" The girl cried out frantically; the panic evident in her tone. "We're at Largo's Pizza in Little Italy! We're pinned down by Mr. Big's men! They're after Morris! We're holding them off but we won't last for much longer! Please send help!" His sat up straight as the call was cut short by a shriek and the sound of gunfire.

His eyes went wide behind the lenses of his glasses, the large polar bear sat in stunned silence for a moment. As his mind processed what he heard over the phone, his blood soon began to boil over–a dangerous thing for an Arctic animal–as he realized that the damned Arctic shrew had made a move sooner than expected. "Blyad!" The once cool business-mammal cursed out angrily. "Blyad, blyad, blyad, blyad, BLYAD!" He roared out at the top of his lungs as he slammed his clenched fist onto the ledge of the pool again and again in a tantrum, cracking the stone lining while completely obliterating the cell phone in his massive paw.

Needless to say, both visiting Russians were surprised by their fellow ursine's outburst. "Comrade Kholodno," Maykl spoke up as he carefully put the half-empty liquor bottle up on the ledge of the otherwise chilly hot spring with the numerous empty ones. "Is something the matter?" The former Soviet Special Forces soldier queried as he looked at the agitated state of his host. "If something happened, I wouldn't mind offering a paw," he said in all seriousness.

Although he said nothing, even the older FSB agent nodded his head in agreement with the other polar bear's sentiment. They may have all come from different walks of life in mother Russia but they were all other the motherland by blood and birth. If some mammal messed with one, they messed with all.

"Comrade Silovoye? Captain Zhelezo? I am sorry but something important has come up. Please. Feel free to enjoy the facilities..." he turned to the gray-furred woman that was an offshoot of the weasel species as he told them, "If you need anything else, be it more food or drink, just ask Dalida here." He said grimaced. "And apologies for your phone, my dear. Please attend to my guests while I handle this issue."

Nodding her head, the female sable nodded her head as she replied, "Understood, Mr. Cold." This wasn't the first phone she'd broken and she'd switched over to buying the cheap older models out of habits because of these outbursts. At least I got a few months out of this one, she thought as she picked up one of the towels that had been set aside for the gathered bears and offered it to the much, much larger mammal as she stepped out of the hot spring.

He didn't answer in words. He merely accepted the immense white sheet of terrycloth the small carnivore was offering him. Taking a moment to rub it roughly across his lower torso to soak up as much of the water as he could, the large arctic mammal then wrapped it around his waist and took off like a bat out of hell through the doors of the private spring and into the main foyer of the Iceberg Gardens Spa. His eyes were drawn to the pair of polar bear guards that were stationed on duty in case one of the customers got fresh with the staff and shouted to them, "MEN! OVER HERE NOW!"

Straightening up at hearing their boss call for them, the pair of suited individuals left their posts as they rushed over to the predator that stood a solid head taller than them. Coming to a stop, the pair brought their right pars to the side of their scalps and just above the eyebrows as they saluted him in a militaristic fashion. "Privetstvuyu, Autoritet Kholodno!" The pair hailed their boss.

Not having time for the usual respect for the chain of command let alone pleasantries, the white-pelted ursine got right down to it. "Pavel," he said the name of the bear on the right, who stiffened up. "Isaak," he then acknowledged the name of the Arctic predator on the left. "Go see Vinsent immediately and put together a support group for him. I need you to get to Largo's Pizza!" And the confusion on their faces, he snapped, "MY SON IS IN DANGER!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The restaurant blurred around Carmeltia as she rode the surging wave of adrenaline while she weaved about the dining area of Largo's Pizza; her right hand firmly grasping her fellow red fox by the wrist as they ducked and dodged about tables to avoid getting killed. The constant booming explosions of gun barrels firing off echoed in her ears while she felt every bead of sweat either roll down her forehead or fly off her hair as she did her best to evade getting either Nick or herself shot. The only things keeping them from being turned into pelts was her physical limits and her desire to survive.

Oh, she had been in fire fights before... too many to count if she were honest with herself. But this was the first time she was taken off guard; caught unarmed. Without a way to properly defend herself from a distance, the Hispanic vulpine's heart pounded inside her ears, the beat matching the wild pace of her feet slamming against the floor as she raced over the restaurant for safety. She, as a fox, may have been the product of four billion years of evolutionary success but she was still an animal deep down, and this was the fight or flight instinct at its purest form.

Wilde wasn't doing too well either. The fact he was keeping up with her was testament to his desire to not die! The male red fox would be the first to admit he was nowhere near the lovely Officer Fox's physical capability but he was certainly able to match the taller vulpine in the pace she set even as his muscles ached as he pushed them harder than ever before. Sweat poured down his forehead, causing his short hair to cling to his scalp as his throat ached for much needed air. Not even the delicious rush of the cold wind that blew in from outside through the broken glass of the shot-up windows could do anything to cool him down.

The polar bear in blue-accented clothes snarled in aggravation as the he continued to fire off his handgun; his trigger finger causing his weapon to let off empty clicks as he ran out of rounds. Growling, he did his best to open the chamber and begin reloading again quickly, all the while his eyes darted about for their target who had gone missing in the chaos. It wasn't supposed to be like this! This should have been a simple in and out! Now Kevin went off the handle and they needed to get that kid or the boss was going to have a shit hemorrhage over them causing such a disturbance without result. "MICHAEL!" He shouted to his fellow thug; the one who's ebony uniform was colored with orange crown logo and pipelining. "FIND THE KID!"

"ON IT!" The one who had been standing guard by the emergency exist in the back yelled as he fired a few shots to get people to stay down while he began looking around. "Come on out, kid! We'll leave if you just come quietly, no one needs to get hurt."

"YER GONNA DIE, WILDE!" Kevin shouted as the he took some more pot-shots at the fleeing vulpine as the pair of no good pelts broke for another cover.

"...Except him," the orange-eyed polar bear with a diamond stud in his left ear murmured as he made his way over to the booth the group had been at. He grasped at the edge of the table with a free hand and pulled it away roughly... gritting his teeth and snarling as he saw that it had been abandoned. He raised his head high, knowing they were still somewhere in the restaurant upon seeing the stillness of the doors to the main entrance and the emergency exit. "Come out, kid! Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Whimpering, the cub was doing his best to quietly crawl underneath tables, trying his hardest to stay out of view as Cherry and uncle Finnick flanked him. The pair of vulpines, both polar and desert, were aiding the target of this attack to make the right moves to stay out of range of the mean men who wanted to take him away. A paw quickly rubbing is left shoulder, the youngest of the vixen triplets whispered to the boy, "It's okay, sweety. Just keep your head down and stay quiet. It's a big place. We keep moving."

Unfortunately, while the others were able to use the furniture for cover, the two out in the open and being gunned down by Mafioso ursine were having a much harder time of things. As a bullet managed to fray the left side of his shirt's collar, Nicholas's eyes went wide; his heart skipping a heat from just how close that shot managed to hit. An inch more to the right and it would have blown out his jugular. "You got a plan!?" He managed to gasp out to his fellow vulpine as they both took a leap over the back of a booth bench while more lead went flying around them.

"Yeah! Try not to die!" She hissed back at him as she tugged firmly on his arm. She ignored his yelp as she managed to get him out of the line of fire that much quicker. "Only other plan I've got requires sharp pointy things to throw at them and I don't think any of us have those."

"What about the one in your hand?" He hissed back as he firmly tugged his wrist free form her grasp. He growled in pain as he rotated his arm in his socket, feeling like the limb had been pulled free from his shoulder.

A deep sigh escaped the Hispanic vixen's throat. "Butter knife," she explained. "I'm not good with aiming throwing weapons to begin with so if I'm to do any damage with this puny little thing, I need to get in close!" Her ear then twitched as her eyes caught sight of a possibly useful item–peculiar to see one in this place but she wasn't about to complain! Turning about to face the pawpsicle hustler once more, the off-duty ZPD officer firmly slapped the utensil she'd been carrying around into the palm of his paw. "Nick, when the shots quiet down, I need you to throw this at the closest mammal and hit the deck."

Taking a moment to gaze down at the small piece of silverware in his grip, the male red fox raised his head. Staring into her chocolate orbs with his own emerald eyes, he heatedly cried, "You want me to do what!?" Sure, it was true that he had tried some crazy plans in his day to make a buck, but he never did anything that had a less than a fifty-percent chance of success and this was about twelve-percent of a plan at best!

A frown pulling across her muzzle, the policewoman told him, "Please! Just do it, Wilde. I've got a plan but I need you to trust me!" Her gaze softening, she calmly asked him in a calmer manner, "Do you trust me?"

Considering such for a moment, Nick relented as he nodded his head. Yes, he knew could trust her. He just hoped that this would work out. The last thing he needed was a bullet in his butt or worse! So turning away from the woman, his triangular ears twitched wildly as he listened for shots; and effectively heard as the wood of the bench that currently gave them cover begin to give way as the bullets splintered it. When he heard only one gun going off, he dodged out to the left of the booth and out into the open. Coming to stand on his feet, the canid male shouted the one thing he could think of that would piss them off more than anything. So taking a deep breath, he chucked the knife at the direction of the closet bear as he screamed, "KEVIN! IF YOU THINK IT'S BAD YOUR SISTER-IN-LAW IS A WHORE, THEN YOU SHOULD ALL TELL YOUR MOTHERS TO QUIT THE HABIT!"

The knife... mere came clattering down on the ground a mere foot and a half in front of Wilde, the measly distance it attained a testament to his weak and girly arms that came from a lifetime of both minimal exercise and lack of eating right. Fortunately, the sheer venom in his words did a far better job at stunning the quartet of ursine goons than the sight of a flying butter knife ever could.

Needless to say though, when they finally reacted it was with explosive results. "WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT OUR MOTHERS!?" Kevin roared out as he finished reloading his own weapon. Staring at the direction of the small vulpine with golden eyes that were now ringed with practically bursting angry red arteries, he screamed, "THAT'S IT! I'M GOING TO HAVE SOME NICE FOX-SKIN SLIPPERS TO WEAR AROUND THE HOUSE AFTER THIS!"

Nick whimpered as he ducked back down, while the bears clasping the now loaded chambers of their firearms back into place one by one. "Carm, they're really pissed now," he murmured as he watched all guns begin to train on him. His ears flattening about against his skull as his emerald eyes widened, the pawpsicle hustler would have sworn his life was flashing before his eyes. His youth... the loss of his father... the specism he faced growing up... all the work... all the money... all the ex-girlfriends...

So many ex-girlfriends...

Wow, I was a real man-whore, he thought bitterly as he stared down the four distinct barrels. From where they were placed around the restaurant there was no way to dodge. This could have been it.

Before the male vulpine went into a long goodnight, a familiar female voice suddenly let loose a battle-cry. Coming into view, Carmelita jumped onto the top of a seating bench's wooden backrest before she launched herself off from it. The vixen practically tucked her body into a fetal position as she went spinning rapidly over and under as her hands held something long, red, and cylindrical. Nicholas came to realize it was a fire extinguisher as soon as it slowed down enough for him to get a good look.

Coincidentally, it slowed down when the Latina policewoman brought it slamming down on the face of Kevin with an audible crunch; the polar bear's pupils dilating to pin-pricks as his nose practically exploded into a gusher of blood. The hired muscle of Mr. Big dropped his weapon and immediately fell to the ground, holding his face in his massive paws and wailing hysterically at the unbearable pain he felt surging through his muzzle.

Honestly, the carnivorous canid in a Hawaiian shirt was most surprised to see a fire extinguisher of all things in Tundratown, but he supposed in a restaurant they would need such for kitchen fires at the very least. But he wasn't going to complain about it, no sir! Especially when the vixen landed on her feet and then went spinning on the heels of her boots, trying to put as much inertia into the swing as she could...

*CLANG*!

"AAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGH!" Leo cried out in agony as he fell over as well. The base of the dented metal container had stuck his knee dead center and he was feeling it! As the large polar predator fell to his side, he too ended up releasing his gun as he had to use both paws to grasp the throbbing muscle and tendons that connected his kneecap to the rest of his leg.

Seeing two of his men drop like flies, the leader of this surprisingly failing mission became enraged. "MICHAEL! WHERE'S THE KID!?" Raymond screamed as he turned about to hover over Carmelita with his superior height. "You! After I'm done with you, you're going to be begging me to kill you!" Especially with all the ideas he had for what one could do to a, 'sultry vixen'.

"I'M LOOKIN', I'M LOOKIN'!" The other polar bear growled as he turned from the male fox and just started grabbing tables and lifting them off the ground before throwing them towards the broken windows and into the streets in an effort to destroy whatever hiding places existed for the Kozlov's brat. This was getting out of hand and with all the gunshots the group had fired off, they needed to run before the cops–or worse–showed up.

Responding with a grunt of annoyance, the polar bear in the blue-highlighted tracksuit fully turned his body about towards the direction of the female fox that was causing him so much trouble... only to find she was no longer standing there. The mafia muscle turned left and right, aiming with his gun as he did, searching for wherever she could have gone.

The white-pelted ursine found her standing beside the curled up form of Kevin as the polar bear appeared to be trying to keep his face together. The Latina vulpine was holding the RF 83 in both her hands, the back of the much larger firearm's handle pressed against her abdomen to steady it as she took aim.

"FANCULO!" Raymond screamed as he ended up throwing himself backwards to avoid the blast she let off in return; crashing into and breaking apart one of the tables as he did so from his massive body. Fortunately for Carmelita, he didn't see that in trying to use a firearm considerably larger than what she was used to, that she ended up getting thrown to her butt as well.

"What the hell was that!?" Nick yelled, trying to hear himself over the ringing in his ears. "No, I mean seriously! Just what IS THAT!?" What the hell was she thinking, using a weapon that she couldn't possibly handle properly?

Carmelita snorted. "So what if it's built for a polar bear, Nick?" She said, making him realize that despite being a handgun, it looked like he was holding an oddly shaped shotgun against her. The woman then grunted as she got herself back into a sitting position and took a stance to brace herself once more as she aimed back at the polar bear adorned with an orange-accented track uniform, putting them at a stalemate. "I've handled larger weapons than this!"

Looking back and forth between the gun in both her paws and the one settled in the right hand of the much larger predator, Wilde's eyes widening to their maximum potential as his tail went completely limp. The male fox not only realized that she wasn't kidding him but that he had FOUR of those things aimed on him earlier. Knowing how close to death one was and how badly it could have been was a sobering truth to accept and he didn't argue with her on the matter further.

Meanwhile, Michael had yet to notice the group's head had been knocked back as he searched fervently for the son of their boss's enemy. "Come on out, little bear. We'll all leave here in one piece if you do~oooo," the last white-pelted ursine sing-songed as he decided the fastest way to find the brat was to kick over tables and booths. "If you would have come along quietly, this place wouldn't be in shambles. Really, it's your fault, so just come along now."

Eyes narrowing angrily as she realized one of the thugs was still after the child, Carmelita's muzzle pulled back in a frown. "Where do you think you're going, buddy!?" She snapped at him as she hefted the Italian .38 Special and took aim at him.

His left eat twitching as it picked up the sound of a firearm's hammer being cocked, the large ursine snorted. "Look, lady... I don't have time for this," he said in all seriousness. "Despite how the others went off half-cocked, you're not even an issue!" He hissed as he pushed aside yet another table. "Sure, you've showed off a surprising amount of skill but we're still bigger and stronger. Even with a gun, you're a piss-poor shot. It's too big for you. Just drop it and run and maybe, if you never show your worthless hide around Tundratown again, I'll talk the others into forgetting about you as well," Michael promised as he smacked another table out of the way to reveal... an Arctic vixen?

"Uh... hello?" The little lady chirruped as she raised her right paw and waved. "Lovely weather we're having, aren't we?" She asked as sweetly as she could, doing her best to distract the man while her Finny kept the little guy moving. "Some real nice snow out there!"

Twitching, the polar bear gave the tiny female fox a curt nod. "Yes. Now move aside! I would rather not hurt anyone if I can help it." Unlike his fellows, he wasn't stupid. Maiming or killing someone was far worse than simply tearing up a private business. At worst, he'd have to pay for repairs and/or fix it himself. Actually physically harming another animal if not outright killing them? Well, that was time in the slammer he didn't want to deal with!

The Arctic vixen blinked her bright blue eyes. "Um... about that? I'll have to give you a response of, 'no'." She offered in a firm voice. "How about I just sit here and you go around me~eee!?" She cried out as he gave her a swift kick with his foot, sending her rolling up and over a number of times to get her out of his path.

Seeing poor Cherry get treated as a kickball made her blood boil. "HEY!" Inspector Fox snapped as she raised the Franchi RF 83 higher, making sure she targeted the man's head. "If you think I'm going to let you get away with that..."

A deep chuckle reverberated in Michael's throat. "You will..." he murmured as he gazed over to and then past her. A most devious grin blossomed across his muzzle before he added in a haughty voice, "Or else Raymond is going to blow Wilde to pieces."

Her eyes widening at those words, the vixen spun about only to see that, yes, the Arctic ursine who seemed to be leading the group was upright in a sitting position, her friend firmly caught in the grasp of his left paw as the polar predator had the gun in his other hand pressed firmly against the vulpine's scalp. "Carm...?" Nick squeaked out, gritting his teeth as he could feel the barrel of the firearm grinding into his skull.

The orange eyed mafia muscle smirked in a haughty manner as he went back to looking for the cub. "See now? You just be a good girl, let us find the brat and you can all leave."

Hearing that, the white-pelted ursine with a gold dollar sign necklace snapped, "What do you mean we're letting them leave! After what they did to my brother, I'm going to—"

"Shut up, Raymond! We don't need any more problems!" Michael firmly stated, interrupted his fellow thug. "Yes, I know they wronged us but let's finish what we started first! Then we can talk about putting thieving foxes and slut vixens in their place, okay?" He asked in a bit of a patronizing manner. He didn't really think his cousin would be able to handle that Latin spitfire anyway. Though it might be amusing to watch him try, he thought as he grabbed another table.

However, before the search could truly continue unimpeded, there was a jingle of a bell as the entrance's door opened once more. Both polar bears turned about at the same time Carmelita raised her head. It was yet another polar bear, albeit one that was smartly dressed in a black silk jacket and pressed pants combo with a fine bright green turtle neck. The Arctic predator had an odd look to him thanks to the obvious burn along his right eye that turned the eyebrow and top eyelid into a taut, melted mess that was only partially hidden by the strewn lengthy strands of hair that were combed over it.

What really stood out about him, however, was the fact the muscular mammal entered the establishment carrying an AK-47 with a 6H2 bayonet on the end of it. A critical... fashion choice... that was mimicked by the literal dozen white-furred ursine men that entered the establishment after him; the numerous polar bears making a literal wall of angry winter predators and rapid-fire weaponry.

Needless to say, despite being a seasoned officer of the law, the orange-pelted vixen's jaw dropped. The sheer amount of heavy firepower that was on display was unnerving. The only reason she had any hope for her situation was that the other white-pelted bears in track suits and the one with a busted knee were staring with wide-eyes full of fear.

Stepping forward from his fellows, the visibly scarred and nicely suited polar predator gazed back and forth with his viridian gaze. "Morris!" He called out in a firm tone inside of the restaurant. "You can come out now!"

The tablecloth of one of the few remaining tables flipped up slightly from the bottom, the young polar bear peeking out. His fearful expression broke out into one of sheer relief as he chirruped, "Mr. Vinsent!"

"Ah, Morris! There you are!" Vinsent smiled and then he pointed his weapon at the pair bears–that still posed a possible threat–whom were responsible breaking up the place. "Now, for you two," he said in a firm voice as he moved himself between the child and Mr. Big's goons. "As it appears that no one truly got hurt, I'll be nice and let you exit this formerly fine establishment," his left eye narrowed in a glare. "But if you don't leave in the next five seconds, there's going to be a new rug in my place!" He said threateningly.

The lead of the gathered mafia mob cringed as he turned about to face the man, handgun in one paw and the small red fox in the other. "Can we at least take this useless pelt with us?" He asked hopefully. It wasn't much but if the boss had someone to take his frustration out on, he wouldn't do it to them!

His eyes widening at that comment, the little boy knew he had to act. Running up to the large polar bear with a Russian assault rifle, the young cub tugged on the hem of his black jacket. "Please, Mr. Vinsent! Don't let them take Uncle Nicky! They're gonna hurt him!"

Nodding his head rapidly, the crimson-pelted canid agreed, "Yeah, Mr. Vinsent! Don't let them take the boy's favorite Uncle Nicky! They're gonna h~URK!" He garbled out as the ursine in the track-suit clenched his impressive paw tightly around him.

Raising the barrel of his firearm, the head of Mr. Kohlodno's hotel security didn't need to be told twice... even though he actually had been. "I regret to inform you, comrade... that the young master wishes you to release the fox."

Raising one of her navy blue eyebrows, the vixen's mind was now working a mile a minute as she processed that bit of information. Her jaw moving silently as she mouthed the phrase, 'young master'. She looked towards Wilde, hoping to get some elaboration from her fellow red fox, only to realize that he couldn't get any air into his lungs at the moment from how firmly Raymond was putting the squeeze on him.

"Tsk..." the mafia polar bear growled before he finally dropped the vulpine hustler onto his rear. "Fine!" He growled as he stood up, glaring down at the tiny canid conman. "But for the record, Wilde: I ever see your sorry hide in Tundratown again, I'm going to be skinning you alive!" He looked at Carmelita and narrowed his steely blue eyes at her. "And if you show up here for any reason, well... let's just say that I'll be having the time of my life!" He said in a rather lewd manner. He chuckled at the glare she returned in response.

Vinsent coughed softly to get the ill-mannered goon's attention. "If you're done making your hollow, meaningless threats then I suggest you, your pal, your two injured friends, and any other buddies you have hiding around here get out head to a doctor's... or not." He smirked. "Really, it's not my business if you live or die. I merely prefer you not expire in Mr. Largo's fine restaurant. Word of dead bodies being found on the premises is just bad for business."

Turning to glare at the male mammal with the scarred face, Raymond snorted in disgust as he made his way over to Kevin. He aided Michael in pulling their fellow Arctic animal to his feet; the polar bear's white hands stained a solid red with his own blood. It was obvious that the vixen had done quite a number on his face with the expert use of speed and a fire extinguisher. As he made his way past the leader of this contingent of Russian rubes, the ursine in black track-suit with blue pin-stripes and crown emblem on the chest promised, "This isn't over. Little Italy is Mr. Big's territory, you Commie bastard!"

The facial-scarred ursine just gave a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders. "Whatever you say, Fascist fuck," he replied as the two least injured bears helped their fellow out, while the one in a track uniform with green accents hobbled out on his own to the white limousine parked out front, a visible limp to his stride as he did his best to gingerly drag his left leg.

Ignoring the pissing contest between two men of rival factions of organized crime, Carmelita made her way over to her fellow red fox. Kneeling beside him to stabilize his sitting position, the Hispanic vulpine quietly asked, "Nicholas... how're you holding up?"

Shaking his head a few times as he tried to clear the muddled thoughts that filled his mind, the male fox turned his gaze to look over to the lovely Latina lady. His emerald eyes meeting her chocolate orbs, he merely stared in those depths for as long as he could manage before mustering the courage to suggest, "We really need to renegotiate my hazard pay..."

Although she scoffed at such a response when it came to his safety, the Hispanic woman did feel a bit of relief as Wilde seemed to be his usual self. "If you can say that, then you're doing okay," she quipped as she looked at their surroundings. Shaking her head, the woman let off a small, depressed sigh. "What a mess." And all she wanted was to have a freaking pizza, not get caught up in a gang-war for crying out loud! Why wouldn't they give peace a chance?

Or more importantly pizza for that matter!?

"Come on, Wilde. Take my hand..." she said as she offered him her paw. They needed to get out before anything else happened. If the police showed up, she doubted Chief Bogo would take her presence at the scene of a crime all that well after he told her she was suspended.

Looking at the woman's extended mitt, the canid conman gratefully took it. "Thank you, Carm," he replied as he was able to stand up again with her aide. Taking his hand back from hers, the male vulpine brought both paws behind him and pressed down on the base of his spine just above the base of his tail as he bent backwards slightly, getting the vertebrae in his back to crack. "Good Gouda, I thought I was a goner..." he murmured.

Despite the seriousness of the situation going on around her, the off-duty policewoman couldn't help but smirk a little. "Personally, I thought you were going to be a goner too. And I don't mean when that asshole managed to grab you either." At the confused look he gave her, the Latina vulpine explained, "Seriously, Nicholas. That throw was pathetic."

He grimaced and slouched at hearing that. "I have next to no muscles in my arms or legs," he admitted. "It's why I try to avoid situations like this." It certainly didn't help that he never had a dad to play catch with growing up either, but he wasn't about to volunteer that information. He didn't want to coax the woman into trying to pry into his personal life.

Frowning slightly, the woman nodded her head in acceptance. After a bit more consideration about what was going n, the Hispanic vixen replied, "I understand. You're the sort that depends on his brain and wits rather than his physical attributes."

"That's not entirely true," the con-mammal was quick to argue. At her curious expression, he explained, "I do have my boyish good looks to fall back on now and again." He batted his eyes at her in a manner he thought was charming.

Inspector Fox merely chuckled at her fellow fox's antics. "I swear, Wilde... you are going to be the death of me," the woman said as she shook her head good-naturedly. "Now come on. Let's get out of here. I think you and Finnick had had more than enough adventure for one day." At the look he gave her, she offered, "I'll cook you guys something."

Granted, she wasn't the best chef, but the male vulpine didn't need to know that.

Mulling over that for a moment, Nick would have responded... except for the fact the large polar bear intervened. "I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?" Vinsent questioned curiously as he gazed down at the pair of much smaller predators.

"Not really... but after today?" Carmelita sighed and shook her head. "This is the second shootout I've been in today! I'm going to need at least a couple days of rest to recover from this." It was almost ironic that she did have such an opportunity coming her way thanks to the machinations of the damned City Council.

That made the eyebrow of the man's good eye rise in curiosity. "Second?" Vinsent blinked his left eye before leaning in to get a close look at her. "...You're that new cop, aren't you? The one that took down the thug that tried to rob that convenience store in Downtown earlier today, yes?"

Blinking her bright brown eyes once, twice, the vixen hesitantly nodded her head. "...Yes..." she answered cautiously. She tensed a little as the man chuckled. It was a deep baritone that reverberated within the large male ursine's chest. "What? What's so funny about that?"

"Nothing, Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox," he replied, surprising the woman as he not only used her full name but addressed her by her proper Interpol rank. "This is... merely a most fortuitous circumstance. The boss has been interested in making contact with you since he heard about the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. You see, he wished to confirm some things."

Needless to say, such a vague response was setting off all kinds of warning bells in the back of the orange-pelted vixen's head. "...I appreciate the offer but I do believe I need to attend to my friends after this debacle. Perhaps another time," she replied in as diplomatic a manner as possible while she placed her left arm over the male red fox's shoulders...

...Only to come to a stop as the finely-dressed Arctic animal moved the bayonet of his assault rifle before them, barring their path. "I am sorry, Inspector Fox... but that wasn't a request."

Bringing her right hand up to her face, Carmelita rubbed her forehead in growing irritation. She hated this but she was not about to risk the safety of her friend. "One condition," she stated firmly. "You make sure everyone here gets home safely and I'll agree to meet with your boss."

"Carm?" Nick began quietly as stared at her in shock. There was no way was she thinking...

As if sensing her friend's distress, the Latina vixen assured him, "I said I would meet with him. Nothing else."

The scarred polar bear nodded his head. "Fair enough, I suppose." Vinsent turned his head over his right shoulder to look towards his men. "We can make sure that everyone gets to leave without worry." If that was all it took to get her to see his boss, he wasn't going to complain.

Letting off a sigh of defeat, the female red fox lowered her head. She hated doing this but she was out-gunned, out-numbered, defenseless, exhausted, and people she cared about were at risk. If she helped them get away safely, whatever happened would be worth it.

Seeing the look of utter defeat on the vulpine woman's lovely features, it was then that Nick did something he normally wasn't known for. He stood up for the little guy. "Hey now. Vinsent... I know it's been awhile but... can I go with her?" He motioned over to the Arctic vixens whom were being looked over by some of the Russian mafia soldiers. "My pal Finnick is the boyfriend to Cherry of Kozlov's Angels so I doubt he'd be leaving them anytime soon. Not to mention I wish to speak with the boss as well. I want to be there for my friend and it's..." he paused as he gathered his nerve. "It's been awhile since Mr. Cold and I had a face-to-face."

That immediately caught the Hispanic policewoman's attention; her head snapping towards the direction of her fellow red fox so fast that it actually made the length of her navy blue tresses fly over her shoulder. "Nick?" She said his name in a bewildered tone. What did he have to do with a known crime boss!?

Gazing down at the male fox for a moment, the head of security for the Snow Palace Resort finally nodded his head in acceptance. "Fair enough. Now come. Those Italian scrubs will have left by now and we have rides waiting out front."

"Lead the way then," Nick replied with more bravado in his voice than he actually felt. After all, he was a mammal that lived by the motto, 'never let them see you sweat'. With all the lovely vixen had done for him this day alone, the least he could do was man up and try to be the brave one for once... or at least appear to be such.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the '51 Ford Bunny-Built pickup drove past the black-painted iron gates of the Zootopia Police Academy, Judy's bright violet eyes were awash with excitement. The gray-furred lagomorph deeply drank in the sight of the immense grass fields and red brick buildings that sprawled into the horizon with a sense of wonderment. Yes, it was a very utilitarian setup to be sure but one that held the promise of a better future for her... and in turn would allow her to make a better future for all animals.

"It's bigger than I could have imagined," she finally said in complete awe. She began leaning over the side of the wood-wall of the vehicle's flatbed to get a better look. Yet, even as she did so, the little lapin lady was mindful to only lean out as far as she could before she got to the point of risking getting herself ejected from the bumpy ride. Seeing what happened to poor Ms. Bellwether on the way up to Zootopia had been a big reminder of riding safely in the back.

Although she hadn't been meaning to get a response to her statement, the sheep sitting beside her helpfully supplied, "Of course it is. It was designed for much larger mammals in mind. You can fit a bunny into an establishment built for an elephant but you can't get a pachyderm into a rabbit's burrow."

Bringing her right hand up behind her, Judy let off a giggle as she rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I suppose that makes sense." Really, she couldn't imagine the amount of grease that would be needed to get an elephant in or out of a rabbit burrow.

Nodding her head, the sheep was more than happy to add, "Even better, this place has a phone! We can get you settled and I can get place a call to City Hall to procure a ride!" The glee in her voice was prevalent to anyone in ear-shot. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate all the Hopps family did for her while she was stuck out in the Burrows, heaven's no! But now that she was technically within Zootopia city limits, she could call upon professional help.

Preferably professional enough to get her home without asking her, 'what's that smell'...

"Oh you don't need worry about that," the energetic lapin lady replied. "My parents would be more than happy to give you a ride home, right dad?" She chirruped as she happily volunteered her parents' aid.

"Er... about that, honey-bunch..." Stu called out from the side window. "While we always believe in helping our fellow mammal, we don't want to leave all two-hundred and seventy-six of your brothers and sisters alone for too long. We can only trust the rest of the elder kits to make sure the younger ones don't cause problems for only so long." He looked a little ashamed at admitting that. "We truly mean no offense to you, Miss Bellwether. We appreciate everything you've done for our daughter but the Academy is as far as we can go. We already have quite the drive back to deal with, as is."

"Terribly sorry," Bonnie agreed. "But don't worry. If you ever find yourself in Bunnyburrow again, know that there will be a friendly face there to give you a helping paw if you need it!" She promised the female bovidae that had aided their daughter in getting this far with her dream... a dream that made both her husband and the motherly rabbit herself nervous to see their little girl attempt to fulfill.

Bellwether merely waved them off. "No problem, really!" She chirruped sweetly. Honestly, she would much prefer actual cushioned seats to the wooden flatbed of a pickup truck anyway. "It's like I said: I can just call someone to take me home. Besides, I can just charge it to the city!" She said gleefully. Granted, she was going to make sure the bill went directly to Mayor Lionheart but hey! He was still part of the city, right?

That was an obvious relief to the married couple. "I'm glad to see you being so understanding about this," Bonnie replied as Stu drove the vehicle up to the front of the fine establishment that created the future forces of the Zootopia Police Department. "Again, we appreciate everything you've done for our little Judy!"

Nodding his head in agreement, the portly male rabbit pulled the gearshift into the parking gear as he added, "Oh yes! Jude the Dude has wanted to be a police officer since she was the tiniest little thing!" Leaving the motor of the work vehicle running, the man opened his door and got out from the car. Coming around to the back of the pickup, he told his daughter, "C'mon, Judy! Toss your old man your stuff. I can catch it!" He held out his arms, his fingers clenching rapidly for emphasis.

Smiling wide at how happy her father was for her, the young woman nodded her head and lifted her suitcase up with both her hands. "Catch!" She chirruped before tossing her bag to him. Her long ears fell back behind her head, the female rabbit she winced when her father caught it and yelled in surprise; the girl's father unable to handle the bag. As he ended up falling backwards and landing flat on his posterior, the girl apologized, "Sorry!"

Cringing a little at the stinging sensation that coursed through his bum, the older rabbit replied, "Don't worry, Jude! Your dad is okay! I've caught bushels of berries heavier than this! I'll be all right!" He grunted as he squirmed underneath the suitcase, fighting the baggage that had him otherwise pinned.

Raising an eyebrow, the young bunny got down from the back of the truck on her own before carefully broaching her father's safety with the inquiry of, "Dad? Do you need a paw?"

The man firmly shook his head in a negative fashion. "Nope! I'm fine! No need to worry about me!" He chuckled nervously as he tried to pull himself free from the sheer weight of his daughter's luggage. "Criminy, what does she have in here, rock collection?" He muttered under his breath as he tried to save face.

Climbing out the back of the vehicle, Bellwether took a moment to adjust her glasses as she blinked her eyes few times. Gazing over him for a moment, the lamb couldn't help but tell Judy as an aside, "I suspect that your father didn't brace himself properly is all."

Nodding her head, the female rabbit let off a small sigh. "Right..." she murmured. "Otherwise it's just clothes, some hygiene products, and a few other necessities."

"Oh for heaven's sake, Stu! You really need to be more careful," the lapin mother stated as she got out of the passenger's side of the car's cab. Coming up to stand beside her spouse, the lovely rabbit looked over her downed husband and frowned. "Did you throw your trick knee out again?"

The man let off a little huff of indignation. "Of course not, Bon-Bon! My knee is fine!" The male rabbit insisted as he kicked out his left leg for emphasis.

*Crick*!

"...Eee~eeeeeeeeeeeeee..."

Closing her eyes, the older female rabbit shook her head in near-disbelief as she let off a small sigh of exasperation. "And now we have to see the doctor..." she said in complete dismay.

"There's an on-site infirmary," a new voice spoke up, causing the trio of women surrounding the downed man by the vehicle to raise their heads. They caught sight of a large polar bear coming down the steps of the main hall and towards them. "But I have to ask: what the heck are you all doing here? This is private property!" She had seen the pickup truck from the window of her office and wanted to know what the heck was going on.

Recognizing the woman in ZPA sweat shirt and pants, baseball cap, and whistle necklace, the sheep managed to smile in relief. "Ah! Director Fuchsia! It's me! Assistant Mayor Bellwether!" She waved her cloven hooved hand at the ursine as she closed the distance between them to catch the large predator's attention. "Would you please be kind enough to lend us a paw?"

Getting even closer to the group, the woman looked over the gathered mammals with a genuinely curious stare. While she was surprised to see the bovidae woman in such a state, it was without a doubt Mayor Lionheart's Aid. "Ah! It's quite a surprise to see you out here, Assistant Mayor!" She had to take another gaze over the group before asking, "But why do you all look like you stepped out of a rerun of, 'Green Acres'?"

"A pleasant drive through the country side," Stu intoned, wincing as his knee flared up from trying to turn his body to look up at the much taller woman. "And my knee can't take much more of i~iiiiit..." he squealed out that last word.

Staring down at the male rabbit in obvious distress for a moment, the large predatory woman then turned her attention back to Bellwether for clarification on what he told her; a black eyebrow rising up to be hidden beneath the brim of her cap.

Chuckling nervously, Dawn decided to get to the point. "Well, 'Coach'... as for why we're here I would like to introduce you to Judith! Judith Hopps!" She then turned to said rabbit and told her, "Judith, this is Coach Chelsea Fuchsia, the Director of the Zootopia Police Academy."

"Hi!" The little lapin cutie chirruped sweetly as she gazed up at the much taller polar bear. "It's nice to meet you, Miss! Please, call me Judy!" She held out her hand in greeting.

Offering the obviously confused ursine woman a toothy smile, the sheep helpfully explained, "She's here as part of Mayor Lionheart's new Mammal Inclusion Initiative!"

Needless to say, the response the female predator gave was not one that any of them expected. "Oh for fuck's sake! You have GOT to be shitting me!" Motioning to the violet-eyed lapin with a wave of her massive paw, the polar bear snapped, "Look at her! SHE'S A BUNNY!"

That made the little lapin lady twitch in irritation before she leaned her head back to gaze up at the much taller animal. "And what's your point?" Judy asked, frowning at the large mammal, challenging her reasoning as to why the bear would be upset about her wanting to become a police officer.

The challenge was accepted. "You're tiny!" The Academy Instructor stated firmly. "You're weak! And worst of all? You're cute! There is no way in hell you have what it takes to even make the cut! All paperwork has to be approved and physical check-ups administered. Even with the Initiative going on, I can already tell that you do NOT make the grade when it comes to the secondary aspect!"

Chuckling nervously, Ms. Bellwether decided to try and cut in before things went further South by quickly interjecting, "Uh, excuse me, Ms. Fuchsia?" When the white-pelted predator turned her head to the left to gaze down at her, the petite sheep explained, "Ms. Hopps here was given pre-approved papers to fill out. Paperwork, which I might add, is already in the mail."

Blinking her eyes once, twice, the large ursine just stared down at the small wool-covered woman. "...That is a load of bullshit," she finally replied. Speaking of which, the Assistant Mayor kind of smelled like such too. "If that's true, then fine... whatever. I'll put her through the ringer like I do all recruits. But first things, first! YOU!" She made her way over to the male rabbit and bent over, taking the suitcase off of him. "We're getting you to the infirmary! Nurse Holstein should be able to do something for you."

Taking a deep breath now that he had the luggage off of him, the patriarch of the Hopps family titled his head back to look up at his butch savior. "Thuh... thank you," Stu replied with grimace. Oh boy howdy, it sure as the hoo-ha-hey wasn't going to be fun to get around on a bum leg with all of his kids around.

Although the eldest daughter of the Hopps family was more than a little annoyed at both the woman's firm dismissal of her ability and her blatant use of the C-word–only rabbits were allowed to call each other that–the petite bunny did appreciate her looking past her prejudices enough to help out her father. "Thank you, Coach Fuchsia," she said gratefully.

The polar bear let off a chuckle at the small prey mammal's gratitude. "Don't go thanking me yet, Fluff-Butt. You haven't been through your first obstacle course, let alone one of my morning drills!" She smirked deviously. "Give it a week: then we'll see how grateful you really are to have me around."

Now more determined than ever to prove she had what it took to be the greatest officer in the ZPD, Judy nodded her head and punched her right first into her open left palm. "I'll show you that I'm more than just a cute face!"

Noticing the spark of fire from the rabbit's personality, the polar bear gave her a nod and a grunt. "We'll see, Fluff-Butt. We'll see... if you can't keep up with the demands of this Academy, then I guarantee that you'll find yourself dead out in the field if you over-estimate your abilities."

Oh yes, the coach had known more than her fair share of seasoned police officers that had gotten themselves in over their heads out in the real world.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Staring out the window, Officer Fox did her best to memorize her surroundings as the Russian polar bears chauffeured her and Nick towards possible danger; the black GAZelle minibus with tinted windows causing snow to kick up at either side of it in tall cresting waves due to the sheer weight of the vehicle.

Her eyes turning from the Tundratown streets to the backsides of the two suited polar bears sitting in rear of the vehicle with them, the Latina vixen's chocolate orbs then weaved over further to settle their gaze upon the viridian Hawaiian-shirted mammal next to her. She had been quiet since they had been forced into the vehicle but she couldn't bring herself to stay silent any longer. Leaning over to her left, the vulpine woman whispered, "Nick... hey, Nick..."

His eyebrows rising up, the male red fox leaned closer towards the lovely lady to his right. Although he kept his head forward, he quietly spoke out of the side of his mouth. "What is it, Carm?"

"Where are we going?" She inquired in a hushed tone. "We've been riding in this bus for a while now." Over time, the scenery had become less snowy buildings and simply more snow, period.

His face retaining a neutral expression, the male tod replied, "I believe they're taking us to the Snowy Hills area." At the inquisitive look she gave him, she continued to answer, "These are Kozlov's men. We didn't end the ride in less than ten minutes so they're obviously not taking us to Kozlov's Place. Oh no, I think they're taking us right to the Snow Palace..." he murmured quietly. "Really lovely resort but it's also pretty isolated. We'll actually be closer to the Meadowlands District than Tundratown proper."

The Latina's vulpin's lips pulled back into a frown across her muzzle. "How bad is that?"

"If they want to make you disappear, well... no one will ever find you." Nick gulped softly in worry for them. This simply wasn't a good situation to have found themselves in. He really hoped that these guys didn't want to make either of them go, 'poof' over something. It was unlikely but dealing with mafia-minded mammals like this was always a risky venue.

Of course, making people disappear didn't always have to include dead bodies as the end result. The fox had heard rumors of animal trafficking leak out from Tundratown before. It was the kind of thing that made Wilde cut ties with Mr. Cold in the first place once he had paid off his loan from the much larger predator. He didn't know how true it was and frankly? He didn't want to get caught up in it one way or the other.

Her ears flattening back against her scalp, the woman inhaled deeply through her nose before exhaling out her mouth. "...Great..." the vixen murmured in aggravation. Shaking her head for a moment, the woman then returned her attention to her fellow captive canid. "Hey, Nick," she spoke up a little louder so that she wasn't particularly whispering anymore.

"Hmm?" Finally turning his head to outright to gaze at the woman beside him, the crimson-pelted vulpine replied, "What is it, Carm?"

"Two things," she said firmly. "First off, remind me to never go anywhere without my shock pistol again if I can get away with it."

The male red fox nodded his head. That was doable. Heck, he wasn't going to feel better going out with her unless she had that damn thing either! "Will do," he chirruped firmly in response. "And the other thing?"

Her lips stretching taut across her muzzle in a straight line as to not convey any potential expression, the woman gazed through tresses of navy blue hair as she asked point-blank, "What is your relationship to a known mob boss?"

Letting off a small sigh, Nick craned his head forward slightly. He had a feeling she wasn't going to like having discovered that about him. Still, he wasn't about to lie to her of all people... especially since he hadn't done anything illegal for the polar predator. "I've had to borrow money from the man and I've babysat his kid, nephews, and nieces to both earn money from him and extend how long I had to pay the loan off." It wasn't pleasant but at least he was able to get his life on track, at least somewhat, after all of that.

It was the borrowed money aspect that caught Carmelita's attention. "A loan? You took a loan from..." she trailed off as her eyes darted forward, making sure the polar bears weren't visibly listening. Still, to make certain, she merely tilted her heads towards them, motioning to her fellow red fox that she was talking about their organization. Seeing him nod his head, the Latina vixen chirruped questioningly, "Why?"

His shoulders sagging, the male fox let off a yet another sigh. "You're probably going to think this is stupid but..." he looked over to her and gave off a barely audible chuckle. "Would you believe I wanted to buy land to start a business of my own?"

While she didn't think it stupid, such did surprise the female vulpine. "A business?" She repeated, now genuinely curious. "What kind of business?" Considering the cash came from a mob boss, it could have been any sort of unsavory thing! Although, if the male red fox admitted to wanting to get a bacon-smuggling trade going, the Interpol Inspector wasn't sure she could bring herself to hold it against him.

The crimson-pelted canid's mouth shifted into small, sad smile. "Don't laugh Carm... but I wanted to open a theme park in Zootopia." He looked up at her, the seriousness in his gaze readily apparent. "I had a vision. I had staff, a location picked out, construction plans... I just couldn't get anyone to give me a loan."

That caught the Latina policewoman's attention. Hearing that someone wanted to open a theme park was something she could honestly say was one of the most unique responses she ever got to asking someone why they accepted money from the mob. "And you couldn't get a loan from any upstanding businesses...?" she trailed off, giving the man a chance to fill in the blanks.

"No credit," he practically spat out. "No one would give me a loan, credit card, or even let me open a bank account before so I had no credit. None of the banks would deign to give me credit so I could start a history, neither would let me open an account because... well," he motioned to himself with his right paw. "I'm a fox. At least Ms. Wideload of Hippo Loans was kind enough to explain it was the lack of credit history. Besides her, I think the closest I came to actually getting someone to loan me money was the Piggy Bank but then I made one bad, 'hogwash' pun and I was tossed out on my tail."

"So lack of options drove you to less than savory means..." Carmelita surmised, having heard this story numerous times before and knowing it all too well. As he nodded his head in affirmation, the Hispanic vulpine let off a small sigh of her own. "Nick..."

Holding his paw up to motion her to stay quiet, the pawpsicle hustler continued, "On the flip side of the coin, I do have credit now." Watching the woman blinked those lovely chocolate eyes of hers in shock, he smiled as he nodded his head at her. "Yeah, such surprised me too! But Kozlov told there was, 'no point in loaning money to people who pay me back and not tell others about it'. Basically, because I paid him off, I got a good credit review to start a history at least."

The woman smiled a little at that, realizing that her friend managed to catch something of a break despite putting himself into such a dangerous situation. "I can see that, being as he owns a few businesses..." she said, relenting that much. "But what happened? Why aren't you the head of some theme park? When we first met, you were running a pawpicle stand."

"Not just some theme park, my dear Miss Fox," Nick said, starting to feel a little boastful. "Wilde Times would have been the theme park by predators, for predators! We were and pretty much still are the largest untapped market in Zootopia! I was ready to promise my fellow carnivores happiness! Sure they say you can't put a price on it but I was willing to beg to differ with a cost of nineteen dollars and ninety-nine cents a day... plus tax!"

Tilting her head slightly as she looked at him in a curious fashion, Carmelita couldn't help but interject, "That still doesn't answer my earlier question. Why isn't there a theme park?" With a credit rating he should have had a much easier time getting money from a more reputable source.

His shoulders sagging as his own ears pressed back against his scalp in defeated, the troubled tod lowered his head forward. "...They wouldn't sell."

The vixen blinked her eyes, caught off-guard by such a response. "...What? But you said you had the money."

"When the warehouse owners found out their potential buyer was a fox they immediately shut the deal down. No deposit, no return. I was outright barred from buying the place because of my species." The male red fox shook his head in disgust. "I tried to get others to buy it for me but the owners wised up pretty fast. Basically they realized anyone coming to them with the money almost immediately was from me. Finally I couldn't hold onto the cash any longer. I gave it back to Kozlov and spent the following year paying off the interest."

Carmelita twitched irritably at that. The actions of her fellow mammals at times were just simply... deplorable. "So what you're basically telling me is that specism kept you from following your dream." It wasn't a question.

Nodding his head, Nick continued, "Still, Mr. Kholodno was very understanding... mostly because I didn't foolishly waste his money and he still made some profit by lending it out in the first place. If there's one thing I had learned a long time ago, it was to never let yourself be in debt if you could help it. Because the first moment your head dips under the line, this city will eat you alive."

"More wisdom than most people have," Carmelita muttered, trying to offer Wilde at least that much. She knew from her time in Paris just how expensive things could get. It was only in the three years she spent living with Sly that she truly learned what she was dealing with when it came to expenses and France's taxes as she and the raccoon didn't do as much global-hopping during their time together as they had that half decade playing cops and robbers. The Hispanic vixen could only imagine how bad it was in Zootopia where the merchants might try and screw someone over because of Specist attitudes and then get away with it because of the prevailing mindset.

However, before she could ask any further questions, such was when it came into view. At first the female red fox thought they were going to start climbing up into the mountains, only to realize the structure WAS their destination. Her jaw dropped, muzzle wide open as she stared at the architectural achievement that had to have been ninety-percent masterfully sculpted frozen water. "Jesús Cristo..." she murmured in awe as the Russian GAZelle pulled up to the front of the resort where the parking was; the view around the hotel being illuminated by skylights to add a bit of Las Vegas glamor.

Leaning next to her, the canid male smirked. "Yeah... amazing, isn't it?" Nick asked, awe prevalent in his own voice. It had been a considerable while since he'd returned to the Snow Palace but it really was an amazing thing to behold. "It's technically listed as a summer resort for Arctic animals but let me tell you this much, Carm. This place has the best skiing in all of Zootopia," he told the vixen besides him.

Slowly nodding her head, Carmelita replied, "I can't remember the last time I went skiing... that wasn't cut short by someone injuring themselves grievously."

Nick couldn't help but let off a small laugh at the woman's comment. "Isn't getting badly hurt part and parcel when it comes to skiing?"

"...Honestly I'm beginning to think it is," she said meaningfully as their vehicle came to a stop and more black-suited polar bears came out; practically surrounding the minibus.

One came right to the side of the automobile of Russian-make and firmly grasped the door handle. Sliding it open, he stared at the pair of foxes over the rim of his sunglasses before turning to his fellow polar predator that was sitting closest to the open door of the large van. "This is them?"

Nodding his head in response, the other suited polar bear replied, "Da, comrade. These are the ones who protected the boss's son." When he finished, he began unbuckling his own seatbelt.

"Right." The suited ursine standing outside the black vehicle replied as he stepped back from the van. "If you would be so kind to exit the bus, we would be most glad to take you to Mr. Kholodno. There is much he will want to say to you..." his sunglasses lowered again as his deep brown eyes settled on Nick. "Particularly to Mr. Wilde here."

Realizing he knew this polar bear, Nick grinned at the ursine. "Hey, Danny! Long time no see. You still unbeaten in darts?" He queried of the larger pred, hoping some banter would help ease the tension he was certain Carmelita was feeling.

Chuckling, the white-pelted bear nodded as he replied, "Quite so. I'm still unbeaten as long as people refrain from cheating."

That made the vulpine grimaced at what the larger predator was implying. "Well, I hope they got what was coming to them."

The ursine's left eye twitched. "It was my boss."

The male red fox blinked his eyes once, twice, thrice. "...Oh..." Wild gulped nervously as Danny shook his head. "Uh... sorry about that," he apologized sincerely.

"No worries," he replied nonchalantly. "Is required to lose to boss... especially when he is drinking." When the male fox was out of the car, he then leaned forwards and offered the vixen his large paw to help her down from the height of the vehicle.

Looking down at his paw for a moment, Carmelita brought her head back up and politely replied, "It's okay. I can get down on my own, Mister... um, Danny, was it?" She then smiled, trying to follow Wilde's lead of being social.

"Actually, it's Daniil... but is simpler for Capitalists to call me, 'Danny'..." he explained as he pushed his paw closer to her.

Realizing the finely-dressed mammal wasn't going to let it go, the vulpine sighed and took his offered hand, allowing him to help her to get down from the minibus. Once she was on the ground beside Nick, she noticed as a number of the polar bears began to gather to them, forming something of a barrier around them. But whether it was to protect them or keep the pair of red foxes from escaping, had yet to be seen.

Realizing there was nowhere to go but where they allowed him, the male fox gave the group a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders. "So, lead the way?" Nick asked as politely as he could.

And with that said, the polar bears began moving, where the vulpine pair found themselves rushed forward as more of the staff immediately began moving in behind to get between them and the vehicle, cutting them off from their surroundings. Everything around, below and above them was a sea of black suits and white fur and snow. They only knew they were actually inside the building when the snowy ground gave way to ice tile flooring that was roughly textured as to keep mammals from slipping.

As they walked, the Interpol Inspector was doing her best to make a mental map of where they were heading, counting off seconds and turns as best she could. Just because she might not be able to see what was going on around here, didn't mean she couldn't try to at least create a mental map. If she had to make a run for it with Nick, she needed some way to escape. She had already made that mistake once this evening when it came to the pizzeria. She wasn't about to repeat it here.

Eventually, the polar bears at the front of the troupe turned away from the smaller predators to reveal a set of doors before them that were actually made of wood! When the doors opened, the pair of foxes found themselves greeted to the sight of an office space with a stylish décor. While the expensive furniture of wood added touches of luxury and sophistication, the office itself was actually rather narrow with a surprisingly high ceiling that, while giving off a vibe of formality, added an intimidating and overly imposing presence to the mammal sitting behind the desk at the end of the room: a polar bear in a navy blue suit with an ice blue turtleneck neck shirt. There were tones of warm colors to his outfit thanks to the orange handkerchief in his breast pocket, the amber tint of his glasses, and the numerous gold chains that adorned his neck and the rings on his finger.

Looking up from the stack of papers he had been working on upon hearing the sound of his doors being opened, a smile blossomed on his face. Waiting a moment for two of the other polar bears to enter–one which Carmelita recognized as Vinsent–the leader of the group rose up from his seat, standing a full head and shoulders taller than the pair of ursine men standing at the door. "Nicholas!" He greeted in a hearty, accented baritone as he came around the desk. His right hand swiped down, grasping the male fox's upper torso and then some fully in one paw before bringing the fox up to his eye-height. "Is so good to see you again!"

Gasping as the massive palm and fingers pressed down on his ribcage, the vulpine needed to take a moment to breath before he could respond to the much larger predator. "Ah, Mr. Kozlov, sir! It's been so long! Might I say, you're looking well," Nick chirruped sweetly as he smiled at the bigger mammal. "I've been meaning to call, really! Sadly, I've been so busy with work and managing my living arrangements that I haven't had a chance to call or even visit! Terribly sorry about that!"

The mafia boss and resort owner chuckled at the tiny tod's nervous banter, finding it rather amusing. "Is all right, Nicholas..." he said in a firm yet polite tone. "I understand that a fine, upstanding hustler like yourself doesn't wish to broach the large scale operations someone like myself is used to. Even though I am out of the game, certain aspects of my reputation linger and might throw light on your own underhanded dealings." As he held the mammal aloft in one hand, the man idly scratched his chin with the index finger of his other mitt. "Or was it the fact that your relationship with Vanilla fell through so terribly that you were afraid to show yourself around the boss of my self-named Kozlov's Angels?"

Carmeltia went wide-eyed as she listened to all the large man listed off about Nicholas. Hustler? Underhanded dealings? Dated one of a mafia boss's employees!? She mentally checked off, not sure she wanted to believe such about the man was possible.

Smiling nervously as he could only imagine what the lovely Miss Fox–a police officer–was thinking as the man blurted out his nasty little secrets one after another, the crimson-pelted canid did his best to steer the topic away from such things. "Well, you know how it is! You do whatever you can to survive! I have been trying to go straight though!" And Gouda knew Nick certainly didn't want to admit it, but the whole thing with Vanilla was still troubling him.

"I see, I see..." he murmured before he finally lowered the vulpine down onto his feet, placing the small predator atop one of the chairs before his desk. "Still, the fact is that despite your distance as of late, you were there when I would have needed you most. That is something most appreciated." He smiled. "When Morris is settled, I believe he would be happy to see you again. He always had such a soft-spot for you... like you were family. And after today, I believe you might have just proven yourself such."

The Latina vixen just gawked as the man said that, realizing what the polar predator was hinting at. She never would have guessed Nick had the potential for becoming a, 'Made Mammal'. Just what had he been doing with his life before she met him!?

Chuckling even more nervously as he too caught onto what the retired Russian mafia boss was saying, the troubled tod did his best to steer clear of this avenue of conversation as well. "Oh, it was nothing special! Really!" He chirruped with a bit more of a squeak to his voice than he would have liked. "You know how it is. We just wanted a pizza after everything else that happened today..." he trailed off as the large suited mammal nodded his head.

"You mean that shoot-out at the grocery store?" Kozlov asked, getting a nod of confirmation from Nick. "Yes, we heard about that..." he murmured as his gaze trailed over to the vixen in the room. "And you must be the one who helped distract Big's boys long enough so that my men could show up and save my son. For that, I must thank you," he said as he knelt down to one knee to get a better look at her. Taking off his glasses, he narrowed his eyes to inspect her more easily. "And your name is... Carmelita, was it?" At the woman's nod, he continued, "Would that happen to be Carmelita Montoya Fox? That name has been spreading around like wildfire since this Mammal Inclusion Initiative started but it means something far more important. So tell me." He frowned slightly as he kept staring at the mole underneath her left eye. "Were you ever in Russia, my dear?"

That last comment caught the woman off-guard. "Uh... yes, actually..." she replied slowly, not sure what he was getting at but wondering what the man's game was. "I had to deal with problems at the Krack-Karov Volcano about eight years ago. Why would you... ask... about..." she trailed off as the polar bear stared at her with now widened eyes. "Uh... is something wrong, Mr. Kholodno?" He looked as though he had seen a ghost.

The white-pelted ursine just kept staring at her for a long time, before finally murmuring, "Mater' Bozh'ya..." he brought his right hand up, surprising the vixen; the woman stiffening under his touch as he caressed the side of her face. "It's you. It really is you..."

The woman's pupils dilated to pin-pricks at the man's invasion of her personal space. "Uh..." Carmelita almost asked for an adult... but stayed silent on the matter. For some reason, she felt that he would say that he was an adult and continue to do what he was doing anyway! Still, she did inquire of the man, "Is something wrong?"

Shaking his head, the polar bear replied, "Nyet, nyet." Finally releasing the woman's face, he stood up and turned about. With his back to the vulpine duo, he made his way behind his desk once more, the large ursine standing at the back wall for a moment before he pushed aside a portrait, showing that it was on a swing-hinge to reveal the door of the safe he had hidden behind it. Kozlov then covered the sight of it from all others in the room, but they could hear the twist and turn of the combination lock's tumblers as he worked it.

When the door opened, the owner of the Snow Palace ruffled through the papers, monetary goods, and other personal items he kept in there for protection before turning about once more, a stack of folded aged papers in his hand. He then leaned over slightly offered it to the vixen; his hand reaching down to make it easier for her to take.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the item he held. "...A newspaper..." she murmured as she took it from him, the Latina vulpine wondering what the man was getting at until she saw the image on the front. "Oh... oh, I see..." she whispered softly in understanding.

Curious as to what was going on, the crimson-pelted canid got down from his chair before taking a look, his curiosity getting the better of him. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, unable to read the Russian script. He was about to ask what was wrong when he realized something familiar adorning the front page. "Hey! That's you!" He chirruped as he motioned to the image of the vixen standing atop a pile of scrap that might have been some sort of sculpture or even a machine at some point. "What's it say?"

"The headline reads, 'Kapitalisticheskaya Politseyskiy Milashki Sumki Bol'shoy Plokhoy Ptitsy'." Smirking as the pair raised their heads, he translated for them, "In English, the front page text would read as, 'Capitalist Cop Cutie Bags Big Bad Bird'."

Twitching irritably, Carmelita could only growl out, "God almighty, I absolutely hated the headlines that were coming out that year!" Although in all honesty this had been the tamest of the bunch. She'd seen newspapers calling her such things as, 'Hot Chick with Gun', 'Foxy Latina Hottie', 'Sexy Latin Spitfire', and all kinds of demeaning stuff during her first year as an Inspector. Calling her a, 'Cutie' was actually pretty reasonable in comparison.

Continuing to stare at the newspaper, Wilde could admit he was completely lost as to the significance of the story. "I... didn't realize television stars were criminals." The pawpsicle hustler muttered as he brought his right hand up to scratch the side of his head in confusion.

The woman sighed in exasperation. "No, Nick... not the big yellow avian who's been educating children on television for decades now. The paper is referring to the former immortal monstrosity, Clockwerk..."

Nodding his head firmly, the polar bear replied, "Yes... and in doing so, the brave Inspector Fox made herself a hero to all of us in Tundratown..."

That caught Carmelita off-guard. "...Hero?"

The polar bear smirked. "Hero," he insisted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Author's Notes: Oh... em... fudging... GOODNESS...

Again, I was writing up to the minute to get this out on time. I won't lie; this was the most difficult chapter yet. Not because of the content but the time crunch! With everything going on in my life, with the new baby, with having to winterize the house for the upcoming season, and just taking care of business and work? Out of two weeks, I only had four days free to myself to work on this chapter.

Seriously, a big hand to my Beta Readers, who were on to check my work as I wrote and even gave their two cents to make certain this came out on time. Without Nanya or Innortal, this chapter WOULD not have seen an on-time posting.

Now then, I would like to acknowledge two of the comments from the last chapter. Chronocrosser, that IS part of what inspired me to do this story. Carmelita pretty much is the opposite of Judy... although let's be honest, Carm herself started off as the black-and-white mindset too. She's just had the experience–both in life and dating–to realize there's much more to it than that. And as the story goes, we will see more opposing parallels to the lovely lapin officer of the Zootopia film.

And CerberusX? The fact is, I look at the vehicles from the movie or art books and look for the closest real world equivalent. The fact that the names are close to being pun material make it all the more worthwhile. Heck, I didn't have to do anything for the Russian GAZelle minibuses. That IS what they're called!

Onto lighter news, some of you may notice there's a new cover on the story icon for . Whelp, that's because I got a new cover made for the story, the image created by 2013 International Inkpot Award Winner Fred Perry of Gold Digger fame; the series celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. He did one heck of a job and I couldn't be happier. Hopefully you will all be able to see the full size image when Andy Lagopuss posts it on the Zootopia News Network website.

As a heads up, while I am aiming for an October 29th release, don't be surprised if it comes out on the 31st for Halloween. If I don't finish on time, it will have to go on a short delay as I will be attending the convention, 'Furpocalypse' in Cromwell, CT. I'm there as an attendee and if you find me, feel free to chat.

Hope you enjoy the chapter! Remember to Try Everything!

Especially Burger King's Cheetos chicken fries!