Having received some well-meaning criticism in the past for jumping around among perspectives, I feel I should warn that this chapter does more of the same. I put a lot of time and thought into keeping the plot as trim and the pacing as fluid as possible, and all I can say now (in the immortal words of Michael J. Fox) is "Watch me for the changes and try to keep up."
"What about you? Where will you be when it ends? Think about it. Think hard. Because the countdown has already begun…"
Book blurb from Animorphs, books 51-54
Judy froze, mentally and physically. After the endless chasing, Obearon was live on the phone, and apparently he had nothing to do with Olivia. Heck, it sounded like they'd been enemies before, and if they weren't they sure as heck were now, judging by the threats Olivia was firing off into the phone.
"Tut tut tut, Miss Poisson," Obearon – or Cudd, whoever that was – interrupted in the middle of something so violent as to border on unprintable, "That's some stunning rage you channel, but I don't think you've grasped the situation. Lillian is here at my total disposal, and according to my agents your esteemed Mister Barracus is likewise unavailable. If you want either of them alive tomorrow, you and Officer Hopps will do exactly as I tell you. Otherwise, I'll make sure you see firstpaw what fruits they'll reap from your defiance."
Olivia turned her ashen face to Judy, mutely begging for help as even her fur seemed to turn white. Judy had never thought the skunk even capable of such a helpless, childlike look of agonized terror. She mustered up a stony confidence in answer, nodding reassurance. Obearon was in the lead, for the moment. They would fix that. They had to.
With a trembling paw, Olivia held the phone to her mouth. "What do you want?" she asked, trying to sound like she still had some measure of control.
"That's better. Now, listen carefully. Miss Poisson, you will take your private road out the back, alone. Yes, I'm aware of them. I'll text the destination once you're in your car, and then you'll discard your phone. Officer Hopps, you will interfere with nothing."
"You don't know me very well, do you?" Judy snapped tersely.
"I know you brought a civilian tonight," he replied, tsking in disappointment as Judy's ears dropped at this implied threat. He pressed his advantage. "Very unprofessional. I suggest you get him out of harm's way, and quickly. You see, the moment I choose I can turn this entire party into the greatest massacre since Water Buffaloo. I won't hesitate to do it if I decide you're getting underfoot, or if you relay my identity to anyone. Believe me, I'll know."
Judy took a deep breath. "I'm guessing you haven't considered surrendering quietly for a good plea bargain and saving us all the trouble."
Obearon laughed, coldly and mirthlessly. "Ah, you would have made a fine harelequin, officer, but you're terribly mistaken if you think you can intimidate or outmaneuver me. You lost your chance at that some time ago. Now, you both have my instructions. Follow them, or dear Lillian's screams will follow you to your graves."
The call ended, and both females stood mute for a moment before Olivia gripped Judy's paw. "Officer," she whispered in the tone of someone absolutely lost.
Judy had seen shock like this after darted predator attacks, when survivors or relatives just completely phased out. This was not the time to phase out. She returned the grip and yanked Olivia to follow. "Come on," he ordered.
The skunk followed her like a woman pursued. Judy wasn't sure what she was looking for, but ducked past some puzzled-looking security using Olivia as her pass. With little idea where to go, she found a small cleaning room and splashed some water from the sink on Olivia's face. That, at least, seemed to bring her around.
"What is happening here?" asked the skunk, shaking the drops off her face.
"There's not much time," Judy said quickly. "We need a plan, and you need to start talking."
While Judy and Olivia talked, Cudd smiled in satisfaction. One of his operatives had sent him footage of the two targets ducking into a loo, and he wasn't surprised to see Officer Hopps trying to hatch a counter-plan. He'd been counting on it. Alas for her, he'd already closed the net. The mansion was sealed up everywhere except where Miss Poisson was to leave, and any effort to escape would only add more delicious terror to the production.
Soon the ZPD would be in full panic mode responding to the crisis at the mansion, while Miss Poisson came to serve him one of the last pieces of his plan on a silver platter. As for the other piece, twenty minutes should do it. Eweliette would be with him, leaving the country, in almost no time at all.
William Cudd had always had a special attachment to Dawn Bellwether, both before and after their rather tumultuous relationship. Behind her soft, disarming demeanor, she did an unparalleled job of hiding a mind as cold and calculating as his own. He respected her passion for revenge; one could even have said that the Night Howler plot was their lamb, so to speak. Oh, they had argued about how to utilize the Night Howlers' potential, but he considered even that small matter a victory for his side of the coin. If Bellwether had her own ends in mind when she field-tested the formula and amassed invaluable resources and intelligence, who was he to argue? In the end money would still win out over politics, and the whole matter had raised possibilities none of the participants, including himself, could have imagined. Best of all, there was the prize still to be grasped; an Ali Baabaa's treasure, as it were, revealed by Ramses to be hiding right under Poisson's eternally upraised snout. He'd have to remember to get a recording when she found out.
He blinked, then, at a fresh video feed from his spy in the mansion. Olivia and Judy were on their way out of the mansion.
"Ah, good," he said contentedly as Barracus rumbled in discontent at his side. "On with the show!"
Judy followed hastily in Olivia's tracks, into the more private areas of the mansion and specifically a wing dedicated to guest bedrooms. There were, for obvious reasons, fewer security cameras in this section and none in the room into which Olivia led her.
The skunk got down on her back by a desk, and Judy got down next to her. She watched closely as the skunk drew out the drawers in a series, marking the distances by little ruler-like strips of marked metal on their undersides; a combination lock straight out of a mystery movie. She memorized the combination and watched as Olivia moved a small piece on a coat of arms decorating the false bottom drawer. A clunk sounded to their right, and as she got up she could see a trapdoor opening in the floor of the walk-in closet. Judy followed Olivia over to peer down at a rock tunnel a little more than twice her height and wide enough that three of her could have walked side-by-side. The electric lights strung along the wall seemed the sole concession to the twentieth century; a sharp contrast to the mansion's up-to-date interior.
"So you added a secret passage to your mansion for style?" she asked, still a little incredulous.
"Only the entrance," Olivia admitted. At another time she might have boasted airily of the passage's history, how she had found it as the mansion was being expanded, and an appraisal of some items found therein proved it to be a forgotten escape for runaway slaves. As it was, she was hardly thinking of anything like that. "There's no time for the story. This tunnel leads to the private roads Cudd mentioned, though the exit there is out of order. I've been meaning to fix it. Use the first exit, inside the mansion. Cudd won't know about this tunnel, so it might get you around whatever he has planned."
Judy looked up at her with a mix of incredulity and respect. "Good thinking," she admitted in spite of herself.
Olivia scowled. "I think faster when I'm angry," she said icily, trying not to give in to another more deep-seated emotion: fear. She had to hurry, or… well, Cudd had been all too clear how far he would go.
"Get whoever you can to safety," she urged, ducking into the passage and clicking on the lights. "I'll try to leave some trace of where I go on the roads for you or whoever follows."
Judy nodded. She was still figuring out what she was going to do at the mansion, besides evacuating Nick and anyone else she could grab discreetly. If Cudd's warning was true about knowing if she called someone, she'd have to focus on chasing him down as quickly as possible… and hope the little insurance policy Olivia had given her in the bathroom would be enough to catch the goat off guard.
Speaking of sneak attacks, she thought as something else occurred to her. "Watch out for Barracus," she warned.
Olivia jerked a little at that and turned back up the stairs to stare at her. "Why?"
Judy hated to speculate without proof; she'd made enough serious mistakes doing that already. Still, lives were at stake. She had to assume the worst and hope for a miracle. "Cudd made it sound like he had both of them prisoner, but at the end he just threatened Lillian. I think Barracus may be helping him."
The skunk's face fell into a new and still deeper look of despair and betrayal, quickly mingling with an almost ungovernable rage. "If he is…" she hissed, clenching her paws. Then rage subsided to despair as the door began to shut.
"How much have I missed?" she asked in a low, empty tone. She looked up at Judy, knowing it might be the last she ever saw of the rabbit officer. Her final words were quiet and low. "Forgive me, Officer. I should have-"
The end of her sentence was cut off even to Judy's ears as the door clunked shut.
Olivia Poisson stared up at the underside of the trapdoor, then turned and dashed off down the tunnel. This is my fault, she thought to herself, clenching her teeth as she lifted her skirt out of paw's way and ran. Me and my rotten pride. All… my… fault.
Nick was getting uneasy as he made his way to the backstage area. In their plans, he and Taelia had both forgotten to account for security. Now he was facing a pair of elk guards who flatly refused to let him pass even though he'd known one of them for years.
"Guys, come on. I am telling you, I have an appointment with the sound engineer for this band and she's going to be seriously mad if I don't show. You're not going to stop a guy from patching up with a date, right?"
"In a heartbeat," the larger of the bucks replied coldly.
Nick wondered how much time he'd lose by backing down and trying to sneak past. Suddenly a familiar voice sounded behind him.
"Is there a problem?"
He turned around to see VIXEN coming his way and sighed with relief. "Ah, guys. Great timing. Listen, I need to see Taelia. Can you tell these guys to let me through?"
Almost immediately, he wished he hadn't asked. The looks they gave him ran the full range from disappointment to unrestrained disgust. His sole comfort was that Xavier, the unofficial leader, looked only disappointed.
"He's with us," the timber wolf said at last, flatly.
"Coming with us," Vicky amended.
Nick gulped a little as he fell into step ahead of the group. He could feel their eyes on his back like laser sights. "I'm guessing Taelia told you guys what this is about, huh?" he ventured. "Listen, I promise it is not as bad as it-"
"Just… keep… walking," Vicky said icily.
Nicole put a paw on her shoulder and spoke so softly even Nick had trouble hearing. "Hey, this is Taelia's thing, remember? We're here to back her up. That's all."
The hyena looked from Nick to her old friend – briefly. "Well, if backup means booting his sorry tail out the door, I've got some stuff to work off anyway."
"I'll help," offered Isabelle.
Xavier waved his paws as he stepped ahead to get the door. "Honey, Vicky, we're not here to get revenge no matter what happened. This is just about getting the facts; no judging, no jurying, and definitely no executioners." Despite his diplomatic words, he gave Nick a look of cold disapproval as he said this, as if it were only in principal that he adhered to 'guilty until proven innocent.' He opened the door and jerked his head as if waving a paw would be too neighborly for the moment. "In here."
Nick entered a fair-sized electric utility room which had clearly been repurposed as a sound room for the concert. Inside, just finishing the pack-up of her personal equipment, Taelia looked as if she'd just been up all night. Even her bandmates paused, wondering at the change in her.
She turned at the sound of the opening door, and almost at once her eyes locked on Nick. "Hey," she greeted, her voice deadpan.
He raised a paw in greeting. "Uh, hi. Is this a bad…?"
"Sit," she commanded, pointing to an extra chair.
Nick sat down, feeling profoundly nervous as the others trooped in and Xavier, last of the pack, closed the door.
"So," Taelia began, watching Nick like a principal might watch a student caught in some atrocious misbehavior, "what exactly was it I heard at the store?"
Cudd frowned in confusion as Olivia appeared on the security feeds near the back of the mansion. He'd expected her to disappear – at least to some extent – in the private areas, but he hadn't realized she would move through it so quickly. It should have taken her at least five minutes longer, he mused, growing distrustful. What's she up to?
Still, she was where he wanted her, exiting the back door into a small parking garage and a hub of private tunnels. He fired off a message to her phone, chuckling to himself.
"If only I could see better when she learns where she's going," he remarked, watching patiently as she made for the tunnel in question. Then he nodded with satisfaction as she threw her phone out the car window. If she wanted to leave a trail, her effort failed; the phone bounced across a patch of moss and landed in the next roadway over. She must have been in an exceptional state, for the distraction of throwing caused her to swerve and scrape her car's side on the tunnel.
"Such a paltry move. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, the fight scene." He glanced over to Lillian, who was tied to a chair. She was watching the screen with anxiety in her gaze and a gag in her mouth.
"Pardon the obvious wordplay, but I do enjoy a captive audience. Anyway, what do you think, my dear? It would be so nice to set everything off just as Hopps gets back to the party, but I rather relish the drama of giving her a fighting chance with a- now what have we here?"
Judy Hopps had appeared on one of the screens, much closer to the banquet hall than even she should have been if she had followed along with Olivia as she seemed to be doing.
"That rabbit is quicker than I thought, too," he mused with some irritation, "but no matter. She'll have to go faster than sound to outpace what I've got waiting. Still, I think I've given her enough of a chance. Showtime!"
Judy was on her way to where, if she remembered the layout she'd studied beforehand, the sound room would be. Nick would hopefully be back there now, making things right with Taelia. She'd start with them, and then probably Taelia's band, and then…
A ruckus from the concert room caught her attention, making her blood run cold. An odd, piercing note seemed to fill the air, something like every conceivable off cord woven into a single tone. More than that were the other noises she heard; crashing, roars, and screams she was certain were not from a heavy metal band.
Pausing for the merest of moments at an intersection, she made a right turn into the great hall. What she saw made her blood run cold.
It was like nothing she had ever imagined, even in her worst nightmares. The whole room, with its massive quantity of mammals, had turned into a scene of absolute chaos. Mammals of every size and description were slashing, biting, and battering away at anyone who got in their way, while others – mostly staff, it seemed – scrambled desperately to get out of the way. A couple dozen were crowding onto a bit of scaffolding, meant for the viewing public but now a rapidly deteriorating shelter from the wrath of a female grizzly below. They were attempting desperately to climb some decorative wall hangings, but the grizzly was closing too quickly.
Judy's instincts overtook her horror, and with a quick glance around she grabbed a platter that had been thrown on the floor amidst the chaos. She spun and whipped it like an athlete throwing a discus, whipping it straight and true into the back of the grizzly's skull. It turned, forgetting its prey in search of her attacker.
"Hey, live bait over here!" Judy shouted, throwing a half-eaten pastry at the bear for good measure. Then she turned and ran as the grizzly, joined by a rhino, a horse, and a deer, ran after her.
Trying to lay this chapter out appropriately was a pretty big challenge, considering the sheer number of perspectives to cover and threads to tie together. As it was, I'd originally meant to weave in some material with the Lionhearts and our friends Jerry and Willy as well, but I found the chapter worked without those scenes so I'll probably use them next time, plus a return of some more familiar faces, both friend and foe. In any case, I hope you enjoy the triple cliffhanger. :)
On a side note, I recently got spammed with an anonymous hate-review ripping into my story and pushing me to support some material that looked about as promising as expired milk. I deleted the comment, and will continue to delete other such harassment as long and as often as I have to. I'm only mentioning it now to warn people that someone out there is doing this and you all should diligently screen your reviews.
Easter Eggs:
National Treasure, 1 and 2
The Hobbit (I'll give you a hint on this one: Judy is just shy of two and a half feet tall)
Animorphs (a little more specific, so I'll specify it's near the end)
Happy riddling. Stay safe, stay well, and stay responsive! I'll try to have more soon.