A Proposal

Snake's eyes drifted open, letting the stinging pain subside just a little while. He noticed a big blob of colorful something on his body. Green, red, and-

Wait, that was Piranha. "Piranha? What the... what happened?"

Then he heard a whimper like a kitten's cry. Snake's head snapped awake and glanced all over. Shark slowly woke up while Piranha rolled off of Snake's body. The serpent could still hear the whimpering. "Doris? Doris!" He saw a squirming bag next to the chair Wolf was supposed to be in. He quickly undid the bag and the little kitten mewled her way out and shivered in Snake's embrace. "It's okay, Doris, it's okay."

"What happened?" Shark groaned.

"Lambs must have taken Wolf. Dang it! And there's no telling what she's doing to him or where she is."

"If Lambs was after Luggins, why would she take Wolf?" Piranha questioned. Snake's tail gently rubbed Doris's fur, trying to calm the kitten down. Though his pensive stare would've set the recliner Wolf sat on ablaze, Snake gave a long sigh.

"I don't know."

"What happened here?!" Exclaimed a voice from the door. The trio saw Luggins in her usual police attire and shorts; Snake often joked about how Luggins reminded him of a Little League referee rather than a legitimate police officer. "I leave for one minute and-"

"Shut your trap," Snake angrily hissed. "Lambs got Wolf."

The officer shut her lip. A nervous pale tremor rattled in her hand. "Lambs was here? What happened?"

"I told you. She tased us and got Wolf."

"She tased you?" Luggins repeated. The officer gritted her teeth. "Of course, she would. Why on earth would you let her in?!"

"We didn't know she was there," Shark exclaimed. "And we definitely didn't know she was going to-"

"Look, I've got to get out of here," Luggins grumbled, grabbing her suitcase on the couch and heading towards the door. Snake quickly slithered in front of her, blocking her exit. "What are you doing?! I need to get out of here."

"My friend is in danger because of you. And if I know anything about Lambs I-"

"Wait, you know Lambs?" Luggins narrowed her eyes. "What do you know about her?"

"That she doesn't play around. If she wants you, we will gladly give her you, but right now she has Wolf!" Snake hissed, raising himself to Luggin's height. "So either shut your lip and sit down or I'll finish her work myself!"

"You wouldn't dare," Luggins said with an irritating smirk, "It would put all of you back in the slammer."

"If it means my friend is safe, so be it," Snake grunted. Just then, they heard a police siren. A cop car stopped just behind the gang's car, and Diane, Webs, Bill, and Bob stepped out.

"What happened?" Diane asked.

"Lambs got Wolf and now we have no idea where she is or what she's trying to do," Snake replied. "And miss 'brave' over here wanted to leave on the spot."

The fox narrowed her eyes as she rested her hands on her hips. "Where were you when this whole thing happened, Officer Luggins?"

"I was in the garage. I told the crimin- I told Mr. Wolf that," Luggins pointed at a furious Mr. Snake. "If these guys hadn't let Lambs in like an ordinary neighbor, then we wouldn't be in this situation."

"If you had told us the complete truth, we wouldn't be in this situation," Diane grunted. Tarantula was on her shoulder, but she hopped off and stood on Bill's shoulder when the intensity got a little too much. Foxington's glare grew vengeful and intense. Her teeth looked sharper with her increasing anger, and her growl threatened to grow into a bark. "If it weren't for the fact that you were a police officer, we would've given Lambs to you on a silver platter."

This quieted the police chief and made her gulp.

Snake's eyes widened. "Maybe she's not trying to get Luggins."

"What?" Everyone said.

"Think about it. She came for Wolf. I don't think she's trying to hurt him, but she came directly for him. You're telling me a top-notch killer and hit woman couldn't piece together that Luggins was in the garage?"

"'ither way," Bob spoke up, "I suggest we put an MIA on Mr. Wolf. In the meantime, Officer Luggins will be confined to a different safe house."

"She'll find me with the amount of people that are around me," Luggins grunted.

"That's something that we'll have to take a chance with ma'am," Bill said.

"I refuse!"

"We don't care," Bob remarked flatly, making Bill drop his jaw. His friend rarely made such blunt statements like this. Especially to his superiors.

"What? I am still your commanding officer."

"And yet you've been nothing but a wee coward for all that's said and done," Bob spluttered out his accent, making his cheeks a little red from the anger. He patted his head with his handkerchief. "Mr. Wolf and his fellas have been more cooperative and honest than you have been."

"What are you talking about?" Luggins glared.

"You're hiding something, and unless you tell us, we're not leaving you until we get to the bottom of this and figure out where Mr. Wolf is," Diane snarled into the officer's face which was growing in fear. Diane felt a small scaly tail wrap around her hand. She looked down to see Snake offering a small smile.

"We'll find him, gov. I promise."

Diane sighed and nodded. "Bring her to the Lair and keep her there."

"Absolutely not!" Shark, Piranha, and Tarantula all exclaimed.

"Lobo could barely deal with her in her own house!" Piranha shouted. "What makes you think we want this gringo in our casa?"

"Piranha," Snake hushed. "Foxington's right. Lambs doesn't know where the Lair is. Plus, with it being underground, she wouldn't think to find us there."

Diane nodded and stared with her arms crossed at Luggins. The fox's frown widened across her face as her eyes sharpened with fury. "Officer Bill, Officer Bob?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Until further notice, Officer Luggins is a suspect in the disappearance of Mr. Wolf. She is to be confined to house arrest at the Lair, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"But-

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law," Diane growled. Her face was barely an inch away from the Police Chief. "And if Mr. Wolf doesn't come away from this alive, I will let her have you."

"Y-Y-You can't do that!"

"You know nothing about politics, do you?" Diane smirked. Luggins' mouth dropped as Bob and Bill placed her into the cop car. Shark and Piranha were 'designated' to go with her. As the escort team rode off, Diane rubbed her eyes under her fake glasses.

Suddenly, a little rub by her foot caught her attention.

Meow!

"Hey Doris," Diane smiled softly, picking her up. "At least you're okay."

"We'll find him, Diane. I promise," Mr. Snake said. "Did you find anything about that folder Lambs gave you?"

"Nothing," Webs sighed, "Everything in the cops' databanks has been wiped clean."

"Which only means that Luggins probably tampered with evidence," Snake smirked, "At least we can charge her with that. Oh gosh, I sound like a cop already."

Diane smiled a bit wider. "You'll get the hang of it."

"Bob and Bill tried their best to find the file, but it just looks like it's... missing," Webs explained.

"And only high-ranking officials like Luggins can authorize a change in that?" Snake guessed. Diane and Webs nodded. "Lambs gives us a police record that just so happens to be missing and Luggins is freaking out beyond reasonable fear. It can't be a coincidence that Lambs knows Luggins, and Luggins knows Lambs. Officer 'Uptight' is holding back something."

"Yeah, but what?" Webs asked.

"The fact that Luggins is holding back anything means that she knows something," Diane said. "We just have to figure out what it is she knows."

Just then, everyone heard a phone buzz. Diane looked down at her cell and narrowed her eyes. She let Doris jump out of her arms and into Snake's embrace. "What's the matter? Aren't you going to answer it?" Snake asked.

"It's a random number."

"So?"

"My phone blocks random numbers," Diane explained. She let it go to voicemail. "Probably just a robo-call."

"Whew, don't scare me like that," Snake muttered. "For a moment, I thought it was-"

Ping!

Something left its voicemail on her phone. Diane played it for everyone to hear. "Ms. Governor," Said a familiar voice. "I think you should pick up your phone."

Diane's eyes widened as the phone buzzed again. The same number. She answered it, putting it on speaker. "Lambs?"

"Gov. Foxington. Thank you for allowing me this time."

"Where's Wolf," Snake hissed.

"Don't worry, Wolf is perfectly fine. Perfectly safe, perfectly alive. The only thing he's complaining about is the taste of electricity."

"That's what I'm tasting," Snake smacked his lips, trying to rid himself of the awkward flavor.

"Sorry about that Snake. Comes with the taser."

"What do you want," Diane asked seriously.

"I have a little... proposal for you," Lambs replied.

Continued...