The Race is On


The acceleration kicked in again. Wolf could tell they were in a car of some kind. Thankfully she didn't have a convertible; bugs smacking a person who has a bag over their head isn't the best experience.

"What happened to the bike?" Wolf asked.

"Seriously? That's your question?" Lambs said.

"What? It was a cool bike," Wolf argued. "And since I'm in utter darkness over here and you're not answering the questions I want, I might as well do small talk."

He had a sense that Lambs was shaking her head. "The fox lady must be reeeaaaallly something else to deal with you. The bike's too well-known. Got to keep them on their toes."

"Okay, other question. Why try to sabotage Luggins?"

"Who says I am?"

"Your actions, and since you told me to start paying attention to them, I might as well ask. If it's for bad blood, why go for revenge?"

He heard her sigh. "Why are you defending her?"

"I'm not."

"You are."

"Look, as much as I hate the woman, I've lived long enough to know that revenge ain't the way to a happy life."

"But justice isn't?"

"Not justice the way you see it?" Wolf asked. Lambs huffed and slammed the brakes. "Hey, easy! I'm supposed to get there alive and unharmed."

"I never made those promises," Lambs grumbled. Wolf gulped. The car sped away down a place Wolf couldn't figure out where. His mind began to wander. Nothing that Lambs was doing made sense, but that wasn't the main issue. How would this all end? He couldn't let Lambs kill Luggins if that was her plan, but then again, they don't know what Luggins actually did. Lambs seemed to have faith that Wolf of all people would figure it out, but the canine struggled to find any possible connection that could rationally explain all of this.

Whatever Luggins did, she was the culprit.

The darkness started to seep into Wolf's mind. He could taste it. Tangy strong fear boiling up with the faint sense of yellow for some reason. His heart thumped harder and harder against his chest in the silence.

"You're right-"

"AHH!"

"You okay?"

"Sorry uhhh. What did you say?" Wolf smiled shakily, though he knew she couldn't see him.

"I'll... think about what you said. But I'm still exposing Luggins for who she is, got it?"

"Heh, got it," Wolf murmured. "But I have to ask. Who is Luggins?"

The car suddenly stopped. The sound of a door opening and closing and opening again entered Wolf's ears. "Get up," Lambs called. Wolf found his door open and he carefully stood up. Lambs walked him down a path. Concrete smacked against Wolf's shoes but he could smell saltwater entering the bag with the sound of seagulls. She did mention a harbor.

She made him stop and turn around. "Now sit and wait for the others."

Wolf carefully sat down, surprised to find a chair underneath him. "I'll see you later, wolfie," Lambs said with an audible smirk. Wolf heard the car reeve up and speed away while he sat in silence, listening to the seagulls. His hands were tied behind his back and the sheep's knot work was hard to beat.

His mind drifted. He thought about Lamb's words. All of them. His mind went to Diane.

Lambs was right. Both with the life they led and the current danger he was facing, he had to step up his game. Besides, especially for him, life was short. He couldn't afford to waste time.

Thought after thought entered the wolf's head until he heard a car screeching to a halt nearby. He tensed up. Was that Lambs?

"Wolf!"

"Diane!" Wolf relaxed as he heard Diane run over to him with the sound of a hiss. Must be Snake. Diane lifted the mask off. Wolf blinked at the bright flood lights above, though he made out the dark canvas of night. A lot of time must have passed. Diane stood in front, smiling with relief. Her eyes glistened. It broke Wolf's heart to think she cried.

"I'm so glad you're safe."

"Hold still," Said Snake behind him, trying to get the knot undone. Wolf felt a prickly set of legs on his shoulder.

"Good to have you back, Wolf," Webs said.

"Good to be free," Wolf murmured, standing up from his seat. "Did you tell her that Luggins was at the Lair?" Diane's head jumped back. "It's the only logical place you could put her. It doesn't matter anyway, I don't think that's her main goal."

"Did she hurt you?"

"Other than giving me whiplash with her driving?" Wolf joked. "Nah. But you need to keep a close eye on Luggins."

"Why?"

"Lambs' stunts aren't making sense. She says that Luggins' house has some evidence, but I need time to figure out where that is."

Diane raised her eyebrow. "And you're not coming with us to keep Luggins in check because?"

"Lambs probably has a tracker on me somewhere. So we need to keep me as far away from Luggins as possible."

"Are you sure you're not saying that because you don't like her?" Diane asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Wolf grinned.

Diane rolled her eyes. "Come on, hot shot. We better make sure you're taken care of." They jumped into the car and sped down the way to Luggins' house. The house was silent, still, and empty save for an impatient meowing at the door.

"Awww, I missed you, Doris," Wolf picked her up and petted her.

"Alright, so what do we know so far?" Snake reviewed. "Luggins' story isn't making any kind of sense. They know each other personally. That's for certain."

"Why would Luggins lie?" Diane asked

"To save her reputation?" Wolf grumbled, plopping into the chair he was so rudely ripped from. "Seems to be a lot to her." Doris jumped out of Wolf's hold once his petting got rougher.

Snake raised an eyebrow. "Hey, man. Keep your anger with Luggins in check. It'll mess with our plans."

"Snakes, I'm fine," Wolf growled slightly but sighed. "Alright, alright. You're right, I'll calm down."

"We have a police file we can't find, a criminal who isn't interested in killing or attacking anyone other than one person, and a cop who's been lying to us since the beginning of this whole thing," Diane said.

"Maybe she's been lying to us before that," Wolf murmured and yawned. "For now, let's sleep on it. I'm tired."

"I wish I could relax but-"

"You can," Snake hissed worriedly, slithering onto the sofa sitting next to Wolf's recliner. "Come on. Since Luggins isn't here to lecture us, I think we deserve a bit of sleep."

"What about Lambs?" Diane asked.

"We gave her a fake address. Plus, she's made it perfectly clear that we can't fight her," Snake muttered. "I'll tell Shark and Piranha to keep an eye on Luggins, but if Lambs isn't going directly after her, then I think we're allowed a little bit of rest."

Wolf yawned again, "Snake's right, Fox. We need to be in top shape to fight her off."

Even Webs sleepily collapsed onto Doris's fur as the kitten purred quietly. Snake yawned and curled around Doris' body, falling quickly into slumber. Diane sighed and sat down next to Wolf where an identical recliner was.

"Do you really think Luggins's house has the answers?" Diane asked.

Wolf shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Either way, I'm siding with Lambs. If Luggins were completely innocent, Lambs would've killed her by now. She knows something."

Diane rubbed her eyes and sighed with Wolf. "Get some sleep, Diane. Something tells me we got a long day tomorrow."

"Heh, you sure you don't want to sleep on the Police Chief's bed? Must be a lot bigger," Diane smirked. "And I'm sure we could both fit."

"Uh... I-"

The fox chuckled at Wolf's nervousness. "Good night, Wolf."

"Goodnight, Diane."

The next day they were rudely awakened by Diane's phone. She groaned as she looked at it. "It's Luggins. Hello?"

"Why are you keeping me here like a common criminal!"

"We already told you," Diane snarled, "You are a suspect in this investigation."

"I'm not the one who's riding around town destroying things just to off one person! That's Lambs! Did you get her?"

"Not yet."

"Well, if you weren't so busy worrying about your Wolf boyfriend, I would-"

"Shut up you little prick!" Diane yelled, tensing everyone's shoulders out of rest, even Snake's.

"It's always weird when cops complain about being treated like a criminal," Snake chuckled, a little nervous, "Maybe they should reconsider how they treat criminals."

Diane glared at the serpent before going back to the phone. "You haven't been honest with us at all, Chief Luggins. Because of you, Wolf was needlessly put in danger and probably has a tracker on him now because of your little lamb friend."

"I don't care about the dog!" Luggins shouted. "I need to get out of his city before she catches me!"

"No. Until we know for sure who the real criminal is, you're staying put under house arrest and that is final."

"But I-"

There was a beep. A moment of silence. Diane stared at her phone for a moment wondering what happened. "Hello?"

"Hello," Luggins said back.

"Ah, hello my good strong shepherd," Said a familiar voice. Diane's eyes widened. "I've missed you, darling."

"H-H-How?" Luggins stuttered.

"It's pretty easy to hack phones. Once I figured out the gov's, I knew you would call, you lying traitor!" The voice said with rage dripping through the phone. "Heh, I didn't even need that tracker on Wolf."

"You have a lot of contingency plans, Lambs," Diane said, alarming the others.

"It's what I'm known for. I'm sure Misty... Luggins," She spoke with an unknown venom on her lips. "Would tell you a lot about that. But that's beside the point. I'm coming for you, darling. And I'm going to break the image you've created."

The phone was cut.

"Snake, we've got to get to the lair," Diane said.

"I can't wait to send this woman the jail," Snake griped.

Diane smirked, "You just want to get rid of her."

"And you don't? I know she gives you just as many migraines."

"Regardless," Diane sighed, "We're going over there. Webs, I'll send Bill and Bob over here for backup. Keep an eye on Wolf and try to find that tracker on him. Make sure that he doesn't go anywhere."

"Hey!" Wolf barked. Diane smirked over her shoulder as she and Snake left. Wolf couldn't rub the smile off his face.

Darting down the road, Diane and Snake raced through traffic while Foxington made a call. "Officer Bill, Officer Bob. I need your help. Lambs is heading to the Lair, but I need someone to make sure that Wolf is okay. He's at Luggins' house."

"We'll be on it, m'lady," Bob replied.

"Shark and Piranha aren't picking up their phones," Snake said. "We got to step on it." Diane floored the car and drove straight into the empty waterway. She screeched to a halt in the elevator, but when the door opened, they saw Shark and Piranha on the floor. "Guys!"

"Uggh, that chica is tough," Piranha groaned.

"What happened?" Diane asked.

"We gave her a phone call as she asked and then she freaked out, beat us up, and took one of the cars to make her getaway," Shark groaned. "Oh I think I need a new spleen."

Snake sighed, "Come on, guys. Let's get you up." Just then, Diane's phone rang again. "Don't answer that."

"Why not, it's Bill and Bob."

"So far, every time you've picked up that phone, something bad happens," Snake hissed. Diane chuckled a bit and answered the phone.

"Officer Bill, what's up?" Her smile quickly washed away. "Wait, what? Why? Alright, we're on our way. Meet you there."

"What did I say?" Snake huffed. The fox rolled her eyes.

"Bill went over to Luggins' house and Wolf stormed out and took his car. He said he was going after Luggins."

"What the heck is happening!?" Shark exclaimed.

"That's what we're going to find out." She made another call. "Officer Bob, where are you? Great, we're going to need a fast escort to the west bridge. I'll explain on the way." She hung up and the four darted up the elevator and sped off with Officer Bob close behind them.

Continued...