Chapter 73
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Screams and yells rang out as the blue van pushed through the crowd, mammals jumping out of the way and clearing the path, only to slam into others. More than once Murray swerved hard in one direction, or dabbed on the brakes to make sure a gap was clear for them to push through. All as they raced onwards towards the ZPD Precinct One building.
"Do any of you know a secret way in or anything?" Carm yelled, turning down to Nick and Judy, the pair shrunken down into their seats.
Judy looked back at her. "No, the whole front entrance will be locked up. -And the vents and everything were double secured to stop bats sneaking in."
Nick nodded. "Besides, if we're followed…" He grit his teeth, only for Skye to speak.
"Can you climb up another building and get across?"
"What with?" Judy asked back. "It's not like we have a zipline or parachute. Jack, do you have any of those left?"
"No."
"And I do not have my jetpack with me," Carm said, Jack freezing and turning to her.
"Interpol gives you a jetpack!? How do I apply?"
The inspector vixen just groaned. "Not the time. Does anyone have any ideas?"
"No," Nick said, getting up and looking over the back seat. "What about you Dave?"
The sheep blinked, staring at the red fox for a second or so. "I don't know, maybe you could try crawling on your paws through a sewer or…"
"-Brilliant," Nick cheered, turning to Murray. "Is there a way out underneath this thing or…"
"We have a bottom hatch, yup. In fact, we regularly chose parking sites over sewer access points."
"Let me just search city plans for any…" Bentley began, bringing out his laptop and typing away. "Ah-ha, Murray, start peeling right here. Use the GPS to land yourself at these coordinates…"
"Nick," Judy cut in, "As much as we used sewer systems to escape before, you're forgetting one big thing."
He turned to her. "What's that?"
"At Cliffside they had an old system with megafauna toilets. Here we're trying to get in, and the whole system is designed knowing it's a weakspot. Just like in prisons, all the toilets drain to a filter room."
Nick nodded. "Designed to non-lethally capture and hold anyone flushed down there, their choice or not, correct?"
"Correct!" Judy said, thrusting her paws out. "It's designed to stop water voles and things sneaking up inside…"
"Who said anything about sneaking?" Judy blinked as Nick stood up, looking around. "Does anyone have any explosives?"
"Nick, why would anyone…"
She was cut off as Murray opened up the glove compartment and pulled out a stack of packages, placing them in the fox's paws. "General and shaped charges, plus detonators, plus remotes."
The fox just glanced back at Judy, smiling. "They're master thieves or whatever. Consider it an educated guess."
"Well," Bentley agreed. "I can attest to that. We also have some gas masks and waders available for sewage tunnel traversal."
"Raccoon sized I guess?" Judy asked.
"I wouldn't say that's an educated guess," the turtle noted, pointing down to an alcove behind him. "But it is a correct one."
Judy pulled the apparel out, sharing it with Nick who nodded. "Good, this suit is the nicest thing a kitnapper has ever gotten me. Don't wanna ruin it."
"What about us?" Jack asked, pointing to him and Skye.
"Take Jack," Carm said. "You know the Fox family, correct?"
They nodded.
"Protect them."
"Me and the Cooper gang will make sure the museum is secure. Okay?"
"Okay," he said, only for them to slam to a halt, Murray glancing back.
"We're here. Get in there!"
Nick and Judy, making sure their overalls were on, stepped into the back of the van. The sheep sitting there had already found and lifted up the bottom hatch of the van, and the mammalhole cover beneath. On he waved Judy, and then Nick, as they dove in, a loud splash ringing out for each one. He placed the covers back down and on the van continued. "I suppose this evening has had its upsides…"
"-Then again," Bentley said, leaning over from the front. "It could have been better. I presume you did not snatch their respirators away as they jumped in out of self control more than anything. Am I correct, Doug Ramses?"
Doug looked back up and crossed his arms. "Dr Doug Ramses. I've done my job, I'll just sit here and be quiet."
"Uh-hu," the turtle agreed, nodding. "With exactly zero complaints about the implications of learning out that I tricked you onto that mission."
"You know," he said, tapping a hoof on the ground. "I'm wondering whether there's a certain subset of mammals or otherwise who just can't be happy with any form of compromise. I'm here being reasonable, and you seem intent on unnerving me. Quite pathetic really."
"Or you're just being very quiet while working through the fact that you risked your life and saved two of your biggest nemesis for a non-existent pardon."
"I think I prefer the fox now," he said. "That should tell you something about yourself and inspire some self-reflection. Obviously it won't…"
"Or you're just banking on having some extra leverage at the end of this," the turtle carried on. "For instance, by following us around with those trackers and voice recorders on yourself, beaming back who knows what kind of evidence against us and your personal location. All in aid of hoping to use that to retroactively swing yourself that agreement at the end of this."
"Or I'm just sitting here trying to be as unobjectionable as possible. Is there a thing with non-mammals about seeing the worst in us or something. If I was still involved in the project that would certainly make for interesting feedback."
"Fine, maybe you are," Bentley agreed, typing on his computer. "So it won't matter that I hacked into the system and turned off the voice recorder and motion tracker before you even landed."
A few seconds passed and the sound of jolting metal came from the back of the van.
"-I also just now took the liberty of locking the rear door."
Doug snapped his head around, crossing his arms in front of him. "So you intend to frame me going AWOL despite rescuing your companions and killing a bunch of your enemies. Correct?"
"No, I just intend to put you in a secure place and tell your superiors where you are and what happened. If they choose to be generous or not for your actions is up to them, though I do not believe your general attitude helps."
"Well," the sheep snarled, "if we're talking about general attitude…"
He was cut off as a small turret popped out of the back of Bentley's wheelchair and shot a dart straight into his forehead. Doug stumbled back, quickly collapsing and sliding down into the corner of the vehicle. Hoof coming up, he managed to pluck it out, only for it to slip from his hooflets. "Then…" he slurred. "What was the monologuing for…"
Bentley didn't respond.
"You jusss waned tuh show offffff…" Doug slurred, a wavering arm held up and pointing accussingly at the reptile. "Dinnnun you…"
"I will concede that that is accurate, correct." A loud bump rang out as the sheep collapsed forward, snoring against the van floor. Carm, Jack and Skye just stared at him, then at Bentley. "I presume you didn't have too many strong feelings towards him. Either way, you can report whatever you want, I don't mind."
Carmelita blinked. "I am guessing he wasn't necessarily a nice mammal?"
"Let us just say he was an interesting choice for a Suicide Squad role, and that after publishing so many dodgy, arrogant, and presumptive scientific papers on biochemistry, I thought his ego deserved a cutting down even before I met him."
"A yes would have sufficed," Carmelita said, looking forward. They had slowed to a crawl. Sure, mammals weren't stopping them, but the crowds, even if pointed at City Hall in this part of the plaza, were thicker and tougher to get through.
A bright flash cut through the night, the mammals looking up to see a bunch of flares sailing up from outside the plaza, arcing overhead before landing down in the centre of the mob, clouds of gas billowing out. There was a bang as one of them hit the roof, trailing down. A warning beep lit up on the console, a pair of metal clunks ringing out.
"What was that?" Jack asked.
"I think they just sealed the ventilation," Skye answered.
"Yeah," Murray agreed, "chemical agent prevention system. We've got a scrubber that'll last for half an hour or so."
Looking around out the front, Carm glanced at the turtle. "Does it say what it is?"
He glanced back. "I'm afraid I didn't expect diagnosing the chemical agent to be necessary."
Carm nodded, glancing around at the mob, seeing those around the gas. At first, it didn't look like it was having any effect… Only, call it a sleuthing suspicion. Fur on end, movements more forceful, one mammal jostled into another and he was shoved aside, the pair staring at each other, teeth baring…
She gulped. "Dilute nighthowler…"
Jack and Skye snapped to her. "What?" the vixen asked, ears peeled back.
"Not enough to make them savage… But enough to make them angrier, madder, rasher… Accelerant. Turning the bonfire into an inferno." She turned to Murray. "At this rate, we may not be able to get out before this crowd turns on us, or each other…" She looked up to see the Natural History museum up ahead. So near yet so far… "We might have to go on foot, leave you and the van…"
"No, there's got to be…" Murray began, Skye leaping forward, pointing to the side.
"THERE!"
They turned. Just a short distance away stood an entrance down to the subway station below, closed off by a metal grill.
Carm turned to Skye. "That doesn't get us in."
"No, but the Natural History museum station does."
"But that doesn't lead to the…"
"Not yet it doesn't!"
Carm stared at her for a second before slapping her paw to her forehead. "Zorro Veloz you are a genius. MURRAY!"
"On it," he said, wheeling the van around and bringing it up to the gates. Hand down, he pulled a lever and the gates in front buckled and shook, the raccoon head decal on the bumper coming shooting out like a battering ram. "And again." With a jolt the metal grill snapped back, bent off its railing and, pulling the van back, Murray gave it all it had got. They charged forward, hit the gate and bent it out of the way, turning to line up with the megafauna scale stairs. "HOLD TIGHT!"
They pitched forward, bumping and shaking as they rode down in before jerking back hard as the front bumper slammed into the floor of the ticket hall, momentum pushing it forward enough for the front wheels to get a grip and drag it onward again. A pull to the side, lining up with the elephant sized gate and he halted the vehicle.
"Why are…" Jack began, only for Bentley to flick a switch, a small joystick popping out of the dash. Lining it up, he pressed the button on top and a small missile rocketed out, hitting the gate at its hinge and blowing it half off. Another struck the hinge above it, shearing it clean and, wheels spinning, the van charged the damaged gate and smashed through, jolting upwards as it rode over, Carm climbing up front and pointing the way.
"Right there," she said.
"Through it?"
"Straight through," she said, bracing as they drove straight towards a set of construction hoarding, a map of the in-progress ZTN North-South Line on display, and smashed through. Tires squealed as they spun around a corner, lining up with another set of… "Aw crap."
Up front, displayed in shiny new letting, were the words 'Megafauna please use the lifts provided.'
He reared the vehicle up, moved it in line with one of the lifts and leant out, pressing the call button. After a few seconds the glass doors, protective plastic film still on the panes, pulled aside, the van driving in.
"Right, uh, Carm?"
On the other side, Carm leant out and stretched, pressing the down button. After a few seconds, the outer doors behind them closed and the lift doors began closing.
Only to open again.
"Oh come on…" he muttered, "let me just…" They crawled forward, the sound of the bumper being bent in as they pushed against the glass ringing out. A few seconds later a slight scraping was heard from behind them as the rear doors closed, the lift slowly going down. "-Just to let you know, if we all get stuck…" he warned. "Then I'm going to be a very not happy hippopotamus."
"Don't worry," Carm said, crossing her fingers.
…
"Doooo… doo doo doo… doooo doooo doooo… -I'm telling you," Murray said, "they didn't scrimp on the elevator music. This is catchy."
…
"Doooo… doo doo doo…"
With a ping the lift halted as they reached the lower level. The door opened and they reversed out, Murray swinging the front around and pushing on fast. A hard right, a hard left, and they were on a brand shining new platform, platform edge doors half installed along its length. Picking up speed, the Hippo led them forward, passed their end and then swerved the van to the side, off the edge of the platform.
For a second they fell, landing with a slam, the occupants thrown to the side, then up, then down as they bounced along the sleepers, racing down the tunnel.
Up, down, up, down, up… The bright white concrete of the new tunnel vanished as they entered a grand cavern, richly decorated and embossed, an opening to the night sky and city beyond up ahead.
Murray slammed the van to a halt. "Calling at Natural History Museum Station! All passengers, mind the gap between the van and the platform."
Carm nodded, turning to the door only to pause. "You could be of use too."
Murray turned to her before glancing at Bentley. "You know where you're going?"
"I can find the way, certainly," he said, Skye cutting in.
"Follow this line up, turn left at the first main junction, keep going until it starts crossing the greenbelt between Savanna and the Rainforest. Get off at an access point or something, get to the Fox family."
The hippo nodded. "Right, my girl plus your firepower should stop anything funny happening to them."
"What about Doctor Silverfox?" Carm asked.
"He's further away, unfortunately," Skye said. "One of us could maybe go and check in after…" She crossed her fingers. "Hopefully they're all together."
"Right," Carm said, getting out alongside Murray. "We'll do our part, you do yours."
They nodded, the door closing and the van taking off again, bumping and shaking as it drove down between the rails.
Carm and Murray looked up, towards the exit signs. "It's in the research annex, it shouldn't be too far," she said, leaping up and leading the way.
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Wading through the muck, crawling up a slope as they fought against the ankle high trickle of filth, Nick and Judy paused as they reached a large chamber, a loud whirring and grating noise coming out from up above.
Raising her phone, the torch shining out as a solitary single light, Judy only saw a rough few shapes and some slow movement. Nick though saw a large circular cage hanging above a pit, trickles of water or occasional burst spurting into it from numerous pipes. The liquids flowed through while the solids settled down, up until the slowly rotating boom, lined with rubber wheels, rolled around, smushing it through the fine grating.
Nick was aware of the concept, and that their presence here should have triggered a heat or sound detector. But at the same time, with the chaos outside…
A nudge at his side and he glanced down at Judy, the bunny pointing up. He followed her gaze and nodded, seeing the ladder. At its top, a solid metal door.
Wading through, he climbed up, a paw down to keep Judy in place, albeit waving up to her at the same time. After a few seconds she caught on, passing the phone up and letting Nick use its light to set the charge. Against the lock, detonator in, checking the frequency was right...
He placed it down and ran back, jumping down the ladder only to wince, feeling some of the filth spray up onto some of the uncovered parts of his body. He could imagine the dumb fox glare Judy was giving him at that exact moment.
Still, one way to deal with that.
Paws over his ears he pulled the trigger, he winced as a loud sharp POP rang out, a brief flash from the door lock as it was cut open.
They raced up and out, the black moist slime of the sewer was replaced with a stark grey concrete stairwell, the air suddenly beautifully fresh even through the sweat and humidity of their respirators. Turning a corner, Nick paused, reaching out and flicking a lightswitch.
A few flickers and they were illuminated, both mammals pulling off the respirators and then carefully peeling away the soiled wading garments.
"Okay, we're in," Nick said, Judy nodding as they carried on, wheeling themselves around each turn, up and up until they reached another door. Large, metal, locked from the other side. Fishing out another charge, Nick waved Judy on and she climbed onto his shoulders, reaching up and placing it against the lock.
Down again, paws over their ears, she pulled the trigger and the explosion echoed down the stairway. Up again, turning to see the door open, they jumped through, sliding out into a corridor.
"-FREEE…."
They froze, turning to see Officer Catano standing there, tranq pistol raised up and pointed at them. And then it dropped down, the cheetah shaking her head. "I did not expect to see you here."
"You neither…" Judy said, pausing as a squawk came from the cheetah's radio.
"Crap," she hissed, pulling it up. "Yeah, okay, we have it covered. Nick and Judy making a surprise reappearance." She slipped it down. "That should raise morale on the battlements. -I need to get up there too. Sign in with Clawhauser."
And with that she turned, racing off at a blistering pace.
Nick and Judy meanwhile cut straight to the front desk, stepping into the atrium and halting at the sight.
Nobody had gotten in, yet. But the metal shutters on the outside were down, rattling and shaking as stones were pelted or mammals banged hard. Up ahead, Officers were racing to windows or balconies, shooting down or holding off mammals trying to get in through the upper floors.
And at his desk, Clawhauser was busy speaking into the microphones, piping around orders as fast as he could. "-We're detecting an intrusion in a vent that leads around the third floor offices, we need a sniffer and a small mammal net, I -Reports in from City Hall, they have breached the main lobby and are pouring into the ground floor. Repeat, pouring into the ground floor. Other offices are closed up but aren't gonna last. -We have a helicopter returning to evacuate the last workers still in the…" He froze, looking up at the pair. "YOU'RE ALIVE! EVERYBODY, NICK AND JUDY ARE ALIVE!"
Before they could react he had leapt over his desk, stumbling forward before just resorting to going on all fours, closing the distance to them in one leap and hugging them tight. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"
"Yeaaaahhhh…" Nick coughed.
"So is… Carm…" Judy added, as Clawhauser placed them down.
"Wait, did you come through the vents or…"
"-Sewers," Nick said. "Long story…"
"Right, right…" he nodded, pausing as a massive roar rang out from outside, followed by a deafening slam against the shutters, a huge dent suddenly appearing high up.
Paw to his forehead, Clawhauser turned, racing back to his desk and grabbing the microphone. "All units, at least one elephant trying to ram the front. Need reinforcements to the shutters."
He put it down, looking over to see a duo of elephant officers making their way down to counter brace the assault. "Apart from a few little-uns in the vents that all our new security systems picked up, we haven't had anyone get in yet."
"What about reinforcements?" Judy asked, "the other…"
"They have it just as bad," the cheetah exclaimed. "They're all calling us asking for help, and saying the mobs think we've kidnapped kits and stuff… -It's worst in the poorest parts of the city, you know Precinct Four-C?"
"That's near the Ziggurats, right?" Nick asked.
Clawhauser nodded. "Sakkin Community Ziggurats… From what I heard, about every mammal there charged the nearest precinct… While almost all the riot cops were trapped out where we'd sent them to help you! The swing bridges had been hacked, they couldn't… -Those left had no chance, they had to flee before it was picked apart… I…" His lip wobbled. "I know some won't have gotten out. At least near some of the estates in Tundratown and Sahara they're holding fort, just…"
"-He's got every angry poor mammal out on his side," Judy said. "How did he get that video…"
"-Happytown!" Judy stepped back, staring at Nick as he leapt up to Clawhauser, clutching the front of his shirt. "Happytown," he gasped again. "Happytown Heights, my mother lives there, she might have been caught up, she might have…"
"It's okay…"
"What if it's not, what…"
"They know the truth!"
The fox blinked, stepping back as Clawhauser filled him in. "The station closest to the Heights is about the safest one there is somehow," he gasped for breath before shrugging. "Well, that somehow is that they attacked some polar bears working for Rattigan who were faking being the ZPD and tried to kidnap some kids to make them madder... That's what I heard. That and Rattigan also used diluted Nighthowlers to try and rile up the mob. -Anyway, somehow they found out and got a recorded confession or something… And some came over to that Precinct telling the other protestors it was a setup… They got the message through to the commander, which was spread through the ZPD, so at least none of the Precincts are literally mutinying as we first feared…"
Judy nodded. "Can't we get that onto the emergency address system?"
"We're trying, but from what I heard from the ZNN mammals the whole thing was locked out. They can either destroy it to stop the transmission now, but that means we can't put in the other video… Or at least get it out, I don't…"
A squawk from a radio cut him off. "Digger coming in!"
Clawhauser nodded. "Firearm squad. Two diggers moving up, see if you can take out the engines… If not, make them know we're not letting them drive too close."
Slamming it down, he shook his head. "Attack of the terrible tractors was not part of the job description," he muttered, looking over at the duo. "You two might want to get armed up somewhere and help out, we…"
A blinking light cut him off, the cheetah staring at it before glancing up at the skylights above, a few small black figures landing down.
A second passed, the glass erupted into an opaque web of cracks.
Clawhauser stared down at them "RUN!"
He grabbed a receiver and raced out, picking up Nick and Judy and leaping out of the way, just as a slab of broken glass fell down and crashed into the marble floor just across from the main desk.
Getting up, they looked back, the cheetah sighing. "Oh, that wasn't too…"
His desk burst into flames, a molotov crashing down from the ceiling. One then two more followed before the flapping figures of several bats dove inside. The largest, a flying fox, carried one more burning bottle, swooping straight towards the elephants holding the front shutter.
A gunshot rang out, the bottle dropped and the bat tumbled to the ground, to the shrieks and screams of his comrades. Shouting out calls of murderer and child rutter, they turned to Chief Bogo, standing on the balcony, a gun in hoof and trained on the flying mammals.
They swooped in close, screaming and hurling insults as he kept ready, staring them down and daring them.
Down below Clawhauser relayed what orders and requests he could. Bring in the flying squad to defend the lobby, get a foam extinguisher to deal with the fires, get some tarp if they could and cover the gap in the lobby skylight… -And get patrols out to check for any scaling lines or anything.
A scream cut him off and he turned to see one of the bats in the paws of a serval officer, the cat catching him in a leap. He was thrown into an upturned bin, a heavy weight put on top, and the other bats retreated, pulling themselves back out of the office.
Putting the gun away, Bogo glanced at the dead mammal on the lobby floor and then turned to Officer Wilde and Hopps. For a moment they saw a great smile grow across his face before he shook it off, charging forward. "You can tell me what happened when this is over. Is it just you, or…"
"Carmelita and some others are fighting elsewhere," Judy relayed. "Kozlov is in hospital for radiation poisoning, one of the mammals from the Kung Fu Temple gave his life to save us."
Bogo shook his head and turned, waving them on. "I suppose you'd be interested to know that we were right."
"Right?" Nick blinked.
"About Napoleon."
"He was that Florist?" Judy began, her teeth baring. "Oooh, when this is over I'll…"
"He got away," the Chief said, the pair turning up to him.
"What do you…" Nick began.
"-Oates, Basil and Dave confronted him, only he had a secret weapon. He figured something was up and used a spray bottle to fight them off."
"A spray bottle?" Nick asked, throwing his paws out. "I mean sure, worked against me when I was six. Was it filled with acid or something?"
Bogo looked down at him and then his paw, a swollen red welt on one of the pads. "It was filled with juice from that tree you found."
Nick gasped. "Are they okay?"
"In hospital, they should be… It's Wolford and some of the mammals on the convoy who were hit the worst."
"Oh god…"
"Either way, that damn pig got the shutter down… And it turned out he had a secret exit into the sewers. By the time we got in and found out, he was gone."
Judy screamed, stomping the ground underneath her.
"I bet that's when they chose to put out their fake video," Nick muttered. "Nothing to lose, they bet it all and got lucky."
"They did," Bogo said, "And that video wasn't fake."
Nick and Judy froze, looking up to him. "What do you mean, wasn't…" The bunny began.
The cape buffalo pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "It conveniently omitted me saying: '-Show them the DVD safe where we keep our daily IT backups, show them yesterdays, and the conspicuous lack of that filth on my computer.'"
"Then how did it get it there?" Nick asked. "Did they break in at some point? I'm guessing that's how they took over the ZNN emergency broadcast system when Mr Fox faced off against his double."
Bogo shook his head. "My best guess is that when they got Oates, they got his phone and were able to keep it logged on all the time. Including its connection to the ZPD VPN system, thus my computer. They used that backdoor to put those pictures on, order those officers to come and take me, and record the video."
Judy nodded. "And then send it out. Getting their mammals to stir up the angriest parts of the city even further."
Bogo nodded. "Nighthowler and manchineel gas as well… the entire force is under siege, I… Hopps?"
Her ears had bolted upright. "Gunshots, sir. I think ours."
He nodded, sparing a glance at the dead bat. "Poor idiots… If they break in, we're using complete lethal force… Even if there's kits and young mammals at the front. And if this doesn't stop and riot control can't fight their way out to help us… I guess we'll have to request that the States send in their army."
"Funnily enough," Nick said, shaking his head. "I know somebody who could help with that…"
Bogo gave a snort. "Of course you would," he said, pausing as a round of calls came from the side. "Damn it, the loading dock." He glanced down at them. "Get to the armoury, then get with me to hold them off! "
They raised their paws. "Sir yes sir!"
He turned, starting to march off, the pair following behind him. "I wonder if that was his plan all along," the Chief grunted. "Give me a damn heart attack!"
"No, it's much simpler than that," Judy said. "Outside, the parts of the Tundratown mafia he's got under his command are going around on a looting free for all. That's why Carmelita is off at the Natural History Museum. They think a priority target of his is there."
"Well good luck to her. Anything else?"
"No sir," Nick said, as they went their separate ways. Judy up against the fox.
"So you're not telling him about Clockwerk?"
"Mention that Rattigan is after the horcrux of the 747-smiting giant ancient demon owl robot monster who caused the Dyatlov Pass incident and Chernobyl? Fluff, after all you, Oates and the others have done to help Ratty, I'm not going to top it off and give the Chief his heart attack. After all, I have my professionalism to maintain."
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Racing up the museum stairs, Carmelita and Murray froze at a landing, the path beyond branching in different directions.
"Which…" the hippo panted. "Way… -Now?"
"I…" Carmelita began, only to freeze. Her gaze was fixed past the hippo, who turned to see a duo of polar bears frozen mid-stride, a giant gold and silver statue of a double-helix carried between them. "Freeze!"
They dropped the statue, the one at the front pulling out a revolver only to be slammed in the face with an electric pulse, screaming as he fell over and began convulsing on the floor. The second bear went for the gun only to jolt backwards, changing his mind just as the second shock rifle charge blazed forward right where he would have been. With a sharp crack it discharged through the statue, the thief ducking behind the wall.
Carm and Murray raced up the stairs, the vixen holding her shock pistol out and ready. One eye on the downed bear, moaning slightly on the floor, she stepped around him and flicked the revolver back with a footpaw, right towards Murray. The hippo picked it up and, aiming it over his head, threw it in a boomerang-arc path up to a section of ceiling. It bounced off, fell into the bowl of one of the hanging lights and, after a few seconds, settled there.
All as the vixen carefully walked on, scanning around the main hall for a second before turning back. "I don't think there's much of value to steal in here anyhow," she said, doubling back down the stairs and off in a different direction. "But we know they are here. If they're going for the sarcophagus thing, they might already have it… Hopefully there were a few other rare specimens or something in that part of the building. Ones worth sticking by and stealing."
She halted herself at a locked door marked staff only, an electric card reader fitted in place. She lifted her shock pistol, fired a shot, and kicked open the door, leading Murray through. Her ears immediately rising up as the shrill wail of a burglar alarm cut through the air. Sniffing as she went, she hissed. "Polar bears… And..." She winced, a look of disgust on her face. "Skunk."
"Oh no, this isn't Le Paradadox again, is it?"
"Well, let's just hope that this zorillo is fully drained," She froze just before an intersection, glancing around it before looking down. A massive scratch ran along the vinyl floor, the vixen bending down and giving a close look at the damage. "That way," she said, pointing and turning.
"Uh-hu," Murray agreed, the pair running along. Down they raced, turning hard to follow the damage down a set of stairs, down another corridor, another right and… They froze at the sight of a locked shutter gate, the sign above reading 'Loading bay access'. The vixen reached down and gave the lock a futile pull, hissing. "Dammit, got to be some stairs somewhere or…"
"ENTER THE MURRAY!"
She was cut off as the hippo charged and leapt straight into it, his mass bending the door in and pulling the lock clean out of the ground. Carm wasted no time, she saw an opening to the side where it had been pulled out of its tracks and squeezed through, spotting the back doors of a van closing and hearing the engine starting up.
Shock pistol out, she fired a triple barrage. One for the bear trying to pull himself around and into the open passenger door, sending him to the ground. One for the open door itself, the mammal leaning out pulling back in and closing it, blocking the shot. One for the van itself, a snap of electricity bounding from its chassis to the floor.
There was a crunch as it was put into gear, the tires squealing as it pulled out, Carm racing on only to be overtaken by Murray. He leapt forward, put his hands under the back and lifted up the rear, a pained yell coming out as he pulled the vehicle back, trying to stop it.
The tires squealed as they spun forward, a cloud of smoke thrown up into the room before the engine choked and died in a stall. Carm raced forward to the front, only for the engine to start up again as she pulled level, her eyes locking with the polar bear driver.
The white furred mammal glared back at her and pushed down with his foot, the vehicle racing back.
"OhnoOhNO!" Murray yelled, backpedalling as fast as he could before jumping up, his legs pulling themselves out from the space between the van and the loading bay seconds before they were crushed. He made a grab for the back door handle, jumping and holding on just as it went forward again. "CARMELITA!"
"ON IT!" the vixen yelled, glancing around for anything. Her gaze froze for a fraction of a second, fixed on a small forklift, before she pounced, swinging herself into the driver's seat and reaching for the keys… -No keys, no problem, it was electric. She aimed her shock pistol down and unleashed it at the small electric motor at the back, jolting the vehicle forward, then again, then again with each shot, driving it straight towards the edge of the platform and the path of the van. Another shot down and she winced back as a jolt of sparks blew up from her side, followed by a roaring flash of white hot flame as the battery exploded.
The vixen jumped out and rolled to a stop, just in time to see the runaway forklift start to tip down into the road section of the loading bay, right as the van came racing past it. They hit, a smash and a crunch ringing out as the forklift was thrown around and tipped back onto the upper level, the van, front all ripped open, racing off to the exit, Murray hanging on at the back.
There was a grating scream as the side panel ran along the outer gates frame, the hippo seeing what was coming and swinging to the other side to dodge, the vehicle tipping that way as it cleared the building. "Haha I have a pla…" was all Carm heard, before another shrill grating rang out, followed by a sudden dull thud and a muffled 'OW…'
"Murray!"
Carm raced out, sighing in relief as she saw him slumped down at the base of a bent and scraped up lamppost, rubbing his head. "Dammit… I thought I had them."
"You okay?" she asked.
"Mostly, yeah…" he groaned, giving his head a shake. "Aaaawwww Crap! They got away with it, they got away with it!"
"-Got away with what?"
They both turned to see two figures standing in the loading dock. A blonde furred she-wolf and a middle aged skunkette. The black and white mammal gave her pants a pull up and walked over, pausing as she noticed the look on her companion's face. "Is it me or do you look…"
"It's that fox," the she-wolf said. "She's the same one we saw not too long ago, from Paris, only this is her not in disguise."
The skunk snapped to the wolf, blinking. "Not in her disguise? You were going to keep that drama from me for how long?"
"Not the time," was all the wolf could say, coming up to the hippo. "Clara Bloom, Physicist."
"-Oh, uh, Kristen Soren," the skunk added, running up to join her. "Archeologist. We were stranded inside the museum when the riots started, and then the thieving started."
"Not much we could do," the wolf hissed, staring at where they'd gone.
"Thankfully I think they only got that fake sarcophagus thing. Anything of any real value was saved," Kristen added, looking up to Murray. "I have a first aid kit if you…"
"No, no, I'm fine," the hippo said, standing up. "Do you mammals have a vehicle or anything?"
They looked at each other then at the duo. "Yes, but…" Clara began.
"Then get us to it," Carm ordered, fishing out her badge. "We're talking stakes here larger than you can imagine."
The pair glanced at each other before Clara took off, waving the others onwards. Back into the building and then taking a turn. "I can get you to the parking garage but chances are you'll have lost them by that point."
"It's already lost," Carmelita hissed. "There just so happens though to be one other mammal with knowledge on that sarcophagus thing, one who Rattigan might be after. -He was after him before over this, If we can save him…"
"-Is this Dr Silverfox?" Kristen asked. "He's the only other…"
"Yes," Carm said, as they ran around a corner.
"But all he did was do some translations on the hieroglyphs. Not that they were genuine, they spelt out some joke in english or whatever. I mean it's obviously not genuine, so whatever purpose it has… Is… -Is there some kind of important code hidden on that thing or?"
"I don't know," Carm said, as they raced out into a parking garage, Clara holding her key up and blipping as much as she could. An orange light lit up from ahead, the wolf waving them on before pausing.
"Sorry, no space for the big guy."
"No worries," Murray said.
"-So hang on, if you know what that thing is…" Kristen began, as they reached the vehicle. Set out for the wolf's size, the canine took the wheel, the other two getting in the passenger seat.
"-I'll follow outside," Murray said. "Help clear away any rioters just outside of the exit. Then just uh, hang around and help out."
Carm nodded, giving a thumbs up as the door was shut and turning to the flustered skunk. "We do not know what it is or what it is for. Only that, due to its connection to a former incredibly dangerous entity, a certain Padriach Rattigan has been trying to get it for a while."
"The same Rattigan trying to stop the ZPD and city hall kitnapping and rutting kits?" Clara asked, putting the vehicle in gear but holding off the accelerator, her eyes fixed firmly on Carm.
"It's a set up, they've also been releasing diluted night howler to stir up that crowd. Right now, the ZPD everywhere is under siege and Rattigan's proxies are looting this city dry."
Clara was silent for a moment before putting her foot down, the car pulling out towards the exit.
"I told you," Kristen said, adjusting her glasses.
"Only after the looters appeared," the wolf corrected, glancing down at Carm. "Security tried to hold them off for as long as they could, but they wore us down."
"Not that I ummm…," the skunk began, a slight blush growing on her face as she shrunk a little into her seat, index fingers tapping together. "How do you say, got a shot off at them…"
"No, you got about a dozen damn fine shots off at them," the wolf corrected. "Better than I did."
"They had guns," Carm said. "Not much you could do…"
"Eh, I had my oestrogen shot," Clara said, smirking.
They pulled out into the open, Murray clearing a free path for them to follow between some straggling rioters. The she-wolf managed to give him a nod as she passed, gaze lingering on the black clad mammals around him. "Ughhhh, duped up dumb-dumbs…"
"After you tried to fill my head with images charging city hall as part of La Revolution, I hardly believe you're one to talk," the skunk said.
Carm, suppressing a small snort of laughter, had her phone out. "Next right here."
They pulled around the corner, pushing on.
"So…" Kristen continued, looking up at the fox cop next to her. "Out of curiosity, why did you come up to us disguised as an attache from Le… -The museum of crime or whatever it was. And why did you tell my colleague the truth and not me?"
"One of your initial spectroscopic analyses triggered a warning in our systems," Carm explained. "That set of alloys is only associated with one source, a dangerous one formerly known as Clockwerk, whose legacy Interpol deals with and keeps out of the paws of dangerous mammals for the safety of mammalkind."
"Quite noble and selfless of your organisation," came a snark from the blonde canine, Carm crossing her paws and glaring at her.
"Do you want the army getting hold of it instead? That's the alternative."
Clara just raised a finger before holding it there or a second or two. With a sigh she lowered it as Carm directed her around the next bend. "Follow this trunk road for a bit," she said, before looking over to Kristen. "Anyway, your colleague had me rumbled from the beginning of the meeting, she just chose to confront me about it in private afterwards."
"Right," The skunk nodded, shaking her head. "But… What even is it then? What does it do if it is so important."
Carmelita sighed. "We don't know, we just know it is connected."
Kristen nodded. "Nothing much had changed since you last visited us. We can't get into it without destroying it… And attempts to keyhole in broke the drill."
"Yakateriningsburg polytechnic all over again…" Carm muttered.
"Huh?"
"-Nothing, carry on."
"Anyway, no point using magnetic imaging or X-Ray… All we did was further document the anomalies in the radioisotopes. As said, it was built post the nuclear age… But with an isotope composition you wouldn't see for hundreds of thousands of years."
"To which the only logical solution I can come up with is time travel of some kind," Clara said.
Kristen chuckled a little, pausing though as she saw Carmelita nodding. Anything she was going to say next was cut off as the vixen turned to her two companions. "Whatever that thing is, we're in a war with an incredibly dangerous mammal with zero morals, no qualms, and a lethally overinflated ego. He is a spoiled boy genius with his paws on a weapon of mass destruction. We may have already lost, but you two are the best experts we have on this thing…"
"Well," Kristen said, "I fear then that our chances are essentially zero to one."
Carm winced, shaking her head. "I will put you in contact with some of the other experts we have on Clockwerk itself. Be warned… You will not believe one iota of what we say, but it is true. In any case, security breaches are the least of our worries now, we… -Left here."
"We're not going into the Rainforest?" Clara asked, turning off the main route.
"Dr Silverfox's house is on the very edge, this is cutting a corner." She pulled out her phone and dialled a number. "Anyway, time to break the bad news." She pressed a button on the phone and lifted it to her ear. "Bentley, are you there?"
.
.
.
.
THUH-THUH-THUH-THUH-THUH…
Bouncing up and down, Bentley frowned as he pulled the phone out of his pocket, raising it to his ear. "I hope this is good news Inspector."
"Sadly not, we barely missed them. Some academics studying the item gave me a lift, we're going to Dr Silverfox's. After that, we can put them in contact with you, try and think of something…"
"Well given that Rattigan's goons have it and there's nothing we can do, I am certain that will be a brain teaser for the ages," he muttered, frowning as he looked over at his computer screen, trying to move it up and down with him and keep focussed.
"And given the sounds coming out of there, are you even off the rail tracks yet?"
"No," he grumbled. "We've been bouncing along through an entire district, multiple tunnels, etcetera etcetera and still haven't found a place to get off."
"Where are you now?"
"Just coming into the Rainforest-Savanna buffer area…"
A hiss came out from the other end. "We're almost at Dr Silverfox's place! How slow are you going!?"
"Not slow enough to stop a significant and painful tenderness to my gluteus maximus that I could reasonably if scientifically inaccurately describe as killing me. Something all the more remarkable given that I haven't felt that part of my body for the best part of the last two decades," Bentley spoke, shaking his head. "Thankfully I've improvised a biological, aerated keratin fibre lined albeit acoustically imperfect shock absorption system that at least means usage of my laptop is within the realms of vague possibility."
"...You're sitting on Doug, aren't you?"
The turtle looked down at the sheep beneath him, bouncing along the bottom of the van and grunting as they bounced along the sleepers. "If it's stupid and it works and there isn't a better solution, it isn't stupid Carmelita. Still, despite providing some use to society as a mediocre cushion, this intolerable roadway situation is making it almost impossible to get in contact with other hackers."
"Other hackers?"
"One of them contacted me out of desperation, trying to recruit my help to break through the hold our enemies have on the ZNN emergency broadcasting system and get our message up without Rattigan and co bricking the system to stop us. I vacated my driver's seat and let Miss Autumn take over while, unable to gather the concentration or coding accuracy to be of any direct help at the moment, assisted in the process of contacting and recruiting other Thief-net contacts of mine to pool in and assist."
"How's that going?"
He frowned. "Given that most hackers are anti-ZPD even before the fake-out, tough. But I've got one or two on our side after showing them that video… -Annoyingly I'm going to have to give the 'New Cooper Gang' whoever they are credit. Their delivery of that video to ZNN has given us a chance out of this, and also saved Chief Bogo and the rest of city leadership from imminent slow combustion at the paws of an incensed Dark Flame Wolf."
He frowned as a snort of laughter came from both the mammals at the front of the van and the other end of the phone.
"Them I can understand, Inspector. You though know my stance on sarcasm. It makes her attitude on kit abuse look mild in comparison."
Carmelita's laugh slowly trailed off. "Well, I suppose that's a minor leap compared to what we know."
"Anyway," Bentley grumbled. "Fingers crossed we can solve it, we've managed to get most of the Lang family on our side now, albeit after they preemptively destroyed an entire convoy of ZPD Tactical Urban Strike Korps vehicles trying to fight back the rioters from the Sakkin Community Ziggurats." He winced as he saw an image on his screen. "It's not pretty. The bridges in the Rainforest docks were hacked, trapping ninety-two percent of the Rainforest's heavy forces at the dock you were kitnapped from. The Lang's neutralised the other eight-percent before learning the truth, leaving the district's Precincts practically undefended. Don't go anywhere near the Rainforest Carmelita, it's tearing itself apart. I…"
He was slammed to the side, gripping onto a seat rest to stop himself falling off Doug as the van jolted up and to the side, picking up speed on a far smoother surface. "Yes," Skye yipped. "Access point!"
"Oh thank GAWD!" the turtle moaned, flicking through his computer screen. "Carmelita, I need to pull out the big guns now, we're going for the take-over."
"Understood, good luck!"
"I don't require it, but thank you regardless," Bentley said, the van jolting slightly as it smashed through a metal gate, picking up more speed as it raced along the road.
Pressing a few keys, the turtle spoke in. "Eifeelsogud? This is Panzrcrakr. You, Druid and Sparrow hold them off, I'll work it in with their field agent. Are you one-hundred percent clear?"
"Following what you're bringing out," came the short response, two other affirmatives following. "On your mark."
The turtle nodded, pressing the keys. "Maid, this is Private Turtle. Ready when you are."
.
.
Far off in the ZNN main control room, the red fox vixen nodded, reaching forward and beginning to work through the screens on her laptop. To her side, Robin looked on anxiously, he and Little John bruised and battered but still standing firm.
The rest of the ZNN staff members and crew shared in his anxiousness, bar a steel faced grey and white she-wolf in a blue pinstripe suit, an iron clad expression on her muzzle.
Marian glanced back, finger on her ear, and nodded. "Now." She began typing furiously, just as Bentley did in the van, Eifeelsogud did back in his loft and Sparrow and Druid did wherever they were. Lines of code pushing through the wires and into the system servers and controls, filtering through and trying to avoid those that had already infected in. Sending out false reports that all was good, putting up a block around the key files that were primed to be erased at the press of a button. Marian kept on her work, ears pulled back, tongue starting to peak in and out the edge of her muzzle until…
The lines on the screen vanished, three small white dots reappearing alongside a text cursor flashing on and off, on and off… And then racing forward, new lines of code populating down.
"The good news is they're out of the system and it's rebooting," she said, closing the lid and looking back up at the ZNN mammals, a cheer rising through the crowd. Marian smiled, one shared by Robin and Little John.
They could savour this.
Though it quickly faded, a skunk reporter walking forward. "And the bad news?"
She sighed. "I was trying to get a trace into their system, work out where they were based."
"Get the jump on them," Murana said, nodding.
"Unfortunately I was struggling to set that up, I chose to cut our losses and just get control of the emergency broadcast system."
"Unfortunate indeed, but we can now get the truth out to those misguided mammals," she said, turning to one of her technicians and nodding. "Send the new report out."
He pressed a button. "Done."
"Right," Robin said, looking to Little John and Marian. "Even if everyone sees that, there's going to be plenty of looting going on out there. I think there's some big bad polar bears needing stopping and some small mom-and pop shops requiring saving."
"And all the other looting," one of the other mammals said, walking over to his post.
"Well, are economically disadvantaged mammals taking this opportunity to take from large chain stores? Yes…" Robin began, pausing as he saw the look from Murana, one eyebrow raised. He just smiled and bowed. "I am afraid my redistribution orientated group has just recently got our mojo back. Apologies if we don't want to sully this high."
"Get out there and do what you can," she said, walking off. "As will I." A few mammals walked up to her, asking what she was planning, but she brushed them aside as she made for a lift, stating she had her own personal plans.
All as the three vigilantes packed up their things. "Understood, stay safe feelsogud," Marian said. "Same for you Panzrcrakr. Any…" She paused, "right. You do understand none of us chose 'The New Cooper gang' as a moniker? -Yes we could try and publicise a new one… -Okay, we haven't thought of a new one…" She paused, looking around, eyes lingering on the broad smiles on Robin and Little John. "You know what, tell everyone we're the Merry Mammals and be done with it."
She slammed down her laptop and raced off, the pair following them. All as the screens behind them flickered, a title card appearing, before changing to the image of Peter Moosebridge and Fabienne Growley.
.
.
"THREE! TWO! ONE!" Together Bogo and Rhinowitz charged forward, their riot shields pulled in front of them. Four smaller officers were already at the breach, struggling to hold in the mammals trying to push through the rear loading dock door.
It was mostly smaller mammals trying to push through, a sheep and a pig squeezing in through a hole that had been grinded through the metal shutters. "Death to Neo-Predators!" the sheep yelled, thrusting forward a crowbar, levering it through the shields of the tapir and honey badger trying to force him back, glancing at the predator's eye.
The ratel hissed, threw his baton down, grabbed the crowbar and tore it out of the shocked prey's hoof, the rioter bleating in panic as it smashed down on his head, dropping him to the floor then and there.
"Cody!" the tapir yelled, not that it stopped the honey badger tossing the crowbar at the now fleeing pig, gashing his head and sending him stumbling down to his knees, right in front of the entry hole.
Grabbing his truncheon, the honeybadger bared his teeth and let out a shriek, marching forwards fur standing on end.
"CODY!"
He snapped to the tapir, then glanced back, leaping out of the way with him and the other two cops right as Bogo and Rhinowitz charged through at full speed.
The pig glanced up and panicked, scrabbling to push back through the entryway even as more prey mammals were trying to fit through. He pushed, he shoved, he glanced back as the megafauna cops arrived, their shields hitting him at full speed. They rammed him back through the hole in less than a second, crashing into the gate and bending it backwards, bracing themselves against it as they tried to plug the gap.
The rattling and pounding on the other side didn't stop.
"BRACE! NOW!" The chief yelled, looking back to see a panicked Catano driving forward in a forklift, the vehicle wobbling and shaking as she tried to manoeuvre it into position.
"-Waste palette!" Rhinowitz ordered, glancing over to the side.
The forklift squealed to a halt as the big cat turned and saw what he was looking at. A large metal waste tub painted yellow and black, used to collect refuse from the cell blocks, and fixed to a metal base by a large hinge. A base on caster wheels for dragging but also with holes for the forklift to use for lifting.
"Get it at the front," the rhino ordered, "No, the OTHER WAY!"
The rubber tires on the vehicle squealed as she swung it around, carefully lining up before threading the forks in, picking up the palate with a jolt.
"Bring it over," Rhinowitz said. "You guys!" He glanced at the other cops. "Get the wheels…" He was cut off as something hard smashed into his and Bogo's shields.
"Just our luck," the Buffalo grumbled. "They've got a battering…" He was cut off as another one hit. "Hurry Catano!"
"It's not me who needs too," the Cheetah yelled, leaping off the forklift and grabbing a small bit of brick that had come loose from somewhere, swinging it up at one of the wheels hanging in the air. All as the other cops, with truncheon and crowbar, took down the first, then second, then third… Catano leapt back into the drivers seat just as the fourth and final one was pulled off, jerking the forklift forwards while lowering down the cargo.
Bogo and Rhinowitz pulled out of the way just as a goat tried to haul himself through the newly created hole, working an arm around to pull himself up and in. He glanced up, saw the forklift coming and tried to pull out, right as it hit.
The gate rattled, the plastic of the riot shields cracked, a sickening boney crunch rang out as Catano pulled away, the metal tub sealing the gap as screaming rang out from the other side.
A few of the predator officers were wincing as they picked up a new smell, apart from the Honey Badger who smiled, pumping his fists in the air as he marched up along the gate, rattling it with his fists. "You thought you could try something huh? You thought you could? You thought…"
A shrill grinding rang out, followed by a flurry of sparks raining from the metal surface, an angle grinder starting work on a new hole. The tapir cop raced forward with the dropped crowbar, swung it, and shattered the cutting disc.
Leaning over and panting, he wiped his brow. "Please be the end of it, please…"
"-Sweet cheese and crackers!" They turned to see Nick and Judy racing up, the bunny pointing out. "The sheep is on fire."
They turned and saw him, blood pooling around his face and smoke rising from an exposed bit of wool, cinders from the angle grinder glowing within.
"Right, already dropped so we just…" Nick began, only for Catano to shoot in with a fire extinguisher, starting to douse him. "That also works."
Meanwhile Judy looked up to Bogo. "Seems like you sealed them out."
"With the loss of two of their own," he muttered, glancing behind the waste palate and wincing. He looked down and saw their lethal firearms on their uniforms. "I see you're armed."
"If… If it comes to it sir," Judy nodded.
"At this rate we'll be out of non-lethal ammo before long, so it might well do…"
He was cut off, his phone screaming out. Along with Nick's, Judy's, Catano's, and the sounds of hundreds more from the other side. Out in the streets, Murray, in the middle of hotwiring a car, turned and, through a gap in the buildings, saw a slither of the Watering Hole Plaza main screen fizzle and then come to life, one of Peter Moosebridges antlers visible.
"This is Peter Moosebridge with Fabbienne Growley, here with an urgent message for all Zootopians. The allegations you have been seeing on the ZNN broadcast system by the mammal calling himself Padriach Rattigan are fake! I repeat, they are fake. They were engineered to provoke these riots in order to neutralise the ZPD, and allow his criminal forces free reign to loot the city."
Without a moment's pause, Fabienne Growley took over. "This was confirmed to us by a delegation of mammals from Happytown Heights. They saw the initial video and marched out to join the attacks, spurred on when they saw what they believed were ZPD Forces kitnapping children, as shown in this video." The screen changed, showing phone footage of the battle of the plaza. "However, these were not ZPD mammals. Instead they were members of the Tundratown mafia, disguised as such, as proven when the same mammals captured the van and faked being the driver on the radio."
Back in Happytown Heights, the mammals looked on at the TV screens, the sea otter pointing at himself as he appeared, faking the accent.
Down in Precinct One, Nick and Judy breathed a sigh of relief as they heard the mammal on the other side lay out the truth.
"To all mammals attacking the ZPD or other city institutions, you need to stop now," Moosebridge carried on. "You have been tricked. It is not your fault. It is though if you continue. Go home, stay safe. I repeat, go home, stay safe. People will have died tonight, and the ZPD needs a chance to recover to bring the mammal responsible for this night of chaos to justice."
There was a fizz as the transmission cut off, before starting all over again. "This is Peter Moosebridge with Fabienne Growley."
Inside Clara's car, inside the Cooper van and most of all inside the ZPD Precinct 1 loading bay a cheer of success rang out, followed by a sigh of relief.
One wiped out as the banging on the outside only intensified. "YOU THINK YOU CAN FOOL US LIKE THAT BOGO!"
"YEAH, YOU THINK WE'RE IDIOTS!"
"GUYS! WHAT IF IT'S…"
"OF COURSE YOU'D SAY THAT CHOMPER!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?"
"I BET YOU'RE JUST FINE WITH HIM PREYIFYING OUR CHILDREN!"
"WHAT THE CUSS YOU MEAN PREYIFYING! WE'RE HERE TO STOP THE NEOPREDIST CULT! I BET YOU'RE A MEMBER!"
"HEY!" The sharp sound of a feline hiss rang out, followed by a scream, followed by punches, screams, yells and kicks. The cops inside looked at each other as the sounds of a battle rang out from outside, the pounding on the door getting more and more frequent and more and more desperate, the cries of rage at them replaced with begs to let them in, help them, save them…
"I'M SORRY, I… AAARRGGHHHH!"
Judy winced as a high pitched lapine scream rang out, trembling where she stood. Nick just walked over to her and held her tight. "S-Sir," he began, looking up to Bogo.
"Rhinowitz, Longmane, stand guard here, keep the border secure. The rest of you, follow on!" He turned and raced off, the honey badger officer following on right behind him. The rest of those not staying paused where they were, glancing at each other and at the pounding door, screams and roars and cries and pleading ringing out from behind it. The tapir officer shook his head and ran after the Chief, followed by Nick, Judy in paw, followed by the rest. One after the other.
"There's nothing we can do for them," the fox said, looking down at the bunny.
Her lips trembled as she ran, nodding.
"I'm sorry Judy. I'm sorry."
.
.
Pulling up sharply, Carmlita winced as she ran through the pounding rain, the sprinkler systems of the Rainforest District working full blast. Even so, she could smell the familiar tinge of a riot on the air. Never she mind, get Dr Silverfox out of…
She froze, seeing the door to the apartment complex broken, waving open and shut with the breeze. "NO," she hissed, grabbing her shock pistol and charging forwards… Only to stop, turn back, and bang on the car door. "If they come out while I'm up, do whatever you can to stop them! Run them over for all I care, just stop them!"
With that she turned and raced off, not caring whether the two had blank looks of shock on their faces or not. Giving a glance at the lift, making sure it wasn't going down, she grabbed the stair railings and began making her way up, as fast as she could, no care if her legs were starting to burn from the flight after flight after flight she was leaping up. There was supposed to be a pair of officers always nearby, wasn't there? With an emergency contact from Silverfox. Only they'd have been called away to help with the riots, wouldn't they? They'd be rainforest mammals, the rainforest was burning, there was nothing stopping…
She raced onto his landing and froze, seeing the door broken off its hinges. Racing towards it, back against the wall and weapon raised, she listened in with her ears for a second or two before swinging herself around, gun drawn.
Nobody…
Nobody was inside.
She turned and ran, pounding on the lift call, waiting for an agonising dozen or so seconds before the door opened and she leapt in, slamming the ground floor button.
Another agonising, long, slow, painful wait as she travelled down, finally reaching the ground floor.
Out she raced, seeing the car still there. Clara leant out of it. "Did they?"
Carmelita nodded, leaping back in. "Sí," she said. "Ages ago…" Wincing up, she slammed her forehead into the dash, glancing over at Clara. "I will tell the others… I can only hope his extended family is safe… -Listen, take us to this place!" she yelled, grabbing the sat-nav and pushing in the address of the fox family house. "It should only take five minutes, if that's going to be our last stand…"
She hissed out, paw on her muzzle and dragging down, clenching into a fist and then hitting the car. "I thought we'd won…" she said, lower lip trembling. "I…" She just whimpered, before pinching her brow and forcing it down as off they went.
.
.
"Ah, the sweet sight of victory," the tiger mused, driving along the half deserted streets. A few swerves to avoid an overturned delivery van here, some rioters there. The tiger gave a wave to them as he passed, only to stop, giving an extra large one to a group of polar bears, currently running out from a bank building, chucking the cash straight into a waiting car. "I do believe they'll be busy all tonight and tomorrow too, making withdrawals. It is quite the magnificent opportunity, isn't it?"
Behind him, locked into a cubseat, the silver fox moaned slightly, eyes focussing for a second before he muttered out. "You're… You're not going to…"
"Ah, excuse me, I do believe we are," he practically purred, pausing as he glanced up at a signpost. "Ah, Sedova street. Excuse me, the boss wants me to pull a quick favour for a friend."
Pulling open the glove compartment, he pulled out an icepick, walked out, locked the door and entered into a building.
Dr Silverfox closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. He'd only been hit with a light dose of tranq… It was coming off already. Kris was safe, that was the main thing, he was with his cousin.
The police protection he'd been given at his own place must have been pulled off… For the riots. He'd wondered if that rat was genuine, but then the fact he was kitnapped…
The jolt of the car door closing snapped his attention to focus, the fox glaring at the tiger in front, the feline wiping his paws with a cloth. "-Oh, excuse me, could you please hold this."
Dr Silverfox looked down as a bloodied icepick was placed down in his lap. "-Using the riots to do all your dirty deeds," he muttered, glancing up.
"Oh indeed. The sad thing is, it was only by chance that a Mr Snowball back there came to our attention. Still, whoever directed the ZPD to him allowed the late Mr Snowball to get them on the trail of one of the Boss' main partners… Quite uncomfortably close, mind you. And so, as a gesture of good faith we decided to take him out of the picture.
"You just killed… An innocent mammal…"
The tiger smiled and shrugged. "Why yes."
Despite his weak state, Dr Silverfox managed a faint snarl before collapsing back. A paw worked its way over the lock, only to find it secured in place by something much stronger, and requiring a key. The straps were on tight, he wasn't sure he could wiggle his way out even if fully recovered.
"It is still a great riddle though," the tiger mused. "Our recently removed main criminal rivals would be the most logical ones to have directed the ZPD to him, but despite the chance to gloat at what for a time seemed like a complete and total victory, they did not. I guess we will never know for sure… -You know, I now regret taking him by surprise. If I'd have taken him to the front of the head, I could have asked him if he had any idea. Who knows, might have been him himself, trying to provide some level of cover…" He shrugged. "Not that it worked out, as you can see."
Dr Silverfox glanced down at the bloodied icepick on his lap. "So where now… Am I to meet this boss of yours?"
"You're invited, with compulsory attendance, to his abode. Alas, he won't be there right away. Professor Rattigan and his close associates have a whole list of things to do, and without having to run from the ZPD I hear they have chosen to employ a, if less efficient, far more entertaining method to deal with a certain set of pests of theirs."
"My brother in law saw you and a lion… At the ZNN building. Where's he then?"
"Ah, with the big boss to settle an old score. Don't worry though, once that's done, you can all catch up. A nice big family reunion." The tiger turned back and smiled as they drove off. "I think it will be quite the motivation for you to help the boss on his most personal project. He's been insistent ever since learning about you via your son's legal difficulties. Your assistance on it could well be invaluable."
He paused as he saw one of the screens outside, the figures of Peter Moosebridge and Fabienne Growley on display. The tiger frowned. "Hmmm, seems like someone is trying to rob us of our moment." He pulled up a radio. "Plaza squad, your status?"
.
Up overlooking Watering Hole Plaza, two polar bears scanned the crowd through their binoculars. Over at Precinct One, the crashing tides had somewhat receded. Sure, the ZPD were still under siege, but it no longer felt like they were one mistake away from letting the angry crowds in to enact mob justice. Instead those on the outside were holding back, at most holding the line. He could already see groups form though, bitter discussions, accusations, even squabbles and fights breaking out between them. Those who believed the news, those who didn't, and those who'd just learnt who the enemy of their enemy really was.
As for City Hall, a slow stream of mammals was still feeding in through the breach, though from what they were hearing from security they were being kept to the bottom floor.
He relayed it all to the mammal on the other side of the radio, the acting boss. Given that the big boss and his crew were going off to a 'little arboriculturalist project'… as the tiger had referred to it.
In any case, it still seemed like the ZPD would be out of action for more than enough time, only… He paused, glancing down, spotting a large crowd of mammals starting to leave the plaza. Those on one of the barricades seemed to argue at first before resigning, letting them go through.
"Well," the tiger said over the radio. "Give those gatekeepers a little taste of accelerant. Full strength."
The bear nodded, slipping on a gas mask and opening a box, a large jar stored within. He walked up to the edge, took a second or two to aim, pulled a pin out the top and threw.
Down below, a bunny looked on as the mammals on the barricade began to part. The lapin himself was mad, furious! He'd come all this way into the city to help out, now that the damn truth had been revealed for all to see. Grabbing a family truck, racing all two-hundred miles or something to help with saving the world, just like his cousin had in the nighthowler case… And now it turned out to be a lie! A big stinking…
His train of thought was cut off as something exploded over the top of the barricade, the mammals on top shouting out and wincing, shielding themselves from the shrapnel.
"What was that?" he yelled, only to freeze. Freeze at the groans, the hisses, the bellows and the roars, as those on the barricade convulsed, got up on four shaky legs and turned to them, their eyes slits.
Devan turned and began running, so did everyone else, screaming and panicking, the bear above looking on as the exiting crowd raced straight back into the fray, all the more motivated now. He kept watch for any more deserters, just the same as his comrades would at each other exit from the battlefield. He pulled his radio to his lips and spoke out. "Working just as planned."
"Excellent," the tiger smiled, driving on. "A perfect criminal plan that, for all its faults, has been a complete success."
"You won't get away with it," Dr Silverfox muttered.
"Why, doctor, we already have!"
"Just because you have me… Doesn't mean I'll help."
The tiger turned back and smiled. "My dear fellow, say that again, when we reunite you with your family."
And with that the car raced off into the city.
.
.
Hissing, Carm phoned through. "Bentley, Bentley! They got Dr Silverfox, we're on our way to the Fox household to defend it. Repeat, we're…"
"It's… gone…"
Carmelita froze. "What do you mean it's gone?" she asked, as they turned up the drive. She could already see the Cooper van, she could already see Skye down on the floor, crying, Jack comforting her. She could see Bentley. But she couldn't see…
"I mean it's…"
"It's gone," Carmelita echoed, dropping her phone as she saw the terrible scene in front of her.