"YOU!" the bodyguard hollered, "I should've known! I should've known you were the one behind all this!" Her teeth chittered with both anger and disgust when she hissed the intruder's name – it was a name she hadn't thought of in a very long time, and yet, said absence had done nothing to lessen the hatred she had for it. "Pam...!"
The young mongoose's red eyes were gleaming malevolently at her from underneath ashen lids, scanning her with a perpetual self-satisfied smirk. She flexed her lush ringed tail the way she preferred it most: winding over one of her shoulders and around her neck, like a furry python slithering along a length of tree trunk – and she began to stroke it as she strolled up to the bar, gently laying her glass down on the counter. If Clover's impromptu arrival had taken her by surprise, no one could tell; she was behaving as though the most fearsome woman in all of lemurkind barging into the room practically foaming at the mouth and with death on her mind were a simple daily occurrence.
Right then, Willie gathered the courage to uncover his face – only for his eyes to widen in horror as they fell on Clover's clenched fists.
"Oh my-! Clover, your hands! What happened?!" he cried out to her.
Pam seemed to notice them, too, though her expression gave nothing away.
"What happened?! I'll tell ya what happened!" In just a few strides, Clover had bridged the distance between herself and her enemy. "You did, ya wretched lowlife scumbag!" she claimed hatefully, before turning to the man on the sofa and shrieking at him, "What is this, Willie?! What is this?!" Then she stomped back across the room towards him. The fallen end table was in her way; rather than going around it, she brutally kicked it aside. "Answer me, ya lil' bastard!"
Willie cowered even further against the backrest and dug his fingers into the carmine-padded cushions, whimpering, "Ple – please, Clover, don't! I know this looks... pretty bad, but if only you'd heard what she-
"Oh, I've heard plenty – all the things she promised you! Gods, I didn't know you were so desperate to get laid that you'd let a convict into our club, let alone fraternize with her! Or could it be you're working for her?! Huh?! Is that it?!" She was looming menacingly over him while he shook like an autumn leaf; he surely was preparing himself for the beatdown of his life, yet the blows never came.
"What? What are you talking about?!" he asked her, lifting his head when he was certain she wouldn't harm him. "I'm not... I'd – I'd never even seen this woman in my life before now! I was just minding my own, watching the doctors take Gracie away when she came to me asking what the deal was, and – and when I told her, she asked me if she could sign up 'cause it wasn't sure Gracie was ever coming back!"
"Then why'd you come down here?!"
"For privacy! She said we should get to know each other better over a couple drinks, but that we couldn't do it upstairs, what with all the music and people killing the mood!" He clasped his hands together, as if imploring her to believe him. "I swear I didn't want to, but then she started wooing me with these amazing tales of her job in the industry and how this would be good for business and all this other stuff, and I – I just caved in... You know I'd never do something to hurt others on purpose! You – you know that, right?"
Clover did indeed know; however, her expression didn't soften one bit. Figuring that his explanation had probably made things worse for himself, Willie lurched forward, and from the coffee table he picked up a small white object, which he then showed to the livid bodyguard. "Look, here's Bev's business card! I checked it myself; she's clean! You must've mistaken her for someone else!"
Clover took the little card in her fingers to read it. It had a frontal portrait of Pam with the name "Beverly" emblazoned on the top, along with contact information and details about some cosmetic company she'd never heard of. Though it all looked authentic to the untrained eye, Clover wasn't fooled; everything but the picture had obviously (and quite expertly) been falsified. Without a single word, she curled her fingers into her palm, crushing the card before suddenly tearing it to shreds.
"...Willie... I think you and I oughta have a very serious talk," she muttered, slowly glaring up from the rug into his lime, fear-dilated eyes.
Both actions petrified him – his throat, too, had become so dry he could not answer. He had to swallow several times just to find his voice. "...Listen, I... I know you have every right to be mad at me, and I'm sorry... but what about Bev? What has she done for you to say such mean things about her?"
"Stop calling her that, ya moron!" she screamed at him, set off by his cluelessness, "Her name isn't Bev, it's Pam! P-A-M! Notorious swindler, con artist, thief and gold digger! Does that jog your memory?!" Willie frantically shook his head; the sheer volume of Clover's voice seemed to be scaring him so much that she stopped for a brief moment to ponder whether, perhaps, she was being too hard on him. She did believe what he'd told her was true; after all, Pam was an incorrigible manipulator with zero appreciation for honor, morals or principles, so him (a credulous being by nature) simply not knowing what he had gotten himself into, was nothing new. Due to this, Clover made a conscious effort to keep her tone a little quieter next time she spoke.
"Listen, I don't wanna know what kinda sick fantasy you had built in that noggin of yours, but I'm telling ya – that chick's been using you all this time, just like she uses every ignorant sap that falls into her web!" Pam, still quietly listening in by the bar, rolled her eyes. "Just ask the crocodile ambassador, or King Joey, or any other monarch on this island! They'll all tell ya the same thing: that she's nothing but a sleazy, greedy rat, who doesn't care who she hurts as long as she gets what she wants!" She turned to her, voice full of venomous contempt. "Hell, why don't you ask King Julien; he's almost lost the crown to her more than once! I bet he'd be delighted to fill ya in on that!"
Willie's current expression signaled his astonishment; it was as if he were witnessing the world crash down around him in slow motion.
"Bev...? Is this true?" he asked Pam, too ashamed of himself to even look her in the eye.
"...I'm sorry, Willie. I guess the jig is up now, so I might as well give it to you straight: it is." There was not an ounce of pity or remorse in her speech. "I've gone by many, many names; heh, I must've had more of them than Madagascar has trees! Pam, Lily, Stephanie, Bev, Eloise... it doesn't matter; all they are is tools to keep my slate clean whenever I'm on my... manhunts." She couldn't help but titter at her own pun. "I never had any intention to be your friend either; that was just a trick to get into your head. I'm happy to see it still works so well..."
"But – but – but what about everything you said about me? What about when we...? Why'd you do that if you don't like me?"
"Oh my gosh, how can you be so naïve?! Newsflash, chump, you aren't the first guy I've swapped spit with and you certainly won't be the last! I swear, you men are all so predictable – all it takes is a few nice words and a little intimacy, and you're ready to bend to my every whim without question! It's honestly kinda sad..."
At that moment, caught up in a whirl of emotions as he was, Willie jumped from the sofa. "You... you... you lousy fraud! How could you?! I trusted you, dammit!" His lower lip began quivering, and he balled up his puny hands into fists. "Now it could cost me my job if this gets out, all because of you! Ohhh, I should just-
"Quiet!" barked Clover, "We'll deal with this later! Leave her to me." She laid a hand on his shoulder and forced him to sit again – not too harshly, but not gently either. The fact that this was taking that much of a toll on him to apparently even consider taking physical action against someone had mollified her anger against him a little. "And stay put! Don't go thinking you're outta the woods yet!"
Not a moment later, she was before her speedy rival once more. "Gimme a reason I shouldn't break your nose right now."
Pam shook her head. "Ah, Clover, Clover, Clover... how typical of you. First time we meet in forever, and this is how you greet me?" She pointed at the demolished door, leaning back with her elbows on the counter's bamboo-framed rim. "You should've learned by now grudges are never good for your mental health, even if we did settle ours long ago... so please... smile a little for an old friend, will you?"
"Cut the charade! I know what you're planning, and I know what you've done! Give it up and maybe this won't have to end with your face beaten to a bloody pulp!"
"Gee, why do you always have to be so dramatic?" Smirking cheekily, Pam reached with her tail for a spare bottle of wine from the shelves behind the bar, wrapped the tip around it, then passed it over to her hand and held it to Clover's face. "Ah, what the hell – here, the offer still stands. Give it a good chuck; you'll see how you start feeling a lot better. Willie said everything's on the house, so down the entire thing if you want!"
Clover, however, roughly snatched it away. "Don't play dumb with me, I'm warning ya!" she snarled – rather than smashing the bottle on Pam's skull like her fevered instincts were goading her to, she set it back on the counter. "Why don't you save me the fake pleasantries and explain to me why you've come back, huh? C'mon, I'm all ears! I don't wanna miss a bloody word!" Then she crossed her arms and wouldn't move, waiting for the usual cavalcade of lies and misdirection Pam had become infamous for.
"...Well, since you clearly have nothing better to do, I will tell you," she replied, sighing. "I just caught wind of this beauty pageant thing you folks were hosting, so naturally, I decided to jump in! That big, shiny trophy they're giving out is exactly the kind of gizmo that'd be right up my alley! But, alas, I was too late; people told me the registration window had already passed days ago, so you'll imagine my disappointment." She shrugged. "I thought I didn't have a prayer, but you know me – persistent to the end. I had a hunch tonight would be my lucky break, so I did some research, made a reservation, and came here to see what'd turn up. The beefy bouncer guy let me in... and then it was just a matter of finding the right person! And boy, did I find him. Your friend has made everything so easy for me..."
Clover shot Willie a subtle glare. "That's a pretty nice story, but aren't ya missing something? Or should I say, someone?"
"Hmmm..." The mongoose brought a finger to her lips. "Are you talking about that chick who fell in the bathroom? Stacey, or whatever her name was? Yeah, Willie told me about her – terrible shame. So what?"
"So what? So what?! Look at this!" Clover raised her left hand, palm outspread, then rotated it so Pam could see the blood splatters on her knuckles. "This is on you! Ya did this to that girl so you could take her place and steal the prize for yourself, didn't you?!"
"Okay, first off – ewwww! Get that thing off my face, you weirdo!" Pam gagged, nudging the macabre sight away. "Second – I don't know what you've been smoking, but I haven't done a thing to anyone! What kind of monster do you take me for?!"
The bodyguard jabbed her in the middle of the chest. "The kind that's unscrupulous and cowardly enough to harm an innocent who was just trying to have a bit of fun! You may be able to fool all those men with your lil' tall tales and seduction tricks, but not me, and I'll be damned before I let some slimy outsider like you waltz into this kingdom and attack my people, thinking ya can get away with it! Oh no! Over my dead body!"
Pam seemed undaunted by these threats. "Oh, really? And what are you gonna do? Arrest me?"
"Now there's an idea! Or maybe..." Suddenly, Clover grabbed Pam by the chest fur with both hands; the speedster, too overconfident to see it coming, yelped out as the strong arms pulled her in. She got so close to Clover's face she could feel the hot breath on her nose when she growled, "I should just give ya a taste of your own medicine, right here and now; see how it feels! Then, I arrest ya, only this time you won't even have the strength to get outta bed by the time I'm through with you! The night is young after all, isn't it? Well, believe me, mate: you've chosen the wrong night to bugger me!"
For only a millisecond, Pam's bright red eyes grew slightly wider, for she realized Clover meant each and every last hate-filled word. She gripped the crowned lemur's wrists in a bid to make her let go, but to no avail. However, she swiftly collected herself then; resuming a defiant smirk, she let her right hand glide down the bodyguard's forearm.
"Don't threaten me, Clover. Remember I might not be able to beat you in a fist fight, but that doesn't mean I don't have other ways of putting you in your place..." she purred, tapping her fingers along the soft tangerine fur. This infuriated Clover immensely, though somehow, it worked to dissuade her – with a ragged cry, she hurled Pam backwards against the bar. The force of the impact was such that, had she not held onto one of the engraved stools in time, she would've fallen over in embarrassing fashion. Her slender body awkwardly twisting and bending for balance, she slowly managed to raise to her feet, as she shot Clover a wordless glare.
And then, something moved to her left: the wine glass and bottle had been toppled to their sides, the latter inches away from joining its predecessor on the floor...
Yet just before it rolled off the counter, Pam seized it. Clover braced herself – in the wrong hands, even something as innocuous as a bottle could be a dangerous weapon.
And perhaps Pam was thinking of using it that way, but then all she did was put it back safely upright so she could adjust her goggles, which had come loose and slipped over her eyes. "Look, Clover, this has nothing to do with you! I'm not here to fight you or to take over Julien's crown, so do me a favor and leave me the hell alone! I've already signed up for that pageant; there's nothing you can do about it anymore!" she finally shouted while fastening the leather straps tightly around her nape. Once she was finished, she strolled right past the bodyguard. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna leave; I gotta go fetch my dress, embellish it, then come up with a dance routine and a talent show, and I just don't have time for your stupid little tough-girl act! I'm already pressed as is!" She collected her brochure from the table, folded it up so it would fit in her palm, then took a moment to bend over in front of Willie. "See you soon, handsome." She winked, daintily cradling his chin in her fingers. "Thanks for the drink."
The embittered judge pushed her away. She gave him a nonchalant snicker. Fool...
She was on her way out of the room – but Clover was there to stop her.
"Where d'you think you're going?!" She slammed the door on Pam's face at the last second; since it was broken, she had to barricade it with her body to prevent it from flaccidly creaking open.
Pam groaned. "For the love of... I literally just told you: home! Are you deaf or something?"
"Silence! I'm in command here, and I say you're not going anywhere till you and I are done! Now put your hands behind your back; you're under arrest!"
"What?! On what charges?!"
"Don't act like you don't know 'em already. Hands behind your back! Do it!" Clover reiterated pointedly.
"Make me!" Pam boldly spat back, "You can't charge me with anything because I've done nothing wrong, unless touring these facilities with an authorized employee counts as a crime, which I seriously doubt! I mean, look at that door! I'm sure the bigwigs will be all over the clouds when they see what you've done to it – destruction of property is a hell of a lot worse than whatever you think I've done so far!"
"I am sanctioned by our king himself to use force if the situation calls for it; don't try to spin this into something it isn't! Now, are we gonna do this the easy way... or the hard way?!"
With that definitive answer, it had become clear Pam wasn't ever getting out of this room until she complied with the bodyguard's demands – and she sure wasn't going to do that. Although, her worries were short-lived, for she still had one more trick up her sleeve...
"...Alright then, sheriff. I'll bite, if that'll make you happy." She backed off against one of the armchairs, folding her arms across her blood-red chest as she lowered herself onto the armrest. Her voice was exceedingly calm. "Why would you believe I had anything to do with what you're accusing me of, huh? Where's your proof? If you have any, by all means show it to me!"
Clover opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. As much as she hated to admit it, Pam was right; she had no proof. No first-hand visual identification, no fingerprints, no eyewitnesses... nothing. All she had was that split-second vision of a red blur prior to entering the restroom, which might as well have been nothing, as there was no way of believably connecting that to the attack, and she couldn't subdue Pam and take her in by force either, since it was forbidden by law... and to Clover, there were few things more sacred than the law. There was no doubt in her mind Pam was guilty, and while Clover would've adored to see the look on her face as she was unceremoniously thrown into a cold, dank pit where she couldn't pose any danger to anyone else... she just couldn't do it. Not like this.
"So what you're saying is, this is all just an unfortunate coincidence, isn't it?" she asked her in a low, leisurely tone. "A contestant gets knocked out the same night you just happened to show up, after you disappear off the face of the Earth for Frank knows how long; ya simply saw the chance you were waiting for and took it. Am I on the right track?" The mongoose nodded once. "Right. So after this, rather than staying upstairs like everyone else, you thought the best thing to do was scamper all the way down here – where conveniently, no one could see, and by extension, stop ya – just so you could negotiate with that knobhead!" She motioned towards Willie, who winced at the stinging words. "And ya want me to believe this? D'you think I was born yesterday?!"
"Well, what the hell do you want me to say?! You know what goes down in clubs like these, especially when said club is the biggest, most popular one this side of the continent! Too many people looking for their cheap thrills; too many people getting wasted like the young, wild animals they are! I bet that's what happened to your precious little Gracie – she probably had one too many vodka shots so she couldn't even stand on her own two drunken feet! And guess what? There's no one to blame but her! I myself am no angel; we both know that much... but don't you ever accuse me of crimes I haven't committed!"
There was an outraged scowl on her face as the retort passed her lips, as though she were deeply offended, yet there was something behind her eyes that belied her innocence; a malicious glint that not even the most convincing of disguises could hide. The moment she saw Clover's look of utter disbelief, she grinned widely, seemingly savoring with gusto the fact that she was beating her at her own game.
"...You spineless...!" Clover hissed, "You won't get away with this!" Then, she grabbed the door with shaky hands, and opened it so savagely she could've torn it off its hinges. "Get up, you two, you're coming with me! We're gonna have a word with King Julien about all this!"
Willie grabbed his folder, left the sofa immediately, and limped his way beside her, hanging his head in renunciation. Pam, however, made no move to heed the order.
"GO!" Clover thundered at her. Still she did nothing.
Willie, half-scared to death already, hardly dared to look on. He couldn't fathom why that woman insisted on being so stubborn! Did she not know who she was messing with?
At last, Pam rolled her eyes, exhaling before she obeyed – if paying this small price meant she'd get to leave afterwards, so be it. She was about to step outside, when Clover suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Not so fast! Ya even think of duping me-
"Yeah, yeah, you'll carve my heart out and feed it to me; I get it. Don't worry, I don't need to run away, 'cause mark my words, you're only wasting your time! No one's gonna buy your story since you have nothing to back it up with – not even a damn hair! I'm gonna be on my way home faster than you can blink, baby!"
"Shut your trap and move!" Clover said, shoving her out into the hallway.
Back on the first floor, Clover waited for Maurice and Julien to show up. She couldn't leave the stage to look for them herself, as finding them in those vast, shadowy crowds below would be next to impossible, so she stayed here with a keen eye on Willie, who had sat down at the stage's edge, and was now staring off into the ether. Clover allowed it, as she trusted he wouldn't try to escape (and even in the off-chance that he did, there was no way he'd be able to outrun her). Pam, on the other hand, wasn't shown the same clemency: Clover held her captive in a bone-crushing grip, and every time she tried to wriggle away or complained about her arm going numb, the bodyguard responded by tightening her grip even more, so she quickly learned to be quiet.
Eventually, Clover noticed two familiar shapes approaching – though it wasn't just the king and his advisor, but Mort and Xixi as well. She forced her detainee along, then ordered Willie to follow her as both girls went down the steps.
"Clover, we're here!" Maurice greeted her from behind the stanchion, a very puzzled ringtail at his side. "Sorry for the delay; he went out looking for you so I couldn't find him sooner. I almost went insane turning the whole place upside down!"
Julien nodded. "Yeah, you were taking so long with the drinks, I thought you'd gotten into another bar brawl or something – but then here comes Mo-Mo telling me that there were no drinks! What's this I'm hearing about-
A soundless gasp froze the words in his throat when a strobe beam fell upon the faces of the man and woman walking alongside his bodyguard. As the three of them ducked under the stanchion, he, Maurice and Mort couldn't believe their eyes... They stood there, eyes wide and mouths agape, whilst Xixi only tilted her head, unaware of what was going on or who that vividly-colored foreigner was.
"Look who we caught canoodling in the green room backstage, Maurice and I!" Clover exclaimed, pushing Willie into full view of the group. She kept Pam restrained for safety concerns. "Turns out somebody really wanted a piece of the pageant pie, Your Majesty! Yeah, that girl we've been losing our minds over the past hour? Now we know what truly happened to her: this gutter snake is the one who did her in in order to steal her spot, and Willie here, in all his infinite wisdom, just went and gave it to her without anyone else's knowledge!"
"...My goodness. So that was our mysterious visitor..." the royal advisor whispered.
"You know her?" Xixi asked him.
"Yeah, her name is Pam. Well... at least, that's what we think her name is. It's a long story; the less you know, the better."
Meanwhile, Julien needed a moment to sort his thoughts. It was obvious that seeing that face again was bringing back some memories he would've rather left forgotten. "Pa – Pa – Pam?! Willie?! What is the meaning of this?! Nevermind that – what in the living hell are you doing here?! How'd you even get in?!" He pointed at the mongoose girl who was now staring at him so impudently. "I demand an explanation, immediately, so both of you get those mouths running!"
Clover drilled her eyes into Pam's. "There's nothing to explain; I already know everything myself! The short story is, she snuck into our midst with a new identity, incapacitated that contestant when no one was around, then seduced Willie into making him replace her! And before ya gimme that baloney 'bout having no proof of the attack – all the proof I need is right here, in the flesh! I've dealt with enough of your kind and seen my share of your grubby ploys to know I don't need anything else to convince me it was you!"
Pam made a face and nodded ironically. "Gotcha – so you're framing me as guilty without any evidence. Heh, for someone who's all about enforcing the law, you don't seem to know much about how it works..."
Maurice gave a sharp sigh. "Sad to say, but she's right, Clover. Our personal beliefs don't hold much water when it comes down to it – you searched the crime scene, twice, and found nothing, and the victim was in no shape to give you a testimony either. Given that, I'll wager the best we could do right now is hold her here under probable cause, and even then... it wouldn't be for long," he affirmed, deeply regretting having to be the bearer of bad news.
"Thank you!" Pam smiled. "Finally someone with a brain! I'd never do something like what she's accusing me of; I'm not that heartless!"
"Tell that to the kid you just sent to the hospital!" Clover vociferated into her ear, "I don't give one damn 'bout what ya think; you're not participating in that pageant!" Then, she looked at Julien with a pleading glare. "Your Majesty, this is outrageous! She cannot do this – ya have to forbid it! Let me punish her for what she's done, please!"
The ringtail blinked a few times; even with his many years of kingship behind him, all this debating about laws and legalities and allegations was still giving him more trouble than it probably should. That was why he'd always dump that responsibility on Maurice's shoulders, but now it was his time to act – and he had to do it fast, as Clover was making such a scene that every lemur around them was staring at her, clearly disturbed by the sound of her constant yelling. He feared one of them would end up calling Butterfish in to confront her about it, and with her temper having reached an all-time explosive high, he heavily doubted she'd yield, which could well entail a scuffle between bouncer and bodyguard. He couldn't allow that to happen. He cleared his throat, and tried to come up with something to say.
"Well... of course she can't do this! Matter of fact, she's not gonna do anything but run back to whatever hole she crawled out of! Actually, now that I think of it, you shouldn't be anywhere near this contest anyway, Pam, 'cause you're not even a real lemur! You might look... a hell of a lot like one – like, freakishly so – but we all know your true colors around here! Your participation is therefore totally invalid; it's simple foolproof logic!" he blurted out, believing this to be a solid argument... only for Pam to laugh in his face.
"Well, in that case, you may wanna do something about your chubby pal over there." She smirked at his right-hand man. "Technically, he's not quite on the lemur side either, and yet you guys let him in on everything you do like he were! Hell, he's your inseparable sidekick, Julien; that's a pretty sweet deal for the likes of him!"
Maurice exchanged an angry look with the others. "The likes of me? What's that supposed to mean?!"
"What it means, my dear boy, is that there's no reason this should be any different for me! You're closer to them than me, sure, but you'd have to be a biology whiz to tell which species I am at a first glance, so the point is pretty much null!"
"No, it isn't! You're just saying that to-
"E – enough of this; king officially speaking!" Julien interrupted them, stretching his arms out to shush the whole group. "Listen up, Pam, you're in my kingdom now, which means that as long as you're in it, you'll abide by my rules! And my rules say you're leaving right now! Clo-Clo, get this perp out of my sight; make sure she stays far away from our village!" he said to his guardian. "You have my permission to cuff her if she resists – oh, and... don't hesitate to be a little rough if she tries to escape or fight back," he added, his face stern as granite.
Grinning with relief, Clover straightened up and saluted. "On it! Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Anytime. Now, Willie, since you're the one who signed her into the list, you're gonna be the one to erase her from it!" He turned away from the girls. "Let's go to the bar – we can ask the guy there for a pen-
"I'm staying here," he heard Pam say. Very slowly, Julien glared at her over his shoulder.
"...Pardon me?"
"I said I'm staying right here! Sheesh, Julien, I know you're dense and all, but how many times am I gonna have to tell you that you have no legal grounds to ban me from this contest?"
"No legal grounds? How about me being your king, huh?! Isn't that enough for you?" he spat back, provoked.
Pam chuckled. "Don't flatter yourself, big guy; let's not forget I'm not from around here, so you're not my king. You can say whatever you want; your opinion means diddly-squat to me! In fact, it has as much value as a week-old brown stain on the toilets would, ha ha ha! Maybe less, actually!"
Then her loud, wicked laughter began ringing out joyously; Maurice, Xixi and Mort gasped and stared at each other, and Willie nearly dropped his folder upon hearing her insult their beloved ruler with such deplorable audacity. Clover was the only one who reacted differently: all of a sudden, she grabbed Pam by the scruff of her neck with all her strength, and then kicked her legs out from under her, dropping their impertinent foe to her knees and effectively making her bow before Julien. "You will show him his due respect, ya worthless maggot! You hear me?! Apologize!" she howled down at her.
But Pam simply continued laughing; powering through all the pain and shame Clover was subjecting her to. "What, are you mad things aren't working out in your favor? Ha ha ha ha, tough break – now let me go before you make me do something we'll both regret!" Frowning, she bared her pearly canines, pushing back against the bodyguard's ravenous grip.
She, however wouldn't have any of it. Instead, she turned her free hand into a fist, roaring with ire such as they'd rarely seen before, and then she raised it high above their heads. She was just about to mercilessly bring it down on her prisoner's defenseless body – but Maurice ran up to them, hands held up in a pacifying gesture.
"Clover, wait!"
"What?!" she snapped.
"Please don't do this; you have to think this through!" He seized her by the elbow to carefully lower her arm; although he fairly disliked Pam himself, too, he would've hated to see a friend engage in even more needless violence. "Look, I've done a little thinking: if we can't legally get rid of Pam ourselves, why don't you take it straight to the source?" he suggested, "I'm sure Ted will be able to do something; he's, like, the figurehead of the committee, right? So just ask him! But for heaven's sake, don't hurt her!" He was holding Clover's hand as he said this, brushing his thumb across her bloodied skin. "There's already been enough of this for tonight."
Clover looked around herself. Several more patrons had followed the others' example and were nervously staring at her; when she locked eyes with them, they turned around and pretended to have run out of drinks before excusing themselves. She sighed, subconsciously releasing Pam. The mongoose was left there on all fours in great pain, groaning as she massaged her nape; she felt as if the entire area had been ground into dust. Just then, she realized she had dropped her brochure – she tried reaching for it... right as a foot abruptly stepped on it. Without anyone noticing, Clover unapologetically proceeded to thrust her leg backwards, flinging the small document into the mob behind her, where it got trampled on and on until all that was left was a flattened smudge on the rock. Pam shot her a vengeful glare.
You'll pay for that, you bitch!
She was ignored. Eventually, through many deep breaths, Clover was able to slow her heart rate down enough to at least put off her feelings for just a little longer and mull over what Maurice had said. If his idea worked, this would be all over very soon; then she could personally see to it that Pam never returns to hurt anyone ever again.
"...King Julien, you said earlier you'd seen Ted 'round here, didn't ya?" she asked him, not shouting anymore, yet sounding no less angrier. "D'you have any idea where he might be?"
"I don't think so. Last I saw him, he'd just come in with his girl. Good luck trying to find him, though; that's gonna be like spotting a needle in a haystack," he replied; he seemed to have taken Pam's insubordination surprisingly well.
Clover lightly slapped Willie on the arm. "Oi, look alive! How 'bout you?"
The golden bamboo lemur flinched. "Ah... he and I had a table booked to discuss some things about the pageant with Pancho and Dorothy, but after that, they all left. Pancho disappeared with that weird bat friend of his, and Ted... uhhh, I... I think Ted went with Dorothy for a dance," he replied weakly, almost like he were afraid of drawing attention to himself. "...But – but that was over an hour ago, so he could be anywhere by now," he added.
"Well, in that case, you're gonna help me look for him, and when we do, you're gonna tell him all 'bout this beautiful mess ya got us in!" With that, she pulled a silent Pam to her feet, before heading off to the dance floor with her in tow. "C'mon, don't fall behind or you'll be next!"
Willie glanced over to the rest. Julien, Mort, Maurice – even Xixi, who was starting to gain a loose grasp of the situation – were all staring at him as they judgmentally shook their heads, cursing him for what he had done. He mournfully averted their eyes, then went after Clover.