Much to Wile.E's relief Mr Ralph Wolf ended up being quite easy to trace. Mainly because the sheep farming 'headquarters' was a giant hill surrounded by fields. At the top was a sheepdog, presumably guarding his flock.
Wile.E frowned. Could he be Mr Ralph Wolf? No, Ralph had to be a wolf, surely? It was in the surname. Then again Roadrunner didn't exactly look like other roadrunners...
The coyote shook away this rabbit-hole of thoughts and decided he might as well ask the sheepdog anyway as he was the only one he could see. He waved a few times, but the sheepdog didn't react. Then again, with all that hair in front of his eyes was it any surprise he couldn't see?
He crawled up the hill - which was hard because it was nearly vertically up - and when he was at the top found himself greeted by a punch to the face.
[Three minutes earlier - Ralph Wolf]
Ralph was boiling. This was hardly surprising considering he had a fake sheep on top of him. But hopefully it'd help him get closer to the other sheep and steal one, or maybe even two, and take it back to the hut. If he got it to the hut he got a bonus, so it was always worth it.
He frowned slightly, as he saw a coyote prowling around the bottom of the hill. Edging closer he wondered if this could be Sam in disguise. The coyote waved and Ralph followed his look.
Nope, Sam was on the top of the hill like he should be. Of course it might be a decoy or a duplication, but it was highly unlikely. Turning back, the wolf was alarmed to see the coyote slinking up the hill. What was he doing!? Ralph thought, that was against company rules!
Ralph threw the disguise off - which got Sam's attention - and sped up the hill as fast as his legs would carry him. "On your left!" He called to Sam, as he pointed behind him.
He couldn't see the sheepdogs eyes, but his fringe moved, so Ralph guessed he'd heard. Without any hesitation the Sheepdog ran to the edge of the hill and waited. As soon as the coyote came into view, the sheepdog reared back and punched the coyote straight in the nose. The coyote fell backwards and thumped down the hill like it was stairs. Lying at the bottom of the hill, the coyote had birds flying round his head.
Sam and Ralph looked at each other and slid down the hill.
"I hope we made the right decision, Ralph." Sam said, standing over the coyote.
"I think so, Sam." Ralph said, shooing the birds away from the coyote's head. "We dunno what he wanted."
Sam paused and peered closer. "Hey, Sam, isn't he from the films?"
Now it was Ralph's turn to peer. "...Dammit. Why's he here?" He clicked his tongue and looked round. "Best phone the boss."
The coyote groaned, catching Sam and Ralph's attention. He looked up, pupils swimming before his eyes focused on Ralph. "Are you Ralph Wolf?" He asked, slurring slightly.
Sam got up. "I'll phone the boss." He said. "Ralph, you look after 'im." Without even confirming if that was alright with the wolf, he wandered off.
Ralph glared after him, then asked the Wolf. "You alright? Sorry about the punch, but we don't get many folks up here."
Wile.E gave him a look that just screamed 'Gee, I wonder why?'.
"We've gotta protect the sheep." The wolf said, seemingly oblivious to the coyote's look. "Normally no one else comes here because there's already a wolf working it, but occasionally we get one or two who try their luck. Anyway -" He stuck a hand out. "-Enough of me rabbitin' on. How can we help you?"
After dusting himself off, Wile.E held another sign up. 'Are you Ralph Wolf?"
The wolf gave a silly little bow. "That's me. And my partner over there is Sam Sheepdog." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to where the dog was on the phone. "Big fella, I know, but he's harmless. Mostly. Anyway, what do you want me for?"
Wile.E explained, through a series of picture-cards and signs, exactly what had led him up to this moment. 'You've had a couple of run-ins with ACME products as well, yes?"
The wolf scratched the back of his head and looked nervously towards the sheepdog. "Erm...hold on a minute. Eh, Sam?" Hurrying over, Wile.E watched as the wolf swung a arm over his friends shoulders and talked intently with him.
The sheepdog hardly gave any indication he was listening, aside from a very subtle nod of the head, but Wile.E saw him indicating the phone and saying something back in a low, rumbling tone. After a few more seconds of urgent conversation the two fist-bumped and headed back over to him.
"Sorry about that." Ralph said, seeming happier. "Just had to check something. Anyway, yeah. I've had a few problems with ACME stuff."
The coyote felt a thrill of excitement rush through him, and he scrambled to find a notebook and pen. 'Please, expand." He signed.
The wolf, it transpired, had had quite a bit of bad luck some years ago now. A cannon that wouldn't stay put because it had no breaks on its wheels. A giant rubber band that was strong enough to dislodge rocks and land the wolf in hospital for a few weeks.
'Poor Sam here had to take both jobs." Ralph explained, with a sympathetic glance at his mate.
Wile.E didn't even question how that would work, instead asking if there was anything else.
"The Teeter-Totter." Sam said, seeing Ralph was struggling.
Ralph scrunched his nose up. "Yeah, but that..." He trailed off.
"My weight aside." Sam said, bluntly. "It shouldn't have snapped like that. I'm 95 pounds. It should be able to take up to 100."
By now Wile.E was nearly dancing a jig, he was that happy. Of course he didn't because he didn't want to annoy either of his new contacts to badly. His next question was how long the wolf had stayed in the hospital.
"Six weeks." Ralph said, and gave him the dates. "But to be fair to ACME-" He added. "-They did pay for my stay."
'But you wouldn't have been there in the first place if their equipment had been working, right?" Wile.E pried.
Sam stepped in at that point. "Ok, I think that's enough. We do work for ACME after all and aside from a few...hiccups, they've not treated us to badly." The disappointment must have shown on Wile.E's face, because the sheepdog added. "Oh, come on! It's not like you haven't got enough information and it's not our fault that ACME's attitude towards their employees is better than their attitude towards their machinery."
"I'd rather have that than the other way round." Ralph said, shrugging.
Even though was getting the sense he wasn't going to get any other information, Wile.E took a final chance. "I don't suppose you know where they make the stuff?"
"Dunno where it's made but I know where it's stored." Ralph said. "There's an ACME Warehouse on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately I don't know exactly where it is, do you?" He asked Sam, who shook his head. Ralph flashed the coyote an apologetic smile. "Sorry, mate."
Wile.E waved the apology off. He had all the information he needed for the next bit anyway.