Chapter 23:
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How long was it going to take?
Timofey couldn't help but let his foot claws dig into the ground beneath him. The trucker had dropped him off at the underpass on the inner wall area of TundraTown, the cool blast of air even managing to start to work away under his skin, fur above clipped down trim for the hot non-conditioned summer. As it happened though there was an alternative, a place of refuge. Beneath the concrete overpass, in a meltwater gulley of some kind (built in case there was ever a catastrophic failure and nature sought to re-establish its natural order) lay a small room of some kind nestled in the thick concrete wall. Nothing more than a cell in the thick cold concrete, smaller, darker, colder and stinkier by far than the one the ZPD had locked him in. But it had a rusting iron door that had somehow been unlocked and as instructed there he waited. Time ticked on. He looked around, noticing a small outlet next to the shelf, left there for graffiti cleaners or workmammals, running tools or boiling a kettle.
He had none of those.
No food either.
-Pah! All his credits at the commissary, he should have spent them all. A last splurge on noodles and dried fish bites, filling him up for the ordeal ahead.
A glib part of him wondered if he was really such a pathetic choosing beggar that he'd have gone back and asked for everything to go off after lunch. What was he, that groundhog!?
His thoughts lingered on that mammal.
His benefactor had wanted him out, she'd wanted and worked to get those two freaks out too. Why!? They'd been carried off, locked up in that truck, to wherever they were needed.
He shook his head. There was no need for them. They were distractions, surely, but…?
No. That didn't work out right. For the first escape, in a pinch, maybe. Maybe… But he'd had no instructions on how to throw them under the bus or digger or whatever, and stowing them away in those smuggling holds only made the risk greater for them.
Why would they want him?
-They'd asked about the Anonymous Vulpine at the start of their communications, and he had given up everything he knew like a good mammal. That was the only thing that linked these three. As far as he'd been told, the idea was to spook the ZPD into looking for them, giving him more time, more of a chance. -But as far as he knew, that didn't go as far as giving Luka and the wolf a ride.
-And dropping him off and keeping those three?
What? Were they getting them together to torture the kit? He shook his head. No. That was even more absurd. All that trouble, busting him out, for what? Something any mammal with a car battery and jump lead could do in a back garage. You would need to be some Saturday morning cartoon villain to think of something that moro…
He froze as he heard a set of brakes grind to a halt, a door open and slam, followed by paws on the snow. He gathered what little scraps had been forgotten in his alcove, a small box knife, some cable ties, not that they would do him much good. Stepping outside and looking either way over the underpass, he chose to turn and start walking. If it were the ZPD they would scent him and find him in there anyway. Better be open and ready to run, or play it off. Just act casual, keep walking at a non-unusual pace and… -He saw a few snowballs jump and rattle down the slope in front of him, both of them choosing the same side to head to. He gulped. Act natural, like he belonged. He had his fake ID, his new clothes, he could pass this off and…
He heard the footfalls in front of him turn into a one-mammal stampede, racing down the slope fast. He bent down, fixing himself, claws bared. Ready to…
A whiff in the air made him pause, giving the mammal in front of him enough time to get down the slope and turn to him, each fixed in the other's view. "Mama…"
That was as far as he got before she raced forward, glomping him. He held her back in return, tight, fighting to keep the tears in as she managed to let a few out. Holding her cub, free at last, the two rocking each other as they embraced. The first time in years they were of equal legal status.
"I see they got you out," he smiled.
"I had faith," she said softly, letting go and leaning back. She smiled at him, booping his nose before gesturing him along. "Come, let's go."
"Da, I am starving," he agreed, moving on with her.
"I thought prison fed you well."
"Da, I miss lunch."
"Ah, so did I," she smiled, moving on. They trekked up the road, Timofey pausing as he saw they were alone once more.
"No vehicle?"
"I help bust out orange goat that ZPD held, he head off to his masters now."
"Uh-hu," the younger bear agreed. "I help bust out mammals too."
"Hmmmm?"
"Worthless groundhog, even more worthless hare and wolf. -Mammals with bad history with that silver fox."
"The howler one?"
"The one accused of howler smuggling, da. -It was groundhog who planted them after found them when busting one of Rattigan's smugglers, little bawling pup who ended up with us briefly too."
"Ah, so busted him out for revenge then," she said, smiling. "I am certain Rattigan's plan would have gone far better without that incident there…"
"So," the younger polar bear said, pausing and thinking back. "I was used to settle scores. You were used to rescue allies. We…"
"-Are out, free," she insisted, leaning forward and grabbing his paw, holding it tight. "Can't you see that? Can't you see your faith rewarded? Can't you be grateful?"
"-Da," he insisted, nodding. "I am grateful. I am."
…
"You do not sound like it."
She wasn't angry. She looked at him with slight disapproval, but it was mostly curiosity. Shining down on him like a spotlight, the bear more conspicuous or ready to be judged than any of the times he had been in trouble for doing his duty without question. Wherever it landed him. The school office, the courtroom, the intake facility…
"I… I feel unease in gut, that is all…"
"-That what? What could give you all that, after all we have been given," she said, paws out.
"-I…" He held himself, asking the same question. They were out, they were free, they had covers and ID's. They HAD been rewarded. Everything in his mind told him so, screamed at him so.
But his gut…
"Just… Silly feeling we just being used," he said, turning to her. "That we are the distraction. Like… -Like what happened on the night father was taken from us!"
"-You talk like he is one of them, like sheep at city hall," she growled. "Not the soldier he was."
"He was soldier, Da," Timofey spoke back, stomping his foot. The two had come to a halt. "But all those others, your 'sheep', who answered Rattigan's call on night, who marched in to 'save the kits'!? Just to distract ZPD so Rattigan could do his heists…"
"-And do you see any heists now!?" She scolded. She shook her head. "I was there Timofey Osipovich Krovstoit! I saw ZPD central Precinct in chaos. I snuck in with fake officer clothes, they let me through they were so panicking. All as mobile diggers TORE down the walls, released our fellow soldiers, and…"
"And what of them?"
"...-They're out!"
"Until they get recaptured again," the younger bear carried on. "Until ZPD get outside force in to pick up any mammal they can find and…"
"AND HERE WE ARE!" She roared into him. "MILES AWAY! NEW CLOTHES! NEW ID!" She showed him a card. "This is best we get! What kind of option do you think…"
"Where are we going?" He asked.
"Home!" She said. "To celebrate, to…"
"Home home," he asked, the feeling in his gut sinking faster and faster. "-To get picked up when ZPD come in and look for us?"
She facepawed, turning down and glaring at him. "We move on by then idiot! We take money, we stay in hotels, we…"
"-Then what!?"
"We figure it out, odd jobs, wait for new instructions from…"
"We live life on run," he said. "Place to place, no guarantee that new boss…"
"WHY DO YOU FIND IT SO HARD TO HAVE FAITH! LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW! LOOK! BETTER THAN ANYONE! YET YOU ACT SO UNGRATEFUL!" She stood up and spat. "What kind of bear do you think you are, anyhow?"
He stood there, half gutted-half angry. "I…" His voice hung, the guilt from his selfishness and entitlement swimming back up again. After all, she was right, he knew it. But… "I want good life for us, I want what is owed us, I…"
"And we have it. Now use it."
She waved him on, the bear following after a second or two. Just thinking through. He should not be such an idiot. He should know better! This was miracle. This was good! Yet… Yet…
"How did he instruct you what to do?"
She looked down at him. "Small microphone wedged into window. Placed by bat, who later came in to guide me through."
He nodded. "Me too."
They walked on.
Into a more populated area of the city, mammals busy going around as if what had occurred never had. -Only for their stares to follow them around. Keep natural, keep…
"-I said get out!"
He paused and looked on as a polar bear family were held off at the front of a store, the walrus proprietor barring the way.
The mother of the group held and cradled their cub as she started to cry as the father began to try and reason. -That it was absurd to think that he was one of those bears. He was just out with his family, he was…
"-We know you're all in it. And we've had enough!" The door was slammed in his face and he turned, leading his family away.
Timofey looked on, his gaze lingering until a loud snort came from his mother. "Pathetic mammal. A real bear would have snapped his tusk out."
"And not had his daughter grow up with him…" Timofey found himself mumbling out. He'd been lucky, good, his father had been fully out since he turned six, but he still remembered visiting him in prison at a much younger age. His snorts and jokes about it being life, he would experience it in time, part of being a proper bear…
A proper bear…
"She would know that he is there to protect him, to strike fear into those who cross her…" She scolded, Timofey starting to worry she was going to march up to him to chew him out.
"-Not much use if he isn't there to do it…"
She turned to him, freezing, a sneer growing on her muzzle. "And now I know your problem."
"-What?"
"Tchhh… You did not have long left after all. -Of course I had a long service lined up ahead of me, being a bear of my word and honour. You now regretting the world in which you get out at your due time, and I rot away, I…"
"-No, that…" he shook his head. "That not even make sense. I have problem with parent not being there, and…" He paused, looking at her. "And yet now I am bad one, huh? I serve my time, but you get to cut out, you…"
She slapped him hard across the face. "You get blessing and you spit at it!? What are you, some new Kozlov, abandoning his duty?"
"Never," Timofey growled. "I did my duty. I did as told."
"And so did I. And look what I have for it."
"-Belonging to new most hated species in city?" He asked. A spur of the moment thought that had bubbled up. He didn't even mull it over much, it just came out.
"Like mammals did not already envy us," she waved off. "Like they did not always want what we had. -Like they did not turn on us like that after Howler scare. What you say to that, huh?"
He mumbled his response. "That was different."
"Oh, what was that?"
"That was different," he repeated, his voice firmer. "Then it was every pred. Now? They hate us, just us, you saw that… -Every mammal will be like that." He found his voice wavering. "You think it will be easy for us? You think you can just get jobs. -Mammals know we escaped out, mammals know there will be female bear amongst it all. How long? How long until they call, until they pick up, and then we're in worst situation ever. Years added for both of us, no help, nothing. -We were the distraction. ALL OF US! EVERY POLAR BEAR! WE WERE USED! OVER AND OVER! WHAT HAVE WE TO GAIN! WHAT HAVE WE TO WIN!"
"WE ARE OUT, WE ARE FREE!" his mother yelled back, Timofey freezing as he remembered where he was. The other mammals around them. Looking to each other. Shying away. Phones up.
His mother seemed to catch on and grabbed his paw, pulling him along. "Look what you just did. You ungrateful little cub. Papa and I give you everything. Rattigan give us everything! What more do you want!?"
He didn't speak. Not because he didn't know. The pit in his stomach was caving in with the ever growing list. But on top of it all… -He wanted to be like that family. -No Rattigan, no duty, no fights, no prison… No being left out like this, no being used. His thoughts swung back to that otter guard, chiding him for his honour, his duty, saying it was him being used, saying that it didn't have to be like that, that he didn't have to throw away his life.
-He was right.
And more than anything he wanted to and didn't want to meet him again. To say sorry, to say the otter was right, to take it all back. But to stand in front of him… Suddenly, the 'cool guard' felt as looming and massive as if he was as big against himself as he was against a regular otter.
"Let's… Let us split up," he said, stumbling the words out.
"Huh?"
"Split, meet up back at house in little bit. -They will be looking for two of us. But just one?"
"Good idea," she said, giving him a stern look. "Maybe take your time, think things over."
"Da," he nodded, pausing to give her one last hug. She froze, a scowl on her face. One that finally relented as she returned one back.
"I still love you," she muttered out.
"I know. You too."
With that they let go and split off.
Just like he was told, the young bear was thinking things over. Only not the things she would expect.
He wanted to be in one of those families…
But that was gone now. Maybe it was gone from the start. He… -No, things were okay before the Howler scare.
Even with his imprisonment, things would be okay after.
Sure, he would go into the business, but that was still some kind of life.
Wasn't it?
His stomach knotted as he began imagining a little girl or boy like that, his own, seeing them grow up from behind a prison booth, or getting old enough for the reverse.
No, noooo…
He shook his head. Things were okay, they were made mammals, they had done their duty to Big.
And then Big fell. Fru Fru was never set up to lead them on…
But Kozlov was.
Kozlov had betrayed them. Left them out to dry! He had heard… Just one necklace, just one bit of duty and… But no… That mammal, who cut into the family, rose up, then left them stranded on the rocks!?
He felt he claws digging into his pads.
He thought back to the talks through the microphone, learning that a certain bear was in a certain hospital. It wasn't much, but…
You know what?
If he was getting however many years anyway for this, if he was damned regardless…
Then even if he could not take on Rattigan or the ZPD or any of the others who'd screwed them over not including themselves… -Then he could bring justice to the one of their own who they looked to in their hour of need, and had chosen to screw them over for nothing.
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If expediation was meant to be fast, Judy was obviously not the best at doing it. -In her defence, that was mainly on the chaos and panic caused from the mass breakout, which was still being cleared up and, more to the point, still had the centre of the city in a state of fear and panic. It was also on Zoogle maps. The University of Zootopia operated a mix of campuses and independent units across and outside of the city, and fortunately for her the School of Geology was only a mile and a half away from Precinct One as the crow flew.
It was also three-hundred and twenty metres down as the crow dug, which was where the issue lay. Zootopia Central Station had a lift cluster to take mammals down to that region of the Nocturnal district, but said region was quite severely vertically displaced from where she needed to get to so the app had told her to travel along the surface first, finding an independent set of public lifts operating from the surface science campus, and then go down. -She'd find herself right on the doorstep in question.
As it happened though the lift operators, on realising a horde of escaped convicts were heading their way, had done the sensible thing and hunkered in, closed the shutters, and weathered the storm. None of the bears had any real intent of getting in and going down, their main interest was in hijacking cars and racing back off into Tundratown. -But as it happened the mammals inside were refusing to open, demanding to talk to their superiors or get written notification that it was safe to resume operation, after all the due checks and such had been completed of course. -And no, she couldn't 'just use the stairs'.
And the bunny, having to resort to flashing her badge and demand compliance, was not having much in the way of progress in changing that.
"-Making sure the lift's run on time?"
Her ears rose as she heard the semi-mock remark, the doe keeping her foot from over-thumping. "Ma'am," she began, turning to a blonde furred she-wolf standing next to her. "There is quite urgent police business that requires me down in the Nocturnal District incredibly quickly. As you may have heard, we were recently attacked, we are not in a good situation now, so any smart comments are very badly timed."
"-Besides," a middle aged skunkette said, coming up and flashing a slight scolding at the wolfess. "That's the mayor's duty. And she has a reputation with those."
Judy closed her eyes, huffing out. "I'm certain the intent was good, but if you could please leave me so I can get in this lift…" She turned back to the attendants, who were still walking about, shrugging, talking about needing to get a call back from their superiors and the team down below…
"-Inspector Carmelita advised us you'd be going down to the Geology Department," the skunk continued, Judy freezing before turning to her.
"You know her?"
"-During the heist of a certain object on the night of Rattigan's 'Project Chaos', we had an interaction," the skunkette continued. "Dr Karen Soren."
"Dr Clara Bloom," the wolf added in.
"I… It's appreciated to have some faculty on my side," Judy continued, "but this is policemammal business and…"
"-So you don't want us to show you the cargo lift then?"
"-Okay, let's go," the bunny said, marching off with the other two. Keycards up, they entered the glass lobby of one of the main buildings, largely empty given the summer break. The skunk led, leading them down a flight of steps, through some underground corridors and after some twisting and turning through the basement up to a large and somewhat battered door marked with numerous 'Staff Only' signs. A flash of their cards, through there and they were at the top of the lift itself.
As it happened, it was down at the bottom right then, Judy having a peak through the metal-mesh grating and at the seemingly bottomless pit below as her escorts began raising it up.
Ancient looking cast iron gears and motors began turning, wires starting to wrap around them as a huge set of rusting counterweights began their descent.
The bunny looked back at the pair. "Thank you, it is appreciated."
"Just don't tell anyone," the wolfess said, folding her paws. "-This thing is the secret to me and my protegee's success at the Freshers pub crawl and I don't want the secret being leaked out."
The bunny managed to cock a smile despite the grim situation. She turned, looking back down at the running machinery. "Are the public lifts usually that bad?"
It was the skunk that answered. "-Not public, private, which is part of the problem. The University had to build them as part of the requirements for setting up the joint campus, managing hoof traffic and such. To make it less bad, management got to run them, free for students and staff and getting the revenue from regular customers. All good, except we also have to deal with any and all liability requirements. -So between being slow and being sued, everyone chooses slow."
"They're either no issue, or can cause a ton of holdups," Dr Bloom waved off. "-As for this old lady, it was built before the current University building. -The site was inherited and incorporated for heavy goods transport."
"-And drunk fresher transport," Judy said, pointedly.
"Naturally," the wolfess said. "I dread to think what horrific new strains of freshers flu have developed during its use as such."
"Any biology students studied it?" Dr Soren asked, Dr Bloom giving an amused chuckle as the gears and motors began to slow. Moving up, a large platform arrived at their position and halted, the skunk going forward and unlocking the gate with a code and opening it up. The three piled in, Dr Soren operating it again. Judy felt them lurch, a pit in her stomach opening up as they began to drop, fast. They shook and rattled as they dropped down, clanks and shrieks coming out as the steel guide wheels ran fast down the rails nailed into the concrete and then rock. The bunny would have wished to have saved time and carried on any important conversations as they descended but the sound of the air and the machines, though not making it impossible, made it impractical enough for them to not bother.
Finally though they slowed, coming to a jolting stop as they found themselves at another similar looking cargo area. Dr Soren walked over to open up the gates as Dr Bloom carried on.
"So, you need to expediate some information from the rock crushers," the wolfess said.
"Yes," the bunny agreed. "During the night in question, Professor Rattigan tried to kidnap the family of…"
"-The fox family, I was there," she said, looking down. "They escaped via a tunnel, didn't they, so… -No wait, they were found and put in witness protection. Then why…?"
"-Those diggers were semi-antiques," the bunny followed on, waving at the wolf to guide them out. "And we confirmed they were mainly used in, then stored, in the Nocturnal District. -We believed that we could analyse the types of rock and soil stuck in the treads, cross reference it with data on the makeup of the Nocturnal District, and thus help pinpoint where Rattigan is holding up."
"-You mean he's down here?" Dr Soren asked, pausing as she opened up a door to the outside.
"Not here-here, but somewhere in this district," Judy began. "-Not least due to the recent actions that his attacks on the surface were a distraction for."
"I wouldn't put it past him to be here-here if what I've heard of him is anything to go by," the wolfess said with a shrug, stepping out. "The Professor in front of his name is legitimate, and he'd want everyone to know about it. What better way to stick it to us than to operate under our very noses."
The bunny nodded, following her guides paw out and looking at the scene in front of them. -While they'd exited out of a nondescript chunk of concrete stuck into a rock wall, the area in front of her was a carved and sculpted masterpiece. The UoZ Nocturnal campus, in the middle of the Carlsbat underground neighbourhood.
Though the Nocturnal District's central chamber was oft considered its crowning glory and central point, large areas of much tighter caverns wound around under the more densely packed regions of the city, dug out to look like more natural caves with sharp turns, steep jumps and tight places. -Though still much larger and open than only the most exceptional natural caverns. Ribbed and kinked up pillars, stalactites and stalacmites growing up and down, in many cases the whole center or cross section carved out as a building or in some cases with smaller columns and larger species just a house or even single room, soft orange glows coming from their windows matching with the blue-greens of the the rock walls.
As it were, they were on a ledge about mid-way up, set out as a moss and fungi garden quad with university buildings carved into the rock on either side. The School of Mining, the Archaeology department -Dr Soren gesturing over to it and smiling. -The School of Mycology, The School of Chiropteratic Medical Studies and several student halls.
"-Back when that was the School of Nuclear Physics I had some lessons and exams in that one," Dr Bloom said, pointing over to a student hall, carved motifs of atoms and decay chains in the various pieces of surface rock. "-They set it up here thinking they might get that Fast Reactor that was built and never turned on running again, or at least get permission for a new research reactor in the same complex. -Which would be really cool, though I will admit, I am quite the surface mammal, so..." She shrugged, making an 'ehhhh…' noise.
"Suit yourself," Soren said.
"I will," she said as they passed the… Classical philosophy department?
Dr Soren seemed to pick up on her confusion. "Pladoe wrote one allegory and they ran with it."
Judy shrugged as they carried on at a brisk pace, past mammals and students who were acting as if what had gone on just a short distance away were in a different country. -Though, for all intents and purposes the bunny mused, that might as well have been true. They were sitting about, eating, playing sports at the various exercise and obstacle courses, most notable bats flying around in a central court of some kind, two large nets at either end. Right now the bats of one team were chasing around one of the other, flying hard and trying to evade, a small ball in his claws.
While she may have been interested in looking closer on another day, she was here with a purpose, so on they went. The main lift shaft itself came down right in front of them, at the edge of the small campus before it fell away to the cave proper.
At the very least they'd made the right option, by the looks of it it was still out of use. The bottom terminus was a small half-glazed geodesic dome in the centre of a small raised plaza, stairs and escalators carrying on beyond to take mammals down to the floor of the cavern and sky-bridges cutting across straight ahead to the various remaining University buildings, built into the columns and stalacti, whatever their orientation.
Passing by bridges going to the School of Troglocultural Studies and an Echolocation Impairment Clinic, Dr Soren led them across to the one signed for the School of Geology, the bunny sighing with relief. -Before ducking out of the way as a bat blitzing past them, two bats in opposing team colours swooping fast after it, earning a tongue out from Dr Bloom. "Air polo jocks," she groaned, keeping on going until she reached the end of the bridge, the walkway splitting in two. To the left was the apex room and lobby of a stalagmite building rising up, to the left the nadir room of a stalactite hanging down. Both belonged to the same department. The skunk turned to her. "Know which one?"
"I don't have a name," the bunny grumbled, pausing for a moment only for the skunk to go towards the stalagmite.
"-Most of the heavy lab equipment is used in here, next door being the teaching space," the mephitidae carried on, walking into a small lobby. The receptionist greeted the skunk as someone somewhat familiar and a few quick words were exchanged, eventually getting them waved on.
"Guess you're one of those mammals who knows mammals," Judy said, the skunk scoffing.
"Hardly, that would be her," she said, gesturing to their lupine companion. "-It's just Archaeology and Geology have a reasonable bit of cross pollination. I've lectured and researched here, they've done so at my school back out on that green…" She led them to a small-mammals lift and began descending, Clara taking the stairs to keep up. "Soil labs should be on this floor and…"
Exiting out, the wolf quickly joined them as they made their way over to a heavy timber door. The keycard that both of the academics had did not work, the largest of the trio instead ringing a doorbell and waiting.
-Eventually the door opened up, a young-ish elephant doe looking out. While big for the building and taking up the double doorway, she threw out an aura of being small, or at least wanting to be so, which if anything was in stark contrast to her appearance. Beyond the professional looking specs and her white lab coat, she had what might have been more ear and trunk piercings than there were members of the Hopps family warren, while her tusks were painted in a rainbow of neon colours and carved in with all sorts of figures, symbols or even full on dioramas. Judy's eyes couldn't help but snap to one that even in that moment she couldn't help but admit was pretty damn pawsome. It was what appeared to be the Dreamwolf logo of a cub on a crescent moon, fishing rod up and out, only in this case the line was an actual silver thread hanging down, hooked on a little silver fish ornament, one of numerous different ones of all shapes, sizes and materials hanging off her tusks, resting on it or pierced through it. "Ah, -I didn't know you'd be here Clara."
"Helping out with a slight communication issue," the wolf said, taking over. Smiling, she walked up to the elephant. "-Now, Fern, this fine Officer of the ZPD here is trying to gain a very urgent piece of analysis that…"
"-We're doing our best," she said, trunk up a little as she winced back. "Dr Burrows is running his machines at their most sensitive, over and over." She looked down at Judy. "Please don't be mad, we're really trying."
"Understood," Judy said, walking forward. It seemed that they weren't being bumped to the bottom of a queue or being ignored after all. -But still, what was taking them so long? Looking at what she assumed was a grad student, maybe the team was just overworked? "But it would be helpful if we could talk in mammal and just get what feedback we can now from…"
The elephant cringed a little. "I… -We're still very busy, and we'd all need to get labbed up and everything, it is a sterile area."
They were cut off as Clara coughed into her fist. "So, I was going through the vendors list of next month's Mystix Mart and I happened to see the name 'Mama Moonray' in there."
The elephant led out a soft pleading whine.
"-Of course, being such a pre-eminent and fabulous-with-a-capital-F artiste," the wolfess said. "Such an announcement would immediately produce a very long waiting list amongst all the members of the carvers club."
The whine intensified.
"Though I am certain that an opening in the set-up team might become available, and the chance for a one on…"
"-ARGGGhhhhhhh…" The elephant moaned, letting out a deep frustrated rumble. Judy didn't actually hear it, it was too deep for her hearing. -She did feel the building vibrate a little. "I… -I don't wanna get on his bad side. -Y-you know how competitive it is to be his assistant and…"
"-She also asked for a volunteer for a self-illumination installation show session and…"
"-DR BURROWS!" The elephant yelled, turning back. "The ZPD are here for ya!"
A bunch of cursing came from inside, followed by a far off yell. "Fine, but they're staying outside of the sterile area!"
"-Okay, in ya go," the elephant said, jabbing her trunk out at the wolfess. "And you..."
"I owe you one sweety," she said with a wink and a peck at the end of her trunk. -Leaving the now pink hued pachyderm behind it was Dr Soren who chose to speak up.
"I told you it would be her."
"Thank-you," Clara said, the group walking forward and up to a door, a small naked mole rat in a lab-coat staring out, rolling his eyes at the wolf before turning to Judy.
"Hello, we're…"
"Here for the results," he took off. "Well, I am glad to inform you that after running my tests on repeat, multiple times, using multiple different methodologies, my best equipment and at its most sensitive, I can conclusively conclude that there is no answer to your question."
The bunny stood back, blinking. "-What? What do you mean no answer…"
"-Beyond the natural mulch and grass from the surface operation, you had nothing on those machines. -No rock types, nothing natural that could be traced back to this District, we even checked for fungal signatures or such. Nothing." His features softenned slightly. "And I did try." He gave a disgruntled shrug. "So, there's to doing all of next year's curriculum prep in the allotted office hours…"
Judy didn't catch that, busy bringing her paws up and sliding them down her face, stomping her foot for good measure. "CARROT STICKS!" -Of all the… -"Arrrrgggghhh!" It should have been obvious! He'd have pressure washed them off, there… -Oh come on, he couldn't have done a perfect job! "-Was there anything? We sampled across three of them, surely…?"
"No, nothing natural." The rat shrugged. "Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I've done more than enough of my duty to the city, and I am quite considerably behind my contractual and academic obligations. Ladies…" He turned off to head back into the lab.
Judy would have let him. This had all been pointless. Of course it had! -Except… "-Wait!"
He turned back to her.
"What do you mean, 'nothing natural?'"
.
.
.
.
"Right, right, right, got it," Dave said, nodding. He turned to Basil, the mouse busy comparing some of the actuators retrieved from the attacking diggers to pictures of those ones from the company's main website. -They were quite clearly the same, though the small mouse knew there may be more information on them than met the eye. Signs of rust for instance, showing that they'd been kept in a high moisture environment. Furs… -Whether the attaching bolts showed signs of being paw-tightened or done using power tools. -At this point anything would do.
"I have news about the results."
"Good, good, they're going to email them over at last."
"-That'll be unnecessary," Dave said, his husband turning to him.
"And that'll mean the answer I am to get is either going to be exceptionally useful or exceptionally not."
"It appears Rattigan did an exceptionally thorough job of cleaning the vehicles before deploying them. -Despite extensive tests, no real forms of natural rock or soil types were found with the exception of those at the Fox Family House site. -And Officer Hopps stresses that they were thorough."
Basil nodded. "And the second part of this."
"There were traces of concrete dust in the tracks, not much, but there."
The small mouse nodded. "Just ordinary concrete?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary, no."
"-Except for the fact that such a thorough cleaning to remove all previous traces of rock and soil would have shown up with at least some damage to the fluorescent coating. -Damage that was not present in the slightest."
"Indeed, likewise the swabs we took from the bucket itself," Dave continued. "-Concrete was found scratched in there…"
"Ergo it was being used to damage, attack, move or knock through concrete after being washed, or never used on natural rock in the first place."
The portlier mouse nodded, phone back up. "Ask if he can send us information about the levels of concrete on different areas, in particular comparing the bucket to the treads." He paused nodding. "Well, I don't know what it will tell us or if it will at all, but there is one way to find out."
He hung up, turning over to see Basil with his eyes closed, paw on head as he talked to himself.
"-Bassy?"
"Rattigan, Rattigan," he muttered, "Always impossible…"
"I know dear, I…"
"And of course you know there is no such thing as impossible, only highly improbable." He looked up, breathing in and turning to a map. "And that is the domain in which he infests, in which he grows, he breeds, he spreads. Inside the improbable. Revelling in the ludicrous. The audacious."
"Beyond the realms of which we'd even consider," Dave agreed. "Therein lies the simple truth. However much we know, however much we understand him, we can never comprehend him."
"Case in point, thinking he can bring Clockwerk back, thinking, knowing far more than all we have learned, that he can control that thing. Win."
"That he can then wage an open war against the world with it."
"-Oh, were he to succeed I am certain he would do things to win that we couldn't imagine up," Basil said. "-Then again, much could be said about the creature itself."
"Oh, I can comprehend a few things about this Clockwerk, already," Dave mused on. "Cruel, driven by obsession, willing to wait, plan, sadistic in using mammals aims and desires and principles against them." He scoffed. "Believer in 'poetic justice.' Or at least, an enjoyer of puns taken to extremis."
"From what I gather he wasn't the joking type."
"My dear, thanks to him we'll never see the phrase 'Nuclear Tantrum' in quite the same way ever again, am I correct?"
"Annoyingly so," Basil huffed. "-And I'm certain Rattigan knows that too. -For all I know that is his plan. Turn the world into a desolate wasteland, render us all down so low or set us against each other to the point we can't raise a resistance, I…" He shuddered. "It almost makes me want to face regular Clockwerk over Rattigan with that power."
"Still prefer the devil you know then?"
"Still more worried about the devil I do not, I…" He gripped his forehead. "Come on you dumb mouse, think like him. Think it. What would he do? -He wouldn't settle for just some carved out operations centre, would he…"
"I don't know, how long has he been preparing it, how grand of a lair has he constructed"
"A lair with steel hexagonal tiles, underground in the Nocturnal District, with tons of excavator equipment from before his time. -No, he inherited it. I…" He paused, turning to them. "No…"
"No what?" Dave asked.
"No," the mouse said again, a smile growing on him. "No, no, no NO!" He jumped up in joy. "It's ludicrous, ridiculous, insane, stupid, moronic, completely over the top. It's EXACTLY the kind of thing Rattigan would go for. It has tons of areas of concrete, plenty of open spaces for him to reuse, it'd have its own access hatches to the Nocturnal District proper, likely the surface… -Right, tablet!"
He walked over to it, opening it up and pausing as an email pop up arrived, the detailed report, highlighted as they'd asked it. Looking in, honing in on the data about concrete residues in the bucket he smiled. "-Similar if not greater amounts of concrete, and just concrete, in the buckets as the treads."
"-Deep in scratches, pushed in, meaning far more work to get out with a power washer meaning…"
"-It wasn't washed," they agreed.
"-At least not recently," Basil waved on, typing in.
"What the…" Dave began, an eyebrow rising. "That's quite absurd, how the hell did he…" He froze as an image was opened up. "Hexagonal tiles…"
"Steel hexagonal tiles," Basil smiled.
"-Or rather serpentine concrete with steel coverings," Dave said, looking in closer.
"But still, what was one of the names bandied about? For where their leader ruled from, on a throne full of pipes or whatever?"
Dave whispered it out. "The Charging Hall." He stomped his foot, smiling as the new name was typed in and many of the same images returned. "Rattigan, Rattigan, the world's greatest rat… -It still sounds too absurd to be real."
"-In which case then, knowing that he may well have bugged phone lines and communications just in case something like this was done, get on the line with Hopps, Oates, the rest, and get them to start some emergency visits, in mammal," Basil said. "The mayor's office, head of the climate works, the UoZ physics department…"
"-Easy enough from what I gather," Dave said, pointing at his phone. "And let me guess. There's going to be at least two of them pointing at each other and saying that it's the other's responsibility."
"And quite the 'oops' look on their face when they realise just what a hustle Rattigan has pulled on them," Basil said, a manic grin growing on his face. "I hate that it took this long, and I know I should not count my chicks before they hatch. But I think we've done it. We've finally done it. We've splatted the rat!"