Chapter 10:
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"Oooh, we've got a reindeer here!"
Retsuko paused, looking up with Basil and Dave, Haida looking back and shrugging.
"What, it makes a bit of variety. Better than just bear, bear, bear, bear…"
"Well, are there any potential leads from this mammal?" Basil asked.
"I…" The hyena looked through the insurance report. "Ran a small wilderness chalet service, very high prices for nightime retreats, half of his buildings burnt down on the night in question." He paused. "It's not like you could secretly sell them off though to double dip."
"Well maybe they're one of Wilde's innocent bystanders then," Retsuko suggested.
Haida shook his head. "No, I… -It's just so far out there, I don't see why the bears would make such a diversion to loot the place and burn it amongst everything else."
"Spite," Basil shrugged, walking over. "Don't underestimate a petty mammal's penchant for seeking to settle scores during such times. Even above gaining wealth for themselves." He looked over, scratching his head. "Was this by any of the ski slopes for instance? I know that Big had his paws in half of the lift operators in Tundratown."
"-Wait, really?" the hyena asked. "How did that work?"
"He strongarmed the mammals in charge into giving his subordinates the right to run the catering. -Surely you've seen how much of a rip off the on-piste restaurants usually are."
"N-no, I don't ski."
"Ah," the mouse shrugged. "Well neither do I, but I have it on good authority that they are. -And that if you happen to own a hut next to one of the ski paths you can open your own place and make a profit at half the price. Of course, certain legitimate business mammals may disagree, and conduct legal and extra-legal methods to remove such competition, and…"
"-Yeah, they're miles away from any of the slopes," Haida said. "-And looking on at their old website they offered 'the best drinks in all of Tundratown'. I..." His jaw hit the floor. "That's more than I earn in a year! And I can't even pronounce it."
Dave strolled over. "One-hundred year old Madeira, One hundred and twenty year old fortified Tasmanian gum cider."
"You can't pronounce it either."
"Never claimed that I did. -All manner of liquors… -In suspiciously not that old looking bottles. Likely insured for that price, after valuing by a Big friendly drinks valuer."
"Well, not like anyone's going to be proving that now," Haida said, grumbling. "Can't see any way to follow this either."
There was a quiet as the mammals got back to work. After the excitement of proving their theories over Melissa Krovstoit correct, they'd been slapped with the rather disappointing reality that she was not going to talk, and neither was anyone else.
"If our plan was to follow the money," Retsuko grumbled, "we shouldn't have arrested the mammal we planned to follow."
"Well," Dave said, "we'll know for next time."
"If there is a next time," Oates said, walking in. He threw down a few pictures. "No real traces on the trucks they used for the gold robbery. Two were reported stolen a few days before…"
"By bears?" Haida asked.
"One polar bear, one musk ox," the horse replied. "Both associates of the former Big empire, both in trouble after its collapse. Again, no proof this was an inside job or not. The things weren't the best in the world, they weren't wreckers either. Went in, did the job, went out, burned down in that warehouse that Rattigan torched." He scratched his chin, peering in closer.
"It doesn't matter if we're not making progress at the moment," Basil said, voice bursting out. "We're just finding out where to search. Learning more about this great ecosystem that Rattigan chose to head, to exploit. Who does what, what and where they might be involved, and how they profited." He chuckled a little. "Remember, without Big's money laundering need or erstwhile patronage, these were all businesses that couldn't survive by themselves. Their owners sought a one and done cash-out with Rattigan, but then what? Many still won't have an income, many will still be sinking. The longer we wait the more desperate they get, and one chink in the armour, one exposed bit of flesh somewhere along the scales, and we can get them."
"Don't…" the red panda began, just a bit nervously. "Don't mobsters kill liabilities like that?"
"I, well of course there's also the inherent comradery that these fellows had for each other, we saw it every time we brought in a new batch, did we not? Staying silent, refusing to betray each other, -and I suppose this is digging my own grave with waiting for them to talk, isn't it?" He shook his head. "That and the fact that Rattigan has no such loyalty to them, and would be more than willing to off one. Hrrrrr…"
"-Why don't we try that?" Dave asked, Basil turning to him, head tilted. "We make it seem like Rattigan offed one of their own who was going to talk…"
"-Justified payment for snitching," Basil waved off.
"Or was just a liability?"
Basil paused for a second, finger coming up to rub his chin. "You know… -The trouble there is that we ideally need to find someone who we know is a liability, they know is a liability, and do it convincingly enough. It worked once with Petey, after all. I suppose given her rather miserable attitude, we won't feel too bad subjecting Melissa to it. Again."
"And how will all the male members of the mob find out what happened to our lone female prisoner?" Haida asked.
"We… We can find a way," Basil began.
"-Here's what I don't understand," cut in a new voice, everyone turning to Oates. The horse was walking over to a large board that Haida and Retsuko had been working on for days now. Lists of whose, what's, where's. Potential subjects, ranked on various metrics. How much they'd lost, how connected they'd been to Big in the past, and how much of a connection they had to the events of that night itself. Melissa was the highest on the list, given her husband being on the raid and the later connections. The various families of the other bears killed during the battle of the Fox Family House were there as well, along with a mix of others.
A wholesaler who'd been linked to some of the protective equipment the bears on the roofs overlooking Watering Hole Plaza had used, an electronics store where components in the hacking system used to take over the ZNN emergency broadcast system were purchased, an auto dealership where the small-mammal vehicle control units for the excavators had been supplied.
"These mammals weren't connected with Big or anything," Oates began, "but this mammal here…" He tapped at a picture of the wholesalers. "He was burned out, I presume to help cover up their tracks."
"Each of the others was a one-time purchase, that one would have a whole list," Dave began.
"-Yes, and we know that it might have been a request by that damn Pig, given his involvement in all this. Lord knows it wasn't the only 'request' done for him that night."
"Well I mean, it makes sense," Basil said. "Even for some of these guys…" He gestured over to some other businesses, a security and weapons supplier who'd certainly helped to arm plenty of the bears that day and had connections with Big. He'd been interviewed, multiple times, but again, nothing concrete, no clinchers. Just threats that were shrugged off. "Clear the evidence, wipe it clean, Rattigan thought it'd be a one and done and…"
"There were, certain things, Rattigan planned to do even after, correct?" the horse asked, casting a quick glance at the oblivious hyena and red panda.
""Well, I could still see him requiring certain suppliers and resources after," Basil replied out loud. "Getting his goods out of Zootopia for a start, that stealth drone he has wouldn't have been able to carry the gold, right?"
"-Wait, Rattigan has a stealth drone?" Haida asked. "That's cool."
"A military contact filled us in on a sighting, we believe it's connected."
"Can I see it?"
"We don't have any pics."
"Awwwwww…"
"I…" Retsuko began, moving in before glancing back. "So what you're saying is, there's some important suppliers and stuff that he wouldn't have burnt out. That he still needs. And if we find them… -They'll still be in contact. We can spy on them and get a lead!"
"Exactly," Basil said, turning back to the board. "But it's that finding part that's tricky. Though I'm pretty certain that Oates has a lead, correct."
"Not exactly," he said, looking on. "More a feeling."
"A feeling about what?" the red panda asked.
"That something's missing here, I…" He paused, glancing over. "Are you sure this is still at the level we can include civilian consultants and stuff in here or…"
"Oh, let them be," Dave waved off.
The horse nodded, glancing at the two. "Nothing personal."
"Understood," Retsuko said, as Haida walked up, squaring the board with his fingers.
"Okay, gold smuggling and stuff, how would you do that. Plane? Train? Boat? Automobile, I… Did Big own or work with any metal casters or anything?"
"Not that I know of," Oates said, shaking his head. "Not that that was it, nor that it's not worth looking into."
"Wouldn't it just be easy to cut up the gold and hide it in car seats or something," Retsuko asked.
"Certainly for the straight cash and jewels, if he was taking off with that, I…" Basil began, as he was cut off by Haida, the hyena shaking his head and pointing straight at the board.
"Building companies!"
They all turned to look at him.
"Or construction rental companies or something," he carried on. There was a pause before his eyes narrowed. "I was attacked with three giant diggers, he'd have to have got them from somewhere, right?"
Basil shrugged. "Most likely stolen, he could have picked them up from anywhere and…"
"-And moved them to the Fox family House?" Oates asked, marching forward. "In the middle of a riot? That's what's missing from here."
"A trucking company?" Dave asked.
"Or, most likely stolen," Haida pointed out. "He would have picked them up from anywhere."
He was met with a nasal snort from Oates. Basil shook his head. "You know, on its own, fair enough. Same for the diggers. But together? In the heat of the moment? AND attaching small mammal controls, which only some designs are equipped for. Once is chance, two a coincidence, but three…" He turned to Haida and Retsuko, nodding. "Search for any vehicle operators attached to Big, or who might be connected to this. It might be someone on the other side of town that Rattigan got connected to, so it might be an absence of news that's the tell, not a flurry. Any vehicle wareshop, hiring company, anything. Heck, double check out Lang's Cars for all I care. Dave, Oates, let's give these diggers a closer look."
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"Is that the river?"
Judy strained to hear the soft rushing above the crashing down of the rain. They'd spent the day at Jack's Abeula's, preparing the supplies and goods they needed while Bentley did his research. -Amidst other reports, 'busy stuff' going on back in Zootopia concerning a certain ringtailed mammal. Either way, as the early night fell, the predicted monsoon storms rolling in, they'd started on their way up, asphalt roads at first as they made their way up to the last main town up the valley.
-From what had been said by Jack's Abeula, 'nameless caves, above the closest to this ocean the river barred from it reached,' the turtle had narrowed his search down to the upper reaches of the Coatizacoalcos river, rising in the nearby mountains but flowing down north into the Atlantic. Historical records showed some Guano battles up there, the odd map an old narrow gauge line weaving its way up. To get to its base, they'd driven up asphalt roads at first to the last town and now, headlights off and guided by the nightvision of the various nocturnals in their troupe, they crawled up the dirt paths.
Judy couldn't see anything, but she thought she heard something.
"I can make out the fall into it," Skye said, peering out.
"I can hear it," Jack agreed, voice hushed as they drove on.
Judy was silent too, slowly working her incisors over each other. Even as slow as they went, she could feel the rough ride beneath them, and the growing pit in her stomach at the reality of all of this.
Once more into battle, once more into danger.
She'd seen some of the pictures that Bentley had sent over. What the cartel group that was now confirmed to be moving south was known for. If coming in full force, they might be there in a few days or so, around the time that Caremlita's reinforcements came.
If they'd sent an advanced guard…
Lt Vixen shifted over, claw out and scrolling through the map she'd printed off. There were two caves of interest, one that was closer but higher up and one that was further away but lower down. From what Bentley suspected, Rattigan and his groups, making their way through the jungle, would come to the upper one first. They meanwhile, reaching the base of the valley and hiking up the path of the old tramway, would reach the lower one. Records on how the battles went, which ones were hit first, what was in either of them were very poor.
"The mammals who raided first would have hit the upper one," Lt Vixen said. Tracing a claw line up, she traced out a short line, cresting up over a ridge and falling down. "Though given the geography, they chose to exploit the lower." Tapping her fingers on the surface, she shook her head. "Doesn't help with anything."
"So we might spend all this time looking in the wrong place. That's great to hear," Doug muttered.
"Yeah," Murray agreed. "But so might Rattigan."
"And unlike him, we might know sooner rather than later," Lt Vixen smiled, bringing out a small box, a long set of wires attached. "He won't know the signal they release, we do. We carry on to the base of the tramway, hide the van, march up and establish base camp. We see if we can pick up any signal, the frequency is enough to bounce some way up the caves. We then send a small scout party up with the second set to try and confirm the second cave. We relocate if need be."
"Of course," Carmelita sighed, "that's not 'super accurate' is it."
"Will it be able to point out exactly where it is, no," Lt Vixen admitted. "But I'm certain you'd much prefer the advantage it gives us over Rattigan, do you not?"
"Never said otherwise," the Interpol vixen said.
"Regardless," Judy said, slowly working her way up between the two. "We don't have to find this thing, do we? If we just set up an ambush, we can end Rattigan once and for all."
"I can do it in one shot," Dave said.
The van was oddly quiet for a moment or two.
"Of course," the doe bunny eventually filled in. "I might… I might recognise this thing too. From my vision, I…" She rubbed her head. "It'd be hard with the low light, I don't remember much, but…"
"Better than nothing," Nick said, as Lt Vixen held her paw up.
Murray spotted it and slowly brought the van to a halt, jerking back the pawbreak as the army fox slipped out, waterproof hood poured over her head as she stepped out into the pouring rain. She knelt down, nose to the ground, sniffing before looking back in. "The rain covers it, but I know that smell any day. We're close…"
The mammals pulled their hoods up and stepped out, those with night vision taking the sight in. In many ways, it looked exactly like the rest of the jungle around them, only…
"There used to be a clearing here," Tigress said, as Lt Vixen warned them to watch their step. They fanned out, carefully stepping through the undergrowth, a crackle on their radio soon coming through.
"Wall here." They moved over to where Skye had found it, probing the undergrowth as they found a raised row of stone and brick blocks, the group tracing it along until it reached a corner. Not far away, another corner, another end of a different building.
The group retreated back to their vehicle, Lt Vixen pulling out an old black and white photograph, one of the few they had. They didn't even know for sure if this was the place. But, pointing out two large sheds piled high with the guano, the red fox nodded. She then traced further around, zooming in on a satellite map, making out some of the other features. In particular, ever so faint, a line crawling its way up the mountain, specks of valleys and embankments on its way up.
Looking back to the picture, tracing out its mark, the vixen nodded, the group soon getting everything ready. Finding a hidden place to park their vehicle first of all, clearing some pieces of vegetation so they could pull it in behind cover, throwing over a camouflaged tarpaulin and doing their best to conceal it.
Then the rest of their equipment. Canned provisions, bags of spelunking equipment, thick heavy mountaineering boots, ladders, weapons. Tigress and Murray took point, they'd be taking it in turns to carry up the lion's share of the equipment and taking point as they cleared a path up the old rail trail.
It didn't take long to find it, the odd remnant of rotted away sleepers, dissolving to mush on the touch. After that, crawling up, the path beyond, its odd flatness and lack of any giant trees the only sign that this had once been a clear route up.
With heavy protective clothing and a machete honed to razor sharpness, Murray began the march forward, bulldozing down a route through where possible, taking out a shoot of tree or bamboo where necessary.
The following mammals were glad for their waterproof and cut resistant bodysuits as they followed on, pushing through the many plants that sprung back in or up into their path, saddling over large exposed boulders or fallen tree limbs.
Slowly, they rose.
The rain kept coming.
They saw their path slowly turn, weaving through a narrow cutting in an escarpment, excavated by mammal paws over a century ago. Abandoned and reclaimed by nature.
Step by step, hour by hour.
The rain eventually subsided, the clouds retreating somewhat, the stars emerging.
Taking a break for water, Nick sat down, glancing up at it. Bejewelled, hundreds of colours. "Is it like this in Bunnyburrow?" he asked in a whisper.
"Wha…" Judy said back, letting a long breath out as she rested herself. Her gaze slowly followed his, looking up. "No," she finally said, "it is pretty."
"Yeah," he said, pausing as a crash came out. Murray, his arms tired, swapped with Tigress at the front, the pair exchanging equipment and heavy goods.
"Oh yeah, you should have seen the sky in the Australian Outback. I was there with my spiritual guide… -It was this intense experience, looking up at nature as it was, I mean…" He smiled, looking up. "Just wow."
"I suppose it's always more amazing for you night vision mammals," Judy said, blinking away as a few streams of water dripped down near her.
"Yeah, well I bet what you can hear here is cooler too, way cooler than what we can," he offered.
She smiled. "Lots of insects chirping." She breathed out. "LOTS of them."
They were quiet for a little while, letting the silence fill in. The rain had stopped, but an ever downpour of dripping leaves carried on alongside with the chirping songs of insects.
"It's different," Nick finally said. "-To the rainforest district. Really is."
"I got so used to the real thing, the Rainforest District always came off as a little creepy," Lt Vixen smirked. "Either way, we've still got a march to go on, and are less than a quarter of the way through. Ready mammals?"
They nodded, the climb resuming once more. Hacking, cutting, slashing, weaving through, heavy breaths as heavy loads were carried. Areas where bridges had once crossed gulleys, if they were lucky a stone structure surviving, the small mammals taking point to fix a safety line before the heavier ones crossed. In more than one location only the stump of an old timber trestle was left, lines of decapitated soldiers vanishing down into the ferns as they dropped to a roaring side stream before climbing up once more. A few times Murray and Tigress, with some help from Doug, got a tree or two down, letting them cross with the help of safety lines for scaling the slopes.
There was one area they'd known about and feared, the bridge fully gone and just a wide chasm ahead, a river plummeting down, ready to sweep any unfortunate mammal away. They'd brought up an extendable ladder and, after scouting out for the narrowest point nearby, made the crossing from the bank to a large boulder.
Securing one end with lines and with Murray and Tigress holding it, Lt Vixen and Carmelita carefully made their way across, doing their best to lash the other end secure. All as the others, tired, exhausted, wet from a few surprise showers, took a chance to rest, panting hard. The heat worked into their bodies, the overalls that kept the mud off them making their fur feel waterlogged inside. Peeling them off, itching and scratching, panting in and out. Jack and Skye attended to each other's paws, both feeling blisters coming on.
All as some smaller trees were felled from the other bank to the boulder, Tigress making her way across to add some larger ones. Lashing it all together, doing their best to secure it all.
Finally, ready again, they each took their turn crossing the shaky crossing. All before the trek continued on.
A faint orange glow cast up from upriver as they dragged themselves up and up, no more major crossings but instead just the burn and the ache of their muscles from their arduous trek.
"I smell it," Lt Vixen said, as blue began staining the sky once more.
All as they carried up, the jungle slowly lit again, the last weaves and turns until, finally, it just ended.
A large flat area and, just a little above them, a gaping maw in the rocks.
The mammals collapsed, tired.
"Five minutes," Carmelita said, "then we see if there's easy cover in there. Somewhere to hide ourselves away. Then, taking shifts, we power nap and recover, before the next step. ¿Sí?"
Murmurs of agreement came out. If it was any consolation, they'd had it 'easy'. They took comfort in the hope at what their enemy had been through.
Breathing in and out, the larger mammals started unloading their gear, Murray taking the time to pull out a satellite phone. He sat back, dialling in and giving an update. "Hey, yeah… -We made it to the lower cave site. Nobody here so far, so all's good… -Right, how's Sly… -That tired groan does not fill me with confidence."
He listened on for a little bit, his brow furrowing. "Oh…"
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"Well, at least he's getting help, or… -What do you mean 'breaking in'?"
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"Is it all set?" Sly asked, looking down to Bentley.
The turtle looked back. "Indeed it is, though once again do you have to make it this…"
Sly cocked an eyebrow, a finger raised. "One, if I was going to do this, it was going to be in my way. Understood."
"Right," Bentley huffed, turning down and typing on his keyboard. "-And two?"
"-At the end of what I'm going to say, a regular shrink would have shipped me off to this place anyway." With that he smiled, turning towards the back of the van.
"-Wait." He glanced back, Bentley wheeling himself around. "Sly… -I hope you find peace or closure of some kind, I hope you get the help you need. I hope this helps you be okay."
The raccoon glanced away, giving a short shrug. "We'll see. Thanks." And with that, he opened the back door and slipped out, quickly making a run towards a nearby brick wall, his momentum carrying him on as he stepped and ran up it, cane out to hook the bottom rung of the nearest fire escape.
Pulling himself up the rest of the way, he slid onto the first level and began making his way up and up, soon reaching the top of the building and, jumping over to a drainpipe, scrabbled up and over onto the roof. From there it was easy, along the parapets, the odd flying leap across a small alleyway. Moving on, he paused, shifting down the outside of a chimney and working his way across a narrow window ledge before leaping into the void, paws touching down onto a telephone wire strung across a wide street. He slid down it, tail whipping in the breeze as he tugged down the catenary to its lowest point before leaping up the last small incline. Cane hooking onto a hanging sign, he swung to build up momentum before jumping out, hooking his cane against the crook of a pair of roof parapets, coming down either side and meeting in a rainwater gulley. Up and over once more, and it was racing across the roofs, up and down, up and down, feet racing across the tiles until he reached the final peak.
There, across from him, the building stood. Multiple stories tall, surrounded by green trees lit up by the glowing spotlights, the tall border fence hemming it in.
Making sure mammals couldn't get out.
-Thankfully with little or no thought about those wanting to get in. Checking his clothing, slipping off his tight performance leggings and pulling on some loose tracksuits, swapping his blue shirt for a looser and more casual blue shirt, eye mask and hat off and placed in his bag. 'Casualised' Sly raced down, picking up enough momentum to make it over and onto the tall fence, balancing perfectly on its overhang, hidden behind the bright glow of the spotlights.
A quick scan showed a few mammals in the yard, but not many more. Indeed, a whole corner with a small little nature garden seemed entirely untouched and unnoticed. Moreover, perfect for what he needed. Running along the fence, he leapt and fell, balancing on the top of one of the spotlights before working his way back and sliding down to its base. A quick peek out, a scan through his Binnocucom and a relay of information back to Bentley -Confirming where he'd be- and then he packed his things in his bag.
Moving over to the timber decking, working his cane in and quickly levering out a loose board, he stashed his bag and weapon underneath before putting on the remainder of his disguise.
And with that, out he walked, newly bare paws on the warm asphalt as he strolled up to the mammals at play. All his size, (mostly) all nocturnal. A very short eared rodent of some kind, black-ish grey with light grey spots and a huge amount of white flecking turned to him. "I don't think I've seen you here before?"
"New here," Sly said, huffing. He scratched his head, just underneath the hem of the white boxer shorts he was wearing as a hat. "And not long to be here when they realise there's nothing wrong with me."
Bouncing his basketball, an armadillo turned to him. "What's your name?"
"Wobble."
The two were taken aback slightly, the rodent chuckling a little. "I see," he said, walking forward and pinching Sly on the cheek, shaking it about a little. "This is the mammal at work, eh? Trying to play tricks on us, keep us in the machine?"
"There's no machine, no tricks," Sly shrugged off. "-Just wobble."
"Where you come from?" the armadillo asked.
"Uh, I actually spent a lot of my life in Paris. There's a small suburb, La Wobb-al, I'd highly recommend it. I then emigrated to Wobble and…"
The rodent was snickering, shaking his head as he turned back to shooting hoops. "You can't get me like that, you can't get me like that."
"He's like that with everyone," the armadillo said, shaking his head. "You want to be Wobble? I respect that."
"I mean I am Wobble," Sly said, pausing as he saw a female coyote guard walk out, checking a clipboard. Looking up, her brow furrowing a little in confusion. "I just don't know why people have to be so insistent that I'm not. You know, it doesn't affect them, doesn't change their life, doesn't cause them any grief that I am Wobble."
"-Mr Ringtail?" the coyote asked, looking over.
"Anyway, might be fun shooting a few hoops here, there…"
"Mr Stephen Ringtail?"
"-Discussing methods of liberating ourselves from the oppressive perpetual nightmare that we are trapped in that…"
There was a sigh. "Wobble?"
"Yes?" he asked, looking over to the coyote. She looked back, keeping her expression blank.
"-I… Do you have any pronouns you wish to be referred by?"
Sly smiled, here was one cultural-dialectic change developed in his absence that he'd been waiting to exploit since learning about it. "My pronouns are Wibble/Wibbly. For there is only I, Wobble. Except when there is not, and I identify as multiple Wobbles at once. For instance after large amounts of drinking, major tectonic events and unexpected mitosis. The plural in such cases results in a suffix change of my name from 'ble' to 'bly'"
"Okay… Wibbly…" She paused, holding her lips together, suppressing their quivering for a second. Sly had to suppress his snicker in response. "-Wobbly, I've been requested to take you in for an appointment. Is that okay?"
"What kind of an appointment?" he asked, crossing his arms before listing them off. "Doctors, Wobble, Dentist, Occupational Wobblist…"
"Your newly assigned psychiatrist," she said, taking a breath in and looking over her notes again, jaws held firmly tight.
Sly cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not sure what you're finding amusing. As a free and Wobble citizen, I deserve wobble treatment as a fundamental wobble."
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in. "Sir, I assure you I fully respect you as an individual..."
"-You mean Wobble."
"-Can you please come with me to your assessment."
"Wobbly," he agreed, following her along.
Stepping inside the mental ward, there were a few other nocturnal mammals in the lounge area, sitting around, relaxed, talking or watching the television. A few eyes though did turn to look at him. It was also undeniable that there was a particular current, a tension, in the air. For a moment or two he didn't even care about trying to make the mammal in front of him crack up, things were getting serious and he needed to keep his wits about him and his wobble up.
Okay, maybe he could let it down a bit, he…
SLAM.
He jumped back as one of the doors next to him shook, looking down at the shaded glass shutters as a hedgehog poked his head into view, eyes squaring on him. "Dinsdale?"
"Don't mind Norman," the coyote said, waving him on. Sly followed.
"Guess his Wobble is worse than his wobble."
"You can say that about a few of the mammals here, though I wouldn't take it as a certainty. But these are all good, reasonable mammals who need and are receiving help. That's all we're here to provide. For them, and for you."
"Who says I need wobble?"
"Well, I wouldn't know personally, but…"
"I knew it, this is just a wobble and I'm the victim."
She paused, looking down at him before furrowing her brow, glancing up, Sly noticing that she was looking at the security cameras… -And where non-security cameras that were not meant to be spotted might have been located.
"Anyway, M… -Wibble Wobble…" She sucked in a breath of air. "If you will be staying with us, we can provide plenty of help. There's the official professional therapy, along with activities such as art…"
"-Art?"
She smiled. "Yes, creative exp…"
Sly looked over to where she was glancing, suppressing a grin as he took off, the coyote freezing before closing her eyes as he returned, a pair of paintbrushes up both nostrils.
"If you could come along…" She began, waving him towards a door and knocking on it. "Mrs Lupulleli? That last minute patient is here?"
"-Okay," came a female voice from the other side, Sly leaning back against the wall and relaxing. Watching. Noticing a naked red fox trying to sneak up to him.
"You're wobble doing it right," he said, seeing the vulpine pause his overacted sneaking before carrying on. The coyote guard just turned and narrowed her eyes at the approaching figure.
"Sir, what have we said before about public nudity?"
Sly nodded. "I can see your wobble."
The coyote glanced at him, Sly shrugging back.
"What, he's got a very well endowed wobble."
The female canine's face winced up, just in time for the sneaking fox to make a lunge at Sly's underpants and paintbrushes. -Something the raccoon easily dodged, jumping back. At first, the fox acted as if it had been a complete success.
"Ha! You'll never get…" He began chucking the phantom items up towards a light alcove only to notice he hadn't actually got them, his whole body beginning to tremble as he looked back at his paw, over at Sly, back at his paw, paws now gripping and yanking at his ears as he fell to his knees. "You… You didn't do it right! YOU DIDN'T DO IT RIGHT! YOU…! YOU!"
His teeth baring, Sly began to step back as the coyote rushed in front of him. "Crap, they didn't tell you the right way. Hey, let's try again. Round two! Round two! ROUND TWO!"
Finally he snapped out of it, the coyote smiling and gesturing along, while also glancing at Sly. "Follow what I say."
The confused raccoon nodded. "Wobble?"
All as the fox began sneaking forward again, the guard speaking out against him. "Swiper no swiping."
After a second, Sly repeated it. "Swiper no Swiping."
The fox froze, before tip-toeing forward again.
"And again."
"Swiper no swiping."
He froze before carrying on.
"Swiper no swiping?" Sly asked, the fox making a lunge at his head-bound boxers only to freeze. Then step back, relaxing somewhat even as he scowled and clicked his fingers.
"Oh MAN!"
And with that, he scurried off.
"So you're wobbling I have to say that three times whenever Swiper tries to swipe stuff?"
"Well it's that or you just let him swipe the stuff and get it back later," she began, pausing as the door to the office opened, a female binutong looking out.
"Hello?" She paused, glancing up at the now shrugging coyote and then down, eyes half lidding at Sly, paw up and waving.
"Wobble."
"I see," she said, looking up at the coyote. "I'll take him from here."
"I'll get more clothes on you know who," the coyote said, handing the raccoon over.
The raccoon saw her walk briskly off, not towards where the fox had gone but rather towards what he assumed was the staff break area, behind a locked door.
"-Wobble for everything!"
His brow furrowed, she was good.
"Ahem, Sir?"
"That's Wibble," he corrected, looking up at the popcorn scented mammal.
"I thought it was Wobble?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sly shrugged, walking in. "It is. Wibble Wobble, except when it's Wibbly Wobbly. Anyway, oooh! A proper Wobble chair." He jumped and cartwheeled over, sliding to a halt on the psychiatrist's couch. "I only thought they had these in the wobblies."
Dr Amy sat down, clipboard in paw. "I don't think I've seen you here before."
Sly shrugged. "Wobble transfer. Very Wobble transfer. Not that I'm happy about it, or want to be here, but people wobbled so I guess here I Wobble."
"Well, that would line up with everything," she said, studying her notes.
"Nothing sounds too untowobble, does it?"
She gave him a look, looking back down. "No," she said, transferring her notes to her tail before leaning forward, fingers steepling. "So… -Wibbly Wobbly, shall we Wobble?"
"Oooh, that's a bit forward, don't you think?"
.
.
.
.
Felicity's claws tapped away at her keyboard, the cat not liking the wait. Seconds passed, then seconds more before the reply came.
"So far, no signs."
She typed back in. "Of the item, or of interference."
This time, the response was far quicker. "What kind of interference do you presume could come our way?"
"You tell me."
A few seconds later, he replied back. "Unfortunate bystanders, ignorant chancers, arrogant do-gooders. Any and all have been dealt with."
"And he if chooses to deal with you?"
"He would not. He needs me."
Her brow furrowed. "Does he now? This independent ruthless force that even you held some manner of respect for?"
"Indeed he does, indeed he does. Do you believe in fate, my dear Felicity?"
"I believe in many things. Entreat me."
"He knows the one we seek to conquer by a different name, a different faith, but it is him alright. Him as known by your, as of yet tight lipped and uncooperative guest."
She quickly typed back. "These things take time. You know me. The joy is as much in moving the pieces into position on the board, as it is performing the final coup-de-grace."
"Says the lady who dealt with a potential double agent feeding information to those miserable mice by throwing him in a microwave and pressing on."
"-Sometimes you need convenience," she typed back. "Besides, I had been planning some expanded-foam play only to find someone had stolen the nozzle from the can I'd bought."
"Each unto our own, my dear Lady. Each unto our own, and 'The General'. He seeks his revenge unto his Keehar, as I seek to conquer my Clockwerk."
"And were these to be mutually exclusive?"
"All in good time, my Lady. All in good time. For now, we have found the cave that my records pointed to. We have burrowed in. It is long and tough going, but what records I do hold are lining up. The books and notes say it is the right place."
She tapped a few footclaws on the floor. "And your heart?"
…
"Paddy?"
"I must admit some uncertainty on that front, but we are persevering. It takes time my dear, time. These are untouched frontiers, our supplied are light, there is only so far a drone can fly before it needs a recharge, only so far we can relay the batteries down, only so far our lines can reach. We have dropped down pits and crossed underground rivers, found the ancient holy sites and scoured them."
"Scoured?"
"Indeed."
"In the past tense?"
"A war took place here, and those foolishly devoted would have done their best to hide what they sought to protect. But I know we are close. I know it would have never left the caves. Just like The General, he is tied to me, for now. It is only a matter of time until we find it my dear. It is only a matter of time."
"As it is here." She typed. "As it is for our enemies."
There was a pause, and when the time came she was certain she could hear his chuckle. "Do your worst my dear, you know I shall."
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The group nursed their steaming cups of hot soup and noodles, sheltering from the rain within the lip of the cave. What sleep their rotating shifts had given them was augmented by coffee, even Judy partaking in a measured amount. Along with high energy military bars and other endurance foodstuffs, all prepping them for the task ahead. Both exploring and defending the abandoned colony.
It wasn't like what Judy would have expected, though in hindsight it was obvious. The entire base of the cave had been carved out and blasted, the guano scoured and removed long ago. The result was just a set of flat terraces, small huts and walls still in place, the odd little rivulet of water flowing down between them, reaching the ramp to the next level before falling straight down the edge to the next stepl.
The ceiling, apart from where it had been blasted and new supports put in, was more like a traditional cave, albeit with numerous pockmarks and holes in it. Barricades for the bats that had lived here, hundreds of years ago. They'd fought the invaders from there, with swarm tactics and obsidian darts tipped in the poisons of frogs and scorpions.
The craters and blast marks from the heavy shotguns showed how that ended.
"It'll come to an end soon enough," Lt Vixen said, taking a sip of her noodle meal as she worked with the receiver device she'd set up. Stringing long wires across the cave where she could, plugging it in, hoping to detect the barest of the bare signals from the talisman if this was where it was. "There's a limit to how far they could get the guano out. And how far the oxygen could get in."
Skye nodded on, interested. "They had a steam engine over there, didn't they?" she asked, pointing over at a brick structure on the side of the wall, a line of broken brackets running up to a gap in the ceiling, a soft misting of rain falling down. "I'd assume that worked the winding gear?"
"It would have come later," she said, turning to Jack.
"I don't know the specifics," he said. "Just that the mines found it cheaper to employ megafauna. Some even hired elephants, or…" He shrugged. "I just remember my abuela talking about how when she was a little girl, and how she still remembers old elephants and rhino's living in some of the villages."
"It might have been for an electrical system, lights, maybe even powering the mine trains on the main line," Lt Vixen carried on. "Either way, it would have only been installed near the end of the mine's life. Some of these caves are giant pits. This one? It's a long winding labyrinth, weaving its way down, too complex for drag wires to make it, too cramped to burn stuff. It would have been heavy manual labour, at the crap face and bringing it back up."
With a spark, she began getting the equipment up and working, the other mammals slowly turning to it, waiting. "On the plus side, it means that the first part of our journey down will be easy."
"And the second?" Carmelita asked.
Lt Vixen paused. "No idea. But…" She trailed off, freezing for a second before a grin began to grow on her face. "Well, I've got some good news. We're not going to have to go back into the rain. It's here."
A hush fell over the mammals as they looked at each other, a question on all their lips. "Now what?" Murray asked.
"Firstly, we can invest in setting up this place in case Rattigan and co arrive," Carmelita cut in, looking around. "We're too large to use the former bat defences to our advantage, but if we were to clear all our gear, fortify that position there." She gestured towards a brick tower of sorts working its way into a cleft of the cave. It looked down, surveying the former mining compound, hidden from outside view. "They come in, they're trapped by our suppressing fire."
"Of course we'd need to clear everything here for that illusion to work out," Lt Vixen said, gesturing around at the gear they'd left out. "And set out cameras and motion detectors in a perimeter around the edge."
"And if they're spending all this time at that other site?" the lone sheep in the group asked.
"That's good," Skye cut in. "We don't want a battle, we…"
"I wasn't offering that. Give me a sniper rifle, I can sneak up, take out that rat. Take out any of his friends. Doesn't that solve most of our problems here? Or don't you trust me?"
"I don't think it's anything personal Dave," Nick came in, "just risk management."
"I mean it's not like I miss my shots or anything," he said, smiling a little. "I always hit my targets, especially those deserving of their fate." He glanced at Judy, smiling as he saw her brow furrow, her foot beginning to thump.
"I'm certain you can neutralise targets on a ten to one ratio," Lt Vixen said, walking past. "It's the eleventh mammal I have concerns about." She gestured up at the proposed strong point. "We all stay together in there, any attack coming our way is greatly disadvantaged. Besides, I heard that, were this to carry on for a while, reinforcements are on their way."
"That is true, some of Interpol's finest and deadliest," Carmelita agreed. "If you want to introduce yours to them and go on a rat hunt when they arrive? Be my guest."
"Sounds good. Pulpifying that jerkass rat sounds good to me."
He gazed around a little at the odd looks being given.
"Or I don't know, maybe you guys have some sympathy for the mammal who engineered the deaths of hundreds for the low-low aim of looting the city dry and giving him cover to summon a demon and take over his body to rule as some kind of god emperor. It'd explain the looks you're giving me for a start."
"Moving on," Lt Vixen said, smiling as she walked between them all. "I'd say that fortifying our position is the main priority now. That and doing a basic survey of the route ahead. Carmelita's team are yet to set off, and learning about additional supply requirements now would make things a lot easier than later." She looked around. "I'd suggest that the smaller of us head down. -Judy, due to her familiarity, Jack due to his knowledge of the local environment and hearing, myself and Carmelita due to our past experience in extreme environments and her knowledge of Clockwerk."
The response from Nick and Skye was immediate. "We're going too."
Carmelita glanced at them. "I understand that, but we need skilled mammals up here at the top. Tigress has no firearms training and would be alone in fortifying. Meanwhile, we do need someone with technical skills to set up our cameras, our monitoring. Etcetera."
"You know, it's not as if I'm not highly qualified for both of those tasks," Doug said.
"And with two mammals, two different locations, both can be taken out before anyone knows the difference," Carmelita warned.
Nick was about to speak, only for Tigress to walk up. "I understand wanting to be there, to fight with someone you care about," she said, looking between Nick and Skye. "But sometimes it's important to consider the wider strategy. To hold the fringes, to protect the sidelines. Ask yourself, what is down there that might threaten them? And what is out there that might do the same? Just because you are not by their side does not mean you are not covering their back."
Nick looked away, not happy. "I don't like it."
"We have some communicators to try and reach down the cave," Lt Vixen said, pausing as she reached for a bag. "And some relay systems too, to boost the signal. You can stay in contact. For as long as possible."
"And beyond that?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We just won't take any untoward risks," she said.
With a deep breath in and out, Nick nodded, waving them on. "Fine, -just… Go and come back, before I change my mind."
There was a quiet in the air before the groups, swigging the last of their food and a round of coffee, started gathering their gear and setting off into the black depths below.