Sedor Valentino's current location was a warehouse located right beside an abandoned dock, and the empty cars outside suggested it wasn't as derelict as it looked. Winters could see light seeping through the boards covering the windows.

On paper, the plan was easy. Sedor's organisation wore no uniform or carried any emblem. A quick change in clothes and they were almost perfectly disguised. There was the tiny problem of Winters being a sheep, however, which was why she was to observe from the outside, and intervene only when necessary. Mossberg and Foxtrot didn't like this. Winters could see it in their eyes and tense posture as they got out of the car and took off around the corner. Winters let out a small curse before getting out the car as well, making for the sturdiest looking drainpipe.

She'd armed herself with a sniper rifle, which clung tightly to her back as she clambered up the pipe at a steady pace. A small silenced pistol was nestled against her thigh. An earpiece in her oval ear allowed her to hear everything Mossberg could.

"Do me a favour and don't look down."Honey Ryder's voice suddenly shot up in Winters's earpiece.

Winters froze mid-climb. "How do you know where I am?"

"Camera on your left shoulder strap."

Gripping the pipe with one hoof, Winters patted the strap with the other. She felt a tiny circular shape that she didn't find on the right strap. "Oh, for crying out loud."

"Easy, cottonball. Gabe and Starlight got one, too."

"Do they know they're fitted with cameras?"

"Yep."

Winters sighed and resumed her ascent. "Is this subterfuge really necessary?"

"Your psycho cousin fucked up my spine, so yes, yes, it is."

"I'm not my cousin."

"We'll see, won't we, Winters?"

The line went quiet. Winters knew she was still there, watching and listening, waiting for that one false move. She should have stayed at the hotel with Jack, or convinced him to join their hunt for Sedor. If he was here, they may have been more easily persuaded.

But he wasn't here. She was on her own. She'd have to play her cards very carefully if she was going to find Pottermass's missing billions.

She reached the roof and strode to the skylight. It had deteriorated enough that it took little effort to open it. She didn't drop down, but there was a walkway right beneath her that could come in hand. Dreary yellow light shone down over the meeting place.

Sedor sat at the head of the table, on which lay a large map. A variety of predators sat on each side of him, and surrounding the table were at least a dozen mammals armed with guns. In one corner, Winters spotted the unremarkable grey hoodies of a disguised Mossberg and Winters. Their hoods were out, but two other mammals were wearing hoods or other headwear, so they didn't stand out.

Sedor, the bear who rendered Carlton Woolton a mere shadow of his former self, was dressed in black coat, which was just open enough to reveal the body armour underneath. His gaze stared directly ahead at the door directly across the table from him. Skyefall took out a silver spyglass and took a closer look at the table. There were actually two maps, one on top of the other. The map on top was a map of the town and surrounding wilderness. The map beneath appeared to be a map of the ocean.

The door opened. Winters lowered her spyglass to see a lion stride into the room, his arm held out as if in greeting. "Sorry for the wait, boss. Cops friggin' everywhere."

Through the earpiece, the lion's voice had a small, nasally tone which didn't suit his wide frame at all. The moment he reached the table, he held his arm over the surface. A small black shape unhooked his feet from the lion's sleeve and turned right side up before dropping down onto the table.

Winters recognised him immediately from the files. Stuart Levvar. Vampire bat. A career criminal whose loyalties lay with Koslov. Subject Twelve on Project Twilight's list. He'd left Zootopia after Cheryl's deal with the government cleared the bat of all wrongdoing.

Levvar lit a cigarette and gave his report as he slowly sauntered around the map.

"I followed them to the old docks. They took the cheetah and his pals onto this motorboat and took off to the open water." He took care not to step on the map itself.

"Open water?" Sedor repeated, his tone so husky it resembled the reverberation of an active volcano.

If Levvar was perturbed, he concealed it with a long drag of his cigarette. "There was a cruise ship a mile or two away, I think. It was the only vessel out there so I think that's where they went."

Sedor turned to the brown wolf at his right-hand side. "Check if there're any cruise ships scheduled to be here tonight."

The wolf opened his laptop and got to work without a word.

Sedor turned back to the bat. "What about Subject 0?"

"Just the bodies it left behind. Either it got away again or…"

Sedor's claws left small gouges in the table. Years ago, they'd torn through Carltons skin like paper. Winters bit her lip at the thought. "That'll be all for tonight. Check on Otterton's family on your way home. Make sure their safe house is still safe."

"Sure thing. By the way, boss, I saw your buddy's car on my way here. He'll be here in a minute." Levvar held the cigarette with his foot before taking off through the open door, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. The lion closed the door behind him.

Sedor looked down at a file that lay between his massive paws. Winters raised her spyglass to take a closer look. That was when someone knocked on the door. Sedor closed the file and hid it under the table. Winters pursed her lips, but her temper held out. Instead she turned her attention to the new arrival.

The lion came through the door once more, followed by a male fox of identical colour to Foxtrot. He wore a navy-blue sports jacket over a greyscale combat suit. His eyes darted around the room as he paused in the doorway, as if daring anyone to make a move against him. No-one did.

Winters looked again at the two mammals in grey in the corner. Their hoods were up, but their bodies were as still as effigies. Foxtrot didn't seem to be even breathing as she stared at her brother.

The fox looked straight ahead at Sedor and put a subtle smile on his muzzle. "Sedor Valentino. How the hell are you?"

"Foxtrot." Sedor propped his elbows on the table.

Jason took a quick scan of the table. "Incredible. Two years after you brought a whole metropolis to its knees and here you are still tossing shit at the fan." Jason sat down at the end.

"Indeed, and vice versa. And Koobus, he's…"

"Sorry, he won't be joining us tonight. He hopes you-"

"No more pleasantries. You wore me down. You're here. And you've been pestering me for a reason. Now, spit it out."

Jason's smile didn't even flinch. He gently pushed the maps further down the table so he could rest his own arms. Winters saw a similarity to a slightly younger, less downtrodden Wilde. "If you'll let me finish, I was about to say that your pet project is about to hit a snag."

"Go on."

"You'll have heard by now that Agent Savage's crew has been caught by NEST. They're on their way to meet Swineton now."

"And?"

"And Subject 0 was caught right alongside them."

Sedor's eyes narrowed over his interlocked paws. "I told you to leave that creature to me."

"It wasn't my fault. It made its own way to the hotel. We only found out after the raid."

"Why would it go towards the danger unless it was running from another?"

Jason smirked superciliously at the accusation. "Maybe it got tired of running."

Sedor's glare could have set the map on fire. The other predators in the room seemed to wilt under his smouldering aura or tense up at Jason's words. Winters still couldn't see the reactions of her 'allies.'

"Why are you here again?" The bear asked slowly.

Jason tapped his palm on the table top. "This is Koobus's last message. You meet us at the old docks tomorrow, with all the men and weapons you can spare. We find Swineton and we end this, once and for all. We leave first thing in the morning."

"I know him, Foxtrot. Killing Swineton won't be the end of it, no matter what he says. Even if I accept, Koobus will try to keep me on a leash long after Swineton is death. I don't think this will work out."

Jason sighed and got up from his seat. The lion didn't move, but watched him like a hawk. "We appreciate what you've done for us. We really do. However…" He slowly raised one paw, his fingers forming an 'O.' "One does not simply slaughter dozens of people and then pretend to be the reasonable one."

Sedor's muzzle bared just the slightest sliver of teeth. "Have you, at any point, heard me even attempt to justify my actions?"

"No. But you're not bragging about it either."

"I didn't do it for the glory, you idiot."

Jason paced a little as he talked. "Why didn't you go back to Koslov the second you escaped, huh? You didn't want him to know, did you? You wore that freaky bird mask all day so you wouldn't see yourself in the mirror…"

Sedor cut him off. "Boy, you can stop right there. Just because I have blood on my paws does not mean that I will go out of my way to wipe them clean. I got what I wanted, and redemption is not my priority, so stop painting your crusade as such."

Jason put his paws on his hips, causing his jacket to lift and expose the gun underneath. "Koobus isn't gonna like you backing out."

"Porca Miseria, I don't care."

"He'll pay you a visit when he's done with Swineton, and you'll be doing a helluva lot of caring when he does."

"Is that why you never sought out your sister? Are you too much of a coward to threaten her like this?"

Jason blinked. Winters looked at Foxtrot just in time to see her flinch. Then just as quickly as it vanished, the smile was back on her brother's face.

"If you ever met my sister, you'd know exactly how that'd work out. Anyway, I've got something to show you. If you say no, I'll just tell Koobus you're still on the fence."

"You sound very sure I'll be convinced." Sedor sounded genuinely curious.

Jason pulled out a hand-held device that resembled a variant of Winters's own device. He touched the screen a few times and handed it to the lion. Without looking at the screen, the lion walked around the table and handed it to Sedor. Sedor read the contents of the screen, which was too small for Winters to see even with her spyglass. The bear scowled, and turned that scowl on Jason before sliding the device back across the table. "Where did you get this?"

"Not important." Jason pocketed the device. "But I figured you should know what's at stake before you blow us off."

Sedor lowered his head, deep in thought. Winters couldn't see his expression.

Jason zipped up his jacket. "Look, I'd love to hang out more, but Koobus'll kill me if I'm late. You've got six hours to respond. Think about it."

He turned tail and walked out without another word. Mossberg wordlessly rubbed his wife's shoulder as she hung her head.

Eleven long minutes of silence passed. No-one spoke. They just watched the great grizzly sit in wordless contemplation. At first, even Winters didn't move an inch, but eventually she prepped her sniper ripple and aimed it at the bear's unprotected head. One shot. One less mammal on Lupine's side for the inevitable conflict ahead. One less cousin unavenged…

Then Sedor got to his feet. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Mrs. Foxtrot."

Winters felt her jaw drop. Mossberg and Foxtrot's heads shot up, paws instinctively reaching for their hidden weapons. None of Sedor's men moved to intercept. When they noticed then, the married couple restrained themselves from using their guns.

"That explains a lot." Foxtrot breathed as she pulled down her hood. "Why didn't you stop us from sneaking in?"

"We got off to a bad start. Sorry about that… surprise. I was expecting Koobus tonight, not him." Sedor turned to face them. "Are you the only ones here?"

"Honey's listening in. Another agent, too. Other than that, it's just us." Winters gritted her teeth that Mossberg would readily give her away, but then she realised that lying about her involvement might make things worse in the long run. Career choice aside, Sedor was no fool.

Sedor slowly approached them, the height difference becoming more pronounced with every step. Winters kept his head in her crosshairs. Her finger hovered over the trigger. It could make her mission easier. Or it could make it so much worse. Decisions, decisions…

Then he stepped under the walkway, and Winters's decision was made for her. She lowered the rifle with a sigh and continued to listen.

"I was almost tempted to tell him of your presence." Sedor spoke as he towered over the pair. Cloaked in his shadow, Mossberg and Foxtrot traded glances. "But the reunion can wait. We've heard his proposal. Now you hear mine."