Chapter Text
"I didn't expect you to believe me," Nick sighed, "who believes a fox, right?"
"That is NOT what I said! This has nothing to do with you being a fox. I arrested him for reckless endangerment, grand theft auto, vandalism and assaulting an officer! He destroyed two cars by using them as roller skates! He nearly killed someone! There's no way they'd let him go, so you must be lying!"
Nick blinked and pulled his head back in surprise. "Weaselton did all that? Yeah, that sounds like he should be in jail. But he wasn't." He pulled out his cell phone. "I can prove it, but I need to recharge. This old thing keeps running out of juice."
After a minute of fumbling with cords, Judy saw that his phone was a similar model to her new burner, and plugged it in. The screen lit up, showing a picture of an empty cell, with the 'PLAY' arrow in the middle. She started the video. The cell on the screen was the largest in the precinct, with bars she could easily fit through. The image moved, jerky and unbalanced, obviously filming while Nick walked. The next cell was the same size, and had a shirtless elephant, snoring next to a puddle of vomit, sleeping off a bender. A giraffe hanging her head. An angry-looking hippopotamus with a gang symbol scarred into his skin. The cells and their occupants got smaller as the video continued. Many were empty at the moment. Three gnu in adjacent cells argued about whose fault it was they got caught. A puma looked up and insisted "he said he was eighteen!" An antelope just sat there with what was probably blood on his horns. A capybara in inappropriately tight silk underwear cried. A porcupine couple grumbled about public indecency laws. Judy strained her eyes as the cells approached mustelid size, but she saw no weasels, only an ashamed-looking skunk and a stoic badger holding his nose. In the rodent section someone was singing "I will kill you all. Nothin' you can do about it." That turned out to be a gray squirrel of all species. Near him were a jerboa bouncing off the cage walls, a trio of rats gnawing on the bars, and two white mice, one with an oversized head and annoyed look, the other taller and thinner, babbling nonsense words. Weaselton wasn't there.
"Maybe they had him in interrogation?" Judy asked doubtfully.
Nick shook his head. "I know the guy. We're not close, but I can recognize his scent. He wasn't in any of those cells unless he was hiding under the elephant puke."
"I'm sorry. You were telling the truth," Judy said in a weak, flat tone, "he really wasn't there. They let him go." Or maybe something even worse. "The ZPD is in on it. It's the only explanation. It has to be a dirty cop."
"In on what, Carrots?" Nick asked, looking confused at the sudden change in the atmosphere.
"Octavia," Judy sighed, "tell him about the Night Howlers."
"The flowers Weaselton stole? What makes them so important?" Nick asked.
"They're poisonous," Octavia answered. "The poison impairs higher brain functions, causes aggression and memory loss."
"I was driving Mr. Otterton when he was shot with that poison," Renato added, indicating the injuries on his face. "He went savage and attacked me. That is what happened to my eye."
"A teensy otter did that?" Nick asked, looking about as frightened as when he was caught confessing to tax evasion.
"He didn't mean to," Octavia said, sniffling, "the poison, he wasn't himself."
"There was a sheep who went to the shop trying to buy them, and Emmitt wouldn't sell, so they used the poison to shut him up." Judy added, "a big-horned sheep with black wool and suspenders who didn't like predators."
"This poisonous flower," Nick began, "turned your itty-bitty husband in his sweater-vest and glasses into a mindless, violent beast that did that to a jaguar?" Everyone nodded. "Are, are you kidding me?" Nick asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion, his ears pinned back. "You must be pulling my tail, Carrots." He chuckled and wagged his tail weakly, looking around for something he clearly didn't find. "Okay, you got me, ha ha, very funny. There was no real mirth in his voice. After half a minute or so, he turned back to Judy, looking even more frightened. "Carrots, please tell me Peter Grunt and Suzanne Sunbear are going to pop out and tell me I'm on Candid Camera."
Judy shook her head. "I don't even know who those two are."
Nick's eyes were wide and pleading. "So this isn't some kind of sick joke?"
Judy shook her head again, looking down at Nick's paws. "I wish it was."
"There's a flower that can turn any predator into a mindless violent beast," Nick began.
"Not any predator," Octavia corrected, "any mammal. Pretty sure it works on birds and reptiles too, but who could tell?"
"Oh, that just makes it so much better!" Nick's voice dripped with sarcasm. "So there's a flower that can turn any mammal into a mindless violent beast, and it's being used as a weapon? By terrorist sheep with anti-pred views?"
"Yes," Judy answered.
"And the only ones who know about this are a bunny who got fired on her second day as a cop, an otter florist, a jaguar chauffeur with one good eye, and yours truly?"
"Mr. Big knows too," Octavia countered, "and I think Judy got fired because someone in the ZPD was afraid of her knowing too much, she seems to know what she's doing."
Nick held his head in his paws, "yes, thank you, Flower Girl, knowing that such a noble mammal as the crime lord of Tundra Town is on our side against corrupt police is so very reassuring."
"Thank you, I try." Octavia replied. It wasn't clear if she'd missed the sarcasm or pretended to miss it in hopes of cutting the tension a bit. "Maurice doesn't like being called 'The Gangster of Love', but he really is quite friendly when you get to know him."
"Mr. Big's real name is Maurice?" Judy asked, "No, never mind, that's not important."
"There's someone out there with a weapon like that, and the only thing we know about them is that they don't like predators and there's a police officer on their payroll?"
"No," Judy answered, "we didn't know for sure the ZPD was in on it until just now."
"Glad to be of service," Nick muttered, rolling his eyes, "wait, you said Weaselton stole those flowers? He's a jerk, but not a terrorist."
"I don't think he knew what they were being used for. They were using him."
"Lots of that going around," Nick said with an accusatory scowl.
Judy sighed. "I'm sorry, Nick. We needed the information. At least I'm telling you now."
"And Weaselton is still your only lead?"
"Provided he is still alive," Renato said, "he may have outlived his usefulness."
"I don't think so," Nick muttered, "if they get rid of him, they need to find someone else to steal for them. There are better crooks than Duke, but they're more expensive and smart enough to start asking inconvenient questions."
"So they probably just let him loose so he could keep stealing for them," Judy replied, perking up a bit, "and you said you knew where to find him?"
Nick knew exactly which street corner Duke was standing on, selling bootleg DVDs. He stood on a box, behind a flimsy folding table, with a big red sign on the poorly-maintained wall behind him that read 'Duke's OFFICIALLY LICENSED Movies' in three different fonts that didn't go together. Nick, Judy, and Octavia walked up. "Oh, look, Meowana!" Octavia said, "Randi has really been looking forward to that one!"
"I have a niece who made me promise to bring her to the big city to see it the week it comes out," Judy replied, "I would have expected you to be Floatzen fans."
"Wrangled was the better princess movie, honestly. It is nice to see a mustelid in a heroic role, and I hope Floatzen 2 is even better than the original. But I have a feeling Meowana will blow them both out of the water."
"Well, you ladies are in luck!" Weaselton announced, putting on his salesweasel voice, pressing his paw to the exposed fur on his chest. "I got yer mustelid hero right here! We've got a BOGO special." Octavia snorted remembering how Chief Bogo had treated her. "You can get one for your pups, and you can get one for your niece!"
Judy looked Duke straight in the muzzle. "We're not here about the bootleg DVDs, Wesselton."
"Hey, that's Weaselton," the weasel angrily corrected her, "Duke Weaselton. And you got no evidence that I knew these movies was bootleg."
Nick and Judy exchanged a head shake and eye roll. Could he really be that dumb? Yeah, he could. Duke slowly realized exactly what he'd just said, and who he'd said it to. "I, uh, just remembered I have an important appointment, somewhere else." He turned to flee, and found Renato waiting there to snatch him up in his big black paws.
"Hello," the jaguar said to the weasel with an amused look turned menacing by his injured eye, "do you have any of the old Zorro serials? I have a friend who might like to see them."
"Really, Flopsy?" Duke asked as Renato set him down, gently but firmly, "you're really bringin two officers undercover to hassle a legitimate businessmammal? You got nuthin better to do?" He pointed at Nick, "hey, if you're gonna arrest someone, why not him? He's a lot more crooked than me!"
"I'm sure they would if they could," Nick replied, with all the smug smoothness back in his voice, "but there won't be any arrests here today, as long as you tell us what we need to know."
"How did you get out of jail?" Judy asked, "And who did you sell those Night Howlers to?"
"I ain't talkin, and there's nothing you can do to make me."
"Perhaps I know someone who could make you talk?" Renato asked with a menacing hiss in his voice.
"Why, yes, yes you do!" Nick announced playfully, "Duke, I'm sure you're familiar with Mr. Big?" Duke nodded, and Nick pointed at Renato. "This is his driver."
"What's that to me, Wilde? You're the one who pissed the Big guy off with that skunk-butt rug."
"Skunk-butt rug?" Judy muttered. She shook her head, it wasn't important. "Duke, you remember our chase? You remember the donut you kicked off the building at me?" Duke nodded, and Octavia blinked, suddenly realizing what dirt Judy had on him. "Well, you missed, and that donut nearly hit someone else. Mr. Big's daughter."
Duke's eyes darted around, looking for an escape but finding none. His face contorted in terror. "I didn't know she was even there! I was aiming at you! You're a cop, Big won't believe a word you say anyhow."
"Hmm," Renato began, "who will he believe? His driver, his florist, and the bunny who saved his daughter's life? Or some crooked little thief who nearly got her killed?"
Duke twitched. "Today is your lucky day, Duke," Nick announced, "the only mammals who know what you did are standing right here. And we'll keep it a secret long enough for the Big guy to cool down and leave you above freezing, IF you'll just answer Officer Fluff's questions."
"What questions?" Duke asked, sighing in resignation.
Judy had her pad and pen ready. "Who let you out of jail?"
"I dunno, some sheep cop. Sheep all look alike to me."
"Did he have black wool, big horns, and suspenders?"
"No, just a boring white sheep. Said I was free to go. And before you ask why, I don't ask questions like that, as long as I'm out I don't care how it happened."
So they had no lead on the corrupt cops other than that one of them was a sheep, and not the same sheep who had been seen at Otterton's. But that wasn't what they were here for anyway. "Who hired you to steal the Night Howlers?"
"A ram named Doug." Yet another sheep. "We got a drop spot underground. Just watch it. Doug is the opposite of friendly. He's unfriendly."
Now they had a location, and a description of the prime suspect (even if that description was the opposite of helpful). Judy returned to the car. She held out her carrot pen to Nick, who ignored it and opened the door for her. "Hop in, Carrots, we've got a flock of sheep to take down."
Judy leaped into the car and flopped into her seat joyfully, waiting for the fox to buckle in next to her. She realized that he'd done his part, he'd finished the task she'd set for him. He had found Weaselton, and helped get the information they needed. He could have taken the pen and ran at that point. She would have let him. A promise was a promise. But he was still there. He hadn't asked for the pen, hadn't even mentioned it since they told him about the Night Howlers. If he'd only been in this to save his own tail, he would have left already. But there he was, sitting right next to her, chatting with Renato about old movies, telling him about shortcuts and alleyways they could use to evade pursuit (most of which he already knew, after driving for the mob). Nick hadn't volunteered for this, but he was committed to it now. He cared enough to risk his life to protect others. Judy wondered why that realization surprised her, and why she felt so pleased to know the fox was on her side. She pushed such questions aside for now, she had a ram to catch. No, they had a ram to catch.