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Downtown - Mercy Hospital - Southern Savannah off Oasis Plaza Wednesday - 12:09 PM - Sunny/Clear Skies

Ralph hated this place already. He had been here twice, once earlier this morning and before that with Stella and Rodney. It was a dismal visit, having to fill out paperwork and insurance forms, fully knowing that their current insurance wouldn't cover even half of the proposed costs of their visits. He was already hoping that his new work-offered insurance with the ZPD would be enough for them to manage, but that wouldn't take effect until the beginning of next month. That was several weeks away and they needed the help now.

The sterile and medicinal scent of the hospital stung his nose as he entered the building, feeling a strong sense of déjà vu. As many mammals that flowed through its entrance, this was not a happy place to be. However, Ralph did have hopes that this place held the key to helping his wife and son. Her asthma was getting worse by the week now and it would be glorious to see his son actually walking on his own two legs for the first time.

Recognizing the caribou nurse who had released them this morning, he strolled up to the nurse's station with a brimming smile. "Good afternoon. It is good to see you again." He paused, unsure if that was truly meant or just common pleasantries. "I was hoping you could do a favor for me?"

The nurse looked up somewhat irritably, clearly busy with a bunch of data entry. Putting on her best face, she greeted him, "Afternoon, sir. Can I help you?"

She clearly didn't remember him, but that was fine. He shouldn't expect a nurse, who sees hundreds of patients a day, to remember someone she briefly met just this morning to release him from the hospital. To confirm his authority, he flashed his badge to her before stuffing it back in his pocket, "Ma'am, I'm with the ZPD and I would like to talk with a suspect. One Javier Sanchez. Would you please be so kind as to tell me which room he is in?"

Her expression slumped, "Oh, I'm so sorry. His room is under cordon right now."

The hair on the back of his mane stood up, "What do you mean?"

She cocked her head slightly at him, "You mean you didn't know? He died yesterday afternoon. Cause of death is still unknown, but it is pointing to asphyxiation."

This certainly was no coincidence, he knew that for sure. If Javier survived his own burning, he suspected the Dark Flame Wolf would not be the type to just let him off the hook. "I was just assigned to the case this morning, so I was not fully aware of all the details just yet." He lied.

Sighing, she typed a few things into the computer before bringing up the entry she wanted, "He is in room 4005 on the 14th floor. The elevators are just down the hall that way after the water fountains." She pointed off to her left vaguely, clearly wanting nothing more than to get back to the mountain of paperwork she had to do that day.

"Thank you very much, Ms...um..." He began.

"Grisele." She smiled, for the first time.

"Grisele, thank you." He nodded before heading down the hall.

Riding up to the given floor, he stepped out and immediately noticed several strips of police tape strewn across the room of interest. There were two elephants hunched because of the low ceiling, having a heated debate over something. He didn't quite remember the bull's name, but the female was Francine Pennington. They might even be married, he wasn't quite sure.

"What do you want, rookie?" The male grumped, swinging his trunk at him.

"Honey, stop. That's rude." Francine whapped his arm with her trunk. She turned to face Ralph more directly. "Hey there, sorry about my partner, Bob. He can be a bit demanding at times." She ignored his glare completely. "So, what can I help you with today, Officer Grayz?"

His eyebrow rose at her amazing ability to remember his name as well as his face after not even a week in the city. "I was actually hoping I could get into Sanchez's room and do some investigating to figure out cause of death." He indicated the open door behind the two elephants.

Huffing and putting his forefeet on his hips, Bob grumbled, "Seems like a pretty cut and dry case to me. The equipment malfunctioned and Sanchez died of asphyxiation from collapsed lung. The insurance companies are trying to figure out who is responsible at this point. Nothing much for us to do here, but document the incident."

Francine flapped her ears, clearly done with Bob's attitude. "So why are you curious about this? We just finished up gathering evidence for the report that I," She shot a scowl over at Bob, "will be filing later tonight."

"I'm sure you are aware that both Javier Sanchez and myself were attacked Monday night by the Dark Flame Wolf. He was her primary target and she did not complete her kill." Ralph explained matter-of-factly.

"So this is a personal vendetta, is it? You want to take on the Dark Flame Wolf all on your own?" Bob swished his trunk with agitation, just about finished with this entire conversation.

"No, that isn't it at all." The gnu stammered, a bit taken aback at the vitriol that was spewing from his colleague's mouth. Were all big city cops this ornery?

"What is it then?" Francine asked, trying to pacify the conversation.

"I was there when I went to arrest that wolf, just as she was about to commit murder. She assaulted me and escaped, but not before setting Javier ablaze. For a criminal to simply take the extra time to stop and finish the job like that, isn't it a bit too convenient that he just dies suddenly yesterday of unknown causes when found to have survived the first murder attempt?" He reasoned with them, causing even Bob to reflect thoughtfully.

"That does seem plausible." Francine admitted.

"Even if that were true, there was simply not enough evidence that we could discover in the room that would point to such a conclusion." Bob stated, folding his arms as if that settled the matter.

"All the same, I was just assigned to this case." Ralph lied again.

He was starting to feel really bad about this entire affair. As much as his common sense was screaming at him to just drop the case and ignore the obvious murder in front of his snout, he knew that he wouldn't let another person get hurt again on his watch. He wouldn't allow the law to turn a blind eye again, not like before.

"This is highly unusual." Bob's brow furrowed, his expression darkening. "Francine and I were assigned this morning. Let me call back to the station and figure this nonsense out." He stuffed his big forefoot into his pocket and pulled out a phone before tapping the big touch panel numbers with his trunk tip.

Francine lightly rapped his shoulder with her own trunk before whispering to him, "I'm going to make a quick pit stop to the loo, okay?"

He stopped dialing with a worried expression, "Is it what I think it is?"

She gave a quick glance over at Ralph, who was looking at them with interest. She said in hushed tones, "Probably nothing to be worried about. I'm only late by about a week."

"Almost two weeks." Bob hissed back.

"Shush." Giving him daggers, another look over at Ralph to be sure he didn't overhear their private conversation. "I'll test tonight, alright? Happy?" Without waiting for him to respond, she turned to the wildebeest. "It was nice seeing you again, Officer Grayz. See you back at the station! Good luck!" She waved with her trunk at him as she quickly made her way down the hallway.

"Just stay right there, I'll sort this out." Bob grumbled before turning aside and becoming absorbed in the call.

Ralph was bristling with adrenaline. He knew what he needed to do, but did he have the courage to do it? The elephant was facing away to the point his large ear was covering up all peripheral vision. He probably had a few minutes at best to sneak into the room, do a quick inspection and duck out before Bob had an inkling that he had been in there at all. He hesitated briefly. Despite him wanting to seek out justice for what was hundreds of victims, why did it seem like he was breaking some law to do it?

Steeling himself, he dipped as low as he could under the police tape, put conveniently at elephant level. He immediately went over to the bed and inspected the life support machines. They were in standby mode, a small green light indicating they were receiving power. He knelt down to the floor and trailed the cord back to the wall, nothing seemed amiss there. It was unclear if it was ever unplugged or not.

Ralph continued to survey the room quickly, yet everything was in order. It truly did look like Javier just stopped breathing and suffocated on his own broken lungs. Yet that still didn't make sense, if these machines were made to keep him alive, why did they fail suddenly? Something wasn't adding up and it was clear there was nothing more to be gained from searching this room. As Bob put it, it seems pretty cut and dry. Too clean. The only thing of note was the slight hint of stink lingering on the bed sheets.

Swiftly exiting the room, he was relieved to see the elephant still on the phone. It appeared he was waiting for someone on the other end to pick up. Ralph stepped forward and tapped the big guy on the arm. "Excuse me, don't worry about it. It's probably a mix up back at the station. I'll be heading back now."

With a satisfied look, Bob clicked the phone call off and stuffed it back in his pocket. "Good, I wasn't really looking forward to dealing with anymore paperwork. Stay out of trouble, Officer Grayz." He winked, lightening up a little. "It is way too early to be wrapped up in getting put in the hospital while on the job." He guffawed heartily at his jab, causing Ralph to glower.

"You have a good day, Officer Trunkaby." The gnu waved, switching back to formality. It was a cold reality that not all colleagues would be a pleasure to work with here in Zootopia, he realized.

Leaving the laughing elephant behind, he stepped into the elevator and took it all the way down to the ground floor. This entire visit had been a bust. There was nothing to be gained here, even at the scene of a murder he couldn't convince anyone what had happened right here in the hospital. No wonder everyone just turned a blind eye to anything involving the Dark Flame Wolf, it seemed it was very hard to pin things down on her. Yet he was face to face with that villain. He knew she existed and was responsible for these killings.

He was broken out of his ruminations when the ER doors busted open with nurses wheeling in a maned wolf on a gurney. He was moaning in pain and the triage technicians were already jamming in a needle into his arm as they started the IV drip. Ralph was brushed to the side, doing his best to stay out of their way as they rushed past him.

"What do we have?" The head nurse called out.

"Multiple lacerations with third and second degree burns across most of his upper body. We also have a broken femur and kneecap from blunt trauma impact." One responded almost immediately.

"Do we have a name?" She fired back.

"Yes, Christopher Guara." Another chimed in.

Ralph's ears perked up at the sound of the burns. "Excuse me, I am ZPD, may I have a word with the patient?"

The head nurse, a tiger, growled at him with teeth bared. A minor infraction in and of itself, but given the current situation, he was going to let it slide. "This fox is in critical condition, and if his leg is not set properly and these burns treated, his condition could take a turn for the worse!" She snapped, while simultaneously ordering the remaining nurses to continue pushing him in through the swinging doors to the operating rooms. "Now if you would please step out of the way, you can have all the time in the world to question him later after we have treated him!"

Left speechless at her ferocious devotion to her job, Ralph had forgotten to correct the tiger on how that patient wasn't a fox. He stared after them as they disappeared from view behind the ER doors. He noticed one of the nurse technicians who had wheeled him in off at the reception desk filling out a clipboard of papers. "I'm sorry, but would you mind telling me where that maned wolf was found?"

Without looking up at him, "He was found dragging himself along the streets of Happy Town. It looked like he had survived a very large fall. Now if you'll excuse me." She said curtly before moving away from him.

With all leads pointing to dead ends here, Ralph hung his head and trudged out of Mercy Hospital. He had come here with such high hopes only to be met with failure. The only thing that followed him back to the ZPD was the persistent stench of skunk.

---

Savannah Central - Zootopia Police Department - Off Freedom Circle Across from City Hall Wednesday - 1:26 PM - Sunny/Clear Skies

"Afternoon Clawhauser, hope you are doing better!" Ralph greeted upon entering the ZPD foyer, doing his best to appear cheerful.

The cheetah looked up from his phone, seemingly lost in some rowdy Gazelle app. Remembrance dawned on his face as he regarded Ralph. "Oh, oh! The Chief wanted to speak with you!"

This was unusual and somewhat disconcerting. "What about?" He asked warily, stepping up to the desk.

Stashing the phone away in a shelf beneath the reception marble top, Clawhauser stared blankly at the wildebeest. "What about what?"

"What the Chief wanted to talk to me about." Ralph gently reminded.

"Right, right, right!" Clawhauser admonished himself. "It was something about doing more than you should."

"That's it?" Ralph flapped his ears impatiently.

The cheetah's face fell, "Well yeah, that and he told me that I need to stop eating so many donuts."

"I'm sure he has your best interests at heart." Ralph consoled, genuinely meaning his words.

It wasn't right for an officer to be in the shape Benjamin Clawhauser was in. Not only was it unhealthy, but it was not becoming of a police officer who could be called upon to do physically demanding tasks. Ralph resolved to later invite Clawhauser to join him in his training regime to help the cheetah get back into a more fitting body type.

"I keep trying to move on from them, but it's like they keep calling me back." He flicked off a colored sprinkle from his blouse.

Leaning an arm on the desk, Ralph agreed, "I know how that is. Sometimes your mind gets set on something, it becomes really hard to think or do much else."

"Sometimes I feel like I don't care what happens to my body. I just feel compelled to pursue this." Ben continued, finding an outlet in Ralph. "I know what some of the others think of me. They laugh at me when I'm not looking, but I sometimes hear them. I didn't always used to be this fat."

Ralph moved to speak, but was interrupted by a suave voice. "Hey, Benji Barnhouse!" The voice caroled, belonging to a crimson fox with shades perched on his brow. He paused to regard the wildebeest with curiosity. "Ah, and good to see you out and about after that stink bomb incident this Monday. I almost didn't think you'd make it through the night."

Ralph's ears flapped down flat. As much as he respected Officer Hopps, her partner, Nick Wilde, left a bit to be desired and seemed to grate on his nerves more than most. "Amazingly enough, I'm fine. The doctors did a great job removing the stench and ensuring we were in good health."

Nick sniffed a few times before wrinkling his snout. "You sure about that? I can still smell it lingering on your fur, almost like an acquaintance I bumped into yesterday. You should get a few tips from my partner, Hopps. She is already smelling right as rain."

"You already saw her this morning?" Ralph queried.

Nick shrugged. "Briefly on my way out to work. Speaking of which," He waggled a finger at the gnu, "Aren't you supposed to be having the day off? With work ethic like this, you're putting my partner to shame!" He chuckled a bit at this.

"Well..." Ralph sputtered for the words to come, "I had a few more pieces of paperwork to file for my account access here."

"But you already have an account." Clawhauser interjected, in a stark moment of clarity.

Ralph gave the cheetah a withering glance, "The point is: I need to be on my way so I can finish this up and get home to my family." He didn't know why he was so upset all of a sudden, but he just felt like he was wasting time here talking rather than investigating the current issue at hand.

"Don't forget to see the Chief! He's expecting you!" Ben chimed in once again, being very pleased with himself at being so helpful.

With a single tap of his finger, Nick knocked the shades over his eyes as he clicked his tongue at Ralph, "From experience, it's best not to keep him waiting. He can be pretty cranky at the best of times." And in a more hushed whisper, "Still, get with my partner, she can assist in your manly scent."

Leaving both the cheetah and smirking fox to their talk, Ralph waved a hoof in parting before taking the elevator to the third floor. While waiting for it to reach its destination, he raised an arm and sniffed under it, he didn't seem to smell that bad. Granted, foxes have much better senses of smell than many other mammals, but he had half a mind that Nick was making the smell seem worse than what it probably was.

His ears popped up suddenly. The stench! That's right! That criminal had access to weaponized skunk musk. She had made it into a bio-weapon capable of serious olfactory damage to the point of unconsciousness. Not to mention the odor was most likely on the Dark Flame Wolf. He just needed to cross reference any cases where skunks were involved for their musk and figure out any leads. And...didn't Nick say Ralph smelled exactly like someone he met yesterday?

Enthusiastic about this new, potential lead, he was getting ready to pop a hoof to the ground floor button when the sliding doors opened. There standing before him was Chief Bogo, who lowered his glasses at him to look over the rims. "Ah, Officer Grayz. Just the wildebeest I was wanting to see." Stuffing a folder under his arm, he motioned the gnu to follow him, "Come with me to my office."

The silence between them was oppressive. There wasn't anything outright menacing in Bogo's demeanor, but it was quite clear that he was not to be disobeyed at this very moment; not like Ralph would try anything with his current boss anyway. The Chief opened his office door and waved him on in ahead. After taking a seat in one of the chairs seated before Bogo's desk, Ralph saw the buffalo pace around the desk before sitting in his faux-leather chair with a grunting sigh.

Without a word, Bogo surveyed Ralph as he set aside the folder and took off his glasses before setting them down on a small stack of papers he no doubt purposely neglected to sign this morning. "What are you doing, Officer Grayz?" He said with monotone, his eyes intense.

"I'm not sure I understand, sir." Ralph admitted, looking rather bewildered.

The Chief placed a hoof on the desk, his fingers tapping impatiently. "Do not play coy with me, Grayz. I will not allow for insubordination in my department."

Ralph's heart started beating faster, his own hooves wringing together in his lap. "Sir, I don't believe I've done anything wrong."

Bogo groaned as he rubbed his forehead, exasperated that he was going to have to spell it out for the new recruit, "Officer Grayz, I respected greatly your work in Bunnyburrow. Your handling of the bunny snatcher case was remarkable and worthy of note. Your exemplary record precedes you and was one of the major reasons I accepted your transfer to Zootopia, to Precinct 1. However, I do not need another Officer Hopps around here, green around the ears and yet full of themselves, thinking they can change the world."

Ralph was more confused than ever, "But sir, isn't Hopps one of your best officers?"

"She is, but because of pure, dumb luck than anything else. She has since proven her mettle, but it does not excuse her methods getting there." Bogo had to stop himself from grinding his own teeth.

"Then I don't understand how her career and actions relate to me." Ralph reasoned.

"Hopps has a knack for doing what is necessary to get the job done, despite the ramifications those actions might cause others and this unit." He jabbed a finger down on the desk, causing it to rattle slightly. "I allow it only because she continually gets the job done and the results are far more positive than negative, but I do not need to track more than one do-gooder cop who thinks they are above the law to see justice done."

A growing lump in the pit of Ralph's stomach was causing him to get nauseous. "Sir, I'm only trying to do my job here. Isn't that what you-"

Bogo snapped at him, cutting him off, standing up as he did so, "Your job, Sergeant, was to finish your in-processing here, not to take someone else's shift for your first night! Your job today, Grayz, was to get some much-needed rest at home and come back bright and early tomorrow! Your job is neither to investigate a crime scene at Mercy Hospital, nor call in requests for evidence relating to your involvement in the Dark Flame Wolf case on Monday!"

"But sir, I was just investigating the weapon used on Hopps and me..." Ralph pleaded.

"On a shift that you weren't ever supposed to be on!" Bogo roared. "The fact I even allowed it was stretching my leniency for your prior record! I was willing to give you a shot at proving yourself and you did not perform! I thought by at least putting you with Officer Hopps and Wilde, you would stay out of trouble!"

"Hopps also got gassed the same as me." Ralph tried to point out.

"Do not change the subject here! You are not to pursue this case any further. I will not be filling out any paperwork for a dead cop because they tried to tackle the Dark Flame Wolf single-handedly! Go home, Grayz. Do I make myself clear?" Bogo boomed, his entire frame leaning over the desk.

Ralph cringed at the onslaught. It was rather frightening to see just how on top Bogo was with the goings-on in his department. Ears down and shoulders slumped, he acquiesced, "Yes, sir. I understand."

"Good." Bogo pointed to the exit, his rage almost instantly disappearing. "You are dismissed. Enjoy the rest of your day, Officer Grayz."

"Thank you, sir." Ralph got up awkwardly. He wasn't sure how he should make his exit. Upon seeing that Bogo had subsequently ignored him and was already situated with his glasses and reading through some papers, he felt it best to just take his leave and vacate the room immediately.

Silently shutting the door behind him, he strode towards the elevators, thinking real hard on what his next steps were. The rest of the station may not be onto his one-mammal crusade in the Dark Flame Wolf case, but it was quite clear that Chief Bogo was. He ran a tight ship if he knew what was going on so quickly.

It was probably best he stay away from the station for now. Perhaps do some off-the-books investigating. Unfortunately, he still needed to swing by his desk to follow up on that lead he knew he had. It wasn't much, but if he could track down where the wolf acquired her armament, maybe he could trace it back to someone who could tell him more about who she is.

Shuffling out of the elevator, he made a beeline for the cubicle farm. Swiftly ducking into his designated desk area, he sat down and logged into his workstation. He took out his cell phone and laid it off to the side, preparing it for what he was going to do. Upon opening his e-mail program, he looked in the options and found the login information for his account. He downloaded the work app onto his phone and inserted the ID and password there. After verifying his credentials, it started populating the e-mails onto his phone.

"Good." Ralph muttered to himself.

He saw that there were no legitimate e-mails waiting for him, but at least he'd be ready if Raina sent anything regarding the evidence request. He was almost counting on her slow nature that she'd process his request before noticing or moving on to the cancellation request that Bogo no doubt put in for it.

Chancing the risk, Ralph opened up the case database and began a new search. Looking up cases involving skunk-related musk, he was a bit disappointed to find the majority of the results to be nothing but Dark Flame Wolf victims. This didn't really help him much since it brought him no closer to where her supplier was. If he could get at whoever that was, he might be able to help put a squeeze on her operations. He highly doubted she'd created these all in-house. That would be very surprising indeed.

Maybe he needed to try a different tact. What if those skunks supplying the musk were forced into it? He looked up missing mammals cases and narrowed it down to mustelids only. One specific case stood out prominently. The report was merely titled, 'Musk Mill,' and was written by a Rhinowitz. Copying and pasting the contents of the document into an email and sending it to himself, he shut off his computer and headed out.

Nodding at Clawhauser on his way out, he exited the station into the bright sunlight. After several days of nothing but gloomy skies and harsh, electrical storms at night, the warm rays were a welcome treat. There was even a nice breeze rustling through his mane. With renewed purpose, he walked over to the Freedom Circle Park and found a shaded bench opposite the ZPD complete with a front row seat to the central water fountains.

Relaxed and comfortable on the bench, Ralph leaned back and tapped through to his e-mail app. Opening the attachment that he had sent himself, he began reading through. There seemed to be a huge, underground smuggling ring that had kidnapped several dozen mammals from across Zootopia and housed them in various warehouses and structures within the city.

His brow furrowed when he discovered that these poor mammals were imprisoned for their musk. To be extracted and sold to the highest bidder. Some of the information was incomplete and it was unknown who the buyers were. The transactions were done on dummy accounts and any tracing only brought the investigators off site to remote locations outside of Zootopia.

Could Dark Flame Wolf be one of the buyers? This thought burst to the forefront of his mind. It seemed quite plausible that she had bought a good haul of skunk musk to use in her criminal activities. However, the date of when this musk mill sting happened was marked over a decade ago. Unless she was extremely frugal in her habits of use, there was no way she could still be using the musk unless she had found another seller. Which also meant that there was still the possibility that this musk ring was still active!

Glancing over at the location of this warehouse, he crinkled his snout. It was located at The Docks, a rather unsavory district just to the northwest of the Rainforest District. He had only heard some rumors about the place, but none of them were very positive. The mill had been burned down in the incident at the time of the report, so there was probably not much to be found there now.

Ralph set the phone onto his leg, observing the small tiger and giraffe kids playing some ball around the water spouts in the small water park in the center. They were doing their best to steal the ball away from the other while avoiding the bursts of water from the ground. It was quite entertaining, almost peaceful sitting here and relishing the day. It seemed tempting to drop the whole thing like Judy said to do and just enjoy his time off.

Without a second thought, he called his wife, Stella. After a few moments, she picked up, "Ralph, what's going on?"

"Oh, nothing, my love." He assuaged her. "Just finishing up some business here at the office. I'll be home a bit later today. How's Rodney doing?"

"He's missing you, of course." There was a tremor in her voice. It was clear she was too. "But he's holding up well. He is just in the other room playing on his PawPad. You know how he is when he gets invested. Sometimes I don't even know he's there."

Ralph chuckled at this. It was true that when Rodney got absorbed into his video games, he barely made a peep. Sometimes they had to peek in on him just to make sure he was alive. "Don't I know it, honey. Give him a kiss and hug for me, will you? And don't worry, I haven't forgotten, I'll pick up some more cans of tomato juice on the way home tonight."

"Just come home safe, that's all I care about." Stella reaffirmed.

"Promise. I love you." He gave a smooch to the phone before clicking off.

Ralph loved his family more than anything. It was what brought him through the roughest times during his stint in Bunnyburrow. It was what made his life worth living after his best friend was murdered in cold blood and nobody lifted a finger to catch the culprit. In many ways, that situation was similar in nature to this Dark Flame Wolf case; too many crime scenes with so little evidence that most people just gave it up as a lost cause.

His best friend was a bunny, just like any other in Bunnyburrow, except that he had grown up with him during primary school. They had clicked almost instantaneously the moment they met. It was such a severe blow to him when he heard the news that his friend was yet another in a long string of murders at the hands of the 'bunny snatcher.' Ralph joined the force in retaliation and within a few scant years single-handedly discovered the perpetrator's identity and secured his arrest.

This was eerily playing out all too similarly. Everyone seemed aware that a problem existed, yet nobody had the evidence or the gall to pursue more. What if the next victim was his wife or son? Would the entire ZPD turn a blind eye yet again just because the Dark Flame Wolf was involved? This thought incensed him, because he could easily see it happening. Too little evidence, not enough leads.

With firm resolve, he got up, stuffed his phone into his pocket and headed off northwards. Glancing at his watch, he decided he could take public transportation, but given how congested the roads looked at this time of day it seemed faster if he hoofed it instead. It would be a rather long walk, but he needed the exercise. Besides, he always wanted to check out the Rainforest District anyway.

---

The Docks - Old Musk Mill Warehouse - Down Pier 23 across from Prairie Boardwalk Wednesday - 3:32 PM - Sunny/Clear Skies

As sweltering as it was, Ralph appreciated the stroll through the Rainforest District. It was a bit convoluted and the sidewalks weren't always properly marked. It took several backtracks before he finally was on the right path to The Docks. Even his phone app, Haze, had trouble navigating him through the labyrinthine walkways that were literally stacked on top of each other as they climbed higher into the canopy.

It was like crossing a climate threshold. Exiting the jungle and hitting that fresh ocean breeze was refreshing. It was then that the smell of rotten fish and trash hit his nose. Sprawled out ahead of him was a mishmash of shanties and hovels. They were interspersed among the piers that seem to congregate around a central platform that housed a rather large structure with flags and flapping tapestries. Its metal sheet roofing gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

Ralph's heart churned as he began noticing more details about this district. Destitute mothers were doing their best to care for their young cubs while they ran circles around them, breastfeeding a babe in one arm while churning a pot of stew with the other. Each one had on decent-looking clothes at first glance, but upon closer inspection one could see tears and holes in the fabric, as if they had not had a new pair in years.

He was appalled at the living conditions of those on The Docks. Sure, it was a subsection of the Canal District, which was a follow-on from the Rainforest District, so some difference in living circumstances was expected here. However, what he saw far and away blew apart his expectations for the neighborhood. That such a slum on the water could exist in what was supposedly the greatest city in the world was simply incomprehensible, yet here it was in stark reality.

As if on cue, Ralph heard some gunshots off in the distance about four piers down followed by a splash of water. He wanted to rise to the call of duty and investigate the sound, but he also knew he had no backup and would be putting his own life at risk. Something he wasn't going to do since he promised his wife he'd return home safely. Besides, he wasn't even supposed to be here and had no legitimate reason to be visiting this place.

"What have I gotten myself into?" He whispered to himself in awestruck disbelief.

Thankful that he had managed to secure a far better living situation in Zootopia for his family than this cesspool, he sidestepped the piles of trash and refuse and utilized his Haze to navigate to Pier 23, which was thankfully in the opposite direction of the gunfire. Holding back bile, he witnessed a coypu waddle out of her lean-to and dump a bucket of refuse into the water, lacking any other recourse in eliminating the waste. She glanced up at him, gave a disdainful snort and disappeared inside.

The cries of terrified children and youthful adults caused his ears to shoot up with alarm. He had hardly noticed with his head buried into his Haze app that he had shifted to a new location on The Docks. This was a far cry from the shanty town literally several hundred paces behind him. Off to his right was quite literally a boardwalk, complete with food stands, mini-games with plush toys as prizes and even a Ferris Wheel among other rides; a complete amusement park out on the pier overlooking the bay.

Looking back down at his phone, his destination was a bit further along, just one more pier down. Following the route to eye level, he spotted several condemned warehouses across the water, sitting opposite the boardwalk. Turning his attention from the run-down warehouses to the amusement park and then back behind him to the heap of misshapen houses and slums, it was quite startling to see just how wide the disparity was between the three sections of the same district.

Walking along the edge of the pier, he counted down the structures, his eyes on the far one towards the end that looked burned and demolished. He was almost there when a clicking whistle distracted him from his goal. He pivoted to see two orcas regarding him from the water. The mere sight of them gave him the willies. Although knowing they were not fish that one could eat, he couldn't shake the thought from his mind as he saw intelligence behind those small eyes staring back at him.

"Oh hey...!" The one on the left catcalled, his voice sultry and smooth. "We don't see many of your kind around these parts."

This was not exactly what he had expected from something so imposing. Stuffing the phone into his pants, he faced them directly. "What kind?" He seemed mildly irked at the generalized statement.

"The fun kind!" The one on the right clapped, causing some ripples. Between the two of them, Ralph could hardly tell them apart, their markings were so similar.

"I don't follow." He surely didn't. This was his first encounter with anything that lived strictly in the water and the conversation was already unnerving him.

The left one rolled onto its back, exposing its belly to the wildebeest, arousal clearly evident. Ralph sputtered, turning away quickly for propriety's sake as the orca clucked with glee. "No need to be shy. Hitch a ride on an orca, because we intend to pork ya!"

The right one followed suit and exposed himself as well to the now embarrassed gnu, its lower half undulating rhythmically, causing bigger ripples. "Loving on the ocean is the best kind of motion. Don't be shy, we don't bite...much." They both clicked happily at this.

"I'll have you know, I am male." He proclaimed, trying in vain to find some way to get these two obnoxious killer whales off his back and to reclaim any shred of dignity left. Never in his life had he been propositioned like this.

Both orcas stopped their movements a bit, taking in this revelation. The left one gurgled, "It's okay, big boy. We got some fun for you too!" His movements renewed in the water.

"I am happily married!" He stated angrily. Surely, they would respect the sanctity of marriage.

Another awkward silence as the two thought this over. The right one rolled back onto its stomach before swimming closely, blowing bubbles as it did so. "No need to explain yourself, we see this all the time. You're among friends here. We know the allure of exotic flesh takes away even the most devout. For you, we could even make a discount!"

These were prostitutes! Ralph was stunned. This was the last thing he had expected to encounter here in Zootopia and yet here they were, in broad daylight, conducting business in a part of town that most people probably ignored or purposefully forgot. Who knew what else was going on in Zootopia in the lesser patrolled areas of the city?

With a grim look, he whipped out his badge and flashed it. "I'm also a cop."

That did it.

"Oh shit!" The left one squealed as both flapped the surface with their tails and took off like a shot into the deep. Within moments, all that was left of them were the small swells left in their wake.

Shaking his head in disgust, Ralph continued on down the pier, trying his best to block out that embarrassing ordeal. Was it that hard to tell wildebeests apart by sex? He was so lost in those thoughts that he passed his point of interest and had reached the end of the walkway.

Studying the warehouse, it had clearly burned down in a cataclysmic fire some time ago. The building next to it suffered some damage, but was spared from the worst of it. It seemed whoever responded to this fire managed to contain it to a single structure. There was no roof, and only a third of the outer wall was still left standing in varying degrees of decay. Ash and soot were still prevalent everywhere, but the majority of the mess had been blown away by years of wind.

Ralph's countenance fell. Surveying the site, this lead looked to be a wash too. Resigned to at least make the effort, he stepped over some debris and started sifting through the rubble. There wasn't much left to discover, the heat from the blaze must have been so intense that it had incinerated most things within.

He wandered the layout of the warehouse, its floor plan laid bare to the elements. With no ceilings and over half the walls gone or only reaching waist height, it was quite easy to navigate around. There was a rather large open space with several cages scattered about. Some were the size of small mammals while others were large enough to house something like him. Most seemed broken and unusable, which was a relief. He couldn't fathom the idea that one would want to cage up their fellow mammal like this.

A fluttering piece of white paper caught his eye. It was a ledger half hanging off a recognizable table. Picking it up, he shuffled through the cracked and weathered pages, stained from years of exposure. Although the text was barely legible, he could still make out some parts of the document.

It seemed to be an inventory list of mammals that they had captured and musked here. He could see they had it organized by type. Curious, he carefully flipped the pages and landed on skunks. There were three who had been captured and imprisoned here: Alverin, Nates, and Stinkman. Whipping out his phone, he tapped the screen and made a note of their names, intent to research their whereabouts now. Hopefully they were still alive and maybe he could talk to them regarding this incident and any potential connections to the Dark Flame Wolf.

A notification on his phone garnered his focus. He tapped it and opened up his inbox. Inside was an e-mail from Raina! His heart skipped a beat as he read that the evidence release still needed his signature. He quickly downloaded the document, e-signed it and attached it back onto the e-mail to be sent back. Raina probably hadn't even gotten to the cancellation order from Chief Bogo. There might be a small window of time he could exploit here.

Satisfied with that, he tucked away his cell and took the ledger. Seeing as this was the only piece of evidence worth collecting from the site, he carefully tucked it under his arm and headed out to the main walkway. He started to head back when a soft clicking could be heard from the water's edge. Furtively, he took a few steps and looked over the pier. Below in the water was the head of an orca peeking out from the clouded surface.

"What did you want?" Ralph sighed.

The whale merely stared past him, "Why were you interested in that place?"

This question was certainly unexpected. Ralph followed his gaze back to the burned down-structure before turning and answering, "I'm investigating what basically amounts to a cold case."

"I was there, you know." The orca squeaked.

"Here? When it burned down?" He pointed back towards it.

A small bob in the water indicated confirmation, "I was but a calf with my mother at the time. We saw the whole thing. Someone came to save all the children who had been kidnapped and taken here."

"Did they burn down the place?" He probed, now interested in what this whale had to say.

"I don't know for sure." Seeing the look on the gnu's face, he followed up hastily, "But I did see a wolf among the children, leading them out of there."

This riveted Ralph's attention. "A wolf, you say?"

Another bob, "Yes, a wolf. She was clothed in crimson and was making sure all of the cubs and calves were led to safety."

A wolf in red...that did sound a lot like their Dark Flame Wolf. What was puzzling was her interest in these children. This was not the modus operandi he had seen in all the reports they had on her in the police database. This new wrinkle seemed to complicate further this overall picture he had of her in his mind.

"Was there anything else you could tell me about her?" He grilled.

A small shake of the head was all he got. "I'm afraid not. My mother suggested we head on. It was best we not tarry around since it seemed quite dangerous at the time."

"Understandable." Ralph was mildly disappointed. Still, he did know a bit more than he had before investigating this rubble heap.

The orca rose a bit higher from the water, his former look returning to his eyes. "You sure you don't want some of this? I promise I'll go gentle. I know that we could hurt many of our clients very easily, but I have learned some self-control that it can be very pleasing to you too."

Not this again. He shook his head. "No, thank you." He waved a hoof at the whale. "Why are you even doing this? Surely you are better than this. Didn't your mom leave you something to work for?"

The orca gave what seemed to be a shrug of its fins. "She died shortly after the burning of this place. I've been living on The Docks most of my life since then. This is all I know how to do now. It is what I am best at, pleasing clients and appeasing foreign appetites."

This story crushed Ralph's pity. He had sorely misjudged this whale at first glance. Although the method through which he earned his living was abhorrent, it seemed to be more a byproduct of the circumstances that his life thrust him in than anything else. It seemed that, in a short span of a few days since arriving in Zootopia, Ralph had seen more despair and anguish among its citizenry than he had ever expected.

"What's your name?" He asked, sincerely wanting to know.

The orca replied, a bit bashful that someone actually wanted to know what his name was, "I'm called Sebastian."

"I'm Ralph." He leaned over, putting his hooves on his knees. "What happened to you?"

"What happens to every calf that is forgotten by those who are supposed to watch out for them. We get lost." Realizing that Ralph would not accept his open invitation, Sebastian melded with the water and was gone.

Pondering the conversation heavily, Ralph had a heavy walk back across The Docks. His mind swirled with a bunch of thoughts about the state of things in Zootopia. It wasn't until he was midway through the Rainforest District that he realized he had three names he needed to look up to see if they still were alive and resided within the city limits.