Pollard was walking around the place. He was glad that he was able to walk in a place normally without having to worry about the heat.
There was snow everywhere, and he knew that he was supposed to be shivering in cold without some proper clothing, especially for his feet being bare. However, he instead felt very better being in there than he had been in anywhere else.
That week had been hell to him. First he had been sucked out by some freaky whirlpool of light, and he was dumped somewhere he didn't knew. The next thing he knew was there were several animals around him, poking him with sticks. And these animals could talk!
That day had been really crazy to him, for not only he realized that he was surrounded by talking animals, but he had himself turned into one! He could barely believe when he looked his own reflection on a car's side mirror to see the muzzle of a polar bear looking back at him.
As if that wasn't enough, there was the heat.
Man, he never realized just how hot it could be in places where he was supposed to feel warm and comfortable. He just knew that either it was something with that world or with him, because he could only stand that heat for so long before it started to make him feel like he spent hours under a hot sun of a desert.
He remembered that, in the place he was in, he had to get himself a room in some special hotels that had some super air conditioners that kept the place so cold that frost actually started to form on the furniture. Still, to him, it was like walking from a desert into a nice and cozy environment.
He had to keep it like that for a few days, before he heard about this city, Zootopia, which was said to have a special climate in it for animals from the tundra, like the one he had become. It was kind of tempting to him, and he admittedly wanted to go in there.
The problem was money, for two days earlier someone smuggled the little money he had left. Of course, this did not really stopped him, for he just needed to press at some of these smaller animals for them to give him their money. He didn't even needed his powers for that.
He didn't even believed truly into the said city with different climates in it, but he was prove wrong as soon as he arrived. The feeling of walking in a tundra was something equivalent to the feeling that these rooms gave to him, making him feel comfortable and like he was into a very cozy place.
If he was still human, he would need some good clothes to feel warm in that place, but after what he had been through, he loved the feeling of cold that the place transmitted him. Of course, this did not stopped the problems from coming his way, like the events that had happened a while ago into that club.
Pollard grunted to himself as he felt that loose suit on his body. The polar bear who he took it from was at least one number bigger than him, and the thing felt a little uncomfortable. Still, it was good on him. He also had managed to gain a little more money to attend to his immediate needs.
Still, he knew that what happened in there would call attention, and he didn't needed to think a lot to know that. He has used his powers into a room full of other of these animals, and he knew that they were surely going to call the authorities on him. However, Pollard was not that worried, he didn't even thought twice on revealing his powers to these guys because his life was already very messed up. However, he knew that he would need to move on and to find a way to avoid the cops, if he wanted to avoid being threw into a cell that would be just as hot as the places he had been in before arriving into that place named… Tundratown?
Pollard knew that the first step would be getting some better clothing, to help him blend in. After all, that place had several other polar bears, what were the chances of them recognizing him after he changed into a new set of clothes?
Looking around, he was able to take sight of a clothing store with the name "Bearberry", and he headed straight to that.
************************************
Twenty minutes later, he walked out of the dresser wearing a new set of clothing. He was wearing black-slack pants, a long-sleeved shirt of purple color, and a black blazer to cover his body, which made him look rather good, in his own opinion.
"Wonderful!" Said the saleswoman, a snow leopardess who was wearing some simple, but elegant dress, and had her hands clasped as she looked at him. Pollard had to agree with her, he did looked nice in this. That was the kind of clothing that he preferred, and it actually seemed the clothing that he was wearing the night he had ended up in that alien world.
He had to let go of these clothes a while ago, for they were terrible to him now that he was so sensitive to the heat. He had to abandon them in favor of some very light clothing, which made him more comfortable in the heat he felt. Now that he was in a more welcoming environment, he could wear what he wanted.
He smiled as he adjusted the sleeves of his blazer, as the saleswoman smiled at him. "These look absolutely gorgeous in you, sir!"
"I'll say." Pollard said, as he looked back at the mirror into the dresser one last time, and he agreed that the thing really looked good in him. "I guess these are the right clothes for me."
"Perfect! Now you can get back into your regular clothes and we will pack these for you." The saleswoman said.
"No need." Pollard said, "I'll be wearing them now."
The saleswoman was surprised. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." He said, and pulled out a lot of notes. He removed half of them, and handed them to the leopardess. "I'll be leaving now."
He said, and he started to walk away.
"B-but sir… this is not how it works here! You need to pay in the cash register! And they have to remove the anti-theft devices!"
Pollard stopped for a moment to look back at her. Oh yeah, he had forgotten about these. He looked at the clothes he had just bought, and was able to sight these anti-theft things. He sighed as he looked at his own paw, and it soon became golden and metallic, and he moved it in direction to these things.
He easily broke them one by one, letting them fall to the ground into pieces, and allowing him to just walk out with the clothes, all under the surprise gaze of the leopardess.
On his way out, he passed by the accessories, and he stopped for a moment to look at a pair of shades. He looked at one pair that seemed really nice, and he picked them up and put them on his face. They fit just like a charm.
Smiling to himself, Pollard simply walked outside of the store without even bothering to look at the sides or anywhere else…
*****************************************
"I can't believe that you have really figured that much out in so little time." Said Nick to Jeff. He and Judy had approached them after they first noted their presence in the place, and they soon discovered that Small alone had nearly cracked up completely the case.
"What can I say?" Jeff said to the fox. "I pay more attention than most mammals."
Jeff said, and the other animals around shared looks. Ursini and Bogo both looked at Alex, who simply shrugged once more. He could say that this was only Jeff being Jeff, and if they knew him, they would know exactly what Alex was talking about…
"Anyway, I think we still have the problem of finding that 'Pollard' guy before he makes some damage." Ursini said, "After all, you said the guy is famous for getting into fights, right?"
"Yeah, and I think that maybe calling someone from your precinct and get them to access the traffic cams would be a good idea." Jeff said, as if he was stating something obvious.
"Well, duh!" Nick said, and he added, "Anyway, when we find this guy, maybe Mr. Lightning Paws can give him a shock that he will never forget."
"I'm not so sure…" Jeff said as he thought about it, and Alex looked down at him, and was about to ask him a question, when another officer came and said.
"Sir, we are having some issues with the video recordings." The moose in police uniform said, and the othes looked at him, before Ursini asked:
"What problem?"
"They don't let us have access to the cameras." The moose said, "They say that we need a warrant for that."
"Dammit." Ursini said, "This happens every time we come to a place like this."
"Wait, what happen? What kind of place?" Alex asked, and Ursini sighed.
"This club belongs to Mr. Big."
"Who?"
"Alfonso Big." Jeff said as he looked up to Alex. "Quite a name here in Tundratown, famous as a businessman who owns several kinds of establishments in here. This on the public eye, of course, on the underworld, he is said to be an individual involved with all kinds of things, like racketeering, money laundry, and extortion. He is also said to have several henchmen working for him."
Alex looked down at him, "Wait, so the guy is from organized crime?"
"More like Mafia. If half of what they say is truth." Jeff said.
"Anyway." Ursini said, catching their attention once more. "We already had some situations involving Mr. Big, and every time something happens in one of the places he owns, we need to get a special permission to look into anything regarding the place and everyone who works in there. We might take up to a day or two to get this kind of access."
"We don't have this time." Bogo said. Meanwhile, Judy and Nick shared a look. Nick was smiling at her, and Judy nodded. The bunny cop pulled out her carrot phone, and dialed a quick number. Soon, she was having it in her ear, and soon, she was talking to someone.
"Hey, Fru Fru! How you doing?" Judy said, and soon the other animals were looking at her.
"Oh, I'm fine, and how is your daughter? That's great! Look, is your father there? I'd like to talk to him." Judy said, and the other animals shared a look among themselves, confused, except for Nick, who had a sly smirk on his muzzle. Ursini actually was about to ask her what she was doing and who was she calling, when the bunny said.
"Mr. Big, hi!"
The other animals all looked dumb folded at Judy, as she was now talking to the biggest crime boss from Tundratown. Nick continued to smirk, while Bogo wasn't all that surprised, once he already knew about certain details of Hopps' "relationships". Judy continued talking, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the animals around her.
"Yes, look, I'm right here in the Club Iceberg with Nick and some other officers… Yeah, you already heard about it right..? Well, I don't know, they are going to the hospital, none of them is in danger… Yeah, I glad too… Anyway, we were hoping to be able to look at the video cams, so we could be able to get a better look into the mammal we are looking for, but they don't let us access it… Yes, I know, but we really need it… We just want to find that mammal who attacked your employers and prevent him from hurting innocents… We just need it to find him… please?"
There was a few moments of silence, and then Judy smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Big… What? Yeah, he is right next to me…" Judy said, and she looked up at the polar bear police chief. "Huhhh, okay, I'll tell him. Bye…"
She said as she hung up. She looked to the animals who were looking down at her, and she said. "Uhhh, Chief Ursini… Mr. Big said that he hopes that your family is okay, and he will be seeing you in the court in two days for that accusation, and he wishes you a very good day."
Ursini only looked back at the bunny with a slacked jaw and a dumb folded expression. He almost seemed to have forgotten how to talk, as he just mumbled something, as if he was trying to figure out what he could say in that situation. Alex and Jeff just shared a look among them, both seemed equally surprised, and surprising Jeff was something that Alex knew that was difficult.
"Now what?" Bogo asked, seeming unmoved by that whole situation.
"Now we wait for Mr. Big to work his magic." Nick said, with his hands casually on his pockets.
True to Nick's words, less than five minutes later, an arctic wolf came to greet them. "Officers, I'm terribly sorry for the problem, now if you follow me, I'll guide you to the security room, where we can all give a look into security footage from today."
Judy and Nick smiled, as they walked forward, right behind the wolf, and the rest of the animals just followed them. Alex couldn't help but ask.
"Judy… how do you have Mr. Big's number?"
"Oh, that was not his number. It was his daughter's, Fru Fru."
"… How do you have Mr. Big's daughter's number?"
"Oh, she is a good friend." Judy said, "I am her daughter's godmother." Judy said, as if this was something of a casual conversation. Alex only looked back at Jeff, and he knew that the mouse was probably as unsure of what thinking of this situation as he was.
Soon the arctic wolf guided them in direction to somewhere in the upper floors, and soon they were into a what seemed to be a control room with several screens in a wall, with two other arctic wolves in the controls, both dressed as securities. They both looked surprised when the officers walked in, and they both seemed ready to get up, when the arctic wolf that was with them made a subtle gesture that made them both calm down and remain in their seats.
"So, Mr. Big said that we could show you the footage from when that nasty bear was here earlier." The wolf said, and the wolves in the chairs spun and started to press a few buttons. "Since the bear was only in the area of the bar and of the club, there is no need for you to see any other area, right?"
That was a rhetorical question, and as the wolf said that, the other two immediately pressed a few other buttons that made several other screens of the wall go black. Ursini scoffed to himself. Of course, Big was not going to give them full access only because someone asked. The very fact that he was even giving them any access was impressive. He surely felt something towards that bunny. If it was gratitude, respect, or fear, it was totally up for the polar bear to guess…
"Here it is." One of the wolves in the chairs said as he pressed play. The cameras started to play back from the footage of a few hours ago. The animals in the room looked with attention to the footage.
"This is when the guy walked in." The wolf said as he pointed at one camera that showed the entrance/exit of the club. They all could see a polar bear walking inside in what seemed to be summer clothing, and he was looking around as he entered the place.
"So, this is the guy we are searching for." Judy said as she looked at the footages, jumping into the counter to be able to take a closer look. She saw when the polar bear walked out of sight of the camera, and soon, the wolf pointed her to another camera, which showed the polar bear going to the bar and talking with someone.
"Who is that one?" Alex asked.
"Patricia." Said the wolf, "She tends to be around here during the morning and also during the night. Mostly during the night. She is a sweet of person."
They watched as she turned around and left the bear alone in the bar, and it was possible to see in her face that she was not very happy.
"Well, I guess that bear didn't made her feel very sweet." Nick said, and the cameras continued.
"That is the point from which things went south." The wolf said, they all saw the polar bear being talk to by the bartender, and the rest was already what they had been told.
"Do you see?" Jeff asked. "Brass! I knew it was that! You can see from here, it might have the same color as gold, but definitely does not shine the same way that it does."
They looked as the bear, which had turned into the metallic material, was able to beat up the other two bears into submission. "Ouch! That gotta hurt…" Alex said as he saw the metallic bear slapping the other in the face, and he was sure that he had seen a few of his teeth flying out of his mouth.
Next to that, they saw the mammal removing the wallets of the bears and taking their money. Before he took the jacket of one of them, wore it, and just walked his way out, no one stood on his way.
"No one tried to stop him from leaving?" Judy asked. One of the wolves in the chairs was the one who answered.
"These two bears he put down were our top security in here, and they had the fame of being very good in brawls, and for having once put an elephant into submission. That guy put them out and made that look easy. Would you try to stop him?"
Judy didn't answered, but it was clear in her expression what the answer was. Bogo was the next one to talk. "This is all you have from him?" The wolves nodded.
"Any chances we can get copies of these?" Judy asked, and this made the wolves look at her with suspicion. "We can use them to let the other officers to know what our suspect looks like."
Alex looked down at Jeff, and he whispered. "They need a description? I mean, he is a bear…"
"Just like one-third of the population of Tundratown." Jeff remembered him, and Alex had to admit that he was right.
The wolves, meanwhile, seemed to have agreed with Judy, and they said that they were going to get the officers a copy of these parts of the footage. It was a way of saying that they would have only that specific footage and none other, and Ursini was fully aware of that, because he knew that the guys would not want to give Big any reason to be mad at them.
"Well, it was better than I imagined." Jeff said, and the group couldn't help but agree with him. "Now, we just need to find Mr. Pollard before he makes any more damages than he already did." As he spoke that, Jeff couldn't shake the feeling that this was not going to happen. After all, he already heard a few things about that guy, and he was pretty sure that making damage was among one of his specialties…
*************************************
Pollard continued to walk as he puffed yet another cigarette, letting out the smoke through his nostrils as he continued to take a good look in that place around him. He had to admit, the place that they called "Tundratown" was actually very nice, and he wouldn't mind living in there.
He puffed again, and the cigarette that he had been puffing reduced to nothing. He removed the last bit of the stub and simply threw it into the street. He continued to walk as he looked around, taking time to enjoy that place for a while before he would decide what to do next.
Without even realizing, he was walking into a shady part of the city, a neighborhood that most people would avoid, even in that hour of the day. The buildings were a little more decadent in that part, and the people gave that bear a few looks as he walked into there.
The bear was barely minding them, as he simply continued to walk. Soon, he was walking among a few corners, in there, and in one of them, some of them had mammals in there, and they were doing different things, from beating each other up to selling a few things. Walking around these places, he heard something that caught his attention.
"The best cigars in all Zootopia!"
The bear stopped, and he looked. It was in an alley, and it was into what seemed to be a shady stand ran by two arctic foxes, with fur as white as the snow and with simple clothing. The bear raised an eyebrow, as the foxes continued to announce their product.
"This is first brand material! Cigars imported from the island and hand-made!"
"The same kind you can buy from the great industries, but you can buy from our paws for only a fraction of the price!"
They were talking to a few mammals who were passing, and while most ignored them, others stopped, and actually bought some of the cigars. Pollard could have continued to walk and just ignored these two foxes and their seemingly dubious business, but a part of him got curious, and he decided to walk to them.
As he approached, the foxes continued to offer their product to the ones around them, and they were actually about to sell a box to a snow leopard, when he noticed the bear approaching and immediately turned heel and left as quickly as he could.
"Hey! Wait! We make a special offer to you!" Said the fox who was offering him the box, unaware of the mammal approaching from behind. The other fox, however, saw the bear, and had an expression of horror in his face as he approached. He nudged the other fox to call his attention, making him turn around and see the bear too, just in time for his shadow to obscure both of them.
They both looked up at the much bigger polar bear. They had expressions of deep fear in their faces, and Pollard only looked down at him, as the silence hanged into the air.
"I-i-is him from…" One fox stammered.
"Never seen his face before." The other answered.
"Yeah, but they said they would send someone today, right?"
"Maybe is a new guy?"
Pollard only looked back at them, and at the improvised stand that they had. There were many boxes of cigars, some of them bigger, and others smaller. One of them actually seemed ridiculously big. Pollard reached out for one box, and unceremoniously opened it, popping the seal open. He picked a cigar from inside, took it to his nose, and gave it a deep sniff.
Man, that thing was of good quality.
The bear sighed as he put the cigar down, and looked at the foxes. "So, how business going for you, boys?" He asked, and the foxes immediately forced themselves to smile to him, even thought it was obvious that they were still scared.
"Oh, t-they are v-very good!" The first fox said, and the other added, in a much more cheerful tone:
"Yes! It was a good week! Very good indeed! You understand that, don't you man?" He was approaching the bear as he talked, and Pollard immediately raised a paw, making him stop.
"You stay in there." He said between his teeth, making the fox look at him with his ears flat in his head from fear. "The last fox I let get too close to me stole my wallet."
"O-oh… I see. But I assure you that I would never do that." He said with a smile, and the polar bear only continued to look down at him with a sneer. The fox took this as a signal to give a few steps back.
"Anyway!" The other fox said, and he pulled out another box from under the stand. "We were able to gather a great amount of money, and it might be enough to pay." He said as he separated a wad of money, and handed it to the polar bear. Pollard raised an eyebrow, and reach out for the money, giving it a look, and then looking back at the foxes, who seemed nearly to shrink under his gaze.
"I-I know it is not what was agreed, but you have to understand that we still have mouths to feed back home." The fox said, and he added. "But we have something here!" He said as he once more dove under the stand, and fished out something. At first, the polar bear thought he had gotten nothing, but soon, the fox was showing him something that almost seemed a matchbox. No. It was smaller than a matchbox.
The bear leaned forward as the fox opened it, and Pollard had to really squint his eyes to be able to see what was inside that diminutive box. It looked like cigars…
"These are quality ones." The fox said to him, "They were imported from the best manufacturer. They are hard to get, but I know a guy who knows a guy in Outback Island. You know that everything is legal in there, don't you?" The fox said as he winked at the bear.
Pollard only looked at him with a raised eyebrow, looking in between the two foxes and the cigars, which looked to be so small that only a mouse would be able to smoke them.
As they were talking, none of them noticed a car parking in front of the alley, and neither the two polar bears walking out of it. That is, until one of them said aloud.
"Okay, the stand is closed!"
This caught the attention of the three mammals, making them look at the two polar bears who had came in there, and one of them was looking at Pollard.
"You can go walking out, pal."
Pollard looked at them, and one of the foxes said:
"Oh! Raymond! Kevin! Nice to see you guys!" He sounded nervous as he said that. "Jill and I were just finishing the business with your new guy here!"
"Our… new guy?" One of the polar bears asked.
"Yeah, he is a nice fella! Don't talk much, but I guess the best are like that, huh?"
The polar bears looked at them, and then they looked at polar, as one of them said. "Just who the hell are you?"
The foxes got confused at this, and one of them asked. "Wait… you don't work to Mr. Big?"
"Who is Mr. Big?" The polar bear asked, and the other four animals shared looks among them.
"You are new in town, aren't you?" One of the polar bears asked, and Pollard turned his gaze back at him.
"Yes, why?"
"Figured." The polar bear said. "Mr. Big is the mammal who owns Tundratown." He spoke as he walked in direction to that bear. "He runs everything that happens in here. Knows of everything that happens in here. And he won't like that someone is pretending to work for him to get some gain."
Pollard snarled at him.
"Enough of that. Get lost." The other polar bear said, "While we still allow you to just walk away."
"Oh! I-I think I should tell you guys that he has your money." One of the foxes said, making the two polar bears look at him. "I mean, the guy came here dressed like that and looking angry, we assumed he was one of you. So we kind of gave him the money."
The two polar bears shared a look, and they looked at Pollard. The polar bear only looked back at them, and one of the polar bears said. "Okay, hand it over."
"Why?" Pollard asked.
"Because this money belongs to Mr. Big."
"What, did the foxes borrowed it, or something of the like?"
"That is pretty much it." The other polar bear said, and he added, "And unless you want some problem…" He spoke, as he put a hand inside his jacket, reaching for something. "You will hand this money over now."
Pollard looked at the two bears, and he sighed. Before they could react, he punched the first guy in the face, and he grabbed the other polar bear by the scruff of the neck, as his hand turned into golden metal, and he threw him into the wall, knocking him out almost immediately.
The other one pulled something out of his suit, and it was a gun. However, it was no dart gun. This was an actual lethal revolver. He pointed at Pollard, and he was ready to shot. However, Pollard saw him, and immediately, his body turned into golden metal, right in the moment that the polar bear pulled the trigger.
The sounds of gunshots filled the alley, making the foxes yelp and dodge for cover under their stand, while the shots were made at Pollard. However, the bullets hit him with a metallic sound and ricocheted from his body. Pollard grunted as the bullets hit his chest, and some more when they hit his face, forcing him to look to turn his head away instinctively, as the bullets hit him and ricocheted. Some hit the stand, others hit the ground, and one hit the wall right by the side of the other polar bear's head.
The polar bear with the gun looked in shock at Pollard, who looked down at the places where the bullets had hit him. They did not damaged him, but they had bore holes into the clothes he was wearing.
"Seriously?" Pollard asked with his metallic voice, before looking back at the polar bear. "I just bought these clothes!"
The polar bear pulled the trigger once more, this time aiming only at his head. The bullets ricocheted into his golden skin, and once more, he was force to turn his head and cover his head with his arm. However, it was more out of instinct than out of any fear for harm or any actual pain.
The bear continued to shot him, until he ran out of bullets. He continued to press the trigger, though, even if it was completely empty, and Pollard lowered his arm, and looked at him with a sneer. He walked in his direction, and the polar bear threw the gun at him. It hit his head with a metallic sound, and it not affected him in the slightest, as he simply continued to walk in his direction.
"S-stay away! You can't do this!" The bear said as he looked at him with fear. "D-do you know who I work for!? Do you know what he will do to you!?"
"Are you threatening me?" Pollard asked him, as he continued to advance. "Are you fucking threatening me!?" He said as he grabbed the bear by his throat and lifted him from the ground. "You shot me, ruined my clothes, and now you are threatening me!? Do you got a fucking death wish!?"
The bear was fighting for breath as he was forced in the wall, and his windpipe felt like it was about to be crushed. "I-I work for Mr. Big…" He said, choking and fighting for breath. "He is a dangerous guy… He is powerful…"
"Powerful…" Pollard said. "Powerful." He said with a scoff, letting out a chuckle. "Look at me. I just fucking turned into metal! I am powerful!" He said, and the bear seemed about to pass out.
"Mr. Big… Controls Tundratown… He has several guys working… under him… he made… people just… disappear… He is… dangerous…"
"More than me?" Pollard asked, in a dangerously low voice. The polar bear did not answered, as his eyes seemed to be almost rolling to the back of his head. "Well, let's see about that…" He whispered in his ear, and then…
The foxes were hiding under their stand the whole time, and they could hear the whole thing. They could also hear a sickening sound of something being crush, followed by the sound of something big and heavy being drop into the snow-covered ground. There was only silence next, and then there was the sound of steps into the ground.
Next thing they knew, was that their stand was raised from the ground, and they gasped as they looked up, seeing the polar bear who had turned into metal looking down at them. He looked down, as the foxes looked up at him with fear in their eyes, hugging each other. After a few moments, the bear asked:
"Does any of you know where I can find this 'Mr. Big' guy?"
**********************************************
"It is official now." Ursini said, "We have every officer looking for this Pollard guy, and as soon as they see his shadow they will call for back up."
"It is for the best." Jeff said, "Approaching that guy without care could be dangerous to anyone."
"Still, we are searching for that guy." Nick said.
"Just doing our jobs." Judy said to her fox partner, and Ursini asked:
"Well, we still haven't decided what we will do once we actually find this guy. You said that he might be bulletproof, right?"
"If his body is as dense as it would be if he was made of solid brass, then he might be, to a certain point." Jeff said, and he soon added. "The best strategies would be approaching him an indirect attack, let's say, some gas bombs to make him choke, or something of the like."
"Or I could use my powers to shock him." Alex offered, and Jeff looked up at him. "I mean, if the guy is made of metal, than this should make electricity more effective, right?"
"I am not so sure about that…" Jeff said, and as he spoke that, suddenly someone called out for chief Ursini.
"Chief! Chief!" The arctic wolf police officer said, running in his direction. He was panting as he approached, and he seemed to be really anxious to talk to his chief.
"Woah. Calm down, young man. What is going on?"
The wolf took a few deep breaths to calm down, and he spoke. "Gunshots were heard in an area in the north of Tundratown. Two officers went in there to investigate, and they found out two polar bears in an alley. One of them was unconscious with minor injuries, but… the other one was dead."
Judy gasped as she covered her mouth, and Ursini looked back at him. "So, where they shot?"
"No, sir." The police officer said, and he continued. "A witness lives in a building in that area, and she saw from her window the bear who had been killed opening fire against a third polar bear. One that seemed to be made of gold!"
Everyone got into attention at this comment, and shared a look.
"Pollard." Jeff said, and the officer continued.
"She saw when he killed the polar bear who was shooting by crushing his neck." The wolf said, and this made Nick take a hand to his own neck and swallow a lump that had suddenly formed. That did not sounded like a nice way to go…
"Dammit." Ursini said, and Jeff and Alex could only share a look, as they now knew that Pollard had claimed at least one life. "Do we know who the victim was?" Ursini asked again, and the voice on the other end of the radio chimed:
"In fact, we do. The driver license found in the victim's wallet is in the name of Kevin Bernardino."
"What!? Kevin!?" Nick exclaimed surprised, and Judy had a look of surprise and even shock in her face. Alex looked at them.
"What?" The cougar asked, but he was ignored, and Ursini asked to the wolf.
"Are you sure?"
"They said that it looks like him."
"Dammit." Ursini said once more, and Alex looked lost.
"Guys, did you knew this Kevin?"
"He works… worked for Mr. Big." Nick admitted, still trying to process that the polar bear was murdered, and so was Judy.
"So, the guy was from the mafia?"
"He was a good guy." Nick said, "Considering…"
"Yeah, I gotta admit that." Ursini said, "His daughters are in the same school as my oldest son… I know his wife."
It was obvious that the situation was delicate, and both Alex and Jeff could notice it. Maybe it was because Jeff refrained himself from making any kind of commentary about the situation.
"What about the other polar bear? The one who was not killed?"
"Raymond Norcross. He is being taken to the hospital now."
"He also works for Mr. Big…" Ursini said, and he turned to the others, "First this guy causes some ruckus in a club that belongs to Mr. Big, and then he hurts one of his henchmen and then kills another? I'm the only one who seems a pattern in here?"
The other animals did not answered, and Ursini turned his attention to the two meta mammals. "It is possible that this bear has some kind of past with the Big family?"
He couldn't have, and that was something that both Alex and Jeff were sure. They just didn't knew who to explain that without raising a lot more questions.
"I find it very unlikely." Jeff said.
"Unlikely, but possible?" Ursini asked, and this time Jeff chose to remain in silence, he believed it would be better. Of course, this silence seemed to serve as Ursini's answer. "Well, I guess we will be making Mr. Big a little visit."
"I don't think there is the actual need." Jeff said, but he was ignored.
"Ursini, is this for the investigation?" Bogo said, slightly stepping into the polar bear's way, and Ursini just said.
"If Big is involved, than it surely has to do with the case." The way he talked it made the other animals share looks. It seemed… well, was quite clear, actually, that the polar bear and Mr. Big had some history in between them.
"After all, it is his establishment and his employees. Nothing more than we make a small visit to that rodent, even if it is just to ask him a few questions." The great polar bear didn't even waited for an answer as he simply walked in direction to his own cruiser. "You are welcome to come with me if you want!" He said to them as he entered his cruiser and started it. Bogo only sighed, and he said:
"Let's go."
The other animals soon were following him. Jeff and Alex would take a ride on his cruiser, while Nick and Judy would go into their own cruiser.
"This can be interesting." Jeff said.
"It can be complicated…" Alex said, "I mean, this Big guy really seems to be… wait a minute, did he said 'rodent'?"
***************************************
"Where is Judy?" Fru Fru asked, as she stood right in front of her little girl, covering her eyes with her hands, right before removing them. "There she is!"
The little arctic shrew toddler giggled as she held her little hands to her mother, who laughed as she reach for her daughter and took her in her arms, all the while she was under the sights of other mammals around them.
The first one was an elderly arctic shrew wearing an elegant clothing. This one was no other than Mr. Big, and he had a soft smile on his lips as he watched his daughter play with his granddaughter. That brought him far away memories from when his own wife was playing with Fru Fru. May God guard her…
The other one was a big polar bear, who looked down with a neutral expression as he watched the smaller arctic shrews.
Finally, the third one was a raccoon.
She was around two feet high, and she had fur of a shade of rainy-gray, with the classical black mask in her face and her long, busy, black and white ringed tail. She was somewhat thin, and she had both hands at the table in which the shrews were. Well, she had one hand with black fur in the table, since her other arm did not had a hand, instead it what seemed to be a mechanical claw, which replaced her obviously lost left hand. Her eyes were both of a grayish shade of green, and she had a smile on her lips. She wore a white shirt and a sea-green skirt.
Thank you for watching her while I was hanging out with my friends, Nora." Fru Fru said to the raccoon girl, who smiled at her.
"It was nothing." She said, and this time it was Mr. Big's turn to talk.
"Still, you do it better than any of my boys could, Ms. Ringwald." Mr. Big said to the raccoon, who looked at him as he continued "I have to admit, I really had some concerns about trusting my granddaughter to a… stranger, but still, it seems that little Judy really likes you, and you are really competent in it."
The raccoon felt her cheeks heating under her fur, as she scratched the back of her head. "Well, I do have experience in dealing with little ones… Even though I had never babysat an arctic shrew before. I was kind of afraid of screwing it up, but it ended up being easier than I thought it would be. Even though changing the diapers is a little tricky…"
"Really, thank you, it was really nice of you." Fru Fru said, and the raccoon girl couldn't help but blush a little bit more, she really hoped that the fur on her face was helping hide it.
"Well, I'm glad that I could help." She said, "After all, I guess it is the least I could do after you took me in and cared for me in the last week."
"Oh, that was nothing."
"No, seriously." The raccoon said as she looked at Fru Fru, at the big polar bear, and mainly at Mr. Big. "It was really generous of you taking a complete stranger into your house and caring for her. I don't know what I would have done if you guys hadn't found me. I really owe you one."
Once more, it was obvious that the raccoon was not from the area, for if she was, she would know that she should not say something like that so lightly when she was talking with someone like Mr. Big. After all, in the kind of world in which he lived and worked every day, owing something to someone was saw as something serious.
They were about to say something else, when a sound caught their attention.
"What is that?" The raccoon girl asked, and the others listened carefully, and it seemed that there was a fight going on, and right next, there was the sound of gunshots, which startled Fru Fru, making her hug her little girl. The polar bear, Koslov, stood in attention, and his muscles tensed, as if he was ready for a fight.
However, soon after a little more sounds of fighting, there was silence. A long silence…
Right after, there was a knock in the door, and no one moved or said anything. Koslov even curled his lips as he snarled at the door, and right after that came a voice.
"B-boss? Are you there?"
Mr. Big and Koslov shared a look, as they both recognized that voice, and the polar bear turned to the door, and called: "What is going on in there?"
"There is a guy in here who wants to see Mr. Big." The bear in the other end said, and there was a pause. "H-he is kind of insisting."
"How many of them?"
"Just one! But he is one of those 'meta-mammals'! He took everyone else out!"
There was a heavy silence as the animals in the room shared a look, and Koslov looked to his boss, waiting for directions. The small arctic shrew looked at him, and sighed. "Tell him to come in."
"Are you alone in there?" Koslov said to the door, and the voice on the other end said:
"Yes! The guy is in the main office, and he says he won't leave until he sees Mr. Big!"
"Come inside!"
The door opened, and another polar bear entered. He looked to be scared out of his mind, and almost to the point of starting to cry. He approached, and Mr. Big looked up at him.
"Now, listen very carefully." The shrew said, "You will take my daughter and granddaughter out of this building and to somewhere safe. Koslov, you and I are going to see what this visitor wants."
"Daddy! This is dangerous!" Fru Fru said, and Mr. Big only looked back at her.
"I know, but you know me. I deal with my business myself whenever I need, and now I clearly need." He said, and he looked back at Koslov, nodding, and the polar bear nodded back, right before reaching out and placing the small shrew in his big, furred hand. "You and I are going to see this through. The rest of you leave." He said, and there was a silence, before Koslov spoke:
"You heard the boss! Now get going!" He spoke to the other, smaller polar bear, who soon nodded, and he was picking up Fru Fru and Judy in his own hand, being really careful, since he was not used to something like that.
"Daddy!"
"I'll be fine, sweetheart. I'll be meeting with you as soon as I have this settled down." The older shrew said, and with that, the two polar bears went in opposite directions, with Koslov walking to the same door that the other bear had just came through, in direction to the main office. The bear who had Fru Fru and little Judy was walking in direction to another door, which lead to a path that was an emergency exit, which had been put in there years back as a way of ensuring a safe getaway in case of an ambush or an attack.
Meanwhile, the raccoon was left in the middle of the room, apparently forgotten. It seemed clear that this was something that wasn't of her concern or business, so she should either go with Fru Fru and her security, or find her own way out of the situation. However, she only looked to the door by which Mr. Big and Koslov had just went out through…
****************************************
Wow… this Big guy surely owns a lot of money. Was the though in Pollard's mind as he looked at the fancy office he was in. Nicely furnished, and it looked like it was the place that a businessman would have. Looking over, he could see the other two polar bears pointing at him with guns, and they seemed ready to pull the trigger if he made any sudden moves.
Pollard bared his fangs at them, causing them to jump back as they continued to point their guns at him. He chuckled to himself. These guys seemed like the classical thugs, and this, combined with the seemingly wealth that he had, and the fact that people in the streets seemed to be deadly afraid of him, made it very clear to Pollard just what kind of business Mr. Big was involved into, everything about him seemed to make it clear.
He just didn't knew why he had a picture of an old rat woman on a shelve with frozen flowers and candles lit…
"So, how much Big pays you?" Pollard asked to the two polar bears, who continued to point their guns at him. He then had his body turn into brass, acquiring the same golden, metallic shine that he had when he put down the other thugs that tried to stop him from going inside. The other polar bears took another step back when they saw it, as Pollard asked, "He pays you enough for this?"
The bears didn't answered, and they didn't actually had time for, once the door opened, and Pollard's eyes turned to it. He saw a polar bear walking in, one that was so big that he actually had to crouch to be able to pass by the door. That polar bear had gotten to be the biggest one that Pollard had ever seen, and the look in his face made it clear that he was not up to kidding. That look didn't faltered even when he saw the golden bear in front of him, actually, he just seemed to scoff slightly.
Pollard looked at him as he walked in, and he had a smirk in his face. He asked, with his metallic voice: "So, I assume you are the famous Mr. Big, no?"
The bear looked at him for a few moments, and he put in front of him his own open palm, and in there, Pollard could see something standing.
"So, what is it that you want?" The small rodent in the polar bear's hand asked to Pollard, who just stared back at him for a few moments, before asking:
"What is that now?" He said, his gaze shifting from the big polar bear to the small rat in his hand. "What, are you the spokesman? Big doesn't speaks my language, or he don't like to talk to others?"
The rodent looked up at him, and he said, "You are not from here, are you?"
"Look, I made myself come here and fight some of these thugs to have a word with Mr. Big, and I'm, not going to accept him simply to refuse to talk to me." The polar bear said, his arms crossing in front of his chest.
"I am Mr. Big."
Pollard looked at him, and he scoffed, "Right, and I'm Miss Animal Kingdom."
"It is truth." The polar bear said, finally raising his voice, making Pollard looking at him. "The mammal you are talking with is Alfonso Big, the most important mammal of this part of Zootopia."
"What…" Pollard said, and he looked at the rodent, which could comfortably fit into his own pocket. "What!? Then, who are...?"
"Koslov is my bodyguard and my right hand man. He has been with me for years, and he is of my entire trust." Big said, and Pollard could only stare at the small rodent that was presented to him.
THAT was the guy that everyone seemed to be so afraid of!?
Pollard just stared at him, and soon, a smirk formed in his lips, and he soon started to snicker. Soon it turned into a chuckling, right before he burst into laughter. Pollard was using his hands to support himself on his knees, while he was not using one of them to point at the diminutive crime boss, and he was laughing so hard that he was actually having problems to breathe.
Very few mammals would be brave or stupid enough to laugh at Mr. Big, that was what made the two polar bears in there look at him as if he was insane, and Koslov himself snarl at him. Big, however, only remained impassive as he watched that polar bear laugh as if he had just heard the funniest thing ever.
It took nearly two minutes, but Pollard was eventually able to calm down and look at the small rodent, but he still was snickering.
"So… you came all the way here and invaded my residence just to laugh at me?" Big asked, his seeming calm tone not letting out just how pissed off he was.
"I-I came (snickers)… I came to take a look in this Mr. Big guy, who everyone was said to be dangerous. I wanted to look the fella in the eyes and see if he really was serious business." He said, being able to regain some of his composure, and he was still looking down at the small rodent. "I was expecting something different… but it was nice to have a good laugh." He said with a smirk, not noticing the twitch in the cheek of the small rodent.
"Well, I was actually thinking about maybe even offering my services for such a guy, if he really was hardcore enough, but you know what, I'm not going to work for bite-sized project of criminal." Pollard said, "I have some standards." He said, and turned around, getting ready to leave, when Koslov pulled his own gun and pointed it at him. Pollard turned to look at him, and he asked:
"What?"
"You think you can just insult Alfonso Big and walk away?"
"… yeah." Pollard said, Koslov triggered the gun, and he was ready to shot, but the golden polar bear only scoffed, and turned around to leave, and that was when Koslov pulled the trigger.
The sound of a gunshot filled the air and immediately followed by the sound of metal hitting metal, as the bullet ricocheted from Pollard's head and hit one of the walls. The golden polar bear recoiled slightly, and he turned his head to look at Koslov, who was only looking back at him.
Pollard grunted, and he turned to Koslov, snatching the gun from his hand fearlessly, and crushing it in his own claw. There was a silence in the room, and Pollard turned around to look at the two polar bears who were left, and he saw them both looking at him.
"Booo!"
The two polar bears immediately yelped and dropped their guns, turning around to run. This left Pollard alone with Koslov and Big, and he turned around as he looked at the polar bear, but mainly, at the small rodent that he was holding safely in his hand.
"You should fire those two." Pollard said, as he turned back into his regular form, and started to walk in direction to Koslov. The polar bear grunted as he moved his hand with Mr. Big closer to his body, his other hand in front of his body, as if he was ready to fight. As Pollard walked in his direction, he gave a few steps back, and the other polar bear chuckled.
"You should have let me go when you had the chance." He said, and he seemed to be getting ready to fight, when suddenly a voice said.
"Stay away from them!"
All eyes turned to the source of the voice, which was a small raccoon with just one hand. Nora stood in the door, looking fiercely at the polar bear who was threatening both Koslov and Mr. Big, and she did not looked like she was going to just ignore it and walk away.
"Ringwald?" Koslov asked, and Pollard only looked at her.
"What is that now?"
Nora looked at him, and in her right hand, the only one she had, she was holding what seemed to be a shock baton, and the light in it was telling that it was on, and at a high voltage. "Move away from them right now." She said again, slowly, as if she was giving to the much bigger mammal a fair warning.
Pollard just looked at her, and he chuckled, "Oh, bringing out the short girls now? This is cowardice." He said in a playful way, and he turned to the raccoon girl. "What, will you be using that in me? I'd like to see you try." He said with a smirk in his face.
"Last warning." She said, and she seemed to be ready to pounce. "Move. Away. From them. Now."
Pollard didn't knew if he should laugh at the raccoon, or feel sorry for the poor little thing. Still, he knew that he was not going to let that small mammal intimidate him. He gave a single step in her direction, and he raised his hand, which turned into the golden metal, and he said, in a tune of challenge. "Make me."
Nora looked back at him, and she gave a single step forward and…
Disappeared.
This left the other animals confused.
"What the-" Pollard said, but his phrase turned into a startled cry as he felt a sudden jolt of electricity running up his leg, making him buckle and fall to his knee.
Koslov and Big both were as surprised as Pollard when the raccoon girl just disappeared, but their attention soon was called back at Pollard when he cried out. They turned their heads in his direction just in time to see him fall on one knee, and they could also see Nora standing right behind him, with the shock baton in her hand.
Pollard, on his own end, immediately turned around, and he saw the raccoon girl behind him, however, before he could do anything, she disappeared… and reappeared right by his opposite side, and thrust the shock baton right on his knee.
Pollard cried out once more as his other knee gave up on him, making him fall to his side. Nora immediately stepped back as the polar bear rolled over, and thrust the shock baton right on his back, making him cry out. Instinctively, the polar bear swung his arm, aiming to hit her, but he only hit the ground. She had vanished once more.
The other two mammals watched that with wide eyes, while Pollard fought to get back on his feet, and he looked around in the room. He was able to sight the raccoon girl once more, and she was around ten feet away from him, on the other side of the room. There was no way she was able to run to there so fast!
"You…" He snarled as he got up, and he seemed to be getting ready to walk to her, when she suddenly vanished once more. She reappeared a split second later right at Pollard's feet, and this time she thrust the shock baton on his inner thigh, making him cry out and nearly topple, she vanished and reappeared again right behind him, placing the shock baton on his buttocks, making him cry out as he arched his back. Right in this moment, she turned around and gave a little jump as she vanished, and reappeared again right in front of Pollard, landing on his chest and taking a hold of his jacket. She thrust the shock device right on his neck, making him cry out in surprise and fall to the ground again, just as Nora vanished from his chest.
He twitched slightly in the ground as he panted, and he tried to make sense of what was happening there. That was when he saw the raccoon girl reappear, this time really close to his face, and he could see as she raised the baton and was ready to thrust it into his head. This time he was able to react, and he did that by turning his own head into brass right in the moment that she forced the electrified tip of the baton on his temple. The thing only buzzed with electricity, but without making him any damage.
Right after that, he grabbed Nora with his hand, which had also turned into brass, along with the rest of him. "Enough of that!" He said as he made a sudden move, propelling Nora away from him, making her land near the desk of that office, while her weapon landed far from her.
Now it was Nora's turn to be disoriented, while Pollard got up and quickly closed the distance between them. Nora was able to recover right in time to see a great golden foot right above her, ready to crush her to death. Right as that foot came down, Nora once more vanished, and the foot only went across the wood of the floor and into the solid rock beneath.
Koslov and Big had been watching the thing, and even the polar bear, who was normally so stoic, looked baffled by what he was seeing. They had a moment of panic when they saw Pollard stomping and heard the sound of the floor breaking under his foot, but they both felt some of a relief as they saw that the raccoon was no longer there.
They heard the sound of panting near then, and they looked to the side to see Nora, who had reappeared right next to them, and was getting up, a bit shaken. "R-Ringwald…" Koslov said, getting on one knee. "Y-you… A-are you okay?" He said, reaching out for her with his clawed paw, the one that was not holding Big.
Pollard looked around, he saw the raccoon near the bear and the rat, and he grunted to himself. He pulled his own foot free from the ground, and he immediately picked up the desk, raising it above his head as he turned to the three animals, and he was ready to throw it at them.
Nora saw this, and just as Pollard threw the desk at them, she grabbed Koslov's hand in instinct, and they all vanished in a blur. The desk moved past the point they all were, and hit the wall, breaking, as Pollard was left, looking and not seeing his intendent targets…
*************************************
"So, think Mr. Big will be happy for seeing us?" Nick asked Judy, as they both were now very close to the Big Manor, and they soon were able to sight the cruisers of the two chiefs ahead of them. The animals had already got out of their vehicles, and they were standing next to them.
As Judy and Nick parked their cruiser, they noticed that there was something amiss in the manor. Starting with the fact that there were two of Mr. Big's polar bears fallen in the entrance.
Judy and Nick shared look before they got out of their vehicle and rushed to the other animals, who were all looking at the entrance of the manor, worried. By getting closer, Nick and Judy could notice that the door was broke down.
"Something happened here." Ursini said, "Be ready, everyone." He spoke as he pulled out a gun.
The other animals followed his example, with Bogo pulling out his own gun, while Nick and Judy pulled out their dart guns. Alex was not armed, but he kept holding Jeff with one hand, while the other was left free, and formed a spherical lightning in it.
They carefully approached the busted doors, and by doing that they can closer to the fallen bears, who they were thankful to see that were not dead, but just unconscious and bruised. Once they walked inside, they found out a few more bears fallen to the ground, scattered like broken toys.
"What happened here?" Bogo asked.
"I'll take a guess and say that someone decided to come see Mr. Big before we did." Jeff said. While this Judy's ear perked as she was able to pick up a sound coming from upstairs. She looked in there, and she was approaching the nearest stairs, when suddenly Ursini cried out.
"What the hell!?"
In the middle of the main hall, something had just materialized in front of them; startling the officers and Alex and making them point their weapons to that which had materialized. They took a moment to see that it was someone.
Koslov stepped back, as he could feel his head spinning as he had arrived… wherever it was. There were animals pointing guns at him, and he had to blink to clear his vision, and see that they were wearing police uniforms. On his hand, Mr. Big was not much better, using all his four limbs to support himself as his stomach seemed to be making backflips.
Meanwhile, another small mammal was in there, in the moment that she saw the animals pointing guns at her, she immediately got in fighting stance, and she seemed to be ready to fight them. Of course, the other animals eventually looked at her too as she made an angry raccoon sound, including Alex.
In the moment the cougar looked down at her, something clicked in his mind. If he had any doubt whatsoever about her face, he just needed to look at the mechanic claw in the place of her missing hand to be sure…
"Nora!?" Alex said, dropping his hand and looking straight at the raccoon, who looked back at him for a moment, her expression of anger turning into one of surprise.
"Alex!?"
