ZOOTOPIA: MAGNUM FUR

Disclaimer: Zootopia is property of Disney.

This chapter was written while listening to the soundtracks for Black Rain (1989) by Hans Zimmer, Lethal Weapon (1987) by Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton, and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) by Brian May (No, not the one from Queen). I especially recommend listening to the tracks Bikes/Fight from Black Rain and the tanker chase music from The Road Warrior while reading the main chase section. You can find the tracks and listen to them on Youtube.

Chapter 15: Reckless Endangerment

Date: Wednesday, May 18th, 2017

Nick and Milius waited for the sound of motorcycle engine to draw nearer before Milius backed up the car a few meters. He moved his left paw over to the adjustment knob for the headlights. "Come on, let's see the big bad wolf," Milius muttered as the engine sound got louder. "Are you sure that you know what you're doing?" Nick asked the leopard.

Milius glanced over at the fox and smirked. "Yes. I've done it before. Maybe this time I can do it without having to replace my windshield," Milius said humorously. "Wait, what exactly are you planning to do?" Nick asked him. "You'll see," Milius grinned before he took the car out of reverse and put in in drive.

Soon, up ahead at the turn-in, a bike-riding wolf appeared, turning onto the road. Milius flashed the headlights at him and honked his horn before speeding forward. "Come on, Baby!" Milius growled out as he sped toward the wolf on the bike. "If you kill him, you'll-" "He'll dodge," Milius interrupted.

The wolf sped forward and revved his engine before speeding past the car and turning around. The slick road, however, caused the bike to fall onto its side and send the wolf falling to the ground, sliding around as he tried to regain his footing. "Ha! Can't do so well on mud, can you!?" Nick laughed as he looked back at the sight. "Don't get cocky, Slick. We still have another bike to deal with and Lisker still has Hopps with him. Turn on the radio and see if there's any chatter relating to us," Milius said.

"This is dispatch to Unit Eight-Baker-Eight-Seven, Officer Blackwell has reported that Wilde has taken Inspector Milius hostage and is in pursuit. Please assist, over," the dispatcher said. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Nick exclaimed as he listened to the radio chatter. "They're already planning to kill me and cement you as the bad guy," Milius said. "Yeah. This was a great plan!" Nick yelled sarcastically.

"Thanks," Milius quipped as he made a right turn onto the main road. "Keep an eye out, Slick. Make sure that he's following us," Milius said as he drove through the rain. "Hey, if both of them were patrolling this area, then where's the second one?" Nick asked as he looked out for any sign of Pelton. "This is Unit Eight-Baker-Eight-Seven, Sergeant Burns reporting. What is their heading, over?" "This is Blackwell. They're going onto the main road, heading for the freeway! I am in pursuit! Wilde is to be considered armed and dangerous, over."

Judy frowned as she listened to the radio chatter. "This isn't right," she muttered. "Relax, Hopps. When we find them, we'll give Wilde a chance to join us. If he accepts, then we can try to salvage this," Lisker said as he took a left turn onto the freeway. Judy glared at Lisker before looking back out the window. She looked at her cell phone and quietly set it to mute as she formulated a plan.

Benjamin Clawhauser looked down at his cell phone in surprise. "She wants me to do what?" he asked himself in disbelief. He looked around the lobby to see if anyone was paying attention to him. Quietly fretting over what could happen if he went along with Judy's plan, Clawhauser soon realized what could happen if he didn't. Three animals' lives were in danger, and they needed his help. He wasn't about to let them down.

With steeled determination on his face, Clawhauser sent a reply to Judy's phone and then stood up. He gathered his gear before paging Chief Bogo and telling him that he needed to leave his post. "What for?" Bogo asked over the intercom. "Personal reasons, Chief. There's something that I need to do," Clawhauser said firmly.

"Clawhauser, if you're out of donuts, you can wait to buy more after your shift is over," Bogo said. "Sorry, Chief. But this is more important than donuts. Our full dispatch office is filled with everyone else, and I'm not really needed here at this point. This is a life or death emergency, and I need to leave now," Clawhauser said. "Clawhauser, what are you talking about? Clawhauser? Clawhauser!?" Clawhauser had already left the front desk after placing a sign on it.

Jogging over to the parking garage, Clawhauser took out his keys and opened the front door of a cruiser. "You can do this, Ben. Your friends are depending on you," he said to himself as he got in the driver seat and familiarized himself with the controls. "Piece of cake," he said to himself before starting the engine and driving out of the garage.

Leo Horrowitz carefully placed the special tranquilizer dart behind another one as he loaded his dart gun. "Come on, where are they?" Burns asked as he drove the cruiser out onto the freeway. "Just get us close and I can hit Wilde with a dart," Horrowitz said as he locked the cartridge into place. "While he's driving? No. We'll get him to pull over. You can tranq the bastard after that," Burns said in response.

"Here he comes," Nick said as he saw a wolf riding a motorcycle behind them. "Can you identify which one it is?" Milius asked him. "It's Blackwell. He's got some mud on his outfit, but the rain's taking care of it," Nick replied. "So, where's Pelton?" Milius pondered before he saw a large enough space up ahead for a U-turn between lanes. "Hold on," Milius said before he sped up the car.

"What are you doing?" Nick asked the leopard as he drove up behind a large van carrying an elephant. "That sign up there says no U-turns," Nick said as he realized what Milius was planning to do. "You're right," Milius said as he slowed down before merging into the next lane and speeding up again.

Blackwell sped up until he was only a few cars behind them before he began weaving through traffic to get closer to them. Milius sped up and put on his turn signal as he merged in front of the elephant car before speeding into the break in the divider. "HOLY CRAP!" Nick screamed as he felt the car heave as Milius made a sharp and fast turn. "We're gonna flip! We're gonna flip!" Nick exclaimed.

Milius smirked as he re-balanced the car and drove into the other side of traffic. Blackwell followed them with no problem, his bike handling much better on the pavement than on the mud. "Wilde, see if you can spot the other one!" Milius ordered him. "I don't-wait! I see him! I see Pelton!" Nick exclaimed as he looked through the back window. Pelton and Blackwell were both side by side now.

The two bike swiftly weaved through traffic as they closed in on Milius's car. Nick looked around and saw both wolves speeding up and driving alongside cars and trucks as though they were performing a dance. "Damn, they're good," Nick muttered. He then saw one of them take a paw off the handle bar and reached down to their side.

"Oh shit," Nick said. "What? What's happening?" Milius asked him. "I think they're getting ready to shoot us!" Nick relayed. "Where's the closest one?" Milius asked him. "Huh?" Nick asked in response. "The wolf closest to us; where is he? How far away, what part of the car is he closest to?" Milius asked.

"I think it's Pelton! He's closest! He's right on our tail! He'll be by our side in a minute!" Nick exclaimed. Milius looked into the rear view mirror. "I see him now," he muttered. "What are you gonna do!?" Nick asked him. "Just hold on," Milius said before he slowed down. Pelton fell back a few paces and weaved to the side of the car to avoid running into it.

"Oh shit, speed up! Speed up!" Nick cried as he saw Pelton draw closer to his window. He couldn't see the wolf's face behind the large helmet, but the black reflective visor sent chills down his spine as he saw Pelton looking at him. He saw Pelton make a gesture for them to pull over. "Seriously!? He wants us to pull over?" Nick asked.

"Screw him!" Milius grunted before he hit the break briefly, causing the car to slow down dramatically and leaving Pelton far ahead of them. "Ha! Didn't expect that, did you!?" Milius taunted. "Uh, Inspector? Blackwell's coming up on us!" Nick exclaimed. "Shit!" Milius swore before he sped up and merged into a right lane. The rain started to get heavier.

Soon, Blackwell was behind them and Pelton had slowed down so that he was near Milius's side of the car. "Uh, I think we're cornered," Nick said. Milius looked to his left and saw that he had just enough room to merge left again, but he had to do it in the next few seconds.

Milius honked the horn, surprising Pelton as he merged left and got behind the wolf speeding up and forcing the wolf to increase his own speed as well. "Oh my god, do you even have a plan anymore!?" Nick asked the leopard. "Uh, yeah. I just have to-oh hell," Milius said as he saw a black sedan approaching behind them in the rear view mirror.

Looking back up ahead, Milius saw a police cruiser speeding down the other side of the divide. "That must be Burns and Horrowitz," Milius said. "Where?" Nick asked. "Just missed 'em," Milius said. A knocking sound caused both mammals to jump in their seats before they looked to the right and saw that Blackwell was right alongside them. He was hitting the passenger side window with his gloved fist.

Looking in the other window, Milius saw Pelton taking a small metal object out of his pocket and holding it carefully as he began to slow down. "Oh, no you don't!" Milius exclaimed as he realized that Pelton was going to attempt to slash his tires with a knife. Pelton fell back to the back left tire and jabbed at it with the knife in his hands.

"Okay, that is a whole new level of stupid," Milius said before he sped up. Pelton quickly retracted his paw to prevent it getting caught between the tire and rim, scratching the rim with the knife. Pelton placed the knife back in his pocket before retrieving a small container with several dozen tacks in it.

Hooking his arm around the handle to keep the action lever depressed, He used his other paw to open the container and prepared to throw the tacks at the bottom of the car. Milius watched this out of his side-panel mirror. "You wanna play dirty? Fine," Milius said before he slowed down and started marging the car closer to Pelton. Pelton tried to swerve to the left before he realzied that he was caught between the road divider and Milius's car. He prepared to throw the tacks just as Milius slowed down and lowered his window.

Milius looked out at Pelton and held out a paw, giving the wolf the finger. "Hey, Pelton! Fuck you!" Milius exclaimed before he swerved the car, hitting the bike and causing Pelton to drop the tacks, spilling them onto the ground. Milius sped forward to avoid the tacks, but Pelton's bike ran over them, and he lost control of the bike, flipping over and being sent sailing through the air, landing on the road and rolling over in a gruesome manner. He did not get back up.

"Dear Efrafa!" Judy exclaimed as she saw Pelton's demise. "Well, that makes Milius a killer now, don't it?" Lisker said darkly. Pelton had been one of his most loyal subordinates, next to Benezio. "You know what this means, don't you?" Lisker asked Judy. Judy looked at him with uncertainty. "It means we have to use lethal force to subdue Milius. Wilde can still be taken alive, but Milius is the one driving the car. He just committed vehicular slaughter, so now I have to bring him in," Lisker said before reaching down and grabbing the radio in his car.

"This is Lieutenant Lisker. The car believed to be containing Wilde and Milius has just been used to harm and possibly kill Officer Pelton! Inspector Milius could not be found at the location where Wilde was last seen by Officer Blackwell. Therefore, it is unknown who is operating the vehicle at this time," Lisker said. "There, see? I made it so that we might still have a chance to bring Wilde in alive," Lisker said.

Lisker looked up into the rear view mirror. "Heh, I didn't think that Burns and Horrowitz would be catching up so soon. Wait... we passed them only a minute or two ago. They couldn't have gotten to the legal U-turn section yet," Lisker said to himself as he saw the cruiser increase its speed and catch up to them. "Who the hell is that?" Lisker asked himself before the cruiser came up to the passenger side.

Lisker glanced over and saw the window lower to reveal that last animal he would ever expect to see driving a car: Benjamin Clawhauser. "Clawhauser, what the hell are you doing!? Who's manning the front desk!?" Lisker asked the cheetah. Clawhauser glared at him before switching his attention to Judy. "Judy! Hop into the cruiser!" Clawhauser yelled as he held and arm out.

Lisker's jaw dropped as Judy smirked at him. "See ya later!" Judy exclaimed before unbuckling her seat belt. Lisker reached for his gun before hearing a car honk as he started passing into another lane. He quickly straightened his car's path, causing Judy to roll around the seat before regaining her balance.

"So, even after I hold up my end of the deal, you still try to get out of your end!? You shifty little bitch!" Lisker roared at her. "I should've had Pelton kill you instead and frame Wilde for it! Then there would be NO complications!" Lisker yelled, seething with anger. Judy opened the door, causing the alarm to go off in the sedan before looking back at Lisker. "For what it's worth, Milton, I understand why you want to do things your way, but I can't condone your actions! You are an officer of the law! You are not above it!" Judy exclaimed before turning around and leaping out of the doorway and latching onto Clawhauser's arm.

The rain made it difficult to keep a steady grip with just her paws, so Judy swung her body around the cheetah's arm so that she was wrapped around it before she began crawling forward, little by little as Clawhauser tried to control the steering wheel with only one paw. He tried bringing his arm back into the window, but the movement caused Judy to yelp as she lost her grip and slipped down, holding onto Clawhauser's arm by only her paws.

"Judy!" Clawhauser cried out in alarm. "I-I can make it!" Judy yelled as she took a breath and dug her little claws into Clawhauser's sleeves before climbing back onto his arm and securing herself to it. "Sorry!" Clawhauser cried out. Judy nodded her head against his arm before she tried climbing forward again.

Lisker honked his horn, alarming Judy and causing her grip to slip again. She almost lost her hold on the cheetah's forelimb again before digging her tiny claws into his arm. Clawhauser winced but bared the pain as he hunched forward as much as possible so that Judy could climb through the window and hop onto the seat next to him. Clawhauser sat back up and glanced over at the soaked little rabbit, who was taking several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down.

"Th-Thank you," Judy rasped out. Clawhauser quickly rolled up his window as he looked to his left and realized that Lisker's sedan was keeping pace with the cruiser. "Okay... what do we do?" Clawhauser asked Judy. Judy looked over at him and closed her eyes to think. "We... we have to get to Nick and Milius," Judy said. "How far ahead are they?" Judy asked Clawhauser.

"I don't know right now," Clawhauser replied. Clawhauser looked over and saw that Lisker's sedan was now speeding up, moving farther down the freeway. "Oh no," Clawhauser gasped as he realized that Lisker would reach the others before them. "What? What's wrong?" Judy asked him. "Lisker's getting ahead of us! He'll reach Nick and Conan first!" Clawhauser exclaimed.

"Hit the gas and floor it!" Judy ordered. Clawhauser nodded his head before putting the pedal to the metal. "Hang on, Nick! We're on our way!" Judy shouted as the cruiser sped forward, weaving through traffic and rain at high speeds.

"He's right on us!" Nick shouted as Blackwell chased them. Nick saw Blackwell point at them through the rear window before moving his paw across his neck. "Oh, he's definitely gonna kill us," Nick said before he saw a black sedan in the distance. "Hey, that car looks familiar," Nick said. Milius looked up at his rear view mirror.

"Aw hell, it's Lisker," Milius said. "And Judy's with him," Nick growled. He then heard his phone ringing and looked down at it. "Judy's calling," Nick said. "Well, let's hear what she has to say," Milius said as he glanced over at the space next to him before merging into the next lane. "Carrots?" Nick asked. "Nick! Thank goodness you're still alive!" Judy exclaimed in relief.

"So, what are Lisker's demands?" Nick asked her. "I'm not with Lisker. I'm in a cruiser with Clawhauser right now," Judy replied. Nick felt extremely confused. "Clawhauser? Um, Carrots? What's Clawhauser doing out here?" Nick asked. "He rescued me from Lisker! He and I aren't too far behind you guys now! We should-dammit!" Judy exclaimed.

"Judy!? What happened!? Are you okay!?" Nick asked worriedly. "A big truck just merged into the lane in front of us, and there's another truck next to it! We've been cut off!" Judy explained. Nick turned to look at Milius and the road up ahead. "Hey, how far are we from the turn off to head back to Dom's?" Nick asked the leopard.

"Not too far. You got a plan?" Milius asked as Lisker's sedan caught up to them. "Sort of," Nick replied. "Well, you'd better tell me soon, 'cause I need to know if we're gonna take that left before we get to it," Milius said as he started merging back into the left lane. Blackwell followed behind them before speeding up to pass them. He was now keeping pace with them.

"Take the left!" Nick exclaimed as he saw Blackwell reach a paw into a pocket on his jacket and retrieve what looked like a small derringer pistol. It was a one shot weapon, but sometimes a single shot was all that mattered. Blackwell began slowing down just enough that he was near the near passenger window. "Oh shit! He's gonna shoot one of the tires!" Nick exclaimed.

Milius slowed down before speeding up and merging slightly to force Blackwell back. "The turn is coming up," Nick said as he saw the sign for the turn off point. "Hold onto your seat belt for dear life," Milius said as he sped up and put on his signal to turn. He quickly turned left and almost flipped the car as he sped through the intersection and onto the road that led to Dom's Bar & Grille.

Blackwell and Lisker quickly followed them. "What kind of tires do you have on this car?" Nick asked as they sped toward the entry way to the muddy dirt road. "All season. Why?" Milius asked him. "How well do they do in mud?" "They did fine earlier," Milius replied.

"While stopping? What about sharp turns?" Nick asked him. Milius glanced at the fox before sighing as he realized what Nick wanted him to do. "Damn lucky that I'm insured," Milius muttered before hitting the brakes. Lisker sped up and swerved to the right to avoid hitting the car, inadvertently driving off of the road and smashing the front of his car into a tree.

Blackwell, however, managed to lean to the left and passed the car, slowing down before stopping several yards up the road. Milius slowed down his car as he and Nick watched Blackwell turn his motorcycle until he was facing them. They trio were in a stare down.

"He's fast," Nick said. "So am I," Milius said. "This car is old," Nick said. "True, but it's tough," Milius responded as he started moving forward, picking up speed. Blackwell revved his engine and started moving forward. "You ever play chicken?" Milius asked Nick with a grin.

"No!" Nick replied. "First time for everything!" Milius exclaimed as he hit the gas. Blackwell pulled out his derringer once more and aimed the small pistol at them. Milius honked the horn and activated his car's high-beams, throwing off Blackwell's aim as he fired early, hitting the middle of the windshield. "Yikes!" Nick exclaimed as he saw the bullet hole and cracked windshield.

Blackwell sped forward, throwing the derringer away before pulling up his tranquilizer dart gun. "Hold on!" Milius exclaimed before he made a sharp turn, causing the car to spin as it kept moving. Blackwell tried swerving to avoid the car, only to send mud splashing up as he spun out of control and crashed into the side of the car, flying through the air and over the roof of the car, falling over onto the ground headfirst before gravity pulled the rest of his body over in a roll, breaking his neck.

Milius quickly stopped the car and put it in park before turning off the engine. "Whew! Holy shit!" the leopard exclaimed with a grin as he looked over at Nick. Nick looked back at the leopard with uncertainty. "Uh, Inspector? We just killed two cops today," Nick said with a gulp. "Oh yeah," Milius said thoughtfully. "Doesn't that bother you!?" Nick asked him.

"Not as much as it used to," Milius said as he leaned back against his seat. "He tried to kill us, so I defended myself," Milius said calmly. The leopard glanced over at Nick. "You probably think I'm not much better than Lisker and the others at this point," Milius said. Nick frowned in response. "I actually did sympathize with them... at first. Until the pool massacre, that is," Milius explained.

"Did you know that they were the ones?" Nick asked him. "Not at first, but it became pretty obvious after Furrero gave me those reports," Milius said. "So, now what-wait... do you hear that?" Nick asked. The fox and leopard both looked back to see a ZPD cruiser driving towards them before slowing down and stopping.

"I can't see who's driving," Milius said. "Clawhauser and Judy," Nick said with a smile. "Are you sure?" Milius asked him, a nagging sensation at the back of his mind telling him that something was off. "I'm positive," Nick said as he got out of the car and waved at the cruiser.

Milius lowered his window and looked back to see the cruiser's doors open. It wasn't Clawhauser who stepped out of the vehicle first. It was a tiger, who Milius recognized as Sergeant Eric Burns. "Burns?" Milius asked as he watched the tiger reach for his taser, causing the leopard to look back over at the open passenger door where Nick was standing.

Milius quickly got out and yelled for Burns to stand down. "He's unarmed!" Milius shouted at the tiger. "Inspector? Radio chatter said that you were taken hostage," Burns said. "You got it wrong, Burns. Wilde ain't the killer," Milius stated as he stood by the door, watching the passenger door of the cruiser open. He reached his left paw into his blazer to grip his sidearm.

"Uh, Conan? You may not think that I can see your arms, but my vision ain't that bad, even in the rain," Burns said. "Who's in the cruiser with you?" Milius asked, that nagging sensation screaming at him to remember something important. "Horrowitz," Burns replied.

"Shit! Wilde, get back in the car!" Milius exclaimed. Nick quickly dove back into the car as both felines heard the sound of a dart being fired and hitting the ground. "Horrowitz! Stand down!" Burns ordered. "He's a killer!" Horrowitz shot back. "We can't take any chances!"

"Call for backup; don't shoot him on sight!" Burns yelled at the ram. "He's too dangerous!" Horrowitz yelled back. "Bullshit! You and the rest of Lisker's ring are the dangerous ones!" Milisu shouted at the ram. Horrowitz stepped out of the vehicle, his dart gun aimed at the car. "Step away from the vehicle, Inspector," Horrowitz said firmly.

Milius frowned. "I outrank you, Horrowitz," Milius said darkly. "Both of you, calm down!" Burns exclaimed. "Milius, take your paws out of your jacket. Horrowitz, put the gun down and call for backup," Burns said firmly. Horrowitz refused to budge. "Horrowitz!" Burns exclaimed. Horrowitz grabbed the radio and called in. "This is Officer Horrowitz! Wilde has been found alive and armed. Inspector Milius and Sergeant Burns are down! Requesting backup and emergency medical transportation! Location is West Dark Fern Avenue!" Horrowitz exclaimed.

Burns looked at Horrowitz in shock and confusion. "What are talking about!?" Burns asked the ram. "We're not down!" "Not yet!" Horrowitz said before he aimed the dart gun directly at Burns. Burns' eyes widened in shock as Horrowitz prepared to shoot him. Milius was faster, however, and quickly pulled out his Smythe & Weasel 1911 before firing at Horrowitz, sending a single round into the ram's skull, blowing his brains out.

The ram fell over backwards onto the ground and dropped his dart gun. Burns looked at the empty air where Horrowitz had been standing just seconds earlier before turning his head to look at Milius, who was still holding his pistol. Milius felt Burns' focus and looked at him with narrowed eyes. Burns glanced back over to his right before returning his focus to Milius.

"You... you killed him," Burns said in shock as Milius walked over to him. "Yes. If I hadn't, then you'd be dead right now," Milius said quietly. "But... he was only pointing a tranquilizer gun at me. That wouldn't have killed me," Burns said. "Why does no one seem to get it?" Milius asked himself. "Burns, I'm one hundred percent sure that he had some darts in there that didn't have standard tranquilizer dosages in them," Milius said as Nick slowly came out of the car.

"When the tranquilizer gun is collected for evidence, you'll understand," Milius said. "Can't you just explain it to him now?" Nick asked the leopard. "Fine. Horrowitz and the rest of Lisker's gang were using darts filled with conotoxin, a peptide found in the venom of cone snails. It would've killed you in under a minute," Milius said as he spied another cruiser heading their way. "You'll find it in the darts carried by Blackwell and Pelton as well," Milius said.

Burns slowly shook his head disbelievingly. "He's right, Sergeant," Nick said. "Lisker had Hooper murdered in order to frame me, and he and his pack are the ones who assaulted Furrero, not me," Nick said. "Come on, Burns. Why would Horrowitz say that you and I were both down and that Wilde was armed when that clearly wasn't the case?" Milius asked the tiger. Burns took a deep breath and exhaled as another cruiser came to a stop behind his.

The passenger door opened and Judy got out while Clawhauser opened his door and looked out to ascertain the situation. "This is Officer Clawhauser on scene. Officer Wilde is alive an unarmed. I say again, he is unarmed! Sergeant Burns and Inspector Milius are both alive and unharmed. Officer Horrowitz is miss-oh god," Clawhauser said as he sniffed the air and looked over after Judy yelped.

"Please say again, Clawhauser. We did not catch that last part, over." "Officer Horrowitz is down, and so is Officer Blackwell," Clawhauser said as he looked over and saw the crumpled body of the wolf lying in a puddle on the ground. "He appears to have suffered an accident with his motorcycle. Inspector Milius's car has a motorcycle wedged in its side, over," Clawhauser said. "Ten-Four. Medical teams are on their way with backup. Please remain at the scene. Who is the officer is charge?" Dispatch asked him. Clawhauser scratched his head.

"Uh, guys? Who's the officer in charge?" Clawhauser asked. "I am," Milius said firmly. "But you're off duty. You've been suspended, Inspector. I'm not sure that you can make that claim," Clawhauser said nervously. "I'm the only one who knows what the hell is going on," Milius shot back. "Right. Um, Inspector Milius, despite being off duty today, is the officer in charge, over," Clawhauser said.

"Ten-Four. Alerting all personnel en route. Please remain at the scene until further notice, over," Dispatch said. "Ten-Four. Clawhauser out," Clawhauser said before he hung up the radio and walked over to the other big cats. "Nick!" Judy shouted as she ran over to the fox's side, leaping up to hug him.

"Oh, easy there," Nick said as he returned the hug. "You're alive!" Judy cried happily as she hugged him tighter. "You bunnies are so emotional," Nick whispered affectionately as Judy cried into his chest. Clawhauser looked at the scene with a smile. The sound of rain, however, masked the footsteps behind him until he felt someone tapping on his shoulder.

Clawhauser turned around and saw a very angry wolf with a scar on the side of his face, glaring at him with a large revolver in his right paw. "You fat bastard," Lisker growled with fury as he brought the gun up and pointed it at Clawhauser's head. Clawhauser whimpered with fear.

"Lisker!" Nick shouted. "Put the gun down! It's over!" Lisker looked back over at the fox. "I was going to take you in alive, I really was, Wilde," Lisker said angrily as before he punched Clawhauser in the gut and walked away. Clawhauser gasped for breath before sinking to his knees, feeling the impact of the punch. "Clawhauser!" Judy cried out.

"Stay where you are, Hopps!" Lisker shouted as he marched forward and knelt down beside the body of Blackwell. "Quinn..." he whispered mournfully. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them as he stood up and turned to face the group. "Lisker... what's going on here?" Burns asked the wolf. "Burns, walk away from this right now. These four... are mine," Lisker said as he brought his revolver up and aimed it at Nick. Judy instantly leapt up onto the roof of the car and blocked Lisker's view of the fox.

"Stop it, Lieutenant," Judy said. "It's over," she added. "No. It's not over," Lisker said quietly as his eyes began to feel damp. "It will never be over. Not for me," Lisker said, his voice trembling as the laughter of a serial killer rang through his ears. "I'm trying to make the world a better place. Why can't any of you see that? Why do you want this broken system to continue letting evil flourish?" Lisker asked them.

"Because it's that or anarchy," Milius said. "So a system where murderers and rapists can go free because of their victims' species is okay with you? It's okay that the victims have to live in fear because their attackers were allowed to walk free? It's okay that murderers and rapists can walk away because they have money? You make me sick," Lisker said.

"You used that same system to cover your tracks when you framed Wilde for attacking Furrero and killing Hooper," Judy hissed at him. "You're a hypocrite," Judy spat. Lisker kept his gun trained on her while he slowly backed away. "You know what? I'm not going to kill you," he said. "Instead... I'm going to prosecute you. All of you, with your own system," Lisker said darkly. "Let's see how much you want to defend this system when you're on the receiving end of society's bigotry," he added.

"Besides, you're all complicit with the deaths of three police officers. You're basically killers, especially you, Milius," Lisker said. "Maybe so, but I know where the line is drawn," Milius responded. "The line? There is no line," Lisker spat as he backed up to the cruisers. "It'll be my word against yours, Hopps! And don't think you can trap me like you did Bellwether," Lisker said as he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out an orange carrot pen.

Judy gasped as she felt around for the pen, hoping that Lisker was merely holding an identical pen of his own. Her hope faded, however, when she realized that her pen was nowhere on her person. "That's right, Hopps. You have nothing on me," Lisker said with a smirk as he placed the pen in his back pocket. "Now, Horrowitz said on the radio that Milius and Burns were both down. I can injure Burns, but you, Milius? Oh, I can't quite be so merciful with you," Lisker said with a sneer.

"Lieutenant, think about what you're saying," Burns said calmly. "Burns, if you just keep quiet, I won't go after you. You can even join me, if you'd like," Lisker offered as he slowly backed up. Lisker continued backing up until he felt something behind him. "What the-?" he asked before he turned around to see the angry face of a furious Benjamin Clawhauser.

Clawhauser struck his arms forward, grabbing Lisker's arms and wrists before the wolf had a chance to react. The cheetah immediately began applying his claws and pressure from his digits and palms to force Lisker to let go of his gun with a yelp of pain. Clawhauser kicked the gun away as he glowered at the wolf.

"You tried to kill my friends," Ben said darkly with a frown. Lisker snarled at the cheetah, who merely growled back. Clawhauser let go of one of Lisker's arms as he bent slightly and brought one of his own arms back, curling his paw into a first, before smirking at Lisker in triumph. Despite the cat's cheerful and harmless demeanor, Lisker had begun to realize that, yes, Clawhauser was still required to pass a fitness examination once a year.

"This bulk of mine ain't just fat, Lieutenant," Clawhauser said with a grin before he brought his fist forward, ramming his fist into the wolf's gut. Lisker felt the wind fly out of his body at the impact. Clawhauser let go of the other arm and sent another first forward, this time socking Lisker in the jaw. The wolf was sent flying back onto the muddy ground, coughing and whining in pain. Clawhauser bent down and carefully picked up the revolver by the end of the muzzle, taking a large plastic bag out of a pocket on his uniform to hold the gun before closing it.

"C-Clawhauser?" Judy asked quietly as she watched the gentelest animal she'd ever met kick the crap out of Lieutenant Lisker. Clawhauser looked over at her apologetically, the rain having softened enough that he could hear her. "I don't really like being violent," Clawhauser said sadly. "But... ironically, I couldn't see any other way to resolve this situation," he added with a sigh.

"Well... you didn't kill anybody," Nick said, still somewhat shocked by the sight of Clawhauser lashing out at someone physically. "That's true," Clawhauser said in agreement. "Oh," Lisker groaned on the ground before Clawhauser walked over and rolled him onto his stomach. He lifted the wolfs arms back and placed a pair of cuffs on his wrists before sitting the wolf upright. Milius walked over, finally shaking himself out of his shock at Clawhauser's actions.

"I don't... hear it anymore," Lisker said. "Huh?" Clawhauser asked him. "The laughter... I don't hear him laughing anymore," Lisker said in a breathless tone. "Who?" Clawhauser asked him curiously as Milius crouched down next to the wolf. "It... it doesn't matter anymore," Lisker said quietly.

"The Constellation Killer," Milius whispered. "He's finally gone," Lisker said. "He's been gone for a long time, Lieutenant," Milius said quietly. "Has he? All this time... even after I killed him, I could still hear his laugh," Lisker said softly. "It's over now, Lieutenant. He's gone. You did your duty," Milius said.

"Even still... the system is still broken," Lisker said with a mournful sigh. "Yes, but it's what we've got, and some day... it'll get better," Clawhauser said. A pensive look overtook Lisker's face before he turned to look at Clawhauser. "When?" That was the final thing he said before the medical response teams arrived along with several other police cruisers.

Clawhauser sighed as he set up the barrier between the front seats and the back before leading Lisker inside. Lisker looked at him briefly before looking over his shoulder as Chief Bogo walked over. "Chief," Clawhauser said. "Clawhauser... I expect an explanation for what happened today," Bogo said with restrained anger.

"It was my idea," Milius said as he walked over to the cruiser. "Inspector... why am I not surprised?" Bogo asked darkly. "Because you heard my name on the radio," Milius said nonchalantly. "So... mind explaining to me just why three cops died today?" Bogo asked him with a snarl. "Self defense," Milius said simply.

"That's it?" Bogo asked, bewildered. "I can give you a report, along with the other reports that Wilde, Hopps, Burns, and Clawhauser will be filling out," Milius said. "You're on thin ice, Inspector, and I am this close to demanding your badge," Bogo said. "Chief," Judy said as she and Nick walked over to them.

"Wilde," Chief said as he looked at the fox. "Hey, Chief. Miss me?" Nick asked him. "Chief, we can explain all of it to you," Judy said. "Really? Well, I'd like to hear it," Bogo said. Before Judy could open her mouth to speak, she heard her own voice coming out of the cruiser. "It's over." Everyone turned to look at Lisker, who was holding the carrot pen in his paws. "No, it's not over. It will NEVER be over. Not for me." The rest of the multi-way conversation between Lisker and the others played out over the pen, up to Lisker's last words before Clawhauser had attacked him.

"Go home and get cleaned up, Wilde. You too, Hopps. I expect you both to be at the station tomorrow morning for an inquiry. We have a long week ahead of us, getting this mess cleaned up," Bogo said. Bogo took one last look at Lisker, who had a deflated look of resignation on his face as he leaned back against the seat. Bogo leaned forward and made sure that Lisker's seat belt was buckled before closing the door.

Bogo turned to look at Judy and Nick, both of whom were still standing by the cruiser, even as the rain continued pouring down. "Wilde... even with that... confession, we'll still need to have you undergo some official scrutiny from Internal Affairs. It's to make sure that you are officially cleared of any wrongdoing," Bogo said. Nick nodded his head. "And Hopps... why didn't you say anything?" Bogo asked her.

"I... I panicked, sir. I've never... been in a situation like this. I didn't know what to do," Judy said. "Lisker is-er, was-no, still is, at this moment, a high-ranking officer. I can see how you might fear his ability to halt or even destroy your career," Bogo said somberly. "He said that he would make sure Nick was brought back alive if I cooperated with him," Judy said.

"I see. As I said, both of you go get cleaned up. We have... a very long week ahead of us," Bogo said as he saw Blackwell's body being stuffed into a bodybag. Bogo sighed through his nostrils as he took a better look at the scene. "Damn, this is a mess," Bogo muttered under his breath before walking back over to his cruiser.

Date: Saturday, June 7th, 2017

"Turn off the light," said a groggy voice. "You know," Nick Wilde started, "We came all this way to see you as soon as we could." "Thanks, but I want to sleep. Go away," Cynthia Furrero grumbled as she tried to pull her covers over her head. "Come on, Furrero. At least say hello to everyone," McHorn said.

"Yeah. We all thought you'd never wake up," Higgins, a hippo, said. "I'm regretting the decision already," Cynthia said. "Nurse! I have annoying people in my room," Cynthia fake-yelled. "Furrero," Bogo said as he walked forward, with Judy and Nick behind him. "Chief," Cynthia said.

"How are you feeling?" Bogo asked her. "Same as I did yesterday-wait, no I don't. I feel worse, since now I'm not allowed to sleep whenever I want," Cynthia said. "Hey, without your testimony, I'd probably still be undergoing questioning twice a day," Nick said. "So sorry," Cynthia said bitterly.

"Now, now. Everyone calm down," Bogo said. "Sure, it's not like your colleagues were trying to kill you based solely on hearsay," Nick grumbled. Some of his fellow officers looked away shamefully as they remembered how their bigotry had blinded them to the obvious. "Yes, well... that was not some of our fellow officers' brightest moments," Bogo said as he turned to glare at certain individuals.

"So... how's Hooper's family doing?" Cynthia asked. "Um... they're doing okay. They did want to press charges against Pelton... until they learned that he was dead," Nick said. "And Blackwell?" Cynthia asked. "Dead," Nick replied. "Good riddance," Cynthia muttered. "He's the one who did most of the damage," she said bitterly.

"Lisker is still alive. He's being held in a jail right now. He... admitted to everything," Judy said. "I didn't think he still had it in him," Cynthia muttered. "Still had what in him?" Bogo inquired. "That sense of responsibility," Cynthia said. "I thought for sure that he viewed himself as being blameless and that all of his actions were in the right," Cynthia said.

"He did... for a while," Judy said. "Horrowitz is dead too," Nick said. "Horrowitz? What the hell happened?" Cynthia asked. "Inspector Milius... shot him," Nick said slowly. "Why?" Cynthia asked. "He... was going to kill Sergeant Burns with a dart full of conotoxin. We searched his dart gun, and three of the darts in it had conotoxin cocktails," Nick said.

"Oh," Cynthia said. "I figured he was part of the ring, but I thought he was only doing internal stuff like forging documents and rigging cameras and inventory lists," Cynthia said. "So... only Lisker and Benezio are left then?" Cynthia asked them. "Yeah," Nick said.

"Are they gonna stay locked up?" Cynthia asked. "At this time... we don't know for certain, but it seems likely," Bogo said. "I wish I'd gotten more solid evidence sooner," Cynthia said, downcast. "Why's that?" Clawhauser asked her. "Well... obviously, if I'd been able to expose them sooner, then Wilde here wouldn't have been framed, and maybe no one would've died," Cynthia explained.

"What's gonna happen to Milius, since he killed the other three?" Cynthia asked. "He only directly killed Horrowitz," Nick said. "He'll be on probation. Since his actions were all in self defense, he won't be locked up or sentenced, but he will be forced to undergo a probationary period under surveillance from Internal Affairs," Bogo said.

"And Wilde? Since he's been proven to be not guilty?" Cynthia asked. "He already had his probationary period. He's off the hook now," Bogo said. "Even after it was proven that you were innocent, they still made you go through that?" the coywolf asked the fox. "Eh, could've been worse," Nick said in response with a shrug.

The rest of the day passed without much excitement as the officer in the room shared stories with the coywolf before departing. As Judy and Nick walked outside of the hospital in the cool night air, Nick sighed before looking over at Judy. "So... you still wanna keep being a cop after everything we've been through?" Nick asked her.

"I... I don't know," Judy said, her voice uncertain. "Wait... you don't know?" Nick asked her incredulously. "I-I... Nick, Lisker showed me a side of the law that I never even considered before. I mean, I know that life is messy, but I never once thought that things could go this deep," Judy said with a frown.

"I've known for a long time," Nick said. Judy turned to look away. "But then along came this little rabbit with big dreams, and even after learning that the world wasn't all that she thought it was, she still had the passion and the drive to try and make a difference. Well, she did give up a little bit, but she was still willing to get back in the ring and try again," Nick said with a smirk.

Judy turned back to look at him. "Don't give up hope, Carrots. Yes, Lisker had a point about certain things not working the way they should, but that's why the world needs cops like us to fix those problems, otherwise animals even worse than Lisker will try to use that to their advantage," Nick said. "But then how do you know if you've gone too far? Just where is the line drawn?" Judy asked as she and Nick both sat down on a bench outside of the hospital.

"Well, I guess the only thing I can really say about that is to know your limitations," Nick said as he looked at her. "You're right," Judy said. "We all have limitations, and some of us just... don't know how far they go," Nick said. "Carrots, let me tell you something, okay? If you don't think you still want to be a cop after all of this, then I might as well turn in my badge too, because there's no point in making a difference if the person who inspired me is gonna call it quits too," Nick said.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to stay on the force," Judy said with a smirk. "Damn right you will, Officer Hopps," Nick said with a smirk of his own. "Of course... Officer Wilde," Judy said. "Uh, before we part ways... what do you think my chances are of getting that apartment that Cynthia showed us?" Nick asked Judy. "We'll just have to wait and see," Judy said before getting up and walking away.

"Yeah," Nick said as he looked up at the night sky. He looked at Judy as she caught a bus heading back to her apartment before closing his eyes. "Wait and see," he said. "I guess I can't push it. After all, an animal's gotta know their limitations."

Ending Theme: Cheer Down, by George Harrison

Alternate Ending Theme: I'll Be Holding On, by Gregg Allman

ALTERNATE RESOLUTION

"Besides, you're all complicit with the deaths of three police officers. You're basically killers, especially you, Milius," Lisker said. "Maybe so, but I know where the line is drawn," Milius responded. "So what makes you better than me then? Huh? What makes it okay for you to kill my officers, but not for them to kill evil pieces of shit like Vanderbelt and the Fasa brothers!?" Lisker snapped.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Lieutenant. Those bastards deserved what they got, and I don't blame you for going after them, but the thing is... you stopped going after only the monsters, and started killing those who didn't deserve it. Most of the foxes at the pool, Hooper, and even me and Burns, along with Wilde and Hopps. Have you looked in the mirror lately?" Milius asked in response.

"If I don't do it... no one else will," Lisker replied. "There's no guarantee that something better will come along or that the system will be changed for the better. We had to do this now while we still could," Lisker said sadly. "But you overestimated your boys. They weren't experienced enough to restrain themselves or to truly understand why you started this," Milius said.

"Lieutenant, you told me that when you first started going after the bad guys on your own, you had problems with what you were doing. You felt guilt over killing them, didn't you? But Blackwell, Pelton, and the others... they never felt guilt over what they'd done, did they?" Judy asked the wolf. Lisker looked down at the ground as Judy's words struck him.

"They felt that what they were doing was okay right from the start, and they never looked back," Judy said sadly. Lisker silently nodded his head as he started to kneel onto the ground before sitting in a puddle and drawing his legs up together, resting his chin on them. "I wanted to make the world a better place. The system had failed too many times," Lisker said. "I saw this as the only option," he added.

"I'm sorry, but... I'm placing you under arrest, Lieutenant," Milius said as he carefully walked over to the wolf, keeping one paw on his pistol, just in case. Lisker drew a breath before holding his arms out. "Burns, give me your cuffs," Milius ordered. The tiger grabbed a pair from his belt and threw them into the air. Milius caught them and placed them around Lisker's wrists. "To be honest, Lieutenant... if you hadn't gone after the others or the foxes at the pool, I probably would've joined you," Milius said.

Lisker merely breathed in and out while quietly nodding his head in acknowledgement of Milius's words. The big cat slowly walked back over to Clawhauser's cruiser and opened the side passenger door. Lisker silently let the tears flow down his face as his dream came crashing down in the face of reality.

Alternate Alternate Ending Theme: Dreams, by Van Halen (Because mood whiplash is a wonderful thing)

Author's Note: Well... it's over. That's it. This is the end of Magnum Fur, aka Reckless Endangerment Part 1/3. I will soon be working on the rest of the final part of the Reckless Endangerment Trilogy: The Scales Of Fear. I may also later post a bonus chapter that has parody moments of certain parts of Magnum Fur, for fun of course.

Let me know in your reviews just what you guys thought of Lisker as a character. I'd honestly like to know how he and his ring compare to the bad guys from Reckless Endangerment in your own opinions. Your responses can be as long or as short as you want or need.