The Masked Fox Chapter 20: Lair of the Admiral

The next few hours following the sinking of the smuggling vessel, the name of which Judy had learned was the SS Furtanic, were quite frantic. The already overcrowded cells in the fort meant that they had to escort the prisoners to the city's jail, which was soon filled to capacity as the deputy on paw at the time, a goat by the name of Barney Plife, barely managed to cram the last of the criminals, the margay that Judy had knocked into the ocean, into the cell and closed it with an audible click.

"Well that should hold them in there for a while," Plife stated, clapping his hooves together in satisfaction before the cell door gave an audible groan before bursting open, inmates exploding out of the overly cramped cell like a bursting dam. Judy groaned, then ordered her soldiers to seek new cells for them while she designed arrangements to ship the prisoners to the next closest town's jail.

Why are there so many criminals in this city? she kept asking herself over and over again as the day went on. First there were the Muchachos Boys, followed by several other minor gangs. Next had come the Bearnstein Bears and Po Gangs, followed swiftly by the arrest and sinking of Rottenbeard's ship, along with most of his drug shipment. If she didn't include her first arrest of the hyena trio, each and every subsequent arrest had come from the help of the masked vigilante, Zorro.

Why is he helping to clean up the town?

She wasn't given much time to think about that question before a young kudu in a navy uniform ran up to her, offering a crisp salute and a letter in his hoof.

"Message for Capitán Hopps," he stated, pressing a letter into her paw before abruptly turning and leaving the confused rabbit in his wake.

"This day just gets better and better," she groaned, flicking out a knife and slicing the envelope open. The last traces of any amount of joviality in her day died as she read the contents of the letter.

Now apparently tomorrow is going to worse...

What the letter contained within, was why she was now again standing on the docks the day after the sinking of the Furtanic, though this time staring up at a very different ship.

The SS NightHowler was one of the most impressive naval vessels she had ever seen. Three massive decks, each lined with massive guns that were so large for the lowest level that she probably could have easily lived in one. The ship itself dwarfed most of the other vessels docked or anchored in the harbor beyond. One of the top ships of the line in the Califurnia navy.

For obvious reasons… she thought as she approached the massive warship. Various mammals laden with gear or supplies were around the ship. Several were lowered down from ropes along its side, brushing down the sides of the ship. Hearing various splashing sounds from below, she looked over the side of the pier and saw several aquatic mammals laden with barnacles popping up and under the waterline, chisels in paw as they removed the creatures from the hull of the ship.

She'd barely realized she'd even reached the first of several gangplanks leading aboard the ship. Staring ahead she could see the largest of which currently held an elephant and rhino, both in officer uniforms, laughing as they ascended into the ship.

"Capitán."

The cold, hard voice echoed down to her from above. Turning she saw the mammal whom had invited her onto the ship in the first place.

"Admiral Wilde," Judy replied, taking off her hat while staring up at the vulpine who was gazing down at her with a steady glare. Ignoring the welling feeling of dread and memories from her first meeting with the steely eyed mammal, she remembered what was taught to her in the academy when being invited upon a navy vessel. "Permission to come aboard?"

Looking down at her for a moment, the fox nodded, before walking out of view of the rabbit. Judy sighed heavily, ascending the medium-sized mammal gangplank and onto the main deck of the ship. As she breached the top and walked aboard, the gaze of several mammals turned towards her, giving her either quick, flitting glances or long, hard stares. She kept walking forward, turning as she noticed the young messenger from the day before offering his hoof to her, which she shook agreeably.

"Capitán Hopps. Admiral Wilde is awaiting you in the Officer's Quarters."

The rabbit nodded, following after the mammal as they ascended to the quarter deck, heading towards a set of doors guarded by two marines. The tigers saluted Judy as she approached, a signal she returned before the kudu led her through the door.

For never having been on a naval vessel before, Judy's thoughts had been plagued by ideas of what might be in store when she visited the ship. Dark, dank rooms with little lights that reeked of unwashed mammals and powder. The visions of the trip had only increased her trepidation at what the Admiral wanted with her, especially, since the last time they had met he had shown outright disdain for the rabbit.

And with the look he had cast her way from the top of the gangplank, it seemed as if he still maintained that image of her.

Yet what met her gaze was quite the opposite. The room she entered was surprisingly bright, with small windows at either end of the room as well as massive windows covering nearly the entire back wall of the area as well and what areas the light didn't reach were covered by the lanterns which swung lazily back and forth with the swell of the ship as it sat at anchor.

Her gaze travelled around the room as she entered, moving from the sea maps covering the walls to the massive table which took up the majority of the room, each chair towering over her and had intricate carvings of the vessel etched into the backs of them.

"This is an impressive boat," Judy began, the kudu visibly wincing as he heard the last word. Judy groaned inwardly, forbidding herself from wanting to simply turn tail and head back to solid ground. "Ship..." she corrected. "You have a nice ship here."

"I would hope you find it as impressive as our lands enemies have found it."

Sharp, pretentious… and above all else, the voice to which the comment belonged seemed to have a chilling effect upon the room as her fur stood on edge, her ears turning towards the sound moments before she turned to follow them.

Judy addressed the mammal as she turned to face him. "Admiral Wilde."

"Capitán," he replied, nodding slightly. "Mister Caldwin, inform Mister Helmeczi and Mister Grizner that we will be taking dinner in my private quarters."

"Your, private… quarters?" Judy asked, her nervousness apparent as she had hoped that the dinner would have at least been around other mammals so that she could try to avoid those piercing steel toned eyes that stared down at her.

The fox smirked. "Unless of course you would prefer to dine in one of the seats here reserved for my officers." Admiral Wilde made a point of waving his paw towards the massive table. "As you can see, I don't have any chair befitting such a, diminutive, mammal."

A scowl formed quickly on Judy's muzzle. Yet before she could offer a retort with anything other than a glare, the Admiral turned and sauntered towards a stairwell off in a corner of the room, disappearing with a swish of his tail.

Diminutive my tail… Judy thought with an internal growl as she followed after the fox as the only other mammal in the room, or who had been in the room, the kudu, Mister Caldwin apparently, had already left. The rabbit followed after the fox, noting that the stairwell was actually scaled to size for medium-sized mammals. She paused at the top of the stairs, wondering why a vessel that should serve all sizes of mammals equally had a place where only a few could enter.

Shaking her head of the thoughts, she quickly descended the stairs, the silence only broken by the splash of the waves against the hull or the creaking of the ship on the waves. Stepping out into the room below, she marveled again at the sight of a room that was even more impressive than the one above it.

"Before you ask..." Judy jumped slightly, her paw instinctively reaching for her sword as she turned towards the Admiral, who was busy admiring his claws before turning his gaze towards the bunny. "...that stairwell is one of many I have had built into the ship to allow for quicker access of my person to wherever I'm needed without having to climb such mammoth steps that are more befitting a rhino than a fox."

Judy blinked rapidly. "How did you know I was..."

"Thinking about that?" he casually interrupted as if the conversation bored him. "I didn't, until now when you just told me."

For as many times in the past two minutes Judy found herself again scowling. "So, Admiral, what is it that you want to meet with me about. You obviously hold a severe amount of disdain for me, so we could quit with the pleasantries entirely. We can go our separate ways and I can be relieved of your presence on this...boat."

The scowl appearing on the fox's muzzle was enough to shift her own to a grin. A silence more befitting a tomb than a ship hung between the two until a knock at the door broke the stillness.

"Enter," Wilde stated as he walked towards a nearby table, seating himself as the doors opened and a wolf entered, followed closely by a young bear. Judy followed the fox's example, taking a seat opposing the other mammal as plates of food were deposited in front of both of them. "Thank you Mister Helmeczi. Mister Grizner."

The lids were lifted from the plates, the bear smiling down at Judy as the smells of the dish quickly filled the room. Judy breathed in deeply, relishing in just how fresh the dish smelled, even before she gazed upon it.

"Ah, it appears as if you outdid yourself again," the admiral stated, nodding to the wolf who offered a grin in return.

"With being at port, I've had the ability to accommodate the ships stores with the freshest of ingredients," the wolf began. "There are some fine spices that can be found among the bazaars of this fair city."

"Indeed," Wilde commented as Judy finally looked down at her food. A supple dish of stewed vegetables greeted her, alongside a fresh salad with freshly diced carrots seasoned with some sort of exotic spice she knew that she knew, but couldn't place it.

"I take it you're enjoying the caramelized carrots, Capitán?" the wolf asked, staring at the rabbit with a grin as she returned his smile.

"I've never seen such a dish before," she replied. "How did you make it and what spices did you procure to design such a beautiful dish?"

It was as if the wolf's grin couldn't get any larger, as his tail began to wag behind him at the compliment. "Thank you Capitán. It's a secret family recipe, though I can allow you to know that Zootopia has a few hidden stores that supply the best cinnamon and nutmeg this side of the Beast Indies."

"This smells heavenly," Judy stated as the wolf bowed.

"That will be all, Mister Helmeczi," the fox stated with a wave of his paw as the young bear poured a glass of wine for both fox and rabbit. "And thank you Mister Grizner."

The bear nodded before retreating alongside the wolf outside the larger doors to the room, though Judy could only hear one set of footpads disappearing past the door.

"Now that we are all set," the vulpine stated, the niceties he had displayed to his crew disappearing as quickly as the rays of the winter sun. "Let's get on to business, shall we?"

"How about this Finnick?"

Nick walked out from behind the divider, arms raised and a grin on his face. The small fox grimaced, swatting his paw in the air at the other fox's outfit. Nick dropped his arms with a huff before placing them on his hips. "Come now, Big Guy, why is this one not good for asking Judy to the ball?"

Finnick slapped a paw over his eyes, then swiped a quick 'z' with his paw in the air before pointing at the entirely black outfit.

"You think it would make her think I'm Zorro, eh?" Nick sighed, dropping his paws completely. "Not that she probably doesn't know already," he added quietly to himself.

Or at least he thought it was to himself, soon finding out otherwise when he felt the blunt impact into the back of his ankle, causing him to hop around on one foot until the other paw was smacked, sending him tumbling to the floor. Still rubbing his first foot, he grimaced as Finnick calmly walked onto his chest, grabbed his collar and glared at him.

"Eheh, I didn't think you would have heard me," Nick sheepishly replied. Finnick looked as if he would have growled if he could before pointing at his ears with one paw, not loosening his grip on Nick's collar in the slightest.

"Alright, alright, I understand. You hear almost as well as a rabbit," Nick laughed, waving his paws in front of him as the desert fox let go of his collar and folded his arms across his chest, a smirk forming on his muzzle.

"What are you planning, my tiny friend?" Nick asked, eyes narrowing as he pushed himself upon his elbows, throwing the fennec fox off balance and rolling him backwards onto the floor. Finnick pushed himself up, dusting off his jacket and pants before grinning towards Don Wilde while raising his paws behind his head in the shape of ears while making a kissing face.

Nick's eyes widened in shock at what his friend was suggesting, instantly realizing what he was pantomiming.

Well, two can play at that game...

Nick gave the smaller fox a lazy grin and a single raised eyebrow. "Why Finnick, I had no idea you were into antelopes like that. Are you finally going to ask out Maria Lopez out?" The red fox couldn't help but cackle with laughter as his friends mouth dropped open while his paws were still behind his head.

"I knew it!"Nick continued, feeling the tides turning in his favor. "So, if you'd like any hints on how to ask her out, I recently overheard her talking with Tonto Mamífero about what her favorite flower-ouch!"

Nick yelped as a cork bounced right off his nose, causing it to twitch as his eyes shot open and ears flew up. "What was that for, mi amigo? I was trying to help out your cause."

Finnick stomped his foot, pointing at Nick before he began hopping around the room. After several hops, he turned and glared at his friend. Several complicated hand gestures followed, after which Nick's shoulders slumped as he sat fully upright, staring at the floor.

"You're right Fin, I should be more careful around Capitán Hopps, though like I said earlier, I think she already knows about my side profession."

Watching as the fennec fox made several more quick gestures, Nick pushed himself off the ground, keeping his eyes trained on the other fox's hand movements.

"I think you're right, though we still have to be careful. I think she may know already, but, she seems more like Capitán Skye than any of the others so maybe she might be more understanding than..."

His response was interrupted when the smaller fox made several hasty gestures.

"I suppose that could work," Nick murmured, placing a paw to his chin as he watched Finnick signing once more. "Yes… yes..." His smile grew as the desert fox finished with a grin.

"Finnick, you are a genius!" Said fox nodded his head in agreement before folding his arms in triumph in front of him as Nick began pacing. "I think I have just the idea on how to make this work to our advantage, though I will have to see if Gideon is up for it."

He turned and looked down to see Finnick giving him a, 'really?' stare.

"Don't look at me like that," Nick chided. "He's the only other fox my size and if he's far enough away then nobody will notice Zorro appears to have been binging on empanadas and pies."

Finnick smacked his head, shaking it back and forth before walking off. Nick watched him leave, sighing heavily as he walked towards his study's window, pushing back the curtains and staring outside.

From the small rise his manor sat upon, he could view for miles upon miles in directions, though the view from this window was his favorite. From it, he could see the entirety of Zootopia several miles off, all the way from Fort Zootopia on its Northern borders, to his father's ship sitting at anchor at the furthest western point of the city. He sighed heavily, his mind going back to a very familiar grey rabbit that had been taking up more and more of his thoughts as the days he spent with her passed by.

"I will tell you Judy," he stated to nobody but himself, as if the comment would appease his conscience. "Someday, I will tell you my secret and I hope… I hope when that day comes, you will not hate me for it."

Judy walked towards the gangplank, Admiral Wilde following closely behind her.

"I trust you'll keep our conversation between us, private, no?" he stated. The icy tone of his statement made it clear what he was expecting as an answer. Judy turned to face him, staring up at the older mammal with a heat in her eyes she hoped would overcome the icy look he had cast down at her.

"You can expect what you'd like, Admiral, however, I will not put your own personal agenda over the safety of Zootopia and its citizens."

The vulpine held his arms clasped behind his back, his near perpetual scowl showing the barest hint of any emotion besides anger and resentment. "Then I'll just have to remind you, Capitán, the stakes of the game of which we are playing."

How can I forget… Judy grumbled internally, not allowing her own gaze to flicker away for a moment from his own. The fox's warnings and demands during their dinner had added a whole new level of worry. And what a dangerous gamble all of this is...

She hated it. Absolutely loathed the idea of what he had told and demanded of her. It went against all of her training she had gone through and yet, she could see why the Admiral was so insistent with her. Did it anger her? Yes, absolutely. Did she have to follow it..?

When she finally found her voice again, she found it to be a bit stronger than she thought it would have been.

"And may I remind you," she began, her voice strengthening with every word, "that the citizens of this city are not pieces on a board in which you can fiddle and toy with. If I catch wind of anything… anything, that you have done that would endanger them, or this city, or your own son, from your cause..." she marched straight up to the Admiral, and even though he was nearly double her height, she casually stared him down, fire in her eyes and in her belly as she rested a paw upon her sword.

"...I will make sure you will hang from the yardarm of your own ship for all of Califurnia to see."

The threat hung in the air between them, spreading out so that even the sailors aboard the vessel turned to see their admiral in an intense stare down with the doe.

She was slightly surprised when he greeted her threat with a smile. "Then we are in agreement," he stated bluntly, and for the first time in the entire evening, she saw a bit of the coldness in his gaze melt away and show… affection? Endearment? Judy couldn't tell as she was startled by him putting his paw out for her to shake. "I would expect no less from you Capitán. Just remember my advice… and my warning."

Judy looked at his proffered paw, then back up into his eyes before reaching out her own, gripping his tightly.

"Deal."

"Splendid," the vulpine replied as he took a step back and bowed to her. "Now, I have pressing matters to attend to," he stated as he raised back up to his full height, the glare from earlier returning in full force, "...so I'd appreciate it if you would get off my ship."