#sergeant bigsby

[anghraine]

pro patria, chapters 22-28

“You have to think this through,” he added. I appreciated the concern, but there wasn’t much left to think about at this point. “I’ll do whatever it takes to find my sister,” I told him. Dead or alive, shackled or escaped: I would find her, no matter what I had to do.

title: pro patria (22-28/?) stuff that happens: Althea begins her investigation of Falcon Company's loss.

verse: Ascalonian grudgefic characters/relationships: Althea Fairchild, Captain Tervelan, Sergeant Bigsby; Logan Thackeray, others; Althea & Deborah, Althea & Logan, Bigsby & Deborah chapters: 1-7, 8-14, 15-21

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TWENTY-TWO 1 Another lieutenant felt the need to inform me, “I expected someone … more impressive.” “Impressive?” I repeated, nettled despite my best intentions. “In what way?” “Well,” he said, “bigger, maybe—definitely taller.” I scowled. Both lieutenants had a good few inches on me, as did Faren and Anise, while Logan had to bend his head down every time he spoke to me. I did not appreciate the reminder. 2 “And with rays of light shooting out from your head,” he added, and I immediately calmed. An idiot, clearly. “Sorry to disappoint,” I said. Making my way across the courtyard and up the stairs without further interruption, I eyed Captain Tervelan. He was an average-sized man with a thin, worn, sharp-featured face, like a skritt’s. Maybe that was unfair to the skritt, since the face seemed designed around a sneer—but, I reminded myself, people couldn’t help how they looked. “You must be the hero Thackeray warned me about,” said Tervelan. 3 Warned? I felt sure that Logan would have said nothing of the kind. Maybe this ass could help how he looked. But he’d been Deborah’s commander, so I stayed silent and expressionless. “He says you’re investigating the Falcons—that true?” “Yes,” I replied evenly, “Captain Thackeray said you’d help me. Have you heard anything about centaurs taking prisoners?” 4 A flicker of … not sympathy, but something other than contempt, crossed his face. But it vanished as soon as it appeared. Tervelan only scoffed, not even bothering to muffle the sound. “Thackeray’s been swaddled in the royal court for too long,” he said. “He’s forgotten how rough it is out here. You’ve wasted a trip.” I would decide that. 5 “Falcon Company is long gone,” Tervelan went on, shaking his head. “May Grenth have mercy on their souls. Go home, kid.” Kid? I thought incredulously. I’d never particularly embraced my title, but I was the hero of Shaemoor; I was, at the very least, an adventurer who’d won battles throughout Queensdale, without a scratch to show for it. Tervelan said, “You’re in over—” And below us, one of the lieutenants hollered, “Centaurs!” 6 “Get the monks inside! To arms!” Of course those godsdamned centaurs would complicate my only chance of discovering what they’d done to Deborah—to all of Falcon Company. Tervelan received the news impassively. “C’mon, hero,” he said. “You’re about to learn what it’s like outside the city gates.” Apparently none of them understood basic geography. 7 I raced ahead of Tervelan towards the gate; despite his superior size, he made no attempt to pass by, instead running a little behind me. Maybe he was a coward as well as an ass. Either way, we all managed to hold our ground, even though the centaurs had somehow acquired rifles, forcing us to constantly dodge and run out of the way. At last, a much larger centaur galloped into the fray, and Tervelan grabbed my arm. “That’s their leader,” he hissed. “Let’s see what he wants.” Death and destruction, I would have said, but the centaur swept us all with a look of utter disdain, and shouted— “Bring out the hero!”

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1) Logan had to bend his head down every time he spoke to me: an exaggeration, but not by much; this is Althea with Logan.  

2) a thin, worn, sharp-featured face, like a skritt’s: skritt are an acquisitive, rat-like species.

------------------------------------------------------------- TWENTY-THREE 1 Even for a centaur, this one thought highly of himself. “I am Hruud the Reaver,” he bellowed, “pillager of human lands! I will kill any human who claims to be stronger than I!” I looked at his heavy frame, muscled in both legs and chest, and made no such claim. Why bother? I was neither tall nor muscular, even for a human; I had the strength for running between waypoints, and dodging and casting spells in battle, and that was about it. But I didn’t need strength to win. 2 “Let me see this great hero of Shaemoor I’ve heard has come to die beneath my hooves!” He swept another disdainful glance over us, clearly not realizing I was his enemy. I wouldn’t have expected him to recognize me, or any centaur to recognize me, but if he’d heard about my presence so soon, one of them must have been able to identify me on sight—unless— “I wonder how he found out you were here,” muttered Tervelan, echoing my own thoughts. “That’s unfortunate.” Unfortunate was one word for it. With a curl of his lip, he said, “You can sneak out the back, if you like.” 3 I ignored that, except to add it to the list of reasons I disliked him. “I challenge you, Hero of Shaemoor!” yelled Hruud. “Reveal yourself!” With a sigh, I stepped forward. Unless he turned out to be a good deal cleverer than he looked, I’d defeated dozens just like him. This was nothing but a waste of my time and the Seraph’s. Really, who had told him about me? 4 Deciding that I might as well get it over with, I sprang into battle. Tervelan called after me, “Make it a good fight! I better see some fancy moves!” I cared far more about the lives of the innocent people here than putting on a show. But if he wanted one, he’d get it; with a slash of my hand, I duplicated myself into clones, two distracting Hruud by dancing around his blows, while the rest of us concentrated our power into beams of magic, shot straight at his chest. Much more reassuringly, the abbey’s priests and priestesses cried out prayers for me. “Balthazar is with you!” 5 “Slay this vermin!” shouted another abbey brother, while the centaurs at Hruud’s back chorused cheers and insults. “That’s no Seraph!” one of them called out, laughing. “None of Tervelan’s soldiers are brave enough to face our champion!” Right, so now I’d gotten more respect from Tervelan’s enemies than Tervelan himself—and since when did centaurs call humans by name? Regardless, Balthazar plainly was on my side; Hruud never landed a hit on me, and the moment I exploded my clones turned out to be precisely the right one, the flash of light dazing him long enough for me to build more, and grind him down further, while he struggled to lift his weapon. Behind us, a woman—a sister of the abbey—raised her voice. “In the name of all Six Gods, tear his wretched heart out!” 6 I didn’t quite tear his heart out, but I did irradiate his body with aether until his heart stopped beating. Hruud collapsed in a tangle of hooves and limbs, his soldiers fleeing into a barely-organized retreat. That was good enough for the residents of the monastery, who burst into excited chatter as soon as they found themselves safe. I breezed past Tervelan and his lieutenants to reach out my hand to Sister Melea, the woman I’d heard in the battle. “Kormir bless you,” she said, tracing a flickering hexagon above my palm. I’d only meant to clasp her hand in gratitude, or perhaps slight apology, not to demand a blessing: least of all one from Kormir herself. But if Kormir and Balthazar both guided my steps, surely that meant I was on the right path—didn’t it? 7 “I’m fortunate,” I assured Melea. “Balthazar was watching over me—I just couldn’t let them hurt the monks.” “Your courage is inspiring,” she replied, her eyes bright. “I’m going to name one of our beers after your deeds. What should we call it?” I glanced over at Tervelan, and smiled. “Hero’s Hops,” I said.

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1) exploded my clones: this is less violent than it sounds like; clones are illusionary duplicates of yourself that will attack your enemies but can be voluntarily shattered for various effects, not ... uh, actual people.

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TWENTY-FOUR 1 “Not bad for a city scab,” said Captain Tervelan. To my satisfaction, the dismissive words didn’t quite conceal an unsettled expression. He shook it off, tone dropping to something like civility. “I’m beginning to think you’re as competent as they say you are. So tell me—what are your plans?” I set my jaw, the euphoria of battle receding into the frustration I’d felt before. “I plan to find out what happened to Falcon Company.” 2 Tervelan shook his head, a thin and unconvincing layer of sympathy lying over his voice. “What happened to the Screaming Falcons was a tragedy, but this is a fool’s errand.” Turning sharply on his heel, he gestured for me to follow him back up the stairs, to the higher levels where Seraph stood guard. When we were alone, his gaze shifted to the sight beyond the monastery’s walls: the thick forest and hills, and paths carved through both by humans and centaurs alike. At last, he said, “I can’t spare good soldiers for a personal vendetta; I need them to handle these centaurs.” Personal vendetta? That could only mean Deborah—and that could only mean that he knew who I really was. 3 My dismay must have shown in my expression. Tervelan gave a low chuckle. “Your name isn’t a secret, Lady Althea. Neither is your face.” “My face,” I said blankly. Any number of people hadn’t known me until I spoke to them, or until some third party pointed me out. “Even the centaurs recognized you,” said Tervelan, “when you came here and put us all in danger.” 4 “I—” “And Sergeant Fairchild was fond of her family,” he added, silencing anything else I might have said. “She carried a miniature of you all with her—perhaps you recall? We never found it, afterwards.” Abruptly, I did remember: years ago, an Asura mechanic had shown up in Divinity’s Reach, making pictures with some boxy contraption, and my father had paid exorbitantly for a little picture of all four of us. Deborah had taken it when she joined the Seraph; though I was much younger in the picture, perhaps fourteen, I might well be recognizable to a close eye. I didn’t doubt that Captain Tervelan had a close eye. 5 “Let me help,” I urged him, unable to think of any better solution. “If we get done quickly, maybe your soldiers can help me afterward.” If Kormir and Balthazar really guided me, it would happen. Tervelan studied the landscape for another moment. Then he jerked back so abruptly that he nearly hit me. “Fine,” he said. “Rendezvous with my squad at the centaur camp over the hill.” 6 That seemed almost too easy. “You take out the herd, and we’ll see,” he said, fixing me with a cold stare. “No promises, though, hero. My duty here comes first.” “I’ll do it,” I promised, sparing a silent prayer to the gods. “Don’t worry, captain. I’ll be back soon.” 7 I talked to Tervelan once more before I left; he just brusquely told me to get to the centaur camp. In what passed for reassurance with him, he added, “My soldiers are waiting for you.” However, I found no such thing. Instead, a single soldier skulked nearby, one who stared in obvious horror as I approached. “You’re my back-up?” he hissed. “Has the captain lost his mind? I expected an entire squad!” TWENTY-FIVE 1 “Stinking centaurs—can’t ever kill enough of them,” he muttered to himself. Then he stuck out his hand. “I’m Sergeant Bigsby.” I nodded. “And I’m—” “The hero of Shaemoor,” said Bigsby. “We heard you’d be coming.” 2 I couldn’t tell what he thought about it. Without a pause, he went on, “Where are the others? Captain Tervelan said he was sending a unit to help me with the assault on the centaur camp.” “That’s what he told me, too,” I said tightly. Gods, I was an idiot. Oh, this wasn’t proof; I could think of half a dozen benign explanations. But I didn’t believe any of them. 3 Bigsby looked unsure, either of me or Tervelan. “I’m not sure two of us can do this by ourselves,” he said. “Maybe we should go back to the monastery?” I set my jaw. Idiot or not, I hadn’t come this far to turn back now—and I’d had worse fights. “I have to do this,” I insisted. “I need information about my sister, and he’s got it.” 4 Bigsby caught his breath, eyes going wide. “You’re Althea Fairchild?” he exclaimed. Odd. My name evidently had meaning for him beyond the simple fact of its existence, yet he hadn’t realized that it belonged to the hero of Shaemoor, even though Tervelan had said people knew— Oh, of course Tervelan had lied about literally everything. Bigsby lowered his voice even as he seized my hand, shaking it enthusiastically. “I should have recognized you!” 5 I couldn’t think why he should have recognized me, or how he might have done it; I certainly had no memory of meeting him. In fairness, I met a lot of people. “You look just like your sister,” he explained. I blinked at him, genuinely taken aback. Nobody had ever said such a thing to me; Deborah was blonde and round-faced, her frame leaner and considerably shorter than mine—we used to joke that it was a miracle they’d found a uniform small enough for her. Bigsby gestured vaguely at the upper half of his face. “Around the eyes,” he said. 6 That was fair, I supposed; our eyes did have the same shape and colour, but nobody else had ever paid attention to that little resemblance. “She was a damn good soldier,” said Bigsby, voice choked. “But you know that.” I focused back on him, vastly more interested in Deborah’s career than her appearance. “You knew my sister?” “Yes,” he answered, “I was stationed here a few months before … well, you know.” I was not going to cry. 7 Bigsby closed his eyes for a lingering moment, taking regular, deep breaths until his voice evened out. “She helped me figure out how to be a good Seraph.” That sounded like Debs: as different as we were, she’d always done her best to guide me, from wrapping her fingers around my tiny hands as I took my first steps to explaining our legacy as Ascalonians as she turned from the luxuries of our manors and the Ministry. “That’s why you’re here, right?” he pressed. “Because of the rumours?” Wait, what? I could only echo, “Rumours?” TWENTY-SIX 1 “What rumours?” I demanded, not even trying for caution. I couldn’t, not after so long, when I’d come so far. Bigsby seemed nearly as eager. “Nobody ever knew how the centaurs found out the Falcons’ patrol route,” he said. “There’ve always been questions about why the company was sent out alone.” I’d never thought of that; until Shaemoor, I didn’t know enough to consider it odd. But now I did. 2 “Nothing official, though,” Bigsby added quickly. “Just beer talk.” It’d have to be, wouldn’t it? I turned my gaze to a tree just behind him, forcing down my creeping fears and suspicions. In the moment, none of those helped us. “If I clean out these centaurs,” I said, “maybe Captain Tervelan will tell me what really happened.” At this point, it seemed a slim maybe—but I had to try. 3 “If this is for Debs,” Bigsby said, then broke off and cleared his throat. “If this is for Debs, I’d be a mighty poor friend to leave you here alone. I guess I’m in it, too.” I clapped his shoulder, smiling. He’d never fought alongside me, even in practice, never acquired any first-hand knowledge at all; he wouldn’t know anything from Deborah, either, since I couldn’t have beaten a training dummy back then. He was walking into a fight he doubted we could win for Deborah, for their friendship. Whether she lived or not, I was glad she’d had a friend like him. 4 We snuck into the camp without much difficulty, found it empty, and started methodically destroying supplies. If they were near enough to respond, we’d get them herded into the cave; if they weren’t, well, they’d have a lot less equipment. It was a fairly easy fight, in truth. I’d taken on worse ones, and usually by myself. With Bigsby, there was hardly any trouble at all; despite wasting energy on hollering insults, he turned out to be a good man to have at my back. Nothing like Logan or Anise, of course, but competent and efficient. And when I saw the cages, I needed someone at my back. 5 After dodging around the last centaur’s spear and slicing its head off, Bigsby stopped to catch his breath. He pointed at one of the cages. “You might find prisoners’ belongings inside that cage near the tent. Check it out; I’ll cover you.” I darted towards the cage, forcing myself to be cautious with the battered and decayed belongings scattered around the cage. It didn’t look like the centaurs had ever bothered to investigate them, just tossed them aside like trash. It was just like them—and lucky for us. 6 Beneath quite a lot of genuine trash, and a tattered and stained cloak, I found it: something better than either of us could have dreamed of. It was a soldier’s journal, emblazoned with a falcon. I carefully opened it, paging through depressingly mundane entries, until they came to an abrupt stop halfway through. On the right-hand page, someone had scrawled out Survivors, following the title with a list of names. Perhaps twelve or fifteen. I scanned downwards, telling myself that I was counting, determining our losses at the time— My hand closed over the chain at my collar, twisting until my fingers chilled, but I kept going. 7 Lann Black, Corp Val Gayan, Sgt Deborah Fairchild, Sgt— Deborah. Deborah! She was alive, or had been. But it was possible as it had never been before. Of course I’d never sensed her spirit at the grave, or anywhere else; even as we strained for some connection, she might very well have drawn breath. Drawn breath in slave pens, but—alive! TWENTY-SEVEN 1 On the left-hand page, the unknown soldier had scratched out in fading ink: Set up for centaur attack. Must have been Tervelan. Don’t know why. I drew a sharp breath. It didn’t come as a surprise; not really. But proof was something else—proof that a captain of the Seraph, one of Logan’s equals, had betrayed his command and his queen beyond anything Zamon might have imagined. Betrayal really could come from anywhere. 2 I shoved the little journal into my pouch, making my way back to Bigsby. We seemed to have cleaned out the entire den; at least, we neither saw nor heard any hint of anyone else, though he stayed on guard as he looked at the bodies in wonder. Shakily, he said, “The only reason I followed you in there was because you’re you.” I managed a faint smile. “I didn’t even think we’d survive, but you were great! Hey, what did you find?” I told him about the journal and the list of survivors. 3 Bigsby’s face lit up, then darkened into a puzzled frown. “I thought Captain Tervelan said there were no survivors.” Glancing around at the bloody bodies, shattered equipment, and cages, I clenched my jaw. Under my skin, my whole body seemed to be twitching. “Tervelan may be lying to cover his tracks,” I said, and finished telling him about the final entry. His eyes went wide, his mouth open; he looked like a slapped child. “I … I don’t know what to think.” 4 “Tervelan, a traitor?” Bigsby said doubtfully. Then his eyes widened still further. “You don’t think he sent us out here alone to die, do you?” I very definitely thought so, and had suspected it before. I just nodded, trying to approximate reluctance. In a quiet voice, he said, “He hasn’t been happy with me lately.” So Tervelan had deliberately selected Bigsby as an acceptable sacrifice for trapping me, or worse, found it a convenient opportunity to eliminate a sergeant he disliked—either way, he was utter scum. 5 “It’s a distinct possibility,” I said, keeping my tone firm. “But don’t worry, Bigsby—we’ll get to the bottom of this together.” He took a deep breath (which he looked like he’d needed) and burst out, “By all the gods, these animals will pay!” “The centaurs will get theirs in time,” I promised. Deliberately, I relaxed my fists, softened my voice. “Now, I need to have a little talk with Captain Tervelan.” Bigsby looked alarmed all over again. 6 I couldn’t actually confront Tervelan at the monastery, it turned out; Bigsby told me that Tervelan had left to wipe out a small group of ettins before they became a large one, though he would return shortly. “He didn’t mention any ettins to me—that’s funny,” I said. “The man’s sounding shadier and shadier.” And I really wouldn’t have thought there was much shade left to add. Bigsby all but vibrated with anxiety. “What are you going to do?” 7 “You have to think this through,” he added. I appreciated the concern, but there wasn’t much left to think about at this point. “I’ll do whatever it takes to find my sister,” I told him. Dead or alive, shackled or escaped: I would find her, no matter what I had to do. Bigsby, rather than being intimidated, seemed to find this sympathetic and reasonable. He gave a brisk nod. “All right.” TWENTY-EIGHT 1 “The way I see it,” said Bigsby, “you have two options.” I waited for him to finish, though more as a matter of form. There was exactly one option: surrounding Tervelan in clones and putting our swords at his throat until he talked—and if he thought to escape, we’d encase him in aether. “Tell your friend, Captain Thackeray, what we suspect,” Bigsby went on, “but then Tervelan might get away.” I faltered; I’d forgotten about Logan’s role in this, as captain and as friend. In the few months we’d known each other, he’d somehow become the closest thing I had to an older sibling, with Deborah gone and Faren perpetually adolescent. She might not be gone after all; soon I might be able to count myself a little sister in blood as well as name; but still, I couldn’t leave him out of it. 2 Bigsby said, “Or we could confront Tervelan directly—without backup.” Uh, no. We could beat him in a fair fight, but this was Tervelan; it wouldn’t be fair, and I didn’t mean to get Bigsby killed (or maybe even myself) after all this. And I was here on Logan’s behalf, even if I had license to follow my own objectives and represent him however I liked. He needed to know that a traitor walked among the Seraph, ready to throw away the lives of the men and women under his command. He particularly needed to know it was a captain, one he knew and had trusted, if he was to protect the queen and Kryta. “I have to tell Captain Thackeray what’s going on out here,” I said. 3 Duty aside, I’d seen the monastery bristling with Tervelan’s soldiers and the grateful clerics they protected. It’d be good to have Logan at my side when I confronted Tervelan. And I didn’t even need to manufacture an explanation for leaving; Tervelan’s sudden ettin-hunt, though undoubtedly meant to protect himself, had bought us time. “I’ll be waiting,” said Bigsby, holding out his hand. He paused. “Deborah was a good soldier. I guess it runs in your family.” 4 I smiled, truly gratified, and shook the offered hand. “Thanks, Bigsby,” I told him. “You’re a good soldier.” After a hesitation, I added, “My sister taught you well.” Bigsby chewed on his lip, eyes so bright that I knew he must be just holding off tears. Well, I understood dignity. I shook his hand one last time, said my last farewell, cast my signet, and took off running for the nearest waypoint. 5 I had barely stumbled out of the palace waypoint and paid my fees when I took up running again, heedless of the glances I received from fellow nobles (along with anyone who happened to be in my path). Without hesitation, I banged on the door to Seraph Headquarters. Thankfully, the guard recognized me on sight and escorted me to Logan without difficulty. Everything, I thought, was so much easier in Divinity’s Reach. “Althea?” he said, his glance little short of astonished. I could feel my entire face flushed with all my running about, and my clothes had to be sweaty and perhaps even dirty. For once, I didn’t care. 6 I quickly pulled him aside, which was to say, I tugged at his armour and he followed along, looking concerned. “What—” “Captain,” I said urgently, “I’m afraid I have bad news. Tervelan is a traitor; he sent me into centaur territory, promising back-up, but then he never actually sent anyone. He meant for us to die there.” Logan’s eyes widened. “That’s outrageous!” 7 It hadn’t crossed my mind that he might doubt me; I was still collecting myself when he went on, “He’s a Seraph captain.” A little uncertainly, Logan added, “You’re sure it wasn’t just a misunderstanding?” “I’m sure,” I said, reassured, and told him what I had found. “Tervelan didn’t want me investigating these deaths, to the point where he nearly got me killed—I know he’s hiding something, captain.” Logan stared down at me, searching my face. Then, his usual resolve returned to his own face, and he clasped my shoulder. “All right.”

[odd-the-motoring-fox]

Chapter 9 part One

Chapter 9

 Second Chances Part.1

   Chief Bogo hastily entered the S.W.A.T locker room where Nick and Judy, along with their backup, were suiting up, getting ready to serve the arrest warrant for the remaining suspect in the case of attempted murder of their fellow officers. Shouting and waving his hands holding a case file in his fierce grasp, the papers within looking ready to fly out of the blue folder with his hectic motions.  

 “Stand down immediately, that’s an order!”

 Everyone looked at Chief Bogo, confused as to why he would halt the operation after all the hard work and countless hours of overtime put in by Nick and Judy.

 Judy threw her paws in the air, dropping her knee pads to the floor as she did so

 “What do you mean stand down Chief?!, We’re going to get this guy and I am going to cuff that bastard myself!” Judy protested pointing her finger at her chest as she did so.

 Nick and Bogo looked at Judy stunned at her act of rebellion looking ready to blow a gasket.

 Seeing Bogos eyes getting larger as his blood pressure climbed, Nick quickly tried to restore peace by getting between Judy and Chief Bogo.

 “Judy hold on, lets listen to what Chief has to say first… sorry Chief.”  

 The Chief took a deep breath and slowly calmed down and answered Judy’s question.

 “I know you want to arrest the suspect Wilde, but you won’t have too.” The Chief stated.

 All the officers looked at each other bemused, trying to figure out why they wouldn’t have to arrest the suspect in question.

 “What’s going on Chief? Is something wrong with getting the warrant?” Officer Grizzoli asked, putting down his baton on the bench next to him.

 “We don’t have to carry out the warrant in the way of searching for a suspect.” The Chief stated, looking confidently at his well-prepared team of officers.

 “Why do say that Chief? What happened? Did he kill himself?” Officer Bigsby asked who had psyched himself up for a raid.

Chief scoffed at the honey badger’s question.

“No Bigsby, we won’t be serving the warrant for a suspect because; the meerkat the Wildes informed us about, only moments ago turned himself in. Lt. Higgins is booking him in now.” The Chief stated proudly.

Everyone looked astounded at what the Chief had just informed them of. The mammal that was just over 24 hours ago wanted for attempted murder of a police officer was now in-their lockup.

 “No way. Chief…are you serious?”  Nick asked surprised.

 Judy went from aggravated to ecstatic in a flash devious thought came to her now relived nerves.

 “I want to give that meerkat a piece of my mind.” she thought to herself with a smirk

 “Chief Bogo hang on!” she shouted. “Is there any way that Nick and I could…oh, I don’t know…” Judy gestured, eluding to the fact that she wanted to have a few minutes to lay into the suspect.

 Nick put his right paw over his face with embarrassment, already knowing what she was going to suggest.

 “Interrogate Him?” Chief answered.

 Judy couldn’t help it, she became very enthused at the prospect of interrogating the bastard.

 “Yes, I think me and Nick would love to have five minutes to question said meerkat.”

 The Chief looked at both of them and handed them the case file with an unamused expression.

 “Good, because that’s what you two will be doing. I want answers and I want them as quickly as possible.” Bogo informed them.  

 Nick started to grin knowing what his role would be: the good cop.

 “It would be our pleasure, sir” Judy replied putting her paws together rubbing them together deviously.

 Chief looked down at Nick.

 “Nicholas?” Bogo asked.

 “Uh…what she said sir.” Nick replied, pointing his finger at Judy, knowing not to disagree with his very sinister sounding bunny.

 Chief Bogo looked down at them and smiled

 “Splendid.” Bogo replied before re-briefing the remainder of the officers that were going to be part of the operation.

Chief went back to his normal drill sergeant like tone

“Now as for the rest of you, I want you to join the rest of the S.W.A.T team that has been pulled from other precincts to assist in the operation. I have secured a new warrant and I need a full sweep performed of the address and associated addresses to our suspect and deceased shooter. Drugs, guns, and anything else that could help us get a motive for the shooting and any other crimes that may have been committed prior, I want found and brought in as evidence. Understood?” Chief ordered.

 “Yes sir” the other officers responded.

 “Alright, now get moving!” Chief ordered as he turned to leave the S.W.A.T locker room.

 As the other officers went down to the parking garage to join the other S.W.A.T units to go investigate the suspects apartment and the dead gun mammals place, Nick and Judy went back to their respective locker rooms to change into their regular shades of blue.

 Nick walked up to his locker, grasping his orange and white lock that Judy bought him as a ‘welcome to the force gift’ he then began to enter the combination on the lock. Moving the tumbler dial left, right and left again a couple times, the lock finally opened and he placed it the wooden bench behind him. Nick then swung the door open.  He took off his vest then his shirt, then his pants etc. Then began the routine of changing out his uniform. As he finished buttoning his fresh shirt over his vest, running a lint roller across his pressed blue pants and then fixing his black tie, he heard some familiar paws gently tapping on the polished floor, he knew that sound well because they belong to his lovey bunny.

 Nick shook his head and chuckled.

 “Judy, you know you can’t be in here, last time was a one-time” Nick said as he turned around to greet his partner, explaining to his bunny once again why she couldn’t be in the male’s locker room. However, before he could speak another word, she jumped up and latched on to him. Judy kissing him deeply, her perfectly sculpted figure caressing his own as she wrapped her legs around his waist and passionate desire fitting across her deep lavender colored eyes.

 Unable to restrain himself, he couldn’t help, wrapping his arms around her and shutting his eyes as their tongues wrestled in a sea of saliva and love. After a few seconds, Nick reluctantly pulled himself away, regaining control of his body.  

 “Judy, what are you doing?” Nick said, gasping for air while caressing her beautiful cheek with his left paw.

 Judy looked deep into his eyes and then in a flash, she shook her head, blinked her eyes and then looked at him completely embarrassed-by her sudden unprofessional display of affection.

 “I’m sorry Nick…I don’t what came over me.” Judy apologized, breathing heavily as her chest burnt with desire while cute little nose twitchied.

 “It’s ok Carrots… honestly if we were at home, I wouldn’t have stopped you.” Nick stated lovingly wishing they were still in bed. “Seeing as we’re on the clock however, what we’re doing right now really is not a good idea, especially if were caught. Besides we have work to do.” Nick softly chastised, before placing a quick kiss on her lips.

Judy’s cheeks became as red as a chili pepper.

“I know we’ve got work to do,” Judy said, running her paws down the back of his neck; “I just thought that we could try and at least keep some of our honeymoon going.”

 Nick had a shiver go up his spine with her touch, as he looked around hoping nobody would see her in there with him. Reluctantly though, he resisted his primal urge to merge with his excited bunny.

 “Well, we can continue that later ok but, we better get out of here before someone sees us.” Nick recommended, again looking around the locker room for any silent observers.

 Judy hopped down to her feet.

 “Yeah, you’re right we should stay focused common partner.”

Judy quickly left the men’s locker room, with Nick following not far behind. He watched his lovely bunny walk with a confidence he had not seen from her in a while. He looked at Judy who was walking ahead of him swinging her hips for him dancing almost. Nick knew that she was in a mood that would either end with them entwined in bliss or him sleeping on the floor on an old air mattress when they got home. Such a treacherous, yet enticing, wire to walk.

 They walked through the reception together after Nick caught up with Judy. Both looking at the entrance still seeing the scene of blood and the dead weasel on the floor in their minds. The image of Willow and Delgado still playing through their minds, flashing in and out of reality, like bolts of lighting in a thunderstorm.

 But, if you didn’t know any better, walking around the reception, you would say nothing had ever happened here other than the normal day to day things. All seemed calm with the usual round of mammals reciting the same arguments. ‘He bared his or her teeth first.’-and- ‘I swear man I didn’t do anything’, you know the usual excuses.

 Judy looked up at Nick, seeing the depressed way he hung his head, she knew he was still feeling dismayed about what had happened even though they had received good news that morning. Sensing her love’s state, she, took his right paw, looked up then gave him a nudge and fluttered her beautiful lavender eyes.

Nick smiled, feeling his partner’s soft paw grasp his own.

He looked down to see her beautiful amethyst eyes shimmering in the light and her sweet smile brought some joy into his heart, putting a smile on his muzzle.

 As they cleared the reception together, they walked through a bullet proof glass door that led to lock up processing. That’s where all the mammals that are arrested get booked. First given they’re single phone call, then placed in holding waiting for cell assignment. You name it, prey or predator, it didn’t matter, they all go through here. As for Nick and Judy they hardly ever went in here, normally only to bring in a mammal they had arrested.

 After a making their way through booking they walked down a hall towards Investigation and Information Collections, also known as ‘Interrogation’.

Nick and Judy approached one of the interrogation rooms where the meerkat was already waiting for them. A bull by the name of Officer Hogan was waiting to open the door for them and be on standby just in case anything happened with the suspect.

“What’s happening Hogan?” Nick asked jokingly.  

 “Same old shit, just a different day.” He responded grabbing his coffee.

 “Is that our suspect?” Judy asked redundantly

 “As far as I know he is Wildes, this kids pretty quiet...have fun getting anything out of him.” Hogan joked as he opened the door

 “Oh, we will… I promise.” Judy said deviously as the bull held the door open for her and Nick.

 Nick and Judy walked into the room, Officer Hogan shutting the door behind them with a thud then locking it.

It was a dismal room a single fluorescent lightbar suspended by ceiling which was as bright as the sun. Two chairs, dark grey walls and white tile floors like you would see at your local big chain supermarket. A single pane of bullet proof glass with a massive bull standing on the other side. Nothing was cheerful or in any way warm and inviting about this room.

There with his hands cuffed, sitting on a cold grey chair his head hanging down over a stainless-steel table with fear in his eyes, was their suspected shooter.

Nick sat in the chair opposite the suspect, putting the case file on the table as Judy stood tapping her right foot.

“Good morning.” Nick being polite to the suspect who remained silent.

Nick thumbed through the case file while Judy started to pace back and forth her flat feet tapping the floor.

“So, Mr. Cornelius K. Wicks…Interesting name Cornelius.” Nick stated, trying to get an angle on his suspect.

Cornelius sat there motionless, only taking in gentle consistent breaths, head still hung low.

“Ya know when I was growing up with my second family, I knew some Wicks. Although they weren’t known for shooting cops, more of the loan shark variety of criminal.” Nick said getting in Cornelius’ Face cocking his head and focusing on him with his right eye as Judy was biting her tongue standing off to the side observing trying to stay calm.

 Nick sighed as he leaned back into his chair.  

 “You know I have one question and it’s pretty simple to answer. I’m sure you could answer it very easily and that question is this.” But before Nick could ask his question Judy asked it for him losing her composure as she lashed out at Cornelius.

 “WHY DID YOU SHOOT HIM HUH, WHY DID YOU DO IT YOU LOW LIFE, BOTTOM FEEDING, DISGRACE FOR A MAMMAL?” yelled Judy, slamming her fists on the table making the meerkat jump up and sit bolt upright in the chair.

 Nick leaned back, nearly falling out of his chair covering his ears to avoid permanent hearing damage.

 Cornelius shook his head and replied.

 “I…I was forced to do it.” He said with a very juvenile voice, the cracks of puberty still hanging round in his throat.

 Upon hearing the breaking of this suspect’s voice, and then thinking back to what Officer Hogan meant when he said “kid” Nick took a second look at the case file, searching for any previous crimes. All he found was a misdemeanor charge for underage possession of tobacco only a month prior, which wasn’t exactly the rap sheet you’d expect to see from an attempted cop killer.

“Underage possession” he thought to himself

Nick quickly went back over the official report to see the suspect’s age. His attitude changed in an instant when he saw his age on the booking sheet.

“Hold on Judy, look at this.” Nick urged, shoving the booking sheet into her paws.

Judy took a second looking at the case file Nick shoved in front of her eyes blocking her view of the somber looking meerkat, seeing his age Judy was staggered.

Both of their approaches to getting information from the meerkat changed immediately.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you. Can I call you Cornelius?” Judy asked, stepping back and jumping down off the table.

“Yes mam” Cornelius responded looking at them with a hopeless look on his face

Judy calmed down and motioned Nick to continue his inquisition of the meerkat.

 “Cornelius,” Nick asked “it says here on your file that you’re only 16, is that correct?

 “Yes Officer…” Cornelius answered nervously.

Nick had flashbacks of his teenage years comeback to him, remembering all the hustles he’d pulled at his age. Sure, he’d been arrested himself, but never for something like this, not even close. Needless to say, he was shocked as was Judy.

“Wow, most mammals your age are normally smoking weed, getting caught trying to buy booze with fake ID’s, stealing something stupid like a shopping cart or maybe sell a few drugs or something.” Nick said, reeling off the standard list. “but shooting a police officer, kid that’s crazy.”

 “Why am I here? What do you want? You know what I did.” the meerkat said in a defeated yet slightly irritated manner.

“What we want is an explanation as to why you and your now deceased friend shot two of our fellow officers.” Judy said, trying to stay calm despite her inner rage.

“And why you turned yourself in.” Nick added.

“I don’t know.” Cornelius answered shrugging his shoulders

Judy’s mood went sour quickly at his answer.

“First off, let me just inform you that right now I’m not in the mood to play games and if you were my child I would have already kicked you so hard you would swear I was a mule” Judy spat out, her threadbare patience wearing even thinner.

Nick nodded.

“She’s not joking kid, now you might want to give us a better answer than that.” Nick suggested.

 “Why should I?” He objected.

 Judy’s attitude went from irritated to downright enraged at the arrogant response from the meerkat.

 “Do you know why you should give a better answer?” She asked sarcastically

 “Not really” the meerkat said with a smug tone.

 “Let me count the reasons.” Judy stated, her anger gaining steam like an old locomotive “First: possession of illegal fire arms. Second: attempted 1st degree murder of a police officer and accessory to attempted murder of a police officer. Which could turn into murder. Third: stealing a vehicle and fourth whatever else our S.W.A.T team finds at your address!” She bellowed, getting right in the meerkat’s face.

 Nick jumped in to continue the shakedown.

 “Cornelius, you will be tried as an adult, that’s a fact and with accessory to murder still in your deck of cards, you’re looking at a 15 to 30 year sentence.”

 The look on the meerkats face went from smug to scared in an instant with the bombshell that he would be tried as an adult thrown into the mix.

 “30 years?” Cornelius asked with a shudder

 “You’re damn right” Judy stated, nodding as she began to pace around the small room once again.

 Cornelius laid his head on the cold stainless table and began to sob at the realization of his potential fate, putting Judy in a furious mood.

“What the hell? Oh no, don’t you start the water works! You’re a criminal now, there’s no crying!” Judy shouted at the now sobbing meerkat.

Nick sensed the regret coming from Cornelius, a feeling he knows well. To calm Judy down and try to give some sufficient answers to the question of why he and the now deceased shooter did what they did, reinserted himself into the conversation.  

“Cornelius tell us why did you do this? We can help you but you have to help us ok.” Nick proposed trying to calm the kid down.

 Cornelius looked up at Nick looking like a misguided youth much like Nick was at that age. Seeing this reminded him how lucky he was to be who he is now and not in some jail awaiting trial or still sleeping under a bridge. He knew he had to help right this kid’s life or at least give him the thought to do so on his own.

 “If I tell you why…. will you help me get away from them, please? I’m sorry for all of this I didn’t’ mean to hurt anybody, but I had to do what they told me to.” He choked trying to explain his actions.

 “It’s ok Cornelius.” Nick stated looking into his amber eyes “Help you get away from who?”.

 Judy’s mood turned again, puzzled at the young mammal’s question calming down to a gentle motherly tone.

 “Who are you afraid of Cornelius?” Judy asked.

 Cornelius went silent for a moment, looking at Nick. He was scared to answer but he knew he had to speak up.

 “Rocky Torino and his family” He eventually managed to get out, shuddering as he did.

 Nick looked at the young meerkat stunned.

 “The Tornio family. Is that what you just said?” Nick asked with shock in his voice

 Judy’s expression had gone from calm to confused.

 “Rocky Tornio?” She stated confused looking at Nick

 “The son of Rocky Torino Sr. They are a rival crime family to Mr. Big. When I was in my teens, guys would come in shot or brought in dead after fights with those badgers.” Nick recalled with a shudder.

 “So, you know them.” Cornelius stated with a shiver

Nick lost his cool bearing his teeth, putting fear into the meerkats soul.

“You’re damn right kid and you really fucked up getting involved with those maniacs. Of course, I know them!” Nick responded angrily. “Those guys will do anything. Kill, rape, steal and hell they’ll even burn your house down with you in it to get what they want, even if you have nothing to do with it. That whole family is out of whack.”

Cornelius began to breakdown under the pressure of trying to explain himself to the now enraged vulpine.

“Look, I turned myself in for a reason. I screwed up, I ran like a coward, and now they want me dead. They were going to kill me this morning, but I got here first.” He said, starting to hyperventilate.

 Judy, noticing his distress got up on the table to comfort him, realizing that while yes, he is a criminal but, he was also misguided child who needed to be heard and at most feel safe for once. So, she did what she had to do to calm him down, because she knows someone very close to her heart that was just like this kid at one time. She held his paws and looked into his amber eyes hoping he would calm down.

 “Cornelius, they can’t get you in here, now please tell us what they are planning and what went wrong with the first attempt whatever you guys had planned?”

 Cornelius looked across the table back to Nick, who was taking deep calming breaths before he responded to Judy who had managed to calm him down enough to give an explanation.

 “It’s ok, you can tell us anything.” Nick stated calmly

 “As I said to your Chief, I shot the tiger. I had no target just shoot to kill, but…” he choked

 “Ok, you shot Delgado, what went wrong?” Judy gently encouraged

 “We were supposed to execute the first phase of a plan that was going to be a diversion to something big” He said as tears fell from his amber colored eyes.

 “What?” Nick and Judy gasped.

 “Phase one went wrong because of me and some poor wiring by one of Rocky’s brothers. The plain was to get all the commotion started then, later once all the police officers around there were swarming that area and all the bystanders were around…” He elaborated, his voice steadier and louder as he went on

 “Then what? “Nick yelled

 “Frank Tornio Was going drive in and set off a car bomb” He yelled, balling his paws into fists slamming them onto the table.

 “WHAT!” Judy exclaimed, her face red with seething anger “A CAR BOMB?! Whisky Tango Foxtrot! WHAT HELL…WHY?”

 “Wait, slow down kid!” Nick said putting his right paw over his face shaking his head. “You mean to tell me there was supposed to be a car bomb going off right outside the ZPD, is that what you’re telling us?”

 Cornelius felt the guilt he had been carrying for the past few weeks finally overflowed out of him, his thoughts going back to all the innocent lives that would have been lost because of him. He knew he had to tell them everything.

 “Look I’m sorry ok, I knew about this whole thing but they threatened to kill me if I spoke a word to anybody!” He shouted with his paws shaking.

 “A diversion? For what?” Nick asked with his pen ready to take note.

“An assassination.” Cornelius replied.

 Nick and Judy looked at each other shocked. They’d never once heard of something like this happening in Zootopia. They now knew this was something way bigger than an attempted killing spree.

“Who were they trying to kill and for what reason?” Judy asked taking notes

 “The Mayor” He stated.

 Nick and Judy looked perplexed at this answer. Why the mayor of Zootopia?

 “Ok, the mayor, but why all of this…the shooting, car bombs...I mean, is it really all that necessary?” Judy stated, still not understanding the Torino way of doing things.

Nick looked at his wife irritated that she hadn’t gotten the idea of how the family of badgers’ commit their misdeeds.

“Judy, for the Torino family, yeah it is. They don’t want anything pinning them directly to any crime whatsoever. They have pulled off some of the most complex crimes ever seen in Zootopia. You name it, bank heists, murder and the occasional cargo theft. I’ve never ever seen any of the Torino family get caught directly.” Nick explained going back over his memories of when he was growing up.

 “These guys must be good.” Judy said shocked that they didn’t even register on her database on her carrot pad.

 “They were but lately ever since Rocky Sr. died their kids have been slacking”. Cornelius added

 “So, we know who planned this and technically speaking we can get a warrant for their arrest for conspiracy to commit mass murder and assassination of a political figure.” Judy said proudly ready to get a warrant for another arrest.

 “Well yes but,…” Cornelius interjected.

 “But what?” Judy responded with a concerned expression

 “That’s not the main reason I turned myself in, it’s something bigger.” Cornelius said seriously

 “What Cornelius? What are they planning?” Nick asked cocking his brow.

 “An assassination of the Prime Minister of Europa” He said with a cold stammer

 “Prime Minister Sterrion…...the reindeer?” Judy questioned, note quite believing it.

 “Yes.” Cornelius affirmed

 Judy thought the name of the foreign leader sounded familiar and then she remembered that Chief Bogo a few weeks back was asking for volunteers to work off duty as security for a championship football match that would be played at the Palms Arena in a few weeks.

 “He’s coming for a visit in two weeks. For the MIFA world cup. His country Europa is going up against Spain.” She Said knowledgably as an avid fan of soccer, Judy knew of the world cups first ever visit to Zootopia, as well as a thousand other bits of soccer trivia.

 “Ok how and Why?” Nick quickly jumped in, wanting to divert Judy from a soccer splurge of facts and stats.

 “What do you mean?” asked Cornelius.  

 “How are they planning to do it because I think you know.” Nick stated.

 “And why are they doing it?” asked Judy her carrot pen at the ready to jot down more information

 Cornelius tried to remember every detail he could, knowing that he could find redemption in his heart and his mind.

 “The same reason they wanted to kill the Mayor…. drugs and money.” He admitted

 “Explain.” Judy simply stated, her pen marking her notepad and the recorder on Nick’s tablet taking in every word spoken.

Cornelius took a deep breath and began.

“Ok, we were supposed to use the bombing and shooting as a diversion to get most of the mayor’s security officers out of the building. Then we would use all the radio interference to scramble any chance for a call for backup at city hall.”

Nick and Judy began furiously taking note of all the details, making sure they didn’t miss anything.

“Then one of the Torino goons was going to go through the front doors and distract the remaining officers, whilst one of Rocky Torino’s hit men went up to the mayor’s office and to make sure the mayor would be ‘sleeping with the fishes’ then they would use the temporary mayor that they had already paid off, who would have been put in charge to remove some of the chief of polices power to execute searches and make it harder to get a warrant for any sort of investigations. Then he would have slashed the budget and forced cutbacks on the police force. The idea they had was with less heat they could get away with more.” He explained, information flowing from him like a raging torrent.

Nick and Judy were stunned at the plan, but had one remaining question that just didn’t make sense to either of them.

“So, what does this have to do the Prime Minister of Europa?” Nick and Judy asked simultaneously

“Let me finish” Cornelius said, annoyed at being interrupted.

 “You see, it wasn’t long after Mayor Lionheart was sentenced to a year in jail and was forbidden to run for public office ever again. Once the then in-term mayor who was later officially elected mayor began to try new ways to prevent something like the Night Howler attacks from happening again. From then on, the Torino family began to suffer losses in income from drugs and other means.

The whole Night Howler thing was a proposition by that Sheep. She was going to lessen Chiefs power to combat the epidemic of crime in the city and use that to get more predators arrested and off the streets on trumped up charges.”

“The Night Howlers were going to be knocked down to a hallucinogenic street drug, rather than a full-fledged rage inducer of a powder or liquid. It was going to be more powerful than cocaine and that would hurt other businesses in competition with the Torino’s. However, the new mayor couldn’t be bought much like former Mayor Lionheart.”

“Ok slow down kid” Judy interrupted, flicking back to the beginning of her notes.

“So, let me see if I’m on par with what you are explaining to us. The drugs trade had gotten extremely competitive and this new mayor wasn’t playing their way. By giving Chief Bogo more power to go further in the crime reduction efforts; they wanted to send a message to the politicians of the city while at the same time getting rid of those who stood in their way and henceforth limiting the power of surrounding and local law enforcement. Am I on the right track.”

 Nick wasn’t surprised, he couldn’t help but give a smug smirk to the meerkat hearing what his love had just read back to him.

 “Yes, officers but may I continue?” Cornelius asked with a now serious look on his face.

 Judy motioned with her pen for him to carry on.

 “Ok, now here’s where the Prime Minister comes into play. See he was the one the new mayor first met with a couple years ago on a visit. Prime Minister Starrion showed our very own Mayor Timbers all the new methods he was implementing across Europa to combat crime.”

 He continued to explain all the methods that Mayor Timbers had enacted after learning what worked so well for their neighbors to the east. Cornelius began explaining how the Mayor Timbers implemented them in Zootopia and explained that it was so effective that most of the organized crime had almost ceased to exist. Apart from Mr. Big who was smart enough to diversify his business into other means of keeping his people working, the Torino Family and a couple others were barely hanging on to what little business they had left.

 “So, when Rocky Sr. was on his death bed he told his son that he wished he would have done more for them in the way of getting rid of their problems in the government, He told Rocky Jr. that he should deal with the problems.” He continued.

 “True to Torino Family ways they came up with the plan to kill Mayor Timbers and the Prime-Minister to fix the game in their favor. Thanks to me screwing up and the bomb not detonating, they had to put the assassination on hold. Instead their going to kill them both at the cup finals during the game to make it look like a terrorist attack. rather than a political assassination”.

 Taking in all this information, Judy had enough.

 “Ok, I’m making sure this doesn’t happen; I’m getting a warrant immediately” She stated angrily.

 Nick looked at her with a look of are you kidding me?

“Judy did you not get any of this? Even if you get a warrant you won’t find anything not on these goons. We just can’t barge in on this case, we have to take this one step at a time ok.” Nick said, trying to placate his partner.

 Judy scoffed at Nicks response

 “What are you talking about Nick? This is all we need to stop all of this!” She argued

 “No, it isn’t Judy and let me tell you why.” Jumping out of his chair

  Nick paused the conversation to gather his thoughts.

 “Well go on Sherlock I’m waiting” Judy said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms on her chest.

 “We have to keep this under wraps ok. If we go after them now they will get desperate. They will know that we know and not only that with Rocky Sr. out of the picture, that means Rocky Jr. is going to do something even more drastic, something we won’t be able to respond to fast enough. The best thing we can do is let this play out. Maybe just observe and watch the plan unfold and right before it is put into action we stop the operation catching them off guard.”

 “Won’t they be expecting that.” Judy admitted, impressed with her partner’s reasoning.

 Cornelius interrupted

 “No, they won’t be but here’s something you guys should consider. Sure if all goes well you catch them in the act and they end up here and everyone goes home safe. The other possibility is that they discover that they are being watched and they come up with a new plan something a lot less explosive so to speak.”

 “Well then we better make sure that we cover all angles.” Judy said going through scenarios in her head and taking notes of possible outcomes. “Look Nick it’s time we go and speak with Chief about this.”

 Nick checked his watch to find it had been 3 hours since they started interrogating this kid and it was time for him to head to his cell.  

 “Yeah, I guess…Well Cornelius you’ve endured our insanity and played our game for the past few hours, thank you for all of this information and we will be checking in on you from time to time ok.” Nick said with a smile, sensing that, despite what this kid had done, he still had a kernel of goodness within him.

“Ok” Cornelius said with a glimmer in his eyes and a slight grin on his muzzle

Judy knocked on the door signaling for Hogan to let them out. Grabbing the remaining files, Nick followed Judy out into the hallway as Hogan Closed the door on their juvenile shooter.

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY, THE CEMENT WORKER

S2;E10 ~ November 24, 1969

Directed by George Marshall ~ Written by George Balzin and Sam Perrin

Synopsis

While trying to earn some extra money, Lucy is asked by Harry to have a valuable ring engraved.  When Lucy trips into a troth of cement she realizes the ring is missing!  

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter), Desi Arnaz Jr. (Craig Carter)

Guest Cast

Mary Jane Croft (Mary Jane) makes her second series appearance as Mary Jane. Croft played Betty Ramsey during season six of “I Love Lucy. ” She also played Cynthia Harcourt in “Lucy is Envious” (ILL S3;E23) and Evelyn Bigsby in “Return Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26). She played Audrey Simmons on “The Lucy Show” but when Lucy Carmichael moved to California, she played Mary Jane Lewis, the actor’s married name and the same one she uses on all 31 of her episodes of “Here’s Lucy. Her final acting credit was playing Midge Bowser on “Lucy Calls the President” (1977). She died in 1999 at the age of 83.

Paul Winchell (Little Old Jeweler / The Great Pierre Barmarche) previously played himself in “Lucy and Paul Winchell” (TLS S5;E4). He was born Paul Wilchinsky in 1922. Coming into the public eye in 1948, he became one of the most famous ventriloquists since Edgar Bergen. He hosted the enormously popular children’s television show “Winchell-Mahoney Time” (1964-68) in which he shared the spotlight with Jerry Mahoney, one of his most popular characters. Winchell is fondly remembered as the voice of Winnie the Pooh’s pal Tigger and (later) Papa Smurf. He played Doc Putnam in “Main Street U.S.A.” (TLS S5;17) and “Lucy Puts Main Street on the Map” (TLS S5;E18). This is the first of his two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Surprisingly, Winchell was also an inventor who is credited with the artificial heart, among other innovations. He died in 2005.

This is the first time an actor has played two distinct characters that weren't twins or doppelgangers in one “Lucy” episode.  Winchell innovated an animation process called Aprilmation (named after his daughter) which Lucille Ball financed.

Harry Hickox (Police Officer) was best known for playing anvil salesman Charlie Cowell in the 1962 film The Music Man. He played a drill sergeant in “Lucy Gets Caught Up in the Draft” (TLS S5;E9).  This is the first of his three episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Sid Gould (First Workman, right) made more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” all as background characters. This is one of his 40 episodes of “Here’s Lucy,” his first in season two. Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton.

William Tannen (Second Workman, left) appeared in four films with Lucille Ball between 1943 and 1946.  This is his only series appearance.  He was born in New York in 1911, just like Lucille Ball.  

This is the first episode written by Sam Perrin, winner of two Emmy Awards for writing for Jack Benny.  This is his first of five “Here's Lucy” scripts, three of which were written with Ralph Goodman.  

The final draft of the script was submitted June 25, 1969.  

The date this episode first aired (November 24, 1969) Lucille Ball made her third appearance on “The Carol Burnett Show” on CBS at 10pm. In return, Burnett will guest star on the final episode of season two of “Here's Lucy.”  

Kim says she was born in the kitchen. They joke that the refrigerator is her godmother!  In real life, Lucie Arnaz was born in a hospital as Lucille Ball delivered her by Cesarean.  

In the office Lucy and Harry are looking for the Morton contract. Morton is Lucy's married name, having wed comedian Gary Morton in 1961. Harry has stapled the contract to his necktie!  With a snip of her scissors, Lucy handily converts the necktie to a bow tie.

Harry says that as a young man he was often mistaken for one of the Barrymores. Lucy reminds him that one of them was Ethel!  The Barrymore acting family began with the marriage of Maurice Barrymore (1849–1905) to Georgiana Drew (1856-1893). They had three children: Lionel, Ethel, and John – all of whom also were actors. Harry is probably referring to John Barrymore (1882-1942, inset photo) who was known for his classic profile.  The dynasty is today represented by Drew Barrymore (born 1975) who carries on both family names.

Easter Egg:  In Pierre's studio, there is a handbill on the bulletin board for Cherokee Jim's Rodeo and Wild West Show, which is a direct reference from the 1945 film Incendiary Blonde starring Betty Hutton as Texas Guinan. The film was directed by George Marshall for Paramount, the same director and studio producing this episode of “Here's Lucy” 25 years later!  

When Lucy knocks over a vase on Harry's desk, he gets wet, of course, one of the running gags on “Here's Lucy.”  Harry once again calls her 'Calamity Jane', something he previously did in “The Great Airport Chase” (S1;E18). Martha Jane Canary (1852-1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman and professional scout known for her claims of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok and fighting against Indians. What's more, according to “Lucy and Harry's Tonsils” (S2;E5), Harry is allergic to roses!  

When Harry is frustrated by Lucy he says “I wonder if I could send her to the moon?”  Just prior to this episode being shot, the US landed Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong on the moon, the culmination of many years of work by NASA. The line also is reminiscent of Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) threatening his wife Alice: “Bang! Zoom!  Straight to the moon, Alice!” on TV's “The Honeymooners.”  Lucille Ball (as Mame Dennis) played the Lady in the Moon in Mame (1974).    

Role reversal! When the kids are asking Lucy for some extra money, the dialogue is very similar to when Lucy Ricardo used to ask Ricky for money – and his inevitable answer would be “no”!  Later on, the roles are reversed again when Lucy asks Harry for a raise – and his inevitable answer is also “no”!

The second act of the episode is similar to "Building a Bar-B-Q" (ILL S6;E24) where Lucy Ricardo thinks she has lost her wedding ring in the wet cement used to build the backyard barbecue grill.

The knife throwing routine is borrowed directly from “Lucy Tells the Truth” (ILL S3;E6).  In that episode the knife thrower was an Italian named Professor Falconi (Mario Siletti) instead of a Frenchman named the Great Pierre.  

Lucy disguises herself as a male construction worker to escape the eye of the cop on the beat.  Lucille Ball went in male drag in “Ricky Has Labor Pains” (ILL S2;E14), “Lucy and the Little League” (TLS S1;E28), and “Lucy the Coin Collector” (TLS S3;E13).

The episode revolves around a slap of cement just like “Lucy Visits Grauman's” (ILL S5;E1).  In that episode, Lucy Ricardo was also eyeballed by a policemen on the beat and threatened with a fine for her vandalism.  

In “Lucy and John Wayne” (ILL S5;E2) Little Ricky got his hands in wet cement just like Lucy Carter does here.  The same thing happened to Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) in “Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere” (TLS S4;E20).  

Mary Jane wears the exact same dress she wore on her first appearance on the series in “A Date for Lucy” (S1;E19).  

Family Faux Pas! Harry has a female cousin in New York getting married. Harry wants a family ring engraved with 'WAML from UH' ('With all my love from Uncle Harry').  Why would a cousin call him Uncle?  

Overheard?  Lucy tells the Jeweler that if she doesn't find the ring she'll be taking a “one-way trip to the moon” quoting Harry's threat at the end of the previous scene.  This despite the fact that Lucy was not in the room when he said it.  She had gone off to wash her hands (an integral plot point for the outcome of the episode)!  

Butter Fingers! When applying the grease mustache Lucille Ball tries to pocket her compact mirror but it slips to the ground.  The hose to the jack hammer then gets momentarily snagged on the yellow 'caution' saw horses.

“Lucy, the Cement Worker” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5

Although there is a lot going on in this episode, all the callbacks make it a must for Lucy lovers!  

[hungry-hobbits]

so I finally made pretty set designs for my human Necro Sylus’s family along with background

I’ll put it under a readmore since it’s getting long XD

top row Richard Benford - Sylus’s father. Nobleman, White Mantle cultist, a powerful mesmer, and a devoted follower of and friend to Lord Caudecus Beetlestone. Location unknown as of current events but is otherwise alive. Delilah Benford - Sylus’s mother. A loyal subject of Queen Jennah, involved in politics, bold and kind, not afraid to speak out about injustices in the court and the city (still working on some of her background). Deceased; died when Sylus was young and under mysterious circumstances.

second row Deborah Benford - Sylus’s older sister. Warrior. Member of the Seraph, currently fighting White Mantle forces in Lake Doric. Left home and joined the military a few years after the “mysterious” death of their mother to avoid their father’s attempts at marrying her off into a rich family for monetary and political gains. Can come off as cold, especially to Sylus, but cares about him as his only other living family. Bigsby Benford - Sylus’s husband. Warrior. Seraph Sergeant with the Falcon Company. Hard headed and prone to injury. Adoring husband who puts up with Sylus’s brooding and dark moods. Just wants Sylus to come home alive from his adventures.

The “mysterious circumstances” that Delilah died from were actually a direct result of Richard murdering her. Delilah found out about Richard’s deep ties to the White Mantle and threatened to go to the Queen with it, thus outing Caudecus’s vile intentions much sooner. Of course Richard didn’t want this happening and put an end to her. Sylus was too young at the time to understand but Deborah was smart enough to know that their perfectly healthy mother didn’t just suddenly fall quickly and fatally ill out of no where.

Richard is actually a driving force behind Sylus becoming a necromancer. Richard being a powerful mesmer, felt that having a non magic using mother would hinder Sylus’s ability to perform magic and refused to teach him. Sylus, being a bored and lonely teenager full of angst and parental spite, decided to say fuck that and took up necromancy as a hobby in the basement of their home. He discovered that he had a particular knack for it and furthered his studies to become more adept. He treats his minions like pets to the point of buying them collars and having beds for them.

Sylus’s magic use is an arguing point between himself and his sister because she fears he’ll turn into their father if he becomes too powerful.

Richard hates Bigsby because he wanted Sylus to marry a noblewoman (similar to what he had planned for Deborah). Richard continued to try and push Sylus to marry richly, rather than a commoner and a solider, but of course Sylus refused. Sylus marrying Bigsby was not an act of spite, but of love. He didn’t want a marriage like his parents had, who married because of societal expectations. Sylus’s bisexuality is also a heated topic between himself and his father, but Sylus has never done anything to appease his father anyway.

Sylus is a devoted follower of Grenth. Before turning to the White Mantle, Richard was a devotee of Lyssa. Delilah was a devotee of Melandru. Deborah is a former Balthazar devotee (from her teenage years full of angst) but is currently not devoted to any of the Six.

Sylus used to wear his hair fairly long. After certain events in his life and the betrayal of his father, he cut his hair shorter to signify personal growth and a removal of himself from Richard’s image.