Falun nodded his agreement with the plan. "Righ'. Th' weasel I was collectin' from was a bloke named Henry - Bucktooth Hank 'ey called 'im. Heh, guess 'ey'll be calling 'im No-Tooth Hank from now on." He chuckled at his own joke. "He runs a jewelry place down on Market - mostly pieces I figured he wouldn' want th' Fogeys lookin' too closely at. Turns out he didn't, which was why 'e turned to payin' 'em off instead."
 
Nodding away, Lorcan remained silent for some time as he mentally logged as much of the information as he could. Part of him hoped that the relaxed nature of work, as he had witnessed on the docks in his youth, would make the process much simpler than they were concerned but it never hurt to have some information to throw in off-paw to keep beasts off the scent. By all apparent reason this should be straightforward: between the three of them getting out should be no problem.

But what after? they'd have to lay low for some time. He began to rack his brains for what should come next, though for now resigned himself to worrying about it later. After all, there was only going to be a need to keep to themselves once they were out.

His dark eyes drifted between Alwyn and Falun. It was evident that they were from extremely different backgrounds going by the information they split, and yet they were comfortable enough in working together that it seemed to hardly prove an issue. This, too, he noted for later. Once there was more time to be relaxed, perhaps he'd see a little more about what the both of them were doing in the city - it could never hurt to have friends in higher places when so fresh to the city.

"Sounds good," Lorcan affirmed, rolling his broad shoulders. "Looks like all we need is some patience and the guard to come in, then, eh?" His nose wrinkled in amusement. "Just don't go snatchin' anyone too short, now."
 
Clasping his paws together, Alwyn looked towards his two partners in crime and completed the final nod between the three, signifying his agreement with the general plan. All they had to do was wait until the shift change began in a few hours, unlock their cell but not open it until the patrolling Fogey was almost right in front of them, then ambush them. They just had to hope it was a larger beast to accommodate Lorcan’s size. “I will take point on taking down whatever officer comes in and then keeping watch, Lorcan, you focus on changing into the clothes, my golden-furred friend, you drag him into the cell and cover him with straw. With luck, we will be gone by the time the next patrol comes around, but if not, he will see it is not empty at least, which may buy us a little bit more time.”

***********************************************************************************

Constable Berrynose, a medium-sized ferret with a red nose, strode down the lockup hallways, carefully peering in to check on both the prisoners and the doors to make sure they were secure. As he approached the cell door where the three foxes were, he noticed a fire-red fox with both paws on the door. Sighing, he drew his baton, and then approached, voice firm.

“Listen, you, back away from the door if you know what’s good for you. I need to check it and if you make it hard for me…” He started.

“Please, Constable, I have a right to an advocate to help me get out of here, this was all a misunderstanding-”

Berrynose sighed. He did not know who had been spreading that ridiculous rumor around. They had no right to see any advocate here, and, if they wanted to hire one, which only a few beasts could, that would happen before the judge, possibly weeks or even months from now, given how backed up the cases were.

“Paws off the cell doors!” He barked, moving forward and aiming his baton towards the fox’s paw. It clanged against the iron bars as the todd quickly removed his paws. Berrynose smiled. They always backed down, if they knew what was good for them, and if they did not, he and the boys got to have some fun. “Now-”

The cell door, to Berrynose’s surprise, was flung open in a moment as the fox who had backed away leapt forward and used both paws to shove it all the way to the right. His training, drilled into his instincts, tried to compensate quickly for this scenario despite his surprise, but the fox moved like lightning, pushing aside the one arm with the baton and getting inside his defenses as he grabbed him firmly in the center throat with his right paw and shoved him back against another cell, moving his left paw around to the back of the his neck once the baton had been fallen to the floor. The todd then continued to apply pressure as he lifted him into the air, just enough that the front of his boots still barely touched the ground.

Alwyn's normally cheerful, warm green eyes were as cold as ice as was his voice as he spoke, switching into the same mindset as he did when on serious Guard missions.

“Know what this is, Constable? It is an Army chokehold. They teach it in basic training. A little bit of pressure, and I bust your windpipe. You try to say one word, shout, I break it. Blink if you understand.”

Berrynose blinked.

“Good.” Alwyn smiled cooly, then jerked his head towards Lorcan.

“Lor, get over here and undress him while I hold him, would you?”

It would be a very tight and uncomfortable, fit for the other todd, given the size discrepancy, but they had to work with what they had.
 
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Falun, for his part, surged forward and, as soon as the constable was restrained up against the bars, slammed his fist directly into the beast's gut. The surge of air out of the beast sounded like a bagpipe being rapidly deflated. "He won' be talkin' none for a while," Falun declared, grabbing the beast's uniform and rapidly beginning to undo the buttons on his coat. "Oi, Lor," he added to their co-conspirator, "strip anythin' bulky off ya, Al an' I can wear it outta 'ere 'top our own clothes. Can' have ya lookin' like ya don' fit yer britches." He punctuated this by stripping the britches off the constable and tossing them toward the new Fogey in the precinct.
 
Having come from a family well-reputed for skirting the boundaries of morality Lorcan only allowed himself a moment's sympathy for the unfortunate guard before he started shedding his own gear. Much as he'd have liked to see such violence enacted on those who had dragged him in this was going to have to do. Still, he couldn't help but perk his ears at one particular comment in the exchange. Army chokehold. So this Alwyn was well-trained indeed. Probably best to keep both of them sweet for now but that wouldn't be difficult. After all, without them he'd still be sitting waiting for some miracle: at least here and now they were doing something about it.

Catching the clothing in question Lorcan snorted as he held the garment against himself. Tight fit indeed. "Think that's going to be a given," he sighed. "Long's we're quick, though." With only a few muted sounds of discomfort he quickly squeezed himself into the breeches, tugging a few times at the thighs and crotch as though it would make any difference to the tightness. It wasn't particularly comfortable, but it would do to get shot of this place. "Ugh. 'Least they aren't so short."

Reaching out for the coat next, he used a footpaw to drag the baton closer in the same movement with ears attuned for any disturbance outside. It seemed like they'd gotten away with it so far. "You both take good care of my stuff, y'hear? I don't have the money for more right now."
 
Alwyn winced internally as the other todd slammed the Fogey in the gut-he had intended to simply knock out the beast in a less painful and potentially damaging manner, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Perfect is the enemy of good, as his mother often liked to opine, which Alwyn had very mixed feelings about considering his mother’s parenting “skills”, but that was something to think about another time. After Berrynose was stripped down to his britches, Alwyn dragged the wheezing and pained mustelid over to the pile of straw and carefully struck him in the back of the head to knock him out before laying him down and covering him up somewhat with the straw. It was, in many ways, a mercy, since at least when he was unconscious, he would not feel the agonizing pain in his gut. Turning around to look at how well the clothes fit Lorcan, he froze for a moment.

Oh dear Kitsune…

Lorcan looked like one of those vastly overweight noblefemmes trying to squeeze into the latest dresses designed to be a tight fit for beasts far, far slimmer. The clothes looked one false step away from tearing and the buttons looked about to fly off at any second. They had to be supremely uncomfortable for the other todd, and he was glad he was not the one chosen for that particular duty. Still, on the likely very loose inspection that the tired, end-of-shift evidence room officer was likely to give him, provided he gave the correct information earlier, it should still work. He hoped.

Returning to the other two, he nodded, then just double-checked that their “Fogey” had all the corrrect information.

Okay, Lorcan, do you remember what I told you? The name of the Precinct where you were from, the Sector Commander, and the Squad Captain? Who our friend here had a...payment disagreement...with? That should be enough for the evidence officer. Any other beast we run into...well...just gruffly nod at them and keep moving forward and say you’re doing a transfer under the name of that Sector Commander if they ask. Just stand up, look confident and like you know where you’re going, and we should be fine.”

He glanced over at the golden-furred todd, reaching down and picking up a pair of paw manacles, and then one for himself too.

“Have to put these on, otherwise they’ll get suspicious. We can leave them slightly unlocked, or lock them and have Lorcan have the key. The former lets us have more room to do maneuver if things go wrong, but if they check and find them unlocked, our cover is blown. The latter gives us better cover, but if Lor here can’t sell the act properly, then we’re right screwed.”
 
Falun accepted the manacles and promptly clamped them around his wrists, looking confident. "Ain't nothin' to it," he remarked nonchalantly, holding his wrists in front of him. "Wouldn't be the first time I've knocked someone out while cuffed. My old man taught me how to fight in these years back. If you went down the moment a pair of cuffs went on ya, 'en you weren't a' much use."

He looked to Lorcan, nodding and making a clumsy salute with his manacled paws. "Aye, h'officer," he teased. "Don' worry, ye'll get yer stuff back, soon as we get it all from the locker."
 
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