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.”
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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.