[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Delano could only glare at the hole from where the lion's voice came from. Even still, the lion felt like it was better to talk in riddles rather than to make any sense, and it was starting to make his head hurt. "You're the one who seems to know a lot more about the lion we're after than any one of us here," he finally replied, "so if even you don't know what will happen, how is that supposed to convince to wait here?" Added with the rather disinterested tone that the lion was using now, Delano was really finding it hard to take him seriously, let alone trust his advice.

Knowing that Muroki was also rather impatient with this ordeal, he was getting ready to leave and start making their way over to Hatari's den, dragging Muroki along if he had to. If the lion wanted to talk riddles and guessing games, there would be a later time for that, but now was certainly not one. Either Delano would start getting proper information, or he won't wait around long enough to guess the answers.

[TheWhistlerify]

"Are you..." said Muroki after a short silence, ignoring the unknown lion's almost exhausted-sounding sigh at his brother's impatience. "Are you where I think you are?"

"Yes." said the voice indifferently. "I never liked your little friend but he's got a pretty cool place here." Delano's brother blinked a few times. How this stranger was still able to talk so casually at a time like this was just so weird. "He's keeping it rather neat and tidy, probably for whenever the next time any of you will visit him will be. Can't blame him; it must be lonely."

"Do you ever shut up?" Came another voice, which was clearly Hatari. It was fainter, meaning that the former member of the underworld was somewhere behind this lion and not as close to the hole on the other side of the tiny tunnel in the wall. Hatari sounded rather agitated, and something was telling Muroki that it wasn't because of this lion's tactless remarks.

"Sure." said the stranger. "I gotta sleep at one point or another, don't I?"

[DGFone]

Unlike his brother, Delano hadn't yet figured out that the lion they were talking to was inside Hatari's den. They were just about at the center of the kingdom right now, and the den was on the outside, so he found it hard to believe that a voice can carry so far through rock. However, when he heard Hatari's voice as well, he knew exactly where the other end of their communication hole was at, his eyes narrowing in thought, as well perhaps with some suspicion. Of course Hatari would know exactly why he chose his den, so that he could spy on this place, and perhaps before he switched sides, communicate with Sanders. It would explain so much about why all the various patrols were always so useless, and why just about everyone sent out to spy on them ended up dead...

But that was in the past. Now they had a different problem, and the conversation going on inside Hatari's den wasn't helping. Making up his mind, Delano turned towards his brother. "Muroki, we're going," he muttered, just about shoving the other out of the cave. Even if not too long ago he still would not have lost any sleep over Hatari getting killed, now he felt like he wasn't able to just stay here in the cave, listening to some crazy old buffoon, while knowing that a lion, even Hatari, was in danger. "If we don't go now, it'll be too late. Let's get out of here."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki, still somewhat shocked at what they'd just discovered, took several seconds to realize that he was being pushed out of the cave by his brother. Before he had a chance to say anything in response, he became aware of two guards standing there and blocking their entrance and by the time he regained his bearings he and Delano had already been led back inside by the two, who then took their leave.

"Kato," he said with annoyance, looking at the prince. Maybe he would listen to him. "what's this about? Didn't you hear Delano? We're going."

"Muroki, please, just trust us on this one..." said the younger male, looking somewhat uncomfortable to be in that situation.

"I trust you." he said with a slight frown. "But come on, even your father's Chief of Police has no idea who this lion is!"

"The next part of the plan is actually quite simple." said the voice at the other side of the tunnel, sounding as if he wasn't really caring much about what was going on on their end. "This waterhole being completely out in he open js actually going to be to our benefit. Little Hatari is here is going to go up his silly tree and keep an eye out for our target. The moment he spots him, which will be while the former Chief is too far away to hear anything happening here, he'll alert me and I'll tell you."

"What if he doesn't take his time?" asked Muroki in frustration. "What if he attacks right away?"

"He will."

"You can't know that!"

"It is a certainty. Besides," he paused briefly. "He'll be going for my throat first once he realizes who he's talking to. You see your brother's little threat earlier is as interesting to me as that trespassing hyena that was killed before attacking a group of cubs the other day. The truth is that the lion you're all after is just one of the many few who want to find out my identity and kill me. He's not even the worst."

"Why can't we all hide in the cave there with you, then? And ambush him right away?" asked Muroki after a short hesitation.

"It would be difficult for you to mask your scents given the fact you've been to Hatari's place several times." He chuckled. "But earlier you accused me of having others taking the risks of my plan. That's not the case. While I am certain you'll get here in time, my life is in danger before Hatari's or anyone else's. This is the first time I've ever put my life on the line. In the end my goal is to prevent anyone from dying. If it means having to expose myself this time around, then so be it."

[DGFone]

At first, Delano tried to fight back against being forced back inside the cave, but the two lions were able to very easily herd him and Muroki back inside the cave, much to his annoyance. To his surprise though, even Muroki objected, for Delano thought that if anything, his brother would try to keep him inside as the others wanted rather than rushing over to Hatari's. It seemed like Muroki was also afraid that waiting was a bad idea.

However, it didn't look like his arguments were going to work, so Delano decided that he might try to persuade the others to leave now. Taking in a deep breath, he then spoke, this time calmer than his earlier outburst. "You do know that I won't be able to get there quickly," it was much harder for him to try and remain calm when he was talking to a hole in the wall, but what else can he do? "At best, I will be slowing everyone down on our way there. It will be best if we leave now, and take our time..."

As he spoke, an idea came to him. "We can leave someone here who is fast. That way, we can still be in contact..." If the king wanted someone to remain in the cave, there wasn't much Delano could do about it, but as long as it wasn't him or Muroki, he wouldn't mind too much who it will be.

[TheWhistlerify]

The only reaponse that came at first was the sound of him softly scratching at the wall out of boredom as he thought about what Delano was saying. "You'll be taking the risk of being seen by someone who shouldn't know you're going there." he eventually pointed out. "Besides, with the role of bait now occupied by someone else, there's really no need for you in particular to hurry here like everyone else. You are injured at the end of the day. The king can easily bring as many guards with him as he'll see fit."

[DGFone]

Delano frowned at what the lion told him. He really didn't have anything he could argue against what was being said, but it still didn't mean that he agreed with it. Even i he was still injured, he felt like he was capable enough of providing at least some help should he need to. But more importantly, he didn't feel like he trusted others well enough to rely simply on more of the king's lions. After all, wasn't one of them who was supposed to help them today just found to be a spy?

"I- I am not not going." He finally said, his voice somewhat unsteady, but his tone firm. A part of him was afraid that he would be forced to stay behind, but if that would be the case, he would only allow it if Muroki wouldn't go then either. Deciding that he wasn't going to wait for them to decide that later, he went ahead and said it so that they can all hear. "Either I am going... or Muroki doesn't go either."

Delano could only hope that his brother wouldn't object to this, but he would force his brother to remain here with him if he had to. Apart from Hatari, there wouldn't be anyone else who he would trust enough to watch over Muroki if he went alone, and nor would he be able to forgive himself if Muroki got hurt or killed while he was safe and idle somewhere else.

[TheWhistlerify]

"Well nobody said you can't go." said the voice on the other side simply. "Just that you don't have to worry about slowing the ambush team down."

"Your majesty, would you mind finally telling me just who it is we're talking to?" asked Lin after another silence, feeling as though this was a good a time as any now that all the explaining and bickering was out of the way.

"I'm a detective." replied the other lion quietly, scratching the back of his head as he did.

"I figured as much." said the Chief. "But you're not a part of this police force and from what I've just heard I can easily tell that you are not only very much impressive but that you're kind of a secret. How come I've never so much as heard of you?"

"I work alone for the most part. The king comes to me whenever there's a case the police is unable to tackle themselves. Your two predecessors didn't know much about me either, but I'm sure they've figured out at one point or another that there's someone else sometimes involved. The fact that I'm confirming my existence to you by speaking to you right now means that I trust you more than I did these two. I wouldn't say my hunch was wrong about them... I have to look after my own safety too, after all..."

[DGFone]

Delano didn't say anything after being told that he won't be forced to stay behind. If they did have to rush out, he still didn't feel safe in allowing Muroki to run off with the rest, but that was something he would need to discuss with his brother alone.

As it appeared that the planning for what to do was coming to an end, his mind started to wander elsewhere. Very quickly, Delano remembered about Lina, and how upset she was about this whole ordeal. He felt a pang of guilt when he realized that she probably didn't even know that they would have to leave very soon, or even that it was going to be today, and he even began to wander if it was even going to be a good idea to tell her or not.

If he didn't tell her... he would simply come back with Muroki back to her and Umeme and the cubs, but he also knew that she would not approve of them leaving unannounced. But if he did tell her... it would only cause her to worry even more.

Sitting down next to Muroki, Delano stared at the wall, feeling restless at this entire thing.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki, unlike his brother, was actually rather curious as to who this lion was. However it seemed like, while he definitely was telling Lin about himself, he wasn't really revealing any information of actual value. Perhaps there was a limit to just how much the king and Kato knew about him as well, as weird and unlikely as it seemed. This detective was clearly like some sort of a "trump card", but it struck Muroki as odd for the king to know so very little about someone he put so much trust in. Heck, he was obviously giving the stranger complete freedom in planning this whole thing out.

Noticing Delano was off in his own world, he figured that there really was nothing to learn from the conversation currently going on. Instead, Muroki leant over and whispered to his brother. "What's on your mind?" He knew his sibling well enough to understand that something was bothering him, no doubt something regarding this whole ordeal.