On Thin Ice

The roar of the crowd filled the arena as the teams took to the ice. Amber adjusted her press badge and settled into her seat high up in the stands. The meerkat wasn't there to enjoy the game: Amber had never been one for sports, especially hockey. No, she had a job to do.

The tip had come in anonymously: a cryptic message hinting at a major scandal that was set to unfold during the championship match. Amber scanned the crowd, her keen eyes taking in every detail, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"Keep your eyes open, Amber," she muttered to herself, jotting down notes in her small, worn notebook. The young meerkat reporter couldn’t help wondering if the anonymous tip was little more than a prank, but something in her gut told her it wasn’t. She had enough faith in her gut to go to the game, and apparently her publisher trusted her gut enough, too.The thought made Amber a bit giddy: her reputation was growing.

As the puck dropped and the game began, Amber's attention was divided between the action on the ice and the movements in the stands. She noticed a group of beasts nearby that seemed to stand out from the crowd. the apparel they wore looked as if it had just been purchased, indeed a ballcap on a civet still had a pricetag dangling from it. Amber made a mental note to keep an eye on them. The way they clustered together and always leaned close to speak made Amber all the more suspicious. There were subtle things she picked up on too, like the constant nervous glances she caught through her camera lens.

During the intermission, Amber decided to move closer to the suspicious group. She navigated through the bustling crowds, her small stature allowing her to slip through unnoticed. As she approached, she overheard snippets of their conversation.

"...make the deal..."

"...ensure the evidence is destroyed..."

Amber's ears perked up. Her mind raced as she pieced together the puzzle. It sounded like they were planning something big. One in the group - a large wolverine with a scarred muzzle - knocked a cup of beer out of the hands of one of the fellow ‘fans’, a male skunk. 

“What?” The skunk protested. “Can’t I enjoy the concessions at least?”

“Get moving.” the wolverine growled. 

“Alright, alright, I’m going,” the skunk grunted as he stood up. As he did so, he took something from one of the other fans that he slipped into his jacket pocket. Amber flattened her ears and hung her camera around her neck and began to follow. She had tailed people enough to know how to look inconspicuous while doing so.

The game was still ongoing as a grizzly bear slammed a puma into the side of the wall. The red flag was dropped and the bear was sent to the penalty box by the bespeckled fox. 

“Some beasts actually find this entertaining?” Amber grunted as she kept an eye on the skunk. 

The skunk moved with purpose, weaving through the crowd with practiced ease. Amber kept a safe distance, making sure not to lose sight of him but also not to draw attention to herself. Her heart pounded in her chest, a mixture of excitement and anxiety.

The skunk led her down a set of stairs to the lower levels of the arena, away from the main concourse. Amber hesitated for a moment at the top of the stairs, glancing back at the bustling crowd above. She took a deep breath and descended, her footsteps echoing softly in the dimly lit corridor.

Shouldn’t there be a security guard or something preventing entry, Amber wondered. Perhaps they had been paid off or something? 

Amber saw the skunk’s tail as he slipped past a door. Amber took a breath - she was in too deep now. Taking a breath Amber darted after the skunk and opened the door, wincing as it creaked on the hinges. 

Amber knew she shouldn’t be down there - for multiple reasons - but it was where her investigation was leading her. She heard voices ahead, one of which was the skunk’s. Amber threw herself against the row of lockers as she kept eavesdropping.

“Just slip that in. They’ll never notice till it’s too late, capiche?” 

“I don’t know,” another, higher voice replied. “It just seems—”

“Do you want to live happily or not? Just do it.”    

A pause, followed by a long drawn out sigh. “Alright.”

“Good,” the skunk replied. “Now then, I’ll be seeing you. Count on that, Georgie boy.” 

Georgie? Amber loved it when names slipped. Her elation soon turned to alarm as she realized the skunk was heading right back towards her. She looked around but could find nowhere to hide, if she sprinted for the doors she’d be seen by the skunk. 

Acting quickly, and in desperation Amber opened one of the large wall lockers and stepped inside, shutting the door softly. She watched with breath held as the skunk strode right past her, none the wiser. 

Amber waited till she heard the door to the locker room open and then shut, then she counted down ten seconds. It was time to move. Amber pushed against the locker door but - to her horror, it didn’t budge. 

“Oh, come on!” Amber growled.

She shoved against the door, jiggled the latch. Everything she could think of - all except call out. This was so embarrassing. What would she even say when someone found her? Her reputation would go up in an inferno. 

As Amber fumed she slowly noticed the light streaming in through the locker slots dimming. 

No. Amber swallowed. 

Please no. 

Why was this happening to her right when she was on the heels of some sports scandal? Suddenly, heavy footsteps and annoyed grunting as something clattered against the far wall. Amber braced as the locker jiggled.

“Dammit!” A new, rough voice exclaimed. “First the game and now this? What is Georgie even doing between games?”

Amber braced against the locker trying to keep it from opening as the hockey player cursed and then to her horror the door flew open and she fell out, and onto a shirtless lion. 

“What in the—?!” But it was already too late. Amber scratched up the lion’s chest, around his mane. She snaked between the other players’ huge legs and drooping tails as they entered and out into the stands before anyone knew what was going on.

Amber had a big lead: ‘Georgie,’ the maintenance worker, had been paid to do something to the team. But what?

“There she is!” Someone behind her shouted. “Who are you?!”

Amber didn’t even bother to look as she catapulted over the railings. At least the players were still in skates, she thought. She had to find this ‘Georgie’ - and fast. She ran out the front of the stadium along with some straggling fans and into the busy parking lot.

She peeked between the fans - a lot of larger mammals - looking for black and white stripes on a bushy tail. She thought for a moment and headed toward the less populated section of the parking lot where the sun had been beating down on the treeless lots where the latecomers were forced to park. Around the back, however, was the parking lot for staff.

She crossed her furry fingers and hoped that the security there had been dismissed as well.

“Yes!” She hissed, seeing that the gated entryway to the staff parking was uninhabited. “You’re mine, skunk.”

Amber wound around the rows of cars in the asphalt desert, the skunk was probably long gone. At least she still had a lead with Georgie and whatever it was he did with the team. 

As she peered over the hoods of the various vehicles, Amber’s ears twitched as a car door opened right next to her. Amber swiveled as the skunk she had been looking for stepped out of the car. 

“Knew I wasn’t imagining it!” the skunk growled as he grabbed Amber’s wrist. 

Instinctively Amber snatched her pink pepper spray canister from its hiding spot and pressed the button sending a spicy stream into the skunk's nostrils and eyes.

“Gah! Geeze, gah!” the skunk shouted as he clawed at his face. Amber wasn’t through with him yet though.

“I prefer theater to sports, want to know my favorite ballet?” 

She kicked him full force downstairs.

“The nutcracker!” 

The skunk fell over onto the pavement, a ball of misery. 

“Think I overdid it.” Amber winced. “Alright mister, spill it. What did you have Georgie do to the team?” 

The skunk moaned, his voice several decibels higher, bent into a fetal position.  

“Let’s just say we like to hedge our bets.”

“Yeah you're real mysterious, bud,” Amber said as she took out her camera.

“Smile for me, champ.” 

“You lousy…” the skunk grumbled as Amber photographed his bad-bad side.