Dumb Fox

Chapter 6: Fouse M. D.

It was around 2:30 pm at Tundra Town, the place was terribly cold, as expected for a habitat designed for such climate, fortunately, everything was a bit warmer inside the General Hospital No. 6, a huge medical building of about 37 stories specialized in animals with mental illness, although it also offered emergency attention and general purposes. However, the facilities were designed especially to endure the most violent and strongest attacks of the biggest mammals, making this the best place to deal with mammals diagnosed as 'savage' (legally but in secret in order to prevent panic). In that place were hospitalized the original 14 missing mammals and 11 new cases diagnosed with the same disease.

   Meanwhile, on the ground floor near the admission area, there were many patients and their respective relatives or friends waiting for their turns, doctors, and hospital staff members and a young and nonchalant she-skunk nurse who was more interested in checking her cell phone than to attend people at the information booth.

   "Miss." a caribou said "When are you gonna attend us? I have been waiting my turn for more than 45 minutes, not even the sloths are that slow."

   "My break haven't finished yet, please be patient, sir." the nurse answered him arrogantly while she was checking her phone notifications.

   "This is outrageous!" The mammal complained.

   Some minutes later, an old fox got close slowly to the same info booth, he was wearing a white lab coat for doctors, a pair of glasses, a patch of gray fur like a beard just below his chin and a fancy brown cane which he used as support because he limped on his right leg.

   "Good afternoon nurse." the old doctor said with a dry voice as the elder he was "I am Dr. Gregory Fouse from the Department of Diagnostic Medicine, I was just transferred to this hospital in order to..."

   "A fox doctor?" she cut him off "Now I've seen everything!" she said mockingly.

   "I'd be more impressed to meet a skunk who doesn't stink, but it'd be a rude thing to said, nurse." the doctor said sarcastically, then he sniffed her "Is that Musk #5? What a sophisticated perfume!"

   "Feh." she growled clearly offended "I have never heard about a fox doctor. Could you show me your id or I have to call the police already?"

   "Beside a nurse, you're also a detective? Oh, what a girl! Oh, damn, I left my briefcase in my other pants, but hey, I can demonstrate easily I'm the doctor for a very particular patient here."

   "How do you intend to do it, smartypants?"

   "I dunno, if I wasn't a doctor. How would I know we have...? 25 savage and dangerous animals at this hospital!" the doctor yelled scaring the nurse and the patients around "But it's a secret! Please don't tell anyone." he said in a calmer and cynical tone.

   "Be quiet or you gonna frighten everybody! This doesn't prove anything..."

   "Look, detective, me knowing this only means 4 possible things:" he showed the four fingers of his left paw, the one that doesn't held the cane "One. I'm a police officer. Two. I'm a relative of the animal in question. Three. I'm a hospital employee as a, I dunno, a boring and prepotent nurse..."

   "Sonova..!" the nurse cut him off angrily.

   "And Four. An old, handicapped but very clever doctor with bad luck who forgot his id at his home. And very good looking for his age! Now, what do you think? So will it be Option number one, option number two, option number three or...?" he kept teasing the bicolor mammal.

   "I like this guy." a male pig said while he's waiting his turn "He put the nurse in her place in less than a minute, I hope she'll attend us soon."