Chapter 01

    In the mid 60's, Walt Disney bought all that swampland on the outskirts of Orlando, Florida.  He then shared on national television his idea of a Vacation Kingdom where that stood, starting with a Super-Sized Disneyland.  Ever since then that city and the surrounding areas became an amusement park magnet.  A new park or attraction of one sort or another pops up every several years or so, and at the year 2019 the region is due for their latest new place to open.
    The existing ones don't want for the new blood to show up, however.  Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World; they're constantly searching for the latest draw, raising the proverbial bar with each and every new attraction, event, recreation, or technological advancement.
    A true example of this is Epcot's Mission Space.  For the price of just that attraction, you could build the rest of Epcot.  They never got any cheaper to build since then.
    Even if you didn't count all the smaller parks and attractions surrounding the Central Florida area, it won't take much to find out that Tourism is the top industry in the entire region.  Especially Orlando.
    Because of this industry, the region has the constant influx of tourists.  At times there will be more tourists than locals in Orlando, and heaven help the smaller cities of Kissimmee and Saint Cloud.  The congestion is as immense as it is understandable.  The streets and highways have to deal with the traffic, hotels and restaurants need to reproduce with rabbit-like fecundity just to keep up.  And local governments and public servants need to contend with the masses on a daily, and in some cases minutely, basis.
    The Orange County Police Department (OCP) is one such organization needing to deal with both locals and tourists.  Keeping law and order to one major and several minor cities aren't formidable enough.  OCP also has to deal with at least five amusement parks.  And that's with bunching all of Disney into one and put Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure together into another.  And some of these parks have their own on-property security group who'd rather not ask help from the outside world. It's not an easy problem to crack.
    Enter OCP's Amusement Park Division.  Created with the cooperation with all of the major parks, this division focuses on the parks using the more amiable police officers.  The goal of OCP-APD is to create a more affable presence which will make their jobs easier in these businesses.
    They want cops that could blend into the parks, and if they could 'Play Castmember' as some call it--sometimes in a despairing tone--even better.  What they'd love to have is their own costume character to walk the beat.
    Unfortunately, McGruff isn't always available to do this.
    Fortunately, they got someone who can.  Someone in an attractive body with brown fur, flowing red hair, a wide brushy tail, and the friendliest demeanor from any cop
    Lieutenant Scarlet Foxfire was perfect for the job.
    Only a handful of people knew of her secret that she's really Jim Goodlow, police academy graduate with an alternative lifestyle, who found out about the furry costume and the lab she came from.  The handful of people who knew omits this part from the public record.
    To the public, Scarlet was a woman who ran afoul with some lab and stuffed her into this fox suit that bonded to her skin.  She joined the police force, and especially the Amusement Park Division, to help get to the bottom of that lab and bring the perverts to justice.  The public needn't know anything else.
    OCP-APD (Orange County Police Department, Amusement Park Division) props Scarlet up as their pretty face, their mascot so to speak.  However, Scarlet proved to be as hard working a law enforcement officer as everyone else in the force.  She's as apt to make busts herself as she is visiting schools and doing charity work.  It wasn't too difficult when she blends in well with the other costumed characters in her beats.
    Scarlet's image is best known not only with her own plush line sold all over the region–including the parks–but also in the driving safety billboards planted along I-4, with a big image of her in her police car: "Statistically speaking," as the saying goes, "you are experiencing the most dangerous part of your day here.  So do me a favor will ya?  Drive safe and stop looking at me.  I know I'm cute."
    Her police car doesn't help matters if she wants people to keep their eyes on the road: It is a Volvo C70 convertible with the top down and a candy apple red paint job.  Instead of visible flashing lights mounted like a normal cop car, there was a series of high-powered LED lights mounted in chrome strips and hidden inside the grill.  Most people won't notice them until the switch is flipped, then it pops like a parade float.
    In fact, with her hair tied back blowing in the wind and her sunshades on, Scarlet Foxfire would look more like a tourist herself.  If she didn't look like a costumed character driving from her home to the park she works in that is.
    Scarlet looked at her clock over at the computer screen by her driver's seat: 9:07am.  The worst of morning rush hour would be over, but I-4 would still be a bit congested.  The sun is rising over a clear sky too. Not a good place to be if you're a tourist.  Even less if you're a cop.
    Double that on top when you're a cop coated head to toe in vixen fur with a tail tucked into the shotgun seat and long red hair covering the back of her neck.
    At least my tops down and they let me wear a miniskirt, that's all ah've gotta say.
    She glanced down to check that her cooling vest was fully charged by the power adapter connected in the cigarette lighter.  Good thing she thought of putting it on under her shirt.
    During Walt's public plans for Walt Disney World, he showed his grandiose scheme of an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow."  To call such a plan for a futuristic global community beyond his time, or even the ‘Teens standards (As they call the decade of 2010 to 2019) is an understatement.  It eventually got downplayed into an over-glorified permanent world's fair, but the corporation Walt left behind made the next best thing to Walt's ideals: They took all this land and make a vacation community out of it, building at least two more major parks, a series of hotels and lodging areas, several water parks, a downtown area, a combined sports area, and even a residential area for their Castmembers.  In effect, Disney has created a self-contained region where the guests can have everything they want to do without ever leaving Disney property.  To insure that they won't even need to drive their own cars, Disney also set up a top notch public transportation system.  Every major venue is accessible by the world-famous monorail, with busses and boats going to the places the trams can't reach.
    Even the Castmembers have their own system by a light rail train that circles the entire complex area.  That leaves most of the back roads for servicing and supplying the venues.  Such as Scarlet and her two OPD-APD vans driving a near clear road to the "Back Door" to the Magic Kingdom.  That's the Castmember's entrance to the park, which leads right into the Utilidors under the area.
    The two vans headed to that entrance, while Scarlet veered off to her right and went up a road toward the front gate.  Disney insisted that Scarlet enter through the front gate first, as did all the other parks.  Everyone there wanted Scarlet to be seen.
    Ah, the trials an' tribulations of bein' th' Police's pretty face.
    She turned on the LED flashing lights.  By the time the Volvo pulled over between the ticket takers and the Mickey Mouse garden, all those red and blue lights created an aura around the car that was almost magical.
    If the car didn't turn all the guests' heads, the driver getting out certainly did.  A five-foot-ten vixen stood up from the convertible door.  Her curvy figure (38D-34-36) was covered in light brown fur with black pointed ears and her hair tied back with a large band.  Since she is covered head to toe in pelt-like fur, she made sure she dressed light, even if she is a cop: A short skirt that only went down to her thighs and a buttoned shirt with a tie. Shin high boots with a bit of a heel accentuated her legs.  A blue vest with the standard cop equipment, including the shoulder-mounted radio, her badge, various items that didn't fit into the belt she wore, and the cool vest underneath, now unplugged and switched on.
    Scarlet picked up her hand bag with her cop equipment, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let her sugary sweet warmth and ever present smile take over.
    Scarlet realized all too early that the costume that made her is supposed to be one of the most intelligent character costumes ever created.  She knew it was intelligent because it also had an electronic component that connected into her brain.  While it didn't completely take over every thought and action in her head, the chips did guide her into her new personality, which included acting just like any other costumed character.
    She knew she couldn't change what she's doing, so she adapted her costumed character persona into her own.
    "Scarlet!"
    Scarlet's eyes opened bright and happy as she looked down to the girl who wanted to hug her.
    "Why!  Hello there, sugah!"  Scarlet's voice sang out with an accent of Mississippi deep woods.  She hunched down to the girl's height and gave the girl a friendly squeeze. "How ya doing, enjoyin' yoah day so far?"
    Her right ear rotated to pick up the others noticing her, which included a couple Castmembers introducing her to some guests.  "Oh, she's not Disney, sir.  She's Officer Foxfire from Orange County Police.  Yes, she's a cop.  No, you don't want to get arrested by her."
    She gets it all the time, people finding out that there really is a vixen cop, people noticing how realistic and lifelike she is, about how hot she might feel in that fur.
    She showed her cool vest to someone.  "Kinda glad ah got this little thang fully charged.  Keeps me nice an' comfortable."
    It was her "Amusement Park Mode," part of the way she's built.  She was made to be a well-developed vixen from the rural South, with the requisite back wood good nature, friendliness, affectionate airs, and sultry southern accent.  She's quite comfortable in her skin, or fur in this case.  She likes crawdaddies and chowder, would pounce and hug anyone who'd move, would want to take anything cute home with her, and if that thing happens to be a cute boy, well . . .
    "That's right, sugah,"  Scarlet said as she looked over to such a date-able young man as she walked past him, letting her tail brush up against his leg.  "Ah'm supposed to be noticed."  She flashed her badge to the ticket taker who pointed her into the park and walked in a slow strut, her tail wagging back and forth in a slow wave.
    "Heard you got the call, Officer," the ticket taker said as he scanned in her Lifetime Passport.  Even on official duty, they need to check their tickets.  "Jules is waiting for you over at the other side of Town Square."
    Someone behind her had to ask: "Is something wrong?  Someone called the cops?  What's going on?"
    Scarlet gave him a sly glance from over her shoulder.  "Ah'll find out about it mahself.  It's policy not t' tell any details ovah the phone, don't wanna scare any of yawl, do we.  Don'cha worry yoahselves durin' yoah stay heah, okay, people.  Things'll be okay as long'sa ah'm heah."
    The way she said it, with her friendly face and the wave of her hand, made sure everyone felt at ease.
    Scarlet made her way into the Town Square area, the front end of Main Street USA and the park in general.  They removed the chain keeping the guests from stampeding to the Hub an hour ago, but the guests were still mingling with about eighteen characters milling about, both in costume and face characters.  Scarlet blended in with the other characters nicely.  She paused to have her picture taken with the Dapper Dans, patted a boy's head and signed her signature in a book as she headed toward a Guest Relations Host.
    No matter how heinous a scene would get, Scarlet still has to pause for the public, especially kids. She can't help herself from needing to stop and talk to every child in her path and makes sure they leave with a smile. Not only is it part of her "Amusement Park Mode," that she just can't turn off, but also part of the job description in the APD.  Scarlet didn't know that the "Amusement Park Mode" is a blessing or not, but she did enjoy the good vibes she gives.  And it does help with crowd control.
    Another part of this programmed persona in Scarlet is her memory.  She could remember the names, faces, voices, and even minute details of whomever she meets.  If Scarlet were a bona fide Disney Castmember, she would remember every single name of every single guest in the entire resort area.  Scarlet found a way to reduce the memory that feature used to just those she sees often, like friends, local kids, fellow members of the force, loved ones, and Castmembers she close with.
    When she saw Jules, she remembered his full name, current address, employment records with Disney, vital statistics, his shirt and pants size, and anything else she needed to know.  "Jules, sweetie!  Ah got y' call, hon?" Scarlet said as she gave him a hug and a peck on both sides of his face.
    "Ah! Scarlet!"  Jules tried to keep from laughing as he's pounced on.  "You'll never know how much I need that."
    Scarlet noticed the stress in his voice.  "Ah take it ya got someth'n too much foah Security, Jules.  Can y' take me t' th' place?"
    "Right this way," Jules said as he lead her up Main Street. "It's over at Main Street Bakery.  We have it cordoned off under the renovation tarps."  She pointed to the blocked off area, using the two finger "Disney Point" all Castmembers use.
    The standard point with just the index finger is considered a bit rude in some quarters, so Disney implores people to use the index and middle finger when pointing, just like in some airlines, to soften the effect.  It works well, unless you use two fingers to flick someone off like some of the black sheep Castmembers do.
    Scarlet uses the two finger point as well.  Part of her "Amusement Park" character.
    Scarlet looked up the facade. Under normal Disney procedure, locations that go "Code 101" (Castmember Term for something "Out of Order") get quietly cordoned off.  They use rope at the least, closing folding walls if necessary.  If things have really gone south, setting up thick blue tarps in front.  Maintenance can put them up in less than five minutes.
    This comes in handy if something in Disney World becomes a crime scene.
    "You know how much we need to keep things quiet, Scarlet," Jules said as he led her up the walk toward the tarp.  "We can't have the guests getting concerned over their safety."
    "Of course, Jules. But If Ah have t' say, by hearin' the stress in yer voice, you've got somethin' major."
    Jules nodded. "Let's not talk about it until we get to the Bakery, you'll know why when you see it."
    Scarlet nodded.  The guests don't need to know what's going on.  All they need to know is that everything's under control.  With Scarlet on the scene, they know that the cops will take care of . . .
    "Is that fox cop going to investigate the murder?"
    Scarlet's ears perk up when she heard that.  Her left ear rotated toward the other side of Main Street.  It was a guest with a radio headset on.  No doubt with the news on.
    The other ear perked toward Jules and his cursing under his breath.  "Some of them know already.  Damn."
    Two thoughts entered Scarlet's mind.  One: Too bad it's against the law for Disney to jam th' radios and pipe in their own stations.  They'd do that in an instant if they were allowed to.
    And two: A murder? This is new.
    When an amusement park calls the cops, it's usually for a medical emergency because they need someone to escort the Alpha Unit, or Ambulance, to the hospital.  In juicer cases, it concerns someone drunk or stoned.  Or a major shoplifter that went above someone forgetting to pay for a pen.  At the worst, it's someone getting into a fight.  People fighting in line have become a bit of an epidemic.
    But a homicide?  Who would want to go to any amusement park to kill somebody?
    Especially the Magic Kingdom?
    This case is bigger than she first thought.