p align="left"Zootopia: Through the Looking Glassbr / By: Gandalf158br / Prologuebr / br / I yawned. I downed the rest of my coffee and refilled the thermos. This was the second time I had refilled it, but the caffeine was doing little to help me shake off my lethargy. It was too early. I should still be in bed. I looked down at my phone and cringed at the time: it was only 6:45. I groaned and took a long drag from my somewhat-useless feeling coffee. I rubbed my stinging eyes and blinked several times hoping it might help pick up coffee's slack. The clock on my phone flicked over to 6:46, leaving fourteen minutes until the morning briefing was. Meaning I had a grand total of fourteen minutes to go from a useless, sleep-deprived zombie to something more useful. I sighed and took another / "Oooh, someone looks tired." a painfully chipper voice said behind me, "Rough night?"br / "No, just a long one." I said in between / Where I struggled to function this early, Judy Hopps always managed to show up to work early and full of energy. She even managed to hold a smile, almost like she emenjoyed/em waking up this early. Which, being familiar with her work ethic and farm-girl childhood wouldn't actually surprise me all that much. Lucky for her slacker partner that manic energy was infectious. I was already starting to feel / "Neighbors keep you up all night?" there was a hint of sympathy in her voice that could only be born from many long nights of hearing those idiot oryxes yell back and / "Noisy neighbors is your trademark. What keeps me up at night is the existential dread that comes with having a checkered past that could come back to haunt me at any moment." I / She crossed her arms, "Stayed up all night watching videos on Ewetube?"br / I scoffed, "Please, what do you take me for?" I said with an air of superiority, "Some kind of peasant? I'll have you know that I was binge watching CSI like a emreal /emcop." I threw my head to the side and rested my paws on my / "Ah, so research, then. So long as you weren't goofing off."br / "Of course not. You know me: always the studious worker."br / We shared a laugh. It was then that our fellow officers started making their way to the / "Well, time to get going. Maybe we'll get something good to work on today, yeah?" Judy said, smile growing, eyes / "Maybe. Probably just patrols today, though. Hey, I'll meet you in there, need to borrow some cream and sugar from Clawhauser."br / "How does he keep creamer?" she tilted her head and furrowed her / "Didn't you know he has a minifridge under the desk? Where do you think he keeps the milk for his cereal?"br / She shrugged, "Break room, maybe? I always thought that was a safe."br / "Nope. Minifridge." I said, walking away, "And if he had to go to the break room every time he ate a bowl of cereal, he'd never get any work done."br / "You're terrible!" She / Ben Clawhauser sat behind the rounded front desk idly messing with a walkie-talkie. He noticed me approaching and waved. Out of all the cops in this precinct, him and Hopps were the only two I actually spoke to outside of work. He was a funny guy. We'd bonded after we found out we both frequented the same Camelish joint in the / "Good morning, Benjamin." I said in a singsong / "Morning, Nick. What can I do for you?"br / "Can I borrow some cream and sugar? Regular black just isn't doing it for me today."br / He nodded and grabbed them from his "secret" minifridge, "Yeah, here you go."br / "Thanks, Ben." I mixed my drink and gave him his things back, "I gotta go, see you later, pal."br / He nodded and got back to...whatever it was that he was doing. I turned and headed to the bullpen. Today was a busy day for ZPD: it wasn't even seven and animals were already pouring in. What they were doing here, I didn't know. The PD wasn't exactly the most happening spot for animals like me in the past, and the only reason I came here now was because I worked here. Maybe they were paying parking fines? If the other traffic cops put out as many tickets as Judy claims she did on her first day, then I could see so many people having an actually have a reason to be here this early and in such big / I managed to slip into the bullpen a second or two before seven. It was-as it always was-a study in chaos: something about the morning briefing always got the other detectives worked up. Paper was thrown, jokes were made and followed with laughter, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. At least the coffee was working for / Chief hadn't shown up yet, so I took my seat with Judy and had some of my (much sweeter now) coffee. Judy had her paws folded in front of her and a smile on her / "Someone looks happy. Find two carrots in your Zap-Em's this morning?"br / "Hmmm." she deadpanned, unamused, "I'm just excited. I have a good feeling about today."br / "A 'good feeling', huh? Didn't peg you for the hopelessly optimistic type." my smirk / "And I didn't peg you for the overly sarcastic type." she bumped me with an elbow, with a smirk of her / "Touche." I said, rubbing the spot a / Higgins shouted then, drawing the numerous divided attentions of the officers of the first precinct to the same spot for the first time all morning. A moment later Chief Bogo entered the room and the officers started to pound on their desks like they did every morning. I'd never understood that ritual, but Clawhauser assured me that Snarloff had told him that it was because they Bogo had, in years past, been one of them: a lowly beat cop that struck it big with a drug bust and climbed the ranks. I found that thought funny, despite his bulk and toned musculature, Bogo just didn't carry the hard-boiled detective look that his reputation was supposedly built / "Alright, alright, settle down." For once, they actually listened to him and the cacophony died down, "We've got a lot to go over this morning. First off: Hopps, Wilde, got a new case for you two. Missing Mammals out in the Savannah. We also have a murder. Snarloff, Grizzoli, you two get over to the Rainforest and sort it out. There's been a rash of thefts here in Downtown, so the rest of you canvas the area and see what you can find out. Report any news to Fangmeier. She'll be running the task force on this one. Dismissed." he held out the case files as the other officers went past, but withdrew ours as we came to / "I'd like a word with you two." he said, nodding at / Higgins returned the nod and left, shutting the door behind him and leaving us alone with Bogo. For a moment I wracked my brain trying to remember if I had done anything that would require him to 'have a word' with us. Nothing sprung to mind, so I kept my face as neutral as I / "Is something the matter?" Judy asked, visibly nervous. I'd have to teach her the ways of not letting them see that they got to her one / "No, just wanted to brief you on this myself." in a rare display of non-professionalism he leaned against one of the tables that lined the bullpen, "The victim is a fourteen year old lynx girl. Mother reported her missing after she failed to make it back from school one day. She assumes her ex-husband had something to do with it, apparently he has a history of wanting to see his daughter and getting angry when denied. Background check on the father came back. He's got a history of drug abuse and violence, so this girl may be in very real danger."br / "You growing soft in your old age, chief?" I prodded: usually he wasn't this talkative. Or / "There's a child missing, Wilde. What I'm trying to say is that this should be routine, but get it done quickly." he paused, then handed the file to Judy, "Clock's ticking." he left without turning / "That was uncalled for, Nick." Judy said, disapproving frown creasing her / I deflated a bit, "I know. I was just surprised, he doesn't usually act like that." her expression softened, "But I'll give him, he is right. We need to get to work. What's the file say?"br / She flipped through it for a moment, "Pretty much just what Chief said. There's some more info on the father, he seems like a real charmer. Two DUIs, a drunk-and-disorderly, a public indecency, emand/em possession of a controlled substance."br / "Sounds like a good weekend." I repressed the shudder that came with remembering that that emwas/em my weekend at one / "Actually, these are all within three days of each other." she shook her head, "I really hope she's okay."br / I smiled reassuringly, "Well come on. We'll pay the mother a visit and see what else she can tell us about Mr. Right."br / She / br / ***br / br / We pulled up in front of the victim's home about ten minutes later. The neighborhood reeked of affluence: it was row after row of split-level townhouses with front lawns (small as they were). Momma had to be loaded to afford one of these. We parked the cruiser at the curb and I whistled as I stepped out. Judy looked impressed as well, but kept it to / "Nice place." I / "Nice neighborhood, too. When I was planning the move over here this was one of my top choices." there was a hint of sadness to her tone. Her eyes clouded for a moment, but as soon as they darkened they flashed bright again. Maybe she was good at hiding emotions after / "Too bad police salaries don't net you a place like that." I shook my head, "Shall we?"br / "After you."br / There was a brass knocker on the mahogany front door. It looked out of use. The worn doorbell button seemed to get much more use, making the old-fashioned knocker seem-well-old-fashioned. I decided to take pity on the outmoded thing. It was just too pretty not to use. I grabbed it and hit it against its strike-plate / "Mrs. Denar? ZPD, we're here about your daughter's disappearance." Judy / There was movement on the other side of the doorway like a chair sliding out from a table. The door swung open, revealing a middle-aged, bleary-eyed lynx. She looked like she was in desperate need of sleep, but other than that she was pretty. Once you got past the bloodshot part, her piercing blue eyes looked like-under normal circumstances-they commanded respect. She also looked like she had some past in athletics, but that may just have been feline genetics at work (Fangmeier always looked athletic to me, but she was even lazier than I was).br / "Good morning, ma'am. Officer Judy Hopp-"br / "I've already told the police everything I know." the woman interrupted, "Why aren't you over at Fernando's place getting my daughter back?"br / "It's just procedure, ma'am." I stepped forward, "We just need some more information on your husband, if that's alright."br / "Ex-husband." she leaned against the frame of the door and crossed her arms, "And I'd prefer you just go bust him, but you don't tell me how to do my job, so I won't tell you how to do yours. What do you want to know?"br / emAt least she's going to comply/em, I / "What leads you to believe that Mr. Denar might have taken your daughter?" Judy / "Because he's obsessed with her. Ever since we split he's been harassing me for visitation even though the court gave me sole custody. Last time I threatened to get a restraining order for the two of us and he threatened me and stalked off."br / "He threatened you?" already getting her little notepad and carrot pen / "Yes. He said, and I quote, 'I'm going to see her, Sam, whether you like it or not'. Then he raised a fist before turning and leaving."br / Judy wrote it all down, "And do you have any reason to believe that he might hurt her?"br / "No. He won't hurt her, not on purpose anyway." she scoffed, "She's about the only thing he cares about more than coke. Her and booze."br / "And do you think that he is dangerous?" I / "Depends. If he's high, maybe. He's not armed or anything, though, so he shouldn't be too much trouble. If that's everything, will you please go get my daughter? He might not hurt her, but those idiot junkie friends of his might." her breathing hitched a / "Yes, I think that about covers it." Judy said, "Don't worry, ma'am, we'll resolve this as soon as possible." she closed her notepad and put it back in its slot on her / She emmmhmm'd/em noncommittally. I could tell she wasn't all there. We needed to hurry: whoever these 'junkie friends' were, she obviously knew just how much trouble they could be. I wanted to say something comforting, but didn't know what. Luckily Judy picked up the slack for / "Ma'am, you have my word, we will get your daughter back to you, safe and sound."br / Her face softened a bit, but she still looked like she was on the verge of crying again. She cleared her throat and thanked us before turning to go back into her / Judy and I turned to go back to the car. The energy in the car was somber, which was understandable. Something about the mother's demeanor had put us both on edge. Neither of us said anything for a solid two minutes, but I eventually broke the / "I've known a lot of junkies, and I've known a lot of junkies with kids. She'll be fine, we just need to approach this right." for once we were actually in my wheelhouse, "When we get there, let me handle the talking."br / "You think she's alright, though, right?"br / "Good feeling's gone now, isn't it." she looked down, "She'll be fine. Kids are a special case, even when it comes to junkies."br / "I hope you're right."br / br / ***br / br / Where the mother's neighborhood was warm and inviting, Fernando's was downright depressing. What's worse was how much it reminded me of my old neighborhood. It had the same smell, that smell that I couldn't place but was always there. I imagined it was what resignation smelled like. Windows were boarded up, another staple of this kind of neighborhood, and everyone walking around looked shifty. Just like old / "Here we are, Easy Street." I / Judy looked at me, but said / "Come on, clock's ticking." she / I nodded and together we walked up the sidewalk, drawing glances from every shady low-life we passed, and up to what had to be the most run down house of them all. No knocker, no doorbell. Judy rapped on the door twice. This time there was no / "Fernando, open up. We're with ZPD. We just want to talk." I / Nothing. Judy and I made eye contact. I gave it a second before I knocked again, / "Look, we just want to talk, okay? We can help you, but not if you don't open the door."br / Nothing. I reached out and tried the handle. The door swung open, revealing the slumped form of Fernando Denar hanging halfway off a table. I rushed in and pressed my fingers to his neck. I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt his heartbeat. Judy stayed in the doorway, walkie-talkie already / "This is Officer Hopps, we're in need of an ambulance at 1215 West Grassland in Savannah Central. Male lynx found unconscious in his home."br / If I hadn't had personal experience with what overdoses looked like, the dusting of white powder mixed with drool and vomit would've been evidence / "Suspected cocaine overdose." Judy added as she stepped / He was breathing, if weakly. That was a good sign. I patted him on the shoulder, but there was no response. He'd be fine, so long as the paramedics didn't take a long time getting / "I'll keep an eye on him, have a look around." I / She nodded, already looking around. It was obvious the girl wasn't here, which was more than a little disturbing. The table, aside from the bile and coke, was almost barren save for a few letters (mostly bills and past due notices) and a credit card. I noticed there was a half-empty bottle of whiskey that had fallen to the floor when he / I shook my head. My ears perked up at the sound of the ambulance's sirens turning onto this street. Judy stepped back into the main room from the bathroom, pale-faced and silent. My heart dropped into my / "What is it? What's wrong?"br / "She's...she's not here." she said, "She's...not."br / The medics came into the house and took over with Fernando, rolling him onto a stretcher and hooking up an IV line. I stepped over to Judy who was starting to look like she would go into shock. I put a paw on her / "We'll find her, Judy. When he wakes up, he'll tell us everything. She's going to be fine." I / She / One of the medics walked up to us, "We'll be taking him to Savannah Regional Medical."br / "Thanks. Nice response time, by the way." I said. They'd cut it in half since I lived in a place like this...br / "What can I say, best paramedics in the city." he chuckled, "Now if you'll excuse us, we've got a reputation to uphold."br / I smiled. Nice to know the medics in this town could still banter. Judy was looking better, but still had an uncertain look creasing her / "Come on, Carrots. We'll follow them. Quicker he wakes up, the quicker we find the girl."br / She smiled weakly, "You're right. Let's go."br / Whether she'd actually regained some of her trademark optimism or if she was finally taking a page or two out of my book was unclear. The only thing that was: this was going to be a long day.../p