ZOOTOPIA SHORT STORIES: BROKEN TIGER
The stress of being a cop sometimes causes you to make the wrong choices. Richard Fangmeyer is one of the ZPD's best officers, but his life takes an unexpected turn and now he must deal with the consequences of his choice.
Author's Note
This old goat knows a number of police officers, but not in the way you think! They often work long hours in all kinds of weather and sometimes under a great amount of stress, it can be tough on both them and their families. Imagine having to work most holidays and instead of spending time with your loved ones, having to handle a domestic dispute over a damned burnt turkey. Constant stress sometimes leads to bad personal decisions being made, often leading to anger, apathy, drugs, or booze being used as a way to cope. So be nice to those wearing blue.
I do not own the rights to Zooptopia or any of its characters. This story was written solely for the reader's enjoyment and without any profitable purposes. The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this story are fictitious.
Five Years Ago: Rainforest District
He stared at Adrian Bogo in disbelief, because he didn't understand why the Chief had just let a fox lecture him and then walk away with Judy Hopps? He shifted his gaze from the cape buffalo to the two small mammals riding away in the gondola. The uniformed rhinos standing next to him were also dumbstruck from the scene that just played out in front of them. They had been called to subdue a feral jaguar, but there was no big cat, just the cop wannabe bunny and that smart mouthed fox in the tropical green shirt. Bogo had demanded the rabbit's badge, only to seemingly be put into his place by the fox. The tiger shook his head in disappointment and looked down at the vegetation covering the platform below his paws.
"Enough!" bellowed the Chief. "Everyone back to the station now! I 've had enough of this nonsense, Fangmeyer your riding with me."
The tiger grunted, but instead of following, he knelt down near the pole. He looked closely at the fresh scratches on the metal and there were tracks on the wet moss. He continued searching and found paw prints in the moss made by a large feline, who was oddly running on four paws. There were also the prints of two wolves and a vehicle. Scanning the surrounding ground, he picked up an expended metal air round canister. "Adrian," he called. Then realizing he used his friend's first name, he called out again. "Chief Bogo, I think Hopps was right! There was a big cat and it looks like some wolves were here just before we arrived. Someone was shot by one of those new high powered net rifles, just like our SWAT teams use."
"You eyesight is a hell of a lot better the mine Rick," answered the buffalo. The tiger stood and handed him the canister. "That does look like ZPD issue, what in hell is it doing here?"
"I think we need a CSI team," Fangmeyer stated as he brushed off his uniform pants. "It looks like there was a kitnapping to me."
Officer Ron McHorn had stayed behind, he wasn't the best cop in the unit but he was loyal to Bogo. "Ron tape off this area," the buffalo ordered and then he called in to dispatch for a team.
Four Years Ago: ZPD Headquarters, Savannah Central
"As frustrating as he can be at times, Nick Wilde is a good cop," the tiger in the blue uniform said to the two mammals in the room. His eyes locked onto the white tailed deer's eyes, causing the Internal Affairs officer to blink and look away. Sargent Richard Fangmeyer did not like Detective James Forrester, the deer was known as being a bigot and hated canids. He was constantly investigating the K9 Unit, including his friend and former partner Alan Wolford, but the deer especially hated the rookie fox. "I reviewed the beaver's complaint and Wilde did things by the book, so why are we here even talking about this case?"
"Look, Mr. Pineall claims the fox barred his teeth at him," Forrester said as he waved a file in the air. This isn't the first such complaint we've had about Wilde using his teeth to intimidate a citizen."
"That's not true and you know it," the tiger growled as he leaned back into the chair. "If you had bothered to do your job right, then you would know it's not true. Fangmeyer pulled out a series of photos from a file folder and tossed them to the deer. "Security camera photo's from the building that they were in front of at the time of the arrest show Wilde didn't bear his teeth, but just yawned!"
"GET OUT!" the other animal suddenly said. Chief Bogo, had quietly watched the other two officers in the room and he had finally had enough. "The laws against a predator showing his teeth were repealed over ten years ago. Wilde made a clean bust!"
"You know Wilde's crooked," snapped the deer. "He and that rabbit he's rutting, hang out with the daughter of a known mobster. If you two were doing your jobs, Big would be behind bars by now. The fox is playing you two!"
"OUT!" Bogo yelled as he slammed his hoof on the desk.
Three Years Ago: Sahara Square
The tiger held his gloved paw over his mask to keep from laughing at the sight of a panther, two bobcats, and a fellow tiger rolling around and purring on the ground, all stoned out of their minds. They were some of the city's most brutal drug dealers. Behind him a deep voice bellowed, "Wilde, what did you do?"
The uniformed fox was glassy eyed and wobbled as he tried to salute the cape buffalo. "I apprehended the bad guys." he said with a slur. Behind him, the gray rabbit was impatiently thumping the ground with her hind paw. "There were too many for Carrots and me to apprehend by ourselves, so I just dumped a bag into the vent fan."
"That was powdered nip!" Chief Bogo sighed.
"It worked boss, see they're harmless now," Nick said while waving his paws. Suddenly the fox lost his balanced and fell backwards with a thump. "Should have worn a mask, huh who knew?"
The cape buffalo looked down at the fallen officer, who was staring up at him with a stupid grin. "Wilde, foxes are affected by nip too! Someone get this guy to decontamination for cleanup, you go too Hopps. You need to wash up even though nip doesn't seem to affect rabbits."
Wolford leaned over to Fangmeyer and whispered, "I thought nip made rabbits horny? Nick is going to have to watch himself tonight."
The little grey doe's ears twitched and she turned towards the wolf and tiger, there was an almost a sinister smile on her face.
Pulling the fox off the ground, the tiger slung him over his shoulder. "Time to go through decontamination Wilde," Fangmeyer laughed. Suddenly the fox started kicking and knocked the tiger's mask off. He got a muzzle full of the dust and didn't remember much after that.
"So there you were Rick," Alan Wolford chuckled to him that afternoon. "Rolling on the ground purring and rubbing against Nick, who had passed out. Don't worry I understand the fox is into bunnies and not tigers. Here let me show you the video I took on my phone.
The tiger looked at the wolf and just groaned. Then he put his head in his paws and sighed.
Two Years Ago: Canal District
Richard Fangmeyer smiled as the fox in the ugly green tropical shirt touched the simple gold band on his paw, "So quit pulling my chain Nick, how many sisters and brothers does Judy really have?" he asked.
"I told you, two hundred forty seven," the fox chuckled. "I shudder to think how many rabbits were at our wedding, it seemed like millions."
Sitting back in the passenger seat, Nick tried to suppress his yawn. "Bored?" the tiger laughed as he rolled back the sleeves of his light blue dress shirt and loosened his dark green tie.
"So how is Shelia," the fox asked. The tiger marveled at the fox's ability to crack his neck as he stretched. "She should be getting close to having those kittens by now?"
"Doc says she has a few more weeks yet," he answered. "I hope Judy understood why she wasn't invited to the baby shower. Shelia's craving meat and well, Judy sometimes smells delicious. She ate three roasted chickens for dinner last night, so I ended up having to eat some nasty frozen bug burgers. Doc says her appetite will be back to normal after birth. She's gotten real moody too, yesterday she took after me with her claws out."
"Gee Stripes, I think Judy smells delicious too," the fox chucked. "But in a much different way! I know Judy understood, but she was disappointed. Any names picked out yet?"
Before the tiger could answer, they both saw their three suspects walking towards the seedy motel. The fox pulled out his tranquilizer pistol and checked his magazine's three rounds. Looking at the tiger's larger pistol with it's twelve rounds he quipped, "So its true, size does matter!"
The tiger chuckled before throwing open the car door as he yelled, "Police! On the ground with your paws spread
"Oh lookie!" radioed the fox. "They're running towards your team Wolfie!"
"Two down, one to go!" radioed Wolford. "That hairy bison just shook off our rounds and he's running your way."
"I've got him!" the tiger yelled, his paws grabbed at the muscular mammal's body. The bison slammed a hoof into tiger's chest, sending him reeling. He recovered quickly and parried the next attack with his paws. Before he could strike back, the bison's eyes rolled upwards and he fell snout first onto the pavement.
Fangmeyer shook his head and growled, before he notice the smiling fox reloading his pistol. "What do you know?" the fox laughed. "Size doesn't matter after all." He had fired all three rounds into the bison's tail end. Walking onto the mammal's back, Nick struggled as he tried to pull the large beast's hoof's up to put on the pawcuffs. "A little help with shaggy would be appreciated Fang," the fox commented.
"Gee Nick," replied the grinning tiger as he watched fox struggle, "I guess size does matter after all."
One Year Ago: Little Amir Neighborhood
The timber wolf watched over the tiger who was kneeling on the ground and sobbing in the darkness. An empty whisky bottle was lying in the grass beside him and he had another clutched in his paw. At the sound of a car approaching, Alan Wolford walked towards the road and solemnly greeted the large uniformed cape buffalo getting out of the vehicle, "Sorry to call you boss, we forgot it was his anniversary. He's with her now and drunk again."
"Damn," muttered Adrian Bogo. "I should have remembered and been with him tonight, some friend I turned out to be." The buffalo sighed as he walked through the grass towards his friend sobbing in front of the gravestone.
"I should have bought more tacos!" the drunken tiger spoke, his voice was slurred from too much drink. "We wouldn't have been on the road that night, if I had just bought a dozen more damn tacos. She was hungry, you know how hungry she was since she got pregnant. I only brought a dozen home and she ate all but two, so we went out for more. Damn it Adrian, I should have brought more home! She and my kittens would be alive today if I just had just bought more of those damned tacos!"
The buffalo knelt next to his friend, who was tearing the ground with his claws and reeked of booze… again. He put a hoof on the tiger's back and began rubbing, "You know it wasn't your fault Rick, the other driver was drunk and ran the light. There was nothing you could have done, nothing any of us could have done."
The tiger lifted the bottle in his paw, but instead of drinking from it, he tossed it away in disgust. "Some husband and father I would have been," he sniffled and wiped his eyes on his arm. "Everyone I loved is here in a grave, killed by a drunk and I'm a drunk too. I should have died that night, not them. How can I go on without her, without them?"
"One day at a time," Bogo sighed. "You know that, one day at a time."
"I don't want to," the tiger sobbed. "I don't want live anymore without her!"
"Where would little Sammy Buckhorn be if you weren't here today?" Alan growled. "He'd be his grave too if you hadn't led the team that brought down that child slavery ring. You tracked down Berenda, the mercenary wanted for war crimes. How many murders have you solved, bringing justice for grieving families? You saved my life a few times. I could keep going on, pal, but what I mean is your needed by this city and by us. So get your shit together Fang."
Bogo's eyes angrily stared at the wolf, but the wolf just stared back with his golden eyes. "Come on partner, your going home with me," said the wolf.
The tiger sniffled again and chuckled, "A tiger in a wolf's den, no thanks! You've got, what thirty wolves living under the same roof?"
"Hey," Alan objected. "We're a pack and we always take care of our own. Besides its only twenty-six."
The buffalo steadied the inebriated Tiger as he stood.
"Come on Rick, your coming back to my house," Bogo sighed. "Nancy is expecting you, she even bought chicken sausages and eggs for your breakfast."
Tonight: ZPD Headquarters, Savannah Central
Richard Fangmeyer stood outside the Chief's office and watched the activity in the lobby below. Standing next to him was a cape buffalo in full uniform and a one-eyed timber wolf in a dark blue ZPD t-shirt and fatigue pants, the tiger knew and respected both of the other mammals. Below him in the lobby, a grey rabbit was confronting a wild eyed deer. Standing around them in clusters were a large number of wolves, not only from the elite K9 Unit, but also uniformed patrol officers. The deer tried to back away from the rabbit, but she quickly swept his legs from under him and he fell to his knees. Deftly and with great satisfaction, Judy Hopps pawcuffed his hoofs behind his back and read him his rights. There was applause and howls of satisfaction from the canids below.
"So Forrester was on the take?" Captain Robbie "Patches" Huntersnout asked in an amused voice, the one eyed wolf was in command of the K9 Unit.
"Yep, all the documents we found implicating Wilde were faked," the tiger chuckled. "Damn thing is the proof came from the ZIA. It turns out Nick has some very unique friends."
"Speaking of which, here he comes now!" the cape buffalo grunted. Chief Bogo had a small smile on his snout.
The fox entered the building dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit. He was grinning and his tail was swishing as his wife Judy launched herself into his arms. Suddenly the couple was surrounded by the wolves.
"Get back to work, the force isn't paying you all to stand around!," Bogo bellowed. "Hopps quit kissing Wilde on the job! Wilde, that jumper belongs to the city, so don't steal it!"
"Aw Chief, you did miss me after all!" the fox quipped back to the buffalo. Most of the wolves chuckled or laughed at the comment.
"No I didn't!" answered Bogo. Then he huffed and added, "But welcome back."
"Adrian, we've got to get going," Huntersnout said. Together the three mammals left the building and walked to a nearby church. As they entered the building, Fangmeyer could see a number of Junior Ranger Scouts laughing and excitedly running around in a big room down the hallway. He smiled as a uniformed tiger kitten and a gazelle calf ran by them.
The one-eyed wolf led them up some stairs and into a smaller room which was full of adult mammals, some of whom were dressed in police uniforms. As the meeting started and everyone began introducing themselves, the tiger stood up and said, "My name is Richard and I'm…I'm an alcoholic.
This old goat tips his horns to Alcoholics Anonymous and the work they do.