Chapter 2: Viral Connections
06:00 am, Tuesday, 9th September
In the midst of dusky morning, Judy slowly but surely woke up, smashing the alarm clock as it's unbearable screech stopped once and for all. Suddenly, her phone vibrated. "A message, let me guess, Nick wants help with paperwork and he couldn't ask anyone else but me." She quietly murmured as she gazed at the illuminating screen.
"Need you at ZPD…Bogo is going nuts." The screen displayed. Nick's reply weren't usually that short and unceremonious. Seemingly, it appeared to be urgent.
"Be there in 15 minutes." Judy gradually replied with her eyebrows raised as she suddenly sank in confusion. What could be so urgent that even Boggo going nuts about it, well, it's not really unusual but something was definitely off. There was a round-peg amongst square-holes.
15 minutes passed and Judy was partially awake as she sat beside Nick, cautiously listening to Boggo.
"Right, last, Officer Malachowski and Anderson…meter-maid duty. Now give me a hundred tickets before one o'clock! Hurry! Everyone's dismissed." Boggo said in commanding manner, it wasn't a statement, not a question, but a command which contained pure fury, whether it was contained or not.
"This can't be right…" Nick rapidly murmured as he furrowed his eyebrows irritation.
And at that moment of brilliance and pure swift reaction, Boggo glared at Nick, slowly exchanging gaze with Hopps and Wilde. "Hopps, Wilde in my office, now." He told with heavy British accent as he shuffled papers in his hands, and swiftly entered his office, leaving the door slightly open.
As Nick and Judy starred at each other in confusion, they followed Boggo, entering his office with lighting-pace and curiosity as to what could be so important, as well as…secretive, in a manner of speaking.
"Spill the tea Boggo, why'd call us?" Nick asked as he raised his eyebrow while sitting unceremoniously, very predictable of him to do so.
"Because now we're working with ZBI. You'll meet your partners later on your schedule. Now, the brief…"Boggo spoke with fear in his tone, he was clear and solemn. There weren't many things which would frighten him, but this…this seemed different.
"Six incidents, all interconnected and tangled in mysteries. Nobody knows who or why has done it…but everyone knows that they weren't just accidents, there's a deeper meaning to this. Each of our victims possessed a phone, which displayed a binary code—" Suddenly, Boggo was interrupted in the midst of his speech, which soaked with fear and panic.
"Which we've already de-coded. Those so-called incidents were done by someone who knows what they're doing. ZBI tried to identify the attacker but failed…its as if he's a ghost, a poltergeist." The voice was feminine in nature, elusive yet solemn, soft yet straightforward tone.
As Nick turned to face the stranger, realisation pounded him with point-blank reaction as he identified the stranger with ease…despite all her secrecy…Skye Winter.
"La Volpe, translates to The Fox from Italian. It seems our client is a vigilante with an agenda of good-doer, a hand of justice so to speak. The question remains: who is it?" Another voice spoke, this time…formal tone but contained contagious unceremonious manner. Masculine, overflowing with sarcasm and a dash of humour. There was only one individual with such undeniable qualities…Jack Savage.
"Presumably, those incidents serve as a warning of an event yet to come. Last victim's identity is Klaus Vega, a cat, late twenties and somehow…connected to Bellwether." Skye spoke softly, precisely pointing out every detail, as if she was an Inspector on an unsolvable case.
"As you already realised. Those two individuals will be your partners on this case, Skye Winter And Jack Savage." Replied Boggo, in a slow, monotonous tone.
"Pleasure to meet you!" Exclaimed Judy, with a slight smile, realising that she was working with the best of the best operatives.
Now that everything has been set into motion, like a stack of dominos, one after another events happen in an unpredictable order…someone's watching—and they know…they know that their path cannot be escaped…La Volpe, The Fox…sounds familiar, doesn't it…