Hello, chapter two and apologies for the appalling spell check in chapter one (and probably all coming chapters). I am trying (honest).
Reviews are always welcome, particularly constructive criticism as I'll never improve until I know how bad I am.
Small context note: "bunny suits" are the white hooded paper coveralls warn by forensics crews (that make them like bunnies).
Onwards and upwards!
All they could do was stand by and watch as the rescue crew, ever so delicately, cut in to the cabin. Nick and Judy stood well back but a Izzie distraught rushed down the stairs; following the crew as they belayed to the cavern floor with the driver strapped to a stretcher, landing next to an ambulance that had fast-tracked the cargo entrance.
She dropped to her knees as the doors slammed shut, Judy rushed up placing her arm on the stoats shoulder, consoling her, they had seen the blood gushing from his lower leg but the paramedics had maintained the calm urgency that Judy had come to associate with patients who were going to make it.
Its ok, he's going to be all right. It's just his leg.
Izzy sniffed and straitened her head, calming down. Then her ears that had begun to perk dropped flat as she looked Judy in the eye. "Were going to miss the deadline" she coughed, placing a paw on judies arm. "You need to evacuate, now, I don't know what the final decision is but it needs to be made now."
Judy was taken aback, whether it was just professionalism or something else that had caused the small mechanic to lock down.
Nick ripped of his mask, cringing at the acrid air, but held it until he could pull out his radio.
"Precinct one, Officer Wild, evacuation is go, evac is go. The wall won't be operational on time."
"10 4" came Clawhouser's reply, a nervous catch in his voice. "Have they got a new estimate on restart?"
"At least 20 hours, we need to ship in another compressor from outside the city," came a shout from a mongoose who overheard the conversation. "And fix this damn thing." He gestured at the Crain. Nick relayed the message, getting a sigh from Clawhouser.
"Chief is going to love this, Control out"
Izzy, who had been standing staring at the shattered compressor, swallowed hard before straitening up. With a few deep breaths she cleared her head; there was nothing more they could do, so she smiled, looked towards the officers and carried on. "Onwards and upwards" she said brightly; Surprising nick and Judy with her return to form.
They re-climbed the rough mettle stare case on the outside of core five before entering through a round port, the walls riddled with piping. There was some lighting but Judy switched her head lamp on none the less; while Izzie and Nick, both traditionally nocturnal, simply waited briefly for their eyes to adapt.
"So, this is the domain of the wire rat, sure you don't need a pulse rifle?" nick commented on the grated floor and low lighting.
"We rather you go with hazardous environment technician, but yes it is. And let's just say we have our fair share of ghosts, construction workers crushed and technicians who stepped wrong." She smiled back at them "Oh and Make sure you stay behind me, I'm sure you've heard of the badger and the steam leak."
Judy cringed, looking up a nick in dis-belief and quickly falling in to step behind Izzie, who led them to the end of the corridor; where day light returned flickering like a faulty neon lamp.
They stepped out on to an inspection platform enclosed in a glass bubble, Judy and nick stepped back in shock, they were standing at the core of the great stone tube, a void a hundred meters across. Above them a great dome of stone and steel trusses supported a gigantic fan. Below them the tube disappeared in to blackness; something more suitable to a science fiction film than the real world.
Izzie let them stare for a few seconds; obviously enjoying showing off her pride and joy; "this is the usual terrorist threat" She began. "The top of the wall is riddled with CCTV and guards, all you'd need to do to take us out is drop a bomb down a few of these and the wall wouldn't function at all. That's what makes this attack so odd; as you'd need to break in to get to the compressor."
They gazed at the sight for a few more seconds when Izzy lent over the railing peering down across the void, "The hell" she whispered; before turning and sprinting down a side tunnel.
"What is it" shouted Judy in hot pursuit
"Someone on the lower deck," came an echoed reply.
"You sure it's not another technician"
"Core 4 and 5 are my babies, if anyone is in here I get fair warning."
"You don't have any awesome railing-less bridges we can take over the abys do you?" Nick muffled sarcastically, chasing after the smaller mammals.
They reached the lower observation deck to find it empty.
While Izzy radioed security, Judy and nick broke out the pen lights and rubber gloves, the platform had loads of nooks and crannies that could hide dropped evidence, mind you, so did the entire facility.
They searched for a good ten minutes but found nothing. Security reported nothing on cameras; much to a nervous Izzy's dismay.
"We'll get The Bunny suits down here and have them sweep for prints and DNA but no promises" said nick. "in the meantime me and Judy will get to know the other staff, see if anything suspicious turns up. "
Ten minutes later, having extracted themselves from the three dimensional maze that was core five Nick and Judy sat in the mechanics brake room, since all shifts were flat out and it wasn't going to be used any time soon, they had an on sight interrogation suit where they could talk to staff on their staggered lunch breaks. They were sitting in silence waiting for their first customer.
"We have to accept this is an inside job, said nick breaking the silence; everyone is a suspect. Let's get to Clawhouser and have him run financials and background on everyone. I'll bet they were being blackmailed in to it"; he pulled out his radio.
"But.." Judie paused, then lowered the paw she had raised in objection, while nick had taught her not to trust anyone on first impressions alone she found it hard to believe that Izzy would have anything to do with sabotaging her pride and joy, or, for that matter, any other of the proud technicians they had bumped in to that day. Nick could tell she wanted to defend the friendly stoat.
"Goggles may have put on a good show back there but take an ex-hustler's word, she's hiding something" he said as he used the radios text function to contact the precinct.
"See how she went mad over that driver; then when it was just a leg she calmed right back down. If he was a close friend then she would still be off her head, if not she wouldn't have put on that show before she knew he was going to be alright; that carrots, was guilt talking." He crossed his arms leaning back in his seat his radio back in his pocket.
"She could just have been putting on a brave face for us. they can't afford to lose any staff let alone two." Judy huffed, annoyed at nicks cynicism, but the detective in her was confused at the stoat's erratic mood swings.
"Let's say this. If, when forensics gets down hear; her ghost in the machine turns out to be real, then I take it back and owe you and her a drink; if not and she turns out guilty then I finally get a second chance to meet your parents."
Judy huffed again before shaking the foxes paw, knowing it would somehow come back to bite her.
First up was a small deer: unlike Izzy she was going for the badass engineer look, she had rolled up her sleeves as far as they would go, had two small studs in her ear and chose to ware her goggles on her forehead. Upon entering the room she slumped down with little of the grace usually associated with her species and began munching on a salad; eyeing the cops with an air of suspicion.
"Nichole Lawrence, of 24 penny lane, the meadows?" began Judy
"Yep, call me nick."
Fine, nick, we understand that you had only just exited the hall when the explosion went off. According to security ten minutes before your shift finished. Would you care to explain your impeccable timing?"
"No idea, I'd finished the docket and was clocking off; I do it all the time, check my records."
"In that case have you seen anything odd in the past weeks, anyone you don't recognise or anything out of place?"
"You don't think were not continually hammered with anti-terrorism drill here. If I'd seen anything I'd have called it in long ago."
"Has anyone changed their behaviour lately, become stressed or missed shifts, asked for money?"
"Nope"
"Are you sure?"
"We're a tight knit crew here; it's dangerous, with long shifts. We trust one another. You of all people should understand that, officer."
"Judy paused, of cause she did; but she pushed anyway."
"You still spend long periods alone in their, you don't know what your colleagues are doing."
"That's for the CCTV and transceivers to answer not me, she batted back," ripping the head of a celery stalk with her teeth. Nick shudderd, glad she lacked canines.
"Nick" began Judy
"Yes" they both replied,
Judy and Nicole both glared at nick; who raised his paws in surrender.
"Yes officer" replied Nicole in a far calmer voice.
"What routs are there in to the wall."
The deer lent back, thinking. "Security, as you came in; cargo, also very heavy security." She listed off on her three fingered hooves. "Storage has an external door but that can only be opened from the inside and the internal door comes through cargo; someone once tried to abseil in to one of the cores, didn't end well for him" she smiled grimly.
Nick and Judy frowned.
"Thanks nick, that's all," Judy stood up, nick and Nicole followed suit.
"Thanks officers, promise me you're going to get these bastards, we've never had a failure like this before and Izzie's home may be going up in flames tomorrow, so we'll do our best if you do yours."
"We will, said nick," making rare eye contact.
Nichole smiled and waved as she shut the door behind her.
The rest of the interviews went much the same. Personalities varied but they were all respectful, intelligent and proud individuals, as Izzie had said "hazardous environment technicians" not "wire rats."
Nick and Judy took turns asking the questions but little turned up beyond gossip. After two hours they had met everyone with hall level clearance and were staring at a dead end when nicks radio squawked.
"Wild" he held the talk button.
"Wild, precinct 1," came Clawhouser's voice "we've got the financials on the crew, I've sent them to your phone but you're out of range, let's just say we have a lead."
Judy grabbed the radio, "anything on Izzie kingdom"
"Uurh, high Judy." Clawhouser sounded confused, pausing as he scrolled through a spreadsheet, "no, nothing on her, no connections no weird payments in or out, no priors."
"Ha! I told you," she punched nicks arm, "squeaky clean, no connections, no payments, No priors."
"Calm yourself carrots, she may have fewer mob connections than you but that doesn't make her innocent."
Judy glared at him; she would never forgive him for the time he let that little fact drop in front of her parents.
Back outside the wall nick and Judy slumped in the cruiser, air con on full. Nick reached in to the glove box and pulled out a spray can labelled musk mask, he sniffed his pits before briefly spraying, paused, shrugged and shot the aerosol down his pants. Judy recoiled.
"Nick, be professional."
"Trust me carrots, theirs's nothing professional about odour naturel on a fox." He said capping the can and throwing it back in the glove box; before whipping out his phone and refreshing the emails.
"Here we are" he said, bringing up a file showing a smattering of minor convictions, "dodgy bank statement, public nudity; nothing much, ah wait, here! Ten thousand paid by Bitecoin to one Charles Vayu; recently admitted to Zootopia general with lacerations to leg after industrial accident."
"Downtown it is then carrots"
Hope your enjoying (please let someone read this far), if so (or if not) pleas leave a review