Chapter 4: Acceptance and defying expectations
Bogo was a morning animal. He loved waking up at daybreak to meditate before he went on to punch-in for work. His Chief Commanding Officer uniforms were always ironed smooth and his house was dirt-free. He was never late, and his coffee from the cafeteria was always perfectly brewed. His life was as organized as his files and documents were.
Every single morning, he'd be the first – well, one of the first, since Clawhauser was just as early as he was – to step into ZPD headquarters. He'd find a few cops tired out of their mind, almost falling asleep with every breath they took. He'd relieve them of their shifts, give them a stiff pat on the back with a stern expression, and watch them leave with a proud feeling in his chest for being able to serve alongside Zootopia's finest.
He loved the quiet environment. It was one of the few moments of the day when his blood pressure wasn't pushing the boundaries between healthy and cardiac arrest. The emptiness was calming, and the way the halls echoed his the clopping of his hooves was pure bliss. It made him feel confident and mighty, more so than he usually was, and that was saying something.
One could say that Bogo arrived early because of the serenity. There was some time before the station would become rowdier as civilians began to appear. Clawhauser had always suspected that it was for this reason that Bogo appeared earlier than he needed to (the cheetah merely loved his job and had basically camped there at the counter). There were others who argued that it was because he was Chief and always needed to be around to supervise his underlings. Ultimately, nobody had the courage to ask and it was left to speculation. Later on, it would turn into a betting pool, started by a certain red fox on the force.
Every single day, Bogo would do a complete tour of the HQ. He'd see to that everything was in place, go down to the shooting range to practice, check on the armoury and equipment (rumour has it that he had a secret stash of weapons hidden somewhere, unsurprisingly brought about by said red fox) and then return to his office to go through the reports submitted to him. Oh, and there was a few cups of coffee and/or tea somewhere in that routine, in no particular order.
So with such a perfect and orderly routine that would keep even the most irritable person content, why exactly did ZPD always see Bogo with a scowl on his face?
For starters, walking into a noisy briefing room with 'Zootopia's finest' police officers pranking, arm-wrestling and telling vulgar jokes could really put a damper on one's mood. So much for Zootopia's finest, he'd grumble in his mind. As diligent as they were, his underlings were as bad as schoolchildren when it came to keeping their composure. Officer Hopps, their current newest addition was thankfully a meek one and didn't usually participate in the whirlwind of hyperactive cops.
"Let them be," his ex-boss had said before, "It's good that they have such energy. It's a sign that they have a lot of spirit." Not that he agreed, but there was a certain truth to his old boss's words.
So, the chaotic environment in addition to the fact that there seemed to be suspected organized criminal activity recently.
The buffalo stomped (not literally) into the bullpen, a nickname the ZPD had called the briefing room and stood behind the podium. They stood up and began thumping the tables as soon as he walked in. It was a ritual that Rhinowitz and McHorn had started (it was respectful, they claimed and although he would never say it out loud, he actually liked it) when he first took over. It took him a raised voice to bring about order again. Almost instantly, the noise died down. Bogo held up his clipboard and put on his glasses and began to speak.
"First of all, we have a break-in that needs investigations." The officers in the room sat up eagerly, prompting the Chief to continue. "Wolford, Canis and Sniffer, field work." The wolves stood up and high-fived each other before shuffling out of the briefing room. The rest of the room occupants seemed to deflate slightly.
Bogo cleared his throat again and said, "I'm not done with the lot of you yet. Delgato, Fangmeyer, and Higgins, Golden Fleece Street, SWAT. McHorn and Francine, patrol." He began distributing his officers into small pairs or trios until there were about four left in the room. Judy Hopps was one of them. "The rest of you, paperwork. Dismissed."
Everyone else got up and left the room but Hopps approached the chief tentatively and said, "Sir, I was wondering…"
Bogo took off his glasses and slid them into his breast pocket. He gazed down at the grey-furred rabbit before him. He would never admit it, but he was impressed that Hopps never showed signs of backing down in front of a looming animal ten times her size, despite her timid nature. This was the very same bunny that had single-handedly (technically she had help) solved the missing mammal case with close to no resources under 48 hours, whereas the whole ZPD hadn't even been close to getting a clue. In due time she will receive her promotion, as long as she continues to perform well.
"Yes, Officer Hopps?" he said in his usual gruff tone, although it was a fraction of a bit softer.
The chief realised that Hopps was holding a folded piece of paper in her paw. She hesitantly lifted it but lowered her arm. Bogo raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Instead, he extended an open hoof, a silent invitation that Judy accepted. The bunny flinched as he opened the folded paper to read its contents.
It was a ZPD employment application form. The buffalo chuckled deeply. "And I thought you were handing in your resignation form, again." Judy blushed at the reference to the first time she quit and rubbed her arm, not looking at her superior.
"No, Sir. I was thinking, I have a friend who helped me on the missing mammal case. He has a lot of potential and a keen mind. So I thought that I would…"
Bogo was barely listening. He caught words such as 'loyal', 'helpful', 'job' and 'dream' but he mostly tuned it out. He was more invested in reading the details of the form. The applicant was a male citizen named Nicholas Wilde, with a middle initial P, whatever that stood for. A tingling at the back of his mind sensed that he had seen the name before. The next detail was that he was a predator. Fair enough, Bogo thought. He frowned slightly when he saw the height and weight. 4 feet and 80 pounds was not even half of Silverfur, the smallest wolf on the force. His sights rested on the word 'fox' and he narrowed his eyes. Memories of an impudent, defiant, red-furred mammal in a green shirt surfaced. He vaguely recalled seeing the name on some reports he received a long time ago. He lowered the paper and snorted.
"No."
Officer Hopps stopped her rambling abruptly. Her ears drooped. "Sir?"
Bogo glowered down at the bunny. "I will not be letting a fox into my police department and that's that, especially not him. I've seen his records before, this animal was reported for scamming and petty theft though he always came clear for some reason. I do not want him in the ZPD."
Judy objected, "He was to be cleared of all charges and his records are to be wiped, that's what Mayor Snapper promised. Nick's a changed animal now, a good citizen. He will make a good cop, I promise!" After a moment, she added defiantly, "If a bunny can make it, then so can a fox."
The chief's temper flared. Was there no limits to the bunny's insubordination? He bent down and raised a hoof finger. "Don't push it, Hopps. You may have had a moment of glory but I am still your commanding superior. Must I remind you that you were given a chance only because our former Mayor Lionheart had insisted that you be put on the force, against my better judgment," he ranted agitatedly as he began pacing, throwing his arms into the air. "The ZPD used to present an image of strength and intimidation, superiority. We had lions, tigers, elephants, wolves, rhinos! We were the authorities, the hardened keepers of the law. Then Lionheart (curse that idiot) wanted a bunny of all animals to be added? All because he wanted diversity," he used air quotes, "and equality. I told him that bunnies were not built to be police officers, but did he listen? Bah, if it wasn't for his politics you wouldn't have been accepted at all, top of the class or not."
The commanding officer had never shared this story with anyone. All his frustration from the mayor's stubbornness had burst through the floodgates. It felt good to finally chuck the boulder of pressure that had been weighing him down. He paused to look at his underling. Her ears were flattened behind her head, her lips quibbled and her nose was twitching rapidly. Bogo knew from observing that the bunny was on the verge of tears and he felt a mild twinge of regret. He had basically told her that she would have rejected regardless, if it weren't for intervention from the higher ups.
She must be feeling helpless, knowing that it wasn't her efforts that got her into the ZPD, Bogo thought. Knowing that one was the result of tokenism would shake anyone to the core.
"Please, Sir. Couldn't you give him a chance?" she begged.
A chance. Oh yes, he could. But why should he? On what account did this Wilde person deserve a chance? Bogo glared at Hopps. His rational side reminded him that had he not given the officer the opportunity to prove herself, she would have been stuck in parking duty forever and the missing mammal would have never been solved.
Then again, would Bogo have given her an opening to shine if Bellwether hadn't manipulated him into giving Hopps the case? Damn those politicians, he cursed. He admitted silently that he probably wouldn't have, and the ZPD would have been denied one of its finest officers.
"Look, you gave her a clown vest and a three-wheeled joke-mobile and two days to solve a case you guys haven't cracked in two weeks? No wonder she had to get help from a fox. It wasn't as if you guys were going to help her."
If it wasn't for that slick imbecile pointing it out, Bogo too wouldn't have seen the unfairness in the 'chance' he gave the new officer in his blinded disdain and in a literal context, bullheadedness.
"I'll just get on with the paperwork, sir. Good day." Seeing that she wasn't getting any positive response, Judy trod towards the door slowly, thinking with a heavy heart about how she had to bring this up to Nick.
Bogo watched her go, head hanging down. He glanced at the paper in his hands again. He sighed and made a decision.
"Hold it right there, Hopps," he said. Judy had reached the door and had a paw on it. She turned back to look at her boss. "'It's not what you want, it's what you're capable of.' Do you remember who said it?"
Judy Hopps nodded slowly. "It was you, Sir," she replied.
"Then I believe this Nicholas Wilde will have to prove that he is indeed capable by surviving the Zootopia Police Academy."
The rabbit's ears began to rise slowly. "Sir, does that mean—"
Chief Bogo interrupted her. "Ah, ah, ah. Don't get your hopes up. Your career is at stake here. If he doesn't graduate with First Class Honours, it's eternal parking duty for you. So you better hope your foxy friend works hard. Understood?" He finished with a slight curl at the edge of his mouth.
Hopps' ears went erect and she broke into a grin. She stood straight and said, "Yes, Sir. I'll make sure of that."
Bogo grunted. "Now don't you have work to do? I am not paying you overtime if you don't finish those papers by today."
"Yes, Sir! Thank you very much, Sir! Good day to you," she opened the door and sped off, leaving it ajar. Seconds later she returned to close it, grinning sheepishly.
Chief Bogo rolled his eyes. He gathered his stuff and proceeded to his office. Inside, he put the form on his desk and sat down heavily on his armchair, finally getting to relax. He glanced at the framed newspaper cuttings on his wall. It was recent and sported a picture of him, Hopps and Mr Snapper, the new Mayor of Zootopia. Judy was being awarded a medal of honour for saving the city and solving the mystery that had haunted Zootopia for weeks. The bunny smiled widely at the camera whereas he himself stood towering next to her, also receiving credit for his officer's achievement.
She couldn't have done it without Nick, he mused. That fox was crucial to her success and the returned peace in Zootopia.
The chief generally detested foxes. Heck, almost every citizen despised foxes. They were untrustworthy, sly, smooth-talkers who should be avoided at all costs. Despite agreeing to accept a fox's application to become a police officer, he knew deep down that he wasn't ready to accept more changes to the ZPD.
Change, huh?
Bogo wasn't one to be open to change. Things were established for a reason. There was an unspoken rule that everyone should know. Everyone had their place in society, and life wasn't as easy as a cartoon musical where everyone sang songs and their insipid dreams magically came through. Like how Bogo was born to be a leader and a police chief. Like how the ZPD was supposed to consist only of tough, heavyweight mammals.
Yet against all odds, a bunny rabbit had exceeded expectations, defied the status quo, and become the first rabbit officer to ever exist. She wasn't technically the first rabbit to work with the police though… but that was another story.
Judy Hopps was the first big change, willing or not, that was made. Zootopia was gradually changing, and Chief Bogo could see that. However, a fox on the other hand…
The chief grunted. If he could tolerate a bunny, he would have to learn to do so for a fox. He was actually astounded that Hopps would be so determined to have a fox of all animals, whose species were natural enemies, join her as a colleague. She was truly different from the rest, there was no doubt of it.
Looking again at the application form, his eyes trailed to the bottom of the page where there was a question whether Wilde had ever been arrested. The tick in the box next to the option 'yes' had been hastily scratched off. The other tick box was marked with a larger and darker tick, as if to emphasize it.
He thought about the conversation he just had. That bunny had been more concerned about her friend's job application than the knowledge of being a token bunny, which he suspected that she knew way earlier. Perhaps there was something in this fox that she saw. Perhaps there is more to this Nicholas Wilde than meets the eye. Nevertheless, it was ironic and to a point, inspiring, how much times and predator-prey relationships had changed.
A bunny recruiting a fox into the force? I think I have seen it all now.
The chief snorted and pulled out the phone. All of that could come later. There was some Gazelle gossip to catch up on.
A/N: EDIT 2/8/2017 - I am deeply sorry for the lack of updates and the surge of new shipping fanfiction on this site must be more exciting as opposed to my stuff. I really love this story and I have plans for it but… time is not my friend and I still have 3 Digimon fanfics to deal with at the moment.
I occasionally receive emails that I've gained new followers for this story and although I'm not writing really often, I appreciate that despite all the fluffy shipfics out there some people still pay attention to my work. I am eternally grateful :')
Once again, thank you for reading and please leave a review, it really brightens my day to know that people are enjoying my work.
