Just a Pig
It couldn't last.
Hunter had been a cop for a long time. There were ups, there were downs. Sometimes people loved you, most of the time indifference was the best you could hope for.
It was one of the few jobs that, the better you were doing, the less people wanted to see you.
So he took the news of the homicide- a relative rarity in Zootopia- with equanimity.
"Just relax, Hopps."
Judy glanced at him, her paws still gripping the wheel. "I'm fine."
He looked at her. The mammals of Zootopia were certainly different from humans in their gestures and body language, but there were similarities- and he had spent enough time with the rabbit to interpret the tenseness of her body posture, the ears flattened against her back, and the silence that was emanating from the driver's seat.
He reviewed the call slip information, which simply stated that a pig was down, apparently not breathing, bleeding heavily.
Hunter concentrated heavily on not thinking "bleeding like a stuck pig." He had a feeling that it would not go down well.
Hopps slammed the brakes, the car skidding on the streets that were wet with the light rain. "Come on!" she yelled as she dashed out of the car.
"Slow down, Hopps!" Hunter shouted as he followed. There was a small crowd gathered- a good distance from the body. "For all we know the killer is still-" Hopps wasn't listening.
The pig was slumped over, kneeling, though his head was touching the concrete in an attitude of near-genuflection. His face was twisted up slightly, his eyes unseeing and glazed over. Blood ran red in the gutter where he had fallen.
Hopps ran up to him and put fingers to his throat, checking for a pulse.
Hunter followed, eyes scanning the area. The crowd started to disperse, especially the shiftier elements. He watched their hands carefully. Rule Six. Watch the hands. Hands are what hold weapons. Hands are what can kill you. Or paws, he supposed.
None of them came any closer.
Hopps's ears were down, and he hastened his approach as she started to roll the body. "Hopps, he's gone!" he said, grabbing her shoulder.
"No pulse! I need to do CPR!" she said, shaking off his hand. She tried to roll the body over, but couldn't quite move the dead weight.
"Hopps!" Hunter pulled her back. "He's been dead for a while, Hopps." He wasn't sure how he knew- but he knew. You eventually learn. She kept trying to get to the body. "Judy! He's gone, dammit! Leave him alone- the crime scene guys won't want him moved."
"We have to try-"
Just then, the paramedics rushed up. They quickly checked the pig, and then shook their heads. "He's dead," said one, a rabbit. With a shock, Hunter realized he was the same one that had treated him when he was attacked by the cheetah. He hadn't known he could differentiate between the different animals like that.
Hunter looked down at Hopps. Her eyes were wide, staring at the corpse. He wasn't sure if the moisture he saw was from the rain or-
"Hopps." She kept staring. "Hopps!"
"Wha- what?"
"Go to the car, tell the other units they can slow down." She looked at him uncomprehendingly. "I don't want them rushing to get here in this rain," he said, a bit more gently. He gave her a slight push.
She still hesitated.
He put a bit of snap into his voice. "Get to it, Officer Hopps!"
The rabbit closed her eyes, took a deep breath. "Okay." When she opened them, there wasn't a hint of tears, just determination. She walked to the patrol car.
Hunter watched her go. "Attagirl," he said quietly. He looked at the paramedics, taking out his notebook as he did. "So what are you guys carrying as time pronounced?" He glanced at the body again and frowned as he, finally, saw the wound.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Nick pulled up, eyes scanning with instincts primed by years on the street- even though most it wasn't as a cop. Immediately, he picked out Judy, standing with her raincoat on near the outside perimeter, arms folded around her. His eyes lingered on her a moment with worry, then he looked further. Hunter was standing near the victim, pointing something out to a rhino with a bored expression on his face.
His eyes flicked between them. Hunter looked like he had something. From the looks of it, something important. His instincts told him he should find out what was going on over there.
He walked to Judy.
"Hey, Carrots."
She glanced back, flipping her hood down to see better- it was slightly too large for her. Her eyes softened slightly as they saw him. "Hey, Nick." She turned to look back at the curious crowd, thinning somewhat as the rain got slightly heavier.
Nick glanced back at Hunter. "What's wrong?"
She whirled on him, and he actually took a step back. "What's wrong?" she said, almost spitting the words. "Besides the dead mammal over there, you mean?"
"Carrots-"
"Hunter held me back," she said. One paw grabbed an ear, unconsciously. "I was trying to help him-"
Nick hesitated. "Was he- could you have-"
"No." The rabbit took a deep breath. "He was gone."
Um. "Then-"
"How can you stand there and not try?" she said, almost to herself. "How can you just look at that and think- well, we shouldn't move the body?"
He didn't know what to say. "Maybe it's just part of being a cop. Maybe he just sees-" he stopped.
"What, Nick? Maybe he just sees what?" She turned again to look at him. "Just a dead pig?"
The rain intensified, and she flipped her hood back up as she turned her back on him.
No, not on him, he realized, as he looked at how she was standing.
On Hunter.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Look, Officer Hunter," said the rhino, patient condescencion dripping from his every word. "This isn't First Landing, Alpha Centauri. This is Zootopia."
"Okay, so how do you explain it?"
"Stab wounds," said the detective. "Really deep stab wounds. Maybe a sword?"
Hunter rolled his eyes. "A sword? Really? You barely even get any knife homicides, since almost everyone has claws."
"Stranger things have happened."
"Strange things, huh? Like what I'm suggesting?"
The rhino glared at him and, with a irritated shake of his head, walked away.
Hunter heard someone padding up behind him. He shook his head. "You should be on the perimeter still, Hopps."
"It's me."
Hunter turned to see Wilde, who was watching him carefully. There was something about his stance- Hunter ignored it. Job to do. "How's Hopps?"
"She's okay. Upset."
"She'll be fine." Hunter looked away. "She's one tough bunny."
The fox snorted. "Tell me about it. She's never blackmailed you."
Hunter narrowed his eyes at the fox. "Blackmailed?"
"So there's something odd about the wounds, you think?" Wilde said hurriedly.
Hunter gave him a look that said We're gonna talk about this later.
Wilde returned one that said We'll see.
The veteran cop gestured. "Look at those injuries."
Wilde squatted on his haunches, peering at the corpse without getting too close. "Could be stab wounds."
Hunter shook his head. "Not likely." He stopped and looked around, then started walking up and down the street, his flashlight out to help see in the growing gloom.
Wilde watched his slow progress for a few minutes as he walked a slow pattern, up and down the street. "What are you looking for?"
"For-" Abruptly, Hunter leaned down as he spotted a gleam. He got closer, than straightened. "For that."
The fox moved closer. "What is it?" he asked, not recognizing the small metal cylinder in the street.
Hunter glanced at the rhino, now talking to the paramedics. "It's a bullet casing."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Guns."
Bogo glared. It didn't seem to be directed at Hunter for once. It was more of an generic glare, a glare directed at the universe for failing to conform to the very reasonable expectations the chief required.
"Someone has brought guns to Zootopia."
"I wonder who that could have been," muttered Procyon, the mayor. He glared at Hunter.
Hunter grimaced. He was never comfortable around brass- which he considered everyone above the rank of "patrol officer" to be- and here he was giving them bad news. He wondered if the mammals of Terra had developed any customs regarding shooting messengers.
"I assure you, my government will leave no stone unturned in this investigation," said Undersecretary Horne smoothly. "I hardly think Officer Hunter had anything to do with this. One shouldn't shoot the messenger."
"Don't give them any ideas," muttered Hunter.
If anyone heard, they ignored him. "I didn't mean him, personally, Undersecretary." Procyon sniffed. "I meant his species-"
"I think what the mayor is trying to say," put in Leapzig, "Is that there is no domestic firearms industry on Terra. So it likely did come from the Human Stars."
"We do have a number of smugglers who are on the lookout for new markets," acknowledged Horne sourly. "And rest assured, they will be punished if found. Assuming that is indeed the source of this weapon."
The rest of the assembly made noises of agreement.
Except for one. "Aren't we forgetting something?" asked Hunter.
All eyes turned to him. "Hunter," began Horne in a warning tone.
"What are we forgetting, Officer Hunter?" asked the mayor patronizingly. "Please, enlighten us."
"How about Mr. Susslun?"
There were blank looks almost all around. Almost.
"Who is Mr. Susslun?" asked the mayor.
It was Bogo who spoke. "Mr. Susslun was the mammal who was murdered."
Some of the mammals in the meeting had the grace to look embarrassed. Most-
Didn't.
Just one a day, Hunter thought, gritting his teeth. Just let me kill one politician a day.
"Naturally, I'm sure ZPD will be right on the case. No doubt you will be able to find the killer," said the mayor, finally.
Bogo glanced at Hunter, a faint look of respect in his eyes. "I intend to."
"Very good. Well, chief, Officer Hunter, thank you for your time."
The two gathered up their notes- Hunter had his report and the written statement Homicide had insisted he provide, Bogo had a stack of paperwork that made Hunter slightly queasy just to look at- and walked outside.
Bogo looked at Hunter. He braced himself.
Instead of- well, whatever he was expecting- Bogo said, "How's Hopps?"
He blinked. "She's fine."
The big mammal cocked his head. "You know, when she started I didn't think she could hack it."
"Yeah?" They had started walking.
"Little bunny in a big city. I figured she was going to get hurt. Getting her out of the department seemed to be kinder than letting her go home in a wheelchair- or a body bag."
"She's tougher than that," said Hunter with conviction.
"Sure. She proved she was physically tough enough, at least-" Bogo held open the door as they walked outside- "in her own way."
They walked in silence for a moment. Then, Hunter stopped and turned to Bogo. "I've been training rookies for a long time, chief."
Bogo had stopped too. He didn't say anything, just nodded for Hunter to continue.
"You spend eight hours a day, five days a week riding a shift, doing police work, you learn how to read them. You do it with rookies, you learn how to tell how good they are."
A faint smile crept across the water buffalo's face. "And how good do you think Hopps is, Hunter?"
Hunter grinned. "Well, hopefully you'll be ready to retire when she takes your job."
The chief's smile froze, and then he burst out in a guffaw. He shook his head. "You ready to put your money where that big mouth of yours is, Hunter?"
Never volunteer. Never volunteer. Never- "We'll take the case, chief."
Once again, the chief chuckled. "Your chief wasn't quite right in that profile he sent me of you."
Hunter frowned. "What do you mean?"
"He said you were smart." Bogo opened his car door and got in. "He didn't quite say that you were too smart. But you are." He closed the door, then rolled down the window. "Here."
Hunter took the paperwork from the chief. He glanced at it. As he suspected, it was the report for the homicide, the crime scene photos, everything.
He quirked an eyebrow. "You're not going to tell me I have forty-eight hours to crack this thing, are ya, boss?"
The buffalo snorted, though there was a twinkle in his eye. "Would I ever be that cliche? Just get it done, Hunter. Hopps and Wilde will be on special assignment with you."
Hunter snapped a salute. "Sir, yes, sir!"
Bogo gave him a level look as he backed the car up.
"Aren't you at least going to tell me I'm a loose cannon?" shouted Hunter as he drove away. "Maybe threaten to take away my badge?"
As the chief rolled off, Hunter was able to add something new to his mental list of Things Water Buffaloes Can Do, namely, Make Obscene Gestures.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"What the hell was I thinking?" Hunter muttered as he walked through the doors of the coffee shop. A pair of- deer? He still hadn't figured out all the species yet- did a double-take when they saw him. He ignored them and made a bee-line to their usual table, where Hopps and Wilde were sitting.
Wilde nodded to him as he sat down. Hopps didn't say anything- didn't even meet his eyes. He gave her a quizzical glance, transferred it to Wilde, who suddenly found something interesting about his coffee to consider.
Hunter decided they would talk when they were ready. "So I broke a bunch of my own rules today."
Wilde glanced up. Hopps continued to keep her head down, ears flat against her back.
"I talked to the chief about the Susslun case." He took a deep breath. "It's ours."
Hopps looked up at that. Wilde's eyes widened. "That's a Homicide case."
Hunter shrugged. "Well, the chief thinks we can handle it. We're on special assignment for the duration."
"That's-" Hopps's eyes widened further. "He didn't tell us we had forty-eight hours to solve it, did he?"
"What?" Hunter stared at her. "No, of course not. What do you think this is, some sort of buddy cop movie?"
She exhaled in apparent relief. Then looked down again, stirring her coffee slowly.
Wilde looked at her, then looked at Hunter helplessly.
"Okay...so, why is the bunny not super-excited about this?" asked Hunter slowly. "I mean, you're able to be enthusiastic about parking tickets. This is a homicide case."
She looked up at him then. And he pushed his chair back slightly in surprise.
Wow, bunnies could look mean.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be excited?" she asked, her voice harder. Hunter leaned back further as she stood up and slammed her paws on the table. "I mean, someone died today! What a chance for my career!" Other patrons glanced at their table in surprise.
Hunter exchanged a worried look with Wilde. "Hey, Carrots, he didn't mean-" began the fox but Hunter was already talking.
"Hopps, listen, I know this isn't an easy job." His shock was gradually replaced by anger. "And you should know it too. Rule Three- you can't save everyone!"
"But you can at least try!" she shouted.
Hunter opened his mouth. Closed it again.
Now everyone in the shop was staring at them.
"I'm going home." She stood up, tossed a few dollars on the table. She paused. "Screw you and your stupid rules," she said, almost too low to hear.
Then she left.
The two males at the table glanced uneasily at one another.
After a moment, Hunter cleared his throat. "So, uh, what just happened?"
Wilde stared, shook his head in disbelief. "Gosh, a little rabbit from the country has her very first violent death to deal with and you decided to take the case without even asking her? Who would have thought she might take that badly?"
"Uh."
Hunter was smart. He was experienced. And he was proud of both of those things. Which meant he was not used to admitting he was wrong. Which may have gone some way to explaining his next words.
"She's gotta deal with it sometime."
Wilde snapped his head up, his face expressionless but his eyes piercing. "Oh, really, Officer Hunter?"
He didn't like being challenged, either. "I've been policing as many years as she's been alive, Wilde, don't tell me how to deal with rookies. She's gotta see and hear this stuff sometime!" He was leaning forward as well, now.
Wilde nearly came over the table at him. "Yeah? Did it occur to you that maybe she shouldn't have heard it from you?"
"What's that supposed to mean, fox?"
"Excuse me," said a nervous-looking waitress, a squirrel. Both males turned to look at her. "I'm going to have to ask you to keep it down or leave." She saw their eyes and squeezed her own shut.
Wilde grabbed his coat. "We're leaving."
"I'm not-"
"Yes, you are, human," spat Wilde. "You've got something you need to see. And I'm taking you there."
