This chapter has been modified from the original narrative. Certain elements were automatically blocked by FanFiction's site. You can see the complete version at AO3 or on my Tumblr account.
Judy had been passing through an old snowy tenement complex when the shouts first reached her ears.
"Please, just take it and go, please—" A crack of knuckles against flesh, and a cry. Laughter in response.
The rabbit followed her ears. She sprinted between two wide brown buildings, drab and stained with age and neglect. Judy rounded a large pile of trashbags and broken boxes to find the walls opening up into an open space, framing the scene she was looking for. A raccoon lay on the ground, half facing up with his paws raised in the air in a feeble attempt at defense. Around him, two rhinoceroses and a hippopotamus jeered, all three teenagers. While they weren't fully grown, they still appeared massive to their target.
"Not so big and tough now, are you, chomper?" One of the rhinoceroses, who had two horns, was rummaging through a computer bag, throwing the contents on the ground. They disappeared into the snowdrifts.
"I'm just trying to get to work," the raccoon pled, "I don't want any trouble!"
"Yeah, well you shoulda thoughta that before you came trespassin'!" The other rhinoceros, who had two horns, aimed a kick at the raccoon's side. He hit his target, drawing out another cry. "Hey Nilly, let's give 'im a few whacks and teach what happens to chompers who outstay their welcome!"
The hippopotamus gave a short laugh, and Judy noticed a golf club in his hand—
"Alright, break it up! All of you!"
Her voice made every eye jerk to her. The alarm of the three assailants quickly relaxed.
"Hey, Hopps!" the one-horned rhino said with a grin. "Fancy a hero showing up at our place!"
Judy ignored his greeting. "I said break it up."
"Nah, don't worry," the hippopotamus gestured to the raccoon. "We're not fighting, we're just defending ourselves. Chompers skulking around," he turned and spat on their prisoner. "It's not right."
"I'll tell you what's not right: assault, and assault with a deadly weapon!" She pointed to the club in his hand. "Now, any chance you're going to come quietly, or is this going to get messy?"
The three of them were shocked, and Judy felt spitefully joyful to see them off-put. The two-horned rhino suddenly had a moment of realization. "Ohhh…guys," he nodded with a clever expression, "she just wants in on it."
In a flash she had her tranquilizer out. "Step away from the raccoon, and put your hands in the air right now, or so help me I'll send you to Dreamland for three days!"
Instead of complying with her orders, though, the three assailants panicked and began to run. The rhinoceros charged past her. She tried to fire the dart; it grazed by his face and hit the side of a building, falling with an impotent clink. As she looked up, the other two were escaping down the alley. It was just her and the raccoon, who was still clutching his torso.
"Hey," Judy got up and padded over to him. "You're gonna be alright."
His face still didn't look at hers, it was too twisted in agony. All of his teeth showed as he hissed air in pain, mixed with groans. The raccoon rolled over onto his side, and Judy could see the fur under his eyes sparkling with tears.
"This is Officer Hopps," she called into her radio. "Send medical evac immediately. Tundratown, 816 Frostbite Street. Victim of assault, over." With that she walked over to his bag, which the rhinoceros had dropped in his escape. Inside were a couple of plastic folders stuffed with papers, and a laptop. Judy opened the computer; long cracks webbed the screen like a spider's work. She replaced it in the bag before setting it against the wall. Then she began to collect the other items that had been thrown aside: a wallet belonging to a Mr. Ralph Coor; a set of graphite that had been spilled over the frozen pavement; more papers that showed sketches of buildings, each with a big red "DENIED" stamped on them; a picture of Ralph with an older male, their arms around each other, with Ralph holding a small model of a house and beaming proudly.
"Mr. Coor?" Judy came over to him, holding his possessions. "I think I got everything."
He still had one paw holding onto his side, while the other gripped the ground. Ralph's eyes barely opened. He vocalized a groan, which seemed to be all he could manage. Judy understood his sentiment.
"You're welcome."
She knelt beside him, keeping him calm and secure until the ambulance came rolling into the square.
Judy had been back on the force for a week and a half; this was the seventh time she'd stopped a prey-on-predator assault.
Judy spent the rest of the day much more quietly, sitting at her desk and typing the incident report. By now she had it down to a template, a fact she was not happy to know.
"District, Tundratown," she typed. "Victim, Ralph Coor, age 22, species is raccoon…"
She heard hooves rap on her cubicle wall, and she turned to see Bogo coming in. "Another one?"
"Yeah," Judy could hear the fatigue in her voice. "The paramedics said he was going to be alright...but that's just what they're trained to say, I know."
"Hm," he nodded. "Try not to think about it too much. Now, the reason I came in here was to talk to you about a very important assignment."
She swiveled her chair away from her desk.
"On Thursday," he began, "Tina Gray's going to be having a rally in the middle of Savannah Central. It's her last big push before election day on Friday. Given your recent line of reports," he gestured to the computer screen, "we believe there will be agitators and attempts at violence, so we're giving Miss Gray a personal security detail. Now, the same night is Gazelle's concert, and a lot of officers are already asking to work that shift. That means our line up is kind of thin," he stared right at her, "so I need to assign you to Gray. I know you and Gray disagree on a lot of issues," his eye fluttered in what was either a twitch or a wink, "but I trust that you will be professional about this."
Judy nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I'd just be worried about a potential conflict of interest. Are you sure there's no one else?"
"No one. You don't have a choice."
"Alright, well...I understand that I have to be impartial. If you believe that I would be the best fit, then I accept."
"Splendid. I'll notify her campaign at once." He took a couple steps forward and added under his breath, "Fantastic acting, Hopps. Also, she wants to meet you at the brothers' manor the day before, I'll drive."
Judy grinned back and nodded as he left, and returned to her report. She was just finishing the descriptions of the perpetrators when she noticed the email tab in her browser. A small number one flashed by the envelope. She opened the tab and read:
Judy Hopps,
As you know, the city elections will be held next Thursday. And at the moment, the outlook for our city is grim. You love Zootopia as much as I do, and I'm sure we feel the same pain to see it torn apart by terror and uncontrolled brutes. Unfortunately, our great metropolis may soon fall into the hands of traitorous forces. Tina Gray is too woefully incompetent to handle the crisis that grips Zootopia, and her mayorship will destroy our city.
As a hero to the citizenry, and a powerful symbol of security, you have great influence over public perception. Therefore, Dawn Bellwether would like to ask for your endorsement. Together we can keep Zootopia strong and secure, as long as we have your help.
Best regards,
Clive Hoofer
Judy read the email through several times, hardly believing it. Was he really asking for…? She began to reply:
Mr. Hoofer,
Thank you for reaching out to me. I agree that the city is facing some very serious problems right now, and I want to do everything I can to help solve them. However, you have to understand that as a law enforcement officer, it wouldn't be proper for me to take one side or another in that kind of respect. My concern is with protecting the city, and I will do my duties regardless of who is in office.
Sincerely,
Judy Hopps
"You're kidding?"
"No!" Judy talked to Pierce over her cellphone as she sat on her bed. "He seriously wanted me to endorse her."
"What did you say?"
"I said no, of course."
"Well I figured that, but how did you say no? What exactly did you say?"
"I just told him that I wasn't willing to openly endorse any candidate, that I wanted to remain as impartial as possible."
Pierce was quiet for a second. "Okay, just be careful around him. He's not someone to be trifled with."
"Got it." She drummed her fingers on her knee. "You know, just the other day I saw him trying to intimidate one of the city council representatives into letting him off the hook, she said she was going to expose the fact he's lying in his research."
"Judy, don't you ever be as stupid as she was." There was a crackle as he breathed into the receiver. "We've been trying to piece together a history of Clive, and it's not a pretty one."
"Why? What's he done?"
But she heard voices on the other end. "Sorry, gotta let you go. Lucas just came in, we're meeting with Tina again. Call you later, okay?"
"Okay, bye!" Judy hung up, thinking about his words. And suddenly she realized that in all her excitement and work, she hardly knew anything about Clive Hoofer.
The next morning, her patrol ran across a couple of vandals trying to spraypaint a car. As she was typing it up, she began searching in another tab for stories about Clive Hoofer. Most of the top stories were about his recent rise to power under Bellwether, but as she trimmed down her results Judy began to paint a picture.
"Prison Guard Captain Accused of Murder"
As she wrote her report about two teenagers who had been trying to repaint a car green, Judy read about a young goat, facing charges over the deaths of a fox and lion that had been in his custody. Testimonies from inmates detailed how the captain forced them to eat meals infested with worms and maggots, with the food thrown into the mud if it appeared "too good for them." Blurred pictures showed bruises, bloodied faces. Courtroom sketches showing families sitting across the aisle from a goat who had his arms crossed. A small headline about insufficient evidence to prove excessive force. Furbook pages dedicated to bringing the captain to real justice, pages that only had twenty followers and had not been updated in years. A tiny article saying that a guard who had faced past controversy had gone into work with a small insurance company, pushing papers around. Another tabloid piece about he'd been fired, either for denying treatment to predators or having a secret affair with Gazelle (Judy guessed it had been the former). That was a couple months before the first Night Howler attack had occurred.
In between her work and her research, she didn't notice the little icon appear again.
"Oh!" She clicked on the tab again, and read:
Officer Hopps,
I understand your concern with keeping up the integrity of your badge. I applaud your efforts to be as upright a citizen as possible. However, in these troubled times I'm sure you'd agree that sometimes dramatic actions must be taken, and rules bent. If we are to protect ourselves we have to act outside our comfort zone sometimes, and outside the expectations placed by society.
Endorsing Bellwether within your duties as an officer would perhaps be improper. However, within your role as a public figure, you could certainly express your support for the candidate that helped you.
Sincerely,
Clive Hoofer
Judy felt an unease within her. She knew she had to keep her facade...but if she said anything outright supporting Bellwether, or even hinting that she supported Bellwether, the sheep could end up winning. She began her reply:
Mr. Hoofer,
I feel like you may be frustrated with me, and I hope that I don't come across as short. As I said before, I care very much for the city, and I will take good care of it. But again, I do not want to take sides in this campaign. I must respectfully disagree with your belief that we can bend the rules in this instance. I will not judge you if you wish to do so, but I cannot bring myself to compromise what I believe in. I hope that you and Bellwether will understand.
Sincerely,
Judy Hopps
She plodded through the rest of the day, went home, went on patrol the next morning, stopped another bout of violence between a bear and a herd of wildebeests. Judy sat to her cubicle a few hours later to find another response:
Hopps:
I'm sorry to hear that you're caught up in old ideas. We are now living in a time where old traditions are holding us back, and hurting people in very real ways. There are points where we have to recognize that some things must be let go for the greater good of all people. Old mannerisms have to be updated, and ethics have to evolve to be relevant.
I had hoped that you of all people would empathize with the plight of Zootopia, and the terror that predators current hold over the populace. There is only one candidate that promises to act tough to prevent anyone going through what you did. If you cannot support her then it could be that much harder for us. If you truly want to protect the city you would do this.
Clive Hoofer
Judy didn't know how to respond. Her fingers hovered over the keys. She would begin a sentence, and decide it was too sympathetic. She would try again, and it would sound too opposed. Before she could even begin her reply in earnest, she heard hooves on her cubicle again.
"Hopps," Bogo pointed at the clock. "It's time to go home. Want me to drive you?"
"Yeah," she recited, "I'd appreciate that."
A few minutes later they were heading north to the Meadowlands.
