Chapter 9: A Fine Line
On the opposite side of the city, Judy took a deep breath as she stood just outside of the ZPD's main entrance. She was still in utter shock and disbelief that she wasn't going to see Nick, standing by the water cooler with a cup of coffee, smiling his wide smile at her as she entered. She closed her eyes momentarily, attempting to gather herself, and then finally entered.
Now that there were no more predators working at the ZPD, the roster was much thinner than usual. Not only was Nick gone, but Benjamin Clawhauser was also no longer there. Instead, he had been replaced by a much smaller armadillo named Nadene. She smiled at Judy as she entered. "Hello Judy," she said cheerfully, leaning forward on her paws. "How are you this fine morning?"
"Oh I'm doing fine, thank you Nadene," she answered, although she certainly didn't feel fine. She proceeded to Bogo's office, growing more and more nervous as she did. Who was her new partner going to be? Would she be able to work with them and be able to function as a single unit? Would he/she even like her? All of these questions buzzed around in her mind as she opened the door to his office.
She noticed Bogo right away; seated at his desk and going over his usual morning paperwork. He glanced up and saw Judy, then motioned for her to sit down. "Miss Hopps, welcome," he said with very little emotion. "Your partner should be here anytime. I've been going over his file and...well...it's impressive. Except one thing is a little bit off."
"And...that would be?" Judy implored, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Bogo adjusted his glasses and looked down at her. "It says here that he was put on temporary leave from Savannah Central Police Department for an extended period of time several months ago, but no reason is given."
"Maybe it was...personal?" Judy said, shrugging slowly. There were all kinds of reasons that her future partner could have taken a leave; the primary reasons being sickness or a death in the family. However, a lighter reason would have been vacation, although that certainly wouldn't show up on a resume or an officer's personal file.
Bogo sighed. "It's probably nothing, Hopps." He stood up and straightened up the papers on his desk. "He should be here shortly; I told him to meet you in my office. It's a safe place where you two can get to know each other. You'll be presented with your new case file tomorrow." With that he nodded, then left the room.
Judy sat in the same spot for several more minutes, until she heard the door open slowly. She turned around to see who had entered, but because of the intense sunlight all she saw was a silhouette. The figure of a medium sized mammal, only slightly larger than her by the initial looks of it, slowly walked towards her. Finally, the figure came into view, and she saw that the figure belonged to a very handsome, muscular otter. "Miss...Hopps?"
Judy didn't answer right away. She was too preoccupied with the fact that this particular otter looked very familiar to her. "Y-yes, yes, Officer Judy Hopps," she finally blurted out. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr…."
The otter smiled and extended his slightly webbed paw. "My name is Kyle….Kyle Otterton."
Judy wasn't sure she had quite heard the otter correctly. "Otterton...wait a minute, you don't mean..."
Kyle nodded. "Yep, that Otterton."
Judy was stunned. She knew that Mr. and Mrs. Otterton had one offspring for sure, but she never knew that this very handsome otter in front of her was one of them. He had the build of his father, but his face more closely resembled that of his mother's. He had an earring in one ear, and she noticed a tribal tattoo on his left arm. His eyes were a piercing blue, that seemed to be sizing Judy up yet also staring straight into her soul. She finally collected herself and extended her own paw. "Well, Mr. Otterton, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sure we're going to work very well together."
Kyle nodded with a smile. "I guarantee it," he said as he gave Judy's paw one final shake. He took a seat at a nearby table and sighed. "You know, I actually wasn't nervous about meeting you until I actually saw your face. Now...well..." he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Nervous?" Judy asked incredulously. "Why would you be nervous?" She took a seat next to Kyle and put her arm on his. Even as she did this, she could feel the young otter tense up.
"Judy, you and Nick saved my family," he said softly, hanging his head as he spoke. "When my dad was infected I...was finishing up my training at a station in Savannah Central. I was about halfway through when I got the call. It was the first time I had heard from my mother in months..."
Judy's eyes widened a bit with surprise and sympathy. "Oh Kyle, that must have been so hard," she said sadly.
Kyle nodded. "I was miles away, and if I left my training at that time...well...they're pretty strict at the Savannah Central precinct; you leave in the middle of your training and they cast you aside like yesterday's garbage. But darn it I wanted to be a cop. Ever since I was old enough to walk, I've wanted it so badly." He chuckled a bit before continuing. "My dad actually used to play 'Cops and robbers' with me."
"Aw, how adorable," Judy said with a smile. "But...I'm guessing your parents were less than thrilled with your desire to become a cop right?"
Kyle let a half-smile spread across his face. "Heh...yeah, exactly. They always made sure to make me aware of all the dangers...all the things that could possibly happen to me, big or small. I always told them they worried too much, but that just seemed to make them protest harder."
Judy could certainly relate with Kyle's story. She remembered how much her own parents tried to dissuade her from being a police officer; even though it had been her dream ever since she was old enough to walk/hop. "Well Kyle, I'm sure you're going to make your parents very proud," she said with a sincere smile.
The otter just looked at her with that same half-smile. "I hope you're right Judy. It seems like all I've ever done since I was little was disappoint them."
Judy was slightly taken aback. "Really? How?" she asked, her nose twitching slightly in curiosity.
"Well for starters," Kyle said, propping his hind paws up on the table and putting his arms behind him, "they wanted me to pursue the retail business. Yeah...no thanks. Then, they wanted me to be a tool salesmammal. That...really didn't interest me either. Then, after those two things fell through, they wanted me to be a teacher. As much as I like kids, that didn't appeal to me either. Then, when I finally, fiinally, found something I wanted to do, they thought it was too dangerous, and they practically begged me to just stay home and pursue something else. But you know what? I didn't want to. I wanted to be a police officer...the first otter to join the force. So...I went against their wishes and left home as soon as I was old enough to train. They were in tears when I left, begging me to stay. But...I didn't listen. I just...left. Then a few weeks later, I got the call."
Judy's ears perked up a bit. "The call? What call was that?" she asked. She didn't mean to pry into her new partner's life, but she was merely curious about him.
He brushed a bit of stray fur out of his eye before he continued. "My mom called me one night, frantic. She said my dad had been infected with something, and that he had turned into some kind of savage monster. I didn't want to believe it, but then...I saw the footage." His voice cracked a bit with emotion, and he looked away.
"Oh Kyle, I am so sorry," she said soothingly. "I can't imagine what that must have been like for you."
Kyle took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "Judy, it was the worst day of my life. I adored my father; he taught me everything I know about life. He is the kindest, sweetest animal you'll ever meet. But that...psychotic sheep..." there was a moment where his eyes showed a bit of fiery anger and rage. "Bellwether tried to tear our family apart Judy, and she almost succeeded. I don't think I can ever forgive her for that."
Although Judy now, at least in some ways, understood the reasons behind Bellwether's motives for the savage serum attack, she used a sneaky and underhanded way to go about it. She believed that it was time for prey animals to take control and have the power, and she was willing to use any methods necessary to achieve it. In fact, Nick himself had almost fallen victim to her attack as well. Luckily he used his sly, cunning mind to outsmart her, which in the end earned him a coveted spot on the ZPD.
"Look Kyle, I kind of understand where you're coming from," Judy said, looking at the otter with her beautiful purple eyes. "I spent quite a while being angry at Bellwether for what she did, and so did a lot of other animals in the city. But she's behind bars now, and it's where she belongs. The key now..." she pushed the case file folder forward a bit so that it was between them, "is to look forward."
Kyle looked at the case file, then back at Judy. Then, after a few more moments, he let a smile spread across his face. "You're right Judy; you're absolutely right."
Judy returned the smile, then opened up the case file. Right away, her face transformed from that of happiness to that of confusion. As soon as she opened the file, she saw the face of a mammal; one that was clearly a Fennec fox. Although the ears were slightly smaller than she expected, the shape of the nose, the whiskers, and the fur color confirmed that it was indeed a Fennec fox.
"Huh...look at that," Kyle said, leaning in to get a better look at the animal. Then, he began to read the case file details out loud:
This animal, name unknown, has escaped solitary confinement and is now running loose somewhere in the city. He had been detained for the heinous act of kidnapping Mayor Solomon Tigerpaw, and his capture is of the utmost importance. Your mission is to stage a stakeout at the specified location in an attempt to track down and interrogate a possible accomplice.
"Well, sounds interesting," Judy said, closing the case file folder and smiling at her new partner. She was excited at the prospect of working with Kyle, especially now that she knew more about him and his past. "So tell me Kyle, have you ever done a stakeout before?"
"Actually no, this will be my first go at it," he answered, sounding more excited than nervous; always a good sign.
"Now that's what we like to hear," Judy said happily, giving Kyle a playful little punch on the arm. Judy was surprised at just how solidly built this otter was.
"So," Kyle began, "it says here that our stakeout will begin at midnight tonight, so I suggest we go home and grab as much sleep as possible before then...sound good?"
Judy nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea," she answered, realizing at that moment just how tired she was. "Let's meet up outside the coordinates at a quarter to midnight...deal?" She extended her paw to Kyle, which he shook graciously. "Deal," he said firmly. "I look forward to working with you Miss Hopps."
Judy and Kyle were both oblivious to the journey that they were about to embark on; one that would test their limits and expose the dangers that Zootopia was truly hiding. Dark times and a unique secret was about to be discovered.
