Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.
The Fire Triangle—A Zootopia Fanfiction
Part One:
Fuel
Chapter 3 – Day of Carrots and Blueberries
(Continued…Pt. 3)
"Sweet cheeze n' crackers!"
Judy Hopps leaned her elbows on the dashboard, peering in disbelief through the windshield of the old family farm truck.
She had traded in her traveling clothes for something a little more 'country girl', blue jeans, a checked shirt in sky blue and her famous big, floppy hat, (currently nestled in the lap of the fox seated next to her.) Nick, being Nick, hadn't bothered to change; if Judy knew him, he'd probably wear the same outfit for the whole time he was here, (more of a 'guy thing' than a 'fox thing'.)
"I can't believe this, dad." She said, turning in the opposite direction to speak to the rabbit seated behind the steering wheel.
"I know, Jude." Stu answered, smiling broadly as he swerved to avoid a pothole, "Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Impressive?" Judy thought, gazing forward through the glass again, this time with her nose twitching, "Impressive doesn't even begin to cover it."
She had known the Carrot Days Festival would be bigger than the last time she'd attended—it had be growing in both size and attendance every year since she was a kid—but now it seemed to have taken off like the proverbial bat out of hell.
"You could fit six Meerkat Markets in there." She told herself with growing wonder, "And still have room for the Palm Hotel."
Well maybe this year's celebration wasn't quite that ginormous, but it was still a far cry from the festivals she'd attended as a little girl. Back then, Carrot Days had begun and ended with two rows of vendors' stalls, a hay maze, perhaps an inflatable slide and a barn converted to a makeshift auditorium.
Not any more! Now there were more rows of stalls than Judy could count—and also carnival rides, an outdoor stage, (complete with bleachers,) and a parking area that seemed to stretch from here to Podunk and back.
"How'd it all happen?" Judy turned to her father again, more amazed than ever.
"We picked up a corporate sponsor this year," Stu told her, chest swelling a little as if the sponsor were himself, "Soon as that happened, the festival just took off, whoooooosh!" To emphasize this, he made 'shooming' motion with his paw…causing the truck to lurch sideways a little.
"Both paws on the wheel, Dad," Judy quickly admonished him, ever the family bunny-scout.
"Sorry." Her father answered sheepishly, gripping the wheel and 10 and 2 with a tight, firm paw.
"Who's the sponsor?" Nick Wilde asked, suddenly, from out of nowhere. He seemed to be trying to head off an argument between Judy and her dad.
It was a heartfelt but completely unnecessary gesture; Judy Hopps had never in her life gotten into a shouting match with her father, (or with her mother, either.)
Her kid sister Erin, on the other paw was beginning to look like another story. When they'd all come out to pile into the truck, they'd found Erin waiting in the cargo-bed with her arms wrapped around a guitar case. (To Judy she'd looked like an unevolved predator, protecting the last remnants of a kill.)
"Come ON already," had been her greeting to everyone else, and then she'd absolutely refused to take the time to show her new bass guitar to Nick. Judy had let it slide that time, but she was sliding on a slippery slope and she knew it; before the Carrot Days Festival was over she and Erin were going have words; it seemed as inevitable as the next day's sunrise.
She brought herself back to the present just in time to hear her father's answer to Nick.
"LPN Pharmaceuticals," he was saying
Judy felt her ears go up. Well, one ear anyway. Her feelings on the subject were of a decidedly mixed nature.
She knew of the firm LPN Pharma of course, everyone in Zootopia did; it was the company that had developed the Nighthowler antidote, yet another heroic name to emerge from the Savage Predator crisis.
But still…a drug company, sponsoring the Carrot Days Festival? Good guys or no, it just didn't feel quite right to her.
Well at least LPN Pharma hadn't insisted on putting their name on the event, standard procedure for most corporate sponsorships these days. Judy had to give them that much, if nothing else. 'The LPN Pharmaceuticals Carrot Days Festival'; when she thought about it, she didn't know whether to laugh or cringe.
"Whoa, look at that." Nick Wilde yipped from the next seat over. Judy looked, and let out a low whistle.
A sculpted metal archway had been erected over the parking lot entrance; a pair of art-deco carrots with their greenery intertwining to form the top of the arc. On this, printed in big booming, letters was the greeting, 'Welcome to Carrot Days!' The structure had to be a good five stories tall.
"Is that new this year, Dad?' Judy asked her father; it was certainly new to her.
"Yep," Stu Hopps answered, keeping his eyes on the road, "all courtesy of LPN Pharma."
"Nice piece of work," Nick said, and Judy had to agree, feeling her outlook regarding the LPN sponsorship kicking up a notch. Also unlike so many other corporate sponsors, they weren't following the standard meme of 'put in some money and run with it.' No, LPN Pharmaceuticals seemed to be making a genuine effort to promote the Carrot Days Festival while keeping their faces in the background. Whatever had been their reason for sponsoring this year's Carrot Days Festival, it had NOT been an exercise self-promotion.
When they got to the entrance arch, however, Stu Hopps surprised Nick by turning right instead of driving under it.
"We have the use of the exhibitor's parking lot," the bunny farmer explained noting the fox's expression, "Much better than the one up by the main entrance. Ten steps and you're slap in the middle of the midway."
As they pulled into a space near the Exhibitors Entrance, Judy noted that most of the other nearby vehicles had placards in the windows, reading either 'Vendor' or 'Exhibitor'. Stu Hopps didn't bother with one, and now it was his daughter Judy who felt a small swell of pride. No, her father didn't put up a placard; he never did and he'd never needed one. Everyone in the Burrows knew the Hopps family and also which vehicles they drove; there would be no citations or tow warnings on the truck when her father returned.
The moment her feet hit the turf, Judy became aware that at least one member of their party was conspicuous by her absence.
"Where's Erin?" she asked looking around for her younger sister.
It was her other sister Jessie who answered.
"She grabbed her stuff and took off already." she said, her braces adding a slight lisp o her voice.
"Did she now?" her father asked, coming around the other side of the truck. Now he was beginning to sound peeved with Erin, and Judy felt the same way; even in her worst moments when she'd been 'that age', she'd never been this insensitive.
Well, she'd deal with Little Miss Attitude when she saw her again; right now there were other kids to help out of the truck.
Not all of them needed help; Ethan and Ellen were old enough to get out by themselves, as was Jessie. Mikey and Cotton did require some assistance however, and as before, Cotton immediately chose to hook herself up with Nick. As he set the little bunny-girl down again, Judy caught him looking in her direction, grinning sardonically and raising an eyebrow. She sighed inwardly at the fox's unspoken message.
In the city of Zootopia, it was illegal to carry passengers in the bed of a pick-up truck, a misdemeanor good for a $100.00 fine. Not only that, Judy could recall at least two occasions when she'd written up a motorist for just that infraction—in Nick Wilde's presence. 'Well…?' his expression seemed to be saying to her
She lowered her voice to a soft murmur.
"Number one, this isn't Zootopia, Nick. Number two even I'M not that much of bunny scout." And now it was her turn to smile wickedly. "And number three, if that's what you think, how come you didn't speak up earlier—OFFICER Wilde?"
Nick groaned and pointed with a pair of fingers, "What is it you bunnies say? Tou-che? You see I'm a poet, and you didn't know it."
"What's THAT from?" Judy asked responding with a groan of her own. (She could always tell when Nick was quoting.)
"The Scarlet Pimpernel." He answered immediately.
"The Scarlet Pimple?" Cotton Hopps was looking up at Nick with big winsome eyes.
"The Scarlet Pimpernel, princess." Her father corrected, looking over from where he was closing up the tailgate, "It's a story, kind of like a cross between Robin Hood and The Three Mustelids. Pretty sure we got in our library at home."
"Yes, that's right, Stu." Nick agreed with him quickly—a mite too quickly, which told Judy he'd been quoting from a movie, not the book.
Someone whistled from over on the right, and then a wee voice called. "Hey there, Stu Hopps."
They all turned to see a gaggle of rodents skittering towards them, bushy tails and charcoal fur. The squirrel in the lead was dressed in bib overalls, the same as her father.
"Hey there Levon Chatterton," the bunny called back cheerfully.
Judy smiled warmly. The Chattertons were their neighbors from up the road and Levon was one of her father's best friends. He grew hazelnuts, filberts, and blackberries, along with other assorted items. Like her father he was a mammal who needed no placard on his vehicle to identify him as an exhibitor and/or vendor.
"Look who came home for Carrot Days this year." Stu was saying, laying a proud paw on Judy's shoulder. "You remember her, I'm sure."
"Sure do," the squirrel answered, sitting back down on his haunches, "How's life in the big city treating you, Judy Hopps?"
Before she could answer, her father jumped in again.
"Working on getting her detective's badge," he said, beaming.
"That's right," Judy nodded in agreement. What the heck; let her father puff a little. He was entitled to it, and besides, it wasn't as if he was exaggerating her accomplishments. But then she remembered the fox standing next to her. Oops.
"And this is my partner from the ZPD, Nicholas Wilde." She said, shepherding the fox forward.
"Ah, the famous Nick Wilde. Yep, we heard all about you." Levon answered in a noncommittal tone. For all Judy knew he could have been heaping either praise or scorn on the fox. When he offered a paw to Nick, she decided at least it was probably the former.
"Oooh, you missed all the excitement here earlier Stuart." Another of the squirrels piped up. Judy recognized him as Levon's younger brother Les, "The Guilford boys tried to put an appearance about an hour ago; wouldn't take, 'You're Not Welcome Here' for an answer." He puffed out his cheeks and let loose a squirrely whistle. "Boy, howdy, fer a minute there I thought it was gonna be just like last year all over again."
"Oh now don't go blowin' things up again Lester Chatterton." It was Levon's wife, Clara. "Pete just called for couple of extra security guards an' when the Guilford boys saw 'em, why they just turned round and left without any extra fuss."
"Well maybe, but it's lucky we got that extra security this year." Levon retorted
Judy looked at her father and saw that his eyes had turned upward. She felt like doing the same. As much as she liked the Chattertons, they were Douglas squirrels, a species that never shut up once they got going.
Then Nick Wilde cleared his throat.
"Um, Excuse but I'm kind of new in town. Who are these Guilfords, and what's the problem with them?"
Levon Chatterton was only too happy to fill him in.
"They're a family of coyotes, came to the Burrows about eight years back, maybe nine, it don't matter. They live out on Star Route 33, the old La Peigne place. Jerry and his two brothers Joe and Dean run the Sky-ote Crop Dusting Service—but they don't get a whole lot of business these days, not since most of the Burrows went organic." He said this while looking at Stu. Judy knew why, it was her father who had started that movement.
"So pretty much all they got for income these days is what they can make tryin' to grow sugar beets." Levon's whiskers stiffened and his tail began to flap like a towel in a strong breeze, "that…and whatever they can steal."
He went on to explain that the trouble with the Guilford clan had started long before their crop-dusting business had taken a turn for the worse. No sooner had they taken up residence in the Burrows than their neighbors had begun to notice various and sundry items disappearing from their yards overnight, and it had only gotten worse from there. All three of the brothers had done stretches in jail, and the family had at least one lawsuit pending.
"Then right before last year's Carrot Days, Jerry Guilford found out that his contract with the County to spray for illegal Catnip farms had been cancelled. Him and his brothers came to the Festival looking for Chip Fielding—oh sorry, Chip was County Commissioner back then—and they almost caused a riot when they caught up with him. Jerry got sixty days in County and all three of them were banned from Carrot Days for good."
Judy let out a low airy whistle of her own.
"Whoa, in that case, I agree, it's a good thing you had the extra security laid on."
"You can thank our sponsors for that." It was Les. "It wasn't exactly a big surprise when the Guilford brothers showed up this morning. Everyone in the Burrows knows those boys are ones for holding grudges. And I guess the folks from LPN must of heard about it too, coz they sent us down some extra paws from Aker Security just in case."
"Well hopefully we won't have to put up with the Guilford family's antics much longer." Stu Hopps expression was a mixture of relief and grim purpose. "I heard last week that Burrows Trust is about to foreclose on their property."
Levon flapped his tail again and shook his head.
"I wish, but no such luck Stu. Becky Harrison says they managed to scrape together enough cash to wangle themselves another extension…and she should know, her boss is their loan officer."
"Darn!" Stu snapped his fingers, looking disgusted.
"All right you two, enough of this gloomy talk." Clara Chatteron spoke with her paws on her hips. "It's Carrot Days and the sun is shining. So what are we all standing around out here for?"
It turned out to be the best suggestion Judy had heard all morning. When she and the others stepped out of the service aisle and onto the midway, it was like entering another world. The It turned out to be the best suggestion Judy had heard all morning. When she and the others stepped out of the service aisle and onto the midway, it was like entering another world. The Carrot Days Festival had been an enchanting place for her ever since she was a little girl, but now it was almost magical. There were jugglers, there were clowns, there were balloon vendors and face-painting; over the tops of the vendors' booths, she could see the slowly turning arc of a Ferris wheel. And then there was that outdoor stage; now they were inside the festival, Judy could see that—sweet cheeze n' crackers, it was bigger than the one at the Lionheart Park Amphitheater, (and also with more seating from the look of things.) When her sister Erin took the stage later tonight, she might well find herself performing in front a big crowd after all. Where the heck had she disappeared to, anyway?
As they strolled down the Midway, little Cotton took the lead, prancing ahead of the group like drum majorette, with others all tagging along behind.
"All right Carrots, it's your show." Nick reminded her. "As big Chief Buffalo Nickel might say, what's the first item on the docket?"
Judy answered him at once; she had made up her mind even before they'd piled into the truck to come here.
"First thing we need to do is head on down to Dealers Row find that stall with the Gazelle Japanese Tour shirts. You saw what the ad said; they sold out last week before noon. I'd hate to get here and then be too late."
"I agree," the fox responded, offering a sober nod, "Clawhauser's size is going to be hard enough to find as it is."
"Right." Said Judy, and felt a tug on her sleeve; it was her sister Ellen, pointing up ahead
"What, you see it? Where is it sis?" she asked.
"No," the younger bunny kept on pointing, "But there's an information booth right over there; I bet they could tell us where to go."
"Good idea." Judy nodded.
Yes…and no. Yes, the portly bunny lady behind the counter knew where to find the t-shirt seller, but…
"No, they're not open for business yet; they just got here. Probably about 1 this afternoon is what they told me."
Judy sighed, thanked her and the group went on their way, pausing briefly to consider their next move.
"Okay. So what's plan 'B'?' Nick asked, leaning casually against a light pole with his legs crossed in a figure 4.
Judy Hopps didn't answer, she just grinned at the fox.
"Huh, what?" he asked, ears falling backwards in confusion
Judy's grin only widened, and then so did Nick's eyes when all of the bunny-children started to giggle.
"All right, what…?" he started to say, but then sniffed and looked to his left.
From seemingly out of nowhere a mime-rabbit had attached himself to the red fox, white face, and black leotards, a black-and-white striped shirt, his head topped by a bowler hat with a red carnation. He was leaning against an invisible pole in an exact copy of Nick's own stance.
The fox turned peevishly in the mime's direction, only to have his movement copied perfectly. While the silent performer was a bunny and not a fox, he was tall and lanky for his species; by standing on the balls of his feel he could almost match Nick Wilde's height.
Nick raised a finger, the mime raised his, so perfectly matching the fox's movement that their fingertips almost touched.
Nick sniffed; the mime pretended to sniff.
Nick reached into his pocket; the mime pretended to reach into his.
The fox bought out an object, cupped in his paw. The made up bunny brought out an invisible object, held in his.
Nick opened his paw to show what he had, his off-duty police badge.
The mime opened his...and hesitated.
And that was the opening the fox was waiting for.
"All right you, I've had enough of this," he said, and pointed to the right of the mime, tracing an invisible, vertical line with his finger. "You see that rope? Start climbing!"
The mime clasped his paws to his chest, looking horrified, then slowly turned towards where the fox was indicating, with bulging, petrified eyes.
He stared for a second and pointed with a shaky finger, looking piteously at Nick.
"Yes, you heard me…climb!" the red fox snarled, pretending to bare his fangs.
The mime took hold of the invisible rope and began to shinny his way upwards. It was a marvelous performance, and soon more mammals had gathered to watch. Every now and then the bunny-mime would stop and look downwards with a feigned expression of terror. Twice, he pretended to lose his grip and slip downwards, catching hold of the rope at the last second and swinging like Quasimodo on a church-bell. After a couple of minutes of this, the Hopps children were all in stitches and Judy didn't know how much longer she could keep from rolling on the ground, laughing herself sick.
Then Nick reached behind his back and brought out a pair of invisible garden shears; the mime saw what he was doing and began to his head wildly.
The fox responded by grinning wickedly, and then reached his paws above them mime's head and cut the rope.
It was the piece de resistance. You could almost see the rope slipping through the bunny's fingers as he flailed desperately for something, anything to grab onto. When he began to flap his arms as if attempting to fly, even Nick had to double over laughing.
Down and down and down the chalk-painted rabbit seemed to go, until he appeared to hit the ground hard, tumbling backwards, head over heels.
…and coming up on his feet with his arms raised in a, "Ta-daaa' V. Everyone cheered, and when the mime took off his bowler hat and began to pass it around, Nick Wilde was the first to make a contribution, with everyone else quickly following suit, even little Cotton.
"Nice work," the fox said, offering paw. The mime shook with him, winked and bowed, and then went off in search of another audience.
'That was really cool Nick." Judy said when the mime had gone. This was something she was seeing more and more of these days; the red fox's big-hearted side.
He just shrugged it off. "Oh, I've always had a soft spot for street performers, Carrots. I must have met hundreds of them back in the day when…"
"Judy? Judy Hopps!"
Someone was hailing her from the other side of the circle of onlookers. Judy turned and saw two cougars, a female just starting to show the first signs of pregnancy and a male, dressed in tan slacks and a polo shir…hey, wait a minute!
"Bobby Catmull!" she cried out, clapping her paws. "Oh, come here!"
Without waiting for the big cat to respond, she bounded over and leaped upwards, giving him a hug around the neck.
"Oh , it's great to see you Bobby. How long has it been now?"
"Five years at least," he answered with a grin, and then turned to the lady cougar standing beside him. "Judy, I'd like you to meet my wife, Belinda. Lin, this is the rabbit I told you about, Judy Hopps."
"Zootopia's first bunny cop," Belinda Catmull answered, getting down on one knee to make eye contact. Her voice was tinged with a soft, southern inflection, "Oh yes, Bobby told me all about you. Speaking as a predator Miss Hopps, I'd say that was a fine thing y'all did, exposing that Nighthowler plot."
Judy nodded, "Well I thank you for that Belinda…"
"Call me Lin, hon."
'Okay Lin it is," she said, "but I didn't do it alone." It was a perfect opening and Judy wasn't about to pass it up; she turned and beckoned with a pair of fingers. "Without my partner Nick, I could never have—excuse me, WE could never have cracked the case."
"Oh so this is Nick Wilde." Bobby said, also getting down to eye level. "It's great to meet you."
"Likewise." The fox said.
The shook warmly, and then the cougar spoke to Judy Hopps again.
"Well Judy, you did it; you're a police officer, you realized your dream."
"Maybe, but I'm not the only one Bobby." The bunny reminded him, and then went on to explain for Nick's benefit.
At the skit where Judy had announced her intention to become a police officer, Bobby Catmull had provided all the musical effects, using a variety of gadgets and instruments. It had turned out to be the genesis of a lifelong fascination with acoustical effects for the big cat, and now he worked as a sound engineer with the prestigious FX firm of Industrial Mice and Magic.
"That's where Lin and I first met." Bobby was beaming, "She works in the CGI animation department. One day we ended up sharing a table in the commissary…and the rest is history."
"And this is where it all began." Belinda said, spreading her arms as if to take in the entire festival.
Judy's ears went up in a V.
"…Where it all began." She repeated in a whisper, almost to herself. And then she grabbed Nick Wilde by the arm.
"'C'mon Nick, c'mon kids. There's something I want to show you guys. You too, Bobby, Belinda."
Without waiting for an answer, she began to lead the fox up the midway, with Cotton and the other young bunnies following along behind
"Judy, wha…?" Bobby started to say, but then his eyebrows raised and his tail began to click back and forth. "Ohhhh yes! Come on Lin, I really want you to see this."
The two of them hurried to catch up.
A little more than 200 miles away, Jack La Peigne was entering his office with Polly Walters in tow; as always, the opossum was juggling six different tasks at once.
"Mark that memo to Zoo York as regular delivery," the big bunny was saying. "And send the one to our office in Dysney Urgent Priority. I want to be informed immediately of any new developments." His tone was even but at the same time as taut as a bridge cable, a sure sign he was in a foul mood.
As well he should have been; earlier that morning, much earlier, at like 3 AM, La Peigne had received an emergency phone call from Aker Correctional Corporation's office in Dysney Australia. What he'd heard would have sent even a rabbit of a more genial nature into a fury; a general revolt had broken out in the facilities managed by Aker Correctional's Australian branch—not amongst the inmates but amongst the correctional officers; in essence they were threatening a wildcat strike.
The big rabbit had been practically beside himself when he'd been informed. A prison is not like an auto plant, you can't just close up shop for the day if none of the workers decided to show up. The correctional officers knew that and had figured it would give them some bargaining power. In fact their proposed walkout was perfectly illegal; Australian law specifically forbade strikes by public employees.
Fine, except some nitwit guard had gotten the idea that since Aker Correctional Corporation was a privately-held company, (it wasn't) their employees were privately employed and therefore not subject to that 'no-strikes' law. It was pure idiocy of course, but it was idiocy that had spread like a wildfire. As a result, Jack La Peigne had been obliged to stay up most of the night trying to resolve the crisis; his first instinct had been to immediately fire every single one of the would-be strikers, but even in his most hot tempered moments, he could never be that impulsive. Eventually the correctional officers had agreed to return to their posts, but the big rabbit was anything but satisfied. In the due course of time, he promised himself, those ingrates who had threatened the walkout were going to pay and pay dearly for their arrogance. If there was one thing guaranteed to send Jack La Peigne's blood into a high-rolling boil, it was presenting him with an ultimatum. Nobody held this bunny's feet to the fire—nobody!
He was just about to issue another order to his assistant when he stopped, brought up short by the fact that in his absence, a stack of DVDs and a thick Manila folder had been left on his desktop.
'Hold that thought, Walters" he said and went over to have a look. The file was stenciled with the letters 'ZPD' and labeled Police Report 20578-210 . The big rabbit recognized the numbers at once. It was the final report on the Rafaj Brothers blood diamond sting. (The DVDs must contain the surveillance camera footage, the big rabbit swiftly realized.)
For a second he hesitated; neither he, nor anyone else outside of the ZPD or the Attorney General's Office was supposedly allowed access to this file. Claudia Nizhang would have a field day if she discovered he had a copy in his possession.
Well, that troublemaking red-panda wasn't going to find out, La Peigne assured himself, features darkening as he recalled once more her performance at the press conference.
As if his labor troubles Down Under weren't enough of a headache, the vultures of the fourth estate had suddenly widened the scope of their inquiry to include the Aker Group. The first calls from reporters had started coming in at about six o'clock that morning and had never let up since then. Did Aker know anything about what had transpired at the City Council session Councilmember Nizhang had been referring to? Was it true that two of their representatives had been seen entering City Hall just before it convened? The answer to every single one of these inquiries had been a polite 'No comment." followed by a quick disconnection. When La Peigne had been informed of the calls, he'd had to go to his private gym and spend ten minutes beating a practice bag to death before he felt better.
Dangit, he'd known the media circus was coming to town, but THIS soon? And not now!
"Interfering, band-tailed witch!" he flared, inwardly at Claudia Nizhang, "And if that IDIOT Kristofferson thinks he's going to be the next mayor of…all right, calm down."
He closed his eyes and took four deep breaths. When he spoke again, his voice was as even as a plumb-line.
"Walters, see that I'm not disturbed for the next half-hour,' he said indicating the folder with a wave of his paw. "I need to concentrate on studying this without any distractions."
"Yes of course Mr. La Peigne." she answered, and then quickly (and gratefully) bowed herself out. The big rabbit watched her go and then sat himself down behind the desk, flipping open the folder and frowning over the pages with a twitching nose.
Should they move up the agenda? La Peigne didn't know and he wouldn't be able to make the decision anyway until he heard back from Seth Whitepaugh, (and he sure as heck wasn't going to make the call while he was in THIS state of mind.)
But in the meantime, he needed to study every relevant piece of information he could get his paws on, including the report on the Rafaj brothers bust; just how much of what had happened in the alley behind the store had Judy Hopps seen? More importantly, how much of what she'd seen had made it into the official documents? Jack La Peigne knew better than most mammals that something appearing innocuous at first glance could take on a wholly different aspect when coupled with subsequent evidence.
He checked the table of contents, and flipped to the section regarding the confrontation between the hippo Rashid and Officer Tad Howell. After only a quick perusal, he closed it again, enjoying a small sense of satisfaction, his first since arriving at the office that morning; not enough to dampen his anger but nothing to stoke it either
Hopps had said ZERO about Howell appearing to have gone savage when he'd looked at her around the corner; heck, she hadn't even hinted at it. That was good, very good. If the news from Whitepaugh turned out to be in the affirmative…no, let's not get ahead of ourselves.
La Peigne closed the folder and was about to set it aside when his eye fell on the stack of DVDs. Was there anything on the surveillance cam footage that might be relevant? He should at least take a quick look.
There was at least fifteen hours of video on the disks, but narrowing it down would be cakewalk easy. The only relevant footage was the last twenty minutes or so, from the time of the diamond purchase to the hippo's final takedown.
He inserted the number five disc into his desktop tray and thumped his foot twice.
"Play DVD, the last…forty minutes." he said, changing his mind at the last second. Better to start it early rather than late; he could always fast forward if he liked.
He settled back in his office chair, with his elbow on the armrest and his cheek propped moodily against his fist.
An image appeared on the screen. It showed Wilde and Hopps with the Rafaj brothers in the background. The fox was saying something to her, "Ready to try it on Carrots?"
Jack La Peigne didn't catch the Rafaj brothers' reaction to this; he was too busy dealing with his own response. In a flash he was sitting bolt upright. The fox had called her that…and she'd let him?"
"Where's your pride in your species, Hopps?" he demanded softly of the bunny on the display screen. Any fox daring to call him 'Carrots' would be eating dirt the hard way.
He looked at the screen again…and let out a cry of alarm. The computer mistook it for a voice command and froze the image.
Jack La Peigne froze too. And then he gripped the arms of his chair and rose slowly to his feet, staring at the monitor and quivering as if a hundred volts were passing through him.
On the display-screen in front of the big bunny, Nick Wilde was holding Judy Hopps in his arms; the playback had stopped at the exact moment their lips met.
Seth Whitepaugh would later conclude that had his employer not been bone-tired and already in a towering rage when he saw the image, his reaction, more than likely, would have been far less severe.
…and his subsequent actions might not have been nearly so rash or so imprudent.