Between Wolves and Sheep
"Thanks to the sterling efforts put forward by two of our newest police officers, with valuable assistance from Officer Hunter of the Human Stars First Landing Police Department, the city can now breathe a sigh of relief. Over thirty high-powered, fully automatic weapons were recovered from the offices of Terra For Terrans, including a substantial quantity of ammunition. There is strong evidence to suggest that they planned to strike at the welcome ceremony for the new Human Stars Ambassador that is going to take place soon.
"This decisive police work shows the efficacy of the reforms enacted under my administration, demonstrating-"
Judy tuned out the mayor as he continued to address the press conference. She snuck a glance at Nick, who kept hiding a smile.
"What's so funny, Nick?"
He controlled his expression carefully. "I was just thinking that we're almost to the point where you address the press conference and start riots throughout the city."
Hunter, standing next to her, chuckled. She shot him a glare before looking back at Nick. "That happened one time, it's not like it's a habit or anything."
The fox grinned at her. "Well, at least they've identified the true heroes here. Though with 'valuable assistance' from someone else-" he paused, tapping his chin "-huh, forget his name."
Hunter rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I'm happy to not be in the spotlight. Rule Seventeen: All publicity is bad publicity."
"I thought the saying was, 'All publicity is good publicity,'" said Nick. The human looked at him.
"Like, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about, Wilde? Not for cops, trust me."
The llama who was the mayor's press coordinator bustled over to them. "Are you ready?" she asked the group.
They exchanged confused looks. "Ready for what?" asked Judy.
The llama gestured. "To answer questions, of course."
Nick's eyes widened. "Didn't they learn from last time?"
"Who is going to answer questions?" asked Hunter, eyes narrowing.
The llama waved her hands. "I don't care, just pick one of you." She headed off again towards the other members of the mayor's staff.
The cops looked at one another. "I did it last time," said Judy.
"So you have the most experience, then," noted Hunter.
Nick looked at him. "What, Mr. I've-Done-Everything has never done a press conference?"
"Did you not even hear Rule Seventeen?"
"Look," interrupted Judy, who realized from the cadence of the mayor's voice that he was winding down. "One of us has to do it."
"And so, one of the brave officers who spearheaded this investigation will now answer questions," finished the mayor, gesturing to his side.
Immediately the cameras turned to focus on a human, fox, and rabbit, who were all holding straws clutched in their fists. Hunter opened his hand and looked at the straw.
"Oh, for fu-"
"Hunter!" hissed Judy. He looked up at the cameras that were all pointed at him.
"Fudge," he muttered. Nick choked back a laugh and he glared at him.
With studied casualness, he walked to the podium and cleared his throat. Immediately, dozens of paws shot up.
Judy looked at Nick. "I just thought of something."
The fox looked at her. "Yeah?"
"Did we just send Hunter to do a press conference? Hunter?"
"First question." Hunter's eyes narrowed as he picked out a bespectacled wallaby near the back. "You," he said, pointing.
The wallaby looked slightly surprised to be picked, though she'd had her paw up. She stood. "Anna Ostland, Zootopia Special Report. Alastair Silvertip has filed complaints against the ZPD for excessive force, saying he was brutally shocked with a stun gun during his so-called 'arrest'. Would you care to comment?"
"Sure, but real quick- didn't you write that editorial I read, the one where you said the attack at the embassy was- hang on- 'regrettable in its violence, but understandable considering the long history of distrust caused by human actions against other mammals in the past?'"
"If you won't answer the question-"
"Oh, you didn't ask for an answer, you wanted a comment. So I'm commenting. So you're willing to excuse a shooting at the embassy where three innocent mammals were killed as 'regrettable but understandable' but not willing to to excuse a much lower degree of force used against a resisting suspect in those same violent attacks?"
The wallaby had a trapped look on her face. "That's- it's not the same. ZPD officers are-"
"What? Better than that? Surely you're not suggesting that there's a moral equivalence between shooting innocent mammals in cold blood and using a very reasonable degree of force to stop a suspect from resisting a search warrant, are you? Because that would be silly, Ms. Ostland, very silly indeed."
The wallaby's mouth worked, but no words came out of her mouth. Hunter looked around. "Who's next?"
All the paws dropped.
"Wow, no more questions? It's a hard-working and inquisitive press like this that makes democracy great." He waved to the cameras. "Stay in school, kids!"
Hunter walked off the podium, glancing at the assembled brass nearby. Bogo was standing very stiffly, his face a mask of control. The mayor had his face buried in his paws.
"How'd I do?" he asked Hopps and Wilde, who were staring at him, aghast.
Wilde looked at Judy, inspecting her belt. "What?" she asked, annoyed.
"Just seeing if you had a can of human repellent on you."
"So the chief said he is never, ever, in a million years, going to let you do a press conference again," said Nick. "I believe the words 'over my dead body' were mentioned."
Hunter, who had his chair leaned back, feet propped on a table, and his hat tipped over his eyes, grunted. "Mission accomplished, then."
Judy was tapping away at a computer, finishing up some paperwork. "Actually, he said 'over someone's dead body' and I don't think he meant a water buffalo's."
"Well, I haven't had brass threaten to kill me for a while, so I was due."
Nick shrugged. "At least we got through the whole press conference without someone stalking away."
Judy shot him a glance. He grinned back at her and she rolled her eyes.
Clawhauser poked his head into the room. "There you are! Chief wants to talk to you, Hunter."
Nick and Judy winced. Hunter adjusted his hat and stood up with a sigh. "Life would be so much more fun if I could do things without all these silly consequences." He looked at Clawhauser. "Bogo in his office?"
"Not Bogo." The cheetah held out a strange-looking device, which looked like a cell phone, though much larger than he was used to. "Chief of FLPD."
Hunter took the device gingerly. "This might be the first time the consequences were literally interstellar, though." He held up the phone to his ear. "Hello."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
There was a long silence. Then a long sigh. "Hunter."
"Hey, Chief. Did you get the emails I sent you?" Hunter saw Judy and Nick raise eyebrows at him.
"Hunter, as much as I would love to talk about where, why, and how you got videos made of me dancing with various mammals on a stage, I need to cut to the chase. This call is interstellar, which means it literally costs more a minute than you make in an entire day."
"Wow," said Hunter. "That much, eh? So thirty seconds is like, one or two cups of coffee?"
"Hunter-"
"Well, before you get to whatever you were going to say, I just wanted to say this-"
Hunter cleared his throat. "Rabbit ain't got no tail at all, tail at all, tail at all-" he sang.
Judy's jaw dropped as Nick cracked up.
"Hunter-"
"Rabbit ain't got no tail at all, just a powder puff." Judy was laughing, too, now. "Same song, second verse, doesn't get better, just gets worse-"
"HUNTER!"
The cop stopped, grinning at his partners. "Yes, chief?"
"You've got new orders."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Judy and Nick abruptly stopped laughing as Hunter's face turned serious.
"Sir, I just got here-"
There was a pause. They could hear a deep voice talking, though too indistinctly to make out.
"Yes, I know I didn't want to come at first, but- you know I always see things through."
More indistinct words. Hunter sighed.
"Okay, well maybe not always- okay, never if I can help it. But-"
"-I wouldn't say I've done as much damage as I could have done here, the biosphere is still intact-"
"-No, chief, I promise I don't have any plans to destroy the world-"
"Sir, I-" he paused, looking at Judy and Nick. "I could still-"
The other voice rose.
"Yes, sir. No, sir. Yes, sir. Right away, sir."
With a disgusted air, Hunter jabbed the off button on the communications device. He stared at the wall, his jaw clenching and unclenching. Clawhauser, who had been watching worriedly, very cautiously took the phone from the human's hand.
Judy glanced at Nick. Carefully, she approached her friend. "Zach, what's wrong?"
He didn't look at her. "I've been recalled," he said.
Nick stood up, walked to him. "I thought you were supposed to be here for a year."
Hunter looked down at him. "So did I." He turned towards the door, and Clawhauser hastily stepped away from the doorway. "I've got to pack," he muttered.
And stalked away.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Judy and Nick sat in their patrol car, watching the cars flash past disinterestedly.
Neither mammal had said much since roll call. Both had caught themselves looking expectantly at Hunter's usual spot when they walked in, and there didn't seem much to be said about the empty chair they saw instead of the slouched figure of their friend.
After a moment, Nick sighed. "We need to talk."
Judy looked at him. "You want to talk? You?"
He rolled his eyes. "Or we could sit here in silence all shift. Look, he'll be back to visit- he said so."
"In an email, Nick." She looked out the window. "He's already distancing himself."
"Hey, we got along just fine without him."
"It's not that we can't get along without him, it's that- I'm going to miss him. He made things interesting."
"I think that we'll find plenty of interesting things to do while he's gone." He looked at her, her ears down, her posture slumped, the very picture of misery. "You still have me."
She smiled at that. "And you've still got me." She reached out and took his paw. "You haven't talked much since- since that night outside the bar in Tundratown."
Now it was Nick's turn to look away. "We've kept busy."
"You did the right thing, Nick. If you hadn't- hadn't done what you did-"
"You mean shoot and kill another mammal?" he said, his voice flat.
The rabbit couldn't help it. She shuddered.
Nick felt it and snapped his head to look at her. His eyes were wide, betrayed.
He looked exactly like he did after the Night Howler press conference.
"Nick-" she said, frightened. Frightened that he was going to leave again.
He misinterpreted the fear in her voice. "What's got you so scared, bunny?" he snapped. "A minute ago you said I did the right thing."
"You did! It was the only thing-"
He undid his seat belt. "I should have known better, I really should have. Hunter- damn him. He can go to Alpha Centauri or to hell as far as I'm concerned." Nick's voice was cold with rage. He got out of the car. "I'm taking a walk, Hopps."
"Nick, this is ridiculous, I don't think you're-" she grasped for words. "Dangerous."
The fox slammed the car door, leaned over to look at her through the window. "Then I was right.
"You are a dumb bunny."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Judy had lost him.
She had been shocked into inaction just long enough that the fox had slipped away, and now, despite all her searching, she couldn't find him again.
She turned away from the railing of the bridge, where she had half-expected the fox to be. Her radio suddenly crackled.
"Unit Twenty-Seven Charlie, Dispatch calling Twenty-Seven Charlie."
With a snarl of frustration, she keyed the mike. "What is it, Clawhauser?"
There was a slight delay. "You okay, Judy?"
"What. Is. It."
"Um, okay. They need you at the jail. Say it's urgent. Something about Silvertip wanting to talk to you."
The rabbit pulled her ears in frustration. "It can't wait?"
"I'm just the messenger, here. And no, they want you there right away."
"Fine. I'm enroute." She snapped the radio off, irritated.
She thought for a minute, then pulled out her cell phone. Hesitated. Dialed.
The phone rang, and rang again. She nearly ended the call, but just before she did-
"Hunter."
"Zach, thank God. Listen-"
There was a sigh. "Dammit, Judy, haven't you ever heard of a clean break?"
"I don't have time for your cynical old cop routine, Hunter!" snapped Judy. There was a shocked silence on the other end of the line as she took a breath. "I can't find Nick."
"What do you mean, you can't find him? Aren't you two on duty? Did you check the passenger seat?"
"This is serious, Zach! We talked about his shooting, and he snapped at me, and I- I got a little scared, and now he's gone! I'm worried that-" she squeezed her eyes shut, thinking of the look on the fox's face. Betrayed. Angry.
Lost.
"I'm worried he might do something- dumb."
Another silence. "Where's the last place you saw him? I'll meet you there."
"I've just been called into the station. Look, as soon as I'm done I'll meet up with you, okay? Just-" She stopped, tears choking her voice. "Just find him, okay? I can't lose him again."
She heard a car door slam through the phone connection. "Don't worry, rookie. And you two need to have a long talk soon."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Judy walked through the entrance to the jail, flashing her ID card at the elephant on duty. "They wanted me for something, Francine?"
The elephant looked her over cautiously, noting the barely concealed anger and frustration in the rabbit's stance. "Yeah, but are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she snapped. "Which way?"
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Hunter hung up the phone, looked at the cabbie.
The sheep turned to face him. "Where do you-"
He stopped. Hunter's eyes narrowed as he recognized the same cabbie who had taken him to the embassy.
"You."
"You."
Hunter sighed. "Look, there's a little bar in Tundratown-"
"Isn't it early to be drinking? Oh, I forgot who I was talking to- right away sir, wouldn't want to miss your death by alcohol poisoning."
Hunter shook his head. This day just kept getting better and better.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Judy stared at the bear, who led in, manacled both forepaws and feet. "You wanted to see me?"
Silvertip nodded, his head held regally up. "I would have preferred if the human-" his face twisted in an ugly way when he said the word "-were here, but his 'friends' will do as well."
With an effort, Judy kept her expression neutral. "What do you want?"
The bear sat down heavily, glanced at the jailer. "Perhaps you could loosen these manacles a bit? No? Well, never let it be said that the Zootopian jail lacks in hospitality."
"Get to the point," snapped Judy.
Silvertip's eyebrows rose. "Oh, the rabbit has teeth. I'll make this simple, since you're so busy and all." He leaned forward. "You won't get away with it."
Judy exchanged a puzzled look with the jailer. "Get away with what?"
"Oh, I know, I know, can't admit to anything. But see, I know that there were no human weapons in my office, at least not until your search warrant 'mysteriously' found them. So where, where could they have come from?"
The rabbit cop stood up. "That's all you got? You just wanted to accuse me of setting you up again?" She grabbed her hat. "Tell it to the judge."
As she walked away, the bear rose to his feet. "You haven't won, rabbit!" he shouted at her retreating back. "This isn't over! Terra will be for non-human Terrans! Every paw will be raised against you and your human-loving kind!"
Judy froze. "What did you say?"
"You heard me, bunny!"
She turned, stared at the bear.
And rushed out.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Hunter spotted him, staring at a discolored section of concrete in the alleyway next to a familiar bar. The human walked up to the fox, pulling his coat close against the cold.
Wilde didn't look up as Hunter approached. "Thought you were leaving."
"Yeah, so did I." Hunter looked down as well. "You and the bunny have a little tiff?"
The fox snorted. "You could say that. I mentioned the shooting, she got scared, and it reminded me that to her, no matter what I do, I'll still be-"
"A predator?"
"Yeah." Wilde sighed. "Dangerous."
Hunter took off his cap, rubbed his cheek as he thought for a moment. "You guys have sheep, and wolves. What about sheepdogs?"
Wilde frowned at the sudden change of subject, looked at him. "What?"
Hunter tilted his head back and quoted, "There are three types of people in this world: sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. Some people prefer to believe that evil doesn't exist in the world, and if it ever darkened their doorstep, they wouldn't know how to protect themselves. Those are the sheep.
"Then you've got predators who use violence to prey on the weak. They're the wolves.
"And then there are those blessed with the gift of aggression, an overpowering need to protect the flock. These men are the rare breed who live to confront the wolf. They are the sheepdog."
(A/N: Quote is from American Sniper, directed by Clint Eastwood, 2014)
Wilde frowned at him. "That sounds pretty harsh towards predators."
"Your species may be a predatory species," said Hunter. "But you're not just an animal. You've got free will. Those teeth aren't who you are- they just represent your capabilities." He nodded to where the bear that had attacked them had once lain. "That crook made a choice. He chose to take someone's life. You made a choice, too."
The fox nodded grimly. "To take his life."
"No." Hunter grabbed the fox, forcibly turned him to face him, and looked him in the eye. "To save mine.
"Yeah, you're dangerous, fox. You're a cop. If you're not dangerous, you aren't going to be a good one. But you just need to be dangerous in the right way. Make good decisions about how to use those capabilities your background has given you. Same choice everyone makes, just with consequences that are a bit more-" he looked at the bloodstains on the ground "-real. It's not that you have sharp teeth that matter, Nick. It's what you do with them."
After a moment, Wilde sighed. "Do you know what it's like, to see someone you-" he struggled, not quite saying the word love "-are friends with, to see them looking at you with fear in their eyes?"
Hunter thought back to the museum they had visited before going to the bar. Thought of Nick's gaze on him as he slowly led him to understand just how vicious humans could really be. "Yeah, Nick. Yeah, I do."
The stood in silence for a minute.
As they turned to walk away, Wilde perked up slightly as if a thought had just come to him. "So I was protecting you, then?"
Hunter shot him a suspicious glance. "Yeah, that's what I just said."
"So does that make you the sheep?"
The human gave him a flat look and opened the door to the taxi. "Get in the car, fox."
Wilde started to get in, looked at Hunter. "Baa."
"Oh, hell no, you did not just say that!" shouted a furious voice from the driver's seat.
Wilde's ears flattened and eyes widened as he turned to meet the gaze of a furious sheep. "That is our word!"
Hunter pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows. As Wilde spluttered, he pulled out a much-folded sheet of paper and carefully added "Baa" to the cell marked "Sapient Sheep".
As he put the paper back his cell phone rang again. He answered. "Hunter."
"Did you find him? Is he okay?"
Hunter looked at Wilde who was frantically trying to apologize to the infuriated cabbie. "Yeah, though he might get mauled by a sheep."
There was a pause. "Whatever. Look, you and Nick need to get down to the station."
"Uh, Judy, you know I'm not supposed to-"
"Just get here." There was a click as the line disconnected.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Interlude: First Landing, AlphaCen
They'd gotten a hit on the blood. Alphonse Truscott. Formerly Sergeant Alphone Truscott, Human Star Marine. Dishonorably discharged four years ago.
Now working for a private military contractor called Outside Options and Initiatives.
Wu glanced at his partner, who hefted the custom-made pistol she had been issued by FLPD, and nodded.
They burst through the OOI-marked door and into the small office building. "FLPD, don't move!"
"Show me your paws!" shouted Barker. "Don't move!"
The SWAT team was already sweeping the corridors. A man near the entrance made a furtive move towards his waistband and found himself on the floor, seeing stars as Barker body-checked him to the ground.
"Stay on the ground! Put your paws in front of you."
The suspect stared. "What?"
Barker snarled at him. "Do you speak English? Paws- oh."
"Put your hands where we can see them," ordered Wu, who was trying- and failing- to keep from laughing.
Two SWAT officers appeared, shoving a handcuffed man in front of them. Wu looked at Barker, who pulled a photo from her pocket. Without saying a word, she showed the photo- the driver's license photo of their perp. The two cops turned back to the suspect. Wu noticed with interest that the glare he gave Barker showed only hate, not the confusion almost everyone else had displayed on seeing a sapient mammal before. He turned to face the suspect.
"Mr. Freely, I presume?"
