Chapter 14

First Day on The Job

Sorry for the long delays between chapters. I've been working on a second story to allow myself to write more and to suppress writer's block.

Feel free to check it out.

- PuffleMuffin

The front of the Zootopia Capital building was crowded with mammals of all size and shape and a constant rumble of hundreds of voices intruded on the singular projected voice of a large Black Bear in a perfectly fitted black suit and red tie. His paws gripped the sides of the wooden podium he stood behind as his eyes scanned over the growing crowd that threatened to bulge onto the clean white steps he stood upon.

His deep voice boomed and demanded attention with every cleverly put together word he spoke into the raised microphone in his speech about rebuilding trust and ensuring his promises to the city being completed.

North admired the Mayor's confidence from a few steps behind and to the left as he stood professionally still with his M4 strapped over his shoulder and his newly given Non-Lethal dart rifle held firmly in his darkened paws. He stood in front of a large white banner with Mayor Black's name printed in Red Letters across the center, a very simple design.

North glanced periodically over to his fellow security officer's as they either patrolled in their stations or stood beside the Mayor like himself, his hat keeping the attacking sun away from his eyes. A total of three security teams had been assigned to today's public speech and the Zootopia Police Department was also blocking off the crowd at the steps. It seemed as if the city was expecting trouble and wanted to be prepared.

North was, at first, surprised to be chosen to stand on stage beside the mayor. He hadn't expected to be chosen for the position, but the more he glanced around, the more he realized the mayor's intentions for doing so.

Will stood opposite of North, to his right, with the same stiff stance and crisp black and navy blue uniform. A brown-furred timberwolf stood on one front corner of the stage while a poofy white Goat stood on the other. A wide variety of mammals on stage wasn't just a coincidence. The mayor had specifically asked for different species of mammals to be on stage to help signify a "unity" between species, predators, and prey. The fact that a bunny was on stage gave his words an extra kick to it's meaning.

Multiple ZPD officers stood along the front of the crowd beside plastic white barriers and yellow police tape, keeping both excited and angry mammals back behind a safe line. The crowd was dotted with different signs and symbols that showed the differentiating opinions of the animals in the city. Some expressed words of unrepeatable hate towards the new mayor while some relayed positive messages and victorious chants. Flashes of bright white light made it difficult to concentrate as news outlets, online media, and random viewers took photos of the speech.

North wouldn't be surprised if he saw himself on the front page of an article in the near future.

The whole scene of the crowd was both astonishing and comforting. If two sides were gathered and one got out of hand, North figured the ZPD, ZPA, and "the other side" would be able to contain and resolve the problem. If anything big happened, he was glad he would be here to witness and be apart of it.

A small beep came from a small clear earpiece given to North to attach to his radio, signaling a transmission.

"Team One, this is Team Leader Orange requesting a radio check, over." An accented voice poked through his right ear before the transmission ended in another beep and a quick moment of static.

When a radio check was called, there was a certain order a guard was to respond in. North number three out of three in the team, so he was supposed to reply last.

Another beep emitted from the radio and a familiar voice began to speak. "This is Will, I read you loud and clear, over."

North waited for the transmission to end before lifting his paw to press the soft rubber button on the side of his own radio.

"This is North, I read you Lima Charlie, over." He released the button on his radio.

There were only three guards inside of a security team including the team leader, who was the newly promoted Dingo, Oliver Orange (Or Olly for short).

The radio came back to life as Olly finished the transmission, "Ten-Four, mates. There's nothing new, so stay put. Out."

North glanced over to Will who returned the glance with a casual nod and a fun-spirited wink.

North grinned at the friendly exchange before returning his attention back to the overwhelming crowd in front of him. He realized that Mayor Black was nearly finished with his half an hour speech and the crowd below him continued to get louder.

"-the past is in the past! The correct response to our recent dilemma within our city's government is to move on and to set boundaries; boundaries that will prevent any more issues from happening again." Mayor Black leaned forward against his podium, keeping eye contact with every mammal below him.

North's radio began to beep and Olly's voice popped back into his earpiece. "Team One this is Olly. The ZPD has reported a large group of angry protesters plowing towards the front of the crowd and we're expecting trouble near the front of the stage. If anything gets out of hand, take the Mayor into the capital building. Over."

North glanced over to Will who glanced back at him in return. North was the first to pick up his radio. "Ten-Four, Olly. Over."

Will replied second, his voice sizzling through the earpiece. "Wilco, Over."

"The other teams have been notified. We'll keep you up to speed on the situation. Out." Olly ended the transmission cycle and North returned his attention back to the crowd.

The protesters were now clearly visible in the middle of the masses as they pushed and shoved their way towards the Police Officers at the front of the crowd. They held vulgar signs and shouted through megaphones angry cries and cheesy chants.

North watched as they made it to the Police Line and began to shout at the officers who in turn stayed quiet and authoritative as they spread their arms to keep the protesters back as if they were unphased by the barrage of cruel insults. The Mayor acted as if the protesters didn't exist as he continued to finish his speech, his confident smile hovering over the animals he governed below.

The gleam of reflective sunlight caught North's eye and he winced, suddenly and slightly stunned by the flash. He tilted his head downwards to block sunlight with his hat as he quickly inspected the protesters below. North saw multiple protesters holding small stones in their paws as they bounced them above their head in sync with their nearly inaudible chants.

"Thank you, Zootopia!" The Mayor was finally finished with his speech as North noticed a masked Timberwolf lift weapon that resembled a T-shirt cannon out of a black backpack with one paw and held rocks with the other.

North quickly reached for his radio, a familiar spark of adrenaline igniting in his chest, "Olly, this is North. I see a masked Brown Timberwolf with a T-shirt cannon near the front of the group of protesters and he seems to be loading rocks into it, over."

He stared impatiently at the Timberwolf as he began to drop his multiple projectiles into his canon while a group of protesters failed to hide him by crowding him with signs.

After a small pause, Olly replied. "North, this is Olly. Where inside the group of protesters do you see the armed protester? Over."

North glanced over to Will, who seemed to be just as confused as Olly as the bunny stared out into the crowd with his ears pinned to the back of his head.

Quickly, North lifted a paw to point at the group of bouncing and multi-colored paper signs. The Wolf's head and black hat were just barely visible through the gaps between the mammals. "This is North. The Wolf is straight ahead of the mayor inside a circle of bright colored signs. I'm pointing straight at it, over."

He noticed the other guards' gaze's around him follow his paw, a few of them reaching for their radios.

"North, this is Olly. We see him and we're informing the ZPD. You and Will, take the Mayor inside and away from the protesters. Don't panic him. Over."

North quickly responded, the sounds of the crowd making it difficult to hear his radio. "Roger that, Olly." He hurriedly turned towards the Mayor as Will did the same.

"Mr. Mayor! We're going to bring you inside now." North tilted his head up to meet the Mayor's gaze.

Mayor Black simply nodded as if he already understood the situation. "Sounds good to me. I've finished the speech anyway." The Mayor's deep voice was barely audible over the protesters' megaphones as some of the crowd began to disperse.

The two other Guards from the front of the stage quickly moved to stand beside North and Will as they ushered the Mayor towards the second flight of steps.

North shuffled behind the Mayor with Will, giving the bunny a short nod as they reached the next steps.

Suddenly a dangerous 'thunk', and multiple war-like cheers erupted from the crowd behind the evacuating five mammals and North instinctively turned around to see what had gone off.

He immediately regretted his mistake when he saw a flash of grey before a rough projectile slammed into his forehead and knocked his hat off of his head with a painful thud.

"Ah, fuck!" He yelped in shock, throwing his paws to his head while he stuttered back into the steps from the sudden spike in pain and momentum that threatened to take away his balance. He could clearly hear the sound of more rocks landing just below the mayor clicked against the ground beside him as he struggled to come to sense at what had happened.

North managed to regain his balance by reaching out behind himself and gripping the steps, shaking his head in an attempt to regain his composer. "Goddamnit!"

A fuckin' rock! What the hell!

He felt a paw grip his vest as Will came to his aid. "North! You good?" The Bunny slapped North's missing hat to his chest and he nodded, the sounds of the protesters cheers erupting through his ears as he took the hat back into his possession.

North lowered his paw from his forehead, his brow raising in an unsettled manner as he noticed blood dripping from his palm. He groaned in irritation and pain before pulling himself up to stand straight give his friend a short nod.

"I'm fine..." He quickly put his hat back between his ears, mostly to hide his injury, and turned to follow Will back up the stairs. He saw that the Mayor was already at the front door to the building and the two other Guards had escorted him to the top of the steps.

The other guards left the front doors to the City Hall open for Will and North as they hurried up the remaining steps and into the building. Will took a glance behind them as they reached the indoors before pushing the doors shut while North removed his hat, stared down at the floor and put his paw back on pulsating his forehead.

He growled quietly in agitation as he felt blood seep past his fingers and drip along his fur, muttering curses towards the protesters outside.

"Shit, dude! you're bleeding!" North lifted his gaze to meet Will's as he bounced in front of him, his eyes wide in concern.

North nodded in reply, his ears perking over his head as he noticed his blood had begun to drip and stain onto the smooth pearly floors. "Wow, Will... I didn't notice." He flattened his ears back behind his head as he replied sarcastically to his shorter friend.

Will only shook his head in response as he unclipped the standard issue first-aid kit from the back of his belt and unzipped the cover.

As Will began to burrow into the kit for sterile bandages, a bright flash from a few feet away stole North's attention. He blinked a few times to flush away the disorientation the light gave him and he glanced curiously over his shoulder with his paw still pressed to his forehead.

A slightly rounded Badger wearing a flannel shirt and khaki jeans stood with a camera pointed directly at both security guards, his paws placed over the shutter-release button and lens as he flashed a few more quick pictures.

North winced in an attempt to block out as much of the flash from the camera as possible, now noticing the swarm of reporters and journalists crowding the mayor that stood in the center of the large entrance way. The Timberwolf and Goat worked desperately to keep a safe perimeter around the large Black Bear as he casually answered the barrage of mixed questions from the many mammals around him.

Camera flashes, notebooks, and jumbled voices filled the room and it took North a few seconds before he heard Will's voice repeating his name.

"North! Hey, look down here!"

He glanced down at the Bunny, who was holding a roll of bandages in one paw and sterile wipes with the other, with a raised brow. "Oh, Sorry," North muttered almost to himself as he gently removed his bloodstained paw from his head. "I got distracted."

Will replied with a shrug and lifted his bandages above his head. "It's all good. Just kneel down so I can patch you up for the camera."

North did what the Bunny told him to do and took a knee beside his friend, perking his ears and removing his hat with his clean paw to give Will enough room for the bandages to be placed around his head.

The two ignored the occasional camera flash in their direction as Will began to wrap the bandages over North's injury. North closed his eyes as he felt the growing pressure squeeze gently around his head as Will wrapped the bandages around until the bleeding ceased bleeding through the white cloth. When Will was finally finished, he cut the bandage off from the roll and took a satisfied step back to inspect his work.

"There ya go! All done. Let's just hope you don't have a concussion." Will commented with a grin and a slight tilt of his head. North opened his eyes and lifted his paws to feel the bandages, nodding in agreement with his friend's statement.

"Well, I don't think I have a concussion." North stood back up and flattened his ears over the bandage, testing the restrictiveness of the material. "I think I'd be a lot more out of the loop if I did."

Will nodded and was about to reply before the sound of the front doors of the capital building opening interrupted him. Both North and Will glanced at the doors to see the remaining security teams shuffle into the room as the sound of an angry crowd burst in behind them. Olly followed behind the Chief as they both quickly jogged over to meet them.

"North! How're'ya feelin'?" Olly asked first as they came within talking distance. The slightly taller animal placed his paw on North's shoulder as he inspected the bandages around his forehead. "It looks like that rock nailed ya pretty good." Chief Wolfton went to stand beside Will, the Wolf's taller figure standing over him with a friendly but authoritative stance.

North nodded, rubbing a paw over his bandaged head. "Yeah, I didn't even see it coming."

The Chief replied next, "Well, it's a good thing you noticed the armed protester earlier. If we hadn't moved the Mayor, those rocks would have been able to hit him and possibly injure him." He lifted a paw to point at North's bandages, "Just like they injured you."

North shrugged and placed his hat back over his head and on top of his bandages. "Well, it's better that those rocks hit me instead of him."

Olly gave a friendly pat on his shoulder, his ears twitching slightly as he shook his head. "It would've been better if those damned rocks didn't hit anybody." North noticed a paramedic crew shuffle through the front doors, a small kit carried in an Antelope's hooves.

"We'll get you checked out and hopefully avoid a hospital bill." Olly grinned before taking a few steps back to allow the paramedics to get closer to North. The Chief and Will also took a few steps back and regrouped together with Olly behind the white-clothed mammals.

"It's a real mess out there, so we might need you back if the ZPD can't control the crowd." The Chief added before the Antelope carrying the larger first-aid kit knelt in front of North and stole his attention.

"Hi, my names Nathan Tallhorn. I'm a Paramedic for the Zootopia Hospital and I'm just gonna make sure you don't have any major head injuries, alright?"

"Sounds good to me." North nodded while the Nathan smiled professionally and began to unzip his first-aid kit while the other mammals in his crew began to check the mayor and other security officers.

The check-up seemed to last for a lifetime as North stood up straight and answered questions the Antelope had about headaches, medicine, sensitivity to light, and more while getting a light shined in his eyes and his bandages removed and replaced.

While he was getting inspected, he watched the ZNN on an overhead Tv screen on the wall across the room where a coverage of the dissipating crowd outside of the City Hall was being broadcasted.

Although he couldn't hear the Tv, he still studied the images with distracted curiosity.

Nearly halfway into the checkup while Nathan was removing Will's bandages, North noticed a video replay of rocks being shot out towards the steps of City Hall and the Mayor. He saw himself and the other security guards escorting the Bear up the steps and watched, almost humorously, as the rocks soared straight towards him. He nearly missed answering the Paramedics question about any headaches or pain as he watched video footage of a rock fly straight towards his head as he turned around.

North cringed as he saw the larger rock nail his past self straight in the middle of his forehead, sending him reeling off balance and throwing his hat off of his head and onto the steps from the sudden transfer of momentum. His face was scrunched up in shocked pain and his eyes were closed instinctively as he fell back against the steps. The video continued with Will coming to his aid and the Fox and Bunny pair quickly running up the steps.

A small caption beneath the video read, "Another Fox and Bunny duo?" while the Snow Leopard anchor appeared beside the continuing shaky footage of the cheering crowd.

That looks more painful than it actually felt... North thought to himself as Nathan replaced the bandages and continued on with his work.

After the paramedic was finished, they shook paws and parted ways. Nathan explained that North didn't show any signs of a concussion, but it "wasn't a bad idea to go and double check at the hospital," which is what he was expecting the Antelope to say. He was told to keep the bandage on for at least the rest of the day and to replace it if his wound continued to bleed.

Overall, he was A-Okay and was cleared for work after a mandatory day off. Either way, his next shift wasn't until the end of the week and was encouraged to take it easy until then.

North turned to go find his team but was surprised to see them waiting in a bench along the wall across from him. As soon as he turned, Olly and Will had stood up and began to walk in his direction.

"Alright! How're'ya feelin' North?" Olly asked as he crossed his arms. Will stuffed his paws in his pockets and tapped his foot quietly on the floor.

"Nathan said I was fine. He didn't see any signs of a concussion and I'm cleared for work the day after tomorrow." North grinned cheerily, which infected Olly and Will who returned the grin with either a smile or a smirk.

"That's good to hear!" Will's ears perked and he shifted the positioning of his belt on his waist.

"Too right," Olly added before moving beside North and ushering him towards the side exit of the building. "Well, all of the other teams are packing up and getting ready to leave so I think it's time for us to do the same."

North raised a brow at the Dingo. "Wait, so everything's all settled down?"

Olly nodded as they pushed through the exit door with Will close behind. "Yup! Now we're all gonna meet back up at the station and head home."

North sighed, relieved. He wasn't in the mood to deal with more protesters anyways. "Sounds good to me! All of this shit is making me tired."

"And sore!" Will chuckled from the back of the group as they made their way towards a set of parked blue jeeps. Other teams of security officer's stood patiently beside their designated vehicle while they waited for Olly's team. All of the teams were supposed to leave at the same time.

"No kidding..." North couldn't help but chuckle along with Will's little jab at his injury.

I'll definitely be feeling this in the morning...

North was greeted by other guards with friendly pats on his back and the occasional, "You good?" to which he replied with a simple nod or thumbs up. The teams then loaded up and pulled out of the parking lot in single file, their matching vehicles giving the ZPA a professional look as they rolled out of their reserved parking and onto the streets of Zootopia, weaving through departing groups of mammals, for the drive home.

North stared out of his window, inspecting the still angry protesters who lifted the same hateful signs above their heads towards the security vehicles as they drove past. He also noticed the groups of non-protesters who would occasionally wave gratefully in the direction of the jeeps. It astonished North how to completely different sides could act towards a single group.

Will tore North's gaze away from his window with a tap on his shoulder and an excited, "North! Look at this!"

North leaned across the jeep to peer through Will's window to see a group of ZPD officers arresting a Brown Timberwolf with a make-shift cannon on the ground beside him. The two officers, a Fox and a Bunny that North immediately recognized forced the larger mammal to the ground as they handcuffed him and read his Miranda rights.

"Ha! Damn straight." He laughed victoriously at the sight as the Wolf and Officers soon slipped out of sight of the window. He gave Will a crisp high five before slumping back into his seat, a small smile hovering over his muzzle as he returned to staring out of the window.

Just the sight of that made this whole experience SO much better.

That's Chapter 14! Sorry if I took a long time to post it. I've had a lot going on so it's been difficult to write. I'm going to continue flip-flopping between continuing "Recollection" and "New Soil", so I apologize for the prolonged waits between chapters. Feel free to read my other story to make up for time between uploads! I tried to upload this chapter as fast as I could, so I apologize again if it lacked a little bit of extra story to it. I plan on continuing with his Class Reunion and bringing in new Characters into the mix, so I'll try and add a bit more to the story in the next few chapters.

I hope you enjoyed reading! Thanks and enjoy your day!