Chapter 21: A Streak of Polar Bear Fur

Year:

Zootopia P.E. 2064

Earth A.D. 2018

Location: Chief Bogo's Office, ZPD Headquarters, Precinct 1, Zootopia

Time: 1:57 pm

Authors note: I wish to express my most sincere thanks here to Samohaya, a reader who also hails from Hong Kong, China. He has contributed to completing valuable sections of the chapter, as well as a multitude of suggestions I could work with on the story.

His feedback has changed the way this story is headed, and so can yours. If you have anything to express, please feel free to shoot me a PM here on FFN. I'd be more than happy to answer and put them into serious consideration.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The immense buffalo gazed expectantly at the telephone balanced so delicately on the edge of his desk, subconsciously clenching his hooves until they turned white from the pressure alone. Save for one typed-up note he had received mere hours earlier, Chief Bogo had no other inkling whatsoever regarding the whereabouts of the ZPD's finest officers. A million wrinkles dotted his forehead as the commander's mind flew back to the last conversation he had had with Hopps, under circumstances so dire that even he himself had been in doubt of their safety. If anything fatal, God forbid, had really been inflicted upon the two….how was he going to explain everything to the press?

"Orders from….mayor...the top….abort mission! Return to HQ immediately! I repeat, abort mission!" Even after an ordeal that was stressful enough to make days seem like weeks, his final instructions to the bunny remained crystal clear to the Chief's memory. It had been three whole days since their last transmission, and neither Hopps or Wilde had shown up for duty, or at least had made a call to explain their absence-no prizes for guessing whether the team had chosen to follow his orders or not.

So far, the paper slip was the buffalo's only clue-Team morale had been dropping like a stone, and it didn't take a genius to figure out it wasn't going to take forever for anyone to see through his lies. If his memory still hadn't deceived him, he recalled that Lieutenant Hopps had only taken four days off throughout her 2 years of continuous service, and those had lasted for barely twenty four hours each. Whatever had happened to her out in the wilderness, Bogo presumed it would be safe to rule out sickness as a possible cause; Wilde, as rambunctious as he is, would definitely not even think of toying with his dear partner's health and safety.

—Which brought him to an even worse question: Where is Hopps' partner? Did he not go out and investigate with her? Had he, somehow, snuck out on her or got caught together in an accident or got kidnapped by some shady cabal or even harmed or maimed or— No, Adrian, focus on the facts!

Bogo, the experienced and sublime leader he is, usually refrained from poking too much into his subordinates' Modus Operandi so long as they stayed within the grounds of reason and law, especially when dealing with Hopps and Wilde, who would crack more cases than half of the Precinct combined annually in just three months by rather… interesting methods; but this sudden silence from the "Terrible Twos" is well on its way to becoming something more than worrying.

Not now, Adrian. Not in front of those who need your guidance.

Wiping away the profuse amount of perspiration accumulated on his horns and locking his office door, the Chief groped around in his breast pocket for a photocopy of the slip, the original having been scanned thoroughly by the forensics department. Their test results had baffled the entire ZPD-whoever typed it up had to have a full decades worth of experience of fooling the Force. No pawprints, no scents, no handwriting….it was as if the information had popped into their world out of nowhere.

"Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are secure under our care. Any attempt to extract them may prove fatal for all parties involved."

Who were they? And why did he even have a reason to trust their words? The buffalo's enemies were scattered throughout all four corners of Zootopia, and he was sure not less than one or two of them would be more than willing to kidnap those under his command just to bring him to his knees. The Creators, the Lemming Brothers…..among all those other organizations he had no name for, where should he even begin?

Before Chief Bogo had even come up with an answer reasonable enough for himself to believe in, a sudden succession of shrill rings cut through his office as would a hot knife through butter. The paper slip neglected for the moment, the buffalo's hooves found their way around the receiver in what took less than a split second, its plastic cover already covered in a layer of grease from his sweat.

"Hopps? Wilde?" the commander barked exhaustedly into the device, "Do you read me?

"It's been a while, hasn't it? Adrian…." the voice from the other end was almost mocking in comparison.

Bogo gritted his teeth, resisting the temptation to smash his entire set against the floor. It wouldn't even be the first time he did, anyways.

"You better stow the shit and cut to the chase. Two of my best officers are MIA-Missing-in-action, if you're retarded enough not to know what that means." Adrian lashed out against his superior.

"I was aware of that," he dismissed casually, "Much earlier than you or any of your lankies were, as a matter of fact."

"If you don't tell me what you want, I swear I'm going to hang up in five seconds." Bogo threatened. The Chief had faced much worse on the streets when he was younger-this insolent mammal was practically nothing in his face.

"You understand very well what their disappearance means to you. I assume you've received your share of rumours over at the office."

And he wasn't wrong. Clawhauser, for one, the normally cheerful and amiable face of the Precinct didn't gulp anything more than half a box of donuts for the last three days combined, citing "health concerns". Yet, Bogo became the Chief for innumerable reasons, and his ability to read between the lines was but one of many. Even Wolford, the resident undercover go-to officer of the Precinct was visibly gloomy— something you don't get daily from the stoic wolf— due to Wilde's disappearance, no matter how many pranks were exchanged or how childish the canine officers' banter appeared to the Chief. Hell, maybe the pranks and banter were precisely why Wolford and Wilde were best pals, only bested by Hopps. That much was clear.

Sadly, the prevailing depression and fear for the Terrible Twos was slightly clearer for all officers under Chief Adrian Bogo.

Fear, as Bogo knew it since day one on the job, is a paradoxical thing- all emotions are-: Fear, left to spread and ferment will inevitably lead to unrest and disorder, as the riots in September 2014 have attested; yet, fear suppressed and unvoiced would eventually lead to the same thing in the end, perhaps even quicker.

The worst part? He had to be the one presiding over this shitstorm while being able to do exactly nothing to soothe down the people out of this very door- HIS people!

"Stop telling me things I already know," the Chief impatiently snapped. Though his tone was no less gruffer than before, Bogo couldn't help but wonder at the back of his mind where the conversation might possibly lead to. "The whereabouts of my officers are none of your fucking business anyway."

"Are you sure it's not?" it was as if his superior enjoyed toying with him, "As the Commissioner of the Security Council of the Zootopian Energy Research Bureau, I assure you, their disappearance has everything to do with us."

Bogo winced frustratedly, brows furrowed tight with pain. "Not you freaks again." he muttered reluctantly into the receiver. What right did they have to infringe upon his work? They'd been acting like they owned the entire city these days, and their reputation amongst the government wasn't exactly looking up for that very reason.

"I'd refrain from calling the ZERB 'freaks', if I were you. And for your information, Officers Hopps and Wilde were found accessing ZERB property without prior authorization, only to flee when apprehended by our security detail. All that was only three days ago. I presume that date corresponds directly with their time of disappearance?"

"It must have been some form of miscommunication…." he stuttered.

"I thought I'd entrusted you with the task of explaining what 'clearance' was to those two. Have you already forgotten so soon?" he concluded accusingly.

"If you think I'm actually scared at the slightest, then you're in for a fucking surprise." the buffalo reasserted his authority, "I'm the Chief of the entire goddamn Police Department, for God's sakes, and I take orders from nobody, not even from stuck-up snobs in the government like yourself." Bogo snorted in disgust, preparing to hang up for once and for all.

"You sure do enjoy a good ol' Cham-bear-tin '45 over the weekends, don't you? One of the most priced products the vineyards out in Bunnyburrow have to offer. Maybe even a second bottle over supper, if you're in the mood of course…."

"I do beg your pardon?" his trembling hooves, which had been hovering dangerously close to the telephone's base, automatically retracted until it returned to his earside. "What are you even implying with this?"

"If I recall correctly, that lovely wife of yours prefers something heavier, doesn't she? I know she's been going through hard times. A Cosmopolitan or two every night, perhaps? Concocted with the finest vodka, imported directly from the breweries of Tundratown..." his tone was silky and smooth, the syllables prancing around in Bogo's eardrums.

"Don't you dare touch that girl of mine!" for the first time, the Chief raised his voice and hollered into the handset, "May I remind you, I have absolutely NO IDEA at what you're talking about."

"Let's face it, Adrian. Alcohol is not a problem-it never has been one. But here comes the real question: how could you even afford that amount of liquor in the first place?"

"I work hard at my job, and I parlay my savings for that enjoyment. What did you even expect?" Bogo rushed to defend his honor, but his tongue couldn't help but tie itself up as he did so.

"I've had my experience in dealing with wines across the city. You aren't fooling anyone, Adrian-the alcohol you consume in a week would take up half of your month's salary. With that rate of expenditure it's a surprise you have any money left, let alone parlay any savings." he put an extra emphasis on the final word.

"Call. Me. Chief. Bogo." the buffalo hissed out every word, ""Every mammal needs his release. A little alcohol can't do much harm to anyone."

"A 'little' alcohol, one says. Well, guess what the citizens of Zootopia would have to say when they find out their dear Police Chief is, gasp, a raging alcoholic?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about. There's a fine line between alcohol consumption and abuse."

"Where did you get all that money from, Chief Bogo? Are you in debt? Corruption, even? I'm confident more than a criminal or two would love to be the one that deals with you. Either way, I don't want to be the one to find out-but I tell you, my associates in the Independent Commission Against Corruption are more than willing to dig into your past. My, and what a juicy one that is!"

"Then you'll find nothing in my record. Absolutely nothing."

"Oh right, I nearly forgot-you wouldn't have survived for so long if you had no idea whatsoever how to cover your own tracks. Remember those tapes? I have to admit, you did a brilliant job in shushing down the whole scandal. Witnesses, abortions, you did everything you could. But just one loophole could define the end of you."

"Now, how would you feel if every single resident of this city gets a copy of those? It could happen tonight, it could happen anytime I wish. I hate to break this to you, but nothing's under your jurisdiction anymore. And once those tapes are out….boom, the ICAC will be onto you like a pack of mad hounds."

"So...is it the alcohol, or the tapes? Your call, Chief."

"What….what do you want from me?" for once, even Bogo found himself lost for words. "You've got the entire government on your side...why the ZPD?"

"The government needs to scout out Hopps and Wilde even more urgently than you do. They've illegally trespassed upon and extracted ZERB property, and under Section 3A of the Energy Bureau Act, are thus liable to our search and interrogation. I presume you wouldn't want to work against the rules."

"All questioning will be conducted by the ZPD, and the rest will promptly be seen to by the Department of Justice. None of it has got to do with the ZERB at all." the buffalo retorted angrily, "Whose rules are you referring to?"

"Ours. The Act extends to all citizens registered with Zootopian citizenship, and not even members of the Zootopian Police may be exempted. Your officers have committed a crime whilst upon our territory, and thus they will be judged according to our rules. Is that clear?"

"I'll gladly take these cases to the Courts, thank you."

"The alcohol, or the tapes?"

"Fuck. You." the Chief was now making no effort whatsoever to conceal his anger, "Sure. You want to find both of the officers, go ahead if you must. What does this have to do with me?"

"The ZERB can't risk alerting its presence to the public," the mammal on the other end sighed regretfully, "Not that we have a large enough force anyway. That's where the police came into play."

"You want us to search for Hopps and Wilde? I hate to tell you this, but a selected team of our finest officers is already hard at work on cracking the case, of which you have no business in. The ZPD's already doing what it can, so it would be best if you HUNG. UP. NOW." frankly speaking, Bogo was not in the mood to converse with anyone.

"That's not enough. I want most, if not all of your officers on this one."

"Are you insane? What about patrolling the streets? What about bank robberies? We don't just sit around chewing on jelly doughnuts all day!" Incredulous, the commander wondered if his superior had finally lost his mind.

"Maintain a skeleton crew until the day they are found. That shouldn't take very long, given your expertise in such cases. The little granny with the stolen purse can wait till then." he dismissed annoyedly, his tone pointedly sharper, "The property they have extracted from our premises may cause significant damage if left unattended-It might very well mean the end of the city as well know it."

"You haven't even put the morale of our team into consideration. If I tell them all of a sudden that two of our best officers are Missing-in-Action, God knows how nuts that would drive them?"

"Give them a common goal to strive for, one to ignite the fuel within them." reasoned his boss, "Create a cover story for their disappearance-it's not like the police will remember it once they scout them out. Just mention Officers Hopps and Wilde have been held hostage by a gang of terrorists that threaten the very well-being of Zootopia. That ought to get 'em crackin'."

"I want them to conduct a fingertip search throughout every single nook and cranny within the city. I don't care if they are detectives or undercovers, just send whoever you've got on your hooves. Order your subordinates in the suburbs to follow your lead-sweep every desert and every moor with no exceptions. Employ whatever means deemed necessary until those two are secured-I'll make sure nobody in the government bats an eyelid. And once they're apprehended, I'll expect them both to be relegated immediately under the custody of ZERB."

"Meanwhile you, Adrian, are going to be kept very busy."

"Now what? I seriously don't hope you want to drag me into another one of your mad frays." the words simply flew out of his lips without permission.

"You are going to hold a press conference this very afternoon. Invite every Platform that exists in the city-the more coverage this story gets, the sooner we'll find those two."

"Appeal to the public for assistance," he continued, "Many are still thankful of the way Judy Hopps saved our skins two years ago, and Gosh, they do let it show. I bet before long, the entire streets will be crawling with mammals ready to pounce on Judy Hopps the moment she shows her cute fuzzy face."

"You'll regret calling her cute one day." an infuriated Adrian hissed through his gritted teeth, but his boss deliberately took no notice at his demonstration of fury.

"That remains to be seen. I'll be tuning in onto ZNN at exactly 4 pm today, and if I don't see your face plastered on all the channels by then, shit's going to hit the fan. I mean it."

Chief Bogo deftly ripped out the cord of his landline, hurling it against a bookshelf stacked to the brim with obligatory law books. He wasn't going to be receiving any calls any time soon, but that didn't mean he could finally get some peace and quiet of his own. For the sake of his reputation, the commander was forced to turn his back against his own officers, some of whom he had trusted like family.

"Clawhauser?" he flicked his backup wireless into life, "Get me the media relations team. Tell them to prep me for a…."

"Sir, Sir!" he didn't even have a chance to finish his order when a panting cheetah nearly knocked down his door in a hurry, "You've got to hear this!"

"If it's not anything about Hopps, I'm not having it."

"It's the paper slip we've received. Remember how Forensics insisted there wasn't a single clue we could locate on that five inches of parchment?"

"Sergeant, tell me things I don't know already." Bogo couldn't believe he had spouted the sentence twice in only half a day. "I've got a press conference to attend. My reputation's on the line."

"Five minutes of your time," begged Benjamin, painfully bending his knees to catch his breath, "Well, Forensics found something else, something they'd never expected in a million years."

"Go on?" urged the buffalo.

"The paper slip came enveloped in a manila folder. Initially some bird-brain was smart enough to discard it in favor of the slip, but someone else eventually noticed it when the paper slip had been proven to be clean. Once they finally fished it out of the dumpster, they were in for the shock of their lives!"

"Inside the manila folder…" Benjamin paused briefly, as if to build up untimely suspense, "They located a single streak of polar bear fur. It isn't much, but at least we'll know where to begin. Right, Chief? Chief?."

Chief Bogo ignored the flabbergasted face on his employee and continued to stare off into space, undoubtedly submerged in deep thought. He knew Judy Hopps well enough over the years that she had multiple contacts throughout the city, and shady ones were certainly no exception-Only one gang in all of Zootopia dared employ polar bears as hitmen. It didn't take a genius to figure out who had wiped clean the jam-cams the night they had fled from the ZERB.

Finding Hopps had suddenly become much, much easier.