Chapter 36 Chasing Leads
Edited by AngloFalcon
Advice/Help by Zeronone & Eng050599
AN: Please go and thank the above good folks for helping me with the following few chapters regarding forensic analysis and police procedure, as well as editing this chapter. They are amazing friends and have done a fantastic job in helping me write this story. So please, thank them for their help and enjoy this latest chapter!
AND THIS JUST PASSED 1000 REVIEWS AND 250,000 VIEWS! O M GOODNESS! Thank you everybody! I make a concerted effort to get the next few chapters out really quick as thank you for these milestones. Thank you again!
The road and buildings passed them by as they drove down the highway, the sun cheerfully shining down upon the their cruiser.
"Nick…"
"Yes, Carrots?"
"Chief is going to give us parking duty for a month. You know this, right?"
The fox nodded his head. "Undoubtedly."
Judy sighed into her paw as she looked out the window of their cruiser, watching as they passed mile upon mile of suburbia located in the Meadowlands District. "Do you think he already knows what we're doing?"
"I think he'll suspect something from us," Nick replied, turning on his blinker as he merged the police vehicle onto a familiar off-ramp. "I haven't heard Delgato or Fangmeyer give us away yet, and technically we aren't visiting Steven, so I don't know how he could get mad at us for still following his directions." The fox shot her a quick wink before slowing to a stop at the intersection at the end of the off-ramp.
"It still seems somewhat-"
"Dubious? Almost crossing the line? Flagrant disregard of Bogo's sanity?" Nick quickly chimed in, causing Judy to shake her head and offer a quick laugh.
"I was thinking 'sly', but those work as well." Judy watched the houses and small businesses they passed by, suddenly grateful that Nick offered to drive to Furzer. Usually she never got to enjoy looking at the events parading past their window as her attention was always focused on the road ahead and getting to their destination. Like the two oxen that were sipping coffee outside a Snarlbucks, laughing at what must have been a joke, or the mother ewe skipping along the sidewalk with her lamb.
Or one particular sight that caused her to laugh when she saw the mother rabbit pushing along a length of five double-wide strollers, each containing a baby bunny while her other paw guided a string of seven more behind her.
"So is that what it was like for you growing up?" Nick mused aloud.
"Hmm?" Judy asked, turning her view from out the window and onto her partner, who gave her a sideways glance. "Oh, the rabbit family?" she asked, pointing toward the figure behind her.
"No, I meant the two beavers playing cops and robbers ahead of us," Nick snickered, pointing ahead of their cruiser as indeed there were two young beavers, one dressed all in blue while another wore a black and white striped shirt.
Judy rolled her eyes, "Har, har, Slick. But to answer your question, both of them do actually."
Nick's eyes widened in mock surprise. "You mean you had a sibling that wanted to be a criminal when they grew up?" He added a high pitched gasp just for show as they passed by the two beaver kits, Judy waving to them as they drove past. Both waved excitedly in return before going back to their games.
"Well, now that you mention it…" Judy drawled, placing a paw to her chin in part to hide the smirk appearing there. She didn't miss Nick's raised eyebrow and the sudden perk of his ears. "I did have one sister who wanted to be the opposite of me in every way growing up. She was from a younger litter and decided to be my opposite."
"Well that's cu-er, adorable." Nick grinned, feeling a slight amused glare from his partner before she laughed off his slip of the tongue.
"Anyways," Judy continued. "Since she saw me wanting to be an officer, chasing after my siblings and 'arresting' them for breaking house rules, she decided to try and be a criminal and purposely broke all the rules she could."
"How long did that last?" Nick asked, now curious as to another aspect of Judy's homelife. He added with a wink. "Did you put her in bunny prison?"
Judy laughed, grinning at the memory. "Didn't have to. Since I enjoyed acting more like my brothers than my sisters, she had gone the opposite and wore a lot of makeup. After I caught her trying to steal the remote for the tv when she was about to throw it into the pond, I threatened to take her makeup away and that was the end of that."
Loud laughter filled the cruiser as Nick shook his head. "Such a brutal punishment, Officer Hopps. I'd consider that police brutality."
A peaceful quiet fell upon them after that as Nick continued to drive, both officers grinning and simply enjoying the time to themselves after such a hectic past week. Turning her gaze back to the houses they were passing, which were becoming fewer and fewer as they made their way into quasi-farmland, Judy relished the feelings it gave her of home. The broadening landscape of fields and meadows reminded her of the verdant pastures of Bunnyburrows, and she briefly felt a stab of longing for her old home.
She missed this aspect of life that driving had taken away from her, and suddenly realized why Nick always claimed shotgun. Turning to the fox, she let her gaze fall upon the smile he had, a slight hum to an unfamiliar song on his lips as he turned the wheel, heading down the last road towards the large corporate offices ahead as the final aspects of suburbia passed behind them.
"So, what's the plan," Nick asked, directing their cruiser onto a well maintained road, with ornately trimmed hedges and trees lining each side as they came up upon a recognizable guard shack.
Both of them, after having been ordered by Bogo to relinquish the physical aspects of the case to detectives Delgato and Fangmeyer, launched themselves into a flurry of activity and paperwork, divvying out assignments between themselves to accomplish the work twice as fast. They may have been told they weren't allowed to investigate Steven's connection to Harold, however, that didn't mean they couldn't help the tiger and wolf out on the paperwork side. Judy had decided to tackle the information regarding the night howler toxin used, calling up Dr Aroughcun, who had the night howler sample the TUSK team had found in their raid on Harold's home. Then she contacted Dr Woods to follow up on her autopsies of the victims, as well as the hospital where Gideon had been transported to, the same that had been used to treat all previous savage mammal cases.
The raccoon had informed her that the toxin was indeed different from the samples they had taken in the past, but was unsure about the chemical analysis of it as that would take another few days to run it though. Dr Arroughcun had already run tests through his mass spectrometer, but wouldn't have enough data to make a conclusion about the toxin's properties for a while.
"It will take a couple of days," was his final thoughts on the matter. "We know this is a new strain, but at this point, that's about it."
Dr Woods was a little more helpful, but not by much. The jaguar had found that the arctic hare killed by Harold indeed had an entirely different strain of night howler than that which was found at Harold's home. Her notes on the novel toxin were quite comprehensive...and thoroughly indecipherable to the two officers.
The toxicology reports she had received from the hospital and compared to her own conclusions, showed that it had been diffused in such a way that it would affect lagomorphs more quickly than other animals. "The toxin has been bonded to a protein carrier, which was selectively glycosylated to render it inactive. These carbohydrates were cleaved from the surface by the fermentative action of the bacteria found in the Oryctolagus cecum. This process takes several hours, but the end result is that the activated toxin can enter directly into the bloodstream through the intestinal lumen, resulting in the regression of the mammal into a savage state."
Even will all that they had seen, that wasn't even the most startling bit of information from her however.
"It would appear that while the hare was targeted with this serum that eventually killed her due to sudden cardiac arrest, the fox showed signs of bruising under his fur, as well as internal hemorrhaging. The poor mammal was beaten to death in such a way to deliver the maximum amount of pain even though his body didn't show it at first glance."
That bit of news worried Judy, and she found herself biting on her bottom lip.
Nick, on the other paw, had gone into the traffic cameras around the scenes of the impound lot, but came up empty as the same jamming hardware which had been used to prevent them from finding the van in the first place had done a better job in blocking the jam cams from capturing the latest vehicle used by their culprit.
With the follow ups done on their leads, and Delgato and Fangmeyer already having spoken with Steven Furzer, both fox and rabbit had become somewhat bored. Even a call from Fangmeyer, letting them know where Harold was hiding had only increased their frustrations at being taken off the case.
Which was why they now found themselves flashing their badges to the guard outside Furzer Pharmaceuticals, who opened the gate and waved them in. As Nick had pointed out, Bogo had specifically instructed them not to talk with Steven Furzer, but had failed to mention anything regarding talking to the eccentric scientists at the facility to follow up on the new anti-toxins being created to cure Gideon Grey of his current savage state.
As Nick parked the cruiser, Judy stared up at the impressive structure before them, her mind not occupied upon the facade, but the mammals on the inside.
Why would Harold hold this grudge against Nick, and apparently against all predators, for so long…
"Some mammals just can't let go."
She turned to see Nick showing a frown as he placed his aviators over his eyes, effectively masking his emotions. "Sometimes folks just hold onto their feelings for so long it corrupts them, and they no longer understand the why of their actions, but only that they follow their impulses."
Judy nodded, knowing just how holding such a feeling could affect someone. She had held a secret unknown prejudice of foxes for 15 years, and it had nearly destroyed Zootopia with her bias showing at the press conference.
She understood all too well what fear could spawn, and hoped that someday, maybe like how she and Nick had both changed, the rest of Zootopia could change as well.
Sensing his partner's feelings welling up towards the surface, Nick placed his paw upon her shoulder. "Judy, the past is the past, and it is best to leave it there. Besides," he chuckled, moving his paw from her shoulder to her ears as he ruffled them lightly, earning a 'hey' from Judy, "I think with your tenacity and cuteness, you can convince nearly anyone to become a better mammal."
"Nick…" Judy drawled, her lip curving up into a smirk. "What have I told you about that word and bunnies?"
"After living in Bunnyburrow for a week that I'm officially half rabbit?" Nick grinned while raising his eyebrows.
Judy rolled her eyes, gently hip bumping her partner to both their amusement as they crossed the parking lot and entered the lobby, waving at the receptionist who nodded and smiled at them.
"What can I do for you two officers today?" the receptionist - a female tiger - spoke in a friendly tone.
"We're here to see Dr Coyotah," Judy stated, placing her paws upon the reception desk with a bright smile.
"Of course, I can ring him to let him come out to meet you if you'd li-"
"I think we can find him ourselves," Nick interjected with a smile. "We know where he works so all we need are the guest passes."
The tigress nodded, quickly bringing forth two guest passes from a drawer under her desk, handing them over to the fox and rabbit who quickly put them on.
The fox gave the now puzzled receptionist a lazy two fingered salute and sauntered off after Judy who was already on her way to the lab.
"So, you know where to go Fluff?" Nick asked as they pushed open the double doors leading deeper into the building.
"Not a clue," she chirped merrily. "But at least we don't have to worry about any surprises being prepared for us like last time if Dr Coyotah isn't expecting us."
That got a rousing round of laughter from both of them as they began trying to find their way through to the laboratory.
(Earlier)
As Judy and Nick dove into the paperwork of the case, detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato made the drive out to Furzer Pharmaceuticals to question the CEO about his chief of security. They had discussed exactly what to bring up with the muskrat, as well as the information they'd need to be given access to in regards to the murderous zebra working under him. They were quickly ushered up to the top floor of the building, and had to wait only a minute before Steven's secretary - a female beaver wearing way too much eyeshadow, according to Fangmeyer - let them know the CEO was ready to see them.
Steven Furzer's office was pretty much on par for what both Delgato and Fangmeyer thought it should appear like: spotless, clean, organized, and most important of all, a shrine to the mammal that abided in the room. Few paintings spotted the walls, but those that existed were all self portraits of the muskrat currently sitting in the seat behind a mahogany desk. Bookcases lined the wall behind him, two loveseats and a sofa sat in front of a desk on a very expensive looking rug, while a line of floor to ceiling windows against the far wall completed the ensemble.
Fangmeyer couldn't help but let out a low whistle as he strolled, paws in pockets, abjectly refusing to show visual signs of deference or awe as the current occupant of the seat behind the desk could be somehow involved with the murderous zebra they were after.
"Quite the fancy place you have here, Mr Furzer," the wolf chuckled.
The muskrat looked up from his desk, adjusted his glasses before grinning broadly.
"Ah, Officers Delgato and Fangmeyer!" he shuffled from off his seat, and for a moment, disappeared below the edge of the desk, the rodent reappearing around the corner of the desk, his paw extended in greeting. "It is such a pleasure to see the both of you as I want to thank you for your service you contribute every day to our city. Now, what can I do for you two gentlemammals?"
Seems like a decent enough fellow...Fangmeyer thought, even if his smile seemed a bit too broad and pawshake a bit too enthusiastic. Though he didn't have anything to judge it against, but still, something felt off about the merry muskrat who was now shaking Delgato's paw. He sniffed the air as the muskrat's back was turned to him. Yep, something's off about him.
Yep, something is definitely off with this guy...Delgato thought. Ten years on the force and half of that as a detective had taught him nearly every trick in the book about how to make correct snap judgements about a mammal. The tiger realized that he probably wasn't nearly as good as Wilde was at this, but then again, that fox seemed to always have a trick or three up his sleeve. The feline kept a warm gaze and enthused pawshake for the CEO, but inwardly was judging every single item in the room.
Moist paw over a casual visit, glasses don't seem to fit right, whiskers flicking slightly...yep, something is up here. It only took a quick glance at the pictures on the wall to realize what it was.
Why is he wearing glasses? He cast a quick look back at the muskrat, then back up at the paintings. Maybe for reading?
"So, I assume you most likely know the pretense for our visit?" Delgato asked, eliciting a sigh from the rodent.
"That I do," Steven replied with in a morose tone. "I had thought that Harold would have changed after all these years, but apparently some mammals don't change their stripes, er…" he looked nervously up at the tiger, who arched an eyebrow at him. "Sorry," the muskrat stammered, "I meant spots."
The tiger nodded slowly as the muskrat fiddled with his glasses. "Look, I'm not one to beat around the bush, but we're following a time sensitive lead and we need all the information on Harold Herdtrotter that you have. Now…"
"Oh right, of course," Steven mumbled, running back to his desk before appearing again on his chair, typing furiously away at his computer. "I saw the news about him, and since he worked here I thought that I should collect as much data as I could about him for whoever would come asking for it."
"What do you mean, 'worked' here?" Fangmeyer asked cautiously.
"He's already been terminated," Steven replied without looking up from his computer. He paused, glancing over at the unamused looks he was given by the two officers. "Ok, so maybe I haven't told him about it yet, but I was hoping that I could do that after he is arrested since he does have a bit of an issue with his anger."
"We've noticed," Delgato growled, earning a nervous laugh from the CEO. "Do you know where he might be hiding?" the big cat asked, leaning against the desk with one paw placed upon it. Even by lowering himself slightly, the tiger still towered over the muskrat, and was currently using that height to his advantage.
Steven smiled nervously. "I can do one better if you'd like me to.."
The muskrat pulled his phone from his pocket, clicking several buttons before bringing the device to his ear. "I can call him up right now and say I have something to give to him so I can get his address. Would that work for you?" he asked, finger hovering over the call button.
"That would be wonderful, thank you," Fangmeyer replied enthusiastically, as his partner nodded in agreement before leaving the front of the desk to peruse the room.
"Alright then," Steven replied, and pressed the button. Fangmeyer could hear the phone ring several times before a raspy, nasally voice sounded on the other side. He couldn't make out the conversation, but he knew exactly who it was as soon as Steven began talking.
"Harold, hey, how're you doing?" The muskrat paused, nodding his head. "Uhuh. Uhuh. Of course. Yes, I can do that for you. What was that?"
The small rodent turned and began pacing the floor under the watchful gaze of the wolf officer, oblivious to the tiger roaming the room.
"Yes. Yes...Yes I already said I can do that, now listen. I have a delivery for you, but I need to know where you're at so I have have it delivered...so? Where are you at?"
The muskrat frowned. "What do you mean 'that place'? You have lots of places that you call that name!" Another pause in the conversation caused Delgato to glance over at Fangmeyer, before the rodent regained their attention.
"The Cloven Hoof? Alright. I can send him over to meet you. Alright, thanks. Bye."
Steven hung up his phone, looking somewhat more relaxed after his conversation with a wanted criminal.
"It would seem he has been hanging out over at The Cloven Hoof bar in the Meadowlands the past day or so...what's wrong?"
Without a second glance back the powerful individual behind them, or even a farewell, the two mammals turned and began to leave.
"You're welcome," Steven grunted, shoving his paws into his pants pockets as the wolf at least waved his paw as he left.
"I'll get Wilde and Hopps on the line," Fangmeyer stated, gaining a nod from the tiger. "Bogo may not want them on this, but I'm sure that they will want to at least watch the raid take place when our suspect is captured."
"I think that would be wise," Delgato grunted as they left the office and its disgruntled inhabitant behind. "Though I wouldn't mind them being on the raid themselves, as we're going to need all the officers we can get to take him in if he's at the Cloven Hoof. The last TUSK raid left there with five injured officers and twenty arrests." Delgato quickly punched in a number on his phone, bringing it to her ear as the gruff voice of Bogo sounded from the other side, while Fangmeyer could be heard conversing with one of the other two officers on his phone.
"Chief, we found where he's hiding."
"Good," the Chief sounded over the phone. "However, I would like to evaluate this location for myself before I send a task force in. I can send Wolford; he is the undercover officer on duty at the moment. Just let me know where to send him."
"That's the thing sir," Delgato growled, his annoyance flooding through his usual stoicism. "He's at The Cloven Hoof."
There was silence on the line for several moments until Bogo finally spoke up.
"Great..." was all he said before hanging up. Delgato looked at his partner, who grinned slightly.
"So," the wolf began, "want to make a bet on whether Bogo breaks out the whiskey by the time we get back?"
Delgato groaned. "Let's just get down to the security room to review the footage and then to records to figure out how this zebra afforded to plan all this out."
"Right," Fangmeyer nodded in agreement, setting off with the tiger as they walked the halls. Thankfully, the security room for the complex wasn't located too far away from where Steven's office was situated, only down the hall and a few steps down the hall. The tiger paused, stepping backwards while craning his neck back.
"Noticing how close this room is to his office?" the wolf stated, picking up on his friend's movement, as he had noticed the same thing while passing.
"Yep." Delgato rumbled.
"Same here. Think that's a coincidence?"
"Nope."
Fangmeyer nodded. "Neither do I," the wolf replied, before knocking on the door labeled 'security'. A few seconds passed before a intercom activated next to the door, as well as a video feed, showing the two cops from above.
"Who is it?" a gruff voice sounded from the intercom.
Delgato glanced at the camera above the door, before bringing out his badge and placing it in front of the camera. "Detectives Delgato and Fangmeyer, here working a case on behalf of ZPD Precinct One."
"Ah, Bogo's boys. Come on in," the voice chimed, much friendlier than before.
A click came from the door and it was pulled open, revealing a grinning middle aged jaguar in a puffy grey security guard jacket. The tiger noticed his posture spoke of some sort of training, and his following comment only solidified his assumption. "Good to see ya lads coming around these parts. Tell me, how's my old partner doing?"
Delgato arched an eyebrow as he stared down at the smaller feline. "Wait, you were partners with Bogo?"
"Reginald O'Pawblerson," the jaguar struck out his paw with a grin, "at your service. And yes, 'tis indeed I was."
The tiger went to shake the smaller cat's paw, when a white one beat him to it.
"So great to see you in the fur, sir," Fangmeyer stated with a toothy grin. "You're the only partner I've ever heard Bogo speak of, so you must have been excellent."
The jaguar offered a hearty laugh. "Well, can't say why you think so highly of me from one mention. All I ever did to old buckwheat for brains was catch his crooks for him." The big cat let out another hearty laugh before waving his paw for the two detectives to follow him inside.
"I reckoned that someone would be coming by to review the video footage of this place once I heard about what Harold - may he rot in a festering pit - had done to those kindly young'uns over at your precinct."
Delgato took a moment to survey the room as the jaguar began typing at his computer. It wasn't a large room by any means, but big enough to have two sets of heavy oak desks with computer stations on them, as well as a bank of servers across from them. A door next to where Reginald was sitting was labeled, 'video monitors'. Other than that, the room was fairly empty, not even a mini-fridge of filing cabinet to be seen. Even the desk next to Reginald was spotless, with not even a piece of fur to be seen at the station, excepting the rather large flask situated next to his desk with a rather large shamrock painted onto the darkened glass.
"Seems like you don't have much room here to keep-"
"Records?" interjected the jaguar with a shake of his head. "Old Harold - may he roast on a spit like a overcooked pheasant - never was a fan of keeping records even though it was company policy to do so. Always went on about how, 'they'll come to bite you in the kester', and all that garbage."
"I take it you didn't get along too well with him?" Delgato questioned, leaning against the wall of the cubicle, though quickly abandoning that idea when the wall started to bend under his weight.
"Never did like the guy - may his brains be knocked about by a good beating - as he always grated on my nerves. Never did agree with Steven hiring him, nor having Harold replace me as Chief of security." The jaguar snarled, grabbing his flask from the desk and taking a deep swig from it before continuing.
"The guy barely did anything when I was around besides rant about predators or complain about the ZPD for firing him." Reginald growled as he typed in a passcode on his computer, a ding sounding from the door next to him as a green light flickered to life. Excusing himself as he stood, the feline walked over and opened the door to a darkened room filled with monitors of locations all over the building.
"So Steven hired him up, just like that?" Fangmeyer asked as the security guard took a seat at another computer and began clicking through files as they appeared on-screen.
Snapping his fingers, the jaguar growled. "Just like that he hired that scumbucket. If I were the boss, I'd have taken a sledgehammer between his legs then taken a knife and-"
"Though I'd love to hear what you'd do to the creep," Delgato interrupted, stopping the ramblings of the guard, "we do have to see if we can find anything that he's been up to in these video files."
"Ah, righty'o my good lads. Forgive me my dislike for him, and I hope you can catch him before he tries anything else. And if you'd like any help I could-"
"Actually…" Fangmeyer tapped his paw to his chin as he sat down in a swivel chair in front of a second keyboard and monitor, "is there a way you could bring us any files on company expenses that Harold may have had? It may allow us to see a pattern to his behavior."
"You got it!" Reginald grinned, before leaving the two detectives with a salute, closing the door behind him.
Silence pervaded the room as the wolf and tiger began searching through video feeds, starting with the day when Mr Shepherd had been turned savage, in the hopes of finding concrete evidence of Harold kidnapping the old ram. It wasn't until nearly ten minutes after the jaguar had left that Delgato turned to his partner.
"So…" he began. "What was the one story you heard Bogo tell about Reginald?"
Fangmeyer grinned, casting the tiger a toothy grin. "Oh, that! Bogo and I were drinking over at O'Malley's, and after a few pints he let slip a comment about a partner of his who when they were in Sahara Square used a cactus to interrogate a subject by tossing the weasel over it several times. He'd mentioned it was a jaguar, so I just put two and two together. Told me that was the day he started keeping a quart of whiskey in his desk."
Delgato blinked, then simply turned back to his computer monitor as Fangmeyer chuckled. After today...the tiger thought...I wonder if he still has that and would like to share.
~45 minutes later~
The pair had managed to find several videos of exactly what they had been looking for. Not only had they found Harold speaking with Dr Shepherd the day of the ram's death, but also found the pair walking towards the company carport and both entering into the van that had Wilde had found to be the one used in the ram's kidnapping.
In addition, Reginald had pulled through for them, and had found several purchases under Harold's name on corporate receipts, showing that the zebra did indeed frequent The Cloven Hoof, and quite often on the company's dime.
This guy sure is a real winner...Delgato surmised after seeing just how much the zebra had spent at the bar during each visit. I can't even rack up that kind of tab when I'm buying rounds for everyone at O'Malley's.
"Hey Delgato," Fangmeyer began, sounding a little worried which startled the tiger from his thoughts.
"What?" the tiger stated flatly, taking his focus off the paper in front of him as he placed them on the table.
"I think I found something you aren't going to like."
Delgato groaned while turning to his partner. "And what would that be?"
Pointing at the screen, the wolf offered a cheeky grin. "That."
The tiger followed his paw, then groaned as he placed his paw over his eyes. There on the screen in front of them, was a certain bunny and fox combo talking to a coyote in a lab coat.
The idea to bash his head against the table came to mind as he lowered his paw to look at the camera again. "Why can't they just listen for once?"
The lab didn't take nearly as long to find as the first time, and thankfully had no 'birthday bombs' set up to greet them as they walked through the doors. They saw a cheetah lean back from behind a cubicle, lazily looking at the guests before his eyes shot open as Nick and Judy waved at him. The big cat flailed in his seat, losing balance before tipping backwards, falling out of his cubicle with a mild groan.
"Ah, visitors! And ones we know at that."
Both fox and rabbit turned to see a familiar coyote in a lab coat walking towards them, the predator grinning broadly while holding his paws out wide. "Officers Wilde and Hopps! Good to see you again and so soon!"
The three mammals quickly shook paws before being ushered further into the lab, the coyote laughing and talking the entire time.
"I saw what you two did on the news the other day. Such daring do's as I've ever seen before! And that other fox, subject A113, such a-"
"You mean Gideon?" Judy said, her tone hinting at annoyance at her childhood bully turned friend being labeled instead of called by his name. Dr Wily looked down at the bunny, puzzlement in his eyes before they flickered wide open.
"Oh, so that's his name. I'll have to log that to my memory for future reference. Anyhow, studying Subject A-, er, I mean Gideon's, toxicology reports have proved fascinating. I recognize the protein structures in the toxin from his blood samples from reviewing Dr Shepherd's research on the matter, but the rest contains all brand new cell structures alongside severely raised levels of dopamine!"
"English, please," Nick interrupted, earning a grateful look from Judy for his comment.
"Of course," Coyotah said with a slight chuckle. "You're friend was hit with an entirely new type of night howler derivative that was made expressly for canines, though I'd wager the fur on my tail that the more we dig, the more we'll find it targets vulpines specifically, although with the conserved nature of the surface receptors in Canidae, it would still work on a wide range of Canines. It's been designed to directly bind to the surface receptors in the dermal layer, triggering clatherin-mediated endocytosis, allowing it to enter into the cells, and rapidly enter the bloodstream."
He shook his head before continuing. "The design was quite frankly brilliant, and would need significant resources to develop, of which I'm wondering where the funding has come from for it as I'd love to have my paw in that biscuit jar." The coyote laughed at his own joke before continuing. "In the long run, we may be able to modify the technique to help mammals, but for now we need to figure out how to deal with this modification."
Nick's expression was still filled with confusion. "Uhhh, that's your idea of English?"
Judy nudged the fox with her elbow and he looked down to see her nod her head. "I think I got the gist of it," she said before turning her attention back to the Doctor. "Is there a cure...an anti-toxin available for it?" Judy asked, concern lacing her words.
"No…" the scientists stated, though halted when he saw the bunny's ears wilt. "Er, I mean, not yet. We're working on this around the clock to develop one, but that isn't the biggest of Mr Gideon's worries."
"Wait, what do you mean?" Judy asked, feeling as if the temperature of the room had suddenly plummeted.
"Oh, um…" The coyote suddenly looked quite nervous, scratching at the back of his head. "Well, he has...oh dear, there's no good way to put this is there…"
The canine began muttering to himself, though most of it sounded like incomprehensible medical jargon to the other two mammals present. After nearly a minute of having to listen to the other mammal mumbling, Judy finally snapped, her worry reaching its breaking point.
"What is wrong with Gideon!" she shouted, startling the coyote into silence. Looking nervously at the now anxious rabbit, and the fox trying to calm her by placing his paws on her shoulders and rubbing them tenderly, Wiley couldn't help but gulp.
"He has a Atypical Meningioma."
The room went silent, as even the scientists listening in on the conversation went quiet at the announcement.
"He has...what?" Judy asked, voice quivering as Nick's paws tightened on her shoulders.
"Gideon has a tumor, Officer Hopps. It was discovered in the meninges near his spinal column during his latest tests."
Judy felt her legs shaking and walked to the nearest chair, slumping into it as her paws went limp in her lap. Her ears hung behind her, eyes glassy as she processed the news.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it Ms Hopps, because it hasn't metastasized yet. However, the doctors aren't sure of how to proceed while he is in his savage state. Surgery will be required eventually, but they are hoping that the antidote to his specific night howler toxin will be produced and used on him before attempting the surgery."
Seeing no stir from his partner, Nick walked over to her, kneeling down next to her on the floor, though still eye level with her. As soon as he placed his paw around her back, she leaned into him, quickly wrapping her arms around his chest as his warmth and presence helped alleviate some of the pain from the news.
"I'll ah, let you two have some time." The coyote quickly left, leaving the two alone as the quiet ticking of keyboards and hum of machines once again filled the noiseless void from before. Several minutes passed before Judy moved, with Nick rubbing her back slowly until she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes though no tears had come.
"You alright now?" the fox asked, stopping his ministrations as he looked into her eyes, his own filled with care and hope.
"Yeah, I'm alright."
"Nick, Judy?"
Both the fox and rabbit looked up, spotting a rather worried looking hippo standing several feet away from them. Judy brightened instantly at seeing their friend.
"Phil!" she stated warmly, sliding off the chair then walking towards the larger mammal. "How have you been? Everyone treating you better than before?"
The hippo nodded. "Yes, though I have you two to thank for that." He smiled softly, though his smile quickly widened.
"Oh, and I have something for you two!" Phil stated, turning and trundling back into a section of cubicles with both Nick and Judy following behind him. "I found this recently in the other laboratory here at Furzer that focuses in on synthetics research while testing more of my vegetable enhancer."
As he was facing forward, he didn't see Judy's smile drop into a frown, nor Nick's change to a smirk as he nudged his partner and grinned. "So what is it big guy? Discover something that could make carrots bigger?"
"Are you calling me short?" Judy quipped back, eager to pull a fast one on Nick.
"Of course not," the fox calmly replied, "as you are perfect as is. Now Phil…"
Judy couldn't help the sudden blush rushing into her ears as she tried and failed to frown at her best friend turned boyfriend. Nick continued without missing a beat, though Judy did manage to catch the wink he sent her way."
"...what is it that you have for us?"
The hippo was scrounging around in what looked like a mini-fridge to the larger mammal, but what was almost big enough to be a home for most smaller mammals, before apparently spotting what he was searching for.
"Ah, here it is!" he nearly shouted in glee as he stood, knocking his head against the lip of the fridge as he leaned out of it. He turned, rubbing his head, though with a wide grin. "Dr Shepherd's last creation."
In Phil's hoof he held a vial of some type of reddish liquid.
"That's great!" Nick replied with false exuberance, though it went completely over the head of the hippo, who nodding in agreement. "Wonderful even, Phil. What is it?"
The hippo continued nodding for several moments before he realized he had been asked a question by the fox. "Oh, you remember how Dr Shepherd had created that serum that Dr Sprintz consumed?" Both Nick and Judy nodded as the hippo continued. "Well, I found this little beauty over in the other lab just today. It's the antidote for it."
"Well, that's convenient," Nick stated, raising an eyebrow at the hippo who chuckled nervously.
"Wait, Dr Shepherd created an antidote?" Judy asked. "Why wouldn't you have known about this from before if you were his assistant? And why would it be hidden in another laboratory when you work in this one?"
Phil shrugged. "I thought it was strange as well, but, that is just how Dr Shepherd was. Once I found his lunch shoved in his desk drawer and his notes and iCarrot in the fridge." The hippo lowered his head, growing somber at the memory of his friend, a slight sniffle heard from him. "I'm sorry I didn't know about this earlier. He...Shepherd apparently was working on several more as well. Come look."
Nick and Judy walked closer to the fridge and past the excited ungulate, their eyes widening as they saw several shelves lined with similar flasks.
"Isn't it great!" Phil stammered. "Apparently he was making one for most classes and species of mammals, or at least the most populous ones in Zootopia. It's a goldmine of information that we could use to…"
Judy quickly turned to Phil, silencing the mammal with an urgent tone to her pose. "Did he create one for foxes?"
"Uh," the hippo scratched his head. "I'm not sure. Like I said, I only just stumbled across these today and was going to take them to Dr Coyotah to-"
"Dr Coyotah!" Judy hollered, causing Nick to wince from the close proximity. "Get your tail down here now!"
"Coming, coming!" they heard the coyote shout from across the lab, followed by the rushed steps of claws on tile before the canine zoomed into view, followed shortly by two other mammals that caused a nervous chuckle to come from Nick.
Both Fangmeyer and Delgato stood behind the other predator, arms crossed across their chests as they glared down at the two officers.
"What is it Officer Hopps?" Dr Coyotah asked. "I was just talking with these two when you called."
"Yes, Hopps," Delgato stated with a bit of edge in his tone. "What is it that you simply had to go against Bogo's orders...again."
"We simply couldn't wait to see your faces again," Nick chimed, voice filled with a certain snark that he had learned to master. Judy rolled her eyes, but quietly laughed to herself at how Nick's false calm and debonair attitude could usually charm anyone. Or at least make them feel like he was giving them a compliment, while at the same time wishing them a horrible day. It had helped on quite a few of their cases, though at other times like right now…
"Wilde, close that muzzle before I do tell the Chief you both are here."
Now that would be a hinderance, and one they couldn't risk.
"We apologize," Judy began a little too professionally, poking Nick in his side with her elbow, gaining a soft 'ow' from the fox, "however, we actually aren't here about the case."
Her comment earned a raised eyebrow from both the tiger and the wolf, the latter even chuckling. "I have a hard time believing that 'Judy-on-duty' isn't here investiga-"
The wolf stopped when he looked down when he heard a tap-tap-tapping sound and saw the glare that Judy was currently giving him.
"Fangmeyer, I thought we talked about that name?" she stated, her foot still tapping away furiously.
"Hehe, sorry Judy." Fangmeyer chuckled nervously as Delgato shook his head.
"Fine Hopps, what were you and Wilde doing here that wasn't involved with the case?"
"Well," Judy began cheerfully as she clasped her paws together, "we were hoping to find out if there had been an antidote made yet for my friend Gideon." Judy's ears fell as her mind drew to the memory of her friend snarling and stalking her at the festival, barely recognizable as the fox she had known while growing up and who her parents had worked with for the past few years. That's not the Gideon you know, Judy...she repeated to herself.
"You could have just called," the tiger growled, crossing his arms over his chest.
"We did," Nick replied, jutting his thumb towards the coyote, noticing Judy's sullen gaze and covering for her, "but this guy doesn't seem to like to pick up his phone when it rings."
"Well," the doctor began, frowning, "I was working on some very important experiments regarding the…"
"Yes, quite interesting," Nick interjected. "However, due to the lack of communication we came here to find out if they had made any antidote that we could deliver to Gideon."
Again the tiger growled out a response. "And did you?"
Nick's eyes twinkled. "Oh, we got more than that." With a flourish of his paw, he moved to the side, allowing the two detectives to look at the mini-fridge in Phil's office. Both frowned at the fox, whose smile never disappeared from his muzzle as the detectives groaned.
Delgato glanced down at his partner. "And we sponsored these two for becoming detectives?" the tiger asked before looking back at the fox. "You found a fridge, congrats. Now let's get you two back to the station before Bogo has a hernia at you two being here."
Before the tiger could take a step back, Judy crossed over in front of the fridge, opening it swiftly, reaching in, and grabbing a vial from inside.
"We didn't find just a fridge, Detective." She shot the last word out in a frustrated tone. "Phil here found these antidotes to not only the toxin that Gideon was shot with, but to the toxin that Dr Sprintz was affected by as well." Judy folded her arms across her chest as Nick gave her a smile and a wink as the bunny continued. "It would appear that Dr Shepherd had been crafting the antidotes alongside the toxins, but someone hid them so they wouldn't be found."
"Wait," Fangmeyer stated, his ears perking up. "You said they were hidden? By who?" The gaze of all four cops fell on the largest mammal among them - Phil.
"I...I don't know," the hippo stuttered. "I was over there conducting some experiments when I went to see if there were any snacks in their fridge and found them. Dr Shepherd must have left them there for some reason. I don't know..."
"But Phil," Dr Coyotah spoke up, staring at the ungulate, "we aren't allowed to use that lab so we don't accidentally cross our experiments with theirs. And those…" the coyote pointed towards the samples as he leaned in and squinted at them, "are dated as of yesterday so there is no way that Dr Shepherd could have made those."
Again all eyes were drawn to the hippo, who began nervously flicking his ears.
"I...I…"
"Phil…" Judy began, taking a step towards the much bigger mammal. "What is going on here?"
The hippo looked like he was about to break, when the chiming of a cell phone in Delgato's pocket offered the hippo a respite, though only one from the tiger as the others kept their gazes trained on the larger mammal.
"Hello," the tiger began, pausing to listen for several moments. "Sure, Wolford, I can do that. Let me put you on the speaker."
The feline nodded for Judy, Nick and Fangmeyer to follow him to a more discreet location, though Nick squinted at the hippo, causing the other mammal to flinch when Nick finally spoke
"I hope you don't have anything to do with this, Phil, as you have been nothing but kind to Judy. I'd hate to watch her ears droop even the tiniest fraction of an inch if she has to arrest someone she considers a friend."
"Alright," the hippo stammered. The fox officer nodded before following after the other three police mammals, leaving a curious coyote and a very nervous hippo behind.
"The Cloven Hoof?" Nick heard his partner ask when he jogged up to join his fellow officers. "What's that place?"
"Surprised you haven't heard about it yet, Carrots," Nick observed as Judy turned to see him join them. "Though that is probably because Bogo knew you would have gone in there to clean it up just by yourself if you had."
"Seediest bar in the Meadowlands," replied Delgato, again causing the rabbit to whip around to face him. "Even most of the lowlifes in the city that have some sense of morals avoid that place. No matter how many times we've shut it down, it always comes back...and somehow worse than before. It only serves prey mammal that have hooves, and their bouncer, Blane, usually beats anyone who doesn't have any before tossing them out."
The rabbit lowered her head in thought as she went over all the information in her mind. "I'm guessing this is the bar that Wolford is assigned to when he goes undercover then?" she finally asked, turning to Fangmeyer.
"That would be the one," the wolf replied. He's been going there off and on for the past two years to keep an eye on the place for the ZPD."
"Well…" Judy began, a sparkle in her eyes, "Maybe now that they have been harboring a wanted fugitive, I'm sure we can close it down, and permanently for that. Is Wolford there now?"
Delgato nodded, but was interrupted by Nick before he could speak up.
"Again, I'd say we leave this to TUSK, Carrots." The comment earned him a slight frown form her partner, though the fox continued. "I've...been to that bar before, and the mammals there make Bellwether seem nicer than Santa Claws and we're technically not even here, so I think it would be best if we let someone else take the honor of bagging the bad guys this time."
Judy's question of why Nick had visited that bar was on the tip of her tongue when a ringing interrupted the foursome's conversation. Delgato quickly brought his phone from his pocket and answered the device.
"Delgato speaking," the tiger rumbled before putting it on speaker.
"Hey there Frosted Flakes, how are ya doing?" the voice of the wolf came somewhat muffled through the speaker. Must be speaking through his disguise...Nick thought with amusement. He'd seen the wolf wear it several times now, and each time found it quite amusing.
"Frosted Flakes?" Nick asked with a chuckle. "Now that's a new one. How'd you get that, Stripes?"
Delgato offered a pointed glare at the fox before the wolf again chimed in from the phone.
"Was that Wilde?" the wolf asked. "What's he doing there? I thought the Chief told them-"
"They're with us completely by accident while trying to find solutions to another of their cases. Now what do you have to tell us Wolford."
The wolf on the other side of the line cleared his throat. "Alright then. I found our guy. All our info on him seems to match. Already called up Bogo and told him that-"
Wolford's voice cut out as another, deeper voice chimed in. Judy strained to hear it, but could barely make out the conversation as she could only guess Wolford must have his costumed paw over the phone.
"And what are you doing out here, Teddy?"
"Just calling my mother. What's it to you, Blane?" she could hear Wolford holler through the phone.
A strangled yelp was plainly heard over the phone, as all four officers were suddenly on full alert.
"Teddy, buddy, can you hear us?" Fangmeyer shouted into the phone. Pitiful whining could be heard, then the crackling of the phone as it exchanged paws.
"I believe that Teddy is indisposed at the moment and that your friend here will have trouble hearing you soon," the deep voice rumbled, sending a shiver down each of the officer's spines. "As it is hard to hear when you are missing your ears."
"Listen you punk," Delgato growled into the phone, only to be cut off by a raspy chuckling sound.
"No, my friend, I think you should listen." Silence pervaded over the phone, before a loud snap could be heard, followed by a pain-filled howl. Wolford's whimpers sounded over the phone before another snap could be heard, followed by even more whining, though more strained than before.
"Wolford?" Fangmeyer murmured, eyes filled with worry as he looked at the phone in his paw.
He glanced at his phone one last time as he heard a voice laughing from the device.
"So that is what the deceiver's true name is," the voice mocked. "We have a penalty for lying here. For every minute I'll break a finger, for ever ten I break a bone. You have thirty minutes until I crush his skull. For his sake, I hope you are not far."
"We need to get down there, now!" Judy shouted, running towards the door as Nick followed quickly after her, the rabbit on her radio in a heartbeat.
"Clawhauser, we have an officer down at the Cloven Hoof! Assemble a TUSK team to go as soon as you can!"
The panicked voice of Clawhauser came through over the radio. "What?" Who's down, what's going on? And why are you there Judy? Is Nick hurt?"
"Wolford's been assaulted at the bar and needs backup. Delgato, Fangmeyer, Wilde and I are ETA…" she paused looking at her partner as she actually didn't know how far away they were from the bar.
"Fifteen minutes," he yelled as they burst into the lobby they came through, scaring the receptionist so badly that they flung their coffee into the air, the cup breaking as it splattered across their desk.
"ETA fifteen minutes Clawhauser. Get that TUSK unit there now and we'll try and see how to help Wolford until they arrive."
Delgato and Fangmeyer darted quickly after the fox and rabbit, the four racing to their cruisers, their vehicles engines roaring to life as they gunned the engines. Nick flicked on their lights and sirens as Judy sped towards the exit, placing the location of the bar into their cruiser's GPS system.
"Twenty minutes to your destination," the voice chimed from the GPS as Judy passed through the gates of the facility, the guard stepping out of his shack to stare at the two cruiser's flying past.
Wolford was one of the first officers to accept Nick at the Precinct when within the fox's first week the larger predator has made sure he was invited to the Precinct's summer social. Something he should have gotten an invite to, and something which had aggravated, and saddened Judy, beyond belief when she had found out Nick only knew due to the wolf. He'd spent a while that night consoling her, reminder her she was a good friend, before Wolford had come over and helped out the rabbit as well. Wolford was one of the few he felt was a true friend he could count on and the phone call was making him quite worried, even if he wasn't showing it for the most part.
"Think you can cut that time in half, Carrots?" Nick asked, a hint of worry edging his words.
The engine roared in response as Judy cast him a quick glance, the seriousness of the situation showing in her eyes as her gaze flickered to the GPS's estimated arrival time.
"We'll make it in seven."
AN: Something I just realized thanks to Anglofalcon, is that for both our stories it must be, "Hurt Wolford Week" apparently as we both had his fingers being crunched a bit. The action is going to be kicked up a notch in the next chapter, in a scene that I've been chomping at the bit to write for months now. So I hope you enjoyed this scene, as the next one will take a bit to write as I want to get it perfect for you...and I also have to catch up on writing "The Masked Fox" as well. XD
Please let me know what you thought of this chapter as I hope you like it since it was a lot of fun to write. :)
Next chapter Title: Brawl for it All
Will Wolford survive? Will Harold be finally captured? Is it a trap?
*Muffles Admiral Ackbar*
See you soon!