EPILOGUE 2
As Ryan walked through the front doors of Bacillus Industries, he was warmly welcomed by a female pig in a smart dress, a receptionist of this multi-million company.
"Good Morning, Mr. Young."
"Good Morning, Debbie," Ryan greeted back as he walked across the crowded lobby area to the reception counter.
Debbie smiled bright at him and then craned her neck to one side to see if anyone also had come with him, but none she could find. "It seems you came alone, right?"
"Yep, my boss didn't want any of my friends to come with me today," replied Ryan.
"Why's that?" she asked, sounding a bit worried. "Doesn't he concern about you get abducted anymore?"
At her worrying question, he began to rewind and review the period from the first day he had come back to Zootopia until now. Aside from what he had had to deal with in the first few weeks, his routine and desk job, nothing indicated that he was in danger or was going to be kidnapped again. Every day from then was normal, nothing much to concern although he had been a target of everyone's eyes. It could not help when he was only one of his species left in this world.
However, like he had told himself, there was no harm in looking. He could think that he was a celebrity — actually, he was once — to get over with those watches and glances. With that, he could understand how most of the superstars felt and why they had to disguise themselves so they can do anything like normal mammals did. But, disguise was not an option for him, and he had made peace with it already.
"Well, maybe he needs my fellow officers to attend something else." Ryan shrugged. "I don't mind coming alone, though. Also, nothing's happening to me yet. I think they didn't care about me anymore, or maybe they are busy with something or someone else."
"If you said so," said Debbie with a nod, eyeing her computer screen and typing down something. "Today, you come for the last inspecting with Doctor Rose, I see. Well, you arrive fifteen minutes early." She looked up at Ryan again and said, "You can go ahead to the lab. I'll inform her that you come."
"Thanks," said Ryan, and before he set off, he added, "I think Mr. Panthera will come and join the session as well, right?"
Debbie laughed. "You bet."
Walking down the hallway towards the same lab that he had come once a week, and once he reached the glass room where everything inside was almost white-colored, he already saw a jaguar in same dark red button-up with a gray tie and black trousers inside the lab, sitting on the edge of the desk, reading some files that Ryan was assuming they were definitely about him. However, something seemed a bit odd. Usually, Mr. Panthera had never been the first mammal to be seen in this room before. Doctor Merria Rose was always the first one he saw, and then the jaguar would come later. There must be something.
"Good Morning, Mr. Panthera?" greeted Ryan, sounding somewhat surprised.
"Hey, aren't we still on a first-name basis?" said the jaguar, putting down the files on the desk and looking at the human grimly.
"Oh, right. Sorry…" Ryan then cleared his throat and greeted again, "Good Morning, Edgar."
A smile finally crept across his face. "Hey there, Ryan," greeted Edgar with his regular cheerful voice. "I never thought you'd be here so early."
"Erm… I always come fifteen minutes early," said Ryan, raising his brow in skepticism. "On the contrary, I never thought you're the first mammal to see in the lab," he continued with a little worry in his voice. "Is there something I should worry about?"
"Oh no, nothing to worry." Edgar shook his head. "I just got a message from my daughter that you would be here alone, so I went down from my desk to here to see your arrival. And then I should text her when you're here." With that, he snatched out his phone, typed something down on it and sent out the message. Within a heartbeat, his phone vibrated as he got a reply from his daughter. "Damn, that's fast… Is she particularly waiting for the text?"
"I don't know." Ryan shrugged nonchalantly. "I only know one thing that she was furious at her boss because he didn't allow her to come with me today."
"She always gets mad if anything doesn't go as she hopes. Well, enough of my daughter, today is your last day to visit here, right? Are you ready for that?"
"Yep, born ready. But, I remembered Doctor Rose said that she needs one year to inspect my erm…everything. Why does she stop it all of a sudden?"
"I think you'd better ask her," said Edgar, nodding to the opening door behind Ryan. "There she comes."
"Edgar!" came an exclamation from a female sea otter in white doctor's gown. "I never thought you would come here before me. Is there something I should worry about?"
At her surprise, Ryan could not help laughing out loud as Edgar scowled at her and complained, "Coming here before you guys is a weird thing, huh."
A few moments later, after the three of them had finished greeting and talking, Doctor Merria Rose began the last inspecting session. Ryan asked her why this would be the last session, and her answer was not quite clear as she said that her boss in DeSIL headquarter did not need any further research about him anymore. And she too did not know why. Ryan could think that maybe her boss might have enough information about him, or maybe she found out that researching him was a waste of time. However, with whatever the reasons he could think of, it was another good news for him.
Because of that, Ryan could throw himself completely into his job, working long hours to pursue his ultimate goal, making the world a better place for everyone. Even though it was just a tiny bit different, he was not going to give in to any obstacles to see the smile on every Zootopia citizen's faces. Notwithstanding that a certain group of mammal would come at him in the future again and do everything to end his life or shake his determination, he was not going to stop pursuing as long as his life lasted. Until that day arrived or the death took him away, he was going to keep his promise.
Speaking of a promise…
"Edgar," he began, putting his clothes back on after his body inspection completed. "If you plan on going to a beach, which place would you go?"
"Well, I'm not a beach fan," said Edgar, "but I would go to Beach Promenade or Palm View. Those places are the most gorgeous in Zootopia. Why are you asking?"
"I have to do something over there," said Ryan, rubbing the back of his neck, "and I've never gone to the beach before. So, I have no idea."
"You know what? Why don't you go ask my daughter about it? Unlike me, she loves the sea, and she would love to hear you asking her out to go to the beach."
With a slight blush on his face, Ryan was stunned for a second at his words, and after composing himself, he said, "I didn't know she likes to go to the beach before."
"Well, there is a lot more you don't know about her," said Edgar, and patted Ryan on his back. "Don't worry, no one can know everything about another in short time. So take your time, learn more and absorb it. The fun part is when you discover something new, right?"
After finishing all businesses he had to do in Bacillus Industries, Ryan bade farewell to Doctor Rose and Edgar, headed out of the building and walked along the sidewalk. Looking in the windows of the various shops along the way, he knew he should already have been on the way back to the first precinct by now. But, since he had come here alone, no one was going to drive him back. Even though he could have called his friends to pick him up, he chose not to bother them.
Walking on and on under the shade of skyscrapers, unlike every major city back in his old world, the weather here in Downtown was great; it was warm without being hot, and the sky was unclouded. Although there still had some pollution from vehicles and households, it was a lot better than the city he had come from. He had nothing against his hometown, though. Actually, he missed it. He missed everything over there, the small park across the Genman Corp., Genman's Manor House and everyone who worked there, Mariah, Anderson, Sam, and of course, Alice. If he could wish for anything for once, the old Ryan would certainly wish to go back and stay with his old boss. But, the present him, the one who was walking along the crowded sidewalk, moving past the pedestrians of various mammals, nodding a greeting, saying "Hello" and giving a smile to everyone, was going to save that wish for a better thing.
A moment later of wandering down the sidewalk, his stomach started rumbling. It was already midday, and he had to get something to eat. Not far in front of him, there was a food cart on the pavement, selling pretzels and drinks. Seeing that, Ryan made a beeline to the cart without a second thought, bought three pretzels, one salted and two cinnamon seasoned, and also purchased a can of soda. After paying and receiving a bag of his foods, his next mission was to find a proper place to eat, and the nearby park would be it.
Sitting down on the available bench as he entered the park, Ryan began munching the pretzels and drinking the soda. He glanced at his watch as he was chewing a mouthful of bread. It was getting on towards one. He did not dare stay too long — Chief Bogo would be angry at him and probably fired him if he still kept slacking off. He then devoured the last pretzel, gulped down the remaining soda and left.
Two minutes to one, the front doors of the Zootopia Police Department slid open, and Ryan walked into the reception area with a smile. He waved his hand, greeting Clawhauser and all he could see, and made his way to the bullpen, to his desk. Not much to his surprise, the piles of paperwork on the desk seemed to get higher than yesterday, and he could expect them getting more higher by this evening if he did not start typing them into his computer.
Time passed unwittingly. The paperwork on his desk seemed to shrink and grow during the time. Ryan slowly but surely typed up reports. He did not want to have anyone wasting their time to cross-check his works, as well as he did not want to lose his to correct them. He made sure every letter he clicked at the keyboard was correct and accurate, and every paper he digitized was not swapped with another.
And then the last of his paperwork finally piled up upon the finished one, and it was half an hour before the clock on his computer read 5 pm. Ryan stretched out in his seat for a moment and let out a satisfied groan. He stood up, walked across the bullpen to bring a cart for those papers and delivered them to the record room.
Humming a pleasant tune while taking the cart back to its place, there came a soft, gruff voice from his behind, calling him.
"Young."
Ryan flinched at the sound and quickly turned around only to see Chief Bogo standing towering over him. But as soon as he saw an apprehension on his boss's face, his panicky fright suddenly turned to suspicion and worry.
Chief Bogo and Ryan stood in awkward silence for a while, staring at one another until Chief said, "Young, come see me at my office before going home… I need to talk to you about something."
"Y-yes, sir!" said Ryan, saluting him. "I will be at your office in a minute, sir."
"Good, good…" Chief sighed and walked away without another word.
Still standing straight with saluting, once Chief Bogo was in the elevator and its doors shut close, a frown began to pinch his brows in concern. Ryan was trying to figure out what the matter was that his boss had to come down from his office and tell him to meet him in his room personally even though he could call him via intercom or tell Clawhauser to come and find him. In any case, the thing they were going to talk about was important for sure, and the faster he finished his business down here, the faster he would know what his boss was up to.
After sending a message to his partner, saying that he was having a meeting with his boss and telling not to wait for him, Ryan rode the elevator up to the third floor and walked down the hallway towards the frosted glass door labeled Chief Bogo. He took a deep breath and knocked on it twice. But before he could state that it was him, he heard his boss saying "Come in" as though he already knew.
Ryan opened the door and stepped inside to see his boss, with reading glasses on him, seated behind his paper-strewn desk.
"Chief Bogo?" he began, but again, before he could say another word, Chief interrupted.
"Young, come and seat," said Chief Bogo, looking up at him, gesturing to a chair before him and looking back down.
"Yes, sir," said Ryan, took a seat and asked, "Is there anything, sir?"
Ryan was waiting for his Chief to reply, but Chief did not speak any word and was busy with his work. A few awkward second passed in silence, Ryan began to worry.
"Sir?" he repeated, sounding more concerned.
"Young," Chief began finally, "Was there anything happen when you went to Bacillus this morning?"
Ryan felt relieved somehow. "Nothing happened, sir," he replied. "Nothing suspicious and no Cerberus could be found in the morning."
"That good…" But Chief's voice seemed not to agree with his word. "I kinda feel guilty to let you go there alone without support. I shouldn't have done that. But I think you know it, right?"
"I guess I know, sir. You need my friends to protect the city while most of the force went for that notorious criminal. So, it would be wasting resource to protect only one person rather than citizens."
"That right," said Chief. "I hope your partner is half as understanding as you. I'm worried about her that she's worried about you too much."
"It can't help though. I used to be kidnapped under her watch once and ended up in a foreign country. She might feel bad she couldn't protect me and I nearly got myself killed. In any case, sir, I'll talk to her about this. Don't worry."
"Thanks," nodded Chief. "By the way, tomorrow you will be cleared from Doctor Margaret for active duty, right? I hope you don't get yourself injured before time and get another month or two off."
"Don't jinx it, sir." Ryan chuckled. "I don't want to get myself hurt as well as you to bench me."
"Well then, I'll give you a parking duty for your first active day, all right?" said Chief Bogo, finally cracking a smile, even though it lasted for only a second.
"What choice do I have," said Ryan in a mock-complaining tone. "But, I think it's better than sitting at my desk and staring at computer screen all day."
Chief Bogo chuckled. "I'll put it down on my list then. And one more thing, Young…" Chief sighed. "I don't want to pry into your personal life, but…" He paused a moment and took his glasses off. "Is there something going on between you and Panthera?"
Then the awkward silence held between them for a while. Ryan's face showed shock and trepidation. "We…we are partners, sir. Good partners," he answered finally. "We're colleagues and will be gym partners. We're no more than very close friends, sir."
"But, you two seem to be romantically happy together. You don't have to ask me how. Every time when Panthera is with you, she always clings to you, and you seem not minding her at all. In fact, you appear to like it."
"Well, back in my world, sir." Ryan cleared his throat once and explained, "We have an animal kept for for a person's company and protection —" he tried to avoid using a word 'Pet' — "which provides that person physical and emotional benefits, as well as gives companionship if that person lives alone. When they're together, they're bound to each other and rather thinking as family members. So, when those animals are still feral unlike you, they can't talk but express their love by being near or clinging on their humans. Therefore, by thinking that, I understand the behavior."
Chief wrinkled his brow in puzzlement. "Are you saying that you think of her as a pet?"
Oh great…
"No, sir!" Ryan objected, raising his voice to the point of nearly shouting, but soon feeling sorry that it caused his boss to flinch. He cleared his throat once again and said in a softened tone, "That was not what I meant. I'm saying her clinging behavior may be a part of natural feline behavior when they're attached to someone. Do I feel uncomfortable? Yes, I do feel a few times. But she seems to know when is enough that it won't bother me. So, I'm okay with it."
An uncomfortable silence fell between them again until Chief Bogo began to pile up his scattered papers on his desk together and put them down in front of him. "Well, I don't care," he said finally. "But it's good that your mind didn't go there."
"Thank you, sir—"
"However," Chief interrupted, "I have to remind you about PDA and intimacy at work are not preferable and violate the policy. You should've known it from the academy."
Ryan opened his mouth trying to protest and countering with his reasons, but nothing came out as Chief was right. His lips pressed together, and he turned away, looking down at the floor.
With a sigh, Chief Bogo stood up from behind his desk and walked to the map of Zootopia that hung on the wall on the right side of the room. "Young… I love love," he said, looking at the map as though he was studying it. "But, I also love maintaining a professional work environment. So, please do me a favor and don't show too much affection." He turned to look at his human officer who now looked back at him as well. "I don't want you two to have trouble with Mammal Resource Department about intimate relationships in the workplace. However, I will not care how much you two love each other as long as you don't wear a police uniform and aren't on duty. Understood?"
"Understood, sir."
"Good." Chief nodded and turned his attention back to the map again. "You may go now."
"Yes, sir. Thank you for the warning, sir." Ryan got to his feet and headed for the door. As he opened it, he looked at his boss again and said, "By the way, sorry for your failure to attempt catching Chuckles, sir."
"Yeah… That slippery bastard… We will hunt him down again. Thank you."
Ryan walked downstairs instead of riding elevator, went through the front doors, and stepped down the steps and out on the pavement. His face showed anxiety as he strolled along the sidewalk, heading towards Acacia Street. Usually, he would have hailed a cab or taken public transportation back to his apartment. However, today he felt like to walk even though he knew it would take him nearly an hour to reach there.
As he wandered, his mind was occupied with the things happened this morning. He asked himself why did most of the mammals he talked to have to mention about the relationship between him and his partner? Why were they so supporting about their relationships? Were they up to something besides the gambling over them? Was there something behind it or was he just paranoid?
Several minutes passed, and now he stopped walking and looked up at the crosswalk light on the other side of the street. The light flashed red with the wait number that was counting down second by second. Ryan wished it could reach zero fast, so he continued his way home. But then he also hoped it would count forever and never turn green, so he could finish on how to get his problems done before reaching home. He did not like to bring any problems back with him.
The wait number got lower and lower, and mammals began to gather around him and the other side of the street as they were waiting to walk across. And when the light turned green, Ryan, however, was still in deep thought and did not budge, making other pedestrians confused before moving past him.
Others had gone, and he still stood there. The light again flashed red, and he still stood there. It was as though a point of no return and he had to choose carefully whether to cross the street or not.
And another few seconds passed, and finally, Ryan made up his mind. He turned around, snatched his phone out of his pocket and dialed. It did not take him long until a person on the other end picked up.
"Hello, where are you right now? … Erm, we need to talk. I will see you there— Wait. They're still with you? … No, it's okay… That doesn't matter, I will see you there in thirty minutes."
'Overlong'
