Even when she was just an officer, Judy Wilde- well, she was Judy Hopps back then- wasn't known for staying calm on the job, especially not when her emotions got the best of her.
Eighteen years later, nothing's changed… well, now she's a mother and a Chief and tempers tend to flare a little more easily…
But for the life of me I never thought that I'd ever find myself comforting a sobbing bunny… never let them see that they get to you… that was her mate's admonition when he was a kit…
I've been wondering if my mother and father are pulling strings from behind the scenes, and well, in a way, I hope they are…. Because then I might get Jason back sooner rather than later…
Oh, about that- Chief Wilde- the rabbit Chief Wilde- who I've taken to calling Aunt Judy in my head (I know she'd never actually let me do that)- is freaking out…. and sweet Celestials above can rabbits scream…!
How do I know that?
Easy… it's because they only sent someone to bring me to Precinct One the next day (after a scared and sleepless night, of course, because they can't be bothered to send someone to let the chiefs of the city's most famous precinct know that their own son's been kidnapped until nearly twelve hours later… if this wasn't really life I'd think that they'd been watching some stupid cop-show drama on TV that made them think that they'd have to wait twelve hours to report a kidnapping…
Come on, mammals, the first twelve hours are the most important, that's, like, the first thing that you learn in the Academy, whatever you're doing, whether that's trying to find a missing mammal like I am right now or if you're trying to track down a killer or whatever… the first twelve hours are by and large the most important, and they didn't send anyone for me for that long…
Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, it really feels more likely that the Commissioner didn't even bother to pass on the message until this morning…. And you know what Commissioner, flock you… just because he's a fox doesn't mean that he's a worthless pelt… dam speciesist…
And now I'm gonna have to pay the piper...
"Oh my gods he's been kidnapped- Mary, it wasn't your parents was it oh my god I shouldn't have asked that I'm sorry!" she yammers, feet-paws hammering the floor so hard that, if she ever decides that the police force isn't home for her anymore, a construction crew could make good use of them as a jackhammer…
Nick- Chief Wilde, my bad- shoots me a look that I can't quite make heads or tails of (does he want to strangle me or does he feel bad for me because I have the two sheep that I do as parents? Both? Yeah probably both I'm sorry Nick I didn't do anything! No calm down, Mary, you can't freak the flock out like this… they're not going to hurt you calm down!).
"I swear it wasn't my parents Chief I swear!" I plead, hooves together… please!"
"Mary," Wolfard says (where in the heck did he come from, I didn't even hear him come up behind me), looking at me with a more menacing version of the glare Chief Wilde (the fox kind) gives, "why aren't you in Happytown? Don't you know the city isn't safe anymore?"
"Yeah, about that-," I start to ask, but both Wildes cut him off.
"Not now, Wolfard. You want to chew her ear? Do it on your time. This is our time," Judy says, almost baring her teeth at him, lips barely covering them.
"But-," Wolford tries to protest, finding himself silenced again.
"Danny, really? After the IA review you're already on thin ice. One more word and I'll have your badge," Judy- Chief Wilde, be respectful, Mary, you're seeing what happens when you frick up- says, staring him down. "Mary, please, our son, where is he?"
"I- I don't know," I say, curling into myself a little bit. I'm afraid of what could happen next, what Wolfard could do, why they didn't fire him outright…
"What do you mean you don't know?" Nick asks me, looking almost furious in his fear… flock it why aren't we sending out folks to find him, Danny, please… get out there, please!"
"Yes sir," Wolford grumbles, snapping a salute and taking a stack of papers in his paws and carrying right over to the trash. "These files go here, right chief?"
"Danny, that's not even funny, those are flocking classified, what're you thinking?"
"I dunno," Wolford says, pawing them back over to fox-Chief Wilde. "I'm gonna get myself out of here, how's that sound?"
"Sounds good to me, Wolford," Nick growls out, and the wolf scampers out of the room. "Celestials above, what the hell is with that guy…?" Turning to me, he forces a smile onto his muzzle. "Sorry, Mary, I know this is awful, please, I'm trying not to panic too, okay, so stay with me my son's missing oh my god he's gonna die and it's gonna be all my fault… scat I'm an awful mammal…"
"Chief, I don't know if you meant to say that part out loud like you did, but that's what I'm trying to figure out, sir…. And um, I have connections that say that, well… you know anything about what's going on with a company called Ketazine?"
"Bet you a million bucks that they're involved in this, Mary… how do you know…?"
Oh scat I can't tell her…
But if I don't tell her…
She might have me suspended… or would she?
I don't know, gods I'm scared…
"I have connections, ma'am… and while I may not like them, they're not getting anything out of me…"
"I've been in that same spot before, Mary, I won't press you right now… Just know that if it comes down to it, you might need to make that choice. Family you're born into, or family that you make… Which is it gonna be, that's the question. Nick, get the Kevlar and the ESWs, I'll call the meeting…"
"Yes ma'am," the other Chief Wilde says, snapping his other half a salute. "Mary," he says, "are you coming or not?"
"Yes sir, coming sir," I say, finding myself getting more and more scared as we walk into what I assume is the bullpen. Precinct Thirteen doesn't even have one, we just meet out in the lobby…
Gods I hope that I get a precinct to go back to after all of this, after they find Jason…
If they decide that they want to help Jason after all of this, and yeah, please help him, fox or not please find my friend, I- I… really like him…
As soon as I get there, though, everyone glares at me, like I've done something wrong, and there's only one seat left… right at the front…
And everyone in the ZPD knows what that seat means…
It means you were lazy, means you weren't paying attention, that you're gonna get chewed out by the chief…
And guess who gets to sit in it…
Me, of course…
Gods, I'm only a rookie, I'm scared, I want to find my friend, my precinct was just bombed with howler gas….
And just because I'm Dawn and Doug's daughter (alliteration ha ha! Gods I'm stressed I never make stupid puns like that unless I'm about to have a breakdown…), I'm not being taken seriously…. Could this day get any worse….?
"Okay, everyone, settle down, settle down," Chief Wilde- Judy- says, and I can hear that she's fighting to keep the fear out of her voice, "Precinct Thirteen's been attacked, and they're going to need some reinforcements…. If I call your name, you're going to be under command of Major Lionheart until I tell you otherwise," she says, gesturing to a twenty-something lioness in the row behind me, and everyone hoots and hollers… Mary, you're already part of that group… additional mammals going along: Officers Aullador, Patterson, Jimenez… grab your gear, get ready to go, and-," she pauses as her husband comes barging in, panting. This can't be good, you don't interrupt briefings, ever…
"Officer Bellwether, can you come with me please?" he asks me, and I do ask I'm told, wondering why I'm suddenly feeling even more overwhelmed by dread than I know I should be…
Once we're out of the briefing room, he puts his paw on my shoulder, and scat I'm gonna get fired, aren't I?
But no, what he says is worse…
"Mary, Doug Ramses was found dead in his cell less than an hour ago… I'm sorry."