DISCLAIMER: I had my bid to own Zootopia all ready, but then there wqas a pounding in my ceiling and a piano with cats playing instruments fell through it, crushed my desk, and then fell through my floor. So I still don't own Zootopia, and now me and my downstairs neighbors are trying to figure out who to hold responsible for the damages.
Thanks to GusTheBear and TheoreticallyEva for editing this chapter!
"I can't believe they're able to keep Tundratown so cold!" Madison shook her head, gazing out at the white expanse outside the tram windows. It was the day after she and Gideon had arrived in the city, and Nick and Judy had decided to take the two out to tour what they could before Gideon headed back to Bunnyburrow.
Of course, Nick and Judy had no vehicle to call their own.
Nick joked that they may need to get on that, maybe a nice Furrari or Jaguar. Judy had shot that idea down, pointing out that while they were able to put aside a small amount of money every month, they didn't have the combined income to afford even a small car. Gideon had grumbled about how disappointing it was that emergency services made so little money, while he, a baker, earned significantly more.
That had gone on for a bit until Judy had pointed out that the low pay was a small price to pay for being able to be by Nick's side and have his back all day.
That, of course, had led to Nick making a joke about paying prices for low pay, and Judy had subsequently slugged his arm, much to Gideon and Maddy's continued amusement.
So instead of a car, they'd decided to take the tram and bus system to see what districts they could. While slower than the subway, it would give the two a view of the city as they travelled, and both Gideon and Maddy had been fascinated by the idea of a district where it was always winter, so they'd gone there first.
Judy had grinned as her sister had unconsciously mirrored Judy's own first visit to the city, with her face plastered to the window, staring at every new sight. When they'd passed under the massive climate wall, Maddy had asked if either of them knew how it all worked. Nick had tried to explain it from what he knew—that it was, in a sense, a giant air conditioner, snowmaker, and freezer unit all in one that just exhausted the hot air out the Sahara Square side and the cold, snowy air out the other. The fox admitted that he didn't know the specifics or how it was powered, though, considering what a drain it would be on the city energy grid.
The tram pulled to a stop at the Tundratown market station, and the four disembarked. The air was chilly, of course, so they pulled on some coats they'd brought along, something Nick and Judy had not done the first time they'd visited. Nick got the job of carrying them in a backpack when they weren't needed.
Nick took the role of tour guide as they walked along the partially frozen river. "On the left, you'll see some snow. On the right, we have ice on a half-frozen river. Behind us, more snow, and in front of us—oh, look. More snow!"
Judy delivered another arm punch. "Annoying city fox."
The fox in question grinned. "Silly country bunny."
The grey doe shook her head with an exasperated smile. "Mammals use the ice on the river to get around. They hop on in one place and get off in another. Otters, seals, walruses, those kinds of mammals. Larger mammals, not so much."
"Yeah, they'd sink the ice rafts."
Maddy snickered at the mental image of an elephant hopping on one of the ice floes she saw and sinking like a brick. "Have you guys ever done that?"
Judy shook her head. "I haven't, but I'm sure Slick here has."
Nick smirked. "Oh, yeah, dozens of times when I worked out here."
Maddy was about to say more when a huge dollop of snow hit her on the head.
"Oh, yeah, don't forget—falling snow and ice. Gotta watch out for that," Judy commented as she watched her irritated sister brush the snow off her fur. "Every once in a while, we get a call that someone's been injured by falling snow and ice. One or two aren't so lucky."
"You mean mammals get killed?"
Nick nodded. "It's less of a problem since the city now requires all buildings to have anti-icing designs and features. Those old buildings with overhanging roofs, for instance—they either have to remove the overhanging roofs, add heating elements to keep icicles from forming, or have someone remove the icicles every day or so." He frowned. "It's the smaller mammals that can really be hurt or killed, but the larger mammals complain that it's an unneeded expense for their business."
Judy picked up where Nick left off. "Fortunately, the businesses that are neglectful aren't very common, and it's usually just snow dumped from trees that's a nuisance. Still, for a very small mammal like a mouse, being buried in snow can literally be life-threatening."
The four walked down the street, eyeing the various shops and stores, before Gideon noticed something. "A lot of the stores here seem to sell fish."
With a grin, Nick pointed to the east. "Zootopia's fishing wharves are on the Polar Strait over that way. I guess the city also figured it would be easiest to have the fish supply closest to the largest population that would eat fish. In any case, the main fish market is down by the wharves. If you're lucky, they sometimes have a sort of a Fisher's Market where you can buy fish just off the trawlers." He looked at Judy. "Neither of us are good enough in the kitchen yet to try grilling fresh fish, though."
Maddy and Gideon both laughed at that, remembering the duo's attempt to cook dinner the previous night, which ended up with a shrieking smoke detector, a promise from Maddy to teach at least Judy to cook, and a decision to order some pizza instead.
"What else do they have here?"
Nick scratched his chin. "Well, for shopping, there's plenty of winter sports and clothing stores, Chocolate's also a big thing here. There are also winter events. Like, around December, the whole place gets transformed into a sort of North Pole Christmas town type thing. There's also the Winter Solstice festival and the ice sculpture festivals."
Maddy's eyes lit up. "Oh, my God, those sound so pretty. Did you go last year, Judy?"
The grey doe shook her head. "No, I was on duty all season, except when I came home for the holidays. What time I had that wasn't on the job, I was usually at the academy."
Nick grinned. "With me."
Judy's ears went red at this, and she dropped them down her back. Maddy grinned at her older sibling. "You were dating while he was in the academy?"
The grey doe shook her head vehemently. "NO! We were just… We were… No, we weren't dating! I just went to visit him!"
Nick's grin grew. "Almost every weekend. Actually, it WAS every weekend, now that I think about it, since you stopped by to see me on your way to Bunnyburrow on the holiday weekend. Mom visited me that weekend, too."
"I just needed to make sure you were doing OK!"
Maddy's grin was predatory. "I'm sure that's what it was, sis. Just making sure, every week, that Nick was doing OK."
"Hey, Nick, were there any MuzzleTime calls while you were there?" Gideon also had a smirk.
Nick gave the younger fox a wink. "Every other day."
By now, Judy's ears felt like they were on fire, and she was sure there was steam coming off the top of her head. She gave a huff, crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at the three other mammals. "Nick and I were NOT dating while he was at the academy."
"So you say, sis. Your actions speak otherwise."
Judy glared at her sister. Then, without taking her eyes off the tan doe, she bent down, scooped up some snow, and started to sculpt it.
Maddy's eyes grew wide. "Don't you dare." She didn't notice Nick backing away from her and gesturing for Gideon to do the same. By the time Maddy turned to run, it was too late, and the weaponized frozen water hit her hard on the cheek.
It didn't take much time at all for things to devolve into a four-way free-for-all snow battle.
"Brayer turned down another offer of help from Furston yesterday, Councillors. They offered access to their test results and conclusions for a royalty, and Brayer flatly refused them, said it was unneeded."
"Unneeded?" The beaver councillor from the Canal District scratched his head at that.
"Brayer's already achieved a 90% success rate with their own antidote on generic Night Howlers. We should send them some samples of the modified drug to see how it reacts to that."
The city councillors nodded and made sounds of agreement.
"How do we get the samples to Brayer? What do you all think?"
There was silence for a moment. "Secure courier. A pair of customs agents and maybe a ZPD officer to deliver the product."
The mayor nodded. "We'll need clearance through North Rhino-Westphalian customs for that. I can get in contact with their chancellor and see if he will grant it. All in favour?" All of the councillor's arms went up. "Good. I will contact Customs and the ZPD to arrange everything. Next item on the list—we have more requests for funding for overtime hours from the ZPD and the medical sector. The overtime funding they've requested is…astronomical." The bear distributed the papers to the city representatives. "They are citing the overall crisis as reason for the massive overtime and operational costs."
Hector Smalltail, the rat councillor from Little Rodentia, frowned. "Wasn't this brought up before?"
The giraffe councillor from Savannah Central nodded. "Yes, but that was a week ago. What's changed?"
The Canal District councillor snorted. "Well, there's the fact that almost every member of both departments has racked up way more hours than they've been paid for since last week."
"I still don't agree with the overtime. I'll say it again, these mammals knew this was a possibility when they agreed to take these jobs. Money should be used towards rehabilitating the affected districts," stated Olivia Brown, the wallaby councillor from Outback Island.
The Rainforest District councillor threw up his arms. "While I appreciate the extra money to rehab my district, Councillor Brown, don't you think it's fair to pay the mammals that are protecting and treating us in the meantime?"
"As I said, Councillor Garcia, they knew this might happen when they signed up for these jobs. You and I aren't being paid any more for the hours we are spending in this council chamber or in our offices, are we?" The wallaby glared at her Rainforest District counterpart.
It was the marshlands councillor that spoke up this time. "Yes, Councilor Brown, but they aren't us. They don't get cushy offices and to make decisions from the comfort of a chamber like this. My sources are telling me that ZPD sharp force injuries—almost all bites from savage predators—are up almost ten times this month from what they were all last year, and they are doing this, putting themselves at risk without even knowing if they'll ever get paid for their suffering." Councillor Caren Fisher, an otter, was well known as having good relations with the ZPD in her district.
"All right, I'll admit the danger is higher now, but I still think that there should be no reason to bankrupt the city over this." Brown crossed her arms over her chest.
"And what would you propose? You know the police union and health care union will push us and may even call for striking action against the city if we don't approve it. Why take the risk of our health care professionals or law enforcement possibly even quitting their jobs?"
"Because the city doesn't have the money to spare in the first place, and for seconds, it's their job." Olivia Brown looked smug, like she'd gotten her point across.
Pablo Garcia slammed his fist on the table. "Exactly. It's their job. And you get paid to do your job."
"Are you trying to bankrupt the city, Garcia?! You want money to pay for the rehabilitation of your district and you want to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime to emergency services. Not to mention the lawsuits that are undoubtedly headed the city's way. Where do you think this money is going to come from?! We have almost NO economy right now!"
Garcia rubbed his temples. "The budget is something we'll have to figure out at a later date. If we can't get our people back into their homes while also keeping them safe and healthy, we might as well throw in the towel now. Don't fund emergency services, and they'll walk. Don't do what we can to get Rainforest and Canal residents back into their homes and businesses, and they will sue. It's a no-win situation."
Mayor Clawheed held up his arms. "Enough arguing, councillors! At this point, I think it's fair to say you both have a valid argument. However, as Councillor Brown has pointed out, we can't just hand out a big check, not when we have tens of thousands of mammals hospitalized and a whopping bill to rehabilitate two districts ahead of us."
Olivia Brown crossed her arms and smirked across the table at her Rainforest District counterpart. Pablo Garcia, however, made a face like he'd just eaten a lemon.
"However, Councillor Garcia is also right. If we don't offer something in compensation for the fact that many of them have worked incredibly long hours for no guarantee of pay, and in extremely dangerous conditions, we'll have a different crisis on our paws. The same is true for not rehabilitating the districts. The city would be forced to buy all of that land back if we don't take steps to ensure the districts are safe for mammal habitation."
This, of course, led to Pablo being the one to smirk.
"But we can't do this all at once. The current funding request from the ZPD and medical services is asking for all overtime to be funded at regular overtime rates, with full pay extended to all injured personnel. Not much different than usual, but given the circumstances, far above what we have available. I'm going to have the city financial planners draft something up and we can vote on it then." He looked down at the meeting plan. "Looks like we're done here. This meeting is adjourned for now."
"I guess it makes sense that the best hot chocolate would come from Tundratown," Maddy commented as she sipped the delicious sweet concoction of the gods. "What else is there to do in Tundratown besides shop?"
Nick shrugged. "Skiing, snowboarding, sledding, lots of outdoor activities."
"You forgot skating! When we came back from Bunnyburrow, I took Nick skating. He tried to impress me with his skating talents." Judy grinned conspiratorially. "He didn't have any."
"I remember nothing of the sort." Nick crossed his arms and pointed his nose skyward. "I am an expert skater fox."
"That's exactly what you said. And that pond over there showed you up." The doe pointed across the plaza at a very familiar pond. "I'm sure you'll want to relive your collision with the light pole, as well?"
The fox's ears lay flat, and he growled at the cursed pond and light pole. Stupid pond and stupid light pole. Nick felt a tug on his sleeve, and he looked down to see Maddy gesturing him to stop. Judy and Gideon moved on ahead.
"You know, Nick, we have a pond at our place that you can practice on when you come visit during winter." Maddy winked conspiratorially, before whispering the next part. "Some of my siblings are also in the Tri-Borough hockey league or are figure skaters. I'm not too bad, either. We COULD make you an expert skater fox… if you want to show Judy up."
Nick couldn't help but grin himself. "I'll take you up on that offer."
"Hey, what are you two whispering about back there?"
Apparently, Gideon and Judy had realized that the other two had fallen behind, and Judy was looking at the two as though they were plotting something. Obviously, they weren't. "I was just asking Flour here if there's anything I should know about bunny holiday traditions, Carrots." Nick decided that Flour was the perfect name for the pastry-baking bunny.
From the look of extreme doubt on her face, Judy clearly didn't believe him, but she apparently decided to let it go. "Come on, you two, there's a lot of the city to see." She indicated the tram back through the climate wall to Sahara Square.
The four boarded and slowly made their way through the midtown area of the frozen district in a wide loop before they passed through the climate wall to the much hotter Sahara Square. They shucked their coats and stuffed them in Nick's backpack.
"I could see openin' up a bakery in Tundratown… Kinda like it out in Bunnyburrow, though," Gideon commented as the tram made its way through the sandy district.
"It'd be a lot more competitive here in the city. Out in Bunnyburrow, you get the chance to relax and really have fun in your job. Here, it would be go, go, go. And if you aren't fast enough, or you have too many patrons and the lineups get too long, well, mammals will blast you for 'bad service' on Yip and Zoogle."
Gideon cocked his head. "You seem to know a bit about that."
"My mom worked as a waitress for years before she landed a job as a front desk assistant at Furston." His ears folded back. "She still had to work as a waitress even after that for a few years. Money was just that tight. And she'd always come home ready to collapse. I didn't really appreciate then what she went through."
"Maddy here heard she was caught up in this whole mess," Gideon said, scratching his head.
"Front and center. She blew the whistle on the whole thing when she turned over the evidence on her boss."
"I hope she'll be OK. I'm guessin' she'll have a hard time findin' a job when this is all said and done. If she needs anythin', let me know. 'specially since foxes have a hard enough time as it is. Weasels and rats, too."
Judy grinned at her friend. "Thanks Gideon. I'm sure we'll figure something out."
The country fox nodded. "If she ever decides to move outta the city, we have a place for her at the bakery. You tell her that, OK?"
Nick's ears drooped slightly. While he could appreciate Gideon's offer, he was enjoying having his mother back after so long. Having her move away seemed like two steps forward followed by a step back.
Judy apparently noticed Nick's hesitation. "Let's leave that part up to Marian, OK, Nick?"
The tram pulled to a stop at the Grand Palm Hotel transit center, and the four mammals got off.
"What are we seeing here?" Maddy looked around.
"Mojave Strip," Nick answered. The fifteen biggest casinos in the city are here, and normally a ton of other entertainment as well. The place has been nicknamed Sin Strip for a reason. Win it all, lose it all, get married, have an affair, get divorced—all five in one weekend, if you want."
Neither Gideon nor Maddy looked particularly thrilled at that explanation from the older fox.
"Well, it's not just the casinos and the… extra entertainment. There's also all the movie studios we have out here," Judy added.
Nick lit up. "That's right. Movie studios love Zootopia, because you can film just about anything here. Arctic and snow scenes in Tundratown, desert planets in Sahara Square and on Outback Island, big cities in Savannah Central, you name it."
Gideon looked interested in that. "I've been kinda hopin' to get a caterin' contract for a big studio. Always been a fan o' Star Wars, too. Heard they'll be filmin' the next movie out by Prairie Den." He shrugged. "Can't get too far from Bunnyburrow, though. Gotta keep everythin' fresh."
"Maybe you SHOULD open a branch in Zootopia." That was Judy's statement, alluding to earlier in the conversation.
The baker fox thought. "Part o' me likes that idea, but a part o' me likes the fact that at Bunnyburrow, me an' Maddy are the ones doing the baking. It's… Well, you could say it's more personal. And quiet."
Maddy nodded her agreement.
Nick and Judy both looked at each other, agreeing with Gideon's assessment. Nick gestured that they should head out if they wanted to see the strip. "Come on. You can see what all those Mojave Strip commercials are talking about, with all the fancy casinos and hotels. Not as impressive as at night, but hey, it sells."
Maddy pointed to the Grand Palm Hotel and Casino. "That's where you had the first attack by the new terrorist group, wasn't it?"
Judy nodded. "That was… a tough time for us two. We were heading back to the precinct when we got a call about some suspicious activity. The Strip's own precinct was engaged, so we had to take the call."
Her fox partner grimaced. "It ended up being a little more 'suspicious activity' than the ZPD's two smallest officers were meant for, even if one of them is Superbunny and the other is Fantastic Fox."
Maddy and Gideon both laughed at that.
Judy continued. "Anyway, Nick was drugged and was forced to go savage, and I had to fight an equally savage tiger that took out a security guard. But Nick found me and helped me fight the tiger. Even while savage. He recognized me."
Maddy let out an 'Awww', and Gideon nodded knowingly. As a fox, he knew of the instinct to protect his mate, an instinct that had been somewhat academic to him until the past few months, when he'd started to feel it towards Maddy.
"Anyway, shall we cruise? Lots to see, and the day is aging."
The four walked down the boulevard, with Nick pointing out the various landmarks. The Egyptian, with its three massive pyramid-shaped buildings and Egyptian mythological creatures. The Grand Furridian, with its Victorian-style architecture and striking white and red colouring. The Royal Atlantis, a massive ocean-themed gothic building, the art-deco Cowpacabana Palace, the Yucatan's Central and Southern Furmerica native temple inspired buildings, and the Parisian.
"That where you bought all your shirts, Nick?" Judy asked as they gazed up at the Great Pawaiian Hotel and Casino. The Polynesian-inspired architecture and design of the building sat far back on a large property dotted with massive ferns and palm trees.
"You know it, Fluff. Genuine Pawaiian shirts, not the cheap knockoffs you get in other places. I should know—I used to sell some of those cheap knockoffs." The fox in question struck a few cheesy poses as though modelling the wild green shirt he wore. Maddy and Gideon both laughed, while Judy rolled her eyes.
Across the street, Hotel Walhalla loomed in all its splendor. The Bearvarian castle-style hotel harkened to the real castles of Europe. "Wow," Maddy exclaimed. "That one looks amazing. Like that one castle in Grrrmany!"
Nick, being the super-tour guide that he was, nodded. "That's the newest one here. And it was modelled after that castle. Just on a smaller scale."
Gideon looked around. "It's almost like you can visit the whole world right here in Zootopia."
The older fox nodded again. "That was one of the things that city designers decided for the Strip. Each major hotel or Casino had to be themed for a different part of the world. A lot of the northern countries opted to hop the climate wall and build their establishments in Tundratown, though. A chilling prospect."
Groans emanated from the rest of the group.
The four continued down the strip, marvelling at the huge casino resorts, before stopping at the Dancing Fountains in front of the pagoda-style Imperial Palace Hotel.
Gideon was the first to speak as they watched the hypnotic waves of water. "I woulda thought there'd be more mammals around. Visitors, at least."
Judy sighed. "Normally, this whole strip is crowded at all hours of the day and night. Just packed. But the lockdowns haven't allowed many visitors in. And tourism…" The doe tried to find a polite way to say it.
"Tourism is in the shit-can." Nick didn't even bother trying. "No out-of-state visitors at all for more than a month, and most of the visitors from out of town that we do get either stay with family or in one of the cheaper hotels." He looked at the Dancing Fountains display. "I'm surprised they are still running these things, come to think of it."
Maddy peered up at the imposing building. "Are the hotels actually opened?"
Both Nick and Judy shook their heads. "The Grand Palm hasn't been opened since the attack there. The rest of these are closed for the most part, though I hear a few are still partly open at reduced rates," Nick commented. "Maybe the Imperial is one of them."
The four watched the fountains for a while before Maddy spoke up. "Hey, you guys, is there a place to eat around here?"
Everyone turned to Nick, who grinned. "I hope you guys like pirate-themed pubs. We're going to the Wicked Wench!"
"You know you can't win this, Linus." Terrence Ramsford stared across the large conference table at his rival.
"I intend to. The evidence clearly shows that Mrs. Marian Wilde had no knowledge of your client's agenda or actions and was only a middlemammal. Furthermore, she presented her evidence to the police as soon as she felt necessary. Financial records are also clear in that she received no benefit from the embezzlement scheme." The ZPD detectives had been able to track down and account for all of the embezzled money James McStripeson and his associates had stolen from the company, and Marian Wilde had not received a cent of it.
"She didn't take it to the police, she took it to her son and his…partner."
"Who are police officers and who then turned it over promptly to their superiors and had nothing further to do with her case. All of the evidence she provided was corroborated by evidence gathered by the ZPD's detectives independently, Ramsford. You've seen the same evidence I have."
"Evidence that narrowed the detectives' field of vision. Your detectives had tunnel vision, Ford. They only pursued what they wanted to see. I intend to have all of it dismissed as unreliable." The ram crossed his arms and stared down his wolf counterpart.
"And then there's the fact that Mrs. Marian Wilde is a predator, who would have no benefit in your client's schemes."
"Alleged schemes, Ford. Alleged schemes. Your client may well have been using the embezzlement scheme to compensate for her own meagre paycheck, in a form of retaliation against her employer. She is a fox, after all."
Ford rolled his eyes, all the while massaging his temples. "And that shouldn't make any difference at all, but thanks to your premature declaration, you've poisoned the jury pool."
"All part of responsible care for my client, Ford, you know that. Given the opportunity, you would have done the same. In the unlikely event that you win this, I do intend to appeal the court decision." Ramsford gathered up his notes for the meeting and turned to leave. "Don't sink your career over a fox, Ford. It's not worth it."
Linus Ford sighed as the ram left the conference room. He knew Terrence would not give up easily, but the angle the ram intended to pursue for his client would be the most difficult for him to defend against, especially with society's already systemic discrimination of various smaller predators. With a poisoned judge and jury pool, it would have been even worse, but the tunnel vision argument, though wrong, was valid in court.
The wolf packed up his own notes from the meeting. He'd have to rework his defence based on that.
"I was brought on, along with Shawn, to oversee the investigation into the death of Officer Eric Wolford. We were called up from our precincts to look into it and lead an impartial investigation into the murder."
"And yet the police chief still assigned Hopps and Wilde to the case after you were brought on, despite their personal connection to it?"
Nolwazi Longtooth stared across the interview table at the giant panda district attorney across from her. She knew this was going to end up happening at some point. She just wished she'd been more prepared. "Not exactly. They were to head up a branch of the investigation only to find out what Wolford had been up to in the weeks leadin' up to his death, under our supervision. It wasn't until later that we found out how the cases interconnected."
The panda scribbled that down on his notepad. "And how did you find that out?"
"We started havin' a few surprisin' run-ins with mammals from Hopps and Wilde's previous case, the savage mammals one last year. Leads wound up dead, or we'd find evidence or receive tips that led to them in some way. We figured there must have been more mammals in the operation fairly early on, but we didn't know who. Things got a bit easier when we finally got a full identification of the mammals that were loose from that savage predators case a year back and we were able to put together Eric Wolford's dealin's before we were tipped off about the financial inconsistencies at Furston. We thought that might be a completely different case until we had another tipster drop us information on the other members of the terrorist cult. We were able to put all of that together and figure out who all was involved."
The panda nodded and thought for a moment. "And Officers Hopps and Wilde—what was their involvement in the gathering of this evidence?"
The lioness shook her head. "They weren't involved. They immediately turned the financial information from the first informant over to Shawn and I, and they didn't touch it afterward. They were off-duty the day the second informant came to us and only had contact with her after the Rainforest District attack, and only under our supervision. It's all documented on interview camera."
"What led you to believe these mammals were responsible?" The panda didn't waste any time getting back on the track of the main case and the terrorist cult he would be prosecuting.
"The money transfers from the charities mentioned by the first informant, and statements from the second. We had bank transactions and a full financial history of the charities in question, as provided to the banks. The financial data led us to them. Our search of their electronic devices is only backing up our findings, some of which include detailed accountin' information as well, which also lines up with the data the banks provided."
The giant panda concluded his notes and stood. "Thank you for your time, Detective Longtooth. Here's hoping that we can nail these terrorists to the wall. If I may, though, your witnesses… or informants. They were Marian Wilde and Felicity Stang, correct?"
Longtooth nodded. "Yes, that is correct."
"And you have evidence that you weren't blinded by the tip Marian Wilde provided?"
Nolwazi considered the question. There wasn't a hint of malice in it, and she'd faced it a few times before in her career. "The bank evidence speaks for itself, sir. Woolter Bighorn provided us with some of it when he woke up and found out his brother had been murdered by that assassin. We didn't even have to ask him about it. Stang provided us with access to her financial records as well. Marian's testimony allowed us to pursue the lead that much sooner, and with less possibility of tippin' the cult off."
The giant panda nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you again detective. Have a good day." He left through the door.
Nolwazi Longtooth sighed and rubbed her muzzle for a few seconds before she stood and headed out as well, returning to the workspace she shared with Detective Rivers. The elk looked up. "How'd it go?"
The feline dropped heavily into her chair and stared at the ceiling. "Oh, just the usual. Relive every moment of the last six months. Are you sure? Are you REALLY sure? Are you CERTAIN you are REALLY sure? The usual stuff. Seems like DA Matthews is on our side, though—just wants his case airtight. Doesn't make him any less annoying."
Rivers nodded. "I'd say our case is as airtight as a spaceship. We couldn't get any more evidence if we wanted to."
"Yeah, that's true." The lioness rolled over to her computer station and opened the latest cybercrime report.
"So," Rivers said as he finished up sending another email to Chief Bogo. "ARE you certain you are really sure?"
Nolwazi Longtooth looked over at her partner, eyebrow raised. "Now you're starting to act like Nick."
A/N
So, a little sightseeing and worldbuilding! Hope you guys liked the look at Tundratown and Sahara Square!
Things are a little bit on edge where I live, thanks to a lot of political boondoggling. At least I'm OK though. Want this COVID to be over!
A couple people found the references in the last chapter! Can you find any in this chapter?
Coming up on February 5: Six Weeks Past!
Questions? Critiques? Did Thomas O'Malley woo your cat? Leave a comment!
