Sorry for taking so long this time. The first semester about to end, so I've been really busy lately.
Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter VI - Preparations
Nick sat in front of the office computer, hunched to the side with his head on his paw. When the two officers got to their office, they decided to put their paws at work and investigate how the human got to Zootopia, so Judy went down to the archives. At the same time, Nick stayed in the office and tried to get as much info as possible from public and city sources. He's been looking through street cameras footage, news reports, public statements from the ZIFuS and other institutions, but none of them had any substantial information. The same happened when he decided to search in more common sources like social media, forums, and the like, but this proved to be even less successful. So, for now, if it turns out that he is indeed a new species, the only source of info they could get would be to question the human themselves.
He closed the open tabs, and as much as it hurt him, he had to work on the police report for the incident at Otterdam bridge. He yawned and stretched on his seat, scratched the fur under his chin, and leaned back on the backrest, eyeing the blank form to his left. "No point in delaying it," he said to himself as he took a pen from the cup in the corner and leaned over the desk.
Just as he was about to work, the door at the other side of the room creaked and opened slowly and gave space for Judy to walk in, with a single file under her arm. Nick looked up from the report and smiled at the new excuse to leave the document for later. He smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Found anything good?" he asked and then lifted the pen on his paw and twirled it in the air at the file. "Or is that your homework?"
The bunny left the file on the fox's desk and pointed at the sheet of paper next to the vulpine. She said, "You seem to haven't even started yours," nodding at the officer's reluctance to fill reports. The vulpine quickly covered it with his auburn paw and exclaimed in disappointment.
"Carrots! I never took you as the kind of mammal that would copy on someone else's homework!" He waited for the inevitable smile from the bunny, and once he got what he waited for, he proceeded to set the paper aside. "Yeah… That will have to wait for later. For now, We have more important things to attend," he pointed out and rolled the office chair closer to where the file stood on the desk.
Prompted to showcase her finding, Judy took the file and explained, "I wasn't lucky enough." She pulled a form from the file. "I searched about everyone that could be related to the case." She handed the document to Nick. "But the best I got was this." The vulpine gave a close look to the sheet of paper. What first stood out was the bottom, which had the chief's signature and the ZPD's stamp on it. "These are the questions that Bogo made to the new mammal, is the best we have to start with." The fox read it top to bottom and glared back at the bunny.
"Did you searched for his surname?" he asked as he leaned back to the computer. The other officer stepped to his side.
"I did, but it was another dead-end." The fox checked for every important term, but again, it seemed like the human didn't exist until today. Judy asked him, "What about you? Did you found something while I was down in the archives?"
The fox turned the chair at her and, with his arms crossed, told her, "There's nothing. Only conspiracy theories, heated discussions, and speculation." He put his paw back on the computer's trackpad. "Cameras didn't give anything either." He played the footage of the green space in the morning. "None of the cameras at the site were able to see inside the spot. It's too cluttered with plants."
"What about the hospital? And Otterdam, no luck either?" asked the bunny, who was coming to the same conclusion the fox had early on.
"Nothing that buffalo butt hasn't shown us already, and the civilian recordings circulating don't give anything important either," he answered. "I've been thinking of checking the place where he was first seen. But is overcrowded with curious civilians right now, so any evidence left might be lost at this point."
"We still have time to ask Allen some questions."
Nick looked at her in doubt and asked, "Are you sure is that a good idea? He lied to us already."
The other officer was confused, "What do you mean? When did that happen?"
"When we arrived here. He told us that he was nervous over what was gonna happen, and I'm sure he was, but he used that to hide something else, especially with that fake smile he gave."
"So, is he scamming us?"
The fox wasn't sure about that. "I don't think so. He's terrible at hiding his emotions, and it was clear just how lost he is, but there's something he doesn't want others to know." This bothered Judy. She knew she could trust her partner when it comes to reading people, but what he noticed just made this hint-less case the more complicated, as their only source of information about the mammal's arrival was willing to hide information.
There was a knock at the door, which took the two mammals off their pondering. It opened, and a hippopotamus in the same blue uniform peaked in. It spoke in a grave voice to the pair, "You two must report to the lobby right now. The mayor is waiting." The door closed and left the two mammals to say one last thing before they went where they were told.
Judy sighed, "Is the best we have for now. Let's go." She gestured for the fox to follow her as she went to the door.
He told her before they left the office, "If he tells you he is from planet Xenon, I warned you."
Allen followed Wolfard to the lobby. They had left Dr. Hoofington at the repurposed meeting room to organize his findings and prepare what he was to tell the press and the mayor. The tigress who recorded the entirety of the procedures went back to the ZIFuS to present the recording and her own observations to her faculty. The maned wolf was called back to the hospital and, against suggestions of taking the samples with him to the laboratory, left the spotted deer and leopard responsible for them.
The human fiddled with a coin the zebra had given him. After he told the room about what happened with his phone, the zebra gave him the coin to use in a public phone if he ever needed to make a call or take on the doctor's invitation. It had pretty interesting motifs, a single leaf on the back with horns at the sides in the same way laurels or wheat surrounded human symbols, and, on the other side, an impala, probably a historical figure. The value of the coin was to its left, and on the rim of it was the inscription, "Where anyone can be anything."
Allen put the coin back into his pocket and turned his view to the wolf. After the positive interactions with the doctor, the human felt more confident over the mammals of this world, which motivated him to try to start a conversation with the officer that escorted him. "So, how's the day going?" He asked. The timber wolf shortly looked to him before he answered.
"A little odd, but apart from that, the usual." The officer hesitated for a moment before he said, "what about you?" Even if he was just polite, this was a good start for a conversation.
"Adrenaline filled. But my face stopped hurting," the human answered as he reached for his face. "I wonder why the doctor didn't ask me about it." The wolf seemed to not understand.
"Why should he? You barely have some scars." Now it was Allen who didn't understand. He was sure that he got some big tears this morning, not enough to suture, but not that small to be referred to as scars that soon. He felt his face with his left hand across where the pain was this morning, but his skin was just slightly smoother and sunken.
Add that to this mess of a day, he complained. I'll have to ask the doctor next time I see him, but it definitely shouldn't have healed this fast. "They were worse this morning, but I guess you are right…" The human decided to change the topic, so he asked, "you are called Wolfard, right?"
The timber wolf put his paws behind his back and answered, "That's right. Just like my father and his father before him." Wolfard nudged Allen's hips with his elbow and signaled, "That's enough talk, though. We have arrived."
Allen looked upfront. At the end of the corridor, some yards away, stood the cape buffalo of earlier. He looked upset with his arms crossed as he argued with another mammal, a pig in a very formal outfit. They both stood next to a podium as the ZPD staff trotted from corner to corner of the building.
"Is that the mayor?" Asked Allen, who bent slightly to the officer to keep a lower voice.
"Yeah, and she seems to be on a brawl with the chief," answered Wolfard as the pair finished their trail to the two authorities in the lobby. The wolf interrupted them and said to the buffalo, "Chief, the new mammal is present." Bogo looked back at the human and wolf. His face contracted in an expression of frustration, a contrast of the mayor, who, at the words, turned with a more pleased smile.
"Now, look at it!" exclaimed the mayor, her short pink arms lifted at the human followed by her gaze turning to the buffalo, "how can you say this is a scammer?"
"Swinton, you and I have seen more elaborated scams than this," Answered the buffalo. The blonde tufted pig walked to the side of Allen and spoke back to the chief.
"Are you serious? Look at those limbs, those fingers, That oily fur! You can't fake that!"
Why is that what stands out? Is not even that oily… Complained the human to himself before a voice from behind called out in support of the mayor.
"That's right! That's 100% natural oil!" Doctor Hoofington had arrived with a bundle of papers on his hoof. Everyone turned at him as he trotted to join the group. "I have everything here!" he pats the documents with the intention to continue but is interrupted by the arrival of two more mammals.
"What do you mean, Stripes?" asked the fox as the two officers joined the group.
"Yeah, tell us what you found. We don't have too much time," added the chief, who pointed back at the amassing bundle of reporters at the doors.
"I was about to do that before I was interrupted," the zebra glared at Nick and Bogo before he started reading the documents. "After a delicate examination of the subject, two things were quite clear. First, the uneve-"
"What did I just say, doctor?" The buffalo interjected, "we don't have too much time." The mayor joined the chief.
"If you could please just tell us what we all," she extended her arms, "want to know." She took them back and held her hoofs together, "We would be really grateful." The zebra stared at them and huffed, just saying.
"He's a new mammal. I'm completely certain." A variety of reactions could be seen in the group; the mayor was jubilant over the verdict, while Nick had a toned-down surprise. Judy seemed happy over it, though still doubtful. Wolfard stood stoic, but Bogo seemed the most surprised and upset of them all.
"I'll speak with you after we are done with the press," the chief told the doctor while he pointed at him. He relaxed his posture and instructed everyone, "Now, I need all of you to prepare. The mayor wants everyone involved with him," Bogo glared at the human, "to speak after her." Swinton followed after.
"That's right. I have the order thought out already. After me, the doctor will explain his conclusions to the crowd." She turned to the zebra with a smile as she held her hoofs together and asked him, "so please, keep it brief, thank you." At which Hoofington seemed resigned. The pig then turned to Nick and Judy and told them, "And then I want the two famous officers to speak about their handling of the case." The bunny questioned that.
"Mayor Swinton, sorry to interrupt. But are you sure that's a good idea?" Swinton, surprised over this, wondered.
"What do you mean, Judy? I don't see a better thing to do than getting you two up in the podium!"
"Well… Nick and I have been trying to stay out of the spotlight after the night howlers conspiracy." She paused and held a paw up to her partner. "It's disruptive for our work, and with how much public attention this case has brought, I think I can talk for us both when I say that we prefer to concentrate on the case over public appearances."
Nick spoke after. "The more we speak about the case, the more will mammals ask questions. At some point, we won't have time to work on the case, add that to the pressure of the public eye." He closed his eyes and shrugged. "We can't do what you ask, sorry." The pig seemed disappointed as she spoke.
"I understand, but you two know how the press can be when they want answers."
Bogo answered, "I do too, so I'll speak instead of them." He turned at the fox and bunny. "As long as they put all their waking time on this case." While Judy beamed with her determination, the other officer wasn't that happy with that prospect. Still, he spoke.
"That clears it then," he turned to go as he signaled the human, "come with us, bald guy. We have questions to make you." This took Allen by surprise, both from being brought to the foreground of the discussion and for being referred to as a 'bald guy.'
"That can't happen," called out the mayor. "He needs to be part of this. He can't go with you two until we are done with this."
Judy explained their urgency, "Swinton, we can't continue the case until-"
"I'm sorry, but under no circumstance can he skip this. We don't have more time to discuss. We have to start. Now."
End of Chapter VI
Hope it was good.
Anyways, have a good day/night!