Chapter 51

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It felt odd being dressed up like this. On the one paw, Judy mused, going to prison didn't sound like something you'd dress up for.

On the other, most mammals going to prison were those she and Nick were sending there, in which case it wasn't really something they'd feel like celebrating. And, while she and her fox had been to the prisons before, that had all been on an official capacity. It was part of the job, they had their uniforms, had they not?

But this wasn't part of the job, this was her in her own time and capacity, which meant no uniform. Indeed, Bogo had specifically told her so as part of his favour pulling. And so, for the first time, Judy had had to dress herself to visit an old 'friend' in prison.

Casual had felt too insincere, she wanted Dawn to know she meant business. Yet her most formal clothes had just felt…

In the end she'd asked the definitive authority on the matter about it.

In response, Nick had selected for her a black jogging T-shirt, covered with a white blazer that she had rarely used, along with a pale pair of jeans. Formal looking but not business ready, and with an air of snappiness, so he said. Judy topped it off by borrowing Kozlov's necklace as a final touch, a little input that Nick had heartily approved of.

Still, that was all talking the talk. Walking the walk though?

She wasn't feeling good. Her head throbbed slightly and her fingers were trembling, not just from the cold outside. Even as she got out of her car, she felt a pang of dizziness and a queasy sensation in her gut, causing her to hold and rub the necklace for comfort. Dawn Bellwether, her patron, supporter, manipulator, attempted murderer…

Old friend…

Was she ever that?

She didn't know, and the thoughts it produced joined with the bitter chill of the air around to send a deep shiver through her. She just hunkered down, ears to head, and ploughed on across the parking lot.

Zootopia's highest security prison complex, containing facilities for both males and females, was sited in an area nicknamed Little Vostok. Right in the centre of the climate wall, in a nook where two sections came together at sixty degrees, was a large depression, as far from any leaking in heat as you could get and up close and personal to the full force of the cooling power of the wall, coming in from two sides.

And so, the city planners had decided it was an excellent place to hold the worst of the worst. Escape from here, and by the time you reached an area where the cold loving locals started to live, the hypothermia would have taken you. The fact that the site was surrounded by a moat of super-saline ultra-cold water, still liquid even as Judy, crossing the relatively short bridge, lost the feeling of her ear tips, made a traditional escape a terminal affair. It was said that a polar bear had once jumped in there and, after barely dragging himself out, had needed several fingers amputated from the frostbite.

Judy just huddled in closer to herself, glancing ahead to where the road reached the reception centre, poking out of the main wall like a ship's bow, before bending around its right and running down to the gates, snow drifts already piling up, pushed in against the wall, where…

She blinked, rubbing her eyes as she saw figures… Eight, no nine of them, hobbling in and shivering, barely anything on their bodies as they shuffled down in line. "Hello?" she called, suddenly worried. Escapees? Prisoners being tortured? She thought she saw a tent, so could they be some protestors or…

She halted herself, blinking again as she realised that no, nobody was there… Trick of the light? Shadows? She…

Oh sweet and crackers, she was cold. Gripping the necklace tighter she turned, running up the steps and jumping into one of the revolving doors of the reception. Turning it, she entered an airlock type area, feeling a relatively blissful cool, before she pushed through a second set of doors and entered the positively balmy lobby proper.

The mammals there walking around paid her no mind and, seeing as she still had time, she jumped onto one of the chairs, just giving her time to re-thaw her ears. It wouldn't be long in here, it felt more like Sahara Square, and that wasn't by accident. Being so close to the wall, heat pipes usually venting to the other side ran into here, even warming domed 'outdoor' exercise yards. Inmates here wore the standard one-piece prison uniform, though more often than not they tied the top half around their waist, going around with just a vest on top.

After a few days of acclimatisation, yet alone decades of captivity, the shock of going back outside into that would make even the worst of the worst give it a very long and considered second thought…

Just like Judy was, about her upcoming meeting.

She held onto her necklace, holding and stroking it. It put her nerves at ease, for a bit.

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"It looks larger in real life…"

Catano's ears flicked up and she turned to see the passenger in her vehicle. Silent for the entirety of the trip, but finally speaking when he set his eyes on it. She wasn't sure what to say. Dr Silverfox didn't seem to have anything left to add. He just looked on at the buildings in the distance, a look of carefully repressed trepidation on his face.

"-Where did you see it before?" came a new voice, both the cheetah and fox looking over to see a certain familiar gemsbok walking over. Dr Silverfox had been in the closing stages of signing up Sam Burmowitz, one of the best defense lawyers in the city, and only not the best due to the presence of a certain rat. This cat, though, wasn't available just now and, as this was a simple questioning, Peter Rufu was standing in once again.

The older silver fox glanced at him. "I've been trying to get close on street view, I…"

He trailed off as Rufu came up to him, standing nearby and giving a nod in affirmation.

"I suppose it's nice," William mumbled, looking around. The trees were in bloom and, around here, the hills and mountains gave the general area a picturesque look. "He could have a nice view out his window… look out of it as he meditates, I…"

"Come on," the lawyer said. "You'll be able to see him soon. It's even an extra visit, from what I hear." He looked over at Catano, who nodded.

"I'll be happy to give you some time," she said, before leading them on.

"I suppose I shouldn't be complaining," William continued. "Given that you were talking to those other kids without their parents, or…"

"What they said there couldn't be used as evidence against them," Catano said. "It was a fact finding mission, not evidence gathering."

…

"And I suppose this is."

She paused in her walk, ears going down as she turned back to face him. He didn't look angry or bitter, just tragically resigned to his, or rather someone else's, fate.

"It's standard policy," she tried to assuage. It seemed to work, a bit. Indeed it was standard policy to have all guardian and lawyer present when doing a police interrogation of a youth suspect, though she kept quiet about the fact that it was so that anything said could be admitted as evident. "I learnt a number of things at that school, and it's clear that something has been going on, particularly after your son was arrested. As a result, I figure it's time to ask a number of follow on questions, just to clarify some things."

"Okay then," he mumbled. "-But if this is about his cousin, you're not going to get anything. Ash is as innocent as my son, I hope you understand that."

She decided to nod back; she was pretty sure he'd heard his nephew's version of what might have gone on yesterday. She didn't want to get into that now, and so walked on, into the lobby. If anything it was like a lobby in any other cheap office or industrial building in the city, a desk here, a waiting area there, several doors going in different directions. But the secure looking locks on some of them, the stern posters on the walls, the security cameras and pair of guards watching over all gave it an oppressive atmosphere. The three or so families, or rather mothers with a gaggle of younger kits, cubs or calfs, just made it depressing.

She chose to just push forward with it, telling the receptionist that they were there for the interview. Forms were provided and the long process of signing in began. Finally, she nodded and called into her phone and, after a few moments, a giant river otter in a guards uniform stepped out from a secure door. "Officer Catano? Mr Silverfox?"

The cheetah nodded, following the large mustelid on.

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"And sign here, here and here."

Judy nodded and did just that, signing on form after form, all while being filled in on the process.

"There will be no physical contact, you will be in private booths separated by reinforced glass, you will be searched beforepaw, you will have to give up all electronic devices, your person will be searched…"

It all just glazed over for her, just as her name being signed on over and over switched to autopilot. Another sheet, then another, then another, then…

"And that is done," she said, before pointing over to an airport-style check in area. On she went, sighing just a bit as she saw that a sloth had been employed to do it. -She'd heard that the city council tended to employ them as a passive-aggressive way of modifying citizen behaviour, so maybe this was one of those? Oh, we definitely don't want you to shift out of your car, to fly less or not visit a dangerous mammal currently imprisoned at our pleasure, you just need to do the standard checks and box ticking with one of our specially selected mammals first.

Never mind, Judy. Just let him do his thing, which he did at his usual pace. Clothes stripped, items such as her phone through the x-ray machine, arms up for a scan. A wolf guard came up and gave her a cursory sniff, before she took what she was allowed and was shown down the long, stiffling warm corridors. The bunny couldn't help but wish for a window to open or something, until she remembered just what was out there.

Left, right, through one pair of locked doors and then another until, finally, she was shown into a small booth, the door closed behind her. In front, stood the other side. Lit, sterile, empty. Judy fidgeted with her paws, wondering how long it might take.

A knock behind her and the voice of the wolf guard answered that for her. "Lambchop will be here in five minutes," he spoke, his voice cold and neutral.

"Thanks," she said, turning back and waiting.

…

"So, what brought you here?"

"I…" she began, before stumbling over her own tongue. "Just wanted to talk with her, I guess."

"It's not her usual visiting day," he spoke.

"She gets visitors?" Judy couldn't help but ask.

"Parents a few times, brothers here and there, even this lamb once or twice," he spoke. "Probably talking about how to screw over us preds and how they'd get her out of here one day or something. But this isn't one of their days. I hear the warden pulled a few favours for this."

"I had a few favours to pull," Judy countered, earning a snort of a laugh.

"So how does the famous Judy Hopps know our good Warden Boarton then?"

"I don't," she responded, her ear ticking up a bit at what she assumed was a joke sneaked in there. "It was more a favour chain."

"Makes sense," he mumbled. "The old bear isn't the most personable mammal, but he knows the other chiefs. But the real thing I want to know is this. Why are you coming to see her?"

"I want to talk."

"That doesn't sound as urgent as your actions suggest," he spoke, a slight edge cutting into his voice.

"I've been through some stuff lately," she countered, rubbing her necklace slightly for comfort. "I felt I needed to see her right away."

"Why?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I wanted to see her face to face, to judge her for what she did, and what she was."

He grunted. "I'd have thought that would be pretty easy to figure out."

"It's more complex when it's someone you knew, or rather thought you knew," Judy pushed on. "She went from being my friend to trying to kill me in five minutes. I thought I could handle that but now… I felt I needed to look into it."

…

"I have a nose," he began, and she could imagine a slight warning snarl forming on his face. "-For bullcrap. What aren't you saying?"

Judy's foot drummed on the floor, this was not getting anywhere, but what could she do? What would Nick do, if… She smirked. "I'm not saying that you called your boss Warden Boarton for a start.."

…

"I'll leave you be," he said. "But do me a favour. Pretend to be a friend, lead her right in, then rip that monster a verbal new one. I think she's gotten used to us lot doing it."

And with that, Judy was alone once more, the waiting carrying on.

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"So, you're Kris' father? I'd have liked to have met you under different circumstances, he's a good Kit."

Catano watched on as the guard leading them in talked to Dr Silverfox, the older vulpine seemingly taken aback a bit.

"I… -You know my son?"

"I'm often in his cell block," the massive mustelid carried on eagerly. "And I mean, a lot of the kits in there are good kits. But Kris? He's a truly good kit, we've talked a lot."

"And is he okay? Is he doing well? Is he taking it well, or not?"

"There have been some issues with others," the otter spoke, "but we are trying to sort those out."

The fox nodded, before his eyes narrowed. "Such as speciesism? Say, with some guards…"

"-I have been made aware of that," Terrance cut in. "And the warden has agreed to transfer the mammal in question to a different rota."

William almost collapsed with relief, panting hard and covering his heart with his paws. The otter stopped, looking back and waiting. "You okay?"

"Not really, but as much as I can be," he said, and on they went again.

"Well, you'll be able to see him very soon," the otter carried on. "And I'm sorry about what's going on with him, the warden and I agree it was unfair, and I do hope this all helps to find the truth and clear everything up."

"Thank you," the fox said, an awkward silence filling the hall.

…

"Why are you so kind?"

The otter burst out into laughter, much to the surprise of both Catano and the fox who'd asked the question. She didn't get the chance to see if the gemsbok following behind shared in the sentiment; Terrance was already filling in the space after. "I'm sorry. He really is your son. He literally asked me the same thing less than an hour ago."

Catano couldn't help but see a flicker of a smile briefly flash on Dr Silverfox's muzzle, letting her feel good for him, even if it was just a brief moment of relief. "Right," he mumbled on. "Just… -Prison guard, you tend to think a certain kind of mammal most goes for that. Pretty strange career for someone…"

"-Nice?" Terrance asked, filling in.

"I… suppose so."

"Well, I just sort of ended up here, and I chose to carry on being nice," he said. "I mean, you certainly get very nasty mammals as CO's, but you also get lots who are normal mammals, who just act normal. And I mean, it's pretty normal for you to start forming friendships with some of the prisoners, looking out for them. Heck, the way I see it, being friendly and fair with them is the best way to cut down on trouble. Beat them down, what do you expect to get back?"

Dr Silverfox didn't look impressed. "So your friendliness is pragmatic?"

The otter's eyes narrowed. "I'd like to think it's genuine," he stressed.

…

"I mean," the mustelid carried on, "by that attitude are all the friendships he had with his teachers just their pragmatism?"

"I suppose not…"

"If it makes you feel any better, I am technically a gym teacher who moved into corrections, you know?"

"And how did that happen?"

The voice was neutral, though Catano couldn't help but think that Terrance filled in the void with the more negative connotations. "-I fell in love with a regular otter who had a family business up here. All the schools were good for gym teachers at the time, but this place was open and offered a good deal to train up. -And, as older members of my family had joined and fought for, murdered for, Barkist guerrillas when they were children younger than most of these inmates, maybe I had some sympathy or something?"

…

Dr Silverfox sighed. "I apologise if I…" he mumbled on, before looking up. "It's unfair, I'm just worried for my son, and I know you're good news but part of me can't help but think that…"

He was cut off by a paw on his own. "No worries," the otter said. "Anyway, we're here." He led them into an interview room. "Let me just lock the door," he narrated, "and I'll just be off to get him."

Off he went, leaving three mammals sitting in the room. Peter Rufu kept a cold professional silence, but leant a large arm for Dr Silverfox's should. Catano, though, chose to speak. "I know this must be hard for you," she said. "I know you probably don't have a good opinion of me. But I promise you, we are trying to work out the root cause of this crime. It's clear that someone is trying to hurt your son, and I promise… I promise you that one day, we will bring them to justice."

"Thank you," he said slowly. "I…"

He trailed off as the sound of a door unlocking rang out like a bullet shot. As Terrance walked in, the scrape of Dr Silverfox's chair being pushed back echoed out before vanishing into a total silence as Kris entered, looking up, his eyes locking with those of his father. "Dad?"

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"Judy?"

The bunny had been nodding off slightly while waiting, not paying attention to the other side of the interview box.

That familiar voice, however dulled by the glass, had come as a total shock to her and, caught off guard, she panicked ever so slightly before clamping down hard on herself. She stared back at the ewe on the other side, before robotically reaching over to grab her phone receiver. Holding it up to her ear and mouth, she took in a breath and spoke out. "That's right, Bellwether."

The ewe, her wool clipped thin and white, her head-poof spared, stared back. The orange she was dressed in stood out, while the rest of her looked… normal? Judy couldn't tell. She'd heard that she'd been in danger, attacked, inside, but maybe that had been a ruse to help rile up a suspect or something? There were no signs that she'd been abused or assaulted or was the ruthless leader behind the scenes, though then again she'd been that before and looked perfectly normal. Why would she be any different now?

Well, because she was looking disappointed for a start. "Not on first name basises anymore, I assume," she mumbled.

Judy took a breath in and a breath out. "No, why did you suppose we would be?"

And then Bellwether gave back a vacant expression, unsure of herself.

"Back then, before you tried to murder me, before you tried to turn my boyfriend into a monster… Was I your friend?"

…

"Your boyfriend?" she asked, suddenly curious. "The fox?"

"His name is Nick."

…

"Oh," she mumbled. "You could have done so much better."

Judy bristled. It hadn't even sounded like an insult, it sounded like she was genuinely disappointed. "You know, I'm not here to take dating advice from you. And Nick, even at his worst, is a far better mammal than you ever were."

"I suppose you'd say that," Dawn shrugged. Again, down to earth. "He became a cop, didn't he?"

"A fantastic one," Judy said. "Though I thought you'd know. Don't you keep up with the news a lot?"

"I get my newspapers in the common room, and TV in my cell. You two don't really register on it though, so I was wondering if I'd forgotten. Time passes… strangely in here." She paused, before giving an odd quip. "I wonder if that's part of why they located it here. You don't really notice the seasons pass. It's just a constant. Always will be."

"From this day, until your very last day," Judy spoke, rubbing it in.

There was another, longer, pause. Dawn's face winced up just a bit in anger, before fading back. "It's not so bad in here," she spoke, lifting her head up just a bit. "Took a bit of time, but I have plenty of friends. Mammals who appreciate what I do, are loyal to me, who care for me and stick by me, who even love me. It's a far cry from before I went inside."

Judy's fingers drummed on the table. "I have those exact same things too, you know," she spoke. "But, before all this, bar that last part, I thought I knew a mammal who was my friend. Who appreciated what I did. Who was loyal to me, cared for me, and stood by me. Us little guys, wasn't it? And then you tried to murder me."

"You betrayed me," she immediately countered, matter of factly.

"Nu-uh Bellwether, you betrayed me."

"Hmmmm. I don't remember not giving you a certain case, do I? I don't remember trying to run away to the cops with my little pet…"

"-Don't call him that," she hissed.

She chuckled. "I could be mean and call him a criminal," she offered up. "That's what he was, wasn't he?"

Taking a breath, Judy calmed herself down. Focus. "Firstly, no. Secondly, did you really think I was on your side, your friend, before then? Like when I was offered to be the face of the ZPD? Like when I was given the Otterton case? Like when I was back at my graduation?"

"Well you should have been," she said, saccharinely, before the sweetness was cut off with a biting hit of sour. "If you knew what was best for you. I had so much planned and ready, and the things you could have done, let me do to help you, improve you, improve this world. But no. First you wrote yourself off, bailing on me when I gave you your dream. And then, you came back, ready to destroy everything I was working for. It did hurt, you know, seeing you backing off after you clocked it. Even then, I still had hope, I still imagined I could convince you. But no, you gave me no other choice in the end."

…

"You know," Judy spoke, slowly. "You are still a politician at heart, even here."

"Which means?"

"I asked you twice if you were once my friend, and you avoided answering it. Then again, though, I think I've figured it out." The bunny let her eyes burn into Dawn's and, for a briefest moment, the ewe flinched back as if she saw something terrible in there. "I was never your friend. I was your little project. Some mammals buy old cars or homes at an auction and do them up, you selected a bunny and tried to mould her into the new you. It didn't work out though, so at the end you were just disappointed and angry at having to condemn it all. Tell me I'm wrong, Bellwether. Tell me I'm wrong."

The ewe looked back, before her ears and eyes fell down, staring at the base of the window as they sought to avoid the bunny sitting on the other side.

…

"Ironic, isn't it Bellwether?"

"Huh?"

Judy smiled and shrugged. "You know, that kind of attitude, thinking that you know what's best, that you have the right to control and rule mammals… It's almost like you feel you're better than them. That you have, oh… I don't know, a superiority complex, almost?

"Oh," she verbally stumbled. "Errr, I mean you could say that… I mean…"

"-I mean, you'd assume that it was the predators who thought like that, wasn't it? That they had this, predator superiority complex, that had screwed up your life and meant they deserve this. But in the end, the one with the true PSC was little old you."

"Judy," Dawn seethed, tensing up as if she were getting ready to hold her ground in a tackle. "Why are you here?"

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"Kris…"

A hush filled the interview room, before both foxes raced to hold each other. The room echoed with the sound of their bodies slamming, before filling up with those of the fathers quiet sniffling. Paws rubbing against his back, William spoke. "I've missed you…"

"I've missed you too," Kris spoke, holding himself closer. Tails wrapped around legs, cheeks rubbing against cheeks, arms around bodies. His voice was a quiet but hopeful whisper, and was met with his father tightening his grip.

"How… how is it… how've you been managing?"

"Okay," he said, nodding. "I… There are some good mammals, some bad mammals…"

"I know," he spoke, a cutting edge to his voice. "That serval, wasn't it? The evil serval who…"

"It's okay," Kris cut in, still talking softly. "It's okay. She's being dealt with. The bad ones are being dealt with by the good ones. I'm… I'm doing fine…"

"Of… of course you are my brave little boy. Of course you are…"

"I'm not little anymore dad, I can…"

"Shhhhhhhhh," he cut off, slowly rocking him back and forth. "Give me this one, give me this one."

Catano wiped a tear from her as she sat down, giving them it. Kris did ask about the others, about his aunt and her baby, and his cousin… She held her tongue, not wanting to have to interrupt, but thankfully Dr Silverfox just said that Ash was trying to help and was holding himself together.

Kris told him to tell them that he was doing okay, that he was managing it here, to which his father promised he would.

Finally, though, after letting them hold and cuddle and make the odd bit of comment going on, they settled down, ready for the questioning to begin.

Catano asked if they were all ready, to which they agreed, and then they started. "Were these howlers planted, we believe that the incidents in the park a day before would have been a key precursor to this all," she spoke. Reaching into her bag, she brought out a picture and placed it on the table in front of her. "Do you recognise this weasel?"

There was a long pause as Kris leant in and looked at it, his head tilting slightly. "N-no, -I met with a weasel, but not that one."

"Indeed, that was a stock pic," Catano said, taking it back. "Just checking your memory." She placed out five different pictures, but only got to the third before his paw went down on it.

"That's the one."

Picking it up, Catano looked into the ugly mug of Duke Weaselton and nodded. "Can you describe your interactions with him? Including the lead up and anything else?"

Again, what he described back wasn't anything new. "We were following Nick and Judy, who'd heard something, when we stumbled into his path…" "Angry, furious, I offered to help but he turned it down…" "Beavis, this woodchuck from our school turned up, he seemed to get along with Duke a lot better…" "We then left…"

Catano nodded, writing it all down. It collaborated with what the others had said, but it didn't offer anything new. "I heard you were also there with a sheep that day. Did anything happen with her?"

"I…" He began, only to tense up. "You don't suspect her because she's a sheep, do you?"

Right then and there the cheetah wanted to body tackle a porcupine, but she forced her expression to remain neutral. "She came forward with a few observations, but we need to help confirm her timeline of events." Technically true, and complete police jargon at the same time, but it would work. He carried on, seemingly unbiased one way or the other.

"She left a while before all of that. I was teaching everyone meditation in the park and had invited her, but she had something urgent come up and left before we started. That was fifteen, twenty minutes before we met with the weasel."

Catano nodded, bringing out a printed off map of the park. "Can you tell me where you were practicing meditation?" He pointed it out. "Where did you meet the weasel?" He pointed again. "Which way did she go when she left?"

He traced a line that cut right to the nearest exit of the park, almost going away from the weasel. It seemed to disprove Beavis' testimony, except…

The park had a curve, like a banana, and her route would take her to a road on the inside of it, cutting the corner just slightly before joining to a path the went across. A path that would lead her not to the nearest subway station, not by a long shot, but to the nearest one with a direct link back up to her area of town. So, if she had been fleeing after seeing Nick and Judy (and Catano was certainly aware that Kris seemed to be trying to downplay it all for his friend), it made perfect sense for her to take the quickest route out of the park, take her bearings, then take a, if admittedly less efficient, direct route home.

And, while that direct route wasn't the one that Duke was on, it did cross it. So there was a perfectly good chance that the pair had bumped into each other.

Of course, she'd need to verify this with some others. For a start, use the same map exercise with Ash, Agnes, Beavis, Nick and… even Judy. See if it all lined up. Who was the odd one out, if any were?

Regardless, there was one more thing she needed to explore. "Thank you for that," she said, rapping her claws on the table. "I'm afraid to say the next bit, but it's an unfortunate truth. In many cases, these crimes are done by someone who knows the mammal in question, and is often very close." She paused as she saw his ears flick down, defensively. "It makes sense, given that this mammal had to know your locker number, at least to some degree."

She let it hang there and hoped. Kris' ears rose, and she felt a wash of relief as he took the bait. "At least to some degree?"

She nodded. "There's a chance that you weren't the original target," she spoke. "Maybe the locker next to yours was the original target, maybe the one above or below…"

"My cousin's locker," he spoke, cutting in.

He'd taken it hook line and sinker. "I'd heard that his locker was a neighbouring one," she agreed, noting his look of surprise. Presuming they knew about Ash being the original target, had they told him? Either way, she assumed it wouldn't matter. "So please, both for your sake and his, tell me everything you can about the politics going on in your friend group. Who was with who? Who were friends, who were enemies, who wanted something. It may turn out to be what clears your name."

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"You're being very curt today, Bellwether," Judy spoke, unable to stop a flash of a smile flick across her muzzle. "I suppose I better get to the hippo in the room then."

"Is this about Wassermaim?" Dawn asked, a little sneer on her face.

Judy looked back and nodded. "What did he know about your conspiracy, how far in he was it, and did he have any last orders once the rest of you were rounded up. That's why I'm here."

…

"Strange," the ewe said, looking around. "This doesn't look like a proper interrogation. In fact, I'm pretty sure I can leave right now."

"It isn't. You can. But you shouldn't."

"Ha," she laughed, "and why not?"

"Because back when you said you gained people on the inside who loved you, something you didn't have on the outside… That was a bit of a lie, wasn't it?"

Dawn looked at her and blinked, only to frown. "Doug is already in jail, and we hardly loved each other. It was business, pure and simple."

"Was that what your brother planned when he introduced you two?"

The change was immediate. Dawn stared back with a hot fury, banging a fist against the glass. "I met him at a party. My brother wanted to show off his honours student, okay!" She panted in and out, before looking down. "Not going to lie, he probably did imagine us getting along, romantically. Pair his political sister with the genius of a ram who used to be an army sharpshooter before he was honourably discharged and did a masters in biochem. It failed miserably, but when he started giving out his political beliefs… revealed that his discharge was his commander forcing him out for them by giving him a way that would 'save face…'" The sheep took a breath in and out, before staring up at her. "We both betrayed my brother, okay. So leave him out of this."

"I will," Judy said softly. "It was never that brother we had an issue with…"

Dawn's teeth grit. "Coming in off the table so you can blackmail me, huh? Didn't they teach you anything in that academy? Anything you get from me will be useless."

"In a court of law, yes," Judy agreed, innocently. "But this is personal. Kurt hurt someone close to us. If we prove he was part of your crew, he's removed from the equation."

"And that mystery fox goes free," Dawn cut in, smiling. "I've worked it out. Who is this anonymous vulpine? Nick junior or something?"

"That's none of your concern, Bellwether. Though maybe you have heard of him. He was a 'friend' with your niece, after all."

And then the blood drained from the ewe's face. "No. Leave her out of this."

"I want to," Judy clarified. "But the ZPD are already viewing her as a prime suspect…"

"I said LEAVE HER!" she screamed, the bunny flinching back. Tears were forming in her eyes.

Judy looked into her. "Not so fun, is it?"

"You evil little…"

"I do want to leave her alone," Judy said, "and after finding it out, we have kept her secret a secret. But if you want her to keep that secret, you're going to tell me some of your secrets. So out with it Bellwether."

Trembling a little, the ewe looked down. "You're not going to like this," she said, breathing in and out. "You probably won't believe it either. He never truly knew."

Judy kept a straight face. "Go on."

"-If anything, he was the fall mammal," Dawn continued. "As part of our program for Zootopia, we naturally had to do a number of things behind the scenes, working away at… delegitimizing preds in the public eye. I once described Doug as my surgeon's scalpel, while I administered the medicine. Of course, even with the darting program, plenty of mammals would spot it and turn against us. However, just like Dexter introduced me to Doug, Dominic, who knew nothing you hear, introduced me to Kurt. At first I thought he'd be perfect for our cabal, but then… Well, let's just say he's very much a hippo."

Judy raised an eyebrow, but let her carry on.

"-Giant, loud, stomps around like he owns the place, whereas we're a scalpel he's a wrecking ball. No way was I going to let him into the truth of our secret, not from the start at least, but at the same time he had his uses. Let him be the wrecking ball, let him do his work out in the public, while not subtle it still helped. And with everyone focussing on him, Doug, I and those others were able to do the real work, out of site, out of mind."

She looked out at Judy, almost pleadingly, while the bunny looked back, weighing her options. She remembered a particular wording, apt for being called back. "Not from the start at least?"

Dawn clutched her forehead with a hoof. "-Okay, near the end. Just a day or two before you came back we were at a drinks social, I had a bit too much and was feeling good. Things were moving on with our plans. He was going around talking about some banker wolf or something and how he wished that she could turn and I came up to him in private and said, maybe I can arrange something. He looked on, and I realised he'd worked it out."

Judy's ears rose up. "So you inducted him then?"

"Ha," the sheep scoffed. "He asked if I was behind the savage cases. I said I may have a hoof in them and…" There was a cracking of the plastic receiver on her side. "He was angry, at me! Kept on going on about how his, his, great victory was built on lies. He accused me of pulling the rug from under his great crusade! Ha, the arrogant tub of lard. I just reminded him that he'd be nothing without me, and that my agents could easily turn him and include the aggressive hippo's too if he tried anything. He quietened down after that. Felt good to finally rein him in. Of course, he then did a fine job throwing the book at us after you came back. I'm pretty sure he enjoyed getting his revenge, the arrogant twat."

"So," Judy said, "he did know?"

"Barely," she sighed. "Probably enough to claim he didn't know what I was even talking about. He thought it was a joke. Either that or, as I've just admitted, I had him under duress. He speaks out, he puts his entire species at risk. And in any case, if this was a proper interrogation, my words would mean something but, guess what, it's off the books, Hopps."

Judy breathed in and out. "Anything else you said to him, to clue him in?"

Dawn breathed in and out. "You promise you'll leave my family out of this?"

"Personally, yes. Other members of the ZPD, I can't accommodate for."

"Hmmm," she grumbled. "Should I even trust you?"

Judy smiled. "When have I ever lied to you?"

Dawn sprang out like a coiled spring, ready to lash back her counter, only to pause. Mouth closing, her eyes flicked to the side before she sat back down, almost looking embarrassed. "Okay, point taken," she said, not sounding happy about it. "The day before you returned, he met with me, in private. He had some questions. Was this all your idea? I had a few partners I worked with. How many are you, how wide spread, is this some giant conspiracy? I don't know, too many for me to count but probably not that many in total, all spread around the world. How do you do it, turning them? I'm not telling you that. What happens if I want to talk to them? You haven't earned that right yet. -He really hated that one. And, what if someone else in the group wants to talk to me? AKA, do you have some kind of secret handshake or something?"

Judy looked on as Dawn put her hoof out. "Hello there."

"How pleasant to see you."

"You or Ewe?"

"Ram or scram?"

"The cloven hoof shall rise to claim peace."

"The claw and paw shall be cut to end their war."

Judy wrote it all down and showed it to her, Dawn nodding. "I know it's not much," she muttered. "I know you probably wanted a lot more, and I know it probably won't help you. I know you hate me. But, please, leave my family out of this.

Judy stood up and looked at her. "I hope to be a better mammal than you ever were. I'll do my best to keep my promise, Bellwether, though as I said others might get them anyways."

The sheep looked down, silent for a second or two, before speaking. "Thank you."

The bunny turned away, opening up the door to the meeting room and stepping out.

"-Goodbye Judy."

Holding the edge, she closed it, looking the sheep in the eyes and getting the last words in. "Bye... Dawn."

.

.

"I don't really know what to say."

"Are you sure?" Catano asked.

"There's… nothing eventful," Kris spoke, looking down. "I can't think of anyone who'd hate me or Ash so much to frame me for a felony."

"Then just tell me about your friends."

"It's all very basic stuff."

"That might be subjective," she pointed out.

"I suppose that's true," he said, breathing in. "I mean, Ash and I tend to sit on the same table with the same mammals. I can't really tell you much, given that I haven't been with them for that long. As said, I'm an immigrant, I only moved her a few years ago, so I don't know their histories or anything. I know that Maisy was the newcomer before I was, she joined about a year before I did."

"Well, let's start with her, shall we?"

He nodded. "She's nice. She's a bit sensitive, she takes a lot of care around others, and does try to be friendly with a lot of mammals. -Predators especially, now that I think about it. I mean, our table had all the predators in my year group. I mean, thinking it through, she moved in not that long after the Nighthowler crisis, maybe she was bullied out before then and wanted to show that she wasn't a speciesist here."

Catano's ears dipped down, hard. "That would make sense."

He nodded. "I mean, I can remember at least one incident of ovinophobia at our school, but by and large they treat it just as harshly as other types of bigotry. I remember when the news that nighthowlers had been stolen was announced in an assembly, everyone was scared, except for me as I didn't live through the first crisis, and the principal stated that both anti-pred bigotry and ovinophobia would not be tolerated."

"Right," Catano agreed. "Is there much else you can tell me about her?"

"No," Kris said. "I mean, Ash and I were doing a comic at one stage, and I based a character off of her. But we did that for a bunch of mammals in our friend group."

"What was her character like?" Catano asked, suddenly a bit curious.

Kris looked on before managing a smile. "Well it was a superhero comic, and Ash in particular wanted the characters powers to either be based off of their species, or ironic opposites. -For the last one, for instance, one of our friends is a scottish wildcat who hates the water. So does his character, who has super-swimming."

Catano broke out into a little laugh, as did Kris, the fox beginning to really light up.

"So Maisy's character, she was what Ash called a 'wool golem' in that she could manipulate her wool completely."

"Like Doc Oc?"

"We did have a character joke that Olivia Ottertavius had entered the room, yes," Kris smiled. "But she could send all her wool out into a rope, or make a bridge, or all sorts. So there were lots of uses for her power going on, though it did have its weaknesses. One of the presumed antagonists was a markhor, who's curled horns worked like tesla coils, and much of her wool was burnt off in an encounter."

"Ouch!"

"Yeah," Kris said. "I mean, the more we worked on her, the more we enjoyed developing her powers. Maisy herself was a bit nervous at first, saying that she felt that we should be putting forward more preds and such as heroes and it was important for us to do that. Ash didn't care though, so in she went."

"That's nice," Catano said, smiling. Indeed, it did help to put her mind just a little at ease about Ash and his ovinophobia. Maybe it was much less than she imagined, or that he'd only started turning to it much later. Maybe Kris being put into here was the catalyst, and he was being taken advantage of. If that was the case, she could hope that her little intervention and bringing it to the light of the more pro-active principle would have helped bring him back.

"I mean it is," Kris carried on. "Ash. He's… He really doesn't like people saying it, but he is kind of different. He likes to do his own thing. I mean, when we decided to work on this together, I imagined a well strung high stakes plot about radical 'purist' mammals coming to power. Using their powers to enable their rise of facism, and a diverse band of powered mammals rising up to challenge them. And Ash said, it's good but basically everyone does that, we all know the message. He suggested a different idea, where you have a hero association and such led by the government, which is all fair and about equality. The young heroes are trained up and brought in, and start fighting against the villains and those labelled as 'power hoarders' who use their powers for their own well being; there's a major stigma against it, you're only supposed to use your powers for the greater good. But going on, you slowly learn that this country is sort of like North Korea, and mammals can be accused of being power hoarders and be brought in by mobs for things like using their heat powers to help cook the food on their food stand. And as they realise this the mobs of young mammals just like they were before begin to turn on them, and they have to work out what to do."

Catano nodded. "It sounds very interesting."

"Yeah," Kris said smiling. "Ash said that while my story was done well, everyone's seen tons of those and they get it, that's not going to be how things go wrong at all... Why not give them something new and different, and if the world's going to fall it's probably going to fall a different way as everybody knows and is ready for the first, and…"

He trailed off, his ears going down.

"Kris?" his father asking.

His son just looked down, a paw grabbing his prison shirt. "I guess Ash was wrong, then," he said. "Bit embarrassing, all that stuff will be being released about now, while the thing Ash thought could never happen is happening… And it probably makes us look stupid worrying about that other thing… as if it was just as big of an issue."

…

"Hey, a good story is a good story," Catano reassured.

"I suppose," he said. "I mean, we had about two-thirds prey to one third pred, and early on the publishers suggested we even it up further, add in some more strong pred characters for the story. Ash said that we already had it planned out, but maybe we could have added in a subplot basically showing that yes, the old thing is still the real issue right now."

"I don't think it matters," the cheetah said again, her ears going down. "After all, you already had more than enough preds. Way more than ten-percent. Besides, as long as the story is good..."

"I suppose I'm just worried about coming across as tone death or…" he waved his paws in the air.

Catano decided to move it all on. "You mentioned a Scottish wildcat?"

"Mitch Dewclaw," Kris nodded. "He's nice, tends to be quiet. As I said, he hates swimming, often hangs back. But he's the kind of mammal who always has your back when it counts."

"Who else is there?"

"Remmy and Remus Packson. Their two wolf twins who are good friends with all of us, they're loud, kind of fill up the room and joke with each other. They like sports and stuff. I'd say they're the clowns of our group, but more a double act."

"And they're friends with you and the others?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "They're very proud of wolf culture and pretty defensive about pred stuff, but they get on fine with Maisy, so…"

"Uh-hu," Catano said, just filing that away in case it was useful.

"The other prey we had was Jenny Bourke, she's a wombat."

"Living in the city rather than Outback Island?"

"Yeah, I think her parents' work brought them here," he agreed. "She's a sort of middle ground between all of the others. She's Maisy's best friend, but she gets on with the other preds. If you hurt Maisy or anyone, she'll stand up to you, but I can't imagine her going out on anyone unprovoked."

"And did anyone provoke her?" she asked. "Or her friends?"

"No. The only one would be Beavis, but it's not like she'd do anything like this to him."

"He's the groundhog from that day, right?"

"And a bully," he spoke, Catano nodding along. Maybe take what he'd said with a grain of salt then.

"What kind of bullying?"

"Just anything, really. If he could insult foxes, he'd do so, going after Ash. Same for sheep and Maisy."

"What about mustelids?" the cheetah enquired.

"I… I don't know. He wasn't mean to that weasel."

"Okay then," she said, filing it away. He wasn't mean to that one but according to Wolford he was to another, though according to the groundhog it had been the weasel who'd done stuff to him. Did Duke recruit Beavis to plant the howlers on Ash? "What kind of things would he do to them?"

"Just lots of teasing and finger pointing, though on the day both were angry at Ash. Apparently the weasel was snitched on by Ash for selling alcohol to students, and Beavis was angry as the drinks weasel was gone."

"Did Beavis and the Weasel get along then?"

"I mean, kind of," he said. "I didn't see much of it."

"Right," she agreed. "Anyone else in your friend group?"

"Just Agnes," he said, trailing off.

"You… were in a relationship with her, yes?"

"Yes," he agreed, looking down. "We… we were close, I loved her and… I was able to talk to her over the phone, she's really taking it hard." He sniffed a bit, wiping an eye. "I miss her."

Catano nodded. "I heard she's taking it hard."

"Yeah, but… but Ash is supporting her, or so I've heard. Helping her a lot, being her friend, which is really good."

Her ears ticked up a bit. "You sound like that's a big thing."

"Yeah… Before I came in this school, they were together, but she said it wasn't really working. She left him for me when I came and, I figured Ash took it hard, but I really didn't figure out how much it tore at him until… Well, there was a very bad day." He breathed in and out, drumming his fingers on the table. "It sort of cooled off after that, but… Well, they could work together but I never imagined they could be friends again. So I'm really happy to hear that they're… It's very brave and grown up, of Ash, to do it. He's a good cousin."

"Understood," Catano said, a chill running down her spine. "No chance that could have happened anyway?"

"I… I couldn't imagine it, no. Not without a lot more time, or Ash finding someone else first, which is very unlikely. It's rare to have three foxes in a school year, yet alone one class. And I mean, we've got a fourth one too, though she's much older."

"Brittany, wasn't it?" Catano asked, though her mind was on something else.

Kris began going off about their form prefect, while she thought through what was said about his cousin, and his former, maybe not so former, relationship. It sounded like a crazy motive, framing your cousin (heck, bluffing as part of it by almost framing yourself) in order to clear the competition and get back your former girl by comforting her at her most vulnerable moment. But she knew that many mammals justified crazy and terrible things for love and, were it the actual plan, it was certainly working. Two, no three, other suspects adding to the whole mess. And while she suspected he didn't know about Maisy (though maybe he'd found out about it before, maybe the sheep had confessed who she was to him, but not yet to the less known Kris), he had seen Duke and Beavis talking and maybe considered them the perfect red herrings?

Of course, those two may still have been working together, or maybe it was just Duke (Beavis potentially phished for the locker information without realising it, or never imagining that it would be used for that). And of course, the biggest matter at paw was where those howlers came from in the first place? That was why she still, deep down, felt that the weasel, who's motives were, at best, just as petty as Ash's, was still the prime suspect. He'd been involved in the first howler plot, he was the most likely to still have them. The only other potential source was Maisy…

Maybe Beavis or Ash had gotten them from her? She confessed to them or they worked out her secret, and blackmailed her into supplying the howlers. But it still felt like a bit of a coincidence, her parents still having them and her being blackmailed by a student into doing something. If Maisy was involved, then her parents straight up blackmailing her on finding out they could hurt Nick and Judy felt miles more likely.

"-I mean, I heard she burnt down her parents flat when she was eight or something," Kris was carrying on. "Left a curling tongue on by mistake which lit some tissues, but I mean that's a crazy accident. Normally, she's really in control of what she's doing."

Catano looked at him and nodded. Speaking of Brittany, it might be worth interviewing her again. "I think we're done here for today," she said, smiling. "Thank you, you've been a big help."

"Thank you," Kris said, pausing as he looked at his father, then around. "I… suppose you'll all be going now."

Catano, sparing a glance at his father, nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"However," came a new voice, as Terrance spoke up. "I suppose I could give you two a little more time, alone. Bending the rules a bit, but not breaking them."

Kris blinked, choking up as his tail began wagging.

His father spoke. "Thank you. You certainly are a very kind mammal."

"Thanks for saying so," the otter said, before waving out Catano and Peter. The cheetah gave one last glance behind her as she left, watching the two foxes embrace. Face forward, her eyes narrowed. She might be dealing with pred haters on one side, ovinophobes on the other, and a whole lot of confusion in between. But she was going to do whatever it took to get to the bottom of this case, and reunite those two on the outside for good.