Chapter 61

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Catano took a breath in and out and stepped into the room. Beavis Chuckman, arrested late the previous day, had been let out with a tracker the night before, on the condition he arrived early for his interrogation. That had given time for him and his father to talk to their appointed lawyer, in this case the same one who'd advised Kris and his Dad; there tended to be a small roster of lawyers for this particular duty, and it just so happened that Peter Refu had just become available again. Part of the cheetah hoped that the gemsbok might lean things in her favour, having seen what this mammal had done to his previous client. On the other paw, she was pretty certain that he'd have at least informed them and given them a chance to request a different lawyer.

A request that, as she saw him standing tall over the two smaller rodents, had clearly not been taken up. She sat down, stared at the offending rodent, and spoke. "Beavis Chuckman Jr?" she asked.

"Y-yes…" he began, shying away from eye contact.

"Do you understand the seriousness of what you've done?"

"N-no," he shrugged before turning towards her, throwing his arms out. "It was just a prank! It was you lot who were acting crazy over it."

"A prank," Catano said, eyes narrowing. "A prank that means I can charge you under the nighthowler act, given your handling of illegal chemicals. A prank that involved planting evidence and trying to pervert the course of justice. A prank, that was deliberately targeted against a member of a vulpine species, from a mammal who's bullying and slurring of such species I have heard plenty about. That makes that prank a hate crime. A prank that then had you lying to a police officer and giving false evidence. A prank that constitutes conspiracy." She narrowed her eyes and stared back at the woodchuck, tears forming in her eyes. "Do you want me to go on?"

"Stop it!" he yelled. "This isn't fair!"

"No it isn't," his father pressed on, pointing a finger out. "My son made a simple childhood mistake… We all do. You can't just ruin his life over this."

"He seemed pretty happy to ruin someone else's life," the cheetah pressed back. "Did you even think about that?"

"You'd have sorted it out," he waved off. "And as my darling boy says, it was only meant to be a prank. You were the ones who made it into this crazy thing."

"The law did," Catano said, keeping her whipping-around tail under control. "The law that, as I pointed out, you broke. You are looking at over a decade in prison, just like he did, so if you want to gain any sympathy from me you'd better start talking. Now."

She pressed that last word out and saw the young woodchuck flinch back, a hint of fear finally beginning to overtake the anger he'd been radiating. He breathed in, opened his mouth, and finally made to talk.

-Only to be cut off as a large hoof tapped his shoulder. "I advise you don't, for now," the gemsbok lawyer said, turning towards Catano. "Given that this officer has been vastly overstating the legal danger you face."

"Excuse me?" she said, drumming her fingers on the table. "He was caught with nighthowlers…"

"-And, if you read the nighthowler act," Refu began, "you'll find that simply holding them at one point isn't criminalised. A mammal can be held without charge for up to four weeks and be refused bail if found with them, but otherwise simply holding them isn't illegal. In such a case, a civilian who finds some and tries to hand them in would be charged. What is actually criminalised is the manufacture, distribution, and use or intended use of them to poison a mammal. The only thing in there you could legally charge him with is distribution, and given that your video evidence, your only evidence, makes it clear he intended to use it as 'a prank', that does not count as distribution. Therefor, given what you have and using the wording of the nighthowler act, this mammal can't be charged with it."

He ended matter of factly, his tone level. Catano had no idea whether he approved or disapproved of that stupid technicality, but annoyingly it seemed that he intended to be impartial and professional to a fault. Far more annoying was the grin now appearing on the woodchuck. Still, Catano could do her best to wipe it out. "That doesn't mean you can't charge him under it and try to convince the jury," she pressed. "There was no evidence of manufacture, distribution or intent for the fox…"

"Which, along with the high chance that this was a plant, would have been the core of his defense," Refu carried on. "A defense that I could have likely won, and that some of the lawyers his father was courting could have sailed through to a not-guilty ruling." He breathed out, nostrils flaring slightly.

"But here we have clear evidence that he did not have these planted on him," Catano thrusted.

"In the same video, the only video, where he stated he used them all in a prank," Refu parried back. "This'll just go like the case against Lionheart's doctor from the nighthowler case. Judy Hopps' recording of the pair talking was crucial evidence for the prosecution in both cases, but it also included the badger questioning Lionheart about what Chief Bogo thought. Her defense was able to use that in order to prove her claim that she was misled and had plausible deniability about the legality of what she believed was an officially sanctioned secret operation. Consequently, she's free now. The exact same applies here, officer"

Catano's eyes narrowed. "Regardless, he's still facing numerous other charges."

"Such as what? Conspiracy? That requires two or more mammals, he acted solo. Giving false evidence to a police officer? From what I gather, these were fact-finding interviews done without a guardian or lawyer present, done knowing that what was found could not be used as evidence in court."

"The intent was to get a clear view of the situation and pave the way for later, in depth, interviews such as this one," Catano said. "Regardless, he still lied and attempted to throw off the investigation to protect himself."

"Having not received any official warnings or being sworn himself. While you could perfectly well charge him, it would only be a misdemeanor, community service at most." Refu shook his head. "I suppose I'm glad you didn't add perjury to that list, seeing as he hasn't been inside a courtroom, yet alone lied on a stand. This is why these laws for youth suspects exist. Without me, you could have scared this young kit into signing a confession or deal with these false charges. In reality, all he faces is one and a half to three years for planting false evidence which, as a non-violent crime, would be spent in a reform school."

"Boom," shot out the younger woodchuck, pointing a finger gun at her. His lawyer gave him a stink eye and pushed it back down, harshly, while his father gave a relieved chuckle.

"Trying to scare my son into signing his life away," the senior Beavis Chuckman said, crossing his arms. "Not gonna happen." Catano felt a slight growl begin to grow in the back of her throat. "What?" he asked, before he and his son spoke together. "Cat got your tongue?"

"No," she hissed. "But I think the hate crime charge we're going to slap you with will get yours."

"Oh come on," junior moaned. "It was a prank."

"Yeah, maybe we teased some foxes once or twice when we were young," his father carried on. "Just because we made fun of them doesn't mean we hate them."

The cheetah turned to look at him. "Yes, about that. What went on with you and officer Wilde?"

"Hey, I'm not talking about that. It was just another little prank."

"Another little prank?" she asked.

"Yeah, some hazing from decades ago," he shrugged. "Maybe I took it too far, but what child doesn't every now and again. It's not like I hate foxes or anything, just like my son doesn't. But we make just a little fun of them and boom, you act like we want to throw them into camps or something."

Catano's eyes narrowed. "But you do think he deserves to be muzzled, right? Tell me, what was all that about?"

"Hey," he said, ears going back. "Just a dumb childhood prank that went too far! It's basically nothing anyway, I…"

"You didn't act like that yesterday," she pressed, before Peter Refu cut in.

"And he is not in any legal trouble," the lawyer said. "Let us keep this between you and my client, please."

Fine," she said. "After all, he's the one facing a hate crime charge."

"Only if you can't get a joke," junior said, father chiming in to agree.

"No sense of humour back then, no sense of humour right now."

"Well, tell me if this sounds funny," Catano asked as she pulled up a transcript. "'Screw Dem Preds?' 'They're all sneaky, snarly savages?' That doesn't sound funny. That sounds like you hate them."

"May I see that?" Peter Refu asked, Catano handing it over. He studied it for a second or two, a hoof shooting out to halt the younger Beavis from speaking. Finally, he put it down. "'You think they're all sneaky, snarly, savages, right?' Asked to a mammal who introduced himself as a member of the Bellwether clan. There's no intent here, no proof that these are his real thoughts. Likewise, the 'screw dem preds' comment could very much be induced in that moment in response to that mammal, and any perceived threats from such."

"Yes, what he said," Beavis agreed. "Read my lips, it was only a prank. Just chill out."

"We can still charge you with a hate crime," Catano pressed. "We can still convince the jury with our character witnesses and show how you showed such reckless disregard to the welfare of these foxes."

"Well I can get my own character witnesses, and they'll be better than yours!" Beavis boasted. He crossed his arms and smiled, smugly.

Catano felt her left eye twitch a little, before she had a very good idea. "Name three."

He thought for a second before smiling. "Jenny Bourke, Brittany Voxen, Remmy and Remus Packson."

Her eyes widened and she had to remember to keep her jaw shut. "Those four?"

"Yup!" he boasted. "Beat you."

"The friends of the foxes you've hurt."

"They're my friends too," he said, jabbing a finger at her.

"Yeah," his father agreed. "They know my wonderful son well enough to know this was just a simple misunderstanding."

"Brittany Voxen repeatedly told me how much of a pain you are," Catano pushed. "Jenny Bourke said that one-hundred-and-thirty-million years is too soon to have a common ancestor with you..."

"And I'm the one doing a hate crime?" Beavis yelled, paws out.

"Yeah," his father added in. "All this stuff and hate going on, yet you focus on my son. Why?"

"Because he happily tried to frame a mammal, and when he missed the target, let the one hit take the fall, all for a prank," she pressed, slamming a finger down on the table. "With plenty of people interviewed talking on about how you hate on foxes and likely had a speciesist motivation for this."

"Which I did not," the woodchuck carried on. "For the last time, it was a prank. It was for the lulz. It was because the fox was a dumb wet sandwich. You didn't even need to go into the speciesist stuff with him. So I'm not speciesist."

"Yeah, which means my son didn't do a hate crime," his father pressed.

"You can say that all you want," Catano pressed, "it doesn't make it true."

"Oh, so you get to keep saying he's speciesist, and that becomes true?" Senior asked. "You're just like those who hated on that DA."

Catano's ear flicked up. "That's irrelevant to the point."

"Oh no, I think not," the older woodchuck began. "Maybe you've got this whole big thing going on about protecting foxes? That's why you're acting so crazy over my son's harmless prank."

"It wasn't harmless," she began. "An innocent mammal spent time in prison because of it."

"So you're going to throw another one in instead?" he asked. "What, just because he's a woodchuck? A rodent?"

"Yeah," Beavis Jr boasted. "This is discrimination against rodents."

"No it's not," Catano began, teeth gritted. "It's…"

"It's just like what you do to sheep," Beavis Sr interrupted.

She blinked. "Sheep? What do sheep have to do with this?"

"The fact you hate them," he carried on, smiling. "You were probably wishing you had a sheep to frame for it, but had to settle for my son."

"There was a sheep suspect at the beginning," she began to explain. "But…"

"See! You hate sheep, it is true!" he said.

"Yeah!" Beavis Jr boasted. "Going around, harassing and humiliating Maisy, trying to make her confess."

His father jumped in. "And who was that 'Dominic Bellwether'? He's probably an actor, a sheep you forced to do your bidding or else you'd charge him with a crazy speciesist charge."

The cheetah blinked, not sure if she was even seeing this. Before she could speak, the older rodent cut ehr off. "See. You can't even come up with a response. You're nothing but a speciesist against sheep, and we are done here."

"Yeah," his son jumped in, smiling. "Silence is violence."

She shook her head. "I've been supporting sheep against others," she pushed back.

"-So you say."

"And even if I didn't, this changes nothing about what your son did."

"Hey," Beavis said, pointing. "I'm not gonna talk to an ovinophobe. We're done here."

"This is just a dead cat tactic," the cheetah pushed. "You're using this to pull me away from talking about how you hurt foxes."

There was a long pause, before Beavis senior spoke. "Oh sure, just go on saying that foxes have it sooo much worse, so sheep can just wait while you hurt them." He turned to Peter Refu, the gemsbok's eyes sagging and tired, as if they'd been overexposed to disappointment. "We're done here, unless the sheep hater offers us a nice deal. I'm sure my son can show her where he found those things, help them out and we can all move on from this whole fuss over nothing."

"Maybe a break would be for the best," the lawyer said, Catano nodding. Out she walked, turning into the observation room. Bogo, Oates and the detectives Dawson were there, watching as she came in, turned to the wall and banged her head into it, groaning as he did so.

"Yeah," Oates agreed. "I feel that."

"I think we all do," Basil said, scratching his chin. "And I don't think any of us need our skills to know where the young one got it from."

"And he's getting away with it," the big cat hissed. "He should be locked up for years. Now it sounds like he'll get a light three years in what's essentially a strict boarding school." She turned to the mice. "And probably not even that, as you'll be going on about how we need to offer him a deal to find out where these things came from.

Basil breathed in and out. "I feel giving him one and a half years, not three, if he leads us to these things is the only option."

Her eyes narrowed. "And if he asks to be let off completely?"

Dave cut in. "Listen, I know he's a quite infuriating young mammal, who deserves a lot. But these howlers hurt no-one…"

"No-one?" she asked, skeptically.

"No damage that can't be undone," he pressed. "Nothing physical. No wounds that will be carried on. One week of fear, and we're going in to fix this. But these things are out there. For all we know…"

"-They're planning to hit the next elephant pride parade and kill hundreds," Catano finished off for him. "Yes, I get it. Doesn't mean I don't like it."

Basil nodded. "Maybe it won't make you feel better, but neither do I. We've got two evils, and I feel that letting him go with far less than he is due…" He waved off through the mirror. "Is the far lesser one."

The cheetah looked at them, then up at Oates and Bogo. "And you two?"

"Kii," Bogo began. "One mammal was killed during the howler crisis, a miracle in hindsight." He looked down. "I saw her body in the morgue, I talked with her family, I can still hear their howls of pain… I want her to be the only mammal to ever die as a result of this."

The horse just put his hooves up. "I'm just stayin' out of this one. Y'all hear?"

They all nodded, as the big cat began to pace, twitching about. She finally halted, levelling a stare at them, the father currently hugging and holding his son, stroking him as if he were the most innocent mammal in the world. The growl grew out of her throat.

"Calm it, Catano," the Chief said. "They pulled the cheapest tactics in the book. Calling you something stupid like a sheep hater."

"Don't remind me," she hissed, frowning. "All this time… Trying to stand up to sheep, and getting slammed for it, being called a fox hater and…" She let out a pained grunt and sat down. "And then he goes and turns it around." She sat down, staring at the floor. "I wonder if that's what Judy saw whenever I talked to her…"

A long empty silence filled the room, before Bogo cut in. "In any case, maybe having some of those mammals you mentioned in your reports agreeing to testify against him will add some pressure." He turned to Oates and the mice. "Try and get in contact with them. It'll be slow, but it should give us some backing when we next talk with him." He then turned to Catano. "And Kii… Take a break and calm down. I've had about enough with over-emotional subordinates."

"Yes sir," she said, standing up and leaving. She made her way out of the lobby and into the air, breathing in a lungfull of fresh air. She did need to calm down, refocus herself, win this for those who'd been hurt.

But she also knew she needed to do something that may well wind her up far, far more. She got out her phone and pressed the call button. After a second or so, it answered. "Yup," she said, exhaling. "Yeah, it is. About that offer of yours…"

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"So, that failed," he said. "Not only no chaos, we brought the city together!"

They were here once more, in his great charging hall. He shrugged. "So, I got it wrong. Tried, failed, no biggie. Maybe we even learnt their weak point."

The first speaker cradled his head. "They know more about us now. We've exposed ourselves, you can't deny that."

"Maybe it was a mistake bringing you on," his companion spoke.

He laughed. "A fine deduction my friend, but it's quite too late now."

"Too late for a lot of things," the first speaker said. "The action is moving away from the bug I was able to set up, not that it'll be around for much longer."

He snorted. "Oh don't despair you big pansy!" He couldn't help but laugh.

The first speaker grimaced, not rising to the bait.

The second speaker though. "So what now? Not much keeping a secret, is there?"

And he smiled. "Not much indeed. Maybe it's time I reveal myself. If they earn it, of course. And then, we attack. At their weak point, at their most vulnerable, we push on until all our goals are met. Even if yours are totally redundant, compared to mine."

The two speakers shared a look at each other, only for him to laugh.

"I did say it was a mistake bringing me on," he said, laughing on and on and on.

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"The new District Attorney, Jeanette-Deux, has officially ordered the dropping of charges against and release of the anonymous vulpine. The fox, who's forced imprisonment after nighthowlers were found in his locker, ordered by previous DA Kurt Wassermain against ZPD advice, has been a source of major controversy this last week."

There was a pause as Fabienne Growley took over. "This comes as the ZPD state that an anonymous marmota has been arrested, being the prime suspect for framing said vulpine. Little information has been released, other than a statement saying that the fox arrested one week ago was completely innocent, and a victim of what Chief Bogo, in his own words, described as a 'cold and callous act.'"

Judy looked on from her bed, nodding as Peter Moosebridge talked about how, while the ordeal for the fox was likely over, the controversy caused by this affair would likely carry on for a long time.

A short set of knocks cut her off and she looked over, smiling as she saw a smug looking Nick at the door. "What?" she asked, raising her own sass level to start to approach his.

He walked in, gesturing to the news. "I believe a certain bunny was ordered to rest."

"I am resting," she said, paws out wide, gesturing over the bed.

"You're worrying yourself," he said, gesturing at the playing news. "If you're gonna watch TV, put on something relaxing. Or some kit cartoons, I heard from Finnick that they're real good for this kind of thing."

A lapine eyebrow rose. "Really?"

"No. And don't tell him I said that. And really don't tell his girlfriend that I did either."

"Ha-ha," she waved off, before gesturing over to the screen. "But I mean, it's good news! We've won. He's getting out!"

"Yeah," Nick said, "point taken. And given what I'm planning to do, I don't really have first stone throwing rights."

"Huh?" Judy asked, only to be broken off.

"But you should still try and relax."

"I am feeling better," she said, looking down. Breathing in and out, she huffed. "But it is hard. I do worry about Kris. And you. And Ash, and all my other friends and others... And I just can't turn that off."

"In that case," Nick said, sitting down. "Maybe we should get you some help for that?"

She looked up, pausing. "Help…?"

"Yeah," Nick said, bringing out a card. "I think I remember someone bugging me to see a certain therapist a while back, and that turned out very good for me."

She slowly looked at it, before bringing up a paw and pushing it away. "Thanks Nick. I… I do get where you're coming from, but I mean… Making me care and worry less about my friends? Something that needs to be pushed out of me?" She paused for a second before shaking her head, looking down. "Given all that's happened, I'd have thought the world needed a lot more of that."

"And what?" Nick asked. "You, personally, are going to make up for it? I don't think it works that way, Fluff."

"But I mean I can still try? What's the worst that could…" She trailed off as she remembered just where she was and why she was here. The only thing that brought her out of the stewing irritation at the fact was the simmering smugness radiating from her fox. Closing her eyes, bringing her finger up and waving it about, she finally spoke. "Fine then…" she said, taking the card from him. "I'll give it a try. It just doesn't… click for me, if you know what I mean. Having you call out my limits, that makes sense. Not worrying as much when my friends are at risk though…"

"And you know what?" Nick began. "You might find out she agrees with you completely. She might say that it's something you don't want to change, but you need to be aware of your limits. Who knows?"

"Yeah," she said, before laughing.

"What?" Nick asked.

She looked up to him and winked. "Try everything, right?"

"Right," he agreed, breathing in and out. "Including this." He looked up and spoke. "Your call, Kii."

Judy looked up and held back a little as the cheetah came in, stopping by the door. "Hi," she said.

"Hello," Judy said back, voice level as a frozen pond.

Nick looked between them, paws out. "Okay. As said, I'm happy to act as your go between. You two in separate rooms, relaying the messages so we get no screaming. Sounds good, right? So, if…"

"I think I'll be good," Catano said.

There was a long silence as the two looked over to Judy, the bunny eventually breathing in and nodding. "Yeah. Try it first."

Nick looked between them, cautiously. "Okay then. Now, Kii wanted to talk first, so if nothing's changed…"

He waved over, the cheetah stepping up to the podium. "Before, Judy, when you kept on talking to me, there were two things that really annoyed me. The first… The first was talking to me as if I'd been brainwashed, or tricked, into thinking these things. That I was naive, and I needed to be rescued, and what I thought wasn't valid, because it contradicted with what you believed. The second, which ties into it, was how you kept on acting like I couldn't be concerned with sheep. I couldn't think that sheep were suffering, it was just a dead cat tactic or something." She breathed in and out. "I still think there are nasty mammals out there, who want to hurt sheep, many doing it as they think that's how you help preds. Did you know that your friend Ash and one of his friends were bullied and screamed at, for being friends with a sheep?"

Judy blinked. "No…"

The cheetah nodded. "Those mammals kept on saying they sided with prey supremacists, all because they thought sheep shouldn't hate themselves."

"I didn't know it was that bad," the bunny said, only for her gaze to harden. "And yeah, I've encountered Ovinophobes too… But foxes were still having it worse, and that DA didn't care about sheep. It was on the recorded confession, he was just using 'protecting them' as a way of distracting everyone."

"And so I wasn't allowed to be concerned about sheep? I needed to leave them and focus on helping foxes?"

"No, I…" Judy began, before closing her eyes and breathing in and out. "A lot of that wasn't about that," she said. "There were lots of things going on that we do need to talk about."

"Sounds fair," the cheetah agreed, looking down. "But I do want you to know this. The ones being interrogated, who actually did this, they threw out sheep discrimination…"

"-But they're marmots?" Judy asked, confused.

"Marmota," Catano clarified. "But yeah, they did. It's stupid, and pointless, and dumb… Nothing but a distraction. I'm guessing that's what you felt when you saw me doing it, didn't you?"

"I… Maybe," the bunny confessed. "Maybe."

"And can you trust me in knowing that it's a legitimate care here? There's no cynical reason for it, or anything?"

"It'll depend," Judy said, eyes narrowing. "Why did you do that to Ash?"

"Do…" she began. "I had what I felt was my best lead to solve this case. He had motive, he had means…"

"If you knew him, you'd know that he'd never do that."

"Probably," Kii grumbled, "but I didn't. That's the point. I needed to rule it out. Surely you've had theories and such that have ended in dead ends? Surely you've suspected mammals who've turned out to be innocent. Saying I had to be one-hundred percent right, that I couldn't even do a search to confirm or rule out a theory, would basically make our work impossible. Him being a fox had nothing to do with that, just like Maisy being a sheep."

The bunny looked on and nodded. "Okay, you searched his place. But you didn't need to humiliate him."

"What do you mean, humiliate him? Should I have, what, waited for him to be out, or…?"

"The box, Kii," Judy said, voice hardening. "Maybe I can excuse everything else, but what you did to him there." She shook her head.

"What I did?" the big cat asked, her head tilting.

"Catano, you exposed his secrets and then called him a disgusting freak!" she said, her voice boiling over. "In front of his mother!"

"Woah," Nick said, cutting in. "Quiet. Quiet. Right, Kii…"

"I…" she began, trying to line up her thoughts. A queasy look was on her face. "I… I grossed out, okay. I just said it was gross, as it was, and shoved it away."

"And how do you think he felt?" Judy pressed.

"I…" Catano began, only for Nick to tap her on her shoulder.

"Imagine if you learnt he was gay in there," he said, "and you just outed him, far before he was ready and confident to do so, to his mother."

She looked on, confused. "I… But that's different. Isn't it?"

"How do you think he feels about it?" Nick pressed. "About something he likely never wanted his family to know."

She looked down, thinking. "Probably pretty rotten."

"And maybe you didn't mean to hurt him," Judy said, "but exposing that and then saying it was gross and freaky out loud. Yeah, that really hurt him."

The cheetah breathed in and out. "So… I should apologise."

"Yes," both the bunny and fox said. Catano nodded.

"Fair enough," she agreed. "I'll see if I can do that, in mammal."

The two looked at each other, a silence filling the room. Nick saw it and sighed. "Right. I guess we're coming up to the big one."

"The honey badger," Catano said.

"Honey," Judy agreed.

"A long time ago," the cheetah began. "I had a superior officer. One who told me of how he'd once met a mammal, a skunk, who'd caused thousands of his own species to suffer, for his own profit. Who claimed to have changed, even though he did nothing to really solve the issues he'd cause, yet alone make it up to those he'd hurt. Who, though never proven, likely helped to make something far, far worse happen on top of everything else. And, even if he wasn't involved, that thing wouldn't have happened if it weren't for what he'd done." There was a long pause. "He said that mammals can say they've changed, but the reality can be very different, and that you can also tell a lot about mammals by the company they keep."

She left it hanging between them, Judy eventually speaking up. "Would you accept me being her friend if you truly knew she'd changed. If she isn't the mammal you think she is?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "I still believe that she caused true harm, and that harm will be carrying on and on, forever, because of her."

"And so, even if she has changed, she should carry on suffering because of it?" Judy asked. "She should have no help and support for changing. If that's the case, why should she not go back?"

"Because going back means she's not a good mammal," Catano said, her voice rising slightly.

Judy stood up in her bed, only to pause as she saw the look from Nick. She sat down, and thought. "I get that, and I do get that mammals followed her, mammals that will carry on causing echoes of harm, long after Honey changed. But a changed Honey is far better than a Honey that gets drawn back in, and she has changed. She suffered for it and struggled, and it is a struggle for her. One she needs help in, and I don't think that makes her a bad mammal. Either way, I just don't think it's fair for you to judge this mammal who you don't know."

The cheetah thought for a second or two. "So what do you suggest, I meet her?"

"Or call her," Judy suggested, bringing out her phone.

Hesitantly, Catano looked at it before slowly bringing out her phone, copying in the number. Finally, after her pad hovered over it for a couple of seconds, she pressed call.

…

…

"Hello?"

Catano flinched back a bit from the voice. It was her. Her eyes narrowed and ears lowered as she spoke. "Honey Badger?"

"Yeah," she said, quietly. "That be me."

"Also known as Gruinard Gal."

…

"Are you someone who watched some of my old videos?" she asked, slowly.

"One or two…"

"Okay, then you can stop. I… I actually pulled them down, 'cause they're wrong. They're wrong okay. I'm… I'm sorry if I misled you, or hurt you, but I was wrong. Sheep are not evil, or nasty, or anything like that. They're just… they're just mammals, like you and me. Okay? There's no reason to hate them."

Catano's features softened, slightly, before she carried on. "I'm actually wondering how you plan to make this up to the sheep themselves," she said. "I've seen sheep who are terrified, or hurt, by all this. And it's going to carry on, for years and years and years, because of what you did. How do you even start to fix that?"

…

"I… I don't know," she said, a soft honesty coming across in her voice. "I mean, I try. I'm still trying. As I say, I pulled down all my stupid old videos. And now, I'm trying to take it one mammal at a time. I put them up to it, I'll try and pull them down… Even if it's just one mammal at a time. I'll try. And maybe, if each of us carry on, one day we'll fix this. Isn't that right?"

Catano blinked, confused, only for a new voice to call out. "Yeah. Trust me… We can be pretty stubborn, I've gotta admit. But it's better than nothing, I suppose."

"Yeah," Honey carried on. "One mammal at a time. Better than nuthin', I guess."

"Who is that?" Catano asked.

"Oh, just a sea mink I'm friends with," she said."Who I'm helping."

"Right," the cheetah said. "And you think… You think you can go up to the sheep you've hurt, who will suffer, and point at this. And that will be enough?"

"Oh no," Honey said, Catano blinking. "I mean, maybe for some, probably not for others…" The cheetah's head tilted. "I guess… I guess I really did do a lot of harm. And I am trying to help. But I know… I know for many, that will never be enough." There was a long pause, Catano's features slowly softening. "That's okay," she said. "They get to not forgive me for it. I know they have that right."

"That they do," the cheetah agreed. "Thank you." With that, she hung up, looking away.

…

"Kii…"

"I'm thinking," she said, a paw coming up to fuss with her face. "I… I wasn't expecting that."

"Does it change anything?" the bunny asked.

"For me, no," she said. "I still think she doesn't deserve my forgiveness." Judy's nose began to twitch. "But if you want to know her, I can guess… I can guess that's okay," she said. "In private. Your friend. Not mine."

There was a long pause.

"You okay with that, Judy?"

The bunny breathed in and out. "I guess, I guess I can live with that."

"Good, I guess," the cheetah said, shrugging. "I didn't expect that talking with her could…"

"Well, talking with you brought us back together," Judy agreed. "We pushed through and worked it out. Maybe that's how we do this, to make the world a better place. Just like with Honey. She was a bad mammal, but talking to her brought her back, didn't it?"

Catano looked on, her head tilting. "Didn't she have to be committed, try to escape, resist and all that?"

"Well, yes," Judy agreed, "And we, who she hero worshipped, arrested her which broke her. But still…"

"It's our patented cure for speciesism," Nick said, sliding in. "Lock them up, throw them in the asylum, smash their pedestals, spend months convincing them we're right and only letting them out when they agree. It's the perfect solution!"

He earned a few chuckles, only to pause as Judy held up her paw.

"Hang on," she said, looking over to the news. "Something about Kris, mind if I…"

Catano pulled back as Judy turned up the volume. A councillor from city hall, a black obese wolf dressed in a gaudy ensamble, was standing at a podium, preparing to give an address about the whole affair that had gone on the past week.

There was a pause as she tapped her microphone, before speaking out. "Today, a fox is to be released from prison. Today, the speciesist prey DA is sent packing. Today, most of the prey mammals in this city will pat themselves on the back, saying that 'they did it'. They will say that he was a bad actor and truth defeated lies, and this shows that everything is okay." There was a pause, her tone hardening. "Bother to ask any predator, and you will know how wrong that is. Walk around Happytown and bother to open your eyes, and you can see how wrong it is. Predators know that this is what we can expect from this city, and all those prey who are now patting themselves on their back are patting it knowing that nothing will change. Predators will keep being kept down, and prey will keep being kept up, and the institutional speciesism that defines this city will carry on treating us as if we don't matter. It's about time that this finally ends, and that means teaching prey about Zootopia's history and speciesism."

There was a pause. "Some will say this makes them uncomfortable. In that case, prey will be made uncomfortable. It means talking about prey ideology and privilege and, at its root sheep ideology and privilege. I don't like having to continually define sheep ideology and privilege, yet I have to. Indeed, I find I have to continually restate that it exists to mammals who refuse to accept the truth due to their speciesism. And the truth is that speciesism doesn't just come from a few bad actors. It doesn't come from Dawn Bellwether or Kurt Wassermaim, those are just the symptoms of the disease, and that disease is the fact that our society is inherently speciesist."

There was a pause as she cleared her throat. "Prey, sheep especially, are born and raised in speciesist environments. They believe that they can live in their flocks, shelter in their flocks and are told that flinching or shying away on seeing a predator's teeth, claws or natural behaviour is acceptable!" She knocked her fist on her lectern at that. "They, often without thinking, shy away from us and view us as dangerous, lesser, more primitive, while they are naturally more 'civilized'. When we try to call them out on it, they express their classic fragility at any criticism before, as their sheep ideology dictates, joining together in a flock, united as one against change and willing to use both their democratic tyranny of the majority and physical force to protect the status quo. That fragility and solidarity with their fellow speciesists makes change for the better all but impossible. Change that would have stopped this terrible affair dead in the water."

Her eyes began to water as she spoke out. "Just think of this fox and all he's suffered. Remember his arrest and think about how he was questioned. Imagine what it felt like when he learnt where he would be taken and was ripped away from his family. Think about his intake there and being a small helpless individual surrounded by big, harsh, cruel guards and an uncaring warden. Think about how each day would have felt and how he'd have likely been bullied with no support. Imagine all the cases during the already slow, uncaring as it is, investigation where they ran up against mammals who refused to help or made things harder. Think back about how he'd be shown and experienced how preds and foxes are criminalised, victimised, mass incarcerated and subject to violence constantly and remorselessly by prey and sheep. Think about how he'd feel seeing all the other anonymous vulpines locked up there too. Remember all of it. And remember how prey ideology and privilege was at the root of all of it. How, if prey ideology and privilege had been challenged, each one of those moments could have been avoided. Think through each one, remember each one, and picture how, in a world where prey were educated on their privilege and had their ideology challenged, where they had been taught and raised to be anti-speciesist and to hold themselves to account, it wouldn't have happened."

She tilted her head up. "And how do we do this? We need to be willing to challenge and call out unacceptable behaviour for what it is. We need to raise the next generation in a completely anti-speciesist environment. Anti-speciesism must be laid into everything, everywhere, to teach them the truth and prey mammals, especially sheep, taught about what their kind has done, the harm committed in the name of their species and how they benefited from it. And if you say that that isn't what's needed, then you're admitting that you're happy for what happened to this unknown fox to go on, again and again and again, because you're a privileged prey, a privileged sheep, and your ideology says those innocent preds are a perfectly acceptable sacrifice. Us predators are not a sacrifice for your 'safe' civilization. We are tired of being collared. We do not want to be collared any long. We are free mammals, not savages, and if a prey mammal wants to see the true predators in this world, then I'd advise them to look in a mirror."

And with that, she stepped down, a mixed applause lapping at her as she walked off, her muzzle held high.

Back in the hospital room, Judy looked on, one ear raised, one half lowered. "That… That wouldn't have helped. She's got it mixed up."

"Maybe she has," Catano said. "Maybe she genuinely believes it'll work and it's the only way. Maybe she's making a mistake, and just wants to help preds and is lashing out…" with that, she looked down at the bunny. "Or maybe she knows full well, and doesn't care. Maybe it's some mix. But after all I've seen, part of me is worried about this. Do you understand now?"

Judy's ears dropped down. "Yeah," she said. "I think I do."

There was a long silence between them, before Nick stepped in. "So, all made up now."

"Yeah," Judy muttered.

"Uh-hu," Catano agreed, looking off into one corner.

The awkwardness carried on for a second or two, before the cheetah spoke once more. "Now we're square, I need your help."

Judy looked up. "What for?"

"The mammal who framed Kris," she began. "At best, he's getting nothing close to what he deserves. At worst, he knows that he's got us bent over backwards. He's our only connection to the howler source, and the others are thinking about folding. Giving him a deal that practically lets him walk, so they can find out who's making these things. I need your help to convince them that him getting what he's due is something we can't back down on."

Judy looked on, her nose twitching. "He's…" she said, her eyes narrowing. "It's not fair!" She looked down, as Kii held her paw.

"That's why we need your help," she said, before looking up. "And yours too, Nick."

"I'll support you," Judy said.

"That helps," she sighed, relieved. "Nick?"

…

"Nick?"

"I'm thinking," he said, standing up. "Yes, I want that mammal to pay. He might think it's just a stupid prank, his father might too, but they need to learn it's not… And Kris deserves justice. But…"

"But?" Kii asked.

"But if we could nip this in the bud, end this once and for all... I know Kris, he's a mature kit, selfless…" There was a silence before he shrugged. "Truth versus justice. Justice versus truth." He paused. "Who are we to say what's more important?"

A few seconds past before Catano spoke. "But we have to make that choice."

"Someone does," Nick said. "And right now, I think there's only one mammal in the whole world who has that right."

.

.

Dr William Silverfox was trembling. He couldn't help it. He'd got the call an hour ago, the paperwork was being filed and his son was getting out soon. It was all over. And so he found himself in the lobby of that damned place, just pacing. Letting the time tick down. His son was coming back. His son was coming back. He was safe and he was going to be happy, and that mammal who'd chosen to hurt his son was going to get what he deserved.

Everything was just so close to being right once again.

And yet it just seemed so far away.

He turned and carried on pacing, only for a cough and a call to pull him away. "Mr Silverfox?"

"Dr," he corrected, looking up to see an argali in a suit. "And you are?"

"The warden," he said, nodding. "Mind coming with me?"

The silverfox nodded and followed on, passing through a secure door and walking along a corridor. "I understand that you may have complex feelings towards me, but I just want to say that these were exceptional circumstances in which we were taking care of your child…"

"-Taking care? That's an interesting way of saying it."

"Words aren't my speciality," he waved off. "Regardless, we did try and understand the difficult situation he was in and make some accommodations." He paused as he arrived in a small tiled room, complete with a shower section, examination table and multiple drawers. "Case in point, the mammals who get out through here tend to be a lot larger than when they came in. The usual release procedure includes a full physical examination, new clothes, etcetera." He paused, smiling as he pulled out a draw full of Kris' clothes, freshly laundered and ready. "I was able to expedite the process. Should cut out a good hour or so."

The fox relaxed, smiling. "Thank you," he said. "That is appreciated."

"Well," he said, rapping his hooflets on a nearby surface. "Most of us were pretty in the know that he shouldn't have been sent here, and besides, less work for us."

"I suppose," he said, nodding along, only to pause. "About it being most of you… Not all…"

One of the argali's ears ticked down. "Quite," he said.

"It took you a while to do something about it," the fox pressed.

"And do you know how frequently we get reports that members of the staff are abusing mammals?" he asked. "If we went out and investigated every single complaint, we'd need a new rosta of staff every single day. I will say though that it seems that your son, for whatever reason, brought out the worst in the member of staff in question." He paused. "Enough for that member to slip up in front of another member of staff. After that we transferred them away for your son while starting an investigation."

"And did that do anything?"

The warden paused, looking off to a corner. "There are certainly areas of concern that we'll be looking into. We'd intended to do a full disciplinary review tomorrow, your son giving witness, though recent events make that awkward." There was a pause. "I'm certain we could have your son contribute with a Zoo call though, if he so wants."

"Thank you," William said, breathing in and out. "It's soon, but I want her to pay."

"I'll do my best," he said, going quiet after.

The awkward wait continued, and Dr Silverfox began pacing around. The argali meanwhile looked at his watch. "Hmmmm. They should have been here a while back."

William glanced over at him, the fox's furs standing up slightly, as he pulled out a walkie talkie. "Yes, hello?" There was a long pause. "Hello, is… Sarrahson? Fine… We were supposed to have the silverfox kit for release a while back, did they not receive the order?" William's fur stood fully erect as an odd, worried look grew across the mountain sheep's face. "What do you mean there's been an incident?"

…

"Isolation nothing. He's getting out, now! Bring him here, immediately. And if I find you..."

He was cut off, frowning before putting the radio down and turning to Dr Silverfox, hooves up. "Reportedly there was an incident and your son was put in isolation."

The explanation wasn't nearly enough. "What do you mean, incident?"

"I don't know," he defended. "He was still in classes today. Maybe knowing he was getting out he didn't work and got into an argument with the teachers."

"No, that's not my son."

"I…" the sheep began, before pausing, trying to talk soothingly. "I don't want you to be alarmed, but we're pretty certain the inmates have a hazing tradition for those being released."

"Alarmed? What do you expect me to be!" William shouted. "What do you even mean, hazing!?"

"We think they take turns trying to whack each other's rear's or something, we try to stop it and tell them not to do it, but boys will be boys… Maybe your boy didn't know and fought back."

"You are not helping," Silverfox warned, breathing in and out fast and haggardly.

"Listen, it may sound bad, but we see dozens of mammals released this way. The worst that's been reported is some that are careful when sitting down, I…" The sound of the door unlocking rang out. "Anyway, he's here now and…"

The argali trailed off as the door unlocked and the sound of chattering teeth rang out. It swung out, a serval correction officer standing there. In front of her, ears rising, stood the silver fox.

"Kris!?"

"D-D-Dad!" he responded, his voice lighting up. He stepped forward and raced over, leaping into and holding his father tight, shivering hard.

"Son!"

"It's all over," he sniffed, smiling. "I'm going home…"

"Son, your…" his paw felt down the prison suit. "It's damp! You're freezing."

"I know," he said softly. "But… it's okay… We can take it off and go home, I'm good…"

"Kris, what happened to you?"

"I'm good," he stressed, looking up, eyes straining a bit. "Please…"

His father held him hard. "Okay," he said. "We'll get you home, we'll get you safe, but we'll find whoever did this, we'll…" He trailed off, his eyes going wide as his blood froze, a pit in his stomach dropping out into a black chasm of horror.

"D-Dad…?"

"Y-your tail…" he turned up and screamed at the guard. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIS TAIL!"

She gave a cursory glance down at the thing, its fur messily cut down to little more than a claws length, the former vibrant brush savaged and sheared into a thin haggard limb, before looking up and shrugging. "Must have been a hazing incident gone wrong," she said.

The warden cut in. "Sarrahson. What the cuss happened."

"What I said," she shrugged.

"WIPE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE OFFICER!" he screamed. "I was worried before, but this? Tell me right now, what did you do?"

"Nothing, how dare you insinuate that," she scoffed. "If you remember correctly, you transferred me away from him. How could I have done this?"

He held a pointed hoof up at her. "You have the gall to come in here with an innocent mammal that you picked on, having had this done to him when we all knew he was being released, and give me that look and talk like that. You don't even care, do you?"

She paused for a second, shrugging. "I've decided that this career isn't right for me. If you look at your in-pile, you'll find my resignation tendered." She paused, before looking down at Kris, shivering and not speaking in his father's arms. "Along with the personal attacks, I found myself unable to deal with the dangerous and criminal mammals escaping justice due to favouritism." She grinned. A big, wide, toothy grin. With it she looked over Kris before catching his father's murderous gaze.

"You shaved his tail…"

"Dad. Please…" Kris calmly began.

"If I keep being slandered," the serval said over him. "I have a right to sue."

"YOU SHAVED HIS TAIL!" he yelled, panting in and out. "My family came from loyalists who fled to Canidaea after the revolution… They were thrown out of their homes, lynched, called traitors for their loyalty and had their tails shaved, like this, in public, to mark them as such! You knew this, didn't you! DIDN'T YOU!?"

There was a long pause before she gave a little smile at him, and short nod, and stepped back out the door and pulling it shut.

"Sarrahson!" the warden ordered, not that it mattered. It slammed into position, the clink of a lock sealing it closed.

The warden was left trembling. "That… That…"

"You're not just going to let her get away with it, are you!?" his father asked.

"No, I'll… I'll…"

"Please," Kris cut in, his voice straining. "It's… It's okay, I just want to go home… I want… I want…" He began to break off, shivering. Dr Silverfox grabbed him, holding him up, before looking over. "Towel! Get him a towel, or…" The warden ran over to grab a pair, all while Kris' father began trying to get the wet suit off.

"Come on, come on, come on my sweet little boy. It's okay. It's okay. You're safe now, you're… Let's get you out of… Let's get you…" He paused, looking up. "The zip's broken! I can't get it off!"

"Yeah, I know…" Kris said, almost managing a smile. "I tried to, but…"

His father snapped up to the argali. "Do something!"

The warden dropped the towels on the exam table and pulled up his broad hooves. "What do you expect me to do?"

"SOMETHING!" William yelled, finally managing to thread a claw in and start working it up. With one large pull, he got the zipper part undone and had to guide his son out, limb by limb. All he did was let it happen, looking out with broken, vacant, fearful eyes. "Come on, speak to me Kris. What happened? What… -Let's get you dried off first." He pulled off the vest and guided him over to the shower area, pulling the curtain around.

"Dad, I can…"

"Come on, shake it, shake it off…" Kris did just that. "That's it, come on," he said, grabbing the towels. He began wrapping them around him before clutching him tight, holding his head to his chest. "It's okay," he began to cry.

"I know," Kris said, taking a breath in and out, sniffing. "I said I was okay. Please, listen to me. I'm fine."

"No, you're not," his father sobbed. "They did this to you, and they are going to pay. That serval and the rest. They are going to pay, they are going to pay!"

"They…" he sniffed.

"Kris?"

He looked up, managing to hold his father's gaze for a second. "They all got…" he sniffed, before diving down, burying himself into his father's chest. "It was nothing okay, I just want to go home!"

"It's not okay."

"It was my fault..." he sniffed out, his voice muffled against his father's chest.

"Kris," his father cried back. "Who got hurt? Was it some other inmates? Did… did they attack you? Was it that serval…"

"I'm sorry… It was my fault. I want to go home," he said again, beginning to weep into his father's chest. "I just want to go home."

The older tod wrapped himself around him, sharing his warmth, cocooning and protecting him for the cruel world around him. "You're safe now. You're going home," he cried. "You're going home."

"I want to go home," he sniffed again, and this time his father didn't respond. "I want to go home." They just held each other tighter and tighter, refusing to let go.

"I want to go home."

Not now.

"I want to go home."

Not again.

"I want to go home."

Never, ever, ever again.