Long time no see! A lot has happened both personally and around me, but luckily, in the warmth and welcoming of the community, I could get those issues under control, and even got a great deal of help on proof-reading and editing this chapter!
So, I hope that all of you enjoy it!
Chapter VIII – Starting from scratch
"Are you ok?" The wolf in charge of Allen was looking down at a sweaty and pale human.
"Wolfard?" Allen looked back at him. "Why are you here?"
The wolf shrugged and answered, "I was sent here to check on you." He extended a paw towards the human, "they are wrapping up the whole thing, so we need to go back with the mayor and the rest." Allen reached for it, contemplating for a second the odd feel of his paw pads.
He didn't expect the timber wolf, with a height that reached only his chin, to have such a powerful grip and pulling force. Is it because of his species or because he's a cop? he wondered, after giving the customary thanks for the gesture. Back on his feet, the human stretched his back and pinched the middle of his shirt to shake it, letting the chilly air of the stone building cool him down. Maybe both, was his final thought on the matter before he followed the wolf out of the room. It occurred to him to ask the Timberwolf for an opinion. "How do you think I did?" he asked.
Wolfard considered his answer. As indifferent as he had been to the whole thing, the human clearly had a terrible time on the podium- the whole day for that matter. After some seconds, he said, "It was… informative." The human pursed his lips at that, not that good of a review, and the canid noticed the reaction. He scratched his neck as he searched for better words. "I mean, you were able to say what you wanted, right? A lot just fall flat on the ground or start crying." He stared at the blank expression of the pondering human. Allen reflected on that, a long story of such incidents preceding him. He smiled and nodded his head in agreement with the wolf. "Yeah," he chuckled, "you are right." Allen combed his hair back into shape with his hand as they approached the lobby, now void of public. There, the same scene that played out the first time he had to meet the mayor was happening again. After the doctor left to go back to the hospital, the towering chief was left to have a very frustrating argument with the mayor.
"We won't divert more resources for this," clarified the cape buffalo. "We did our work; we did the tests-"
"The General Hospital did the tests," interjected the mayor.
"And they used our facilities to conduct such tests." The chief sighed and finished with, "We will investigate how he got here. But if you want to parade this person around any further, it is going to be on City Hall's dime and not the ZPD's." He walked away and upstairs, leaving the mayor lost for words, not glancing at the two small officers going down.
"Nothing new there," commented the fox after a glimpse of the buffalo's mood.
The human and his escort met up with Swinton. Once she noticed their presence, she was quick in regaining her composure and greeted them both. "Ahem," she cleared her throat. "Hi again!" she waved with a wavering smile, and the two approaching mammals did alike. "It seems like there is gonna be a minor change of plans." The human's stance tensed while Nick and Judy arrived, the bunny more perceptive of those words, so they both asked.
"How so?"
"You guys remember the protocol, right?" Swinton nervously played with her hooves. The bunny took out her notepad.
"Why? Did we miss something?" She quickly checked the outermost pages for any lost detail. The mayor was swift to address her concerns. "No! nothing like that. The precinct did everything, even outperformed itself!"
"Then what's the issue?" tension arose inside the human.
"Well," she held a tight-lip smile, "we had planned to use the witness protection program."
"Wait, wait. I'm in danger?" Allen had raised his palms, his body ready to defend from an imaginary threat.
"Don't jump that far, Baldy," Nick said. "They might just want to take you to a circus."
The mayor expressed horror and hastily corrected the two, while Judy shot an irritated glance at the fox. "No, not at all! You are perfectly safe in Zootopia!" she paused, calming down, "We were gonna use the program to get you a home and some income while you adapted to living in the city. But that's out of the question now."
"Then, can the city hall help me? Didn't the chief say something about city hall… money?"
The mayor gave a tight-lipped smile and answered, "Election day is in a week."
"And!?" It wasn't Allen's intention to raise his voice like that, but tension was quickly building up on the day-worn human.
The mayor was surprised by that reaction but answered back with similar force, "All the resources are centered on managing the election. We can't tamper with that money!"
"Swinton, you are the mayor now, sure you can't do anything?" The fox broke the constant jokey demeanor to intervene.
"I'm sorry," the pig sighed. "There's nothing I can do:"
"Then that's it? I am out on the street?" After all the happenings of the day, the human felt somewhat betrayed. "What was even the point of all of th- ouch!" Allen felt the adjacent wolf's elbow under his ribs. "What was that for?"
Wolfard combed through his wallet, pinching one green 100Z bill. "Here, and don't worry, you don't owe it to me."
The human stared at it; his mind going blank over the random gesture. Same thing for the other three present mammals. "I… Are you sure?"
"I don't understand half of the things that I heard and saw today. I just sat back and did my job. To help, to serve and protect, and you need some help." Allen reached it, looking back and forth between the bill and the Timberwolf. Which ultimately got a chuckle from the officer as the human took it.
"Thank you…" he stared at the cotton and linen piece, just like the coin that Hoofington gave him. It fostered a great deal of motifs and mottos. Especially "Where everyone can be anything" under a depiction of city hall. We'll see if the city lives to that motto. Allen put the bill in his left pocket. There was an awkward silence before the human spoke again. "Not to sound greedy, but where am I staying tonight?"
A white and black paw pressed a small light blue button on a panel, turning off the screen that hung from the ceiling. He sighed and turned back to his colleagues.
Mammals of every kind and type, all working together, for their cause. Along with him, toiling day and night, and now, more than ever. He inhaled with his eyes closed, ready to rally them all back to their glorious cause. He raised his arms and spoke. "Sectors! As you all have seen; the mammal's presence is now public knowledge! We faltered on our calculations and reacted later than we wished. But we still managed!" All cheered as he leaned forward. "Augusto will arrive soon, so it is necessary for all of us to coordinate, and work as a single sector again. We won't fail this time, and we'll strive, as we have always done, with the little we got. And if success strikes fast, we'll have everything we need for our glorious cause!" The cheers, the sheer passion displayed in the great hall was intoxicating. They would accomplish their Labor, at all costs.
End of Chapter VIII
I know is short, but I wanted to de-rust and grease my writing before going back to the 2000+ format I got used to.
Anyways, all my thanks to the ZAA (and my readers), and until next time. Have a nice day/night!