Zootopia, D.P.Z.
Friday: 6:50 A.M.
Already at ZPD, Nick was expecting his partner. While she wasn't arriving, he was even more lost in his thoughts. Yeah, he was sad that he couldn't say what he wanted.
It's probably for the best. He thought by looking at the floor.
When Judy arrived, he noticed how radiant she was and how big her smile was on her face. But she seemed a little more excited this time.
"Good morning!" She said cheerfully.
"What cheer... Any good news?" Nick asked, curious.
"Yes! My parents are coming to visit me today. In fact, I wanted you to come to dinner with us!"
"Carrot, it's very nice of you to want to invite me to a special occasion like this, but unfortunately, I'll have to decline." He answered politely.
"Why?" Judy's voice sounded a little disappointed.
"Simple answer. I'm a fox. And I don't think your parents would be too comfortable with my presence, right?" Nick frowned.
"Nonsense, I'm sure they'd love to meet you."
"I'm really sorry, Carrot, but..."
"Nick, please give them a chance! I want them to meet my partner and best friend." Judy interrupted the fox, abruptly.
"Well... I'll think about it, but I won't tell you for sure."
"Just the fact that you consider going makes me very happy." She said with a genuine smile. "But now, we'd better go to the assigned room. Otherwise, we'll be late."
Everything was normal in the assignment room. The officers were talking, laughing, and others were doing a "fiddle," but as soon as Chief Bogo arrived, they all stopped what they were doing, and started hitting their tables. The Bogo chief's expression was always severe. However, today it seemed worse.
"Let's get to the point." He snitched. "Last night, around eleven o'clock, we received seven reports of savage attacks, all of which occurred at short intervals of time and in different places. Fortunately, no one was hurt." Bogo paused and sighed. His eyes checked every face of his officers. They were in shock. Taking a deep breath, he kept talking. "All the animals that went wild are predators, but something different happened. A few moments after they went wild, these mammals fainted and went unconscious. They were referred to the nearest hospitals. However, in their blood samples, high amounts of the popular drug known as howler were found. Yes, it's the same drug that threatened the peace of Zootopia a year ago." Some murmurs began to pop up around the room but were silenced by the chief's voice. "Everyone! Today will have the job of further investigating what's going on because if the situation gets any worse, the government said it would take drastic measures."
"What kind of measures?" Snarlov, a white wolf, asked.
"I can't grant you that information because it's confidential. To that end, today, there will be a meeting with the mayor of Zootopia to better discuss this matter and decide whether or not there will be a need to take that action." Now, the buffalo was putting on his reading glasses. A sign that he'd make the distribution of the cases. "Wolford and Fangmeyer, you two will look for suspicious activity in Tundraland and talk to relatives of one of the animals affected by the howl." He said, handing the wolf and the tiger, the briefcase with the case information.
"Higgins and McHorn will do the same thing, but the mammal you're investigating lives in Savanna Central." Bogo handed the briefcase to the hippo and the rhinoceros.
"Wilde and Hopps, you will search the forest district for clues, and then talk to the wife of one of the hospitalized animals." The fox and the rabbit got up from their chair and took the briefcase containing the necessary information.
"And then carrot, ready to investigate and save Zootopia?" Nick said jokingly.
"Don't joke about it! It's something serious!" Judy answered, slightly nervous.
"I was just trying to lighten the mood, but okay... I won't play anymore..." He replied, slightly embarrassed, and Judy nodded accordingly.
Zootopia, Forest District
Friday, 07:40 A.M.
After some time in the car, Nick drove to the Forest District, and Judy was in the passenger seat, occasionally looking at the information in the file folder.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about yesterday?" She asked, starting the subject.
"It was no big deal." He responded by keeping his eyes on the road.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I've got it figured out." He said, giving her a brief smile, and she gave him another smile.
The place where one of the wild attacks had taken place was a kind of ecological park called Grand Nature. However, the local was now off-limits. The couple got out of the car and immediately started looking for clues or anything that could help in the case. They spent some time searching, but soon other officers and detectives came to the place to help the search because the park was considerably large.
"Nick, come here!" Judy called him as soon as she found something that looked like a little card, buried in the grass.
"Did you find anything?" He asked when he gets close to the rabbit, who was putting on gloves so she could get the card.
"I'm not sure, but I think there must be something written on it."
Judy picked up the little object and, taking out the dirt on top of it, started reading aloud:
'Why are you all surprised at this? Isn't that your real self? Why do you want to hide it?'
Judy and Nick looked at each other, surprised.
"Do you think this has anything to do with the case?" She asked her partner while she put the little card in a little plastic bag to showed it was evidence.
"I'm not sure. But what are the chances of a random mammal writing that and dropping the card around?" He answered.
"Strange!"
After finding the possible evidence, they continued on the scene looking for more but consequently found nothing. Neither they nor any of the other officers and detectives. So, Nick and Judy moved on to their next assignment. Go to the infected mammal's house.
The park they were in was about 30 minutes from where the mammal lived. The affected animal was a leopard named Robin Cooper, 28 years old, and working as a lawyer. When they arrived, they knocked on the door of the house. They were received by a female leopard. The female didn't open the door completely, leaving this one-half open.
"Hello! How can I help you?" She asked a little surprise at the officers' presence.
"Good morning, Mrs. Cooper. I'm Officer Judy Hopps, and this is my partner Nicholas Wilde. We're from ZPD, and we came here to ask you some questions about your husband and what happened to him." Judy spoke softly.
"Of course! Please come in; I'll be happy to help you!" The female answered as she opened the door completely.
"Thank you!" they both said, standing in the doorway. Then, Judy removed a small block from her belt and opening it. Then, she turned her attention to the female leopard. "If you don't mind, we'd like to start with our questions."
"Of course! But if you don't mind, I'd rather answer the questions sitting down, and I think you would, too. And please drop the formalities and just call me Megan."
"Okay, Megan, have you noticed any strange behavior towards your husband in the last few days?" Asked Judy in a quiet voice as she watched Megan closely.
"No! He seemed normal, as usual." Megan answered as she sat in one of the chairs in the living room while Judy and Nick sat on the couch next to her.
"You may already be aware that he's been "contaminated" by the drug, right? Do you know if he was a user of this substance?" Nick questioned.
"No, not at all! I'm sure someone did it to him!"
"Right... Is there anyone who doesn't like him? Someone from work, maybe?" Judy asked as she altered her look between her notebook and the female.
"Because he was a lawyer, some didn't like him very much, but I don't think it would come to that..." Said Megan looking a little down.
"Do you have any idea what might be going on?" It was Nick who took the conversation.
"No, everything was normal until yesterday..." Megan answered.
"Do you have any idea when he started getting different?"
"I think it was half-past eleven at night..." hitting her chin with her index finger, Megan wasn't quite sure of the time. She was more panicky about her husband's changing behavior.
"What were you guys doing at that time?" Judy asked cautiously.
"Well, we were out to dinner last night because I wanted to give him the news that I..." She said with a tender smile as she took her two paws to her belly, where she made a brief affection.
"Oh, congratulations!" Nick said with a smile when he understood what she meant.
"We wish you all the best!" Judy complimented her, smiling, too.
"I just... I just want my puppies to have a chance to meet their father." Megan took one of her paws to her face as she wiped some tears from her eyes. "The doctors told me that Robin is in a critical condition. They don't know if he'll wake up." The regret in her voice was to break anyone's heart. It was painful for her to have to admit it, but as one joy was coming into her life, another was being taken away.
"Don't worry, Megan, this situation will soon be resolved," Judy said generously, and the female just nodded, still wiping her tears. "But we need you to tell us exactly what happened. However, if you don't feel good to talk about now, we can come back later."
"No need, I'm fine." Megan took a heavy sigh before she went on. "As you may know, leopards are predominantly nocturnal habits. So, after dinner, we decided to take a walk in the Grand Nature to remember the past, because that's where we met. We were walking calmly through the park, which luckily was empty, but suddenly Robin started screaming that something had hit him. At that moment, he fell and started screaming in pain, and after a while, he started snarling. At that moment, I noticed that his pupils were dilated. It was horrible! Robin ran after me and tried to bite me and scratch me, but luckily, he stumbled somewhere and hurt his leg, making him stop running. So, I decided to watch him from afar while I called the police. While I was on the phone, I noticed that Robin's roars began to diminish. Then, he started foaming from his mouth, and seconds later, he went completely out."
"There was no one around?" Judy interrupted.
"I didn't see anyone. I tried to hear something unusual as soon as he said he was hit, but I couldn't hear anything."
"And then, what happened?" Nick took the conversation while Judy pointed out the information on paper.
"The police arrived and asked some questions, and an ambulance was triggered." Megan sighed. "As soon as we got to the hospital, the doctors came to me and told me he was unconscious. I asked if he'd wake up soon, but I got a negative headshake for my answer." Megan concluded with a heavy sigh.
"Well, I think that's enough. Thank you so much for working with us, Ms. Mega. I hope your husband gets well soon." Said Nick with a gentle smile and got up. Judy kept her notebook and got up, too.
"If there's anything else I can do to help, just find me," Megan said. Getting up, too, the female accompanied them to the door, where she opened it.
"You can count on that, and thanks again." Nick thanked her as he walked out the door with his partner.
"If anything, strange or suspicious happens, inform the police immediately," Judy said with a little smile before she left.
"I will." She answered and gave him back his smile.
The officers said goodbye to the nice Megan and then headed to where the car was.
"We're still at square one..." Judy said, disappointed, as she opened the car door.
"This case is just at the beginning, carrots. We still have a lot to investigate." Nick responded by sitting down and starting the engine.
"I know! But it was seven wild attacks at once..." The rabbit sighed heavily. "And we have no suspects yet..."
"Calm down, Judy! Maybe the other officers have had more luck than we have and already have some leads." Nick started his way back to the department.
"But I'm worried, Nick! Do you remember what Bogo said? If the situation gets worse, the government will take radical measures..."
"And why is this bothering you so much?" The fox asked.
"I honestly don't know, but I could have sworn the chief was very worried when he mentioned this." Judy sighed. Her attention was focused on the landscape on her right side. "I have a terrible feeling."
"Don't look like that, we don't even know what the decision is, but I'm sure it'll be all right."
A time passed, and they were both silent, each with their own thoughts. Nick, however, was beginning to have some ideas about the case and decided to share his assumptions with Judy.
"Carrots?"
"Yes?" Her voice sounded a little distant and discouraged.
"You know, I think I have a pretty good guess about what kind of mammal hit Robin Cooper."
"Well, tell me!" She responded by sounding a little more animated.
"It's just a hypothesis... but maybe the animal in question is of small stature since Megan told us she couldn't see anyone. Maybe it was small enough to hide behind some bush or climb some tree." Nick shrugged.
"But there are big animals that climb trees." Contradicted Judy.
"Well, I've been to this park several times, and every tree in this place has thin branches that couldn't stand a heavy mammal."
"In that case, it's made sense. She also told us that she didn't hear anything. Maybe the animal is light enough to make no sound." We're back to square one! The rabbit thought.
"Exactly. Look, we're not completely at square one." The fox said with a wink, and she gave him back with a smile. "How about we get a cup of coffee before we go back to the department?"
"I think that's a great idea."
After a while, they arrived at a coffee shop in the Forest District. And according to Nick, that place served the best coffee in the whole Zootopia.
Zootopia, City Hall
Friday
10:30 A.M.
It had been ten minutes since Chief Bogo had arrived at the city hall, and he was waiting to be called while he was in the waiting room. The buffalo always showed himself to be blameless and controlled for his subordinates, but today it was different. On the outside, he was as flawless as ever, but inside his head was in complete chaos.
They cannot approve of this decision! Thought the buffalo. That would be completely foolish. But maybe I'm worrying too much! It's just out of the question. The others know that this would be extremely exaggerated and reckless; no one will support this decision...
Bogo's thoughts were cut when a city clerk came to tell the buffalo that the meeting was about to begin. When he arrived in the room that the small meeting would take place, Bogo noticed the faces present. Most of the mammals were important animals because they had some position in politics, and others worked for the government or the police. But there was something they all had in common; they were all herbivores.
It didn't take long for the mayor to arrive and start the meeting. He was a big African Elephant named Ohini Miller. He sat at a table facing the audience.
"Good morning, everyone!" He greeted them. "Well, as you all know, this last dawn, there were several wild outbreaks of predators, and I summoned you here to better discuss the proposal I had offered you."
"Good morning, everyone here. My name is Noah Willians, and I'm the vice-president. I think the idea proposed by our mayor is perfect, and we should have put it into practice a year ago." The vice-president was a kangaroo who was at a table next to President Miller.
"As a representative of the department of Tundraland, I say I support that idea." A Buffalo-Almiscarado took the floor. "It was very fortunate that no animal was injured during these attacks. We must act before any tragedy occurs."
"Exactly." A beaver began. "The population of Zootopia is mostly full of prey. If we don't take action soon, all the peace we've built in recent years will be destroyed!"
Some mammals present began to applaud and support the idea, for Bogo's concern.
This is bad... Bogo rolled his eyes. Aren't they aware of the misfortune this can cause?! The life of predators could end because of it! I have to take action.
"Ladies and gentlemen here present, please think again before you make that decision." Bogo has begun to speak. "That would be complete recklessness on your part." The whole room was silent.
"And why do you think that?" The African Elephant faced him from his table.
"That idea was put into practice long ago, but it was abolished because it caused great disasters. So, I think it's a bad idea to try to implant it again." Bogo replied.
"And what about the prey? Should they live with the fear of walking through the streets?" The vice-president asked by bowing an eyebrow.
"Of course, not Mr. Williams, but perhaps we can prepare the officers to handle cases like this."
"There's no preparation for that... we have as proof the howling case, many mammals were hurt, and others even killed. Would you like to see this whole scene again?"
"No, but..." Bogo had begun to speak more but was interrupted by President Ohini.
"You are the only one who is against it. I think we can make a deal. If these attacks don't diminish or end in two days, the proposed idea will come into effect, understood?" President Miller responded to the buffalo.
"Yes, sir!" Bogo agreed reluctantly.
Zootopia, ZPD
Friday
17:45 P.M.
Nick breathed a long sigh when he had finally finished writing the last line of the report. From the time they returned from the forest district, both he and Judy were filling out the paperwork and making reports. Their only salvation was at lunchtime, but since then, they have been stuck inside their cubicles filling out the damn paperwork. Nick winked a few times to try and stay a little more awake, but he didn't realize that his partner was behind him with a cup of coffee on her paws. Realizing the fox hadn't noticed her, Judy put a paw on Nick's shoulder to get his attention, but it scared him.
"Have you finished your beloved paperwork?" She asked, laughing with the fox's reaction.
"First, you almost killed me, my poor heart. Second, you know I hate doing that thing. And third, I just finished." He answered by turning the chair so he could look the rabbit in the eye.
"Now stop whining. You know doing this is very important." She handed the coffee that was with her to Nick. "By the way, I thought you might like one of these."
"Did I ever tell you you're an angel?" He said, smiling as he took a sip of the hot drink, and she just laughed.
"So, are you ready to go now?" Judy asked.
"More than ready!" He smiled. "Oh, and I thought about your invitation to dinner, and I've decided I'm going to accept it. "The rabbit gave her partner a smile and a brief hug, and he thanked her for being red and hid the blushing on her cheeks. "I'll just go to the locker room and change, and we can leave."
"Okay, I'll be waiting for you outside." She said as she left the department.
To be continued…