As Nick drove the truck down the highway, he couldn't stop thinking about the date he had planned for tonight. As he came to a red light, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number he hadn't used in over 5 years. As the phone continued to ring, he started feeling a bit nervous and second-guessing the wisdom of his current course of action. He was just getting ready to hang up and call the whole thing off when the call finally connected.
"Hello? Who is this?" a high, squeaky, feminine voice answered.
Nick chuckled nervously. "Hey, Fru-Fru, long time no see. I'm glad you didn't change your number."
There was a pause on the other end, then, "Nicky? Is that you?"
Another nervous chuckle. Fru-Fru seemed to have forgiven him this afternoon, but she was still Big's daughter. "Yep, it's me. How are you doing since we talked this afternoon?"
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking, but you can cut the small talk. We both know this isn't a social call."
Nick's ear flicked nervously. "Right, you know me too well." There was another pause, and he could just imagine Fru-Fru's patience running thin. They hadn't exactly parted on good terms five years ago. "Anyway, I'm calling to ask a favor."
Fru-Fru's voice was a bit frosty as she asked, "Are you sure you want to ask a favor of me?"
Nick immediately realized his mistake and hurriedly explained, "It's for Judy! Not me."
"Oh?" Fru-Fru asked as some of the chill left her voice. "Well, that's different." There was slight pause (and Nick breathed a silent sigh of relief), then she asked, "So what does Judy need? And why isn't she asking herself?"
"Well, I want it to be a surprise and I don't have time to pick it up myself."
Fru-Fru's voice was much warmer when she replied, "I'm listening."
Nick chuckled nervously again as he just realized this would only work if Fru-Fru was fine with him and Judy being a couple. "Before I get to that, can I ask you something?"
"You just did," Fru-Fru replied with a touch of humor in her voice. It had been a long time since she'd heard Nicky getting nervous.
"Haha, right." Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Would you be okay if I were to date Judy?"
There was a longer silence this time, and then the small shrew said, "I don't know, Nicky. Are you serious about her? Because if this is some kind of con—!"
Nick's aggressive, territorial growl cut her off, and then he practically snarled, "I would never toy with Judy's emotions. She means the world to me and hurting her would only be hurting myself."
Fru-Fru sat frozen in her chair. She was used to Nick's cold, calculating anger—but not this hot-blooded, confrontational anger he was exhibiting now. And his territorial growl which she'd heard a hundred times before, whenever mammals barged into his room trying to pick a fight, was nothing to the growl that was currently coming from the todd, a snarl that emanated from deep within his chest.
Furthermore, this growl was much stronger, more passionate, and far more—savage—than she remembered ever hearing before. Fru-Fru blinked as she tried to come up with the right term to truly describe it. Whatever he was feeling, it was obvious Nicky was serious and already thinking of Judy as his. It gave her pause, but also relieved some of the fear she had towards his actions. If Nick was getting territorial on Judy to such an extent, that meant he was ready to fight for her, and Nick never picked a fight he wasn't planning to win. With a smile spreading across her small face, she replied, "Then I guess I don't have anything to worry about. If you continue making her happy, then I have no problems with the two of you being together."
Nick released a heavy sigh as he pushed his anger back down. "Thanks, Fru-Fru."
"So, what did you need?" she asked curiously.
Nick took another deep breath, then slowly let it out. "Okay, so Judy told me yesterday that she's been on one date her whole life, back in high school, and that it was an epic failure. So, I wanted to do a romantic candlelight dinner for her tonight, but I know she doesn't have anything to wear. Would you be able to help us out with that?"
"Hmm. Yes, that sounds reasonable. What did you have in mind?" Fru-Fru knew Nick well enough to know that he wouldn't ask for something unless he'd already planned it down to the minutest detail.
"Well, I actually have several dress ideas in mind, so whichever one you have in stock will do. And I can pay for it. I just need it delivered tonight at 5."
Fru-Fru nodded at the phone (not that Nick could see it), and asked, "So let me hear your dress ideas." After Nick gave a detailed description of 3 different dresses and Judy's clothes size, the tiny shrew said, "Getting them won't be a problem since I have several in stock that meets your description." There was a pause (in which Nick again sighed with relief) and then she added, "You said you want them delivered at 5?"
Nick gulped and his ears flicked back. "Them? Um, you're going to deliver all 3 of them?" He was willing to pay for one of them, but since he hadn't worked in 3 months, not to mention the money he'd already spent on Judy (and was planning to spend on her), he wasn't sure he could afford all three. Fru-Fru's dresses were high quality and didn't come cheap. Of course, there was the money Honey had left him, but he hadn't touched it in 5 years. Not since Big sent him packing and he went underground. He wasn't even sure how much money was in the safe. But he was keeping that for emergencies, so if possible, he didn't want to touch it.
"Yes, all three of them." At hearing Nick's nervous gulp, she explained, "But I won't charge you for them. They'll be my gift to Judy. But in exchange, I want pictures of your dates when she's wearing them, and if I hear from her that she didn't enjoy one of them, then I'll charge you double for whichever dress she was wearing for the date. Do we have a deal?"
Nick's ears perked back up and his tail began to wag. "Deal. And you won't have to worry about Judy not liking any of them. She made it very clear that all our dates had to be envy-worthy so she could brag about them to her boy-crazy sisters."
Fru-Fru chuckled warmly, then replied, "Then I look forward to seeing the pictures and hearing the details from Judy."
"Thanks again, Fru-Fru. You're a life saver."
Fru-Fru's warm laughter sounded through the phone again, and then she said, "You just treat her right. She's become the sister I never had."
Nick chuckled. "I'll take good care of her. Have a good afternoon."
"I will. Bye, Nicky."
"Bye." As the call ended, Nick wagged his tail as he studied the traffic in front of him. The conversation went much better than he had hoped. And he'd even get all 3 of his dress ideas—for free! That was icing on the cake and he couldn't wait to see Judy in each of them. It'll be a struggle to choose just one for tonight, but he couldn't complain. Picturing his honeybun in each of the dresses had his dopey grin plastered to his face and his tail wagging beside him.
As he neared Savannah Central and traffic began to back up again, he made one last call to Sonjay's and talked to Willie to see if he'd be able to cater tonight's dinner. At Willie's happy assurance, Nick promised to call back in an hour or so with their meal choices. With Judy's dress and dinner taken care of, Nick focused on the heavier traffic as he watched for a good side road to get off on. He couldn't wait to see his honeybun again.
…...
Chief Bogo sat in his padded, yet slightly too-small chair at the council meeting and rubbed a hoof down his face at the bickering going on between the various council members. They had been sitting here for an hour and were still arguing over whether to bring the Feds in or not. They had ruled out Zootopia Bureau of Investigation, but were still debating on the Animalia Intelligence Agency. His patience was running thin as he had better things to do than listening to these bureaucrats arguing like a bunch of 2-year-olds. As his phone buzzed, letting him know he had a message, he pulled it out and looked at the text, then scowled.
Interrupting a heated debate between 3 of the council members (a springbok, a red wolf, and a musk deer) with the other members intensely whispering to their neighbors, he pounded his hoof on the solid oak tabletop and said in his deep, booming voice, "Look, I don't have time to sit here listening to you fight and bicker. I have a police department to run and criminals to catch. As it stands, I just got a notification stating that several of our top priority suspects on the Nighthowler case have fled the city, so as much as it pains me to say this, we need to bring in the AIA so they can track them across city and county lines."
Pounding his hoof on the table again, he added, "We do not want these criminals entrenching themselves in another city and spreading their hate and fear, then returning stronger than ever." Reaching into his utility belt pouch at the nervous silence in the room, he pulled out several shock collars he'd brought with him and threw them on the table. "Or do I need to remind you what would have happened if Bellwether hadn't been stopped."
As the lights reflected off the shiny black metal, and the white-painted pictures of the mammals the collars were made for, the fear and wariness in the room could be cut with a knife. Although it had been nearly sixty years since the Cliffside Asylum had closed (with the general public having largely forgotten about it), no one in the room could forget the reason for its demise. Once it was revealed that the doctors and staff were using shock collars to 'tame' their mentally ill patients (both prey and predator alike) into compliance, the public outcry brought swift judgement down on the mental institution and it closed its doors forever. This gave Lionheart the perfect place to hold his savage predators, for the asylum had become nothing more than a dark chapter in the city's history, with the memory fading from the public's mind after a few decades.
Those in politics, though, retained a stronger memory of it, since they were the ones that passed the laws to shut it down and ensure no other institutions were using similar methods (anyone coming into politics would have researched the laws and the reason they were passed), so to find out Bellwether intended to force every predator in the city to wear them . . . The predators in the room were livid while the prey looked green. No one wanted to think about the detestable devices strapped to anyone's neck.
With a grim smile, intern-mayor, Timothy Bisiorn, a large bison with a well-groomed mane that towered above everyone but Bogo, tapped the table with his dark-brown hoof to catch everyone's attention. "Chief Bogo has a point. We're wasting time arguing pointlessly. We need to bring these criminals to justice. Now, all in favor of bringing in the AIA, raise your hoof or paw."
It only took a minute for everyone's paw or hoof to raise which brought a relieved sigh to Bogo, even as Timothy's grim smile broadened. "Good. Now that that's out of the way, we can move on to other matters." They spent another 30 minutes going over a few other points on the agenda, and then the meeting broke up.
As the council members began gathering their notebooks, papers, and other paraphernalia, Bogo spoke up. "Mayor Bisiorn may I have a word with you, along with Councilor Aukstas, Plaukti, Oculos, and Koshka."
There were several eyebrows raised as the rest of the council made their way to the large double-doors and left the room, but Intern-Mayor Timothy Bisiorn ignored them as he nodded to the Chief. Feeling highly interested in what the water buffalo had to say, he waited for the room to clear and the doors to close before asking, "Well, what is this about that we couldn't discuss it with the whole council?"
Bogo glanced around the room at the remaining council members. Delilah Aukstas was an okapi who, despite her species' shy and timid nature, had pushed herself into the public's eye. Jura Plaukti was a giant sea otter who swam through politics with the same ease she swam through strong ocean currents. Jeremiah Oculos was a spectacled bear who could swipe through bureaucratic red tape as easily as he could swipe a salmon from a river. And then there was Karl Koshka, an Iberian lynx who liked to give (force) his opinion on anyone who would listen. He was the wild card in the bunch, and Bogo hoped the others could help sway him to his cause.
"There is a matter we need to discuss concerning the mammal who helped officer Hopps three months ago in finding the missing mammals, and again two days ago in recovering the evidence of the Nighthowler serum, and then assisting Hopps in getting a confession from Bellwether."
"Oh?" Bisiorn murmured. "And who might that be?" They had heard that Hopps had been assisted by a civilian, but not who. The rest of the council members waited expectantly to hear what species the mammal came from, for it would reveal much about the creature—and explain how Hopps, being a rabbit, was able to accomplish so much when she was so small. Surely, she had found the help of one of the larger medium-sized prey mammals.
Bogo took a deep breath, and then said, "A red fox todd by the name of Nick Wilde."
Finding out a rabbit got the help—accepted the help—of a fox, a predator and her natural enemy, surprised Delilah, Jura, and Jeremiah. Not one of them had guessed that Hopps would seek out the help of a predator, especially one who used to prey on her species.
Bisiorn groaned mentally. If it was the same Nick Wilde he knew from the past, then heaven help them—they'd need it to deal with the smug todd. But if it was the Nick he knew, then he could understand how Hopps was able to accomplish so much.
Karl Koshka, on the other paw, snorted in disdain. "A fox? You're telling us a stinking fox helped Hopps on her cases!?" He couldn't believe his ears. "If that's the case, I'm surprised she got anything accomplished!" With a shake of his head, he muttered, "Probably dragged his feet and messed with her every step of the way."
His outburst had his fellow council members shifting uncomfortably in their chairs. Chief Bogo glared at the lynx while Bisiorn frowned.
Speaking up, the large bison said, "I wouldn't be so quick to judge, Karl." At the lynx's raised eyebrow, Bisiorn added, "If it's the fox I'm thinking of, then it makes complete sense that Hopps closed both cases."
"A fox!? Seriously!?" Koshka never liked foxes and had no problems letting everyone know about it.
Timothy's frown deepened, but it was Delilah who spoke up. "You know Nick Wilde, then?
The bison glanced at the soft-spoken, near-sighted okapi beside him, and then replied, "Yes, I believe so." Turning back to Bogo, he asked, "This Nick Wilde, is indeed, the attorney known as Nicholas P. Wilde, correct?" Bogo nodded and Bisiorn rubbed a hoof down his face and sighed heavily. Dealing with the smug todd always gave him heartburn as the vulpine was always so insufferably right.
Hearing Nick was an attorney had Karl's mouth hanging open, speechless, which gave Jeremiah a chance to speak up. Having seen, and heard, the intern-mayor's heavy sigh of resignation, he asked, "You've had dealings with this fox?" He felt intrigued to hear a fox was an attorney and would explain how Timothy knew him.
"Yes, back when I was the District Attorney, I had to deal with him every time he showed up in court." With another heavy sigh, he lightly tapped the table with his hoof as he explained, "He was always so insufferably smug, you just wanted to smack the grin off his face—but the most irritating thing about the fox was that he was always right. You couldn't argue with him without making yourself look stupid." Shaking his head, he then added, "But if I had to choose someone to represent me, it would be Nicholas. He was very thorough with his evidence, and picked up on little things that others overlooked, but were in fact important details in proving or disproving the evidence laid for or against his clients. Many of the other lawyers complained about him nitpicking the details of each case, which only showed how thorough he was."
Jura placed a fisted paw over her heart as she considered the fox named Nicholas P. Wilde. If he was that good in court, then it was little wonder that Hopps succeeded with his help. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the loudmouthed lynx across from her.
"You would actually have a fox represent you!?"
Timothy frowned once more and replied, "Of course. I told you, he was very thorough and insufferably right."
"The other lawyers must hate him then," the loud lynx crooned with sadistic glee.
Everyone frowned at him this time. Even for a fox, the Iberian lynx's hate of his specie's was stronger than usual.
Timothy rubbed his thick, long beard. "Yes, he made a lot of enemies among the other lawyers. I told you, he was always right and arguing with him simply made you look like a fool. This was especially true in court. No matter how solid of a case the opposing lawyer thought he had, Nicholas easily picked holes through the evidence. It didn't take long for the opposing lawyers to dread stepping into court with Nicholas. It didn't help that he won his cases working pro bono."
This floored everyone but Bogo, as Judge Princeton had already informed him of this.
"He worked pro bono for each of his cases?" Delilah asked in shock as she pushed her thick glasses up slightly on her nose. If Nicholas was as good as Timothy claimed, then he should have been able to charge a large fee for his services . . . so why didn't he?
Bisiorn nodded his head. "He was a defense attorney for all but one case, and his clients were never rich enough to pay him. They were all low-income mammals who were in the wrong place at the wrong time and Nicholas was able to prove their innocence."
Koshka leaned forward and growled, "You mean they were low level thugs he helped walk."
Timothy frowned again. "No, I'm saying he represented mammals who, because of their species, were accused of a crime they didn't commit. Or are you saying a small racoon is capable of stealing a purse from a hippo?" At the bison's raised eyebrow, the lynx snapped his mouth shut. Leaning back in his chair, Timothy rubbed a hoof down his beard again as he considered the case. "I think that was Nicholas's fastest case. All he had to do was show that the defendant was physically incapable of committing the crime and the whole case was thrown out."
Bogo groaned, as he remembered the case quite well. He wasn't chief yet and it happened in district 3, but the absurdity of the case traveled through the ZPD and became the butt-end of many jokes, and the arresting officer became the laughingstock of the whole police department. The only reason it didn't hit the news was that it was such a petty crime and was thrown out so quickly. But it did hit home to Bogo just how bad the ZPD was at stereotyping mammals when it came to investigating crimes. As Staggson pointed out just this morning, he wasn't the only prejudice officer in the precinct.
Karl opened his mouth to make another snide comment, but Jura had had enough of his mouth and so cut him off, saying, "Karl, I don't have time to sit here listening to you slander this fox. Chief Bogo came to us to discuss an important matter and I would like to hear it so I can get on with my day." She glared at the lynx for several moments, her dark fur brisling slightly, and when it became obvious he was going to keep his mouth shut, she turned to the water buffalo and said sweetly, "Now, Chief Bogo, what was it you wished to discuss with us?"
Bogo gave the giant sea otter a grateful nod and said, "I had Officer Hopps and Wilde in my office this morning and Wilde brought up the matter of his reward for assisting Hopps in finding the fifteen missing mammals 3 months ago, as well as assisting her in uncovering and catching the mastermind behind the savage mammals 2 days ago."
Karl sneered to hear how the Chief of Police wanted to discuss the reward for the sniveling fox. "What's there to discuss?" He waved a clawed paw through the air, and added hotly, "Pay the dumb fox the money he wants so he can go back to skulking around in the dark."
Everyone glared at him this time, but he didn't care. He didn't like this fox, or any other, and didn't feel like hiding it. His family was nearly ruined due to his father buying faulty products from a sly fox when he was a kit. A lot of mammals were hurt after the products broke or malfunctioned and his dad's business went belly-up. If not for the help of their friends and family, they would have lost their home and been forced to live on the streets.
With a grim smile, Bogo said, "But he didn't ask for cash. In his own words, 'There are more important things in life than money'."
Karl's jaw hit the table (everyone was thankful he was rendered speechless), and Jeremiah asked, "So what did he want? I can't imagine too many things more important to a fox than money."
Bogo and Bisiorn both shared a knowing glance. If Nicholas cared more about money, he would have been representing criminals and not working pro bono by taking on poverty level clients. In answer to the bear's second question, Bogo said, "His family and close friends, for one."
This was a new thought for everyone but the bison, who understood what Bogo was talking about. To those Nicholas trusted, he spoke frequently of his family and was very proud of his sister's accomplishments in med school. He also spoke often of Honey Badgerson and the many outdoor adventures she dragged him and his friend Finnick on. The bison knew this from listening to Judge Princeton drone on about the smug todd and how the city needed to hire him directly as their main defense attorney and/or prosecutor. Timothy wasn't opposed to the idea, but with all the negative attention the red vulpine had garnered from his fellow lawyers and many of the judges, he knew hiring the insufferable todd would cause more problems than it solved.
"If money wasn't important to the fox, what then, did he ask for?" Delilah asked while adjusting her glasses again. This smug vulpine had her intrigued and she wondered what could be so important to him.
Bogo kept a straight face as he answered, "He wants immunity for any criminal activities he might have been involved in in the past, as well as some of the mammals he once associated with."
This pronouncement had the whole council shifting uneasily in their seats. Intern-mayor Bisiorn, on the other hand, leaned back in his padded chair and thoughtfully stroked his beard. He wasn't too surprised Nicholas would ask to be pardoned (some of the knowledge he used in court could have only been obtained by being in the know-how with certain criminal circles), but at the same time, the former DA didn't believe the smug vulpine would have done anything inherently wrong—not with the badger who was backing him. So, he was curious as to what Nicholas would have gotten himself involved in that he would need immunity from.
As the council members remained quiet (even Koshka, who was trying to decide the most slanderous thing he could say), Timothy spoke into the silence and thoughtfully asked, "You brought this to us because you believe he should be pardoned?" He was truly interested in what Bogo had to say and to hear his take on the smug vulpine.
The Chief nodded his head and answered, "Yes, I do. His reason for asking showed a strong sense of character, and from what he was saying, I believe most of his activities were more borderline criminal. With how he helped Hopps save the city from tearing itself apart and risked his life to help prevent a terrorist from taking control of it, I think it's only fair that we pardon him."
"You can't be serious!" Karl finally growled out. "You want to pardon a hardened criminal! Just throw the filthy pelt in prison where he belongs and be done with it!"
Bogo leaned back in his chair with a smug grin of his own as he answered, "Arrest him for what? He has no criminal record, and should we look into his past, I doubt we'll find so much as an unpaid parking ticket to haul him in for. Furthermore, if he was a hardened criminal, as you say, then Officer Hopps would have died 3 months ago at the teeth and claws of a savage jaguar."
This brought a surprised murmur to the group, but as Karl opened his mouth to continue his rant, Jura once again spoke up and cut him off. "Zip it, Karl. I told you, I want to get on with my day." Turning to Bogo, she asked, "You said his reason for asking showed a strong sense of character. What did you mean? Why would he ask to be pardoned for crimes he has not been accused of?"
Reaching into his shirt pocket, Bogo pulled out Wilde's ZPA application and passed it around the table to Timothy. "Wilde didn't want his past to interfere with his future. Hopps asked him to join the ZPD and be her partner. He agreed but is afraid something from his past might come out later and make things difficult for her. He was more worried about his past ruining Hopps' career than suffering the consequences of it himself."
This gave the council members something to think about. Other than Karl, who didn't want to believe a word that was said, the rest of the members were thinking more favorably towards the red vulpine. If he was willing to admit to crimes there were no records of, all to protect his future partner, then he obviously had integrity.
Looking over the application again, Timothy pointed out, "I see Judge Princeton signed this. I take it he's willing to back Nicholas in this."
"100 percent. He didn't even need to see what the form was before agreeing to sign it. Said if Wilde became a cop, then he could expect more criminals in his courtroom and wished Wilde could prosecute them as well as catch them."
Timothy nodded again, as it sounded like something the stately elk would say.
As the council members remained quiet in thoughtful reverie (Karl looked like he was literally biting his tongue in an effort to remain quiet), Bogo added, "If it means anything, Maige 'Honey' Badgerson backed him, even knowing his activities, which adds to my belief that he should be pardoned."
"You're talking about Honey, the badger who improved our climate control walls and designed our current S.W.A.T. gear, correct?" Delilah asked. "That Maige Badgerson?"
Bogo and Timothy both nodded, but it was Timothy who explained, "Honey took Nick in as a teen, home schooled him, then paid for his tuition so he could go to law school. He graduated at the age of twenty and the only reason he didn't graduate valedictorian of his class is because the university didn't want to give a fox such honors. They thought it was a fluke and so gave his spot to the runner up." Shaking his thick mane, the bison added, "After watching him in court a few times, I can assure you, his making valedictorian was no accident."
Jeremiah scratched the white fur of his neck in thought as the light rippled off the rest of his black fur and the white markings on his face that gave his species its name, while Delilah, with her sleek, short fur, nodded, satisfied with their assessment. Jura tapped her chin a couple of times, then said, "If Honey supported him, and Judge Princeton backs him, and both of you"—she nodded to both Bogo and Bisiorn—"believe he should be pardoned, then I also support the vote to pardon him. It's the least we can do for the mammal who assisted Officer Hopps in uncovering such a heinous terrorist plot and catching the mastermind behind it."
Both Jeremiah and Delilah nodded their agreement, but Karl spoke up first. "There is no way I'm agreeing to pardon some worthless fox," he spat out as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at everyone.
A sudden grin spread across Bogo's face and he reached into his second pouch on his utility belt and pulled out another shock collar, this one with the picture of a lynx on it. Tossing it onto the table and watching it slide across to rest in front of Koshka, he said, "Then you won't mind wearing that the rest of your life, would you?" Karl balked at the shiny black device and shoved it away from him, but Bogo wasn't finished as he also brought out a stack of papers—the list of all the predators Bellwether intended to enslave. "Oh, look here's your name right here. That collar literally has your name on it. And look, here's your wife and kits. You better take these home to them. I'm sure they'd love to wear them."
Bogo tossed several more shock collars on the table, all of them with the lynx symbol on them, then returned his gaze to the stack papers in his hoof. "Let's see, who else is on this list Bellwether intended to enslave with her 'tame' collars. Oh, look, here's your parents, your brothers and their families, here are some of your cousins, and"—Bogo flipped through the sheets—"here's your younger sister and her family, and over here we have your older sister and her husband." Looking up to meet Koshka's stunned face, he then pulled out another stack of papers from his belt pouch and scanned through them, muttering to himself, "Let's see what policies Bellwether intended to enact once she had all the terrified prey behind her . . ." Bogo glanced up at the stunned council members and explained, "We pulled these files from her personal computer yesterday."
Looking back down at the documents, he said, "Oh, look, a ban on all predators working in politics." Meeting the lynx's stunned gaze with his black-tufted ears disappearing as folded flat against his head, he explained, "Looks like by this time next year, not only would you be wearing an enslavement collar, you'd also be out of a job." Looking back down, he continued his mutterings, "Here's a good one I think you'll like. All predators are to be segregated into their own housing districts. And look, Happytown will become prime real estate again." Glancing back up, he asked, "You wouldn't mind moving to Happytown, would you?"
Karl sputtered a minute as his light grey fur with its black markings stood on end, then he growled, "Impossible! There's no way she would have gotten away with it!"
"She had already begun," Bisiorn commented. At the lynx's wide-eyed, golden gaze, he added, "Or have you forgotten all the bills she had drafted and was trying to get approved."
"That's right," Jeramiah spoke up next. "If the bills had gone into effect, they would have slowly choked predators out of any decent jobs. And you can bet that Bellwether would have gotten worse and worse bills passed until predators were little more than slave labor." Pointing a large black-clawed finger at the much smaller predator, the spectacled bear growled out, "You might not care about being enslaved, but I certainly do. And if Wilde's assistance is the only thing that kept Hopps alive long enough to stop it, then I say we pardon him. Who cares if he's a fox? My freedom is too precious to be nitpicky about species."
"I second that," Jura spoke up. "Even though we sea otters only ever ate clams and fish, Bellwether also intended to steal our freedom. I would be a spiteful mammal indeed if I did not reward the mammal who stopped myself, my mate, and our kits from living through such hell. I vote to pardon the fox known as Nicholas P. Wilde."
Delilah spoke up next. "Even though I am prey and would not be forced to wear such an evil device, I would still have been affected. Many of my friends who pushed me to this position, and who have supported me for many years, are predators and it would hurt me to see them living in such a world as the one Bellwether was creating. I also vote to pardon Nicholas P. Wilde."
Timothy leaned back in his chair and said. "You already know my vote. Having dealt with the smug todd in the past, I have no problems pardoning him and I know he'll make a great addition to the police department."
Everyone turned their gaze on Karl, the last one to place his vote. His ears were flat against his head as he struggled with his choice. He hated foxes, always has, but he couldn't ignore the shock collars laying on the table before him, nor the list laying on the table in front of Bogo, nor the despicable laws Bellwether had intended to enact. The thought of being fired and forced to live in such a deplorable place like Happytown had his fur bristling again. After grinding his teeth for a minute, he then ground out, "Fine, I will agree to pardon him, but if this is just some elaborate con of his and it causes harm to the city, I want your resignation." He was pointing a clawed finger at Bogo.
Bogo was silent for several moments as he considered the deal the Iberian lynx had just thrown at him. He truly wanted Wilde on the force and knew Hopps needed him to ground her, but did he really want to stake his career on the sly todd? But then again, he couldn't forget Wilde's passion in protecting Hopps and his fierce loyalty to her, nor his reason for wanting to join. Nor could he ignore the fact that if not for Wilde's past exploits, he might not even be chief. Sitting up straighter, Bogo thought about how Princeton praised the red vulpine, and then about the fact that Honey Badgerson essentially raised him. This, along with the information he'd just learned from the bison across from him, allowed Bogo to finally make a decision. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Deal. If Nick Wilde poses a threat to the city after joining the ZPD, then I will resign as Chief of Police."
A gasp was heard from Jura and Delilah, while Jeremiah and Timothy simply nodded. For Bogo to stake his career on the vulpine showed how much faith he placed in the red todd.
Karl sat back in his chair with a smug grin on his face and waved a paw through the air. "Then I vote to pardon the fox."
Bisiorn nodded. "Then we are agreed. The fox known as Nicholas P. Wilde is hereby pardoned from any and all criminal activities he has committed in the past, or from the knowledge of criminals he once associated with." After everyone nodded in agreement, he turned to Delilah and said, "Type up the document and once everyone has signed it, see that a copy is delivered to Chief Bogo, another copy to myself, and that a third copy is archived." As the okapi nodded, he then turned to the rest of the room and stated, "I don't think I need to say this, but this information does not leave this room."
At everyone's nod, Bisiorn then said, "This meeting is adjourned. You are dismissed."
As the others left the room, Delilah Aukstas remained behind to help the Chief gather the shock collars while he put his papers in order. Picking up one of the mind-numbing, pain-inducing collars, Delilah turned it over in her hoof for several moments, then murmured to herself, "I wonder if the Cliffside Asylum is where Bellwether got the idea to use shock collars. Or maybe it was one of the foreign news clips of one of the war-torn and underdeveloped nations still using them on their prisoners of war." With a shiver, she quickly gathered the rest of the torture devices while trying not to think about what would have happened to the predator population (one in particular) had the sheep's dastardly plans come to fruition.
Bogo had paused to stare at her after hearing her soft-spoken musings. He hadn't considered where Bellwether came up with her sick plan, but since she was in politics, she would have researched the Asylum when learning about the law banning the shock collars, so his guess would be the Asylum that first gave her the idea, but the use of the collars in the war-torn countries where rebels and militant groups were fighting for control would have given her the idea to modify the collars to the level they were at now (the tech crew who analyzed them said their electrical output was much stronger than the ones found at the Asylum all those years ago). With a shake of his head, he turned back to the papers he'd been gathering.
After picking up the last collar, Delilah turned to Bogo and handed the hated devices over, then she thought of the two unlikely mammals who single handedly, and against all odds, stopped the psychotic ewe and saved the city. Pausing only for a moment, she then asked, "Do you think I'd be able to meet with Nicholas Wilde and Officer Hopps? I'd like to personally thank them for the risks they took to save our city. And I am interested in their unique friendship. It's not often you see such polar-opposites become such good friends."
Bogo snorted while remembering the two in his office earlier that day. A fox and a bunny—not only were they living together but had every intention of marrying each other in just a few short weeks. "You have no idea."
Delilah watched the water buffalo a moment, then asked, "Can you give me their contact information so I can call and make arrangements to meet them?"
Bogo finished packing the collars away while he studied the muscular (yet slender compared to his own species) okapi standing beside him. She seemed genuine about meeting and thanking the fox and bunny duo, and after a moment's thought, he said, "I don't have their numbers on me, but if you look up Wilde in the system, you'll get his address. If you drop by, you'll find them both there."
Delilah's eyes widened behind her thick-rimmed glasses. "Judy will be at Nick's place?"
Bogo nodded. "Since she had no place to stay when she returned to the city, Wilde has decided to put her up in his spare bedroom." He paused a moment, then added, "The doctor didn't want her left alone with her leg injury, either, so Wilde also took it upon himself to nurse her back to health."
Delilah was silent for several heartbeats at this shocking turn of events. Taking several breaths, the okapi asked, "Judy . . . Judy has willingly chosen to stay with a fox? To live in his den?" To hear that the little bunny wanted the fox as a partner on the force was shocking enough (though a pleasant one), and now to hear how they were living together—it gave her hope.
Bogo snorted again, then laughed while remembering Hopps' insistence on staying with the smug todd. "Hopps refused to stay anywhere else. And I honestly don't think there's another mammal alive she feels safer with." Watching the okapi's silent wonder, he then asked seriously, "That doesn't bother you, does it? For prey and predator to be living under the same roof." Although everyone but Karl seemed fine with the idea of Hopps and Wilde being partners, he wasn't sure how they'd respond to them living together.
Delilah's eyes widened and she shook her hooves out in front of her. "No, no, no. I have no problems with it. It just surprised me. Although rabbits aren't as shy and timid as most of my kind, they are well known for their fear of predators, so I was simply surprised." With a wide smile spreading across her face, she added, "It does give me hope for a brighter future—that the divisions between pred and prey might one day be laid to rest."
Bogo studied her for a moment, then had to agree. "If it's those two, then I think you may be right."
Delilah beamed happily, then turned and hurried through the conference room door. She had much to do and much to think on, and finding the address to such an unlikely duo was number one on her list—after typing up Nick's pardoned papers, of course.
WingedKatt here. I hope you had a good week. So Nick has his and Judy's first date planned out and Bogo has put his career on the line to see Nick on the force. Next chapter will see Nick meet back up with Finnick and Judy. He'll get a bit irrational before we see a bit more of Nick's mind set in relation to his bunny. So there's still lots to look forward to.
Chapter 42: Irrational will post next Saturday, Dec. 14. If you have any thoughts or comments, I'd love to hear them. Take care.
