Mistakes
Chief Bogo stared past his ghostly reflection in the two-way glass. Jason and Sedgewick sat opposite a shackled orange-clad Bellwether in a dimly lit room. She nervously tapped at the gray table, keeping her gaze down. The shackles on her wrists rattled restlessly with her nervous tapping. Measured slow footsteps penetrated Bogo's ears, causing him to turn to the source.
"Chief Bogo," said Mayor Lionheart as he nodded in acknowledgment. He stopped beside Bogo and turned to look into the room as the interview began.
"Mr. Mayor," said Bogo.
"Alright," Jason sighed and leaned forward. He hit the play button on the cassette player sitting on the table. "State your full name for the record, please."
"Dawn Bellwether." Her voice was low and soft, but with just enough confidence to carry a sense of certainty in her words.
"Do you know why you are here?" asked Sedgewick.
"I am here because I plotted to illegally overturn Zootopia's highest authority. To claim the office for myself. To gut its foundations and build on them something foreign. I committed treason and attempted to assassinate our Mayor. Mayor Lionheart."
"Wow," sighed Lionheart. Bogo glanced his way. "It's hard to hear that in person," he said. Chief Bogo only snorted in response. He wanted to hear every word. She continued, but the next question asked was lost to Bogo's ears.
"I did not do it alone. I couldn't have. I had great help from a reliable partner for a long time. Together, we used Lionheart's resources against him to build strength in numbers." She slapped the table, her shackles rattled loudly through the room. "We wanted to create a new market. A new system of commerce with trade going through only two sources, Arthur Bigsby and myself. All goods would come under our hands. It would have been fair. Better than what we have now. Imagine one center for all goods and trades." Jason and Sedgewick briefly looked at each other. to Bogo, the expression of incredulity was more easily readable on Jason's swine face than the harder to read elk, Sedgewick. But he figured they both couldn't believe the confession they were being given. Mayor Lionheart's growling purr rumbled in Bogo's chest. He fidgeted on his feet.
"I should have fired her a long time ago," said Lionheart.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Mr. Mayor. We never truly know who our friends are until the moment when something really matters."
"That's not a very comforting thought." Bogo snorted and pressed his heels into the ground attempting to still the nervousness crawling through him like bugs.
"It was a meticulous process of corrupting the office. We had it all laid out," said Bellwether. She sniffled and clenched her fists. "The process was in the works for nearly a year. I combined my methods with Bigsby's to win over those who were easily influenced. We paid off families, stole businesses. You name the manipulation, I confess to it."
"Scoundrel," growled Lionheart.
"Why attack the Mayor though? Why weren't you satisfied with your work? This was a lot of trouble to go through only to end up failing. What happened?" asked Jason.
"The goal was to frame Mayor Lionheart. I did not want to kill him. He was supposed to disgrace himself, after being poisoned with my midnicampum serum. With his sudden rash behavior leaving him disgraced, after attacking others in public looking like a crazed lion, I was going to step in to restore control. But when the mayor did not drink the poison, everything changed. He switched drinks with his wife last second!" Her voice began to rise with frustration. "All because of a stupid drink, the plan went off the rails!" She removed her glasses and placed them over her shackles on the table before wiping her eyes. She continued, "Mayor Lionheart was abusive. He was prejudice towards me for being a sheep. He even hit me once when I dropped a stack of files over his desk."
Bogo tilted his head. After a sharp inhale, he turned to Mayor Lionheart. He kept his eyes focused on the Mayor's body language. The Mayor stood still, face stoic to the accusation. But Bogo's ears flicked to a slight increase in the lion's breathing. Could it be true?
"Big was always kind and generous. And I knew my smarts were being wasted as Lionheart's servant. I wanted my freedom. I couldn't say no to Bigsby's offer. He should rule. I still believe that. He would have thrived under my control, and Zootopia would have been a better place. One market under the graceful hands of Big. Swift, stern justice for rebellion. And generosity for the loyal. It could have worked. It could've..."
"One thing I have to know." Sedgewick stood up. He leaned forward and pressed his hands onto the table as he glared at Bellwether. "Why the chemicals? What was that about? And the shipment in the docks. What gives?"
"Difficult to detect in blood. And a means to entice others into joining. Give them something to make them feel strong with Big. It was a good source of income for us." Jason paused the recorder and leaned back in his chair.
"Whew! You're a piece of work I tell ya, Dawn."
"You and Bigsby are just terrorists. And you'll spend your lives in cages for this. Congratulations," said Sedgewick before he violently pushed his chair away. Bogo turned to anticipate Sedgewick's angry exit from the room. He met the elk by the door.
"It's done. And we have a team out searching for Big now. It's only a matter of time." Bogo nodded,
"There hasn't been any recent activity from him and his people. But my officers did a fine job of pushing back. So with the threat at least dampened, we just have to sniff him out."
"In time." Bogo tilted to the side, battling the sharp ache crawling up his left leg and his back. The pain reminded him of something important.
"Sir, I have a replacement in mind for my office."
"Good. I figured you would. You deserve your retirement. Give me the details in a few days."
"Yes, sir. Are you alright?" Sedgewick blinked at the question.
"Just disgusted with that sheep."
"Same."
"I'm getting some food. Want anything?"
"Spinach pie if you can get one."
"Funny, I was going for that."
"Easy trip then."
"I'll be back." Bogo turned back to the room. Jason looked to the mirror. Chief Bogo walked in just as Jason was heading out.
"Sir, thank you. Put her in holding for us. You are relieved." Bogo gave an affirmative nod to Jason's instruction and walked behind Bellwether. He guided her from her seat and set her on her way to the cells in the back of the jail that sat just off of Zootopia's shore.
The cool night breeze tickled Nick's fur. He skulked in the shadows along the border wall of the Rainforest District. All the while, his chest was rapped by the pounding of his heart. Twice he nearly ended up in cuffs for the stupid decision to walk the streets holding a loaded rifle. And twice he slipped away from a lazy patrol that didn't bother to pursue him. Lady Luck has her mercy, he thought.
But her luck only came after too heavy a price had been paid. And one too many times. Nick was due payment for his unlucky life. He crunched the blackened grass beneath his paws and continued on with one of Jack's rifles in his arms as he sought to collect on the debt life owed him. Debt...
"Oh, no." He groaned as he thought about Fangmeyer. He would be wanted for questioning, and he put Fangmeyer in a compromising position. "She's going to kill me."
It had to be a fox thing. To run off alone. To wander. He didn't have a true pack mentality like other canines. And he often appeared aloof like the way cats did. Though canine, he did not fit the mold of dog or cat. The outsider, even in blood. Would it cost him like Finnick? He shook his head and snarled.
The choices were beginning to look eerily similar to Nick. Finnick went out alone, hoping to hunt Big. And he left the pack behind. A pack he could have stayed with. And now Nick was heading down the same road. He left a safe place, safe people. But it needed to happen. Big's bears were his symbol of strength. And now they're gone.
He'll succeed where Finnick had failed. But what if something goes wrong? What if he throws away the future he could still have? A future with Jennifer; a home with a strong, independent wolf deserving of the word "hero." And the close connection he could have to the others through his relationship with her. All of that weighed on him now. It pulled at this choice; this potential mistake. So many mistakes.
Nick paused near a group of trees, inhaling the ash still wafting through the air. The branches tangled around each other above him. Something serious happened earlier. And the forest smelled like it survived a huge barbecue gone wrong. Nick stared through the thick of trees and toward the path through the wall leading to Tundratown. He clutched the rifle tight in his paws.
"You hurt him, Finnick. But I'll kill him." The winds blowing out of the tunnel were sharp and frigid. The cold here would be enough for Big to tolerate, compared to the rest of the rainforest. It was here, Nick knew from long ago, that Big had a hidden den. But he couldn't remember where exactly. He had never been inside. But it was close. "Just follow the drop in temperature," he sighed. Rapidly approaching footsteps stole him from his thoughts. A bloodied hulk of fur slammed into him, sending him rolling backward in the frozen dirt. He groaned and sat up to see a one-eyed cat sneering down at him.
"Manchas!" The ashes must have dulled his scent because Nick didn't register any smells. Who else could be around? Manchas pulled him up to his feet. The cat, seven inches taller, held the fox by his neck.
"I've heard lots of new things about you. And...I'm in a really bad mood." Manchas winced. The dark couldn't hide the festering wound on his right eye and Nick couldn't help but stare.
"What's up, buddy?" said Nick.
"Leave himf. Fring himf to mfe." Nick glanced to his right. His pulse sharply jumped as he stared at a scarred Arthur Bigsby bending down to pick up the dropped rifle. The ugly teeth of Big were more noticeable now that the skin on the right side of his face looked torn off. Finnick got him good. But the appearance of those needle-like teeth were as frightening as they were revolting, with his lower lip shredded from the attack.
Manchas growled low in his throat and shoved Nick forward. He used one paw for these actions, making Nick wonder if he somehow hurt his other hand. In any case, it was small comfort to see that Big and his servant were clearly wounded. But it was also an encouraging reminder that they were vulnerable. That one way or another, they could be beat.