Chapter 9: $#! Hits The Fan Part Two

12:05am at the ZPD press room

"Oooooh Shit!"

Bogo muttered it under his breath. He thought the picture this morning of Lionheart would resemble how he looked last night or that they at least clean his face a bit. But the clever lion beat himself up even worse. "Why didn't anyone tell me?!" He thought to himself. Sadly, he didn't have time to think about it anymore as the press were hounding him.

"Chief Bogo! Did you do this to Lionheart?!"

"No! Of course not! He was found this way."

"Did you use any extreme methods to extract information out of him like you did Batrov?! Did you beat on him?!"

"No! That was an isolated incident. Look, the point is..."

"Has the ZPD been torturing and beating it's prisoners?!"

"No! This is getting off-topic! Does anyone have questions about..."

"Has your recent divorce from your wife caused you to start getting violent?"

"That is unrelated! If you have no more questions related to the information we shared, then this conference is over."

"Chief Bogo it seems that prey officers such as Pennington and Hopps are getting preferential treatment compared to your predator officers. Why is that?!"

"Now hold on! Just days ago, officer Wolford got an award! Look, this man is dangerous and you people are playing right into his trap! No more questions. Thank you."

Bogo turned his back and started leaving as the press hounded him with more pointless questions. He just ignored them on his way out.

"Chief Bogo! Did you get a divorce just to mate with Pennington?"

"Thank you. Goodbye."

"Bogo! Are you the mayor's puppet?!"

"I said thank you!"

"Bogo! If you have a small penis, say 'thank you'."

"Thank y-NOW CUT THAT OUT!"

Moments later, Chief Bogo stormed into his office and slammed the door behind him. He leaned against the door and gave a big sigh of exasperation. "I don't think this day can get much worse."

He then looked down to see Terry sitting down in front of his desk. "Officer Fangmeyer? What brings you here?"

"I ummmm. I filled this out and needed to bring it to you." She handed Bogo a paper.

Bogo looked it over. "This is your resignation slip. You're quitting the force?"

"Yes sir. I'm a mother now and...my kids need me more than I need to be here. I really only took this job to try and make my father happy and that didn't work. I was never that good of a cop away. I was always so impulsive and emotional."

"This...wouldn't have anything to do with that 'Orange Blur' I heard about this morning?"

Terry looked real nervous. "Whaaat?! Ha!-Ha! I have no idea what your talking about!"

"Sure you don't. Anyway, I'm sad to see you go, but it's a wise move on your part."

"Thank you sir."

"That said, I can't let you resign."

"What?! Why not?!"

"Because you're fired."

Terry was in shock and angered. "Now just a damn minute! What gives you the right to.."

"Now hold on! Please let me explain. While it's better to resign when looking for more work, if you are fired, you get to keep your unemployment benefits. And with Ben being the sole source of income outside of some orphan welfare and with the two of you raising a huge giraffe whose care is very expensive that might be something to consider. That said, I'll leave up to you. Quit or fired."

"Thank you sir. Well...I was planning to just be a housewife so...I guess it's better to be fired."

"I think it's the best choice as well." He hit the button on his intercom. "Francine, officer Fangmeyer has been let go from the ZPD. Please have the necessary papers for her to sign will you? Thank you dear."

He then looked back at Terry as he leaned against his desk. "Before you go, I just wanted you to know that despite your occasional and...insane emotional outbursts, I did value you greatly as an officer. There are many officers who might use their power in an abusive manner and you never did that. You treated everyone fairly and you worked really well with the community and I thank you for that. You're always welcome here and can be Clawhauser's 'Plus One' at the gym or any of our events. You'll be missed."

Fangmeyer got up and hugged Bogo. "Thank you sir. I'm gonna miss you and everyone else, but I'll be sure to visit."

Bogo was a little sad to see her go as she walked out the door, but he knew it was for the best. Not even a minute went by when his buzzer went off. "Yes Francine?"

"It's ummm...the mayor on line two."

Bogo gave a deep sigh. "I'll take it here."

"Good luck honey."

Bogo picked up the phone and sat as yes desk. "Hello sir. What can I help you with?"

"Yer fired."

"...WHAT?!"

"Does it really come as a surprise Bozo? 'Dat press conference was a disaster A DISASTER. SAD. One of the worst press conferences I've ever seen. Everyone tells me. Now, 'da whole city's gonna be in a panic. And 'dose photos of Lionheart? You really worked him over!"

"I never touched him! His wounds are self-inflicted!"

"Yea sure. Face it Bozo."

"Bogo."

"Whatever. Yer a mess. A MESS! Ya almost deafend 'dat stupid bat, yer wife divorced you and your'e sleeping with your subordinate. No one has faith in you anymore. Nobody likes you. Not even yer own son from what I hear."

"You watch your mouth!"

"Watch you temper Bozo! It's already cost you a ton. Swinton's already waiting outside for you 'ta clean out yer desk and l;eave. I expect a resignation slip at the end of the day. I'd fire you, but 'den you'd just bum off the unemployment. Just like you bum off yer girlfriend. Plus, It'd make me look bad and I can't look bad. I'm too perfect! My daddy tells me so!"

Bogo was furious, but held his temper. "Oh don't worry. You'll get your resignation slip. And while we're on the phone, let me be honest with you. If you don't delay the dome ceremony, the disaster that follows will be on YOUR head! Are are on of the most selfish, incompetent, specist, moronic mammals it's ever been my displeasure to..."

CLICK!

"The coward hung up!" Bogo folded his arms and put his head down. He was sad, but he didn't cry. He brought his head up and looked around his office. At the desk he'd been at for the last ten years. Soon, it would be all gone. Only then did he start to sniffle. It was interrupted by a light knock at the door. "Dear lord. WHAT NOW?!"

Swinton poked her head inside. "Pardon me Bogo, but if your done with your call with the mayor I'll need you to fill out your resignation paper and clean out your desk. Take your time! We'll need a new desk anyway. One that isn't the size of Frogzilla. Don't worry, maybe we'll use yours as a homeless shelter. It can probably shelter dozens of mammals."

"I'll have it ready for you by five you backstabbing whore."

"WATCH YOUR TONE BOZO! I'M the new chief of police now and I demand respect!"

"You're not chief of police until I sign that paper! Now as it just so happens, it's my lunchtime and I'm going out for a meal."

He stormed past Swinton and went downstairs. On his way out, he stopped by the desk at the anxious and worried Francine who was chatting with Judy, Ben and Terry. They all looked in his direction. "So?...What happened?"

She saw the sadness in Bogo's eyes. "I'm going out for lunch now, but...it looks like I'll be heading home earlier than planned."

"NO!" She cried.

"Yes. I'm sorry dear."

Ben looked really worried. "Wait! What's going on?!"

"I'm sorry Ben. I've been let go."

Ben started to cry and held on to Bogo. "NNOOOO! THEY CAN'T DO THAT!"

"Ben! You're getting my uniform all wet! Not that I'm going to need it soon."

Judy spoke up. "So Swinton is the police chief now?"

"I'm afraid so."

"I've never liked that pig. She's been very jealous of my accomplishments. Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine. None of you need to worry."

Ben was still sobbing. "I don't want Swinton as my chief! I want you! You're the best!"

Bogo smiled as he gave the fat cheetah a light pat on the back. "Thank you Ben. But don't you worry. I'll keep in touch. You're one of my best friends after all."

"SNIFF! I am?"

"Of course! My men are like family to me. Now you two better hurry and and get something to eat. You'll need to hurry up and get back on patrol. I have a feeling it's going to get violent out there."

Terry looked at Judy. "That reminds me. I don't have a ride and me in my wheelchair might be...recognizable. Could you give me a lift back home while you're out?"

"Sure thing." Judy replied. "It'll be a treat for Michael if I say 'Hi!' real quick."

It was then that Judy's phone went off. "Hold on guys. Hi Spots! What's up honey?...Oh my gosh! Really?! Is everyone okay?...Thank goodness. What about the kids?...Oh thank you! And thank Auburn too! We're on our way and we'll be making a short visit. Stay safe. Bye!"

Terry looked very concerned. "What is it?! What is it?!"

"Don't panic, but there was a riot at Nick's restaurant."

Terry instantly started to bolt towards the door, but Ben grabbed her by the tail and Judy held her in front. Terry quickly calmed down. "I'm okay! I'm okay. I'm a calm kitty. Calm kitties do not panic...IS MY BABY OKAY?! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TELL ME!"

"Spots and Auburn got the kids upstairs in the apartment just before the fight broke out. Everyone's safe."

"Oh thank goodness. Can we please go? I wanna see Sarah."

"We're heading out now" Ben replied. "We should get some fast food on the way there since this digs into our lunch. I could go for 2 or 3 value menu meals."

"CLAWHAUSER!" Terry and Judy shouted at Ben.

"Fine! Fine! Just one super-size meal."

"I want to get home Ben!" Judy yelled out. "You can raid my fridge when we get there."

"I'll resupply your croceries later." Terry said. "If you give Ben an invitation like that, he'll clean you out."

Moments later, they were on the Baddy Buster and on the streets. Terry was once again in the side car while Ben and Judy were on the bike.

Judy was curious about something. "One thing I don't understand. Swinton's a small mammal like me and...I know how Bogo used to be. Thinking my size meant I couldn't be a good cop, so how did she end up becoming lieutenant? She's gotta be in her what? Early 40's?

Ben tried to explain. "Well...as you know. Before Bogo became chief, our chief was an elephant. Chief Tuskarora. Rumors back then were that Swinton...well, she got up in rank with the same kind of 'favors' she's rumored to do for Trunk. For a tiny pig, she knows her way around an elephant."

"So wait...she got to be a lieutenant through sexual favors?!"

"That's the rumor."

"That slut! It makes women like me and Terry who work hard to get where we are look bad!"

"Yeah. I think that's why Bogo respects you so much. At first, he thought you were gonna be another Swinton, but you got to where you are now through hard work and determination. You never give up."

"Thanks Ben."

12:46pm

It wasn't long before they were at the apartment. Judy knocked on the door. It took a while until Nick answered. "Who is it?!"

Judy was a little surprised at his suspicious attitude. "It's me honey! Judy! I'm here with Ben and Terry."

Nick opened the door. "Sorry Fluff. I'm just making sure it's not one of the angry preds from earlier."

"Things got bad hunh?"

"Went super downhill the moment Lionheart's beaten-up face was shown."

As they walked in, they saw that everyone was hanging out in the living room. Tim, James and Spots were chilling on the couch playing "Street Ferret 5" on the Pawstation 4. Michael, Petey and Cotton were huddled together by the tablet watching "Rerun of the Jedi" while Auburn was lying back on the couch with Sarah asleep on her belly and covered up in a small blanket. Delgato just sat near Tim on a folding chair watching them play the game. He looked depressed.

"Carlos? What are you doing here?"

"When the photo of Lionheart came up on screen...Johnson he...he got real upset and sided with him."

He showed Judy Johnson's badge. "He threw his badge at Nick and said he quit. He's now leading a pro-Lioneart gang. My best friend stabbed me in the back and left."

Ben was shocked. "Oh no! This day's just getting worse and worse!"

Terry looked over and saw Sarah asleep on Aurburn's belly. She was covered in a blanket.

Terry was very happy to see her. "Sarah! Are you okay baby?"

"She's napping." Auburn argued.

Terry picked up the mountain lion cub and craded her in her arms. "Oh it's okay. We've got all day t-OW!"

Sarah bit down hard on Terry's arm, almost causing her to drop the cub. Terry quickly gave her back to Auburn. "OWowowowow! You bit me! What's wrong with you?!"

"You're a bad mommy!" Sarah said with much anger and tears. "You left me without telling me you were going or where you were going! You just dissappeared! And then everyone started to get angry in the restaurant and I got real scared! I wanted my mommy and you weren't there! BAA-HAA-HAA!"

Terry kneeled down to pet her head as she was crying. "I'm sorry sweetie. Suzie told me she was bleeding and I freaked out. All I could think of was getting to that school and making sure she was okay."

"Uncle Tim could have driven you! You could have taken me! I was worried about her too!"

"She's got ya 'dere Fangs." Tim mentioned.

Terry was getting upset. "Well excuse me! I panicked okay?! I made a simple mistake."

Now Ben was getting in her face. " 'Simple'?! You caused a few traffic accidents! You're the 'Orange Blur' that's on the news! I was gonna arrest you until Judy talked me out of it."

Tim was shocked. "Woah! You arrested yer own wife?!"

"Pawcuffs and everything. Since nobody got a clear look at her, Judy and I agreed to let her go if she quit the force."

"You WHAT?!" Tim yelled. "Ya shoulda taken 'dat up with me! 'Dat's my partner!"

Terry patted Tim on the shoulder. "Wolfy. Calm down. It's for the best."

"No it's not! Yer my best friend! I spent more time with you 'dan with my family!"

"But we both have families now! I've been thinking about quitting for awhile now. I was almost fired for my last mishap. This was unavoidable. It was coming. Besides, if I was arrested, it would be on my record, I'd leave the company in disgrace. Ben would have to pay bail and we'd go broke in lawsuits. We're having enough expenses with taking care of Suzie and Sarah! Now, I can be a full-time mother and be there for them."

Tim slumped back on the couch in depressed defeat. "I guess 'dat makes sense. WHIIINE!"

Delgato smiled at Wolford. "Look on the bright side. It's like you said, we can partner up! I need a new partner and you need a new partner. Sound good?"

Delgato put his fist up for Tim to bump. Tim smiled and bumped his fist back. "Sounds good. Partner."

Nick clasped his paws together. "AWW! You got a new bestie!"

"Shaddap Wilde!"

Terry petted her daughter's head some more. "You see sweetie? Mommy will have all day to be with you. I won't just suddenly drop you off and leave you ever again. I promise."

"Well...SNIFF!...okay."

As Terry picked up Sarah and cradled her again, Auburn sat back up. "And you'll be seeing a lot me and Jim too!"

Sarah's ears perked up. "Really?!"

"Sure! Jim doesn't start school until January and I'm on maternity leave. I'd love to hang out with you and Terry! You can even help me take care of my pups!"

Terry smiled back. "I'd love that too! We'd be like a little family."

"We might be!" Sarah replied. "Jimmy thinks me and him might be brother and sister."

"Hunh?"

James paused the game to explain. "Not exactly what I meant. I mean, you two are like family to me and both of us don't really know anything about our fathers, but I'm sorry Sarah. Chances are slim we are since you're a a mountain lion and I'm a cougar."

Spots looked over at James. "Do you know for sure your dad was a cougar?"

"Mom barely talked about him other than being upset that he left her right after she got pregnant. I really didn't want to know much about him. I hate him."

"Well, cougars and mountain lions are very similar." Spots replied.

Auburn interrupted them."Actually...they're the exact same species. Just slightly different depending on location. You two even have that bit of black around your muzzle."

James was surprised. "Really?! Me and Sarah are the same species?!"

"Basically. Although, you got all those brown splotches."

"My mother was half leopard."

"There you go."

This got James thinking. "Sarah, do you know anything about your daddy?"

"No. Sister Camella said my parents couldn't afford my medical bills and that they were homeless. That's all I know."

Terry looked at James. "Do you really think there's a chance?"

"My mom did say that my dad was a bum when they met. I thought it was a figure of speech. Let's do a DNA test!"

"What's that?" Sarah asked.

"Well...they take a sample of your DNA and match it with mine and see if we're related."

"Is there needles?" Sarah asked with worry.

"Nope! Just a cotton swab around the mouth to get collect your spit and put it in a petri dish. Real simple!"

"Lets do it!" Terry said with excitement. "Then we'll know for sure."

"YAAY!" Cheered Sarah."I hope Jimmy really is my big brother. I love him!"

"Okay."Auburn replied. "We'll see about an appointment soon, but don't get your hopes up. This is more than likely a coincidence. At most, you two would be half siblings. Same father, different mother."

"I'm still cool with that." James replied.

Meanwhile, Judy looked over Michael's shoulder as he was watching the tablet. "What'cha watching honey?"

"Oh hi mommy! We're watching Star Boars! Are you off already?"

"No dear, we were close by and thought we'd get lunch here."

"COOL! Can you do that every day?"

"I'll try!"

Judy then looked over to see Ben taking over half their food out of the fridge. Two bagels were in his mouth. "Clawhauser! You put half of that back!"

"But I'm hungry!" The fat cheetah whined.

"I warned you." Terry replied.

It was then that Delgato's phone went off. He took it out of his pocket and looked at it. "It's the chief! Hello? No, I haven't seen the news...All over?! Damn...Yeah I was at Nick's place and the same th-...alright! Alright! I'll be there right away. No. Johnson won't be coming. He...He quit the force and is supporting Lionheart...What?!...NO!...Ai dios mio! I'm sorry to hear that sir. I'll be in right now...They're right here. Do you want me to tell them? Okay. Thank you sir. For everything."

He hung up the phone. "That was the chief. He want me in right now and he wanted me to tell you guys that you're pulling double duty tonight."

Ben was upset. "WHAT?!"

Judy hugged the bunnies. "Nooo. I'm a mother now! I need some time with my babies!"

"I know Judy, but the city is already in chaos. There's a huge protest in the Sahara district and it's getting violent. In fact violence is breaking out in several spots around town. The chief said this was his final order to us."

Wolford looked worried. "Wait! Whaddya mean final?!"

Judy looked over at the wolf in sadness. "He was fired by the mayor about an hour ago. He has to sign his resignation papers by tonight. I'm sorry."

The wolf was trying to hold back tears. " 'Dis sucks! 'Dis sucks! 'Dis whole day sucks!"

Michael looked sad. "Does this mean I won't see you today?"

"Not until around bedtime honey. I'm so sorry. I'll try to stop by for dinner."

"IT'S NOT FAIR!" He cried.

"I know baby. but it won't be like this forever."

Tim got up out of his seat. "Excuse me for a moment. May I use yer bathroom?"

"Sure" Judy replied. "It's just down the hall."

Tim stormed off and talked quietly to himself. "Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't you dare cry!"

He got to the bathroom. The apartment was soon flooded with the sound of a sad wolf howling. "AWROOOO!"

Auburn spoke up. "Hoo boy! That's the worst crying howl I've heard from him. I better go howl with him to make him feel better. Come along James."

"But I'm terrible at howling!" the cougar replied.

"Your father's very sad and needs your support! If you can't howl then..I dunno, meow real loud!"

"SIGH! Alright."