Chapter Two
"Hopps! Wilde! In my office!"
Great. Judy and Nick weren't even five paces into the ZPD Headquarters lobby, and Chief Bogo was already yelling at them. That had to be some kind of record.
Judy rubbed her temples, trying her best to will her growing headache out of existence.
"You have my permission to shoot me." She grumbled in the fox's direction through clenched teeth.
"Why, so I can hog all of this good fortune we've had lately? That would be selfish, Carrots." Her partner said, his voice overflowing with his trademark sarcasm.
Judy simply grunted in response.
The defeated and still coffee-less officers turned and began the monumental trek up the atrium staircase toward the Chief's office. Drained as they were from long-term desk work, they ascended with a pronounced lack of haste. At least, until Bogo's angry voice split the air once again.
"Light a fire under it, officers! This case is not going to solve itself!"
Judy froze in place, her fatigue and her headache both forgotten. They had a case? She was sure she had heard correctly, but part of her was too stunned to believe it. She glanced over at Nick only to find he had done the same, his muzzle slack and his lips set in a small 'o' of surprise. He had heard it too; they had a case.
A familiar fire sprang to life in her heart, and her lust for caffeine vanished as excitement rushed through her. They had a case!
With a quick grin and a swift jab at Nick's shoulder, Judy dashed up the remaining stairs in the space of a breath. Within a few seconds, she was outside of Chief Bogo's office practically bouncing in place as she waited for her partner to catch up.
She didn't have to wait long, Nick was nearly as fast as she was, although he was much less enthusiastic about running in general. Even so, he skidded to a stop a few feet from Judy. He had once again adopted his smug, easy smile and half-lidded eyes.
"See, Carrots? I told you a break would be good for us," He swept his arms around in a dramatic bow and waved her toward the office door. "Ladies first."
Judy just rolled her eyes -still grinning- and pushed the door open.
The office was the same as ever, albeit a tad less organized, but Bogo himself wasn't at his desk. He stood before the city map hung on the office wall, a case file in one hoof and his eyes trained on various marked locations on the map. Instead of his usual blue dress uniform, Chief Bogo was in full SWAT gear, complete with sidearm and black Kevlar body armor. A pair of little black reading glasses were perched on his snout.
He hid it well, but Judy could tell Bogo was exhausted. Even from the doorway she could see the dark bags under his eyes. This recent crime wave had almost everyone working around the clock.
Without looking away from the map, he pointed at the two chairs in front of his desk.
"Sit." He said simply.
The fox and the rabbit glanced at each other in uncertainty, but seated themselves quickly. The Chief clearly wasn't in a good mood, it was probably best not to risk any more ire than necessary. After a few moments and a scribbled note in the case file, he snapped it shut and turned to sit at his desk. He settled in quite deliberately and looked at the officers sharply.
"As I'm sure you know, the ZPD is stretched thin lately. There is a turf war going on between the criminal elements of the city and a group of newcomers. Police operations are also being targeted. To make matters worse, this was found on a hostile suspect during a sting operation."
The massive cape buffalo tossed a tiny plastic evidence bag onto his desk, which clattered ever so slightly. Inside was a pill, maybe half an inch long. One side was blue, the other yellow, but it was otherwise unremarkable. Something about it made Judy's nose twitch, but she couldn't quite place it.
"Lab tells me it's a stimulant of some kind, like steroids and amphetamines mixed together. Goes by the street name 'Blue Beast'. Nasty stuff."
Judy smiled and clasped her paws together, eager to dive into this new mystery.
"And you want us to find the source, right?"
"No."
Her expression fell as quickly as the Chief's clipped response came.
"I have a different case for you two, and before I spend any time briefing you on it, you are going to agree to some conditions." Bogo frowned even deeper and stared the two officers down.
Nick, completely unperturbed by the Chief's gaze, spoke up from beside Judy. His expression was set in a familiar mask of determination. The first time Judy had seen it, he had been sticking up for her after their 'adventure' in the Rainforest District. The way Bogo flared his nostrils told Judy she wasn't the only one who recognized that look.
"We've been jockeying desks for two weeks straight. You finally decide to hand us a case, and then pull a bait and switch? I know a hustle when I see one. What gives, Chief? Why are you trying to shuffle us off on this mystery case? Why don't you have us working on this turf war deal with everyone else?"
Bogo let out a snort of frustration and leaned forward in his chair.
"What gives, Wilde, is that I have four officers in the hospital already because of that little pill. Two wolves dosed up with Blue Beast put Francine in the ICU last night. Both of them together were maybe a tenth of her bodyweight. I do not have the resources to waste making sure you and Hopps are safe on the front lines, and I certainly do not have the patience to deal with your attitude, Wilde."
Bogo practically barked the words at Nick, but then his tone softened unexpectedly. Judy couldn't tell if it was respect that colored his words, or just fatigue. Considering Nick's penchant for sass, it was probably the latter.
"There is a crisis at hand, and I'm not going squander my two top investigators on grunt work. So, you can either agree to take this missing mammal case, strings and all, or you can both get back to work on those reports." He jabbed a hoof at the two seated mammals to emphasize his point.
Judy's partner crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at the Chief. She was sure he was about to say something smart to Bogo, but then he relaxed and just smiled ever so slightly.
"Missing mammal, hm? No way you'd call us up here for a completely unrelated case. You think there's a connection, and I bet it's got something to do with that pill there."
Bogo started to speak, but just sighed and ran a hoof across his face.
Judy's ears perked up at the implication. That sly fox, he got the Chief to spill just enough to make it interesting. This mystery case could be a lot more important than Bogo had let on.
"Whaddya say, Carrots? You up for getting into some trouble?" Nick said with just a hint of smug satisfaction.
A fierce smile crossed Judy's face. After this long, she was beyond ready to hit the asphalt again.
"Always. We'll take the case, Chief. Strings and all."
Bogo grunted. Judy assumed it was a grunt of approval, considering how he slid the case file in his grip across his desk toward her and Nick. He glowered at the fox through his reading glasses.
"Speaking of strings, what are we looking at here, Chief?" Nick asked amiably.
Bogo waved a permissive hoof toward the case file on the desk between the three of them. He plucked the little black spectacles from his snout and placed them in a small velvet-lined case with deliberate care. Judy took the file in her paws and began to leaf through it.
"The missing mammal in question is an eight-year-old tiger by the name of Anastasia Pawtel. Her mother, Veronica Pawtel, reported her missing two days ago. I want the two of you to find her and bring her home. You should be able to handle that, right Wilde?"
The fox opened his mouth, but before Nick could fire off another witty retort, Judy cut him off.
"Wait, Veronica Pawtel? As in Pawtel Pharmaceuticals? That's a pretty big name, says here they manufacture medical supplies for over half the hospitals in the city."
Bogo dipped his horned head in a nod.
"The same. Ms. Pawtel and her company were instrumental in developing an antidote during the Nighthowler incident. They are on the cutting edge of the industry."
"So we have criminals running around on the streets with dangerous and powerful drugs, and a little girl goes missing who just so happens to be the daughter of a business mogul that has experience dealing with dangerous and powerful drugs," Judy felt her nose twitch, and she cocked an eyebrow at Chief Bogo. "Coincidence?"
"I don't believe in coincidence, Hopps, and neither should you. Find the girl, bring her home, and see what you and Wilde can dig up about that pill along the way."
A harsh little smile that Judy could only describe as devious crinkled the fur on Bogo's snout.
"Now for the strings."
"Oh, joy," Nick muttered, earning a not-too-gentle slap on the arm from Judy.
Bogo continued as if he hadn't heard: "You two are to be in plainclothes for the duration of this case. That means no cruiser and no uniform, under any circumstances. As I said, police elements are being targeted, so draw as little attention to yourselves as you can."
Okay, so they were on their own for transportation, Judy could work with that. What really worried her was that last bit. Usually, criminals did everything they could to avoid the police. What kind of mad-mammals would actively attack them?
"Before the two of you leave, you're to visit the armory. You've been authorized for a sidearm, and whatever else you feel you might need, assuming the other officers haven't taken it already. Backup will be spread thin and slow to respond, so plan accordingly."
They had a blank check for the armory too? Things must be pretty rough out there for Bogo to give them that kind of freedom. Well, at least they wouldn't be pounding pavement unarmed.
"And finally, you're going to have some company on this case. One of the ZPD's top consultants."
Judy cocked her head to one side, "A consultant, sir? Do you really think that's necessary?"
"I do, Hopps. He specializes in missing mammals, and he's been working cases for the ZPD since I was in your chair. He's personally responsible for closing more than two dozen cases and he knows how to keep a low profile. If all goes well, you'll close the case before any trouble comes your way."
Bogo eyed the two smaller mammals with barely-veiled annoyance. That was a pretty flimsy 'if', especially for them. Trouble seemed to find Nick and Judy no matter where they went and no matter how trivial the case.
Judy scrunched her brows together and kept flipping through the file. She still wasn't sure about bringing a civilian into this, even if he had the Chief's seal of approval. Then again, she had done much the same to Nick when they had first met. Not much room for complaint on that one.
"Alright, so we get to babysit our very own pencil-pusher. Can't wait. Where do we find this guy?" Nick asked.
Bogo stood and adjusted his Kevlar vest, which rattled with all manner of police-grade goodies. He gestured offhandedly toward the case file Judy held as he gathered up a few items from around the office.
"He lives on the outskirts of Tundratown. I've marked his address in that file. Go there, ask for Sergei," Bogo paused and chuckled darkly, "You'll know him when you see him."
"Ominous." Nick said, unamused.
"Indeed. Now, get going officers, we have work to do."
The Chief's usual gruff tone had returned and Judy took it as a good sign. The little grey rabbit hopped to her feet and saluted the armored buffalo, a gesture he returned with a single crisp movement.
"Yes sir! C'mon Nick, time to earn that coffee break."
Before her partner could so much as protest, she seized him by the wrist and bolted through the office door. They had a case, and it was about damn time.