Chapter 5: The Stake-Out
Robby sat alone in an unmarked cruiser, preparing himself for the raid on the warehouse that the ZPD had determined that Bellwether was hiding out in. It had taken nearly a weeks' worth of investigation from multiple teams to find this out, even with the information Doug gave them they still had to find out which building she was actually in and then get the warrant to raid the building, sitting across the street from Robby was a blacked out van filled with a T.U.S.K unit ready to go in guns blazing, they will be taking the first entry as agreed upon by chief Polaski, this was going to be one of the biggest raids of the century but it was kept extremely confidential due to Bellwethers previous associations in the Zootopian government, but the raid was expected to go off without a hitch.
Robby was very nervous about the raid, he knew if he messed up his part then the chance of Bellwether being taken in to custody was almost zero, he was designated to make the arrest while the T.U.S.K squad reined in the stragglers, this was his last chance to take her in within the week set by the chief, who had yet to even acknowledge this never mind take Robby off the hook. He knew that the chief wasn't going to be any kinder just because he found her, he needed her in cuffs before the chief would let Robby off the hook.
As Robby contemplated what was about to happen his partner, now in plain clothes, wearing an unmarked hoody and jeans, along with ZPD body armor with a badge on the right chest, entered the cruiser, she hadn't been working that day due to it being one of her few days off but she needed to be in for the raid, however plain clothes and armor was more than enough for the situation. Robby had been working all day and as such he was still wearing full uniform, but with the added body armor for extra protection, because it was highly suspected that Bellwether had a lot of goons with a lot of weaponry in the warehouse, which is why the T.U.S.K unit will be taking the first entry.
"How ya holding up partner?" Jessy asked as she sat down in the passenger seat of the cruiser.
"Awful, I got a good taste of what's to come if this doesn't go perfectly, parking duty for eight hours straight, then here for 4 more hours staking out the building, honestly, I've had better days. I'm glad you're here now though, takes a load off my mind". Robby and Jessy had become much closer over the last week, they'd been staking out the two buildings Doug had given them and had a lot of time to talk, Robby however still didn't consider her a friend, he enjoyed keeping their relationship strictly business, but also enjoyed a little bit of conversation and banter during their time together.
"Hey, chin up Robby, once this is over we'll be getting much better cases and you won't have to worry about parking duty, the chief will have no choice but to keep you working cases".
"Yeah, let's hope so, I didn't join the ZPD to become a damn meter maid".
"Why did you join? I know it aint the money, you looking for action? Car chases and shootouts?"
"Nah, nothing like that, I just want to help improve the world, and hopefully one day be a detective".
"A fox detective? Ha, that'll be the day", Jessy layed back in her seat and watched as Robby visibly became annoyed by the assumption she just made.
"What's wrong with that?", Robby tried to keep his cool, he knew she didn't mean much by it, it was pretty unheard of in the ZPD for a fox to even be an officer, never mind detective, in fact a fox detective was completely unheard of.
"Well, nothing wrong exactly, it's just never happened ya know, a fox as a detective just has never happened".
"Yeah? Well until last year there had never been a fox cop and look now".
"Yeah, look now, who knows, you might be the first".
"Not might, I will be the first fox detective, I'll make it happen", Robby placed his elbow on the window and rested his head against the palm of his paw, he was very tired at this point.
"Hey, I'll put a good word in for ya when I get promoted, I'm sure if they're looking for good officers they'll take you in a second".
"You better, you owe me after I got you on the case of the century".
"I could have taken the case if I wanted Robby, I just didn't want to".
"Of course you could of Jessy, of course you could".
A few hours pass by, Robby and Jessy continue to chat about the case and the futures of their careers, they have very little radio contact from the T.U.S.K van but every time they do call in its to say if someone is entering or exiting the building, what they were waiting for was confirmation of Bellwether entering the building, she hadn't been in all day and was confirmed to enter the building the same time every day.
It was 11pm before the radio started picking up, there were conversations about whether or not she was going to turn up with the chief on the other end making sure they stayed prepared for when she did, the T.U.S.K unit was getting restless and Robby was half asleep, Bellwether was nearly two hours late, which was a very bad sign, they were given one more hour before they raided the building, with or without confirmation of her being there, Robby protested this because he knew it was too risky, but the chief was adamant they got in there before they had time to clear the place out in the event that they were spotted on their stake-out.
"Where is she?" Robby slammed his paw against the dashboard, "she was supposed to be here so long ago, why the hell hasn't she turned up?", Robby looked towards Jessy, desperate that she might have had the answer but to no luck.
"I dunno Robby, its lookin' bad, she definitely arrived at 9pm every day right?"
"Every single day, why today of all days? Why did she have to not appear?
"If she spotted us there would have been a commotion, from what the squad are saying there's very little activity in the building, there's definitely people in there but not Bellwether, which means, unfortunately we will have to go in, I know you don't want too but getting a warehouse full of evidence and a lot of suspects is better than nothing".
"Not for me it isn't, I need her in cuffs, tonight, I'm not spending another second in a high-vis jacket printing tickets to morons who can't count to 30".
"Hey, I have my promotion to think about as well Robby, I'm sure the chief will let you off if we don't get her tonight, we found her and her goons, that'll be enough".
"Yeah, maybe, but I don't wanna take the chance". Robby sat back in his seat a little bit, he started to wake up due to the slight adrenaline rush from the thought of raiding the building for nothing, made a little bit worse by the thought of his whole situation. "Damn it she better turn up".
"We can only hope Robby".
As if by magic a car, matching the description of the one used to escort Bellwether turned a corner and pulled up to the warehouse, Jessy noticed it raises a pair of binoculars to get a better look.
"Sweet cheese and crackers I think she's here", She slaps Robby's arm which wakes him up fully.
"Sweet cheese and crackers?" Robby looked at her confused at her new mannerism.
"It's something a friend of mine says, I'll introduce you some day", Jessy laid the binoculars down and started to jump out of the cruiser, the car had left and two short shady figures had entered the warehouse, once they did Jessy made her way to the blacked-out van while Robby confirmed that is was Bellwether over the radio.
"Ok, you can confirm that Dawn Bellwether has entered the building.
"Yes Elmore, it's her, we're preparing to make our entry now, be ready to breach in 60 seconds", Robby prepared his weapon, a low calibre handgun that all ZPD are provided in events such as this, though usually most officers are provided with a tranquiliser gun to take down larger predators, but in this situation the officers are given the all-clear to use lethal force.
"Come on Robby, this is it, you're gonna prove them all wrong, you're gonna be a hero, you're gonna take down this sheep and put her away for good, you're gonna make detective and retire knowing you made a difference, this is the beginning of everything", after Robby finished motivating himself he bumped his chest and threw the cruiser door open.
"30 seconds Elmore, get over her now" Robby jumped out and closed the door behind him.
"Let's do this".
I apologize for the much shorter chapter but this was just supposed to link between the last one and the next couple of chapters, so we're reaching the conclusion of the character arc for Robby and after maybe 2 more chapters, we're going to head into the main story, I can confirm without spoiling anything Jessy will not be present after the end of this arc, it will be fully explained, and I'm pretty sure I've made it obvious why throughout the story, Yes, Judy and Nick will be very much present in the next arc, so thats gonna be fun.
As usual thanks for reading, feel free to follow and favourite, and I always appreciate a review, and as usual, expect the next chapter within 2 days and expect it to be over 2000 words again.