Copyright Disclaimer
The following is a work of fanfiction: there is no intent of this author to violate, transgress, profit from or infringe upon the Copyright and Intellectual Property (IP) rights of the parent Copyright or IP holders of characters, events or locations belonging to the same which may be contained within this work. To reiterate; this is a Derivative Work meant to be used under Fair Use as described in 17 U.S.C. § 101 and § 107.
All language is either through Google Translate, or the site 'Bits'n'Bob-stones'
The Sons of Efrafa
.
We're at work: don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh!
"Mh mh mh mhh, mh mh mhh, mh mh wub wub wub…"
-snerk- Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh!
"Hm? Oh, yeah laugh it up 'Candymam'! It's just so …exciting! Not even six months on the force and you just spearheaded a city-wide operation! I told you that you'd make a pretty good cop."
-snort- "Thanks, Judy. Really. It's, just, -giggle- I'm sorry, Carrots, but I can't take you seriously while you're sitting there wriggling and humming EDM; it's just…"
"Don't say it."
"…too…"
"I'm warning you!"
"…"
"That's what I…"
"…cute."
"Argh! Mark my words, fox: on this day, as you have sown, so shall you reap! Before the sun sets, you shall know both my righteous vengeance AND my wrothfull paw!"
"Yeah, no more binge watching 'Conan the Barbearian' movies for you."
"Oh no, Wilde! You seem to forget that I am, what was it you said? 'Spawn of Shrub-Nigurtha, She-bun of the carrot patch of a thousand young'? This has been a long time coming!"
-chuckle- "Well before you go full-on Schwartzenjaeger Schlockfest on me, we should figure out what we're going to do about Benji; I'm really starting to worry. He's just not himself since the last attack."
"I know, and it's not just the 'cut back on the sweets thing'. Have you noticed how listless he is whenever we see him?" -sigh- "It's like he's, I don't know, intimidated. I don't like the thought that one of my coworkers is scared of me."
"And yet you regularly terrorize and threaten me."
"You're my brother-by-another-mother, I am legally obligated to terrorize you; now be constructive! You just brought down a city-wide racing ring with a Clown suit and a Dubstep dance off: figuring out, how…"
"It's all about motivation, Hopps; if Ben doesn't want to change, he won't. Now if Gazelle were to ask…"
"That's it!"
-blink- "I know I told you I know everyone, but there are limits to my foxy powers."
"Nick, I need you to find me something."
-blink- "Okay, what?"
"A working 'Prance-Prance-Evolution' machine that we can take."
"Again, okay. Now, why?"
"You said it yourself: Ben won't change unless he wants to, but he would for Gazelle. He might just be intimidated by us, all of us, and the idea of working out next to you, me and Jacob could be really disheartening. You saw how he reacted when Emanuel suggested he join us for sparring. We need to Incentivize Exercise! If we can secure the Chief's approval, I want to get a P-P-E machine down to the gym, and program it with all of Gazelle's hits!"
"That's, a damn good idea. The real trick is going to be keeping the chief off the thing; he's as much a Gazelle fanatic as Clawhauser."
"We just post a camera on it, largely so Ben can see his own improvement; but the threat of posting the videos should keep errant mammals away."
"Very cunning. I'll put some calls out; we should have a machine lined up by the end of shift, if not sooner."
Chapter 14
Jacob stood at parade rest in front to the Chief.
"What was it you needed, officer?"
"I need access to a Germanic translator; this isn't something I want to trust to a digital program, and chain-of-evidence means I can't just take a copy of the transcript home and have one of the Eweden or Teutonic wolves have a listen."
"Do you have the audio track isolated for what you need?"
"Yes sir. It's roughly one-and-a-half minutes of conversation between three individuals, with thirty seconds of synced video. There may be some bleed over, but I had the tech kits clean it up so that it was clear to their hearing, not just mine."
Bogo leaned back in his chair.
"Alright, have Cyber-crime send an A.V. rig and your file to interrogation room three; I'll send Clawhauser in 30 minutes."
"Clawhauser, sir?"
"Is there a problem, officer?"
"No sir just surprised that he knows Germanic." Jacob saluted and headed out as ordered.
Exactly 30 minutes later, Clawhauser came in, snack in hand. Jacob wrinkled his nose. "Is that squid jerky?"
The cheetah looked forlornly at the bag in his paw. "I know, but it's about the only thing the dietician will let me have until my cholesterol comes down."
Jacob snorted "Being healthy shouldn't involve being miserable. Throw that out, I've got some stuff for snacks. It won't satisfy a sweet tooth, but hummus and veggies are a damn sight better than a bag full of fish-flavored rubber bands. Now, let's get you settled in. I have about a minute and a half of audio, with thirty seconds of synced video that Wilde took the other night. I need to know what is being said, both…"
"…literal and idiomatic. I know, I've done this before Emanuel."
"You have?"
"Sure, I'm a polis certified Germanic translator." Ben turned to the monitoring station, put on the provided headphones, and got to work.
A minute later, Clawhauser stopped typing, and Jacob heard a faint screeching sound. When he looked, Clawhauser had dug his claws into the table and was silently crying. Jacob hopped onto the table, pressed the 'Stop' button on the station and took Ben's headphones off. The sudden change of stimuli startled the big cat into awareness. When he looked into Jacob's eyes, he began to sob. "Wha…what is that?! That…that's, who are they?! How could they just say…"
Jacob took the emotional cheetah's face in his paws and said softly, "Ben." Once he was sure Benjamin was focused on him, he continued. "There are two things I need from you: first, I need a full translation of what's on this recording."
Ben sniffled and nodded. "And the second?"
"At the end of the day, I need you to be the same goofy cat who has greeted me, Nick and Judy with smiles and warm donuts for the past several months. The mammals on the tape will keep, but this precinct needs you. So, if it takes an hour to get through this tape, then it takes an hour, or a day or a week; I don't care, but don't burn yourself out on this like I did."
Ben cocked his head in confusion. "What?"
Jacob sat back on the table. "I've been where you are now: raw intel in audio or video, or just standing in the room listening to some hate-mongering sociopath justifying the atrocities they had committed or intended to commit. I thought it needed to be done right now! Because the evil was right now, and someone had to do something. If I'd taken my time, if I'd allowed myself to process then I might still be with the LoNF, or with the Strategic Intelligence Directorate. Instead, I let my contract expire and came home, because the evil is always out there, and it can seem overwhelming.
"You just have to step back, for as long as it takes; and if that means this takes more than a few minutes then so be it. Now, you said you were a polis certified translator. How does that work, and does it come with extra pay?" Jacob relaxed when Clawhauser barked a laugh. He'd get Ben through this.
…
It hadn't taken long for Wilde's contacts to come through with three different machines, and so Nick and Judy decided to take their lunch break at a mid-town café to celebrate. They had just finished ordering, when Judy saw a familiar silhouette. "Cathy!"
"Judy! It's great to see you! Is the semester break too much for you that you can't stay away from me? And who is this? Mrow!" The catamount winked at Nick.
"Down girl, he's Zib's. This is my partner, friend and general ne'er-do-well Nicholas Wilde. Nick, this is my friend, classmate, and shameless flirt Catherine Montaigne. If either one of you does something to break Zabrina's heart, I will end you both."
The sultry puma waved at Judy. "Relax, kit; it's harmless flirting."
Nick placed a paw over his heart. "But, how could you toy with my emotions like that? You are a cruel, heartless… ooh they have Blueberry Strudels! I'm getting two!"
"Come on, Nick. We can't enable Benjamin to cheat."
Nick looked at Judy in mock confusion. "Who said anything about giving one to Clawhauser? Those are for me."
Catherine started laughing and settled into a chair beside them. "Oh, you two are a pair! I needed that."
Judy looked at her friend in sympathy. "Board negotiations?"
Catherine slightly bared her fangs and growled before getting her temper back under control. "Between the mammals trying to undermine me and snatch the company, those telling me I should step back and be a 'silent partner', and Simon Granger openly soliciting me like I'm some kind of call-cat, you may be arresting me for murder soon."
Nick took her paw. "I promise, despite your breaking my heart, I'll visit you in prison and send you care packages."
She looked forlornly into Nicks eye. "Would you send me a Blueberry Strudel?"
He dropped her paw. "Not a chance in hell."
Judy could only shake her head as her two friends broke out laughing.
Once they had calmed down again, and Nick and Judy's lunch arrived, Catherine rested her paws on the table.
"So, on the subject of anything but greedy chauvinists, if I may ask, who's this Ben you're talking about?"
"A coworker of ours." Judy said over the lip of her tea cup. "He needs to get back into shape."
Catherine quirked an eyebrow. "There's nothing wrong with a big male; soft sides and soft hearts tend to go paw-in-paw."
Nick looked a little sad. "Yeah, but he's been having fainting spells. Last time they sent him to the clinic, and we're worried it's something serious." He then perked up. "But Carrots here, has a cunning plan worthy of a fox."
Judy rolled her eyes when Catherine turned to her with her most obvious gossip-dishing face. "Ben's a huge Gazelle fan, Shut it Wilde, so I thought of getting a custom P-P-E machine rigged up with all of Gazelle's hits and dance moves, and having it installed at the Precinct house gym."
The catamount leaned back, stroking her chin in thought. "It's a good start, but I think we could do better. Let me call Gee, I'll see if I can work something out."
Nick and Judy looked at each other, then at Catherine. "Gee?"
"Yeah, she's all about supporting her fans, and a die-hard fan that is also a public servant who could use a little encouragement is just the sort of thing she lives for. Besides the music of course."
Nick boggled. "You know Gazelle?"
"Of course. Who do you think provides security for her concerts?"
…
Jacob looked at Benjamin over a vegetable and hummus platter.
"Dutch? Really?"
"Yup." Clawhauser nodded as he chewed on some celery. "They adopted my ancestors while living in Zululand. When the Boar Wars tore through the region, they returned to Europa. My great, great grandmother came to Amerigo and settled here in Zootopia after the Great War. It was immigration that changed our name from Clausthaler to Clawhauser."
"So, you still speak Germanic at home?"
Ben shrugged. "At my Oma's house, and when ever we go back to the old country during Fasching."
Jacob would have continued, but at that moment Chief Bogo came into the break room.
"Officer Raibert, could I see you in my office? Now."
The cheetah seemed to sag into himself in resignation. "I… I should probably get back in there."
Both Jacob and the Chief looked at Benjamin in concern. Jacob then patted Ben's arm. "We've still got 20 minutes on break. Why don't you head over to the Park, get some sun; you've been cooped up all day."
Clawhauser looked hopefully at the Chief, who nodded his head. "I'll be at least that long with Raibert. Wait by your desk when you get back."
The portly cheetah was a blur of dopplerd 'thank you's as he made his way outside. Once he was gone, Jacob and Bogo made their way to the Chief's office and closed the door.
"I've known Clawhauser for eight years, and even after the accident and rehabilitation, he was never this bad. What, the hell, is on those tapes, Raibert?"
Jacob gave the buffalo a haunted look. "Evil, sir. I hope I'm wrong about which particular one, but the more we hear, the clearer the picture gets that there's a, a…"
"A hate group, officer?"
"No sir, nothing that banal. I think the Thule Society is coming to Zootopia, if it isn't already here." Jacob clenched and unclenched his manual paws. "It was one of the phrases I heard, 'Wir sind Jaegern', that clued me in. It was the motto, if you will, of the society during the Nazi party's rise to power. The mammals in the file have used that phrase, as well as the Thule Claw salute, which was a variation on the Nazi paw salute. The comments that Clawhauser has translated so far are grotesque, barbaric, and entirely in keeping with the Thule philosophy of carnivore supremacy."
"Bloody hell!" Bogo pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "Please tell me this is the limit of this."
"I don't think so, sir; Napier said something very similar just before he tried to jump me during the rape-sting. Howlton ranted that exact phrase at me when I arrested him, and his ex-wife said his change in behavior coincided with his starting to associate with, 'out-of-towners'. That was just after the city announced Bellwether was responsible for the savage attacks. I'll attach Hopps and Wilde's deposition of Ms. Montaigne, as well as my body cam files from Howlton's and Napier's arrests with the report when it's done. It's a lot of circumstantial evidence, nothing actionable we could take to the DA…yet. That's why I want to pursue this, Chief, or at the very least see that it is pursued. This can't be allowed to stand, or it will just breathe new life into Bellwether's ideology."
Bogo snorted. "Damn. -sigh- How close do you think Clawhauser is to finishing?"
"We're done with the initial listen-through and transcription; he's going to listen to it again, front to back, no stops to try to catch some idiomatic oddities we've noted. After that, are the typed translation and transliteration for the report, so we should be done by end of shift; an hour over at most. I can have the completed report on your desk, first thing in the morning."
"Excellent. You said, 'we've noted'? I wasn't aware you were a certified city translator?" Bogo looked at the hare with skepticism.
"I'm not, sir; certainly not with any Germanic language. I am, however, a certified translator for several languages with the LoNF, and have performed this particular duty, so I know what to listen to and for. I have to keep current until my Inactive Ready Reserve status expires."
"Hm. Have you thought about applying for an official translator certification with the city?"
"Ben mentioned the program, but I just started online courses to get my BS in Criminal Justice through UZ, so if it's going to take any real time…"
"If you're half as good as I think you are, you should be able to test out; no classroom time whatsoever. Clawhauser has the application forms."
…
They only way to describe how Judy felt, was 'Jazzed'! She and Nick had pitched their idea to Bogo and much to their surprise, he was completely on board. In fact, he declared the matter one of Precinct moral, and assigned Nick and Judy to, 'use whatever resources we have to make this happen!' They did just that; Officer McHorn went to the warehouse and picked the machine up, while the IT department programmed it with the desired music and video files, as well as setting up the camera and speaker connections for what Judy considered the piece de resistance, courtesy of Catherine Montaigne: when ever Clawhauser hit certain benchmarks, such as -number of pounds lost, or so-many hours danced, then the machine would either play a personalized recording by, or open a live-streaming video chat with Gazelle. Now all that was needed was to wrangle the monstrosity into the gym and set it up.
It was 30 minutes after close of shift when Jacob and Benjamin were heading to the locker rooms past the gym, having just finished their report for the Chief.
"I'll have you know that I am a third-generation cop! Between that and my family's language, I'd say I have a collection of curses and swear words to rival even yours." Clawhauser raised his chin in affected hauteur.
Jacob pointed at his comrade. "Oh, it's on Bitty-Kitty; when you lose 25 lbs., you, me, Trunkaby and McHorn are going to McGruff's to have a swear-off!"
Ben grabbed and shook the accusing paw. "Done. How are we going to judge a winner, and why Doris and Mike?"
Jacob thought for a moment, then nodded. "Winner is which ever mammal gets called into the Chiefs office the next morning, and I have no intention of being able to walk by the end of that night, so some one's going to have to carry…"
"Come on Nick, just stick it in already."
Both Jacob and Ben stopped and slowly turned to the gym door.
"You don't just jam it in, Fluff; if you bend or break something it might get stuck, then we'd be screwed."
Jacob was about to comment to Ben, when he noticed the cheetah's heart-rate jump.
"How hard is, 'put the male end into the female slot'? You know what, give it here I'll…"
"Nick, Judy: freeze!" Jacob yelled while typing on his phone. Once he had the image he was looking for, he turned to Ben.
"Clawhauser:" once the big cat looked at him, he showed Ben the picture and announced, "…Boarat in a V-kini!"
Ben physically recoiled and started scrubbing his face. "Augh! What the hey, Jacob?! I can't ever unsee that! I thought we were friends?"
"We are," Jacob said as he removed the offending image from his phone, "…but I needed to shock you out of whatever attack you were having."
By this point Nick and Judy had opened the door to the Gym to see what the commotion was. "What's going on guys?" Asked Judy.
Ben looked back and forth between Nick and Judy. "Wha… but I thought… what were you two doing in there?"
Jacob clarified at his fellow rookies puzzled looks. "What we heard sounded somewhat risqué, what with all the threats of male parts breaking off in female slots."
Nick and Judy looked at one another and broke out laughing. Judy got her breath back first. "Sorry Ben; not just no, but hell no."
Nick gave a mock hurt look. "Hey now, I am a Catch! Just ask Zib."
"She's welcome to you, Red, but I'm not masochistic enough to risk injury from mating with someone that much larger than me." She noted the smug look on his face. "Don't let it go to your head, Nick, or I'll tell Zib she needs to take you down a couple of notches. Anyway, if I had to live in the same house as you, I'd be calling Fru Fru to dispose of a body within a week."
Ben boggled slightly at Judy. "But, but I thought you, Nick and Jacob…"
Jacob cocked his head to the side. "What?! Me too? What gave you that… is that why you've been having these fainting episodes?"
Clawhauser grinned sheepishly.
