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

.

"Hraka!"

We've been working on this investigation for months, and those vairlil tharnalt from CLEAn swoop in and seize all our work?

"Hraka!"

'Leave the matter to the subject experts,' "Hah!" Those vairlil would have had us sitting on our thumbs while a terrorist firebombed a bank!

"Hraka!"

I'll bet that was the intent; 'How terrible, Zootopia should have come to us! We'd have prevented such devastation to a critical economic institution.' Yeah now you vairflay pricks have to use treaty clauses, and our investigation gets tied up in Supreme Court hearings, while Thule Society fanatics dig in.

"Hraka!"

"You should probably tone your language down before heading inside, Jacob."

"Gah! Oh Mrs. Daveed. Sorry, I was stuck in my own head there."

"That's quite all right, but the Yenta's are in a bit of a fuss; there's been some, vandalization near the Synagogue. You should probably avoid swearing in front of the little ones. The FCDC meetings are all about teaching the community, best to set a good example."

"Has it been reported? The vandalism I mean."

"We called it in, but everyone's been so busy recently. I suppose you'll get to it soon."

"Not me; I'm on administrative leave, pending this business with CLEAn being finalized, which by the way, DuPrey's fighting tooth and claw."

"Well, if you have time off, why not use it? Take that lovely jill of yours out for a few days. Get your head out of work. I'm confident everything will get resolved in the end. You'll see."

-Huff- "You're right, of course. I need to leave work back with work; not bring it home with me."

"Care to talk about it?"

"I wish! It's all inter-state pissing matches and hush-hush politics. You know, a year and a half ago, I'd have been cheering CLEAn coming in and ruffling Zootopian fur. Now, well, you just saw now. Anyway, it's police work and officially under a Continental Congressional issued gag order; I just have to take a deep breath, and hope the Agency knows what it's doing."

Chapter 21

Jacob was sitting down with a plate of pierogies, while Kitsuko and her husband Yana demonstrated open handed disarms, when his phone went off with a text alert. He was glancing down at it, when Valerie and her cousin Estelle entered the hall. He absently waved at the two of them and indicated the open seats at his table, then opened his phone. The message was from Horace:

-Larue! -

Jacob chuckled at his friend's insistence on using that nickname.

-Turret? -

-Get Val out of the city for a couple of days.

She'll know where to go.

3=-(

Jacob outright laughed at Horace's use of the 'Grumpy Moose' emoji. Val and Estelle sat down with their own plates just as Horace sent another message; this time, it was a video file.

Val settled in next to him, kissing him on the cheek. "What are you looking at there, umbra-amore?" There was a tension in her posture and voice.

"Chatting with Horace; he seems to think you need time away."

Kitsuko was asking the assembled mammals if they had any questions, when Jacob opened the file. All attention was suddenly on his table, when the sound of Valerie screaming Lapin obscenities and threats of legal, and possibly illegal action, against a flustered looking elk in black pantsuit; all while standing on a table. Jacob had been on the receiving end of one such tirade, though not by Valerie, and not in some years, so he could understand the ungulates shocked expression. He was startled out of his reverie when Val snatched the phone out of his paw and turned the video off.

Jacob looked at Val and saw embarrassment and frustration in her eyes. Looking around, he noted other reactions; Estelle was trying not to laugh and choke on her dinner, while a small flock of Eweden looked on disapprovingly. Kitsuko and Yana stood primly on the stage, before the Yamatonese Hare nodded towards Valerie.

"Alternatively, you could try that; I imagine whomever you were upset with was quite disarmed."

The tension in the hall broke with a bout of good natured laughter, while Val lay her head on the table and groaned. Jacob started rubbing circles on her back.

"Val? Want to talk about why you were threatening to sue and/or bludgeon the suit senseless?"

Valerie leaned against him. -grrr- "We got a visit from some goose-stepping Jack-booted Gen. Franco wannabe Pendejos from Philadelphia, trying to censor us about the bank job the other day! Catalonia wasn't putting up with it 80 years ago during the failed unification war, I certainly won't stand for it now!" She thumped the floor in emphasis, causing every hare in the hall to sit up in alarm. Jacob redoubled his efforts to calm her down.

"Okay, so that's why you threatened to tear, whatever-her-name's arm off and pummel her with her own hoof. I guess I can see why Horace wants you out of the city; getting 5-10 for assaulting a G-mammal wouldn't really help your career. It so happens, I've got a bit of admin leave myself. Turret mentioned you'd know where to go?"

She nodded and a pulled a moose sized business card from her purse.

"Si. He has a friend with a fishing cabin on the eastern side of the Willamette Valley." She grinned maliciously for a moment. "He gave me the card just before Señor Hornblower Sr. came storming in with half the legal team in tow, and murder in his eyes. The two may not see eye-to-eye on much where the company is concerned, but censorship is absolutely not something either of them will tolerate."

"Well then," Jacob smiled for Val "…if we both have the time, and Horace is recommending, I think some time off together would be very nice."

Val was about to comment, when Jacob's text alert went off. As he was looking at it, Valerie started grumbling. "If he's sending you more embarrassing pictures…"

Jacob turned the screen to her. On it was a 'grumpy rabbit' emoji, and two words.

=:{

-CLEAn SUCKS!-

"Rest easy, émartha olma (my love); it's Judy. Go ahead and call Turret's friend and let them know we're coming."

The next day, Jacob and Valerie headed off on the four-hour trip to the fishing lodge, after confirming with the Grisleigh family that they could stay there. It turned out that Horace had called ahead to inform Adam Grisleigh, the owner, that Val and Jacob would be coming. They were greeted at the steps of a rough-hewn bear-sized log cabin, by a family of four grizzly bears. Jacob grumbled when all but the youngest froze upon his getting out of the Cadillac.

"I'm starting to think I should sell this car."

Val smiled indulgently at him. "Not a chance, umbra; I like this car.Just walk over there and introduce yourself; I'll get our bags."

He was about to comment when she gave him a mock stern look and pointed one claw at him. He just chuckled and walked towards the family.

"Hello! I'm Jacob, and that's Valerie. I understand you're friends with Horace?"

The large male that Jacob assumed was Adam shook his fugue off and smiled.

"Yeah, that's right; we met at the Veterans Association of Amerigo (VAA) hall in Beaverton. I'm Adam, this is my wife Hannah, our daughter Barbara, and this little guy here is Benjamin. Now be gentle, Ben, and say 'hi'."

The cub, who couldn't be more than two but still stood as tall as the hare, toddled over to Jacob. The cub considered him for a moment while sucking a thumb, then scooped Jacob into a hug.

"Klahowya!"

"Ben!" Barbara rushed over to her brother while their parents and Valerie all laughed.

Jacob suffered the mini-bear hug with as much dignity as the circumstance allowed. Once he was extracted from Ben's grasp, he looked at Barbara quizzically. "Claw how ya?"

Barbara giggled. "Kla-howya: It means hello."

"Ah!" Jacob then looked Ben in the eyes. "Vaobyt M'saion, Ben-roo."

Hannah came up and took her son in paw. "That's not Algonquin, Salish or Navajo. What language is that?" She smiled at Jacob's surprised look. "I teach linguistics, and cultural anthropology at UZ."

Jacob nodded. "Ah. It's Efrafan. My mother and grandfather are from Edirne in western Anatolia."

Adam went over to the car and took the bags from Val. "Before the two of you lose yourselves in discussing linguistic diaspora, perhaps we could get some fly-fishing in before sundown. Do you two eat fish, or are you strict vegans?"

Valerie relinquished her bags and smiled. "We both eat fish, but not a lot, and not raw."

Jacob could claim a number of skills and titles as his own; he was a soldier and a police officer, a swordsmam and an investigator. One thing he was not, however, was a fishermam.

Valerie stood on the shore, with her paws on her hips. "Stop flailing at the water Jacob! You're trying to trick the fish into thinking the lure is actually a fly, not flog them into submission."

He got a contemplative look on his face and began working with the reel. Once she was certain he wasn't going to continue as before, she turned back to Adam. "So, what did you do in the LoNF?"

"I was a combat engineer; did a rotation in the Acadia/Vinland DMZ clearing minefields. After I lost this," he knocked his paw on his left knee-cap, "…to an Arrow Anti-personnel mine, I was rotated home for recovery; worked at a bar for a little while. That was, fifteen years ago? Anyway, I met Hannah at one of the annual Chinook/Salish council meetings. She helped turn my life completely around. Now, I'm a city safety inspector, specializing in commercial demolition. We… what in the world is he doing?"

Everyone looked over as Jacob stood still, left pedal paw forward, with the fishing rod held high over his right shoulder. Valerie's eyes widened, and she was about to say something, when the rod flashed down, striking the water with a -whip-crack-! He immediately reached down into the water and came up clutching a fish. He turned and brandished the catch towards Val with a triumphant smirk. "HA!"

Valerie's ears shot straight up for a moment, and then pointed straight back as she stormed over to Jacob.

"Give me that!" She took the rod from Jacob and pointed to the shore and the now laughing bear family. "Go over there and clean your bludgeoned fish."

When Jacob came to Adam and Hannah, the matron was marginally in control, and handed him a filleting knife.

"Our legends say that every person has their own spirit guide that manifests in their actions, but I've never met anyone who showed it so quickly, Ten-Iqesqes. Where did you learn to fish?"

"Right here, today; my idea of fishing is to go down to Fleischer Dock with a ten and a newspaper. What is Ten-Iqesqes, exactly?" Jacob asked as he set about dressing his catch, while Val began to properly fly-fish.

"It means 'Child of Blue-Jay', which would make Valerie Ioi-as." At Jacob's curious look, she smiled. "We can talk while you work. Let me tell you some of my people's stories from before the arrival of animals from the east."

"…so, by the time Caesar Augustus reorganized the republic into the Reman Empire, Lapino's were an entrenched institution; we were the diplomats for the senate, and the engineers for the legions." Val was resting in an oversized easy chair with Jacob, while the Grisleigh's relaxed on a couch next to the cabin's fireplace.

Hannah smiled while Adam tried not to nod off. "And where ever Lapino's went, they took the Reman Language with them."

"Well, our dialect of it anyway. You know one of the main linguistic barriers between mammals is the inability to reproduce certain sounds."

Hannah nodded. "Yes, some cultures have even used it as an excuse to show how 'un-evolved' other species are, in order to justify oppressing them. Hares don't have any specialized vocal or sinus structures, so any sound you can make, another mammal can reproduce. That's why the Algonquin language of the Snowfoot tribes of the Northern Appalachians, and the Navajo language of the Blacktail tribes of the Great Plains are two of the three major language groups native to this continent." Hannah looked over to her husband, who had begun to snore softly. "Isn't that right, dear?" She asked as she gently poked him in the ribs.

He startled awake. "Yes, honey! Of course." Everyone chuckled as he looked around.

Hannah smiled at him. "It's getting late; why don't you get the cubs tucked in?"

Barbara pouted. "But mom, It's vacation! Can't we stay up a little longer?"

Val looked slyly at Jacob. "Maybe we can cut a deal? You two get ready for bed, and when you come back, Jacob will dance for you." The jack looked oddly at her, while the two cubs perked up. "Perhaps the song of Elil-hrair-Rah?"

At that, Jacob rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "I don't know; it's a long Methrah Hain. You two would have to be done and ready pretty quickly if you want to see it."

There was a rush of air and a brown blur as the two youngest darted for the bathroom, their father ambling afterwards.

Hannah laughed at her children's excitement. "I may have to borrow you more often once we get back to the city; getting those two ready for bed can be quite the adventure."

Jacob shook his head. "It's no problem, Mrs. Grisleigh. I imagine I'll be seeing more of you and your family, now that I know about the Veterans group."

"Please, it's Hannah."

Jacob shook his head again and got out of the chair. "If I didn't show you all due deference as matron of this house, my Marli-fa would swoop down here like the wrath of Keharr and box my ears."

Hannah leaned forward. "Keyhar?"

"Um-hm; after the sound made by hunting raptors." Val settled into her seat. "Legend has it that Keharr is an evil spirit; it claims the souls of those lost in battle that Inle-Rah rejects due to cowardice."

Jacob took up a slightly curved stick from the kindling bucket next to the fire place. "It was a bit of a sticking point, culturally, when the Lapino's first returned to Efrafa, marching under the Reman Nildel banner." He gave it a few test swings, nodded, and stood waiting. "It sounds like the little ones are about ready. I know this may sound presumptuous, Mrs. Grisleigh, but if you want, you could set up some recording equipment. The Methrah Hain are performed in the old tongue." There was a commotion as the cubs returned. Jacob squared his shoulders, ready to sing his people's history.

The hares and bears were all standing next to a set of stepped falls the next morning, where fish were leaping up the river. Hannah and Adam were moving into the river at the head of the falls, while Barbara and Ben made their way to the shallows at the base of the falls.

Adam smiled at Jacob. "After yesterday, I think this might be more your speed, Ten-Iqesqes."

It was only a few minutes before a fish leapt in front of Adam, who swatted it onto the bank.

Jacob's eyes lit up in excitement, and he made his way towards the head of the falls. Val, who had been warned ahead of time by Hannah, was setting up a camera. "Don't start until I get this ready; I need to immortalize your humiliation, after all."

Jacob waded into the water. "Hah! I defeated the cunning fish yesterday, and my triumph shall be double today! It is a story that shall last through the ages!"

Val gave a thumbs up. "Oh, no doubts there; once I show Horace the footage, he'll never let you live it down."

The first few fish that morning to jump near Jacob were just far enough away that all he could do was brush them away.

Val and Barbara were laughing and cheering him on. "You're supposed to catch them, not block them!" Val teased.

Jacob harrumphed. "They are merely weak, and unworthy to…"

He was interrupted when a Brown Trout as long as he was tall came sailing up the falls and landed on him. The tangle of limbs and fins caused the fish to go back down the falls, just as Jacob came sputtering upright.

Hannah nearly fell down the falls when she doubled over laughing. Her husband managed to stay upright.

"It would seem the spirit of the river has accepted your challenge, Ten-Iqesqes!"

Jacob glared at the offending fish before wading nearer to the shore.

Valerie was about to try to convince him to try again, then her expression hardened as he turned and tensed. "Oh, no no no, neci Conejo, don't you do it!"

He did it. As soon as the fish jumped up the falls, Jacob leapt and tackle it with a war cry. Both fell back down the falls with a splash. Everyone stared dumbfounded for a moment, until the two splashed up out of the water again, and again, and again.

-Splash- "I Got Him!" -splash-

-Splash- "I'm wearing him down!" -splash-

-Splash- "I need an old priest and a…" -splash-

-Splash- "The power of Christ compels…" -splash-

-Splash- "The power of Christ compels…" -splash-

The Grisleighs broke down laughing again as Barbara waded out and retrieved Jacob and his fish. Once ashore, they saw Jacob had his legs wrapped around the trout, while biting it on top of the head and punching it in the gills.

Once the fish stopped fighting, Jacob let go. Standing up, he looked at his foe and raised his arms in triumph, flinging water everywhere.

"Victory is mine!"

His ears shot up when he heard Valerie's pedal paw drumming on the stone. He turned around, slowly lowering his arms, and saw she was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes wide and her ears pointing straight back. Jacob sheepishly smiled at her.

"I love you!?"

That evening, Val, Jacob and the Grisleigh's enjoyed a feast of local wild greens salad, and smoked trout that had been caught the day before. The, 'Spirit of the River', as Jacob had taken to calling the fish he had fought earlier that day, was being smoked for transport back to the city. Jacob and Valerie had already eaten the fish he had 'caught' the day before. Once everyone had eaten their fill, Barbara and Ben put on an impromptu show; the (brand new) story of Ten-Iqesqes and the River Beast. Their traditional dance and singing gave gravitas to what everyone present knew to be a ridiculous incident. The two cubs bowed to the laughter and applause of everyone present.

Jacob grinned ear to ear. "I will be very disappointed if that doesn't become a part of your people's folk-lore."

"Not to worry," Adam chortled, "…I'll sing that story at the next Inter-Tribal Council meeting myself; you will live on in Chinook and Salish legend for generations to come."

Val smirked at Jacob. "Satisfied? Your legend will live on; maybe now you can stop acting like a leverette and taking Loco risks and scaring me like that!" Her comment was punctuated with a flick to his ear. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to do a little editing." She held a digit in front of Jacob's muzzle to forestall any comment. "Ahahahah! Not one word, Neci Umbra; I may love you, but you're not off the hook that easily. Just take it like an Owsla." She kissed him on the nose, then headed upstairs.

Jacob watched her leave, with a happy grin on his face. "I will gladly make a fool of myself every day for the rest of my life, if it keeps her smiling like that."

When he turned back to his hosts, they were looking at him with their own smiles, as Hannah hugged her husband. "Maybe you could find ways that don't scare her out of her fur? Speaking as a wife and a mother, that is a hard-enough fear to live with, without the one you love putting themselves needlessly in danger."

Jacob was about to say something, when he paused. "I've lived so much of my life in a state of threat; gang life as a teenager, the military, and then the police, I guess I just don't see it as abnormal any more. I just, brush it off as 'the way of things'. I suppose, if God can send someone as wonderful as her into my life, he's more than able to send a Blue-Jay to show me my own folly and set me back on track."

Everyone relaxed for a moment, then Jacob's phone went off with a text alert. Looking down, he saw it was from Pearl. There were two more alerts in rapid succession, and that was when he saw it was sent to several people at once; all cops. He was a little concerned when he opened it, but he was soon laughing. When Adam got up to see what Jacob found so funny, the hare turned the screen, so the two larger animals could see it. There were three parts: one was a dash-cam still image of the back of a black SUV with government plates, the second was a phone picture of a ticket for 'Failing to signal', and 'five MPH over the speed limit'. The final part was three words:

-Sweet, petty vengeance!-

Once Jacob had gotten himself back under control, he waved off his hosts.

"I'll explain some other time; confidentiality clauses and all that. Right now, I've got to show this to Val."

Jacob, Nick, and Judy were all at McGruff's, a restaurant they frequented whenever Jacob was near Precinct One. All of them had taken advantage of their enforced time off. Jacob told his friends some stories of his and Val's trip. Nick had spent the time looking at apartments in the same building as Lilly and Mitch; he wanted to have his mother move out of her current place, and into a better neighborhood. The irony of 'Happytown' being a step or several up from her current place in Savannah Central, was not lost on anyone. As for Judy…

"…so, there was my dad, literally cap in hand, apologizing for how they had acted. I know what they did was wrong, and so do they, but I never wanted to humble them like that."

Nick rested a paw on her shoulder. "It's hard to think of your parents as flawed mammals, just like it's hard for them to see you as an independent adult. Just remember that if they weren't your parents, how they've treated you would be unacceptable."

"I know, and I told them both as much; treating me with less respect than they give strangers isn't going to cut it." -huff- "Anyway, we sat down to talk. Turns out, part of the problem is the new Pacifican State regulations on the use of Midnicampum since Bellwether. Dad's had to pretty much scrap his entire pest control scheme. Since the Tri-Burrows is all watershed land, there's no pesticides or nitrates allowed. Three farms have already had to apply for subsidies, and the Tuathanac family had to sell their farm off when a blight hit their entire crop. I'll grant, Clarence was probably most to blame; he's been mono-cropping Silage Corn for the Tri-Burrows BP ethanol plant for the past 10 years. Their land is pretty much just clay now; but the timing has all the surrounding farms running scared."

Judy took a pull from her beer. "Well, mom and dad had this, 'perfect solution'; start divvying up the farm to their daughters as dowries. Burrow law precludes taxing dowry land for ten years, to give the new family a chance to get their farm up and running."

Jacob cocked his ears in confusion. "How was that supposed to fix the whole, 'new pest control strategy' issue?"

"That's just it, it doesn't; It keeps the farm in the family, but it does nothing to ensure the farm prospers! And it's not like there aren't ways to keep the farm solvent and up with the times. My little brother Peter, who's from my aunt Eugenia's second litter with her third husband Walter Proudfoot…"

Nick made a shushing motion with his paws. "We don't need a reading from the Book of Neuteronomy, Carrots; we just OW!" He immediately started rubbing his shin where Judy kicked him. The frown on her face was only somewhat playful.

Jacob gestured with the celery stalk from his Bloody-Mary. "First, Smug Rug, you deserved that. Second, you're thinking of the Begats in Genesis, not Deuteronomy."

"Thank you, Jacob." Judy nodded to the hare. "Now, where was I?"

Jacob set his celery stick down. "And Walter lived thirty years, and begat Peter-Ow!" He started rubbing his shin where Judy kicked him, while Nick laughed.

"Hate you both." She growled and took another swig. "So, Peter, who graduated with a Masters in Agricultural Sciences at, like, 18; the kit's scary smart; he had an idea to introduce free-range poultry onto the farm. Guinea Hens will devour produce pests, fertilize the soil, and are a second and third revenue stream, what with eggs and poultry meat, as well as the potential to rent the birds to other farms. But dad was all set in his ways: 'We've farmed for generations using Midnicampum for pest control, this is a phase, it'll pass…' blah, blah, blah."

Nick looked at her in concern. "Little bitter there, Fluff?"

She threw her arms up in frustration. "He blew off another one of the kits, just like he did with me; I mean, they pretty much ignore Jen because they think she's gonna come back to the Burrow to practice medicine. Joke's on them; but Peter wants to be a part of the farm's future! It's just, painful seeing how self-involved my parents have become when it comes to the farm; they want it to thrive, but they're afraid of change." Judy blew out a breath. "I think they get it now. I got a message from Peter's doefriend, Clover, thanking me for getting my parents to listen to his proposal. All I did was let them know they needed to respect their kits as mammals, not just as their property."

Both hers and Nick's eye lit up when an alarm went off on Nicks phone. The tod turned to one of the wait-mammals at the bar. "Hey, buddy, could you turn the TV to ZNN?"

Jacob looked at Judy, who smiled and shrugged. "We got a message from Val to watch the news at this hour, tonight."

They all turned to face the screen, as Peter Moosebridge and Fabian Growley came on to give their closing remarks.

"Thanks, Benet. And now, on the lighter side of news; a new form of extreme sport fishing?" Peter looked to his co-anchor.

Jacob's ears shot straight up in alarm, as Fabian turned to face the camera, a smile tugging at the corners of her muzzle. "So it would seem, Peter. Our own Valerie Coneja managed to capture footage of ZPD's Jacob Raibert practicing this new method. Let's take a look."

The night of the auction Gala was here, and Valerie was front row with all the movers and shakers of Zootopia. Horace had brought her on as his +1, but she was there to cover the event, so she was in a smart grey two-piece pants suit. She still had some latitude as to how she proceeded, so she was currently wandering the grand hall of the Fine Arts Museum, where the event was being held. There were tables near the main auction podium, on which the various items were displayed, while finely dressed mammals circulated the crowd doing their best to draw interest in those items.

One such mammal who had caught Val's eye, though she didn't know why at first, was a svelte Belgian Hare in a one-piece black evening gown. Her own experiences with Belgians were less than pleasant, so she was initially going to ignore the doe, until she noticed who she was aiming towards. A flustered Judy Hopps stood in a very tasteful and stylish black pencil skirt and jacket over a cream blouse. Beside her was Richard Davis, in a charcoal-grey Tuxedo; though instead of a formal bow tie, he wore a black string tie with an obsidian arrowhead. The understated pair were actually quite striking next to the ostentatious plumage of high society. Though she could claim she was going over to interview the two, she noticed the predatory gleam in the Belgian doe's eyes. That galvanized Val to act; no gold-digging bunny was going to ruin her friend's evening.

She was making her way over to the pair, when Dickie noticed the doe. His posture changed from relaxed, to formal with a business smile, and he looped his arm through Hopps'. Val wanted to laugh at the idea of using the small grey doe as a living shield, though to hear Jacob tell it, she more than lived up to her Pictish heritage. Judy immediately noticed her partner's change in demeanor and began subtly looking around for the threat. It was clear she had slipped into police mode, as her eyes slid over the oncoming mammal without taking notice. Val was still a few paces away when Judy finally noticed the real threat.

"Mr. Davis!" The sales doe slipped her paw through Dickie's free arm while smiling suggestively. "Do you see anything you like?"

Judy's ears shot straight up and began to flag at the presence of the floor mammal, obviously not accustomed to this type of social combat. Luckily, her partner for the evening was an accomplished verbal combatant, as he deftly moved the arm that had been co-opted and gesture to one of the items while walking towards it, still holding Judy's arm.

"Actually, I have a friend who has recently taken up fishing; this is a Cat Pagle signature, isn't it?" Val almost laughed at the frustrated look on the Belgian doe's face, though she soon recovered. She was about to go into her sales pitch, when Valerie arrived.

She put on her best reporter's smile and strode up to the trio. "Mr. Davis; good evening! And Officer Judy Hopps, what a pleasure. Valerie Coneja, ZNN." She turned to face the display item, putting herself between Dickie and the floor mammal. "Fishing seems to be all the craze lately; are you considering taking it up yourself?"

His shoulders visibly relaxed, and Judy smiled in thanks. "Actually, I was thinking of getting it for our mutual friend. How is he, by the way?"

"Pulling an overtime shift out front so he has tomorrow off. Honestly, though the sentiment would be appreciated, it would likely be wasted on him. He's been talking to some mammals about deep sea fishing."

Judy snickered. "Sounds like he's read Lemmingway's, 'Old mam and the sea', and started getting ideas." All three joined in for a laugh, at which point the Belgian stalked away.

Judy hesitated for a moment, then looked sidelong at Dickie. "She was pretty."

The buck snorted. "So are Coral Snakes; I don't want one of those hanging off my arm either. In all seriousness, how are you two doing? It's been a month and a half, and all that's been on the news was that sanitized speech the Commissioner gave last week. He looked like he'd swallowed a live scorpion while giving it."

Val and Judy both huffed, then looked at each other and gave pained smiles. "I couldn't say, officially or otherwise."

Judy hugged Dickie's arm a little tighter when he got a crestfallen look, then whispered, "She threatened to scalp one of the mammals from Philly, then engrave the First Amendment onto their forehead, so I think her boss is trying to keep her 'safe'." Val blushed a little, but otherwise looked unrepentant.

Any other comments were delayed as a trio of nearly identical arctic vixens in black pant suits walked up to the group.

"Oh, my gawd, Judy, you look fantastic!" The tinny voice of a shrew came from the arms of one of the vixens.

Judy smiled brightly. "Fru Fru! Anthony! Oh, it's so good to see you. And little Judy!" she detached from Dickie's arm and began fussing with her namesake. "Where are Kevin and the boys?"

"They're all down in VT Commons at Temple; Boris' little one, Morris, is having his Bar Mitzvah today, so daddy gave them all the day off."

Mr. Big grunted in approval. "Yes, well I make it a point to reward the mammals under my care, commensurate to their actions. Mr. Davis, a pleasure as always. I would never dream of pressing business on such a festive occasion, but would it be possible to arrange a date to sit down and talk? I have some associates who would like to discuss arrangements for shipment and transport."

The tension was back in Dickie's posture. "Of course, I'll have my office review my schedule for when you can come down to the tower."

Val sensed the tension in the air and felt the need to act. "Well, as much as I would like to stand around and reminisce, I am here in an official capacity. To that end, Mr. Davis, Mr. Bagnoli, do you have any comments for the general public on the event tonight?"

There was a thankful look in the buck's eyes when he turned towards Valerie.

"Actually, yes. While it's always heartening to see Zootopia come together in support and solidarity with the brotherhood of mammalkind, none of this would have been possible, were it not for the valiant efforts of the ZPD, Officers Hopps and Wilde in particular. They are partly responsible for saving everything here from loss, including several donations from mine and Mr. Bagnoli's estates. I'm sure Anthony would agree, that we all owe her and her colleagues a debt, of gratitude."

There was a moment of hesitation as both Fru Fru and Anthony looked pointedly at Dickie, before the elder shrew spoke. "Truer words could not be said about Miss Hopps, and her colleagues. If you will excuse me, I see the city Surgeon General waving me over. Good day, Miss Hopps, Miss Coneja." He pointedly did not address Dickie before he and his entourage left.

A moment later, dual calls of, "Judy!" came from either side of the group of lagomorphs. Catherine Montaigne was in a fur-hugging red silk ankle length gown, and Pearl Swineheart was in a flattering off white two-piece dress, surrounded by a sounder of hogs that all bore striking resemblance to her. All started heading over to Judy and company.

Val chuckled. "I need to bring you along with me to more events like this, Judy; everyone who's anyone seems to come to you."

Val felt as if the only thing keeping her from binkying was the weight of Jacob on her arm as they were leaving the Zootennial Stadium. During the previous night's Gala, Catherine Montaigne had introduced Val to Gazelle, who had in turn introduced everyone to Roger Bove. Both the Iberian Bull and Zootopia's darling had been delighted when, in her excitement, Val had slipped into their native tongue. It was then that Gazelle suggested they should continue their discussion the next night, after the exhibition match. This is how Valerie found herself and Jacob leaving the arena with Señor Bove, Gazelle and their collective entourages through the VIP side entrance.

Jacob chuckled and smiled at Val. "Relax, émartha olma."

She tightened her grip on his arm. "Are you kidding?! My papa used to take us to Barcelona to the Iberian league Bullfights when I was little; I still remember that first match against Emilio LaPlancha!"

Roger laughed. "Ah, that seems a lifetime ago! I never thought I'd meet such an avid or loyal fan this far from Andalusia." He noticed the uncomfortable look in the eyes of one of Gazelle's dancers. "I take it, Señor, that you are not a fan?" The young Bengal looked away for a moment. "Now, there is no need for that. The fights may be a part of my heritage, but I am not so self indulgent as to be offended that someone doesn't approve. I fight, because it is a tradition within my family, within my people since the time of the kingdom of Minoa, when King Midas granted the first Golden Hoof and the title, Minotaur, to the one who would serve as his champion. I fight to remember my people, and those times when we were not allowed to be Minoan. Last, I fight to test my skill, not to visit pain on another."

Jacob thought back to his own troubles accepting that there were those who could not understand why he, '…clung to the brutal traditions…' of his ancestors. There was a purity in the Minotaur's desire and reason for fighting that Jacob had lacked in his youth.

He was about to voice this thought as they exited the building, when a crashing noise near the end of the alleyway caused them to look up. A black panel van had backed into the end of the alley, blocking the exit. When the rear doors opened, a pack of wolves in balaclavas came pouring out towards Roger and the group. The bull's entourage closed ranks around him, just as Gazelle's dancers did the same for her. The pack crashed into the bull fighter's group with a snarl and immediately started trying to batter their way towards Roger, while a small number headed towards the singer.

Before either Jacob or Valerie could react, a pair of wolves were thrown bodily over Bove's group and landed in front of them. They rolled easily with the landing and turned on the two hares. One reached for Jacob, who promptly grasped the canid's outstretched paw and yanked. The wolf lurched forward, off balanced, and braced himself on all fours. He turned to deal with Jacob, only to be stamp kicked in the temple. The attacker collapsed to the ground, stunned. As he had no way to secure his assailant, Jacob opted for a less subtle method of ensuring the wolf was no longer a threat, and dislocated both of his shoulders. The wolf's pained howl was echoed by his partner. When Jacob looked over, he saw that Valerie had pulled a Nevaja out of her purse and used it to pin her attacker's left manual paw to his own left thigh. That wolf's cries were soon silenced when the jill delivered a machinegun fast series of punches to the lupine's slack jaw.

Trying not to be mesmerized by Val's fighting spirit, Jacob assessed the battlefield. He noticed a familiar muzzle looking out the back of the van; it was the LoN spy Amon. Jacob quickly turned to Valerie. "Marli-rah, call it in!"

Turning back to the conflict at paw, he pointed at the Jackal. "YOU!" Jacob dropped to all fours and bolted towards the van. At the same time there was another pained yelp, and the sound of a body colliding with a wall. Without hesitating, the Jackal turned to the driver and said something, at which point the vehicle took off, leaving the pack to its fate.

Jacob was about to leap into the fray, when the alley was filled with tiger's roar, stunning nearly every mammal there. Not a moment later, a massive Bengal tiger in police service blues slammed into the back of the wolf pack. What had started out as a baker's dozen assailants, had been reduced to three lone wolves who immediately bolted for the alley entrance. Two were dropped with the distinctive -sizzle/crack- of a new police-issued wireless Taser. The third wolf jumped at the shooter, a statuesque white-tail doe officer. She simply braced her legs and lowered her head and caught the attacker in her rack. Whatever fight the canid might have had, ended when she head-butted the wolf against the side of the building. All was silence for a moment.

"Samir, Eveline; good to see you both." Jacob nodded to his academy mates.

"Savage." The young tiger nodded back. "I'm surprised you left anything for us."

Officer Whitall calmly walked towards the group. "Sammy, could I get a paw, please?" At her partner's confused look, she gestured to the unconscious wolf, tangled in her rack. With a chagrined smile, he started dislodging the mammal from her headgear.

EMT's and additional officers were soon filling the alley. At one point, Eveline had to bodily lift Jacob by his coat collar and set him next to Valerie; he figured that she needed him out from under hoof as the investigation started, but her stern look and head nodding towards Val finally clued him in to where he needed to be right then, as the jill was shivering and silently crying from stress. So, there he sat, doing the only thing he could, and held Valerie.

Out of the confrontation, there were several injuries, nearly all suffered by the pack or Roger's security detail. There had been one fatality, among the group that tried to attack Gazelle; one of the dancers had swiped at the oncoming wolf, sending the mammal flying. The young tiger's sniffles turned into full blown hysterics when the coroner's technicians carried the body away in two trips. Gazelle and the other dancers tried to console their friend as best they could.

Val stood shakily, with Jacob hovering close by, and walked over to the distraught mammal. "Sanje, was it?" She lay a paw gently on the tiger's thigh. "Don't try to deal with this alone. You have friends; let them share your burden." When the weeping mammal looked up, she handed him a card from her purse. "Talk to someone. This is my therapist. If she doesn't have any availability, she'll contact someone who does. You're not alone." The crying feline nodded, then gently scooped her into a hug, which she returned as best she could for the larger mammal.

Once Sanje's panic attack had passed, and their statements had been taken, Gazelle and her troupe headed home. Jacob sat back down on the curb next to the stadium wall with Val and rubbed her back. "I didn't know." Jacob nodded to her purse, where the card had come from.

"You couldn't have; I didn't tell you." She leaned into him.

"I feel like I should have known; like I've somehow failed you by not being aware of something that important."

She gave a watery snort. "Now I feel bad for not trusting you with this." She nuzzled into the hollow of his neck. "I want my knife back. There's a mammal dead, and all I can think of is my knife."

He resisted the urge to laugh. "You'll get it back, once they confirm it wasn't used in the commission of a crime; I'll see that you get it back."

As he rested his chin on top of her head, he noticed something sticking out of a sewer grate next to her pedal paw. He searched around for a moment for something to grab it with, when he saw Nick helping with the deposition of one of Roger's security detail. He gave a short whistle and a flick of his ear to draw the vulpine's attention. When Nick could break loose, he tiredly walked over.

"Hey buddy, Valerie. How're you holding up?"

Jacob shrugged noncommittally. "As well as can be expected. Oh, mind your step."

When Wilde looked down and saw the cylinder sticking out of the drain, he glanced at Jacob, who subtly nodded. He knelt down and used a latex glove to extract the object. It was an insulated handle with a switch on the side. From one end of the cylinder, projected a loosely wound heavy metal coil, surrounding a heavily insulated post with a small engraved plate at the end. When Wilde activated the switch, the coil began to glow, and heated the plate. This caused the engraving to come into stark contrast: it was a bared clawed paw, surrounded by a shield. Wilde shivered for a moment, then turned the brand off. Once he was sure it was cool to the touch, he placed it in an evidence bag and handed it to the lead officer on site. "You two should head home; I'll walk you to your car."

Jacob tried to take Valerie to her cousin's house, but she was having none of it, so he called home. Amelia was more than happy to host Val in her room for the night. Once they came in, Jacob's mother was instantly by their side. "Are you two alright? They said there was some kind of attack, but not who was involved!"

Jacob hesitated for a moment, then growled; procedure be damned, he wasn't going to leave his family in the dark on this one. "It's the Thule Society." His mother and grandfather both gasped. "We're alright, but it's not, it's not safe in the city. We need the FCDC to step up watches. No one travels alone."

His mother took a calming breath and nodded. "Methi laythe, Owsla-fa." (It will be as you say, Owsla-fa.) She then turned to the living room and started to make phone calls. Jacob didn't think he would ever get used to his mother calling him that.

She paused in her calling and looked over her shoulder. "Oh, a certified letter came for you while you were out today; it's on the coffee table."

Jacob left Val with Amelia and went into the living room to get the letter. It was from the LoNF's regional office of recruiting and retention. The whole house stopped when Jacob shouted.

"Hraka!"

His mother turned immediately to reprimand his language, when she saw the set of his ears, and the fire in his eyes. Val and Amelia both came in and saw his state. "Umbra amore?"

Jacob could only brandish the letter before throwing it on the table.

"Attention to orders: this is to certify that Sgt. Raibert, Jacob E., has been recalled to active duty effective immediately. You are to report to Military Enlistment Processing Center, Zootopia, no later than…"