Acknowledgement:
I would like to thank ADeadMissionary for helping me edit this chapter. You can check out his profile and stories at your own leisure.
www fanfiction net / u/ 1160012/
Disclaimer:
The following is a fan-based fiction. Zootopia and its characters are owned by Disney. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artist as well.
(The song Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz begins to play)
Chesterization proudly presents
A Zootopia fanfiction
Wild times with Wilde: Renovated
(Song ends)
Chapter 5: The Perfect Storm
It was 9 A.M, 14th June. To Judy, the day started out just like any other. She woke up, jumped from her creaking bed and did a few stretches. Something in her back always snapped as she did, the muscles tightening and loosening themselves, soothing the aches left behind by her lumpy mattress. She snapped up from her last bone-popping pose, ears erect and eyes shining. She felt refreshed, great even. The day was long ahead and for once she did not have to worry about anything (at least not yet). She looked at the clock on her little desk. She had slept for 8 hours and 30 minutes straight, something that only happened on Sunday for her.
As usual, she had a slice of bread with peanut butter for breakfast. A necessary meal to balance out all the high-in-sugar carrots that she consumed each day. The rabbit quickly finished her snack and get dressed. Maybe a casual walk would make her feel even better, she thought.
After a few minutes, Judy left her apartment. It was hot out that day. The forecast app on her phone claimed it would stay that way for the rest of the weekend (the perfect weather for an outing). She wandered around Zootopia, reliving brief flashbacks of those awestruck moments she'd had when she first set foot in this city. Back then, everything had been so bright and colorful. Everyone was constantly on the move and so lively. Now that she was used to it, it did not seem so magical anymore.
Judy kept on walking forward. Once in awhile, her feet made a left or a right turn. She planned on wasting time until lunch and then wasting some more time until dinner. She was particularly looking forward to dinner. The bunny traveled to a part of town she had not yet visited. One filled with lots of alleyways and more shabby apartments.
Something caught her attention. A group of predators was gathered in a nearby alleyway. There were six of them, all dressed like high schoolers on the weekend. Normally, she would not have noticed this sort of thing, because 'a second lost would be a ticket lost.' Now, with all the time in the world, Judy could afford curiosity. She started following the group as they headed for a nearby train station. Their spirits were high, each of them laughing and joking the whole way.
Something in Hopps's mind interpreted a group of predators wanting to spend their Saturday having fun as something alarming. Maybe it was because one of the predators would stop and look around suspiciously. Maybe it was something her colleagues, the 'real cops', would do. Maybe she just perceived a group of predators as something worth checking.
However, the moment they stepped on the highway and started walking out of the city, she knew something was up. A few minutes before they reached the edge of the city, the predators looked back one last time. Judy ducked out of sight just in time, hiding in some tall grass just off the road. They pierced their gaze to the end of the highway, making sure that there was no car in sight. Confident the road was clear, they all shouted excitedly. "Wooooooooo!" they howled, then turned and started running full speed down the road. Hearing the rapid slaps of hind paws on pavement, Judy began to run as well. Keeping to the tall grass that ran along the road, Judy used her superb hearing and swift feet to catch up.
She froze as the sound of the predators' feet suddenly stopped. Had they discovered her? She strained her hearing for a clue. There was the sound of grass crunching under foot, but it was heading away from her. They were walking off the highway. They were still joking, something about punching all the fish.
Judy waited for a moment before advancing. Once she did, a clearing and a sign with a fox in the collar of shame came into view. A clinic? For predators only? Her mind then tried to piece all that together. Maybe these predators were just trying to get to this clinic, after all. However, she shot that scenario down immediately. Who would visit a clinic so far out of town? And why would they be so excited? She had a closer look at the sign. Something about it seemed oddly familiar, especially the handwriting.
She turned and went along the trail of cut grass. Soon, she stumbled upon a clearing full of cars, all of which neatly parked around the unnamed 'clinic'. She quickly ran to the side of the building, keeping her posture low to evade the view from the window. She pressed her hands against the wall, feeling how flimsy it was. This doesn't seem to be built up to code, she thought. With her ear pressed against the wall, she traced the mumbling sound from within. That sound made all the way to the back of the clinic. Reached the edge of the wall, she stopped and observed. The first thing she saw baffled her.
It was a chubby cheetah unlocking the collar for one of the young predators, smiling cheerfully and welcoming them. How? The thought sparked in her head. Instinct told her to jump in the tall grass on the side. The employees in charge of the Collar Check would have seen her if they had just turned to the left.
Slowly, steadily, she approached the giant hangar behind the mock clinic. Judy got to the wall of the hangar and found a line of ladders nailed to the wall. Her mind was about to go nuts at how this had violated so many safety procedures. However, no violation could top seeing how the T.A.M.E shock collars had been unlocked like security tags from the local mall. She no longer cared what was wrong anymore: She just wanted some answers. Judy grabbed the first ladder, only for the thing to creak loudly under her weight. It was then she caught a message scribbled on the rusted wall. For the love of everything holy, Ben, don't climb this! She did not know who Ben was, but she hoped that he was not a rabbit.
After a slightly nerve wracking climb Judy got herself on the roof. The near midday heat was not too bad up there. As she started to walk around, she wondered why every window was covered with such a thick coat of black paint. Slight vibrations ran under her feet, punctuated by the screams of excitement and howling. She approached one of the blackened windows and had a peek through a crack. She was confused for a moment, feeling as if she was looking into one of those expensive dollhouses on TV. This dollhouse appeared to be called Wild Times and instead of a castle or a mansion, this dollhouse was a fair of some sort. She was surprised to see dozens of predators wandering about, enjoying the rides. She even spotted the group of predators from before in line for the Go Fishing attraction. With all of the lights and sounds and movement, it took her a while to realize that none of the predators were wearing their collars. Once she caught on, she immediately realized, Of course, that's what the Collar Check is for!
However, none of this was as surprising to her as seeing Nick amongst the crowd. The bunny rubbed her eyes, thinking that would somehow make his image change to another fox. When she looked back, she found nothing had changed. It was still Nick. She squinted her eyes and had a better look at what he was doing. The idea of Nick being one of the customers was shattered when he pulled the lever of the Roar-a-Coaster. Judy turned away from the glass and sat on the roof. She hid her face with her paws, completely lost. After a second or two, she pulled out her phone and had a look at it. The glare caused by the midday sun caused her some trouble, but she managed to pull up her contact list. A doubt ran through her head, but before she could second guess herself, she tapped Nick's number.
Feeling a buzz, Nick stopped what he was doing and pulled out his phone. He raised a brow as did so, curious. Usually, no one would call him at this hour, so it might be important. Seeing the screen flash the name Carrots made him a little worried. Did she decide to cancel the whole thing? Or did something go wrong again? Abandoning his post, he ran toward the Collar Check. When he arrived, he said, "Hey, Clawhauser! Can you fill my spot? I have an emergency call."
"Oh, sure. No Problem, Nick." The cheetah saluted him.
As Nick sprinted toward his office, Finnick told Clawhauser. "I bet ya 50 bucks that's the girl on the line."
The larger mammal made his 'Awwwww' face. "Who do you think the lucky vixen is?"
"The kid said she's no vixen, I know that much." Finnick shrugged. "Anyway, I think you should take his post. The line is getting long."
Nick quickly entered his office and closed the door. Once again, he forgot to lock it. He turned to the window that watched over the park and answered his phone. Behind him, his office door creaked open. His Wild-Times'-president-energy oozed through the line as he spoke, "Hey! Good morning, Carrots. How are you feeling today? Any better?"
"Kinda. Something is still bothering me. I can't shake it off for some reason."
Nick chuckled, "Well, I can't help you with that. I'm no psychiatrist, but I can lend you some money to get a good one."
"Oh please. I can take care of myself."
"Suit yourself. So, what's the occasion? You're not canceling the dinner, are you? I already booked the place."
"No. I was just wandering around. I don't know what to do, so I decided to bother you a little. Is this a bad time?"
He looked out at the park and spotted Clawhauser having some trouble with the console that ran the Roar-a-Coaster. "Ehhhh, I'm kinda busy right now. So, find your own answer in that."
She paused. "Sorry about that. Nick, are you enjoying your work?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, it is not as glamorous as being a meter maid, but it's good enough. It's a little loud, though."
"I see." She took a deep breath then exhaled. "Guess I should let you get back to it. See you tonight, then."
"I'll pick you up at 7 near your place. See you around, Carrots."
"Stop calling me that."
"Not in a million years. Bye." He hung up the phone with a smile on his face.
Nick turned around and to find an uninvited guest standing in the open doorway. Raising a dart gun, the wolf in a trench coat gave Nick no chance respond before he fired. A syringe speared into Nick's right arm. The fox looked down at the dart in shock, flabbergasted. He looked up at the wolf, an expletive on his lips, but was cut off as his body convulsed. He collapsed to his hands and knees, barely keeping from landing flat on his face. He gasped as he felt his heart race in his chest and his body begin to burn from the poison coursing through his veins. His neck and shoulder muscles tensed up. The fox's chest tightened, feeling like his lungs were crushed. His vision began to grow hazy, a red fog descending over everything.
Unnoticed, the wolf calmly walked to the ailing fox's side and removed the dart from his arm. Pocketing the syringe, he walked out of the office, quickly and quietly.
Behind him, Nick began to claw at the floor, leaving long gouges in the wood. As his thoughts were overtaken, he completely forgot about keeping the park running or dinner with Judy. He no longer thought with words. Instead only a savage instinct remained: BITE AND CHEW.
Just as the wolf stepped down from the stairs and disappeared into the crowd, Judy resumed her spot at the window to observe the park. A confused jumble of thoughts ran through her mind.
Maybe he has a good explanation.
At least all the predators are contained.
I mean, it's not like anyone got hurt from this.
To be fair, some of the rides look kinda fun.
I wouldn't mind trying one of those.
Maybe I could blackmail Nick into it.
What are you saying, Judy? That's not being an officer is about.
Would you just face the music already? You are not a real officer. You're a meter maid. If they don't take you seriously, why should you? Have some fun for once.
No, I can't do that. What'd happen if-
A floodgate of distressed screams broke her thoughts. Judy saw the predators were crowding toward the exit. From her high vantage point, it looked like a colony of ants whose nest had just been stepped on. When she looked in the opposite direction, what she saw made her cover her mouth.
Nick was on all fours, his claws stuck out like knives. His dilated pupils were fixed on his prey. He pounced and started swiping his claws left and right, ferociously attacking the badger in charge of the gift shop. The only thing that prevented her from being torn apart was a small wooden door ripped straight from the shop. The badger was using it as a shield, which worked great at first. But as Nick clawed and hammered at it, cracks began to appear, threatening to tear the door apart. Fortunately, a rock flew to the side of Nick's head. The sudden sharp pain distracted Nick from Honey, giving her the perfect window to run away.
Watching the attack made Judy's breaths turn fast and shallow. She touched the side of her cheek where the three scars resided. They began to sting with phantom pain.
Down at the park, after throwing the stone, Finnick yelled at the top of his lungs. "Hey, Jackass. Over here!" He waved his tiny arms, hogging all Nick's attention to himself. Nick snarled at him. The fox crouched down, muscles bunching. Finnick knew all too well what Nick was about to do. He muttered to himself. "This is a horrible idea." Nick lunged at him. Finnick quickly back stepped, gained some distance away from Nick. As Nick was about to make a consecutive attack, a flashing red dot moved from Nick's forehead to his right eye. The intense light made the fox recoil and wince. The red laser dot did not let up, as Nick opened his eyes, it continued the assault on them. That caused the fox to bash his head to the ground as if that somehow would rub away the blinding red in his eye.
"What is happening to him?" Clawhauser said as he clutched tight to the improvised laser tag gun, which was just a hair dryer with a laser pointer attached. The cheetah could feel the handle of the gun starting to get slippery.
While backing away alongside Clawhauser, Finnick said, "I don't know, but I ain't sticking around to find out." Finnick turned around, yelled. "Everybody get out! We are experiencing technical difficulties!" That would not be needed for the park was nearly empty when he said that. Seeing how Nick was still rolling on the ground, trying to recover from the red laser assault, Finnick and Clawhauser immediately bolted out of the park. Just as they exited the gate, Honey's hands were already on the handle. The three employees of Wild Times closed the main gate, containing Nick inside.
From above, upon seeing the crowd of predators running toward the parked cars without their collars, Judy muttered to herself, "No, no, no, you are not supposed to do that." Judy looked away from the window crack. With her breathing under control, she dialed the ZPD.
It was awfully quiet within Alex's small quarters. He slowly opened his eyes and stared blearily into the burning light bulb mounted on the ceiling. His head may have felt like being in a blender loaded with razor blades, but his urge to 'get to work' forced him to stand up. His vision swam, tossing the room around him. He frantically searched for the chair in front his computer desk and sat down. After a moment to regain his equilibrium, he fished his phone out of his pocket and had a look. "Crap, it's 11:30 already? Well, guess that's what days off are for." He tapped on his phone, making a call. Alex opened his mouth halfway and adjusted his voice a little. "Hello, Mr. Douglas? Yeah, it's me, Mark Lago. I'm calling to- Yes, I am terribly sorry. I was- Okay, let's be honest here. I had an unexpected party yesterday and- Well, this is embarrassing," Alex rubbed the back of his head, "But, that's why I couldn't come to work today." He opened one of his drawers and took out a pill bottle. The cat swallowed one pill from it while the animal on the other line blabbed about what it was like to be young. "Oh, thank you for that sir." The sharp ache in the back of his head intensified for a second, then began to ebb away as the pill went to work. "Was there any trouble during my absence? No? Oh, good, that's a relief. Well, that is all sir. I wish you a good day and again, terribly sorry. I'll write my report and send it to you."
He hung up the phone and placed it on the desk. He rubbed his temples, waiting for his throbbing headache to fade. It was then Alex noticed how quiet everything around him was. He raised his head and cocked it, listening intently. It was almost noon on a weekend. The park should be crowded, shaking his room with the rumble of the Roar-a-Coaster and screams of delight. However, that day, it was as silent as a mouse's funeral. As soon as he felt he could walk straight again, Alex unlocked the door and stepped out.
He glanced around curiously. All the lights were on, which meant the park was open, but the main gate was closed. The lack of customers was rather odd. Alex's ear twitched as he heard something in the otherwise silent space. He followed the sound to Nick. Bizarrely, the fox was sharpening his claws on one of the palm tree cutouts. "Nick! What are you doing? You know we can barely afford to fix things without… you..." He trailed off as Nick pulled his claws from the plywood and sank to all fours. The fox turned to glare at the cat, his teeth pulled back in a vicious snarl
Hungover as he was, Alex did not know how to respond to that. He began to chatter nervously, "Why are you walking like that? Where the hell is everybody?" Nick gradually approached him. Alex could see and hear his claws leaving imprints on the concrete floor. Alex took a few steps back, slowly. "What in the flying hell are you doing?" Sweat started dripping down his back. Nick paused, locking his vision on the confused cat. With no warning, he rushed forward. Alex's fight or flight reflexes cranked to maximum efficiency. Adrenaline instantly fueled his muscles. The cat dropped to all fours and bolted toward his room. Nick pounced forward and Alex made a sharp turn, narrowly evaded the strike. Once Alex was back inside his quarters, he slammed the door shut and locked it. He then took cover beside the door.
Alex screamed out, feeling like the fist in his chest was trying to punch its way out of his chest. "Nick! Are you nuts?!" Nick responded with a growl and slammed against the door, visibly denting it. Alex jerked from the door with a school-girl shriek. "EEK! Ahaha! Okay, you got me. Very funny. A-class prank on the poor foreigner. Let's stop now, this is starting to scare the living crap out of me!" Alex babbled. He saw his trusty gym bag lying nearby. Without hesitation, the cat reached out and grabbed it. Another slam occurred. This time, it busted one of the hinges open. He quickly retreated to the corner. As Nick's incoherent growling continued, Alex unzipped the bag and took out his makeshift shock baton. The two Taser guns from before were now strapped to the area above the bat's handle. The wires and probes taken from the guns were connected to copper wires that wrapped around the middle section to the tip of the bat.
With two hands held tight to the handle and his back pinned to the wall, Alex shouted. "Nick, listen! Let's talk about this like civilized beings." He took a deep breath. "What the hell is up with you?" His only answer was another slam to the door. The two remaining hinges barely held on. "You got to stop this Nick, or I'll have to use force. I know fencing. I'm gonna parry and riposte the hell out of you." Alex twisted a little nub at the bottom of the bat. White electric sparks danced wildly on the copper. Nick popped the door right off its hinges. Forward momentum pushed the fox, along with the door, onto the floor with a loud bang. With a few precious milliseconds, Alex thrusted the weapon forward. The tip touched Nick's side and immediately stiffened the fox's muscles. Nick's jaws shut tight prevented him from uttering a sound. As soon as he could see the tail hair standing up, Alex disconnected the bat from Nick's body. The fox collapsed bonelessly on top of the ruined door.
Alex noticed how fast his heart was beating and how heavy he was breathing. He tried to slow it down with a few deep breaths. Those self-help books the old mayor gave him were finally put into use. Alex held tight to the bat and had a look at Nick. The fox continued to lie there, motionless. After a minute or so, Alex figured his friend was down for the count. "Huh. I guess I didn't need to read that book after all." Alex muttered to himself.
He dropped the bat and sat down, his hands gripping his temples. "Okay, okay. Let's all calm down and think this through. "He started to retrace his memories. "Maybe he ate something weird and went nuts. Yeah, totally logical explanation." He shook his head, "Nah, who am I kidding? That's not it." He had a thought. "Okay, come to think about it, this is not too bad. He will wake up and get over this like a bad hangover. I'll give him some fancy soup at that Italian place as an apology for tasing him. It was self-defence anyway, so he can't hold that against me. Then we will all get back to work. Yeah. It's not like someone would call the police."
Like a punchline to a cruel joke, the sound of police sirens began to invade the warehouse. Alex slapped himself in the forehead. "Spectacular Alex, you jinxed it." He frantically looked around his room. "Crap, crap, crap! What to do, what to do?" He snapped his fingers. "The safe, priority number one." Alex approached the most valuable item in his room. He started twisting the passcode into it. He pulled it open and took out a single gym bag. The gym bag had a tag that read, 'In case I can no longer work, and everything goes to hell.' The cat opened it, revealing wads of cash inside. He closed the bag and dropped it on his desk. Then he quickly gathered all the smaller gadgets on the workbenches, including the fully restored flip phone from before, and shoved them all into his other gym bag. He unplugged his two laptops and put them in as well. Then, he took down all the pictures tacked on the wall.
There were only four of them. One photo captured Alex during his childhood along with seven other cats. All had white fur and were standing on a boat. They were pointing at a huge tuna hung on a hook. Young Alex looked rather happy in that. It was a far cry from the perpetual annoyed and exhausted expression he wore now. The next one was a picture of a teenage Alex on a hospital bed. He held a thumb up with no smile. Beside him was an x-ray of a cat with the majority of its tail missing. Next was him in a graduation gown, holding two certificates. Standing next to him was a pig with white hair. The last one was him with the Wild Times's crew, taken moments after the park's completion. He folded them all and shoved them into his backpack. When everything was fully packed up, he put on the backpack and hung the two gym bags on his shoulder. This stuff gets heavier every time, he thought.
Alex reached down under his bed and pulled out a gasoline tank with Evidence Destroyer scribble on the side. He began to pour the liquid on the computers but stopped abruptly. He remembered Nick was still lying on the broken door nearby. "Damn it!" He put the tank back on the floor. "Bah, they were bound to find out sooner or later." He walked to the left most corner of his room. With a swift kick, he opened a previously cut exit. "Don't worry Nick. I'll come back for you." He said before crawling out through the square hole. He ran as quickly as a cat carrying three bags through a field of tall grass could. He grumbled through his teeth the whole way. "My god, how did this happen? This was supposed to be like one of those feel-good movies. A big wig comes to try to shut us down. We do a quick montage. A liar, in this case me, is revealed. Everyone gets mad. I say a bunch of hippy bull crap. We hug andmake up. We do something outrageous and save the park. The bad guys reformed. Then everyone sings a stupid song and lives happily ever after. Why can't we have that?" He shook his head in frustration. "Now is not the time Alex. Remember, always be one step ahead." He paused. "Yeah, one step ahead."
Nick finally came to, the faint, acrid smell of gasoline burning his nostrils. He had this strange stinging pain on his side. A soft touch revealed no wounds or burns. He looked around with confusion, recognizing Alex's room. What was he doing here?
As he shakily pushed himself up; he noticed he had been lying on Alex's door. He winced as he shifted, his head throbbing painfully. When he was finally upright, he glanced around again. He saw the open safe and exposed exit. "What happened?" He whispered before stumbling out of the room and back to Wild Times. There he received another shock that drove his confusion higher. Instead of the expected Finnick, Honey, or Clawhauser, ZPD officers waited for him, all with tranquilizer guns trained on him. A water buffalo gruffly commanded him, "Put your hands in the air."
(The song I Hate to Tell You by Yuk Cheung Chun begins to play)
Nick was led outside of the mock clinic, his hands cuffed behind him. "No you don't understand! This is not what its looks like. Predators without- urgmm!" A sheep quickly muzzled him and pinned him against the clinic's wall. Nick could feel his shoulders straining, threatening to pop from their sockets. He was then dragged toward a nearby police cruiser. A few news reporters had ambushed them, nearly blinding the fox with their camera flashes.
When the officers finally got Nick into the cruiser, he looked out the window to see Wild Times being barricaded and wrapped with police tape as Judy stood in front of it all while looking back at him. Something about her blank expression sent a chill down his spine.
The water buffalo that had arrested Nick approached Judy. His name tag read 'Bogo'. "Who would have known? Just when everyone thought everything was under control, turns out the predators were running amok. Excellent work, Hopps. Because of you, we managed to contain a threat. The force had managed to capture all the escaped predators." He had a look at the disabled Wild Times sign. "Well, let's hope that ought to do it. Anyhow, congratulations. Looks like you have earned yourself a promotion. Lose the parking duty outfit. And if the press ever asks for an interview, tell them that you are a Lieutenant. That is an order."
Judy looked up at him, surprised and confused. She had been waiting for a promotion the past few months, but she did not expect to receive it like this. Something about it felt wrong. However, her training convinced her that orders are above all feelings. Naturally, she responded with "Sir, yes sir!" and a salute.
(Song ends)
A week later, in some random restaurant located in the first district.
"Congratulations, Judy." Her parents along with a dozen of her brothers and sisters said in unison. This small part of her family had taken six tables from this restaurant and was responsible for making most of the noise. Her father, sitting beside her, said. "We are so gosh darn proud."
Then her mother chimed in, "Can't say that I didn't have my doubts, but you pulled though. And that alone is amazing."
"A lieutenant in six months! You are on the up and up, Jude." Her father gave Judy a soft, encouraging punch.
Judy put up a smile. "Yeah. Thanks, guys."
While a dozen of her brothers and sisters were chatting and eating along with her parent, Judy's mind began to wander off to earlier that day.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Hopps." A lop-eared rabbit prison staffer greeted her. He had just finished delivering breakfast to all the inmates in Cellblock D. Among those inmates was Nick. She calmly strolled through the medium sized predator cells; all the prisoners looked at her with fire in their eyes. She turned to Nick's cell.
The wardens had taken his suit and replaced it with the standard orange prison uniform. Nick turned his back to her. His face stared dead at the collection of newspaper articles duct taped to the wall. They had headlines written in bold fonts, such as "Predators on the Loose!"; "Another Predator Goes Savage, 5 Injured."; "Biological or Intentional?"; "Protest Turned Riot". Nick had marked red circles on some articles. One was, "Scientists Blame Malfunctioning Collars." In that article, Nick circled the quote, "All the predators that went savage have faulty collars." There was another article featuring Mayor Bellwether. Her quotes were circled all over. "Mayor Bellwether: It breaks my heart to say this, but please, for your own safety and everyone else's safety, have a collar checkup."; "We are trying our best to figure out the cause."; "It is best not to fuel the chaos with all these unnecessary conflicts." At the center of all the articles was the article published the morning after Nick's arrest. The page featured the image of him, all muzzled up, but his teeth were showing. The picture caught the perfect moment when he appeared the most threatening.
Carefully maintaining her blank expression, Judy said, "Good morning, Nick."
Exhaustion was easy to hear in his reply. "Why are you here? What else could you take from me?"
She put her finger on her badge. "Take from you? What you did was against the law, Nick. As an officer, I have to enforce it. Let's not have this conversation again."
Nick sighed. "Fine. Again: Why are you here?"
"I'm here to help you, Nick. I had a talk with Chief Bogo. I can reduce your sentence, as long as you answer a few questions."
He looked down at the Bellwether article. "Help huh? Fire away, Lieutenant."
"Your associate, Bach Mieu. We need info on him."
Nice squinted his eyes in confusion. However, he caught on rather quick. "You mean Alex?" He looked up. "He helped me create the park, fixed machines and brought food to me from times to times. That's all I know."
She pointed her finger downward. "Nick, I'm serious. Mammals out there are being hurt because of him."
Nick glared at her accusingly. "How did you come up with that conclusion? I read the news. Everything is inconclusive so far."
"Then how else is it happening? This whole thing started right after his escape."
"I've told you I don't know. I don't know what makes predators or me savage. But I'm sure as hell it was not the collar turning off. A wolf invaded my office and drugged me. That's all I know. The kid and I bear no part in the attacks."
"You don't have to cover for him, Nick. He is a dangerous criminal. I'm just trying to help you. You have to cooperate."
Nick chuckled. "Dangerous criminal? Do you know this kid, like at all? He is a dork, a constant nervous wreck and has a weird relationship with theater. Does any of that scream a dangerous criminal to you?"
She crossed her arms. "Knowing someone personally is irrelevant to this, Nick. Their past actions determine who they are. The records, the profiles, the database, the facts, those are what is real. Personal connections just make it harder for you to see who they truly are." The pace of her voice slowed down. "They just make you appear vulnerable, weak and- and exploitable to them." She looked down for a brief moment but resumed her stern expression right after. "So, you refuse to give any information."
"Do I need to answer that?"
"I should have known better. Talking to you is a waste of time. Good day, Nick." She then left.
"Goodbye, Lieutenant Hopps."
Her mind then drifted back to a meeting that happened the day before.
Chief Bogo was at his usual position in front of a city map. That day, photos of various predators and documents were tacked onto it. At the center of it all, there was an old picture of Alex when the fur under his eyes was still full. The buffalo cleared his throat and said. "Our priority for today would be the same as yesterday: Stop the savage attacks." He then handed a stack of records to a hippo, who then distributed them to the officers. "However, there has been some new development. We have recovered data from the computers found at the crime scene." Bogo pointed at the picture of Alex. "We identified the suspect to be 20 year old Bach Mieu. He has ten other aliases, but let us stick with that."
An elephant said. "Bach Mieu? Isn't that Swinton's pet?"
Bogo responded, "Yes, he is the former Mayor's assistant."
A sheep then responded. "Yeah, that's him. I thought he returned to that backwater island of his ages ago."
A zebra said. "I always thought he offed himself." The force turned their attention to him. It was as if he had made a poorly timed joke. "Don't give me that look, it's a possibility."
The chief slammed his fist on the map. "Quiet! Regardless of who he was, that's not what's important. He is now our number one suspect. We stopped his little joy ride, so he decided to give us all a hard time. The attacks started almost one day after his escape."
The Chief pointed down. "Here is what I take from that, he knows how to unlock collars. As far as we know, predators without functioning collars always go savage. So, we capture this cat, the attacks will stop. A simple solution." There were whispering among the officers. Judy, on the other hand, was reading the profile given to her. Chief Bogo continued. "If anyone of you is intimidated by his two master degrees, here is an assuring piece of news."
The officers focused their attention to Bogo. "The computer at the crime scene revealed that the only hacks that he had done were simple credit frauds. Any two-bit hacker could do that. He didn't even have the guts to take more than 50 dollars in one account at once. Don't you worry. He is not going to bring down the force's computer system with a click of a button." He then continued while walking in between the rows of desks. "That doesn't mean he is not a threat. Remember, the only way to stop the attacks is to stop him. So, learn that face. He is a white cat in Zootopia. There are 200 cats or even less in this city so he should stick out like a sore thumb. Hopefully, that will make our job easier." He pointed to each mammal, Judy included. "All of you. Tighten the screening and searching process, plaster wanted posters everywhere and search every corner! Leave no stone unturned. Every minute this cat is outside breathing fresh air, another life is hurt. That is all, dismissed."
"Sir, yes sir!" The ZPD forced shouted.
Afterward, Judy did some research on her own regarding Alex. After a few minutes, she came across a video titled "MAYOR ASSISTANT'S SPEECH, THE ENDING WILL SHOCK YOU," written in all caps, of course. The video started with Alex, all dressed up in a black tuxedo, walking to a podium. On his neck was a shock collar, but it was covered in shining metal. The aesthetic made the object looked more like an accessory. The fur under his eyes was full. While the patches on top of his head was properly groomed. He was wearing a prosthetic tail, which made him appeared full. He silenced the applause by saying, "Thank you, thank you." The audiences stopped and granted him full attention.
He then glued malice onto his grin. "You know, I feel dirty just by standing here. I have literally become a greeting card story. Unknown kid from bum freaking nowhere fights tooth and claw to get into U. Z. Quickly becomes a top dog with a huge amount of effort. Then successfully become a piece of Zootopia history."
The grin faded to a grim line. "Such stories make me sick to my stomach." He glared at the audience. "I, sadly, did not come here because of any noble cause. I just wanted to prove that I could be more than what my environment made me. No, more than that. I wanted to reshape the world. Spit back at all the naysayers, punch them in the face and say: you were WRONG, you pathetic cock mongrel! Now go make me a sandwich." The audience chattered excitedly. This was definitely not what they were expecting. He opened his arms, gesturing to everything around him. "And what better place to do that than in a city where anyone can become anything?"
He dropped his arms sullenly to the podium "How wrong I was. I shouldn't have been convinced by the posters and the fancy articles. Yes, I have changed, but not because I made those changes; rather, it was because my environment changed. I'm still not independent from my surroundings." He shook his head. "Worse, your city wants to turn me into an excuse, something to shut down arguments." He changed his voice into one of mockery. "'Oh, you think predators' lives were rigged, and they could never be successful. Are you high? Have you seen Bach Mieu, the mayor's pet? He came from an island that I cannot even pronounce and look at him now. All dress up and covered in riches. Your life is crappy because you have not tried hard enough, just look at Bach Mieu. If he, a predator can make it, so can you. We are in Zootopia! Anyone can be anything!'"
He slammed his fist on the podium, "I will not be a pawn in your political games! Can you hear me, you mother-"
The rest of the video was nothing but beeping sounds and the security removing him from the scene.
A nudge on her shoulder sent Judy back to the real world. "Hey, Jude the Dude, what's wrong?" It was her father.
Her mind had the perfect answer for that. Gee, I don't know dad. My secret childhood friend built an underground amusement park that breaks God only knows how many laws; his friend is supposedly this roaming criminal that causes predators around the city to go savage and the city is falling apart as a result. Oh, and I personally put my friend in jail. But at least I have this promotion, which may or may not be a means to shut me up about the meter maid thing. Oh, did I tell you that I was essentially a token bunny on the force and had to practice the least prestigious of all professions for six months? Good thing I hadn't, or this party would have been so different.
Her mouth said something else. "Nothing, dad. Just a little tired."
"That comes with the promotion, honey," Her dad said with a smile. "You'll get used to it, just like your mother and I get used to you being an officer in the big city."
Due to the demands from some of his customers, the restaurant manager decided to turn up the volume on the restaurant's TV. A moose news anchor delivered the troublesome news for that day. "This just in, there has been a prison breakout at the Zootopia Penitentiary. The-"
Judy did not need to hear the rest of that before getting out of her chair. "Sorry guys, I have to go, duty calls." Just as she about the exit the place, she shouted. "Save the cake for me! love you guys, bye!" She then sprinted straight toward the Zootopia Penitentiary.
Author note:
Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is one of my first stories so please forgive possible mistakes in the future and help me fix them.
Thanks again and have a pleasant day.