The mayor's office: the most coveted room in Zootopia at the moment. The reception area was clean and well furnished, with comfortable chairs and surprisingly recent magazines. Todd, Hubert, and Dakota were sick of it. After nearly an hour of waiting, it was clear that they were being held up as a power play by the present occupant of the office ahead of their meeting. After an eternity, the receptionist, a doe who couldn't be older than 25, finally said "Mr. Renard, please follow me."
The receptionist led the group own a hallway to a stately mahogany door. She knocked before letting the group inside. "Mayor Nileworthy, Todd Renard."
"Thank you," between the grand desk and the panoramic view of downtown sat Interim Mayor John Nileworthy along with his campaign manager Hannah Cotton. He had clearly gone to some effort to look as mayoral as possible for this meeting, wearing a new suit and making a bit of a show of handing a stack of papers to Cotton.
Hannah smirked. "Dakota, what a pleasant surprise."
"We had an appointment," Dakota said curtly. Todd didn't have to look at her to feel Dakota tense up. It occurred to him that he never gave Dakota his answer after the debate, but at this point it went without saying.
"Mr. Renard, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Nileworthy extended a paw for a handshake. Everyone wore diplomatic smiles.
"We're here to discuss the race for mayor, and specifically your role in it," Todd said, returning the shake.
"What about it?"
"We'd like to know if you're interested in being my running mate."
Nileworthy paused, dropping the fake smile. "Interesting. You want me, the incumbent, to withdraw from the race so I can take a lower position on the totem pole under one of my biggest rivals? What makes you think I'd ever being interested in that?"
"Because you're seeing the same polling numbers we are. You both know that come election day you're leaving this office one way or the other. We're offering you a chance to stay in the building at least." Dakota said, a sharp chill in her voice.
"True, his numbers aren't great right now, but it'd be completely unprecedented for the incumbent to become the running mate. If anything, Todd should join our campaign," Hannah leaned towards Todd, trying to coat her words with honey.
"It's also unprecedented to have an unelected sitting mayor. Precedent isn't playing a part in this race," Hubert countered.
"Regardless, it makes more sense for Todd to be my running mate. He doesn't have any elected experience and I already have experience as mayor," Nileworthy said.
"You know as well as we do that making Todd second on the ballot doesn't give you the supporters you need to win. You need to be the running mate," Dakota responded.
"Well, if I'm leaving this officer either way, why should I help you win it from me?" He leaned toward Todd, impressing his size on the fox.
"Because it's a better deal that you'll get from Turnbull. You get to stay in city hall and influence policy, rather than watch everything Lionheart built get burnt to the ground," Todd replied, unfazed.
"But do you expect me to be assistant mayor forever? I'm not a young hippo and I do hope to see the inside of this office again someday," Nileworthy said.
Todd thought for a moment, then leaned in a whispered something to Dakota, who whispered something back. He then whispered something to Hubert, who nodded. "What if I promised that at the end of my first term we'll discuss the possibility that I don't run for re-election and let you run instead?"
Nileworthy leaned back and pondered for a minute. Then he said "Could you step out for a moment to allow us to discuss your proposal?"
Back in the reception area, another half hour passed before the receptionist again called out "Mr. Renard?"
"Good evening, I'm Andy Lagopus in for Kitty Couric, and this is ZNN," The arctic fox in a blue suit read out. "Breaking news tonight: in a surprise announcement from the office of the Interim Mayor, Nileworthy has suspended his campaign to continue as mayor in order to join Todd Renard's campaign as assistant mayor. This news comes on the heels of an attack made on Renard by a Turnbull supporter. Recent polls have put Nileworthy in an increasingly distant third to the other candidates. A sitting mayor has never before been the running mate of another candidate in Zootopia's history. When asked about this development, the office issued a statement saying 'Mayor Nileworthy and Todd Renard share common goals and a common vision for the future of Zootopia, and both mammals look forward to a productive relationship with one another.'"
Nileworthy shut off the tv in his office, turned off the lights, and left for the night.