"Chief? What's going on?"
She'd addressed her question to the bear, but it was the pig who answered. "Internal Affairs is taking an interest in your recent run of luck, Detective Hopps."
"Luck?"
"Yes, Detective. Luck. More accurately, the recent and significant increase in your success rate when it comes to your case work."
"I'm getting better at my job and IA suspects what, criminal competence?"
The snide humor that had colored the porcine investigator's voice so far slid away, as did her smile. "Detective Hopps, you seem to think this is some kind of joke. I assure you it's not. As of this moment you are under review by the Office of Internal Affairs. Concerns have been raised regarding your recent association with a possible criminal and the effect it could have on not only your cases, but the ZPD at large."
"If you're referring to Nicholas Wilde, I've already investigated him."
"A mammal with a vested interest conducting an investigation into their own potential partner? I'd cite the Ethics Code, but it'd be pointless."
Chief Snarlov decided that was far enough. "Special Investigator Swinton, that investigation into Wilde's past was with my authorization. We discussed this already. Wilde has no criminal record and the Ethics Code states that in such circumstances Hopps followed protocol."
"Be that as it may, Chief, IA is not convinced that under the present circumstances those clauses of the Code apply any longer."
"Then the investigation Hopps conducted should be reviewed, and I am sure your team is already paw deep, but it in no way reflects poorly on her. I would also remind you that baseless accusations are also an ethical concern."
"Don't preach to me, Snarlov. I'm investigating a possible security risk in your precinct; one you authorized. If this goes badly for Hopps, it will for you, too." Swinton then turned her ire back to the rabbit, as she collected her coat and briefcase. "Detective Hopps, this meeting is simply to inform you that you are being reviewed. You're assigned to desk duty until further notice under my authority. As this is not a formal investigation I cannot revoke your police accesses, or take your credentials. I also cannot bar you from making contact with other officers. However, I should warn you that it will reflect poorly on them if you are found to be anything but perfectly clean. So, if you care at all for their careers, stay away. We meet tomorrow, here, 9:00 am. I suggest you prepare yourself."
With that, the porcine turned on a hoof and strode haughtily for the exit. As soon as the door closed, Judy turned to her boss and asked, "Is this for real?"
"Yes, Hopps. It's for real." He gestured to the chair opposite his desk and Judy sat. "IA has taken an interest in you and your consultant. I've seen this before. It's a hazard of using non-ZPD personnel."
"This is a "hazard"? To be scapegoated for the convenience of a bored Special Investigator?"
"Watch it, Hopps. Whatever you think of IA, or Swinton, this is a very real situation for you and it will carry consequences."
"Sir, I respect all public servants, but what exactly is it that I am accused of? Keeping poor company? He's been a huge asset to every case he's been involved with!"
The chief lifted a few sheets from a stack as he spoke, seeming to search for a specific passage. "As far as IA is concerned… Here is it. He's "nothing but a liability to the city, a pathetically impeachable witness, a mark against the credibility of every officer he works with and a potential threat to the integrity of every investigation he touches." That is a direct quote from their brief, here." Letting the pages fall back into place, he turned back to the indignant rabbit. "And your pet project. Until we have an ironclad support for him in court they feel he is a risk."
"My initial assessment of him proved otherwise according to you."
"It did. That was some of the most in-depth work I've seen. I'm fairly certain it will hold up and as to what you're accused of, I thought Inspector Swinton explained that."
"What she said was I am under review, not investigation. That means there is no crime." Judy bit out her words as though she was taking chunks out of Swinton's arm with her teeth. "Her sad attempt at a veiled accusation towards my ethics was already refuted. That leaves Wilde. I did an extremely thorough investigation when I came to you in the first place and if this was genuinely about him, I'd be answering questions already. IA doesn't pull punches or allow time to prepare, even a single day. They also would have already gone over my reports on him and dug deeper before this even got as far as me. Now, what the hell is actually going on?"
A slow smile grew on the broad ursine face. "Good. That is exactly the reaction I was hoping for."
"Sir?"
"You were paying attention. You didn't let your emotions overshadow your attention to detail and you analyzed the interaction in a matter of minutes. That's damn impressive." Snarlov bit back a smile when he saw her do that head tilted to one side with one ear up and once half-cocked that asked, "what are you talking about?". It was adorable, but he knew too keep that opinion to himself. Higgins still had the limp from a comment along those lines from five years ago, after all.
"Well, thank you very much, sir, now are you going to tell me what this is about?"
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"Hopps, the situation is classified." He held up a paw to forestall her fiery retort. "That is as much as I can tell you. You need to get yourself ready to deal with what you're walking into tomorrow."
"That's it? That's all I get?"
"Yes, Hopps. That's all you get."
"In that case, do I have to be stuck here under surveillance?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Can I leave the precinct without being arrested?"
"You are free to move as you please. Take the day, if you need to."
"I will. Thank you, sir." Judy saluted her boss with as much dignity as she could muster and left.
As soon as the door closed, Chief Ivan Snarlov raked one paw over his face while reaching for his desk drawer with the other. From it he pulled a bottle of vodka and a lowball. Pouring a small measure into the glass, he shot it back in a swallow and returned the glass and bottle to the drawer. He was genuinely worried and felt he had good reason to be. Judy had always been terrible at hiding her emotions. He'd known that since they'd met. The cold fury he saw burning behind her eyes as she'd saluted him chilled him to the bone, and he lived in the Polar Straits. Whatever was about to happen, he was in the middle of it. He checked the calendar to see how far it was to retirement, finally understanding why the Commissioner had been so eager to get out of Precinct One.
Once outside the precinct, Judy took a moment to breathe. She felt a tug on her mind and let it rise, just like Nick had taught her. The city wanted something. Knowing it wouldn't stop until she gave in, she followed the summons. She didn't have time for this, but a continuing distraction would only make things worse. Best to get it out of the way. Besides, a walk wouldn't be the worst way for her to clear her mind.
Her feet carried her as she focused on the thread of the summons, leading her along. She wasn't in the mood for dealing with any more shenanigans, but the walk wasn't unwelcome. Her pace hit that perfect metronomic rhythm and her mind slipped into a near-meditative fugue. It was another little trick Nick had taught her. Rather, a refinement on thinking while you walk. She had to keep a tiny thread of her attention on the summons and trust the city to guide her safely. The rest of her mind was then free to pursue other veins of thought. Unfortunately, all she managed to focus on was a certain porcine sow, so her mood didn't lift any more than her ruminations provided her with answers. She was still too angry to turn her mind to anything useful and her walk wasn't helping.
Hours later she was soaked, irate and staring at a sign in a largely abandoned portion of the canopy in the Rainforest District. It was a road sign like many others, rough-cut signs for a dozen destinations were plastered all over it and lichen battled with moss for surface space. Nothing was legible in the least. At some point in her travels, the district irrigation system had engaged for it's routine watering. However, she'd been too deep in her meditation to react to the warning siren and only noticed when the monsoon started.
Now, she was at her destination; her totally confusing and inexplicable destination. This was what the city wanted her to see. A wet, unreadable, moss encrusted sign in the middle of a storm. Judy took a moment to collect herself before she walked away.
One good thing about running the wires was that water didn't come with her, so when she hopped into the power grid and jogged home she arrived dry. The smell of ozone bothered her less than it had, so Judy skipped a shower, simply stripping and flopping onto her bed. It was barely even noon, but she was dead on her paws and utterly, utterly disappointed.
Sleep came quickly, as did the dreams. Exams she wasn't prepared for, showing up at work naked, mazes and Duke Weaselton doing the cups hustle were the dominant offerings in her dream theater and it concluded with that damn sign. Judy's eyes popped open at 2:00am and she understood. This was her Choice. Many unkind thoughts about Nick's spectacular timing rolled through her mind as she stared at her ceiling. Then her thoughts turned to the rest of the "timing". The city had manufactured this to test her. Judy had no idea how, but that was part of the mystery, she supposed.
Mystery was seriously pissing her off.
She was up and dressed before she fully understood what she was doing, but found it convenient once she surfaced from her anger fugue. She had someone to visit and it wasn't her fox.
Minutes later, Judy stepped out of the wires and into the project where Liam resided. The climb was no less ominous this time, but she felt less exposed. Part of it was the fact that she wasn't wearing glorified lingerie, part of it was that she had an idea of what she was walking in to. Liam was exactly the same as when she'd been in the room, a day previous. The same eerie blue light permeated the room and the dust she and Nick had disturbed in their visit looked pristine, again.
Judy steeled herself and stepped into the room.
Anger and uncertainty ebbed and flowed under the surface of her mind. She had been too shocked the last time she'd been here to realize exactly how creepy the place was. The space was full of detritus and garbage, coated in dust. It looked like an abandoned office after a windstorm. However, there was also an atmosphere that Judy had only experienced on sacred ground. The last time she had visited the High Temple to the Greater and Lesser Gods there it had been at the Winter Solstice Festival three years ago. There had been a similar feeling to the air; potency and immanence, as though the Celestials themselves were present and about to manifest. The air had a similar feeling in this gritty, mold infested place. It helped blunt her ire as she crouched to eye-level with what was left of Nick's last remaining colleague.
"Liam, I'm sorry. What I am about to say isn't intended for you." Judy took a breath and looked straight into the luminous eyes that regarded her. "Damn you for this. Making me choose between my career and magic is a cruel thing. I get why you do it, but it's still cruel. That pig using Nick against me isn't really a surprise, but engineering it to happen now was unkind. To me, yes, but more so to him. You've beaten him practically to death for years and he's finally getting himself together. Now, you're forcing me to make a choice with him as collateral. I've tried to give him more than scraps and survival to look forward to. You could have let him enjoy it a little longer before dropping this on him. You aren't mammalian so you won't understand, but while I need to be tested, he did not deserve this."
As her words ended the light in Liam's eyes flashed dully. Judy didn't know what it meant, but she assumed the audience was over. As she stood, she said, "I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, but I will not roll over and take this. I will fight until I am bloody and broken for what I want and I will damn well take it even if it means squaring off with you."
Judy stepped out of the room and vanished into the wires, leaving the filthy room and its unsettling occupant behind. Once she was gone, she couldn't see the cheeks of the aardvark's face rise in a tiny facsimile of a smile, or bear witness the one word that would have been felt more than heard as it left his withered throat.
Good.