"So how about you start by telling me what we're doing and why I'm staring at this door." They had driven fifteen minutes since leaving the diner, Judy looking out the window as Russano took seemingly random turns down side streets and alleyways until squat buildings had given way to an aging industrial area. Russano had pulled the car into an alleyway up the block from a boarded-up warehouse and cut the engine. "Watch that red door, Hopps," was all he had said. A small red door on the side of the warehouse was visible through her side mirror.
"You're staring at that door, rabbit, because I've been tracking this gang for weeks." He reached into the back seat and pulled out a wrinkled file folder and tossed it onto Judy's lap. "Stolen cars, fenced goods, some claw for hire. They showed up in the haunch a few months ago." Judy opened the folder and found a short stack of mugshots and rap sheets. Four faces stared back at her, a kudu, a boar, a ferret, and finally a jackal. "And your 'friend' says they're based in there?"
"Stolen cars go in and parts come out," Russano said while adjusting his rearview mirror. "Tracked tires to Tundra Town and electronics in Rainforest district. Truck from a construction site went missing this morning."
"So let's roll them up. Call in backup and make the arrests," Judy said, looking over her shoulder towards the building. Two rusty bay doors faced the street while the red door faced a side alleyway. There wasn't much foot traffic and only the occasional loading truck or van passed behind their observation post.
"Thank you for that insight, Officer Hopps," Russano said, in what Judy was coming to recognize as his characteristic grunt. "Need to catch them with the vehicle in paw to tie all the crimes and the gang together, otherwise they maybe plea to possession of illicit goods, pay a fine and are back on the street by tomorrow."
Even in her short time on the force Judy had seen it too many times already. Charges dropped or dismissed, mammals with good lawyers managing to plea out to lesser charges on everything from drug dealing to weapon smuggling. Judy remembered one particularly bad domestic violence call… she shuddered to know that the goat was back home with just a disorderly conduct misdemeanor. "So, you just need proof of the stolen car and the gang all together?" Judy said already eyeing a narrow set of windows set midway up the building.
"That's the idea, Hopps… and speak of the devils themselves." Russano reached over and pulled a large set of binoculars out of the glove compartment before twisting around to look out the back window. The badger's large frame blocking her view, Judy turned to the side mirror and could just make out the distant shapes of a muscular boar and a slim jackal approaching the door.
"Meet Clyde Tusker and Julius Tugs. Tusker provides the brawn and Tugs scouts their targets," Russano commented as the two mammals entered through the door, Julius taking a furtive glance around before going in. "Greso, the ferret, should already be inside, he does their mechanical work."
"So that leaves…" Judy paused looking down at the folder, "Calvin Hornspear, you don't have much here on him. Attempted robbery?" The file contained a mugshot of a mean-looking kudu bull, a greying beard hanging down from his chin and two spiral horns pointing skyward.
"Not much to tell on him, An old assault and battery charge along with robbery but he's mostly off the grid. Hard to say that any of these mammals are the brains of this thing but Calvin might fit the bill."
"Not much of a criminal record for a wannabe Mastermind," Judy commented, looking over the assorted mammal photos, an idea forming in her mind.
"Sometimes the smarter the criminal the smaller the record, Hopps. Show me a band like this and it's the one with the fewest priors that's calling the tune."
Judy wondered about Nick and how many times he had just managed to stay below the radar and off an arrest booking sheet. They had talked about it, sure, and Bogo had probably rightfully insisted on an extra deep dive in the background check, but Nick was not exactly the most forthcoming about his past and Judy hated to pry into the pains of the past. Still, Judy briefly wondered how Russano would react to her friendship with the former confox.
The thing about stakeouts that the academy and movies rarely covered is how dreadfully boring they could be. After another hour of little conversation and staring at the doorway Judy felt her eyes begin to twitch, her neck begin to kink, and her footpad absently taping at a steadily quickening pace. Judy might have many skills but patiently sitting still was not one of them.
Russano on the other hand pulled out the "Zootopia Gazette" and was working on the crossword puzzle, his eyes flicking between the page and his mirror. It was late afternoon and a large white delivery truck had pulled in and parked next to the warehouse and its zebra driver was unloading pallets of bottled water onto a handcart for a nearby convenience store when Russano finally put down the paper.
"Well, time to pack it up. We'll try again tomorrow."
"Wait, what? But they're in there right now!" Judy said waving her arms towards the warehouse in exasperation. "We can get them now." The prospect of spending another afternoon staring out the window suddenly seemed very unappealing. "You said you need evidence of the members in possession of the stolen vehicles. Would photos do?"
"Don't think this lot will be much for selfie taking, Hopps but yeah, if we could get photos from inside of the gang with the missing construction truck we could make arrests and get them to roll over on Calvin and any others."
Judy looked back towards the warehouse and saw the zebra walking up the street, his handcart empty after delivering the last load of water bottles. Well no time like the present. "Keep your phone on," she said as she opened the door and hopped down into the alleyway, her legs giving a small protest after sitting for so long.
"Hopps?" his voice seemingly able to hold both a question and a warning in a single word.
"Just going to get that evidence and save my sanity," she said over her shoulder as she headed toward the street.
Russano let out a low grunt and maybe called something out, but by that point the rabbit had already broken into a slow run across the street and towards the warehouse.
Breaking into a sprint Judy reached the back of the white delivery truck just as the zebra climbed into the driver's seat. With a running jump, Judy launched herself up and grabbed onto a handle set high on the rolling doorframe. Not exactly designed for bunnies. Kicking her feet against the truck she managed to pull herself up to stand on the handle. At that moment, the truck rumbled to life and she almost lost her footing as it began to shake. Steadying herself she crouched and with another jump Judy made it onto the top of the truck just as it began to move. I'll only get one shot at this. She looked up towards the row of windows that still seemed just out of reach. The truck was slowly inching out of the alleyway and towards the street. Running forward to give herself some room, Judy turned around and ran towards the back of the truck. At the last moment and with one final thrust of her powerful legs, Judy leapt upwards towards the warehouse window. With a thud that nearly knocked her breath away she hit the wall but managed to grab onto the windowsill and pull herself up and over and into the darkened warehouse.
Crouching in the brick window frame, Judy looked down at the imposing drop back to the street. Up the street she could just make out Russano's car and the large badger standing beside it regarding her through his binoculars. Even at this distance Judy imagined she could still see his scowl. Might have been a little hasty here Judy, but…. well no way but forward now. Taking a moment to let her eyes adjust to the gloom, she hopped down onto a wide, elevated catwalk that ran along the walls of the warehouse about thirty feet above its floor. A staircase to her left wound down to the ground level and she could see a few ladders in the gloom. A few discarded boxes and crates provided cover as she crept up to the edge of the walkway and peered down.
The warehouse had stood abandoned for years, an odd assortment of rusty machinery and old crates and metal shelves. A wide area in the center had been cleared out and a half dozen small floodlights rigged up in a semi-circle. In the center of the circle of light sat the front loader construction truck its orange and blue side painted Lionheart Construction.
"Not like I can simply unscrew a few bolts and the engine comes out, bit more complex than a station wagon, Cal." Judy spotted Greso, the ferret, step out from underneath the truck, his small lank body easily able to walk beneath the truck with a few inches of headroom to spare. Wearing grease caked overalls, he clutched a wrench in one paw and carried a large toolbox in the other.
"How long? They were specific on the engine requirements," a deep voice from just outside the ring of light spoke. Straining her eyes Judy made out a large shadowy figure walking towards the truck.
"Few hours if you let me get to work, could do a bit quicker if I had a proper tools for a rig this big." The figure stepped into the light, his two antlers twisted into spirals above his graying head. The kudu wore an old leather jacket with white stripes up its side. "Few hours is all we've got. Julius says we've got heat on us. Get the engine out and we trash the truck and we're gone by morning."
So the gang is all here Judy thought to herself as she pulled out her phone. If she could just get a couple of photos or some video of Calvin and his crew working on the stolen truck than they could call backup and make the arrest. Using her paw to shield the glow of her screen Judy began snapping photos of Cavin and Gresco as they continued to discuss the logistics of removing the construction loader truck engine. A few moments later the muscular boar, Clyde Tusker, joined the pair by the truck, two Bug Burga bags clutched in each hoof.
"That sneak better pay me back this time, otherwise I'm eating his cicada burrito," he said while distributing the bags. The group turned to the task of eating, leaning against the truck and throwing dirty wrappers up into the truck's front bin.
Taking a few more photos of the assembled group, Judy quickly sent them off to Russano before dialing his number. "So does that count as evidence, I heard them say they'll be gone by morning," she whispered into the phone, keeping her eyes on the group below.
"You're a dumb, idiotic, foolhardy bunny, also you need to work on your counting, Hopps, you're still missing Tugs," Russano's gruff voice replied. In her excitement to get the photos and make the arrests, Judy had to admit that she had nearly forgotten about the ferret scout. She looked down at the group around the truck and all around the dark warehouse but there was no sign of him.
"I can't find him, He must have slipped out the back." She froze as she felt cold sharp steel pressed into the side of her neck.
"You've found me, now hang up bunny or I send you home as turnip fertilizer."