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The Fire Triangle

Part Two:

Oxidizer

Chapter 1—A Rock and a Hard Place
(Continued…Part 3)

Chief Bogo's reaction to the doe-bunny's disclosure could be summed up in three words.

"You…did…WHAT?"

Her response to this was watching her carefully-crafted explanation pack its bags, tell her 'good luck', and fly straight out of her head. Well, if she didn't know what to say, she at least knew how to say it.

"I know sir, and I take full responsibility for…"

"Too blasted right you will..!"

"…and I'll accept any disciplinary action you may choose to take, and without question." She watched him rise up to his full height and saw his chest expand. "Hurry, before he interrupts again!" "But I picked up some extremely valuable information during that meet, sir." she added hastily, "I know what started Mr. Big's feud with the Red Pig; it goes all the way back to the Rafaj Brothers Jewelry sting; Rocco Peccari is part owner of that store."

She had no idea where that last part had come from—or if playing her ace, straight off the top of the deck had been the wisest course of action. Well-l-l, she must have done something right because a second ago, Bogo had been ready to tear her a new one. Now, he was plopped back down in his chair, looking like a mammal that's just come home to find his house repainted in electric purple.

But then his expression abruptly stiffened and he leaned across his desk, thrusting a finger at her. "Hold up, stop right there!"

"B-But sir…" Judy stammered, only to see him show her the, 'talk to the hoof' gesture.

"I want Charles to hear this." he said, swiveling in the direction of his desktop intercom.

"Charles?" the doe-bunny wondered, "Charles who?"

She got her answer when Bogo pressed the 'talk' button.

"Clawhauser, is Lieutenant Saw still in his office?"

"Uhmmm, not sure Chief," the plus size cheetah responded in an uncertain tone of voice. "Let me check." He went away for several seconds and then came back, in his usual, effervescent humor, "Yes sir, he's still here. Shall I page him?"

"Yes, have him come to my office right away." Bogo informed him. He switched off and turned back to Judy, who was lifting an ear and an eyebrow.

"Not Captain Wissent?" She asked. David Wissent, a European bison, headed the ZPD Organized Crime Unit and was Saw's superior. If what she had to say was as important as the Chief seemed to think it was, why hadn't he been summoned, too?

Bogo looked at her oddly for a second and then let out a rumbling breath and sagged a little, giving her the impression of a deflating balloon.

"Right, you've not been here for a while, have you? Captain Wissent was in a serious motoring accident last week. He's expected to recover but he'll be laid up for some time to come." He turned sideways, adding in a low mutter, "And even then, it won't be a full recovery; he might not be able to return to work at all."

"Ohhh, I'm sorry to hear that Chief," Judy answered, genuinely sympathetic. Detective Captain Wissent and Chief Bogo were known to be very close, having come up through the ranks together. The bison was supposed to have had a lock on becoming the ZPD's next Chief of Detectives when his boss, Omar Xingu 'pulled the pin' next year.

"Wasn't anything criminal," Bogo was saying, having once again anticipated her thoughts. "Some daft-idiot pedestrian was too busy texting to pay attention to the oncoming traffic. Another driver swerved to avoid her, and it set off a chain reaction." His face became a smoldering ember. "And, wouldn't you know it? The only animals seriously hurt were David and one other driver; the others all walked away with only a few scratches."

Judy suspected that Captain Wissent and that 'one other driver' had been the only larger species involved in that accident—she'd seen rodents crawl out unscathed from vehicles that looked like they'd been steamrolled. Wisely, she kept that to herself; instead trying to focus on what she knew about Detective Lieutenant Charles Saw, the dour, unsmiling, and now acting-head of the ZPD Organized Crime Unit.

A sun bear by species, he hailed originally from the Shan State in Myakmar, an area long under the thumb of perpetually warring crime cartels. Born into virtual slavery, he had escaped, along with his family, at the age of 12, losing his mother and two of his sisters along the way. Because of these experiences, he was known to harbor a deep loathing for all things criminal, in particular the organized side of it. Although Judy had never heard anything about it from the sun bear himself, she had been warned several times—by both her former partner and Benjamin Clawhauser—to give him a wide berth. "You need to know, Carrots; Saw's supposed to be none too happy about you being friends with Mr. Big's daughter."

So far, it had never become an issue and for a very simple reason. Since the day Judy had put on her badge she crossed paths with Lieutenant Saw maybe once in a blue moon.

Now, however, that moon was full and on the rise. "Sweet cheez n' crackers, protect this, thy humble bunny-servant."

"Hopps?"

Oops, Chief Bogo was speaking to her again. She could only hope she hadn't zoned out for too long.

"Before the Lieutenant gets here, I want to ask you something. You knew the sort of trouble you'd be facing if you paid an unauthorized call on Mr. Big—especially after the episode of Rock Hardesty—but you did it anyway; why?"

Okay, this time the doe-bunny's words didn't desert her.

"Two reasons, sir. Number one, like the old saying goes, 'sometimes it's easier to obtain forgiveness than permission.'"

"Let's hope, for your sake, that's the case here." The big Cape buffalo muttered, apparently to himself, and then looked at her again, "and the second reason?"

Once again, she didn't hesitate.

"Sir, if there's one thing I've come to understand over the past few hours it's that the Red Pig and Mr. Big are right on the brink of war. And so I'll tell you what I told him; I'll do whatever it takes to protect the citizens of Zootopia from getting caught up in their fight…even at the risk of my life." She lowered her voice but kept her eyes level with his; "So why not at the risk of my career?

Bogo stared at her for a second and then face hoofed himself.

"Five thousand officers on the force, and I get one who's a Snarl Trek fan."

Judy felt her mouth move sideways, "Actually Sir, I'm more of a Snarl Wars…"

"Shut yer tiny mouth!"

"Yes sir."

"Hnnnghh," Bogo fell back in his chair regarding the window and drumming his fingers on the top of his desk, seemingly lost in thought. Then he looked at her again, speaking a little more softly than a moment ago.

"So, tell me something else Hopps, if y'do lose your badge over this, will it still have been worth it?"

Judy bit her lip and thought for a moment. "In all honesty sir…I don't know; it all depends."

Bogo lifted an eyebrow and rumbled, "On what, then?"

"On whether or not my meeting with Fru-Fru and Mr. Big will help to prevent that gang-war from happening," she said, adding in a simple shrug, "If it will, then yes…yes, it was worth it. If not…" she looked away, voice faltering, unable to hold his gaze any longer. "If not...well, then obviously it wasn't."

"Then let's keep 'em crossed that it was worth it," Bogo told her in a soft snort, and was he actually smiling little? "and NOT just for your sake."

Someone rapped on the door and they both turned towards it.

"Come," said the Chief, and it swung open almost silently.

Lieutenant Saw was short for a bear, no surprise, since he was a member of one of the smallest of the Ursine species, a Mewlayan sun bear, an animal averaging only half the size of a black bear, and not much bigger than a polar bear cub.

But what he lacked in stature, the Lieutenant more than made up for with his rippling, iron-hard physique—combined with razor-sharp claws of what seemed like an impossible length and the speed with which he was allegedly capable of moving. He held the rather notorious distinction of being the only officer on the force known to have killed in the line of duty using only his paws; (a clear case of self-defense, but still…the other animal had supposedly been a grizzly bear.)

He was dressed, as always, in a jet black suit with fur to match, except for a halo of burnt orange around his muzzle. (He was also supposed to have a swatch of sunrise-colored fur across his chest, but right now, it was invisible.)

"Chief," he said, offering his superior a half bow, "and Officer Hopps." Here, he gave no salutation. "What's going on?"

"Have a seat, Lieutenant," Bogo said, indicating the chair next to Judy.

Giving her a cursory glance as he passed, the sun bear seemed to glide into his seat, almost as if he were moving by levitation. Like all of his species, he held his paws at a peculiar, slightly inward-turned angle.

When he was firmly settled into his chair, Judy started to speak, only to be interrupted by a snort from Chief Bogo—his way of declaring that he had the floor.

"It seems," he said, slowly turning his gaze from her to Lieutenant Saw, "that earlier today Officer Hopps here received a summons from her friend Fru-Fru Grandi Dennison. What Ms. Dennison wanted was for her to come to Mr. Big's house and attempt to get him to call off his war with the Red Pig." He frowned and focused on Judy again, "And apparently she saw fit to accept the invitation without notifying the Department first."

Judy grabbed the arms of her chair and braced herself. Here it comes again, 'You did WHAT?'

But Lieutenant Saw only regarded her blankly, his face showing no more expression than a store mannequin. "I see."

Okay, now SHE wanted to scream. Dangit, why couldn't he just blow up at her and get it over with; was he trying to prolong the agony? Considering his reputation, it was entirely possible.

"May I ask; what were the circumstances?" he asked her, still in that same, flat monotone.

Judy knew she shouldn't rush it, but…

"I had to do it, Lieutenant. Like I told Chief Bogo just now; to keep this gang-war from happening, I'd willingly put my life on the line, so…"

She stopped as he raised a paw at her.

"I'm not interested in why you did it, Officer Hopps, only in WHAT you did."

"Yes sir," she answered, thoroughly chastised. Dangit, how had he managed to make her feel so small, while saying practically nothing?

"She actually picked up quite a bit of useful intelligence," Chief Bogo intervened, having seemingly decided that she'd suffered enough, "Were you aware, for instance, that Rocco Peccari is—or rather was—a silent partner in the Rafaj Brothers' jewelry store?"

For the first time since he'd entered the Chief's office, a flicker of emotion flashed across Lieutenant Saw's face, lifting his eyebrows in brief surprise. It was there for only fraction of a second, before his countenance turned stony again.

"I take it, Officer Hopps, that you heard this from Mr. Big? Do you believe it?"

Judy drew in a measured breath, reminding herself not to get defensive.

"Actually sir, I heard it from Fru-Fru first…and yes, I believe it, because they also told me that the Rafaj brothers were trading in blood diamonds without the Red Pig's knowledge." She allowed herself a small shrug, "I can't see either her or Mr. Big lying about a thing like that. As they say in the mob, there's no percentage in it."

"Hmmm, yes." Saw was musingly clicking his claws together; an unnerving sound, given what he was capable of doing with them. "I must admit, she's got a point there, Chief," he said, turning his attention to his superior. "Mr. Big would just love to see us tie Rocco Peccari to a blood-diamond operation."

"I agree," Bogo answered with a tight-lipped nod, and then looked at Judy again. "Right then Hopps, take it from the top."

And that was what she did.

For most of her presentation, Lieutenant Saw remained unmoved. The same, however, could not be said for Judy herself. When she came to the part where Fru had recounted the tale of her and her husband's arrest, she found it increasingly difficult to maintain her self-control. That bust had been wrong, just plain wrong; cruel, and also unnecessary. She could only pray that her anger wasn't showing. Well, if it was, Lt. Saw was giving no indication that he'd noticed—but now that didn't mean much where he was concerned, did it?

When she came to the revelation that The Red Pig had accused Tad Dennison of snitching out the jackals to the cops, however, that got the sun bear's IMMEDIATE attention—and also Chief Bogo's.

"Cor…so that's what started it!" he belled, exchanging a look of foreboding with Lieutenant Saw.

"Yes, explains a lot, doesn't it?" the bear agreed, regarding Judy with what might have been a glimmer of respect.

That was when she felt the time had come to ask it; the question she'd been holding in check ever since she got here.

"Sir, forgive me if this is out of line," she said, speaking to Chief Bogo, "and I don't expect an answer, but there's something I have to ask. WAS Tad Dennison our source on the Rafaj Brothers blood-diamond bust?"

She battened the hatches and braced herself, but the response from the big Cape buffalo was surprisingly mild; almost sympathetic.

"Sorry Hopps, but that's a bit above your pay-grade. Our informant only gave us that information in return for a promise of complete anonymity." He snorted, adding, "And that's the promise I never break…not to anyone."

"I understand sir," Judy nodded quietly and held out a paw beside her chair, pawlm down. "Consider the subject dropped," she said, opening her fingers for effect.

"Right," Bogo nodded and then yielded the floor to Lieutenant Saw.

"Getting back to your conversation with Fru-Fru Officer Hopps, I seem to recall something else. Specifically, she asked you to warn her father in advance that you were planning to report to Chief Bogo after you met with him. Did you?"

"Uh, ohhhh…" Judy felt her nose twitching—and knew at once that it would be pointless to try and bluff it out. This bear would see through any façade, as though it was fashioned out of thin air.

"N-No sir," she stammered, looking downcast, "But I'm almost certain he already knew that when he came in. In any case, Fru will have told him by now." Oooo, did that sound lame or what? She could have slapped herself silly.

Chief Bogo seemed to agree with her...up to a point. "That's as maybe Hopps, but Mr. Big still should have heard it from you. You, of all animals, should know how easily offended he is."

"Perhaps Chief, but what's done is done," Lieutenant Saw was spreading his paws in a gesture of 'whatever,' "and in any event, I don't think the Big Shrew will be too upset about it; if that was the case, Officer Hopps would have already heard about it from his daughter."

Judy had to force herself not to stare. What the heck, was that sun bear actually coming to her defense?

In his way, yes he was.

"One thing we need to keep in mind Chief, she's not the only animal who committed a breach of protocol here. If Fru-Fru Dennison wasn't her father's only child—and carrying his grandson—he would have banished her to the Meadowlands for what she did."

"That's true sir," Judy had to agree, "You should have heard him when he came into the office." She cleared her throat and pushed her voice into her sinuses, making it as wee and wheezy as possible. "That a shrew should live to suffer such disrespect from his only child."

That was good for a mirthful snort from Chief Bogo, and even Saw smirked a little.

"That's Mr. Big all right," he said, "a Black Pete all the way."

Judy's nose began to twitch.

"Excuse me Lieutenant…a Black Pete?"

"Mob slang for an Old Skool gangster," the sun bear explained, with that faint wisp of a smile again, "as opposed to a Young Tusk, like Rocco Peccari. You'll never hear The Red Pig talking like a character in a bad soap opera."

"I don't doubt it sir," Judy sniggered in spite of herself…before she remembered something. Very shortly, she was going to get the chance to test that theory fursonally—if she didn't get kicked off the force first.

"Yes, now please continue, Hopps," Saw told her, making a rolling motion with his paw.

Picking up the thread again, Judy once more elicited no response…until she came to the disclosure that Mr. Big had been completely unaware of what had happened in the alleyway behind his tuxedo shop.

"Wait, WHAT?" Bogo came out of his seat like a jack-in-the box, big hooves splayed on the desktop, "He didn't know that you'd nearly got killed in that fire?"

"No sir," Judy answered quickly, casting a sidelong glance at Lieutenant Saw, who was, so far, showing no emotion, "And it wasn't an act, I'm sure of it. Everyone in the room looked like they'd seen a ghost when I told them, even Koslov."

That was what finally got a rise out of the sun-bear, "In the name of all the Mats," he declared, scratching at his muzzle in complete puzzlement, "how on earth could Mr. Big not have been aware of that? He prides himself on knowing all the dirty details."

Rhetorical question or not, Judy thought she had an answer

"Well sir," she ventured, hoping she wasn't sticking her neck out. "It wasn't exactly something the ZPD wanted to publicize." She chewed her lip for a second. "Frankly, I didn't want it to become public knowledge, either."

Both Bogo and Saw nodded at this—uneasily in The Chief's case, because he knew something the sun bear didn't. The reason that Judy's near-death experience had been kept quiet was because of a tangential issue. If the ZPD made that information public, then they'd also have to disclose the name of the animal that had saved her life.

And the blankety-blank Lewis kid was already giving them enough aggravation, without being turned into a hero.

"So after the shock wore off, what happened next?" Bogo asked, office-chair squawking in protest as he sat down again.

"That's what finally got Mr. Big to take me seriously," Judy answered him, the words rolling easily off her tongue for once, "I more or less repeated what I'd already told him, and this time he listened. And that was…" She stopped, feeling the words pull to a halt inside her throat. Oh-kay-y-y now came the really dicey part. And both Bogo and Saw seemed to know that something memorable was coming; they were scrutinizing her like a lab specimen. She crossed her fingers and went on. "And that was when Mr. Big told me he was willing to offer a truce to Sahara Square; a cease-fire while they try to sort out separately whether or not those fires could have been set by someone else."

That was enough to trigger another look from Bogo and Saw, first a sharp one at her, and then a wary one, directed at each other.

"Huh, sounds a little too good to be true if you ask me, Lieutenant. I'd say there's a catch in there somewhere."

Judy found herself wanting to shrink into her chair. She had hoped it would be possible to kind of ease into recounting the Big Shrew's next words; now there was nothing for it but to jump in with both feet.

"There is, sir…I-I mean sirs. Mr. Big wants me to deliver his, um, 'olive branch' fursonally."

There…there it was, out in the open. Once again her paws were gripping the sides of her chair, as if she was sitting in a kayak preparing to shoot the rapids.

Yes…and no. Chief Bogo seemed about ready to come out of his hide, but Saw was only eyeing her curiously.

"And…did you accept?" he asked.

Judy took in a short breath and let it out through puffed checks.

"I didn't see as I had much choice at the time," she told him, and then added a hurried qualification, "and in any case, I had a way out; I could always say later that the Department refused to let me meet with him."

She said this while looking at Chief Bogo, whose expression had mellowed slightly.

But only slightly; "Which I WILL," he informed her archly, and was about to say more when the Lieutenant lifted a paw.

"Hold that thought for a second, Chief? I want to hear exactly what he said to her."

Judy repeated the conversation almost verbatim. When she was finished, the sun bear emitted a small, sardonic growl.

"Rrrrgh, THAT was vintage Mr. Big. First the honey, then the vinegar; never demanded outright that you deliver his offer to Peccari, and phrased it so that if they do come to blows, he can claim it's the Red Pig's fault for rejecting his proposal."

"But was he serious, d'you think?" Chief Bogo asked, giving Judy that piercing look again. He was no longer close to erupting, but still steaming around the edges.

It was Saw who answered him.

"Ohhh yes, he meant it Chief. A Black Pete like him would never make that kind of an offer unless he was sincere," he frowned, or Judy thought he did; with his perpetually cheerless demeanor, it was hard to be certain. "But he was also serious when he said, 'If even ONE more of my properties burns, nothing will stop me from going to war.'"

Judy cleared her throat nervously. She agreed with the Lieutenant 100%, and that meant it was time to give voice to another of her thoughts.

"Honestly sir, I thought Mr. Big was just trying to write himself an escape clause, giving me an impossible task to perform, so he could say…"

She stopped, brought up short yet again by Lieutenant Saw, who was this time shaking his head.

"If that was his purpose—and I don't think it was—it didn't work. Didn't you tell me just now that his daughter tried to talk him out of recruiting you as his emissary?"

"Well, yes sir," the doe-bunny admitted, "But not because she thought it couldn't be arranged. She thought it could be arranged, but that I'd never come back alive."

"THAT'S where she was wrong, Hopps," the sun bear was cocking a finger. "Even The Red Pig won't kill a cop, at least not an honest one, and especially now."

Judy felt her lips pull inwards. Ohhh, she really did not want to have to bring THIS up.

"Sir with all due respect, Mr. Big once threatened to have me iced." (It had actually been a lot more than a threat, but no WAY was she telling him that.)

"Perhaps," Chief Bogo joined in from behind his desk, "but that was different, wan' it? First of all, at the time, Mr. Big didn't believe you were a real police officer; who'd ever heard of a bunny-cop back then? Second, even if he had believed it, he knew the Department had no idea where you were; you were grabbed out the back of one of his limousines and taken to his house under guard. And third," he let out a low rumble and his mouth became a jagged crinkle, "you threatened him to his FACE and in his own home." He was speaking to her but looking at Lieutenant Saw, who came halfway out of his seat, as if he'd just been given a quick jolt of electricity.

"You did WHAT?!"

"Ohhhh, now he says it!" Judy groaned to herself. "I know, sir…I know. All I can say is, it was my second day on the force. I'd never make such a dumb-bunny mistake today." Oooo, why the heck was there a bad taste in her mouth, all of a sudden?

"Good to hear," the sun bear said, seeming to accept her explanation, "Because you just might have need of that newfound knowledge, Hopps—and very soon."

"Sir?" Judy's ears were up and her nose was twitching.

"What d'you mean then, Lieutenant?" Bogo asked, looking equally perplexed.

"I mean," the sun bear answered, looking from her to the Chief and back again, "that getting you in to see Rocco Peccari might—let me stress—just MIGHT be doable."

"What, now?" Judy thumped her foot and Bogo blew a note of astonishment. Wisely, she decided to let him respond to the sun bear's proposition.

"How're we s'posed to accomplish that then?"

Saw held up a finger.

"Number one, we put the word of Mr. Big's offer out on the street. If I know Rocco Peccari, he'll be a lot more inclined to let Officer Hopps see him if the request comes as a confirmation of something he's already heard." He gave her that scrutinizing look again. "But first I need to know something; did Big ask you to keep his proposal a secret?"

"No sir," Judy answered at once, spreading her arms, "How could I have done that anyway?"

"True enough," Saw conceded with a small nod, adding almost as an afterthought, "Wouldn't surprise me if the Big Shrew is already getting the word out."

"All right, what's the next step, then?" Chief Bogo asked, beginning to get testy.

By way of response, the sun bear rose from his seat. "The next step is, there's someone else I need to talk to."

Bogo stared at him with his brows beetling.

"Well, who is it?

Saw regarded him indifferently for moment, "The ONE individual trusted equally by Mr. Big and the Red Pig. I'll keep you informed, sir."

He went to the door and opened it.

Now the big Cape buffalo was halfway out of his seat. "Blast it, Saw! That doesn't tell me…"

But the Lieutenant had already left the room.

"Mmmrgh!" Bogo slumped down in his chair again, muttering to no one in particular. "I HATE it when he does that!"

"Yes sir," said Judy, who was once again wishing she had a tail to step on. It was a lucky thing that Ni…her former partner wasn't here; he'd be rolling on the floor right now.

Uh-ohhhh, the Chief was giving her the look again.

"Well f' what it's worth Hopps, you did bring us some very valuable information…"

"Thank you sir," the doe bunny answered, saying nothing more. By now, she knew her boss well enough to understand something. Often, when he raised your hopes, it was only in preparation to let them come crashing down again.

"But you've still only earned y'self a reprieve," he said, wagging a finger in her direction; (well at least he wasn't thrusting it at her.) "And how long it lasts, depends on whether or not the Lieutenant is able to arrange that meeting with The Red Pig." He looked towards the window for a second, drumming his fingers on the desktop. "Frankly, I don't see how it's possible; but that bear has yet to promise me something he couldn't deliver."

"Well sir, he didn't really promise anything," Judy pointed out cautiously, and then out of nowhere, she heard herself asking, "If you'd been me sir, would you have done it? Would you have gone to see Mr. Big without notifying the Department first?" This time, she didn't steel herself. If he was going to fire a rocket for that, it would have gone off already.

"To stop a possible gang war between the Tundratown and Sahara Square mobs," Bogo stroked at a horn, momentarily lost in thought. Finally, he said, "yes…yes, I think I should have," and then he turned that piercing gaze on her again, "And also like you, I'd have accepted the consequences of my actions."

"Yes sir," the doe-bunny answered, sighing with inward resignation; she had never expected to get out of this intact, anyway. Pushing the thought aside, she racked her brain for a change of subject.

But the Chief was already there; "and to think that this city's on the edge of a cataclysm, all because of one, silly engagement ring." He folded his arms and snorted, "Can y' believe the gall of those jackals, selling a blood diamond to Mr. Big's son-in-law? What the devil were they thinking?"

"Well Chief, Tad hadn't even proposed to Fru-Fru when he went to buy her that ring." Judy reminded him. "And the Rafaj Brothers probably had no idea that she was his intended. I've met him a few times and believe me, he's the last animal you'd expect to marry into a Cosa-Nostra family; dresses like an Ivy League professor and talks like one too." She cleared her throat for a second, "'Now see here, my good mammal'…that sort of thing."

"Mmm," Bogo grunted, leaning back in his chair, "Of course that brings up something else, dun' it? All this time we've had them in custody, the Rafaj Brothers have been holding out on us; never said a word about their connection to the Red Pig."

"Well, in a way Chief, you can hardly blame them," Judy ventured, drawing another derisive snort from the big Cape buffalo.

"Idiots...as if Peccari won't be knives out for them anyway…"

"Yes, I know," the doe-bunny answered soberly, and then… Ahhh, here was something else she didn't want to ask, but had to know. "So, the charges against them are still pending? They haven't been dropped because of…errrr, that surveillance video getting posted online." There had been rumors flying to that effect ever since it happened.

Bogo waved a dismissive hoof. "No, they're still…Oh, no!"

He had suddenly gone rigid, eyes wide with alarm.

"Chief, what…?" Judy started to ask, but he was already answering her.

"They weren't able to get the charges dropped… but they DID manage to get their bail reduced." He pivoted towards his intercom again, "And they're supposed to be getting out today!"

This time, Judy didn't have to remind herself to keep quiet.

"Clawhauser!" Bogo was almost bellowing, "I need to know something right now; have the Rafaj brothers been released on bail yet?"

"J-Just a second sir," the plus-size cheetah responded nervously and then went away momentarily. Or not momentarily; he was back after only a few seconds. "No sir…their bail was only just posted an hour ago, they won't be released until later on tonight."

"Huh," Bogo muttered in an aside to Judy, "Maybe there's something to be said f' paperwork after all." And to Clawhauser he said, "Right, get me the Attorney General's office right away."

"Yes, sir."

In what seemed like less than a heartbeat later, the big Cape buffalo's cell-phone buzzed—so quickly that Judy wondered if it was the AG's Office calling or someone else?

It was not only the AG's Office, it was the Attorney General himself, the fact of which was deeply gratifying to Chief Bogo.

"Hullo, Igor? Yes, Bogo here. Thanks f' getting back to me so quickly. Well, I've just learnt something very important about the Rafaj brothers. Yes, that's right…the blood diamonds. Well, it seems that none other than the Red Pig was a silent partner in their… No, no…they were selling them without his knowledge… Yes, I know…complete idiots. No, we didn't hear it from them...hrm? Because they've made bail, and they're scheduled to be released this evening. Yes, that's why I… Yes, of course. I'll let you go. You're welcome Igor, good-bye."

He stowed the phone and looked at Judy again, considerably more at ease than a moment ago

"There, that's done…shouldn't be a problem getting their bail revoked now I think; if nothing else, they're a flight risk, aren't they? Hrm? Hopps, what is it?"

Judy was looking at him with her nose twitching again; only this time, it wasn't in apprehension—or even curiosity.

"Sir, if we really want the Rafaj Brothers to come clean on us, I've got an idea…but first I'll need to borrow Officer Swinton…"

At that moment, Detective Lieutenant Charles Saw, ZPD, had just finished presenting his own proposal…a pitch that nearly blew Vernon J. Rodenberg, Attorney at Law, straight out of his chair.

"You want me to do WHAT?"

He stared in bewilderment at the cell-phone display…which, for a rat, was the size of a desktop screen.

"At least hear the details before you have a coronary, Counselor." The sun-bear informed him in that same, placid voice he always used.

"I'm listening," Rodenberg said, feigning indifference…although in actuality, he was intrigued.

He and Saw had always thoroughly despised each other. The Lieutenant regarded him as little more than a shameless opportunist whose pro-bono work was at best, a sop to his guilt and at worst, a cynical public relations gambit. For his part, Rodenberg thought of the sun bear as an utterly ruthless manipulator, more than willing to bend the rules to achieve his own ends. 'Minkiavelli with a badge' was how he had once described Charles Saw to his niece.

For all that, they still regarded each other with a measure of respect. They had to, or this conversation would never be happening.

Now, the grey rat listened with interest as Saw related the details of Judy's interview with Mr. Big, culminating with the arctic shrew's proposal of a truce.

"But also he insisted that Officer Hopps deliver it herself…and that's why I'm calling you."

"I see," Rodenberg responded coolly, tapping his fingers together to conceal his disquiet. He already had heard the gist, if not the specifics, of the sit-down that had taken place at Mr. Big's estate the other evening. He knew that it hadn't ended well, but oy-vey, things had gone that badly? Mr. Big felt the only way to get Peccari to take his truce-offer seriously was to use a COP as his courier?

Not!

Good!

Just the same, he would never give Lieutenant Cole Slaw the satisfaction of seeing him sweat.

"All right Saw, if—I say IF, because it probably won't be possible—but assuming I was able to arrange an audience with Mr. Peccari for Officer Hopps …why should I?"

Saw laced his arms and patted an elbow, the center of his mouth pulling slightly upwards in what for him was a smug expression.

"Because no one has more to lose here than you, Counselor; up until now, Mr. Big and the Red Pig have been content to let you sit on the fence." He leaned forward, his face filling the laptop screen in a fisheye distortion. "But if they go to war, you can bid that arrangement a fond adieu; they'll each demand that you drop the other and work exclusively for them. And whichever one you choose, you'll shoot straight to the top of the other's hit parade; you simply know too much for either one of them to take any chances." He sat back again, and this time his expression was clearly one of self-satisfaction. "The classic Hoppson's Choice, Mr. Rodenberg."

For a long moment, the grey rat regarded him with his whiskers twitching, his expression betraying nothing.

Then he said. "Mmmm, perhaps you didn't hear me, Lieutenant? Why should I help you?" He spoke this time with a slightly different inflection—and it was a change of tone not lost on the sun bear, who was now regarding him with an expression chiseled in smoldering flint.

"Only you would demand a quid pro quo while's Zootopia on the brink of catastrophe." His growl was as bitter as burnt coffee.

"Says the cop who just demanded a quid pro bono from me," Rodenberg shot back icily. "You got any idea what you're asking me to do here, Booby? That meshuggeneh pig's liable to have me slapped around even for making the suggestion. And it wouldn't be the first time," he reminded himself, and then for the sun bear's benefit he added, "so no freebies."

"All right, all ri-i-ight." Saw waved a paw as if throwing in a towel, "What is it that you want, Counselor?"

Rodenberg allowed himself the briefest of smiles.

"I'll tell that to Officer Hopps when I see her."

It took a lot to make Charles Saw truly angry, but this was more than enough.

"Why, you little…" he snarled, baring every single one of his teeth, "Quid pro quo is one thing, Counselor, but if you think I'm giving you a blank check…!"

"Oh but yes, you will," the grey rat hissed, showing the full length of his incisors, "because there's something you got wrong just now, Lieutenant; if Mr. Big and The Red Pig hit the mattresses, the animal with the most to lose isn't me—it's YOU!"

"What do you mean I have the most to lose?" The sun bear demanded, staring into the screen. He was trying to sound amused, but a slight tic at the corner of his mouth gave away his real feelings.

"Come, come Lieutenant, you know how these things work," Rodenberg answered, assuming his most affable fursona, "If those two go to war and an innocent mammal gets caught in the middle, the good citizens of Zootopia are going to be looking for a scape-goat." And with that, he dropped all pretense of sociability, hissing and flashing his incisors again. "And NONE of this would have happened if you hadn't hauled in Mr. Big's pregnant daughter on a charge made out of tissue paper!"

Saw's brow jumped upwards in surprise.

"What the…? You know I was acting under orders."

"Yeah…orders from a guy who's gonna be laid up for at least the next three months," the grey rat pointed out, "And nobody blames an injured cop—so if this situation goes south, it's all on you."

"Is that a threat, Counselor?" Saw's head had tilted sideways and a fang was showing.

"I never make threats, Booby," Rodenberg smirked, "Threats don't get carried out." He sat up again, "Now c'mon, let's cut the garbage. Those are my terms; take 'em or leave 'em."

Saw chewed on his lip and looked sideways for a second, "Chief Bogo would have to approve…"

"Take 'em or leave 'em!"

For a long, sulfurous moment, the bear just stared at him.

"All right Counselor, you've got your wish—but only if you're successful. No meeting, no nothing; those are MY non-negotiable terms."

"Done," the grey rat responded, but not without a hint of unease. Everything he'd said about the Red Pig's possible reaction to the proposal had been 100% accurate.

But then that was nothing compared to what might happen if he was forced to side with either him or Mr. Big in their upcoming conflict. "That shmendrik bear's right about one thing; I AM trapped in a sucker-box over here."

Yes he was, but at least he might get something out of it.

"Don't try to set the meeting up too soon." Saw was cautioning him, "Give it a day or two; I want The Red Pig to hear about the Big Shrew's proposal through the grapevine before you bring it to him."

"NOW you're thinkin'." Rodenberg nodded his vigorous approval, "And it fits too. I'm supposed to see Peccari on a different matter, the day after tomorrow. With a little luck, he might even ask ME if I know anything about Mr. Big wanting to call a truce."

"Good," Saw replied almost beaming…and then raised a cynical eyebrow. "So, what's up, Counselor? Is the insurer still stonewalling him on the Interspecies Recycling fire?"

"None o' yer beeswax!" Rodenberg snapped, but inwardly he was reeling. That, in fact, was exactly the reason for his scheduled meeting with Rocco Peccari. Oy, how the heck had Cole Slaw managed to find out the insurance adjusters were playing hard to get? Granted, it wasn't anything the sun bear could use to build a case, but it was still something he shouldn't have known.

"Get in touch with me as soon as you talk to him," Saw said. And then, having successfully gotten in the last word, his face disappeared from the display screen.

"I hate it when he does that!" Rodenberg groused to himself.