"Assistant Mayor Rolfe?"
The deer secretary called into the office as she opened the door. Inside, Rolfe was currently sitting at the big desk near the window, busy skimming over a bundle of papers. He glanced at the deer expectantly.
"Chief Bogo is here," the deer announced. She turned to the buffalo and nodded.
Bogo took a step into the room, and the deer closed the door behind him. He had been inside the mayor's office many times, but the last time he had visited when an assistant mayor sat in the big chair behind the desk, it had been when Judy Hopps had resigned from the ZPD and a corrupt sheep was on the verge of overtaking the city. The memory seemed eerily similar to the current situation; Lionheart was nowhere to be seen, Rolfe was sitting in his place, and once again, his best cop was missing in action.
At least this time, Rolfe had not yet removed Lionheart's name plate from the desk.
"Chief Bogo," Rolfe greeted flatly. He continued to stare at the papers in his paws. "Please, take a seat."
Bogo closed the distance to the desk and sat down on the biggest chair opposite Rolfe. He set down the folder he had been carrying on the desk, showing Rolfe that he had brought it but not quite ready to reveal its contents yet. Rolfe took a glimpse at the folder, but promptly went right back to his own papers immediately after.
"You sent for me, Assistant Mayor Rolfe," Bogo grumbled.
"I did." Rolfe set most of the papers down on the desk, but kept one in his paws, which he held up high. "This is your report on the disappearance of Judy Hopps." He turned to look at Bogo, the slightest hint of a scowl on his face. "Am I to understand that this is really all you know?"
Bogo had just sent the report over to the mayor's office an hour prior. He had tried to keep Hopps' disappearance as quiet as possible, but unfortunately, the local news had caught wind of it somehow earlier in the morning. Before he knew it, the rabbit's face was on every electronic screen in the city, along with the word "MISSING" plastered at the bottom of her photograph. Hopps was one of Zootopia's most well-known and beloved citizens, and her sudden vanishment into thin air did not sit well with the masses; all morning long, the ZPD's phones had been ringing off the hook with calls from reporters, well-wishers, anonymous tippers, and even one or two conspiracy theorists.
Even Mayor Lionheart had personally called Bogo, and had requested a formal report on her disappearance. Bogo had complied, but tried to keep the report as short as possible. Technically, he had included everything that was officially known: Hopps was last seen fleeing the Trunk Hotel, pursued by an unknown number of assailants, and had not been seen since. And while Bogo might have known one or two other things that he failed to mention in the report, he had decided that it was best to keep that information to himself—which, clearly, Rolfe was not pleased with.
"What else is there to say? Hopps is missing. That's all I know for sure." Bogo didn't bother to hide the annoyance in his voice as he spoke. "And as I recall, I sent that report to Mayor Lionheart, not you." He had to restrain himself from digging his hooves into the arms of his chair. "So, if you'll pardon my asking, what exactly are you doing here, Assistant Mayor Rolfe?"
Rolfe studied Bogo's face for a moment, contemplating whether to confront the buffalo on what other details he might have omitted from his report. In the end, however, he set down the piece of paper with the others on the desk, and leaned back in his chair. "That's the real reason I wanted to see you, Chief Bogo." He folded his paws and pressed a finger against the tip of his chin. "Mayor Lionheart is currently indisposed, and I need your help to determine the next steps."
The words slipped past Rolfe's lips with such a casualness, Bogo hardly comprehended the weight of them at first. But once he processed exactly what the wolf had said, he felt his heart skip a beat in his chest. "What?" he involuntarily responded.
"Yes, I'm afraid so." Rolfe closed his eyes, as if he were struggling to process what he was saying himself. "Mayor Lionheart went savage earlier today."
Savage?!
Bogo stared at Rolfe in disbelief. "You can't be serious!" Rolfe simply nodded in response. "But that's impossible! I just got off the phone with him not one hour ago!"
"It happened immediately afterwards." Rolfe opened his eyes again and lowered his paws to the table. He began fingering through the pages spread out in front of him. "His secretary came in here to bring him his coffee. She found him in a rage. It's a miracle she wasn't injured."
"And you expect for me to just…" Bogo waved an arm through the air in bewilderment. "Believe you? Just like that?'
"I do," Rolfe replied. His voice did not betray any emotion whatsoever; he was simply stating it as a matter of fact. He found the paper he was looking for and slid it across the desk to Bogo. "He is currently at Zootopia General Hospital. Here is his medical record."
Bogo took a single glance at the paper, which seemed to stick out like a sore thumb against the brown wood of the table. It was, indeed, an official report from the hospital; Bogo had seen plenty during his time with the ZPD to verify it as such. He could make out the name "Leodore Lionheart" scribbled in under the patient's name box, but refused to read any further.
He looked back up and glared at Rolfe. "So let me get this straight. He suddenly, randomly went savage, conveniently right here at the top of City Hall…" He took a quick look around the room. "Leaving no evidence that he had done so, I might add…" He returned his attention to Rolfe. "Was somehow secretly transported to Zootopia General Hospital, and let me guess, has no memory of going savage if I were to ask him?"
Rolfe calmly relaxed back into his seat. "I have CCTV footage from the hallway outside if you're interested," he offered.
Bogo was not interested. "Just how stupid do you think I am, Rolfe?" he growled. When Rolfe did not react, Bogo leaned forward in his chair, having to rest his hooves on the desk to maintain his balance. "Wouldn't you say all of that seems a bit too coincidental? That right when my best cop is no longer around, and when the city is at its breaking point, the mayor just happens to go savage…" He narrowed his eyes. "Leaving you as the de facto leader?"
The wolf remained calm, even as Bogo's accusation echoed through the room. If anything, the look on his face seemed apologetic rather than triumphant. "I know how this looks, Chief Bogo," he said, "but believe me, I had nothing to do with this." He once again pointed to the paper from Zootopia General. "The doctors have even cleared him to return to office as soon as tomorrow."
Bogo fought the urge to look back down at the paper. "Then I'll ask again: What are you doing here, Rolfe?"
Rolfe slowly raised a paw, silently urging Bogo to sit back down. When Bogo didn't, he continued lifting his paw until it settled onto the inert shock collar around his neck. "Chief Bogo, if Mayor Lionheart had been wearing a working shock collar, this would not have happened." A frown crossed his face. "In fact, if word of this gets out, then all of Zootopia will find out his was a fake—and that would leave us in a rather delicate situation."
Finally, Bogo felt his scowl falter. As much as he hated to admit it, Rolfe had a point. Lionheart's shock collar was only ever meant to keep up appearances; nobody had expected for him to ever actually need it. If the general public found out that the mayor's shock collar was a dummy unit, they'd inevitably find out about all the other ones. Rolfe, other public officials, the doctors and nurses at the hospital, all the predators in the ZPD…
Bogo froze, and as if he could read his thoughts, Rolfe nodded. "Yes, Chief Bogo. I'm afraid we cannot allow anyone to continue wearing these." He dropped his paw from his shock collar. "I will be replacing my own collar with a working one this afternoon, and I will give the order for all other predators to switch to working collars as well." His facial expression turned grim. "That includes your officers, too."
Bogo's glare returned. "But they wouldn't be able to perform their job!"
"That's the idea." Rolfe once again folded his paws. His voice remained calm. "Predators in Zootopia are dangerous. If Mayor Lionheart could go savage, anyone could. Even your officers. And I cannot take that chance."
Bogo found himself settling back into his chair in disbelief. As much as he hated to admit it, Rolfe did have a point. They still had no way of knowing what was causing so many predators to go savage, and every passing day, more and more predators that refused to wear collars were lashing out, hurting others, and causing all kinds of chaos in Zootopia—all in short spurts of a few minutes each, with no memory of it afterward. If one of his own cops were to follow that pattern, it would be disastrous. The very thought left him petrified…
He shook his head. No! The day he had given his officers the shock collars, he had given them all the opportunity to turn around and walk away, but every single one of them stayed. Every one of them put the collars on, and every one of them at this very moment was still hard at work protecting the city. Despite all the rioting, and all the political mandates that none of them agreed with, and even with two of their most respected colleagues missing in action, they were all still doing their job: as Judy loved to say, they were trying to make the world a better place.
My cops trust me—and I trust them!
Bogo set his jaw and crossed his arms. "No."
Rolfe blinked in surprise. "No?" he repeated. "No to what?"
"I refuse." Bogo shook his head firmly. "I will not force shock collars on my officers."
The wolf raised an eyebrow slightly. "Perhaps you did not understand what I said. Mayor Lionheart—"
"Oh, I understood perfectly," Bogo assured him. "And my answer is no."
Rolfe contemplated Bogo's words for only a moment. "I see." He sat up straight in his chair. "In that case, Chief Bogo, you are relieved of duty."
For the first time this meeting, Bogo was not surprised. Rolfe had warned him when the dummy collars had first been delivered to the ZPD, that if Bogo refused to cooperate, then he would be fired. To be honest, Bogo was surprised it had taken this long; he knew that several complaints had been filed on his behalf to the offices of both the mayor and assistant mayor, concerning how he had been dragging his feet in enforcing the city-wide shock collar mandate.
And yet, now it was his turn to be calm. He had his own reasons for coming to this meeting, and now seemed like the perfect time to make them known. He relaxed his expression ever so slightly, indicating that he was interested in continuing their conversation amicably.
"Before you do that, I have something of my own I'd like to show you."
Rolfe had no reason to continue this conversation. If he wanted, he could throw Bogo out of the building this very moment, legitimately announce himself as the new mayor of Zootopia, and ensure that working shock collars hung around the neck of every predator in the city by the end of the day. However, Bogo guessed that the wolf had a bit more integrity than that, and to his relief, he was right.
Intrigued, Rolfe opened a paw and raised it. "Very well. Go ahead."
Bogo uncrossed his arms and reached for the folder he set down on the desk when he had first entered the room. "This is the case file Officer Hopps was working on before she disappeared." He opened it up and pulled the papers out. "There are some things I would like to show you."
Rolfe's face was impossible to read. He stared at the papers Bogo now held, quietly waiting for the buffalo to explain them.
Wasting no time, Bogo set the top paper down on the desk, orientating it correctly so Rolfe could read. "This is a list of clients for one Timothy Fields, attorney at law," Bogo explained. He studied Rolfe's face intensely. "Does that name mean anything to you?"
"It does," Rolfe replied calmly. His eyes darted back and forth across the paper as he read off some of the clients listed. "He was one of the lawyers for my construction company, Keystone Construction." He tapped an area of the paper near the middle with his finger. "Right there."
Bogo nodded. "Yes, it would seem he has been your lawyer for quite some time."
"My company's lawyer," Rolfe clarified. "Not mine." He lifted his paw off the paper and returned his gaze to Bogo. "He was one of several, in fact, and hasn't been with us for a few years. It's all public information."
"Maybe." Bogo laid another page down on top of the first one. "But what isn't public information is that he's the lawyer for Tony Stripes, one of the predators who went savage." He laid down another page. "And the lawyer for Victor Bruin." Another page. "And Pat Roark. In fact, Fields is the attorney for every single predator currently in our custody for savage attacks."
Rolfe studied each page as Bogo put them down. His expression grew increasingly worried. "You think there's a connection?"
Bogo had to fight the urge to huff. "Well, if there's not, I'll eat my shirt." He placed another page on the table, this one almost completely turned black due to the paragraphs of redacted text. "All of them signed this NDA prior to going savage." He paused, before dropping the bombshell. "And Fields wrote it."
Rolfe's head jerked up in surprise. He stared at Bogo, trying to make sense of what he had just said. "So…" He turned his attention back to the papers, this time using one paw to spread them out so he could look between them more easily. "You think Fields has something to do with these attacks?"
"That's what Officer Hopps seemed to think." Bogo worded his reply very carefully; he did not want to make any accusations just yet, and he still had much to show Rolfe. In fact, it was what came next that he was most interested in seeing how the assistant mayor would react. He presented another page, this one slightly yellowed, and placed it closer to Rolfe than the others.
Rolfe stared at it, and his expression clouded over. "What is this?" he asked. Bogo patiently waited for him to read it over himself, but he only got a few words in before he suddenly stood up and stared at Bogo in disbelief. "A background check?!"
Bogo nodded. "Officer Hopps ordered one." He motioned to the paper. "On you." Rolfe worriedly looked back the paper, still standing up. Suddenly entertained by the wolf's nervousness, Bogo fought the urge to grin. "Oh, what's the matter, Assistant Mayor Rolfe? Surely, you have nothing to hide."
Suddenly aware of his suspicious reaction, Rolfe raised a paw in defense. "I don't!" He looked back at Bogo. "I'm just…" For the first time since Bogo knew him, he seemed at a loss for words.
And Bogo knew why. "Embarrassed?" He had already read the background check, of course, and Rolfe was squeaky clean. He had no criminal record to speak of—not even a parking ticket. For all intents and purposes, Rolfe had done absolutely nothing wrong his entire adult life…
Except…
There was a section of the background check that had been redacted. That in itself was highly unusual, but not even Bogo's status as chief of police had been able to grant him access to the information, which was unheard of. Bogo had brought the background check with him today, not to make any accusations against Rolfe, but to simply gather information from the assistant mayor.
Still, his reaction to the background check did raise Bogo's suspicions.
Rolfe nodded in defeat. "Yes. I'm extremely embarrassed." He lowered his paws to the desk and rested his weight on them. He continued to stare at the report. "I had hoped this would never come up again."
Bogo patiently waited for Rolfe to explain himself. There was no reason for the wolf to evade him; the evidence was right here, literally under his nose, and Bogo knew that if the redaction wasn't explained, it would only take a simple phone call to the press for his career to come to an abrupt end.
Rolfe gathered his thoughts, then finally spoke, though his voice was soft. "When I was nineteen…" He hung his head. "I went savage."
Bogo raised an eyebrow. "Savage?" he repeated. "What kind of savage?"
"I ate Night Howlers." Rolfe rested one paw on the yellowed paper. "Though, of course, I didn't know that's what they were at the time. I was taking a cooking class in Brown Bear University, and I thought they were lavender flowers, and…" He struggled to find the words to continue.
Bogo decided to finish for him. "And it turned you savage." He stroked his chin with a hoof. "But you didn't eat enough to be permanently affected, just enough to make you go crazy for a little while…" He gestured to the report. "And, I assume, it was swept under the rug before anyone could notice?"
Rolfe's paws curled into fists on the desk. "You don't know what it's like, Bogo." He raised his head, matching Bogo's gaze, his eyes pained and desperate. "It's like watching a nightmare play out right in front of you, but you're helpless to do anything about it. I went berserk, and attacked anything that moved—even mammals I cared about." He swallowed hard. "I hurt some of them—people I loved…" He raised a paw, held it up to his face, and stared at the claws at the end of each finger. "And there was nothing I could do to stop myself."
The regret, the hurt, and the guilt in Rolfe's voice was tangible. Bogo truly believed every single word he said; not only did it line up with his research, it also helped to explain the wolf's behavior ever since he had become assistant mayor. But he still had questions, and he had no intention of leaving the room without answers.
"How was this covered up?" he asked.
"My parents," Rolfe readily replied. "They paid the right people to make sure it never got out." He continued to look Bogo in the eye, in an attempt to show that he had nothing left to hide. "The academic dean at the university, the Zootopia Hospital administrator, even someone in charge of public records at City Hall. They were all paid to keep quiet."
Bogo believed him. He knew Rolfe came from a well-to-do family, and it made sense that they would go to whatever lengths necessary to bury such an embarrassing story. It lined up perfectly with the background report, and to his delight, it also lined up with some of the other evidence he had brought with him.
"It's funny you should mention that," he said, pulling out another few papers from the pile still in his lap. "The hospital administrator seems to be linked to quite a few cases very similar to yours."
Rolfe stared at Bogo, confused. "How do you mean?"
Bogo laid the papers on the desk, overlapping the previous ones. "Well, for example…" He pointed to one of them. "This case from two years ago." The paper in question was filled with black boxes, similar to those on Rolfe's background check. "And this one, from five years ago." The next paper had identical black boxes. "And these two are both from nine years ago…"
Rolfe looked from the papers, back to Bogo, then back to the papers. "What are you getting at?" he asked, his voice once again assuming a tone of hesitancy.
"They've all been redacted at the behest of Zootopia General Hospital's administrator. I assume they are all cases of predators who went accidentally went savage." Bogo held up a random paper to demonstrate. "Perhaps it was another rich father, not wanting any embarrassment to taint his family name." He dropped the paper and raised another. "Perhaps the hospital administrator simply swept it under the rung, not wanting to cause a panic." He picked another paper and waved it around. "Or, perhaps, there is a conspiracy in this city, and the people behind it are doing whatever they can to keep it hidden."
Rolfe stared at Bogo, his expression a mixture of skepticism and disbelief. "A conspiracy? Bogo, you must be—"
Bogo glared at Rolfe as he finally pulled one final paper out of the pile, and held it high in the air. "And this one was redacted by the Assistant Mayor's office." His eyes narrowed. "It's Tony Stripes' file. The tiger that attacked during your announcement as assistant mayor." He slammed the paper down on the desk, and the resulting thump echoed through the room. "You redacted Tony Stripes' savage attack—and then ordered the shock collars the very next day."
Rolfe matched Bogo's glare with one of his own. "Yes, I did," he admitted. "I didn't want the details of his attack to get out—"
"Why bother?" Bogo cut him off. "It was all over the news. The whole city saw it happen. Redacting something like that isn't any good." He gestured to the other papers scattered all across the desk. "Every single one of these mammals went savage at one time or another, and all anyone has done about it is try to conceal and forget about them." He fought off a growl before finishing his rant. "Until now."
"Yes, until now." Rolfe rested his paws on the desk and gently started to gather the papers into a neat pile, trying to distract himself from his thoughts, though his voice remained uneven. "Now, unfortunately, there are too many cases of predators going savage." He separated his own background report from the others and pushed it in Bogo's direction. "And this time, they're not Night Howlers," he pointed out.
Bogo snorted. "Yes, and this time, the response has been extreme." He leaned forward in his seat. "Too extreme." Rolfe returned his attention to him. "Tell me. Did you really think nobody would question why Mayor Lionheart would go along with a shock collar directive so soon after choosing a new assistant mayor?"
Rolfe opened his mouth to respond, but paused when he realized precisely what Bogo was accusing him of. "Now, wait a minute…" He threw his paws up in the air. "I've made no attempt to hide it. Why should I?"
"Because that's what people usually do…" Bogo pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "When they're trying to cover up a conspiracy."
Rolfe's eyes widened. "You think I am making all the predators go savage?!"
Bogo opened up the app he was looking for. He opened it up, then set the phone on the desk and glaring back at Rolfe. "I don't know. Did you?" he calmly asked.
"Of course not! I would never do anything like that! I'm trying to help Zootopia, can't you understand that?!" The wolf's face was anguished—desperate, even—as he pleaded his case to Bogo. He threw the papers in his paws into the air, then leaned against the desk so far, he was only a few inches away from Bogo's face. "You have to believe me, Bogo! I would do anything to save Zootopia! Anything!"
Bogo allowed himself a tiny grin. Finally broken. Part of him almost felt sorry for him. All of his evidence he had just presented to Rolfe had been carefully hand-picked. Some of it had been in Hopps' case file, others had been Bogo's own doing—but it was all here right now for this one purpose: to get Rolfe to crack. And now the wolf stood in front of Bogo, a shell of his former self, begging to be believed.
Everything Bogo had heard from the assistant mayor until now indicated that Rolfe was, in fact, innocent. However, there was still one final piece of evidence that he wanted to show him.
And now is the perfect time.
Bogo lifted his phone off the table and flipped it in Rolfe's direction. The wolf's eyes squinted to properly look at the screen, but once he recognized the view, he froze.
"Look familiar?" Bogo asked. The papers that Rolfe had thrown in the air continued to rain down on the two of them as Bogo continued to hold the phone at eye level. "It should. It's the lobby for the Trunk Hotel."
A look of panic crossed Rolfe's face as the footage played out on Bogo's screen. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out except a tiny squeak.
"You will notice," Bogo calmly pointed out, "the time stamp at the bottom right, indicating this was filmed on the same night that Hopps disappeared." He counted the seconds in his head, before continuing, "And you will see her crossing the lobby… now." He didn't even need to look at the screen to know he was right; Rolfe's brow furrowed in anxiety. "I've taken the liberty of fast-forwarding this footage to the next important thing that happens, which would be…" The alarm in Rolfe's face told Bogo everything he needed to know. "So, that was you in the Trunk Hotel lobby." Satisfied, Bogo put down his phone and once again glared at Rolfe. "Just a few minutes after Hopps."
Rolfe continued staring at the space that Bogo's phone had just occupied, struggling to form words. His face was still stuck with an expression of terror.
Bogo felt a sense of triumph—the first time he had felt anything like it in weeks. "You were there that night," he reiterated, "and you didn't tell anyone."
"I didn't want people to get the wrong idea," Rolfe quietly responded.
Bogo pounded a fist on the table, shocking Rolfe out of his daze. "Did you kill Hopps?" he demanded.
The accusation stunned Rolfe. "No!" he immediately replied. "I didn't even know she was there that night!"
"Why should I believe you?"
Rolfe's eyes darted back and forth as he struggled to come up with an answer. "I… I…" He took a step back, trying to distance himself from Bogo's intimidating gaze. "I haven't lied about anything else, why would I lie about that?"
Bogo stuck a finger in the air, pointing accusingly at the timber wolf that now cowered in front of him. "You know what I think?" He narrowed his eyes. "I think you're nothing more than a second-rate Bellwether copycat. I think you are responsible for the savage predator attacks. I think you did kill Hopps, and maybe Wilde as well. They found dirt on you, didn't they?" When Rolfe did not immediately respond, he continued, his voiced raised to alarming levels. "And when I get my hooves on whatever dirt they found, so help me, I—"
A buzz sounded from his lap. Suddenly distracted, he looked down to see his that his phone had just received a text message. It buzzed again, and another message popped up, this time accompanied by a little sound effect.
A little sound effect of Gazelle squealing for five straight seconds.
The text completely killed any control over the conversation he might have had. Rolfe, taking advantage of the awkwardness of the situation, cleared his throat, stepped back up to the desk, and leaned forward to catch a glimpse of Bogo's phone. "Aren't you on the clock?" he asked.
Bogo groaned in response. He shot a glimpse at the text, then stuffed the phone back in his pocket. "My mother," he mumbled.
Rolfe raised an eyebrow. "Does she always sign her texts with 'L'?"
Bogo blinked. How on earth did he see that? Hoping that was all the wolf saw, he lowered his gaze in embarrassment and scratched the desk with a finger. "'Love'," he stated in response.
Rolfe stared at him for a few seconds, but to Bogo's relief, he did not push for any further details. Instead, Rolfe took the time to properly compose himself. He grabbed his tie and began to straighten it, and adopted his usual cool, collected tone of voice. "I assume, then, that you have shown me all of this for a reason?" He brushed the front of his suit jacket. "You're not going to arrest me, certainly?"
While he was tempted to, Bogo knew he had no grounds. Rolfe being in the Trunk Hotel at the same time as Hopps was circumstantial, and while he had implemented many policies as assistant mayor that Bogo strongly disagreed with, he had done absolutely nothing illegal. And besides, even if Rolfe was completely taken out of this puzzle, predators were still going savage—and that was where Bogo's main priority lay.
"No," Bogo admitted, "I will not arrest you." Before Rolfe could breathe a sigh of relief, Bogo stood up so he could once again tower over the timber wolf. "But let me make one thing clear," he added in a low voice. He patted the phone in his pocket. "This footage strongly links you to Judy Hopps' disappearance, whether you did have anything to do with it or not. And I have plenty of friends who would love to hear about it. Friends at ZNN, the Times, ZPR…" He let his voice trail off, allowing Rolfe to fill in the rest on his own. He pointed a finger at Rolfe, coming within an inch of poking him in the chest. "You fire me before this case is closed, and I'll go to them with every single piece of evidence I brought here today."
This time, Rolfe remained much more composed, but Bogo could see his breathing shallow up a bit. "Is this a bribe, then…?" Rolfe smiled coolly. "Chief Bogo?"
Bogo did not smile in return. "No. It is a threat." Rolfe's smile disappeared in an instant. "If you get in my way, I will end you." Bogo leered at the wolf so hard, he wondered if Rolfe would tuck his tail between his legs. "Now, maybe you are completely innocent in all of this—or maybe you killed my best cop, and you're making all the predators in the city go savage just to push your own political agenda. Until I find out, I want for you to stay out of my investigation." He sneered. "Have I made myself clear?"
The words cut into Rolfe, and while he managed to maintain his calm composure, Bogo could tell it was a struggle. He had broken many mammals during his time as a cop, and few things in life gave him such pleasure as seeing them squirm under his menacing demeanor, just as the assistant mayor was doing right now.
"Yeah," Rolfe managed to say. "It's clear."
Bogo adopted a smile—or as close to one as he could force at the moment. "Splendid." He reached out his hoof. "Then we have a mutual understanding, Assistant Mayor Rolfe."
Rolfe cleared his throat and grabbed Bogo's hoof with his paw. "We do indeed, Chief Bogo." He paused mid-shake. "What exactly is our understanding?"
Bogo held on to Rolfe's paw firmly. "My cops keep their fake collars."
"Done," Rolfe agreed. When Bogo started to let go, he gripped harder. "And we call a press conference this afternoon."
Bogo raised an eyebrow. "What for?"
"We will jointly announce that I am the interim mayor of Zootopia."
"You—" Bogo had to bite his tongue to keep from shouting in shock. "You can't be serious!"
"I'm very serious." Rolfe used his free paw to wave toward the window. "Mayor Lionheart is still in the hospital. That means I am, effectively, in charge." To help alleviate Bogo's worry, he quickly repeated, "Interim mayor. Just until he can come back to work." When Bogo continued to hesitate, he added, "Remember, the doctors have cleared him to come back as soon as tomorrow."
Bogo wanted to protest, but quickly realized it would do no good; the law was on Rolfe's side. He sighed. "Oh, all right." His clasp of Rolfe's paw doubled down. "But we say nothing about him going savage."
"You don't have to tell me twice." At long last, Rolfe and Bogo let go of each other, their deal set. Rolfe finally allowed himself to sit back down in his chair. "Very well. I'll call for the press conference right now."
Bogo sat down in his chair as well, pulling it as close to the desk as he could. "Make it soon," he requested. "I don't want to sit here long."
Rolfe paused just as he was about to pick up the phone at the edge of the desk. "You mean…" He stared at Bogo, not quite sure if he understood the chief correctly. "You're going to stay here with me until it starts?"
"That's my plan," Bogo concurred.
Rolfe hesitated, once again uneasy with Bogo's words. "That won't be necessary, Chief Bogo," he assured. "I'm perfectly capable of calling a press conference on my own."
In response, Bogo lifted his feet, rested them on the edge of the desk, and leaned back in his chair. "Oh, I have no doubt, Interim Mayor Rolfe." He rested his arms behind his head as Rolfe stared at him in bafflement. "But still…" He closed his eyes and made himself comfortable. "You'll need someone there to keep you on the straight and narrow."
