Chapter 30: 4-Way Questions
Judy let out a bored sigh as she typed away at some paperwork. While she wasn't surprised at the least that she was stuck inside doing paperwork, she still would much rather prefer being outside and helping the city.
As it was, she had to wait her turn for her until she will be questioned over that whole mess yesterday. Just thinking about the news from the day before made her feel queasy, and she took another sip of the precinct coffee to try and calm her nerves. The bitter taste wasn't pleasant at all, and she always wondered how half the cops, especially Nick, were addicted to the stuff. But right now, she really needed that caffeine boost. Her mind had been racing for all of last night, and she had really failed to calm down enough to actually fall asleep until it was far too late.
What was the worst was the feeling of betrayal over Trigger's 'secret'. While his last words to her did cause her to think, rethink, and come to, abandon, and realize once more that as much as she was hurt by his silence, has she been in his position, that Judy would have also chosen to keep her mouth shut. As much as she wanted him to be honest with them, and especially her, she couldn't think of a way for him to have come clean about his situation without the very act turning everything sour.
But for someone whom she considered a friend, the truth finally coming out still hurt.
And after all of that, here she was, stuck in her cubicle, typing away bored out of her mind and emotions jumping all over the place.
A shadow loomed over her desk, and she looked up the officer who had just showed up. "Francine? How's it going?"
The elephant officer shuffled nervously. "Oh, well, Hopps, I wanted to ask you something, since you're probably the best person for it. Also, where's Wilde?"
Judy shrugged. "Uh, sure, I can try. And Nick's in a meeting."
"So you know the pilots? What did they do?"
Judy's eyes widened. "Uh, what did you hear about what they did?"
Francine frowned, expression turning rather angry. "There's a rumor floating around that they were caught committing some kind of felony," she explained. "I go down to their cells, and I'm told that I can't actually visit. That their cells are locked, which I know for a fact they didn't use to be." She raised an eyebrow at the smaller officer. "And something about someone seeing them being lead around in cuffs?"
Blinking for a few moments, Judy burst out laughing. "Committing a felo-? No! They didn't do anything like that!" she explained quickly, glad to see Francine visibly relax. Calming down herself and turning serious, Judy gave a small groan. "Well… I mean, I'm sure Bogo might make some sort of announcement," she mumbled, "if you have questions, I think he'll be the best person to ask."
Francine grinned at her. "Delegating responsibility to the superior officer, Hopps?" she teased. "That is so unlike you! But really, so what your saying is that it's actually something bad?"
"I'm afraid I'm not at the liberty to say," Judy answered honestly, but still feeling bad about not being able to be open, especially to someone who was supposed to be a superior officer to her.
"Oh, so you do know." Looking disappointed, Francine nevertheless nodded respectfully. "Well, I trust your judgment. And I reckon it's not really your call on this one anyways." She gave Judy a quick wave with one of her very large limbs. "Take care, Hopps!"
Left alone once more, Judy put her attention back to her work, as well as her phone, blinking with a missed notification. Checking it first, Judy had a moment of panic when she saw that it was an important message from Bogo.
We're ready for you. Interrogation Room A.
Checking it again, she realized that it was less than a minute old and so she wasn't actually all that late yet. Still, not a good idea to turn only barely not late yet into actually late. Calming her nerves, Judy stood up after quickly making sure that her work was saved. Here it goes…
...Jack Savage tied to give Judy a reassuring smile as she sat down opposite him behind the bare table. The effort was in vain, due to the inconspicuous recording equipment sitting right there in front of him. Chief Bogo himself was sitting a way's away, tapping away silently on his own phone and making a show of rather ignoring the two rabbits.
Ultimately, it was Judy herself who broke the ice. "Should I uh, be asking for a lawyer?" Her own grin made it clear that she was only joking, but at least part of her was worried about the answer. With Chief Bogo also in the room, she looked at him for guidance, at which he gave her a reassuring smile. Well, at least he wasn't acting like there was a cause for concern.
To her relief, Jack shoot his head. "No, this isn't an investigation or anything of that sort," he reassured her, then waved around the room. "I do apologize for using an interrogation room, because it does look rather threatening, doesn't it? Mostly, it's because we need the privacy. Although, unfortunately, while we're at it, I can't say what Internal Affairs might decided to do. They haven't said anything yet, but I am worried that they might decide to get nosy. That, and when it comes to you specifically, they are always eager to shove their noses into this business."
"...Me?" Judy asked, startled by the confession. "What does it have to do with me?"
"Hopefully? Nothing." Jack stared at her calmly. "But there are some on the sidelines who disagree with that. I think even you can at least see how strange this looks: you're a country bunny who became a big city cop. Almost single-highhandedly solved a case that several agencies working together couldn't figure out. Your partner, now a fully badged police officer due to your prodding? An ex-con who loved to live right on the line between immoral and illegal. How did you solve the case? With assistance from a notorious mobster whose daughter you are now the godmother of her own daughter." He raised an eyebrow at her unamused expression. "Please tell me you don't see how someone can see this as highly suspicious towards corruption at the very least."
Judy let out a groan, tugging at her ears in irritation. This never seemed to go away, no matter how much she wanted it to. "I've said it and will continue to say it. The fact that Nick was the only one who was a witness to Mr. Otterton's last appearance was only a coincidence. That doesn't change the fact that he's still a good mammal at heart, and is a great cop who only needed someone to trust in him before he would leave his old life behind! And Fru Fru was also a complete coincidence, since I also had no idea who she was when I saved her from being crushed by a donut! What her father does, I don't know, since he's rather very keen on making sure that I, now as legal family while also in law enforcement, has no idea what he does. I don't interfere with our investigations into him, and Mr. Big respects what I have to do for my work. And when it all comes down, I have to ask, why does it even matter, at all?"
Jack was smiling slightly at her. "From what we at the ZIA can tell, Mr. Big is going more and more legitimate every passing year," he commented. "It appears that you have some sort of effect on him that is working in making him a more respectable citizen. Personally? I don't think he wants to get arrested or have to hurt his daughter's god mother. I don't actually know how much Mr. Big cares about you personally, Hopps, but he adores Fru Fru. And since she cares about you, that does give us an advantage. Ultimately though, if there is a case being formed against him, you will be kept well away from it precisely for that reason, that's for certain. As for Wilde? I agree that he's a far better cop than a con-mammal, so you have my gratitude for turning a mammal's life around for the better of everyone in Zootopia. And… That's all I will comment on those. But otherwise? Between Wilde and Mr. Big, I have definitely gotten questions about you when it showed up that you somehow got involved with Ocelotia's Three Strikes." He lifted his paws up to distance himself from the accusations. "Okay, fine, let me be the devil's advocate. This 'Three Strikes' is really only someone the Urusians are using to blame for being unable to defend from some attacks against them, give or take. A Red Baron of our age, as it were. Great pilot, but hardly someone who will win the war for the Ocelotians. Great for morale though. But nevertheless, a good excuse if say, if you allow me to pull an example out of the news, an entire oil refinery complex gets completely destroyed by a single attack squadron despite the heavy anti-air presence in the area? 'Three Strikes did it'. Hell, could even be several mammals sharing the same airframe for all we know. Or even multiple aircraft with the same paint job. We don't know. But the way Ocelotia reacted to the capture of the pilots? I think at least some of the rumors must be true then. So to get back to you, when Judy Hopps happens to be working for the precinct-" he hesitated, "no, correction, was the one to finally catch up to and capture the pilots? People are interested in what's going on, let me put it that way." He glanced up and over his shoulder. "Chief Bogo? That sums it up about right?"
"For what it's worth, Hopps," Bogo added, "the pilots have already been questioned earlier this morning. Both of them reassured us that they kept all of you in the dark about this business of theirs as they could. I can't say how much their word is worth in this case, but push come to shove, even Count but especially Trigger made it abundantly clear that they don't want to see any of you be impacted by their mess." He gave a grunt of amusement. "I believe this is what Wilde might say is the 'honor among thieves', but coming from two people with a fraud and murder conviction between them, I've rarely seen anyone stand up for police officers. Not like how they both did. Normally, I imagine you are well aware, but crooks tend to enjoy seeing cops get into trouble." There was a hint of amusement in his voice, telling of him enjoying the moment of irony. "I for one, had a good time telling internal affairs to shove off. This doesn't concern them, nor should it concern you. But we still need to figure out about what to do with our pilot… criminals."
Judy frowned, looking at the table. "With all do respect sir, but I don't think they're criminals."
Jack looked alarmed at her statement, sitting up suddenly and fumbling for a voice recorder. "Hold that thought, Jud- Hopps! Give me a second here…" Turning the device on, he set it down on the table between the three of them. "As Chief Bogo just explained, IA might want to take a listen to what we discuss here," he faced his full focus on the recording device. "But in the name of national security, I, Jack Savage of the ZIA, will tell you all that this will not happen. Want to listen further? I want to see some security clearances!" he paused for a moment, smirking at the device. "So with that warning out of the way..." Pulling back away from the device, he addressed Judy again with a grimace. "Unfortunately, I don't think that we can afford the luxury of being naive enough to assume that Ocelotia won't want to butt in their grubby paws into this buisness as well. Their own OIA at the very least, I would suspect, but the OADF might try to get involved as well, seeing how Count and Trigger are their pilots. I hope not, but, well…" Letting his voice fade with the train of thought, he quickly cleared his throat. "All that aside, we're going to be questioning all four of you about what you found out yesterday, but I want you to think of it more as a conversation rather than questioning. I mean, I am already rather well aware of what you all knew before then, but after yesterday, we would like to hear how it all relates. Otherwise… Bogo?"
"Since the transfer of the pilots out has been canceled, unfortunately, government inertia means that the jurisdiction of their apprehension fell right back to us." Bogo let out a snort, not bothering to hide how displeased he was with the news. "They'll be staying with us just as they did before, except that we now know of their full history. With Count, I'm not too worried. Unfortunately, when it comes to Trigger, with his murder conviction, that's a whole completely different story." He plopped down some pages in front of Judy. "Their files, which you can look into while in this room. As for the meeting, officer Hopps, you and Wolford were paired with Trigger the most, and so would have the best idea about him. I'm not even that interested if you think they're guilty of their crimes or not. As much as Count yesterday thinks that his crime is fraudulent, and as much as Trigger insists that he's completely interested, it's not up to us to try and solve that problem. They're already convicted, and are now no longer going to be removed from our jurisdiction. So as far as I am concerned, I want to leave today, after talking with all four of you, with a serious question answered: are we harboring a dangerous criminal, or can we afford not to have to use up extra resources in detaining them?" He motioned for Judy that she had the time to talk.
Judy stared at the recorder sitting innocently on the table. "With all do respect, sir, but I mean it when I say that I don't think they're criminals. Either one of them. If you were to ask me, I would have thought that Count would pose a higher danger. But Trigger? He's not dangerous!"
Jack raised a paw to stop her. "But he has a murder conviction," he reminded her. "And not just anyone random, but an ex-president. And remember just yesterday when he attacked Count. Nearly broke his nose."
"But there's a difference between getting into a fight someone and actually wanting to kill them!" Judy protested. "He uh… I did anger him enough for him to attack me once. Bogo knows about it. But he missed, and Fangmeyer intervened right away, but still... Was there a risk that he might have hurt me? Okay, sure, I'll give you that. But I never felt like my life was in danger!" She gave a sheepish shrug. "We always knew that he was really transparent with his emotions. Nick'll be able to tell you that he would make a great target for scammers, being so easy to read. And being involved with the war? I want to say that he should be in better control of himself, but frankly, after even the little bit we know he had to go through? I don't blame him for lashing out." She stared at the recorder on the table, feeling silly at the thought that this simple device was recording everything. Without Trigger in the room, she almost felt as though they were invading on his privacy or something. "But killing someone? Well, er, wrong choice of words. He told me personally that he knows that he's killed people, but that's war. But murder? I just don't see him being able to do something like that. He became a fighter pilot to help prevent the killing of people, not partake in it!"
Jack stared at the ceiling as she talked, trying not to interrupt. He kept reminding himself that this wasn't an investigation, and that he needed to keep his mouth shut while Judy talked as to not lead her down a stray path. But now that she stopped, it gave him the opportunity to prod at her stance. "Judy…" he pressed again, "I personally witnessed the HUD recording from that mission. Yesterday, he said that there was a drone, which was his real target. Maybe I just don't know any better, but after looking though it again, I didn't see anything of that sort." He turned his attention to Bogo. "Chief? I understand that you also got to review the recording?"
"I did," Bogo confirmed, but then nodded at Hopps. "But I won't discuss my opinion on it. We want Hopp's honest opinion on the pilots, not to force her into a corner."
Jack scowled, but silently agreeing with Bogo.
Judy couldn't help but be unable to shake the feeling that something was off, HUD tapes or no. "With all do respect, but-"
"-is there any chance that I will be able to take a look at the recording as well?" James stared silently but eagerly at Jack and Bogo. He wasn't sure what order he was in for this questioning, but it was already rather late in the day and they both looked ready to be done with it, despite him just arriving. "I'm not a pilot, obviously, but I know a little bit about planes." He grabbed the files offered to him and started to scan through them.
Savage shook his head. "We have been unable to secure permission for you all to view the video. Just being aware of the nature of Count's and Trigger's service history is causing more than a few headaches in Ocelotia. I personally had to wring some arms just to allow you to be able to read the file."
"Well," James stared, "what about my cousin Kyle. I think he ca-"
"No, officer Wolford," came Jack's stern reply before he could even finish explaining his thought.
"He's a chief mechanic in our airforce!" James added quickly. "Been working on high tech jet aircraft for the past fifteen years! Full security clearance and everything! They have him to work on our stealth Raptors, you know." He grinned at Jack. "I don't even think they'll allow you to get as close to one of those as he can. If he were able to look at the video, then-"
"No, Wolford!" Jack's voice sounded tired as he interrupted again.
James looked disappointed at the answer. "Well, what if someone tampered with the video?" he asked lamely. He glanced at the file again. "As a cop, I know that I need to trust in the evidence, even if I don't want to personally believe it. So if Trigger was already convicted of murder, then I guess that's that. But I guess… I really don't want to believe it. Not this time." He hesitated, reading through the file. Wait, there was something else here…
Dahlia squinted at the file, her mind racing. There was no way that part of Trigger's file can be correct, can it? "Can I look something up real quick? Public information, I promise!" She earned a nod from both Jack and Bogo. Barely a minute later on her phone, she slid it across the table to show it to them. "See, look? Vincent Hareling. Died June sixth. Hell, even I remember that, as it was international news for a good week or more." She then pointed at a table on Trigger's file. "And look here: transferred to Four-forty-fourth squadron June twenty-ninth. That's what? Three weeks?" With a frown, she folded her arms across her chest. "You really want to tell me that Ocelotia found their suspect, gathered the evidence, and was able to conclusively prove that Trigger was the one to murder him in cold blood, and all before the slower news networks even stopped running specials on Hareling? Doesn't something here smell fishy to you?"
"-And let me phrase it this way," Nick told Winters. Jack had taken a break by his turn to do some other buisness, while Bogo was still pushing through the questioning of the officers and had remained in the room. "Take our own ex-mayor Bellweather."
"Bellweather?" Skye asked skeptically. "How's she related to this?" Even Bogo looked interested in this direction, but grumbled silently when Nick winked at him instead.
"She isn't. Not directly, at any rate," Nick answered simply. "But makes for a good thought experiment. Hear me out: I'm rather sure that you're aware how your partner Savage took my partner Hopps off to question her for your investigation into that underground Nighthowler lab. But that's not the point. Okay, here it is: Suppose I was the one to go instead? See, as a predator, she rather ruffled my feathers with her grab for power, as it were." He flashed a grin at Skye. "Remember how hard life suddenly became for us predators because she convinced the whole city that we were just ready to turn savage on our neighbors? I know Chief Bogo here does – he had to find half a precinct full of officers to replace, and fast. Uh, I wasn't a cop back then, but Hopps told me about. Anyways…" He leaned back in his seat to make himself more comfortable. "I want to stress for the record, only a thought experiment here. So suppose I was the one sent in to ask her about that lab? See, I'm rather peeved at that stunt of hers, feeling like I'm up for a bit of revenge, right? So I figure, why not repay the favor? I go in, ask her whatever questions you would have had me ask, except that, problem! I smuggled in a weapon. Doesn't matter what kind or how, that's not the point of the thought experiment. Point is, I pop a round or two into her head, she's gone, the world is rid of one more lousy mammal. I don't even try to hid what I did, so everyone knows right away it me, okay? Heck, some might even praise me for doing what needed to be done a long time ago." Nick waited for a few moments to let Bogo and Savage to catch up with his scenario.
"That's quite the thought experiment there, Wilde," Bogo commented, tone suggesting a subtle hint of being impressed. "What's the point in it? Except that I now know that I should never send you to question Bellweather for anything."
"Point is," Nick grinned again. "I don't think for that effort, that I would be rewarded with a transfer to another precinct, no matter how lousy. Had I really done something like that? Jailtime most definitely. Probably for life." He gave a shrug. "And that's for killing someone most people agree doesn't even really deserve to live. So now back to the real world. Here we have Stri- Trigger, convicted of murdering a rather popular retired president, sent right back to a unit mere weeks after the event, and flying again. Garbage penal unit or not, but um… how? I would like to know where in the world any of that makes sense."
"-fighter aircraft are some of the most expensive pieces of equipment entrusted to the sole control of a single mammal," James explained carefully. "Especially when you load them up with fuel and munitions. Desperate for pilots or not, I just don't see Ocelotia being willing to risk that much by trusting a pilot who they claim murdered a high-profile politician. What if he's still really angry at them? They know he's skilled, so I don't think that they assume they can just shoot him down if he makes a break for it. And then what? He goes rogue completely? Defects to the Urusians? Decides to fly on a one-way trip to bomb whatever juicy Ocelotian target he decides will make a good statement with? And… He flies a Mig-21? I think that was the number. Thing is, that's a really old plane. Really old! As in, designed all the way back in the fifties. So maybe they gave him a scrap so that he can die in it? But why go through the trouble of modifying it to make it compatible with modern equipment? Upgrade the engine and airframe to let it handle going up against newer aircraft? Modern avionics that's compatible with the newest weapon systems? That's not something you just give to prisoners. I mean, my cousin works on aircraft, and I won't exactly be allowed to show up and get close to one. No, something doesn't smell right there-"
"-and furthermore," Dahlia looked nervous. "Our country hasn't been the same ever since a group of lunatics decided to use an aircraft as a weapon. Even without weapons, which is besides the point since we know from even civilian press that Urusia was attacked by a 'Three Strikes' at various times, what if by convicting Trigger, they convinced him that there was nothing left to live for? Take a fueled up plane, turn it right around, and fly right into a friendly building. That's a lot of risk from someone convicted of murdering a president."
"- so I just don't see any possible way of Trigger being the one to actually do what he was found guilty of doing," Judy concluded. "I just don't see it in him to be able to do something like that."
"Even with video evidence proving otherwise?" Jack prodded gently. From behind him, Bogo nodded.
"Video evidence can be faked," Judy answered confidently. "I'm not saying that's what happened, and really, most likely, it wasn't. But I also can't help but remember that Bellweather and her team were faking biological tests in real time while she was still hiding what was making mammals go savage. Nighthowlers are used in agriculture all the time as an organic pesticide – I've grown up around them all my life! But the side affects of ingesting that plant weren't really tested when you concentrate the chemicals inside, but people suspected that the savage behavior might be related. And then? Doctors worldwide couldn't figure out what the problem was because the evidence they were using was bad from the start. They checked blood samples from all the mammals for Midnicampum holicithias, only to find nothing! Why? Because Bellweather and her team were scrubbing the samples as soon as they were taken!" Judy spread her arms as she finished that part of her explanation. "So getting back to Trigger. What if his video was faked? What about intent? What if Trigger never meant to shoot down Hareling's plane? You know, friendly fire or something?" She then frowned. "But that directly implies incompetence on Trigger's part. Why would Urusia be so afraid of him as to give him a nickname if he was a bad pilot then? See? It's confusing."
Dahlia let out a long, deep breath as she sat deep in thought. "If we assume that your HUD footage is real, then we have to conclude that Trigger killed Hareling," she reasoned slowly. "We know that he's a good pilot. Between what we can read up on the war and the several-day training even he and Count went to with Wolford and Wilde, we can safely assume that it wasn't accidental either. But since he was allowed to continue flying after the murder charges, it means that he's still trusted enough to control very expensive and dangerous weapons of war…" she groaned in frustration, the points simply not lining up in her mind. "What if he was following orders?" she asked suddenly to no one in particular.
Bogo stared at her curiously. "Officer Fangmeyer, care to elaborate? For the record?"
"What if he was ordered to kill President Hareling?" Dahlia said. "By the Ocelotians? I know it sounds like a conspiracy, but how else to explain everything? To everyone not in the loop, he looks like a murderer. But to those who know what's going on? He's still just a loyal soldier carrying our orders. Not a dangerous criminal, but a professional just doing his job. And of course no one will say that's the case. Can you imagine what it will make Ocelotia look like on the international stage?"
Bogo grunted. "I have to give it to you, Fangmeyer. That's an interesting speculation." She shot him a look that told him to tread carefully in saying more in what he thought of her idea.
"So you think he did it then?" Jack asked, just to be certain.
"You have the evidence saying he did," Dahlia answered. "What other conclusion can there be?"
...Nick shook his head. "Did he do it? I don't know. What I do know, and I say this after two decades of playing off other's emotions to make a living, that he genuinely believes that he's innocent. Did he actually not do it? Don't know. You say there's video evidence against him backing up the conviction? Sure, I'll take your word for it. Don't see a hustle coming from your end. But the point remains, if you ask him if he did it or not, and he says 'no'?" Nick shrugged lamely. "He ain't lying." He settled back in his chair. "So make of that what you will, because I don't know what really happened back there. But…" Nick shook his head slowly. "You put a gun to my head and force me to choose? I can say this: no matter the evidence against him, he doesn't strike me as the type of guy to do something like that. Too much of a straight shooter to betray his mission like that."
"Wilde, I don't want to play that card, but I was thinking that perhaps you at least had a different perspective on this," Jack explained slowly, "you being a fox and all, and him being a coyote. As far as stereotypes go, something like this would be expected of him, but I don't want to say whether species had any effect on the conviction or not. But what you do think?"
"-no he didn't do it!" Judy urged. "And not just because pointing out that he's a coyote makes you sound extremely specieist! You call him a murderer? Let me remind you that when we finally caught up to them, it was Count who had a loaded rifle pointed at my head. Count, not Trigger! Neither of them knew who we were, only that we were cops who were there to stop them. Especially once we knew that they were armed with an illegal weapon. Trigger was the one who took that gun away and unloaded it right in front of me. Made sure to show me that it was safe. Why would he diffuse the situation and give in when they didn't know what we would do to them? You know how both of them were terrified of being sent off to some camp. Don't you really think that someone who was willing to kill a president will for some reason stop at killing some cops?" She crossed her arms again, frowning at Jack. "Bellweather was able to get away with her Nighthowler plot for as long as she did because all of the medical research the city was doing to try and find a cure was being intercepted by her goons and altered," she reminded him. "Something which, unless you prove me otherwise, I do believe you know more about than I do. Point is, you saw evidence that Trigger's guilty? Evidence can be faked."
Jack stared back at her silently. After a few moments of neither of them saying anything, he was the one to speak up. "So if you insist that he's innocent, I take it that you don't consider him dangerous to us?"
"No, not at all!" Judy confirmed quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly. "Or, at least, I don't think so." She looked at Jack and Bogo nervously. "And there was something else," she seemed hesitant to continue talking, but the look from the hare told her to continue. "It's hardly evidence, but last night, while thinking over… all of this, I remembered…" she was grinning nervously, ears twitching slightly.
"Remembered what?" There was an uncharacteristically humorous tone in Jack's voice as he urged her to go on. Even Bogo was leaning closer to listen better to what she had to say.
Letting out a weak chuckle, Judy forced herself to explain herself. She did bring this up after all, so might as well see it to the end. "Okay, so I remembered that there's this movie-"
Bogo snorted. "A movie? Really, Hopps? You're going to try to use a movie as an argument?" His own tone also let her know that he was more amused at her train of thought and not actually angry. Or at least, Judy knew him well enough to know that he wasn't actually angry. "This should be good…"
"Yes, a movie," Judy repeated. "I know it sounds stupid, but please hear me out. You see, this movie, actually, it's based on a book. A classic, actually. Count of Monte Cato. Heard of it?"
Jack nodded. "Sure, I heard of it… Go on." He glanced over behind him. "Chief Bogo? You familiar."
"Sure, who isn't?"
"Right, so I don't know if it was said in the book…" Judy let out a shrug. "I never actually read it. But in the movie, the main character, he gets jailed, right? But he was innocent, just like Trigger claims to be. And he tries to explain that to his jailer, but the jailer doesn't want to hear it. But get this: the jailer knows that the character is innocent. How? Because of the jail he was sent to. Just a tiny jail in the middle of an even smaller island? The jailer explains it then: why would they send him there, when there are many other, regular, jails to toss him into if he really were guilty? Everyone knew the guy was innocent, so they sent him as far away from civilization as they can." Judy shrugged again. "Why would Trigger be sent to some isolated airbase to be killed in combat rather than jail him for life? Just like in the movie: because they're ashamed. Or at least that's what I suspect." She looked at Jack. "You've been there. I remember you complaining how isolated and bare-bones it was."
Jack took a few moments to recall his trip. "It's rather interesting that you bring that book up," he admitted. "That airbase really did feel like a prison, now that I have the benefit of hindsight. Well, we now know that it is a prison, but like you said: it's very isolated. The whole area was the launch point for a horribly failed attack by the Ocleotians very early on in the war," he recalled, "heavy casualties on both sides. Half the surrounding desert is a minefield now, I think. Waters are loaded with sharks, that I was specifically warned about…" He eyed Judy. "Not that I want to give you ideas in either direction, but as far as places they can send someone to hide away from the world, that airbase is not the worst place to start."
"So to repeat myself, to make it clear for the record," Judy finalized, "I don't think Trigger's dangerous to us. Nor do I think he's actually guilty. Video of the act or not. It just doesn't make sense for Ocelotia to keep him around flying if he was." Her ears fell as she recalled something else, that she had remembered when she had gone home, but found difficult to think about. "That, and you weren't there when that collar of his went off full blast the first time," she added. "It was when we took him to the coast… You should have read the report on that. But right before his collar went off, he was saying something. Something... About not doing something." She placed her arms back on her lap as she watched Jack patiently. "If he had really done it, why would it cause such a strong emotional response? He wasn't talking to us then! We were a little behind talking about nonsense among ourselves, while he was just off ahead minding his own business. Until it nearly burned his head off, that is." She frowned as she recalled the event again. "He was saying something about being the closest, and everyone blaming him when he wasn't the one to do... Whatever he didn't do. We all- I thought it was over some failed mission he flew in, because that was sure that it sounded like. But what failed mission? Well, I guess now we know that it was to rescue Hareling."
Jack watched her nervously, worried that he might say something that can anger her. It was clear as day that she was going to defend Trigger, and he wasn't going to argue with her against it too much. "Right. So, you are certain that Trigger is innocent, and more importantly, safe to be around us. Okay. What about Count? My understanding is that you aren't quite as friendly with him as you are with Trigger." This latest statement from Jack was simply given as a fact and not as an accusation.
Judy frowned. "Count can be a jerk at times, sure. But he cares. He has a heart! And sure, he admitted to being guilty yesterday. But of what?-"
...Nick silently watched Jack for several long moments, then flashed that trademark grin of his. "All right, you got me there, I admit it." He raised his arms and presented them to the ZIA agent, wrists together and paws held inverted, ready to be locked by a set of cuffs.
"What are you doing?" the ZIA agent asked, puzzled by the act.
"If Count lying about his heritage gives him a full line, then I figure I deserve at least two," Nick answered, completely calmly and sounding like what he was doing was completely obvious. "You know my past record. Chief Bogo here knows it really well. I'm not proud of it, but I know what I did, and I will never pretend otherwise. You both know my history is much worse than Count's. Lying about his identity? I was doing that since I was fourteen! But if that gets him a whole sin line, I guess I really ought to be locked up and sent to… well, do they actually have penal units for cops? Do you think I can get two lines on the patrol cruiser?" He smirked as Bogo grumbled and rolled his eyes while Jack groaned and buried his muzzle in his paws. "I think it can look rather intimidating, if the pictures I've seen online of Trigger's supposed jet are anything to go by. Really draws your attention!"
"Anything else then, or that's it?"
...James shrugged. "What's there to say about Count? Hardly prisoner material." He waited for a moment, then realized that Jack was also waiting for him to elaborate further. "Well, I mean, if Ocelotia was fielding penal units. Not that they are. Or, well, they are, but that's not the point-"
"Uh, Officer Wolford?"
He closed his mouth then grinned sheepishly. "Right, sorry. Point is, lying about your family history? I guess that's actually exactly the sort of harmless stupidity that can get you sent to a penal unit," James clarified. "If only to get Count away from a base commander that he might have really pissed off. But, I mean, court martials are a thing. Actually commit a crime while in uniform? You can still very much end up in jail. Not that what Count did is even a crime. At least, unless Ocelotia has some extremely strict anti-fraud laws, I don't think what he did is a crime. But how does that matter to us? Might as well treat him like a regular pilot in a regular unit and not anything of note, because frankly, I don't think Count is anything of note. Not in a criminal sense, at any rate."
...Dahlia closed her eyes, frowning deep in thought. "Count did hold Officer Hopps under hostage with a loaded firearm," she pointed out, "of course, at the time, he had no idea who we were, and we didn't know who he was. And I suppose he did have a valid reason to be afraid and uncooperative. He might have actually shot her back then."
Jack looked puzzled. "Should that matter?"
"I would hope so," Dahlia answered quickly. "We had quite the time for him to grow on us, and I think, we to grow on him. If for some reason we will find ourselves in a situation where he's holding a gun at one of us? I'm more than certain that he'll hesitate long enough for us to escape the situation and tranquilize him safely. Not that I think that will ever happen."
...Jack watched Judy carefully. "Since you brought it up, but about Count's whole pointing a gun at you…"
"What about it?" Judy scoffed indifferently, spreading her arms. "I'm still here."
"But you could've been hurt," Jack pointed out, "or worse. If Trigger hadn't shown up to stop Count, what would have happened if it was just you with Count for even a minute longer? Or worse, if Wilde would have caught up before Trigger had and made Count even more nervous?"
Judy let out a long sigh. "Yes, Count did point a loaded nine millimeter fully-automatic PDW right at my face," she pointed out. "Had he fired, there wouldn't have been much left of me. But, critically, do I think that he would have actually pulled the trigger? Even then, something made me think that he would not have. Like, I really feel, even then, that had he actually wanted to shoot me, that he would have already done so. But that was then. Now? I know he won't." She pointed at Jack accusingly. "You said you spoke to them today already, which means that you should know better about how they're handling themselves now." Pulling her arm back, she gave him a smug smirk. "So? How were they this morning?"
Jack shuffled nervously. "With all do respect, but let's not get into that right now," he muttered quickly.
Judy narrowed her eyes. "It was bad, wasn't it?" she accused. "Let me guess, Count all angry at the world? And Trigger-?" She hesitated, not actually sure how that second pilot would be this morning. Not after they all found out about his murder conviction.
Chief Bogo was the one to break the stalemate. "Hopps, this morning we found out the results of the training they did recently."
Judy's gaze shot up eagerly. "And?"
"They made it," Jack's reply was heavy. "If it wasn't for that leak, they would be packing their bags right now..."
...Jame's ears fell. "My cousin told me that the actual flight test they did went really well," he said, "told me that normal pilots would never be allowed anywhere near an actual jet with only a couple hour's worth of simulator training. And especially after they both got shocked nearly to death by their collars, only to follow by that mission that was specifically chosen because it will get a reaction out of Trigger? And you're saying that after all of that, they still passed and would have been brought back into a combat squadron?" He rubbed his arms nervously, deep in thought. "The person who leaked their records to us, they knew Count and Trigger were about to be reactivated, didn't they?"
"That's what we suspect," Bogo confirmed. "Which was why we decided to allow the four of you to be told about their records."
"We fear that if we allow Count and Trigger to be activated, that the leaks will be forced more public," Jack added. "The Ocelotians claim they know who was responsible, but I do worry that there might be more than one bad actor over there. After all, they were caught completely asleep with the leak, so I am not going to just take their word that they have the problem solved. And if the leaks are forced completely public, such as if they go directly to the press?" He shuddered a little. "It will make Ocelotia and especially Count and Trigger look bad. But even worse? It will place us and this precinct in a very bad place. Which means that, unfortunately, we need to comply with the leaker's demands and halt any transfer of the pilots out at least until I get good word from people I trust that we won't have to fear a further leak."
- "And that is why you want us to help you determine if the pilots are dangerous for us or not," Dahlia concluded. When Jack nodded, she returned the gesture. "Well, what can I say? I still insist that I doubt that they are dangerous to us. If they do cause trouble? I think we'll be able to handle it without a fuss."
Judy had a different idea. "Better for them to say here where we can keep an eye on them than to toss them somewhere else," she said, looking at Bogo. "I for one am willing to keep an eye on them, even if it means pulling hours after my usual shift. But whatever they have or didn't do, we can't just keep them locked in their cells all day. Even convicted criminals in prison get at least some time outside."
Jack watched her carefully. "You really trust them that much? Not that I doubt that you do, but, just as a reminder…" he motioned at the audio recorder sitting silently on the desk between them. "For the record, if you may?"
"I honestly believe that we are under no threat from either the two pilots," Judy said firmly.
Reaching over to turn the device off, Jack gave her a reassuring smile. "I think that'll be all for now then, Hopps." Placing the device into his briefcase, he stood up, motioning for her that she can do the same. "I really doubt anything will happen to any of you because of this," he reassured her again. "As Chief Bogo mentioned that IA might be curious as to why you of all cops was one of the ones that ran into the Pilot with the Three Strikes, I can reassure you, the ZIA also investigated that very question very early on and we know what coincidence looks like. You really don't need to worry about any of this. Chief Bogo? Anything else I might have missed?"
Bogo nodded. "I don't want you discussing what we talked about today with the others for now," he said. "Just in case we will have further questions. And related to that, I know there's a rumor already starting to float around the precinct over what happened yesterday. Let me handle it. I don't want you either correcting or contributing to the rumors, even if you get asked directly. Otherwise? Expect to return to your regular patrol duties with Wilde starting tomorrow."
Watching the last of the officers leave the room, it just left Savage and Bogo alone.
Bogo sat down in the now unoccupied chair, towering over the much smaller agent. "So? You got the opinions from my officers. I didn't really expect all of them to vouch for the pilots, but I can't say that I am surprised that they did."
Jack grunted in amusement. "I still really need to look into Fangmeyer's theory. Sounds like a complete conspiracy like she said, but I have to agree that it rather elegantly connects all of the known dots. Everything else leaves too many gaping holes."
Bogo grunted, leaving his opinion on whether he agreed or not open. "Question now is what do you want to do with the pilots? Can't keep them in here all the time. They'll get bored. And I don't care what my officers just said, but bored prisoners are dangerous prisoners."
"I agree with you on that one," Jack confirmed, "and I do have a plan on what to do with them."
Bogo blinked. "Oh? Do tell."
Jack leaned closer. "I want to continue using them for the ZIA drone investigation," he said unflinchingly. "Both of them. Count and Trigger have repeatedly demonstra-"
"No!" Bogo interrupted gruffly. "The pilots are my responsibility, and I will not allow you to run them around the city again. Not now that they know that they can't continue to hide with us."
"Four of your officers just told you that they don't think the pilots are dangerous!" Jack argued back, but not raising his voice. "Let me just back up here a second. First of all, they are only your responsibility as long as they are within your jurisdiction. But their presence in this country, which includes all of Zootopia, means that ultimate authority over them lies with the ZIA." He tapped the table slowly as he fought with Bogo's gaze. "Last I checked, you were able to afford some new equipment you were begging the mayor to find the funding for. Equipment that was bought by money provided to your precinct by Ocelotia to make sure that those pilots won't get into trouble. You want that funding cut off? The ZIA will be more than happy to take them away. You won't have to worry about them any more, and will be able to go back to running your precinct as you did before they showed up."
Bogo's eyes narrowed. "Are you threatening me, Savage?"
The agent held up his arms defensively. "Absolutely not, just reminding you where things stand. Look, when we got the pilots involved in our investigation, they were able to provide help that was simply unavailable to us before. You would think that the information we want would be out there, but no. But they not only met those drones before, but fought them repeatedly. Got to know them intimately. Dive through several wreckages they hauled back to their airbase to really get a feeling of what goes on inside those things. The kind of instinctual knowledge that our engineers just don't have yet. And I want to continue using that knowledge. Agent Winters agreed with me when we discussed the matter this morning." He took a breath, pausing for effect. "And further more, I personally don't think they'll want to escape from here."
"Why's that?"
"What are they doing to do? Flee to Urusia? Urusia hates their guts. Probably will execute them and release the video for the whole world to see. And return to Ocelotia? Even when we still didn't know that their airbase was a penal unit, neither of them ever spoke fondly of it. I doubt they're craving to return there. No, I think Zootopia is still the best place for them, even now."
Bogo stared back, brooding. "If either one of them cause an issue…" he warned.
"It won't be yours to deal with," Jack reassured him quickly.
"...Fine."
