Chapter 32: The War Comes Home
Judy collapsed into a large cushioned seat, helmet plopping on the ground by her feet. As she had feared, Bogo had her and Nick gear up and ride out with the first group of officers sent out to maintain the tense peace. And despite pulling in a full shift before, they both spend close to half the night standing down against usually much larger mammals before they were finally relieved. But now that the night was ending, she was finally allowed to get back to the precinct and recover, possibly even go home. Her ears hung low in anguish as she fought with her emotions, trying very hard to maintain her composure. Not that it mattered here, in the precinct cafeteria, as everyone around knew just what was going on. Nick took a spot next to her, taking advantage of the seating in the precinct being designed for larger mammals. He pressed an ice pack into his shoulder from where he took a nasty bruise while trying to stop a rather badly tempered elk from breaking through the police line.
"It could have been worse, Carrots," he informed her gently. "A lot worse."
Judy groaned, grabbing one of his arms and hugging it. "Then why do I feel like it will get worse, Nick? It was only the first night! What happens when we start to learn how bad it really is? So far it's mostly marches with only the occasional lone wolf rioter. What happens when it becomes the other way around?"
"We will deal with that when it gets to that," Nick said casually, "just like we were able to deal with everything that came up until now. But you saw how it was now. Most people were out there together today. They already had enough fighting just from hearing about the war in the news, they don't want to start fighting here. I really don't think it will get as bad as things were before."
Judy really envied his confidence right now. "No, Nick, nothing that came up before was like this."
"-Carrots…"
"There are people out there defending the attack, Nick!" Judy pointed out, voice growing agitated. "Not a lot, I'll grant you that, but the fact that there's even one person saying that it was a good thing! I mean…" Her voice hitched as she pressed herself back into the seat cushions. "Who would ever say such a thing?" Her eyes wandered up to the TV in the room, showing ZNN as usual at a low volume. As expected, but hardly what she desired, the news was all about Bana City. Still hardly information was coming out, with Ocelotia still trying to figure out how to even react.
The ticker at the bottom of the screen was showing the current confirmed death toll at a little over a hundred. Barely half a day after the bomb went off, and only from those found along the edges of the effected area. For obvious reasons, no one was too excited to run in to check on the situation. The information scrolling along informed watchers of the news station that a nearby army unit was already flown and driven in, securing the perimeter of the city to make sure that no effected citizens would escape. They weren't able to bring any antidote.
Nick let out a heavy sigh. "One, only a few were defending the attack. Rember what Chief said? How most of them are just as horrified by this as we are? You really want to tell me after today that he was wrong about that? But two, even among those defending the attack, no one was saying that it was a good thing, Fluff," he corrected her. "Only that it was necessary. To bring the war to a swift end, and save lives in the long run. There's a big difference."
"I don't see how," Judy said with a scoff. "Still sounds like support to me."
Nick gently massaged one of her shoulders. "If you'll allow me to give you a bit of a recent history lesson, let's see how much I remember myself… When the war started, Urusia made sure to attack only military targets, which they were able to do. Ocelotia meanwhile retaliated by attacking Furbanti, which in the process lead them to indiscriminately bombing several civilian buildings. Remember the demonstrations after that happened?"
"Yeah…" Judy frowned, remembering when there were worries of rioting out of Microrusia over that incident. It was a sick kind of irony that they were now dealing with the exact opposite of that. "We did get lucky there, didn't we?" Now that she was thinking about it, the only consequences from those bombings were that the rest of the world settled on not coming in for Ocelotia's aid, and letting the two countries deal with their war on their own.
"And what was supposed to be a short war to, and I'm just repeating what Urusia was saying," Nick hastily added, "'prevent Ocelotia from taking over Urusian independence', turned into a long stalemated slug-fest. One that was costing a lot of lives even until now. Ocelotia was able to destroy Urusian offensive capabilities, but were unable to go on the offensive themselves. Both of them were looking for ways to get the initiative for a while now."
"I still don't see how that justifies poisoning an entire city with nighhowler," Judy pointed out. "What does Urusia even get out of something like that? We didn't getting involved up until now, just as they were asked! Even despite how much the Ocelotians begged for our assistance. I mean, you know how grouchy Count and Trigger get whenever this subject comes up. Most of the world was fine with letting Urusia and Ocelotia fight off on their own. How's the attack supposed to help the Urusian cause now?" She let out a huff of air. "I for one, am very scared of what they'll do next. So if Ocelotia can figure out how to beat them, and soon, I won't mind."
"That I don't know," Nick answered truthfully, patting her with his free arm. "Maybe they got desperate. Know something that we don't."
Judy's fists clenched tightly along with her jaw. "That attack was not 'desperate', Nick. It was a terror attack. Plain and simple."
"I never said it wasn't," Nick was quick to correct her. "But it will do a lot of people good to understand why someone would justify the attack. We can't just write it off as actions of some cartoon villain."
"But only a cartoon villain would do something so evil," Judy grumbled. "Why are you even defending them, anyways?"
"I'm not!" Even Nick was startled at the shear anger he displayed with those two words, feeling guilty at feeling Judy recoil away from him. Had he really taken such offense at the idea that he was defending the Urusians? Was he really?
"Sorry, Nick," Judy mumbled sheepishly, settling back next to him. "I guess it was a long and stressful night."
Nick grinned down at her, letting her know that she was forgiven. "You're saying that as though it wasn't," he added with a hint of amusement at her comment. "But you know me, I'm good at figuring out what others are thinking."
Judy nodded her head. "Ever the hustler. Even when your mark is someone you don't know, somewhere very far away, and…" her face fell. "I still can't believe they used nighthowlers. I just… I always hoped that Bellweather's attempt to take over the city was the worst of it, and now? Now it seems like the worst is only beginning."
"Judy, don't," Nick warned sternly. "I know what you're thinking. Don't. This has nothing to do with you."
"I grew up surrounded by those plants!" Judy reminded him, completely ignoring both the fact that he actually used her real name, and the warning that had followed. "I go back home, our fields are still surrounded by those plants! Just another pesticide for the organic groves. I never thought they were a big deal! Well, not until Bellweather… But even then, if anything, it was like… She found a clever way to try and gain power, but nothing more than that. Not like this!"
She glanced up at the television. Growler was telling the audience that Princess Cowssette was about to deliver a live speech about the bombing, with even a timer on the lower right corner of the screen showing the estimated start time for the speech. The ticker still showing live updates from Bana City right next to the timer.
Nigh sighed, grabbing Judy's attention again. "Just because she turned pesticides into a weapon doesn't mean what happened now is related in any way, shape, or form to what happened here years ago because of her. For all we know, the Urusian development could have started even before hers, seeing how these things take years to pull of. No, this wasn't something just created yesterday. Or even as a reaction to the war starting. Must be far older than that."
Judy shook her head. "That doesn't matter. Bellweather used a regular plant and turned it into a weapon that almost destroyed this city. Everyone were ready to tear each other apart, both figuratively and literally. And the entire rest of the world was able to watch and see just how easy it was."
"Again, you say that like I wasn't there," Nick said, hoping to get her to drop the train of thought. "Still doesn't mean they were related. Remember: Smellyweather believed- no, still believes that she was helping the city with her Nighthowler escapade. I'll be you this precinct's entire annual budget that whoever gave the order for the bomb also believed they were doing the right thing. Sure, it's not my job, but it will sure help to know why..."
"We are now going to go live from Urusia, where Princess Cowssette is getting ready to make statement regarding this terrible event," Moosbrige on the TV announced to the viewers.
Nick started to watch the TV for himself as the rather familiar forms of Moosbridge and Growley instead gave way to a live feed from Furbanti. He right away recognized Princess Rosa Cowssette D'Elise from when Count and Trigger put her on back at the airbase. "To sound like Chief Buffalo Butt," Nick commented quietly, "but this should be good."
"Nick…" But if Judy was going to scold him for the joke, she instead scooted over to give him more room on the chair.
On the television, the princess looked distraught, her normally elegant white dress full of wrinkles and very much unkempt. While she was speaking in her native Urusian, subtitles were displayed near the bottom of the screen.
"My fellow citizens of Urusia…" She visibly winced at her own words, stopping, and restarting the speech. "No, citizens of the world… Earlier today, I found out about… terrible actions taken by my own armed forces. Of the armed forces of my wonderful country- No, of our wonderful country. But what happened yesterday-"
Judy honestly found it hard to listen to the speech. While it genuinely looked like the princess had only found out herself, and was showing real grief and horror at the news, there was still the extremely large elephant in the corner of the room that was her entire history of supporting Urusia's war with Ocelotia from the beginning. She remembered listening to Nick explain after returning from the airbase that one of the first things Count and Trigger did was to put her regular speeches on, listening in on and having a great time of joking at her efforts to improve morale on the Urusian home front as well as increase support for their troops and war effort.
The same war effort that now doused an entire city with Nighthowler gas.
"You know," Count's voice announced that the pilot entered the room, his little bit of belongings folded in his arms. He sat the items down on a table and grabbed a cup of water, filling it up in the sink, but eyes were very much fixed on the television. "For being the enemy, she sure is cute."
Judy's heart sank even more as he did so, knowing that now it was only a matter of moments before he will read enough to understand that something terrible had happened. She really didn't need the pilots in here right now. No, correction, the precinct really didn't need the pilots finding out about this right now. Especially not while they still didn't know anything about the situation in Bana City.
"...What's she crying about anyways? Anything related to the reason Trigger and I got kicked out of our cells? Or why everyone's all geared up and looking ready to head for war? Might be just me, but the entire place feels like something big's happening." The questions just rolled in one after the other, no gap left between each one for an answer to actually be given.
Judy groaned, feeling a headache coming in, not helped for being up for so long. "Count…" Even though she felt Nick grip her reassuringly again, this time the act was useless.
"And now that I think about it, isn't it too early for all of you to even be in here?" Count added, approaching the TV to read the subtitles and the ticker scrolling across the screen. "Morning shift doesn't start for another couple of hours…" It only took moments for him to stiffen in anger and agitation. "When did this happen?" His voice made it clear that he won't be taking silence for an answer.
Fangmeyer, who had escorted Count to the room, also looked already fatigued at what was sure to happen next. "Judy, Nick, sorry, but Bogo told me and James to get them in here," she explained quietly. "He needs their cells to be available, but there's nowhere better for them to be for now… Count?" Her jaw tightened at seeing the pilot clenching his fists as he read the information slowly scroll past his face. "Count, we were outside all night. You now know just as much as we do."
"...All night..?" Count's voice was dangerously low. "And why weren't I informed? How bad is it?"
"We don't know!" Dahlia repeated again, voice strained. "Right now our concern is with keeping our own citizens from rioting over this. That is why everyone's geared up. That is why you needed to leave your cells."
Oddly, Count was able to calmly sit his cup down on a table next to Nick and Judy. "Of course. And letting us know what happened back home was rather low on your priority list, I get it." He closed his eyes, visibly fighting back his emotions. Then his eyes snapped back open. "Where's the remote?" he asked. "And does Trigger know?"
"Umm… should be next to the TV. And not that I know of. Why?"
Count rushed over, looking for the device. "Because it's Trigger! You really think he's going to react well to find out what happened back home? Speaking of him, guy should be up here any minute now..." He found the remote, only to frown on it as he struggled to decipher the many buttons on it. Pressing one of them, he was rewarded with the channel switching over, now showing a random cooking show. "Well, this is better now, but, damn it, this is really…" he struggled to find the right words. "Look, I know you cops really don't care about Trigger and I right now, but seriously, tell me everything you know and let me handle him. He can't know about this. Not right now."
Despite herself, Dahlia gave a small smile, remembering Judy telling her only a few days ago how she always felt that Count did care despite his demeanor. But the smile faded as he sat down next to Nick and Judy's chair, shoulders starting to shake slightly and his breathing coming out in unsteady hitches. "Damn it… How could this have happened..?" Much like Nick was doing with Judy, Dahlia placed a comforting paw on his shoulder, to let him know that he wasn't alone.
"Hey, Count, you feeling okay over there?" Trigger's concerned voice let everyone know that the second pilot arrived.
Count scrambled to his feet, shrugging off the coyote's concerns. "Nah, I'm good, Trig! Was just resting, you know?"
Trigger eyed everyone wearily, taking a few steps away from Wolford, just in case his own escorting officer had any ideas. His suspicions increased when he noticed that the officers in the room were also rather nervous and fidgety. "No, I really don't. I didn't actually just arrive, I saw you… You were acting like… like I would expect me to be acting over something bad. But not you." He waved in Dahlia's general direction. "Seems like you know why everyone's walking around in full riot gear. Something bad happened in Zootopia?" He was also carrying his few belongings with him, and placed them next to Count's pile. "Let's see, everyone's in a bad mood… And this time I'm not even the cause of it as far as I can tell. It's far more crowded in here than should be, so I'm guessing there's a lot of cops that are normally off shift..." He looked around wearily, frowning when he caught James wincing in his direction. "And I always remembered that TV having ZNN on, not Martha Steweart or whoever this person is…" His eyes caught sight of the remote still in Count's procession. "And I hardly passed you up for someone who's into her," he added with a sigh. "So something's going on, am I right?"
With the officers remaining silent, it was Count who took the lead. "Listen, Trigger, yes, what I just found out is that there's rioting going on outside. So that's why everything's all weird right now. Look, Fangmeyer here was telling me on the way up that the Chief needs us to set up bunks in a closet temporarily, so how about we go and do that? Or am I wrong why Wolford brought you over?"
Trigger frowned. "Uh, yeah, that's why he brought me up. But did you say rioting? Why?" He made a motion to grab the remote from Count, but the taller deer was able to raise it up and over his head and out of his reach.
"You can just give up, Trigger. I can do this all day!" Count teased. But when the other pilot kept trying to reach for it, his teasing turned into a much more serious expression. "Trust me on this one. Seriously, you don't want to listen to the news right now."
Trigger looked genuinely hurt by the statements. "Why?" he asked quietly, "you really don't trust me that much?" He glanced around at the ZPD officers, but non of them looked like they were siding with him on this one. "I mean, what's going on?" he asked again, "it can't be that bad-" he looked at the officers again. "...Can it?" His ears lowered over his head in fear. "Judy? James? Dahlia… Nick?"
"It's bad," Count confirmed with a shake of his head. "That's all you need to know for now."
Fear changing into anger, Trigger made a motion for the remote again. "Bad? And I can't find out what exactly? ...Count! Give it!" He jumped up, but Count was still able to keep the remote out of his reach. "It's because of my murder conviction, isn't it?" The question came out even before he could check if anyone else might overhear them or not.
James snorted despite himself. "Actually, this time it's really not." At first, he felt glad to tell the truth, and that it indeed wasn't as some sort of restriction caused by Trigger's assassination conviction being leaked. But only a moment later did he realize that it was also the completely wrong answer to give, as it removed a lot of doubt when it came to why they were leaving the pilot in the dark.
"It's… It's about the war back home, isn't it?" Trigger asked hesitantly, attention returning to Count. "What happened?"
Count bit his lip as he struggled to find the right answer. Slowly, he lowered the remote to let the other pilot grab it, but didn't release it himself. "Knowing you, Trigger, you're going to blow a gasket imagining just what might be going on. And as you saw coming up here, the ZPD already has enough to deal with on their plate…" He still maintained a firm grip on the device even as Trigger tried to pull it away. "If you trust yourself to keep your cool, then here. But I would rather you trust me to find out first and let you know second. Filter it down, cut out the BS, the usual."
Despite getting ready to fight for the TV remote just moments earlier, Trigger was caught off guard by Count's uncharacteristically caring and concerned tone. Before he switched the channel back though, he went to the side of the room and pulled a chair out, sliding it over next to Nick and Judy's. Settling himself into it, he took his own turn in figuring out the right buttons before starting to change channels, stopping upon immediately recognizing the Urusian princess on screen, still giving her speech.
"-Why is she crying?.. Ugh, did we do something bad?" He glanced over quickly at Count, fear in his eyes. "Rioting? Oh god- What did we do?"
Count didn't answer.
Oh, right, Judy realized even as she found herself reaching over to grab his paw for comfort. If he didn't know the cause yet, that was a perfectly natural assumption to make. "Trigger, just... Listen."
"Fine." With a nod of his head, Trigger fell quiet and watched the screen with the others. He didn't even care that Count also sat down next to him, occupying an armrest as a seat all in itself. But despite his confusion over assuming the wrong event and it not matching what the princess was saying, it was clear by his expression that he was slowly starting to piece the information together.
The live information ticker still sliding along at the bottom of the screen, providing information that the princess' speech wasn't.
Trigger watched the screen in silence, slowly piecing the clues from what he was hearing and reading together. The others around him also watched the TV without saying anything, even though they already had a better idea than he did of what it was showing. After what felt like too long, but could have only been a few short minutes, Cowssette concluded her speech, immediately going into taking questions from the assembled press.
One arm already held safely within Nick's grasp, Judy almost didn't notice as her remaining limb was grabbed by Trigger's paw. Looking down, her suspicions confirmed what she was feeling – that he was shaking. Whether in fright or anger, she wasn't quite sure yet, but he was definitely trembling. "...Trigger?"
He didn't take his eyes off the screen. "Is… Is Chief Bogo in his office?" he finally asked.
"Should be," James answered truthfully, but nervously. "Why?"
Trigger stood up slowly, most definitely trembling. His knees buckled to the point where it almost looked like he was unable to support his own weight. "I uh… I need to talk to him," the pilot replied in a daze. "Only for a little!"
Judy twisted her arm to grab onto his paw before he could let go of her in order to stop him. "He's going to be very busy right now. Can you tell us so that we can pass the word along to him when he will have more time?"
He shrugged her grip off, but hesitated in leaving the room. "I uh… Sorry, but it needs to be him," he struggled to explain. "It's important… Won't take long. Office was second floor, right? Look, I uh…" Without even bothering to finish the thought, he turned and vanished out of the room. Despite practically being unable to stand just moments before, he left with the strength and speed of someone on an important mission.
"You sure he's from there?" Nick asked as soon as the pilot left. "Not that I'm complaining, but I think he rather took it well."
Judy gave him a sharp thwack with the back of her paw over his shoulder, but made sure to target the one that wasn't bruised. "Don't be like that, Nick! It doesn't matter if he's from Bana City or not!" She shrugged Nick's arm off her, standing up on the chair. "We need to go help him!"
"Carrots-"
James grunted before the two can get into an argument. "While I agree that I expected more of a reaction, Count, you've known him probably for as much as the rest of us put together. Do we let him head to Bogo's, or chase after him and risk running into the Chief right outside his door?"
"Knowing what kind of trouble that dumbass can get into, I suggest we get off our asses and go after him," Count suggested. "I know, I just got here too. But chop chop, off to it!"
Perhaps if she wasn't so tired, Judy would have let herself give a more appropriate reaction than to blow a raspberry at Nick. "Told you so. Let's go!"
Nick grumbled as he followed the others off the chair and out of the room. "You know, I didn't even disagree with you, fluff," he explained lazily. "I just don't see the need for hurrying."
They were passing by the front desk when his words were proven wrong by a loud banging and the pilot's yelling tearing through the building.
"Open the door, Bogo! Right now!"
Five sets of wide eyes stared at each other, even Count recognizing the raw danger Trigger was placing himself in with his commotion. If there was one thing everyone knew about Chief Bogo's office door, it was two things: The first, no one on the outside ever wanted to get inside. And two, everyone inside always wanted to get back out.
And despite these two universal truths, Trigger's voice was letting the entire precinct know that the pilot was desperately trying to storm in.
"Forget hurrying, we're running!" Count urged, pushing the officers along.
The elevator being the far too slow option, they all raced up the winding stairs, coming to a stop in a panting heap at finding Trigger busy slamming himself at the door, fighting with the locked handle to pry it open.
"I know you're in there! Let me in!" Trigger demanded, stepping back from the door only to launch himself at it, slamming with his shoulder while pushing down on the handle as hard as he could. If he knew that he was causing a scene, he either didn't notice or just didn't care as he caught the attention of a growing number of police officers. Dropping down to the ground, he peaked underneath the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor, jumping back up and again fruitlessly attempting to open it. "I can see the light on! Open up!"
Count glared at the scene, jaw clenching tight. "Trigger, calm the hell down!" he demanded of the pilot, but to no avail. "The hell is wrong with you? Stand down!"
Trigger just continued to wrestle with the door, pained whimpers escaping him as he punched at the hard metal handle.
Unable to bear just to watch him lose his mind, Judy felt around her gear for how to restrain the pilot. Cuffs will help, sure, but she first needed to get a way to calm him down enough to be able to restrain him… There! She prodded at Dahlia's side, motioning at the dart gun hanging off the tiger's toolbelt.
Dahlia shook her head, signaling that she wasn't going to risk a dart just for this.
James in the meantime took a cautious step towards the crazed pilot. "Trigger… Calm down," he urged, quieter than Count but hoping that he can get through. His paws were held loosely in front of him to show that he meant no harm as he edged closer.
Trigger glanced at his direction, seemingly realizing that he wasn't alone. "Piss off!" he hissed, still tugging at the door. "Bogo you bastard! Open up!" Giving up with the handle, he grunted as he rammed the door itself again.
James let his arms drop. "Trigger? Behind you."
"Is there a reason why you're insisting that I don't need my office door?" Chief Bogo arrived from the opposite direction of the hall, stopping just behind the pilot. A large stack of files was held in his grip, but all of his attention was directed at the coyote. Despite the question he was asking, his voice was completely serious, gaze ready to burn a twin set of holes through Trigger's skull. From behind the chief, Savage and Winters stood a safe distance behind, watching the two in silent shock.
For all of his anger and thoughtless pounding at the door mere moments ago, it all vanished in an instant as Trigger turned towards Bogo's voice, head slowly rising up to meet the Chief's glare. His ears flattened flat on his head, tail disappearing in fear between his legs. "Sir… I need to talk to you." he stammered. "R-Right now!"
"You're hardly in a position to be making demands!" Bogo spat. He towered over the pilot, leaning forward just slightly to emphasize their size difference even more. Despite shrinking away from his anger, Trigger stood his ground and didn't step back. "And the door? Explain yourself!"
"I- I thought you were inside! I-" Trigger said, voice starting to hitch.
"No shit! A mistake only the entire building heard!" Bogo cut him off.
Judy froze. She never heard Chief Bogo swear. At anyone. Not even at her when he was getting ready to fire her for disobeying him. And she thought that he was mad at her at the time.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have Wolford toss you right back into your cell!" Bogo asked, voice lowering dangerously low, signaling that he was completely willing to carry out the threat. "You have five seconds!"
"I-I needed to talk to you!" Trigger repeated, eyes flashing at the officers trying to get him to back down, then back to the Chief. "Inside! ...Alone."
Bogo stiffened. "Wolford? I think it's time that you-"
"-No!"
Bogo let out a snort of warning, letting Trigger know that he had overstayed his welcome. "Didn't you hear me? I said you had one chance! You blew it. Now get out of my sight!"
To his credit, despite shaking like a sapling in a tornado, Trigger stood his ground despite all common sense telling everyone that it was time to flee. "Sir…" He gulped nervously, watching as Bogo started to unlock the same door that he had struggled and fail to smash in.
"I'm not going to pretend that you don't have a right to be pissed off at what happened," Bogo said with a heavy sigh, at least some of his anger going away. "Nor am I naive enough to assume that you weren't going to find out." His nostrils flared in anger again. "But this door exists for a reason. So if you really think that trying to demolish it was going to earn you an audience with me? Forget it! We've got work to do, and you've got staying out of everyone's way to do." He pushed the pilot away as he unlocked the door, inspecting the hinges for damage. "Wolford? Take him away. Savage? Winters? With me."
"No! Wait! Please!"
Bogo hesitated. Not because Trigger dared to actually grab him to try and stop him. It was a simple matter to pry him off and shove him in the direction of the officers. No, what caused him to stop was Trigger's voice.
The pilot with Three Strikes, convicted assassin of President Hareling, was begging.
"I have no idea why I'm letting you get away with this," Bogo muttered as he pushed the door open, waving the pilot through. "But you have thirty seconds. Officers, agents? Wait for me here." He closed the door behind him as soon as Trigger stumbled into the office.
Jack and Skye came over to the officers and Count, staring in shock at the door where Trigger had managed to get through without getting himself skinned alive. "I uh... take it you found out?" Jack asked the remaining pilot.
Count crossed his arms,glaring daggers at the ZIA agents. "Yeah, that makes for a wonderful morning," he answered coldly. "At least tell me that you at least failed at your jobs and didn't see it coming."
"We- we were just as surprised as anyone else," Jack confirmed nervously. "Count? What happened was not part of our investigation, but… I'm sorry."
Count crossed his arms. "It's not me you should be apologizing to." He jerked his head in the direction of Bogo's office. "I wasn't the one trying to blast Bogo's door open just now."
"Yeah? Well, still. For what it's worth, I wanted to apologize either way." Jack glanced at Judy and the others. "And how are things in the city? I know you were up all night containing the riots."
Judy let out a shrug. "It got rather bad at times," she admitted, "but can also be worse overall. A lot worse." It didn't escape her that those were the same words that Nick was telling her not too long ago.
Jack looked ashamed of something. "Chief Bogo's going to announce it when it will be needed, but Ocelotia's getting ready to act on the Nighthowler of their city. They've already asked several other countries for help in getting equipment and people to help out. Animalia already promised to give away basically our entire Nighthowler serum supply. Get this: Urusia's, or at least the part of it that listens to the royal family still, officially offered to help out as well, even while the war is still going to keep going."
"Tell me that this time, you know what will be going on," Count grunted. "What's the plan?"
"They're thinking of using aerial firefighting equipment loaded with a sleeping agent." Jack said quietly. "Force the entire city to sleep while the army keeps the borders secure. Knock out as many of the savage residents as possible, send in additional reserves to administer serum while the population's down."
Dahlia's eyes narrowed. "That sounds blindly optimistic. Does anyone know if it will even work? Does such a knockout gas even exist? We have to calibrate our dart guns to the size and weight of whoever we target on an individual basis, and they still fail one way or another far too often."
"A lot of people are going to die," Skye muttered. "That we do know. But no one has a better idea how to save as many as possible."
Count swore next to her, hitting the railing in anger. "Well that's just great!"
Skye took a step towards him. "A lot of people are already dying, Count! Every minute nothing happens, more of Bana's citizens are tearing each other apart! And those who escape the city limits are getting shot if they can't be darted in time. Nighthowler doesn't make people revert to a primitive condition. It forces the anger complex to completely take over! No more rational thought, just raw hostility towards anyone and anything!" She motioned at James and Nick. "Just ask them! Ocelotia needs to act now, you know that! It's- It's not your fault you were caught unaware! The whole world was caught unaware!"
Count slammed the railing again. "...My job..!" he was starting to shake himself. "It was mine and Trigger's job to stop something like this from happening! And what were we doing? Moping about here and not…" he shook his head, letting out a groan of despair. "If those leaks hadn't…"
"It was our job too, Count," Jack added. "The ZIA is also supposed to stop these things before they can happen. And... We're not the only ones. The entire global intelligence community was caught with its pants down."
Count leaned over the railing, watching the officers down below in the main entrance hall. "There's no better plan on dealing with this, is there?" he eventually asked. "We're just going to… Gas Bana city? A second time?"
"While Ocelotia's getting the equipment? If a better plan will be thought of, that will be tried first," Skye answered reassuringly. "But yes, that's the plan currently. Current estimates are that it will take another twenty four hours to happen, at least."
"And then what? In fac-"
Count stopped as next to them, the door to Bogo's office opened, a dazed and wide-eyed Trigger stumbling out. The Chief himself towered behind the pilot, looking a lot less angry than before.
"Sir… I…" Whatever Trigger wanted to say, the words weren't coming out.
"Can it, Trigger," Bogo huffed. "I said I'll do what I can, and I mean it. But I can't make any promises. And more importantly, I can't let it distract me from my job, you understand that, right? Unfortunately, my priorities are on this city, not yours, so any help I can offer, it must come from when I have the time for it. Again, I'm sorry, but this doesn't excuse your behavior, Trigger. You're a trained combat pilot. You really should know better than that. And while we're on it, if I find that my door is in fact damaged, you will be repairing it. Without tools." Not even waiting for Trigger to answer, he motioned to Jack and Skye. "Agents? The other precincts are already waiting. We've got work to do. Officers? The national guard is going to be helping out for the next week at least out here. Get these pilots squared away and go home. Get some rest, you've all earned it. But keep your phones charged and close by, just in case." And with that, he disappeared back inside the office, waving for Jack and Skye to follow.
"Best of luck, Count," Jack bid his farewell to the pilots. "Trigger? You hang in there."
Trigger just stared as the door closed up again, leaving the pilots alone with the officers. Judy rushed over to meet him, grabbing his arm reassuringly. Despite the motion, he barely reacted to her presence.
"Trigger?" Count came over, leaning down to be at eye level with the smaller pilot. "Talk to us. What was that?"
Trigger blinked a couple of times. "Count? I… I'm scared."
Count let out a long, depressed sigh before reaching over and grabbing him by the shoulders. "I know. I'm too. But we have a job to do. And can't belive I'm saying it, but trying to storm Bogo's office wasn't one of them." He frowned, examining the other pilot closer. "You look... terrible. Someone you know's back in Bana, aren't they?" This last part wasn't a question.
Trigger's lower lip trembled. "M-my parents," he confessed.
"Oh jeez, come'ere." Holding onto Trigger's shoulders as he was, it was easy for Count to pull him into a hug. His muzzle pushing past Trigger's, he was able to make eye contact with the officers. Help me he mouthed silently, eyes beckoning for them to come closer.
Not that they needed to be asked, but in the narrow space of the corridor, only Judy was really able to join in the embrace, her smaller frame allowing her to get close to the terrified pilot.
James exchanged looks with Nick, silently communicating with the fox officer about what to do. Feeling determined, he pulled Judy away, ignoring her protests as he forced his way to look at Trigger directly in the eyes. "Listen to me, okay? Closely." As soon as he was convinced that Trigger was at least paying some attention to him, he continued. "Nick and I… We both got hit by the Nighthowler gas too, remember? We took you to the beach afterwards? That was for our own recovery as much as it was Judy being nice to you. What I'm saying is, your family? They're going to be fine." He felt glad that Count didn't bother to take the opportunity to jump in and remind everyone of the conversation that had just happened while Trigger was inside Bogo's office.
"I- I hope so!" Trigger stammered out, sinking into Count's embrace. "Just scared!"
"Was that why you wanted to barge into Bogo's office?" James asked.
"I-Yeah. I said… H-he offered for me to call them, but I couldn't do that."
James frowned. "Why not?"
"And say what?" Trigger snapped desperately. "That I'm in Zootopia in jail because…" his voice dropped most of its volume. "Because of what I did?" He let out a quiet groan. "How am I going to explain everything that has happened since the last time we talked? And that's even… if they'll even be able to answer the phone."
"What about leaving a message?" Judy asked next to him. "Ask them to call back when they can?"
"I just need to know that they're safe!" Trigger explained, desperation in his voice. "Bogo promised me that he'll look into it, but…" he shuddered despite Count's embrace, "I don't know if I can wait that long."
"They're fine!" Count insisted.
"How the hell do you know?" Trigger snapped back, snarl forming.
Count simply patted him over the shoulder, giving a slight grin. "Because there are two people who got hit by that poison right behind me, and they look fine," he answered confidently. "And remember hearing all about this city the first time the had to deal with it? No one died. Look, you ask me? I think that's why the Urusians used that gas. Completely throws things off, but doesn't actually kill folks all that much. Your family? They'll be fine!"
Trigger slowly settled back into his embrace. "I just… I'm not that confident," he finally admitted. "About it not being deadly? Easy for you to say! Bu-But it's not your family in there! Damn it, Count, but I'm sca-"
"Scared? Yeah, we know," Count said, cutting him off. "You only mentioned that several times already in as many minutes. And how do you know that I don't have anyone in Bana?" When Trigger didn't say anything, he gave the smaller pilot an additional pat. "I did have a friend from there, but I don't know if he's actually living there now. No, it's not the same, I know. But what can you do about it, anyways?"
"Not be stuck here!" Trigger whimpered.
"And where would you be if not here? Some front-line base with McDicksey?" Count spat. "Think of it like this: You found out what happened, and not only were you able to find someone who already promised to help you in finding out what's the status of your family, you didn't even get slammed into solitary just for trying! Especially since it's not even been a week since they all found out about your little secret, you you really think Bogo has any reason to help you out with this? Do you really think McDicksey would ever bother to look into this?" He stood up a little, pushing how head away in order to Trigger directly in the eyes. "Look at these officers. By any measure, they should be hating your guts. Especially James and Judy here. You've been lying to them for how long? But they still, for some reason, care enough to want to help you out. Are you really telling me that you're better off out there than in here?"
Trigger's lower jaw quivered. "I don't know! I don't even know what to do anymore!"
Count answered his despair with a sly smile that could even make Nick proud. "Well, I do know where to start." Trigger answered his comment with a look of pure disbelief. "You still need to relocate up your bed. That's a good start."
"...What? That's it?"
"And you can let these fine officers go home and get some rest," Count continued. "They've been up all night. We haven't. But most importantly: try not to worry. Worrying isn't going to help. Wait for Bogo to do his thing, then you'll see that you're overreacting."
Shakily, Trigger followed Count and also stood up. "Count…"
He shook his head. "Save it Trigger. I don't want to hear excuses here."
Nervously, Trigger looked at the officers. "Guys… I uh…"
Judy smiled at him. "If you still need us, we won't mind sticking around."
He scratched his arm slowly as he examined them. "You've really been up all night?" he eventually asked, ears lowering when they nodded. "I… You should go home then," he concluded with a tone of determination. "I know I said that I'm scared… Still am. But it's nothing any of you can do anything about. And besides," he waved numbly at Count's direction. "He understands more than you." Because he was still looking at the officers, he didn't see the taller pilot give a grateful if surprised smile. But they sure did see it. "So… See you all tomorrow?"
Judy nodded. "Something like that. You sure you don't need us?"
Trigger waved her off. "I'll be fine. Or, I hope I will. Come on, Count. Let's head back down." Pushing through the officers, he gave them another grateful if somewhat unconvincing reassuring smile.
When he spotted Nick open his mouth to say something, no doubt some dumb joke to try and lighten the mood, James chose to beat the fox to the punch, and decided to call Trigger something that he hadn't in a while. "Hey, pup!"
Trigger stopped, looking back.
"You take care!"
