A.N.

Thanks to all you valued readers that considered this tale worth following! However, as I stumble about in the creative darkness, I long for the illumination of reviews to find my way. Think of the sheer power that I offer. You can exalt or crush my ego as you will, force me to make corrections, and influence the lives of helpless characters. A single thoughtful suggestion can bend an entire story onto a new and possibly superior path to a satisfying conclusion!

Or you could just write your own... I'm still trying to figure out that balance between reading, writing and real life.

T.B.

Chapter Six:

Portents and Possibilities

Jack Savage's right ear twitched, then his left. It was a minor instinctive response to an uncertain peril, one not yet identifiable as a distinct threat—some called it preyanoia. He exchanged another glance with Skye; she'd noticed too. So had Wilde. It wasn't some sound at the threshold of detection, as Dr. Alder had spoken quite clearly.

The raccoon's revelation that prey mammals had almost certainly been involved with rearing farmed animals for meat was bad enough. The seizure of the recently discovered evidence for it was worse. Jack might accept a single coincidence, but not any more.

"Doctor Alder, it sounds to me like you don't know this person...the one that sent you the paper—I assume for review? Why would he do that?"

"It's rather irregular," Dr. Alder said as he lifted his briefcase from the floor, and opened it in his lap. "See for yourselves." He waited until Skye cleared a space on the table, then shook the contents of a large opened mailer onto it. There were several printed pages and a couple of dozen photographs.

"To save you all the time to read these; there's an incomplete abstract, a fairly comprehensive description and photos of the site and its excavation, and an introduction to, but no detailed description of the remains. There are enough good photos that we can easily identify two of our primitive Coypu. This one," the raccoon reached and flicked a sheet, "has the initial dating results. As to why me, I'm prominent in the field.

"So, meat animals dug up in a very inconvenient place, and now we've got a hasty cover-up of a potentially explosive interspecies scandal," Jack stated.

"Seems like it, since this report was sent unfinished, because someone was afraid of losing credit for work on a major find," Dr. Soren said. The skunk rose and stepped over to scrutinize the title sheet. "I wonder if they made him give up his field notes."

Skye read from her tablet. "He's a doctor Jarvis Ulric...wolf...biology professor at Piedmont University in Anniston. Appears to be a mid-sized institution."

"Why would they call in a wolf from out of town? If the—I guess they'd have to be prey—authorities were worried about this sort of thing getting out, you'd think they'd have their own mammals to oversee it," Hopps said.

According to the e-mail from doctor Ulric alerting me about his package," Dr. Alder said, "the first investigator called in for the Fairfield site was from the local agricultural college. He likely found remains and called for available professional help on his own."

"Everyone! Wait a sec!" Jack's senses were on alert and his instincts said bolt, don't freeze. "Sorry Docs, we've gotten complacent with the seminars the last couple of days, but we need to move now! Alder!"—The raccoon started at the lack of honorific—"did anyone else get that e-mail?"

"Just doctors Hornby and Ellison at the national museum. I assume they also received a pac..."

"When was it sent?" Jack jumped to his feet. Shit! Another connection! That probably explains Alder's budget. It's beyond the ZBI now he knew, as his nose started to twitch uncontrollably.

"I received it four days ago."

When Bogo passed along Soren's original report, Jack realized. One of those two at the national museum must have been on watch for finds like this and had immediately passed it on to an established contact at the ZBI. That individual had been hit with two nasty shocks at once, which had at least allowed his and Skye's hasty assignment opportunity.

"I'm going to assume that one of those colleagues of yours informed others with an agenda to protect, and that they will act to keep what you've shown us buried." Jack waved at the papers and photos. "Now, I need you to make a couple of sets of copies of all this, give them to Hopps and Wilde here, and put the originals where you'd normally keep them. Make sure that only you keep and handle the originals."

"Shouldn't we hide the originals and let them have copies if they try to confiscate anything? I assume that's what you're worried about," Dr. Soren said.

"That's exactly it. But copies are easily identifiable. I want them to trace these back to Ulric—through his printer, by skin cells or fur in the envelope—and think that you hadn't bothered to make copies yet. Might slow them down a bit."

"You sound as suspicious and paranoid as that TV detective—what's his name...Cosgrove? You really think they'll go to the trouble?"

"I do doctor Soren," Jack told her, "There are forces in authority that want to...reinforce the present political narrative about predator-prey relations—that are well above those who tried to suppress this find back east." Also above me, as they often reminded him.

"The Mara remains," Wilde said. "That wasn't supposed to be found where it was either."

"Wait, that shouldn't matter; doctor, didn't your report mention it without saying anything about its age and location?" Hopps pointed out.

"Yes, but unfortunately, we did discuss its morphology thoroughly enough for someone knowledgeable to make the connection," Alder said. "Remember these are rare finds."

"Yesss... Doctors, we'll have to assume that someone already has. They'll certainly want that Mara back since it'll reinforce this latest discovery. Have you released any report about it to anyone other than ourselves?" Jack demanded.

No, our description is fairly complete, but we held back and contacted the ZPD when we realized what the impact of our conclusions could be," Alder responded.

"Great!" Jack was happy for even a minor break at this point. "Continue doing whatever examination and documentation you want to for now, but keep giving all of it to these two—along with any problematic paper records you already have. I want it to look like you've started work on these remains, have some records of that work, but are a long way from any conclusions or publishable results."

"I can disperse the remains of our freshly deceased Coypu in the stacks," Dr. Soren added. "I'll hide and label them so that even an expert couldn't find them unless they already knew what to look for!" The skunk was fully engaged in their planning, with eyes alight and tail up. "Might do that for a couple of Mara bones too, and emphasize my paw research."

"Thank you, that'll be perfect," said Jack. "Now, if you and your colleague would accompany agent Winter back to your museum, she could start to purge your computers of the full ZPD report and anything else provocative.

"Doctor Barret, if you could help officers Hopps and Wilde copy these here, then they can deliver the originals back to doctor Alder. Then, if one of you will set up an appointment with your chief later this afternoon, we'll meet then.

"For my part I'll go to the federal building, contact my superiors, provide them with a...selective report of our findings, and await their further direction. That should tell us where we stand and what actions to take, as there is a real possibility that I might be the one assigned to take what you're hiding!" Jack paused to examine their faces for a few seconds before he turned to Skye.

"Agent Winter, a brief word before we all go?" Jack and Skye left two surprised and three pensive expressions in the room behind them as they went down the hall for privacy.

"Things are spinning out of control rapidly," Jack told his mate quietly. "I don't think we can wait on trusting them; we need to talk to them tonight if possible, or tomorrow."

"I see that too dear. I think it would be best to meet with them separately, one-on-one," said Skye. "Particularly for Hopps' sake."

"By sex or species?"

"Definitely sex," said Skye.

It felt sooo good to be moving again, in spite of the remaining tightness in his leg. Nick was almost back to his normal walking pace, although running would be unwise for a few more days. He hoped to make it back to the station before anything called for that.

It was a risk. He was in uniform, the only one visible in Savannah Central Square after he'd entered it near city hall. There was always at least one ZPD officer on foot patrol in the general area around the square, but they seemed to be elsewhere. At the moment he was the steady paw of authority to the citizens going about their business—mammals unaware that he couldn't protect them from their hibernating id monsters.

The last few days hadn't been good for either his leg or mind. Enforced idleness while some dry professorial types patiently justified his initial overwrought fears had left him doubly frustrated. How does anyone deal with a dormant threat this vast? For once, Slick Nick couldn't come up with any sort of a solution. That totally sucked.

At least he wasn't alone. He'd worried that the capable-looking federal hare wouldn't take the report as a serious warning, but agent Savage had embraced it and had even revealed a distrust of his own superiors to them all. Nick wasn't sure that having him as an ally had been worth the revelation of high-level political involvement in this disaster in the making.

His vixen cohort has quite the haughty persona, but he'd seen the like before and had used one himself on occasion; only she used hers to hide something away. At least she seemed in accord with the rest of them.

Then there was Carrots. It was exquisite agony to have to watch her exuberant spirit slowly bleed out—and not intervene. Even though she'd wanted to, he realized that leaving her alone to brood for the last two nights had been a mistake. His self-imposed barrier against the overwhelming desire to physically protect and comfort her again made the climate wall an ephemeral thing by comparison.

Why'd it have to hurt so much? Because he feared that Jack would make an obvious and impressive partner for her? Only their lack of any apparent mutual interest so far had kept him together. That wasn't fair to Judy—they'd discussed possible issues with their friendship openly and had even—insincerely for him—encouraged healthy in-species dating for each other. He knew it would tear him up inside if she actually ever did that.

Barely two weeks ago, before reality went sideways, they'd been together on his sofa for movie night and she'd made this adorable little chirr of contentment. Nick hadn't known rabbits did that, and right now his most fervent wish was to hear it from her again. In the hall of his mind, he'd abdicated the lifelong throne of his own ego, and now served its new ruler. You will serve her happiness whatever she does, even if you can only share it vicariously...

The steps before the precinct entrance dredged his thoughts back up with a few sharper twinges from his leg. Focus fox, he told himself, you weren't even aware of the ramp right there to use. Inside, Clawhauser was busy on his microphone; maybe he could get past...

"Hiya Nick! Where's Hopps? Your opposite twins from the ZBI are already in Bogo's office; so go right on up."

"She'll be along in a couple Ben. We've got a ongoing investigation now and just found some really unsettling evidence, so go easy on her—please?"

"Sure thing Nick, I know she's still trying to work through her OIS. Whatever you've got now must be bad, both those agents looked really upset." Clawhauser sadly propped his chin in his paws and watched the fox head for the elevator.

Nick kept walking, but not fast enough to get out of range of the dispatcher's final soft-spoken comment.

"Total shame; I've never seen a more perfect set-up for a double date..."

One did not enter chief Bogo's office without direct permission, or some kind of acknowledgement. Nick had brushed against the limits of that rule a few times, but felt that today would count as an exception. He pushed down the door handle, shoved it open, and entered to find both agents with the chief in the sacrosanct territory behind his desk, all intent on his monitor. Nick assumed the peace of the water hole was in effect, and walked around to join them, noticed only by a momentary eye and ear flick from Savage.

"Got it," Winter said. The vixen's forearms were propped against the edge of the massive desk to steady her camera's aim.

"Ok, back to the index and the latest update," Savage said in an undertone, his paw moving Bogo's bulky mouse. "Coming up on it—here!"

"Got it," the arctic fox took two quick photos, and stowed her camera. "City's monthly budget update, Wilde," she told him. "Previous one was just over two weeks ago."

Agent Savage clicked through a couple more pages and turned the mouse back over to the chief. "Look at whatever you normally do for another minute or so." Bogo made a low snuffle and complied.

"I like to call it 'practicing my clandestine skills' rather than paranoia," Savage said. "I don't know what software the city servers have installed, but the later versions log each page request so you can tell what someone was interested in. Just muddying the waters a bit."

"We will have to examine the photos to confirm it," Winter said, "but it looks like Dr. Alder's research budget was the only item zeroed out or even changed from last month's."

"The planning commission broke their regular schedule and didn't adjust anything else to obscure their intent. Obviously a very quick and sloppy imposition from above," Savage said scornfully. "Now, Chief Bogo, can I see the redacted report that you sent to the ZBI?"

Buffalo Butt looked mildly surprised but brought up the document for the hare to read. Savage perused it for a minute or two before he explained himself.

"Everyone's been bovidlerizing this report of unfortunate facts and suppositions since Doctor Soren first generated it. I wanted to know exactly what my bosses saw and what they decided not to tell me!"

"Agent Savage, you seem to have a strong tendency towards insubordination. Is this a recent proclivity or a normal thing for you?" Bogo said rather sweetly, which was his most dangerous tone of voice in Nick's experience. An interruption came from a polite knock low on the door. "Enter!" Bogo said more harshly than he likely intended.

Judy came in wide-eyed and ears splayed. Her mouth opened slightly as the three of them emerged from behind Bogo's desk. The chief considered, then waved Nick into the oversize chair behind them. He sat on a corner to make room for Judy, then agent Winter to join him.

"Officer Hopps, I've been briefed on your findings. We have also just determined that the cancellation of the museum's research budget was deliberate." The chief directed her attention to the scowling hare left standing. "Agent Savage here was about to explain his position and duties within our...investigation."

"My duties remain the same as yours, to protect society from those elements that seek to disrupt the social order for gain or ideology. That's probably written in a handbook or mission statement somewhere, but I do try to follow that example. Those who do not can be found anywhere, and I am now certain that some of those disruptive elements are in my chain of command. My position, Chief Bogo, has become a precarious one.

"There's been a recent push within the agency to redefine predatory crime and allowed behaviors so that we can efficiently monitor and control any perceived atavistic individuals among them. Embracing and justifying this public safety agenda is now...beneficial to one's career. I took far too much time to realize that a long game was being played; it was very subtle at first, but has now reached a threshold where it has become more overt."

"There has always been anti-predatory prejudice, it's inevitable given our joint histories and the majority prey population," Bogo said. "It recurs, and we've just come off a peak of that. Why do you feel this is different from past enabling of speciest behavior?"

"Because this time it's more highly organized!" Savage emphasized. "Patterns of public behavior are like the weather; it's a chaotic system, unpredictable in the long term. Now, more controlled...purposeful...plans have been set in motion. Agent Winter can explain it better; she's the one that found a lot of this!"

"I originally joined the ZBI as a computer programmer and data analyst," Winter began in a precise voice. "Once my other talents were recognized, I was recruited and trained for investigative fieldwork. Even with that, my IT work remains a significant responsibility.

"My first doubts arose during the time I was tasked to help develop software that would track and correlate any individuals personal associations, habits, and interests. I was assured that this was for court ordered investigations only, and that our prior less intrusive monitoring tools would remain in general use." The mottled brown and white vixen's voice slowly dropped in tandem with her tail.

"I needed to test and optimize those programs, and was allowed to use our in-house database to run my trials against—as long as I openly reported the results to my supervisor. When I found that those reports were being passed straight up to the deputy director, I grew very nervous and made up excuses to stop doing them."

"Your managers were spying on their own employees with it, weren't they?" Nick asked her. "How'd you find out?"

"I told her," Savage said. "I overheard a comment about how they'd found some internal corruption and assumed that her work was involved in that. She then told them her part of the task was complete, and to revoke her access to the program, witnessed by management. They had already started using the program on their own, and likely wanted her tests and reports to continue; to set her up for a fall in case they needed to obscure their own activities.

"We have no evidence at all for this, but we believe that one recent resignation and a couple of unexpected retirements resulted from manufactured evidence based on data from this program. All were fairly high profile predators in the agency in positions to be impediments to others."

"There are still plenty of predators working at the ZBI and other agencies, although our numbers have started to decline at about the expected attrition rate instead of being kept at parity through hiring," Winter noted. "It's right there in the database, but it's not wise for anyone to draw attention to it."

"I would like to know," Bogo said after a long exhale, "why two ZBI agents would discuss an unproven conspiracy theory against predators within their own agency, with outsiders they first met two days ago."

"Because I'm taking a big chance with the first people I've felt I could talk to about this!" Savage said. "Your actions during the wild predator events last year showed that you three do live by those words on your badges. I'm not here by accident! That report you sent us chief, was a badly needed gift for me, to induce them to willingly give me this assignment.

"Back when I had my initial suspicions, all it took was for me to make a deliberate and mild speciest comment about a co-worker before the right ears. That started cautious efforts to recruit me and determine the depth of my...passions. I encouraged this, and was first asked to merely watch certain pred employees for any suspicious activities to exploit. Of course, my reliability was being tested to see if I might tip off a colleague that they were a target."

Agent Winter raised a paw and waved it gently from her spot on the other side of Judy.

Nick's affinity for Savage jumped; the hare had to implicitly trust his fox partner—just like Judy did with him. Even the acceptance by proxy felt good, and filled in a little more of his lingering self-doubt. Was it strictly professional, or could there be more between them? Nick knew those thoughts would only lead to despair, but he couldn't banish them...

"It is almost impossible to know who to trust now," Winter said. "There is enough badge tracking and other internal surveillance that we must assume it's pervasive at the agency. Even simple hallway encounters by a couple of preds would be noticed and flagged, so those such as myself can do little to meet with the like minded. We are also easily identifiable and badly outnumbered, making surveillance of our outside activities likely. Agent Savage is a hare and would be suspect for preds even if he wasn't maintaining cover!"

"It's just as dangerous for aware and sympathetic prey mammals, Jack said. "They can't try to identify and contact each other without risk of exposure to conspirators above. I fear enough are in place that the agency is already lost as an effective counter to this trend. Our staff isn't very publicly visible, and malcontents are easily marginalized and legally silenced.

"The verisimilitude of apprehension," Bogo said quietly. "Your latest evidence shows this may go beyond prior attempts to discredit and restrict predators, as certain prey species may now need to hide their own ugly past. Individual zealots and psychopaths like former mayor Bellwether can be excused by society as aberrations. An organized group that patiently seizes the levers of political power could eventually decide on anything from subtle segregation to repression of whole species as justified policy."

"Any attempt to expose this now would be dismissed as a fringe conspiracy theory, right?" Nick said.

"Particularly since we don't know how widespread this really is, or their final intent," Winter said. "We may have to wait until they make an overt move."

"That could be imminent," Jack said. "My report should get some reaction out of them; learning about the Fairfield meat farm certainly has. We need more allies and information before we can consider any action, so I suggest we concentrate on that for now."

"We can't rely on official support from the ZBI anymore." Winter said. "If we are to have any success, mutual trust and security among us will be crucial. To develop that, I strongly suggest some one-on-one, get acquainted sit downs somewhere private. I need to start with you, Officer Hopps, as soon as possible." The two females shared an appraising look.

"You need to start with me? And why individually if we're all going to work together?" Judy said. "I think we've already adjusted well to each other."

Nick admired how she'd grown into her ideals—well past her prior distrust; his bunny partner now sat quite comfortably sandwiched between two foxes.

"Because Miss Winter understands the situation Hopps," Bogo said firmly. "From now on, any interactions among you four will occur discreetly outside this precinct. I will not permit any hint of a conspiracy within my police department! I will restrict myself to coordinating our exchange of information and providing covert logistical support if needed, until we learn more. Otherwise, you and Wilde will visibly continue your duties at the ZPD, as agents Winter and Savage must do for the ZBI. Any overt joint operations between us must be sanctioned by both agencies."

Bogo slid open a drawer and riffled through its contents before extracting a page. "I would have considered your evidence and suppositions barely adequate to agree to our present cooperation, if I hadn't also recently received this from the Department of Justice." He slid it across his desk for Savage to read.

The paper passed silently between paws until it reached Nick's. It was a hiring guideline that noted a disparity between the makeup of several law enforcement agencies and the general population. It touted the social benefits of bringing their predator heavy natures more in balance with the communities they served. Although implied rather than directed, the intent was clear. A little more weight tugged at his spirit as he gave it back to Savage.

"This is somewhat relevant to my own secondary assignment," Savage waved it at Judy, "which is you. I'm here to discreetly assess your suitability as a target for recruitment. Those speciest elements in the hierarchy can use the legitimacy that a popular personality like you can provide. Of course, I will report that you seem to be a true idealist that likely wouldn't tolerate institutionalized discrimination."

"Actively seeking support is another indication that zealotry rather than ordinary prejudice may be behind this," Bogo said. "Keep me informed, and if my officers need more time for your investigations...I believe they have a shortfall in stakeout, community outreach, and perhaps parking duty to make up." The chief looked at them in turn.

"We can adjourn for now."