Author's Excuse: Things really got to me this last fall and early winter; my writing really hit a wall. This latest chapter was becoming overly long once I'd resumed working on it, so I've split it to avoid any further delay. It's second half is well under way, and should post soon.
Chapter Twenty-five:
Brought to Terms
Part One
Southbound on the Bunnyburrow Express.
The subtle sway of the railcar had changed enough to attract Judy's attention. It seemed to be a little sharper, more of a high frequency motion. Odd, they'd already passed Middleburrow, and if anything, they should slow a bit as they got into the hills of the lake district and Bankburrow. Outside, the tans, browns and dark greens of the landscape passed in a blur.
They were definitely accelerating. Several of her family—so many had eagerly wanted to accompany her back to Zootopia—looked over at her as she stood from her seat and moved towards the front of the train. She needed to talk to the driver, this seemed unsafe and it was her duty.
The next car seemed to be filled with the rest of the family. Mom and Emily's apprehensive eyes followed her haste as she headed for the control cab. Nick was there, futilely tugging on the rotary throttle lever. "It's disobeying me," he said through gritted teeth.
They burst from the tunnel to see the freight train coming the other way towards them. "Take the wheel! It's out of my paws now Judy," Nick shouted indistinctly as he dove out the side window.
She grabbed the large spoked wheel and wrestled it to the right; the car responded slowly before a hard jerk increased the rate of turn. Judy caught a glimpse of the rest of her train continuing straight on before her car tipped off the side track and slid in a shower of sparks. It disintegrated around her layer by layer; each closer to her as she futilely screamed and pushed away in slow motion. When everything finally stopped, only a small wooden box was left intact to protect her.
Momentary disorientation left her seated upright within it, paws gripped on a smoothly rounded mahogany rail—a richly paneled bench stood high before her; three robed judges looked down.
"You betrayed all of us," said her father from the middle of the tribunal. "We trusted you to protect us," growled a badger as he jerked his cuffed paws for her to see. "Where is my son?" Vivian Wilde said bitterly, eyes narrowed. "Do you think I wanted you assigned to me?" Chief Bogo said harshly, having replaced the badger. His honor Stuart Hopps started to pound his gavel repeatedly, the wigged woolly pouf between his ears bouncing in time with each heart shattering swing.
Shame became confusion as the pounding now seemed to come from below her feet, not above. Judy dragged her eyes open and slowly assembled the evidence that revealed the inside of her one room apartment—The Grand Pangolin—in Zootopia.
"C'mon bunny, snap out of it!" came from outside her door, the blows had stopped. "Answer me before I'm gonna have to break in!" There were a couple more bangs before a different voice said, "Woah dude! Maybe we should call emergency first!"
"I'm here," she said weakly. "I hear you; I mean I hear you!" she forced that out louder—if they broke in it would be a reportable incident—which could question her fitness to remain in service. She, even as an academy valedictorian, still hadn't been able to completely banish that worry. Judy hesitantly got out of bed—her residual nighttime muscle atonia almost faceplanted her on the floor. The few steps over to the door regained most of her coordination—she unlocked and opened it—to confirm that the voices were those of her loud neighbors.
She looked up and met the eyes of the tall ungulate—he had the twisty horns so that one was…
"Bucky?"
He reached down under her arms to lift and hold her against him. Judy automatically gripped him back before she realized what she was doing—they'd never actually touched each other before.
"It's OK now bunny, you're awake," Bucky soothed, careful not to hold her too hard. "That had to be a really bad one! Did you suffer from…abuse before?"
"Abuse?" she said in muffled puzzlement, "Why would you think that?"
"You said, 'No dad, don't, I didn't, don't put me away!' right before your second scream," Pronk stated distinctly enough to inform any curious listeners on their floor.
My second scream? And it made them consider breaking in to help me? Cucumbers! He's holding me like a frightened kit! Against his fur.
Judy had finally registered the light brown fur with a narrow off-white stripe that her nose was buried in. She wriggled and started to push back—Bucky quickly set her back on her feet, obviously aware that she'd recognized her embarrassing situation. She edged back to her door, looking at them in turn. They were still concerned.
"I ah…just had one of those really disjointed…you know like surrealistic…yeah, pretty bad nightmare," she admitted. "Kinda comes with the job sometimes. Thanks for…worrying about me." She backed further inside as Bucky leaned closer, hooves propped on his knees.
"You were moaning and screaming for nearly a minute miss Judy. Maybe you should talk to somebody about it? Uhh, alright?" He and Pronk looked about and retreated to their room under the gaze of the red deer couple and springbok that watched from doors further down the hall.
She thankfully closed her door—of the three of them she'd been the most fully dressed in her thin nightwear. Once she turned, the mostly dark window made the clock on the sill show clearly—it was a little past four-thirty in the morning.
Great, not enough time to try and go back to sleep, but plenty to spend brooding about this. My first night back and the whole building's going to know. And right after the news about my partner—at least nobody's used to him coming around here yet. I've already had two sessions with Dr. Carlisle; I feel I can trust her, but I'd have to lie about what's bothering me this time. Better not, she'd see right through it, and I'd really be testing her patient confidentiality if I was honest.
She didn't have time for that today anyway. ZBI chief Tarija had first crack at her—at eight this morning. Then Bogo wanted her at Alex Clifton's interrogation—by eleven if possible. Nick's old hustling partner Finnick had really come through for them; he'd gotten the goods on the AblePaws head of security in just ten days. Her chief wanted to conclude that proceeding before the conspirators got wind that their corporate saboteur had been arrested.
Then she'd finally see Vivian and find out what arrangements had been made for meeting with Derreck Growley—hopefully this afternoon as well. The vixen had been in protective custody down at the ZPD when she'd reported in to Bogo there last night—but the chief hadn't allowed them to meet. That told her he didn't consider the precinct to be secure at that time, and needed to conceal any further association between her and Nick. They all knew the ZBI conspirators were monitoring the ZPD, but perhaps chief Bogo was worried about more than general surveillance. Maybe he thought they'd recruited one of our officers or staff as a mole. So, who do we trust now? Just preds, or maybe only those already targeted for removal?
Do I trust myself with how much stress I'm under? At least Jack and I have been able to keep each other from completely losing it. Nick won't let anybody see his anxieties—he's got his paws full with poor Kristen anyway. She's certainly got to be regretting her involvement with all of this—and us. At least they've now got each other's support—if Nick will allow himself to take advantage of hers rather than just offer his. Vivian might need some of that too, since we'd left her alone back here to escape her attempted abduction, then have Bogo insist on putting her in protective custody.
Being brought into the resistance and burdened with responsibilities certainly hadn't made things any easier on the heretofore mostly solitary vixen—who was about to take on the additional role of emotional confidant. With Nick, Jack, and her family now hundreds of miles away, Judy was forced to acknowledge the limits of her own independent nature and knew she needed someone close. So necessity had chosen her fox mother-in-law to be. Her relationship with Vivian was being rapidly forged by circumstance—it had been ever since Nick's hurried declaration that she was his chosen mate. Gone was her earlier desire for a more gradual mutual familiarization and accommodation of their differences.
At least that might still be possible between her family, and her so far unconfirmed to them mate. Her lengthy time away from home had allowed unfounded speculation about him and her career to fester. Once she'd finally returned, those suspicions about her loyalties, motivations, and personal life had been an unexpected shock. Her parents and many of the rest had eventually come around, although Judy knew her explanations—and Jack's careful backup of them—hadn't yet satisfied all of their concerns. Those that remained, she needed them to remain dormant to be dealt with at a later time. Hopefully a long time, she had no idea of how she'd persuade most of them to even accept Nick as her friend, let alone as actually...part of the family.
That's for the future—assuming we have one in a recognizable form after all of this. If we can't adequately expose and foil this conspiracy against the predatory population, I'll share their fate as a traitor to both my country and species. For their own safety, and that of the family, my allies there would have to repudiate me because I'd never give up on Nick. That's certainly why Jack and I so quickly accommodated to each other; our foxes mean everything to… Oh Luna who watches from the heavens! I actually forgot; Nick was going to infiltrate Deer Trail last night!
His text had been waiting, she could have eased her repressed anxiety hours ago and possibly avoided the nightmare. Still, his delayed report greatly relieved her—Nick had gotten everything they'd hoped for. He'd found Lionheart and had communicated with Skye; his photographic confirmation of that had already been sent to the anonymous data drop recently set up by Bogo.
Okay, I've been the slacker of the group—when not busy embarrassing myself in front of my family—while Nick has already discovered two missing persons and secured several critical pieces of evidence against the conspiracy. Jack and I were just middlemammals, passing that on, along with information from Skye, Jeremy, and Gideon's family. Today's finally the day I can step up and shoulder my part of the load as a ZPD officer. Face Tarija, get what info I can, help close out the AblePaws case, then be Vivian's professional armor in Growley's den. I need Vivian, but can't show that to her. I need to be strong so she can lean on me.
At least she had time to prepare for the difficult day ahead. First, that would certainly require a decent breakfast, although her appetite hadn't been jolted awake like the rest of her. Judy rummaged through her meager supplies and found a packet of oatmeal with brown sugar. That would do, it would be filling while still bland enough to resist any stress induced upset. She dumped it into her one microwavable bowl—she'd better eat it now before she showered and dressed, since her anxiety about meeting with the ZBI chief would only grow.
Dawn had started to show behind the buildings down the street when Judy left her apartment. She was in her best civilian outfit, as Chief Bogo wouldn't allow her to appear on TV in uniform. Her initial performance before the media last year had been his go-to excuse to deny Tarija's request to exploit that part of her public persona. It was a good reminder of his continued support—even if her ZPD chief was now limited to inter agency turf battles and legal delaying tactics so as not to further jeopardize his position.
She glanced down; although cleaned, her skirt still had scuff marks from the takedown of that musk deer two weeks ago; she hoped the ZBI propagandists might get the hint and just record the radio spots today. She didn't want to miss any of Clifton's interrogation if possible.
The Federal building, like precinct one, was within reasonable walking distance and in somewhat the same direction; Judy felt the need to approach this...encounter at her own pace and not be rushed. Even this close to Savanna Central Square, her lack of uniform while out on the streets this early enhanced her sense of peril, although it began to diminish as the sky brightened.
It's not just the uniform, it's not having the backup of my partner. Nick bailed on me in my dream, so does that mean I still have doubts? Just because we've been separated? Nick's text told me that Kristen was being helpful and that they worked well together. Why? Just to reassure me that he has someone to rely on—like I'd hoped he had—or that she's managed to accommodate to the pressure they're under? Or to him? She has flirted with him several times and he didn't seem to mind that—she's closer to his size than I am and does have that long fluf…
"Really Judy? Tail envy?" she groused to an empty sidewalk. If Nick were here, she probably hit him on general principles for leading her to assume that—even if it would require an apology. Any concern she had about those two really wasn't fair to her absent fox, he'd find a way to convey his unavailability to Kristen if that really became necessary. He'd already committed himself publicly as her mate—at least in front of Jack, Skye, and Vivian. She was the one who hadn't yet openly acknowledged their paired status—except privately with him. Still, they'd both later agreed to never second-guess their status as mates—right after she'd whacked him for saying he didn't deserve her. Besides, he likes my tail. She twitched it and remembered the thrill she gotten when he'd stroked it.
Still, her chronic worries, legitimate or unfounded, had warped her mental state on both a sub and conscious level for a good week now, and this morning's disquieting imagery and dark thoughts had left her with a severe case of mood ears to illustrate that. She couldn't face Chief Tarija that way and make her question the zeal of her newest minion. She'd let her stress pile up to dangerous levels again and Skye wasn't around any more to help her relieve it...
That's it! Skye's far worse off than I am—her incarceration and interrogations outweigh my stupid selfish nightmares! And it is my turn to help her—she's family!
Even if originally said in jest, it was sufficient motivation for the moment. Judy picked up her walking pace to a near trot and made it to the Federal building a half-hour early with erect ears and a determined smile.
The severely functional five story concrete block wasn't made any less forbidding by the molded decorations and minimal landscaping at street level. It had inset narrow windows asymmetrically spaced around the first two stories with very few above—she assumed that must be ZBI territory up there. The security station inside the main entrance was satisfied by her badge and the card that agent Leland had given her; she was immediately met by an impassive sable antelope that escorted her up to the fifth floor.
Tarija's office, and the perfectly coiffed llama herself were intimidatingly large; more daunting than even Mr. Growley and his lair. His corporate excess was over matched by her austere display of Federal authority. That she'd been brought in without delay to see the ZBI chief showed that her early arrival had been anticipated—possibly as a read of her commitment to the cause. At least it served to remind her to be wary. A briefly extended hoof bade Judy to climb into the appropriately sized highchair centered before Tarija's desk.
"Good morning Officer Hopps, I'm Chief of Station Asa Tarija," she said with enough emphasis on Judy's title to convey her likely annoyance with Chief Bogo's decision. "Welcome to ZBI's western operations, I appreciate the valuable assistance you've provided to our Agent Savage."
Perhaps I'm expected to intercede with him about wearing my uniform if they decide to keep using me for their propaganda campaign. So, another little test for me, or a way for her to tweak the chief? Now, what she chooses to tell me will show where Jack and I stand.
"Our public information production staff will be ready for you at eight; you'll be escorted down to their studio then. Are you satisfied with the scripts? Good. For now, I'm grateful for the opportunity to finally meet and update you in person. Since we first spoke during the field recovery team meeting two days ago, we have finally made significant progress!"
Uh oh! What turned up? I thought Jack had convinced them that search would be a lengthy if not futile one. She isn't just being pleasant to put me off my guard, but seems genuinely pleased about something. Judy forced herself to smile and lean forward in anticipation to prompt the chief, although her stomach had twisted inside.
"The information and suggestions that you and agent Savage provided, proved more valuable than expected once my analysts considered it. Savage had been correct to realize that the local newspaper had reported the wrong location for the find of the primitive Coypu's remains. He came so close to the actual truth before he ultimately decided that it had washed down the main course of the Mammoth, based on the limited information he had at that time.
"I thought we'd been pretty thorough with what little we had to start with," Judy said with a careful tone of disappointment. "What did we miss?"
"You got enough. You just didn't have everything you needed to solve this missing mammal puzzle yourselves." Tarija's slight smile was to remind her who was running the show. "We simply had the mammalpower and government databases to correlate all the available up to date information and converge on the most likely explanation." The llama turned her large monitor so that they could both view the same Coarsegold topographic map they'd all used before.
"See this unimproved road extending up the main course of the Mammoth River from it's junction with the North Fork? Savage rightly discounted it for access to any of his sites of interest since it's at the bottom of a very steep canyon and only extends up to this power station. That, along with these other stations, reservoirs, and several diversion tunnels make up the Big Creek Hydroelectric Complex. Note that the entire complex is along or south of the river.
"This is last year's map, they update about this time of year before hiking season begins. Savage didn't know that this road has already been extended well up the canyon to support the construction of a new dam, and another power plant." Tarija used a pen to point out the relevant details. "The point is, there is enough surveying and construction activity along and south of the river, up past elevations where primitive Coypu could survive the winter, to eliminate the possibility of any colony of those animals surviving there unnoticed!"
"So we're back to looking at the North Fork?" Judy managed to say steadily, although her stomach knotted tighter. At least Jack was with the team to hopefully misdirect them again.
"Yes, I'm now certain that the remains we seek, along with the population they came from, are from the Willow Creek watershed above Clear Lake. I have already directed the field team to start an immediate search of the area. This is based on an interview conducted yesterday, which allowed us to deduce more about the as yet unidentified individual that recovered them."
"It's suspicious that there aren't records of who found a body, or exactly where; that's criminally negligent for even a rural sheriff, let alone a police department!" Judy said with what she hoped was a sufficient amount of professional disgust in her voice. She was grateful for these opportunities to make innocuous statements in support of Tarija's agenda. Now to troll the llama for information that might let her forewarn someone of an imminent investigation. "Anything more on where it was sent? Agent Savage told me he agreed with one of your agents that local authorities had downplayed or actively concealed this just to get rid of the problem."
"We should have that shortly, yesterday agent Felton was able to identify the individual that arranged that disposition; we only need to find them. Unfortunately, it's now the weekend so they aren't at work—or apparently at home." Chief Tarija pushed back and slouched in her seat before she inclined her neck closer to Judy; likely not wanting to unnecessarily intimidate her by leaning right overhead.
"Your suspicions about the remains are well founded Officer Hopps. We now assume the individual that discovered them was illegally prospecting on Bureau of Natural Resources land without a permit. None had been issued there for weeks around the time of the find. It also appears that he or she recovered the remains and packed them into town—we now know enforcement did not respond to the location!"
"Maybe they'd found a deposit and wanted to hide that?" Judy guessed.
"Very likely, since the fine for unpermitted prospecting is fairly minimal; so they weren't avoiding that. Also likely, is that everyone involved assumed that the remains washed out of an old makeshift grave site, as there have been no missing person reports filed in the area. That could explain why the local medical examiner's report was cursory—presumed gold rush age and a complete lack of personal belongings meant no likelihood of identification."
"That's a more plausible explanation for them than the real one. Rather lucky for us they didn't pursue it any further and spoil this evidence," Judy said. She wanted the ZBI chief to keep talking; due both to Jack's earlier observation that she was prone to it, and that it was nearly eight. If Tarija extended their meeting, she might possibly divulge more of the conspiracy's plans and activities.
"Indeed, and it is remarkable—and fortunate for our needs—that these ferals have remained undiscovered up until the present time. Our new search area for them, while still large, is too accessible and utilized to conceal any active meat supply operation to rescue them from. So a small remnant population is all we can hope to find there." The llama's ears drooped slightly. "That will still prove that such operations did exist in the past and possibly remain hidden elsewhere today."
"These...animals were imported from Amazonia a hundred and fifty years ago to supply…" Judy took care to display an expected amount of disgust. "Wouldn't the original population still be somewhere down there...to let us find more of them if we're unable to do that here?"
"We considered that Officer Hopps, but find no evidence for them there. Our own residual population might be the only survivors of this primitive species. Even if some remain in Patagonia, it would be very difficult to covertly find and extract them without...international complications."
"I see...so if we find any feral Coypu now, wherever they are out in the wilderness...if revealed they'll just be another inconvenient scientific discovery you'll suppress. So now...how would we make any connection to...and prove that someone still uses them as a... food source for preds?" Judy rambled on while she let her eyes drift away from Tarija in order to appear distracted by her thoughts.
C'mon, take the bait! I hope I didn't overplay it—she's ZBI—probably sees right through me—Nick would be so much smoother at this—except for his being on the wrong side of the line.
"That—someone—was the reason you were asked to accompany agent Savage as he began his investigation of the Proteo Company here in Zootopia," Tarija said tartly. "They are the largest predatory food supplier in the country and their history extends back to this region's Gold Rush days. Your cousin's suppositions merely reinforced what we've always known..." A small reminder window popped up on Tarija's monitor; she swiftly clicked it away and continued.
"Now, Proteo's artificial meat substitute has allowed them to distance themselves from their evident past crimes of supplying wild mammalian meat. That is the connection we must discover—the local existence of feral Coypu alone may not be enough to prove or force them to admit their guilt. Therefore, we need to find a solid, unambiguous way to link them together!" Tarija's ears flattened a bit more and she sighed. "Do you have anything more that could help with that?"
"We did learn that there were likely several different food suppliers needed back then to provide enough for the immigrant population—there definitely was one in the Tri-Burrows area," Judy said as she countered with Jack and Jeremy's deflection idea. "Although, as you said, we didn't find any records of who they were. Proteo could have been involved with the freshwater fishing industry as their source, that had to be the largest, since there used to be this big lake in the central valley…"
"Yes, Ms. Hopps, Lake Tulare was obvious as a source of...protein for the predatory workers, but the mere presence of feral Coypu at that time proves their utilization as well! The Growley's are concerned about the public perception of their company, and have undoubtedly been very thorough in finding and destroying any records of their past crimes. Therefore, our best hope of overcoming that would be to expose any current private...service of theirs that provides fresh mammalian meat to elite predatory clients! The wealthy crave their forbidden perks, and they may be the weak point that..."
Did you really expect Judy, that the ZBI, with all of their assets, agents and analysts, wouldn't have reached the same conclusions as us? We haven't delayed or prevented this conspiracy plot like we'd hoped—we're still playing catch up and they've already taken and interrogated Skye! At least we've got our prison evidence, and I've heard their backup plan. If they can't tie a meat farm directly to the Growley's, they'll implicate their rich customers first—like Jack had first suspected. Either way, they'll still need the feral Coypu as hard evidence—to likely plant at a Proteo facility.
"...so your role Officer Hopps, now that you're back with the ZPD, will be to help us seek out any buried rumors, incidents, or evidence that you can—things that may have been...officially overlooked to protect those...uncivilized primitives indulging their bloody instincts!"
Whoa! Jack and Skye were right, Tarija's a prey supremacist out for group revenge, enough so that she's been careless about her recruiting. She's mostly accepted Jack and I at face value without taking enough time to...she shares Bellwether's fault! Her zealotry makes her impatient! How'd someone like her become a ZBI station chief? She might be why most of us have remained unsuspected so far!.
"I assume agent Savage told you that we arrested your ex-partner Wilde? He was exposed by our own agent Winter, who revealed her betrayal of us when she tried to exploit her hold on him. It's amazing how many otherwise competent adversaries are done in by a pretty face or waving piece of tail. It's quite ironic how they both worked diligently to further our aims before thwarting their own!" Chief Tarija's satisfied smile awaited her response.
"I really don't know what to say Station Chief," Judy said with a careful hint of sadness, aware that she was still being checked out by Tarija; who'd also needed to cover her prior lie to Jack. "He was a competent, easy to work with partner, and was earning my trust. Along with the precinct's."
"We were equally content with agent Winter's performance for several years Officer Hopps. We were both deceived by a species rightly known for perpetrating crafty and malign schemes to their advantage. I must admire their patience. Fortunately, we apprehended both before they could do any damage!" Tarija looked at her in appraisal and briefly raised a hoof. "It is a pity that you and agent Savage work for separate organizations—your mutual cooperation befits a closer partnership."
I'm gonna kill Leland next time I see him! He must have been told to monitor Jack's...progress with me! And he immediately reported it to her along with everything else. But why did Tarija use that suggestive phrasing? Unless she doesn't know that I know Leland saw us...together. Maybe he wanted her to think that I didn't know Jack and I were being watched. And felt that I'd be too embarrassed to bring it up. That would make him appear more competent to his boss than he was. After all, I wasn't supposed to know I was Tarija's targeted seductee—that let her safely smear Skye for being Nick's honeypot—maybe I'll just maim the jerk.
Judy had to raise her foot off the top bar of the chair to control its incipient angry flutter. Fortunately, Tarija had looked away to banish another reminder from her monitor. That meant this tense but informative interview might soon be over, and she could let herself relax. She also needed to curtail her unhelpful dislike of agent Leland—although an adversary, he'd simply been tasked to watch the new recruits to the cause—and they'd arranged their own...accidental exposure.
"Before I turn you over to our media staff, Officer Hopps," Tarija continued in a more casual tone, "I'd appreciate your thoughts into a potentially troubling issue that has arisen. You, along with Agents Savage, Winter, and your ex-partner Wilde, met with Dr. Soren at the museum. She later traveled to Concordia with our assent to continue her research, but has recently vanished without a trace. Do you have any idea based upon those mutual contacts of why that might have happened?"
"No, not at all. We all talked about her report on the Mara fossil and its implications; I didn't really get to know her very well. Savage met with her again, he'd be better. I did get the impression that she'd come to regret involving the police and only wanted to get back to her research."
"Mmmm; typical." Tarija said as she sat up and leaned further forward. She was now uncomfortably close, her earlier courtesy forgotten. "It was Dr. Soren's colleagues at the National Museum that first alerted the district police about her unexplained absence; she'd also stopped answering their calls. Once we were informed, we found that she'd not only left her work there unfinished, but hadn't checked out of her hotel. We discovered that her luggage had been taken, and her key dropped at an unusual hour. Whether or not others were involved, or there was any foul play, is unknown but remains suspicious. That she had initially contacted the ZPD about her disruptive discovery, and later us about traveling to Concordia; makes this our concern."
Judy silently lifted her paws to show her inability to help. She wasn't going to take the bait that was so obviously being dangled in front of her, although she noted that Tarija still hadn't mentioned Fairfield or Dr. Ulric. She was also either unaware of Kristen and Nick's...cooperation, or didn't want Judy to know that she was. She still had a ways to go before she earned as much of the conspiracy's trust as Jack had. The llama moved back to retrieve a card from her desk drawer, passed it over, then tapped something. Judy heard the office door open behind her.
"This is my direct contact number should you recall or discover any useful information. We appreciate how helpful you've already been Officer Hopps, and anticipate even more fruitful cooperation from you and the ZPD," Tarija said as she stood, came around the desk, and passed her off to the same Sable Antelope from before.
"...and be vigilant, so you can help your predatory neighbors recognize these subtle signs of progressive toxicity and seek prompt treatment. We in law enforcement will do our utmost to ensure that these insidious new variants of the nighthowler serum are found and secured before these measures become necessary, and bring those criminal elements who have developed them to justice!"
Judy nodded to the pig recording technician as he reset the prompter screen, and to her antelope escort alongside him in the booth, who now acted as her director. She appreciated their letting her practice several read-throughs of the scripts, and felt she was finally ready for her first live take.
"Thank you Officer Hopps, that was fine—we have all we need," the antelope said unexpectedly. He smiled at her obvious surprise. "We find with inexperienced narrators that they often do better when they don't realize they are being recorded!"
"I don't think I got through a single read of the long one without a mistake." Judy admitted.
"Those pause points we put in aren't just for pacing, they make editing easier," said the tech.
The fact that she didn't have to face a camera had made the recording session tolerable. They obviously wanted her to come back in uniform for the TV spot. She was ushered back outside, having spent just over two hours in the Federal building. There was still plenty of time to walk the mile to the precinct and consider what the ZBI chief had decided to reveal to her.
First, she was confident that Tarija still didn't suspect Jack or herself. If she had, she certainly wouldn't have reinforced the lie about Nick's arrest, and would have instead tried to glean more information about her ex-partner and his possible motives.
Second, with him free and known to be in Concordia, that also meant the conspirators there had to have realized Kristen and Nick were now working in concert. And once Tarija was informed of that, it would point her back to their prior coordination with...
Dr. Alder! He's the conspiracy's next obvious target! As far as they know, he only received the information about Fairfield from Ulric after our first meetings, which left us all off the hook until after we split up. Nick shouldn't know about feral Coypu at all unless Soren told him, and I only learned about the Deerbrooke find later from Jack. And their curious vixen agent read everything.
The elderly raccoon paleontologist was their common link to three fugitives that would be seen to have direct knowledge of part of the conspiracy's plans, based on their suspicious actions, and a fourth already in their custody. Skye had so far successfully deflected her captors with Jack's disinformation stratagem, and might be able to resist further; but ZBI interrogators would crack Dr. Alder like an egg and expose them all—if they hadn't already! Judy started to run.
They were completely out of time; she'd felt it was too risky to carry her burner phone into the ZBI's domain, so she couldn't call ahead with a warning. The visible spire of City Hall up ahead urged her on, her flapping skirt tried to hold her back. She dashed across a street against the light, angled her path to exploit a gap between the larger vehicles, and leaped over two small ones closer to the curb. She only noticed the large ZPD cruiser after it screeched into a U turn behind her from the far lanes. Cross traffic slowed and scattered as it swung through the intersection with lights flashing; it pulled alongside her with its passenger door swung wide.
"Get me to Bogo!" Judy gasped over Catano's shoulder as soon as the Cheetah's feline reflexes had intercepted and checked her leap onboard. "How did you know it was me?"
"Dispatch, 108 is 10-24," Kii said, having grabbed the microphone with one paw as soon as she'd secured Judy on her lap with the other. "Only rabbit we know that keeps running into traffic. Should get you off the jaywalking charge on a technicality." Fangmeyer was driving, she wove through traffic without resorting to their siren, as there were only a couple of blocks left to go.
"What happened back there Hopps?" the tigress asked as she turned to avoid a slowdown ahead. "Didn't expect you so soon. Chief told us to go hang out near the Fed shed and give you a ride back to save time." She went through the library's parking lot and the alley behind the post office to get them to the ZPD's nonpublic lot without further delay.
Nadine pulled up close to the back entrance, Kii let her out; they waited and blocked the view until she'd gone inside. To her surprise Chief Bogo stood by himself just beyond the door.
"With me Hopps," Bogo said more softly than usual. He turned and started to walk down the empty hall while he pulled out a key. Judy skipped ahead and turned back to block him.
"Chief, Dr. Alder is in immediate danger and could expo…" The chief reached down; his thick spread fingers covered her face and actually pushed her back slightly.
"Not. A. Word. Hopps." Chief Bogo's quiet but commanding tone stymied her while he unlocked and disabled the emergency exit above the stairs to the basement holding cells. He didn't speak again until the door of the attorney client meeting room had closed behind them.
"Doctor Alder is safe for the moment Hopps. He realized he was in jeopardy yesterday after he'd received a ZBI request for an interview; he then called the contact number we'd given him. For us now, this room remains secure." The chief sat, waved for her to do the same, and then to remain silent. "ZBI surveillance of our activities has become more overt; they have already sought court orders that I fear may be issued as soon as Monday due to pressure from the Department of Justice. These will at a minimum restrict more of my officer's effectiveness, allow the ZBI significant oversight to gain further access to records, and compel testimony from several of us about Wilde's disappearance. I fear they may also include arrest warrants I cannot delay for Doctors Alder and Soren. They could also resume their legal efforts to seize Mrs. Wilde, who remains down the hall."
"What about Dr. Ulric chief?" Judy said, having nodded in anxious acknowledgment during his statements. It was good that her oatmeal had moved on, otherwise her stomach would be trying to compress it to concrete again.
"He arrived safely and we have him sequestered under the protection of a trusted wolf pack. Our immediate concern is that this abrupt disappearance of Dr. Alder will be reported by Chief Tarija and quickly linked by the rest of the conspirators to those of Wilde and Soren. Agent Winter's prior actions and contacts already link Ulric and Fairfield to them all; this will inevitably implicate those of us here and confirm our knowledge of their plot and active opposition."
"And we could be tied to the Deerbrooke remains as well," Judy noted. "Chief Tarija just told me they've now identified and will soon question the person that sent them to Alder at the museum. She also now knows where they most likely originated, and has directed the team to search there. They could find their live feral Coypu any day now! She also told me that their backup plan, if they can't find or create a convincing meat farm to tie to the Growley's, is to uncover a fresh meat service by accusing or exposing some of their wealthiest predatory customers first."
"The Station Chief trusted you with this information regardless of your contacts with several possibly informed adversarial individuals?" Bogo mused, leaning onto the table between them.
"Yes Chief, she seemed quite...willing to talk with me openly—although we need to be cautious about her truthfulness; she did repeat the lie about Officer Wilde's arrest. S...agents Winter and Savage both told me Tarija tends to...villain monologue." The chief snorted in obvious amusement as he sat back up—something she hadn't seen from him before.
"As they both also mentioned to me. You seem to have a talent for...inducing criminal confessions," Bogo said. "It's unfortunate that being under the ZBI's auspices earlier prevented you from taking advantage of this tendency of hers, and recording that conversation."
"Maybe I should give a deposition just in case Chief," Judy said, "since Tarija also wants me to dig through our records to find examples of official...favoritism that may have protected wealthy customers buying...butchered meat in secret from Proteo. She seemed convinced that's happening."
"That would be helpful as corroborating evidence. Some of the conspirators must now realize their plot is beginning to unravel. The fact that Officer Wilde was on the ground in Junction City and is working with doctor Soren has to have them very worried. This attempt to take advantage of your position here also shows their need to rapidly secure, then reveal any obtainable evidence of pred culpability before they are exposed. You and Savage have gained their trust—but likely for only a few days more." Chief Bogo stared intently at his smallest officer for two long breaths.
"I did not expect to be in a charge to the finish this soon. Alder and Mrs. Wilde need to leave Zootopia for a to be determined place of safety today. This afternoon, you need to reveal whatever evidence you must to secure Mr. Growley's cooperation and aircraft. Agent Savage has already suggested Tri-Burrows Regional Airport as your rendezvous with him, as it's the only one in that area that can accept a mid-size jet aircraft, and it's well outside of both Zootopia's and Pacifica's monitored airspace. Get the best evidence you can collect of the Junction City project—we may be forced by circumstance to release it within days!"
"Chief, what about Lionheart and agent Winter in Deer Trail? They're in real danger now if we expose the conspiracy and they decide to get rid of their...live evidence. I mean, they're the best witnesses we could have against them—their testimony about..."
"Hopps! It would be impossible to gather or position resources for a rescue without tipping off the opposition! They must have embeds in the District Police and the Federal bureaus we would have to coordinate with. And legally, any unilateral display of force we undertook outside of our jurisdiction, would be treated as sedition—as the conspirators shelter within the government."
"Nick was in contact with them! And there's another civilian prisoner sir. They're relying on us!" Judy cried; although she already knew from Bogo's expression that it was futile.
"They understand their position, Hopps. Wilde's evidence of their illegal incarceration is sufficient for a court of law, and should mitigate his own falsified status as a fugitive." Bogo sighed deeply. "I know you two, and possibly Savage as well, will still try to find a way—regardless of my orders. Now understand, I cannot provide logistical support of any kind traceable back to this police department; it would put too many more of us at risk. One; that risk remains your own. Two; if caught, you remove yourselves as needed witnesses against the conspiracy in support of evidence already gathered. Three; I would suggest you review who you took your oath of service to!"
They watched each other reproachfully for about half a minute before someone tapped at the door behind her. Judy turned as Bogo waved Clawhauser in.
"Chief Bogo sir? Mr. Clifton's lawyer just arrived; can I bring them over here yet?"
"Yes, Hopps and I will go to interrogation one. Call me when they've finished here."
Judy silently followed her chief to the room where they'd grill the recently busted Alexander Clifton. She noted that the holding cells along this hallway remained empty; perhaps to facilitate secure meetings like theirs. Bogo's summation had been another reminder that her colleagues in clandestine resistance had all remained busy while she'd chased after dormant leads back home.
I can't tell you why we have to try even though you might suspect already. You're forced to look at the big picture and decide what or who to sacrifice for our ultimate goal; that's why you're Chief. I'm not, so I'm going to help you and my friends achieve that by rescuing those witnesses covertly if you can't do it openly! We need them to reveal who's really behind this conspiracy!
"Chief? What have we found out about who is behind all of this? Were you able to get anything useful out of the cellphone Wilde seized?"
"So far one name has correlated with a few of the freight manifests that Winter found. A little more circumstantial evidence. Unfortunately, tracing the finances behind those back to their origin will have to be done later if it can be done at all. This is why I wanted you here to watch this; Clifton could provide a different angle on the conspiracy for us. I'd like to start this with you in the gallery; I'll signal if you're needed."
Judy was barely seated in the semi darkness behind the one-way glass when Bogo also left the interrogation room—it wouldn't serve for a suspect to be brought in and see that the Chief of Police had been waiting for him. Dominant authority from the beginning could be as important as the questions you asked.
A minute or so later the gallery door opened, and to Judy's surprise admitted Vivian. She knew Mrs. Wilde was mostly unaware of the AblePaws case; so Bogo must have his reasons. Her eyes questioned Judy's before she leaned over and they exchanged a somewhat awkward but tight hug.
"Viv, sorry to rush this, but we're about to watch the interrogation of an ex ZBI agent hired as security for the AblePaws company. He was just arrested for product sabotage against his employer—we don't fully understand his motivations, but it's likely related to the conspiracy somehow."
"And you need to question him before their Chief Tarija finds out you have him; right? That explains all the sneaking about in the halls this morning," Vivian said matter of factly. "I guess I'm grateful to be here, but since I first heard about this yesterday, isn't it rather...imprudent to include me?. Still, I'm happy you're back Judy, although you aren't looking well right now."
"It's been a tough day, and a lot's about to happ…" she bit off the word as the door clicked open again. They turned to see Ben Clawhauser just outside, looking down with a rare exasperated expression. The reason for that jumped up both of the too-high steps in turn, stopped as the door closed, and stared up at the vixen with a look of...fear? Judy saw that Finnick hadn't even noticed her yet.
"There will be a reckoning between us Finnick," Vivian snapped with a protective mother's hostility as she uncoiled from her seat. Judy quickly put a restraining paw on her flank—it was brushed off as casually as if she'd been a stray insect.
Our next installment will of course be: Chapter Twenty six: Brought to Terms-Part two