Chief Bogo drew more than a few surprised looks as he strode purposefully through the doors of Precinct Five, deep inside Tundratown's remote Polar Strait.

Located at Zootopia's northern-most point, the Polar Strait region was the city's largest shipping port and the heart of its fishing industry. It was also a hotbed of illegal activity, ranging from smuggling to protection rackets to outright gang violence. The officers of Precinct Five were seldom idle.

Not bothering to check in or even pause at the front desk, his long strides swiftly carried him to the precinct's SWAT division. Glancing around, he immediately spotted a stocky snow leopard near the gun cage, methodically stripping down a tear gas launcher. As the Chief came closer, the leopard lifted his gaze to peer at him.

"Chief Bogo. What a surprise to see you north of Peak Street, sir."

"Winters." Bogo nodded to the shorter mammal. "How's Precinct Five been treating you?"

"Nice place if you like seafood."

"And do you like seafood, Sergeant?"

"Not really. What can I do for you, sir?"

"I've arranged for you to be transferred to Precinct One on a special assignment." Bogo dropped a small stack of transfer papers on the gun bench. "Effective immediately."

"Lucky me." The cat drawled, setting down half-disassembled launcher to peruse the paperwork. "Some kind of PR thing, I assume?"

"On the contrary, you'll be commanding a close protection detail." Bogo lowered his voice slightly. "There was an attack on two of my detectives. I have every reason to believe that the threat is ongoing."

"Enough reason to warrant the public visibility of a protection detail? Mammals in tactical gear aren't exactly subtle."

"Subtlety is the least of my worries right now." The buffalo revealed gravely. "The detectives were very nearly killed in a drive-by shooting yesterday evening."

Winters' eyebrows shot up. "I haven't heard anything about an officer-involved shooting."

"I've managed to keep a lid on the details. For the time being, at least. The last thing we need is the press getting involved and stirring up a hornet's nest."

Winters went back to disassembling the tear gas launcher, checking each piece as he removed them and laying them out on the workbench. "So, who're the lucky mammals?"

"Detectives Hopps and Wilde." Bogo noted the leopard's expression. "You know them?"

"I was part of the training staff when Hopps was at the academy. Would've been on Wilde's too, but I got transferred to Precinct Five just after he started."

"Hm," Bogo paused, giving the smaller officer a speculative look. "You're aware of the nature of their personal relationship?"

"Pretty sure the whole city is aware of it."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Do you have an opinion on the matter?"

"Not especially," the leopard shrugged. "As long as they aren't breaking the law, I honestly couldn't care less what they do with their personal time."

"Good." The buffalo's shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly.

"So, where did the attack happen?"

"Savanna Central, just outside a popular café. Legitimate business in an upscale neighborhood with no known connections to any gangs or criminal organizations."

"And you're sure they were the target? Them specifically, I mean. The shooter might've just been aiming to take down a couple of cops."

"Not likely. If someone wanted to do that, gods bloody forbid, they'd have gone after a uniformed officer. Not a pair of detectives in civilian clothes. Besides, the shot grouping extended less than a foot to either side of where they took cover. No one else of any note nearby, either, so if they weren't the target then they're the unluckiest mammals in all creation."

"Well," Winters murmured. "Shit."

"Succinct as ever, Sergeant." Bogo observed.

"What makes you think there's going to be another attempt?"

"The attack was carried out with a large caliber automatic weapon. Extremely difficult to procure and massive overkill for mammals their size. Not the kind of thing we'd expect from some loner with an axe to grind. Whoever the attackers were, they're well supplied and highly motivated. Honestly, I'd be shocked if they didn't make another attempt."

Winters frowned but didn't disagree. "Where are they now?"

"The Precinct One building. It wasn't very difficult to keep them there overnight; they were understandably shaken."

"I can imagine. Why not just keep them off duty, then? It's a lot easier to bench them in a safehouse than deploy a CP team."

"Bench them?" Bogo raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd met Hopps."

"Fair enough," Winters conceded, letting out a faint chuff of laughter.

"In any case, you'll be heading up a four-officer team. Who those officers are is up to you, but they'd best be damned good at their jobs. I don't care where they're currently assigned; I'm giving you complete authority and I expect you and your team to be at Precinct One by the end of the day."

"Consider it done, sir." Winters paused. "Just out of curiosity, do the two of them know that they're being assigned a protective detail?"

"No, they don't." A hint of a smile crept onto Bogo's face. "But I think I know just what they'll say."

~o~o~o~

"This is ridiculous!" Judy cried indignantly. Next to her, Nick nodded his agreement. "We're ZPD detectives! We don't need babysitters!"

Unimpressed by the outburst, Bogo coolly regarded the irate bunny from across his desk. "Hopps, you and your partner are in more dire need of babysitters than any two mammals I've ever met. Or need I remind you of the Night Fury incident?"

"I..." She stared at him, mouth hanging slightly open.

"Surely you remember. It was when you ate a piece of evidence for a laugh, suffered a drug-induced psychotic episode, then discharged your sidearm inside the bullpen." He leaned forward. "And that's not even getting into what Wilde did."

"Chief, we can both agree that was an extreme situation." Nick interjected, raising his paws placatingly. "But it was also more than two years ago. We've all grown a lot since then."

"You're absolutely right, Wilde. No sense digging up the past, is there? I suppose we'll just have to focus on more recent events." Bogo fixed the pair of them with an icy glare. "For instance, yesterday's hail of bloody gunfire."

"Sir, that was just..."

"Hopps, when I was still a rookie, Chief Einhorn said something to me that I feel applies to this situation." He burst out of his seat and slammed both fists on his desk. "Shut your damn mouth, do as you're damn well told, or I will have to sitting at your desk and buried in paperwork until the day you bloody retire!"

The pair were briefly stunned into silence; Nick was the first to recover. "Yes, sir. Understood, sir."

"Excellent. Your protective detail is waiting for you in the briefing room. Dismissed."

Nodding, he took his partner by the shoulders and steered her out the door. Once they were out in the hall, she shook off his paw and began stomping angrily toward the bullpen. "This is completely unnecessary!"

"I don't know, Carrots. Maybe it's not the worst idea ever. Yesterday was..." Nick shook his head. "Yesterday was too close."

"It's not like it was our first close call," she reminded him, pointing at the stitches on her cheek. "We've done just fine so far."

Nick halted mid-step, staring at his partner in disbelief. "Are you serious? Whoever went after us yesterday wasn't just some punk throwing bottles. If you'd been a second or two slower, we'd both be dead."

"But I wasn't too slow, was I?" she pressed, and Nick thought he saw a spark of fear in her eyes.

"Carrots, what's this about?"

"I just..." Judy trailed off as her gaze dropped to the ground.

Nick glanced around the bullpen, then gently took his partner by the elbow and guided her into the fire stairwell. The door had barely closed behind them before he'd dropped to one knee, tilting her chin up until their eyes met.

"C'mon, Judy. Talk to me."

"It's..." She hesitated. "I know it's dumb, but it's like accepting protection makes it all feel too real."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Being shot at wasn't real?"

"That's not what I mean," she huffed. "It's just that every other time we've risked our lives, we've known who we were up against and what we were risking our lives for. This just felt so...random."

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't rand-"

"I know that!" she snapped, glancing away apologetically. "Sorry. It's just that we weren't doing anything. We weren't chasing a suspect or responding to a call. We were just standing there." She closed her eyes and took a slow breath. "Being on the job is one thing, but I'm not sure I can deal with the thought that someone might try to kill us at any moment. We don't even know why it happened!"

"I don't like the idea any more than you do, Carrots, but ignoring it won't make it go away." Nick sighed. "Look, at the end of the day, this is just like the kevlar vests we wore back in our uniform days. You know what they say about an ounce of prevention."

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." He chuckled, ignoring the look she gave him as he reached out to open the stairwell door. "C'mon. Let's go meet our intrepid defenders."

They made their way across the bullpen to the briefing room. The blinds were drawn, but they could still make out the shadows of the officers inside. To Judy's relief, they all appeared to be mid-size mammals. "Well, at least it looks like we won't have a bunch of rhinos following us around."

"I doubt it'd make a difference," Nick remarked as they reached the door. "These guys are pros, Carrots. I bet we'll hardly even know they're there."

"I hope you're r-" Walking into the room, Judy jerked to a stop when she recognized one of the four tactical officers waiting inside. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"Nice to see you too, Hopps," Winters nodded, gesturing to the bandage on her cheek. "I see Precinct One has been treating you well."

Standing in the briefing room door, Judy gawked at the mammal who'd been the bane of her existence at the ZPD Academy. Week after week, he'd done everything in his power to make her quit. He'd openly mocked her, threatened her, diminished her successes, highlighted her every failure, and generally taken every available opportunity to berate her.

She'd hated him more than she'd believed she was capable of hating any mammal.

It wasn't until the day she'd graduated that she'd learned that he'd been in her corner the whole time, testing her in the genuine hope that she'd prove she had what it took to be a police officer. Much later, talking to the other officers at Precinct One, she'd discovered that she wasn't the only mammal with horror stories about the intimidating snow leopard.

But although she'd eventually come to respect Winters as a professional, that didn't mean she wanted to be stuck spending time with him.

"Sergeant," Judy responded, a little coolly. "Bogo assigned you to our protective detail?"

"That's right. Problem?"

"You don't seem the protecting type."

"I'm full of surprises."

Nick glanced between his partner and the tactical officer. "Er...friend of yours, Carrots?"

"He was my tactical instructor at the academy."

"Ah. I take it the two of you didn't get along?"

"You could say that," Judy nodded, eying the leopard. "He actually threatened to disembowel me at one point."

"First of all," Winters cut in before Nick could respond. "I didn't threaten to do anything. I just asked, hypothetically, what you would do to stop me if I tried."

"Oh, because that's much better."

"And second," he continued, ignoring her comment. "I believe my exact words were 'tear you open like a wet paper bag'."

She blinked. "You actually remember that?"

"Hopps, I used that line on at least one cadet in every training intake for seven years."

"You did?" She felt her shoulders sag a little. "I...oh."

Winters eyed the rabbit incredulously. "Are you disappointed?"

"No." She responded quickly, glancing away.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, you're the first one who didn't flinch."

"Really?"

"Really," he nodded, the corner of his mouth ticking slightly upward. "And I once used it to make a polar bear cry."

Nick couldn't help a short laugh at the expression on his partner's face, which fell somewhere between pride and reluctant admiration.

"In any case, the four of us will constitute your entire protection detail." Winters turned to the other three tactical officers, nodding at the lynx beside him. "This is Officer Maria Galil. She's a six-year veteran of ZPD SWAT, and she'll be serving as my second in command. That means that if I'm not around, her word is law."

Annoyed as she was by the entire situation, Judy barely kept herself from gawking. As far as she was aware, Maria Galil was one of only three female officers to ever meet the punishing qualification standards for the ZPD's Special Weapons and Tactics division, and the only one to actually serve on one of the division's teams. She held a half-dozen department records, including the highest number of high-risk warrants served in a single year and the fastest single-mammal time in the Academy's shooting house.

For better or worse, the lynx was kind of her hero.

"It's nice to meet you both," she said, surprising them with a warm smile that seemed at odds with the submachinegun she cradled in one arm. "You especially, Hopps. Your case closure record makes for one hell of a read."

Judy let out a faint squeak, much to her own embarrassment, and felt her cheeks heat up. "It's...er...nice to meet you too, Officer Galil."

Rolling his eyes slightly, Winters gestured to a wiry dingo standing behind Galil. "Next is Officer Kalvin Cooper. He's been reassigned from Outback Island's Pursuit Team specifically for this detail."

"Hey," Cooper said shortly, casually resting his paws on the stock of the shotgun clipped to his vest. While the other officers appeared calm and relaxed, Cooper continually shifted from one foot to the other, as if he were ready to take off running at a moment's notice.

He probably is, Nick thought, briefly considering Cooper's former position. The fox knew from experience - on both sides of the line - that Zootopia's open society often favored the criminal. A little planning and a healthy set of survival instincts were usually all it took to evade the long arm of the law. That being said, the Fugitive Pursuit Teams were made up of the most ruthlessly tenacious trackers in the ZPD. Nick had lost count of how many mammals he'd seen try to outrun a pursuit officer, only to eventually surrender out of sheer exhaustion.

"And lastly," Winters pointed to the arctic wolf just off Cooper's shoulder. "We have Constable Paul Fraser."

The arctic wolf stepped forward and offered them a polite nod. "Good afternoon, Detectives."

"Constable?" Judy's brow furrowed as she unconsciously cocked her head to one side. "The ZPD doesn't have Constables."

"Right you are, Detective Hopps," Fraser nodded. "I'm actually a member of the Regional Cascade Mountain Police. Specifically, with the service's Emergency Response Team."

"Regional Cascade Mountain Police? As in the Northern Territories?"

"That's correct."

"How did an RCMP Constable end up working with the ZPD?"

"Ah, yes." The wolf nodded, apparently accustomed to being asked. "You see, I first came to Zootopia on the trail of the killers of my father and, for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, I have remained, attached as a liaison to the Zootopia Police Department's SWAT division."

"Oh," Judy blinked, a little nonplussed. "Well, nice to have you here."

"Thank you, kindly."

"How lovely," Winters drawled, waving his second-in-command forward. "Glad we're all getting along so well. Galil, kindly fill them in on the ground rules."

"No problem." She stepped forward and eyed the detectives speculatively. "Safe to assume neither of you have had a close protection detail before?"

Nick shook his head while his partner gave the lynx a mildly incredulous look.

"Well, your part is pretty easy. There are just four simple rules you need to follow. Do that, and the rest will be a breeze. Ready?"

The two of them nodded.

"The first rule is dead simple. Always, always, always do what we tell you." She gestured to herself, Cooper, and Fraser. "Under normal circumstances, you'd technically outrank the three of us. These are not normal circumstances. If we say stop, you stop. If we say run, you run. If we say get down, then you better kiss the ground like your lives depend on it, because they probably do."

"But what if w-" Judy began, but Galil stopped her with a raised paw.

"What if you find yourself in some kind of unique situation that we've never trained for? A situation where you need to disregard our instructions?"

She nodded.

"You won't. That's why it's rule number one." Galil's expression made it clear that there'd be no argument on the matter. "Rule number two; where you go, we go. End of story. Although you can move around the non-public parts of the Precinct One building without an escort, at least two of us will be right beside you everywhere else."

"Does that include following us into the bathroom?" Nick asked, jokingly.

"Har har." Galil smirked at the fox. "Although we'll need to clear any public restroom before you use it, we won't be hovering outside your stall. The two of you live together, right?"

They nodded, a little hesitantly. It was sometimes difficult to predict how mammals would respond to their relationship, but Galil didn't seem bothered by it.

"That makes some things a little easier. You'll obviously need to make a few changes to your daily routines, and we'll have to check your apartment before you go inside, but other than that you'll probably only need to have one or two of us stationed outside the door."

"Seriously?" Judy groaned.

"Yes, Hopps; seriously. Unless you'd rather be moved to a safehouse?"

"No, but..."

"That brings us to rule number three." Galil continued. "How much freedom you enjoy depends entirely on your attitude. Do what we say, when we say it, and we'll make a reasonable effort to stay in the background." Galil's smile faded. "Screw around, try to ditch us, or intentionally put yourselves in harm's way? We'll lock you in a holding cell until the threat has passed, however long that takes. Got it?"

The detectives nodded again, though Judy did so a little resentfully.

"Good. The fourth and most important rule is that the first three are absolutely one-hundred-percent non-negotiable. If you think you're in a situation that calls for a little leeway, you will exit that situation. If you think you know better than us, you're wrong. As long as we're on this assignment, our one and only purpose is to keep the two of you out of harm's way. The more you do to help us with that, the happier we'll all be. Questions?"

"I have one." Judy grumbled. "How are we supposed to do our jobs with you around? What witness is going to be comfortable giving a statement with you lurking in the shadows behind us?"

"We don't lurk, Hopps. I mean, I know the Sergeant prowls fairly regularly," Galil commented, then gestured to Cooper, standing just behind her. "And I think I saw Kalvin skulk once. But no lurking."

Despite herself, Judy cracked a small smile.

"Just let us do our job, and we'll let you do yours. Sound good?"

Judy stole a glance at her partner. For a second it seemed like she wanted to raise further objections, but she settled for a quick nod.

"So," Nick drew the word out. "What now?"

"That's up to you. The two of you can either work the last..." Winters glanced at his watch. "Twenty minutes of your shift, or we can escort you home now."

Judy frowned but Nick piped up before she could say anything. "At this point, I think going home sounds like a good idea."

"Alright then. We've got an SUV waiting in the parking garage." Winters nodded to Fraser. The wolf silently returned the gesture before leaving the briefing room. "Constable Fraser will have the engine running by the time we get there."

Galil sidled up next to them as they prepared to leave. "This part is easy. Coop will be in front, the Sergeant will be behind, and I'll be right beside you. If anything happens, we'll close formation and direct you from there. Just remember the rules and it'll be a walk in the park."

Judy allowed herself to be led out, trying to ignore the mix of confused and concerned looks the other officers gave them as they moved through the bullpen. "Don't you think this is a little paranoid?"

The lynx gave her a small smile. "A little paranoia can go a long way, detective."

The sight of three heavily armed tactical officers proved especially effective in clearing their path; any mammals who happened to find themselves in the way were quick to move aside. Bypassing the main atrium entirely, they'd almost reached the door to the garage when a beaver practically leapt from behind a nearby trash can, notepad in paw, and came rushing toward them. "Detectives! Detectives, did you have any comm-gah!"

Cooper intercepted the mammal in mid-sentence, twisting them into an arm-bar and forcing them to the ground. Before the startled beaver knew what was happening, he found himself pinned face down on the floor, the tactical officer's knee pressed firmly between his shoulders. "Stay down! Lemme see those paws!

The other two tactical officers moved to bracket the surprised detectives; their weapons half-raised as their eyes swept the hallway. An audible zip sound followed a few seconds later as the beaver's paws were secured with a pair of flexi-cuffs, then Cooper shifted his weight to relieve the pressure on the mammal's back.

"Get off me!" he shouted indignantly. "This is police brutality!"

"I'm gonna need you to calm down, sir," Cooper said firmly. "Right now."

"Don't you tell me to calm down!" the beaver squirmed as Cooper quickly and professionally patted him down. "I don't consent to this illegal search! I know my rights! You stay out of my pockets, chomper!"

If the dingo was at all offended by the slur, it didn't show. Retrieving a laminated ID badge clipped to the beaver's shirt pocket, he turned and tossed it to Winters. "He's clean, Sergeant."

"Not the word I'd have used," Winters muttered, scowling at the press badge in his paw. "Alright, get the idiot up."

Smoothly rising to his feet, Cooper reached down to help the beaver up. As soon as he was back to standing, he looked over his shoulder to glare at the dingo. "I want your name and badge number right now, you thug!"

"It's right here, sir." Cooper gave him a polite smile and raised a paw to tap the front of his tactical vest. Just below the embroidered image of a ZPD badge there was a patch displaying his name, rank and badge number. "Remember, that's Kalvin with a K instead of a C."

"Don't you tel-"

"Shut it," Winters snapped. "Are you out of your damn mind, Mamífero? What in the hell made you think that jumping out at a group of tactical officers was a good idea?"

"Because I don't think the press should have to live in fear of the ZPD's jackbooted enforcers!"

"Are you kidding me?" Leaning over, Nick eyed the press pass in the leopard's paw dubiously. "Who the hell gave this hack a press pass? I thought those were only for real journalists."

"Good question," Winters turned to one side and murmured something into his radio; a moment later he let out an annoyed sigh. "However he got it, it's valid and up to date. Cut him loose, Coop."

"You can't silence the fifth estate, detective," Mamífero said smugly as Cooper clipped off the flexi-cuffs. "Do either of you want to comment on yesterday's shooting? How likely is it that the attack was in response to your personal lifestyle choices?"

Judy narrowed her eyes and pointed down the hallway. "The press office is that way. They'll provide you with a statement."

"I'm asking if you hav-"

"Time to move along, sir," Cooper interrupted, staring at the sputtering beaver. "The detective already told you where to take your questions."

"Fine. But you can expect to hear from my attorney," Mamífero said, shooting one final glare at the impassive dingo before storming off in the direction of Precinct One's Media Relations office.

"You know that's probably going to come back to bite us, right?" Judy sighed as soon as the stomping beaver was out of earshot.

"If he was here, he was already planning to take another shot at us. At least now we'll see it coming." Nick shrugged. "Let's just get out of here."

~o~o~o~

The ride was mostly quiet, with Nick and Judy crammed in between the larger officers. Galil quickly went over the overnight rotation with them, explaining that they'd have two of the tactical officers outside their apartment all night, and that a regular patrol cruiser would be passing by their building every fifteen to twenty minutes. Other than that, no one had much to say.

Traffic was light, and the trip didn't take long. Galil got out when they arrived, exchanged a few words with Winters, then opened the SUV's door to let the detectives out of the vehicle.

"Cooper and I have the first shift," she revealed, gesturing them inside as her eyes scanned the street. Following them up to their apartment, she gave it a quick check as Cooper closed the blinds on all the windows, then they bid the pair goodnight.

"We'll be right outside if you need us."

"This really sucks," Judy grumbled as soon as the door was closed.

"Yeah, I guess," Nick shrugged. "Beats getting shot, though."

She tried to glare at him but couldn't be bothered to put much heat behind it. "So, what are we supposed to do now?"

He shrugged again, and she found herself getting increasingly annoyed at the gesture. "I dunno. Care to join me for a little Nutflix and chill?"

"Maybe later." Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she let her feet carry her into the bedroom. Pulling off her work clothes and wincing when she accidentally scratched her stitches, she tossed them into the laundry hamper and absentmindedly changed into a sports bra and track pants. Rolling the events of the previous days over and over in her mind, she was running almost entirely on autopilot as she picked up her headphones and pulled on her running shoes.

Dropping her keys in one pocket and opening the apartment door, she was startled back into reality by the sight of Galil looking down at her with a bemused expression. "Uh...hi."

"Going somewhere, Detective?"

Judy hesitated, as if trying to decide whether it was a trick question. "For a run?"

"I'd like you to take a second and think about what you just said."

Just down the hall, Cooper let out an amused snort.

"...right." Judy shook her head. "Sorry."

"Don't sweat it, Hopps. This kind of thing takes some getting used to."

She glanced up the hall. "Are you sure I can't just go for a quick jog around the block? I really need to clear my head."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"This is a perfectly safe neighborhood."

"So was the one someone tried to gun you down in," Galil countered, pointing down the hall. "Gym's that way, though."

"I'm not going to the gym."

"You are if you want to do any running, unless you'd rather do laps of your apartment."

"There aren't any treadmills my size in the gym, and I don't want to go climbing just to reach the controls."

"This isn't a negotiation," Galil reminded her. "Remember the rules?"

"Of course I do," Judy sighed. "But I ju-"

"But nothing," the lynx interrupted. "Now, I can either escort you to the gym, or you can go back inside."

"Couldn't you just come running with me?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because as it turns out, going for a run in full tactical gear sucks."

"Fine. Gym it is," Judy sighed. "Will you at least work the controls for me?"

Galil chuckled, nodding to Cooper before falling into step beside the sulking bunny. "Sure. That I can do."

~o~o~o~

Gazing out the office's expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, the well-dressed mammal leaned back in his plush chair. Outside, the lights of Zootopia sparkled brightly enough to compete with the stars themselves. Glancing at the tumbler of scotch sitting on a small table just within reach, the mammal briefly considered the untouched drink, then went back to ignoring it. After a moment, someone cleared their throat behind him and he finally turned away from the view.

"Was there something else you needed?"

Across a wide oak desk, a tapir in his mid-twenties fidgeted with his cell phone. "Yes, sir. It's just...about your instructions..."

"What about them?"

"I'm just not sure it's a wise move," the tapir said, raising his claws placatingly. "Not that it's a bad idea, per se. I just think it could draw an uncomfortable level of attention, which isn't what you want right now."

"And I think it's worth the risk. I don't like loose ends."

"If I may, sir, I'd hardly call it a loose end. Honestly, I can't think of anyone more loyal to the cause."

"Perhaps once, but it's been years now. Mammals change and enough time can weaken anyone's resolve."

"Sir, I..."

"This isn't a discussion, Lewis. We haven't been this close to achieving our goals in years and I refuse to see it all fall apart just because someone had a sudden attack of conscience."

"But..."

"I don't particularly care for excuses, Lewis." Leaning forward in his seat, the elk fixed the younger mammal with a icy glare. "If you can't do the work I need you to do, I'll find somebody who can."

The tapir, Lewis, stood silently. He looked off to the side, then down at his hooves, then back up. "Of course, sir. I'll have it taken care of."

~o~o~o~

END PART 3