Crisis in Zootopia

Chapter VI

Judy and the Second Big Bear

It's time for evaluations in Precinct One

The next eight weeks went by fast for Judy. No word had come down from the MBI, but the older officers had told her that unless there was a public trial, they would likely not hear anything, which did not sit well with Judy's sense of justice in the least. The first seven weeks, she was walking her beat while Nick was finishing up the twelve week course at the Academy and helping her litter-sister Carol settle into an apartment, as she had taken a job at a major Zootopian publishing house. Judy had fulfilled her mandate for cleaning up the neighborhood streets she was assigned to without a great deal of difficulty. Some of the shop keepers wondered if she was connected to the number of Health and Safety inspectors they had been flooded with, but most decided she was a similar symptom of the City's interest in the area, rather than a cause for their many fines. The street hustlers and con-artists either left the area (including Weaselton) or took to more discrete locations, where they were careful to pack away their wears when they saw Judy approaching. She even made friends with some of the children of all sizes who played in the park on one edge of her beat.

Nick came home every weekend, and they were happy to not only continue their relationship, but build on it. That last weekend had seen Nick graduate the Academy, first in his class, but not, she teasingly pointed out, with as high of marks as hers. He had started that next Monday, and the two functioned well in their patrol car. Judy missed her beat a little, but she would have a half day patrol there once every sixth Saturday morning, while Nick would do the same every sixth Sunday afternoon, although the two had walked it together that Sunday.

The previous Saturday had been the winter's solstice, and they had both been off duty for the big outdoor concert that afternoon. Judy's parents had surprised her by visiting – Judy had slept on her sofa while they stayed in her bedroom, as her sister Carol's apartment didn't have even a sofa yet and only one bed. Thankfully, they had been impressed by Nick, but then they also had no hint the two were lovers. Carol knew about them of course, but, while certainly surprised, she liked Nick and accepted their relationship. She therefore saw no reason to spread the news.

"Ready for your second week, Wilde?" McHorn asked as the pair joined him outside the station.

"Ready," Nick agreed.

"How was your first foot patrol?" the Rhino asked. Nick had had to patrol the previous evening, with Judy tagging along the first two hours to show him around.

"A bit boring," Nick admitted, "but that's probably to be expected on a rainy Sunday afternoon."

"Well, since it was raining you're probably right," the older officer agreed. "Hey, Fangmeyer! Wolford!" The Tiger and Wolf joined the trio. None of the three had initially thought much of Judy when she had joined, but all three, as well as most of the other older (and much larger than Judy) officers had come to appreciate her to various degrees since her return to the force. Many, especially McHorn (who had had publically expressed the most doubts), had adopted her and were teaching her the tricks of the trade they had learned. Considering her enthusiasm for learning the ins-and-outs, they liked her all the more, and finally appreciated that she could go some places in the city where they just couldn't fit. The older officers all had reservations about Nick, as he had been a well-known character to the police, but most appreciated his sense of humor, and respected him as Judy's partner. He had yet to earn their respect as an officer.

The group waved to Clawhauser as he walked past them, but then Wolford asked, a bit of surprise in his voice, "What is he doing here?"

The others followed his glance, and Judy saw (by stretching her neck a bit) there was a large Bear officer coming up the street. She didn't recognize him. "Who's that?"

"That's Sargent Croc Arturus," McHorn stated. "Something must be up."

"Who's Croc Arturus?" Judy asked. Thinking about it, she added, "And 'Croc'?"

McHorn rolled up his right sleeve, and they saw some nasty scars on his forearm. "It was almost eight years ago. A group of us and some constables were taking down the headquarters of a gang in the Outback called the Devils – the leader was a Devil, but most of his soldiers were big Roos. We broke in, and were charging down this wide corridor. I think he saw too many of those old spy films, because suddenly the bottom dropped out of the corridor, and a group of us found ourselves in this really nasty pool that took up most of the cellar. It turned out there were about twenty huge salt water crocs in it, and at least a dozen of them were hungry, or at least angry, because they attacked us: me; two Ram constables; Clawhauser; and Don Masters – he was an Eastern Elephant. It was, well, nasty. One grabbed me here on the forearm and was trying to drag me under. Anyway, Croc jumped in to help us. He killed all of them in less than five minutes, but the two Rams were badly mauled and so was Clawhauser. All the time, Don was screaming – you ever heard an Elephant screaming in agony? One croc had bitten off his tail, but worse, two had grabbed hold of trunk and were trying to tear it off in different directions."

Seeing he easily had all their attention, McHorn went on. "Like I said, that pool was really fetid. We all had pretty bad infections from it. I was out for six weeks, and I was the luckiest one. One of the Rams died from it – Bellwether's younger brother actually."

"Really?" Judy asked, surprised.

"Yeah, that was what got her into politics. Clawhauser was out for like eight months, and he's been on desk duty since because of it. Don committed suicide, rather than let them amputate his trunk – it was that or dying from the infection."

Judy tried to look at the Bear again, but he was out of her limited sight. McHorn simply lifted her up on his shoulder so she could see the Bear was knelt down and talking to a pair of little Roebucks, obviously civilians looking for directions. "He's a good cop, but he's also the toughest cop in the ZPT."

"I'll say," Nick said, drawing the others to look at him. "It was a little over three years ago. He and I were . . . having a discussion about one of my business deals down on the other side of Fountain Square. Suddenly, we heard these loud roars, and a lot of screaming. He dragged me along, and we saw this Liger. . . ."

"Ligers are real?" Judy asked, still perched on McHorn's shoulder. The tough Rhino would never admit it, but he rather liked her soft fur against his ear.

"Very," Fangmeyer told her. "They have a Lion father and a Tiger mother, and they're bigger than any Tiger."

"He was by far the largest cat I've ever seen live," Nick agreed. "He was high on something, and was standing naked on the fountain basin claiming to be the 'king of the cats'. Arturus simply walked up to him and roared in his face. The Liger pissed himself, fell off onto the ground, and rolled into a submission pose without a thought."

"But why is he here? He's usually over in the Savannah District these days," Fangmeyer said. "I hope it's not for the physicals."

"Physicals?" Nick asked.

"All street certified officers have to be reevaluated at least every three years for physical combat," Judy reminded him.

The Bear had obviously seen the group, as he was rapidly approaching them. Judy was surprised at his size – he was built on the same thick lines as Colbert had been, but looked to even be a few inches taller than Koslov, Mister Big's tallest Polar Bear enforcer. He was also unseasonably trim, and looked to be at least as muscular as the Chief was. "Carrot sticks, he's big," Judy said, surprised.

"He's a Kodiak/Polar cross," McHorn replied, amused as Judy hopped down from her perch.

"McHorn! How're you doing?" the visitor called to the group as he approached.

"Fine, Croc. You?"

"I'm good."

"Are you reassigned here?" Fangmeyer asked hopefully.

"No, I'm here to see if you lot are fit for the streets or just resting on your accolades," he teased. Fangmeyer and Wolford winced. It was obviously they were up for evaluation.

The Bear looked down at Judy. "So, you're Officer Hopps?"

Judy looked him directly in the eye. "I am. Nice to meet you, Sargent."

"Call me Croc," he told her. He looked down at Nick. "When I heard we were getting a Fox officer called Wilde, I told myself, 'no, it can't be that Wilde'. Really, you, an officer of the law now?"

"He is," Judy stated firmly. "I think you'll find my partner is a very effective officer."

The Bear chuckled. "Unfortunately, I probably won't see that for myself this week. Let me check in with Benjy and the Chief." As he moved towards the stations, Judy hopped after him and the group followed them in. The Bear greeted Clawhauser, who replied back enthusiastically, while the group moved to the bull pen to get coffee before the Chief gave them their assignments for the day.

That afternoon, nine ZPD Precinct One officers, plus the Chief and Arturus, were gathered in the station's largest workout area. This was a huge space in the sub-basement, complete with bleachers against one wall. On the floor, a section had been covered with mats in a large rectangle. On the sides of the space, plywood partitions, about six feet high, enclosed the space on all sides, with a gate placed at one end. Arturus was standing on the floor, the others in the bleachers. "Alright," the Bear told them, "seven of you are the first lot I'm scenario-evaluating. Wilde, you just left the Academy, so you'll be doing this in three years, if not required to do so early. You're here so you can see how this type of scenario works. Hopps, the same would normally apply to you since you left the Academy less than a year ago, but you were taken off probation early. You'll go up next year, unless you want to try it against me and get certified early." Nick placed his paws over his eyes at hearing that. The other officers winced while Bogo rolled his eyes.

"Hopefully, this particular scenario would never really occur, but you are trapped in an alley or large room, minus any weapons, but with a very hostile opponent – me – with no weapons other than our brains and skills. I'm not going to pretend to be Night Howler crazy, but consider me hostile, possibly having deadly intent. Your job is to last three minutes with me; at that point, a whistle will sound, meaning that backup would have arrived, and they should have darted or stunned me. My job is to place you in a situation which is potentially lethal – obviously I won't actually make a killing or maiming strike, and neither will you! I, and the Chief, will each grade you on a scale from F to A plus, although I should say that almost no one has earned better than a B plus from me, and that only twice. Scores of C or better are passing; D through C minus means you need work and will need to be either reassessed in three months or you go to dispatch or records and have limited street certification either way. D minus means you go to records or the probation office. F means that, or you'll be let go. You've all done this at least once before, but are there any questions?"

There were none. "Alright, who goes first?" The other officers all hesitated for a moment, knowing what they needed to prevent, but none really wanted to go first. Judy was faster than they could decide which would go first to prevent her from doing so.

"I'll go!" she shouted, hopping up and raising her hand. The others all groaned. "Well, I will if you answer a question or two first."

Arturus folded his arms atop the wall and grinned at her. "And what is that, Officer Hopps?"

"If that's supposed to be an alley or room, why can't I just slip around you and escape?"

The Bear chuckled. "Hopps, I have to say that you're the first officer in five years of me participating in these tests as an examiner that has ever asked that question. On the other hand, you're the first that probably had in any real chance of doing so. Now, while may not obvious why you would want to do so, are there any reasons why you would prefer to engage a much larger opponent instead?"

Judy thought a moment, and answered, "If it's a room, and especially if I know there are other officers in the building, no, I can't think of one. In fact, if possible I should escape and shut and if possible lock the door behind me. It might not stop you, but it would at least slow you down. If it's an alley . . . I suppose if I were more worried about your attacking civilians instead of chasing me."

The Bear nodded. "Off the top of my head, I would say that was well reasoned. I tell you what, Chief, do you have a coin?"

Bogo nodded, and took one out of his pocket as he stood up.

"Flip it, and make sure Hopps sees the result. Heads, it's an alley; tails, it's a room."

Bogo sighed and flipped the coin. "Tails," he admitted.

"Alright, heads, the door is unlocked; tails, it's locked behind us, and that will add fifteen seconds to the clock."

"Heads."

"Come along, Officer Hopps; let's see how quick on your paws you are!"

Judy actually skipped over to the entrance, while Nick looked at the Chief worriedly. "She'd have to do it next year anyway, Wilde," the Buffalo reminded him.

"Are you going to chase me into the room?" Judy asked.

"Not normally, but sure," Croc answered.

Judy set herself a few feet from the entrance gate and got ready to run. The Bear looked at her, and laughed again. "Hopps, you just got yourself at least a guaranteed C, no matter how this plays out, just for the display of brains. Tell them your plan."

"I was going to go through the 'door', shut it behind me, and hide behind it," Judy admitted. "If the Sargent was playing fair and actually burst into the 'room', I could have scooted out before he realized what I did."

"This is supposed to be more of a test of your physical capabilities, not primarily your mental ones," Arturus told her. "So, go into the room about a quarter of the way; imagine the door would not have left you enough room to hide behind."

Judy did as she was told.

"Face away from me," Croc told her as he shut the gate with him still on the outside. "As soon as I say 'go,' I'll move to open the gate and the time starts." Judy nodded.

"Go!"

Judy turned, and as the gate opened, she ran, jumped, and her feet slammed into the gate, slamming it shut. She landed and went to the near corner. Croc was taken by surprise, but quickly reopened the gate and scanned the area, cutting Judy off from a quick escape behind him. Judy nearly escaped anyway, but he managed to twist and block her way out, making Judy bound away but the Bear nearly tripped himself by the movement he had to make to try and catch her as she did so. When he recovered his footing and shut the gate, Judy was standing about a third of way down the room, about eighteen feet away from him and facing him, bouncing on her toes.

Croc hesitated for a moment – had he really wanted to stalk her, he rightly knew that he could probably catch her, but he wasn't playing a calm, ruthless, well-trained opponent, but a more out-of-control one, so he lunged at Judy. She easily avoided him, but he had made certain he wasn't so off-balance that she could easily get past him. In a more confined space, he would have had an easier time, but his other opponents would be much larger, including two Tigers and a Hippopotamus, and the space was designed for them. To his surprise, at his next move Judy not only leapt over the claws that nearly had her, but she landed on the top of his head, which, since he was slightly off-balance by his lunge, would have made any mammal with less training than him fall over, despite her light weight. Another bound from his head to his lower back threw him even more off, and Judy was well-past him before he could fully recover and chase her. She was out of the area a few seconds later.

Croc sat on the floor and laughed, as the other officers clapped. "Well, done, Hopps! It wouldn't have been nearly so easy in a more enclosed space, but you used what we gave you very well! That's the first A minus I've awarded in over two years! If it weren't for the space issue, it would have been an A if you had managed it!" He stood and smiled. "Who's next?"

The officers to be tested instantly went quiet, as they knew they could not hope to do what Judy had done.

When six of the mammals had tested (all scoring either a C plus or a B minus), Croc called a break and those officers and Nick were dismissed, leaving Clawhauser, Bogo, and Judy. "All these tests require the presence of at least the station chief and a timekeeper. Hopps, you're the timekeeper. Ben, get down here!"

As Clawhauser reluctantly did so, Bogo asked so softly that even Judy had a hard time hearing him, "Hopps, would you trust Clawhauser to have your back?"

Judy didn't want to make any noise, so she just nodded.

"Then act as timekeeper, and say nothing about this."

Clawhauser had set himself in position, a determined look on his face, and Croc started the test. He rushed the smaller mammal, and the two started grappling. Judy was just able to hear what the huge Bear was muttering, as he scolded Clawhauser for letting himself get so out of shape. He finally pushed the obese cat back a few yards, but Clawhauser managed to retain his footing and, although panting heavily, he (sort of) managed to lunge back and grabble with the Bear some more.

Judy could see that Croc could have easily defeated Clawhauser at almost any time, although she was impressed when she realized that the cat could still have taken down most opponents smaller than himself that he managed to catch. She was glad she could finally call out, "Time!"

Croc stood up and Clawhauser went to his knees, panting heavily. "C minus?" Croc asked the Chief, who nodded.

"Clawhauser, you're staying at Dispatch," the Chief said.

"Lose half the excess weight and then get some practice and real training before the next exam," Croc told him. "Keep going like you have been, and you won't pass again."

Clawhauser nodded, vowing to at least cut down on the sweets.

"Why do you think they let Clawhauser pass?" Nick asked Judy that night as they cuddled.

"I didn't say anything!" Judy protested.

"You didn't have to," Nick retorted. "The final scores were posted, and I don't believe for a second that Clawhauser really did that well."

Judy said nothing.

"Well, from what I've heard, he was an excellent street cop, and he does do a decent job at Dispatch."

"So he does." Judy sighed. "He also promised to lose some weight."

Sometimes, Judy reflected, it was difficult to be an idealist.