Debts Unpaid - A Zootopia Story continued - Ch. 1

Chap 1

Seems like old times

Chief McHorn entered the ZPD bullpen for the morning briefing with a shout, “All right, shut it you clowns. It’s time to earn all that tax money the public spends on ya! How ‘bout you mooks be worth it for once?”he thundered. “Wilde. Lose the damn glasses while we’re in here. It’s not that damn bright and you’re not on CSI Zootopia.” Chuckling laughter all around. Good kids, all of ‘em he thought as he settled his reading glasses on his face once again. “Ok, Fangmeyer and Delgado are still working the stolen property sting operation down in Sahara Square, so give ‘em a wide berth for the foreseeable future. Sergeant Wolfen and Corporal Sykes, SWAT detail today. Report to Carl in the armory. Bring a notepad,” he grinned as he spoke. And Carl had already had his espresso this morning. That would be fun to watch. McHorn proceeded carefully down the list of daily assignments, resettling his glasses as he did so. Finally he got to the last two pairs of officers.

“Sgt Hopps, Sgt Wilde, your rookies belong to Clawhauser now. You’re both being reassigned to Special Investigations. Commissioner Bogo’s office, immediately,” he told the remaining four officers. “Don’t worry kids,” he gestured to the two rookies with their two training sergeants. “We’ll get you paired with some more training officers. Gonna be hard to top these two, though. That’s it. Get moving,” he said as he left the conference room.

As the door slammed behind him, “Well, Carrots, gonna be like old times again.” A grinning Nick said as he slid off his chair alongside the rookie Thompson’s gazelle officer he was training in the HRT. Jimmy was a good kid, but still needed to work on his confidence level in dealing with larger mammals. Like Judy, he had learned to use his agility as his edge, but as a prey species he needed to start thinking he was cop first and foremost. And that gave Nick a start as he thought it, listen to me, the old hand, he thought with a grin as he reached for the mirrored glasses in his pocket.

Judy was smiling broadly as he turned toward the front of the room. Her rookie, a young bat-eared fox named Marjorie had already departed for the front desk and Officer Clawhauser for reassignment. “Yes,” she said brightly, “But I’m driving!” Nick laughed as she drew herself up and took his hand as they walked out. He’d have to remember to keep his seatbelt tight while he rode. Judy was a great driver, but she handled the powerful squad car like an extension of herself. High acceleration and sharp turns. It was always an adventure with Hopps behind the wheel. Some days it seemed that she had watched the latest in the Fast And Furriest movie series a little too closely. Zootopia Drift. That was Judy Hopps.

Reaching the door Nick released her small paw and opened the door. “Such a gentleman. Do I finally have you properly trained?”, she teased as she walked past. In response, a quick finger ran up the edge of one black tipped ear. “Nick! Jeeze. Not here. You know what that does to me”.

“Just letting you know that ok, maybe I’m tamed, but never domesticated”, as a familiar grin painted his muzzle.

“Yeah, that would be just so boring” she said as she smiled back at him, waiting for him to catch up. “And living with you has been anything but boring. So what do you think is going on?”

“I wish I knew Judy. The hostage rescue team has been a little too busy lately. Me and my big mouth, I’m involved in every one of these calls this past month”.

“You do know everyone, and like it or not, you do really know how to talk to people. You read people really quickly. You’ve never told me how you’ve done that,” she asked as they both walked past the front desk.

A quick wave to Sergeant Benjamin Clawhauser back at his normal post. He’d come back from his honeymoon with a few more decorations on his desk. His picture of his new spouse, Kwan Hổ, lead dancer for the Glitter Tigers taking center stage so to speak. Kwan and Gazelle had gone back on tour for the rest of the season, but as Clawhauser had taken over as head of her fan club the whole group had ended up as one big extended family. And it was so good for him too. He’d had a scare with an arrhythmia a couple years back that had frightened everyone. Still a few pounds too heavy, he was in much better health now and back to being his old bubbly self.

Nick smiled as they saw the big cat wave back and continued on. “I had some friends who had ..talents of their own. They were good enough to teach them to me. And on the street. Well, it’s certainly the best class room there is for learning how to talk to people. And the roughest”, he said thoughtfully.

“I’m glad that you’re no longer there, Nick.”

“Me too fluff, me too.” he said as they reached the elevator to take them up to the Commissioner’s office.

The elevator arrived and opened with the normal ding. It was only a short ride up four floors, but Judy’s sharp ears recognized the familiar tune, even if it was reduced to a muzak version. Still, anytime she heard Gazelle’s Try Everything she just wanted to dance along with it, and she rather considered it their song, as that was the big theme of the first concert they both had attended together. Not a “date” date, but a good time out with a close friend. And in the end they’d talked till the dawn.  She’d talked about Gideon Grey and how he’d affected her life as a child, and Nick just listened attentively. Finally he’d said, “I’d don’t know whether to shake his paw or kick his furry butt”.

“Shake his paw.” she’d said. “He was instrumental in getting the Night Howlers case solved, even if unintentionally”. And then Nick nodded thoughtfully and added, “And he did help make you the cop you are today. He gets a pass”, he’d said with a grin. “This time only.”

And in that moment she’d known something had changed between them. It would be weeks and further tests before that first tentative kiss, months before they’d dared spend the night together, but she knew that it had really all began for them that night after the concert.

The door opened with a ding onto the senior staff level, fourth floor. Stepping out into the wide hall Judy remembered the last time she had been up here. She’d put down her badge that day and resigned, and with very good reason. But today, with all the light streaming in through the wide windows, it looked much brighter for her and Nick. Back together again as partners. They walked down the paneled hall to the Police Commissioner’s office.

Once again Nick opened the door to let Judy in…and froze. “Oh…damn,” He hissed thru his teeth. “What is it?” Judy said looking back.

“Tell you later,” Nick said with a tight nod.

“Good Morning Sergeant Hopps. Nick, so good to see you again”, the young vixen at the reception desk desk said. The nameplate, Mieko Kitsune. Her eyes were a slightly different shade of green and with lighter shade of red pelt gave her a very exotic appearance for a fox. The sudden stiffness in Nick’s behavior? Oh…an ex-girlfriend obviously!

The business suit she wore was cut very carefully to accent her form and the skirt cut to just above her knees to show her legs. The material was a beautiful shade of red silk. Her diction of Mammal Standard flawless save for the slightest accent, her manner graceful and controlled. Like a dancer, she swept around the front of the desk to stand before them. Judy finding herself moving to intercept the taller female, almost possessively standing between her and Nick.

She presented her hand, “Pleased to meet you, Miss Kitsune. The Commissioner is expecting us. Both of us,” she added rather pointedly.

“Of course. I’ll announce you. Nick, Sergeant, if you’ll follow me,” and without waiting for a response she walked to and opened the double doors of Bogo’s new office.

“Gentlemen, Officers Hopps and Wilde have arrived”.

The gruff rumbling voice of Police Commissioner N’guvu Bogo greeted them. “About time you two. Is McHorn slowing down in his age? My briefings only took half as much time,” he said from his seat behind the massive oak desk. There were two other familiar faces, a small otter by the name of Emmett, and a massive polar bear named Koslov….which meant…
“Mauricio! “Judy happily cried as she spotted the small armchair placed in the center of Bogo’s desk. “This is a surprise”.

“Ah Judith my dear, it would be such to find me here once upon a time. See what happens when you miss birthdays?” The smaller arctic shrew teased. “I’ve become quite the…community leader,” said with a knowing grin as those thick eyebrows curved archly.
“Harrumph”, Bogo prodded, and Mauricio Big nodded, “Quite so Bogo, quite so. Emmett, would you please tell the officers what you told me yesterday morning.”

“Yessir. Good morning Miss Judy, Mister Nick, so good to see you again. Sorry it’s under such circumstances.”

Nick caught the gist immediately. “More Night Howler troubles?”

“That’s right. And it’s not just myself. Every florist or botanist in the area who’s still licensed to work with those plants has been seeing a great deal of interest in those plants from a number of sources. But this time only predators.”

That was puzzling to say the least. After the Bellwether crisis, the possession and sale of any Midnicampum species was heavily regulated and taxed. There were very few places that anyone could get the plants anymore, and almost no exceptions given under the heavy regulation. For the Hopps family, that meant a change in how they protected their fields from infestation. Like many small family farms, economy was key to being productive, and the use of Night Howlers was a mostly safe way to protect against insects. Since pesticides were expensive, not always effective, and could occasionally react poorly with some mammals’ metabolism, they’d simply had to accept greater losses. Unlike most of the farmers in the area, the Hopps’ partnership with the Gideon’s bakery had made them actually able to expand. Stu and Bonnie Hopps were now among the biggest landowners in Bunnyburrow.  With their newly available capital, and some wise business advice from Nick, they were able to buy partnerships with troubled landowners and still keep the original families working their lands.

But farmers aside, no one else had use for the plants. There was ongoing research into the psychoactive effects, yes, but nothing major. Some native groups and religious sects had been grandfathered in their legal use under treaty obligations and freedom of religion laws, but these groups were small and monitored.

Among the criminal population the only use that had been of note was the illicit use by herbivore criminals. A quick darting of either a larger predator or herbivore in a tight space was more than sufficient to create a massive amount of chaos for a smash and grab robbery. So far no predator would ever dare use the drug due to huge risk involved. In the eyes of the law it was one thing to gore someone in a panic; entirely another to try and eat someone. The only other use for a Night Howler derivative amongst prey species…was something she tried to push from her mind, even as the flush ran up her face under her fur.

“Judy, are you all right?” Nick asked softly.

“Oh, sorry, just thinking it all out,” she temporized, hoping to deflect further questioning. Nick helpfully asked, “So Emmet, are you seeing the same persons again and again? Is there anything the same with each of the people looking for Night Howlers that you’ve been able to see?”

“Nossir, different faces each time. Mostly hyena folk, jackals, opossums, raccoons, a Cape Painted here and there, and the larger rat species. The only commonality I’ve ever heard amongst all the shop owners is that there’s usually one or two coyotes with the person making the inquiry”.

That was very odd indeed. The number of coyotes in the city was very low, and few were ever involved in illicit activity as far as Nick could remember. As a society of high plains nomads most of the time they stayed out of the city, barring the odd traveling artist or musician. He smiled, except for one notable exception. And she wouldn’t have anything to do with this. Would she? If nothing else this would give him an excuse to see an old friend. He considered for a moment; and maybe even ask a favor of her? His sharp eyes caught Emmet’s for just a moment; a pained look on the small face all too familiar to one he’d often had himself. He’d need to get him aside for a bit once they were done.

So, other than predators…what was the link? If it WAS just a predator thing, then this could stir up a lot of that suppressed resentment that Bellwether had manipulated to gain power, albeit briefly. And if that was the case, we could lose all the ground we’d gained over the past few years. He no longer worried about the depth of his relationship with Judy, they were going to be together the rest of their lives, but they’d had a few bumps over the years because of the fallout from Bellwether and pre-existing prejudices. The first, and certainly most memorable being a snotty female skunk at a restaurant. An offhand comment had raised Judy’s ire and warranted a very fitting response.

She’d been very much the savage bunny that night and had verbally gone up one side and down the other of the offending female. It was a night that the skunk would never forget,much less any of the other patrons of the establishment. And Nick, he was quite proud of his lady. He’d thought he’d known that she was fearless before, and had it confirmed in spades then and there.

And maybe that was an interesting point too. Maybe, as a predator, he censored himself in a lot of ways? It was something to think on as he watched the discussion before him. “So another trip to traffic control to at least check their movements? Maybe get some plate numbers for identification? “Judy was saying as he snapped back to reality.  

“That sounds like a good place to start. All we do know is that they’ve expressed interest in something that is controlled right now. We don’t know any particulars, and we need that before we can even think about warrants. If nothing else, getting plate numbers will tell us who’s involved, and maybe what the real extent is,” Nick added thoughtfully.

“Then I guess we’re done here”, Bogo said. “Hopps, Wilde, I’ll need you to stay for a moment please”.

While Judy said a quick goodbye to Mauricio Big and his ever-present assistant, Nick made a beeline for Emmet Otterton.

“I know that look. Are you OK, Emmet? I mean, really ok?” Nick asked carefully.

“Oh, I’m fine Mister Nick. Olivia keeps me on the straight and narrow…and the kids too.”

“I understand. You do know that Bellwether and her cronies are going to be gone a long time right?”

“I do. But it doesn’t really help us who were afflicted cope and bring back those who were lost, now does it?”

“Like Mancha? No. No it doesn’t. But I can assure you I understand. But if you ever need to talk, really talk,” he said handing over his ZPD business card, “call me. OK?”

Otterton nodded thoughtfully as the fox patted him warmly on the shoulder, and then joined the procession leading out of Commissioner Bogo’s officer, the warm and clear voice of Miss Kitsune giving them wishes of farewell as they walked past her and out. She closed the door discreetly behind her, leaving the pair alone with their boss.

“You two. I would have to be put in this position again, wouldn’t I?” Bogo chuckled as he walked back behind the desk taking his seat. Hopps and Wilde stood before the big oak desk looming before them, the tops of Judy’s ears the only things showing her presence in the room from the commissioner’s perspective.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, pull up a couple chairs you two”.

Nick scooted over the big armchair and helped Judy up alongside him. They waited as Bogo obviously had something to say, just not how he’d say it…or what.

“I didn’t want to split you two up at the beginning, but I had my reasons,” he started. “And against my better judgment, I have to take my two best officers off the assignments where they’ve not only excelled, but also made great improvements in their fields. But politics and experience will have its day I suppose,” he said thoughtfully.
“Wilde, for all intents and purposes, you are the hostage rescue team. I’ve never seen anyone talk down a pissed-off wolverine and end up have them crying in their arms in the middle of a street,” Bogo added. “Hopefully you’ve managed to teach your compatriots some of your skills?”

“Yes sir. We’ve got a good team. Our on-going training in interpersonal and interspecies communications and criminal psychology has been approved through the next two budget cycles thanks to your office. They can stand on their own without me,” Nick quietly assured the big Cape Buffalo.

He nodded thoughtfully before continuing. “And you Hopps. What about you? I’ve seen training officers come and go these past twenty plus years. But I’ve never seen one who has engendered so much loyalty from their rooks. I have precinct captains calling me every day, asking when you’d have a new rookie ready to be sent to the line. Because of you we now have full time police presence in Little Rodentia. What was that one rooks’ name? Hoban Weaselton?” N’guvu said with a chuckle. “I’ve never been so glad about being wrong about two people as I am about you two,” he mused.

“And while I regret having to take my two best officers off assignments where they shine, I also need my two most experienced officers who’ve dealt with the Night Howler problem before. Mayor Donner is a good administrator, but as a Caribou, she’s also very political. She knows this whole city is a very different kind of herd that could spook easily. And that means that this calls for both discretion in the investigation and a certain amount of,” Bogo’s lips curled up as he spoke the next words, “aggressive creativity. That is you two a tee.”

“Thank you sir. We won’t let you down,” Judy replied.

“One more thing,” he said as he reached down the side of the desk, pulling open a drawer as he did so. He produced two small boxes, handing the one marked “Hopps” to Judy, and it’s similarly marked mate to Nick. “Open them.”

Judy opened the box, her ears perked up high over her head. Her violet eyes flicking back to Nick as she did so. He was sitting there with an equally astonished expression. A gold shield for each of them.

“Congratulations detectives. Hopps is senior officer due to her seniority of course, and you’ll be reporting only to McHorn who reports to me. You’ll need some new gear from the armory of course, but that comes with the promotion. Any questions?” a smiling Bogo asked as he leaned back in the big chair.

Nonplussed the two shook their heads in the negative.

“Fine. Just remember that while you are now plainclothes, you are still somewhat celebrities here in Zootopia. You will be recognized if you try and go undercover. Miss Kitsune is the liaison between this office and the ZPD. She’s been fully briefed and will provide all the contact information that you may need as well as arraigning any special equipment thru the armory. If that’s it…then get out. Go solve this case!”

With both speaking quick thank you’s they both slid out of the overstuffed chair and made their way to the door, with Judy stopping just before they opened it.

“Sir, I do have one question.”

“Go ahead Hopps.”

“Why did you split us up to start with? Fraternization issues?”

Bogo nodded thoughtfully before answering, “No. Not that. It was that the two of you take serious risks when you are together. You feed off each other’s personality and take unwise chances. A cop’s life is hard enough without having a loved one in the line of fire every day. Figured I’d save you that bit of heartbreak. Especially after the Razorbacks,” He scratched his chin before continuing. “If this ends up being another Bellwether, then I need you to be those cops again. Fast, dangerous, and clever. Just a little wiser this time. In case you’ve missed it, I’m rather fond of you two knuckleheads. That it?”

She nodded as Nick spoke, “Yes sir. And thank you.”

“Then get the hell out!” as the big door closed behind them.