The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One: Fuel - 47

Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.

------------------------------------------------------

The Fire Triangle-A Zootopia Fanfiction

------------------------------------------------------

Part One:

Fuel

------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5 -Aftershocks

(Pt. 1)

ZNN Headline News

"Good Morning, I'm Fabienne Growly."

"And I'm Peter Moosebridge."

On a screen behind the snow-leopardess and bull-moose, a stylized (and sensationalized) flash logo was on display, a map of Burrow County emblazoned with the words 'Terror Attack in the Heartland' and with another word stamped over the top, declaring 'FAILED!' in bright, red stencil-front.

Giving her viewers a second or two to digest the visual aid Fabienne began to speak, looking directly into the camera as it cut in for a close-up, converting her into the proverbial talking head.

"In our top story that we're following, last evening a chemical attack on the Bunnyburrow Carrot Days Festival was narrowly averted, thanks to the combined efforts of The Burrow County Sheriff's Department, the private security firm, ASM, and a Zootopia Police Officer who was visiting the festival at the time."

The map vanished from the screen and two pictures appeared, a pair of Burrow County Sheriff's Department photographs showing Jerry and Joe Guilford, front and side-view; (the legacy of a previous arrest, both coyotes still had their fur.)

Meanwhile the snow-leopardess continued with her opening monologue.

"The individuals behind the attempted terror attack were reportedly these two mammals, Jeremy and Joseph Guilford of Bunnyburrow, proprietors of Sky-Yote Crop-Dusting Service."

An image of a crop-dust plane appeared on the screen behind her as Peter Moosebridge took over the narration.

"The Guilford Brothers' plan was to spray the festival grounds with an herbicide known as Harequateline, an extremely toxic and flammable compound that's been banned from all use except in the eradication of illegal crops. For more on that we go to ZNN Science correspondent, Zoe Banahaw."

The image on the screen shifted to a grey-furred Philippine tree-mouse, clad in hard-hat and a day-glow safety-vest. She was standing on top of a 5-gallon plastic carboy and holding microphone with the ZNN logo in her paw. Stacked in the background behind her was a phalanx of more containers, all of them locked in cages and emblazoned with Haz-Mat diamonds.

"I'm currently inside the warehouse of Haz-Mat Expeditors in the Zootopia Meadowlands District." Zoe Banahaw began, "What you see behind me are containers of Harequateline, the herbicide with which the two Guilford brothers planned to spray the Carrot Days Festival. As you can see from the way it's stored, Harequateline is a highly controlled substance, required to be kept locked up at all times, and only allowed to be stored in containers with a capacity of five standard gallons or less.

"Zoe, why is that?" Fabienne Growley wanted to know.

The Filipino mouse shifted her microphone slightly before answering.

"It's a question of not putting all your eggs in one basket, Fabienne; a leak from a five-gallon storage container is naturally much easier to contain than say, a leak from a fifty gallon drum."

"Ah I see," the snow leopardess nodded, and Peter Moosebridge took over with a question of his own.

"Zoe, what happens if an animal is exposed to Harequatiline? We know that it's a highly toxic substance but what, exactly, are the effects?"

The tree-mouse seemed to look down for a second, "Well, for starters it's a skin irritant, and you certainly don't want to inhale it or get it into your eyes; it's also a known carcinogen. But the biggest issue with Harequatilene is that it causes what's known as Traumatic Fur Loss. If you get any on you, your fur falls out and won't grow back for up to 20 months. In the event of a heavy exposure, the follicles can suffer permanent damage and in that instance, the victim's fur won't grow back at all."

"Oh, my God." Peter Moosebridge blew a note of alarm through his nostrils and began to stroke his arm, as if imagining all the hair was gone and never coming back. (Fabienne Growley was chewing her lip.)

"Do we have any idea how the Guilford brothers managed to obtain a supply of Harequatilene?" the snow leopardess finally asked.

Zoe looked off screen for a second, consulting a teleprompter. At the same time she touched the side of her head, the better to hear through her earpiece.

"I'm told that last year Sky-Yote Crop Services was contracted by Burrow County for the eradication of some illegal catnip fields in the hills outside of Bunnyburrow. But before they were able to begin the operation, the catnip farmers decided to move their operations elsewhere and the project was cancelled. Why the Guilfords were still in possession of the Harequateline more than a year later remains a mystery at this time."

"Thank you Zoe." Fabienne nodded, sensing that it was time to move on. (That was what you did when one of your reporters told you 'I don't know' in so many words.)

A new image appeared on the screen behind her, a red fox in police blues and mirrored sunglasses. At once, the snow-leopardess' voice became both solemn and respectful.

"The plot to spray the Carrot Days Festival was uncovered largely due to the efforts of this fox, Officer Nicholas P. Wilde of the Zootopia Police Department who was visiting at the time. Some of our viewers will remember him as the animal that helped to foil the Savage Predator Conspiracy two years ago. While some details remain sketchy, apparently Officer Wilde overheard Jerry Guilford's son speaking to his father about the plan via cell phone; Craig Guilford having allegedly been recruited by his family to serve as their spotter. At this hour, he continues to remain at large."

Just then Peter Moosebridge waved a hoof, "Excuse me, Fabienne?" The snow-leopardess nodded and Nick Wilde's image vanished from the screen, replaced by a Burrow County Youth Authority photo of the young coyote together with what appeared to be high-school yearbook photograph of a young red-fox vixen.

"I've just been informed that an Amber Alert has been issued for Craig Guilford 16, of Burrow County. He is believed to be traveling in the company of this young vixen, Amanda Hill, 15, also of Burrow County. They were last observed in a white Furrd F250 pickup-truck, license plate 510NT63, traveling southbound on Highway 61. Anyone seeing this vehicle or either of its occupants should call 9-1-1 immediately."

"Thank you Peter." Fabienne nodded again before turning back to the camera.

"ZNN has also learned that Nick Wilde was the animal who developed the plan for bringing down the two crop-dusting planes. As we reported last night, this was accomplished through the use of a fireworks display as makeshift anti-aircraft battery."

Behind her the screen came alive again, this time showing a camera-phone video of the mortar rocket igniting Joe Guilford's herbicide contrail. Before the aircraft could go into its gyrations, the footage disappeared, replaced by the image of another uniformed ZPD officer, this one a gray-furred bunny.

"Officer Nicholas Wilde is at this hour making a statement to the Burrow County Sheriff's Department and is currently unavailable for comment. However we were able to catch up with his partner, Officer Judy Hopps, also of the ZPD. Officer Hopps are you there?"

As if in response, Judy's face appeared on the screen, replacing the photograph. She looked surprisingly calm considering all that had happened in the past 24 hours. (Not so surprising for those who knew her; by now, Judy Hopps was well-versed in handling the press.)

"Yes, I'm here, Fabienne." she said, offering a shy smile to the camera.

"Officer Hopps," the snow leopardess asked her, "What is the mood in Bunnyburrow at this hour?"

Judy's smile broadened slightly.

"How are we holding up? Well, we-and I say 'we' as a bunny born and raised here-we've always been resilient bunch in the Burrow. We're going to get through this."

Now she tensed as if sensing that the snow-leopardess's question was the last softball she was going to get this morning.

Fabienne Growly did not disappoint her, at once becoming quietly serious.

"Officer Hopps, there is one thing that's rather confusing. We're told that your partner, Nick Wilde, discovered the Guilford's plan after overhearing Craig Guilford having a telephone conversation with his father. How, exactly, did he come to be in that particular place at that particular time?"

"How did Nick Wilde figure it out?" Judy asked rhetorically, and then tapped the side of her nose. "Well, you have to remember, he's fox; he can smell fear, and there was a lot of it coming off of that young coyote, so me tells me. And he's also a veteran police officer, don't forget. When you sense that kind of fear and tension in someone, your experience will tell you to investigate."

"I see..." Fabienne started to say, but Judy wasn't finished yet.

"There was one other thing as well; something I don't think has been mentioned yet. Nick also found some flattened cardboard boxes in the back of the Guilford's pickup truck. According to the labeling, they'd been used to hold Harequatiline containers."

At this unexpected revelation, Fabienne and Peter Moosebridge regarded each other for a second. No, this hadn't been mentioned before; it was something no one had even known until just this second, and it fit perfectly with what Zoe Banahaw had been saying only moments ago.

"So that was how he figured out the Guilford Brothers plan?" Moosebridge finally asked.

"Well the boxes were part of it." Judy answered, "But there were some other pieces of the puzzle, too. For starters there had been a rumor going around the Big Dance all that day, saying the Guilford family had just been served with eviction papers."

"A rumor that we now know was true." Fabienne Growley interjected, and then turned to the camera again. "To recap, according to a statement released last evening by the Burrow County Sheriff's Department, 'The apparent motive for the attempted attack was the Guilford family having been served with a foreclosure and eviction notice earlier in the day.'"

"Yes, that's right," Judy nodded and then went on, "and also, when Nick and I arrived at the festival on Friday, we had heard that Jerry Guilford and his family had tried to get in earlier and been turned away; that was when Nick and I first became aware of how unforgiving they were. May I assume that you're familiar the incident that took place at last year's Carrot Days?"

"Yes, we are," Peter Moosebridge said and also turned to face the camera. On the screen behind him, an image of Jerry Guilford appeared beside Judy; it showed the coyote being frog-marched towards a Sheriff's cruiser with a crowd of spectators watching in the background. Set in the upper-right corner of the image was a smaller picture of a beaver in a dark blue blazer.

"Last year, upon learning that the contract mentioned earlier had been cancelled, Jerry Guilford and his brothers made an unannounced visit to the Carrot Days Festival where they assaulted the beaver your see here, County Commissioner Charles 'Chip' Fielding, the animal that had initially hired them for the catnip eradication project."

"Yes, and that's why they were banned from this year's festivities." Judy Hopps pointed out. (Both newscasters nodded in agreement.)

"So," she went on, counting off the points on her fingers, "Nick knew that the Guilfords had committed a felonious assault during last year's Carrot Days Festival and that they had an even bigger motive for revenge this year; he was aware that they were known to hold grudges and also that they had a habit of blaming your entire species if you crossed them. He had seen for himself that one one of their family members was running surveillance on the Big Dance and he knew that that the Guilford family owned a crop-dusting service and that they'd been contracted to spray those catnip fields last year. Last but not least, he knew that they had recently opened at least several containers of Harequateline. When you put all of that together with what he'd overheard Craig Guilford saying to his dad, THAT was how he figured out what the father and uncles were planning."

"How did your partner know what Harequatiline was and what it could do?" It was Fabienne Growley. "If you'd mentioned that name to me only yesterday afternoon, I wouldn't have known what you were talking about."

"He looked it up online." Judy told her, "We always have good wi-fi access at Carrot Days. And as I said before, Nick already knew about the contract to spray those illegal catnip fields." The corners of her mouth lengthened in a wry smirk, "and you don't have to be a chemistry major to know that a box covered with Haz-Mat stickers has something inside of it that isn't very nice."

Fabienne Growley snickered and Peter Moosebridge let out an amused snort, then the snow leopardess asked, "Tell us Judy, where did Officer Wilde get the idea for using that fireworks display to bring down the Guilford brothers' planes?"

For the first time since the interview had begun the grey-furred bunny hesitated; when she spoke again, her manner was noticeably more cautious than before.

"Why did he decide to use those fireworks? Well the Guilfords were already circling the Festival, the Sheriff's Department helicopter was too far away to get there in time, and they were ignoring the order from the Burrow County Airport tower to turn their planes around. It was pretty much our last option, one we intended to use only if all else failed. That was what Nick Wilde said and I agreed with him."

On the screen, her ears turned backwards halfway.

"But the important thing to remember Ms. Growley, Mr. Moosebridge, is that Nick Wilde's plan worked. Thanks to his idea no one at the Festival suffered any kind of exposure to that Harequatilene...except for the Guilford brothers themselves. At the end of the day, that's what matters most."

"Well we can only say 'Amen' to that, Officer Hopps." Fabienne Growley responded with her co-anchor nodding in the background, "Thank you for taking the time to speak to us."

"Always a pleasure, Ms. Growley," Judy answered, her tone and expression indicating that this had actually been a chore, not a pleasure.

And then her picture faded from the screen and the snow-leopardess looked towards the camera.

"We'll return." She said, and they cut to a commercial. When they came back, the first image on the screen was of an oversized rabbit with blue-steel fur. This time Peter Mooosebridge led off.

"Hello again; in the latest development regarding the failed chemical attack against the Bunnyburrow Carrot Days Festival, ZNN has just learned that as part of the plan the Guilford Brothers had been specifically targeting this rabbit-billionaire and entrepreneur Jack La Peigne, who was also in attendance at the time. For more on this we go to live to Whitney Miner in Bunnyburrow.

The picture of big bunny vanished, replaced an image of a ring-tailed cat with a microphone. He was standing outside the Guilford family compound, now surrounded by Sheriff's vehicles and cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape.

"Good morning Peter, good morning Fabienne" the cacomistle said, hefting his microphone slightly, "The property you see behind me is the former Guilford family warren...which it turns out was also once the childhood home Jack La Peigne. According to several sources, one of Mr. LaPeigne's management companies recently acquired the mortgage to this property and he fursonally served the foreclosure notice on the Guilford family yesterday morning."

At this Fabienne and Peter looked at each other wide eyed; she growled, and he blew another note of surprise.

Meanwhile, the ring-tailed cat went on.

"Several mammals told me Mr. La Peigne had taken issue with the fact that the home where he grew up had been turned into what many here are calling a 'nest of vipers'. It seems that there has been long history between Guilford family and the animals of Burrow County, one that goes back even further than the incident at last year's Carrot Days Festival. They are alleged to have been involved in numerous instances of theft and vandalism throughout the Tri-Burrow area. This video we're about to show was posted briefly on Ewe-tube Saturday."

A small image appeared in one corner of the screen, growing quickly to fill the frame. It was the same video Conor Lewis had filched from Amanda Hill's computer, (although ZNN had not obtained it from him.) This time however, the sound had been muted, replaced by Whitney Miner's voice-over narration.

"The coyote you see here is Craig Guilford, the eldest son of Jerry Guilford."

"The one who was acting as the spotter for his father and uncle?" Peter Moosebridge spoke off-camera.

"Yes, that's right." The ring-tailed cat responded. "Now watch what happens next."

The two anchormammals did, but not without offering some running commentary of the own.

"Wait, what's he doing, is that a Molotov cocktail?"

"Yes, that's what it looks like....G-rowr! Oh my God, look at what...! Who did that stand belong to?"

"Luckyfoot Vineyards, Fabienne," Miner answered, sounding very forbidding, "According to the Burrow County Sheriff's Office, the incident took place this past April. One deputy told me they had long suspected the Guilfords were involved, but up until this video was posted, they had no proof."

"Well, I think at this point, being arrested for burning down a produce stand is the least of the Guilford family's worries," Peter Moosebridge offered wryly.

"Getting back to the subject of Jack La Peigne Whitney," Fabienne Growley queried, "Has he had anything to say regarding the foreclosure on the Guilford property or their attempted retaliation?"

On the display screen the cacomistle rolled his lips.

"Not at this time, Fabienne. So far, he hasn't responded to any of our requests for comment. We also have at least one unconfirmed report that he may have already departed from Bunnyburrow."

Both newscasters nodded sagely at this, as if anything else would have been a surprise.

---------------------------------------------

In fact, Whitney Miner's information was 100% correct; the big bunny had indeed said 'adios' to Burrow County. Judy Hopps knew this; she and her family had seen him off at Sheriff's Department Helipad only an hour before her interview.

To say that the relationship between Jack La Peigne and the Burrow County Sheriff's Office had become somewhat strained would have been akin to suggesting that exposure to Harequateline was somewhat unhealthy for your fur. This was another thing Judy knew first paw; while waiting to make her statement to the Burrow County Sheriff's Department she had been privy to a shouting match, taking place in an office just down the hall from where she'd been sitting. The antagonists had been Burrow County Sheriff Burke Sauer and Jack La Peigne's attorney, an Indian Blackbuck named Simon Gurajee who had flown in by helicopter earlier that morning.

Actually, it had been the boar-pig who'd done all the shouting-and not a little squealing-while Gurajee had remained as imperturbable as a lotus blossom floating on a pond.

"My client has made his statement, Sheriff." He had pointed out succinctly, "And he is a very busy rabbit as I think you can surmise. Unless you intend to arrest him, you have no cause to hold him here any longer."

From the tone of Sauer's response it had been clear that he'd have liked nothing more than to hold the big bunny until Sahara Square froze over. It wasn't going to happen though; the BCSD had nothing even close to probable cause and both he and La Peigne's lawyer had known it. Furthermore Jack La Peigne was not some regular mammal with a mortgage and car payments; he was a multi, multi billionaire with more than a few friends in high places. In that vein Mr. Gurajee had taken every opportunity to remind Sheriff Sauer that it had been the big rabbit's company, LPN Pharma that had sponsored this year's Carrot Days Festival. While the blackbuck had said nothing that could have been construed as a threat, the implication had been clear; with one phone call Jack La Peigne could pull the rug right out from under next year's festivities. ..so it might not be wise to antagonize him

The confrontation had ended in a de facto victory for the big bunny. Sheriff Sauer had gotten in the last word, but had been unable to back it up with any kind of action; when La Peigne boarded his helicopter, no one had tried to prevent him from doing so. (Jack had given one of his 'operatives' the job of driving his car back to Zootopia,)

At the helipad, Judy and her family had gathered to bid him farewell. Nick hadn't been there, but that had been perfectly understandable, he'd had a statement of his own to make to the BCSD and it was going to take up most of the morning. More conspicuous by her absence had been Erin-Jack had heard of her performance at the talent show and had wanted to meet her. No such luck, when Judy had awakened earlier that morning, she's found that her sister had already left the warren, along with Conor Lewis...and none of the other family members seemed to know where they'd gone.

Well, it didn't really matter; by the time he was ready to go, the big rabbit appeared to have forgotten all about Judy's younger sister.

It had been a warm if somewhat slightly subdued farewell; her mother had hugged Jack good-bye and both Stu and Junior had shaken his paw. Judy had hugged him too, but there'd been a cloud hanging over the helipad. Ironically it had been Jack himself who'd best expressed it.

"I wish we could be parting company under happier circumstances." He'd said.

Now Judy found herself lounging on the Burrow County Courthouse steps, waiting for Nick to finish up next door.

This was familiar territory to Judy Hopps; Courthouse Square had been a favored gathering place for the local high-school crowd since even before she was born. (It was here, in fact, that her parents had first met.)

Chief Bogo had been none-too-happy with the news that she and Nick would be remaining in the Burrow for an extra day, but given the circumstances, he'd been in no position to argue, much less berate them for their delayed departure. Stopping the Guilford Brothers chemical attack had been the Nick Wilde's biggest coup since the Savage Predator Crisis, never mind that it had taken place 200 miles outside of the ZPD's jurisdiction. Even Bogo wasn't about to discipline one of his officers for succeeding.

A sound caught Judy's ears just then, and she felt them rise up to full attention. On the steps below her, that ringtailed-cat ZNN-reporter had just appeared with a llama following close behind, the latter with his cap turned backwards and a TV camera perched on his shoulder. Judy recognized at once what was happening, a mammal-on-the-street interview was about to take place.

And she wasn't the only one who'd seen it coming; already a small crowd of locals had begun to gather around the cacomistle, each of them hoping for their fifteen minutes of fame. The sight brought Judy back to the interview she'd had earlier with Fabienne Growly and Peter Moosebridge.

She hadn't liked the idea of talking to ZNN; ever since the disastrous presser she'd given following Mayor Lionheart's arrest Judy Hopps had remained wary of the media. Nonetheless, she'd known that there was no getting out of this one, not in the wake of something as serious as an attempted terror attack on the Carrot Days Festival.

In a case like that, best thing to do was just go ahead and get it out of the way

Since that first press conference however, Judy had picked up a neat trick for minimizing media coverage if not forestalling it altogether; all you had to do was offer an exclusive interview to any single news organization and the rest of them would have no choice but to lay off. That, Judy knew, was why she wasn't being pestered by reporters right now; anyone who tried would have to take it up with ZNN, (and their attorneys.)

That was another reason she had agreed to speak to Fabienne Growley and her co-anchor...and also to try and soften the impact for Nick when his turn to face down the press corps finally came. (It was the least she could do.)

Now she could hear the ringtailed-cat going into his prologue. The subject of his inquiry was Jack La Peigne, how did the mammals of Bunnyburrow feel about him having fursonally served the Guilford family with that foreclosure notice? (...and stirring them to take their revenge, although he never actually said so.)

The reaction he got was decidedly mixed.

Lucy Flagg, a mule deer whose family farmed apples was foursquare behind La Peigne's actions.

"It was high time somebody did something about those coyotes. Do you know how many times they stole apples from our orchards? Took a chainsaw to some our trees once, too; if the County wasn't going to do anything, then dangit let someone else take a swing."

Chad Harrington, a tan rabbit took it even further. (No surprise, he was the owner of Luckyfoot Vineyards.)

"Supposing you found out a gang of scalawags had turned the home where YOU grew up into thieves' market, what then? Jack La Peigne only did what any rabbit in the Burrow would have done if they'd been able to get their paws on that mortgage. If he was here right now, I'd be the first one to shake his paw."

But Levon Chatterton (Dangit how had Judy missed him,) took a somewhat different view.

"Look, if I want to get rid of a hornets' nest, I don't go whacking on it with shovel and getting 'em all stirred up. First thing I do is make sure they're all contained, so the little devils can't cause no harm when I go to take 'em down."

Another rabbit, whose face Judy recognized but whose name she couldn't quite recall agreed with the Douglas Squirrel...but only up to a point.

"Well yeah, what Levon says is true, but whose job was it to keep things in line after them papers was served, Jack La Peigne or the Sheriff's Department? If Burrow County Bank and Trust had been the ones to serve notice on the Guilford property would anyone have expected THEM to keep watch on those coyotes, all by themselves? Burke Sauer's got hisself a little explaining to do. "

That pretty much summed it up, while most of the animals questioned sided with Jack La Peigne, a good many others thought his actions had been reckless at best, irresponsible at worst. On the other paw, almost nobody had a good word for the Burrow County Sheriff's Department, or especially Sheriff Sauer.

"If Burke wasn't planning not to run for re-election, you BETTER believe he'd have kept an eye on those Guilfords," one antelope had said, summing up the prevailing opinion.

Judy herself thought that while Jack LaPeigne should have gone further than simply notifying the Sheriff's Department of the foreclosure and eviction, he had at least done what was required of him. The BCSD, on the other paw-the higher ups, not the feet on the ground like Mac Cannon-had NOT fulfilled their duty. If Chief Bogo had been running things here in Burrow Country, he'd have had the Guilford family under close watch the minute he'd heard about that eviction notice. She wondered for a moment, if that pronghorn didn't have a point about Burke Sauer.

But then she felt her ears prick up again, twenty feet below her, the ring-tailed cat reporter had changed subjects...and this time the verdict was unanimous.

"All I can say is, thank heaven for Nick Wilde, I don't know how things would have ended if it hadn't been for him."

"I was one of the EMTs who took those coyotes away. Just the thought of that what could have happened if that spray had hit the crowd is enough to give me nightmares...and that's what would have happened if it hadn't been for that fox."

"I was there earlier when that trick with the fire-hose went south; I thought then that Nick Wilde should have slunk back home to Zootopia and stayed there. It just goes to show how wrong you can be about someone."

"Thank you Officer Wilde, thank you for keeping my babies safe."

Listening to this, Judy could feel her eyes getting misty. She had never been prouder of Nick than she was right now. (Of course this meant he was going to be absolutely insufferable for the next two weeks, but right now she wouldn't want him any other way.)

---------------------------------------------

In fact, although Judy had no way of knowing it she could not have been more mistaken about the red fox's attitude. At that moment, Nick had just completed making his statement to the Burrow's County Sheriff's Department and was rising from his chair while being offered a paw by Lieutenant Cal Hornaday.

"Officer Wilde, I have something to confess," the bison told him, "It was me who told Mac Cannon your idea wasn't happening...and I've never been so happy to have one of my deputies disobey me."

Nick took the paw, but warily.

"Mac isn't going to be in any trouble for that, I hope."

At this, the Lieutenant laughed, but knowingly. Like Nick, he knew that even if you didn't want to discipline someone for violating procedure, sometimes you still might have to.

"Well maybe...except that radio of his has been giving us a lot of headaches lately. As I understand it, Mac never heard a word I said." He looked directly into the red-fox's eyes. "You couldn't hear me either, am I right?"

For few seconds only, Nick became his old, sly self.

"Oh, that was YOU Lieutenant?" he queried innocently, "I thought it was just some static feedback."

"Uh huh, there it is." The buffalo smiled and shrugged, but then Nick felt that uneasiness again, descending like a curtain of dry-ice vapor.

His plan had succeeded, it shouldn't have worked but it had; by some crazy, cockamamie twist of fate, the Guilford brothers' attack had been stopped.

But Nick's plan had succeeded only through sheer, dumb, luck...and he knew it. (Igniting the Harequataline before it could do any damage; he'd never even considered that possibility.) He was no hero, just a fox who'd drawn four aces and a wild card on the first deal. It made him feel like a fake, as if he was getting credit for something that had just fallen into his lap.

Judy Hopps would have been flabbergasted if she could see him now. Usually whenever Nick Wilde owned it, he was a one-fox parade. So what was different this time; was his failure with the fire-hose still eating at him? No, that wasn't it; what was the issue?

When he exited the Lieutenant's office, Nick was surprised to see Finnick waiting for him, looking grumpy as ever. He too had been required to stay over an extra day in order to make a statement...but he hadn't had nearly as much to tell the Sheriff's Department as the red fox, so what was he still doing here?

Before Nick could ask him, another voice called from over on his left.

"Hey there, Nick Wilde."

Nick turned to see Mac Cannon approaching. Normally about as upbeat as a Grizzly bear awakened prematurely from hibernation, this morning the bobcat was all smiles. Far from facing any disciplinary action, the fox suspected that Mac might actually be looking at a promotion for having given the final okay to setting off those fireworks; he certainly seemed to be acting like it.

"You all done in there?" he asked, pointing over Nick's shoulder towards the Lieutenant's office.

"Pretty much...for now anyway," Nick answered cautiously; after two years with the ZPD he knew all too well that just when you thought your superiors were done with you, a door would open and you'd be asked to hold up 'for just a minute'...a minute that might turn into hours.

Mac knew it too and wisely chose to move on to a different subject.

"You should have seen that circus over at the courthouse just now." he said, and went on to tell the story of what had happened at Jerry Guilford's arraignment. (Brother Joe's turn would have to wait; he was still in the ICU, and while he was expected to make a full recovery-except for his fur-for the moment, he couldn't be moved.)

At first the coyote had said nothing, merely listened impassively as the charges were read out against him-until the clerk had said the 'T' word. That had had an effect on Jerry Guilford not unlike pitching a chunk of sodium into a swimming pool; he had gone completely ballistic.

"Cal ME a terrorist, you...!" he'd screamed, and then proceeded to tell the court exactly what it could do with that terrorism charge. Judge Arthur Brody, a marmot, had promptly banged his gavel and ordered Jerry to sit down again. This, of course, had impelled the coyote to direct his wrath straight towards the bench. "You ain't chargin' me as no terrorist, whistle-pig!" he'd snarled, using the derisive term for Judge Brody's species.

In the exchange that followed, the judge had banged his gavel so hard the handle had broken, and the coyote had nearly bitten his court appointed attorney. Finally Judge Brody had ordered Jerry Guilford removed from the courtroom and he'd been dragged out screaming threats every step of the way.

"How did he look?" Nick asked, with a small shudder, remembering the thing he'd seen coming out of the pond last night. "Physically, I mean."

"Couldn't really tell," the bobcat shrugged, "He had his face and paws all done up in bandages."

"Did he ever enter a plea?" The red fox asked, crossing his fingers; this was an item that would impact him directly.

"Nope never did." Mac answered, offering him a sympathetic look. He knew as well as Nick Wilde did that when a defendant refuses to plead to the charges against him, the court automatically enters it as 'Not Guilty'. Nick would have to return one day to face the coyote-and his attorney-from the witness stand. It was not a prospect that he relished.

"Ahhh, that won't last Nick," A deep voice spoke up from beside the red fox, startling him; he hadn't even realized Finnick was still there. "That coyote'd have to be an idiot to think he's got a chance of walking."

"That's the trouble...Finnick, right?" Mac Cannon said to him, "Jerry Guilford isn't stupid, he's crazy; he's the kind who'd rather spend the rest of his life in solitary than admit he was wrong about something."

"Huh, then maybe he'll plead insanity." The desert fox offered, undaunted\by the rebuke.

"He can try, but the court will never go for it." Nick said, and then looked at Mac Cannon, "At least they wouldn't back in Zootopia."

"Not here either, "the bobcat said. "Mind you, I wouldn't be all that surprised if Jerry Guilford does try to cop an insanity plea. He got hurt in a plane crash some years back; folks say that's when his attitude started to change." He shook his head in disgust, "Poor Art Brody though, he's not getting out of this in one piece either."

"What do you mean?" Nick and Finnick asked him, simultaneously.

Mac Cannon let out a short, angry hiss.

"He's the judge who signed off on that court order saying the County couldn't repossess the Harequateline, not until after we compensated Jerry Guilford for the expense of modifying his planes to carry it. When the press gets hold of that story, I wouldn't want to be in Art's robes." He shook his head again, this time looking almost sorrowful. "What a waste; I think that's about the only bad decision he ever passed down. And now he can kiss the bench good-bye because of it."

Sensing an awkward silence approaching, Nick movedswiftly to head it off.

"Listen, speaking of courtrooms I was supposed to go meet Judy Hopps out in front of the County Courthouse as soon as I was done making my statement. Did you see her over there just now?"

Mac Cannon's muzzle pinched together and he let out a sound like a whirring drone.

"Meeeee-yeah, I saw her; she was sitting on the courthouse steps just now. Only I'd stay away from there if I were you, Nick. There's a reporter holding interviews in the street out front. And you know what'll happen if HE spots you."

Nick groaned and felt his tail slump; he knew all right. Unlike Judy, he hadn't offered anyone exclusive access. If he went to go meet his partner now he wouldn't get within a hundred feet of her before he found himself looking down the barrel of a hundred-zillion microphones.

And that, perhaps, was just as well, because there was something else he needed to do, and now there was no excuse to put it off any longer.

He looked at Finnick.

"You got your van around here anywhere?"

"Yeah, it's out back." The fennec-fox answered, poking a thumb towards the rear of the Sheriff's Office. He seemed to know what Nick had in mind.

Nick nodded and turned to Mac Cannon "Any reporters back there, do you know?"

"Couldn't get back there if they wanted to; it's restricted." The bobcat answered. "If you want to avoid the press, then that's the way to go.

"I do," Nick told him and looked at the desert fox again.

"Care to give an old buddy a ride?" he asked.

"Okay, but you owe me," Finnick said, as if the red fox-and also a certain young silver fox-didn't already owe him, big time.