The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One: Fuel - 72

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

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The Fire Triangle—A Zootopia Fanfiction

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Part One:

Fuel

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Chapter 8—Where There's Smoke...

(Continued...Pt. 6)

Their first inkling of how bad things were going to get came less than a minute after Nick and Judy landed back at the precinct.

It happened while they were crossing the front lobby, on their way upstairs to meet with Chief Bogo. Just a few yards shy of the concourse-ramp they spotted a pair of familiar faces—Burrow County Sheriff's Deputy Mac Cannon and BCSD Sheriff's Detective Walter 'Wally' Root. They were coming from the direction of the City Jail, and judging by the looks on the bobcat and the old hog's faces, it appeared that they too had enjoyed a productive evening.

Judy raised a paw and waved. "Hey Mac, hey Wally!"

The reaction was not at all what she might have expected; the pleasure abruptly vanished from the two deputies' faces and then just as quickly returned...but with an artificial quality that made her teeth want to stand on edge; the cookie-cutter smiles of a pair of thrift-store mannequins.

And was it her imagination, or had Mac laid his ears back for half a second there? Glancing sideways, she noted that Nick Wilde's ears were standing up and pointing at each other; had he seen it too?

"H'lo Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde," Root was unable to meet their eyes; Mac Cannon did, but it was the defiant look of a kit daring another kit to step across a line.

"Evening Officers," he told them, flatly.

"What the holy HECK?" Judy almost wanted to pinch herself, was this for real? When they'd greeted the two deputies earlier that day, it had been 'Nick and Judy', not 'Officers'...Wally Root had all but insisted on it.

Now here they were, back to formal titles again...and why? What on earth had happened while she and Nick had been chasing down that dead-drop in Sahara Square? (A part of Judy thought she knew—but still another part of her didn't want to know.)

"So I take it things went well with Craig Guiford?" Nick Wilde asked, hoping to break the ice. His efforts had about as much effect as trying to crack a hundred-kiloton glacier with a rubber mallet; the deputies' faces never wavered for an instant.

"Yep," Wally Root still wasn't looking at him, "The kid called for us a couple of hours ago; he's agreed to testify against his father in exchange for a recommendation of leniency." His words sounded as forced as the smile on his face. (The bobcat beside him only nodded sullenly.) It didn't bother Nick one bit, and why should it? Never mind the chill, this was just the news he'd been hoping for; maybe now he wouldn't have to take the witness stand against the young coyote's father.

"Hey, great!" he almost whooped.

"Yep, darn good news." Mac Cannon said, sounding almost pleased...almost. "We'll see what happens when his father gets the news. With a little luck, maybe that'll get him to change that Not Guilty plea." Left unsaid was the fact that the coyote's showboat lawyer would spare no effort in trying to get him to stay the course.

"Amen to that," the red fox answered, offering him a high four. Mac stared at the paw for a long second, and then finally returned it. When he did, Judy saw her partner wince and grit his teeth. So did Detective Root, who flashed a look at his watch and then spoke quickly.

"Lissen Officers, I really wish we could stay and chat, but we need to head back our hotel and get some shut-eye. It's been a long day, and Sheriff Sauer told us to head on back to the Burrow, first thing in the morning."

"Yep," Mac Cannon concurred, speaking with even greater rapidity. "He wants us to give Jerry Guilford the news that his son's flipped; more impact that way he says." The bobcat seemed to have traded in his aggressive manner for an air of hazy uncertainty.

"If we want to adjust that crazy coyote's attitude, we need to make him believe it when we tell him Craig's been turned," Wally Root put in—a completely unnecessary coda. Judy knew that already, and so did Nick; it was almost painfully obvious. Jerry Guilford had been living in a fantasy world ever since his arrest. Getting him to accept that his son had turned state's evidence was going to be about as easy as getting a hippo through the entrance-gate into Little Rodentia. Why the heck had the old hog felt the need to...?

"Gotta go, we'll talk to you later." Root waved to the fox and bunny cop, and then started for the exit, trying not to rush.

"Later," said Mac, and then hurried to catch up with his partner.

Judy stared after them with a twitching nose, and then turned to say something to Nick—whom she noticed was massaging his paw with the other one.

"What's the matter?"

The red fox grimaced and then nodded in the direction of the exit.

"When Mac gave me that four just now, he had his claws extended."

Judy's ears shot up and her mouth fell open.

"WHAT?"

"Yep," the red fox answered, momentarily lost in thought as he studied the scratches on his paw-pads. Finally, he looked at her. "I-I-I don't think he did it on purpose, Carrots. You know how a feline's claws can sometimes unsheath themselves, without them even noticing? That's what I think happened with Mac just now."

Judy nodded, but uncomfortably; yes she was aware of that fact...and she also knew that foxes too had retractable claws and that the same thing had happened to Nick on one or two occasions. And she was also aware of something else, in both of those instances, he'd been in highly agitated state of mind. What could possibly have happened to get Mac cCannon that worked up? (And also Wally Root, don't forget him.)

Deep down, in her heart of hearts, Judy already knew the answer. She knew—she just couldn't bring herself to say it, even to herself.

...that is, not until Nick gave her an opening; "But why Mac lost control of his claws like that, I have no idea."

Judy took a short breath and then jumped in with both feet.

"I think we both know why that happened, Nick...and it's the same reason him and Wally Root were giving us the cold shoulder just now; the surveillance tape, you know which one, someone must have told them about it."

The fox's ears fell sideways and his mouth pulled into taut bowline.

"You think? I-I- don't know, Carrots. That seemed like kind of an extreme reaction to me; even Francine Trunkbaby wasn't that bothered about...it. And she was right there when it happened."

Judy shot him a penetrating look.

"When we kissed, Nick not when 'it' happened, let's not tiptoe around what started it." She didn't like having to forcefully correct the fox, but in this case it couldn't be helped; they needed to face the facts here. She went on, "and Bunnyburrow isn't Zootopia; attitudes there are a lot more...mmm, what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah, attitudes back in the Burrow are a lot more old fashioned than here in the city, at least among the older animals. Remember how set in my ways I was, when I first moved here?"

"Little Miss Bunny-Scout," Nick grinned in spite of himself. In fact, Judy had never completely lost that part of her fursona—and she didn't want to lose it; the common sense and self-reliance that came with being raised on a farm had served her well over the past couple of years.

But then an unpleasant thought bloomed in her head, and a crawling sensation went rippling down her spine. When Wally and Mac hit the Burrow again, it wouldn't take long for the news of what they'd heard here to start making the rounds; a police precinct has nothing on a farming community when it comes to spreading gossip. Ohhh, how was she ever going to explain this to her parents?

She forced herself to shake it off; Nick was speaking again. "Okay Carrots, maybe you have a point, but if that's the case, how the heck did they even find out about...about us kissing?"

This time Judy had a ready answer for him. "Seriously, fox? Why wouldn't Mac and Wally have heard about it? Everyone in the Precinct and their uncle knows about us kissing in the middle of that jewelry sting. Heck, even Duke Weaselton knew about it! The only thing that surprises ME is that they didn't find out about it sooner."

"Right, right," Nick was speaking to the floor and not to her; he knew she was right—but that Egyptian river had just looked so inviting...

"Come on," Judy tugged on his shirt sleeve, pulling him in the direction of the concourse ramp, "We better not keep the Chief waiting."

As things turned out they didn't even come close to having that problem; when Nick rang the Chief's door buzzer a moment later, the answer came not from within, but from behind

"Right, I'm coming, I'm coming."

The fox and bunny-cop both relaxed a little; at least they weren't late.

But when they turned around and saw him, their anxiety returned and with interest. Bogo was dressed in rumpled shirtsleeves instead of his usual police-uniform, and the shirt-buttons weren't even done up correctly. He had obviously come here in great haste, what the...?

Well, they'd find out quick enough, Judy reasoned.

'Quick enough' turned out to almost immediately; no sooner had the fox and bunny-cop taken their seats, than Bogo broke it to them, not even bothering to sit down himself before delivering the news.

"Hopps...Wilde, there's no way to sugar-coat this, so I won't even try. Someone's gone and posted the video of you two kissing on Fuzztube."

Judy gasped and her partner fox-screamed.

"What!"

"NO!"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Bogo leaned back against his desk, and folded his arms, sighing heavily, "and that brings up a question, I've got to ask even though I don't want to." He looked from Judy to Nick and then back again. "Did either one of you have anything to do with it?"

A shaft of outrage hit Judy Hopps dead center, but then passed right through her without leaving a mark. Bogo had only asked them that because he was required to; it was standard procedure in a case like this, he harbored no suspicions of his own.

"No, Chief." She told him firmly.

Nick Wilde's answer was almost a snarl, "Absolutely not."

Bogo pushed himself up off the desk again.

"Right, didn't think so, and so we'll say no more about it."

That was good for a nod from Judy, but when she happened to look sideways, she saw that her partner had his ears laid back and his lower lip was trembling. He clearly had a lot more to say on the subject...or maybe he didn't; maybe was he just that angry at the animal who'd posted the video, whoever they were. She hoped for his sake that the latter instance was the correct one, otherwise the fox might find himself writing parking tickets for the rest of the week.

She needn't have worried, however angry Nick Wilde was at the unknown video-troll, his fury paled in comparison to that of his Chief...as the Cape buffalo now proceeded to demonstrate.

"I want you both to know that if the leaker turns out to have been someone in this department, I'll be having their head for a game of bowls."

"...IF it's someone in this department?" Nick was staring as if Bogo had just sprouted dragon's wings.

"He's thinking of the Attorney General's office," Judy spoke up quickly, and the fox's ire just as quickly damped down. Right again, the ZPD wasn't the only agency with access to that video file.

And as long as they were on that subject of the Attorney General..."Sir, does Mr. Gamsbart know about this?" Judy asked him.

"Yes, and I can tell you, he's at least as upset about this as I am." Bogo snorted, and flapped his ears in disgust. "He says if the culprit turns out to be anyone in his office, he won't just have them fired , he'll have them prosecuted."

"Right sir," Judy nodded. She wasn't at all certain if the chamois had that kind of authority, but now was not the time to say so. What did need to be brought up now was this: Whoever had posted that video to Fuzztube might very well have handed the Rafaj Brothers a 'Get Out Of Jail Free' card. Before she could say anything, Nick Wilde beat her to the punch.

"Chief, speaking of Mr. Gamsbart, what's this going to mean for the case against Rafaj Brother's Jewelers? I can only imagine what their attorney will do with this when he finds out."

Bogo let out a soft, rumbling breath, surprising both of his officers; it meant he was calming down a little.

"That's one small thing in our favour, Wilde. Whoever it was, posted that surveillance video to Fuzztube, they redacted it first."

Judy's ears went up and so did Nick's.

"Redacted sir?"

"How do you mean?"

The Chief blew a quick snort of air and waved a hoof at his desktop monitor.

"Easier to show you than to tell you...Errrr, are you able to watch it again?"

Judy felt mildly insulted, but kept it to herself.

"I can handle it, Chief."

"Me too," said the fox sitting next to her...but with a touch of bravura that suggested he wasn't quite as up for the challenge as she was.

"Right, then," Bogo went behind his desk, not bothering to sit down, and booted up his computer. He typed a few short instructions, moved the mouse and clicked, and then turned the display around so that she and Nick could see.

On the monitor screen a Fuzztube page was showing with an image frozen in the playback window. Judy recognized it at once; her and Nick, the second before he'd opened the box containing the wedding ring—the one set with an illegal, lavender diamond, (sweet cheez, it seemed like ages ago.) The caption read simply, "Fox-Cop Kisses Bunny-Cop." No further information was provided.

"Now watch," Bogo said, and clicked to start the playback.

At once Judy realized what he'd meant by 'redacted'; the only faces visible on the screen were hers and Nick's. All of the others had been reduced to indistinguishable building-blocks through the process known as pixilation. One other thing was also plain to see, the background in this video was much more sharp and clear than it had been in the original footage. Whoever had posted this file had also cleaned it up first.

On the monitor screen she saw Nick put the ring on her finger and then clasp her paw. Unlike her partner, Judy Hopps was no lip reader, but then she didn't need that skill to know what she and the fox were saying to each other; the words were embedded in her memory like an insect trapped in amber.

"Oh Nick, look at it...it's a perfect fit."

"A perfect it for a perfect lady."

She saw him stroking her cheek with the back of a finger—and then he took her in his arms and kissed her.

A hot color rose in Judy's cheeks and she almost looked away. It wasn't the sight of the fox kissing her that did it, it was her own reaction. My God, had she really...?

"Son of a...!" Nick's fox scream tore through her thoughts like a chain-saw through a screen door, and then he was pointing at the monitor with quivering finger, "I didn't kiss her for that long, this thing's been deliberately slowed down!"

Judy forced herself to peer closely, and realized that the fox was right; the video was playing at a slower speed than a moment ago.

Chief Bogo snorted again.

"Yes, I know," he answered, nodding grimly. On the screen, Ahmed al-Rafaj was aiming his finger at the fox and bunny couple like a Taser-gun. Though his face was still obscured, his body language more than made up for it; no one watching this could have any doubts as to the golden jackal's state of mind—full-blown outrage.

That was where the video ended, (mercifully for Judy and Nick.) Bogo reached out to turn the monitor back around, but stopped when the bunny-cop raised a paw.

"Uh, just one second, Chief?" she said, and studied the screen closely. After a short moment, she sat back in her chair again, puffing out her cheeks, and heaving a sigh of relief. "Well, at least it hasn't gone viral, less than couple of hundred views."

"So far!" a cynical voice sneered from beside her, and Judy swiftly decided to keep the rest of what she'd seen to herself—at least twenty 'thumbs-down' and not a single 'thumbs-up'. (And that wasn't even mentioning the comments; let's not go there, okay?)

Instead she said, "Well, at least we know one thing. If I hadn't seen the original video, I'd never have known that this one was playing at the wrong speed. That tells me whoever posted it has some serious editing skills."

"Or they know someone else who does," Nick amended Judy's words again—and this time it made her nose start to twitch and her ears want to stand up straight.

"Oh Sweet Cheez n' crackers Slick, you've already made up your mind, haven't you? You KNOW who did this—or you think you do. And I'll bet I know who you have in mind, too."

She could only hope that he'd be smart enough to keep these thoughts to himself, at least for the time being. Otherwise HE'D be the one going bowling with Bogo; the Chief was known to have very little tolerance for backbiters. Before they left to go home for the even, she was going to need to take this fox aside for a little talk.

Luckily, Nick wasn't THAT close to the boiling point; he immediately changed the subject. "Have you notified ZPD Cybercrimes?" He was rewarded with a sour look on the Chief's face, (but not directed at him, thank goodness.)

"Yes, I've left them several messages; so far Lieutenant Tufts hasn't seen fit to respond. However, even without his insight, I think we can safely conjecture that whoever it was made that post, they didn't do it from this location."

Judy could only nod; a move like that would have been either incredibly brazen or incredibly stupid; more likely the latter and the animal who'd posted that video had already demonstrated a serious measure of intelligence by way of their computer skills. This didn't mean the guilty party wasn't a ZPD officer, only that if they were, they hadn't posted that video to Fuzztube by way of a Precinct-1 workstation.

"Has anyone contacted Fuzztube about getting that thing taken down?" Nick asked the question in a lame monotone; he already knew the answer.

Bogo made another rumbling sound, deeper this time.

"Yes, but I don't hold out much hope we'll get any compliance; they're an anarchist lot at Fuzztube, 'down with authority, power to the mammals!' that sort of nonsense." His face turned sour again. "And we daren't try to push them on it; if we do, they won't just stonewall, they'll start promoting that video, 'The Tape The Cops Don't WANT You To See.' They've done similar at least once that I'm aware of."

Nick let out a growl and Judy would have joined him if her species was capable of it. Wonderful, simply wonderful...and another sign that the animal who'd posted that video had known exactly what they were doing. ZooTube would have taken it down already—and without any prompting by the ZPD.

"Now," Bogo slapped his hooves together, "Tomorrow mornin' I'll be issuing orders for ZPD Internal Affairs to make a full scale enquiry into this incident; you'll both be having to make statements, but as I've already said, I'm satisfied that neither one of you had anything to do with it. HOWEVER..." He lifted a brow and lowered the other, "if either one of you's got an idea of your own as to who might be responsible, you'd do well to keep it dark, especially around your fellow officers." He was supposedly speaking to both of them, but looking mostly at Nick,

"This is a bad enough situation already without anyone makin' it worse," he said, and then leaned over his desk again, "Are we clear on that, Officers?"

"Yes sir," Judy answered him.

"Perfectly sir," Nick Wilde said...but with a slightly forced quality to his voice.

"Good, then," Bogo nodded and sat down finally, laying his elbows on the desktop. Either he hadn't caught the fox's inflection or, much more likely, he didn't care, "Now, as long as you're here, I've received your text message about the location of The Phantom's dead drop. How certain are you about this?"

Judy let Nick answer the question; he'd found it after all.

"About ninety-nine, point four percent sure Chief," the red fox responded smartly. "If I ever wanted to make an illegal exchange—which of course I never have—that's exactly the kind of location I'd look for." He appeared to have forgotten his anger, at least for the moment. Still, Judy knew she was going to have to speak with him later.

''Course not, Wilde...you'd NEVER do such a thing." Bogo was chortling with wry amusement. Judy was smiling too; it was amazing how quickly her partner's spirits lifted when you put him back in his element.

She said, "I agree with Officer Wilde sir, that's an almost perfect spot for a dead-drop. It's indoors and out of sight, but at the same time, it's in a public location. Come Saturday, there'll be plenty of animals coming and going from that place—and with the Meerkat Market happening, nobody will think twice if they see someone dropping off a package in one of the lockers and somebody else picking it up."

"All right then," the Chief seemed satisfied with what he'd heard so far, "We'll reconvene here tomorrow, directly after the morning briefing. But right now, I want you two to pack it up and go get y'selves a good night's rest. You'll have busy day ahead of you tomorrow." He waved a hoof at the office door, "Dismissed, off y'go."

Judy waited until they were on the precinct's front steps before bringing it up...and even then she raised her ears for a minute, listening closely to their surroundings. Nope, nobody was within earshot, at least not that she could hear.

She lowered her ears again and turned to her partner.

"Nick, I didn't want to say this in front of the Chief...but you think it was Francine Trunkaby who posted that video, don't you?"

The response she got was a raised eyebrow and Nick going into 'press conference' mode.

"Do I think she did it? Yes. Do I KNOW she did it? She's my number one suspect, but no, I don't know that for certain. Am I going to start making accusations?" his ears pulled halfway backwards, "How about giving ME a little credit, huh Fluff? Of course not, you know me better than that."

Even before he finished speaking, Judy had her paws up. Nick Wilde might occasionally jump to conclusions, but he had never been in the habit of broadcasting them. Why had she even mentioned it in the first place?

"Because it needed to be said," Her inner voice reminded her, and to Nick she said, "Sorry, had to ask it; I haven't seen you this upset in a long time."

He leaned in close, wide eyed and tight lipped.

"Oh, really?"

Judy said nothing to this, but her face must have given her away because in the next instant the fox had turned wholly contrite.

"Wait, Wait, I'm sorry," He closed his eyes and waved his paws, head bobbing between his shoulders, "It's just that...that..." He turned and kicked at an invisible stone, and then finally met her gaze again. "It's my fault Carrots, all my fault;. Remember what you said a while ago about let's not dance around it? Well, WE didn't kiss, I kissed you."

Ohhhh, so that was it; forget Francine Trunkaby, Nick was blaming himself for that video being posted, (and for all the other heat they'd suffered, most likely.) She reached up and took hold of his arm. "Hey don't you go beating yourself up on me NOW, Nicholas P. Wilde, you're going to get enough of that from the other officers in the next few weeks." It was meant as a lighthearted remark, but it had a good effect; a wry grin unzipped along the fox's muzzle.

"You think?" he said...and then he said, "I don't know who it was posted that video to Fuzztube Carrots, but I'm pretty sure of one thing; it had to be someone in the ZPD, not the Attorney General's office or anyplace else."

Judy blinked, and felt her nose begin to twitch. This was Nick in his 'wise fox' mode.

"Huh, why's that?" she asked.

The red fox started to answer, but then stopped abruptly, waving a discreet paw in the direction of the precinct entrance; three more officers had just emerged and were coming down the steps in their direction, a lion and a pair of elk. As the three of them passed where she and Nick were standing, Judy saw their eyes shift, watching them from out of the corners. She waited until she was sure they were gone and then motioned for her partner to continue.

"Because Carrots, it has to be someone who knows us." He said, "Look at all the trouble they went to before they posted that video, cleaning it up, blurring the faces, and fiddling with the playback speed; even for a mammal with decent computer skills, that's not a five-minute job. And can you see anyone getting that upset over a generic video of a fox kissing a bunny? I sure can't—and that's why I think the culprit has to be someone who knows us...and also who doesn't like us." He held up for a second, regarding the ceiling and working his mouth, as if trying to locate an errant food particle. Judy braced herself, she knew what this meant; he had something unpleasant to tell her.

He lowered his eyes and found hers again.

"Look, we both know there's been more than a little resentment around the precinct over you and me being fast-tracked for the detective squad—over a bunch of other officers with more seniority."

Judy blinked again and then stared. Darn this fox, why did he always have to make perfect sense at the worst possible moments? His only mistake was that it wasn't exactly a bunch of other officers that had been bypassed in their favor, two or three at most.

But even so, "You think that's what this is all about, Nick? Someone's trying to sabotage our chances at making detective?"

He responded by tapping the side of his muzzle—meaning no, that wasn't what he thought, it was what his instincts were telling him. That was good news in a way; it meant that now she could be sure that he would exercise some discretion.

"And so will I," Judy promised herself, mentally crossing her heart," So will I."

But just to make sure..."Nick," she said, "I think it's best if we make a promise not to speak about this again...at least not for a while."

"Not at least until Big Chief Buffalo Nickel brings it up at tomorrow's briefing," the red fox agreed, with a sardonic smile, "and you know he will, Carrots."

It didn't happen right away, but every officer in the bullpen knew something was up from the moment the big Cape buffalo entered the room. Normally, upon his arrival, he would greet his officers with a bellowed, "Shut it!" "Quiet!' or "Everybody sit!" And then the banter would cease, but the smiles on the faces would remain.

Not this time; Bogo only said, "Right, that's enough," in a quiet, steely voice. Everyone in the precinct knew what that signified, and the room fell instantly into a skittish, pin-drop silence.

Even then the Big Chief didn't broach the subject of the surveillance tape immediately; he had something else to say first.

"As many of you know, one of our officers was injured in the line of duty during a raid on a jewelry store in Sahara Square last Friday ...and I'm happy to report that he's here with us again this mornin'. Officer Howell...welcome back."

At once the bullpen erupted in a frenzy of whoops, roars, and fists pounding on tables. Tad Howell's two fellow lupines Grizzoli and Wolford each lifted their muzzles in a howl of solidarity, while several other officers reached over to offer the red-wolf either a high four or fist-bump—including Judy Hopps. In her case however, Howell hesitated before returning it. Was that because of the surveillance-camera tape...or because of what she thought she'd seen in the alleyway behind the jeweler's shop, after the raid? She never found out because this was where Bogo got down to brass tacks.

"Now," he said sweeping his gaze over the gathering of officers with a jutting chin, as if daring anyone to challenge him, "There was another incident that took place during that investigation...and you all know which one I'm talking about; it's been on everyone's lips for that past two days. Even the prisoners in the city jail are talkin' about it...you think that's funny, Andersen?"

"N-No sir," the polar bear answered, hurriedly stifling himself; Bogo held him in his gaze for another two seconds and then moved on.

"I've kept quiet about it up until the present, but now I find that may have been a serious mistake—because now someone's gone and posted a clip of that incident on Fuzztube...and I won't have it!"

With that, his big, black hoof came thundering down on the lectern. Everyone jumped, even Nick and Judy. When she looked around the room, the bunny-cop saw shocked expressions on most of the other officers. This was plainly the first time they'd heard about it; Bogo's determination to keep the lid on until he made the announcement had somehow paid off, (a rare thing in a police precinct.)

But then she caught sight of the small knot of officers seated around Francine Trunkaby; these animals appeared neither startled nor surprised by the Chief's revelation. The cow-elephant herself was wearing an expression that could only be described as righteous satisfaction. Hmmm, maybe Nick was right, maybe she was the culprit; if so, she was certainly making no effort to conceal her guilt.

"Or maybe she has nothing to feel guilty about," Judy's inner voice responded, playing the devil's advocate.

Bogo, meanwhile was clearing his throat, a sound not unlike a revving motorcycle.

"Now listen to me; I'm going to speak softly and clearly. This film clip was not archival footage; it was part of an ongoing police investigation. That makes posting it to Fuzztube a double violation of police procedure, understood? So when I find out who did this—and rest assured; I WILL find out—if the guilty party turns out to have been anyone in this department, that animal will be gone! Not parking duty, not sewer patrol...gone! And I don't mean only from the ZPD; that individual will never work in law-enforcement again. Oh, and they'll also find themselves facing an obstruction charge—I've already spoken to the ZAG office and they're determined to prosecute—UNLESS...!" His finger shot upwards like a bottle-rocket, "unless I have the guilty party's resignation on my desk by the end of watch today. In that case, they won't be indicted and might someday even find employment with another police department...someday!"

He paused for effect, the final word hanging over the gathering like the proverbial other hoof.

But then Judy Hopps noticed something; Bogo wasn't once more sweeping his gaze over the bullpen, the way she would have expected, he was watching the door by which he had entered. His pause just now had not been of the dramatic bent, he was waiting for someone else to enter the room.

A question began to form in the bunny-cop's mind, but did not have time to fully congeal before the Cape buffalo belled a single word. "Clawhauser!"

The door eased open and Benjamin Clawhauser half-trundled, half-staggered into the room, pushing a mobile flat-panel display ahead of him like Sisyphus rolling his boulder uphill for all eternity. At once, several officers got up to assist the plus-sized cheetah, a testament to his popularity.

"Now," Bogo went on as Clawhauser plugged in the display and attached a pair of USB cords, "I think it's high time we settle this nonsense, once and for all; I'm going to show you all what really happened in that jewelry store between officers Hopps and Wilde. And afterwards, I expect to hear no more nattering about it; I'm lookin' at you, Officer Trunkaby."

Judy turned and looked over her shoulder; the cow elephant couldn't have appeared more innocent if there'd been a halo levitating above her head; ditto for the officers seated around her, all of whom were wearing equally innocuous expressions...until officer Krumpansky happened to notice the bunny-cop watching him. At once the rhino's face became a study in open contempt.

Turning quickly back around, Judy caught an expression on Nick Wilde's face that was only marginally less unpleasant; he didn't seem to appreciate the direction in which Bogo was taking this discussion...and honestly, she wasn't that happy with it either.

"Someone get the lights," the Cape buffalo said, at the same time accepting a tablet from Benjamin Clawhauser.

The bullpen dimmed and the flat-panel display screen flashed twice and then came to life.

What Judy saw made her ears stand rapidly to attention. For some reason, Bogo had chosen to start the playback from well before she and Nick had entered the jewelry shop. There was Ahmed al-Rafaj, up on the screen along with the hippo Rashid...but no one else was present.

Then the image froze and a pair of flashing yellow brackets appeared around golden jackal.

"Now look there," the Chief was saying, "D'you see him reaching under the counter there? Right, now watch what happens next."

He tapped the tablet and resumed playback. At once, a wall of steel shutters came crashing down over the door and every window, transforming the shop into a gloomy, ironclad cavern. There was no sound, but several officers started in surprise and Kii Catano even jumped in her seat.

"Right," Bogo stopped the replay again, and entered more instructions into the tablet. It was a bit small for such a large-hooved mammal and he had to take his time. After perhaps 30 more seconds, the image on the screen vanished and was replaced by another one, Nick and Judy alone in the store, with only Rashid to keep them company. The Chief snorted in mixture of confusion and frustration, where in blazes had Ahmed al-Rafaj disappeared to?

It was Nick Wilde who gave him the answer.

"That's when he had us wait out front while he went in the back to look for the lavender diamond," the red fox explained, "About five more minutes should do it." He seemed to have worked out for himself what the Chief was up to.

The big Cape buffalo grunted and fiddled with the tablet again; when the image reappeared, it showed Ahmed offering the ring box to Nick. There was another grunt from the Chief, this time one of satisfaction and he resumed the playback once more.

At first nothing on the display screen appeared to be out of the ordinary. Nick took the ring and offered it to Judy, who looked as if she was trying not to cry. She said something; he said something back...and without warning, the playback stopped again. More yellow brackets appeared, flanking both Ahmed al-Rafaj and his brother Ismael. Putting a pair of fingers to the tablet Bogo pinched them together, zooming in on the pair of golden jackals.

"All right then, now keep your eye on those two," he rumbled, resuming the playback at half speed. As everyone watched, the brothers exchanged a pair of hard looks, and then Ismael turned and signaled with two fingers, presumably to Rashid. At the same time, Ahmed turned and moved discreetly behind the counter. Bogo stopped the replay again and zoomed in even closer on the first jackal.

"Look, look there. D'you see what he's doing?" he was pointing at the monitor with a rigid finger.

"He's...He's reaching under the counter again, just like he did before the shutters dropped." It was Officer Wolford.

"Right and now look at what else is happening." Bogo stopped and rewound the video, and then zoomed in again, this time on Rashid. When the playback resumed, they saw the massive hippo planting himself in front of the door, arms folded like a sumo wrestler.

Bogo halted the replay once more and pulled the image back again, grunting twice and then snorting.

"As you can see for y'selves, the Rafaj brothers had become suspicious all of a sudden. I don't know why...and frankly I don't care; what matters to me is that Officers Hopps and Wilde also saw it. They saw it saw it, and they took swift action...watch."

He hit the 'play' icon once more.

On the screen, Nick Took Judy in his arms again and kissed her...and this time their embrace was mercifully short. (The animal who'd posted that video to Fuzztube had toggled the playback speed even more than Judy thought.)

The reaction from the Rafaj brothers (and their security mammal) was almost blindingly swift. Ahmed came hurrying out from behind the counter, while Rashid moved just as quickly away from the door. Even on a somewhat fuzzy video feed it was obvious that both of them were visibly angry. What followed next was a rapid-fire exchange between Nick and the Rafaj brothers, punctuated by finger-pointing and furious paw-gestures. No narration was necessary here; a blind mole rat could have seen what was happening. Officers Wilde and Hopps were being summarily ordered to leave the premises; so outraged were the jackals and their security hippo that they'd completely forgotten their earlier suspicions.

Bogo let the footage run until Nick and Judy were passing through the store's front entrance and then killed the feed and shut down the monitor.

"Get the lights, Clawhauser." He waited until they came back on and then resumed speaking, shifting his gaze at random from one officer to another.

"So NOW I hope you all understand, Officer Wilde did not kiss Officer Hopps out of any sort of romantic impulse; he and his partner were in a sticky situation and he did what he had to do in order to get them out of it." He lifted his brows in a gesture of irony.

"And by the way, it worked," he said, rapping the podium with his knuckles. "Our officers made it safely out of there, WITH the evidence in their possession. And when we went back in a short while later, those two jackals had no idea that a bust was about to come down. Hopps...Wilde, stand up.

Hesitantly, very hesitantly Judy stood up on her chair seat, and saw Nick Wilde do the same, moving even move slowly than her. Chief Bogo held his hooves above them, as if offering benediction, and then raised his voice, speaking to the group as whole.

"A good cop isn't afraid to act in a manner that's distasteful in order to get him or herself out of a tight spot. And make no mistake; Hopps and Wilde were in a bad place back there. The hippo you saw in that video later sent one of our officers to the infirmary and put another one in hospital." He said this while looking at Officers Simmers and Howell, both of whom responded with firm nods, (although, for some reason, the red wolf found it hard to meet the Chief's eyes.)

"I know that there are plenty of officers in this room who've had to take similar action in order to protect themselves, and/or their partner," the Cape buffalo went on, "I know I have...and for those of you who haven't, better brace y'selves, because it's coming."

A ripple of nervous laughter went fluttering around the bullpen; the Chief gave it a few seconds to die down and then went into his peroration.

"So let this be the end of it," he declared, rapping the lectern again, "Hopps and Wilde are first and foremost your fellow officers, animals who won't hesitate to come to your aid if you call on them for help; everything else comes second, including their species. And that's all I've got to say on the subject."

He motioned for Nick and Judy to sit down again. As she took her seat once more, a strange mix of emotions welled up within the grey-furred bunny. She should have been relieved, elated even at the Chief's explanation for her and Nick's actions. Instead she felt a strange, aching sadness. Why was that? The Chief hadn't said anything she didn't already know. Nick Wilde had told her pretty much the same thing, right after they'd exited the jewelry store.

So, where the heck had that big, empty spot in her heart come from?

"Pull it together, Jude-the dude!" her inner voice barked...and she tried, she really tried; but then Nick happened to turn in her direction, and she found herself looking hurriedly away from the fox. Thinking fast, she covered herself by making a quick study of the other officers, gauging their reaction to the Chief's presentation, pretending it had been her purpose all along.

Most of the faces she saw were wearing thoughtful expressions, as if mulling over what the Cape buffalo had told them; here and there she observed looks of satisfaction, animals who'd heard all they needed to know and were ready to give it a rest. In one or two cases the expressions she saw were shamefaced, officers experiencing pangs of guilt for having harbored such negative thoughts about two of their fellow cops.

Judy almost smiled—but then her gaze fell once more on the cluster of officers sitting close to Francine Trunkaby. Here there were no changes of expression; the eyes remained flinty, the mouths hard and flat; Chief Bogo's speech had moved these animals not so much as a nanometer.

And oh look, there she was, in the center of it all, arms folded and trunk lifted into a rigid button-hook, her royal highness, Princess Francine, eyes aglow with an almost evangelical fervor.

Judy knew then that the cow elephant was never going to let go of this, not under any circumstances; she had planted her flag on Sanctimony Hill and was prepared to defend that position at all costs.

And with that realization the bunny-cop felt her own features beginning to darken; if that was how Officer Trunkaby wanted things...well then, so be it.

Officer Judith Laverne Hopps didn't know when to quit either.