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. 3)
It was your typical police-interrogation room, done up in post-drab dreary. The light from the single, metal-shaded lamp was at once both harsh and dull, the table and chairs were minimalist at best, (and also about as ergonomic as orange crates.) and the walls were painted a dark, pea-soup gray—from floor to table height; above that level, they were the color of dead skin. Every sound made within the room seemed to hang lifelessly in the air and the smell was one of perpetually damp concrete.
And yet, in spite of the melancholy ambience, the atmosphere inside of Interview Room C was as charged up as an electron microscope, every surface seeming to crackle with St. Elmo's fire. (Nick Wilde would later liken it to a poker game with a mile-high stack of chips on the table.)
The word was out; Duke Weaselton was ready talk about The Phantom...and although Nick and Judy couldn't see them, they knew Claire Swinton had acquired some company in the past few minutes. Chief Bogo, Deputy Prosecutor Rudy Gamsbart, and Police Lieutenant Albert Tufts were all there, clustered around the one-way mirror and watching them with a fierce intensity. This was it, do or die; they'd either come away from this interview with the first solid lead on the mysterious loan-shark known as The Phantom—or else they'd come away with nothing, there was no middle ground here.
After another quick glance at the mirror, Judy Hopps flipped open her notepad and clicked her carrot-pen.
"All right Weaselton, let's have it."
In the exchange that followed, the weasel did most of the talking, with Nick Wilde offering the occasional mostly kept quiet and took notes. There were times to prod a witness, and there were times to just let him run. (And when this animal started running off at the mouth, he need about as much urging as a flash flood.)
"Okay," Duke was saying, "So my sister's married to this other weasel; came over across the pond from Edinburrow a few years back. Name's Shortal, Ian Shortal. He's what they call a stoat over there."
He turned suddenly sideways as if looking for a place to spit, but then seemed to catch himself in the nick of time.
"If you wanna know, I never much cared for the guy. Disgrace to our species, if you ask me."
Nick Wilde raised an ear.
"A disgrace to your species, what do you mean?"
In response to this,Weaselton stiffened, hissed, and then his face became study in distaste.
"Whaddaya think I mean lover-boy? The guy's, hard-working, loyal, helpful, trustworthy..." he braced himself as if preparing to slam down a noxious cocktail, "And HONEST! Can ya believe that stuff, an honest weasel!" He shook his head at the table-top, wincing as if he'd just stepped on a bee. "Tell me, WHAT is this world comin' to, huh?"
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The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One
Mystery / ThrillerIt's been two years since Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps broke the Savage Predator conspiracy. Now a brilliant and effective team, they're only a few steps away from making the detective bureau and growing closer with every passing day. But even as thei...
