Chapter V: New Arrivals

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The officers made their way back to the ZPD in good time, but it was clear to everyone that most of them were done for the night. Indeed, with the exception of Clawhauser and Bogo, most of the officers were already heading home, Alex Satur offering to be available for the late-night shift. Judy and Nick were ready to head home as well, but before they did so, Judy could tell that something was troubling Nicholas. He seems a little tense since we left that unpleasant scene. Judy thought to herself as she looked at him, Maybe I can try to figure out what's on his mind. If all else fails and he doesn't want to talk about it, that's fine by me. Grabbing Nicholas by the necktie, dragging him with what effort she could over to a corner which offered them some privacy, Judy got Nicholas' attention. "You know Carrots, if you wanted my attention, all you have to do is ask." Nick remarked. "Fair enough." Judy replied lightly. "So, what is it you wish to tell me in private?" Nick asked her. "Nick, you have been tense ever since we left that scene with those families. I want to know what's on your mind." Judy told him. Knowing that she wouldn't leave without an answer, Nick replied, "Carrots, it's just...I can't help but thinking about whom one of the culprits could be. The fox told me that the culprit behind the attack was 'a boss who commanded many polar bears,' and I don't know about you, but that sounds a lot like Mr. Big, does it not?" Judy could not agree more, but she nevertheless remarked, "I find it hard to believe that Mr. Big would commit mass murder, though." "I agree," Nick stated to Judy confidently, acknowledging her point, "But the fox did say that the one behind the attack was a figure with Mr. Big's description, and it's hard to deny that there was polar bear fur at the scene, or for that matter that Raymond and Kevin were the ones caught with the stolen moneybags." At this point, Judy shook her head, "The fact that the fox called out Mr. Big is too convenient. Besides, something tells me that the fox was told by the attackers to tell us that. After all, how likely is it that a random mammal on the street knows who Mr. Big is?" The look that Nick gave her told Judy that he agreed with her point. "Also Judy, at both scenes, there was something else that troubled me. In both scenes, I smelled the scents of other foxes, especially in the warehouse back where the attack occurred. Knowing Mr. Big and all, I don't remember him having many foxes in his group." There is that too. Judy thought to herself. Both Judy and Nick had seen Mr. Big's group, and primarily it was made up of polar bears.

In the end, they could both tell that there were too many variables, too many unanswered questions, to come to a definite conclusion. This was a case after all, and if cases were always that simple, Judy and Nick would have solved at least a dozen cases by this point. Besides, they could both feel the desire for sleep calling for them, and something told them that they would have quite a busy day tomorrow. As such, Judy and Nick made their way out of the ZPD, saying "Good night" to Clawhauser, Bogo and Alex before leaving the building. Outside, they both got themselves into their cars, driving off into the night. As they both prepared to settle down for the night, there was only one definite course of action which Judy and Nick knew they would take in the next day or two: they would go question Mr. Big himself, and with any luck, he would shed some light onto their case, just as he had done in "The Case of the Night Howlers."

* * *

(Specifically from 0:01 - 0:14)

Judy's routine wake-up call for work was 5:30AM, and this was about as early of a wake-up call she could take. It does not take a logician to guess how it felt for Judy when her phone rang, loud enough to wake her from her slumber, at roughly 4:30AM. Picking up the phone and answering the caller with a yawn, Judy asked in a very tired tone, "Who is it?" "Good morning, Officer Hopps!" exclaimed a voice on the other end, a voice which could only belong to Clawhauser. The excitement and energy in his loud reply startled Judy, startling her so much that she dropped her phone from her hands! Fortunately for Judy, the drop was a little less than a foot in length, for the phone only landed on the desk. Picking it back up again, she could still hear Clawhauser talking, "Sorry about that, Officer Hopps. Anyway, Bogo wishes to have you and Officer Wilde report to the ZPD as soon as you can. If possible, please try to be here by 0500. See you soon, Officer Hopps." Before Judy could give any sort of reply, she heard Clawhauser hang up. Clawhauser may be slow compared to every other cheetah, but sometimes he could speak quite fast. Groggily, Judy got herself dressed into her officer's uniform, leaving her apartment with very little energy in her system.

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