Zootopia: A Tale of Two Foxes

Chapter IX: Taking The Lead

Jack fortunately had finished his interrogation with the polar bears rather quickly; both of whom were not budging very easily with regards to information, so he had the privilege of receiving the report from Alex Satur in private. Just as he had suspected, there was something peculiar about Judy and Nick's unexpected rush to get somewhere. From what it seemed by Alex's report, they were having a secret meeting with a figure in Tundratown, and something told him they were not going to inform Bogo or any other officers about it either. To matters even more interesting (and yet for Savage, also disturbing), Alex had also told him one peculiar detail about this place: that polar bears seemed to be all around it. Of course, Jack realized that this shouldn't be too much of a surprise, considering that the building was located in Tundratown, but he could not help but wonder if there was a connection between that place and the alleged claim from a fox victim at the recent massacre: that the one responsible for that massacre was a "crime boss who commanded many polar bears." Being the analytical jackrabbit that he was, Jack assumed that there probably was a connection, and somehow Judy and Nick were getting involved with this same figure.

Even so, Jack was unwilling to condemn Judy for her actions. He had heard plenty of Judy's commitment to her occupation, her desires to make the world a better place, and this action just did not seem to line up with her character. Moreover, he could not get one other thought out of his mind either: Officer Wilde had been with her. Yes, the same fox who had been so unwilling to give him the proper respect he deserved, the same fox who had been so hostile even when he had come to enjoy a morning meal with him and Judy, was with her at this secret meeting. Considering that he was a fox, Savage found it almost unsurprising that he was doing something sinister like this, since he knew fully well how reputable foxes were at being sneaky and sinister. With the exception of one vixen whom he had left back at the agency he worked at, he had always kept a suspicious eye on any foxes that he met. The fox cop had somehow "tricked his innocent partner" into participating in these mysterious meetings, Jack was sure of it.

However, Jack recognized that relying on other officers to keep tracking them down was not the most reliable method for keeping an eye on the two officers either. After all, he knew that officers generally held a deep trust in their fellow officers, and so chances were folks like Alex Satur would always be willing to give folks like Hopps and Wilde the benefit of the doubt. As such, Jack understood that he would need other methods to officially obtain and take advantage of his lead, and being the expert spy that he was, he had plenty of methods with which to do so. Before anyone knew what he was going to do, Mr. Savage set to work coming up with a plan. Being the clever, intelligent jackrabbit that he was, the plan took almost no time at all to formulate and be implemented.

* * *

The day went on without any other surprises, and Nicholas was pleased to hear that Raymond and Kevin had remained faithful to their boss and had given nothing away. Nicholas knew that he and Judy would have to be especially careful with any further meetings with Mr. Big. If they were caught by any of their fellow officers having meetings like this with a crime boss, he imagined their reaction would be anything but a pleasant one. Besides, the last thing he wanted was for Judy to be forced to leave the ZPD. She had already resigned once in the past, believing that she had only made Zootopia a lot worse by finding the missing predators. Nicholas knew how much that must have devastated her, and if she was forced to leave again due to her consent toward accompanying him at these meetings, Nicholas did not think he would ever be able to forgive himself.

Nevertheless, as far as he could tell, their first meeting had gone by without a hitch. More importantly, he felt certain that he and Judy would be doing as much research as they could on Sinon's profile, hopefully finding another lead to go off of in their search for the culprit of the case. With night-time closing in fast upon the city, Judy and Nick got their paychecks for the day and headed back to their homes. Surprisingly enough for Nicholas, besides in the bull room that morning, he had not seen Mr. Savage that day. Was he doing his own work searching for the culprit? He was not sure. All Nicholas knew was that interrogations could not have taken up every waking hour of his day at the ZPD, and therefore he must have been up to something. Despite what Judy had asked of him, Nicholas still found it difficult to trust the seemingly shady jackrabbit.