The Fire Triangle -- Part II, Oxidizer

The Fire Triangle: Book II - Chapter 46

When the door to Bogo's office opened, it wasn't the Chief she found waiting to greet her, but his visitor...a wolverine in a midnight-blue business suit. At the sight of him, Judy felt herself shrinking inwardly. Although the big mustelid carried not the slightest air of hostility about him, neither did he appear to have even the merest hint of conviviality. Truth be told, he was showing no emotion whatsoever. And, as if that weren't enough, this was not your average run-of-the-mill wolverine; even for a member of his species, he looked exceptionally fit and hard. As the old chestnut goes, this was not someone you'd want to meet in a dark alley.

There was also something vaguely familiar about him...although for the life of her, Judy couldn't remember where she might have seen him before.

Then Bogo spoke and the spell was broken.

"Detective Hopps...come in." His voice was both clipped and formal-even more so than usual, what the heck was going on here? "Sit down, please." He told her, indicating the smaller of two chairs in front of his desk.

"Do you need any help?" the wolverine asked, noting that the seat was still a bit high for her and extending a paw covered in dirty-white fur. Judy managed not to shudder while politely declining the offer.

It was only after they had taken their seats that Bogo explained his reason for having called for her on such short notice

"Detective Hopps," he said, indicating the wolverine in the chair next to hers, "this is Mr. Seth Whitepaugh, Chief of Field Operations for AKER Security Management."

"Detective," the wolverine nodded, reaching down to offer her that off-white paw again. This time, Judy took it, although she had to force herself not to turn away. And whoa-those pads of his were so hard and rough; it was like shaking paws with a belt-sander.

"Mr. Whitepaugh," she acknowledged, feeling her nose beginning to twitch. "Have we...met somewhere before?"

"Ah, we've never been formally introduced, Detective," the big mustelid replied, sitting back in his chair once again, "But I believe we may have crossed paths during the Carrot Days Festival earlier this summer. I was flown in following the, er, 'incident' with your Uncle Terrence, to deliver the antidote serum."

"Oh yes," Judy answered, forcing a smile. Good Lord, did this animal ever show any emotion? He might have been reciting from a textbook just now.

What she saw next did nothing to reassure her; turning to Chief Bogo and nodding as if giving him permission to speak.

"There's a reason for Mr. Whitepaugh's visit here today, Detective; and it has to do with last night's incident involving the Lewis boy-who, by the way, is now confirmed as having been on board the boat we were pursuing. I'll let him explain."

"Yes, well," the wolverine replied, still in that same toneless voice. "Last night, one of our hovercraft crews, on a training exercise in Zootopia Sound, made contact with the fugitive vessel and engaged in pursuit." He raised his paw defensively, an odd gesture, Judy thought...until she heard him go on.

"This was a completely unauthorized action on the part of the crew; they went after that boat without even so much as notifying Command of their action. And they did so in the hope of collecting the supposed reward being offered for the Lewis boy's capture."

Again, he spoke without feeling...but this time Judy could see his lip curl upwards and his fur spiking. Creepazoid or not, she could hardly blame him...especially in light of what he said next.

"I'll spare you the full account, Detective Hopps, but the upshot was the loss of a hovercraft worth six figures, and the threat of a seven-figure lawsuit by the Bearsk Shipping Company." His back straightened slightly. "Needless to say, the animals responsible have been dismissed with prejudice, and AKER intends to fully cooperate with the City of Zootopia should they choose to pursue any criminal and/or civil actions in this matter."