"Tch... As expected, the cops are back to nip at our hind legs again."
A silhouette masked by the cloaks of shadow peered through the horizontal crack of the window blinds. Below, a crowd of panicky civilians were addressing their urgencies to the new arrival of police officers. The figure scoffs in distaste, pulling back the slide of the pistol that he was holding. Those scoundrel mammals in blue were always there to foil his plans – and he would not allow it to happen this time. Forced to cower inside the shades for many bitingly cold winters due to them; he had tolerated enough of that hogwash. A conniving smirk crept up his muzzle.
He had an ace card to deal with them now.
"Just you watch, I shall prove to all of you law abiding low-lives out there... that your so called perfect crime-free little system is dotted with countless of flaws." He snarled sardonically.
"You will never escape from the cops, you filthy robber!"
The figure turned around. Sprawled on the ground like a depressing heap of mess was the bank owner; arms and legs tied together with an excessive amount of duct tape. The stout looking horse flinched, scrambling and squirming back to the wall in fear behind as the figure's bloodshot eyes glared him down from the darkness.
"What did you say, horse?" he loaded his gun intently. The horse's eyes widened as he heard the gun load. "Would you care to repeat ?"
The bank owner shook his head vigorously in terror. Sighing, the figure disposed the empty magazine onto the concrete floor. He grabbed the petrified horse brutishly by the necktie and wrung him up past his shoulder.
"No? Well. Guess what, Mr. Goldmane?" he whispered into his ear from the side of his muzzle.
The bank owner refused to speak.
"Guess. What." The barrel of the pistol dug itself forcefully into the side of the horse's head. The bank owner whimpered in fright. "Do NOT... make me repeat my question."
"W-w-what?"
The figure flashed a devilish smile. "Now that's a good donkey; it wasn't that hard now, was it?" He let go of the necktie and headed back for the window. The horse immediately writhed away from him. He stopped in his tracks.
"A FILTHY ROBBER, EH?" the figure spun around all of a sudden, delivering a solid kick; slamming right at Mr. Goldmane's head. The horse flew from the kick - crashing into an office table, rendering him unconscious. He knelt beside the bank owner, sneering in crazed relish.
"I heard all of that; the sole reason why this nonsense of a system you money driven top dogs have conscripted must be brought to justice... one step at a time. Even the cops won't be a problem soon enough."
He reached for the walkie-talkie strapped on his shoulder strap. It was the time to send an important message to all those oblivious city dwellers out there. For the first time, he felt the most alive than of all the other crimes that he pulled off. He had been preparing this for many years to come and now the moment of reckoning has arrived. He switched the device on.
"Let's get this party started, boys."
"You reckon they have all kinds of booby traps set up?" Nick asked, tranquilizer gun at the ready. The crowd had already made clearing for the two of them; standing anxiously behind the boundaries of yellow police tape. Judy had hastily wrapped and tied it across the pillars of the building as well as the neighbouring lampposts that lined the street. As of now, they were awaiting Chief Bogo to arrive at the scene.
"Likely so," Judy exclaimed, snipping the end of the tape with a pair of scissors. "No one in the right sense of mind robs the number one bank in Zootopia without any preparations."
Nick smirked. "Maybe the mastermind really is insane. That would make everything much simpler."
"I won't be relying on that."
"How many of them do you think are in there?"
Judy shrugged, hopping up beside Nick. "No idea. My guess is probably five to six-ish."
"Heh; never would I have thought a fox like me would have my paws stuffed in all this crime solving. Honestly, it feels almost dreamlike." Nick mused, resting a paw gingerly on the police tape border. "Touched police tape from a real crime scene – that's a check off from my bucket list."
"Did not know that you were a fan of police stuff," Judy commented, surprised.
Nick recoiled in feigned shock. "Excuse me, detective, I really was truly passionate about 'police stuff' when I was a small kit. I did not gladly sign up for a position in the ZPD for nothing, you know."
Just then, the faint sound of police sirens blaring could be heard off in the distance. Judy, along with a couple other rabbits and hares were the first ones to notice. Subsequently, the other mammals turned their heads towards the direction of the sound seconds later. Multiple sets of alternating red and blue flashing lights could be seen – indicating the arrival of a few other ZPD units riding in their respective police cruisers; one of which Judy knew was Chief Bogo himself.
"Did not expect them to be reaching that soon," Nick said.
Judy grinned with pride as she waved her arms to signal them. "That's Zootopia's police force for you, Officer Wilde; they are always ready for action. That doesn't apply to you, though," she noted, casually prodding him in his side.
"Ha-ha, very funny. As you would have observed from recently, I was never late for work," Nick rebutted, smirking. "And do I have to remind you that red foxes like me are naturally nocturnal? I am sacrificing my body clock for the sake of doing my job, Carrots."
"You were already up all day performing your petty pawpsicle hustling stunt way before I met you - not a valid excuse to make, Slick."
Nick pouted in disappointment, crossing his arms. "Still does not erase the fact that I am risking my own health."
"We have evolved far from our ancestors. Times have changed; maybe your body has already adapted to your new lifestyle," Judy suggested, walking down the aisle steps as the cruisers arrived at the scene.
There were nine cars in total; two holding positions at each corner of the massive commercial bank and one halting right in front of the entrance. Judy anxiously approached the police car - it was massive compared to her; even their own personal cop car was outmatched in terms of size and bulkiness. With that beast of a vehicle right next to his partner, Nick could not help but notice how tiny she was. The tire alone is more than plenty to crush the rabbit. Guessing from the scale of the cruiser, Nick safely assumed it was their Chief's car despite the black tinted windows of the vehicle. Besides, what type of police chief would arrive at the sidelines?
"Chief? You in there?" Judy raised her voice in question, taking a step closer towards the door.
"Give mister buffalo butt a break in there, Carrots; patience is virtue," Nick remarked. He had both paws stuffed into his pockets; a common habit of his. "Also, take a couple steps back. You do not wish to get blasted off to space when that door opens, do you?"
The cruiser door opened almost immediately after Judy heeded Nick's warning. And as expected, the burly caped buffalo chief stepped out of the driver's seat. Though he was clad in his usual cop attire, it was plain obvious from his dreary eyes he had been abruptly disturbed in the middle of a good sleep. One hoof holding onto the car's door handle, Chief Bogo languidly slammed the door close behind him. He let out a half snort, smacking his lips as he fished out a tiny pair of reading glasses from his chest pocket.
"Now now, what's all the fussing about?" he muttered, voice still raspy.
Judy eagerly took a step forward once again. "Chief Bogo! We believe a group of convicts are currently performing a large scaled heist inside the Goldmane bank vault. We require all the assistance that we can get!"
"Yes, Hopps; I do know that. I was informed by Delgato back in the ZPD headquarters," Bogo answered, unfazed from her Intel.
"Wait, Delgato was still inside?" Judy was caught on surprise.
"Night duty. Ever heard of it?" Bogo chided, emphasizing the 't'. "Apparently, one of the eye witnesses dialed up the ZPD and had explained the gist of what was happening to him. He then passed the information to me."
"Oh. Sorry Chief, I guess I had totally forgotten about Night duty being a thing when I was in the heat of excitement."
Bogo huffed in slight disappointment. "We shall deal with your forgetfulness at a later date. As of now, I require a status report. Any clues or evidences have you found regarding the details of who are likely to be performing such a heist and perhaps even the reason as to why they are doing it? If we are able to pin out a lead, it should save us some effort." He shifted his glare to Nick. "Wilde; anything you could discern from the current situation?"
Nick rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry to say this Chief, but as of now, nothing notable has happened. But one thing for sure is we can assume these guys have clearly taken someone important as hostage."
"And who might this hostage be?" Bogo inquired.
"If my judgment is correct, the person would be likely of high status or power that even the police are forced to not lay a finger on them. As from the looks of how carefree they are to keep the main entrance of the building unguarded, I have a bad feeling that the hostage must be... the bank owner Mr. Goldmane himself," Nick explained with a frown, observing the bank building as he spoke.
Bogo grunted in annoyance. "The bank owner? That explains it all... this is going to be tough trying to negotiate terms with them. Considering the fact that there are many darned floors layered in this building, we have no idea of which floor and room they are keeping him in."
"Don't we have like, an infrared camera to track them from outside of the building?" Judy asked.
"That's a thing, but the camera might not be powerful enough to encompass the whole building; and worse still, this bank outranks all the nearby structures in height - therefore we could not simply scale up a building to get a better vantage point," Nick deduced as he gestured at the shorter buildings that surround the bank.
" Not a big problem. We could dispatch a helicopter if that is the case," Bogo noted.
"Actually, that would not work. We would be playing into their paws."
Bogo squinted his eyes at the fox. "Why so?"
Nick smirked. "Let me ask you, Chief. Do you think their actual intentions are to rob a well known bank? They have been in there for a while - and if they are in it for the cash, the only way to obtain it is by drilling through the vault located at the basement."
"And how does that relate to anything you are claiming?"
"Drilling a hole through that heap of solid alloy would definitely make a significant amount of sound, no? Then why are we not hearing anything even after the amount of time they are in there? No group of robbers would gladly wait for the police to arrive just to commence the heist. "
Judy and Bogo stared at Nick.
"From what I see now, the whole robbery thing is just an act; they are up to something else."