Chapter 3 The Starved Wolf “Part 1”
A few hours later Marius awoke, he rubbed his eyes and stood up like someone who was only too happy to be awake after a restless sleep. He looked back towards Nick and Judy who were still sleeping peacefully; he smiled and thought to himself "What great friends I am making." While the rain had ended the sun had not yet risen and it was still fairly dark, Marius left the room silently closing the door behind him.
He walked to his workshop and opened a nearby locker, he picked up a sturdy steel grappling hook and rope, put on a black climbing harness with safety locks and put on a pair of training shoes. Taking out a large backpack he put in a few other items he thought he might need, there were a great many weapons in the closet, a hunting crossbow, a Russian rifle, and several small fire arms. He badly wanted to hunt, the old wolf in him was hungry for blood, and it would be such a shame if the weapons simply stood there collecting dust. Sighing deeply he thought it would be preposterous that all mammals on the world would be sentient, there was hardly a chance of two species evolving side by side and not pushing each other down, this alone was fairly unlikely but several?
He felt lost, however he could count of his fighting experience to keep himself safe, so he took only a "claw" a Rondel dagger with a keen edge and walked to the kitchen. It was a simple cooking area with blue and white tiles, two large ovens stood near a wall right next to a large fridge and an ice chest. There was a simple table with a few chairs, one of which Walter stood on. The robot was static and its eyes were closed, Marius walked up to it and lifting the sleeve from its left arm he pressed a few buttons and the Robot was activated. "Good morning Marius, how are you sir?" he said in his usual friendly tone.
"Tired, I didn’t sleep well. But we have much work to do Walter." came his reply. The robot looked back to his master a moment noticing the equipment he carried, "Going to do some exercise sir?" he asked, to which Marius nodded "I am going to follow the river upstream and try and recover Nick and Judies possessions, I assume they were probably having a picnic or other before they fell in the water. I have a much more important job for you however." he replied.
Walter stood up and asked what he was supposed to do, "First of all please have some food cooked for us, have you possibly made inventory of what precious little we have left?" Marius asked his servant. "I have sir, we have rice, flour and grains left for a week, as to any meat I am afraid there are only seven chickens and half a cow left in the freezer." he answered, Marius looked upset. "Very well, I guess we will have to save the cow for a special occasion, just cook some rice please, with some mushrooms and tomatoes, I believe we still have a few left. Just make certain its cooked properly." he informed his servant. Walter nodded and asked what else needed to be done.
"Secondly and most importantly, I need information on that metropolis. If they have a communication system half as advanced as ours I am sure you can find a way to hack into it. Find out everything you can and get me contact details for everyone of importance, celebrities, politicians, city officials everyone who matters. Just make absolutely certain whatever IP or communication signal you use remains completely untraceable." Marius dictated in a gravely serious tone.
Walter made it clear he understood his masters wishes "I shall check on our guests every now and again while I work, please tell me you have given up on your plan to forcibly keep them here." asked Walter hoping Marius was still in a generous mood.
Marius nodded and replied "I... may have, I can only hope they will wish to stay for as long as possible however." Walter smiled and put his arm on his masters shoulder "You can’t make friends if you force them to do things they would not otherwise, be humble and offer some honest kindness and I am sure they will respond favorably." he mentioned.
Marius stood a moment and thought, then simply nodded before continuing "Right then. Where is Brutus?" he asked, Walter pointed to another corner of the kitchen "He’s sleeping right there sir."
Marius walked up to where the wolf dog was sleeping on its side, it rested on a large blanket next to a cupboard. He scratched his nose trying to wake him, the dog only turned on its other side and continued sleeping. Marius got a little impatient and pulled his ear. That did the trick and the dog stood to attention "Come Brutus, we are going for a walk!" that certainly got him excited, and he began jumping about the room wagging his tail. Marius put a harness on him and made to leave before remembering something.
"Excuse me Walter but that scrap of material that was on Judy, I thought I saw Nick carrying it when he stormed in here. Did you see it?" he asked the robot.
"Funny you should mention that sir, I did. I threw it away but let me retrieve it for you." the robot answered before opening a dust bin and pulling out the small cloth. He handed it to his master, Marius put the material in his pocket.
"See you later Walter. I shall be back soon." the robot smiled and advised him to be safe "None to worry I jumped head first into more dangerous situations and survived." he commented as he left.
"Save I won’t be there to help you." said Walter to himself as his master had already exited the room. He went to check on Nick and Judy and found they were still asleep, he got to work quietly setting the table. After laying down a crisp white table cloth he put his master’s plate and cutlery at the head of the table, he then searched for some smaller plates and cutlery as he was sure the guests would not manage the usually large dinnerware. After finding suitably sized dinnerware for the pair and two small drinking glasses, he put down Marius's favorite drinking cup and covered it with a red cloth. Once happy that everything was set nicely, he left to fulfill the other part of his master’s request.
After passing by the large machines and generators in the workshop, Walter entered a small side room. Inside were several large computers and data terminals, he sat down in front of the main one and got to work retrieving any and all information Marius might find useful. True to form he made sure none of his searchers would be detected or leave any trace, the information he did find however was certainly quite interesting.
...
After arriving to the river Marius made a small check on his water pump, satisfied the system was working well he made his way to the waterfall. Once there he threw his grapple and hooked a large tree at the top of the cliff, making sure it was firmly in place he tied the other end of the rope to Brutus's harness.
He made his way up the cliff with the same speed and grace of a leopard climbing a tree, but it was still a difficult climb. Once at the top he pulled Brutus up and they made their way forward following the river near the forest. After a few minutes walking Marius handed his dog Judy's shredded bathing suit to pick up the scent. Brutus looked at him rather confused and turned his head back towards the house.
"No Brutus! We are looking for Judies belongings." he replied as he pointed to dog forward. Brutus put his nose down and smelled the sandy gravel, then the air and when he thought he found a scent began walking forward. Soon enough he found a piece of cloth covered in dirt and sand, Marius picked it up and made a disgusted remark. It was a pink button shirt, he found the color to be abhorrent, but threw it into his backpack and moved on, as they walked forward they picked up more and more items, two pairs of pants a few more shirts, a yellow blanket, a blue tie and a green backpack.
The pack was small to him but he was sure it would fit around Nick's shoulders, it was however full of water but looking inside he found two phones, some keys and a few other assorted items. After removing everything of value from the pack he placed everything into his own backpack and made to leave. Brutus's attention however was drawn by another smell, he started to growl and licked his lips. "What is it Brutus? Show me what you found." said Marius as he followed the wolf dog forward. To the side of the forest there was a large clearing.
It appeared to be a recreational area like a park with tables and benches. Marius held Brutus down as the source of his dog’s excitement became all too clear. A small distance from them 2 pigs sat on a bench holding each other, they were watching the sunrise across the horizon. Marius held the handle of his dagger and slowly drew it; both him and Brutus were bearing their teeth and were exceedingly hungry. To any hunter this would have been a dream scenario, their prey was oblivious to their presence, there was no wind or sound to give them away and they were within striking distance of their query. They needed only to each pick a mark and leap forward, striking without fear and killing without mercy was second nature to them, and their target had practically no chance of escape. But Marius hesitated, here everything was different, everything was wrong, he hesitated a bit more and as he did so one of the pigs uttered something "It is beautiful isn’t it?" Marius's guts rumbled audibly and he made an irritated reply "Ahh Yes it is." Hearing this both pigs turned their heads and stared directly at him in surprise. He made a deep frown as he looked them both in the eyes, he had just thrown a perfect hunt and was internally screaming, all he managed to do was to wave back awkwardly.
Brutus growled at them both but Marius pulled at his collar, he looked back at the pigs and sighed "I am sorry to bother you; I was looking for something some friends had lost. Have a nice day." he told them with a disappointed tone and walked away pulling Brutus to his side. The swine couple stared back at each other with a worried look and soon left in a hurry.
Chapter 3 The Starved Wolf “Part 2”
Judy woke from a good night’s sleep and opened her eyes slowly, she had a great many dreams, she didn’t really understand them but felt well and truly rested. She breathed deeply and tried to move, however she made the mistake of moving her back in the wrong direction. It pained her a lot, but thankfully the pain was more manageable then previously so she woke Nick to help her up. "Nick, uggh. Nick wake up!" she pulled on him, until he finally opened his eyes.
Nick yawned and stretched his arms, he looked at her and smiled "Ah, morning Carrots, are you ok?" he asked in a tender voice, she winced as she felt more than a little uncomfortable.
"Ah not really, please help me sit up. And careful of my back." she implored him.
He gently held her arms near the shoulder and helped her rise slowly to a seated position, he then got off the couch and looked at her with loving eyes as he held her paws. "A little better fluff?" he asked in a sincere voice, she drew a deep breath
"Yeah, I’m fine now." she blinked a few times then gave him a good hard look. She saw him previously putting on the sweater, but now in the morning light and with a clear mind he looked hilarious to her and she couldn’t help but laugh "Pfff, hahaha!" Nick gave her a slightly annoyed frown "What is so funny Judy?" he asked her. She just continued laughing. "You, in that sweater, haha! It looks massive on you." Nick was a little upset "Oh haha very funny. This is probably my reward for trying to save you, I’m being mocked at." he mentioned unamused.
Judy just smiled at him and kissed him on the nose "Hehe, Nick just stop you know I love you. Besides I needed a good laugh." Nick sighed "Fine, fine, but do be aware we have serious issues to consider, like the fact we have been practically abducted." he mentioned.
Judy gave him a bit of a doubting look however. "Well maybe, but arguably one of the nicest places we’ve been abducted to. Besides Mr Big's house of course. But it’s ok Nick we got out of that, we can get out of this one too." she commented.
"Honestly Judy, that was without question the luckiest coincidence we have ever run into, in our entire history together." Nick told her while gesticulating with his paws.
"True that might be, but then as now we are alive. So what does that tell you?" she asked him in a somewhat demanding tone, he just rolled his eyes before answering.
"That either we are really lucky, or our Host has other plans for us." he was keen to point out, she could agree however, so rather than arguing they decided to analyze their surroundings to understand what was actually going on.
"So, what are we looking at here, one massive bookcase. Maybe he loves reading a lot" she pointed out, Nick shook his head and told her it was probably for show, he knew some people would collect books but not bother reading them. "Ok what else, fireplace, bear skin. Bear skin!" Judy froze, Nick looked at it scared too, "Is that a real bear skin?" she asked. "Nick please help me get down?" she asked him, he gave her a worried look "Are you sure you’re ok to stand?" She nodded and said it was fine, he helped her down and they went to take a closer look.
"Is it real?" she asked, Nick looked at it convinced that it was, he lifted one of it flattened paws and gave it a sniff. "Ugghh, smells like mothballs." he remarked and dropped the skin, it was likely very old but he could not tell.
"Well if he did kill it, we can find out about it later." she pointed out and they looked about the room for other clues, among the odds and ends they saw a oil painting of a big cat right next to the door. It was hung just above Marius's arm chair
"Huh funny it’s also naked, looks like a cheetah." said Judy in a curious tone.
Nick wasn’t sure " Looks more like a leopard, and also cheetahs don’t climb trees. Looks funny thought." he answered pointing out its face somewhat resembled Marius's in a way. They looked at it a moment then noticed some dark lettering written on the white border at the bottom.
"I can’t make it out Nick, what does it say?" Judy asked him while she pulled the blanket closer to her body. Nick climbed the chair to get a better look as the writing was fairly small.
"In loving memory of my grandfather John, died 2115. Marius Wolfgang" he read it out.
"Huh well at least we know his surname, although it doesn’t do much for us." Judy commented then winced again in discomfort, Nick heard it and asked how she was copping "Its fine I’m not in pain, I just badly need to go to bathroom. Uggh, it’s ok I guess I can hold it a little longer."Judy turned her head to look about the room once again as Nick climbed down from the chair.
She then noticed the tabled was set, and two smaller sets of plates and cutlery were set up with books on the chairs next to them. She told Nick about it and asked what he thought of it.
“Honestly Judy, I don’t care if we ARE invited to eat with our host. We have more questions than answers, and I would rather we leave right now" he told her in a loud tone. They looked at each other a second as Walter walked in the room, "Oh great, and there goes our only chance of escape." Nick mentioned as he saw him enter.
Walter had heard a little of what they had said, and was fairly sure Marius would gravely upset if they had left. "I don’t know what you have been up to, but I can assure you that you’re in no danger what so ever." Walter looked at Judy a bit oddly "You should not be standing lady Judy, you need rest."
Judy drew a deep breath holding her blanket, "Thank you Walter I am fine, your concern is touching however." she said to him.
Walter wasn’t sure her answer was genuine, "What have you been doing actually? I hope you have not been snooping about. Marius would be rather upset if you have disturbed anything" he asked them both with a worried look.
"Snooping huh, well we are police officers so that's part of the job description." Nick answered with a smug smile.
Walter was not impressed "Police officers. I see."
Nick gave him an inquisitive look."What? Did your master not tell you this?" he asked.
"No he did not mention it, all the same you have no right to search a man's home without your badges, or a warrant" answered Walter in a flat but serious tone.
Judy gave him at least the benefit of the doubt as she was uncomfortable for a very different reason, "Walter if you’re going to be nice, please show me to the bathroom, I really need to pee." She asked.
Walter walked forward gesturing for them to follow "Ah but of course, shall I help you walk, or carry you there?" he asked her, Nick took a offence to this.
"No, no, no! That's MY job, I will help her." Walter simply nodded and walked in front of them. Nick took Judies hand and held her shoulder making sure she was steeping lightly, "Why Nick you big sweetheart, you shouldn’t have. Although I bet you just want to see me take this off." Judy said with a smile. Nick just giggled and told her to stop teasing him.
"My my, but you do indeed have a lovely relationship" Walter pointed out; they both just thought he was showing prejudice, "Honestly lady Judy, I am a robot, I am not designed to have such an emotion. Anyway please come this way" he led them to a side corridor a few meters from the fireplace. There was a door there but it had a poster of a bookshelf on it, so they assumed they must have had mistaken it for an actual bookcase. Walter opened the door and they were led into a simple yet fairly elegant bathroom, the tile work was black and white with a wall of opaque glass blocks between the shower and the entrance, and across from that there was a seashell shaped sink with a silver framed mirror. The toilet bowl was directly in front of the door, Judy walked up to it and looked back to ask them let her do her business.
Walter gave her a curious look "That would be unsafe Madame, you may need some help. Even if you can manage to sit relatively comfortably, you won’t reach the flush. And you may also want to wash your hands later." Walter was quick to point it out.Judy grumbled as she noticed everything was scaled to Marius's size and conceded the point.
Nick did not however like that. "I’m not comfortable with you touching her, butler or no." he commented with a slightly annoyed tone
Walter didn’t take it to heart "Please sir Nicholas, do understand I am a servant, it’s my role to be polite and helpful in all situations.", he looked at Nick with a smile but he was still doubtful. Until Judy told him of "Nick it’s fine, I will ok. Please wait outside." Nick sighed but agreed and shut the door behind him.
HHHsdgfdsgdfhhhHbJHmnbme leaned against a wall and waited. He heard the toiler flushing and a little while after the water in the sink, he sighed and felt maybe he was overreacting and worrying far too much. He waited a bit longer however then he actually started to worry.
Eventually Walter opened the door and led Judy out, she was not wearing the brown blanket however, instead she wore a blue sheet that was braided around her body and looked almost like a high quality dress. Nick actually gawked at her, she was soo beautiful, the new "dress" made her stand out even more.
"Is, that why you waited so long?" Nick asked after he had composed himself a little.
"Yep. Thank you very much Walter. What do you think Nick do I look nice?" she asked, making a little pirouette in front of him. Nick's jaw dropped and his pulse quickened, he knew he had to regain his composure or risk embarrassing himself.
"Well I can’t in any way say I am fashion designer, but I think it suits you. And it should be preferable to being naked. I’m sure Marius won’t be overly upset that I ruined one of this best sheets." said Walter in his usual friendly voice.
Judy giggled at him "Hehe its fine Walter, I like it, I mean see how my partner is staring." Nick shook himself silly and said it was nice, they walked back to the couch and he helped raise her up so she could sit comfortably.
"I am sorry I gave you a bad rap Walter, but someone who can make a nice dress like this on the fly can’t be bad too bad. We are both rather uncomfortable at this whole situation however." Judy told the servant, "You can say that again!" Nick added.
Walter lowered his head and gave a slight bow. "Yes thank you. I am sorry of this whole ordeal you both went through, be assured you will have all the answers you need as soon as the master returns." replied Walter.
"Where is he by the way?" asked Nick.
The butler simply shrugged. "Last he told me, he left to find your possessions." Walter answered.
Judy smiled and appreciated his thoughtfulness, Nick was not certain his mind was still full of doubt. He looked back to the glass Marius left out the night before, and exactly what he told him. He saw him as a "very" dangerous predator, a true wolf in sheep’s clothing, a master of disguises but a liar none the less. "Walter what is in that glass?" Nick asked the servant.
Walter took a short glance at the glass on the coffee table and knew instantly what it was, "That's the masters coniac sir, he saved the last bottle he had brought from his home, it’s one of the last things he has from his father." Walter informed him.
Nick raised an eyebrow, he was curious "May I... possibly smell it?" What was he doing, he didn’t want it but felt drawn to find out what nagged him. Walter handed him the drink without protest, and Nick took in the aroma, it was certainly a powerful spirit with a strength of character that he never encountered before. It had truly a mesmerizing aroma, if this was sold in any bar he would ever visit, he would likely need to pay half his salary for such a drink, probably even more.
The next reflex made perfect sense to him, he drank it down in one move and let it burn his throat, and in all honesty it was heavenly. But that didn’t stop Judy giving him hell for it as she punched him in the side, "Auuu! What was that for?" he asked with a wince.
"For being a thief? Obviously" Judy was quick to point out.
Walter shook his head "Please do not argue, I am sure the master left that out for him. I hope you will excuse me however I have to see to the meal, I will return shortly however. If you need some water there is some over here on the table." he said as he left the room.
Judy breathed deeply she had another small pain in her back, but it thankfully passed quickly. "Well, I guess we are alone again. Well I do feel a little bit more comfortable right now.", she said in a calm tone.
"Yeah ah, same here. But we should not get Too comfortable!" Nick commented only to get a sharp answer from Judy.
"Oh the liquor thief dares to speak, Did you enjoy your plunder?" she asked him with a annoyed look.
He looked at her with a slight frown but then had a excellent idea to make her smile "Actually I did, it was the best taste I had in my mouth, only one thing could Ever top that." he said as she gave him a questioning look.
"And... what is the best thing then?" she asked rather curious.
He gave her a roguish grin and answered in a romantic tone "Your lips!"
Judy was taken aback by that answer, "Aww Nicholas Wilde that was adorable" she replied but instead she punched him in the shoulder.
"Auuu seriously, is it damn impossible to ple..." he said but never finished his sentence. Judy quickly grabbed him and kissed him passionately, they stood there embracing and smooching a little while before Judy continued.
"Now isn’t it that things you love the most, are best savored when you don’t expect to get them? “ she asked him with a giggle.
"Yeah I agree." Nick replied as he held her close.
Suddenly the stereo randomly started playing, it was a song Nick recognized, but didn’t know the name of. He did however get a marvelous idea. "Ahh, hey you know what we should do?" He asked her in a low emotional voice.
"Hmmm what?" she answered back almost in a whisper.
"We should dance." he said in her ear, she looked back at him and realized the music was playing, she didn’t feel she could do it, so she said no a few times. "No not a lively dance... just, a slow dance." Nick asked her in a friendly tone, she looked back to him and recognized the song, so she agreed "Ok, I will try." He helped her get off the couch and they held each other as they made a slow dance to the rhythm of the music.
As they allowed themselves to be marveled by the enchanting tunes they soon realized how they lost themselves in the moment, and all of time seemed to stand still around them. They quickly found nothing valued more than their embrace, and as they slowly danced with their eyes closed they smiled and realized they had never felt happier.
...
Marius entered the house, he was more than a little nervous and frustrated with himself, he dropped his pack and left Brutus waiting in the hallway, he went to check on Nick and Judy and was totally surprised by what he saw.
They held each other with their eyes closed and danced slowly to the tune of the music, Eternal Flame was playing. His jaw dropped and was overcome with emotion, he closed his eyes turned his head and closed the door slowly, he had no intention to spoil this most intimate of moments. He walked slowly to the kitchen, Brutus followed him licking his hand, and he scratched the dog’s head.
As Marius entered the kitchen he sat down loudly on a chair. He covered his face with both hands and tried his best not to cry. Walter saw him entering and put the spoon down, "Something wrong sir you seem upset." he asked him.
Marius however didn’t look up he was too busy restraining his tears, but failing to so. "Sob. AHH I can’t look at them Walter!"he answered.
Walter become concerned, "What happened sir!" he asked.
Marius continued to cry he couldn’t contain his melancholy "Nick and Judy... they, they are slow dancing." he said between his tears and asked what he had done.
Walter gave him a serious look; he understood his master’s pain, years of lonely isolation made him tired and sad, none to mention the guilt and remorse he battled with daily. He spoke in an uncharacteristically loud prideful tone "I will tell you what you have done Sir! You gave a wonderful couple their happiness back!"
Marius lowered his arms and gave his servant a sad look, then raised himself from his chair so abruptly that it fell to the floor behind him. He grabbed his servant by the coat with both hands and pulled at him "Do you mean that! Are you sure!" He shouted at him loudly, "I am miserable, and envious! But, if they are happy I... I am happy for them!" he continued with tears in his eyes.
Walter took his masters hands and lowered them, he nodded and gave him a simple smile "Of course sir, if they have too much pride they might not admit it. But if nothing else you are responsible for their happiness." He told him frankly.
Marius lowered his head and gripped the edge of the table with both hands, he pondered his butlers words a moment. Finally he stood tall and wiped his eyes, "Good, Good!" he said finally with a sigh, "I do not wish to spoil their moment, but life must go on, they will eventually need to return their work, their family." he said in a sad tone knowing he could not hold them down.
Walter smiled, and informed Marius of the completion of his task "Then you should call their captain and tell him not to worry. I did as you asked and uploaded most of the important contacts to your phone and installed a program so no calls can be traced back. I also ran up their file at their precinct where they work, their full names are Judith Hopps and Nicholas P Wilde."
Marius smiled and patted his shoulder "I knew I could trust you Walter, now I’m going to have a nice chat with the old bull. If he dares not grant Nick and Judy some time off IL furiously beat him into the dirt." said Marius in a confident tone.
Walter raised an eyebrow "Funny you should call him that sir, he’s actually a male Cape Buffalo by what I could tell. His name is Bogo!" he informed his master.
"Hah! Big man thinks he might be, wait till he meets me then! I will make him feel tinier then a cricket." Marius boasted full of himself.
"You will find the police HQ number on a note on the screen in the computer lab sir." continued Walter.
"Thank you, Il get on it. Now, don’t let that rice burn." Marius asked Walter, he gave Brutus a scratch on the nose and left. Walter returned to his cooking and smiled, he had influenced his master to make the right choice and this satisfied him.
Marius entered the computer lab and took a seat. He quickly read a few tid bits of information Walter compiled for him and smiled. "Zootopia! A city of animals. Well, this will be a most interesting conquest" he said as he laughed lightly, he picked up the note with the Zootopia police department telephone line, his plans had changed but the goal remained the same. He looked at his phone, to any human it looked like an old blocky Nokia but it had received some serious upgrades over the years. He made certain the tracking blocker was working properly and dialed the number.
…
At the ZPD, Clawhauser was doing his regular donut munching, but at the same time did the serious work of organizing some files for older cases that still required investigation. The phone rang and he answered in his usually jovial voice "Thank you for calling Zootopia police department, this is Benjamin Clawhauser speaking, how may I help you?"
Marius breathed deeply and spoke in an authoritarian tone "A good day to you Benjamin!"
Clawhauser was a bit put off by his tone, "Uh, who is this?" he asked.
"My name is Marius, I have urgent news I need to share with you captain Bogo, will you please put him on the line. Immediately!" said Marius without changing his voice in away way.
Benjamin became worried; he noticed the call was from an anonymous line, he turned on a tracking software on his computer that attempted to trace it. "Uhm, what should I tell him it’s about sir? Do you have an emergency?" he asked trying to remain calm.
"You could say I do. It’s regarding your two colleagues Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde." said Marius through the line.
Benjamin froze he knew Nick and Judy were terribly late for work, he even tried calling them several times to no avail. "Nick and Judy! What happened to them? Where are they?" he asked.
"Well! You won’t find that out until you put me through to your captain. So I suggest you go ahead and do that. NOW...Please!" said the ominous voice from the line.
Benjamin looked at the program, nothing came up but he could tell the caller was growing impatient, so he dialed Bogo on the intercom. In his office Bogo was looking at his map of the city, he was talking to two other police officers about a case, a male polar bear and a female Kudu.
He heard Clawhauser calling him and told them to wait "What is it Clawhauser?" he asked in his usually bossy voice.
"Sir! There is a caller on the line looking to talk to you about Nick and Judy!" said Benjamin.
Bogo had noticed the two officer’s absence and quickly picked up the phone. "Put him on then!" he told Benjamin.
The call was connected and Marius got a chance to hear Bogo for the very first time, "This Bogo speaking, who is this?" said Bogo as he heard Marius breathing on the other end.
Marius thought he could judge the mammals personality just from his voice, but he didn’t let Bogo wait "A good day to you captain Bogo, my name is Marius. I called you to inform you of a serious predicament your two officers Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps found themselves in." he said waiting on his reply.
Bogo wasn’t happy by his tone, he lowered the phone a minute and asked Clawhauser if he was trying to trace the call.
"I certainly am sir, no luck yet." replied Clawhauser, “Good! Keep trying!” said Bogo and got back to the call with the stranger.
"What happened to them? Where are they?" he asked in an impatient voice demanding to know.
"I am glad you are worried about them. Your must be a very responsible captain. I can tell you that they unfortunately very nearly drowned." Marius told him calmly.
Bogo shouted at him "DROWNED!"
Marius replied quickly and let the police chief know he was still in control of the conversation, "You heard me very well. But you need not worry they are safe, I am keeping them as guests I’m my home. And they shall return to work as soon as they have recovered, I only thought it would be polite to let you know."
Bogo grew irritated, whoever this stranger was he sounded dangerous "Where are they? If they are ill they need to see a doctor, let me speak to them!" he demanded.
Marius was not about to let him have things his way however "Sorry I cannot tell you where. I don’t know that myself, I am bit of a hermit you see. But they have seen a doctor, you’re talking to him. I am also sorry that I cannot let you speak to them, they are resting for the moment and I do not wish to disturb them. I promise however that they will call you when they are able. Have a nice day sir." he finished and closed the call.
Bogo shouted Marius's name in the phone but it was pointless, the call had been interrupted and he slammed the phone down.
He punched the table and looked to the two other officers in the room who were rather put off by his reaction. "We will speak later something else came up" He told them as he made to leave the office, "You may have to get ready to go looking for Nick and Judy, they went missing. “He continued as he opened the door.
He walked up to the guard rail and looked down to Clawhauser, "Clawhauser, no luck tracking that call?" he shouted at him hoping he had something.
Clawhauser looked up to him shaking his head no, "No luck sir it came from an anonymous line, that number was hidden. Must have been something advanced our system could not find a trace." he told him.
Bogo angrily bashed the railings, "Ah Damn it! Look into it further, and put a warning on the radio that Nick and Judy are missing. HE said that they nearly drowned! I think it’s a lie." he ordered to Benjamin. Benjamin looked back in disbelief but quickly did as he was ordered, within moment the radio broadcast went live and several police units were out searching for their missing coworkers.
...
Sometime later a pair of distinctly worried looking pigs came to the precinct, they came to declare they were accosted by a strange creature they could not identify. They presented themselves as Nancy and Bob Smalls and Bogo warmly welcomed them into his office. While they bickered and argued about the severity of the issue Bogo calmed them down, and they began to carefully explain the odd event.
He held his hooves together and patiently listened to every detail, when they had finished he gave them a serious look. "A furless mammal, tall as a bear, with jet black hair on his head and brown eyes. Hmmm, and a black wolf with him. And where did you say this happened?” He asked them in a grim tone.
"At Tall-tower Park sir. North of the Meadowlands, just by the river." answered Nancy.
Bogo pondered this for a moment, he wondered if this mysterious mammal was the one who was to blame for Nick and Judies disappearance. It was a hunch but he knew better then to ignore any possible lead, he offered the pair some papers to fill out a police report, and asked them to write their contacts and all the details they just mentioned. He rose from his chair and looked out the window a moment before turning to face them again, "Did he say anything else? Besides confirming the beauty of the sunrise?" he asked them.
Bob and Nancy looked at each other a little surprised "He said he was sorry for the bother, and that he was looking for something his friends lost. Then he just walked off." said Bob.
Nancy held her husband’s arm "All due respect sir, but if it came to a fight I think this guy would give even you a serious run for your money." she waved her arms at him "Again no disrespect!" she said to brawny police chief. "None taken Madame, please fill out those forms and I promise I will look into this as soon possible. Thank you for bringing this my attention." he said to them in a reassuring voice.
The pigs smiled and thanked him, they wrote down every detail that they remembered and left happy they at least performed a civic duty. Bogo stood a moment studying the strange event the pigs reported, he wondered if it would make sense to send someone to the park near the Meadowlands forest to investigate. If the case was linked to Nick and Judy’s whereabouts then he could get some answers, the stranger’s words resounded in his mind however. It didn’t reassure him too much but he decided to wait, if Nick or Judy did not call him soon however he would send a team over regardless if it was a dead end.926Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqVyD5zsI7
