Zootopia: Undercover Pursuit

Chapter 38: TV

"Not good. How could he have escaped? There must have been someone here waiting for him, it's impossible for him to have gone on the air!" Replied Nick after a moment's thought. The intersection he and Caroline were standing at made no doubt, the roads stood empty, there was no one or anything the suspect could have escaped with. This was not good news for them, the fox could now foresee them trying the same trick again, he could now be prepared for that.
"It's not good. He might be expecting us now" Nick said, the functionary nodded with a movement of her head. With her gaze she looked for someone or something that might lead them to the suspect, but the road looked as if no one was there.
"That wasn't a good idea. We could have planned it differently," the vixen replied, but Nick wasn't satisfied with that answer.
"It was a good idea, but we didn't anticipate that he might have a plan too. He must have known that someone might be following him.... well nothing we can do today, we have to go back" he replied with disappointment. Fox was full of bitterness that they hadn't managed to overpower him, but what could he do. Caroline didn't look happy about it either.

"Mr. Kommandant, is it known yet why the residents of the Fox District are disappearing? Apparently your best officers have already begun to take action."
"Well, yes, our agents are doing their best to solve this mystery. We can't reveal any more details of the operation at this time, so stay positive" replied Commander Bogo with improvisation in his voice. The domino effect of missing residents and the sighting of Nick and Judy in the search area caused some of the city's biggest media to take an interest. It wasn't a comfortable situation for the police officers, who so far hadn't gathered anything interesting, but the commander tried to protect himself from the intrusive questions of the journalists, who didn't stop asking about all sorts of events that are closely related to the disappearances.
"It is rumoured that Commander Caroline from the Fox District Police Division has joined your units, is this true?" A journalist asked.
"Well, yes it is true. We are trying to link the two police units so that we can solve the disappearances as quickly as possible." Replied the chief nodding with a motion of his head. Although the interview was taking place at the police station, no one could help answer for Bogo, only Nick and Judy had more knowledge on the subject, but they were not currently present.
"Is it true that the Fox Quarter is cut off from Zootopia?" Another journalist asked, emerging from the crowd of other guests to ask other questions.
"I can't officially state that. The city is indeed restricted to contain the strikers, but it is not excluded from Zootopia," replied Bogo. Although he was able to answer journalists' questions, he expected that there might not be enough answers, and there are a whole lot of questions.

By the time Caroline and Nick made their way back to the police station, the first thing that caught their eye was the dozen or so cars parked in the car park with the logos of various TV stations. This gave them a boost of anxiety about what might be going on at the police station.
"As you can see, the media has already taken an interest in the Zootopia case" remarked Caroline. This was not unusual, the media has always been interested in cases that are high profile and the disappearance of residents is indeed a recent high profile event.
"Remember not to say anything about the suspect who escaped, it won't be news that will please the media" countered Nick.
"You don't have to worry about me. I've had interviews in the Fox Quarter on a daily basis" replied Caroline indulgently. After briefly preparing to enter, Nick opened the door letting the girl inside.

As they stepped inside they caught the attention of several journalists who, hearing the sound of the door closing, turned away from the commandant who had been questioned for a good few minutes and approached Nick and Caroline. The flash of the lamps and the flurry of voices meant that they had had enough of the journalistic world already, with no chance of getting their voices through they had to wait until the crowd of questioners calmed down and one specific question was asked.
"Do you, as agents assigned to this case, have any clues, any lets that might lead you to unravel the mystery?"
"We can't reveal much at this point, but we assure you that things are moving in the right direction and we are managing to make contact with the suspects," replied Caroline confidently. Initially it was Nick who was going to lead the dialogue, but with the answer to the question fired by Caroline, the vixen answered with such confidence that he didn't want to interrupt her. He admired her ability to speak under the stress of what is surely an interview, during the interview you can't stammer, you can't interrupt mid-sentence, your body gestures must indicate confidence in your pronunciation. Caroline used all these qualities impeccably.
"Judging by your outfits were you at some kind of private meeting?" One of the journalists asked.
"Yes, we were in a private meeting. We were called to the station," Caroline replied, which was met with a negative response from Nick. He knew full well that if Judy heard this interview, she wouldn't be happy.
"Actually..." Nick began, but was effectively stopped from speaking by Caroline, who poked him with her shoulder.
"Actually, that's all we have to say to you for now," replied Caroline. Her persuasive voice caused several journalists, after a brief hesitation, to decide to stow away their recording equipment. Bogo was still standing at the back, seeing the journalists gathering he breathed a sigh of relief, that was the end of the questions, at least for today

"Why did you say we were in a private meeting? Do you think that will make a difference?" Exploded Nick with aggression after the journalists left. He tried to hold back his nerves, but seeing the girl's confident smile he couldn't stand and half shouted his question, his voice spreading throughout the ground floor of the police station, which drew the attention of several officers.
"You said yourself that saying that a suspect escaped us is no good anyway if I told the truth, the guy who escaped us could find out that we were chasing him. It's not certain yet," Caroline replied.
"Caroline is right Nick. She made a good point that you were in a private meeting that had nothing to do with the case. Remember that as a police officer you don't have to say everything. We don't need even more panic coverage" countered Bogo. Nick felt even more scathing about the Commander supporting the Commander's rationale. He still didn't want to concede the point to Caroline, but he didn't want to have an unnecessary discussion.
"You mentioned something about having a suspect, did you manage to trace him accurately today?" The commander changed the subject.
"We saw him, a guy walking around the tables in the restaurant and talking to random people. Unfortunately it was too noisy to be able to hear what they were talking about. He managed to escape us today" Nick communicated. The commander sighed quietly nodding with a movement of his head. He tilted his head down slightly and scratched his chin, he wondered what other way they could track the suspect. Now that he most likely knows that there was a former attempt to track him today, it might not be so easy anymore.
"We can't go down the same path as today, it will only make things worse. As if there was another way, to keep a close eye on the restaurant."
"We can hide in one of the dark alleys on the opposite side of the restaurant and so wait for the suspect to come inside. We know what he looks like so it won't be a problem" replied Nick. The idea actually wasn't too bad, it was a pretty clever play, if he didn't notice them it might actually be a successful plan.
"Hm...sounds pretty sensible. Alright, let's do it like this. Tomorrow you leave Nick along with Judy, you'll get the necessary equipment in the morning."
"Why not with me? I'm better suited to such an action, Judy surrounded by foxes blends in with the crowd on average..."
"This isn't about blending in with the crowd, Judy is agile and knows how to handle a situation like this" explained the Commander calmly. Nick contentedly nodded with a motion of his head, while Caroline wryly agreed without trying to change his mind.
"Alright...I'll go do a report for us on today" Caroline communicated. She made her way to the first floor where she had her office, where she ducked in moments later.

"Strange...I get the feeling she knows you from somewhere Caroline, but she won't admit it" the Commander said quietly as he saw the door closing behind the girl. The only people in the room were the Commander and Nick. Jason was still sitting behind the computer, but he being new and young was afraid to speak up to them, mainly the commandant who can kill a boy with his wild look.
"Yeah...I think so too, but I don't associate her" replied Nick trying to sound serious, although he felt embarrassed by the situation. He didn't want to tell anyone that they were once together, it was enough for him that rumours were spreading about him being together with Judy.
"Okay Nick. It's getting dark now, so you can go home now. Remember to get up to the station with Judy tomorrow morning, who knows if it won't be your last chance to catch this man. If it doesn't work, you'll have to look for another way" Nick communicated.
"Where should I return the suit?"
"Go to the dressing room and put it there. Caroline ordered it especially for you."