Darkness

Chapter 3

I DON'T OWN THIS ARTWORK. ALL CREDIT GOES TO ITS CREATOR. IT DOESN'T FIT THE MOOD OF THIS CHAPTER, BUT IT WAS TO CUTE AND FUNNY NOT TO USE LOL.

Chief Bogo and the ZPD had seen a lot of things in their years of service. Drug busts gone wrong, homicides, robberies, suicides, mostly domestic disputes. They thought they'd seen it all until they saw Nick running on all fours with his partner riding him bare back.

"Wilde! Hopps! What in Zootopia?!" He bellowed as Nick ran past him.

"Sorry Chief, can't talk now, got a pup to save." He gasped, his lungs threatening to implode.

There were lots of mammals around. Lots of scents intermingling, but he smelled a frightened wolf pup. It's true that animals could smell fear. The pup was terrified. He could also smell that ram again. Same kidnapper. Different target child.

Nick found himself wondering if this criminal ever slept. He took a sharp right turn and ran down the alley next to the grocery store.

Judy saw the adolescent ram fighting the pup, dragging it. The pup fought tooth and nail to get free, even digging their claws into the rams forearm.

"ZPD! Stop right there!" Judy ordered, hopping off of Nick's back.

Startled, the ram tossed the pup at Judy and they collided. Judy fell to the ground, the pup in her arms.

Nick shot past them. "Stop right now!" He growled.

The ram sprinted down the alley, leaping into the open door of a nearby van. Before the door closed, he locked eyes with a tiger who assisted the ram in his escape. The tiger was an adult, lean, muscular, and had a wicked scar across his left cheek. The mammal driving appeared to be a female panther. As they drove off, Nick looked for a license plate number, and got nothing. It had no tags or plates. And this particular model of van was so common that it could belong to any mammal. It sped away, running a stop light and disappearing from view.

Exhausted and defeated, he returned to the alley in search of his partner. Judy sat on the ground, cradling and consoling the distraught pup.

"It's ok, little one. You're safe now." She cooed.

"Carrots, are you ok?" Nick squatted down next to her.

"I'm fine. Are you?" She asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I just really really need a nap." He breathed heavily. He turned his attention to the pup. "Hey, there buddy, I'm Officer Wilde, and this is my partner, Officer Hopps. We're going to take you back to your family."

The pup looked him dead in the eyes and said, "My name isn't buddy, it's Luna."

Nick had to admire her spirit. As he studied her, a theory came to him. Luna was white as snow, with ocean blue eyes. A somewhat rare genetic combination for a wolf. Silver was unusually grey, so much so that he actually lived up to his name, his fur was shiny, like silver. Another rare genetic combination. He'd need to know more about the other missing children, but if his train of logic was on track then these children were being taken for one of two things. Mammal trafficking and breeding, so their children could be illegaly adopted in a black market, or, the worse of the two evils. They were being taken for their pelts. Decorating with fur was illegal in Zootopia, but it didn't mean it didn't happen. He'd encountered mammals selling faux fur rugs, but a keen eye could tell the fur was real. But back in his con artist days he kept quiet, because he didn't want his own pelt to decorate someone's home.

A headache formed in the back of his head.

"Luna, can you tell me anything about the ram who tried to kidnap you?" Judy asked.

"He smelled bad." She wrinkled her nose. "And he said I'd bring in a fortune."

Nick looked at Judy, "Carrots, we need to see all the missing mammal files ASAP."

She nodded her head. Standing up, she held onto Luna's paw. They walked back to the Grocery Store.

"Luna!" A male timber wolf ran to her.

"Daddy!" She chimed, running into his arms.

Judy's heart swooned. This touching moment made her miss her own father.

"Officer's, thank you so much." The timber wolf said gratefully. "I'd be lost without my little girl."

"It's no problem." Judy smiled at him.

"Wilde. Hopps." Chief Bogo cut in. "May we have a moment?"

"Sure, chief."

Judy and Nick started to follow the water buffalo when Luna interrupted. "Buffalo man, here." She dug into her pocket and pulled out a pack of stickers. She peeled off a sparkling flower sticker. He stooped down and let her pin it on his shirt.

"Thank you, dear." He said. Most of the time he was a cantankerous being, but he truly had a soft spot for children.

Luna peeled off another sticker, this time a glittering purple heart. "Officer Hopps, here."

She bent down and let her stick it on her vest. "Aww, thank you, sweetie." She hugged the pup.

For Nick, she pinned a shiny smiley face sticker to his tie. "Much obliged, sweetheart."

"Ew", she looked at her claws. Clumped beneath them was some wool fragments and blood specks.

Chief Bogo looked at Luna's father, "Mr. Woods, please take Luna to the ZPD so they can take samples from her claws, please."

"Yes, Chief Bogo." He said, scooping Luna up and heading for the police department.

Luna began bragging. "You should've seen it, daddy. I clawed that stinky ram good, and Officer Wilde chased him. He was so fast and brave."

"I'll bet." Her father laughed.

Nick's muzzle flushed with embarrassment at the compliment.

He and Judy followed Bogo to a near by police car.

"We'll, that was quit a stunt you two pulled earlier." Bogo folded his arms over his chest.

Judy's cheeks flushed as she remembered riding on Nick's back. As thrilling as she found it, it didn't look professional for police officers.

"Sorry, sir." She apologized.

"Sir, that aside, I caught a glimpse at the suspects." Nick said. "They were in a silver van. No tags. No plates. A female panther was driving. A male tiger was in the back, and the kidnapper appears to be a teenage ram."

Bogo looked down at Nick. "Of course, they have no plates. These mammals know what they're doing." He sighed.

"Sir, Officer Hopps and I need to see the other case files. I have a theory on why they're taking children." Nick grimaced.

"I'll call an emergency meeting. Meet back at the station at 1:30 sharp." He ordered.

"One more thing sir." Nick requested. "Exactly where was Luna taken from?"

Bogo sighed, "That's the scary part. She was taken from the store. By the time Mr. Woods noticed her missing, the suspect walking out the store. When other's noticed, he ran down the alley on the other side of the store, and managed to disappear by the time we showed up. It's a wonder he hadn't made off with her."

"Smart pup," Nick smiled wryly. "She gave him the fight of his life, and that bought her enough time."

Bogo squatted down to look him in the eyes. "Wilde, I've been a cop for over ten years. I've seen the worst the city has to offer." He motioned to the flower sticker on his shirt. "Today we won a battle, but the war isn't over, yet. Anytime a child is returned to their family, or a loved one is found, alive, makes my job worth the pain."