The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One

The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One: Fuel - 75

Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.

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The Fire Triangle—A Zootopia Fanfiction

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Part One:

Fuel

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Chapter 9 –Fire And Mirrors
(Continued...Pt. 2)

Had Albert Tufts been able to observe the reaction to his phone-call, he would have rung off feeling even more irked than when he'd started. Judy Hopps was muttering unpleasantly about squirrels in general; Nick Wilde was rolling his eyes, and Claire Swinton's face was as unreadable as a dead language. The only thing held in common by their faces was the conspicuous absence of one, singular emotion—fear. Just who did that puffed-up little so-and-so think he was kidding?

"If you MUST make an enemy, make sure it's someone without any friends." Nick repeated his homemade aphorism for Swinton's benefit. (Judy had already heard it at least a dozen times.)

And nobody fit that description better than Lieutenant Albert Tufts, head of ZPD Cybercrimes, an animal about as popular with his fellow officers as a tax-audit. No one was going to get fired on HIS say-so; Chief Bogo would probably laugh the Kaibab squirrel right out of his office if he tried it.

Still, Judy knew, if this operation came a cropper, it would nonetheless end up as a black mark on both her and Nick's records...Tufts or no Tufts.

Well then, the bunny-cop resolved, she would just have to do her darndest to make sure the operation didn't fail...even if her heart wasn't really into it. Arresting Conor Lewis was going to be the hardest thing she'd had to do since joining the ZPD.

Yes, it was the Phantom they wanted, not him, and yes, they were only going to follow the young silver fox to his next drop and then wait there for whoever came next to pick up the package...but that didn't mean the kid was going to get off with a warning, much less avoid being arrested altogether; the Attorney General's office would never stand for that, (neither would that arrogant little nut-cruncher from ZPD Cybercrimes.)

Ohhh, why did it have t be HIM? Judy's mind began to race over the history of her relationship with Conor Lewis; she couldn't help it, she was like that thug from a Clockwork Oryx, being forced to watch a movie with his eyes pegged open. Here was Conor...sitting out front of Finnick's van, playing his guitar. There he was, conning her sister Erin into selling him her bass for a pittance...but only to stop her from trashing it. And then he'd not only sold it back to her at cost, he'd somehow managed to get it fixed... and then he'd offered her his spot at the Carrot Days talent show, and together they'd just crushed it.

Erin...

"Poor little sis, this is going to break her heart." Judy's eyes squeezed shut at the thought. Would Erin end up hating her for this...or would her wrath be directed at the silver-fox kid out there on the volleyball court? Neither option was a good one.

But then again, "Haven't we said it several times already? Conor probably has no idea who he's working for; for sure he doesn't know what's inside of that package he's picking up."