47 in Zootopia

15 Years Ago

15 years ago

    A snow leopard sits in a metal room, paws chained to the table in front of him. He wears a black suit with a white collared shirt, a red tie wrapped around his neck. He sits there with a blank expression, the fur on his head brushed to cover the barcode tattoo on the back of his skull.
    Behind the one-way glass, a tiger, rhino, and buffalo watch the mammal, talking in quiet voices among themselves. Eventually, the tiger walks up to the door of the metal room, and enters.
    The leopard looks at the three mammals entering with an indifferent expression, and watches as the tiger sits down across from him. An uncomfortable silence settles over the room. Eventually, the tiger begins to speak.
    "There have been sightings of you all over Zootopia," The tiger says. "And for some reason, every time you appear, someone dies. Even stranger than that, there is no record of you existing what-so-ever. You have to agree, that's odd, isn't it? Now, I'm going to ask you a series of questions only once. If you don't answer," he signals the rhino, who reaches into the cabinet behind him and pulls out a Barrett AS50 sniper rifle, which is quickly set down and pointed at the leopard's chest. "you die"
    The buffalo is shocked. "Chief, are you really going to shoot him?"
    "Stand down, Officer. I do what I must to get results," Looking away from the buffalo, the tiger turns his attention back to the leopard. "Now that we understand each other, we can start this conversation. First, what is your name?"
    "Forty-seven" The leopard answers without emotion.
    The chief sits there, irritated. "That's not a name" he says back.
    "You are correct," 47 replies, "but it is mine.
    "Alright then '47', if that's what you want to be called. What are you?" The tiger asks.
    "I am an assassin" he answers.
    The chief doesn't miss a beat, "Alright then, who are you here to kill?"
    "You have a sheep here. Jeremiah Bellweather. He is my current target"
    "Who's your employer?"
    Instead of answering the current question, 47 asks one of his own. "Do you love your family?"
    The tiger is confused, then annoyed. "This talk isn't about me. It's about you"
    "Judging by your body language, I can infer that you do. Which is exactly why you should let me go" he answers, his lips set in a straight line.
    The chief begins to get angry. "Listen, you piece of fish dung. You're stuck in here with me," the tiger loads a bullet in the chamber and pushes the bolt forward. "and in case you haven't noticed, I'm the one with the gun"
    "No," 47 says casually, "You are in here with me, and you have just brought me mine"
    He suddenly knees the table, causing the rifle to bounce up. When it lands, it fires, sending a bullet at the assassin's heart. 47 twists his body and raises his paw, so the bullet breaks the chain holding his left wrist to the table. The officers hesitate, unsure what to do, which is all the time needed. He raises his wrist, and brings it down hard on the chain binding his right paw to the table. After three strikes, the chain breaks, and he is ready to fight. By now, the three mammals have gathered their senses and begin to move in. The rhino throws a hard left punch, which the assassin parries with little effort. While the rhino's defenses are down, he delivers a palm strike to the base of its skull, knocking it unconscious. Suddenly, 47 is grabbed from behind by the tiger, while the buffalo begins to lay into him, punching him in the stomach and face repeatedly. The panther delivers a powerful kick to the buffalo's face, knocking him out. Not wasting any time, he flips the tiger over his shoulder onto the floor and ends the fight with a final punch.

Not even panting, the assassin pulls the tiger's pistol from its holster and walks to the door. He turns, taking one last look, and leaves the officers where they fell.