The Fire Triangle -- Part II, Oxidizer

The Fire Triangle: Book II - Chapter 11

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

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Part Two:

Oxidizer

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Chapter 2—Finding Conor
(Continued...Part 2)

"Wel-l-l-ll," Nick chewed his lip for a second. Dangit, but this red-panda lady wasn't one for beating around the bush. She must have been a force of nature, back in the day when she'd carried a detective's shield. "Well, I guess we should start with the obvious question. Did you...did the Zoo York Police Department have any idea as to who might have been the Company's diamond mule?"

The corners of Claudia's mouth went in two different directions.

"Honestly, we didn't even know there'd been a blood diamond shipment scheduled for that day; didn't learn it had gone out until three days after the raid. But then yeah, we thought we knew who the mule was—although it's pretty darn obvious now that it wasn't him, seeing as he's dead."

Nick sighed and rolled his eyes. He had known right away that this interviewer wouldn't be a cakewalk, but still...

"Mmmm, all right, who was it, then?" Bogo beetled his brows as he spoke, a sign of impatience that Nick Wilde knew all too well.

Claudia Nizhang either didn't know or didn't care.

"The Mister's son, James McCrodon Jr.," she said, shrugging unconcernedly, "or just plain Junior, that's what everybody called him...to his face. Anyway, he up and whacked himself after his dad burned up with Finagles, took a swan dive off the Furrizano Narrows Bridge. Something like a dozen witnesses saw him do it; bolted out of his limo, ran to the railing and buh-BYE, never said a word to anyone; just ran and jumped."

Nick felt his tail tense up and had to fight to keep his face from following suit, talk about your hard-boiled cop. Claudia Nizhang had just described a young animal's suicide, while offering no more compassion than she would have wasted on a pill-bug she'd crushed underfoot.

He wasn't the only one to take note of this.

"Am I correct in assuming that you don't have very much sympathy for that young sea-mink, Councilmember?" It was Chief Bogo.

Claudia's voice promptly iced over.

"No Chief, I have NO sympathy for what happened to that punk; probably nobody would who ever knew him. Both of his uncles couldn't stand him and neither could anyone else in the Company. I'm telling you, if Junior hadn't been The Mister's only son, he'd have been whacked-out long before he took that sayonara leap He was smart-mouthed, arrogant, whiny, sniveling; the kind of guy that talks the talk, but when it's time to walk the walk, he doesn't walk, he turns and runs...usually to his father. He just loved to pull sick pranks on other mammals...knowing they couldn't even think about getting back at him, not as long as dear ol' dad had his six." She growled softly, adding, "And oh boy, what a loser; that kid could mess up a cup of coffee."