The Fire Triangle -- Part II, Oxidizer

The Fire Triangle: Book II - Chapter 17

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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He came from somewhere back in her long ago
The sentimental fool don't see
Trying hard to recreate what had yet to be created...

The Doobie Brothers

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Chapter 5—Meet on the Ledge
(Cont'd...Part 3)

"Hello...this Dr. Vignius." A deep frown creased the arkar sheep's face as he listened and he pressed the phone a little closer to his ear. "I'm sorry, this isn't the best connection...can you speak up, just a little? Yes, well I was just wondering... do you have an update for us?"

Watching him, Claudia Nizhang was also frowning, albeit for a different reason. She had never lost the old policemammal's intuition; knowing without knowing when someone was holding out on you. And it had been shrieking like a smoke-alarm ever since she'd entered this office. There was something Carl Vignius wasn't telling her—and whatever it was, it had nothing to do with either that malfunctioning restroom or a plumbing company called in to deal with it. The actual source of his reticence—the red panda was all but certain of it—was related to something she'd become aware of within seconds of passing through the entrance gate. The ZPD had the Gazelle Amphitheater staked out from here to downtown Meowria; plainclothes officers all over the place. A regular animal would never have noticed them—but to a former ZYPD sergeant of detectives, they'd been about as unnoticeable as fireworks in a funeral parlor. She'd even recognized two of them; members of the ZPD Cybercrimes Unit...and there could be only one reason why those nerdniks were here today.

So the rumors she'd heard were true. Okay, fine...it was a lead she'd have followed up on herself back in the day. But wǒ qù, THIS many officers...all to nab a 14-year-old fox-kid? It made her want to hunt down a certain Kaibab squirrel and give her an extra-large piece of her mind. "This is a student audition, you stupid turtle-egg, not a Cosa Nostra social club!"

She would do no such thing of course, but she was absolutely going to pay a courtesy call on Attorney General Sayanov's office, first thing, Monday morning. Unlike a few other mammals she could name, Claudia had a fairly good idea as to why he was backing Albert Tufts to the hilt.

But that was for Monday; this was today.

It should have been no surprise to anyone that Zootopia City Councilmember Claudia Nizhang was here. Had, or had she not been instrumental in bringing the Zootopia Academy of the Performing Arts to fruition? Heck, the arkar sheep sitting on the other side of the desk had taken the job as Academy President at her request. He had then promptly returned the favor–which was the bigger reason why she was attending the Academy tryouts.