The Incredimammals

Chapter 6

I'm Peter Moosebridge. Tonight on ZNN: an explosion at Zootopia General Hospital left at least three dead and dozens injured...

The news anchor droned on, but Nick barely paid attention to the flickering image on the common room television. Judy fidgeted impatiently next to him while they waited for their turn to speak with Chief Bogo, who was sitting behind a desk in an office adjacent to the nurses station a few paces away. The buffalo was talking to Delgato and a panther from the mayor's office, and Nick wondered if he should move closer to try and hear what they were talking about. A few other ZPD officers hovered around the room, occasionally stealing glances at the television or talking quietly with each other.

Nick's attention returned to the news program when it switched to a live video feed of the front of the hospital, where a large gaping hole filled the space formerly occupied by the front entrance. Several helicopters with searchlights danced in and out of the frame, illuminating a line of the large ZPD officers that had formed a line between the herd of mammals milling around and the front of the damaged building. The ticker scrolling along the bottom of the screen was ominous:

Hostage situation and possible bomb explosion earlier today at Zootopia General Hospital, several mammals still unaccounted for, motive and number of assailants unknown, official statement from mayor forthcoming.

The news anchor spoke again:

And now, here's exclusive footage of the incident obtained by ZNN...

A slow motion replay of the explosion from a security camera at street level filled the screen, followed by footage of the aftermath that appeared to be from a cellphone camera. Several mammals walked out of the hole in the front of the hospital, and Nick recognized the coyote and beaver as two of the older orphans who were currently missing. There was also a wolf carrying a sloth, followed by a polar bear... Nick thought for a moment, before he remembered her name. Miss Blanca, the mammal who ran the group home where the orphans lived.

The coyote stepped up to the curb and stared at oncoming traffic for a moment, before one of the larger vans driving by suddenly stopped. All of the mammals piled in and the van swerved back into the street mere moments before the first ZPD cruiser arrived. He'd already seen the footage a few times, and Nick still couldn't understand how the orphans had managed to arrange for an accomplice to pick them up, or how no one tried to stop them from leaving the building. The source of the explosion was also a mystery.

The fox turned his attention back to Chief Bogo. It was obvious he wasn't the only one eavesdropping when Judy's ears swiveled around to listen after the Chief said something about the orphans. Nick sidled closer to hear the conversation, and Judy followed.

The mayor's aide asked, "How will you be moving the remaining kits?"

Chief Bogo replied, "We're bringing in vehicles to evacuate them to a nearby school gym, until they can be relocated to temporary foster homes."

The panther nodded and said, "You didn't hear it from me, but something big is happening higher up the food chain, and whatever it is will be coming down on this situation like a herd of elephants."

Bogo nodded. "Understood. Of course the ZPD will do everything to co-operate--" The buffalo noticed Nick and Judy listening and paused, before he looked at Delgato and pointed in their direction. "Shut that, please." The lion moved swiftly and closed the door.

Nick dragged Judy over to an empty corner of the room. "We need to talk about Jack."

Judy gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"The panther wasn't talking about a Junior Ranger Scouts jamboree just now. Believe me, Carrots, some super secret government agency is about to swoop in."