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. 7)
"Okay kid, first thing's first." Vernon J. Rodenberg, Attorney at Law, looked up at Conor Lewis, pen hovering expectantly over his note-pad, "The cops followed you into that alley because they thought you were transporting a payoff on behalf of The Phantom. Were you?"
The answer was not immediately forthcoming; for a long moment, his client just sat there, almost completely motionless, chewing his lower lip as if contemplating his response.
"Any time this year, kid," the grey rat prompted; he was there to defend his clients, not be their friend.
Conor took a short breath and then looked straight at him,
"Okay, yeah...I went into that locker to pick up a cash payment from Ian Shortal. But no, I wasn't working for The Phantom."
"All right," Rodenerg made a quick notation, "so you didn't know if you were making a pick up for that guy?"
The answer to this was an emphatic head-shake from the young silver fox, together with a slightly pained expression, "No...I mean I know it wasn't the Phantom; there IS no Phantom."
Rodenberg felt his whiskers bobbing again.
"Then how...?"
"Because I've been doing this for almost two years now," Conor told him, tight-lipped and steely-eyed, "since long before anyone ever even heard of that guy. Yeah there's someone I work with, but he's more of a partner than a boss. As for The Phantom, that's a name somebody in 'Tuffguy' Tufts' crew came up with. I have no idea why, but the next thing I knew, it wasn't just a name it was a stinkin' urban legend. And you know how urban legends go; pretty soon anytime somebody pulled off a computer hack in Zootopia ...boom, the big, bad, Phantom's, back in town! Remember last year, when the all the traffic signals in Savanna Central went off line? Turned out to be a blown server, but everyone was sooo sure it was the Phantom who did it; they blame that dude for every stupid thing."
Rodenberg blinked, and jotted a few notes. Yes, he remembered that incident, how could forget? He'd missed a court date because of those traffic lights—and the Red Pig had nearly gone away on a five-to-ten year stretch.
"And I nearly took a one-way trip to the bottom of Zootopia Sound," the grey rat reminded himself with a shudder.
Could it be true? Was The Phantom...a phantom? There was certainly precedent for it. No one in Zoo York City had ever heard of 'The Westies' either...not until a ZYPD police detective mentioned it during an interview. It was only afterwards that the members of the gang started calling themselves by that name. John Catti hadn't invented HIS nickname, 'The Dapper Don' either.
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The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One
Mystery / ThrillerIt's been two years since Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps broke the Savage Predator conspiracy. Now a brilliant and effective team, they're only a few steps away from making the detective bureau and growing closer with every passing day. But even as thei...
