Judy, pressing herself closer to the wall, listened to Bogo’s orders while simultaneously looking around.
She tried to maintain complete silence.
“Understood, sir,” Judy nodded, having heard the chief’s instructions to the end.
“By the way, sir, the cameras are useless; he’s smashed them all.” “Damn it,” Bogo cursed.
“Where are the hostages?” “By the right wall, the eastern one.” Bogo glanced at the building plan.
Nick followed his example along with the other officers.
“Sir, that’s right where we placed one of the charges,” clarified a mole sapper in an armored suit.
“Remove the charge from there,” Bogo ordered.
“But that’s the most vulnerable spot; there’s nowhere else to put it,” the mole objected.
“Well, we’re not going to blow it up right next to the hostages!” Bogo shouted at him.
The mole, the head sapper, quickly ran off to carry out the order.
Bogo crossed his paws on his chest.
“Come on, guys, think!
Every second counts,” he couldn’t help saying.
It was clear that the situation had backed him into a corner again and he had no more ideas.
“Sir,” said a nearby hippopotamus, “there might be one way.” “Spit it out, Jonsi.
Any idea is worth its weight in gold right now.” “If the walls are made of super-strong concrete and we can’t blow them up,” Jonsi began, “the doors are steel.
We could burn through them.” “How?” “There’s a way — using a thermite mixture.
It creates an enormous temperature and melts metal of any thickness and hardness.
But we need time to get it here.” “How fast can you get it?” Bogo asked.
“We’ll try to be quick.” “Go,” Bogo ordered.
The hippopotamus Jonsi immediately ran to the nearest car.
Things were moving.
And that pleased not only Bogo, but Nick as well.
“I hope they make it in time,” Nick said.
“Nick, why are you still here?” Bogo grumbled again, signing a paper one of the employees handed him.
“Get back to your post!” “Well, I thought maybe I’d be more useful here,” Nick hoped.
“Doing what?” Bogo asked, looking through binoculars.
“I’ve got plenty of smart specialists here as it is.
This isn’t about running your mouth.
We need experts here, and you haven’t even finished the Academy yet.” “Well, Chief,” Nick rolled his eyes, “it’s not my fault the Academy burned down and all the cadets were scattered to different precincts until the building is repaired.” “That’s exactly my point!
Make way for the professionals.
March, back to your post now!” Bogo raised his voice.
Nick lowered his eyes, turned around, and slowly walked back towards his post.
He was upset that Bogo hadn’t given him a chance to prove himself.
Nick could have been very useful, and the chief knew it, but whether out of spite or for some other unknown reason, Bogo had sent him back to the combat post, to the very rear, where his wolf colleagues were waiting.
Who, as Nick had already figured out, loved sitting in ambush.
But there was another reason Nick was sad.
He was once again facing the uncertainty of his partner’s fate.
He was starting to notice that he was thinking about Judy more and more often and worrying about her more and more.
And even now, that anxiety for her had returned.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the commotion around him.
Amidst all the noise, Bogo’s loud words rang out: “Where are my negotiators?” “Sir, they haven’t arrived yet.” “And how am I supposed to negotiate?
Where do I find an animal with a silver tongue?” Nick, walking slowly back to his post, kicked an empty cup in frustration.
Through his sad thoughts and the general din, Bogo’s words reached him.
He perked up and heard them clearly.
“Wild!” Bogo shouted.
“Get your red tail back here!” Nick perked up and instantly rushed back.
A moment later, he was standing next to Bogo.
The chief looked the red fox over with an appraising eye, trying to find in his mind any reason not to let Nick handle the negotiations.
Bogo took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
He had no choice.
Desperate situations called for desperate measures.
And now, looking down at this clever animal, the chief wondered if this fox understood the responsibility that would fall on his shoulders.
Extending a megaphone towards Nick, Bogo began slowly and calmly: “Get him talking.
Make him communicate.
Don’t let him withdraw into himself.
If you can, try to draw him as far away from the hostages as possible.
That’s our only chance, for us and for the hostages.
Got it?” “I won’t let you down, Chief!” Nick said happily.
“Don’t let down the ones inside the building.” Nick’s smile vanished immediately, and he remembered that Hopps was inside the bank.
“I won’t let you down!” he repeated firmly.
Nick walked quickly towards the main entrance, holding the megaphone in his paw.
The police chief watched him go.
There was no need to say how much of a risk he was taking by sending a cadet to negotiate.
But, strangely enough, Bogo felt that Nick would manage.
When Nick had left, the chief turned back to the table and picked up Nick’s phone lying on it.
“Hopps,” Bogo brought the phone to his face, “listen carefully.” “On the line, Chief,” the rabbit on the other end responded.
“Wild is going to negotiate.” “Nick?” “Yes.
He’s going to try to get our crocodile talking.
The main thing, remember, is that we need time to prepare the assault.
But if we’re late with the assault and the situation starts to deteriorate…” Bogo paused.
“I authorize you to use any means necessary to neutralize the threat.
Any means.” Silence hung on the other end of the line.
“I understand, sir,” Judy replied after a moment.
“And one more thing, Hopps — this isn’t an order, it’s advice.” Chief Bogo gathered his thoughts.
“I don’t know how you got in there, but if you can’t stop the crocodile, get out.
The explosion will kill everyone in the hall and bring the ceiling down.
Do you understand me?
You won’t help the hostages, and you’ll die yourself.
Is that clear?” Hopps sat by the column, listening to the chief.
And despite all his shouting and his domineering attitude toward his subordinates, deep down he cared about every one of them.
It was obvious from his voice.
Judy sat and thought; after a couple of seconds, she sighed quietly.
“I understand you, sir,” she replied.
Bogo set the phone down on his desk.
His gaze fell on the table, and it seemed like he was studying the bank’s floor plan again, but really he was thinking about Hopps.
Deep down, he knew what this brave rabbit would do — and Hopps knew it too.
She couldn’t act any other way.
She would stay with those who needed help until the very end, whatever it might be.
For them and for her, it would be the same.
Hidden in the dim light by the column, Judy thought about how to get everyone out of this alive.
She checked her belt again, hoping against hope to find something — anything — that could help her stop the enormous crocodile.
But all she had was fox-grade pepper spray.
She’d never taken it out of her pocket, and she didn’t even know why.
Judy thought about the bank guards’ weapons, but searching for them in the dark hall was pointless.
Besides, the guards had probably taken them along.
But even if she had one, it would be useless against the crocodile.
Something more serious than ordinary tranquilizer darts was needed here.
Her thoughts were tangled, and nothing useful came to mind.
“Okay, calm down,” she whispered to herself.
“There’s always a way out.
Always.
Come on, think, think.” Her thoughts were interrupted by a tiny squeak from a mouse: “Miss Hopps, are you all right?” Judy looked around and noticed Gren, who had been waiting for her in the ventilation shaft, had somehow managed to climb onto a ledge and was now standing behind the grate.
Judy glanced around again, and once she was sure no one was watching, she darted over to the grate.
She slid its edge aside so Gren could get through, scooped him up in her paw, and quickly retreated back to the column.
“Well, why did you come in here?” she whispered.
“I was worried about you — so much time had passed.” Judy couldn’t be angry with the sweet little creature.
She could see he genuinely wanted to help her.
She didn’t even understand how Gren, a very timid mouse, had found the courage to keep going with her.
“Can I help?” Gren interrupted her thoughts.
“Well, if you know how to stop a three-hundred-kilogram crocodile, now’s the time to say so,” Judy said.
Gren, standing on her palm, looked down.
“No, I don’t,” he replied.
“Neither do I.” By now, the hall had become stifling and hot.
Due to security measures, the ventilation was running very weakly.
All the power was diverted to the security system, which raised the temperature throughout the building.
Judy adjusted the collar of her uniform with a finger.
“What heat!” she complained.
“The security system needs a lot of power,” Gren explained.
“The ventilation isn’t working well.” Then he suddenly suggested, “Maybe we can trick him?” “No, too dangerous,” Judy replied.
“Is the armory far?” “Yes.
And it’s locked, too — I don’t have access.” “Too bad.
Looks like we’ve got nothing.
Our only hope is Nick.” “Who’s that?” “Our negotiator.” “Is he good?” “We’ll find out soon,” Judy said, trying to smile.
A red fox was moving toward the completely sealed building.
Nick walked past the police cars, and his colleagues watched him.
He tried to focus and not get distracted.
But he did spare one glance.
The Lemur Bank security, led by the snow leopard Sange Eisi, had stayed to see how things would end.
Nick reached the very first step of the staircase leading to the bank’s main entrance.
He cleared his throat.
Behind him, the police were preparing for the assault.
He raised the megaphone, and at that moment realized he had nothing to say.
For the first time in his life, he couldn’t find the words.
What do you say to a crazed criminal who has lost everything he’d built in his entire life?
What do you say?
That everyone will come to their senses and he shouldn’t do anything stupid?
No.
This animal had come to the Lemur Bank deliberately, come to take revenge.
And he knew there was no turning back.
Nick tensed up, trying to find the words, but nothing came.
The waiting made him even more nervous.
Nick suddenly thought they probably wouldn’t even hear him inside the building.
“Come on, Wilde!” came Chief Bogo’s voice from headquarters.
“I was just thinking,” Nick began, turning to the police, “maybe they won’t even hear me.
Maybe I should try…” “What are you waiting for?” came the reply from his colleagues.
They didn’t even let him finish.
“Uh-uh-uh…” Nick fumbled for words uncertainly.
“What are you waiting for?
Start!” they pressed him from behind.
Nick, pushed from all sides by his colleagues and the chief, panicked.
He raised the megaphone to his muzzle and loudly blurted out the first thing that came to mind: “Hey, crocodile, take the unmarked bills!” “What?!” came from the police.
Out of the corner of his eye, Nick noticed the two panthers from the bank security smirking.
Only Sange remained impassive.
“Chief, did you hear what he’s saying?” someone immediately reported to Bogo.
“Should we pull him out?” Bogo was stunned and just stood there, his mouth hanging open.
“What is that fox doing?” he said threateningly.
He grabbed the phone from his desk and continued, addressing Hopps: “Hopps, what’s your situation?” “Everything’s quiet,” came the reply.
“Have the negotiations started?
We can’t hear anything.” “They’ve started,” Bogo replied, putting the phone back on his desk.
He turned to the hippo standing nearby: “Get Wilde over here, now!” The hippo rushed to carry out the order, and within seconds Nick was being led back to the chief.
“Now the chief will show him.
They’ll hire anyone for the police these days!” came the remarks about Nick from all sides.
“They never should have let him handle negotiations.
What was the boss thinking?” more indignant comments reached his ears.
Nick walked with his head down, trying to let all the snickers slide off him.
He was focused; a plan had formed in his head for how to gain the crocodile’s trust.
Only one thing remained — for Bogo to give him the chance to carry it out.
Nick was brought before the police chief.
“You’re fired,” Bogo said dryly.
“Lucky for you, the criminal didn’t hear a thing.” Nick stood next to him, looking at the service phone lying on the desk.
“What have you done?!” Bogo continued.
“Chief,” Nick interrupted him, “we have the criminal’s number from the dossier Sange Eisi gave us, right?” “So what, you want to call him after what you just said?” “Sir,” Nick laced his fingers together, pleading with Bogo, “I know what I’m doing.
Give me a chance.” “So you can mess it all up?” came the voice of the hippo behind him.
“Throw him out!” one of the rhinos standing near Bogo chimed in.
“You had your chance,” Bogo sighed regretfully.
“And you blew it.
Get him out of here.
Wilde, I expect your resignation report tomorrow.” The hippo behind Nick, grinning, grabbed him and started dragging him away.
“Sir, wait!” Nick struggled.
“Yes, I suspected the megaphone wouldn’t help.
Just listen to me, for one second!” They kept holding him back and pulling him away.
“Your method of talking won’t work, it won’t work on him.
Trust me, sir, give me a chance!” “Oh, it won’t work, will it?” someone in the crowd replied.
“The negotiators will be here in twenty-five minutes.” “He came here to cause as much damage to the bank as possible, and your negotiators will only enrage him, because you’re all cops and you don’t even know what it’s like to be a criminal.
But I’ve been on the other side, and I know what to do.
Please, Chief.
Let me go.
He doesn’t need comforting — you won’t talk him out of it that way.
He needs someone to agree with him.
That’s why he hasn’t blown up the bank yet — he’s hesitating.
If you try to talk him out of it, it’ll only make things worse.
You have to agree with him.” Nick struggled desperately, but couldn’t break free.
“Stop,” Bogo raised a hoof.
“Bring him back.
What nonsense are you talking?” Amid the general murmur, the hippo released the fox.
“What’s your plan?” Bogo asked.
“Let me call him,” Nick asked, straightening his rumpled uniform.
“I’ll try to get him talking.
I’ll buy us time.
Just trust me.
Give me a chance.
Then fire me if you want, or send me to a tribunal.” Silence fell.
The animals looked at their chief.
Sange Eisi and his Lemur Bank security were watching this scene too.
Bogo was breathing heavily.
Time passed.
The police officers surrounding him and Nick began to whisper.
The police chief looked at Nick.
Time kept passing.
Bogo’s powerful paw extended a phone toward Nick’s nose.
“Go ahead,” he said amid the general murmur, then continued, addressing his colleagues: “All right, back to work.
What are you standing around with your mouths open for?
Get to work!” Nick took the phone.
“Everything I’m about to say,” Nick began, “is a game, a fabrication.
Please take it in stride.” Nick looked up at his colleagues.
“Act,” Bogo replied.
“Nobody interfere — get back to your posts!” Nick dialed the number and heard the ringing tone…
A tiny bead of sweat ran down the rabbit’s nose and fell onto the marble floor, splattering in all directions.
Judy wiped her paw across the wet fur on her forehead.
“I can’t hear our negotiator,” Gren whispered.
“It’s okay, we will,” she replied.
And at that moment, in the complete, gloomy silence, a loud phone ringtone sounded.
Judy instantly perked up and cautiously peered out from behind the column.
Below, near her paw, Gren also peeked out.
In the dim light, on the side where the silhouettes of the hostages were visible, she noticed movement.
An enormous tail, coiled around a column, was swaying from side to side.
Only now, with its movement, could she make it out.
Now Judy knew exactly where the criminal was hiding.
“Stay here,” she ordered Gren, then darted to the next column, crouching low.
The phone ringtone continued to play.
Apparently, the crocodile wasn’t in a hurry to answer.
Judy, crouching as low to the floor as possible, ran to the next column, and then to the last one, carefully circling the criminal along the perimeter of the hall, trying to approach from a safe side.
Pressing her whole body against the column, she barely peeked out.
From her new position, she had a much better view.
The enormous crocodile, covered in dynamite, sat with his back against a column, his tail coiled around it.
He was intently watching the screen of his phone.
Across from him, the hostages sat frozen in horror.
Judy spotted two pigs, a pair of gazelles, a zebra, a hedgehog, three badgers, a couple of beavers, and a squirrel that the crocodile was holding by the neck like a rag.
The phone rang again.
A number appeared on the crocodile’s phone screen.
Harry Drago stared intently at the phone.
He seemed completely absorbed in his thoughts, but that was just an illusion.
Hopps’s position was very good — it let her see all the hostages while staying practically behind Harry’s back, out of his field of vision.
As soon as Judy had counted all the hostages, one of the pigs caught sight of her out of the corner of her eye.
She was so happy to see a police officer that she could barely contain her emotions.
Seeing Judy, the pig instinctively turned her head slightly toward Judy and gave a barely noticeable smile.
And, as mentioned above, even though Harry seemed completely absorbed in thought, he noticed this gesture.
The pig immediately realized her mistake and instantly dropped her gaze to the floor.
A threatening growl sounded.
Instantly, the enormous crocodile turned toward where the pig had been looking.
Fortunately, Judy had managed to hide behind the column.
She held her breath and even stopped breathing.
Harry’s eyes darted back and forth, trying to spot someone in the darkness.
The crocodile froze in that position for a while, stalking his prey.
And again, the phone ringtone shattered the silence.
After staring into the darkness a little longer, the crocodile was satisfied that everything was calm.
Harry leaned back against the column.
“I said — everyone shut up and sit still!” he said in a commanding, rough voice toward the hostages.
“It’ll all be over soon.
Soon!” As if on command, all the hostages lowered their eyes to the floor and fell silent.
Harry held the squirrel with the phone in one paw, and the detonator button in the other.
He raised it in front of him and pressed it slowly and easily.
It seemed like another second and he would carry out his insane plan.
But again, the phone ringtone interrupted the silence and his thoughts.
It roused him a little; Harry lowered the detonator button and put it in his pocket.
The unfamiliar number appeared again.
Harry stared at the screen for a long time, then gave in, brought the phone to his free paw, and pressed the answer button.
“Yeah,” Harry said, “who is this?”