“And who are you?” Zerni said angrily.
Without realizing it, he was squeezing the raccoon’s throat.
“I…
I…
I…
emp…” the raccoon wheezed, still fighting for air.
“Easy, Zerni, you’ll choke him!” Nick worried.
“Well, what’s going on?” Judy asked.
The wolf finally loosened his grip, and the poor animal fell to his knees, breathing heavily.
“I’m a bank employee, I work in accounting,” the raccoon began heavily.
“We heard the alarm and hid in the counting room.
In the basement.” “How many are still in there?” Zerni asked.
“Seven.” “And how did you get into the ventilation system?” Nick asked.
“They sent me for help, and I crawled into the ventilation, and then suddenly everything started cracking, noise started…” The raccoon began gesturing wildly with his paws.
Judy, meanwhile, pressed her ear to the grate, listening carefully, and realized that it was because of him, the raccoon, that the security system had been triggered.
“Hey, Nick, Zerni, he activated the motion sensors in the ventilation!” Judy shouted, her voice echoing metallically through the air duct.
“And triggered the security system.” “Well, buddy, you’ve really done it now…” Nick added, hearing Judy’s voice.
“I…” the raccoon began to justify himself.
“What about me?
I didn’t do anything.
I almost died in there myself.
My life is worth more than all the bank’s money.
I wasn’t about to die in there.” “Did you at least see the criminal?” Zerni asked.
The raccoon shook his head negatively.
He kept muttering something to himself, about how he wasn’t to blame and had almost died himself.
“Why aren’t you at your positions?” came from the direction of the car — their observation post.
It was the returning Kex shouting.
He had already taken the reporter away.
By then, the crowd of onlookers was busy photographing and filming everything at their deployment spot.
A couple of daredevils had even climbed into the police car for better selfies in the officers’ place.
Kex, naturally, didn’t like this and tried to restore order in his usual manner.
“He’s a witness too, you can’t let him go!” Judy shouted from the air duct.
“What?” the raccoon protested.
“Sorry, buddy,” Nick smiled slightly, “you heard the boss.
Even when she’s locked up, she’s still in charge.” The raccoon sadly lowered his eyes.
Zerni held him by the paw.
Meanwhile, Kex continued moving civilians away from the police car and behind the barriers.
His shouts reached Nick and Zerni.
“What are we going to do with her?” Zerni pointed a clawed finger at the air duct.
Nick turned around.
Judy heard these words and, without wasting time, shouted back: “Don’t worry about me, I’ll try to get inside.
If I can.
Nick, stay in touch.
If anything happens, I’ll call you.” Zerni smiled slightly arrogantly and, leading the dejected raccoon, headed to the car, where Kex was already waiting for him.
Nick watched them both go, then carefully touched the wall with his fingertips and whispered quietly: “Be careful.” Sighing, he followed the wolf.
Judy pulled her phone from the pocket on her belt.
Turning on the flashlight, she turned back toward the ventilation passage the raccoon had come from.
Ahead, the bright beam of the flashlight illuminated a long, square tunnel made of metal.
It was all dusty and dirty — it was clear that no one had been here in a long time except the raccoon, who had collected most of that dust.
The tunnel made a sharp left turn about five meters ahead.
Limping slightly, Judy moved forward, lighting her way.
“Just my luck,” she thought, “how did I manage to land so awkwardly?” Clenching her teeth, Judy continued moving forward.
Reaching the turn, she carefully peered around the corner.
Ahead, she saw an exact copy of the air duct she had just passed — just as dirty, metal, and dark.
However, she noticed a very interesting difference in it.
Moving the flashlight beam aside to create semi-darkness, Judy clearly saw red beams forming a kind of grid.
“And there’s the security system,” she whispered, “that’s what the raccoon ran into.” Judy carefully approached the red lines and extended her paw forward.
Fully focused, ready to pull her paw back at any second in case of danger, she touched the beams.
But, fortunately for her, it was just an alarm.
The red beams played over the fur on her paw without causing any harm.
She even chuckled at herself.
Did she really think there might be a deadly trap here?
Slipping through the beams, Judy, limping on one paw, moved forward to the next turn.
Only a small surveillance camera installed above captured her.
Reaching the second turn, Hopps pressed herself against the edge and slowly peered around it.
Ahead, she saw a short section of the ventilation duct, brightly flooded with rays of light.
At the end of it, she saw a hole where the grate should have been.
Judy listened and heard barely distinguishable voices of animals — apparently, the ones the raccoon had mentioned.
The animals in the room were whispering and clearly arguing about something.
Judy moved forward toward the light.
“Come on, bring more to the door,” came a mouse’s voice, “and that table needs to be moved too.” “It’s enough already,” a lamb whispered nervously back.
“And I say no,” the mouse insisted.
“Hey, Gren, do you hear anything?” “Nothing, complete silence.” “Maybe they won’t find us?” “Maybe.” “Henry will bring us help, I’m sure.” “That arrogant raccoon has already run off and abandoned us all; I said we shouldn’t have let him go!” said an old, hoarse voice.
“And I’m sure they’ll help us.
The police will tranquilize the criminals and free us.” “Yeah, right, wait for help from them; the internal security service will help faster.” All these voices reached Judy as she crawled toward the exit.
Sticking her head out, she looked around.
Seven animals were in a fairly spacious room with a lot of office furniture.
In the center were tables piled almost to the ceiling with papers, stacks barely maintaining their balance.
Huge cabinets lining the perimeter of the room were also stuffed with waste paper.
In short, it was the accounting room on a crunch day.
Judy spotted two doors — one on one side, the other on the opposite.
She looked at the nearest door.
A crowd of animals had gathered near it, whose conversation she had heard.
The door was pressed against by a huge cabinet that the animals hadn’t been able to move and had simply knocked over.
Two office desks had been dragged to the cabinet, and — for extra security — a huge pile of waste paper.
The sheer amount of paper and folders of various kinds was overwhelming.
They were everywhere: on the tables, on the floor, and, of course, concentrated at the barricade.
It was a simple mound of waste paper.
Judy observed all this from a huge hole in the wall.
Apparently, to get the raccoon into the ventilation, they had to tear the air duct grate off the wall.
Judy examined the animals.
There were two mice, one of whom was commanding a horse trying to drag another table.
The second mouse, apparently his assistant, stood next to him, trembling with fear.
Near them was another old horse.
He was constantly grumbling and dissatisfied with everything.
Also hiding behind the tables in the room were three sheep with characteristic pads near their elbows on their clothes — accountants.
And that was all the “resistance” that Judy had discovered.
Judy carefully jumped down, trying not to put weight on her sore paw, and announced in a cheerful voice: “Hello, I’m Judy Hopps from the police.
And don’t worry, as long as I’m with you, nothing bad will happen.” The astonishment of all the surrounding animals knew no bounds.
The conversations immediately fell silent.
And everyone looked toward the doe rabbit.
Even the ram accountants hiding under the tables looked at the newly appeared heroine with fear and curiosity.
A complete silence fell, broken by the quiet, occasionally interrupted by coughing, laughter of the old horse.
Judy furrowed her brow.
After all these years, she still couldn’t get used to being judged as a rabbit — a weak little animal.
“Ha-ha!” the old horse laughed, wheezing.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but where’s the special forces squad of hamsters?
Is it coming right behind you?
We’re all saved, hurray!” “Dad!” the young horse, David, couldn’t help himself.
“What ‘dad’?
Look at her!” the old horse continued.
“A raccoon would be more useful.
Ha-ha!” “Quiet, you, Oscar!” the older mouse, Sam, cut him off.
“The robbers might hear us.” The old horse Oscar obeyed and fell silent, stepping aside.
From there, his quiet laughter could be heard.
“Hello, ma’am,” Sam said, approaching Hopps.
“I’m Sam, head of the accounting group, this is my assistant, Gren,” he pointed to the second mouse, “this is the horse David and his father, Oscar.
They’re loaders, and those over there are our accountants.” “Nice to meet you.” “With all due respect, but how can you help us?” Sam asked.
“We’re being robbed, and you don’t even have a weapon.” “First of all,” Judy began, “you’re not being robbed, you’ve been taken hostage.
There’s only one criminal in the foyer.” “Really?
Then what are we waiting for?
Let’s go!” David suggested, young blood surging in him.
“We can definitely take one!” “And also — he’s a crocodile,” Hopps continued.
The young horse’s fighting spirit dampened a little, and he no longer pushed the table away from the barricade with such determination.
“No big deal,” David said, not wanting to give up.
“And I’m afraid he’s armed with dynamite.
And he could blow everyone up,” Judy added.
David quickly thought better of it and dragged the pushed-aside table back to the barricades.
“That changes things,” he declared quickly and with far less pomp.
“Don’t play the hero, kid,” Oscar returned to them.
“We’ve already got a hero.” The old horse leaned down to Judy’s muzzle.
“So?” Sam whispered.
“What’s your plan?” “Alright, then,” Judy gathered herself.
She jumped down from the box and, hopping onto a table in the middle of the room, surveyed it once more.
All the hostages were looking at her with different expressions — from haughty to full of hope.
“As long as we’re safe here,” she began.
“Thank you, expert!” Oscar jeered, coughing.
“A weight off my soul.” Ignoring the old grumpy horse, Judy continued: “And what’s behind that door?” She ran to the second door, which wasn’t blocked, a metal one.
“The repository, it sealed itself automatically, it can’t be opened,” Sam answered.
He was watching her closely from atop David’s head.
“Good,” Judy returned to the table.
“The thing is, I need to get into the hall.” “No, no, and absolutely not,” Sam said firmly.
“We’re not dismantling the barricade.” “It’s the only way out,” Judy explained.
She looked around, seeking support.
The rams, watching her, trembling with fear, shook their heads and hid under the tables.
The old horse just snorted in response.
“I agree with the boss,” David replied.
“There’s a crocodile out there, a crocodile with dynamite.
No, we’re not dismantling the blockage.” “I won’t allow the robbers to get into the repository,” the head mouse, Sam, put his foot down.
“I’m responsible for it with my head.
The barricade stays.” Judy wanted to object and threaten them with obstruction of police work, but she didn’t.
It was clear that neither threats nor anything else would work on them.
Besides, she had no right to endanger their lives by making them dismantle the blockage.
Judy was a little disappointed; there was nothing left for her to do but sit down on the table.
Having lost all interest in her, the animals returned to their own affairs.
She drooped her ears and fixed her eyes on the floor.
“Who even sent her here?” reached her ears.
“Traded a needle for a nail…” “Hold the barricade, guys…” Judy sat in silence and thought.
It was foolish to hope that she could get into the bank lobby and observe the criminal in the cordoned-off building.
But she couldn’t always be on the front line; sometimes there are hopeless situations, and you can’t do anything about it.
You have to accept the circumstances.
It wasn’t that Judy wanted to become a hero again or constantly be in the thick of things.
She didn’t want that on purpose.
But if a chance appeared, an opportunity to help the cause, to help those in trouble, she had to use it to the fullest.
And it was frustrating when, halfway to your goal, failure awaits you and it’s completely out of your control.
Life isn’t like the movies — there’s no screenwriter to guide the heroes through the plot, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
“Well…
at least no one got hurt,” she whispered and, raising her eyes upward, continued whispering: “Oh, Nick, if you were here, you’d definitely come up with something.” Her gaze fixed on the ceiling, where, next to the light fixtures, there was a ventilation grille.
The corner of Judy’s mouth twitched slightly, and her brow furrowed a little.
A meaningful expression appeared on her muzzle — a mischievous grin with a clear hint of an adventurous undertaking.
Judy jumped up sharply and ran over to the animals near the barricade.
They were arguing about the strength of their construction.
“Sam,” she said.
“Hey, guys!” They were either deliberately ignoring her or didn’t notice her, engrossed in their own affairs.
“Hey, listen!” Judy tried again to get their attention.
The company was so absorbed in their discussion that they stubbornly ignored Hopps’s shouts.
“Help me!” she shouted, waving her paws.
The same reaction in response.
Judy clenched her paws into fists.
She jumped onto a box, pushed off from it, leaped over the horses, landing right in the center of the company and their conversation.
Judy landed on a cardboard box behind the two mice.
Under her weight, the box deformed, and the mice standing on it flew up right to the level of Judy’s pleased muzzle.
She naturally didn’t let them fall, deftly catching both in mid-air.
In complete silence and under the astonished gazes of the two horses, she gently set the mice back down.
“I’ll repeat,” Judy said quietly and confidently, “I need help.” “How can I help you?” the astonished Sam replied.
“Over here!” Judy exclaimed, jumping off the box and waving her paw.
Both horses obediently made way for her.
“Right here,” Judy continued.
“Where does this ventilation lead?” “To the upper levels,” Sam answered.
“Just what I need,” she smiled.
Jumping onto the table, she continued: “We need to knock out the grille and toss me up there.
Then I’ll be in the lobby and can report the situation to my superiors.” In response to her idea, she got complete silence and incomprehension.
“And also,” she clarified softly, “we don’t need to dismantle the barricade.” “Yes,” approving exclamations were heard in response.
“This could work…” “Quick, get the ropes…” David and Oscar threw ropes with hooks.
They had used them before for carts, moving money from one safe to another, and also for loading and unloading.
And in the same way, they had pulled out the ventilation grille when they sent the raccoon for help.
The hooks caught on the grille.
A small effort of two horsepower — and the grille tore away from the concrete with a crash and fell onto the table.
A cloud of dust rose.
Concrete fragments scattered.
When the dust settled, everyone could clearly make out a hole in the ceiling, and behind it, a faint metallic glitter of the air duct was barely visible.