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Inspector Snootley wasn't going to stop—not for the law or anything else. He jumped into a catering van. Snootley hit the gas, and the vehicle peeled out .
“Well,” Nick said, while Snootley drove away, “we'll get him next time.” Nick stood there with Judy, watching the catering van, as a car horn blared behind them. “Get outta the road!”
Judy turned to see the smug-looking pig from before, trying to drive away in his fancy new hog rod. Smiling at Nick, Judy said, “We'll get him now.”
In a blur , Judy and Nick commandeered the hog rod, leaving the entitled pig standing next to Finnick in the baby stroller.
Her paw heavy on the gas pedal, Judy soon caught up to the catering van. “Hopps and Wilde in pursuit of suspect in a stolen catering van, heading east through Sheepshire,” Judy said into her radio.
Judy steered the hog rod, following Snootley down the sleepy streets of Sheepshire. When Snootley passed by a sheep barber shop, he smacked into a basket of wool, sending it toward the hog rod. The basket hit the hog rod, and wool went everywhere.
“Darling, I believe your driving is giving me some white hairs,” Nick said. “Also, am I always gonna be in the passenger seat? 'Cause if we're establishing sides—” Before he could continue, Nick was cut off by the blare of a police siren . He glanced to the side and saw a SWAT truck pull up next to them.
“Back off, rookies!” Captain Hoggbottom said. “Let the real teams handle it!”
“Oh, we are a real team,” Judy said, taking offense.
“Shortcut , take the tunnel,” Nick said, ignoring Hoggbottom.
Judy made a sharp left turn, determined to catch Snootley. Snootley hit the gas, driving toward an on-ramp going in the opposite direction. Staring into his rearview mirror, he saw that Judy and Nick were still following him! Snootley muttered under his breath as he continued to look in the mirror, unaware that he was heading right for the Zootennial celebration!
The catering van smashed into a parade sign. Unable to see out the windshield, Snootley leaned out the window. WHAM! Snootley hit his head on a traffic sign, knocking him unconscious . He slumped over into the passenger seat. With no one to steer the vehicle, the catering van careered toward the parade, unable to stop.
From the hog rod, Judy saw it all. She knew that things would get real bad, real quick unless she acted. Judy activated the nitrous oink-xide canister in the hog rod, giving the car a sudden burst of speed.
As she and Nick closed in on the catering van, Judy said, “I'm gonna jump!” Climbing onto the seat, Judy was about to jump as Nick struggled to slide into the driver's seat and take the wheel.
“What?! No, no, no! What are you—?” Nick said in disbelief. “Carrots, hey—I would like to call a partner meeting! Carrots?”
Nick tried to stop her, but he only succeeded in knocking Judy off balance as she leapt toward the catering van. Somehow, Judy managed to hang on. She pulled herself inside the van. She was heading right for the parade now. Her instinct was to slam on the brakes, but she found that she was too short—she couldn't reach the pedal! Thinking fast, Judy slumped below the steering wheel, spinning it as she hit the brakes. She was unable to see what was happening, but she felt the vehicle turn around.
The catering van went off the road, heading right for a statue of the founder of Zootopia. The statue was surrounded by Zootopian citizens as Mayor Winddancer gave a speech. “Please join me in a moment of silence for our beloved weather-wall inventor, Ebenezer Lynxley,” the mayor said.
As the citizens bowed their heads, the catering van smashed into the statue! Snootley spilled out of the vehicle, falling right into a nearby police car. The two zebra officers in the car couldn't believe their good fortune. They looked at one another as they shouted, “Zebros!”
A moment later, Nick pulled up in the hog rod as Judy recovered in the driver's seat of the catering van. She thought she heard the back door open. Turning around, Judy glanced in the rear of the catering van. There was an open blue crate, its contents strewn about. There were Zootennial pamphlets , markers, supplies, and what Judy could have sworn was... snakeskin?
“Those two are out of control! You need to do something about it! Everyone's laughing at us! This is hogwash !” Captain Hoggbottom's voice boomed from inside Chief Bogo's office. Judy and Nick sat outside in the hallway, like two kids who had just been sent to the principal's office.
While they waited, Judy used her phone to watch a video recording of Scaly Tales of the Weird , a podcast about reptile mysteries and rumors from Marsh Market. “Zootopia ain't just a mammal city,” said the podcast host, a beaver named Nibbles Maplestick. “It has a secret tiny reptile population, of course no snakes. Ain't been one of them around here for at least one hundred years.”
The podcast was interrupted by Chief Bogo as he screamed, “Bunny! Orange dog! In here now!”
The partners exchanged uneasy glances as they entered Bogo's office. Inside, they saw the other officers who had been involved in the morning's pursuit. They were all a little banged up. None of them looked happy.
“Sir, today may not have been ideal, but the anteater was captured—” Judy started to say.
“By the Zebros!” Chief Bogo shouted.
“Zebros!” the two zebra officers echoed.
“It was us,” Judy insisted. “But more importantly, I believe we may have made a significant discovery: The stolen van contained a smuggled crate of unknown origin, pamphlets for the Zootennial, and some type of reptile skin. I've already sent samples for testing—”
“What needs testing is you! You two tore up half the city!” Chief Bogo shot back. “Did you or did you not disobey a direct order to stand down?”
“Sir, we were in pursuit. And article six, paragraph B states if the lead officers—”
“You are not lead officers!” Chief Bogo thundered . “You are one-hit wonders who should go back to meter-maiding and slinging pawpsicles!”
Chief Bogo ordered everyone out of his office except for Judy and Nick. After everyone cleared out, Chief Bogo sighed. “Officer Hopps, despite my best efforts to avoid it, I like you,” he said, his tone softening. “But this need to overdo it made both of you a headline today. And it reflects badly on me, on the department, and frankly on any bunny hoping to follow in your footsteps. And I don't know why you can't see it. Not every case is going to save the world.”
Judy looked at the chief as his words sunk in.
“Knock-knock. Hi,” Nick said. “You know, this kinda sounds a lot like a just you guys conversation, so what I'm going to do is go ahead—”
“Is there a reason you don't take anything seriously?” Chief Bogo asked.
“Jokes are a classic defense mechanism for someone with a traumatic childhood.”
“Would you like a traumatic adulthood?” Chief Bogo threatened.
“I would not.”
Looking at Judy and Nick, Chief Bogo glanced around his office. He saw a newspaper with a headline that read, “Hopps and Wilde Crack the Case”.
“I allowed you to work together,” the chief said, “because you did this city a great service. But today you messed it all up. And now some are questioning whether you should've been partners in the first place.” His eyes falling on Judy, Bogo continued, “You care too much.” Then to Nick he said, “You don't seem to care at all.”
“Mm-yeah,” Nick replied.
“This is serious. If you cannot get on the same page, I will separate you. There will be no Hopps and Wilde. Which is why, effective immediately, you will not be pursuing imaginary reptiles—”
“Sir—” Judy said.
“Or anything else, except one very special assignment reserved just for teams like you.” Bogo smiled, but there was nothing friendly about it. “Fail at this... and I will have no choice but to split you up. But if you're as good as you think you are, this is your moment to shine.”