-Chapter 4-

The door to the jail cell slammed shut, Omar Moufflon trapped inside. He was going to have to stay at the ZPD for a few days until they decided on a formal prison to move him to. In every regard, the mission had been a success. They took a potentially dangerous criminal off of the streets, preventing him from giving anyone else access to night howlers, which gave the public great peace of mind.

There had been a small celebration at the ZPD, consisting of ordering out and lounging around in the lobby. Normally, Chief Bogo would never tolerate such behavior, but tonight, he felt as though his officers had earned it. They had been working so hard over the past couple of weeks it was probably for the best if they took this time to unwind a bit. The four officers plus Etson were all sitting on the two couches by the water cooler, laughing at some joke Nick had just told.

"I meant to ask, Etson," Nick started, "when Omar started screaming at you, what did he say? I assume it wasn't nice."

"You know, zhe usual zhings," Etson smirked. "Wanting me to die, insulting my mother."

"Ah yes," Nick remarked, "the classics. What language was that, again?"

"Alimandish," Etson replied, "It's my native language, which is why I have such a heavy accent."

Etson had always felt guilty about how those around him for having to try harder to understand him, constantly feeling the need to apologize for his speech.

"Well I think that your accent is cool," Judy said reassuringly.

"Teach me how to say something in Alimandish, Etson," Officer Fangmire requested.

"Okay," Etson said, "Malau, ci bourez?"

"Malau, see bresh?" Fangmire repeated, struggling with the pronunciation.

"Malau, ci bourez," Etson said again, emphasizing the parts of the words that the tiger had struggled with. "Zhat means 'Hello, how are you?'"

"Foreign languages are so cool," Judy said, letting out a sigh. "I wish I knew how to speak one."

Suddenly, the door to the break room swung open, revealing Clawhauser. "Sorry to break up the party," Clawhauser apologized. "Is Etson in here?"

"Zhat would be me," Etson said, raising his paw.

"Mayor Pawleen just showed up, and she wants to speak with you," Clawhauser said, "I think it's about the reward."

Etson's smile faded. "The mayor is here?" he asked.

"Yes, she and Bogo both are," Clawhauser replied, "Are you ready to meet with them?"

"Y-yes." Etson said, the contentment now shifting into a mix of anxiety and dread.

"Good luck, Etson!" Judy waved as the raccoon left.

As he left the break room, Etson couldn't think about anything other than his increasing heart rate. This was it. This was what was going to decide whether he collected the reward and started a new life, or...well, he didn't want to think about what would happen otherwise.

I've got this, I've got this, he repeated over and over in his head, trying to calm his nerves.

Clawhauser led him up the stairs and down the hall to an office on the right. "The two of them are in here, waiting for you," Clawhauser said. "Go in whenever you are ready."

"Thank you, sir," he replied, standing outside the door frame. Clawhauser left and went back down the stairs, trying to remember where he had seen the raccoon before, but not quite able to put his paw on it.

Pulse racing, Etson turned the doorknob. He slowly opened up the door, and walked into the room. The room itself was designed like any other office, with a desk in the center of the room. There was a large office chair on one side of the desk, presumably reserved for whoever's office this was, and two smaller chairs on the opposite side, presumably reserved for visitors. There were potted plants in the corners of the room, which Etson assumed to be plastic. He slowly shuffled his paws along the carpet and entered the room, the door closing behind him.

"Oh, hello there!" a kangaroo said from behind the desk. Etson recognized her immediately from TV as the mayor of Zootopia. "Please, have a seat," she encouraged, motioning to the open seat next to a large buffalo. Etson quickly scurried over to his seat and sat down.

"I am Mayor Pawleen, and this is Chief Bogo," the mayor introduced, "He's the head of the ZPD."

"It's very nice to meet you," Bogo extended his hoof out to Etson, which Etson quickly shook. "I just want to thank you sincerely for being such a great help in apprehending the most wanted criminal in Zootopia. The evidence you provided was invaluable to ensuring his capture."

"It is my pleasure," Etson replied, trying to mask his nervousness with a heartfelt smile. "I am happy help zhis great city."

"You have done the citizens of Zootopia a great service," Mayor Pawleen assured him, "You have our gratitude, which is why we asked to talk with you today. As I'm sure you're aware, there was quite the bounty on Moufflon's head, and seeing as you provided all of the information leading to his capture, we would like to award you with the prize money."

"Yes," Bogo said affirmatively, "The bounty was fifty thousand Zootopian dollars, all of which you are entitled to collect. So, how would you like us to complete this transaction?"

"Uh..." Etson stumbled, unsure how to answer the question. "Does writing a check work?"

"I think we can do that," the mayor replied, "Just stop by city hall sometime in the next week, and I'll make sure it is delivered to you personally. Does that sound okay?"

Etson exhaled nervously. "Yes, that sounds fine."

The mayor smiled. "Okay, that's that then! I look forward to seeing you at city hall. If you have anything else that you need, don't hesitate to let me know. You've helped out the ZPD and Zootopia as a whole tremendously."

Bogo nodded in agreement. "You have friends here at the ZPD too, if you need them."

Etson tapped his two index fingers together, as he always did when he got nervous. "Actually, zhere is one zhing zhat you could maybe help me out wizh."

The mayor raised an eyebrow in surprise. "And what would that be?"

"You see..." Etson started, now tapping his index fingers together more rapidly. "My family moved here from Alimand when I was just a zmall child, only seven years old. My fazher... he wanted a better life for our family, and Zootopia was where he decided to take us. Unfortunately..." Etson swallowed heavily, staring down at the ground, afraid of making eye contact with either Bogo or Pawleen, "...he did not come here legally. What zhat means...is zhat..." he struggled to force the words out of his mouth, "I am not technically a citizen of Zootopia."

The mayor and the police chief exchanged surprised glances with one another. Was he admitting what they thought he was admitting?

"I have lived in zhis wonderful place for eleven years now," Etson continued. "I have paid taxes on everyzhing I have for all of zhe years I have lived here. I have a zmall cafe where I serve Zootopian customers. I love zhis city wizh all of my heart. Which is why I want..."

Etson mustered up the courage to look up from the ground, making eye contact on the mayor.

"...I want to become an official citizen of Zootopia."

Downstairs, the four officers were still enjoying one another's company. All of the officers ended up getting pretty close with each other, just from being on the force together, so it was never hard to have a good time.

"So what was the most fun that you two ever had solving a case together?" Nick asked the other two officers, a tiger and a wolf.

"Hmm...The most fun case..." Fangmire looked at his partner, trying to remember all of the cases they had solved. "I think it was probably the one where we had to chase down that otter in Tundratown."

"Ooh, yeah! I almost forgot about that one," Delgado said, now remembering what had happened. "He tried to make a run for it by stealing a toboggan and sliding down this hill, so we had no choice but to sled down after him. Ah, man, those were good times."

Fangmire nodded, smiling. "The poor guy crashed into a tree too. Made him real easy to catch."

The four of them laughed, as the door opened again.

"Etson! You're back!" Judy exclaimed. "How did it go?"

Etson couldn't contain his smile. "Better zhan I could have imagined. I am going to get zhe reward later zhis week."

"That's great, bud!" Judy said, also now smiling. "You deserve every penny of it for how much you helped us."

"Aw, you're too nice. You guys did all of zhe work," Etson said sheepishly, blushing a little bit, "I just showed you where he was."

"Stop being modest," Judy said, slapping him on the back. "Listen, we're gonna hang out here together for a little while longer, if you want to join us."

Etson looked at the clock on the wall. 5:35pm. It probably didn't make sense to go back and reopen the cafe, as it would take nearly an hour and a half to get home from the ZPD using public transport, which Etson would have to use on account of the fact that he didn't have a car.

"Yeah, I like zhat idea" Etson answered Judy, taking his place on the couch next to her.

As Etson sat down, Nick got up to refill his drink. He poured more Petsi into the plastic cup, examining Etson from a distance. Nick watched as he told a joke, followed by laughter from the rest of the group. The fox sighed. Etson seemed like a really great animal, but there was something about him that Nick didn't like. After living on the streets for so many years, he had developed a talent for understanding more or less someone was like just from a few interactions with them, and for some reason, those instincts were telling him not to trust Etson. It made no sense, when Nick rationally thought about it. He had treated them extremely well when they had visited his cafe and had just caught the most wanted criminal in Zootopia. There was absolutely no basis for the mistrust he had.

The fox shook his head. There's something that he's hiding from us, I know it.

He decided he wasn't going to think about it anymore. Besides, he likely wouldn't see Etson again after he left today anyways.

Having filled his cup, he went back to rejoin the group.

"Now arriving at Sleet Street," the robotic intercom of the train announced. "Please watch your step."

Etson stepped out onto the platform. It was darker and considerably cooler than when he had last been outside a few hours ago. He had spent a good two to three hours at the ZPD with the officers, just hanging out. Following the signs that were posted at the station, he walked down a flight of stairs before coming to street level. He started walking in the direction of home, which was a few blocks away, unable to stop smiling like an idiot.

The mayor had accepted his bid for citizenship, and she promised to give him an official passport along with the reward money. Etson could finally expand the cafe and make it into an actual restaurant, with actual staff. He no longer had to worry about concealing his identity, or cover up the fact that he was an illegal, meaning he could actually do things like open up a bank account and get his driver's license. His life was finally becoming somewhat normal, and nothing could make him happier.

He walked along the sidewalk, the sun almost completely below the horizon. His cafe was just around the corner and across the street. He was ready to go and crash after such a long day.

Wait a minute, Etson said, looking across the street at his cafe. What happened here?

His smile, which had been all but impossible to remove, suddenly changed to a face of pure terror.

No no no no no, Etson thought frantically. This can't be happening.

He quickly ran across the street. As he looked up at the face of his cafe, he fell to his knees in defeat.

The windows were smashed. The tables were knocked over. The chairs were singed. Everything was gone. Seven years of determination and investment, burned to the ground in a single night. Tears started to run from Etson's cheeks. He pounded the ground with his fists, cursing violently in Alimandish. The feelings of bliss, excitement, and happiness from earlier were gone, consumed entirely by despair. He knelt there for a few minutes, unable to bring himself to do anything aside from sob hysterically. He was so close to escaping. He finally had what he needed to pull himself out of his condition. The finish line was in sight.

And then this had happened.

Etson's heart felt only emptiness. All of the efforts he had made to distance himself from others had been futile. The promises he had kept all of these years to never love anyone didn't matter, because he had fallen in love with his work. He knew that if life was going to attack him again, it was going to be directed at whatever he loved the most. Seven years ago, it was both of his parents. Tonight, it was his cafe.

The scrapbook, Etson suddenly remembered, thoughts of his family jogging his memory. Dear God, please not the scrapbook.

He quickly got up off his knees and ran inside, climbing over the overturned tables and chairs. He rushed up the ladder, frantically looking for the scrapbook. Looking around the room, he saw that it was in similar condition to downstairs. Red spraypaint had been applied to the entire back wall. P.P.P. Etson was so consumed that he hardly cared about the damage. All he could think about was the scrapbook.

In a total frenzy, he unturned everything he could, desperately hoping to find it somewhere in the wreckage. Then he saw it.

Etson practically threw himself over to the scrapbook, which was lying on the floor in a charred heap. He frantically flipped through the pages, trying to see if there was anything he could salvage. Page after page, either entirely burned away or entirely black. Page after page, Etson's heart continued to sink. On the last page, there was a single image that looked to be intact. Etson practically ripped it out of the page it was attached to.

Etson knew the picture as well as any other in the scrapbook. It was a photo of his parents on their wedding day, which was almost twenty one years ago. His mother was dressed in a traditional white dress, and his father in a tuxedo with his favorite red bowtie. His father was kissing his mother on the forehead, with his mother shining her pearly smile up at him. It had always been one of Etson's favorite photos of his parents. He never would have guessed it would become the only memory he had left of them. The tears began rolling faster now down his cheeks, wettening the ashes of the scrapbook. Etson felt completely and utterly alone. His mind started racing, filling up with questions. Why did this have to happen to him? What did he do to deserve this? Why did life strangle every last bit of joy he had in him, time and time again?

One answer was that he had just been unlucky. Fate had decided to demolish the life Etson kept building up because of some random factor.

No. He wasn't going to accept that as an answer. Life had it out for him, yes, but he refused to accept that he was powerless to fate. There was still something he could do with his life. Giving up would mean admitting that he was weak, that life had gotten the better of him. He needed to take action, he needed to fix this. Life was telling him to give up, just as it had seven years ago, but Etson simply wasn't the type to quit. The more and more he thought about it, the more and more he felt the feelings of grief and melancholy slowly shift into that of resentment, then enmity, and then pure, unadulterated retribution.

He realized what he had to do. He wiped the tears from his eyes, determined not to feel sorry for himself. He felt the desire for revenge running strongly and clearly through his shattered state of mind. He put his right paw on the scrapbook, and made a vow.

I will find whoever did this, he promised himself. And I will make. Them. Pay.

He turned his attention to the spray paint on the wall. P.P.P. They, or he, or she, or whatever those letters meant, they were the thing that did this to him. They were the ones who he was going to bring to justice.

Hey guys! Another chapter today, since I had a lot of free time. I know it's shorter than usual, but I wanted to cut it shorter to bring a more powerful ending. As always, please leave feedback and reactions on anything you think I can improve on!