Remembrance

The lone mammal inhaled deeply the pungent aroma of coffee that had filled the air.
He needed that.
It was only early morning and the number of papers on his desk was increasing by the minute. But that was just the normal routine.
Sighing, he took one sheet with one paw and the mug with the other and began reading.


After the tenth theft report his bored mind wandered, seeking around the room a distraction, another source of attention. His gaze fell on a nearby little frame and the photo in it.
He lifted the unadorned piece of wood and glass, moving a finger over the edge. There it was, a little groove, almost invisible to the naked eye. A little push and the back of the frame fell off, revealing the hidden content inside. Many, many photos, more than the small dimensions of the wooden box could make someone believe it could contain.
He took one: depicted there was only a single mammal, a leopard.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
Yes, he remembered her.


It was the college years.
He was walking down the hall, a confident expression plastered on his face. Next to him a rhino, his partner in what they called their "hustles". They were strutting down the corridor, not a single worry in his head. No concerns about exams, teachers or homework.
Because to him school didn't mattered. At all. What was important was the time after that, during which the real fun happened. These hustles, these little jobs coasting on the limit of legality (and sometimes surpassing it) were giving him so much money, much more than a teenager mammal could ever hope to have. Money he could spend on every activity he liked.
Sure, his marks were plummeting because of that, but he didn't care. He had learned at a young age that it doesn't matter how you look inside, for society only the outside is important. So why caring about what others think about you?
And so like this he passed the first semester.
Then that day, a day that seemed so much like the others, it happened. He met her.
She was beautiful. The light of the weak sun of the spring was shining on her figure. The back against the wall, the tail swishing behind her in frustration, the frowned expression on her muzzle as she was trying to decipher the writing of the math textbook she was reading, everything screamed perfection.
He increased his pace, leaving a confused rhino behind.
"Hi" he said with confidence.
She peeked above the border of the book, looking at him. She pierced him with her gaze, her eyes a beautiful mixture of green and yellow.
A smug, stupid grin spread across his face.
A smile that soon disappeared as she turned her tail without a word, leaving him with a dumbfound expression.
"Ahahah, you should see your face!" laughed the rhino, that had seen the whole scene.
"Shut up."
"Seriously, she's not interested, it's obvious."
"We will see."


Weeks passed, he continued trying to get the mysterious girl attention.
For her he bought new clothes, for her he learned driving, for her he got a car.
He spent all the money he had accumulated in those months, he sacrificed his entire fortune for her.
But it was not enough.
She didn't care.
So he spent even more.


After a couple of months his personal funds reached the dreaded zero.
The daily hustles weren't enough, he needed a new source of income.
First came petty crimes: simple shoplifting, selling catnip. Cash began flowing again, but it wasn't enough.
Then he partnered up with another mammal, a small fox with a big van (enough for a rhino) and he began making a name for himself in the streets of Zootopia.
Bigger crimes followed, theft and drug smuggling became daily occurrences.
More than one time the ZPD almost caught them, money continued filling those pockets and quickly left them, he did all this for her.
But she didn't care.


And slowly, as months passed, the infatuation that first struck him began fading, leaving behind a bleak vision of reality. What had he become?
Cops were searching day and night for him, he was on every ZPD list. They have been careful, the police didn't know their names, but it was only a matter of time.
The path he himself had walked for love of a unknown leopard, lead to nothing but ruin.
"No" he told himself, reason finally gripping his mind "I can't go on like this. This night it is the last job."


It was a quick and easy delivery.
He and the rhino brought the goods to the usual place, the other partner ready in the van. Everything went smoothly as usual. That is, until the ZPD showed up.
They could only look in horror as the cops (much more than usual) surrounded them, blocking every exit.
"Shit, they've got us."
The rhino looked at him.
"Maybe one of us can escape."
"You don't mean..."
"At my signal, run."
"No! You can't-"
"Listen! I'm giving you an opportunity, at least one of us can go away from here. It has been a fun time together. Goodbye."
Said that, the rhino charged the cops.


He ran.
He ran as fast as his short legs allowed him.
He could feel them, running behind him. He felt like a little prey being chased by a huge group of hungry predators. A primal fear, an instinct to survive.
He arrived at the van. Quickly he opened the door and jumped inside.
The small fox looked at him.
"What happened? Where is M-"
"Quick! No time! ZPD! Hit the gas!"
Seeing his distraught expression his canine companion floored the pedal, sending the car forward with a jolt.
"Can you tell me now what happened?"
The landscape around them began melting in a blur as the old vehicle gained speed.
He took a deep breath.
"Well, w-"
"Sir, please, pull over."
He looked in the direction of the origin of the voice. There, outside, a feline was running alongside the van without particular effort. The tracksuit bore the ZPD insignia. A small dart gun was firmly held in his paw.
Another similar mammal appeared close to the driver's window.
"Sir, please, pull over. I'm not gonna repeat myself again."
The fox slowed down the car, bringing it to a sudden stop.
The cheetahs extracted both a pair of handcuffs. He gave one last look at the starry night as the cold metal pressed on his arms.


They say that prison should for education and rehabilitation.
But the only thing he learned there was how the face of a desperate mother looked like.
He still remembered it clearly, that moment, the fur of her cheeks drenched with tears.


And years passed.
Finally exiting from prison, in an hostile world, with no education, he proceeded in the only way he knew: small, little hustles.
And so he continued, living day by day, until he met her.
She gave him a new lease on life, she showed him a world that he didn't want to see, stuck in his beliefs.
For her he decided to give his life another chance, for her he enrolled himself in the ZPD, for her (and with her) he started a family and made peace with his old one, for her he became-
"Chief!"
The voice coming from the intercom reminded him of his daily appointment in the bullpen.
Good old Clawhauser, always precise at the minute.
He left the old photo with the others on the desk and began directing himself toward the room.


A choir of cheers exploded as he entered.
He had learnt that this was a custom introduced with the last chief.
He quickly reached his little podium, "the place of command" as they called it.
"Alright, alright, shut it!"
The room suddenly became quiet.
He looked at the order of the day and smiled. Ah, yes, fresh meat. He knew everything of them. Every time a new cop was assigned to his district he studied accurately their bio.
There was one in particular that pulled his attention.
His history... it was somewhat familiar.
Bogo searched for him in the silent room. Ah, there it was. Obviously. Next to the bunny.
"We have some.. new recruits, including our first fox. Who cares."