Sally and the Bunny Bandit

>Morning in the precinct, quiet
>Sally had taken to the habit of keeping her cable in almost constantly, the extra kick just what she needed as she scribbled reports down and cleared up her work each day
>Better yet it freed a lot of time for her during the rest of the day, taking care of the clerical nonsense slapped on her desk liberating her to do what *she* wanted
>Which, on Sundays, was cleaning
>The janitors were usually out for the weekends so a thin veneer of grime would find itself into the department’s offices and desks
>Largely alone in the building Sally would sweep about, nabbing up a duster from the janitorial closet and tidying around the other detective’s desks
>It was second nature to her, pausing to entertain herself and run over the details of a case before returning to her business
>A small personal radio chattered in the office, poppy tunes singing to the rhythm of her dust and sweep
>”Huh, that’s odd,” she whispered to herself
>The secretaries desk had been disturbed far beyond what the young lady working there was capable of
>A note and small bundle sat there, dropped carelessly overtop the woman’s paperwork
>Slipping her narrow fingers over it she unfurled a note with the messy scrawl of Vincent’s handwriting on it
>”Hey! Happy Easter, sorry I ain’t there. Have something to get in the spirit! -Vince”
>Unfurling the slip of brown paper she revealed another head-band, replete with cottony white bunny ears
>She’d just gotten rid of the ones from Saint Patrick’s the Sunday previous- she didn’t want to wear these either, especially in an empty office
>Sighing she troubled over what to do with them, neatly folding the note for later

>Eyeing the break room across the hall she grinned, strolling over and dumping the ears in the waste bin
>Dusting her hands off each other she turned around, the metallic clang of the bin reopening ringing behind her
>Swiveling on her feet she watched the swinging as her eyes narrowed, nervous
>Odds are they just caught on the lid, slipping down and swinging it down after
>Turning again to steady the swaying lid the small fridge snapped open and shut in an instant, Sally jumping around to catch the intruder
>Seeing no one she crept over to the fridge and popped it open
>Lying on the frigid plastic shelf was a single egg, colored neatly and rolling against the wall as it came to a stop
>The bands of red and purple zigzagged across it, gently intersecting and breaking where the touch of a wax pencil stopped it
>Nervously she reached a hand out to it, the cold blob rolling neatly into her fingers
>Hefting the weighty little thing she hesitated to crack it, plopping it on the counter
>Working her finger on top she knew what she had to do
>Spinning it rapidly and letting it go it stayed perfectly still, spinning before slowing to a halt
>”Hard boiled, colored, and what’s this?”
>Leaning in she spotted a miniscule brown fleck stuck one of the waxy streaks, followed by another and more
>Dropping a finger she plucked it up again, eyeing the hairs and scrutinizing their every detail
>Too coarse to be human, too short to be a dog
>Narrowing in she called it rodent, face wrinkling at the thought of a rat in the building
>It was repulsive, and the thought of it in the fridge (and likely hopping into the trash can, she realized) worried her
>Picking her broom back up she stalked back into the office
>All the doors were shut- the rat was trapped in there with her

>”Alright M-Mister Rat,” she peeped, “Let’s do this nice and easy.”
>She glided past the secretary’s desk again, the crumpled mess of paper still lying derelict there
>Wrinkling her hands over the broom handle she wished she had some backup, someone to flank the little creature and scoop him up
>Cheeks flushing anxiously she knew she was alone, eyes swinging left and right for the tiny devil
>She didn’t dare peep underneath any of the desks, instead sticking her broom underneath and jamming it around to smoke out her quarry
>Creeping down the desolate desk alleyway she popped her head left and right, jumping at the creak of a chair or the smacking of a leaf on the window
>Turning right to the last leg of the offices she spotted the just-ajar janitorial closet- she always left it closed
>How a rat could do that was beyond her, but this was not just a rat
>This was a bonafide burglar, an intruder on police and city property
>Sticking her broom up she demanded it’s surrender, not sure if it could even understand her or cared at all
>”Come out with your… paws up! Please?”
>A tumble came from the closet, a singular carrot rolling out of the crack in the door
>”Crap,” a little voice peeped, a mop clattering against the wall
>Sally’s eyes shot open- the tiny swiveling window in the closet, an easy escape for any criminal
>Probably the way this perp got in, too

>”BCPD, come on out!”
>Sally flipped the broom handle, edging the door open an inch and pouring daylight on the culprit
>Rays of golden, Easter sunlight touched on the little creature’s forehead, his eyes blinking in the bright light
>Floppy ears hung from his head, tied back for convenience and stealth
>”Wait, wh-”
>”Alright, now, I know this *looks* bad, but-”
>”Rodent,” she cheered, “knew it!”
>She pumped a fist in the air, another mark for her forensic expertise
>”...Right, well, I’m gonna be going-”
>”Not so fast! You owe me some answers,” she huffed, poking him in the chest with the broom handle. “How do you do it?”
>”What?”
>She traced her memory all the way back to nandroid school proper, the baseline lessons in human history and culture her primer for police work
>Typical human myths fell into that bracket, namely how to deal with *Mythical Holiday Creatures*
>Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and more
>And now she was faced with the living and breathing Easter Bunny, obviously taking his share of the loot for blessing the place with an egg of his own


>”Well, you know, getting eggs all over the world like that?”
>”Wh- Oh! Why didn’t you say so,” he nervously laughed, hefting his little sack over his shoulder. He wriggled a hand in the air. “*Magic*, obviously! And people like you who believe in me!”
>Sally gulped, thinking of the trashed pair of ears lying in the bin
>Was she really a believer, she asked herself
>”Okay, Mister Bunny, one last question before you go- is Santa real too?”
>”Uhhh, yeah, yes! Of course he is, we’re *great* friends!”
>She sighed, wiping some missing sweat from her brow
>*That* was a relief
>”So, uh, we cool?”
>”Of course! And, well, feel free to come back for carrots whenever you need them!”
>”...I’ll keep that in mind.”
>Waving awkwardly he hopped up the leaning mop, popping out the window with his prize
>Sally waved after him, hopping back to the breakroom to fetch the ears
>Popping them over her fussing hair she smiled deeply, returning to her little chores with a newfound pep in her step, all thanks to a visit from a very special bunny