The Dig's Up is the fourth and final chapter in The Stinky Cheese Caper and Other Cases from the ZPD Files.
Characters
- Judy Hopps, a rabbit
- Nick Wilde, a fox
- Officer Clawhauser, a cheetah
- The Elderly wolf, a wolf
- Dorothy, a kangaroo
- Singcor Swim, a platypus
- Sheila, a koala
- Vince Mousawitz, a rat
Plot
Back on traffic duty on the Meadowlands highway, Nick Wilde wonders about the events of all the cases they have solved recently. Judy Hopps says that the Outbackers are probably acting up on account of the new bridge, which does not connect Outback Island to the rest of the city. Nick then says that back when he was a "legally adjacent", nothing was ever a coincidence, and that these cases have too many coincidences between them.
Officer Clawhauser alerts the to via radio that there has been a prison break, and that Chief Bogo wants them on the scene as soon as possible.
As they arrive at the prison, the Jaguar Warden explains that the escapee is Singcor Swim, the same platypus that had to be evacuated because of the cheese. The warden says that Singcor's accomplices wouldn't have been able to tunnel into solitary, but were able to when he was moved to a cell on the west side, which has no reinforced cement on the ground.
Judy and Nick enter the tunnel, and find it was dug through a sewer that ends in an alley right behind the café they investigated the day before. Judy and Nick deduce that nobody had heard the digging because of the loud music they band played. Seeing no dirt around, they also realize that the dirt that was dug up while making the tunnel must have been the dirt that was purposely thrown over the bridge by Dorothy.
Seeing tire tracks in dirt, Judy and Nick suspect the culprits had a vehicle waiting for them, and ask the elderly wolf if he had seen anything. The wolf tells them that a bunch of Outbackers, including a platypus, drove down the Meadowlands highway toward the city.
While Nick drives himself and Judy to Dorothy's house, Judy retrieves Singcor's rap sheet on her laptop. The rap sheet reveals that Singcor is the leader of O.F.E. (Outbackers For Equality), and she explains that Singcor uses the group for violent protests.
As they arrive at Dorothy's, they knock on her door, but she does not appear to be home. They look around the back of the house and in the garage and find the instruments used by the band at the café. Nick realizes that Dorothy's house is the headquarters for the culprits. Judy questions why they would leave their headquarters, to which Nick suspects they are on a mission. They find a stack of protest signs, which Judy recognizes as the same signs she saw on the newscast, and realizes that the bridge protesters must have broken Singcor out of prison.
Judy and Nick drive to the construction site of the new bridge to find a group of Outbackers protesting it. Judy tries to explain to the protesters that this is a dangerous, restricted area, but an enraged Dorothy, one of the protesters, says that this bridge should include the Outbackers, and should have included on-and off-ramps.
Judy is about to adress the Outbackers, but the ground suddenly begins to shake. Nick throws himself at Judy, knocking her out of the way of a speeding cement truck, which is being driven by Singcor. Judy leaps onto the truck and commands Singcor to bring it to a stop. Upon being ignored, she shoots her stun gun at him, but misses. The surprise of the shot causes Singcor to yank on his steering wheel, driving the truck of off the bridge as it plunges into the bay, bringing Singcor and Judy down with it. Singcor soon pops up to the surface and he and Nick help bring Judy to shore. As Judy arrests Singcor, he states that being under arrest is better than being under the bridge. He explains how the bridge crosses next to and above Outback Island, seemingly forgetting it. He admits that he was going to drive the cement truck into the bay along with the rest of the materials so the construction crew wouldn't be able to finish the bridge. He says this would've reminded Zootopia that Outback Island and its residents exist.
As they put the pieces of the whole case together, Judy and Nick realizes that a dingo stole and threw the foul-smelling cheese over the prison wall so that Singcor would be moved to a part of the prison that was easier to break into. The band that was playing the music so loud at the café were deliberately masking the noise that would've been heard when Singcor was breaking out, and Dorothy got rid of the dirt that would've been evidence of the break out by hiding it in her pouch and dumping it into the bay.
Judy laments Singcor not protesting peacefully and legally, saying that he is smart enough to accomplish anything he wants. As they discuss the case over the next few days, they decide to ensure that the Outbackers aren't ignored.
Judy and Nick visit Sheila at her café, and explain to her that Vince Mousawitz wants to run for mayor of Zootopia and he figures all of the Outbackers would vote for him if he assists them. Vince is eventually elected mayor and keeps his promise to help the Outbackers.
Trivia
- This chapter's title is a play on the phrase, "the jig is up".
Gallery
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